On the Gryffindor side, the dueling was lively enough, but lively didn't mean good. One student was chasing his opponent around the room. Another was being chased. A third stood in the middle looking lost, unsure who to fight.
Vance wanted to shake his head.
Slytherin, on the other hand, was a different story. Setting aside Black and Mulciber, the other two pairs were surprisingly competent. Avery and Rosier were coaching their partners, and doing it well.
Cuthbert fought and talked at the same time. Samuel followed his lead, movements still a little stiff, but improving. Rosier's pair was the same. Lina, the half-blood girl, was picking things up fast, already attempting counterattacks.
Vance knew that Avery, Rosier, Mulciber, and Black formed a tight circle, with Black at the center.
He knew what the Mulciber family was. He'd dealt with them personally.
Professor Slughorn had mentioned it too. Said this Mulciber had openly used Dark Magic at the start of first year. A problem child.
Vance had expected to keep a close eye on that one, but so far, the boy seemed manageable. At least he wasn't causing trouble in class.
He looked away.
Ten minutes before the end of the period, he rapped the lectern. "Stop."
The room went quiet. Young wizards lowered their wands, breathing hard, faces flushed with the look of wanting more.
Vance walked to the center of the room and swept his gaze over everyone. "Today's performance was, on the whole, mediocre."
He pointed at several Gryffindors.
"Mr. Prewett, your Disarming Charm is far too slow. By the time you finish the incantation, your opponent has already put you on the floor."
Another finger.
"Mr. Macmillan, your Impediment Jinx. Where was the impediment? Your opponent didn't even slow down."
He went through them one by one, pinpointing each weakness, his tone serious, every observation landing where it stung.
The students kept their heads down and their mouths shut.
"At your current level, if you ever faced a real Dark wizard, you wouldn't last a single exchange. You wouldn't even get the chance to run."
The silence deepened.
Then Vance turned to the Slytherin side.
"Mr. Avery, Mr. Rosier. Well done."
Cuthbert straightened, the corners of his mouth creeping upward despite his best efforts. Alex pressed his lips together, suppressing a quieter smile.
"Knowing how to coach a partner. Knowing how to use the environment. Most students don't learn either of those things until fifth year."
He continued. "But don't get comfortable. You're still a long way from real combat."
Then his eyes found Regulus. "Mr. Black."
Regulus looked up.
Vance paused for a beat. "Come up here. We'll give them a demonstration."
The room erupted.
"Black's going to fight the professor?"
"Is he serious?"
"That's a professor..."
"Black's good, but he's still a second-year."
Regulus stepped forward and took his position across from Vance.
If the professor wanted a demonstration, there was no reason to refuse. Being chosen wasn't surprising either.
And besides, this suited him perfectly.
The students pressed back against the walls, clearing space.
The two bowed to each other.
On the Slytherin side, every eye locked onto Regulus. They knew he was powerful. Knew he could handle fifth-years, probably seventh-years too. But what about beyond that?
An adult wizard?
A professor?
Nobody knew.
So they watched, electric with anticipation.
Gryffindor's mood was more complicated. Curiosity from some, tension from others, but mostly a collective hope to see Regulus embarrassed.
Vance's expression sharpened, but he wasn't tense. Black's reputation preceded him, yet at the end of the day, the boy was a second-year student.
Vance had been in real fights. He knew what real power looked like. He'd seen plenty of talented young wizards and understood that talent, however bright, had a ceiling.
"Mr. Black. You first."
Regulus didn't hesitate. He raised his wand, but before casting, he took a quick read of the professor's magic.
Stronger than most adult wizards, but nowhere near the Heads of House. Roughly the level of a senior Auror.
Good. Enough room for him to work.
His wand moved. The stone tile at Vance's feet wrenched itself upward and lunged at his ankle.
Transfiguration.
Vance hadn't expected that as an opener, but his reflexes were sharp. He stepped back. The tile struck nothing, hit the wall, and crumbled to dust.
Regulus's incantation followed immediately. "Expelliarmus!"
Red light lanced from his wand at a vicious angle, aimed straight at Vance's chest.
Vance flicked the spell aside, but the floor beneath him shifted again.
His brow creased.
This boy didn't chain spell to spell. He chained spells to traps.
He got serious. "Impedimenta!"
A wall of purple light surged toward Regulus.
Regulus didn't try to block it. He sidestepped and jabbed his wand at a chair in the corner. It twisted mid-air, reshaping itself into a sparrow that launched off the ground and flew straight into the oncoming jinx.
The sparrow hit the purple light, burst apart, and the Impediment Jinx dissolved with it.
