"Exactly." Dylan withdrew his wand and gave a slight nod, his gaze fixed on the Whomping Willow's massive trunk.
"Professor Sprout was very particular about taking care of this 'little darling.' Not only must we not injure it, but we also have to keep too many people from gathering around and bothering it—after all, the Whomping Willow is easily agitated as it is. If people keep getting close, it might just provoke it to attack."
"A Confundus Charm?" Harry's eyes lit up. He'd learned the basic principle of the spell in Charms class, knowing it could interfere with other people's perceptions and had a wide range of uses, but actually applying it was quite tricky.
Curiously, he looked around and pressed, "So, if someone walks by here, what will they see? Will they just... not see us?"
Dylan smiled and nodded, explaining, "The effect of this Confundus Charm is to 'weaken presence.'"
"If a passerby doesn't actively come closer, they'll just see a Whomping Willow swaying its branches alone in the wind. They won't notice we're here, and they won't sense anything out of the ordinary."
He paused, then added, "Besides, this spot is already pretty remote. Very few students intentionally walk over to the Whomping Willow anyway. This charm should provide excellent concealment—more than enough for us to get our training done."
Harry stood to the side, looking utterly bewildered.
Cedric and Draco, however, didn't share his confusion. Cedric even found himself grinning, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes. Though Draco didn't smile, he did give a small nod.
"Right then, the broomsticks are in position, and the Confundus Charm is set up."
Dylan cleared his throat, breaking the brief silence. "Next, I'll do a quick demonstration so everyone can see the specific training method we'll be using."
With that, he took his broomstick and walked toward the Whomping Willow.
Dylan was already near the Willow with his broomstick, and he swung a leg over it. With a gentle push off the ground, the broom carried him slowly into the air.
He circled the Whomping Willow, keeping his eyes on the trunk, before adjusting his direction and flying straight toward the tree.
Cedric immediately pointed skyward: "Look, Dylan's starting the demo! Watch his movements carefully!"
Harry and Draco instantly looked up.
Dylan was on a Firebolt, and the broom's casing was shining with a silvery-blue light. It flew incredibly fast, closing the distance to the Whomping Willow quickly.
The moment the nose of his broom entered the area covered by the Willow's branches, a limb as thick as a dinner plate suddenly lashed out with a whooshing sound, cracking toward his waist like a whip.
Dylan's reaction was astonishingly quick. He leaned his body slightly, gripped the broom tightly with his legs, and the Firebolt sliced a smooth arc in the air, narrowly dodging the attack.
But before he could steady himself, another, thicker branch came at him from the back-left, aimed squarely at his spine.
"Watch out!" Harry gasped quietly.
With a slight flick of his wrist, Dylan instantly dropped the broom half a metre. The branch scraped over the top of his head and slammed heavily into the ground.
CRUNCH! A deep, muffled thud echoed, instantly leaving a shallow crater in the dirt and sending soil flying.
Once inside the Whomping Willow's attack range, Dylan's movement space clearly shrank.
The branches were dense, like a gigantic spiderweb. The Firebolt's speed advantage was practically useless; every move required a careful dodge to avoid the limbs coming from all directions.
Suddenly, a dozen of the Willow's branches attacked at once. Some swept horizontally, some smashed down, and others jabbed diagonally, practically cutting off all of Dylan's escape routes.
Harry, Cedric, and Draco subconsciously clenched their fists, their eyes glued to the sky.
The speed and force of this attack were far more intense than they had anticipated.
If that were me, Harry muttered internally, I'd get more than just a bruise. I'd probably be slammed around by these branches over and over. I don't know if I could even stay on my feet.
Dylan narrowly avoided the barrage of attacks. Just as he was breaking through toward the trunk, about to burst past the gaps in the Willow's limbs, a thin branch hidden among the thick leaves suddenly sprung out, aimed right for his broom handle.
It was too sudden, and he had no space to dodge.
