"The key got stuck."
As the dust cleared, Roy, who had just slammed back-first into the concrete wall, pushed himself up from the floor with a grimace. The moment he looked up, he saw Aisling extending a hand toward him with a teasing expression, as though offering to help him up, fine beads of sweat still clinging to her temples.
"With your healing abilities, I assume I won't need to carry you to the Hospital Wing?"
Still on one knee, Roy rolled his eyes at her, slapped away her offered hand, and pulled out his wand. He cast two or three green-glowing healing spells on himself, then stood up clutching his shoulder, looking thoroughly disgruntled.
"Thirty points to Slytherin."
However unhappy he was, Roy still awarded Slytherin the points according to the rules.
"Oh yeah!"
The Slytherin students erupted into enthusiastic cheers, their applause and shouts of approval instantly filling the classroom.
Aisling strode back to the Slytherin group, flushed with excitement and swaggering like a victorious hero. Looking at the jubilant students, Roy sighed inwardly, then began his lesson.
"Look at you swaggering duelling masters. You managed to hit someone who hadn't even cast a defensive spell, and that's worth celebrating like this? If war ever comes, most of you will be nothing but cannon fodder."
He returned to the front of the classroom, his expression grave. His gaze swept over the roomful of second-years, forcibly dampening their excitement.
"You're lucky. At least your Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor won't be pointing a wand at you, ready to kill you at any moment. If any of you had faced what I ran into last year, I can guarantee there wouldn't be nearly so many of you sitting here today."
When Roy brought up Elias Thorn himself, even Aisling,