Slytherin's Top Lynx

Hermione was intently watching her phone screen, seemingly replaying and analyzing the footage.

"Next group." Harry didn't comment, but simply gestured for Ron and the others to carry the fallen person off the plane and feed them chocolate.

The third group consists of four Ravenclaw, all of whom are sixth graders.

They had clearly learned from the lessons of the previous two groups, quickly exchanging a few words in hushed tones before going on stage.

Faced with the Dementor, they did not rush in, but instead formed a tight diamond shape.

They weren't just throwing punches randomly; they came prepared, and their punches were very methodical.

"Patronus Charm!" The four of them cast the spell almost simultaneously, and four orbs of silver light, constantly changing into complex geometric patterns, suddenly flew out from their wands.

The four Patronus did not fight individually, but instead formed a three-dimensional defensive array that supported each other.

As the Dementor ' chilling aura surged forth, the Patronus from Anthony Goldstein in front resisted, while the Patronus from Padma Pettigrew and Terry Boot flanked from the flanks to disrupt and divert the pressure, and the Patronus from the rear, belonging to Michael Corner, continuously showered down silver specks of light to enhance the resilience of the other Patronus.

While the coordination wasn't perfect, and there were occasional instances where the rhythm was out of sync, causing one of the Patronus' lights to flash intensely, the overall structure was solid, and the mutual support was timely enough that no major problems arose.

They withstood wave after wave of Dementor ' attacks. Although everyone's face grew paler and they were drenched in cold sweat, the formation never collapsed.

A minute passed quickly, but to them it felt like a year.

When Harry called a halt, the four Ravenclaw were nearly exhausted and needed to support each other to stand, but their Patronus were still maintaining a basic light.

They were the first group to successfully last until the time was up, with no one collapsing or being used as a drug!

A suppressed gasp and exclamation arose from the students watching. Ron and Neville exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised and impressed.

Draco snorted, but didn't say anything more sarcastic. He simply pointed his phone camera at the tired but bright-eyed Ravenclaw.

But he was secretly making up his mind—if the Slytherin quartet couldn't handle the Dementor, then he would put some real pressure on them!

"Not bad." Harry gave a rare brief positive assessment. "They know how to use their brains and rely on their companions. I'll ask Professor Dumbledore to give Ravenclaw an extra ten points."

The four Ravenclaw wore weak smiles; though exhausted, it was all worth it.

The next few groups had their share of wins and losses. One group, composed entirely of fourth-grade Hufflepuff, almost repeated the mistakes of the first group and was quickly defeated.

Although he was in fourth year, Harry still frowned and shook his head, executing a smooth little combo.

There was also a Gryffindor and Ravenclaw pair. Their teamwork was decent in the early stages, but disagreements in the mid-game led to a breach in their defense, and the two were drained of energy.

After all, with both sides wanting to defend and both wanting to attack, it would be strange if they could win.

Another group consisted entirely of Slytherin. They employed a similar tactic to the third group of Ravenclaw, but with a greater emphasis on aggression and efficiency. They used a powerful silver serpentine Patronus as their main attacker, while the other orbs provided support for crowd control and defense.

Although the process was thrilling and extremely exhausting, they managed to hold on for a minute.

Draco's gaze softened; for a moment, he even considered giving these Slytherin a good military drill.

This is no longer just ordinary laziness; we must take strong measures against it!

Finally, it was time for the special combination that many people had been secretly hoping for.

It's really something to look forward to, especially with Ron and Draco. They exchanged a glance, then looked away, like a pair of sworn enemies.

"Group seven," Harry's voice carried a hint of schadenfreude, "A mix of Slytherin and Hufflepuff, four people."

A Slytherin sixth-year boy, Blaise Zabini; a Slytherin sixth-year girl, Millicent Bulstrode; a Hufflepuff sixth-year boy, Ernie Macmillan; and a Hufflepuff sixth-year girl, Susan Burns.

The atmosphere became a bit eerie as soon as this combination appeared.

Blaise's face showed undisguised disdain, Millicent wrinkled his chubby face, Ernie tried to straighten his chest to appear neither humble nor arrogant, and Susan looked a little nervous, but her eyes were firm.

They walked to the center of the field, keeping a considerable distance between each other.

