NOVEL WEB Chapter 34: Classroom Game
After they returned to the common room, all three except Hermione cheered as if they had gotten a perfect score.
"I declare Professor Fawley as my idol!" Ron shouted loudly. His head tilted back, hands raised high as if Tver's image could be seen on the ceiling.
Harry grinned, "The professor has been my idol for a long time."
Neville smiled shyly, murmuring, "Me too."
But Hermione wasn't pleased. Pouting, she wiped away her tears with a handkerchief and swatted away Ron's hand.
"Ultimately, we shouldn't be wandering around at night. Remember what the professor said? Gryffindor's tradition is bravery, not mischief!"
"Oh, come on," Ron rubbed his sore arm, "if it weren't for tonight, we wouldn't have seen the professor's kind side, not to mention that three-headed monster."
He couldn't help but laugh.
Hermione tightened her grip on the handkerchief behind her back, feeling embarrassed.
Harry chimed in, "But what's the deal with that three-headed dog? How could the school keep such a dangerous creature in the castle?"
"Didn't you notice? Beneath that three-headed dog, there's a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something!" Hermione frowned.
"What's it guarding?" Ron scratched his head in confusion. "You could see a trapdoor in that situation?"
Hermione turned away from them, saying, "How should I know? Anyway, I'm not in the mood for guessing games."
Watching Hermione leave, Harry seemed lost in thought. It seemed like he knew where Hagrid had taken him to get his package at the beginning of the school year.
Meanwhile, Tver hadn't actually left. After disappearing from their sight, he circled back. His appearance earlier was intentional.
Harry was the biggest variable in his plan! He needed Harry's help to get the Philosopher's Stone for Quirrell, but he couldn't let Harry attract Dumbledore's attention too quickly.
At least, Dumbledore couldn't appear so soon before he snatched the stone from Quirrell's hands.
That's why tonight he decided to leave Harry with a trustworthy impression, to bring them closer together, making it easier to control Harry's actions.
He knew Dumbledore was watching Harry, so he had to proceed discreetly.
Once again, Tver supplemented his plan, setting up a small sensing magic in the third-floor corridor.
Tonight's events reminded him that if Quirrell had obtained clues in advance and had managed to grab the Philosopher's Stone and escape Hogwarts early, he would have been at a real loss. So he had to carefully monitor this corridor.
After completing all this, Tver quietly left the area, and the corridor returned to its quiet darkness, indistinguishable from before.
...
The next day, unlike Tver, who was accustomed to staying up late, Harry and his friends were all yawning through their classes. However, by the afternoon, they had to force themselves to be alert because it was Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Tver arrived early in the classroom, but he didn't expect the students to arrive even earlier. Especially Hermione, sitting in the front row, with a piece of bread on her desk, probably having lunch in the classroom.
Harry and Ron were also unusually sitting in the front row, heads down flipping through textbooks, unaware of him walking in.
"Good afternoon, everyone," Tver placed the test papers on the desk, facing the students, "It seems that no one will be late for class today, so I won't take attendance."
He smiled as he saw Harry and Ron, who had shrunk their necks, and Hermione hastily tidying up her desk.
"I suppose you've heard about the traditions of other years before class starts," he continued, seeing the resigned expressions on the students' faces.
Since the beginning of the week, they had heard from older students about this situation, and they had heard that the tests were very difficult, which was also why they had arrived so early.
Last-minute cramming!
Tver walked to the front of the desks, right in front of Hermione, who looked up at him with her small head, seemingly the only one in the class looking forward to the arrival of the exam.
"Don't worry, your first-year experience will be slightly different," he said, drawing his wand and pointing to the back of the classroom, "Your test will be a fun little game."
A gentle red light flashed, and a red light ball appeared on the white wall behind, settling steadily in front of the wall.
The students turned back, curious about this light ball, thinking it might be a magical wonder, but after ten seconds, it remained the same.
Tver didn't explain immediately but shouted to them, "Stop staring dumbly, grab your wands, and come to the back!"
Realizing they didn't have to do the test paper, the students cheered. With the experience of the first class, they adeptly formed two lines on the open space, eagerly watching Tver standing in front.
"I need a volunteer to demonstrate for us, that's you, Mr. Potter."
Tver pointed casually, seemingly nonchalant, but in Harry's eyes, it felt like punishment for the previous night.
Under Hermione's envious gaze, Harry stepped out of the crowd, allowing Tver to manipulate him.
"Yes, stand here, facing the light ball, and then raise your wand," Tver prepared Harry for action, then addressed everyone, "The light ball will constantly change among three colors and move irregularly. What you need to do is—"
He flicked his wand, and another red light struck the light ball, causing it to ripple and change from red to green, with a number 1 appearing in the middle, while the others remained unchanged.
"Hit it with the same light, and it will change color, earning you one point. You have two minutes to deal with the light ball. The one with the highest score will earn ten points for the house."
Harry was nervous, his hands trembling, but the students were excited. As first-years, they hadn't had the chance to engage in combat yet. For the past two weeks, they had watched students from second and third years showing off.
While other students may not have attended Professor Fawley's class, they could still participate in discussions about combat. They were just left staring dumbly! Now they could finally experience a bit of combat, wishing it was them in the demonstration.
However, Harry, who was being watched by the entire class, felt nervous. He kept recalling the techniques for releasing the light ball. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the class, let alone disappoint Professor Fawley.
Tver restored the light ball to its original state and looked at Harry, who was nervously silent.
"Just a reminder, the light ball won't just stand there stupidly," he walked behind Harry, conjuring an hourglass, "As soon as you emit light, the timer will start, so, are you ready?"
Harry nodded reluctantly.
"Then let's begin!"