Sophie stood frozen, staring at her empty hands.
Will put away his wand and walked past her.
"You've got plenty of room to improve," he said from behind her. "Go back and practice."
Sophie remained where she was, watching him disappear around the corner. Whether the look on her face was disappointment or something else, it was hard to say.
"Mr. Behrens has defeated Sophie Robert with ease!" Bagman sounded almost regretful. "Unfortunately, the Beauxbatons champion never stood a chance!"
In the stands, Hobert shouted excitedly, "Woo! Go, Will! That's the way! Your uncle's taking you to the Savoy Hotel!"
A wizard beside him leaned over and asked quietly, "Is Mr. Behrens your nephew?"
"That's right." Hobert looked pleased. "He's always been closest to me!"
"Remarkable, remarkable. My goodness, Mr. Behrens, you have quite a nephew." The wizard shook his head, then asked, "By the way, aren't his parents here?"
"Uh..." Hobert was at a loss for words. He probably shouldn't correct the man about his surname not being Behrens, and as for Will's parents...
Well... best not to bring them up.
Meanwhile, the Slytherin stands erupted. Malfoy held up a sign and shouted Will's name: "Will! Will! Will!"
Quite a few Slytherins joined him.
But Goyle and Crabbe, who used to trail behind Malfoy, watched from a distance instead of cheering with him.
It was hardly surprising. Malfoy had started distancing himself from them long ago. The two were stupid, but not so stupid that they couldn't tell.
They had once been friends of a sort. Now their relationship was more like that of a boss and his subordinates.
Both continued to do Draco's bidding only because their parents told them to.
Pansy Parkinson pressed her lips together. She had never understood why Draco, heir to an old Pure-blood