Chapter 282: First Encounters

In this environment, the young mages had a new and powerful impetus.

The encirclement and suppression of Acromantulas was no longer limited to personal interests such as increasing individual fighting strength and improving experience, but transcended becoming a competition between Houses.

No one was willing to lose, especially the students of Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Led by professors from their respective Houses and other teaching professors, they fought the Acromantulas on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest as planned.

Ivan's first hunting session was on the first Friday afternoon in February.

In that operation, the second and third year Gryffindor students excitedly gathered and were led by Sirius into the Forbidden Forest.

Contrary to the eager young wizards, Ron seemed very nervous.

He still hadn't recovered from his phobia. Spiders were his greatest fear. So the Acromantulas, which were gigantic, were his biggest nightmare.

Just as nervous as Ron was Hermione. She had hoped to learn more about fighting Acromantulas in the books, but to no avail.

That wasn't something to be learned from books, it was something to be experienced.

At breakfast on Friday, she began to talk to Ivan constantly about the whereabouts of these magical creatures, their common fighting skills, the 200 common ways of dealing with dangerous and magical animals, and so on.

Ivan wanted to persuade Hermione to feel at ease, but it didn't work much. Hermione looked absently at the magic books. After discovering that she was sharing her experience with the books, Neville and Colin listened intently to every word she said.

They were eager to hear some useful knowledge so they wouldn't be so confused in the upcoming battle.

Everyone learned a lot from her, but in the end, they were very happy when the owl mail arrived to interrupt Hermione's endless speech.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Ivan, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Colin, Ginny and the other second and third year Gryffindor boys left the castle. They crossed the field in front of the oak gate and hurried into the Forbidden Forest.

It was a bright, sunny day. The tall black trees of the Forbidden Forest and the green buds that had just emerged swayed and echoed in the wind, covering ground as far as the eye could see. Everyone looked at Sirius in front of the group, nervous and excited.

"I've been guiding seniors for the past few days, fighting Acromantulas." Sirius raised his wand and said loudly, "Remember, these creatures are very dangerous. They are extremely aggressive - we must be vigilant!"

"I knew it!" Ron whispered pallidly. "We have to fight the Acromantulas, those crazy centaurs!"

"But you don't have to worry too much. The number of Acromantulas outside the Forbidden Forest isn't very large, and they're not too big." Sirius' wand glowed white at its tip, he waved his wand and continued, "There will be no accidents if you follow my instructions."

"What should we do, Professor Black?" asked Neville trembling.

"Very simple, find a lone Acromantula first, and I'll show you some magic spells that are very useful on them." Sirius said, "Then you will be split into different groups, fighting Acromantulas in the nearby woods. Remember not to walk alone, or go too far into the Forbidden Forest. If you encounter any accidents; signal in the sky with your wand, I'll be there in a jiffy."

"It really does sound simple," Ron said.

"Be careful!" Hermione said forcefully, "According to the book 'Fantastic Creatures and Where to Find Them', Acromantulas are good at stalking. They hide silently in the shadows of trees, attacking passing prey, or jump out suddenly when you're not looking."

Hearing his words, they all hurried away from the tall trunks around them.

The young wizards were huddled in the narrow bushes, clinging to each other and protecting one another.

They raised their wands and looked suspiciously at the tops of the trees around them, as if the Acromantulas were about to come out and attack.

Neville tripped over the vines on the ground because he wasn't paying attention to his feet.

The sudden accident caused everyone to panic and the atmosphere became increasingly tense.

Seeing that Hermione still wanted to talk, Ivan rushed over and whispered, "Don't be so nervous, Hermione! As long as I'm here, you won't be in danger."

"I'm not nervous, I'm just not ready," Hermione whispered, feeling Ivan's breath and concern, her face was a little flushed.

"These monsters are very dangerous. No one can guarantee they're ready." Ron looked at Ivan and Hermione and continued. "Be careful and don't make mistakes, who knows where these monsters would be lurking?"

"You should be braver, they're just ordinary spiders." Harry pointed at Ginny, not far away, "Look at Ginny; she's not as nervous as you."

Instead of looking around like everyone else, Ginny dragged Colin along and asked Sirius to be at the front of the line for tips on how to fight the Acromantulas.

"She's always so sassy!" Ron's gaze left Ginny, and he looked back at Ivan and Hermione, then glanced uncomfortably at the tall trees around like the others, whispering, "I've never seen anything she's afraid of."

A few minutes later, after a brief confusion, everyone gradually calmed down.

They followed Sirius into the forest for about five minutes until they came upon a lone Acromantula behind a leafy tree.

It had just left the nest and was searching for prey in the nearby woods.

After seeing Sirius and the vast swarm of wizards behind him, the Acromantula looked stunned, then quickly turned to escape.

But Sirius didn't give her the chance and petrified her directly with Petrificus.

Then, using it as an example, he explained in detail to the young wizards the weaknesses of this creature, and introduced several very practical spells.

After the explanation, Sirius removed the magic from the Acromantula.

Under his care and guidance, the young wizards took turns. They all took turns using the spell they had just learned to try to overcome their fear of this creature.

Under the attacks, the Acromantula was scarred many times. It sent out frequent clicks with a loud, shrill noise. Its body kept trembling and it wanted to run away.

But this was in vain, and every time it showed its intention to escape, Sirius' wand emitted a red light, petrifying it again.