Harry's and the others' eyes widened instantly, and they held their breath.
But just as the branch was about to strike the broom...
DONK! With a light thud, the branch seemed to hit an invisible barrier and froze in mid-air.
Dylan took the chance to give a powerful kick, and the Firebolt shot forward, successfully pushing past the trunk's gaps and flying out the other side.
Over the next few minutes, similar events kept happening.
Whenever Dylan was about to be hit by a branch, one of the limbs would suddenly be blocked by an unseen shield, giving him the perfect moment to break free.
Finally, he successfully passed through the gaps of the Whomping Willow's trunk and flew out the other side.
"It's the Shield Charm!" Cedric was the first to realize, his voice certain. "Dylan has been using the Shield Charm to defend himself. Every time he's in danger, the Protego spell precisely blocks the attack, giving Dylan a chance to get away."
"So, Dylan is mainly training his dodging ability, but also practicing the exact timing for casting the Shield Charm?" Draco asked, frowning, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Harry looked at Dylan, who was slowly flying back, and suddenly recalled Quidditch practice: "Doesn't that feel a bit like how Wood trained the Chasers? Breaking through and covering..."
"It really does," Cedric agreed, nodding. As the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, his understanding of teamwork was especially sharp. "Draco is right, Dylan is focusing on dodging and on defense."
"But he's doing it alone. We can help each other."
"Dodging branches requires a quick reaction, and judging when to cast a Shield Charm also requires quick reflexes. You need both."
He paused, then pointed toward the path Dylan had flown: "Did you notice? When we face the dragon, we can't stand in a fixed spot; we have to coordinate while moving. Dylan is doing this to adapt to that dynamic teamwork in advance."
"After all, when the first task starts, we'll be in a similar dynamic environment, and everyone will have their own task to complete," Cedric continued, glancing at Harry and Draco. "This means our reactions have to be fast enough to complete our own task while precisely judging when our teammate is in danger, creating an opportunity for them to escape."
"That's pretty much the gist of it."
Dylan walked over, a gentle smile on his face. "Cedric has explained everything I wanted to say, even more thoroughly than I had planned."
"Actually, Harry inspired me a little," Cedric said, scratching his head sheepishly. "When he brought up the covering maneuvers in Quidditch practice, it suddenly made the key to dynamic coordination click for me."
"But ultimately, trust between teammates is the most important thing. Only with enough trust can we seize those fleeting moments for cooperation and not miss the chance by hesitating."
"Speaking of trust and coordination, there's actually an advanced version of this Whomping Willow training."
Dylan picked up the thread, a hint of anticipation in his voice. "Since Cedric has explained the basic logic so clearly, we might as well demonstrate the advanced mode right now, so everyone can get a more direct feel for it."
"Advanced version?" Harry immediately repeated, his eyes wide with curiosity. He quickly followed up, "How exactly does that work? Is it much harder than what you just did?"
"It will certainly be a bit more complex than before," Dylan nodded, explaining patiently. "In the advanced training, all of us will enter the Whomping Willow's attack range, instead of just one person breaking through while the others cover from the outside."
"Beyond helping each other defend and dodge the branches, we also need to perform 'simulated attacks' on the Whomping Willow. Simply put, that means firing spell-light at the branches with our wands, not to actually cause damage, but mainly to train our ability to cast spells accurately while dodging."
He paused, adding the details for the attack requirements: "As for the spell accuracy, you can set your own targets based on what you need to practice."
"If you want to practice precision striking, you can aim for the thin, smaller branchlets of the Willow. Those parts are more slender than the main limbs, and they move faster, so hitting them is harder, which is perfect for honing casting stability."
With that, Dylan picked up his broomstick again and swung his leg over.
The moment he entered the Whomping Willow's attack range, the disturbed magical plant reacted instantly.
A dozen thick branches rose simultaneously, sweeping down toward him like heavy hammers with a howling wind, even more ferociously than before.
