As the Hogwarts students arrived, the Colosseum quickly filled to the brim, more than sixty students from the three schools gathered together.
The three schools naturally fell into two distinct groups.
On the far left stood the Hogwarts students, led by Cedric—the largest group by far.
In the center were the Beauxbatons students, still dressed in their silk robes. Fortunately, Tver had deliberately added a windproof, cold-resistant dome over the Colosseum and kept a current of warm air circulating through the arena. Otherwise, they might not have lasted until class began...
Still, the recent conversations had made Tver realize that the Beauxbatons students were indeed subtly isolating Fleur.
Compared to the Champions from the other two schools, even Harry received better treatment at his own school than Fleur did at hers. At least Gryffindor stood firmly behind Harry. Fleur, on the other hand, could only stand alone at the very front.
Of course, her proud temperament had something to do with it.
On the right were the Durmstrang students—mostly boys, though there were two girls among them. All of them wore thick fur coats and carried themselves with stiff, serious expressions.
They looked less like students attending a class and more like operatives on a classified mission...
"Ahem. I'm glad to see all of you made it to class."
As the bell rang, Tver strode to the front.
"I had thought you seventh-years would prefer something more challenging."
He was clearly referring to the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students.
Attending class with the Hogwarts students wasn't mandatory for them. They could just as easily find a place to study on their own—an arrangement the two schools had agreed on from the start, since there weren't many courses left that truly suited seventh-years.
Yet now, no one was absent. If anything, they seemed even more eager than the Hogwarts students.
"Are you saying the sixth-year course isn't exciting enough?"
Davies called out loudly, though his eyes kept drifting toward Fleur. His little motive was obvious.
"Perhaps we can make it more exciting for you. Would you like that?" Tver shot him a sidelong glance, and Davies immediately fell silent.
"Of course, you may not know this, but the Hogwarts students have essentially formed three-person teams by now. Even those who didn't make it into the advanced class have reorganized into new groups."
"So before we formally begin, I need all of you to form teams again. The numbers might not divide evenly, so each team can have either three or four members."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Hogwarts students—especially the boys—turned to look at Fleur, who seemed slightly caught in an awkward position.
They paid no attention whatsoever to the resentful looks from their former female teammates.
Tver felt he was beginning to understand the real reason behind Fleur's isolation...
"But let me remind you—it's best to stick with your original teams," he added quickly.
"Compared to our seventh-year guests, if you lose your coordination as well, you won't stand much of a chance."
At the mention of that, the Hogwarts students immediately thought back to the chaotic battle at the beginning of term—the full-class melee.
In that kind of disorder, one careless mistake could easily lead to the same fate as Cedric and the others—defeated right at the start.
Cedric and the Weasley twins instantly grew solemn. They exchanged glances and saw the same determination burning in each other's eyes.
This time, they would wipe away that humiliation.
However, there was one exception.
The moment Tver announced that they would be forming teams, Davies quietly slipped over to Fleur's side.
"Miss Delacour, if you're looking for a team, you might consider joining mine. We were the runners-up in the last free-for-all."
Fleur cast an uneasy glance at her classmates, none of whom showed the slightest intention of teaming up with her. Not far away, Cedric was already deep in serious discussion with his teammates about strategy. After a brief hesitation, she nodded reluctantly.
If she had the choice, she would much rather join someone as strong as Cedric or Viktor.
But the runners-up standing in front of her?
She had no idea what the format would be this time, but for now, joining the previous runners-up was the best option available.
Under Tver's guidance, the students quickly reorganized into teams of three or four.
Most of the Hogwarts students kept their original teams. Only a few groups that had already been reshuffled earlier in the year split up again, pairing with the unassigned students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to form mixed international teams.
These newly formed teams, along with most of the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons groups, consisted of four members—an attempt to make up for their lack of coordination.
As for the Hogwarts students who had experienced the last melee, they didn't believe that having extra people would make much difference.
If they were surrounded, one or two more teammates wouldn't save them!
Once the teams were set, the students finally noticed that the Colosseum had undergone a dramatic transformation in that short span of time.
Just like before, Tver had used an Undetectable Extension Charm.
But with the experience from last time, he now handled the spell with noticeably greater ease.
The expanded area was far larger than before. The terrain was uneven and rugged, dotted with rolling hills covered in flowers and grass.
Naturally, there were trees and large stones to serve as cover, along with a few special little traps hidden throughout…
Unlike the Hogwarts and Durmstrang students, who had already seen Tver cast spells like this, the Beauxbatons students were witnessing this young professor's abilities for the first time.
They had known that for Tver to become a professor at such a young age, he had to be exceptional.
But they hadn't imagined that with a graceful flick of his elegant wand, he could reshape an entire stretch of land before the motion was even complete.
In seven years of schooling, they had never even heard of magic this exaggerated.
Before seeing it with their own eyes, they would have dismissed it as pure fiction.
The Durmstrang students, on the other hand, were no longer surprised.
Impressive as it was, for Tver—whose progress seemed as effortless as breathing—it was nothing more than routine.
They watched with blank expressions.
Ah, so Tver has improved again. As expected.
"All right. This is today's training ground. But unlike last time, although you still need to seize the central platform first…"
With a wave of his wand, Tver conjured a pristine white platform. This time, a white flag stood planted at its center.
"…you must also defend it, driving out any opponents until the flag is completely dyed red—the color of victory."
"A reminder: the moment you leave the platform, the red on the flag will fade at an accelerated rate until it returns to white."
"And didn't Davies say the class wasn't exciting enough?"
By now, the grin tugging at Tver's lips was impossible to suppress.
"There are traps hidden in the forest as well. If you don't deal with them properly, your advance will be significantly slowed."