"Start."

The Dementor rise.

"Patronus Charm!" Ernie Macmillan was the first to act. His Patronus was a badger that was not very clear. It emitted an uncertain light as soon as it appeared, but it was still in shape.

He tried to use it to protect himself and Susan, who was next to him.

Blaise and Millicent summoned their Patronus — Blaise's was a cold, silver serpent, while Millicent's was a round, furry creature that looked somewhat fierce.

The number one lynx in Slytherin, right?

The silver snake and the long-haired cat were clearly closer to each other, standing out starkly from the silver badger on Hufflepuff's side.

These four people—though they don't get along very well—are all capable of summoning Patronus —no matter what, at least they can form a coherent entity.

The Dementor's chill instantly surged forth, attacking both sides simultaneously.

The silver badger opened its mouth and let out a silent growl, its four legs moving rapidly. The silver light solidly blocked the frontal pressure, but it appeared somewhat clumsy and passive.

Susan's Patronus also appeared, a small but agile silver squirrel that leaped rapidly around the silver badger, trying to dispel some of the chill that had seeped in, but with limited effect.

On the other side, Blaise's silver snake darted nimbly, attempting to deflect or redirect the chill with skillful force, while Millicent's long-haired cat hissed a silent threat, its silver light expanding as it parried.

The two coordinated slightly better than Hufflepuff, but they also began to struggle under the constant pressure.

Forty seconds passed, and both sides were teetering on the brink of collapse.

The silver badger's luster had dimmed considerably, and Ernie was covered in sweat.

Slytherin wasn't faring much better; the silver snake's movements had become sluggish, and the long-haired cat had shrunk considerably. Blaise looked grim, and Millicent was already panting heavily.

The Dementor seemed to sense their prey's fatigue, and suddenly concentrated their power, attacking the seemingly weaker Hufflepuff!

The silver badger let out a mournful cry, and the light instantly vanished!

Ernie was struck as if by a heavy blow; he swayed and almost fell. Susan's silver squirrel also let out a silent screech and vanished instantly. She turned pale and helped Ernie up.

With Hufflepuff about to be devoured, the pressure on Slytherin's side eased considerably, but the Dementor ' next target was clearly them.

Just then, Ernie, pale-faced, suddenly roared at Blaise, "Zabini! Get your snake wrapped around it! Buy us some time!"

Blaise was taken aback, seemingly not expecting this "good-for-nothing" Hufflepuff to yell at him and make a request.

He glanced at the Hufflepuff duo on the verge of collapse, then at the Dementor radiating chill as it prepared to pounce on the Hufflepuff, a flicker of struggle crossing his eyes.

Ultimately, the idea that "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" prevailed.

"Millicent!" he hissed, his wand pointing sharply forward.

The silver snake suddenly darted out, no longer in defense, but instead fiercely coiled around the Dementor's body, which was wrapped in a black robe, its silver light shining brightly as it attempted to interfere.

Millicent's lynx seized the opportunity to pounce and tear at the Dementor's flanks.

The Dementor's movements were indeed momentarily halted by this sudden counterattack.

It was this very moment!

"Susan! Quick! Remember our happiest moments! Quick!"

Ernie spoke urgently to Susan, who was supporting him, while forcibly gathering his magic power, and the silver badger, which was on the verge of dissipating, managed to light up a little bit again.

Susan's eyes narrowed, she closed them tightly, and when she opened them again, the vanished silver squirrel had reappeared, even faster than before!

Instead of attacking, it ran quickly around Ernie's silver badger and herself, gradually dispelling the surrounding chill.

Having gained a respite, the Hufflepuff duo miraculously regained their footing in their desperate situation.

Meanwhile, Blaise and Millicent were under immense pressure as their proactive attacks drew most of the Dementor' attention, and the light from the silver snake and the lynx was rapidly depleting.

Just as the defenses were about to be breached, Hufflepuff's two Patronus pounced, forcing the Dementor to retreat.

The Slytherin duo, now able to catch their breath, exchanged a glance and intensified their attack on the Charms.

Working together, they managed to force the Dementor to turn tail and run.

Time's up!

Harry's voice rang out.

They stopped in their tracks and ceased their pursuit of the Dementor.

