Although the three schools participating in the tournament had not all arrived yet, Harry's special training sessions with Professor McGonagall had already begun.
In Professor McGonagall's words, "Since Mr. Potter is already one of the designated Hogwarts champions, starting training early is better than starting late."
"So what did Professor McGonagall teach you during the special training?"
By the Black Lake, Ron stood next to Harry, looking at him with curiosity.
"Professor McGonagall didn't teach me any special spells," Harry shook his head. "Just basic Defense Against the Dark Arts spells and common ones like Accio, the Shield Charm, and the Impediment Jinx."
"Professor McGonagall said I should get used to them daily; they might have some clever uses in emergencies later on."
"Oh," Ron nodded in understanding, reaching up to scratch his red hair. "The other two spells are fine, but Accio... why that one?"
You wouldn't use Accio when dueling someone with spells, would you?
"If Accio can be performed to the level of Wandless Magic, you can summon your wand back after being accidentally hit by Expelliarmus."
Amanda and Hermione walked over together, Amanda explaining calmly.
"And I personally believe that in the upcoming tournament, as long as Accio is used well, it can produce very good results."
"The upcoming tournament?" Harry and Ron tilted their heads in unison toward Amanda, not quite understanding what she meant.
"You'll find out once the competition officially begins."
Amanda shook her head. Not revealing the contents of the competition to the participants beforehand was a rule of the Triwizard Tournament.
Even though Amanda was the financial provider and logistics coordinator behind the tournament, she couldn't give this information to Harry.
However, it seemed Professor McGonagall must have learned or guessed the content of the first task from somewhere, which was why she had Harry practice Accio.
Having quickly analyzed the situation in her mind, Amanda didn't have any other reaction to it.
After all, Professor McGonagall hadn't directly told Harry the contents of the competition, meaning her actions didn't constitute a violation of the rules.
She was simply providing Harry with some clever assistance.
"Alright." Harry didn't dwell on it and nodded simply.
"So, why are the four of us gathered by the Black Lake anyway?"
Ron tugged at his collar; he was already sweating all over from the heat.
During dinner yesterday, Hermione had gone to the Gryffindor Table to tell them to come to the Black Lake as soon as today's classes were over, but she hadn't told them why.
"Voldemort is going to be resurrected this year," Amanda said calmly, pulling out her wand with an expressionless face. Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, both feeling a sense of trepidation. "So Hermione and I both agree that you should learn some high-damage, offensive magic."
"Uh, like what?" Ron looked at Amanda cautiously.
"For example, that fire magic I once said I would teach you."
As Amanda spoke, she gestured toward the sky. The two boys instantly remembered the spell she used last year that ignited the entire sky and nearly set the ground ablaze.
"Cool!" Harry and Ron, who had been a bit apprehensive about practicing magic, immediately perked up when they heard this was the spell they would be learning.
Practicing ordinary magic was indeed a bit boring, but was Amanda's magic ordinary?
Amanda's magic was so cool!
They were more than willing to practice it. Amanda blinked, not quite understanding what Harry and Ron were so excited about.
"Hermione, Harry, Ron—your individual magic power isn't enough to produce the same effect as mine. So, to fully release the spell I used last time, the three of you need to cooperate, with each person responsible for a part of the spell."
"A spell can be split up and completed by several people?" Now even Hermione was curious. She had never heard of a spell being divided among multiple people.
"It can," Amanda nodded certainly. Based on her observations and analysis, Wizards' magic could actually cooperate and blend with each other.
Although everyone's magic was different, it didn't stop them from complementing each other to produce more wondrous and powerful effects.
By dismantling a complex and difficult spell, several Wizards who were unable to complete it alone due to insufficient magic or experience could manifest the spell by joining forces.
Amanda had deduced this method thousands of times in her mind. Only after being completely certain there were no issues or hidden dangers did she dare tell Hermione, Harry, and the others, and ask the three of them to cast the spell this way.
