Just as Marcus Flint was feeling secretly frightened by the unwavering gazes of the young badgers, the class bell rang, its sharp tone slicing through the tension. The appearance of Professor Quirrell eased the charged atmosphere, and the students all returned to their seats. But compared to the tense quiet of the auditorium, the mood in the classroom had undoubtedly undergone a subtle and dangerous shift. The Slytherins were no longer as playful and confident as before. They had been determined to make a meal of the Hufflepuffs, but now, a seed of unease had been planted.
Soon, however, Quirrell brought news that made Marcus Flint and the other Slytherins' eyes light up. "I have some very sad news," Quirrell stammered. "Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff's assistant for Defense Against the Dark Arts, has sprained his ankle and cannot be here today. Marcus Flint, please take on more of the teaching assistant duties."
This delighted Marcus Flint, who nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, Professor Quirrell. Now that Cedric's gone, I will definitely take special care of the younger students." The other Slytherins also breathed a collective sigh of relief, their confidence returning in a rush.
Quirrell wasted no time. "I think everyone is eager to try their hand at this," he announced directly. "So we won't engage in long theories. Practical training, start… now. The two houses will start to form groups."
After Quirrell spoke, Malfoy walked straight to Char. "Char. Let's form a team."
Char, unconcerned, gave a slight nod. The rest of the students also divided into pairs, the Hufflepuffs facing off against Slytherins with malicious smiles. But what made the snakes furious was that even now, the young badgers stared into their eyes without blinking, as if they didn't notice their sinister, malicious grins at all. This prompted many of the Slytherins to whisper taunts to the Hufflepuffs opposite them. "I'm going to beat you up pretty badly in a minute, so that you never dare look at me like that again. It's no use begging for mercy."
But the young badgers remained unmoved. They were clumsy, perhaps, but their most valuable quality was that once they believed in something, they would follow it meticulously. Since they believed in Char, and Char had told them to stare into their opponents' eyes, they would keep doing just that.
At this time, Marcus Flint, who couldn't wait any longer, shouted in place of Quirrell, "Start!"
Immediately, spells began to fly across the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Malfoy looked at Char hesitantly. "Shall we start, too?" He paused, then added, "For the sake of the information you gave me, can you be gentle?"
Char's expression showed a flicker of something strange. It seemed the matter with Umbridge had indeed planted a deep fear in Malfoy's heart. He said lightly, "Okay. You go first. Just treat it as normal sparring."
Malfoy then tentatively cast a spell. But before the curse had even flown from the tip of his wand, Char took a single step forward. Malfoy's spell naturally missed.
"Hurry up," Char said. "Faster."
Malfoy was stunned for a moment, then quickly cast another spell. This time, his movements were much faster than before. But the same thing happened again. As if he had foreseen the future, Char took another step, and Malfoy's spell failed once more. Malfoy's face filled with disbelief. His wand waved continuously, but Char dodged all the spells swiftly, without even the corner of his clothes being touched.
This, of course, seemed natural to Char. His actual combat skills had been acquired through countless brutal sparring sessions with Snape. After adapting to that rhythm, the so-called practical training of first-year wizards felt immature, almost childish. There was no technical skill to speak of. Even Malfoy, whose combat ability was actually better than most of the other Slytherins, was still very raw in his eyes.
Malfoy's eyes widened, and a sense of deep frustration washed over him. He knew Char's actual magic skills were better than his—after all, he had dealt with Umbridge—but he never thought the gap was so vast. Even when casting with all his strength, he couldn't touch a single thread of Char's clothes. From beginning to end, Char hadn't even waved his wand once. It was just pure, economic movement.
He couldn't help but ask again, "How did you do that? Can you teach me?"
Char nodded slightly. After all, he might still cooperate with the Malfoy family in the future, and Lucius had given him a useful curse. These were just some practical tips; it was no big deal to teach them to Malfoy. He then began to give Malfoy some advice, including what Snape had told him about how to keep an eye on the opponent.
Malfoy's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had been given a treasure. He couldn't wait to cast a spell again. A strange look flashed across Char's eyes. Malfoy's talent was really quite good. After a few instructions, his reaction speed immediately became much faster. Although it didn't make much difference to Char, his rate of progress was still impressive. If this continued, Malfoy might become much stronger than he was in the original story.
So Char also changed his pace repeatedly, dodging between Malfoy's improved spells. Malfoy's eyes became brighter and brighter. After dueling with Char, he could clearly feel the extent of his progress. In contrast, all his previous combat training felt like a complete waste of time. The admiration he felt for Char grew even more.
However, the scene of Char and Malfoy practicing together was also seen by the other Slytherins. They couldn't see the subtleties. The only thing they could see was that Char seemed to be being beaten by Malfoy, unable to even pull out his wand to fight back. This made them excited. They had suffered so much at Char's hands before that they all had a negative impression of him. But now, it seemed that after missing so many classes, this was all he could do. Their strength was no longer on the same level. If even the best of them, Char, was struggling, what chance did the other Hufflepuffs have? Thinking of this, the Slytherins no longer felt nervous, and their hands became stronger. The strong bullying the weak was what they were best at.
While Char was instructing Malfoy, the other Slytherins launched a fierce attack on the Hufflepuffs opposite them. They were naturally sharp and intelligent, considering themselves superior. They never took the clumsy badgers seriously. They used many clever tricks and gimmicks. Some threw ink, and while the Hufflepuff was dodging, they would cast a spell to knock them down. Others pretended someone was behind them, and in the moment of slight distraction, they would cast a spell, sending the badger into a panic.
