He's So Bad, I Like Him So Much!

Just thinking about it made everyone feel like they were about to lose their composure.

Ron was truly caught in an undeserved disaster. He was sitting peacefully in class when he was suddenly hit by a Water Dragon Impact from Seamus.

It's just that Ron has a good temper; someone else might have argued with Seamus.

"How about this," Seamus said, "Next time we go to Diagon Alley, I'll treat you to Florean's most luxurious ice cream!"

"Really?" Ron looked up abruptly.

"Of course it's true!" Seamus said confidently. "I, Seamus, will cover all your expenses. You can eat as many as you want, as long as you don't freeze to the point of covering your forehead."

"Then it's settled." Ron immediately perked up. "Let's make this a reality!"

"OK." Seamus returned an OK gesture.

The matter was thus concluded, but news of Ron being attacked by Seamus's waterspout in class spread like wildfire, and the entire sixth grade knew about it before dinner that very evening.

"Weasley! Weasley!"

During the meal, Ron suddenly heard someone call his name from behind.

"What?" he asked, turning around. Seeing it was Draco, he immediately lost his temper. "Why did you call me?"

"I heard you were swept away by Finnegan's waterspout. Did you really get swept away?" Draco asked, his curiosity tinged with schadenfreude.

Seeing Ron get his comeuppance is the most satisfying thing in the world.

"Shut up!" Ron snapped angrily. "No one will think you're mute if you don't speak!"

Draco and the Slytherin around him burst into laughter, and then Crabbe, imitating Ron, leaned back dramatically.

It felt like I'd actually been hit by a waterspout.

Everyone laughed even harder, especially the Gryffindors.

In the High Table, Dumbledore, watching this scene, wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve.

"How wonderful, how wonderful!" he exclaimed. "The last time I saw these two academies so harmonious was when Phineas was the Headmaster."

Indeed, the classic Gryffindor x Slytherin trio: Harry, Sebastian, and Ominis.

Of course, with Cassandra and Veratia, he forms an unbreakable trio.

The last class before the weekend holiday was History of Magic.

Professor Binns, Hogwarts' only ghostly teacher, is Leviosa a few inches off the ground.

Professor Binns's figure was blurry; he had been dressed like this since Harry entered school in his first year—in fact, Professor Binns looked just like this when Harry last entered school in the nineteenth century.

His voice was as dry and flat as ever, without any intonation.

"Therefore, we must recognize that Article 3, Section 2 of the ' Wand Use Code ' unilaterally promulgated by the Wizarding Council in 1637, which prohibits any non-human intelligent Magical Creatures, including but not limited to House Elf, Goblin, and Centaurs, from possessing or using wands as a medium for spellcasting, is not an isolated legal event."

Harry sat in the last row of the classroom, and he was clearly struggling to stay awake.

There was no way around it; Professor Binns ' voice was just too hypnotic.

Ron's head bobbed up and down, each time almost hitting the table before he jolted awake, looked around blankly, and then scribbled a few lines on his notebook, which looked more like a rough sketch of a string of roasted chicken legs.

He was actually quite lucky; Seamus's head was completely buried in his arms, and he could even hear soft snoring.

In stark contrast to them was Hermione, who was full of energy not far away. Her notes had filled an entire page, and she even had question marks next to some details that Professor Binns had only briefly mentioned, preparing to check them in the library after class.

As soon as the bell rang, Professor Binns, who was still lecturing, stopped abruptly.

He floated gently into the wall without the slightest hesitation.

"His lectures are so vague and incomplete!" Hermione said, scratching her head in annoyance. "There are parts I have to go to the library to verify myself—good heavens, it's exhausting."

"Studying is tiring in itself," Harry said with a yawn, now regretting not having taken a nice nap in class.

He was thinking about something.

"It's really tiring."

Ron's eyes were still a little sleepy, but Seamus next to him seemed to have slept well and was full of energy when he stood up.

That evening, a rumor began to circulate among the students.

