HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

"Flying sand and stones" followed closely behind, striking the sand in front of her, raising dust and producing huge vibrations and sounds.

Her action immediately drew a reaction:

A small but continuous wave of sand surged beneath her feet, moving rapidly toward her feet—the sand monster had been lured there.

In the shadow of the tree canopy above her head, the vines were also swaying violently, and the rainforest monster was clearly searching for its target in the yellow sand, poised to strike.

Just as the sandstorm was about to reach her feet, Hermione's staff suddenly flashed with a bright light. The blinding white light immediately pierced through the sandstorm, and the rainforest troll in the tree instantly found its target.

"Hiss—!"

The Vine Monster let out a murderous shriek, and like a giant living javelin, it swooped down toward the light, dragging a vine along it.

Hearing the whistling wind from high above, Hermione immediately threw the glowing orb in her hand.

*Pfft!*

A dull thud that made your teeth ache.

The desert giant, which had just emerged from the sand, only saw a ball of light flying toward its face. Then, the back of its neck was pierced by a wooden spike from the rainforest giant's hand, and it turned into a streak of white light and disappeared.

The rainforest troll lost the wooden spike in its hand due to the huge impact. It looked down at its empty hand, let out a confused growl, and then quickly climbed back to the treetop by grabbing the drooping vine.

"It's my turn!"

Hermione drew a large circle with her wand, pointing it directly at the hanging vines and dense canopy above: "Blazing Flames!"

call--!!!

The blazing magical flames, like the breath of a fire dragon, swept upwards in an instant.

Vines and dense foliage provided the best fuel, and the fire spread wildly under the impetus of magic, turning the entire canopy into a raging sea of ​​fire in an instant.

A wave of scorching heat hit us, accompanied by billowing smoke.

"Awooo—!!!"

The Vine Monster was terrified by this sudden hellish sight. It was naturally afraid of fire, and now the tree canopy where it had been hiding and swinging had become a deadly cage of fire.

With a terrified scream, the giant disregarded everything else and scrambled from the burning tree trunk to another tree.

But Hermione was faster, unleashing a series of "Blazing Flames" that set all the trees ablaze. She dodged the falling sparks while using "Hurricane Rage" to spread the fire.

With nowhere else to hide, the rainforest giant leaped from the high treetops in an attempt to escape the flames.

However, the place it jumped to was the "stage" that Hermione had prepared for it in advance.

"Quicksand trap!"

As soon as the rainforest monster's heavy body landed, the soft sand immediately sank.

It struggled frantically, trying to climb out, but the more it struggled, the faster it sank.

Its long legs were quickly swallowed by the scalding quicksand, leaving it unable to move. It could only wave its arms in vain and let out desperate screams.

Hermione stood at a safe distance, sweat soaking her temples, the firelight flickering in her eyes.

She looked at the giant monster trapped in the sand, her gaze falling on the huge wooden spike still stuck in the ground.

Hermione's wand pointed steadily at the bloodstained wooden splinter. The heavy splinter was lifted by an invisible force, floated into the air, and its tip was aimed at the rainforest monster.

Immediately afterward, Hermione swung her wand sharply downward, pointing it at the rainforest giant struggling in the sand pit: "Meteor Expulsion!"

The wooden spike instantly gained powerful kinetic energy, and like a shot arrow, it pierced the air with a piercing sound, accurately striking the rainforest monster's chest.

puff--!

The rainforest monster froze instantly, then vanished in a wisp of white light.

Hermione let out a long sigh, wiping the grime mixed with sweat and sand from her forehead, a few strands of brown hair sticking to her cheeks.

……

Hermione's battle had just ended when the entire audience erupted in enthusiastic applause and gasps of amazement.

The students whispered excitedly to each other, many with shining eyes, wishing they could go up and challenge it themselves, but unfortunately they didn't have enough points.

"Merlin! She actually let one giant kill another."

Ron was dumbfounded, his jaw almost dropping to the ground. "Just like that Diggory, he actually made two giants play a game of killing each other."

“That’s right, but Hermione’s timing was better,” Harry nodded. “And to be honest, I don’t think many seventh-year students are as good as her.”

“Ha, she’s gone completely mad this semester,” Ron said, counting on his fingers. “She’s got all sorts of classes on her hands, studying all day and pulling all-nighters—I bet even house-elves work harder than her.”

“Maybe she’s just enjoying studying?” Harry suggested tentatively, then laughed at Ron’s exaggerated expression.

"Enjoy? Do you enjoy it?"

Ron rolled his eyes and turned his gaze back to the ring, where Hermione was calmly retrieving her badge.

He couldn't help but make a face, his face turning a little pale. "That's ruthless, it pierced right through the troll in one go..."

“But it works quite well,” Harry said with interest. “The Levitation Charm and the Exorcism Charm—we should really learn this spell combination.”

"Spare me, we already have enough to learn." Ron plopped back into his chair.

In the faculty section, several professors were also engaged in a lively discussion. Hagrid's loud voice rang out first:

“That was fantastic! But I must say—those little ones look like they need better care.”

