Crying Counts Toward the Time Too!

After the students stopped practicing, Harry continued, "Remember this feeling—the evoking of joyful memories, the flow of magic, the coordination of spells and movements. This is the foundation for your fight against the darkness. Now, everyone, stop practicing, rest in place for five minutes, regulate your breathing, and calm your minds."

As he spoke, he gestured for Ron to come forward.

Ron immediately jogged over from the side front of the group, carrying a large, heavy cloth bag that had been enchanted with Untraceable Extension Charm.

He wore an expectant expression, as if he were watching a good show – after all, he wasn't the one who would be "tortured" next.

"Everyone, step forward." Harry's voice carried clearly through the cold wind. "I've prepared some chocolates for you. One piece each. Eat them now. They'll help warm you up, calm you down, and prepare you for the pressure of the upcoming battle."

The students took turns coming forward and receiving a piece of chocolate wrapped in silver foil from Ron's large bag.

Upon opening the packaging, the rich aroma of chocolate subtly dispelled the chill in the air, and the sweet taste melted on the tongue, bringing a tangible warmth and a touch of comfort.

Many students let out satisfied sighs, and their tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Remember this warm, satisfying feeling," Harry said calmly, watching them chew. "It's a positive emotion. In the battles to come, if your happy memories are temporarily suppressed, try recalling the sweetness in your mouth and the warmth in your stomach right now; it might be a good way to rekindle your wands."

He's right, these are all chocolates with added sugar, very high in calories, and sweets help release dopamine.

Not just magic, but science too.

The five-minute break passed quickly in silence and chewing.

The students stood up straight again, their expressions serious once more, but with a renewed sense of confidence, as if they had just replenished their energy.

"Alright."

Harry's voice drew everyone's attention back.

"Phase Two: Hands-on Experience. Core Members - "

His gaze swept over Ron and the others who had fought against the Dementor.

"Your task is to observe and record. After all, you've already passed the initial test of your own Patronus Charm, so you don't need to engage in direct confrontation today—of course, keep your phones handy and faithfully record these people's performance, understand?"

Ron and his friends nodded eagerly; they couldn't wait to win back their ticket price.

Boring! I want to see rivers of blood!

"As for everyone else," Harry turned to the majority of the tense students, "What you have to do is successfully summon and maintain your Patronus Charm under the pressure of a real Dementor. Minimum: one minute. Note that this is not a one-on-one practice. I understand your concerns, but I won't put you on a high-intensity training right away. You will be in groups of four, fighting one Dementor, understand?"

"Understood!" The reply was a little louder than before; the calories from the chocolate seemed to have given them some courage.

"Prepare-

-"

Harry's voice carried a hint of schadenfreude.

He took a few steps back abruptly, and the air instantly became even colder, so cold that even his breath felt like it was filled with icy shards.

The students quickly gathered in pre-assigned groups of four, standing close together, trying to draw courage from their companions to fight the cold.

Ron, Draco, and other core members immediately pulled out their phones, all of which were flagship products from Mr. LeMay's Philosopher's Stone series.

The phone screen lit up, and the camera was pointed at each group.

Ron even adjusted his angle, trying to find the best vantage point, his face revealing undisguised excitement at the prospect of having a good time.

Perfectly fits the definition of a bloodthirsty audience!

"Begin!" Harry commanded.

In the center of the open space, a Dementor shrouded in a black cloak slowly rose.

Unlike their previous solo practice sessions, the students were no longer free of pressure. Instead, they faced the gaze of a Dementor up close and directly, and felt the despairing pull it was actively emanating.

The first group consists of two Ravenclaw and two Hufflepuff fifth graders.

The moment they faced the Dementor, a Hufflepuff boy's legs buckled and he almost collapsed, but was caught by Ravenclaw girl next to him.

"Recall! Quick!" the Ravenclaw girl shrieked, raising her wand first. A blurry, incomplete bird struggled to fly from the tip of her wand, blocking the group's path.

The other three seemed to have found their pillar of support, and they all gritted their teeth and chanted incantations.