However, it was clear that other Wizards in the Wizarding World didn't have this awareness. At most, several people would use the same spell to increase its power or use multiple spells to expand the area of effect.
The most typical example was the Finite Incantatem cast by the Alchemy master Nicolas Flamel and others during the capture of Grindelwald.
Amanda raised her wand to her chest, and a golden flame instantly rose from the tip. "Harry, Ron—though you might not like hearing this, Hermione's level with spells is the best among the three of you."
"Mhm, mhm." ×2
It wasn't that they didn't like hearing it; both boys nodded vigorously. They had been in school together for four years, and in many ways, they admired Hermione. Any youthful resentment or awkwardness had long since dissipated as they grew up.
In a group, everyone has their own role. Hermione's excellence had its use, and the two of them had their own roles as well.
So there was no reason to be upset; they were more than happy that Hermione was better than them, as it proved their overall strength was greater.
"It's the truth; we don't mind hearing it."
Harry shrugged, expressing the same sentiment along with Ron.
"Mm," the corner of Amanda's mouth curved slightly as she turned to Hermione. "So Hermione will be responsible for the most complex and difficult step: igniting the fire."
As she spoke, she gently waved her wand, the flame on the tip dancing and scorching the surrounding air.
"I designed this golden flame myself. It can effectively burn any object, and in that regard, it's extremely similar to the Dark Arts spell Fiendfyre."
"But unlike Fiendfyre, as long as you master the method, extinguishing it is relatively easy, and it won't harm the caster themselves."
You should know that Dark Wizards who use Fiendfyre have to have some skill to dare use it; otherwise, Fiendfyre might be the last bit of magic they ever perform.
The ease of releasing Fiendfyre and the difficulty of extinguishing it ensured that using it often resulted in burning oneself alive.
"Mm, sounds much safer than Fiendfyre."
Hermione nodded, leaning in to carefully observe the golden flame rising from Amanda's wand tip.
Looking closely now might make it easier to manifest it later.
"However, its power is not inferior to Fiendfyre. In fact, in terms of true lethality, its destructive power is even stronger."
Amanda continued her introduction in a flat tone. "This flame can burn souls, especially incomplete and corrupted ones. Using it will cause the target immense agony as their soul is slowly burned to nothing."
This was a spell she had started researching after seeing Voldemort's black, mist-like form in the forbidden area on the fourth floor during her first year.
After nearly two years of effort, she finally succeeded in her research last year and perfected it into a large-scale spell.
It was particularly effective against Voldemort and those murderous Death Eaters who enjoyed torturing Muggles.
It could ensure their souls were completely obliterated.
"It really is perfect for dealing with Dark Wizards." Hermione's eyes lit up. After finishing her observation, she also pulled out her wand, looking at today's "Professor," Amanda, with sparkling eyes.
Amanda still expressionlessly flicked her wand, and the golden flame on the tip went out the next moment.
She leaned into Hermione's ear and whispered the incantation for producing the golden flame.
Then, she told the same incantation to Harry and Ron.
Whether or not the two of them would need to produce the golden flame was one thing, but knowing the spell was another.
In case Hermione and the others were separated and Harry or Ron needed to try using the spell, Amanda wanted to at least ensure they knew how to recite the incantation and could attempt it from the right angle.
After hearing Amanda's explanation, Hermione walked to the side, muttering the incantation as she waved her wand over and over. Before long, golden sparks began to fly from her wand tip.
Next, Amanda taught Harry the spell to expand the golden flame and Ron the spell to draw the golden flame from the sky back to the ground.
Only by doing this could they ensure that no matter who they faced or what state the opponent was in, there would be no escape from heaven or earth.
Similarly, for these two spells, besides the person responsible for that part, the other two were also told the incantations to prevent emergencies.
After teaching the spells, Amanda stepped back from the three of them. For practicing Charms, she should leave Hermione and the others enough space.
"Hermione, the range of your arm swing can be a bit larger."
Amanda watched Hermione's movements, demonstrating by swinging her own right arm and the wand gripped in her right hand as she spoke.
