A Good Time for Revenge

Vane led such a large group of Slytherin students, parading through the halls and naturally drawing many eyes; naturally, it wasn't long before some had already scurried off to the professors' offices to tattle.

By the time Vane and the other Slytherins arrived outside the Hufflepuff common room, a crowd of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students had already trailed behind them—after all, a love for spectacle is human nature.

Green, having already received word, had led the Hufflepuff students to wait outside their common room.

"Vane, what are you trying to do? Are you representing Slytherin and declaring war on us Hufflepuffs?"

Green immediately mimicked Cassandra from earlier that morning, preemptively pinning a massive accusation on Vane.

"You're right, I am representing Slytherin and declaring war on you Hufflepuffs!"

But to Green's surprise, Vane admitted it without a moment's hesitation.

"Declaring war? No problem. All Hufflepuff students, listen to my command! Raise your wands and prepare for the first round of artillery... what was it called again?"

Green turned his head to look at Wentworth and asked.

"Artillery saturation, Senior Green! With so many of us in Hufflepuff, rather than obsessing over the precision of a single spell, we might as well increase the spell's area of effect by ten meters! Today, we shall let our Slytherin classmates understand what 'fear of insufficient firepower' truly means!"

Wentworth stood behind Green, his gaze fixed quietly on the Slytherins opposite as he spoke.

This was the strategy Wentworth had just discussed with Green: if Slytherin was truly here to cause trouble, Hufflepuff didn't need to be polite. If they couldn't win a one-on-one duel, surely double the spells raining down would do the trick!

Seeing the Hufflepuff students all raise their wands toward him, the sheer density of the pointed wands was truly terrifying, and Vane hurriedly spoke up:

"Green! This is our formal challenge! Are you Hufflepuffs too afraid to even accept it?"

Green looked at Vane, who was holding a piece of parchment, and said with disdain:

"Vane, next time, remember to hold up a blank sheet of paper!"

Despite saying this, Green signaled for Cedric to go over and take the parchment from Vane's hand.

The parchment clearly read:

For the thousand-year friendship between Slytherin and Hufflepuff, to promote campus unity at Hogwarts, to enrich the extracurricular lives of students... blah, blah, blah...

At six o'clock tonight, Slytherin House invites Hufflepuff House to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom for a duel to exchange spell-casting techniques.

Each house shall send one representative from each year, from first to fifth year, totaling five matches, with a best-of-three format.

Both sides are prohibited from using spells that cause severe harm, including dark curses; only defensive-oriented spells such as Expelliarmus and Protego are permitted.

...blah, blah, blah...

All students of Slytherin House await the arrival of Hufflepuff House tonight!

Seeing the contents of the parchment, Wentworth and Cedric exchanged glances, while Coke's expression turned rather ugly.

Just then, Professor McGonagall and Headmaster Dumbledore arrived on the scene simultaneously. Seeing that the Slytherin and Hufflepuff students seemed on the verge of a large-scale conflict, Professor McGonagall shouted loudly:

"Everyone, stop! What do you think you are doing? Hufflepuff, lower your wands!"

Vane, standing to the side, said with a smirk:

"Professor McGonagall, look at Hufflepuff! They actually raised their wands against their own classmates! It's simply unbelievable!"

But Professor McGonagall only gave Vane a cold look and retorted sharply:

"Then, tell me, what are so many Slytherins doing gathered at the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room?"

Vane was instantly rendered speechless.

At this moment, other professors, including the Head of Hufflepuff, Professor Pomona Sprout, arrived one after another.

Coke handed the parchment Vane had given him to his Head of House. Professor Sprout took a look and then walked toward Dumbledore and McGonagall with the parchment in hand.

Seeing Professor Sprout walk away, Wentworth quietly leaned toward Green and asked:

"Senior Green, you look a bit pale."

Green replied irritably:

"How could I look any better? If we follow what's on Vane's parchment, there is no way we Hufflepuffs can win! Perhaps only Cedric could defeat a second-year Slytherin, saving us from being completely shut out."

But Wentworth seemed completely unbothered, asking with a smile:

"Prefect Green, do you want revenge? Do you want to pay Vane back properly?"

Hearing Wentworth's question, Green turned to look at him in confusion. Wentworth said meaningfully:

"Prefect Green, if you want to get back at Vane, this duel is the perfect opportunity served on a silver platter! Since they were the ones to propose the duel, it wouldn't be unreasonable for us to add a wager, right? For instance, the losing side's prefect must voluntarily resign from their position!"

Hearing this, Green couldn't help but roll his eyes and said:

"Is that all you wanted to say? I already told you, if we really follow Vane's parchment, we Hufflepuffs are guaranteed to lose. You're just pushing me into a fire pit..."

As he spoke, Green suddenly stopped, staring blankly at Wentworth, while Wentworth looked at Vane with the same smiling expression.

A moment later, Vane suppressed his excitement and snuck a glance around. Everyone seemed to be watching the professors, and no one was paying attention to him, but he still gave Cedric a look. Cedric understood and stepped in front of the two, shielding them from others' sight. Only then did Green ask in a low voice:

"Wentworth, you have a way, don't you? You have a way to make Hufflepuff win?"

Wentworth nodded slightly and said with great confidence:

"That's right, I have a way, though this method is... a bit dishonorable."

Green didn't even hear the last part, grabbing Wentworth in a tight embrace.

"It doesn't matter! I'll take all the infamy for you! Just tell me what we need to do, and I'll follow your orders!"

"As long as we can defeat Slytherin this time and kick Vane out of the prefect position, I'll do anything you ask! If you can really pull this off, I'll be your bootlicker from now on! The kind that would even lick your feet!"

Wentworth stared at Coke in utter shock, confirming once again that as long as this kid didn't die young, he was destined for greatness! This was a guy who, when he got ruthless, was willing to sacrifice even his own dignity!

"What if I have athlete's foot?"

Wentworth asked quietly.

"Then I'll lick it until it's cured!"

Coke said without a moment's hesitation.

After a moment of silence, two words escaped the corner of Wentworth's mouth: "Badass!"

"Listen to me, here is what you're going to say in a moment. First..."

Wentworth leaned into Coke's ear and began to whisper his instructions.