Clumps of uncertain-shaped silver light lit up one after another. Four clumps of light trembled and leaned together, forming a thin but real silver barrier that barely held back the Dementor in front of them.

Ron immediately pointed his camera at them.

"Look at that," he muttered gleefully, "Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff combination, that's a long-standing Hogwarts tradition—but I'd much rather see Slytherin and Hufflepuff combination."

He wasn't just making things up; after all, the most impactful thing was Hufflepuff and Slytherin coming together.

Although Gryffindor and Slytherin have never gotten along, Slytherin at least considered Gryffindor beginning to take human form, unlike Hufflepuff.

In the eyes of the Slytherin, Hufflepuff was nothing more than a walking glutton.

But as it turns out, Dementor are not as easy to deal with as kittens and puppies.

Even with the four of them united, they were unable to withstand the Dementor ' attack.

Ultimately, the Dementor broke through their defenses, plunging the four-person group into utter despair.

Immediately afterwards, the Dementor grabbed the Hufflepuff boy who dared to bare his teeth at him and sucked him in hard.

The Hufflepuff boy collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Harry had absolutely no intention of going up to save them, after all, he had already given the Dementor the order, "I allow you to suck their blood, but don't you dare kill them."

The Dementor clearly kept their promise to Harry; after all, they knew the difference between a full meal and a full meal every day.

"Go for it!" Luna cheered, jumping up and down to encourage the four of them.

But it was no use trying to cheer them on; the Dementor were like a lion before a flock of sheep, and the remaining three lambs trembled with fear.

Under the oppression of the Dementor, they had no thought of resistance whatsoever; any desire to resist was swallowed up by the cold darkness.

The Dementor were truly full; they had sucked a lot of joy from each of them, and only reluctantly released the last Ravenclaw girl when Harry called for a stop.

He even let out a burp.

After Ron and the others came forward and rescued the students, Harry clicked his tongue in admiration.

"You guys are truly the worst class I've ever taught," he sighed, shaking his head. "Look at you all, once Dementor gets close, you're completely helpless—where are your wands? Are they firewood sticks? Or do you not know how to use Patronus Charm? Ha, even if you don't know how to use Charms, don't you have the courage to just grab your wands and go and whack them?"

The students who were scolded by Harry lowered their heads, and some even began to sob quietly.

cry?

Crying counts as time too!

"Alright, have some chocolate to warm up," Harry sighed. "Even by normal fifth-graders, you're a bit lacking—next group, begin!"

"Next group, get ready!" Harry's voice was devoid of emotion, as if the previous group's crushing defeat was merely a warm-up. He waved his wand, and the Dementor, which had just finished its meal, slowly retreated into the shadows. However, the lingering chill and despair in the air had not completely dissipated, constantly reminding the next group of what awaited them.

The students silently watched the four students in the first group, who were helped aside by Ron and the others, wrapped in thick blankets, and munching on extra chocolates with ashen faces.

The students who hadn't yet participated had complex expressions, with even greater fear, but also a hint of determination.

Nobody wants to be the next example of someone being publicly drained and then reprimanded.

Being reprimanded in front of so many people—I don't want that!

Moreover, it seems they still intend to record today's embarrassing situation and post it on video websites.

If I fail here, my future might be...

"Second group!" Harry called out, "A mix of Gryffindor and Slytherin, four people."

The two Gryffindor and two Slytherin who were chosen took a deep breath and walked to the center of the playing area.

They instinctively stood on either side of the House Points, separated by an invisible chasm.

"Start."

Another Dementor rose from the ground, its darkness beneath the hood "looking" at the four.

"Patronus Charm!" The Gryffindor boy reacted the fastest, a ball of light leaping from the tip of his staff, rushing straight at the Dementor, trying to gain the upper hand.

The fifth-year Gryffindor girl next to him summoned a silver ribbon and followed behind the boy's Guardian Ball.

It looked like an unformed Demon Pill and his Red Armillary Sash.

The two Slytherin exchanged a glance; their movements were slightly slower, but their composure was undeniable.

A cold, silver rope snaked out and coiled in front of them, radiating a defensive light; from the tip of the other man's staff emerged a sharp, ever-changing silver light, like a living thorn, darting before them.

