An hour later, Tver walked up to the dummy and smoothed out the dents left from the earlier attacks.
Although Viktor and the others had not been able to truly damage it, they were still the strongest students from the three schools, so they had managed to warp its body slightly.
After all, Tver had not simply stacked rigid protective materials onto it. He had deliberately balanced durability with flexibility.
Even so, he was very satisfied with the dummy's performance this time.
Especially after integrating the imp, the dummy had maintained a constant connection with him.
If viewed from Tver's perspective of magical threads, there would always be a line of will linking him to the dummy, brighter and more distinct than a simple thread of magical control.
Through this connection, he could freely switch between directly controlling the dummy and letting it act on its own.
Of course, some issues had also become apparent.
For example, distance. If they were too far apart, would the dummy still be able to receive his commands? Would he still be able to perceive what the dummy sensed?
Another question was whether, after reintegrating the imp, he would have to cultivate it again each time he split his soul.
And more importantly, if something unexpected happened, would the dummy still respond correctly while acting independently, or would it behave abnormally?
As he repaired it, Tver sank into thought.
"Professor, could you let us down first?" Cedric said helplessly.
He had already been hanging there for nearly twenty minutes, and he was the last among them to be defeated.
After Harry had been bound first, it had not taken long before Fleur, caught off guard, was also taken down and hung up rather ungracefully to keep Harry company.
Viktor and Cedric had immediately become more cautious and did not give the dummy another easy opening.
But the problem was that the dummy kept learning.
In the end, relying on his experience dealing with it, Cedric still became the last one to be hoisted up.
Just thinking about it made him flush slightly.
Fortunately, there was no one else around. Otherwise, if Hogwarts students got hold of this story, there was no telling how exaggerated it would become, with the champions of three schools defeated so embarrassingly by a dummy.
"Oh, right."
Only then did Tver realize and lower them back down.
Viktor and the others did not complain. Being defeated by a dummy was embarrassing enough already, even if it had extraordinary magical resistance.
"You've all worked hard tonight. Go get some rest. The task is only a few days away."
Tver took out the chocolate he had prepared earlier and handed each of the four champions a large piece.
"But if we can't even beat a dummy, do we really have a chance at winning?" Fleur said, sounding discouraged.
After the fight, she could not help thinking back to Tver's performance in the first task.
That overwhelming fire spell alone had been enough to render any resistance meaningless.
"I never expected to win the championship anyway," Viktor suddenly said, just as Tver was about to comfort them.
"My thinking isn't as sharp as Cedric's, my planning isn't as thorough as Fleur's, and I don't even have Potter's resolve to stay true to himself."
"I was never going to win."
The others looked at him in surprise. Viktor met Tver's gaze calmly, his eyes steady and resolute.
"But I won't give up."
"Maybe the gap between us will only keep growing, and maybe I'll never be able to defeat you. Maybe facing you together isn't exactly honorable. Maybe the rules are even on our side."
"But I still don't want to give up this chance."
"I want to face you with everything I have."
Despite his rough appearance and quiet nature, Viktor had always been fiercely competitive. Tver knew that well.
Whether at school or on the Quidditch pitch, he always fought with everything he had to win.
What Tver had not expected was that the person Viktor most wanted to defeat was him.
"That's right. Just because the professor is strong doesn't mean we should give up," Harry said, his fighting spirit reignited, even though Viktor had only addressed him by his surname.
Cedric was stirred by their words, though he still kept his composure, smiling as he spoke.
"If we give up every time we face someone stronger, we'll never become the kind of wizards we want to be."
"I was just complaining. It's not like I'd actually give up. I want to fight the professor too," Fleur added, though her tone was far more spirited than her words suggested.
The four of them burst into laughter, completely ignoring the fact that Tver, the so-called great villain in their eyes, was standing right beside them.
"Alright, I admire your courage. But if you head back any later, you'll be breaking Hogwarts rules. Even as champions, I doubt Filch would mind giving you detention."
Their smiles immediately faded.
Hogwarts rules might not apply to students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, but those schools had their own rules about returning to their carriage and ship on time at night.
"Oh, Professor, can we borrow this dummy for training?"
Just as they were about to leave, Cedric suddenly turned back to ask. Fleur and the others also stopped and looked at Tver expectantly.
"Uh…"
The request caught Tver off guard, and for a moment he did not know how to respond.
"Of course. Everyone's busy with exams lately anyway. You can come here anytime, and the dummy can be your sparring partner whenever you need it."
With his permission, the four immediately ran off in high spirits, heading in different directions.
Thinking about the upcoming exams, Tver could not help feeling a headache coming on.
The third task happened to fall on the last day of Hogwarts' exams.
As the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, he had to guide the students in their revision, especially the fifth- and seventh-years preparing for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.
And at this very moment, Dumbledore had said that Moody needed to focus on preparing the task and monitoring Voldemort's movements, completely ruining Tver's hopes of taking it easy.
"Just because I promised Barty not to kill you doesn't mean you can take advantage of it. Once this is over, we'll settle things properly," Tver muttered under his breath as he walked back to his office with the dummy.
As he passed by Moody's office, he did not notice anything unusual inside.
Because a certain professor had already quietly left Hogwarts.