The edges of the fast-moving leaves were as sharp as blades. Lynn's hand gestures with the wand changed rapidly, and the fallen leaves gathered into a long dragon, charging at the Dark Shadow.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Spells continuously shot out from the Dark Shadow's wand, and the dragon of leaves was repeatedly broken apart, but more leaves would immediately fill the gaps in the next moment.
The Dark Shadow roared in anger. Many leaves had already broken through its defenses, leaving countless blade-like cuts on its body.
Seemingly completely enraged, the frequency of the Dark Shadow's spells increased. Hermione and Harry only felt bursts of red light mixed with green light before their eyes, so piercing they couldn't open them.
As the stalemate dragged on, Lynn's face rapidly turned pale.
In this emergency state, her brain quickly performed an analysis. She had already recognized the spells the Dark Shadow was using: the red one was Crucio, and the green one was the Killing Curse.
If this continued, her magic would eventually be exhausted, and by then, the three of them would likely not escape alive.
Take one hit of Crucio, then drive back the Dark Shadow—Lynn arrived at the optimal choice.
Without hesitation, she dashed forward, charging straight out of the range protected by the leaves and colliding with a red light heading her way without dodging.
The red light struck Lynn's body. Pain—extreme pain—pain that went deep into her bones and pierced her heart.
Lynn's face remained expressionless, though she couldn't help but stumble.
The Dark Shadow gave a mocking laugh. After all, she was just a Young Wizard who couldn't keep her cool and lacked sufficient magic. Now that she had been hit by Crucio, how could she still fight?
She would just have to crawl on the ground and wail! Thinking this, the Dark Shadow's vigilance completely relaxed.
Unfortunately for it, Lynn had long known it would think this way; or rather, she had been waiting for the moment the Dark Shadow let down its guard.
Steadying her footsteps, she waved her wand toward the sky. Lynn's voice was exceptionally hoarse, yet still flat.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Four dragons of fallen leaves surged up from the ground around the Dark Shadow, slamming into it fiercely.
The Dark Shadow looked at Lynn, who was still able to stand and even use such a large-scale spell, its eyes filled with utter disbelief.
Four dragons of leaves were rushing at it; there was no way to block them all. And no matter which of these four dragons it was hit by directly, death was certain.
With an unwilling roar, the Dark Shadow's body misted, turning into a black fog that rose into the air, then tried to dive back toward the ground.
Whoosh! The sound of something cutting through the air rang out, and a sharp arrow landed in front of the black fog. Clearly, the Centaur arranged by Headmaster Dumbledore had arrived.
The black fog paused for a second before turning and fleeing without hesitation.
Lynn stood in place with a pale face. Although she had only been hit once, the pain throughout her body was still throbbing with an aftereffect.
She lowered her wand, and with a bang, all the fallen leaves lost their support and fluttered to the ground.
Without the leaves blocking her view, Hermione immediately located Lynn. She rushed forward, pulled her into the invisibility cloak, and looked at her with concern.
"Lynn, how are you? You're not hurt, are you?"
Lynn spoke in a hoarse voice, "Not hurt..." There wasn't a single wound on her body, so saying she wasn't hurt was the truth.
"What happened to your voice?" Hermione felt a slight sense of relief when she heard Lynn say she wasn't hurt, but she couldn't help but worry when she heard her exceptionally hoarse voice.
It was far too dark in the Forbidden Forest, so she couldn't see Lynn's pale face at all; otherwise, she would have probably screamed and dragged her to the Hospital Wing long ago.
"I'm fine, it'll be better in a while," Lynn replied in a flat tone.
Once the sensation of pain passed, her voice would naturally recover.
"Alright." Hermione pursed her lips and said no more. The Centaur and Hagrid had both arrived.
Harry, who was being questioned by Hagrid and the Centaur at the same time, made up a story about the situation on the fly, but his gaze couldn't stop drifting toward where Lynn and Hermione were. He was truly worried about how they were doing.
Fearing Harry was startled, the Centaur let Harry ride on his back, and then he and Hagrid quickly escorted Harry out of the Forbidden Forest.
Lynn and Hermione walked slowly toward the exit of the Forbidden Forest under the invisibility cloak.
Her legs felt weak and her footsteps were unsteady. Lynn had never felt her body so powerless before. Even though she was weak and in pain, there was not the slightest change in her expression; her face was full of calm and composure.
Finally stepping out of the Forbidden Forest, Lynn's breathing could no longer be restrained and became heavy.
However, Hermione beside her didn't hear it because of the sound of the wind around them.
"Hermione, you go back first so you can let Harry know you're safe."
Lynn spoke in a hoarse voice with a calm tone. Her brain was intermittently popping up thoughts amidst bursts of sharp pain, telling Hermione to leave first.
"I'll take you back to Ravenclaw Tower." Hermione shook her head; she didn't want to leave Lynn here.
"The Professors won't catch me," Lynn's voice was hoarse and flat. "You go back first so you can tell Harry and Ron you're safe."
Hermione glanced at Hogwarts Castle and lowered her eyes. It was true... if she didn't go back, Harry would tell Ron the specifics after he returned, and they would likely think something had happened to her and Lynn.
If they went to find a Professor then... Harry would probably get detention again, and she and Lynn would have points deducted.
"Alright, then I'll go back first and let Harry and the others know. Be careful yourself, and get back to your Dormitory quickly."
"Okay," Lynn agreed in a flat tone.
Hermione walked away quickly under the invisibility cloak. Lynn stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, reaching out to support herself against a nearby large tree.
Her face was pale and she was drenched in sweat. Stumbling, Lynn held onto the trees and bit by bit moved toward Hogwarts Castle.
Even for someone like her who was used to pain, the pain of Crucio was far too "advanced."
However, it should also be said that it was lucky she was used to pain; otherwise, at the first moment she was hit by Crucio, she would have collapsed without any ability to resist.
She moved into Hogwarts Castle step by step, then supported herself against the wall as she climbed the stairs bit by bit. The speed of the moving stairs slowed down all the way, as if fearing that moving too fast would knock this weak child over.
After answering the Knocker's question in a hoarse voice, Lynn entered the Common Room and slowly climbed the final set of stairs. She opened the Dormitory door, walked to the bedside, and before she even had time to take off her shoes and socks, she collapsed directly onto the bed.
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