Sylvia seemed to relax. A faint smile finally touched her lips. "Then, to make it up to me, you have to teach me some magic starting today."
Will blinked. "Teach you magic?"
"Yes," Sylvia said, as if it were obvious. "Look, the school only teaches us the basics. My grades are good, but that isn't the magic I want to learn."
She poked Will with a finger. "And you know far more than any third-year. I want to learn something useful, not spells meant for passing exams."
"What do you want to learn?" Will asked.
Sylvia's eyes lit up. "Combat magic. Offensive spells. Not just common ones like Expelliarmus and Stupefy—I want you to teach me stronger ones. Confringo, Reducto, the Skinning Curse... The ones Moody talked about, anyway. Spells you could use on a battlefield. And Sectumsempra, the one you used to cut fruit. Oh, and Waddiwasi and Fiendfyre too."
As Sylvia rattled off offensive spells like a shopping list, Will's eyelid twitched. He hadn't even mastered Fiendfyre himself.
"Hold on. Why do you want to learn all that?"
"To get stronger," Sylvia said seriously. "I can't hide behind you, my family and my friends forever."
Will fell silent for a moment. "All right. But I have a few conditions. First, we start with the basics and work our way up. No rushing. Second, don't let the professors find out. Third—"
Will paused. "Fighting isn't a game. People can get hurt, even killed. So I hope you won't throw yourself into a fight lightly. At least don't do anything stupid."
Sylvia nodded. "Do you think I'm like Potter and Weasley? I'm not that impulsive."
"All right, then." Will nodded. "We'll make time when we can. You know how many classes I have, and I don't have much free time