Chapter 141: The Great Escape 3
Chapter 141: The Great Escape 3
"Oh no!"
Harry's heart sank as he hastily cast an Iron Armor Charm to block Ryan's spell, only to find himself tripped by Michael's Leg-Locker Curse right after.
"He's down!" Michael shouted, panting as he rushed over and pointed his wand at Harry, his arms trembling slightly.
In truth, the previous encounter had been brief, and they hadn't gotten far, but Michael felt his entire body heating up, his breath quickening, and his heart racing.
Having fallen to the ground, Harry's wand slipped from his grasp, and he was left defenseless. Michael now had the upper hand.
However, instead of looking dejected, Harry wore an expression of surprise as he glanced to his side.
His side?
Why wasn't Ryan saying anything? In an instant, the thought flashed through Michael's mind, and he called out, "Huny—"
Before he could finish, a spell hit him in the back, and Michael fell like a statue toppling over.
He saw Ryan's body next to him, stiff as a wooden post.
"——"
Hagrid blew his whistle, the deep sound echoing like distant thunder...
"The White Team is completely wiped out! Black Team wins!"
Michael blinked vigorously and saw a person appear suddenly next to the pumpkin.
It was as if Ved had been squeezed out of thin air. He smiled at Michael and then released everyone from their spells.
"Great job, Ved!" Harry exclaimed, jumping up in delight. "I thought we were done for just now!"
"Disillusionment Charm?" Michael squeaked in disbelief.
"Just learned it," Ved replied.
"...I wasn't asking when you learned it..." Michael mumbled, his gaze unfocused.
Ryan glared at Ved silently, his eyes conveying condemnation—wasn't this a case of punching down? Although Ryan didn't know what the term "punching down" meant, he felt the same way.
Theo helped Neville up, and the two of them dusted themselves off. They took their defeat in stride.
Then they went to retrieve the others.
"Disillusionment Charm?" Padma exclaimed in shock. "Isn't that like being invisible?"
Ved explained, "The Disillusionment Charm isn't an external object... and you can't expect all your enemies to be invisible, right?"
"But we're not even proficient with the Stunning Spell yet..." Padma said plaintively.
She always felt like their side was being bullied.
George sighed heavily, while Fred grinned and winked at him.
"But we have more people, and we started hiding a minute earlier, giving us the first-mover advantage," Michael said dejectedly as he sat on the ground.
After the groups had been assigned, he had realized the reason for this particular grouping.
The Black Team and the White Team were supposed to be evenly matched, but with an uneven number of people on each team, unequal preparation time, and the advantage of being able to ambush and set traps by leaving early, the Black Team had an inherent advantage.
Apparently, in Ved's eyes, the three members of the Black Team were stronger than their seven-person team combined.
Fred and George were probably on par, but Ved and Harry were stronger than their six members.
Ved was one thing, but Michael wasn't even surprised about that.
However, Harry had joined the SSC later than them, and while he learned spells quickly, his academics, in Michael's opinion, were just average.
He never expected that in a real confrontation, surrounded by enemies, Harry would take down both of them one after the other.
Checking the time, he saw that only half of the allotted thirty minutes had passed.
The seven members of the White Team gathered to discuss their strategy.
"We shouldn't have thought about hiding from the beginning.
"Hermione said in annoyance, "Padma and I were easily found and defeated when we split up from you guys."
Padma nodded in agreement.
"We should take advantage of our greater numbers," she suggested.
"We should also be familiar with the surrounding terrain," Michael added. "It would be best if we all ran through the area to get a sense of the environment."
...
As the members of the White Team scattered in different directions, Harry asked in confusion, "What are they doing?"
"Probably looking for a good spot to ambush us," Fred guessed, then turned to Ved and asked, "It looks like they have a new plan. Should we also get a better understanding of the terrain?"
"It's useless."
Ved pointed to the tall figure of Hagrid, who was carrying a giant pumpkin and placing it to the side.
"See that? After each round, Hagrid adjusts the positions of the pumpkins. He also lets his chickens and pigs loose in the patch to create distractions."
"How should we play in the next round? Should we do the same thing as this time?" Harry asked excitedly.
"I don't think so," Fred replied. "They might all move together as a group of seven, and if we split up, it'll be easy for them to surround and attack us."
The two whispered and fine-tuned their rudimentary tactics, constantly adjusting their plan.
Ved didn't interfere much, silently absorbing everyone's ideas and experiences, sensing their growth.
The second round of the competition began soon after.
This time, the White Team lost even faster.
They managed to take down Harry and Fred by ganging up on them, but at the cost of only "sacrificing" George.
However, right after that, Ved used Transfiguration on the vines covering the ground, turning them into dozens of snakes that attacked the young witches and wizards, scaring them into screaming and disrupting their formation. They were all quickly taken down by Stunning Spells.
Third round.
"Ved, your magic level is too unfair! There's no way to fight like this!"
Michael started to act spoiled, hinting for Padma to pretend to cry, attempting to guilt-trip Ved.
Ved rolled his eyes skyward and asked, "Then how about Harry and Fred join your team as well? Would that be better?"
"Great!" Michael readily agreed, and Padma immediately stopped pretending to cry.
Fred looked a little disappointed, but Harry thought it was a good idea.
He also wanted to experience what it was like to be against Ved.
The nine of them put their heads together and discussed their strategy for a full twenty minutes.
The Weasley twins even imitated Captain Wood, drawing complex tactical diagrams with various triangles and lines.
Ved and Hagrid sat on the pumpkins, drinking tea and waiting patiently for them to be ready.
"Are you sure about this, nine against one?" Hagrid asked worriedly.
Ved poked an ant that had crawled onto the pumpkin with his finger and smirked, "They think I'm the one at a disadvantage because I'm outnumbered. But what if it's the other way around?"
The game began, with the nine of them taking on different roles—some kept watch, some hid, some set traps, and one even disguised themselves as a pumpkin to launch a surprise attack.
Ved yawned lazily and didn't even bother to get down from the pumpkin patch.
The Engorgement Charm proved to be extremely effective.
The group was chased by ants and spiders, screaming in fear. They didn't even get close to Ved, and not breaking down in tears was considered a victory.
Hagrid was thoroughly entertained, laughing so hard that he tumbled off his tall stool.
"Stop! Stop!"
After the round ended, even Hermione shouted in exasperation, "Ved, no more Engorgement Charms!"
Ved was helpless, "Why don't you use it too then?"
Hermione glared at him expressionlessly.
Did they not want to use it? The ants they enlarged turned against them in an instant!
(End of Chapter)
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