Combat Spellcasting

"Damn Mudblood, what's he so proud of?!"

Draco Malfoy muttered bitterly under his breath.

His face full of jealousy, he stared at Li Wei, who was surrounded by Ravenclaws as though he were the center of the world, while one vicious thought after another rose in his mind.

"Malfoy, should we teach him a lesson after class?"

Goyle, who looked like a troll, heard Malfoy's jealous cursing and immediately played the part of a loyal lackey, making the suggestion.

Crabbe, sitting nearby and looking even more like a troll, also looked expectantly at Malfoy. Bullying people was simply too much fun!

Malfoy was tempted by Goyle's suggestion, but when he saw Michael and Anthony beside Li Wei, he felt that three against three would make it difficult for them to gain the upper hand.

But Malfoy was unwilling to just let it go.

A mere Mudblood probably could not even afford food at home. Being able to attend Hogwarts was already an incredible stroke of luck, yet he had dared to defy Professor Snape, Malfoy's godfather, in Potions class!

Draco Malfoy was determined to take brutal revenge on Lee Wickens!

His gray eyes shifted maliciously. When Draco Malfoy heard someone chanting, "Wingardium Leviosa," he suddenly came up with a brilliant idea!

"Goyle, Crabbe, come here." Malfoy whispered into Goyle and Crabbe's ears for a while, and all three of them revealed matching wicked grins.

They all pretended to obediently pick up their wands and, like everyone else, began chanting, "Wingardium Leviofa."

But no one noticed that the wands of Malfoy and the other two were not pointed at the feathers on their desks, but subtly aimed at Li Wei instead.

They had deliberately pronounced the "s" as an "f," hoping that a bison would fall on Li Wei and trample him into a muddy pulp!

Perhaps they were unlucky. Or perhaps they were far too lucky!

The Levitation Charm turning into the Bison Summoning Charm was something that should have happened only by the slimmest chance, yet it actually happened exactly as they had hoped!

A flash of light shot from Malfoy's wand with a whoosh!

A bewildered bison, chewing grass, fell from the sky before everyone's terrified eyes, crashing down toward Li Wei, who was still practicing the Levitation Charm!

Li Wei sensed that something was wrong the moment that flash of light shot from Malfoy's wand.

When he looked up, the bison's hard hooves were already right before his eyes!

With danger imminent, the Combat Spellcasting specialty he had just fused with activated instinctively. Before Li Wei could consciously try to save himself, the hand holding his wand had already begun casting with a flick and a shake!

The bison, which amid everyone's cries of alarm had been about to stomp on Li Wei, floated up to the classroom ceiling like a giant balloon!

"Evanesco!"

Professor Flitwick was frightened as well. He hurriedly waved his wand, making the hovering bison vanish, then rushed up to Li Wei and looked him over anxiously from head to toe.

"Merlin's beard! Mr. Wickens, are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Head of House. I was just startled." Li Wei also breathed a sigh of relief. As he reassured Professor Flitwick, he cast a cold look at the culprit, Malfoy.

"It's good that you're all right, good that you're all right!"

Professor Flitwick let out a breath of relief. It really was not easy for him—despite being so small, he had just leaped three feet into the air and rushed over like lightning.

No wonder he was a wizard who had won the Dueling Tournament championship several times. His movements were truly nimble and swift!

He spun around and glared furiously at the culprit, Draco Malfoy. His beard trembled as he rebuked him angrily.

"Mr. Malfoy, I believe I emphasized countless times before practice that you must not pronounce 's' as 'f,' yet you still made such a foolish mistake!"

"Do not try to argue. I heard you pronounce it incorrectly with my own ears. I even suspect that you did it deliberately!"

"It is only because this 'mistake' did not cause any serious consequences that I will not have Professor Snape give you detention!"

"For your mistake, Slytherin loses ten points!

"And when you return, write me a three-foot-long self-criticism and submit one copy each to Professor Snape and me!"

Professor Flitwick, who had always been gentle with his students, was angrier than ever before!

He was no fool. How could he not understand that after all his repeated warnings, Draco Malfoy making such a basic mistake had to be deliberate?

But it was difficult to determine whether it had been intentional or merely careless. Without proof, he could only give Malfoy a severe warning.

"Understood, Professor," Malfoy said, actually putting on an aggrieved expression as though he truly had not done it on purpose.

"Hmph!"

Professor Flitwick snorted coldly, then turned to Li Wei, his satisfaction impossible to conceal.

"Mr. Wickens, it's good that you're all right!"

"Your response just now was perfect. Ravenclaw gains ten points for your nonverbal casting!"

Professor Flitwick happily awarded ten points to Li Wei and his own House before continuing the lesson.

This time, he watched the young wizards much more carefully as they cast.

Before Malfoy's malicious spellcasting, Professor Flitwick had always thought that only the Gryffindor student named Seamus was prone to accidents while casting spells.

But now, whenever Flitwick looked at a young wizard, he felt that he looked like a troublemaker!

"Li Wei, are you all right?"

"That Malfoy definitely did it on purpose. Just looking at that face of his makes me want to punch him!"

Michael and Anthony, who were seated beside Li Wei, were still shaken.

The two of them had been right next to Li Wei. If that bison had really fallen, Li Wei would have had nowhere to dodge, and the two of them would have been caught up in it as well!

Li Wei had clearly done nothing to provoke Malfoy, yet he had still been targeted by such a vicious curse. Naturally, they were furious, and were already thinking about how to get back at Malfoy after class.

"I'm fine. But someone is about to suffer."

Li Wei answered calmly, his silver-gray eyes gleaming with a cold, sword-like light.

He might have been rational enough, but he had not forgotten that his current body was still that of a child.

A child should act like a child—impulsive, irrational, and vengeful. That was how a child was supposed to behave.

Carefully weighing every advantage and disadvantage was how an adult should act.

And that would be far too abnormal!