Vance's eyes narrowed. Using Transfiguration to intercept spells?
He pressed forward with a rapid chain of his own.
"Stupefy!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Three spells in quick succession, each sealing off an escape route, compressing the space Regulus could move in.
But Regulus didn't move. Two quick flicks of his wand deflected the Stunner and redirected the Body-Bind. Then he turned his body sideways and let the Disarming Charm whisper past.
In that same instant, the wooden surface of a nearby desk softened and twisted like something alive, stretching out a tendril that coiled around Vance's ankle.
Vance slashed his wand down. The tendril snapped apart, but his rhythm was broken.
Regulus seized the gap. A light flick. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
A stack of books in the corner rose into the air and hurtled toward Vance like bricks.
Vance swept his wand in a wide arc and blasted them all aside, but in the moment his arm extended, Regulus's Disarming Charm was already at his chest.
He twisted. The red light grazed his robes and missed by inches.
One step back. He reset the distance and went on the offensive.
"Impedimenta!"
The purple wall was bigger this time, faster.
Regulus aimed his wand at the floor. A slab of stone ripped itself free and rose in front of him like a shield. The jinx slammed into it, the stone exploded, and the spell died with it.
Vance's next curse was already incoming.
"Expelliarmus!"
Regulus slipped sideways and fired a Stunner in return. Vance deflected it and sent back another.
They stood in the center of the classroom, trading spells, the pace climbing, the force building.
The only sound left in the room was the crack of magic cutting through air.
The students watched, slack-jawed.
"They're so fast..."
"I can't even see his wand moving."
"Vance is actually trying?"
A Stunner streaked toward Regulus.
He didn't dodge. The chair beside him twisted into a cat that leapt and intercepted the spell mid-flight. The cat took the hit, reverted to a chair, and crashed to the floor.
Regulus shifted to offense. Same power, but nearly double the speed.
"Stupefy!"
The spell shot straight at Vance. Deflected.
"Impedimenta!"
Purple light followed on its heels. He sidestepped.
"Expelliarmus!"
Red light rode the tail of the jinx. Vance couldn't dodge in time and threw up a Shield Charm.
The Disarming Charm struck the barrier and detonated in a flash of light. The shield shuddered but held. Vance slid back one step.
One step.
The entire room saw it.
A collective intake of breath.
Vance steadied himself and looked at Regulus.
Regulus looked back, wand hanging loose at his side.
Silence held for a long moment. Then Vance stowed his wand. "Enough."
Regulus lowered his as well.
One beat of quiet, then the room exploded.
On the Slytherin side, applause and cheering crashed together. Someone whistled. Someone pounded a desk.
Cuthbert turned to Samuel, face lit up, and launched into a breakdown.
"Did you see that? Those last three spells, they were linked! First one forces him to block, second one forces him to dodge, third one hits when he can't dodge in time. That's rhythm. You understand?"
Samuel stared at the center of the room, nodding without thinking, too stunned to manage any other expression.
Alex was talking to Lina.
"See how he Transfigured that cat? I didn't even know you could use Transfiguration like that."
Lina's eyes blazed. Her voice came out barely above a whisper, the last syllable trembling. "That was incredible..."
Gryffindor was quieter. A few people clapped, halfheartedly, a handful of polite pats. Most stayed silent.
Vance studied Regulus, something complicated working behind his eyes.
He'd seen talented young wizards before. But this one was different.
Throughout the entire duel, Black hadn't used a single spell beyond the second-year curriculum. Standard incantations, every one of them. Deployed at a level that was anything but standard.
The silence stretched before Vance finally spoke. "Mr. Black. That performance was not second-year."
Regulus dipped his head slightly. "You're too kind, Professor."
Vance held his gaze a moment longer, then turned to the class.
"That is what a duel looks like. Not standing still and trading shots. Every step has a purpose. Every action sets up the next. You are all very far from that level."
He let it settle, then added: "But you also saw what Black used to get there. Nothing advanced. Nothing exotic. The same spells you've all been learning."
On the Slytherin side: pride, and respect earned.
On the Gryffindor side: something far more tangled, but nothing anyone could argue with.
Vance checked the time. "Mr. Black. Twenty points to Slytherin."
Regulus inclined his head again.
Vance looked away. "Class dismissed."
Students began gathering their things, but plenty of eyes stayed on Regulus, tracking him as he moved.
He returned to his seat and picked up his book.
Hermes stood nearby, waiting. Cuthbert walked over still buzzing with excitement, Alex trailing behind. The four of them headed for the door together.
Lina and Samuel hung back, exchanging a glance, and didn't follow.
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