Wheelchair War God Speedruns Hogwarts

Hermione looked at the sincere, unfeigned expression on Vera's face with a complicated look. She pursed her lips for a long while, but in the end, she could not hold back. Under Vera's surprised gaze, she reached out and pinched her pleasantly soft cheek.

"Coming from you, that's the one thing I can't be happy about," Hermione muttered, a faint note of complaint in her voice.

Vera froze at Hermione's sudden action. After hearing those words, she opened her mouth, even more at a loss.

It seemed... she really had discouraged her.

Thinking about it carefully, at least during their usual lessons, the gap between her and Hermione's progress had never seemed that large.

But making the ever-proud Hermione suddenly confront the difference between them like this was indeed a little cruel.

She gently took hold of Hermione's wrist, but instead of pulling away, she let Hermione continue pinching her cheek.

"No," she said, looking Hermione in the eyes and speaking earnestly, word by word. "Hermione, you're also one of the most outstanding witches I've ever met. Your diligence and intelligence are things I'll always need to learn from."

Hermione's hand trembled slightly. Clever as she was, she naturally realized Vera was responding to what she had said to comfort her by the Black Lake before.

A little embarrassed, she withdrew her hand and could not help coughing softly. "You still remember that..."

"Of course." Vera nodded without hesitation. "Because important words were said by an important person, I'll always remember them."

Hermione's face instantly turned red. She fidgeted with her wand, unsure how to respond.

After quite some time, she finally gathered the courage to look again at Vera's slightly reddened cheek. "Did I... hurt you just now?"

"No." Vera gently rubbed her cheek. "If you want to pinch it next time, you can anytime."

Hermione burst out laughing. "Who wants to pinch you?"

For a moment, the previously stagnant atmosphere finally became relaxed again.

She took a deep breath and raised her wand once more. "Again?"

Vera smiled and nodded. "Okay."

For the rest of the time, Hermione kept trying various spells, including conventional offensive spells as well as all sorts of minor hexes, while Vera resolved each one in turn.

To help Hermione regain some confidence, Vera deliberately slowed the pace so Hermione could clearly see how she cast her spells and learn from it.

Meanwhile, Vera continued adjusting her magical output and casting methods, searching for the most effective response strategies.

Hermione learned quickly. After several attempts, her understanding of controlling magical output and spell timing had already improved by another level.

"That's it!" Vera blocked a Stunning Spell and nodded approvingly. "You're improving quickly."

Hermione wiped the sweat from her forehead, and a smile finally appeared on her face. "That's because you teach well."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Vera replied with mock seriousness.

The two smiled at each other. Hermione pursed her lips, then suddenly leaned down and hugged her. "Thank you, Vera."

The sudden embrace caught Vera slightly off guard, but she soon gently hugged her back. "You're welcome."

Just then, the classroom door was violently pushed open, and Hallie rushed in, panting. "I found out! Wood told me—"

Her voice abruptly cut off. Her green eyes widened as she stared at the two hugging each other, suddenly unsure whether she should enter or retreat.

Hermione was the first to react. She quickly released Vera. "You came at just the right time, Hallie. Vera just taught me some spellcasting techniques, and I was thanking her."

Seeing that Hallie still had not quite recovered, Vera turned her wheelchair toward her and asked directly, "What did Wood say?"

"Oh..." Hallie scratched her head before finally walking in. "Wood said Flint has very fast reflexes, and he especially likes using the Stinging Jinx on people. He's pretty nasty about it."

The Stinging Jinx was a minor hex that made the victim's skin swell, redden, and itch. Their face would puff up like a pig's head, and their eyes would shrink to slits.

Even Hermione could not help reaching for Vera's hand upon hearing that. "Be careful."

"Mm, I know." Vera answered softly, her expression turning slightly cold.

A Cartload of Bread People Arrived

[Defeat opponents x4, Battle Resonance: 20]

[Current Battle Resonance: 20. During this battle, spellcasting speed bonus: 20%, magical power bonus: 20%, all basic attribute bonuses: 20%. Continue defeating enemies to gain new bonuses. Resets after this battle ends.]