He gestured excitedly with his thick fingers, "If only we could carve out a sandy patch on the edge of the forbidden forest..."

Professor McGonagall's sharp gaze shot over from above her half-moon spectacles: "Rupert, I don't think the Ministry of Magic will agree to you keeping a group of dangerous magical creatures near the school."

"Ah, of course." Hagrid rubbed his hands awkwardly. "Being locked inside the stone tablet is quite nice, at least I don't have to eat."

Actually, he wanted to see those two fire dragons.

McGonagall paused for a moment, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly. "However, I do think we could add some shapeshifting monsters to this place. It would be good for selecting talent for my shapeshifting club, without actually endangering the students."

“Meaningless mercy.” Snape pursed his lips as he watched the students continue to take on the challenge. “I think we could add a potion-making element—making a life-or-death antidote in a toxic fog would be a real test.”

"Of course, that's on the condition that the protective magic on the arena is removed first," he added casually.

Professor Sprout, with a gentle smile, joked, "Oh, Severus, you're always so extreme."

“I think only extreme methods can teach a student like Longbottom,” Snape said without even lifting an eyelid. “It’s probably the only way to turn the weeds in their brains back into brains.”

Professor Sprout said gently, "I think Longbottom has a real talent for herbalism."

She also turned her gaze to the arena, "However, your suggestion has given me some inspiration. We can add some specific magical plants or herbs to the arena to test students' application of herbalism and how to deal with dangerous plants."

Chapter 206 Halloween is Coming

The students who went up to challenge next began to fail.

The ways in which they were eliminated became varied: some were bitten to death by giants, some were crushed to death by giants, and some were burned to death by their own fires—a wide variety of bizarre and varied methods.

Even after returning to their dormitories and lying in bed at night, the young wizards were still discussing it.

In the days that followed, advanced quests became the focus of Hogwarts.

Discussing it, studying it, and trying to accumulate enough points to challenge it have become the topic of conversation in almost every common room and hallway.

Even Quidditch training was temporarily suspended—which made Wood very irritable, behaving like a squirrel whose acorn had been stolen, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Sagles became one of the busiest people at Hogwarts.

He taught his students in a routine manner, designed new challenge instances in his spare time, and also began research on the Permanent Transformation Technique.

However, the last item did not make any progress due to a lack of materials.

Time flew by and it was almost the end of October. With Halloween approaching, Sagres once again got the job of decorating the castle.

This was a collective appeal from the students, who generally felt that last year was the most fun Halloween they had ever had, and strongly requested that Professor Greengrass design this year's castle.

A cold wind swirled fallen leaves, blowing through the towers of Hogwarts Castle. October 31st was Halloween, and also Hogsmeade Week, which the students had been eagerly anticipating.

Early in the morning, the castle gates were filled with laughter and cheerful voices.

The students, wrapped in thick scarves and with flushed faces of excitement, chattered excitedly about Honeydukes' new candies, Three Brooms' Butterbeer, and the prank merchandise from Joko's Joke Shop.

“Harry, are you really not coming with us?” Ron asked one last time, his face full of regret. “Should we go ask Professor McGonagall again…”

“No, Ron,” Harry tried to sound nonchalant, but his eyes involuntarily drifted toward the path leading to Hogsmeade in the distance. “You all heard it last time.”

The permit form buried under the pile of books was like a cold, hard judgment.

"You can't go to Hogsmeade without a guardian's signature."

That's what Professor McGonagall told him, and despite his repeated requests, she didn't change her mind.

Hermione comforted her, "We'll try to come back as soon as possible and bring you some candy."

“Don’t worry about me,” Harry said nonchalantly. “Have fun, see you at the party.”

Harry could only watch as Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus... almost everyone he knew, joyfully joined the flow of people heading to Hogsmeade.

Percy patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction from behind: "I'm glad to see you didn't go to Hogsmeade, Harry. It's not as good as they say."

He said seriously, "Yes, apart from the candy store being alright. But other than that, Harry, to be honest, you haven't missed anything at all."

"Really?" Harry asked listlessly. "Are you going?"

Percy nodded very seriously. "Of course."

After saying that, he straightened his clothes and joined the flow of people heading to Hogsmeade.

Harry rolled his eyes, a rare occurrence for him, thinking to himself, "Why are you running so fast if there's nothing good to say?"

He had considered using the Invisibility Cloak to follow them, but Hermione rejected the suggestion.

She cautioned that Dementors can see through Invisibility Cloaks, and that someone had reported seeing Sirius Black in Hogsmeade recently.

As the last group of students disappeared down the path to Hogsmeade, the bustling castle instantly became empty.

A familiar sense of loneliness quietly enveloped Harry.

He sighed, turned around, and prepared to return to the Gryffindor Tower. Perhaps he could catch up on his Potions homework? Or perhaps study Hermione's notes?

However, as he walked through the foyer, he was captivated by the sight before him.

Professor Greengrass walked down the corridor, waving his wand incessantly. The ordinary corridor quickly transformed into a "festive atmosphere" under his spell.