"Have you heard?" Parvati whispered to Lavender, "I heard we're dealing with something exciting this time—"

"I heard about it too," Lavender said. "Xixi even grinned mischievously and told me to be prepared and not to be scared—he's so naughty, I love him!"

At this point, Lavender clenched her fists and placed them on her face, looking like a lovesick fool.

Parvati is now somewhat regretful; why did he have to be so impulsive as to talk to Lavender?

Clearly, as "instructors," Seamus and his team knew what they were dealing with this time.

However, they all have a strong sense of morbid humor and are unwilling to reveal to others what exactly they are dealing with.

That's pretty bad.

Early Saturday morning, after breakfast, the eager students gathered at the Room of Requirement.

This time, they arrived at a riverbank shrouded in thick fog.

The students gripped their wands tightly, nervously glancing around. Even those who had experienced the baptism of the Streeler could sense the completely different atmosphere here.

"Inferi," Harry's voice broke the silence, calm yet carrying an undeniable seriousness, "They are not living beings, they have no thoughts, they feel no fear or pain. They have no self-awareness or soul, just empty shells driven by Dark Arts. They are incredibly strong and numerous; if they grab you, they will try to strangle you. Remember two things: fire and bright light are your most reliable companions."

Upon hearing Harry's words, some people swallowed hard.

No, are we going to go this far?

But the sixth-grade students were clearly not afraid, after all, they had been exposed to this kind of thing in the second grade.

As soon as he finished speaking, ripples began to spread across the lake.

The first thing to appear were several pale, swollen hands, gripping the damp rocks on the lake shore.

Then, one corpse after another Silencio slid out of the dark lake water.

Their skin was the waxy white of a drowned person, swollen and distended from prolonged immersion; in some places, the skin was even translucent, revealing the dark tissue beneath. Their eye sockets were completely empty, but under the light of the wand, they seemed to reflect a hollow and malicious glimmer.

After getting ashore, they quickly spotted the students in front of them and then staggered towards them with faltering steps.

The chilling aura of death was so palpable that it caused several lower-grade students to gasp, and the light at the tips of their wands began to tremble.

But Harry suddenly snapped his fingers, and a wall of azure fire instantly rose up in front of the Inferi, separating Inferi on the other side.

Looking at his panicked and trembling classmates, Ron and his friends laughed unkindly.

Extremely gloating.

"As I said," Harry continued, "You see, these Inferi are terrified of fire, so try to use fire Charms against them—come on, you need to work together to deal with these Inferi."

As he spoke, Harry glanced around at his classmates.

"Divide into groups of four. I will tally the damage each team and each individual inflicted on the Inferi."

He took out several phones and tablets and said, "First place: a Philosopher's Stone device set; second place: Philosopher's Stone Tablet; third place: a Philosopher's Stone phone."

"As for the teamwork reward, that's yet to be determined," he added.

Hearing Harry's words, the students who had been looking downcast instantly perked up.

If you mention there's a reward, then we won't be sleepy anymore!

Who doesn't know that the Philosopher's Stone series is the most popular item right now? When visiting someone's home, it's considered embarrassing not to bring a set of Philosopher's Stone as a souvenir.

They immediately began searching for their teammates, and the previous silence was replaced by a burst of lively discussion.

We need at least two people skilled in Fire-Making Spell!

"Who knows the Intense Light Spell? Someone who can maintain sustained damage!"

Hufflepuff! We need backup!

They immediately began searching for their teammates, and the previous silence was replaced by a burst of lively discussion.

Sixth-grader Ernie Macmillan quickly assembled a team, including Mandy Brohe Susan Borns, and Terry Boot. "Mandy, you and Susan, focus on the Blazing Flames and try to create area suppression! Terry, your Transfiguration is the best, try to use magic to conjure fuel or flammable materials to intensify the fire! I'll take care of lighting and patching up any gaps!" Ernie deployed quickly, looking every bit the commander.