Looking at the prompt on her retina, Vera tilted her head toward Hallie, who had just been knocked down and was grimacing in pain.

"Are you okay?" She pushed her wheelchair forward with concern, reaching out to help Hallie up.

Hallie waved her off and climbed up herself, brushing dust from her robes. "I'm fine! Again!"

Hermione stood nearby, shaking her head. "Hallie, you've tried four times already. Every time, you can't even last two moves against Vera."

Hallie wiped the sweat from her forehead indignantly. "That's because Vera is too strong! But I feel like I'm improving every time!"

Vera nodded in agreement. "Hallie's reactions really are getting faster each time."

Whether in the original story or here, Hallie was a natural fighter, the kind who could grow rapidly through actual combat.

Hermione crossed her arms. "Fine, but I think both of you should rest. Vera, you don't look very well."

Only then did Vera notice that she really had used up quite a bit of stamina, and fine beads of sweat had appeared on her forehead.

Because of the limits of her body, her endurance was far shorter than that of an ordinary wizard.

Considering there were less than three hours left before their appointed time, that was just enough time for her to recover.

"Fine, let's rest for a while." She nodded as the Magic Circuit tirelessly circulated through her body, helping speed up her recovery.

This was also something she had learned from the notes in the Room of Requirement. Through the Magic Circuit, she could reduce the time needed to recover magical power by another quarter.

As the Magic Circuit upgraded in the future, the recovery time should be reduced even further.

Hallie plopped down on the floor beside Vera and pulled several pieces of chocolate from her pocket. "Eat something to restore your strength!"

Vera accepted one and gently peeled back the wrapper. "Thanks."

Hermione sat down as well, thoughtfully biting into her chocolate. "Now I'm not worried about the outcome of the duel anymore, but... Vera, I'm worried Flint might pull something."

Malfoy had done the same thing last time. He had taken the initiative to challenge Hallie to a duel, only to secretly report them to Filch in the end, trying to catch them all in one net.

If Vera had not prepared in advance, the people caught might really have been them.

Vera took a small bite of chocolate, feeling the rich sweetness melt across her tongue. "Don't worry. I've already considered that."

Not to mention whether Flint himself would risk being punished by reporting them to a professor.

Following the principle of never placing all hope in the enemy's choices, Vera had already made arrangements the moment she entered this classroom.

As long as Flint truly brought a professor to catch them in the act, the Magic Circuit temporarily connected to Hogwarts would warn her before they even entered the classroom.

It was equivalent to Vera placing invisible surveillance around the area.

If anything went wrong, she could flee in advance with Hallie and Hermione.

After all, as long as they were not caught in the act for breaking school rules, no one could do anything to them.

Hallie and Hermione exchanged a glance. They were still somewhat worried, but seeing Vera's confident expression, they relaxed a little.

"Then are we going to keep practicing?" Hallie licked chocolate crumbs from her fingers, anticipation sparkling in her green eyes.

Vera checked the time and calmly turned her wheelchair around. "No. It's dinner time."

If they kept practicing, there would not be enough time left for recovery.

Hallie looked at Vera's ever-calm profile, wanting to say something but hesitating. Then Hermione tugged at the hem of her robe.

She turned and saw Hermione subtly shake her head at her, so she could only let it go.

The three packed up their things, left the abandoned classroom, and headed for the Great Hall.

The torches in the corridors had already been lit, bringing warm light to the dim castle.

Since it was the weekend, the atmosphere in the Great Hall was livelier than usual.

At the Slytherin table, Flint and his teammates kept shooting provocative looks toward Gryffindor.

Hallie glared viciously back, stabbing her fork into the steak on her plate.

"Don't pay attention to them," Vera said softly. "Save your strength."

Hermione, meanwhile, warily watched the teachers' table. "I hope the professors haven't heard about this..."

Vera calmly cut the food on her plate. "They haven't. Flint is more afraid of the professors finding out than we are."