After a while, all the young badgers in the classroom were at a disadvantage. The Slytherins opposite them had looks of cruel excitement on their faces. "Go on," they taunted. "Weren't you quite impressive before? Your house won't be like this, will it? Don't look around, don't count on Char. He can't even protect himself. This class still has a long way to go. If you don't want to get hurt, surrender now."
And the teaching assistant, Marcus Flint, was just standing by. He should have called a halt as soon as a student was knocked down, but he didn't react at all. Instead, he looked at the scene with schadenfreude, even allowing the Slytherins to continue chasing the Hufflepuffs who were on the ground. He stood aside with his arms folded, a look of joy on his face as he commented on their actions. "Nice leg-locker, Blaise. Look at the funny look on that guy's face. Haha, is he tap dancing? Oh yeah, Crabbe, put a hex on his stomach. Let's see what he ate today! Ugh, that's disgusting. Did you hear me? I'm talking to you, the one lying on the ground! You're disgusting!"
When he arrived at the battle between Susan Bones and Pansy Parkinson, the scene he saw made his expression darken. Susan was actually beating Pansy. Obviously, Pansy had said something that had completely infuriated her. Susan waved the wand in her hand repeatedly, roaring angrily, "Who are you calling a poor wretch without parents? You piece of trash! Speak!" Pansy struggled to cope with Susan's offensive, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. She was about to be knocked down.
At this time, Marcus Flint's eyes rolled. He screamed, "Susan Bones! That's enough!" Just as Susan subconsciously stopped, Marcus immediately said, "Pansy Parkinson, now!"
Pansy cast a spell without hesitation, hitting Susan's knee and causing her to scream in pain and fall to her knees. Then, as if in revenge for her previous humiliation, Pansy cast spell after spell on Susan, vicious words pouring from her mouth. "You poor wretch without a father or a mother, I'm talking about you. Isn't this common knowledge? How many people are left in the Bones family? Oh yes, and you, Susan Bones, a poor creature living in your aunt's house, a burden to others, a nobody who loves you and cares for you. Come on, why are you looking at me like that? What did I say wrong? A poor, fatherless, dependent burden? Stand up and fight back if you have the guts!"
As this happened, opposite Char, Malfoy shuddered suddenly, as if blown by a gust of ice-cold wind. He saw Char's expression. He had seen this same expression the night he dealt with Umbridge. Malfoy paused silently, gulping. He prayed that he wouldn't get covered in blood later. But what he didn't expect was that Char, though obviously angry, didn't take action immediately.
"Aren't you going to do anything?" Malfoy whispered.
Char swept his cold gaze over the Slytherins, then his gaze fell on the battered but defiant Hufflepuffs. He noticed that no matter how messy it got, even if they had fallen to the ground, they were still staring into the Slytherins' eyes. His own eyes showed a hint of relief. "I don't need to do anything. How powerful do you really think your house is? Just because you can use some shady tricks and engage in some shady dealings, can you really achieve anything great? You can never win a tough battle. Also, Pansy Parkinson did the most wrong thing. She shouldn't have poked at Susan Bones's heartbreak. Now…" His expression was grim. "You really messed with the badgers."
Malfoy smiled weakly, still unable to believe it. Many of the Hufflepuffs had been knocked down. They were cowardly, timid, and not good at fighting. How could they possibly win? But when his eyes looked elsewhere, he couldn't help but shiver. When Susan Burns was insulted, every Hufflepuff showed an unprecedentedly ferocious look. The gaze they gave the Slytherins in front of them was one of incomparable tenacity and determination. Normally, a scratch would make them cry out in pain. But now, as curses fell on them, they didn't even groan. They still stared. This kind of gaze, this kind of scene, made the Slytherins, who originally had a superior mentality, feel a little scared. Even when several knocked-down Hufflepuffs were struggling to crawl forward, the Slytherins all looked at a loss. The voices chanting the incantations trembled. The arms wielding the wands were shaking.
And Susan Burns, at this moment, stared at Pansy, who was still swearing, with an unprecedented cold and sharp look. Pansy was so frightened that she took two steps back involuntarily. The next moment, Susan got up from the ground and stumbled towards her. Pansy screamed in fear. Susan pulled her hair hard and dragged her to the ground. Without a word, she smacked her hand, tossing the wand aside. Then Susan no longer cared about the rules of combat training. She pressed Pansy down hard and punched her in the face again and again. "Bitch. Bitch. Child of a Death Eater. We, the Bones family, are full of loyal warriors. We were fighting against your Death Eater parents!"
At the same time Susan fought back, similar scenes were happening all over the classroom. The Hufflepuffs were completely enraged. There was no actual combat of magic spells anymore. It was a full-scale fight. There was only one thought in their minds: to beat the Slytherin in front of them, to teach them a lesson they would never forget. To make them remember: don't really piss off a badger.
Under such an impact, the superiority and strength of the Slytherins disappeared. Their fierce appearance and inner cowardice were fully exposed. Some of them even turned and prepared to run away, only to be hugged by a Hufflepuff, thrown to the ground, and punched hard.
Quirrell, on the podium, saw this scene, his face quite ugly. In his mind, Voldemort was making an angry sound. "Incompetence! Incompetence! Damn it, how did Slytherin House become like this? They are all incompetent! It's simply unbearable! I'm so pissed off!"
Char smiled brightly. Marcus Flint, who was still enjoying the show, finally came to his senses. He roared, trying to get the students to stop. But now no one listened to him anymore. The Hufflepuffs only had one goal in mind: to beat up the snakes.
Marcus was shaking with rage. He drew his wand and pointed it at Susan Burns with a cold expression, planning to teach the Hufflepuff girl a lesson.
And the next moment, in front of him, Char appeared, his face a mask of frost. The wand in Char's hand was also pointed at him.
"You like bullying, don't you?" he said, his voice dangerously low. "Come on. Let's have some fun."