Upon hearing Cedric's words, everyone felt a chill down their spine.
Oh no, could there be a Dark Wizard here?
"Could it be spiders?" Ron asked fearfully, as he was most afraid of big spiders.
He had long heard from his twin brothers that there were spiders in the Forbidden Forest. If it really were spiders...
"I don't know." Cedric's voice held a trace of tension as he told the young wizards behind him, "Draw your magic wands, what do you think?"
"Alright."
Everyone was glad Cedric spoke first, and they drew their magic wands, constantly scanning the surroundings.
"I always feel like someone is watching us," Hermione whispered. "Now that Harry isn't here, should we retreat first to prevent any mishaps?"
"I think that's a good idea..." Neville hastily responded.
However, just as they were about to back out, a hooded figure suddenly appeared in the Forbidden Forest.
In the moonlight, the figure's face was obscured by the hood, but it was clear that their intentions were not good.
Being the oldest among them, Cedric naturally stood in front.
Upon noticing the stranger, he immediately brandished his magic wand, aiming it at the hooded figure.
"Who are you?! What do you want!"
But the response was a swishing sound, followed by a sharp shout piercing the night sky.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Intense green light illuminated the forest, dazzling everyone so they couldn't open their eyes.
But they recognized the spell — it was an evil curse. They also heard something heavy falling beside Cedric.
When everyone finally regained their senses and opened their eyes, they found Cedric already lying on the ground.
"No! Cedric!"
Megan screamed, waving her magic wand at the hooded figure.
"Reducto!"
But it was useless. The hooded figure waved a magic wand, parrying her spell, and returned fire with another flash of green light.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Quick-eyed and swift, Ron pulled Megan aside, saving her from being hit by the spell.
"What do we do!" Megan asked, a bit flustered.
"Fight him!" Ron yelled angrily, casting a spell with a flick of his wrist.
"Expelliarmus!"
Just as he cast the spell, a familiar voice rang out beside him.
"Expelliarmus!"
They turned in surprise and saw that Cedric had somehow gotten back up and was already fighting back with his magic wand.
The hooded figure suddenly became serious, blocking all the spells, and then used a transformation spell to immobilize them one by one in place.
"Who are you, really!" Ron cursed. "You sneaky bastard—"
But unexpectedly, the figure suddenly burst out laughing.
He laughed so hard he was gasping, his hood slipping off his head.
It was Harry.
"Hahahahaha..."
Harry slapped his thigh, lowering them down one by one, laughing at the fluorescent green covering Cedric.
Only then did everyone notice Cedric's glowing green appearance and couldn't help but laugh aloud.
"Heavens, how did you do that?" Hermione, instead of being concerned about Cedric, asked curiously. "You chanted the Killing Curse, but it manifested as... a Coloring Spell?"
"That's a secret." Harry chuckled as he put away his magic wand and said to Hermione, "Unfortunately, you didn't meet my test requirements — so I won't be teaching you this spell."
"Why not?" Ron puffed up his cheeks and asked, "You're so powerful, how could we possibly beat you..."
"No, it's not about beating me." Harry waved a finger, "It's about your reactions — look, Cedric, in such an environment, upon seeing a hooded wizard appear before you, your first reaction was to question his identity with your magic wand? Did you really think he'd tell you — 'Oh, my dear Cedric, I'm just here to take your life'?"
Cedric was a bit embarrassed. He rubbed at the fluorescent green on him, but it wouldn't come off.
"And you all, just because Cedric acted foolishly, must you follow suit?" Harry chided, exasperated. "If I were you, at the very least, in such a situation, I would have used Stupefy on an unidentified person — and immediately followed it with Reducto, to prevent the threat from being too small..."
"Then how do you create the greatest threat?" Ron asked foolishly.
"Of course, with an inoffensive minor curse, my dear little Ronnie." Harry mimicked Hermione, rolling his eyes.
Ron opened his mouth, thinking it over and realizing it did make sense.
"These are insights I've gained through countless real-world experiences," Harry sighed. "In such an environment where you're unsure whether the other is friend or foe, the best approach is to greet them with a spell — if they're truly a friend, they wouldn't scare you like that."
"But you still scared us like that," Hermione retorted, her heart still pounding. For a moment, she really thought Cedric was dead.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, it was a simulation," Harry huffed. "If it were real combat, you all would be dead — but if you could all cast some spells on me together, you might still have had a chance to escape."
"I think Harry is right," Cedric said with a sunny smile at Harry after calming his breath, "Guys, think about it... this time Harry was demonstrating for us, but what if next time we really encounter a Dark Wizard? We wouldn't foolishly wait for him to be the first to cast the Killing Curse; we'd have the time to escape — or even defeat him."