This Devil's Web, cultivated by Margaret, had tendrils as hard as steel wire, impossible to cut with ordinary swords.
It also possessed astonishing vitality. It could survive for long periods without roots and could extend that time with just water and simple nutrients.
Even more frightening was its bloodlust: it could pierce enemies with sharp thorns, then ravenously drain their blood to grow stronger. The stronger the target it fed upon, the faster and more powerful the Devil's Web became.
Margaret had tamed this Devil's Web. She usually kept it shrunken and curled within the hollow space of her bracelet, which she always wore.
But if danger arose, the Devil's Web would burst out from the bracelet at once, spreading into a massive vine-net to protect its master while attacking her enemy.
Because of this, Margaret, though normally immersed in peaceful herbology, was, in truth, someone whose real combat strength could not be underestimated.
Returning to the greenhouse: once the students, covered in mud, emerged from Greenhouse One and went back to their dormitories to wash and change, the day's lessons came to an end.
The next day, the students of Phoenix House, together with those from Basilisk House, attended a Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts office was headed by Brog.
Brog possessed natural talent in dark magic and defensive magic, ranking among the strongest wizards under Sylas's command.
He not only possessed Animagus forms, a falcon and a giant eagle, but also, because he had fused with the blood of a frost dragon, he wielded absolute power in frost magic. He had developed the ordinary Freezing Charm, originally just a simple life spell, into a far more advanced form.
With a wave of his wand, he could freeze anything, even incoming spells.
After the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, the students went to the greenhouse again for Herbology with the students of Dragon House.
In the afternoon, they attended History of Magic with Thunderbird House.
During the History of Magic class, the students watched in excitement as two elven ladies entered together.
The gentle and beautiful Lady Twilight Star, like the brightest star in the night sky, was mysterious and graceful. Because she was pregnant, she radiated a warm, maternal softness.
Beside her was the tall and magnificent Lady Galadriel, like the shining moon, an undisputed queen of the night sky. Her deep eyes were gentle yet penetrating, making it difficult for anyone to meet her gaze directly.
In this class, Arwen was the professor, and Galadriel served as the assistant instructor.
Their voices were clear and melodious as they recounted ancient history, turning what should have been a dry subject into something vivid and enthralling.
Especially Lady Galadriel, who had personally witnessed many of the ancient events she spoke of.
Affected by her spiritual aura, the students felt as if they had truly stepped into the past, witnessing those majestic events with their own eyes.
When the bell rang, everyone finally returned to their senses, leaving the classroom buzzing with awe and excitement.
Those ancient histories were etched deeply into their memories through this unique form of teaching.
On the third day, the students of Phoenix House had Herbology in the morning, Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic in the afternoon, and Astronomy at night.
By Thursday, all the students were excited, they finally had Flying Class.
Flying was an irresistible temptation for everyone. Not only were the young wizards eager, but even the elves were looking forward to it.
Flying broomsticks were very popular in the territory, especially after Quidditch spread from the castle. Their flying instructor was Gandalf, who appeared old but was incredibly agile and a master flyer.
Gandalf's teaching style was wonderfully flexible. After demonstrating the basic flying techniques, he immediately let the students practice on their broomsticks.
Even though the students were young wizards in the territory, they had very little experience riding broomsticks, at most, playing with children's toy brooms that barely lifted off the ground.
So when more than fifty students mounted their broomsticks, the field instantly fell into chaos.
Some shot straight into the sky like rockets, screaming all the way.
Some slammed into the castle walls.
Some plummeted straight down.
It was absolute pandemonium.
But Gandalf, with his astonishing agility, swooped through the air and caught the students mid-fall with one arm, preventing anyone from breaking their necks.
The whole situation looked like he was dealing with a swarm of humanoid "Quills."
After the initial panic and shrieks, the students gradually calmed down and began trying to control their flying broomsticks.
After all, they now had confidence: no matter what happened, Professor Gandalf would protect them.
With this in mind, the students completely let loose, becoming even more reckless, doing whatever was most dangerous and exciting.
Screams and cheers filled the skies above the castle.
Sylas stood at the tower window watching the scene and couldn't help clicking his tongue.
This method, letting students learn flying through chaos, really did help them master broomstick control faster… but only Gandalf had the stamina to handle so many out-of-control children.
And judging from Gandalf's cheerful face, he was clearly enjoying it.
In the blink of an eye, the second week arrived.
The students were now familiar with school life, and the lessons proceeded smoothly.
The moving staircases, talking portraits, patrolling suits of armor, the enormous library, flying spellbooks, self-writing quills… and the Thunderbirds that often descended from the clouds to release storms of lightning to "wash" and water the castle.
All these magical sights filled the students with a burning desire to explore the castle beyond their classes.
And that second weekend, something lively finally began.
Though only first-years, Gandalf, flying instructor and official Quidditch referee, formally created Quidditch teams for all four Houses.
Almost all the students signed up enthusiastically. Even the elves refused to miss the chance.
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A Quidditch team consisted of seven members: one goalkeeper, two batters, three chasers, and one seeker.
For this exciting Quidditch game, Sylas also sponsored a Golden Snitch he had personally crafted.
Furthermore, based on the existing Quidditch rules, Sylas aimed to ensure teamwork and fairness, as well as to make the games more entertaining.
To avoid a scenario like in the Harry Potter universe where Harry Potter catches the Golden Snitch within the first five minutes and ends the game,
Sylas simply lowered the Golden Snitch's value from 150 to 50 points. Furthermore, the game only ends when the difference in base scores between the two teams exceeds 50 points.
The maximum game time is also limited to 120 minutes. At the end of the time limit, regardless of the score difference, the team that has caught the Golden Snitch immediately wins; if no one catches it, the team with the higher total score wins.
He wanted to avoid "tactical delays" and "garbage time," as well as matches that lasted for days and nights, or even a month.
As far as he knew, the longest recorded Quidditch match in the Harry Potter world was three months. He didn't want to see that happen.
Nor did he want Quidditch to become a Seeker's solo show.
Soon, after all four Houses had formed their Quidditch teams, the first Quidditch match at Hogwarts began.
...
stones PLzz
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