Preparations Before the Duel

Seeing that Vane had agreed, Green let out a long sigh of relief, then smiled slightly and said:

"In that case, we shall see each other tonight!"

Facing Green as he turned to leave, Vane also said with full confidence:

"Green, I'll be waiting for you in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom tonight. Don't you dare back out!"

Seeing that both sides had reached an agreement, Dumbledore waved his hand and said:

"Very well, my students, you may all disperse. I will also be attending the event tonight. Furthermore, I must state in advance that I will award one hundred points to the winning house!"

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Slytherin erupted into another round of cheers, while Hufflepuff was also filled with high spirits. Even the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws in the distance seemed to have more provocative looks in their eyes as they glanced at each other, though fortunately, they were stopped by Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick; otherwise, the two houses might have started a duel on the spot.

When Wentworth, Cedric, and the others returned to the Hufflepuff common room, Green immediately followed them and confirmed once more:

"Wentworth, is the method you mentioned really going to work?"

Wentworth confidently patted Green on the shoulder and said:

"Don't worry, Prefect! You will represent us for the fifth year, Cedric for the second year, and I will take the first year without hesitation. After all, I came up with this plan. Once you have selected the representatives for the third and fourth years, we can start making preparations!"

Seeing Wentworth's confident demeanor, Green seemed to be infected by his spirit and nodded heavily.

On the other side, when Vane returned to the Slytherin common room, Snape followed him in. Once inside, Snape unceremoniously called out the names of four students, including Vane, who were the most proficient in charms from the second to the fifth year of Slytherin.

However, when it came to the first year, Snape fell into hesitation. After all, the first-year students had just enrolled, and although Snape was the Head of Slytherin, he did not know these first-year Slytherins very well.

Just then, Cassandra, who had long since noticed Snape's hesitation, stepped forward and said:

"Professor Snape, I am willing to represent the first-year Slytherins in the duel!"

Snape looked at Cassandra before him and, in a rare, relatively normal tone, said:

"Cassandra, the first-year representative for Hufflepuff will undoubtedly be Wentworth, barring any accidents. That fellow is likely not easy to deal with! I don't want you to get hurt!"

Snape's words were sincere, for at this moment, both Snape and Dumbledore believed that Wentworth, having already undergone special training by the Acolytes, was certainly not someone these Hogwarts first-years could handle; even among the upperclassmen, there were likely few who could be Wentworth's match.

The reason Snape set up this plan, with Dumbledore's tacit approval, was that both men wanted to see exactly what level Wentworth's strength had reached.

They did not expect the Slytherin freshmen to defeat Wentworth, but as long as they could force Wentworth to reveal his hand a few times, Snape was confident that with his and Dumbledore's abilities, they would inevitably be able to discern some clues.

However, the only point of concern in this plan was that the first-year Slytherin dueling Wentworth would likely get hurt, as the spells the Acolytes were most proficient in were Dark Arts! This was precisely why Snape was hesitating.

Although she heard Snape's warning, Cassandra remained firm and said:

"Don't worry, Professor. I have the confidence to defeat Wentworth. After all, I already defeated him once in today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class!"

Hearing that Cassandra claimed to have defeated Wentworth once, Snape immediately became interested and hurriedly asked:

"Oh? How so? Tell me the details of what happened."

But when Snape heard Cassandra recount the events of that time, his interest waned. In Snape's view, Wentworth's performance at the time only confirmed one thing: that Wentworth was consciously hiding his true strength.

A child of only eleven, able to endure the criticism of others and resist the urge to show off in front of his classmates—this boy has such deep-seated cunning!

Snape couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Seeing that Snape still hadn't agreed to let her represent the first-year Slytherins, Cassandra grew anxious. With no other choice, she drew her wand and said:

"I, Cassandra, am going to represent the first-year Slytherins. I am the strongest in the first year of Slytherin. If anyone is dissatisfied, they can come out and try!"

Hearing Cassandra's words, several first-year Slytherins couldn't help but stir. One had to remember that this was Slytherin; the students here never lacked pride and ambition. No one wanted to give up the chance to show their face in front of the entire school!

Usually, Cassandra could be arrogant in the house, partly because of her family background, but more so because it was a privilege of being a beauty! No one wanted to be accused of not being a gentleman.

Cassandra saw the restlessness in many people's eyes and gave a cold smile.

"Protego!"

A beautiful shield charm was released instantly, clean and precise, making even Snape, who was standing to the side, feel a bit surprised.

The first-year Slytherins who had been restless before all backed down. After all, the vast majority of first-year students couldn't cast this spell at all, and even those who had occasionally learned it from their elders at home couldn't perform it as beautifully as Cassandra!

Seeing this, Snape no longer hesitated and said directly:

"Very well, Cassandra is included. You five will represent Slytherin tonight! Follow me now; I will explain the rules of the duel and give you some special training. If anyone embarrasses me tonight, hmph!"

"As for the rest of you, go do whatever it is you were doing! You don't even have the qualifications to represent Slytherin, so how dare you stand here and waste time?!"

As Snape's voice fell, the remaining Slytherins scattered at once, and many even felt that perhaps not being chosen wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Just as Snape was conducting special training for Cassandra, Vane, and the others, Professor Sprout walked into the Hufflepuff common room, accompanied by Professor Flitwick.

As the Head of Hufflepuff and the Herbology professor at Hogwarts, Professor Sprout was well aware of the gap that existed between the two houses.

Since she was not skilled in dueling herself, Professor Sprout simply sought out Professor Flitwick, a former dueling champion, to provide guidance to Hufflepuff.

Facing the request of an old friend, Professor Flitwick did not refuse and agreed quite readily.

Both sides were making their final preparations for the duel tonight!