Gemma's eyes flew wide. For a second she thought she'd misheard.
This first-year? He wanted to "ask her" something?
Her jaw clenched so hard her teeth ached. Charlie's calm little smile said one thing loud and clear: pure, deliberate humiliation.
How weak did she look that this kid thought he could challenge her?
"Fine," Gemma snapped. "Very well."
She took two quick steps back, drew her wand, and dropped into a dueling stance.
"Come on then. Show me what you've got."
Charlie nodded, raised his wand without hurry, and pointed it straight at her.
"Petrificus Totalus—"
The spell cracked out like lightning. Gemma simply sidestepped, light on her feet. The curse missed.
She landed—and Charlie's follow-up was already there.
"Incendio!"
Fast. Brutal. Nothing like the slow Petrificus Totalus. The fire curse slammed into her robes the instant her feet touched the ground.
Flames roared up her front.
"Finite Incantatem!"
Gemma reacted fast, snuffing the fire before it could do real damage. A charred hole the size of a dinner plate now decorated her robes. The damage was cosmetic—Reparo would fix it—but the insult burned hotter than the flames.
She had been hit. By a first-year.
Charlie didn't press the advantage. He just stood there, wand loose at his side, watching her with that same lazy expression.
"Still holding back?" he asked.
Of course she was. A fifth-year prefect couldn't just blast a first-year into the hospital wing without consequences. But Charlie had forced the issue into the open.
Gemma's eyes went cold.
"No more holding back."
Students along the corridor instinctively edged farther away.
Charlie glanced at them. "No need to run for a professor. I'm just asking my senior for some spell advice. A first-year and a fifth-year trading a few charms is perfectly normal, right?"
"Stupefy!"
Gemma's spell came fast and ugly. Stupefy wasn't first-year material.
Charlie didn't dodge. He grabbed the hem of his robe with his left hand and yanked it up over himself like a shield.
"Get clear!" Neville shouted, voice cracking.
Charlie ignored him.
"Finite Incantatem!"
The lifted robe suddenly took on a hard, metallic sheen. Gemma's Stupefy slammed into it with a dull clang. Cracks spider-webbed across the transfigured fabric, but when the charm faded the robe was just cloth again—wrinkled, not broken.
Gemma stared. Charlie lowered the robe, swallowed once, and gave her a small, almost impressed nod.
She smiled. Finally. He was starting to understand how out of his depth he was.
Charlie tasted chocolate on his tongue and felt the world slow around him.
Overload kicked in.
Gemma raised her wand again.
"Avis—"
Birds. Dozens of them. The conjured sparrows wheeled once, then arrowed straight for Charlie like hunting falcons.
Now.
Charlie's left hand filled with fire. He hurled the blazing sphere into the flock. It detonated on contact, throwing up a roaring orange curtain that completely blocked Gemma's line of sight.
She had one second of perfect blindness.
Charlie burst through the flames, wand already moving.
Silent. Wandless. Area-wide.
The Impediment Jinx—slowed version—hit the corridor like invisible tar.
"Stupefy—"
Gemma's curse dragged out, syllables stretching like taffy.
Charlie's normal Impediment Jinx landed clean while she was still mid-incantation.
The area slow dissolved the instant it had done its job.
No one would ever know the split-second delay came from him. They'd just think Gemma had been startled when he exploded out of the fire.
He hit the ground running, closed the distance in three ridiculous, high-stepping strides, and stopped right in front of her.
Then he raised his hand and gave her a cheerful thumbs-up.
Gemma blinked, confused.
Charlie stuck the thumb in his mouth, puffed his cheeks, and blew hard—like he was inflating a balloon.
His fist swelled. Bigger. Bigger. Basketball-sized.
"Engorgio."
Gasps rippled through the watching students.
"Localized engorgement on a body part? That's insane."
"If he loses control it'll explode. Everyone knows the stories."
Charlie's fist reached the size of a sandbag. The surface looked soft—Softening Charm layered on top. Plenty of impact, minimal permanent damage.
He smiled at Gemma.
"Ever seen a fist the size of a sandbag?"
He punched her square in the face.
The Impediment Jinx dropped at the same moment. The force sent her flying backward.
The corridor went dead silent.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Charlie caught her with a gentle Levitation Charm before she could smash into the stone. He eased her down.
No broken bones. No real injury. Just a very large, very public bruise to her pride.
Gemma pushed herself up slowly, hair wild, eyes blazing. She stared at Charlie like she wanted to set him on fire with her mind.
Charlie tucked his wand away, placed his right hand over his heart, and gave her a small, polite bow.
"Thank you for the lesson, senior. I learned a lot."
Gemma's control snapped.
"How dare you humiliate me like this?! I'll kill you!"
She raised her wand again.
Charlie's own wand reappeared in his hand.
"Enough."
The voice cut through the tension like a blade.
Claire Rex stepped out of the crowd. He nodded once at Charlie, then turned a cold stare on Gemma.
"A very educational demonstration. Your junior clearly benefited. Are we done here?"
"This isn't over," Gemma hissed.
Rex didn't even blink. He casually stuck his pinky in his ear and wiggled it, the picture of bored contempt.
"Then what is the truth, Farley? Letting Malfoy bully Longbottom and calling it 'asking about spells'—is that the truth?"
Gemma opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
She tried another angle. "So you're siding with a Ravenclaw now?"
Rex stepped in close, voice low and dangerous.
"We're Hogwarts students first. Then we're Slytherins. At Hogwarts we care about right and wrong. In Slytherin we care about winning and losing.
You were wrong.
You lost.
If you can't even lose with dignity, you're embarrassing the entire house."
Gemma went very still. A visible tremor ran through her.
"I… I'm sorry. I just—"
"I'll give you one last chance," Rex said flatly.
Gemma swallowed hard. She looked at Charlie. Her brain felt like static. It took her a long time to force the words out.
"N-no thanks necessary. Being asked… being able to help you… it's an honor."
"Thank you, senior," Charlie said, perfectly polite.
Rex turned to Malfoy. He looked like he wanted to say something, then decided against it. Instead he addressed the lingering students with an easy smile.
"Show's over, everyone. A senior giving a junior some practical spellwork. Nothing to see here. Clear the corridor before a prefect actually shows up."
The crowd scattered fast.
Gemma left with Malfoy and his goons, face burning. Malfoy shot one last look at Charlie—confusion, shock, and a healthy dose of fear.
Charlie clapped Neville on the shoulder.
"You ran all the way up here after class. What were you looking for? Library stuff? Go on, then. Remember how this felt. Stop doubting yourself every five seconds."
Neville's voice shook. "Thanks, Charlie. I'm just… I'm glad you're okay."
Charlie gave him a quick pat on the back and steered him toward the stairs before the tears could start.
When the corridor finally emptied, Charlie let out a long breath and turned to Rex with a crooked grin.
"Didn't expect that."
Rex just shrugged, but there was the ghost of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
"Neither did she."