In a cellar at Hogwarts enchanted with spatial magic.
A green maze of towering hedges rose from the ground.
Neville Longbottom stood at the maze entrance with his two teammates, a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff.
"All right."
Neville's voice was steady and confident.
"We don't have many seeds, just three Devil's Snare seedlings, a handful of Bubotuber powder, and five spiny Venomous Tentacula seeds."
"What can we do with that?"
The Hufflepuff student asked worriedly.
"That wouldn't even stop a Nundu's toe, would it?"
"Not if we use them separately, of course."
Neville began drawing a tactical diagram on the ground, his practiced manner looking so much like Professor Holmes's
own.
"Listen, our core tactics are luring and coordination. That's what I learned in the Swiftwind Sword Club."
He pointed into the depths of the maze.
"We'll build our safe house at the end of the narrowest passage in the maze.
Once we're inside, we'll immediately use Protego and Impedimenta to seal off the escape routes on both sides, leaving only one entrance for attacks, directly in front."
"Then what?" The Ravenclaw student adjusted their glasses, a thoughtful gleam in their eyes.
"Then we'll plant the three Devil's Snare seedlings beneath the ground in front of the entrance. They'll be our first line of defense, tangling up the enemy's legs."
"But they're fragile. One Incendio and they're finished."
"Exactly, which is why we need a second line of defense."
Neville picked up the bag of Bubotuber powder.
"When the enemy tries to attack the Devil's Snare with a Fire-Making Spell, we'll throw this powder out.
It produces large amounts of thick, corrosive smoke when exposed to fire, temporarily blocking the enemy's vision and protecting the Devil's Snare from burning."
"Brilliant! A perfect combination!"
Professor Flitwick could not help exclaiming from