Realizing the Acromantula was about to pounce, Tver pretended not to notice and let the students retreat step by step.
Then—
"Ahhh!"
The moment the Acromantula leapt, the girl in the front row squeezed her eyes shut and released a scream loud enough to shake the castle.
It took a long moment before she felt her friend nudging her shoulder.
Whatever they were saying didn't register; her ears weren't taking anything in.
She slowly opened her eyes to see the Acromantula suspended in midair, fangs bared and legs thrashing. But that was all—it wasn't moving any closer.
"Hmm? Weren't you saying you could crush it with one foot? And Seamus, weren't you the one complaining it was too small?"
Tver held his wand aloft, guiding the spider back toward him.
Seamus let out a nervous laugh and waved both hands quickly. If classmates weren't packed behind him, he'd have backed straight into the wall.
"So, never underestimate any magical creature—even if it looks tiny at first. Don't forget, we live in a world where magic changes everything."
After reminding them, Tver froze the Acromantula in place.
"Come on, get closer. Take a good, careful look. Otherwise you won't know how to deal with it in a moment."
!!!
The students' eyes flew wide, too stunned to speak.
They'd been so terrified they'd almost forgotten this Acromantula was for their combat practice.
Looking at those razor-sharp fangs, it became painfully clear: they wouldn't be stomping the spider—it would be chewing on them for an afternoon snack.
Terrified but unable to refuse, they edged closer and studied it piece by piece under Tver's guidance.
"Female Acromantula are larger than males, but both are dangerous. Size isn't what makes them lethal—the fangs are."
"Their venom causes paralysis. It won't kill you outright, but being unable to move in front of an Acromantula is practically the same as death."
Tver pointed at its fangs with his wand.
"So later, your main priority is to keep it from getting close—and above all, don't let it bite you."
"..."
The students had nothing to say.
As if they could control that!
Why not just not release the spider at all?!
Seeing their faces, Tver finally chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm going to teach you a spell designed specifically for spiders. If you cast it together, even this one won't be able to hurt you."
Only then did they start to relax.
"Alright, wands up with me. The hand movement isn't important, but the incantation is—"
"Arania Exumai."
"Arania Exumai!" about forty voices
They repeated it in a chaotic jumble, some students accidentally firing blue sparks and setting off a small wave of panic.
Still, Tver nodded, satisfied.
"Very good. Now we—"
"Professor… I don't think this is a good idea…"
Harry swallowed hard. He could tell half the class hadn't said the spell correctly.
"You're only teaching it once?!" Ron rasped beside him.
"Don't worry," Tver said with a laugh as he lifted the spell restraining the spider. "This one is made for fighting spiders. It's actually very simple."
"Relax—"
The students scrambled backward in fear.
"Raise your wands—"
They struggled to lift them in the packed crowd.
"And cast!"
The Acromantula's vacant stare sharpened at once. All eight eyes gleamed with excitement as they locked onto the young wizards—especially Harry and Ron.
"Arania Exumay!"
"Aralia Exumai!"
"Arina Exumai!"
Ron waved his wand in pure panic. Not even a spark came out, let alone a proper spell.
Hard to tell whether mispronouncing it was a blessing or a disaster…
Harry, meanwhile, had handled plenty of Acromantula before. This one was bigger, sure, but it was only one.
"Arania Exumai!"
A sharp burst of blue light hit the spider's soft belly, knocking the charging Acromantula backward in an instant.
Harry flashed Ron a wide, triumphant grin, and Ron finally exhaled in relief.
"Watch out!"
As her classmates gasped, Hermione quickly fired off another spell, forcing the spider back again.
"Can you two please focus? The spider is still here!" She shot the pair an exasperated glare.
Tver added smoothly, "That's the drawback of this spell. It's easy to learn and handy to use, but it doesn't pack much power."
"So when you're casting it, pay attention. Watch how the spider moves. Don't relax just because you pushed it back once."
Encouraged, the students realized the Acromantula really wasn't that difficult to deal with.
Honestly, there were forty students here. They didn't even need the Blinding Light Charm. Just Lumos alone could probably blind the thing.
Besides, it wasn't like Tver actually meant to kill his own students. If he did, even a few hundred years wouldn't be enough time to serve in Azkaban.
Once the students settled down, they practiced under his protection until they finally mastered the Spider-Banishing Char.
The spell really wasn't that hard. Compared to the Blinding Light Charm, it was practically effortless.
Unfortunately for the spider, that only meant things were about to get worse for it.
Under Tver's instructions, the students formed a loose circle, several young wizards in each direction firing spells at it.
Every step the spider managed to take forward sent it skidding back several paces.
Even Ron, flushed with excitement, cast the first—and only—fully correct spell his wand had ever produced.
By the end, the massive Acromantula was bouncing around like a ball, blasted into the air again and again by the young wizards.
Its eight eyes were filled with utter hopelessness as it sailed back and forth through the air…
It hadn't touched the ground for ten whole minutes.
For the first time, the fairly intelligent creature realized how useless its tough carapace really was.
It could block damage, sure, but it couldn't do anything about being knocked flying.
The students kept at it gleefully all the way until class ended, when Tver finally rescued the poor Acromantula.
Yes—rescued.
Back in its cage, the spider was unbelievably well-behaved. Not only did it skip the usual threatening clicks, its long legs barely twitched at all.
Was it dead? Tver poked it worriedly. He still needed this spider for several more classes.
"Alright then, looks like you all enjoyed yourselves today?" Once he confirmed the spider was merely depressed, Tver smiled at the group.
"We did!"
"This spell is amazing! I didn't even blow anything up this time!"
"Spiders? I've never been afraid of them!" Ron puffed out his chest proudly.
"Good. Now, remember our deal? There's a workbook on the front desk. Everyone go up and grab one to take home. One unit per week."
Lockhart might have left the castle, but the assignments he created definitely hadn't.
And with no one to share half the teaching load anymore, Tver certainly needed a way to drain some of the students' energy.
He watched, satisfied, as the students—faces fallen—picked up the thick workbooks in a daze.
Judging by the size of them, they might not even finish before summer break.
...
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