The students' reactions fell into two extremes.
Several girls flushed, clearly beguiled by his classical aristocratic looks and lethal charm.
But more of the students felt an instinctive fear.
It was the shudder that rose from the depths of a herbivore's soul when confronted with an apex predator.
"All right, back to business."
Douglas clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back.
"A month has passed. I'd like to see how much progress you've made with nonverbal spells."
"The rules are simple."
"Come up in groups of three, taking turns."
"Your task is to withstand teaching assistant Valerius's attacks."
The atmosphere in the classroom instantly dropped to freezing point.
The first group of students steeled themselves and walked to the front.
They gripped their wands nervously, their palms slick with sweat.
Valerius still wore that elegant smile.
Just as the students were hesitating over whether to strike first-
He moved.
His movements were too fast for the naked eye to follow.
No one saw when he raised his hand.
Three silent spells shot toward the three students like venomous snakes flicking their tongues.
An intense sense of danger jolted the students' nerves.
Adrenaline surged.
The instinct to survive overwhelmed all their nervousness and fear.
Protego!
Three silent Shield Charms formed before them in an instant.
The light of the spells flashed before them.
It worked!
They blocked it!
But before they could breathe a sigh of relief-
The second wave of attacks followed close behind.
This time, the spells came from even trickier angles.
One student reacted a fraction too slowly.
A slap struck his wand with precision.
The wand flew out of his grip, arced through the air, and landed in Valerius's hand.
The other two students were simultaneously felled by sudden Leg-Locker Curses.
They tumbled unceremoniously to the floor