Malfoy felt happier than having dessert tonight, tilting his small head up proudly. But in the next second, his movements froze.
"Please be aware that our Troll is heading towards you, so if you don't want to be flattened, please deal with it quickly."
Tewell stepped aside, allowing the Troll to lumber towards the ten first-year students at a slow pace.
Although it moved slowly, the tremors each of its footsteps sent through the ground were anything but slow, causing the students' hearts to quiver.
Harry swallowed nervously and emitted the first burst of light.
It hit the Troll 's head precisely, but only made it shake its head.
"Striking the head is useless, although the Troll 's head is a weak point, the light you produce cannot harm it; your target should be its eyes."
However, inspired by Harry's attempt, the young wizards also shot out their spells in panic, but the Troll slightly turned its head, and three red beams missed it by a whisker.
The Troll realized that these little ones were aiming for its head.
"A Troll might be dumb, but it's not completely brainless, it won't just let you attack it!"
For the first-year students, this was their first combat training. Usually, they practiced on light balls that couldn't fight back, and now suddenly facing such a huge opponent, they panicked.
However, being the best ten students, they finally hit the Troll 's eyes halfway through its approach.
The strong light and the impact made the Troll cover its eyes and howl in pain, but the howling didn't last long before Tewell froze it again.
"Very good, Mr. Malfoy successfully hit the Troll 's eyes. Five points to Slytherin!"
Following the example, Tewell then gave guidance to students of different years.
The second-year students, knowing few spells, followed his instructions to slow down the Troll and attack its brain and eyes, finally stunning it when it was just an arm's length away.
The third-year students had a tougher time. They knew the most spells but were closer to the Troll .
The stench alone made it unbearable for them, and had the Troll not been slowed down by a slowness curse, they would have been utterly defeated.
Even so, several students activated protective spells.
This made everyone realize the extraordinary utility of the badge; their wizard parents might not even be able to cast a complete Iron Armour Charm!
Their eyes heated up at the sight of these badges, those who already owned one cherished it, afraid to even touch it too much.
"Very well, the Disarming Charm to knock the club away, then use the Levitation Charm and Pressure Charm to control the club and strike the Troll 's head, well done."
By the way, this solution was proposed by Ron, who was off the field.
As the third-year students finally dealt with the Troll , the class was almost over.
"Now, let us invite Mr. Percy Weasley from Gryffindor to demonstrate how to deal with a Troll in its full state."
Taking a deep breath, Percy slowly approached.
"Are you ready, Percy?"
"Ready."
Waking up the Troll and removing the slowness spell from it, Tewell handed the stage over to Percy.
Entering combat mode, Percy's gaze instantly became sharp.
While still using obstruction spells, Percy targeted the Troll 's knee joints, not only effectively slowing its movements but almost making its knees buckle.
However, once the Troll 's movements were no longer slowed, it could block spells by swinging its arms, so Percy's attack was not as effective as those of the previous students.
Realizing this, Percy stopped attacking the head and aimed at the Troll 's armpits!
The clueless students laughed, thinking Percy was desperate.
But Tewell's gaze sharpened, taking serious note of the prefect.
The armpit is actually a common weak point in humanoid creatures, containing rich nerves and blood vessels that control the upper limbs, as well as important lymphatic tissue.
"And the only protection there is the tender skin; attacking this area may not necessarily be very effective, but it's definitely more effective than attacking the Troll 's thick thighs and body muscles."
Not many wizards know this, much like how not many are good at mathematics—it's a fact that has minimal influence on their magical practices.
However Tewell couldn't help but take a new respect for Percy, knowing how he used this knowledge to his advantage.
Hogwarts really does have too many brilliant students!
He made a mental note of Percy's name before he called a stop to the demonstration, to prevent him from actually breaking the Troll 's arm.
"Alright, Mr. Weasley, if I let you continue, the scene would become something not suitable for the young wizards to witness."
Percy might not have Tewell's keen observational skills, but he realized that his attack had already pushed the Troll to its limits and promptly retracted his wand.
The young wizards were somewhat disappointed.
They might not understand the significance of targeting the armpit, but Percy's style of combat had a seamless grace that aligned with their own fantasies.
They knew they couldn't learn from Professor Fawley in that style, but hopefully, they could learn something from Percy's approach!
"Alright, thank you very much, Percy, for providing us with the final point of today's lesson: the obstruction spell is most effective when targeting the joints, more so than any other part. That's the greatest efficiency of a curse."
"You might also think about other spells and how they can be maximized in effectiveness; this isn't homework, just something to ponder."
"Well, that concludes our lesson for tonight. Please, everyone follow Mr. Weasley back to your dormitories in an orderly fashion."
"Professor, what about the Troll ?" asked a young wizard, still eager from the battle.
"Of course, we'll leave it for Professor Quirrell. He loves these smelly things, doesn't he?" Tewell winked mischievously.
The students burst into laughter as they left the dungeon.
The professors gathered around then.
"That was a splendid lesson. It's hard to believe how young you are, yet you possess such extensive knowledge," Professor McGonagall remarked. She recalled her own younger days when, despite good grades, she lacked practical experience and often had to stick strictly to the textbook.
Tewell's ability to teach according to each student's capabilities, something she only grasped after several years of teaching.
"You flatter me," Tewell said, casting a disdainful glance at the Troll , "Considering tonight's content was quite advanced, I'm not sure how much the students could actually learn."
Typically, creatures like Troll s are not taught until the fourth year, but an opportunity like this is hard to pass up,
He didn't even know where one could find a Troll , yet Quirrell managed to find one; obviously, it shouldn't be wasted.
Moreover, tonight's lesson ostensibly aimed at giving Quirrell time to attract some of the faculty's attention to let him work on some arrangements.
But, in reality, it was meant to cast more suspicion on Quirrell!
A Troll breaking in right before Halloween is one thing, but a professor wakes up from a coma and then disappears?
Who else if not him to suspect?