Once all the students had found their teams, Harry looked around and said with satisfaction, "You have five minutes to plan your tactics. When the time is up, I will release the wall of fire and let these Inferi attack you!"

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

Harry snapped his fingers again, and the azure wall of fire fell like a curtain.

Unburdened, the Inferi of undead roared and, dragging its stiff steps, surged toward the students like a pale, tidal wave.

"Now! Icendio (Blazing Flames)!"

Mandy and Susan from Ernie's group simultaneously swung their staffs, and two thick tongues of fire intertwined to form a fan-shaped flame that instantly engulfed the five or six Inferi at the forefront.

Flames burned fiercely on their wet, cold bodies, producing a chilling sizzling sound of burning fat, and a foul stench filled the air.

After all, it's burning rotten flesh, unlike roasted fresh meat which has a grilled meat aroma.

"It's a bit disgusting," Ron commented calmly, his expression tense.

Hermione, who was standing next to her, had already vomited up, throwing up all of her breakfast.

"LumosMaima (Super Lumos)!"

Terry's wand emitted a beam of light comparable to a searchlight, shooting directly into the horde of Inferi, causing several nearby Inferi to immediately become disoriented and chaotic.

Meanwhile, the other students were also putting in their efforts, and the alternating flashes of bright light left the Inferi bewildered, while the Flame Charm was the natural counter to these Inferi.

For a moment, the Inferi were actually suppressed by these students.

But things weren't going smoothly on the battlefield, Colin encountered some trouble.

Dennis's Fire-Making Spell was powerful, but his aim was poor, Colin inevitably made some mistakes in order to protect his brother.

"Left!" Dennis suddenly shouted.

Without a second thought, Colin cast a Knockback Jinx, instantly sending the Inferi that was about to grab him flying, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Well done, Colin!" Harry's voice came calmly, while the tablet in his hand seemed to be recording something.

On the other side, the group of Gryffindor girls, including Parvati and Lavender, also seemed a bit flustered.

Although they were skilled at casting Fire-Making Spell, they lacked effective coordination, often firing several spells at the same target simultaneously, wasting firepower and creating gaps in the defenses.

"Concentrate fire, provide alternating cover!" Hermione shouted, pointing out positions. "Parvati, you take care of the three on the left! Lavender, cover the tall one on the right!"

With the instructors' guidance, the students gradually found their rhythm.

They began to understand how to cover for each other, how to concentrate firepower to eliminate Wai-zai's biggest target first, and how to use the bright light to create opportunities.

Flames erupted across the riverbank, engulfing the approaching Inferi one by one.

At the same time, the smell in the air was definitely not pleasant.

It smells bad.

The battle lasted for nearly two thousand minutes. When the last Inferi was reduced to ashes by the "crossfire" of the Evil Squad and the Zabiju Squad, they immediately collapsed to the ground.

The intense battle had left them mentally and physically exhausted, and in their weariness, they were also curious about where Harry had found so many Inferi.

Harry began checking the data on his tablet and phone, and after several checks, he walked to the center of the arena.

"First," he announced loudly, "Congratulations to all of you for successfully passing this trial. You faced creations of Dark Arts, and you proved yourselves with courage and teamwork!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the expectant and sweat-drenched faces.

Sweat—some from exhaustion, some from tension, but most from the heat of the Flame Charm.

It's so hot.

"Now, announce the results."

"Individual damage output multiplied by one: Erju Macmillan! Precise command and effective last-hitting earned him the highest score!"

His Ravenclaw classmates applauded and cheered for him.

"Second place: Blaise Zabini! Efficient killing, ruthless and decisive."

Slytherin, not to be outdone, cheered.

"Ranked third: Susan Bones! Consistent area-of-effect fire damage is key."

The Hufflepuff classmates cheered and celebrated Susan's victory.

Er was so excited his face turned red, while Blaise just raised his chin modestly, and Susan hugged her Hufflepuff friends.