A Little Classroom Game

The four of them did not dare linger any longer and jogged away.

But the moment they returned to the common room, everyone except Hermione burst into cheers as if they had scored full marks on an exam.

"I hereby declare Professor Fawley to be my idol!" Ron shouted.

He tilted his head back toward the ceiling and raised both hands high, as though Tver's image might appear up there.

Harry grinned. "Professor Fawley has always been my idol."

Neville smiled shyly and muttered, "Me too."

Hermione, however, was not pleased. She pouted as she wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief, then slapped Ron's hand away in annoyance.

"When all's said and done, we shouldn't have been wandering around outside at night in the first place. Do you remember what Professor Fawley said? Gryffindor's tradition is bravery, not getting into trouble!"

"Oh, come on," Ron said, rubbing his stinging arm. "If it weren't for tonight, we wouldn't have seen that side of Professor Fawley. And, of course, that three-headed monster."

As soon as he finished speaking, he could not help laughing.

Hermione awkwardly tightened her grip on the little hand she had hidden behind her back, still clutching the handkerchief.

Harry smiled and chimed in, "But what was the deal with that Three-Headed Dog? The school actually kept such a dangerous creature inside the castle."

"Didn't you notice? There was a trapdoor beneath the Three-Headed Dog. It was obviously guarding something!" Hermione said with a frown.

"What something?" Ron scratched his head in confusion. "You could still see a trapdoor in that situation?"

Hermione turned her head away and spun around, presenting them with her back.

"How should I know? Anyway, I'm not in the mood to play guessing games with you anymore."

As Hermione left, Harry fell into thought.

He seemed to know where the package Hagrid had taken him to collect at the start of term was.

Meanwhile, Tver had not actually left. After disappearing from Harry and the others' sight, he had circled back.

He had deliberately revealed himself just now.

Harry was the greatest variable in his plan!

He needed Harry to help Quirrell obtain the Philosopher's Stone, but he could not let Harry draw Dumbledore's attention.

At least, Dumbledore could not show up so quickly before he snatched the Philosopher's Stone from Quirrell.

So tonight, he had decided to leave Harry with an image of someone trustworthy and close the distance between them. Only then would it be easier to control Harry's actions.

He knew Dumbledore was watching Harry, so he had to proceed more discreetly.

After refining his plan once more, Tver set up a small detection spell in the fourth-floor corridor.

Tonight's events had also reminded him that if Quirrell learned some clues in advance, obtained the Philosopher's Stone early, and escaped Hogwarts, he would truly suffer a huge loss.

So he still needed to keep a careful watch on this corridor.

Once he had finished everything, Tver quietly left. The corridor returned to silent darkness, no different from before.

The next day, unlike Tver, who was used to staying up late, Harry and the other three yawned their way through class.

But by the afternoon, they had no choice but to force themselves awake.

Because it was Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Tver arrived at the classroom early, but he had not expected the students to arrive even earlier.

Hermione in particular was sitting in the front row, with a small piece of bread still on her desk. She had probably eaten lunch in the classroom.

In an unprecedented move, Harry and Ron were also seated near the front, their heads bent over their textbooks. They had not even noticed him enter.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Tver said, placing the test papers on the desk and facing the students. "It seems no one will be late today, so I won't take attendance."

He watched Harry and Ron shrink their necks slightly, while Hermione hurriedly cleared her desk, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I imagine you've already heard about what happens in the other years. Taking a test before class has become a tradition in this subject."

The students immediately looked helpless.

At the start of the week, they had already heard about it from the older students. They had also heard that the tests were difficult, which was why they had arrived so early.

Last-minute cramming!

Tver walked to the front of the desks.

He stopped right in front of Hermione. She looked up at him with her little head tilted back, as though she were the only person in the class looking forward to the test.

"Don't worry, your first year will be a little different," he said, pulling out his wand and pointing it toward the back of the classroom. "Your test will be a fun little game."

A gentle red glow flashed, and a red ball of light appeared before the white wall at the back, hovering steadily in front of it.

The students all turned around, curiously watching the ball of light. They had thought it would be some wondrous spell, but ten seconds later, it was still just the same ball of light.

Tver did not explain right away. Instead, he called out to them, "Don't just stand there staring. Grab your wands and come to the back!"

Realising they did not have to take a test, the students immediately cheered. With the experience from the first lesson, they quickly formed two rows in the open space and looked eagerly at Tver standing before them.

"I need a student to give us a demonstration. You, Mr Potter."

With a casual point of his wand, Tver made it seem offhand, but to Harry, it looked like punishment for last night.

Under Hermione's envious gaze, Harry stepped out from the crowd and let Tver arrange him as he pleased.

"Yes, stand here, face the light orb, then raise your wand." After putting Harry into position, Tver addressed the whole class. "The orb will continuously shift between three colors while moving irregularly. What you need to do is—"

With a flick of his wand, another red beam struck the orb. It rippled, changing from red to green, while a number 1 appeared in its center. Everything else remained the same.

"Hit it with the corresponding light, and it will change color while adding one point. You'll have two minutes to deal with the orb. Whoever has the highest score at the end will earn ten points for their House."

Harry's hands trembled with nerves, but the other students grew excited.

As first-years, they had not yet had any opportunity to experience combat. For the past two weeks, they had only watched the second- and third-years showing off.

Although the other students had not been able to attend Professor Fawley's class, they could at least join in discussions about combat.

Only they had been left standing there, staring helplessly!

Now that they could finally get a small taste of combat, they wished they were the ones demonstrating.

But Harry, with the entire class watching him, was rather nervous. He kept recalling the technique for casting the light orb. He did not want to embarrass himself in front of the class, much less disappoint Professor Fawley.

Tver restored the orb to its original state once more and looked at Harry, who was so nervous that he had gone silent.

"One reminder: the orb won't just stupidly stay in one place." He walked behind Harry and conjured an hourglass. "The timer will begin the instant you cast your light, so... are you ready?"

Harry nodded stiffly.

"Then begin!"