“Don't worry, she's not dead yet."
In the air beside Hermione, Aileen's voice suddenly appeared.
"But if you don't stop, a few more hits and she probably will be…"
Immediately afterward, her figure appeared beside Hermione.
Aileen looked helplessly at the convulsing troll on the ground, the corner of her eye twitching slightly. She said leisurely, with a rare hint of melancholy in her tone. This was an elite troll she had painstakingly asked Grindelwald to capture. She didn't expect that it would be beaten into such a state by Hermione and the others on its first time as a level boss.
Squatting down, Aileen frowned and carefully examined the unfortunate troll.
After confirming that it could still be saved, she snapped her fingers, summoning the house-elves who were secretly observing nearby.
"Send it to Professor Apocalis and see if it can be saved. If not, ask the professor to find a more durable one, and give this one to Professor Snape to deal with. If I remember correctly, some rare potion recipes require troll brains and spinal cord powder."
Watching the house-elves drag the troll's massive body away, Aileen turned to look at Hermione.
Although the girl's face was no longer as pale as before, there was still a lingering panic and the unique exhaustion and powerlessness that came after hysteria.
"Hermione, your mental fortitude is indeed weak. This is completely below your usual standard."
Aileen said calmly, while releasing magic to heal the bloodstains on Hannah's hand where she had been scratched by wooden splinters.
"Even with the last bit of chaotic bombardment, you didn't even reach one-third of your potential. As the one with the most magic and knowledge among the three of you, I originally expected you to have a smarter approach…"
At the same time, Aileen nonchalantly pinched Hannah's palm, causing the little witch to cry out involuntarily.
"Ah, that hurts, that hurts!"
Hannah looked at the white-haired ball in front of her with tears in her eyes, softly reminding her.
"Aileen, you pressed on my wound…"
"Oh, I did it on purpose! You know it hurts now? When you rushed in front of Hermione to block the troll's club, didn't you think it would hurt? Since you had time to rush to Hermione, why couldn't you learn from Luna and just pull Hermione away?"
Aileen rolled her eyes at Hannah, who was still a little unconvinced, and continued, annoyed.
"What? Do you think you deserve to be praised?! You're a witch! Not a female troll!"
"But you were right there, and you yourself…"
Hannah Abbott mumbled, glancing at the soft white light in Aileen's hand, the meaning self-evident.
"Me? I wouldn't subdue a troll in this way!"
Aileen frowned, her face serious as she scolded, "You two, one was dumbfounded in place, and the other impulsively went to fight the troll in melee combat, even less calm than Luna, who's not even eleven yet!"
"Th-that, actually I just felt that the troll seemed to be bluffing…"
Hearing Aileen mention her, Luna Lovegood, standing on the side, waved her hand a little embarrassed.
"I don't know why, but I always felt that this troll was a little unhappy, as if it had just fought with another troll not long ago. Its nose looked more swollen than normal, and its clothes were a little tattered…"
"Ahem, okay, Luna, you don't need to say your reason. Anyway, you performed better than them two!"
Aileen coughed lightly, quickly interrupting Luna's words.
Trolls are magical creatures with some intelligence.
Some smart trolls can understand, and even say a few simple human words. Therefore, wizards occasionally train some strong trolls to act as guards, and the training method is very simple: beat them until they obey.
As the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore would not allow an untrained troll to enter the castle.
Not to mention, it would directly engage in unrestricted combat with underage students. In that case, the uncontrollability would be too high. Even with Aileen's assurance, it would be difficult for him to feel completely at ease.
However, during this time, under the repeated training of Aileen, Grindelwald, and Flavour, this wild troll had almost reached the most basic stage of domestication, which is to say it didn't dare to attack humans to the death.
According to Aileen's original idea, this wild troll was originally intended for the young wizards to practice on in turn.
Anyway, it was thick-skinned, had good magic resistance, and should be relatively durable. Who knew… Aileen subconsciously glanced at Hannah, who was still grinning foolishly while holding a giant club almost as tall as her, and sighed with exhaustion.
Who knew there would be such a blockhead, daring to directly swing a club and hammer a troll!
Moreover, Hermione's imitation of her "Crimson Demon Clan magic" in the critical moment had an effect that exceeded her expectations. Repeatedly hit directly by magic, even a troll with amazing magic resistance was now covered in cuts and bruises, miserable beyond compare.
Most importantly, due to being caught off guard by the spell, and being constantly hit on the head with a big stick by Hannah, this big guy, who had finally learned to pronounce "surrender" and "you win," didn't even have a chance to beg for mercy before passing out cleanly. If it weren't for its tough skin, another animal might have been beaten to death by now.