Dylan leaned his body to both sides, and his broom sliced two symmetrical arcs in the air, barely dodging the first wave of attacks.
Even while dodging, he had already raised his wand, and the tip simultaneously glowed with a bright blue light.
Swoosh! Two bolts of light accurately struck the same thin branchlet as it was falling back, hitting nearly the exact same spot.
"Wow!" Harry couldn't help but gasp, his eyes full of surprise. "That's incredible!"
Cedric stared in the direction of the Whomping Willow, his voice tinged with admiration. "At that level, he's practically a master flyer."
As Dylan moved fully into the core of the Willow's attack range, the plant's attacks became even more relentless.
Limb after limb whipped out—some sweeping horizontally from the front, others striking upward from below. The screaming whoosh of wind echoed continuously, leaving almost no gap for escape.
Dylan's reaction was astonishingly quick.
He first leaned backward, dodging a branch slamming down from above, and then, with a slight turn of his wrist, the broom instantly moved half a metre to the left, narrowly avoiding another branch coming from the side.
In that brief moment, he had already brandished his wand, and another bolt of brilliant blue light shot out, accurately striking the joint where a branch connected to the trunk.
That was the weakest point of leverage for the branch, and one of the "best simulated attack spots" they had discussed earlier.
Harry, Cedric, and Draco stood on the ground, watching in awe.
Dylan, riding the Firebolt, weaved up and down among the branches. His movements were so fluid it didn't look like he was dodging attacks; it looked like he was performing an elegant waltz in the air.
And the screaming WHOOSH of the Whomping Willow's branches now sounded like accompanying music, strangely syncing with Dylan's movements.
About ten minutes later, Dylan descended toward the ground, landing steadily on the grass.
He let out a soft breath, saying easily, "That's a rough idea of the advanced training. You can start with the basic mode first—don't rush into adding the attacks. Get the defense and the cooperation rhythm down."
He pointed to the Whomping Willow nearby, detailing the rules: "Two people can patrol on the outside, responsible for observing and defense, while one person enters the attack range and focuses on practicing evasion."
"The key is for the two people on the outside to learn to alternate their Shield Charms. This prevents wasting magic by casting at the same time and ensures that every defense is truly effective and not just pointless effort."
Harry, Cedric, and Draco all nodded.
They understood clearly that when facing a dragon or a Blast-Ended Skrewt, the situation would only be more complex than this. If their teamwork could be "more than the sum of its parts," their chances of dealing with the danger would be much higher.
This meant they had to make choices when casting spells, finding the optimal moment to act so they could conserve enough magical energy and focus for sudden emergencies.
After a brief discussion, the three quickly decided on their roles.
Cedric would go into the attack range first. Harry and Draco would ride their brooms, slowly circling the outside of the Whomping Willow, ready to cast the Shield Charm for support at any moment.
When Cedric, riding his broom, entered the Whomping Willow's attack range and the first branch came at him with a whoosh of wind, he truly understood.
Dodging attacks was much harder than it looked.
It had seemed easy watching Dylan dodge from the ground, but facing that branch thicker than his own waist, he felt the intense pressure bearing down on him. His breathing involuntarily sped up.
The moment he entered the attack zone, Cedric realized the reality was much more complicated than he had anticipated.
He not only had to quickly maneuver his broom to avoid branches, but also cope with the air turbulence caused by their swings.
The strong wind kicked up by a thick limb sweeping past would suddenly alter his broom's flight path, throwing his predicted dodge route off-course.
And the slight breeze created by a thin branchlet cutting through the air would interfere with the stability of his wand-casting; he even had to grip his wand tighter to keep it steady.
What made him even more uncomfortable was that the feeling of turning his broom while dodging an attack was completely different from turning on the Quidditch pitch.
Usually, turning only required him to consider speed and direction. Now, every turn had to simultaneously manage three problems: "avoiding the branch in front," "preventing a side attack," and "leaving room for the next dodge."
