Mastering Lightning from Hogwarts

"Secondly, I've noticed a significant problem with your mindset during missions. More than one of you were distracted and unfocused at the scene. Did you think dealing with a troll posed no threat? Or did you feel you could slack off because I was there? Four people couldn't even intercept a wooden club thrown with brute force!"

Anduin's expression was extremely cold as he spoke, and the older students lowered their heads, clearly feeling the sting of his words.

"Finally!" Anduin continued, "Your efficiency during the mission was appalling. You even gave the troll a chance to retaliate. Why didn't you attack its legs directly after creating the ice? Did you have to wait for it to slip?"

"And the timing of subduing the troll was far too slow. You could have restricted its movements while attacking. Besides, after the troll threw its weapon, you all just stood there gawking? What was there to see?"

"I taught you the standard operating procedure for a small team to deal with it, but four teams of you were so slow to take down one troll. It's simply a complete failure!"

Anduin didn't spare these wizards any face, launching into a barrage of criticism that left them unable to lift their heads.

"When you get back, everyone involved in the operation will write a twelve-foot-long apology letter, to be submitted next week during the tactical training class!" Anduin added a punishment at the end of his review.

A twelve-foot-long apology letter?

The older students' faces paled upon hearing this. Did it really have to be that long?

Then, many of them realized that the length of the apology letter was about the same as the troll's height. Was Anduin assigning homework based on the enemy's size?

If they were dealing with something even bigger, wouldn't they have to write even longer letters? If it were a dragon, wouldn't they have to write dozens of feet?

However, Anduin didn't give them any chance to argue. After reprimanding the older students, he immediately turned to George in the crowd.

"And you, did you think the troll was too stupid to understand what provocation is? Making such a rash move when facing a dark magic creature nearly endangered yourself and your companions. Gryffindor loses 20 points!"

Stared down by Anduin, George knew he had made a big mistake, no matter how mischievous he was. He had almost been hit by the troll's club, and others nearby had been in danger as well.

But Anduin quickly turned to Ron and Hermione beside him, "However, you two reacted quickly and responded very well. You salvaged 20 points for Gryffindor."

"Thank you, Professor!" Hermione happily exchanged a glance with Ron, and their companions cast admiring glances at them.

"But the problem now is that there were so many people on the scene, and only two first-year students reacted. Were the rest of you idiots? Don't you know you have wands too?" Anduin mercilessly berated them.

Today's sudden incident gave him a direct understanding of these young wizards' adaptability. These children, who had grown up in a peaceful environment, had forgotten what danger was.

Even if Anduin taught them some combat skills, he couldn't compensate for their poor initiative. As long as there were professors or adult wizards around, they would forget to think and respond independently when they encountered trouble.

In fact, when the troll threw the club earlier, Anduin could have directly stopped it and protected them, but to test everyone's reaction, he deliberately slowed down his rescue speed.

And the result was very disappointing. So many people were simply stunned on the spot.

Hearing Anduin's words, everyone present lowered their heads, either embarrassed or remorseful, especially George and Fred, because they had indeed been very relaxed with Anduin around.

"It seems that to improve your basic responsiveness and awareness of danger, I must take some measures," Anduin narrowed his eyes with a stern expression.

"Starting tomorrow, everyone be careful. I will launch surprise attacks on you at any time, in any place, and in any form."

"I want to see if you can flexibly apply what you've learned in tactical training in emergency situations, or if you just learn it and forget it?"

"And note that for each sudden incident, I will score your response, and these scores will directly affect your final grade. Understood?" Anduin paced back and forth on the troll's belly, ensuring his words were conveyed to everyone through his eyes.

"Ah???"

Hearing Anduin's words, all the young wizards on the scene showed a collapsed expression. The professor personally attacking them? Who could withstand that, and it would count towards the final exam?

"What kind of reaction is that? Didn't you eat enough? Understood?" Anduin raised his voice and emphasized again.

"Understood!"

