Fred and the other students waiting outside swallowed hard when they saw the sorry state he was in.
After George staggered away, the atmosphere in the line noticeably grew heavier.
When Lin Du called the next name, nearly every student perked up.
"Cedric Diggory."
The Hufflepuff prefect, Cedric, known for his integrity and ability, took a deep breath and stepped forward steadily.
He gave Lin Du a slight nod, then firmly pushed open the door.
The scene inside was entirely different from the one George had faced.
Instead of a murky pond, there was a stretch of water shrouded in cold mist. Jagged black reefs lined the shore, and a faint scent of decay hung in the air.
The water was dark, nearly ink-black. Not a ripple disturbed its surface, and its dead silence made one's skin crawl.
Lin Du followed him inside and calmly explained, "This time, your target is an Inferius in the water."
Cedric's gaze sharpened. An Inferius!
He had read about them in advanced books on Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection. They were corpses twisted and controlled by Dark Magic—immensely strong, incapable of feeling pain, and extremely dangerous. He immediately raised his wand and went on full alert.
He cautiously fired a red beam into the water. The spell struck the surface, stirred up only a small ripple, and vanished without a trace.
He then tried "Impedimenta," raising an invisible barrier before himself.
However, just as he thought he was prepared, the ink-black surface of the water silently split apart!
Four or five pale, bloated humanoid figures with hollow eye sockets suddenly rose upright from beneath the water!
Their movements were stiff yet swift as they stretched out their cold, rigid arms and grabbed for Cedric!
Cedric remained calm in the face of danger. He quickly retreated and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!"
A beam struck the foremost Inferius, and its movements visibly stalled for an instant—but only for an instant!
The other Inferi had already surged forward, their icy aura of death crashing over him.
He kept firing Obstruction Charms, Stunning Spells, and even tried an Explosion Charm, but the spells had little effect on the Inferi. They were only briefly hindered before continuing their advance.
Before long, Cedric was forced into a corner. Several pairs of cold, slimy hands seized his arms and robes, dragging him toward the freezing water with tremendous strength.
He struggled with all his might, nearly losing his grip on his wand, but against Inferi that knew neither fear nor fatigue, his resistance seemed so powerless.
The bone-chilling cold and nauseating stench of decay nearly suffocated him.
"Enough."
Lin Du's voice rang out as he flicked his wand.
The vicious-looking "Inferi" instantly froze. Then their forms began to twist and melt, eventually turning back into several pieces of rotten wood and waterweed floating on the surface—
This was merely a construct created through advanced Transfiguration and Magic Power, not a genuine product of Dark Magic.
Cedric slumped weakly against the wall, gasping for breath. His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with shock and reluctance.
He had thought he was thoroughly prepared.
Lin Du did not immediately send him out. Instead, he walked over and said, "Mr. Diggory, your spells were precise, and your reactions were quick. But you made a fatal mistake—you merely used every spell you knew to 'attack' without stopping to think about what you were facing and where its weakness lay."
Cedric lifted his head, somewhat lost.
Lin Du turned toward the doorway. "Everyone, come in."
The students waiting anxiously outside filed in. When they saw the eerie waters and Cedric's disheveled state, they were all startled.
Lin Du stood before them, his gaze sweeping over one tense or bewildered face after another.
"Just now, Mr. Diggory faced magically simulated 'Inferi.'" Lin Du's voice was especially clear in the silent space. "He demonstrated excellent spellwork and courage in battle. He used Obstruction Charms, Petrificus Totalus, and even an Explosion Charm. But he failed."
The students looked at Cedric. He pressed his lips together, his face bearing both unwillingness and confusion.
"Why do you think he failed?" Lin Du's gaze passed over the crowd. "Were his spells not powerful enough? Or were there not enough of them?"
No one dared answer.
Lin Du did not ask again. He turned toward the stretch of black water.
He gently raised his wand. Without casting any offensive spell, he simply murmured calmly, "Lumos Maxima."
Yet what burst forth from the tip of his wand was not an ordinary, gentle orb of light, but a blaze of white radiance as fierce as a miniature sun!
The light was so intense that it instantly scattered the classroom's cold mist and illuminated every corner as brightly as day, making several students instinctively squint.
As the light shone upon the floating simulated "Inferi," an unbelievable sight unfolded—
The rotten wood and waterweed that emanated that cold aura began to sizzle softly, like ice thrown into a blazing fire. The dark magic clinging to them receded and crumbled away like shadows scorched by sunlight.
The classroom fell silent. Every student stared in amazement.
Lin Du lowered his wand, and the blazing light vanished with it, though the room still seemed to retain a warm, clean feeling.
"Inferi," Lin Du said, turning to face the stunned students, "and many similar dark creations are born and dwell in darkness and cold. Intense light and heat are their natural nemesis. A fully strengthened Lumos Maxima is far more effective than ten hastily cast offensive spells."
His gaze finally settled on Cedric. "Diggory, you know many complex offensive spells, and that is good. But true Defense Against the Dark Arts is not merely about waving a wand and firing spells. It is about using this—"
He tapped his temple. "—to think about what you are facing, understand its nature, find its most vulnerable point, and then deal with it in the most suitable, often simplest, way. Knowledge is only power when it is used correctly."
Cedric suddenly understood. The reluctance on his face was replaced by deep thought and respect.
The other students also fell into contemplation. For the first time, they understood so clearly that a calm mind and an understanding of magic's nature were far more important than blindly pursuing powerful spells.
"Remember this feeling," Lin Du told all the students. "When facing unknown darkness, fear and brute force will only make you lose your way faster. Stay calm, use the knowledge you have learned, and find the most effective path. That is the true essence of Defense Against the Dark Arts."
As round after round of practical combat training continued, Hogwarts students—especially the older ones—truly came to understand the pressure of Lin Du-style teaching.
Complaints and wails never ceased, but it could not be denied that in these nearly brutal practical drills, their understanding and application of Defense Against the Dark Arts improved at an astonishing rate.
Spell precision, judgment under pressure, mental resilience in the face of danger... these were all things textbooks could never provide.
Lin Du stood outside the classroom, listening to the explosions of spells, the students' cries of alarm, and the occasional cheers of success. His face showed no expression.
He knew this training could not directly locate the Chamber of Secrets, nor could it fight the Basilisk.
But at the very least, it could give these children one more chance to survive when real danger descended.
At the same time, these high-intensity practical drills spanning the entire school were, in a sense, also a way to draw the snake from the grass. He was watching and waiting to see whether the "heir" hidden in the shadows would reveal a flaw when faced with a castle that had suddenly become alert and difficult to deal with.
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