It felt like a nightmare that would never end. In the mist-laden, abandoned wasteland town, the sinister laughter of Voldemort and the Death Eaters echoed everywhere, along with flashes of terrifying green light. The few remaining crumbling walls became the only barriers Hermione and Hannah could rely on and maneuver around.

As the Dark Mark rose higher in the sky, the air suddenly filled with the rustling of cloaks.

Behind the broken brick walls, between the deserted flagstone paths, and on top of the abandoned rubble piles, every time Hermione and Hannah knocked down a Death Eater, one or two wizards would apparate out of nowhere. They were all hooded, masked, grinning hideously, and screaming like devils from hell.

Luna Lovegood's good luck seemed to have been completely used up in class.

Not long after the battle began, Hermione saw a green light streak through the air, aimed at them from behind. Luna screamed and fell like Elina, lying pathetically motionless on the ground like a doll.

Hermione didn't turn back to look at Luna and Elina again, but continued to fire spells frantically with her wand.

She refused to believe that the two living girls who had been joking and laughing with them just minutes ago had died in such an absurd way in this unknown land.

"Hermione, this isn't going to work. We have to find a way to take down Voldemort!"

Hannah Abbott gasped for breath, picking up a piece of rubble beside her and throwing it forward with all her might, once again successfully knocking down a masked, hooded wizard who was trying to approach this area, but there was no joy on the girl's face.

As time went on, her physical strength was also approaching its limit.

Although the power of the magical runes hadn't disappeared yet, Hannah could clearly feel her reaction and speed were rapidly declining, and it was probably only a matter of time before she was hit by more and more Death Eaters using spells around her.

"It's impossible. Peter Pettigrew is always guarding Voldemort's side. My spells can't hit him at all."

Hermione shook her head, quickly stood up, and pointed her wand outwards. The enhanced blasting curse easily overturned two or three masked Death Eaters who were preparing to outflank from the right, and incidentally blew up a dirt wall that was blocking her spell path.

Compared to the confrontations in class, these adult wizards were clearly much more disorganized.

There was neither layered spell suppression attacks, nor staggered assault cover formations. Apart from the spells being more powerful, most of them were rushing over in a chaotic mess, and a single powerful blast could knock them down.

However, there were simply too many of them, and their stamina and magic couldn't last long.

And the legendary Voldemort and the vicious Peter Pettigrew were not as difficult to deal with as the girls had imagined. As long as they calmed down and used the techniques from the Defence Against the Dark Arts class to evade and suppress with magic, just she and Hannah were able to withstand the siege of dozens of Death Eaters, and even defeated several times more enemies than them.

Hermione hadn't wondered if this was still part of the level assessment, but the heat of the spells streaking across her cheeks, as well as the pain of the splashing sparks and gravel hitting her body, all told her that this was real.

"I remember, Elina once said that Death Eaters who are gathered together by fear are actually just a heap of loose sand. As long as Voldemort can be defeated, most of the Death Eaters will scatter and flee, and will not choose to continue serving Voldemort."

Hannah Abbott took a deep breath, a look of determination appearing on her face.

"Entering Hogwarts Castle and meeting you, Elina, and Luna has been the happiest time of my life these past few years. If they really scatter, you must find a way to bring us all back to Hogwarts... It's so cold here."

As she spoke, Hannah Abbott bent down and forcefully lifted a huge stone wall to block in front of her.

Reluctantly glancing at Hermione, Elina, and Luna, who were lying on the ground, Hannah's eyes gradually filled with bloodshot veins. The enhanced magical runes that could only release three layers originally finally broke through the limitation at this moment and reached five layers.

Hannah roared, waving the huge stone wall like a shield, constantly knocking away the spells flying from all directions, and rushing fiercely towards Peter Pettigrew and Voldemort, who were still standing in place not far away.

"Hey! You bastards, look at me!"

"No—stop! Stop! Hannah! What are you trying to do?!"

Hermione let out a shrill cry, feeling the green light whizzing past her, the Death Eaters surrounding them began to move, shifting towards Hannah's back, and Peter Pettigrew's energy and line of sight were also blocked by most of the stone wall waved by Hannah Abbott.

"Keep up! Hermione! I'll hold the front and absorb all the damage! Just like we did in class before!"