"Okay." Hermione nodded and immediately swung her arm with the same range Amanda had just shown. Sure enough, after a couple of swings, she was able to manifest a small golden flame at her wand tip.
"Harry, watch your pronunciation; please try to speak as clearly as possible."
"Ron, you're reciting the incantation too fast. Slow down and pay attention to the pauses in the middle. If the pauses are wrong, the same spell can produce different results." This was something Professor Flitwick had taught them back in their first year.
Because of this, the pauses and tone of the incantation were extremely important throughout the casting process.
Watching Hermione raise her wand and shoot the golden flame into the sky, although the flame stopped its ascent just dozens of meters above the ground and didn't reach the true heights of Amanda's original spell...
...it was enough for Amanda to nod in praise. To reach this level on the first day of practice, Hermione's talent was indeed very strong.
Hermione took a deep breath, and the wand pointing at the sky began to slowly draw a circle. In the air dozens of meters up, the wisp of golden flame she had just shot up also began to slowly rotate and expand.
However, it was visible to the naked eye that the golden flame was expanding very slowly, and Hermione's forehead was already covered in sweat.
"Huff... huff..." Amidst her heavy breathing, Hermione's physical strength and magic power were being rapidly consumed.
"Harry, your turn. Please enlarge the range of the golden flame."
After Hermione truly neared her limit, Amanda decisively turned to Harry and signaled him to cast the spell.
Taking a deep breath, Harry also raised his wand the next moment, pointing straight at the sky.
A dazzling white light flashed, and the golden flame rotating under Hermione's control in the sky paused for a split second.
Just a moment later, the golden flame quickly resumed its rotation, and its overall area of influence began to expand rapidly.
If it could only cover a five-meter radius at first, now it could cover ten, twenty, thirty, all the way to thirty-five meters. Only then did Harry grit his teeth, the veins on his neck bulging, and sweat pouring down as he shook his head with difficulty at Amanda.
Once Harry had reached his limit, Amanda quickly turned back to Ron. "Ron, bring the fire down."
"O-okay."
Looking at the large mass of rotating golden flame in the air, even though he had seen Amanda manifest an even larger and more terrifying version before...
...seeing this much smaller version now still felt somewhat unbelievable, especially considering he was about to participate in this magic himself.
Ron's heart was filled with waves of excitement and trepidation—excited that he could use such a powerful and cool spell with Hermione and Harry.
Trepidatious that he might mess up and hold Hermione and Harry back.
"Ron, don't think about anything else. Just bring the fire down, that's all."
Seeing the constantly changing micro-expressions on Ron's face, Amanda immediately and instinctively deduced what he was thinking, so she spoke up to remind him.
"Right!"
Ron responded, looked up at the sky, raised his wand, and shouted the incantation.
Immediately after, a downward-spiraling cylindrical Fire Tornado, extremely familiar to all four present, began to form, approaching the ground inch by inch.
Sweat kept dripping from his forehead as Ron felt a massive resistance clinging to his wand—the resistance generated by drawing the fire from the sky to the ground.
At the same time, Hermione and Harry were not having it easy either. To maintain the golden flame itself and its coverage area, both of their clothes were already soaked with sweat.
Looking at the three of them, who looked as if they had just finished swimming in the Black Lake, and then at the rotating golden flame and the cylindrical Fire Tornado approaching the ground, a heartfelt, gratified smile appeared on Amanda's face.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron truly did have great talent; they had actually succeeded on their very first cooperation.
Three people working together to complete a single spell, rather than three people stacking the same spell—Hermione and the others had already created a first in the Wizarding World.
And with this spell as a foundation, as long as Hermione and the others didn't face Voldemort himself plus a large number of Death Eaters, they wouldn't be in any danger.
As for the situation of encountering Voldemort himself and a large number of Death Eaters, Amanda expressionlessly raised her hand to twirl her hair. She believed that in such a case, she would be there no matter what.
Excessive danger could not be left for Hermione and her other friends to face alone; of this, Amanda was absolutely certain.
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