"Malfoy!" Anthony spotted the commotion and whipped around, eyebrows shooting up. "Didn't expect to see you here. What, the lesson on the train not sinking in yet?"
"Lesson?" Malfoy put on a fake-surprised face. "You really think you won that little scuffle? If that Hufflepuff prefect hadn't shown up when he did, we'd be having a very different conversation right now."
Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward, cracking their knuckles like they were warming up for something fun.
"Truth is," Malfoy went on, "if I were you, I'd frame that half-assed victory and never pick another fight. Wouldn't want anyone realizing you're all talk."
Anthony didn't budge. He took another step closer. "Solid advice. So when's your first real win happening?"
The air got thick fast. Crabbe and Goyle looked ready to throw down. Charlie had picked a quiet corner on purpose—no professors, no prefects, nobody who gave a damn if things turned ugly.
Just as fists were about to fly, Charlie spoke up like he'd only just noticed the tension. "So Malfoy, what brings you down here?"
"Shopping, obviously." Malfoy's face shifted into that usual smug mask. "You? Here to stare at people who can actually afford things? Heard the chocolate's expensive."
"Oh, that stings," Charlie said, deadpan. "Lucky for me, I've got a little saved up."
"Must be your whole year's allowance, right?" Malfoy sneered and shoved past Anthony.
Anthony glanced at Malfoy's back, then at Charlie. Charlie gave him a small nod. Anthony's irritation vanished, replaced by pure anticipation.
Charlie followed Malfoy to the painting. The girls who'd been buying earlier were already gone.
"Afternoon, young witches and wizards," Lely said brightly.
Malfoy looked the painting up and down like some stuck-up art critic. "This the mysterious shop everyone's talking about? Looks pretty pathetic."
Lely shot Charlie a quick, surprised glance. Was this guy a friend of Mr. Wonka's? His tone said otherwise. She remembered the rules—outside the dorm, they didn't know each other. She launched into her sales pitch for the three chocolates.
When she got to the prices, Malfoy gave Charlie a cocky smirk.
"I'll take two," Charlie said, holding up two fingers and dropping a Galleon into the music box. "One Sunshine, one Moonlight."
Lucky timing. He actually had cash today. Two days ago he would've been screwed.
Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "Blowing your whole year's pocket money on candy?"
Charlie didn't answer. He just stared back calmly.
"Four chocolates," Malfoy told Lely. "Any flavors."
He tossed two Galleons in, handed one piece each to Crabbe and Goyle, and kept two for himself.
"Guess I can eat one and throw the other away. For some people I'd suggest breaking it into tiny bites. This price is basically luxury for them."
Charlie acted like he hadn't heard a word. If anything, he looked even more relaxed.
"Didn't know you rated the chocolate so highly."
He turned back to Lely. "Six more. Any flavors."
After paying, he looked straight at Malfoy. "Honestly, I hate the word 'luxury.' Candy should be cheap enough for anyone."
"Then buy the cheap shit," Malfoy snapped, watching Charlie pull four more pieces.
"Eight more," Charlie said.
"Make it ten."
Malfoy's smirk slipped. "You emptying your entire vault, Wonka?"
"None of your business."
Charlie's calm was pissing Malfoy off more than any insult could. Malfoy's face started turning red. "Twelve more."
"Fourteen."
Malfoy's jaw clenched so hard his teeth ground. He patted his waist—no more money. Even he didn't walk around with that much cash. Back home he just told his parents what he wanted and it appeared on his desk.
Anthony sidled up with a shit-eating grin. "Malfoy, you stopping already? Can you only afford that little?"
"Shut your mouth. This has nothing to do with you."
"I'm just saying. Why so pissed?"
Anthony was loving every second. This was way better than throwing punches. Now he got why Charlie stayed so chill when Malfoy talked shit—just a few words and the guy was squirming like an ant on a stove.
"Looks like you're not as loaded as you pretend," Anthony added.
Charlie could practically hear Malfoy's teeth grinding.
"We're leaving." Malfoy spun around, shoved Crabbe and Goyle aside, and stormed off.
"You forgot your chocolate," Charlie called after him.
"Fuck off!"
Crabbe and Goyle scrambled to grab the chocolates, their faces jiggling as they shoved them into their pockets.
"See you around, friends," Charlie said with a wave.
Michael Corner stared at Charlie like he'd grown a second head. He'd always thought Charlie was broke. Turns out the guy had more spending money than Malfoy—the richest first-year anyone knew.