Hannah roared, her petite body casting a huge shadow under the light of the spells. The huge stone wall rotated and struck in her hands like a toy, effortlessly knocking away the masked Death Eaters blocking the path.

As if they hadn't expected the two little witches, who had been forced into a desperate situation, to be able to erupt with such combat power, a crack finally appeared in the originally tight encirclement. The two crossed the sky full of spells, as well as the flying magic sparks, and finally approached Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew.

"Hmph, laughable fledglings..."

A sneer appeared on Peter Pettigrew's face, and he casually raised his wand to aim at Hermione.

On the other side, the snake-like faced Voldemort also grinned and raised his wand. A green light quickly lit up at the tip of his wand, the same terrifying killing curse that had taken the lives of Luna and Elina.

"Now's the time! Hermione! Take them down!"

Hannah roared, throwing the stone wall in her hand fiercely at the stunned Peter Pettigrew, turning her body around and actively meeting the light emitted from the front end of Voldemort's wand with her chest, her eyes filled with fear, nostalgia, and unparalleled anger.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Two green lights hit Hannah's body one after another. The girl fell to the ground powerlessly like a broken-winged bird, making a dull thud, while Hannah's stone wall also engulfed Peter Pettigrew, making a loud noise.

"Hannah!"

Hermione let out a shrill wail, fearlessly staring straight at the Dark Lord in front of her who was turning his wand. His big eyes were red, and his nose was as flat as a snake, leaving only two thin slits, just like the two-hole socket in her house.

Before Voldemort could release the spell again, Hermione's wand emitted a dazzling red beam.

"explosionmaximum!"

Boom!

The spell instantly devoured Voldemort, and a strong airwave exploded violently.

Endless heat and light enveloped Hermione's vision. Voldemort, Peter Pettigrew, and even the masked people around her and Elina who was lying on the ground, gradually disappeared in the roar of magic, turning into wisps of colorless smoke.

Poof.

As if piercing a soap bubble under the sun, the surroundings gradually became brighter.

The wet and cold water vapor quickly dissipated, and the fog that blocked the view also disappeared. Hogwarts Castle's unique magic torches and blue-gray walls reappeared in Hermione's vision. The devastated wasteland town seemed to have been suddenly moved from the seashore thousands of miles away to Hogwarts Castle by magic.

And beside her, Hannah was lying quietly on the ground, lightly smacking her lips, sleeping very sweetly.

Further away, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape, Professor Sprout, Professor Apocalypses... even Albus Dumbledore and a group of school staff members were standing there.

Most of the faculty members had shock and contemplation written on their faces. They were now whispering to each other, while looking at Hermione, Hannah who was lying on the floor, and the surrounding severely damaged environment with rather complicated eyes.

In the air in front of the professors, a layer of pale golden light was floating, isolating them from the venue.

"This, this is..."

Having just released all her magic power, Hermione staggered a little weakly, and asked in a hoarse voice.

Just then, a series of applause and a familiar voice came to her ears.

"Congratulations! You have successfully passed the sixth level assessment!"

"No, to be precise, you have passed the magical illusion combat that first-year, second-year... and even fifth-year students will experience, and you have perfectly cleared it by defeating the final level boss even with one person down."

"...Oh."

Hermione silently raised her head, looking at the unharmed white-haired ball in front of her without any expression.

"So, before... it was all a test?"

Elina smiled sheepishly and shrank back. She felt that Hermione's gaze was as terrifying as if it wanted to eat her.

The seriously guilty half-Veela glanced around at the professors standing behind her, looking at her with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, and felt that her courage had recovered a little, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Yes," she said calmly, "in fact, when you mustered up the courage to attack the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord, the content of the first-year assessment had already been achieved, but the professors also wanted to see where your limits were."

"Do you know - I thought you were dead just now -"

"Um, if you could think calmly, you would have found that I actually gave a hint before."

Elina coughed lightly, shifting her gaze guiltily away from Hermione's face, "In this assessment, all the creatures you see, except for each other, are untrustworthy... What you see may not be true, what you hear may not be true... Besides, there are actually many flaws in the whole battle..."

"And you cruelly 'killed' Luna right from the start!"

