Dumbledore, You Son of a-

Cordelia stood with her back to Cyril, still waiting for Gavin's answer.

She hadn't seen the owl turn into a man. All she saw was the uncertainty on Gavin's face suddenly turn to alarm.

Cordelia clearly took his alarm the wrong way. Her embarrassment flared into anger, and she stamped her foot.

"Why aren't you saying anything? You—"

"Look out!"

Cyril Rosier's feet had not yet settled on the ground when Gavin moved.

He shoved Cordelia aside and pointed his wand at her.

"Protego!"

A translucent barrier formed close around Cordelia, knocking her and the suitcase in her hands toward the right side of the path.

A dark red spell shot through the spot where they had just stood.

The grass split without a sound, leaving a three-foot black scar.

Only then did Cordelia see Cyril behind her. She recognized the monstrous face from the wanted poster, and all the color drained from her own.

Cyril already had a wand in his right hand. Gavin hadn't even seen where he had taken it from.

Another spell came at them.

Gavin twisted sideways and flicked his wand upward. The spell grazed its tip, changed course, and struck the stone wall by the lake.

Stone exploded outward. A sharp fragment scraped Gavin's left shoulder, and a dark patch quickly spread across his robes. Before the debris had even landed, a third spell came through it.

Too fast.

Gavin immediately raised a standard Shield Charm around himself.

The white barrier had barely formed when its center caved inward.

The impact drove him back two steps, his soles carving twin furrows through the wet grass.

Cyril said nothing. He simply kept casting.

His wand moved only a few inches, yet spells bore down from different angles one after another, with almost no gap between