Although everyone was reluctant, they could only respond loudly. They didn't know what Anduin's so-called attacks would entail, but thinking of the professor's past behavior, fear arose in their hearts.

Of course, Anduin also saw everyone's worries, so he added, "Don't worry, the content of the surprise inspections will not exceed your current capacity. The projects involved are all those I have explained to you in the course. What you need to learn is to think calmly in emergency situations."

"Yes! Professor!"

After hearing Anduin's explanation, everyone felt a little more at ease, although they were still a little uneasy.

"Very well, now everyone dismiss! After returning to your respective houses, reflect on what you have gained today!"

Then Anduin ordered the prefects of each house to lead the students away from the scene. After everyone had dispersed, he turned his head and looked towards a corner not far away.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, you can come out now."

"That was a vivid lesson!" Hearing Anduin's summons, Dumbledore slowly walked out of the shadows, with a faint smile on his face. "But aren't you a little too strict? They're just ordinary children. It's normal not to react in that situation."

"I don't want ordinary! Only by shedding more blood and sweat in training can they avoid losing their lives on the battlefield. Isn't that why you invited me back to Hogwarts? If the mysterious man really returns as you predicted, they have to learn to take care of themselves. After all, we can't always be by their side."

Anduin shook his head indifferently, his expression unusually serious.

"It seems you care about them very much. I'm relieved to hear that." Dumbledore nodded with satisfaction. He could see that Anduin's actions were truly for the good of the young wizards, and Anduin's presence did relieve a lot of pressure on him.

"Let's not talk about that. How is the situation on the fourth floor? The timing of this troll's appearance is too coincidental. The mastermind behind the scenes must have started to act?" Anduin waved his hand casually and jumped off the troll with a small leap.

"Indeed..." Dumbledore confirmed Anduin's guess, then said with a slightly disappointed expression, "You probably guessed it, it's Quirrell. He tried to sneak in after you left."

"Did he succeed?"

Anduin didn't show any surprise at learning it was Quirrell. He had suspected Quirrell's identity before. This troll was prepared by him at Quirrell's request after he took over Dumbledore's Number One Dungeon project. He must have been eyeing the Sorcerer's Stone since then.

"No, he was blocked by Fluffy." Dumbledore shook his head. "From this perspective, his strength doesn't seem very strong. He should still be under our control."

"So you're going to keep him around as bait?" Anduin heard Dumbledore's implication.

"That's the best option. I'm not sure what his position is right now. Is he being controlled? Or is he being bewitched? Or is he just a pawn? Is Quirrell directly related to the mysterious man, or is he only connected to the Death Eaters?"

Dumbledore muttered to himself, not knowing whether he was speaking to Anduin or asking himself.

"This is too passive. If you ask me, we should just catch him. I'm confident I can figure out what's hidden in his brain. There's no need to keep a ticking time bomb around."

Anduin didn't like Dumbledore's approach. If it were him, he would definitely start with a wave of interrogation, tracking, disguise, and sneak attack packages. No matter who the manipulator behind him is, wouldn't it be better to kill them all?

"Don't rush." Dumbledore seemed to have some concerns. "I want to take this opportunity to find out the mysterious man's current state. If he could have a face-to-face encounter with Harry, that would be great. Do you think that boy might really be his nemesis?"

"Your idea is dangerous." Anduin glanced at Dumbledore with a displeased expression. "Bardoe once told me that you are a superstitious person who believes in prophecies. I didn't believe it before. Do you really believe in the so-called savior? Putting hope on a child will make us look very failed."

Anduin had always scoffed at things like fate and prophecy. It's not like he hadn't come into contact with similar things before, such as those centaurs, or some prophecy wizards he had come into contact with during his travels around the world.

But he actually knew that these so-called prophecies were all ambiguous words, entirely dependent on how they were interpreted, and even had a sense of reasoning based on results.

Anyway, no matter what the ending is, those prophecies seem to make sense. Then what's the difference between that and nonsense?