"That's unnecessary sympathy, Hermione." Lupin slowly stood up from the ground, using his free hand to gently brush off the shattered glass clinging to his clothes, which scattered to the ground with a rustling sound. He then looked expressionlessly at the astonished Hermione.
"I told you, from the moment I entered, I should have been treated as a Dark wizard. After you defeated me, you should have quickly confirmed whether I was still conscious. If I was, you should have followed up with another curse, instead of indulging in compassionate healing." Lupin's voice grew sterner.
"But…" Hermione wanted to say something, but Lupin interrupted her again.
"No excuses." Lupin's tone was particularly serious at this moment. "It's still the same point: there can't be any room for luck. If I were truly a Dark wizard, your actions, Hermione, would have doomed your companions."
Hermione's face immediately turned as white as paper. Such harsh criticism was a first for her, and her eyes instantly reddened. However, she also knew that Professor Lupin was doing it for their own good, changing from his usual amiable demeanor to his current expression.
"Believe that you will learn a lot from this battle." Lupin nodded. After the criticism, he still chose to commend his students. In all fairness, these students had performed quite well.
"Now, I formally declare this practical duel over. We can now return to our roles as students and teachers and coexist peacefully." Lupin nodded and said.
"Quickly recover." Lupin cast spells on the fallen students one after another. Although Lupin had set his role as a Dark wizard, he had held back, after all, they were his students, and he couldn't really go all out.
Lupin watched the students regain consciousness and slowly get up from the ground, still maintaining a serious look on his face, but with a lot of approval in his eyes.
"Hmm, Seamus, your exploding charm is quite good, very powerful. It just needs a little more accuracy. A spell that can't hit anyone, no matter how powerful, is useless." Lupin stroked his chin and pointed out to Seamus.
Seamus's face flushed red instantly upon receiving the praise, making one wonder if he even heard the second half of the criticism.
"Harry, making good use of tools is a good quality for a wizard, but you can never completely place your hope on tools. They are inanimate objects; only people are alive." Lupin's gaze drifted to Harry, who had already taken off the Invisibility Cloak. Hearing Lupin say this, his face also turned somewhat red, and he could only bury his head and look at the already cleaned floor.
Afterward, Lupin commented on the performance of the other students, generally satisfied.
"And then, you, Hermione." Lupin's gaze finally settled on Hermione.
"I can completely guess that you formulated the strategy for this battle. I have to say, you understand each of their strengths very well, fully utilizing their advantages, and you understood my previous hints very well too." As Lupin spoke, he waved his wand, clearing the shattered glass around them into a nearby trash can. At the same time, he bent down and used his other hand to lift the old chandelier lying on the ground. "Your basic knowledge is also very solid. After I used the Transfiguration Charm on the table, you immediately noticed my intention, but unfortunately, your teammates didn't completely follow your instructions."
Hearing this, Ron couldn't help but lower his head in shame. At that time, he only felt his blood boiling and his fighting spirit soaring. It was the first time in his life that he had used the magic he knew so freely. He usually had no opportunity to practice, so he didn't pay attention to what Hermione was saying at all.
"Of course, your Confringo was also cast well, successfully utilizing the contradictions between magical principles, so I decisively abandoned this passive defensive tactic and chose to take the initiative." Lupin's face now completely returned to its amiable appearance, smiling as he looked at them.
"The Protego is a very practical charm.
If you can also master the silent casting technique, it will have a great effect on you. When the other party thinks they can defeat you, they find that things are not as they expected, which can also bring him a great sense of frustration." Lupin stared at Neville and said, Neville's Expelliarmus had been blocked by Protego.
Neville's round face nodded repeatedly. When he saw that his spell was ineffective at the time, he obviously began to doubt himself. The transition from inferiority to confidence cannot be achieved by simply encouraging him a few times. Over the years, the doubts of others and his own doubts have worked together. Neville's performance today is really not easy.
"So, Neville, you can be more confident." Lupin encouraged, "Even with my experience, I can see that you are very skilled in the Expelliarmus, even no worse than some professionals. It's just that your age is not enough now, and your magic is not powerful enough, which has led to a lack of power in the spell."
"If you could have decisively followed up with another spell, the barrier formed by my spell should have been completely broken. So, please believe in yourself. Humility is a quality that a wizard should have, but it is definitely not self-deprecation."
Hearing this, Neville remembered the original intention of practicing this spell.
"No one is worth relying on. Friends can help you for a while, but they can't help you for a lifetime. Sometimes, the only thing you can rely on is yourself. Don't you want to be able to completely and Justified refute someone's difficulties one day?"
"People's confidence often comes from their own strength. Systems and frameworks are used to restrain the weak. Dumbledore must have asked our dean not to engage in targeting and discrimination in the classroom, but when has he ever listened to these admonitions?"
Malfoy's words echoed in Neville's ears again. This was also the most important reason why he practiced the Disarming Charm. He hoped that one day he would be able to make a complete counterattack when he was subjected to difficulties, instead of passively accepting it.
Looking at the determined look in the fat boy's eyes, Lupin's smile became more and more satisfied. In his opinion, mental health is more important than learning a few combat skills. Excessive inferiority is by no means a good thing. Over time, it will distort a person's personality. He would never have thought that Peter Pettigrew, whom they once trusted so much, would become a traitor.
In the soil of jealousy and inferiority, the evil fruit called betrayal is bred.
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