"Look, there's a light over there!" After dealing with the Red Caps, Hermione and Padma turned around several times until they finally spotted a flash of light.
After making sure it wasn't a Hinkypunk trap, they quickened their pace and rushed toward the light. The light grew larger and larger until they finally identified a cave large enough for a person to enter.
Hermione and Padma walked faster and faster, sometimes stumbling into a swamp, but that didn't stop them from moving forward until...
"Ah!" Padma screamed and collapsed, holding her ankle.
Hermione immediately stopped and cast a Protego Charm around herself before approaching to check Padma's condition.
By then, Padma had already removed something that looked like a piece of wood from her ankle, and a large amount of blood was quickly pouring out, soaking her long stockings.
Both recognized the culprit: the dugbog. It's a creature that lives in the swamps of Europe and America. When motionless, it looks like a piece of wood, but upon close inspection, one can see thin legs, allowing it to slide through the swamps. Its sharp teeth can catch small mammals and cause serious damage to people's feet and ankles.
This magical creature is not difficult to handle, but somehow, it was classified by the Ministry of Magic as a Level XXX magical creature.
The magical world's classification of creatures can be quite rigid. XXXX-level creatures are dangerous and can only be dealt with by expert wizards with specific knowledge, while XXX-level creatures can be handled by competent wizards. Judging the level of danger solely by the value of X is a mistake. In the field, encountering a Swooping Evil is much more dangerous than encountering a phoenix.
Although the injuries caused by the dugbog are not severe, if not properly handled, they can lead to infections, especially in a swampy environment like this.
Of course, all of this posed no problem for wizards.
"Episkey!" Hermione pointed her wand at Padma's ankle, and the wound quickly closed.
"Let's be careful; I think we're getting close to the final test," Hermione said after calculating the time.
Both gathered their spirits and headed toward the entrance of the cave. Fortunately, Professor Lupin left a small kindness and didn't place any more traps along the way.
Hermione cast a Protego Charm on herself before exiting the cave. Padma tried to imitate her, but she didn't know the spell, so she hid behind Hermione.
It turned out her caution was unnecessary, as in the new room, Tom had no intention of attacking them. He was simply standing in the center of the room, waiting for the next challengers. On one of the room's side walls, several wands were hung, and behind Tom was something that looked like a chest.
"Hermione... and Padma, good morning!" He greeted them very cordially while deflecting Hermione's spell with a Protego Charm.
"That's too much, Hermione! I wasn't even planning to attack you!" Tom made a hurt expression. According to his plan, he had intended to fill the room with dense fog so that no one could see, block the entrance, and stun them one by one.
But obviously, this evaluation method was not accepted by Professor Lupin. So Tom had to stay here openly and fairly, fighting against the young wizards who arrived on time.
His final score was related to the success rate of these young wizards. So, to get an "Outstanding" grade, Tom worked hard to knock out all the young wizards who arrived here and also confiscated their wands.
The wands hanging on the wall were his "spoils of war."
"After passing my test, you'll be able to open this chest," Tom said as he pointed to the chest behind him, while turning an hourglass in his hand.
"This is a rather rare opportunity, so enjoy it..." Tom rolled up his sleeve, revealing his wand. "Let's duel, Granger, Patil!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Protego!"
Before Padma could react, Tom and Hermione had already engaged in a duel. Their movements were fluid, as if they had dueled often.
In fact, Padma was not mistaken; Tom and Hermione had indeed been dueling frequently. During this semester, Professor Lupin had given them many practice opportunities, and Tom and Hermione actively participated in Professor Lupin's teaching. Every class culminated in a duel between the two of them. So, they could say they were very familiar with dueling.
"It's time to get serious!"
Tom brought his wand to his lips and blew forcefully, conjuring a fire dragon that coiled and formed a wall of fire between Tom and Hermione.
After this semester of training, Tom had deepened his understanding of the Protego Diabolica spell, and his mental image of fire had become richer.
With the help of this wall of fire, Tom and Hermione exchanged attacks back and forth.
"Wait a moment!" Hermione stepped aside and planted her wand in the ground; this classroom had no tables or chairs, which was a disadvantage for Hermione. She used to transform the tables and chairs to bother Tom and ultimately break his wall of fire.
Fortunately, today there were no tables or chairs, but there was a teammate. Hermione decided to sacrifice Padma and sent her to face Tom's attacks directly to gain some time.
"Finite Incantatem!"
In every duel, Tom's Protego Diabolica always put Hermione at a disadvantage. The fire he conjured was a variant of the Fiendfyre Curse that could consume everything flammable within its range. This type of fire could not be extinguished with common water. Learning from her mistakes, Hermione sought out Professor Lupin and learned this spell that countered deadly fire.
Grindelwald's Protego Diabolica would have required a dozen wizards to extinguish it, but Tom's would have required less effort, and Hermione could handle it on her own.
A red glow rose and enveloped Tom's flames, and then the blue fire and the red light dissipated together.
At that moment, Padma was also thrown out by Tom, unconscious and lying on one side.
"It's over." Hermione said, panting. In front of her lay Tom, securely bound with ropes. After Padma was knocked out, she and Tom had one final showdown, and in the end, with a decisive move, she tied him up.