After all, he was Slytherin's Quidditch captain. If he was banned from playing because of a private duel, Slytherin's chances of winning this year's Quidditch Cup would be in jeopardy.

After dinner, the three went straight to the fifth floor.

Vera wheeled herself to the center of the classroom and sat quietly there, a wand resting across her lap. Her cascading silver-gray hair had long since been tied up, and her entire body gave off a sickly pallor.

No one would have thought that a girl like this would take the initiative to challenge an older student to a duel.

Hallie and Hermione stood guard beside her, warily watching the door.

Second by second, time passed. At last, as a faint tremor came through the Magic Circuit, Vera narrowed her eyes.

"They're here," she said softly.

The moment her words fell, the classroom door was violently pushed open. Flint strode in, followed by every member of the Slytherin team.

It seemed Flint was also worried that someone might report them while the duel was underway, so he had simply used his authority as captain to force everyone to come.

"Well, well, the little cripple actually dared to show up?" Flint grinned, baring crooked teeth. "I thought you'd run away at the last second."

Hallie clenched her fists and glared at Flint. "Shut your filthy mouth!"

Vera lightly pressed down on Hallie's wrist and wheeled herself forward. "Since we're here, let's begin."

"You really want to fight?" Flint sized her up contemptuously. "Black, you still have time to surrender—I won't go easy on you just because of your legs."

Vera's expression did not change in the slightest as she asked the piercing question directly. "Are you scared?"

Flint's face flushed red. "Scared? What a joke!"

He pulled out his wand. "Today, I'll show you what an upperclassman can do!"

The pre-match trash talk ended. Vera got straight to the point. "The rules are simple. Whoever gets knocked down or disarmed first loses. On my side... Hallie will be my assistant."

Flint snorted. His gaze swept over the group of teammates behind him, some eager and some reluctant, before he called out directly, "Adrian, you're up!"

"He's Slytherin's Chaser, Adrian Pucey," Hallie immediately whispered to Vera.

Vera gave a slight nod, glancing over the other boy's tall, thin frame to show that she understood.

They Get Whipped While Hanging for Real

By convention, both duelists bowed to each other in respect before taking up the standard dueling stance.

[Current magical power reserves: 140/140]

Vera's gaze passed over the Magic Circuit's prompt and fixed tightly on the tall opponent across from her.

After sparring separately with Hermione and Hallie that afternoon, her magical power reserves had increased once again.

Handling a duel between students would not be a problem.

Hermione stood between them, gripping her wand nervously. "Don't start until I count to three. One, two... three!"

Before her words had even fully fallen, Flint immediately swung his wand. "Stinging Jinx!"

The moment the incantation tore through the air, a streak of white light shot straight at Vera's face.

But Vera did not even move her wheelchair. She merely raised her right hand and swiftly drew a vertical line through the air. "Protego!"

The malicious spell struck an invisible barrier and was instantly reflected back.

Caught off guard, Flint could only dodge sideways in a hurry. The rebounded spell grazed past his shoulder and struck a Slytherin behind him.

That unlucky Slytherin immediately clutched his face and screamed. His face visibly swelled into a pig's head.

Flint's expression turned livid. He clearly had not expected Vera to block his spell so easily.

Grinding his teeth, he raised his wand again. "Incendio!"

A blazing flame burst from the tip of his wand and rushed straight toward Vera.

"Watch out!"

Hermione and Hallie cried out at the same time, but Vera remained perfectly calm as she swiftly swung her wand. "Aguamenti!"

A clear stream of water surged from her wand and collided with the flames, producing a sharp hiss as steam instantly filled the entire classroom.

Within the hazy mist, Vera's expression sharpened. Her gaze, enhanced by Source Flow Reforging, keenly caught Flint raising his wand once more.

"Densaugeo!" Flint's voice came from within the fog.

Vera swiftly judged the spell's trajectory. Her wheelchair turned lightly as her wand simultaneously traced a graceful arc through the air. "Finite Incantatem!"