Over the next few minutes, the remaining members of the D.A. all hurried over.
After counting everyone, Hermione realized, speechless, that the absences she had expected simply hadn't happened at all.
Once Link gave the order, every single holder of a D.A. Galleon had shown up.
Looking at the faces in front of her, some full of anticipation, others full of admiration, Hermione couldn't help feeling a little sour.
Because that definitely hadn't been how things went during the D.A. meetings she had hosted over the Christmas holiday.
Back then, the D.A. members who had stayed at Hogwarts treated making excuses to ask for leave as standard practice. Some of the worse ones didn't even bother to say anything, they just didn't show up at all.
At the time, those people had nearly driven Hermione into depression.
She had promised Link that she would run the D.A. meetings properly, but she didn't have any real authority in her hands. She couldn't punish people for being late or absent the way professors could.
The reason she hadn't mentioned any of this to Link before this meeting was because she wanted to see how he would handle it, and, honestly, she was also hoping he would step in and punish those old freeloaders for her, so she could let off some steam.
But once the host changed to Link, those same freeloaders suddenly became more enthusiastic than anyone else?
Hermione was so frustrated she felt like smashing her head into a wall.
Unfortunately, hardly anyone present noticed her change in mood.
After everyone arrived early, Link decisively distributed the teaching tasks to Newland, Sigefin, Harry, Hermione, and several others.
He had them divide the crowd into different areas by year, with each group being taught the combat-oriented spells their grade should already have mastered.
As for Link himself, he wandered casually between the different areas, checking on everyone's progress and how well they were using their spells.
Quite a few people looked disappointed when they heard this.
The reason they had shown up so eagerly was because they wanted personal instruction from Link and hoped to learn stronger, more advanced spells from him.
Unfortunately, that was destined to remain nothing more than wishful thinking.
Link had never planned to personally step in and teach classes.
The reason he had recruited so many subordinates in the first place was precisely to avoid situations like this.
As the founder of the D.A., he only wanted to act as a hands-off manager, overseeing the group's overall direction.
Of course, there was another reason as well, the students' previously demonstrated strength was simply too weak.
People who couldn't even properly cast a Disarming Charm basically didn't qualify for further cultivation in Link's eyes.
If they didn't work hard on their own, then no matter how much he taught, it would all be useless.
Link didn't particularly care about this. Even if they were only cannon fodder, they were still useful to him.
However, what surprised Link was that after making several rounds of inspection, he discovered that these students, who at the first D.A. meeting couldn't even manage basic Defense Against the Dark Arts, had made significant progress.
This wasn't to say they were now especially strong.
But at the very least, most of them could now cast spells like the Disarming Charm and Shield Charm with decent form.
The one who left the deepest impression on Link was Neville.
This chubby boy with slightly crooked teeth had been curled up under the Gryffindor table that very morning, crying so hard he nearly fainted.
Now, however, his face was filled with determination.
The one sparring with him, Newland, was someone with a particularly nasty sense of humor.
He naturally had no fondness for someone like Neville, born into a pure-blood noble family yet utterly useless himself.
So deliberately reflecting Neville's spells back at him with a Shield Charm had become Newland's standard routine.
As a result, Neville was being blasted away every few minutes.
Yet even under such harsh treatment, Neville didn't complain, and he didn't cry.
He simply got back up again and again, stared with bloodshot eyes, cast the Disarming Charm once more, and got knocked flying again.
Watching Neville get sent farther and farther each time, Link nodded in satisfaction.
This was someone who truly deserved to be cultivated, a true Gryffindor.
At the same time, Link recalled a rumor from his previous life about Neville.
It was said that Professor Trelawney's prophecy back then had never explicitly named Harry.
It only said that a child born at the end of the seventh month, to a family that had thrice defied the Dark Lord, would possess a power the Dark Lord knew not, and that only one of them could live…
And Neville, just like Harry, perfectly fit the conditions of the Chosen One.
He had suffered a childhood just as tragic as Harry's, yet never received the glory he should have had.
Even so, those outstanding qualities of his still shone stubbornly, allowing anyone with enough discernment to clearly see how extraordinary he was.
He was not weaker than Harry Potter.
For more than an hour afterward, Link barely went anywhere. He simply stood there, watching Neville repeat the cycle of being blasted away, getting back up, and then being blasted away again.
It wasn't until Emily came over to remind him that time was up that Link finally blew the whistle signaling the end of the meeting.
"Haah… haah…"
Neville collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
Sweat dripped nonstop from his already soaked clothes, quickly pooling into a large wet patch beneath him.
Normally, Neville would have jumped up immediately to clean the floor, his strict grandmother would never allow him to behave so rudely.
But now, he couldn't do anything at all.
The intense training earlier had left his entire body radiating pain.
His sweat wasn't so much from exhaustion as it was from sheer pain.
Link appeared silently in front of Neville.
Faced with Link's gaze, Neville froze for a moment and instinctively looked away.
But in the next instant, he forced himself to stand up despite the pain, lowered his head, and timidly greeted Link, "L-Link."
Link nodded, a satisfied smile on his face.
He understood that to Neville, he was actually a very frightening presence.
As Link's reputation grew, especially once rumors spread around Hogwarts that he was gradually becoming a dark wizard, Neville had stopped daring to speak to him at all.
Even when they happened to cross paths at school, Neville would cover his ears and find somewhere to hide, as if fooling himself.
So for Neville to stand up now and greet him was already the result of summoning all his courage.