"Okay, okay, I promise not to do this next time. So, for this level…"
Hannah Abbott smiled, waving her hand casually, looking expectantly at the white-haired ball in front of her.
Next time? Promise?!
Oh no, it seems like I've played out these scenes myself before...
"Of course, it's a full score, the level guardian is almost beaten to death by you."
Aileen glanced at the increasingly mischievous blockhead, sighing with exhaustion.
As Aileen announced the successful completion of the level, the three little witches suddenly burst into vitality, excitedly giving each other high fives, instantly throwing the previous scolding and difficulties to the back of their minds, chirping and celebrating.
"Yeah! We finally exceeded Ron's progress!"
"Let's go all out! Beat through the level!"
"There's no information for the later levels, so we still need to be more careful."
…
After resting for a while, the assessment continued.
Standing in front of the door to the next level, Aileen was introducing the level.
Since this was the first time the little wizards had cleared to this point, no one would choose to skip the cutscene and directly start the subsequent levels. Whether or not they could clear the level, the information Aileen revealed in her words was particularly important.
"Illusion and reality are often only a thought away. The truth you see may not be the truth, the lies you hear may not be lies, and your imagination is also full of flaws. History overlaps and repeats at this moment…"
"In the face of unknown challenges, you have nothing to rely on except each other…"
"However, don't be nervous, there's nothing to be afraid of anymore. This time, you won't face the test alone. I will enter the next level with you, participating in the subsequent levels as your companion…"
"Come on, victory is right in front of us! Let's go all out and find the mysterious magic that can display all our wishes before our eyes. Always remember one thing: all the creatures that appear in the level are your enemies!"
"Ding! Aileen Kaslana has joined your team."
With a crisp system notification sound, Aileen walked to Hermione and skillfully took the girl's hand.
"Let's go! Let's set off!"
…………
Darkness, a darkness that devours everything.
As the four entered the room, the whole world seemed to instantly lose its light. Accompanied by a strange dizziness, once Hermione and the others' vision gradually adjusted to the surroundings, they realized that everything around them had become strange.
The door that should have been behind them had disappeared, replaced by the edge of a cliff with nothing on it.
In the distance, the sound of waves could be faintly heard. Hermione Granger turned her head in shock, discovering that they had arrived at an unknown place far from the castle. It was bare all around, with nothing but the sea below the cliff. There wasn't a tree, no grass, and no beach. In front of them was a dilapidated village that seemed to have been abandoned for a long time.
"Wh-where is this? Is this also part of the assessment?"
Hermione looked around in confusion and doubt.
Unknowingly, a thick fog enveloped them. Apart from the shadows of the abandoned village a few meters away, nothing could be seen. The damp, cold air and the unique smell of the sea told her that this should be somewhere by the sea.
"Draw your wands! Something's wrong! This isn't the sixth level!"
Aileen shook her head, a rare look of solemnity on her face.
Hermione's pupils shrank slightly, and she quickly drew her wand, looking around vigilantly.
"It's not part of the level?! Then where is this?"
"I don't recognize this place, but it's completely different from the sixth level I know… There's no doubt that this isn't Hogwarts. I guess we might have triggered some kind of magical trap and arrived somewhere outside the school."
The four little witches huddled together, raising their wands to look at the unfamiliar environment, everyone extremely nervous.
Luna Lovegood frowned and looked at the cliff behind them several times. She had a very strange feeling, as if many people were watching them closely, and yet all of this revealed a bit of absurdity.
"Um, I think…"
However, before Luna could finish speaking.
"Wait! Don't talk first, it seems like someone's coming!"
Aileen raised her hand to signal Luna to be quiet, took a deep breath, and pointed her wand at the town ahead.
Caught off guard by being in such an unfamiliar environment, coupled with Aileen's unprecedented nervousness, all the little witches subconsciously held their breath, feeling that the wands in their hands seemed to be covered in sweat.
Silently, the girls squinted their eyes nervously, trying to look at the front shrouded in fog.
In the darkness, two figures flickered in the ruined wasteland town. They were of different heights, each wearing a hooded cloak, covering their faces, exuding a creepy, mysterious aura.
Without a doubt, the people coming were also wizards, because they saw that the other party was also holding illuminated wands.
As the footsteps got closer, the distance between these strangers and the girls continued to shrink.
Hermione's wand was aimed at the shadows in front of her, and she turned to look at Aileen, asking in a low voice.
"Could they be the proctors for this round? What should we do now?"
