"Delayed for a moment, Amorta looked at the pitiful little group of Ravenclaws and thought for a moment before continuing, "
"Not that the team must consist of three people, four would also do--"
No one moved, the young wizards hesitated and looked around, momentarily at a loss for decision. They had obviously noticed the caution in Professor Bane's words and dared not make arbitrary decisions. Petil looked disappointedly at the Ravenclaw team, as her sister Padma Petil had not persisted. This deprived him of the opportunity to form a 'team' with his own little sister.
Harry was the first to stand by Hermione, forming a team was an obvious choice. However, their team was currently one person short. If Ron was there, they would be perfect. Harry and Hermione looked at each other for a moment, feeling a sense of loss.
The twins joyfully formed a team with their friend Lee Jordan, which was the fastest-forming team. After completing this, they eagerly looked at Professor Bane, waiting for further instructions.
Draco hesitated and looked behind himself, immediately noticing Panci looking at him with anticipation. However, he did not return her gaze. At this moment, he missed Crabbe and Goyle a little. After all, those two were among the first to give up on gym class, and bringing them along might be a burden.
Blaise and Notts avoided Draco's gaze, while Daphne and Milo clearly had decided to be together. Draco muttered helplessly.
"Alright--"
Draco glared at Pansy, speaking slowly.
"Then we are a team, Pansy, but if you behave like you did last year in the Dark Arts Defense class again."
"Oh, I promise I won't!" Pansy said with emotion, "Who should the third person be, Draco? Crabbe and Goyle are not here--"
"I'm thinking about it!"
Draco was impatient and said, "I might as well choose people from other houses as my teammates. I can only choose people from Slytherin, and I've already looked at the students who are muttering to each other. Eventually, his gaze fell on Astoria, and a faint wrinkle appeared on his brow.
Astoria is the youngest member of the Slytherin team, and no one would choose someone who appears weak in an unknown situation.
However, after he proposed using the wand to humiliate Ginny, Astoria quickly produced it. It was of high quality and even received praise from Professor Bane. Moreover, the Greengrass family and the Malfoy family have been friendly for generations. His father also instructed him to take care of the Greengrass sisters.
"Join us as a team, Astoria--"
Draco issued the command, disregarding Pansy's complaints and misunderstanding.
About ten minutes later, most of the teams had formed, and after some discussion, Harry and Hermione finally decided to include Ginny, who had been staring at them expectantly all day. However, after the situation became clear, they realized that Neville was alone.
This is an unexpected but reasonable occurrence.
Since they began practicing spells, Neville's status has plummeted. He maintains his style from the Potions and Transfiguration classes, and even Professor Bane's unique method of teaching magic has been unable to help him out of his predicament.
Neville clearly realized that he was just a burden to others, standing alone and lowering his head sorrowfully. When Hermione noticed, she spoke to him immediately and without hesitation.
"Come to us, Neville, we just happen to be missing one person!"
Neville thought he was destined to be alone, and he looked at Hermione in disbelief, his eyes blurred with a thin mist.
"But I'll be a bother to you."
"Don't be silly, Neville!"
Harry pulled Neville over without a word, smiling at him.
"You just slashed that spell so coolly, the only regret is that you should have aimed directly at Malfoy's head instead--"
Neville grinned.
Now that their team was formed, Harry turned around and looked at Professor Bane with an eager gaze. However, when he saw Cedric Diggory successfully persuading Cho Chang to join his team, the excited smile on Harry's face immediately froze, as if someone had pulled his insides out through his abdomen.
That's not good at all!
Harry glared angrily at Cedric.
"It's still that phrase--"
Amorta smiled softly, looking at these excited faces,
"I hope you all have enough faith in your teammates, believing that they can protect your back in the battles of life and death."
The young wizards gradually quieted down. They didn't understand exactly what Professor Bane was saying, but they felt the special tone in his voice.
"Now--" Amorta again slapped his palms,
"Everyone, back to your seats! Our combat training will also take place in my spirit world. Oh, if I send a group of missing limbs young wizards to the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey might either commit suicide or kill me first and then commit suicide."
That was a good joke; everyone laughed, even Hermione momentarily forgot her constant worry about the competition's tasks.
The vast, pure white spirit world was already familiar to them. After a short dizziness, the young wizards quickly found their own teams and looked forward to what was going to happen next.
"Just as before, I need a team to demonstrate for everyone. Are there anyone brave enough to step forward?"
Amorta stepped slowly towards the young wizards, speaking with a smile.
It is necessary to be cautious in Professor Bane's class, and not many people responded to his call. However, the Weasley brothers and their friends were very enthusiastic about raising their hands.
"Then come on, you are going to face your opponent, which is me--"
To put it simply—when Professor Bane brought them into this spirit world, the young wizards had an idea of what was to come. No one expected to be able to defeat Professor Bane with just a few young wizards, but the rare opportunity to fight against one of the most powerful witches in the contemporary wizarding world was still enough to make Fred and George's eyes gleam with excitement!
"Let's go avenge one arrow, brothers!"
"Of course, we must make him realize our current strength!"
Fred and George clapped their hands in excitement, referring to the time when Professor Bane first entered Hogwarts and was publicly humiliated in the Great Hall.
"First of all, I have to tell you--"
Amorta continued to smile,
"The duel means that you might get injured or even die. In my spirit world, death is of course impossible, but to ensure the realism of the duel practice, I will give you a certain degree of feedback for the pain after being injured. So, you must try to be mentally prepared."
(This chapter is complete)