Link smiled and placed a bottle of healing potion into Neville's arms. Meeting Neville's surprised gaze, he said, "After you go back, rub this potion all over your body. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but by tonight, all these injuries will be healed."
After a brief pause, Link restrained his smile and continued, "By the way, you did very well. I hope you'll keep working hard."
At that, Neville's eyes instantly turned red.
He hugged the bottle of potion to his chest. He looked like he was about to cry, but he desperately rubbed his eyes and forced the tears back.
Finally, he nodded hard at Link and said, "Don't worry, Link. I definitely will! This is for my parents, and for myself!"
Neville limped painfully toward the exit. The sight of his back nearly made Hermione and Harry cry.
Everyone knew just how much grief and pressure Neville carried on his shoulders. That was why, even when Neville had seemed so pathetic before, people were still willing to stay close to him.
And now, Neville had finally stood up.
"You think highly of him?"
A voice sounded beside Link.
Link shifted his gaze from Neville's retreating figure and saw Newland, his face expressionless.
"Yes. Neville's a good kid," Link nodded. "He might be worth some investment. He should be useful in the future."
Newland lowered his head respectfully, but a shadow crept into his eyes.
Though he hid it well, it didn't escape Link's passive Legilimency.
Link chuckled softly, "You think this is unfair?"
Newland looked up in alarm, then quickly lowered his head again. After struggling for a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Yes. Sigefin and I went through so many trials to earn your favor, yet he only had to perform well once…"
"You want to say I took a liking to his pure-blood status and good family background?" Link said.
For once, Newland showed some backbone.
"Isn't that the case?"
Link laughed even more.
He took two steps forward, looming over Newland, and looked down at him.
"You understand this, don't you? There has never been such a thing as fairness or justice in this world. The power and status you have now, wasn't that also thanks to luck? Don't tell me you think it was purely the result of your own effort. Looks like you've gotten a bit full of yourself lately. Go do extra training."
Newland didn't argue, and he didn't refuse.
He simply lowered his head even further, responded with a respectful "Yes," and then began running laps around the Room of Requirement on his own.
Link shook his head with a soft laugh. He snapped his fingers, and Yoyo crawled out from his collar, flapping its wings as it flew toward Newland.
At first, Newland didn't understand what was happening and kept running at a steady pace.
But after Yoyo moved at nearly imperceptible speed and left three deep, bleeding claw marks on his body, Newland's extra training turned into a full-blown survival run.
Watching him dodge and weave while the wounds on his body kept increasing, Sigefin's expression grew anxious.
Sigefin shot a glance at Link. Seeing no sign that Link intended to stop, he drew the longsword from his back and prepared to join Newland in this "extra training."
But to his surprise, the moment he got close, Newland, who hadn't fought back at all against Yoyo's relentless attacks, suddenly pulled out his wand.
"Get lost, Sigefin. Expelliarmus!"
A red flash streaked over with a sharp tearing sound, only to be easily cut apart by Sigefin.
Even though he wasn't hurt at all, Sigefin's expression darkened significantly.
Newland glanced at Sigefin apologetically, then turned back to endure Yoyo's nonstop assault.
This wasn't because he was stupid. He understood very well that Link was never a particularly magnanimous person.
Link had ordered extra training precisely to punish him.
Since that was the case, he had to make himself look miserable enough to satisfy Link. Otherwise, even if Link said nothing on the surface, he might make up for it elsewhere afterward, which would be far more terrifying.
This brutal "extra training" lasted nearly half an hour.
Only when Newland was covered in blood, and Hermione and the others finally noticed what was happening and came over to intervene, did Link recall Yoyo, who had just finished warming up.
Looking at Newland staggering toward him, leaving bloody footprints with every step, Link shook his head lightly and said with a smile, "Alright, next we'll begin the Occlumency lesson. Harry, are you ready?"
Harry nodded instinctively, then saw Newland, who was still bleeding profusely, start trembling with excitement.
This startled Harry. He thought Newland might be too badly injured to hold on.
But before he could react, Hermione rushed over excitedly from the other side.
"Link, does that mean we can learn it too?"
"I can't promise I'll have time to give personalized instruction to everyone besides Harry," Link said calmly, "but I don't mind you listening in. This is a privilege I give to friends."
He gave Newland and Sigefin a meaningful look and continued, "Of course, I don't think personalized instruction helps much anyway."
"When it comes to learning Occlumency, talent is what matters most. For someone with enough talent, simple guidance is already sufficient. For someone without it, no amount of teaching will make a difference."
While Link was speaking, Sigefin had already handed his potion kit to Newland.
But Newland didn't treat his injuries right away. Instead, he sincerely bowed to Link.
Link chuckled and went on, "Before learning Occlumency, I need to be clear about what you all understand it to be. Does anyone here know what kind of magic Occlumency actually is?"
As soon as Link finished speaking, Hermione shot her arm straight up.
To make sure Link noticed her, she even bounced on the tips of her toes.
Link couldn't help laughing. He pointed at her and, mimicking a professor's tone, said, "Very well, Miss Granger. Please answer the question."
"Occlumency is a form of magic that seals off one's mind to defend it," Hermione answered at rapid speed.
"The opposing spell is Legilimency, and Occlumency is the most effective way to defend against Legilimency. Those who master Occlumency are called Occlumens, while those who master Legilimency are called Legilimens."
"Excellent answer, Miss Granger! You even explained some details about Legilimency. If I had the authority to award points, I'd give you twenty points all at once!" Link said, then shifted his tone.
"However, your answer isn't complete. Next, I'll add a few more points to it."