As night gradually fell, students who had long been eager to see the Champions revealed began filing into the Great Hall.
It was only when they noticed tombstones jutting out from the walls that they realized this was also the Halloween Eve banquet.
The decorations were especially elaborate tonight, as if Hogwarts were determined to let its guests feel its warmth and hospitality. In addition to Hagrid's massive pumpkins, Professor Flitwick had carefully arranged a group of animated skeletons that could even hold conversations with the students on their own.
That alone made Tver view the professor in a new light.
Because of age, and without the kind of long-lasting vitality Dumbledore possessed, the strength of professors like Flitwick and McGonagall had inevitably declined. Even so, in terms of accumulated magical finesse, they still had countless subtle techniques worth Tver's careful study.
Unfortunately, the young witches and wizards present were far less discerning. Completely unaware that these seemingly ordinary little skeletons embodied spellcasting techniques that could take seven years to master, they waited absentmindedly for the announcement of the Champions.
Until—
"What's that?" a Beauxbatons girl exclaimed, pointing up at the ceiling.
Davies beside her immediately broke into an excited grin. Almost on reflex, he pulled out his wand and began explaining loudly, "Those are Professor Fawley's little imps. They show up every Halloween banquet. If you beat them, you'll—ow!"
A hard candy smacked squarely into his forehead. It did not hurt much, but it was deeply humiliating.
Davies stood there dazed for a moment.
He looked up at the ceiling, then bent down to pick up the candy from the floor. Only then did it sink in.
The imps were attacking them with sweets.
"Wait, the imps can fight back now?!"
It did not take long for the Hogwarts students in the hall to realize that this year was different from before.
Each imp now had a small satchel slung around its waist, stuffed to the brim. With a quick reach inside, they could pull out a handful of candies, the very kind that used to drop only after an imp was defeated.
And then they hurled them with all their might at every student fleeing in panic.
Even the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students who had been standing off to the side, laughing and watching the show, were not spared.
"Last year, some people complained that once the imps started using the Shield Charm, it became hard to hit them," Tver announced loudly from the staff table, clearly enjoying himself.
"So this year, I specifically let the imps throw candy instead. That way, none of you will miss out!"
"As for when this ends…"
Tver turned his head toward Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded cheerfully, his eyes full of encouragement.
"That will be when you defeat all the imps. Only then will the banquet officially begin!"
With that, amid the rapid thudding of flying candy and the students' collective groans, Tver sat back down.
Unlike the long student tables, the food at the staff table was served without interruption. The professors, along with Cynthia and Bagman who had just arrived, calmly enjoyed the Halloween feast while watching the students scramble in chaos with great interest.
"They're fairly well organized," Cynthia commented approvingly. "I mean the Hogwarts and Beauxbatons students."
Durmstrang students might not excel in every area, but when it came to combat, their discipline was noticeably superior. Once they realized that the imps' strength lay mainly in their mobility and the occasional Shield Charm, rather than raw power, they adapted quickly.
Under Viktor's leadership, they swiftly formed a combat formation. A small group focused on maintaining Shield Charms to block the candy barrage, while the rest concentrated on attacking the imps. They became the first team to shatter an imp.
The Hogwarts students were not far behind. After more than three years of Tver's instruction, combined with three years of experience fighting imps, they reacted just as quickly.
For the most part, they formed three-person teams. While their efficiency was not as high as Durmstrang's, their safety was noticeably better, and they gradually began to push back a large number of imps.
The Beauxbatons students were the biggest surprise.
None of them had expected that a perfectly normal banquet would turn into a live combat exercise.
But being chosen to come to Hogwarts already meant that their abilities were outstanding back at their own school. So after a brief moment of stunned hesitation, they adopted an approach completely different from the other two schools.
Instead of relying solely on Shield Charms, they spread out among the other students, using movement, positioning, and the Shield Charms cast by others to deflect most of the imps' attacks.
At the same time, they carefully observed the imps' attack patterns. Every so often, one of them would launch a sudden strike, each time slipping neatly through a gap in an imp's Shield Charm and shattering one unfortunate target.
It was a surprisingly interesting method.
"This really shows the teaching styles of the three schools," Tver said with a grin.
"But if you hadn't come here to teach, what kind of style do you think Hogwarts students would have?" Cynthia asked curiously.
That question caught Tver off guard.
"Uh…" He paused, thinking back to the original storyline. "Probably brute force?"
"Brute force?"
"Brute force makes miracles happen," Tver said. "Of course, Hogwarts has four Houses, so it's hard to say there would be a single unified way of thinking."
"Slytherin would probably fight independently, exploiting every advantage that benefits them and looking for every possible opening to strike."
"Hufflepuff would likely band together like Durmstrang, relying on teamwork and division of labor to overcome difficulties."
"Ravenclaw would be closer to Beauxbatons, analyzing the situation carefully to ensure their attacks are effective."
"As for Gryffindor…" He hesitated for a moment. "That's probably where brute force really shines. They draw the most attention and deliver the strongest attacks."
"It might look a bit foolish at times, but on the battlefield, that kind of fearless spirit is exactly what's needed."
"That's how you give others the courage to keep their composure and do their jobs properly. Without that, the whole group would have fallen apart long ago…"
Cynthia looked thoughtfully at the students in the Great Hall.
In fact, even though they were organized into three-person teams, those teams clearly displayed distinct House characteristics. Especially the teams made up entirely of students from the same House, they matched Tver's descriptions almost perfectly.
"So when you first came to Hogwarts," Dumbledore suddenly said, turning toward the two of them, "you mentioned that the division into four Houses seemed a bit simplistic."
"In truth, that division is also meant to cultivate their individual strengths. That way, no matter what kind of challenge Hogwarts faces, there will always be the right people to step forward."
"When wisdom is needed, Ravenclaw answers. When loyalty is required, Hufflepuff stands firm beside us. When courage is called for, Gryffindor never hesitates. And when careful planning is necessary, Slytherin is more than willing to help."
Tver lifted his head with a soft laugh and met Dumbledore's gaze.
"But the problem is, you didn't pass down the idea of cooperation itself."
Dumbledore shrugged casually and waved a hand toward the students below, who were advancing and retreating in an orderly fashion.
"But that's what you're here for, isn't it?"
Tver: "…"