The amount of information his brain had to process multiplied, and his movements inevitably became stiff.
Just as he was distracted, thinking about his next move, a branch as thick as a dinner plate suddenly lunged from below and to the side, heading straight for the bottom of his broom with a howling wind.
Cedric instinctively leaned his body and clamped his legs around the broom, narrowly avoiding the "heavy hammer."
But before he could sigh in relief, a sharp, thorny branchlet swept past him.
Riiiip! The hem of his robes was instantly ripped open in three places, and shreds of fabric fluttered away in the airflow.
Cold sweat instantly soaked Cedric's back.
He knew clearly that if his dodge had been even a centimetre smaller, that thorny branchlet would have smacked his leg directly, and the consequences would have been unthinkable.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, his eyes fixed on the surrounding branches, concentrating all his attention on "predicting the attack" and "quick reaction."
For the next two attacks, Cedric clearly adjusted his state.
Facing a branch smashing down from the front, he no longer dodged in a panic. Instead, he first observed the branch's trajectory, then precisely controlled his broom to move backward.
When a thin branch attacked from the side, he would turn his body ahead of time, allowing the broom to tilt slightly with the airflow, avoiding the attack without messing up his subsequent rhythm. Finally, he avoided getting his clothes scratched again.
However, as he pushed deeper into the Whomping Willow's core attack zone, the situation became tricky once more.
The Whomping Willow's branches seemed thoroughly enraged. The attack frequency visibly increased. A dozen limbs came from all directions at once—some attacking high and low, some sweeping left and right—virtually compressing his dodging space to the absolute minimum.
Cedric dodged with all his might, his broom weaving precariously through the gaps in the branches, but the corner of his eye still caught a huge shadow looming over him.
He sharply looked up, and his heart leaped into his throat.
A main branch, thicker than his body, was slowly descending from above. Several thin branches were wrapped around its end, clearly intending to completely trap him.
In that critical moment, just as he thought he was doomed...
DONK! A heavy, muffled thud sounded in his ear. The main branch seemed to hit an invisible barrier and suddenly froze in mid-air, even trembling slightly.
Cedric didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately kicked his legs out and commanded his broom to shoot forward, successfully passing through the Whomping Willow's trunk gaps while the branch was still stunned, and landing safely on the grass on the other side.
"That was close... Thank goodness you guys were helping."
Cedric clutched his chest, panting heavily. Sweat dripped from his forehead and down his cheeks, and his voice was full of shock. "I was almost smashed just now."
"Uh... I actually didn't react in time."
Harry's voice was clearly apologetic. He scratched his head, his eyes shifting away. "When I saw that branch coming down, my mind just went blank. I didn't even have time to raise my wand."
"Me, too."
Draco's words were brief, but his ears were slightly red. He was clearly embarrassed. After a pause, he added, his voice quieter than usual, "Sorry, I couldn't help in time."
Cedric finally understood that the one who had secretly cast the charm to block the branch must have been Dylan, standing on the ground.
He quickly waved his hand, saying easily, "It's alright, that happens when you're just starting out! Let's keep going! We'll run through a full rotation, and we can thank Dylan when we finish."
But the rest of the training didn't go smoothly.
When it was Draco's turn to enter the attack range, he was besieged by several branches at once. Although Cedric cast the Shield Charm in time, his nervousness caused him to misplace the barrier.
The shield was a foot-and-a-half too far to the left, precisely blocking Draco's escape route. This forced Draco to change direction abruptly, and he was struck on the arm by a thin branchlet, leaving a faint red mark.
And when Harry was cornered by the branches, Draco's Shield Charm was even more wildly off-target.
The barrier not only failed to block the incoming branch but appeared right in front of Harry. To dodge the Shield Charm, Harry nearly crashed into two other branches attacking at the same time.
In the end, he had to jump off his broom in a scramble to avoid being crushed in the crossfire.