"No, no, no, Luna was an accident. She discovered in advance that the whole scene was composed of illusions. Even if she didn't see anything, you know she always has an unreasonable sixth sense. Therefore, in order to allow the assessment to continue, I had to control her and arrange for her to temporarily exit in such a form."

"Then, was it also an accident that you took the initiative to meet the Killing Curse to fake your death?"

"This, this is a cutscene," Elina blinked her eyes, explaining with a serious face.

"The purpose of doing this is also to restore the truth as much as possible, so that you can stimulate your own potential, and it will also be easier to help you overcome fear - this is not aimed at you, I swear! In fact, no matter who it is, the beginning of this level will not change. The only difference is the subsequent Death Eater combat power and the number of people. Besides..."

Elina thought for a while, turned around and pointed to Professor Otto Apocalypses, and said without hesitation.

"Most of these assessment contents are also arranged by Professor Apocalypses, I just performed according to the script. You also know that the professor has always believed that the core of Defence Against the Dark Arts is to learn how to resist and defend against the infringement of dark wizards."

"So, this level is the content of the Defence Against the Dark Arts assessment?"

Hermione raised her head and glanced at the professors around her, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress the anger and grievance in her heart.

"Of course it is, I'm just a student like you, how could I decide the level content."

Elina nodded seriously, the expression on her face gradually relaxing.

"Because of your wonderful performance in this level, the professors unanimously decided to exempt the content of the seventh level, and directly regard it as your perfect clearance of [Dark Art Defense Test]. The rewards will also be distributed in front of the whole school tomorrow morning."

Glancing at Hermione, who was doubtful, Elina took out her wand and skillfully tapped on Hannah.

Hannah, who was still sleeping, twitched her eyelids and quickly woke up again.

Then, Elina repeated what she had told Hermione before. Compared to Hermione Granger, who was more suspicious, Hannah Tiehanhan was a little unhappy, but for the sake of so many professors, she quickly accepted this ending, sulked with her mouth closed, and stayed in place alone.

"Okay, it's getting late, you go back to the dormitory first. I still have to clean up the venue."

Looking at Hermione and Hannah who had almost accepted reality, Elina smiled slightly and pointed to the other end of the room.

It was not until this time that Hermione discovered that an outward passage had already been opened there. If she was not mistaken, walking out from here should directly arrive at the exit of the fourth-floor corridor, which was also the place where they entered the dungeon.

"White-haired ball, you wait for me, this matter is not over..."

Hermione approached Elina and said in a low voice, preparing to turn around and leave the room.

Suddenly, the girl stopped, her gaze lingering on the professors in the room who were still talking softly or looking at them with smiles. Some of the words Elina had said before flashed through her mind quickly.

Hermione suddenly turned around, looking at Elina in front of her, her gaze resting on the silver-white little dumb hair on the girl's head that was shaking back and forth proudly, and asked meaningfully in a low voice.

"Wait! I have another question, Elina, where is Luna?"

"Luna has already left early, she should be in the dormitory now."

Elina replied calmly, blinking her eyes in confusion, "What's wrong, is there any problem?"

Sure enough...

This white-haired ball is lying...

Hermione slowly raised her wand, firmly raising it in the direction of Elina.

"The assessment is not over at all! This is an illusion! Where is Luna?!"

"...It's strange, I shouldn't have revealed any flaws."

Facing Hermione's wand, Elina smiled helplessly after a moment of silence.

Then, the girl unhurriedly raised her right hand and snapped her fingers.

A golden flame instantly spread out from under the girl's feet, and the images of the originally gentle professors silently shattered into twinkling starlight. The decoration of the entire room disappeared in a few seconds.

And Elina's figure also disappeared from Hermione's sight, appearing on a bronze throne not far away.

At her feet, a three-headed little milk dog was lying on the steps, looking at Hermione and Hannah with sleepy eyes.

Luna Lovegood also reappeared in Hermione's sight. At this time, the girl's lips were sealed with magic, and she was sitting less than a meter away from them, in the position where Professor Dumbledore was originally standing.

"Okay, the final level, I think you should have guessed it."

Elina took out a delicate hourglass from her arms, gently turned it upside down, and placed it on the armrest of the throne.

"Survive ten minutes in my hands, or defeat me... then, I will let you dispose of me - otherwise, your memories of the sixth and seventh levels will be erased, the oblivion potion can just right only erase the memories of the past half hour."