The King of Empty Talk

Before long, Daphne arrived with Hermione was engrossed in a book at the library.

Everyone knew the rules; they could only play after Daphne and Hermione were tired, so they all stood obediently at a distance and waited.

"Wow, isn't that Megatron? He looks pretty cool!"

Just as Daphne reached out to activate Megatron, a West Coast accent suddenly cut in, its tone nonchalant and particularly jarring.

Damn! The Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts is joining the fray again?

Many students' expressions instantly turned strange. Was this activity Professor Dark Magic Defense's exclusive entertainment?

Last time Lockhart came to cause trouble, this time it was Wilkinson's turn to rush in, and he even arrived Lockhart, standing there before even starting the warm-up.

Everyone was wondering: What if Tom just quits and walks away like last time, refusing to play anymore?

Unexpectedly, Tom took the initiative to approach, raising an eyebrow and teasing, "Professor, you know Megatron? Not bad, old Lau."

Ross grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth.

"Absolutely! Back when I was in school, I always looked forward to summer vacation so I could go home and watch Transfiguration on my neighbor's Muggle TV!"

"Professor, you even have a television at home?" Justin Finch-Fletchley's eyes lit up, his face full of envy.

"No way, my old folks look down on Muggle stuff." Ross waved his hand, smiling a little embarrassedly.

"My neighbor is Muggle, so I would peek through his window every day, it was so much fun."

Upon hearing this, many young wizards from Muggle families immediately resonated with it and nodded in agreement.

Everyone has a childhood memory of watching TV on the neighbor's TV. If your family wouldn't let you watch it, you had to sneak around and find opportunities to satisfy your craving.

"Alright, alright, let's not get off topic." Ross rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining as he stared at Megatron.

"Let me see, how handsome do you think you are, Megatron, on TV?"

Tom shrugged and gestured with his chin toward Daphne: "Let's begin, let the professor see for himself."

The students cheered instantly, Daphne immediately activated Megatron, this time without any newbie Fawley, going straight to the normal mode.

But after she and Hermione lost last time, they didn't sit idle. Hermione, bursting with competitive spirit, had already figured out several ways to limit Megatron.

The two had a clear division of labor: Daphne chanted the Aguamenti, summoning a large expanse of water.

Hermione followed closely behind, using a Freeze Charm to instantly freeze the water into ice, turning the vast meadow into a smooth ice rink in the blink of an eye.

The two then turned their shoes into ice skates and glided incredibly fast on the ice, moving even faster than usual.

On the other hand, Megatron struggled to move on the ice. His heavy body swayed, and he fell flat on his back with a thud.

He had barely gotten up a couple of steps when he tripped and fell face-first into the mud, making the students watching burst into laughter.

"That's such a clever move!"

"Using ice to restrict movement should at least guarantee we won't lose, right?"

Everyone praised him, and Tom nodded with a smile, then suddenly snapped his fingers, "Alright, time for phase two."

The chatter ceased abruptly, everyone stunned, as Megatron actually floated up and hovered on the ice!

Daphne and Hermione, who were skating, froze on the spot, their faces filled with disbelief.

"Megatron can fly without Transfiguration?" Daphne stammered, her voice trembling.

"Otherwise what?" Tom said matter-of-factly. "It borrows some principles from Flying Broomstick, so it's not surprising that it can fly."

"Normal my foot!" Hermione stomped her foot in anger, her cheeks puffed out like balloons. "That's so unfair!"

Megatron ignored her complaints, spread his palms, and beams of energy shot out with a "whoosh".

Two shots every two seconds, precise and frequent; at first, the two could quickly dodge them using their roller skates.

But before long, the ice surface was shattered by the beam of light, and they had to quickly change their ice skates into non-slip boots.

Hermione panicked and tried to freeze Megatron's cannon with a freezing spell, forgetting that Megatron's specialty was breathing fire.

A burst of flame shot out, melting her Freezing Charm and nearly singeing her hair.

This is Hermione's weakness: she's usually incredibly calm, but she panics in a crisis, her mental fortitude is truly lacking.

Finally, the two exhausted their magic and barely managed to fight Megatron to a draw, thus saving face.

"Interesting, very interesting!" Ross rubbed his hands together, about to say, "Can I try it?"

Suddenly, a line of text appeared on my arm; it was something Tom had secretly sent him via my IChat.

"If you can't win, you'll embarrass your professor reputation. I'll let you play with it another day."

Ross immediately understood and changed his tune, putting on a serious face. "Mr. Riddle, could the other students try it too?"

"Of course." Tom nodded. "Same rules as before, five people per group. As long as we can force Megatron into his 'powerful enemy mode,' we've succeeded."

The young wizards, who had already spontaneously divided into groups, instantly crowded to the front, vying for the first spot to go on stage, and arguing incessantly.

Finally Tom waved his hand and gave the first spot to the fourth-year Slytherin team.

After all, they're from our own college; if we don't take care of our own kids, who will we take care of?

Malfoy stood to the side, watching with great envy, but he knew his place.

He might be able to bully Harry, but against Megatron, he couldn't even get close.

He tried to team up with older students, but they all thought he was a burden and wouldn't let him play.

To avoid losing face, Malfoy had no choice but to stand in the crowd and become the king of verbal sparring, pointing and gesturing at the students who came on stage.

"Using Stunning Spell on a metal shell? Did Troll step on your head?!"

"This Impediment Jinx is so weak, are you trying to be cute to Megatron?"

"Huh? The Tarantallegra actually works? Not bad, not bad. Wait a minute, why aren't its upper limbs reacting? Useless!"

While listening to Malfoy's ramblings, Tom also used the students' practical experience to discover many of Megatron's weaknesses.

I've noted them all down and plan to improve them when I get back.

Turning his head, Tom saw Astoria quietly following beside him, and Tom heart softened; he wanted to involve her as well.

So he asked, "Astoria, I've heard you're quite good at Wizard's Chess?"

Astoria shook her head, her tone blunt. "It's not that I'm good, it's that my sister is too stupid."

"Astoria! What nonsense are you spouting!" Daphne happened to walk over and jumped up in anger.

"That's true," Astoria shrugged, looking completely innocent. "I can win even if I give you half a piece's worth of pieces, what can I do?"

Tom chuckled and tried to smooth things over, "Since you're so good, how about playing another round with me?"

As he spoke, he threw a Wizard's Chess set out from the crowd and shouted, "Engorgio!"

The black and white chessboard instantly expanded dozens of times, and the chess pieces became as tall as adults, exuding an imposing aura.