When the giant Acromantula was struggling.
"Very precise!" Adrian applauded enthusiastically. "Your posture is excellent, but you should adjust the angle of your wand a little. Two points to Gryffindor for this courage!"
"Not so precise..."
"Not courage at all..."
Harry heard the whispers from students behind him.
Of course, although the process wasn't very elegant, applause still erupted in the classroom.
Hearing the commotion, Ron opened his eyes in disbelief. His breathing became a bit steadier, and his wand wasn't shaking as violently anymore. "I did it!" he shouted to Hermione beside him.
Next, students began taking turns casting spells at the poor giant spider.
When it was Hermione's turn, she wore an expression of reluctance.
Hermione bit her lip, hesitating to raise her wand. "Professor, isn't this a bit cruel to it?"
"Cruel?" Ron widened his eyes behind her. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
In fact, not just Hermione, other students felt the same way.
"Let me explain," Adrian clapped his hands, gesturing for everyone to look over. "The giant Acromantula is a naturally vicious magical creature. It may look small now, not even as big as my head, but these little fellows can grow to the size of a car in just a few months, and..."
Adrian paused, his gaze sweeping across the class, and said seriously, "On their menu, humans are listed as one of their preferred foods—or rather, humans are their favorite food. In history, many wizards have perished in their mouths."
The classroom immediately fell into dead silence.
As if to confirm Adrian's words, the small spider suddenly opened its pincers and made an unpleasant scraping sound against the barrier around it.
Hermione took a deep breath, raised her wand, and hesitated no more.
"Locomotor Mortis!"
Her spell hit with precision, and the spider's legs immediately stiffened.
"Excellent." Adrian nodded with satisfaction. "Two points to Gryffindor."
With the sound of "Locomotor Mortis" being cast, Adrian's first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson finally came to an end.
Although the Leg-Locker Curse was a very minor jinx, it was still somewhat challenging for first-year students.
Besides Harry and Hermione, only a few students could actually use it properly. Ah, Ron might count as half.
Adrian awarded two points to each successful student.
After class, the three of them walked along the corridor.
Ron excitedly waved his wand, nearly hitting a passing portrait. "Did you see my spell just now? I even earned two points for Gryffindor! That spell was absolutely brilliant!"
Hermione frowned as she dodged Ron's wild wand movements. "That was pure luck. A proper spell requires precise control. I bet you couldn't cast a second Leg-Locker Curse right now."
"Of course, I can!" Ron said confidently. "I can demonstrate it to you again. Harry, please stand still there."
Harry quickly jumped a step to the side. "Don't even think about it! I don't want to be your practice target!"
He was certain that if Ron's spell landed on him, he'd be spending some time with Madam Pomfrey.
Ron pouted and turned his wand toward a suit of armor at the edge of the corridor instead. "Then let it be the—"
"Stop!" Hermione interrupted Ron, saying, "Magic is forbidden in the corridors!"
"Come on, you sound just like Professor McGonagall."
Ron shrugged, then pointed his wand at the nearby suit of armor and confidently recited the spell.
"Locomotor Fixus!"
Harry was certain Ron had mispronounced the spell.
And what happened next confirmed Harry's guess.
A crooked red light shot from Ron's wand, suddenly splitting into several irregular beams in mid-air.
One hit the armor's helmet with a loud "BANG!"
"Oh, my goodness!"
Hermione screamed and dived to the floor as the armor's left hand was blasted off, flying past her hair and hitting the wall behind her.
Looking at the scattered armor pieces on the ground, Ron also realized he had made a mistake.
"I... I didn't mean to..." Ron stammered, his face was as white as paper.
Hermione got up from the floor and said angrily, "You should say that to the professors!"
However, worse was yet to come. The explosion had attracted Filch and his cat.
"Who is it?!" Filch's familiar voice came from around the corner. "What happened?!"
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance and immediately chose the most correct option under the circumstances—run!
Harry grabbed the still-dazed Ron. "Quick, move!"
The three of them darted into a side passage like startled rabbits, with Ron's robe nearly tripping Harry.
"This way!"
After climbing several flights of stairs, Harry lowered his voice and pulled the other two into a room.
Hermione pressed against the door, listening carefully until Filch's muttering and cursing gradually faded away.
She breathed a long sigh of relief, turned around, and found Harry and Ron slumped on the floor, their faces still showing traces of alarm.
The three looked at each other for a few seconds, and suddenly, Harry burst out laughing with a "pfft."
Then, Ron and Hermione joined in the laughter.
"A familiar scene," Harry said. "I hope there's no three-headed dog behind us this time."
The three looked around at their surroundings. It appeared to be an empty classroom. Apart from a huge object covered with a white cloth in the center, there was nothing else.
Ron rubbed his nose and looked up at the draped enormous object.
"What's that?" Ron stood up, dusted off his robes, and curiously walked toward it.
"Don't touch it!" Hermione warned in a lowered voice. "You've already caused enough trouble! What if it's something dangerous..."
However, before Hermione could finish, Ron had already pulled the white cloth off the object.
"That's..." Harry murmured.
They saw a huge, magnificent mirror standing in front of their eyes.
Ron looked strangely at the mirror, then turned to Harry and Hermione. "A mirror? Who would put such a mirror here?"
"A mirror, that's perfect. I think my hair is a bit messy."
Hermione quickly walked toward the mirror while hastily combing her tangled curls with her fingers after their frantic run.
"She actually cares about that..." Ron nudged Harry with his elbow, whispering.
The tips of Hermione's ears turned slightly red, clearly having heard Ron's comment.
She turned and gave Ron a big eye roll. "Some people should mind their own robes first!"
Ron looked down and realized that half of his robe had somehow gotten tucked into his belt, flipped out like an old-fashioned apron.
He hurriedly tried to fix it, but only made it messier.
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