How Could I Bear to See You Hurt

In the eyes of Dumbledore, Wentworth, who was currently strengthening the Acolytes, stood trembling in the center of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, with Cassandra standing directly opposite him.

After Professor Ilona finished explaining the Expelliarmus charm, she allowed the first-year students from Hufflepuff and Slytherin to practice separately, but just as the morning class was drawing to a close, Ilona suddenly gathered everyone together.

"Everyone, I believe you are all clear on the purpose and usage of the Expelliarmus charm. Now, is there anyone willing to come up and demonstrate it for the class?"

No sooner had Ilona finished speaking than Cassandra raised her hand, as expected. However, as she walked to the center of the room, she suddenly cast her gaze toward the Hufflepuffs.

"Wentworth, where are you going?"

At that moment, seeing Cassandra walk to the center of the room, Wentworth felt a sense of foreboding and was just about to quietly slip into the crowd of Hufflepuffs.

But clearly, Cassandra had no intention of giving him that chance, calling his name out directly.

"I wonder, which student from Hufflepuff would be willing to come up and have a friendly spar?"

Although Cassandra phrased it as a question, her eyes remained fixed on Wentworth.

Furthermore, as her words fell, all the Hufflepuff freshmen turned their eyes toward Wentworth, who was the most well-known among them.

Seeing there was no way to avoid it, Wentworth stopped trying to escape. With a resigned air, he took his wand and walked straight to the spot opposite Cassandra.

As Professor Ilona announced the start, both sides raised their wands simultaneously.

"Expelliarmus!"

A spell shot out from Cassandra's wand. Wentworth, however, seemed to have no reaction at all; he neither chanted a spell nor waved his wand, simply taking the hit of Cassandra's disarming charm head-on.

Immediately, Wentworth's wand flew out of his hand.

Seeing his wand knocked away, the corner of Cassandra's mouth began to curl upward, but Wentworth spoke first:

"Did you see that, everyone? This is the effect of the Expelliarmus charm. Once hit, the wand in your hand will fly away involuntarily, just like mine did. For the vast majority of wizards, losing their wand means losing their ability to fight."

As Cassandra and the other freshmen stared in stunned silence, Wentworth walked over, picked up his wand, and looked at Cassandra with a smile.

"Cassandra, you are a girl, after all. Although the Expelliarmus charm is relatively low-risk, the magical impact still hurts quite a bit when it hits you. As a boy, how could I let you suffer such a thing?"

"Since someone had to be hit by the spell, I would rather it be me. I wouldn't let a girl bear that danger. After all, I am from Hufflepuff!"

When Wentworth finished speaking, he stood there quietly. The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was silent for a moment, and then, thunderous applause erupted!

The first-year Hufflepuffs behind Wentworth looked at him with pure adoration; many of the Hufflepuff girls even had a glimmer of affection in their eyes. Even among the Slytherin freshmen, some began to clap, though they quickly stopped under Cassandra's glare.

Cassandra glared at Wentworth as he stood there, calmly accepting the cheers of the Hufflepuffs. She had originally intended to use this opportunity to get back at him, but she never expected it to turn out like this.

Just then, Professor Ilona, who had been watching from the side, clapped softly and spoke up:

"Absolutely brilliant! You all performed even better than I imagined! Cassandra showed unparalleled talent for charms—a perfect Expelliarmus. Ten points to Slytherin!"

"And Wentworth demonstrated the integrity and kindness expected of a Hufflepuff. By risking injury to take that spell head-on, he showed true grace and gentlemanly conduct. Twenty points to Hufflepuff!"

Ilona looked at Wentworth standing in the center of the room, backed by the cheering Hufflepuffs, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:

Is this winning hearts? Perhaps not. Perhaps Wentworth truly is like his master, always treating his own people with sincerity, which is why so many excellent wizards follow in his footsteps so loyally. And this Wentworth is performing even better than his master did back in the day! After all, his master didn't have so many wizards cheering for him at this age.

After Ilona's words, another wave of cheers erupted from the Hufflepuffs, while Wentworth stood there dumbfounded. This actually worked?

Only Wentworth knew that while he could barely cast an Expelliarmus, it was truly a struggle! Not to mention whether he could match Cassandra, even hitting her would have been a problem!

Rather than being humiliated by a girl, it was better to give himself a graceful exit! That was Wentworth's thought process when facing Cassandra.

But he never expected that no one would suspect him. Hogwarts really has such honest, simple folk!

Thus, Wentworth bowed to Cassandra like a gentleman, then turned and bowed to Professor Ilona before strolling back into the crowd amidst the cheers of the Hufflepuff first-years.

Seeing this, a delighted Ilona announced: No homework for this lesson!

At this, even the Slytherin students began to cheer, and the applause was deafening.

After class, when Wentworth returned to the Hufflepuff common room surrounded by his first-year peers, the moment he stepped inside, "pop!"—several streamers landed on him.

Wentworth looked in surprise at the common room, where Cedric, Coke, and the others were all waiting for him.

Seeing Wentworth walk in, everyone offered him their applause as well!

Coke rushed over and hugged Wentworth, his face full of excitement; he looked as if he wanted to kiss Wentworth on the cheek.

"Wentworth! Thank you! On behalf of Hufflepuff, I thank you! I've been fed up with Slytherin for five years! Do you know how I've spent these past five years? We Hufflepuffs are bullied by Slytherin at every turn, and whenever a conflict happens, it's usually us who get points deducted!"

"I waited five years to finally become a prefect, not to prove how great I am, but to tell everyone that what I've lost, I will take back with my own hands!"

"What did you lose?"

Wentworth looked at the resentful Coke and asked in surprise.

"I've lost a lot, like those deducted points, but most importantly—my dignity!"