The exertion they just experienced was immense. Although all four of them were still standing, they were all swaying precariously, their clothes soaked with sweat, and their faces ashen.

Blaise and Millicent were almost completely exhausted, and Ernie and Susan only managed to stay upright by supporting each other.

But they were all standing.

Moreover, at the last moment, an unexpected and life-saving teamwork emerged between Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

The entire arena fell silent. Ron stared wide-eyed, forgetting to take a picture with his phone. Draco looked at Blaise and Hufflepuff, whom he usually looked down upon, with complicated expressions.

Harry paused for a few seconds, then slowly began, "Seventh Group: Tactical Adaptability, P. Individual Will, E. Last-Minute Inter-House Collaboration, O.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over all the students in the room—some standing there in shock, some sitting wearily on the ground, and some lost in thought.

"Did you all see that? That's Dementor. Fear will overwhelm you, stupidity will destroy you, but sometimes, a glimmer of hope for survival in dire straits, a possibility of letting go of prejudice, can create a miracle—or at least, prevent you from becoming Dementor's sucker."

"Today's training is over. Everyone, regardless of success or failure, go back and reflect. Successful groups, think about whether your teamwork could have been better; unsuccessful groups, think about where you went wrong. Was it courage? Skill? Or was it refusing to reach out to your teammates?"

"Disband," Harry announced finally.

The students quietly began to leave, the atmosphere noticeably happier than when they arrived—after all, there were no Dementor in Hogwarts Castle.

Harry collected the Dementor, and after confirming that all the students had left, he returned the Dementor to Azkaban.

The leader of the Dementor was quite surprised when he saw that Harry had actually sent the Dementor back.

Clearly, he didn't expect these subordinates to come back.

He was even more surprised when he saw several of his subordinates eating with obvious satisfaction.

how?

If you go out with Mr. Potter, will you get any food?

It was several hours later when they got back to school. The Fat Lady muttered, "Coming back so late."

However, they still opened the door for him.

The Common Room still held the warmth of the lively atmosphere, with flickering firelight from the fireplace, where several younger students were excitedly discussing the thrilling training they had just heard from the older students.

When Harry came in, they immediately fell silent, glancing at him furtively with a mixture of awe and curiosity.

Harry nodded to them, walked straight through the common room, and returned to his bedroom.

Ron, Seamus, and Neville had returned and were crowding around Ron's four-poster bed, their heads huddled together, staring at a large-screen Philosopher's Stone Tablet spread out on Ron's bed—supposedly an MpadPro, boasting a larger size, a higher screen refresh rate, and better visuals.

At least that's what Steve said.

"Hey, Harry!" Ron waved excitedly without looking up. "Come and see! We just uploaded the best parts of the video to the video website, and the comments are already flooding the screen!"

Harry took off his clothes and put them aside. The phone screen was playing edited clips of various group battles. The picture was clear and stable, and there were even subtitles and some slow-motion replays - obviously Hermione's work.

Of course, the slow-motion scenes are mostly clips of the Dementor getting close and affectionate with their classmates, which look incredibly impressive.

"How come so fast?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, there are only a few clips so far," Ron said with a grin. "It's just a warm-up, you know Hermione's got a knack for getting things done—"

"Look at this, the first group, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, they're collapsing so fast!" Seamus pointed to the screen, where the Hufflepuff boy was being sucked into the Dementor and collapsed to the ground. "The comments say it looks like a Cauldron Cake being emptied in an instant."

Neville added in a low voice, "However, some people pointed out that the Ravenclaw girl was quite courageous in trying to hold her ground."

Seamus scrolled down to the famous comment and read, "Ravenclaw's calmness and Hufflepuff's tenacity should have been a perfect match, but unfortunately, they didn't mesh at all. -- An unnamed professor from Ravenclaw" -- Ha, that must be Professor Flitwick's assessment, right?

"Who else could it be besides Professor Flitwick?" Ron chuckled. "I still think that, at times, Professor Flitwick's sharp wit is no less than Professor Snape's. Remember his assessment?"

"What's your assessment?" Neville looked up.

"I'm a wizard, not a baboon waving a stick." Ron couldn't help but laugh after saying that, clutching his stomach and kicking his legs on the bed, laughing heartily.

Seamus's face fell, and he stopped laughing.