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The year is 999 in Hogwarts calendar, the last weekend of June.
With the help of Erina Kaslana, Hermione Granger, Hannah Abbott, and Luna Lovegood successfully cleared the "Dark Arts Defense Trial" and brought back invaluable first-clear experience.
As for the punishment games that took place among the four girls that night, those are not important.
The next day, Hogwarts students passing by the giant hourglass recording the House Cup scores noticed the sudden increase in points for Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, which seemed particularly noticeable and strange as the end of the semester approached.
Immediately afterward, news of the breakthrough of the "Dark Arts Defense Trial" spread quickly.
The assessment that students had once considered impossible to complete could actually be cleared. At breakfast that morning, Dumbledore reaffirmed this news and publicly rewarded the promised Galleons.
House points, gold Galleons, grade boosts - with all these factors combined, the young wizards who were not so interested in this level at first became excited, and their confidence and desire to win were completely ignited.
Since two first-year students, along with a not-yet-enrolled trainee, could successfully clear the level - there was no reason why the older students, who had been studying for more than two and a half years and had a love for ____, could not do the same.
The three little witches were already among the most popular and well-liked youngsters in the school.
After this first-clear aura was added, they gained even more attention in the school. Even the Ravenclaw and Slytherin students were now particularly enthusiastic when they saw them, indirectly inquiring about various details of clearing the level.
With only one week left until the end of the Hogwarts year, everyone still had plenty of opportunities to try.
What impressed the students even more was that even after becoming the center of attention as star students, the three little witches did not show too much pride. Instead, they immersed themselves even more diligently in their studies and magic practice. In addition to the content of the subsequent two levels, the girls shared all the information about the previous assessment content without any reservations.
With the disclosure of many small details, such as the types of potions Luna and the others drew in the fourth level.
The students easily came to an obvious conclusion that compared to Luna, Hermione, and Hannah, they were only lacking a little bit of luck, and luck was fair to everyone...right?
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.
"Who's Cormac McLaggen? Get out here! We need to have a good chat today!"
Two Slytherin students and a Hufflepuff student stood in front of the Fat Lady's portrait, angrily shouting into the doorway. The always-temperamental and protective Gryffindors seemed to be deaf this time, and no one came out to respond.
After a long while, the portrait slowly swung open.
Percy Weasley stood by the door, the silver Prefect badge on his chest shining brightly, frowning.
"This is the Gryffindor common room, I am the Prefect! What do you want?!"
"Look, this potion was brewed by Cormac McLaggen, right?"
One of the Slytherin students waved a empty potion bottle in his hand, roaring loudly, "It's just a simple antidote to the Confundus Charm, he doesn't know what the hell he added to it. It not only tastes terrible, but it's also poisonous! We were about to clear the fourth level, but we failed because of this inferior antidote!"
In recent days, situations like this have been slightly frequent. As the house most targeted by Snape, Gryffindor students' average level in Potions wasn't great, and the quality of the potions they brewed naturally varied.
As for the solution, it was naturally quite sound and complete.
Percy Weasley couldn't help but twitch his lips, answering with practiced ease.
"... Identifying the antidote is also part of the test. So, the same old rules?"
"That's right, the same old rules! A one-on-one duel, Dark Arts Defense classroom, Professor Apocalis as the referee."
"Okay then, McLaggen, what do you think, another duel?"
"Sure, no problem! I agree - but you'll probably have to schedule for tomorrow, I have three duels today!"
At the same time, the culprit, second-year Gryffindor student Cormac McLaggen, appeared at the entrance to the portrait, standing behind Percy Weasley with his arms crossed, answering in a muffled voice.
Although he may not be good at Potions, with the high-intensity duel schedule these days, the Gryffindor students' experience in magical duels has rapidly improved. Even participating in duels in shifts, they can maintain a win rate of over 60%.
However, on the other hand, it's difficult for Gryffindor students to receive team invitations from other houses.
After all, the main difficulty of the first four levels lies in Potions, Herbology, and Charms. Ravenclaw and Slytherin have a natural advantage in these areas, and Hufflepuff is clearly more reliable than Gryffindor in terms of cross-house popularity.
Especially when Professor Snape said the line -
"When you fail to pass the assessment, don't always come to the professor to ask why. The reason is already written on the potion bottle in the level. This is the result you planted yourselves in the past year."
Outside the Gryffindor common room, there were almost several waves of "near-death" young wizards coming for revenge every day.
And this situation continued until the morning two days later...
"Everyone, before breakfast begins today, there are a few special announcements."
Albus Dumbledore smiled and stood up, clearing his throat.
"Mr. Percy Weasley, Mr. Fred Weasley, and Mr. George Weasley have become the second group of young wizards to clear the 'Dark Arts Defense Trial' with their wonderful performance in the assessment. Therefore, I will award Gryffindor House seventy-five points."
Along with Dumbledore's voice, the giant hourglass of Gryffindor House seemed to be raining. Rubies poured down, instantly surpassing the total points of Slytherin House, second only to Hufflepuff.
However, Dumbledore's words did not end there.
"In addition, Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Draco Malfoy, and Mr. Ron Weasley also successfully cleared the 'Dark Arts Defense Trial' last night, right after them. Therefore, I will award Gryffindor House fifty points and Slytherin House twenty-five points!"
The cheers of the Gryffindors almost blew the enchanted ceiling off.
Every young wizard in Gryffindor House jumped up and down at the table in ecstasy - they rose by one hundred and twenty-five points in one breath, and now Gryffindor's score was only ten points behind Hufflepuff, who was in first place.