"It should be a snake, right?" Ron commented, holding his phone.

"Not sure, let's see," Hermione said from behind.

However, although the four Patronus had taken initial form, they did not cooperate at all.

The two Patronus of Gryffindor charged forward recklessly, while the two from Slytherin remained steadfast in their positions.

Faced with this chaotic attack, the Dementor seemed to merely flick its sleeve, and an even more chilling aura surged forth in two streams, one heading towards the charging Gryffindor, and the other pressing down on the defensive Slytherin.

The light of Gryffindor's two Patronus dimmed rapidly, their forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and the two Gryffindor turned pale instantly.

Although the light of Slytherin's Patronus was steady, it began to flicker unpredictably under the constant chill.

"Cooperation! Idiots!" Draco muttered under his breath, holding up his phone. Even though he was Slytherin, his blood pressure was rising at the sight of this foolish, individualistic behavior.

At this point, should we still cling to the prejudices held within the academy?

What an idiot! A complete and utter idiot!

Don't tell me you're from Slytherin! That's so unrealistic!

Harry watched coldly, without saying a word.

After a stalemate of about fifteen seconds, the pressure on the Gryffindor side was clearly greater.

The ball of light, which was originally the size of a watermelon, gradually shrank to the size of a table tennis ball, and finally disappeared without a sound. The boy groaned and knelt down on one knee.

The other silver ribbon also quickly turned transparent, looking as if it might disappear at any moment.

Just as the two were about to follow in the footsteps of the first group, one of the Slytherin gritted his teeth, waved his wand, and his Patronus, which resembled a rope, suddenly leaped forward, its silver light surging, temporarily filling the void left by the collapse of the Lion's Roar, merging with the remaining light of the Orb of Light to jointly resist.

The fifth-year Gryffindor girl, relieved of the sudden pressure, quickly gathered her magic again, and the silver ribbons became clearer once more.

Seeing this, the other Slytherin also manipulated his Patronus, Silverlight, to move to the side, attempting to share the burden.

However, this extremely awkward and clumsy coordination came too late. The Dementor seemed to be enraged, and the chill suddenly intensified.

The newly established joint defense line has been breached!

"Ugh--!" The sixth-year Gryffindor boy was the first to be hit head-on by a concentrated chill, freezing his happy memories completely. He swayed and fell backward, temporarily losing consciousness although he wasn't sucked in.

The remaining three were thrown into disarray.

The light from Slytherin's two Patronus auras contracted rapidly, and the silver ribbons were once again on the verge of dissipating.

The Dementor's withered hand merely reached out and grabbed, and the fifth-year girl and the Slytherin beside him simultaneously felt a strong sense of weakness and palpitations. Although they weren't directly sucked on like a sucking stick, their Patronus had completely collapsed. The two girls collapsed to the ground, their faces pale, only able to gasp for breath and tremble uncontrollably.

The only one still standing was Slytherin, who had summoned the ever-changing silver light; his Patronus was now just a small, faint wisp of light struggling at the tip of his staff.

He stood alone in the center of the arena, facing the Dementor that were slowly approaching. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and neither retreated nor lowered his wand.

Just as the Dementor were about to pounce, Harry's calm voice rang out.

Time's up.

The Dementor immediately stopped advancing, slowly retreated, and finally disappeared into the darkness.

The Slytherin breathed a sigh of relief, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

The second group consisted of four people. One was unconscious, two were exhausted, and one barely managed to stand until the end but had no strength left to fight.

The result was a failure, but they lasted almost twice as long as the first group, and showed some signs of teamwork in the final moments.

Ron's camera faithfully recorded everything, and the schadenfreude on his face faded somewhat.

"It seems there are still some good people among Slytherin."

"Weasley, what are you saying?" Draco, standing beside him, looked at him expressionlessly.

"I said Slytherin did a good job," Ron said with a shrug.

Draco snorted coldly. He knew Ron wasn't telling the truth, but he didn't press the matter.

After all, the Slytherin class did perform rather poorly.