"This isn't a test! And I have a very bad feeling."
Aileen shook her head nervously, looking at the shadows in front of her as if facing a great enemy, and took a deep breath.
"In short, I'll go ask where this is first, you guys watch my back…"
Saying this, Aileen let go of Hermione's hand and slowly walked towards the three figures in front of her.
Seeming to notice the movement here, the two figures stopped at the same time, standing next to a half-destroyed stone wall, looking at the short figure walking towards them, seeming to be talking in a low voice.
Hermione and the others held their breath, hearing Aileen's slightly trembling voice.
"Hello, we're students from Hogwarts, can I ask where…"
Then, without any warning, a voice suddenly cut through the silence, a voice carrying a hint of cruelty and coldness that Hermione had never heard before, like a scythe taken from an ice cave, coldly ringing in everyone's ears.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A dazzling green light pierced everyone's eyelids, as if some invisible giant object had flown through the air. Hermione and the others heard something fall heavily in front of them. The girls fearfully slowly opened their stinging eyes.
Aileen lay on the ground, her limbs outstretched, she was dead.
In an endless second, Hermione, Luna, and Hannah stared blankly at Aileen's face, at the girl's expressionless blue eyes, like the windows of an abandoned house, her mouth half open, looking particularly surprised.
Just then, the fog surrounding them seemed to dissipate a little.
In the sky, a huge green skull floated quietly, a large snake emerged from the skull's mouth, like a tongue, flickering with uneasy green stars in the green mist.
Luna and Hannah's faces turned ashen instantly, their expressions extremely fearful.
The Dark Mark, this was the terrifying symbol that Voldemort and the Death Eaters would release after every kill.
Before the two could recover, the two mysterious men in black had already passed Aileen's body, raising their wands and slowly walking towards them, as if playing with a cat and mouse.
As the distance got closer, the face of the tall, thin man who had killed Aileen appeared in front of the three little witches.
The mysterious man's face was paler than a skull, his large eyes were red, his nose was flat like a snake's nose, his nostrils were two slits, without hair or eyebrows, looking like a cold mask.
Next to the mysterious wizard was a short wizard, with sparse, dull hair in a mess, his skin dirty, no better than a troll, his pointed nose and watery beady eyes still carrying some of the characteristics of a rat.
The moment they saw the short wizard, the three little witches' breathing became several times more rapid.
Peter Pettigrew, that vicious and extremely dangerous Death Eater, had reappeared!
Before the three could figure out why he was here, the terrifying Death Eater had already turned around, respectfully speaking in a very humble voice to the tall, thin wizard beside him.
"Master, your body is still very weak. These are just three students who haven't graduated yet, let me handle them!"
Master, Master?! Could it be that this person is…
Without continuing the conversation, Peter Pettigrew had already turned around again, slowly raising his wand towards the three little witches who were almost retreating to the edge of the cliff, a cruel and sinister grin appearing on his face.
"Don't worry, little darlings, you will soon be like your classmate, killed in this deserted and quiet corner without any resistance by the great Dark Lord and his most loyal Death Eater. Of course, you can also choose to kneel and beg for mercy… That way, your death will bring us even more joy…"
"A-Aileen…"
Hermione stared blankly at the lifeless body not far away, murmuring, looking up at the ugly and ferocious Death Eater in front of her, infinite anger surging in her brown eyes, letting out a shrill roar.
The girl suddenly raised her wand, aiming at the front, feeling all her strength pouring into it.
"Bastard! I'll fight you! *Explosion*!"
"Rua! Rua! Ruaaaaaaa…"
Just as Hermione raised her wand, a figure like a wounded beast frantically darted out from beside her, lunging fiercely at the two evil wizards in front of her who were raising their wands, preparing to cast evil curses.
Even if the opponent was the most terrifying Death Eater in history, or even the most ferocious Dark Lord…
Behind them, Luna Lovegood, who was preparing to cast a spell, suddenly stopped, her expression becoming somewhat strange, curiously raising her eyebrows, gently poking at the empty air beside her…
Sure enough…
Binary Reversal Architecture Magic!
"Ai!"
A look of realization flashed in Luna Lovegood's eyes, and she subconsciously opened her mouth, preparing to remind her two companions in front.
Just then, Luna felt as if her upper and lower lips were instantly stuck together, unable to make any sound. The wand in her hand was also silently snatched away with strange force. A mosquito-like whisper came from the edge of the girl's ear.
"Shh, don't make trouble."
Super big chapter! Asking for monthly tickets! Not a cliffhanger!