Charlie just caught Michael's shocked look. If he knew what Michael was thinking, he'd correct him—Harry Potter was actually the one with real money.
Once Malfoy was gone, Anthony and Hector burst out laughing, the sound echoing down the empty corridor and straight into Malfoy's ears as he rounded the corner. His footsteps got heavier and faster.
Even from here they could hear it.
"Hey, Malfoy, slow down!" Goyle's voice carried back.
Anthony and Hector laughed harder.
Charlie opened his system panel.
[From Vincent Crabbe: Wish Dust +0.4]
[From Gregory Goyle: Wish Dust +0.3]
Perfect. The rich kid gave him money, and the two dumb ones gave him Wish Dust out of pure love for candy.
After the laughter died down, Charlie split his chocolates with the three of them.
Back in the dorm, Anthony asked, "Charlie, what are you doing later?"
"Practicing charms. Obviously."
Anthony and Hector nodded like it was the most normal answer in the world.
"Hector, you?"
"Chess. I visited my old teacher over break. Picked up some new tricks."
"Cool. Who you playing? Not me—you set some fancy trap and I won't even see it coming."
"That's how the dumb guy beats the pro?" Charlie added.
"You asshole." Anthony glared, then sighed. "Fine. Bored me is coming to practice charms with you."
"How far are you?" Charlie asked.
"Dancing Feet Spell. Can't get it right. Can't picture a scene where I actually need someone tap-dancing."
Charlie nodded. That spell was different from most demand-based charms.
"Maybe I can give you an example. Picture wanting Malfoy to humiliate himself in front of the whole school. You'd be desperate to cast it then."
Anthony slapped his hands together. "You're a genius!"
He jumped up and grabbed Charlie's arm. "Let's go. I need to practice this right now."
Hector looked at Charlie. "Bet he's not impressed with your teaching method. He just wants to learn it so he can make Malfoy look like an idiot."
Charlie nodded in agreement.
Under Anthony's urging, Charlie grabbed Professor Flitwick's notebook and they headed for the Moonlight Club in the Room of Requirement.
Inside, Anthony was already firing the Dancing Feet Spell at a training dummy over and over.
Charlie sat at the desk, flipping through notes on the Engorgement Charm.
The Engorgement Charm—more accurately, the Enlargement Charm. It scaled an object up proportionally, like inflating it with air. It could be used on people too, though the school rules strictly forbade it.
[No doubt this spell has serious dueling potential. It can turn harmless little attacks into meteors in an instant. Like if I'm using Levitation to send a pebble at an enemy and I add Engorgement mid-flight, that pebble could become a bomb, scaring the shit out of any unprepared opponent. Of course, this is still just an idea.]
A bit further down, another note:
[That attempt failed. After Engorgement the pebble's mass changed dramatically and the kinetic energy from the Levitation Charm got crushed by the weight. Maybe this spell should be cast on something with its own consciousness. New idea: Bludger + Engorgement.]
It had a checkmark—Professor Flitwick had tested it and it worked.
Having a mentor's notes was a lifesaver, Charlie thought. He was also curious. When had Flitwick written these? The guy seemed obsessed with dueling. Real hothead.
"Engorgio—"
Charlie muttered the incantation and traced the wand movement from the notes.
An hour later.
"Hell yeah!"
Anthony shouted. "I got it!"
He turned to Charlie, eyes bright. "I figured out the secret. If we can't find a normal need, maybe a shitty idea is the best way to practice."
Charlie nodded. "More like, think in terms of dueling?"
"Exactly." Anthony grinned. "Like if I want to practice the Fire-Making Spell, I can just picture McGonagall's homework. 'Burn that damn assignment to ash.' I'd want that so bad."
"Really?" Charlie raised an eyebrow. "But you'd still have to do it again. McGonagall only cares if it's done on time."
That killed Anthony's enthusiasm. He slumped. "Right. Guess I need a new desire."
"Speaking of which!" Anthony's eyes lit up. "Charlie, let's have a duel."
Charlie looked at him weirdly. Why the sudden duel request?
Anthony took a deep breath. "My dad found out about the train thing. The fight with Malfoy."
"What's that got to do with dueling?"
Anthony's ears turned red. He rubbed his forehead, looking down. "Dad said it was embarrassing. Not how a wizard acts. He shook his head, disappointed. 'What the hell are they teaching you at Hogwarts? We were casting hexes in first year. If you couldn't do a couple minor curses, you were ashamed to call yourself a wizard. What are they even teaching you?'"
He remembered his dad's sigh that night.