In other words, they were only one step away from winning the House Cup.
For the Gryffindor House, who was almost desperate, this was undoubtedly an exciting piece of good news. More importantly, the proud Gryffindor lions proved with facts that they were not some kind of "instance poison".
You know, almost two-thirds of the three teams that have cleared the instance now are Gryffindor wizards!
"Impossible! How could you beat that big dog!"
Marcus Flint slammed the table hard, standing up in disbelief and turning to look at the Gryffindor House at the next table. His lips moved several times, and the other Slytherin wizards beside him had the same expression.
After the fourth level, Erina would give the young wizards a "puppy" as a helper.
In the subsequent two levels, when the young wizards encounter danger, the Hellhound in puppy form would actively break the seal and return to its full form of [Skull Class · Hellhound] to help the students complete the level.
But when the students reach the last level, it will become the final boss from the battle partner - at this stage, Erina will be temporarily imprisoned on a bronze chair in the seventh level, waiting for them to rescue her, unable to provide any help.
However, in recent days, no one has ever successfully "rescued" Erina.
As for completing the last two levels alone without the help of Fluffy, it's not that no teams have tried it...
But!
Not to mention the magical creature level in the fifth level, the test in the sixth level is to fight against Voldemort and the projections of the Death Eaters! Facing the vicious Death Eaters, the most terrible dark wizard in history, even if it's just a projection, it's enough to make most of the young wizards lose their fighting spirit or be seriously unbalanced.
Most of the Slytherin wizards chose to surrender when they first encountered it.
Naturally, they were all sentenced to death by the ruthless dark forces and executed immediately, extremely painfully and cruelly.
Therefore, after several struggles, almost all teams would choose to use the Hellhound Fluffy to assist in clearing this level. They would follow behind Fluffy's strong body and symbolically cast a few spells.
Facing Marcus Flint's questioning, the four Weasley brothers raised their eyebrows quite proudly, revealing a very consistent smug expression, raising their meal cups provocatively without giving too many answers - after experiencing high-frequency duel practice, those clumsy "Death Eaters" were too easy to deal with. They had almost all killed "the Dark Lord".
On the other hand, according to the initial plot setting, as long as you complete "killing the Dark Lord", it's actually considered clearing the assessment, and you can still get the basic 5-point reward and grade improvement by choosing to exit the instance directly.
As for higher scores and Galleon rewards, you still need to clear one more level.
Unfortunately, all the wizards who passed all the assessments were told by Professor Dumbledore and Professor Apocalis not to reveal too many detailed details of the subsequent levels, so that students can find the correct way on their own as much as possible.
Of course, for every rule, there will always be a tiny loophole...
Or rather, from the beginning, Erina and the professors could have left such a small gap so that students could participate more and better in this rare large-scale campus event and gain something from it.
After breakfast this day.
The current Head Girl of Ravenclaw, "Miss Peach," blocked the Gryffindor table with a group of her girlfriends.
"Weasley, stop right there! Is this the reason you said yesterday that you were feeling a little unwell, so you temporarily withdrew from my team? You secretly went to clear the level, if you don't explain it clearly today, hmph!"
"Cough cough, Meryl, let me explain..."
George Weasley's face stiffened, and he explained with a smile, amid the quite playful gazes of the brothers around him.
"Actually, I was just about to come to you. Although Professor Dumbledore doesn't allow us to reveal too much content, we carefully studied the rules last night and found a small loophole in it. We can try it today..."
"Oh? What loophole? You better not be thinking of fooling me..."
Ravenclaw's "Miss Peach" looked slightly relieved, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows.
Any secret, when it is known by more than three people, is no longer a secret; and any record, when it is broken for the first time, the difficulty of reaching it again will be reduced by several levels.
...
The next day, early morning.
"Meryl Streep, Angelina Johnson, George Weasley, successfully cleared the level! Therefore, I will award Ravenclaw House ten points and Gryffindor House ten points!"
"Penelope Clearwater, Percy Weasley, Fred Weasley, successfully cleared the level! Therefore, I will award Ravenclaw House fifteen points!"
"Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter..."
On this day, Hufflepuff House, which had led the House Cup score for an entire semester, was surpassed.
At the same time, it also meant that the entire Hogwarts officially entered the all-school final scoring melee era that Erina and the professors had been looking forward to. There was still a week left until the end of the semester.
Since there is only one chance to enter the instance every day, the success rate is particularly critical.
The four houses of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, which were originally full of estrangement and unfamiliarity, spontaneously began to get to know each other and seek to form teams with each other in such a wonderful state.
Whether it's a top student with excellent grades, or a troublemaker with strong hands-on skills, or even someone whose abilities are a little poor, but can find a strong team to lead them to clear the level...
In short, theoretically, everyone has a chance to complete the level and earn a considerable amount of pocket money.
As the new Goblin Queen of Gringotts, Erina specially prepared 100,000 Galleons in reward money for this Hogwarts large-scale event, or more accurately, it should be called -
A fixed drop for passing the sixth level by defeating the enemy head-on with one's own strength.
"If Voldemort really comes back to life, he better not take the initiative to cause trouble at Hogwarts, otherwise..."
Erina shook the pomegranate juice in her goblet, skillfully manipulating illusions and magic to control the assessment that was taking place not far away, watching the young wizards calmly fight back under the siege of the Death Eaters.
"Tsk tsk, making progress quickly. It seems that next semester, I can consider letting some destined wizards join the fight..."

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Continuing a big chapter! Gu!
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