When Wentworth said he hadn't learned the counter-curse yet, Vane was overcome with despair. The Hogwarts students around them looked pityingly at Vane, who was hanging upside down in midair, and the hall fell silent in an instant.
Just then, an angry voice rang out:
"Wentworth, who asked you to stick your nose into this?!"
Everyone looked toward the voice. Cassandra stared at Wentworth with red-rimmed eyes and said:
"Are you pitying me? Well, I don't need it!"
With that, Cassandra picked up her things and strode away with her head held high.
Cedric opened his mouth as if to call after Cassandra, but Wentworth grabbed him. When Cedric turned to look at him, Wentworth slowly shook his head, and Cedric swallowed the words he'd been about to say.
With everyone watching, Cassandra walked out of the Great Hall without looking back. But with her back to them all, just as she was about to step out, a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth—one no one noticed.
But the moment Cassandra stepped out of the Great Hall, she stopped.
"Headmaster Dumbledore... Professor Snape..."
Cassandra stared in shock at Dumbledore and Snape, who were standing around the corner outside the Great Hall. She had no idea how long they'd been there.
Hearing Cassandra call out, Wentworth thought, Oh no. Sure enough, Dumbledore and Snape walked into the Great Hall.
Snape strode over in a fury. He glanced at Vane, still suspended in midair, then turned to Wentworth and snapped:
"Who taught you that spell? You actually used it on one of your fellow students?!"
Faced with Snape's furious questioning, Wentworth looked completely innocent.
"Professor Snape, I just didn't want Senior Vane's spit to hit the floor and defile the Hogwarts Great Hall. I wasn't aiming at him. It