Hermione was the first to raise her hand high.
"Very good, Hermione. You can find five people to be your teammates, and I'll give you some time to discuss strategy." Lupin nodded, speaking with appreciation.
"That show-off curly-haired girl," Pansy muttered under her breath.
"Professor Lupin, are we conducting the confrontation you mentioned in this classroom?" Hermione asked.
"Of course, effectively using the terrain is also a crucial point. You'll soon find out. I'll step out to avoid your discussion. When you're ready, I'll re-enter the classroom, and you can attack me from the moment I step inside," Lupin explained patiently.
"Okay, Professor Lupin." After saying this, Hermione immediately found the members she needed and whispered her plan to them.
"Harry, we're in luck today. I happened to bring your Invisibility Cloak to return it to you. I didn't expect it to come in handy now. Go to my desk, get it, put it on, and look for an opportunity to sneak attack."
"Ron, you can restrain Professor Lupin from the front."
"Seamus, think about how you created explosions during Potions class and other spell practices. Do the same thing later. You need to create as much chaos as possible and attract Professor Lupin's attention." Hermione said earnestly to a boy with light brown hair. He was one of Harry's roommates and could always create unexpected explosive effects, showing a real talent in this area.
After being entrusted with this important task, the boy scratched his nose a little bashfully, the tip of his nose slightly red.
"Neville, your target might be larger and easier to spot, so your task is the same as Ron's: help us attract attention."
Neville's round face looked very nervous, but he still nodded firmly.
Then came the last member, Dean Thomas, a tall, thin, dark-skinned boy. Hermione also assigned him some tasks.
Hermione finally finished assigning the tasks.
Ever since Peter Pettigrew's escape, Hermione had been repeatedly reflecting on herself. She was troubled by her lack of practical combat ability. Lupin, McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore might comfort her by mentioning her age, but the fact remained that she had been a hindrance during the battle. Even if she couldn't do better, she should be able to help them, or at least not be a burden.
After they exchanged glances, Ron yelled to Lupin outside, "Professor, we're ready!"
The closed wooden door creaked open, and dazzling spells burst from the tips of their wands almost instantly, shooting directly at Lupin.
However, they all missed, hitting the wooden door instead, creating a crackling, explosion-like sound. Sparks flew everywhere, and red flames darted and bounced on the floor and chandelier. In an instant, it seemed like the temperature of the entire classroom had risen a few degrees.
"You've grasped it very quickly," Lupin said, leaning back against the blackboard behind the lectern, looking relaxed and even having the leisure to praise his students.
He realized the moment he entered the door that these students had understood his previous hint and seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. But with preparation, these spells posed no threat to him. He didn't even use the Shield Charm, merely lowering his head, quickly arching his body along the wall, and then rolling across the ground, showing no teacherly restraint, to hide behind the lectern.
"Engorgio!" The wooden desk quickly swelled and bulged, like a sponge soaked in water. The spells fired by the students naturally changed direction following Lupin's movements, now all swarming towards the enlarged wooden desk, making dull "thudding" sounds. The powerful impact caused the desk to move incessantly.
"Very good, I'm going to start counterattacking," Lupin proactively "reminded" them.
The students' faces showed wary expressions, their minds highly focused. Since Lupin was about to counterattack, he would inevitably reveal an opening. The students had the advantage in numbers and could sacrifice and trade. Once Lupin exposed himself, they could seize the opportunity to deliver a decisive blow.
"Stop!" Hermione suddenly shouted, noticing something was wrong. The desk was deforming, but it was too late.
The old wooden desk began to gradually lose its wooden texture, and a circle of bronze-colored patterns crawled around it, then spread from the outside in like a spider web. But at this point, the central part was no longer a metal structure, but a smooth, flawless square mirror.
Ron's Petrificus Totalus spell shot diagonally at the mirror, and then he discovered that the light, after being refracted by the mirror surface, shot straight at Seamus. Caught off guard, he was hit directly, stiffening on the spot, and then falling straight to the ground like a puppet.
The remaining spells hit the mirror surface, making crisp sounds.
"Some spells can be reflected by certain special mediums. The Petrificus Totalus is one example. Do you remember?" Lupin still seemed to be handling the situation with ease, continuing to speak, though only his voice could be heard, as he remained well-hidden behind the desk.
Now one member of the student's camp had lost their combat ability.
"Reducto!" Hermione reacted immediately, raising her wand and aiming it at the front, this time targeting the square mirror.
"See, Pansy," Malfoy whispered to Pansy at this moment, "This is one usage of the exception to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration that you asked about this morning. When an object is transfigured, its original quantity cannot be changed. At this time, if you use a spell with a splitting effect on it, you can often quickly return it to its original state."
Just as Malfoy said, the mirror quickly returned to its original desk form, and even the Engorgement Charm's effect disappeared, no longer obscuring Lupin's body.
Hermione couldn't believe that her attack had been so effective. She soon understood the reason: Lupin had begun to attack proactively and no longer needed to expend magic to maintain his cover. Otherwise, even with the law's effect, the spell wouldn't have collapsed so quickly, after all, Lupin was still fighting them as an adult wizard.
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