In a relatively spacious clearing in the Forbidden Forest.
Strands of sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, scattering mottled patches of light across the packed earth.
Cypher had already been training Grindton and Eileen here for over ten days.
At that moment, Cypher stood beneath a tree, lazily twirling his wand.
Meanwhile, Grindton and Eileen stood pressed tightly together.
They looked as though they were facing a formidable enemy.
Because they never knew whether Cypher's next spell would be a minor curse or a mental shock.
Mental shock was a little trick Cypher had derived from the Cruciatus Curse. It could be regarded as a weakened version of the Cruciatus Curse.
He did not need to impose hatred upon it, and the target would not feel pain. They would merely become mentally dazed.
Mental daze required Occlumency to recover from quickly.
A minor curse, meanwhile, could only be blocked by the Patronus Charm.
Having the two of them train together was naturally not so they could each do their own thing.
It was so they could protect each other.
For example, if Grindton was struck by a mental shock, Eileen needed to quickly help him block the minor curse that followed.
Conversely, Grindton would block it for Eileen. This would awaken their protective instincts and allow their Patronus Charms to form corporeal bodies more quickly.
Suddenly, the wand spinning in Cypher's hand fired off three spells.
Each of them received a minor curse, while Eileen was the first to be struck by a mental shock.
Without hesitation, Grindton placed his vaguely formed Patronus in front of Eileen.
He took the minor curse head-on himself.
This was the first time Cypher had made him face such a choice between two options.
Previously, he had always endured the mental shock before blocking