Closely watching my spell’s magic trail, I noticed the way Alex’s eyes and mouth opened when he realized what I’d done. I couldn’t help but allow a small smirk to set on my face at that. Then, he did something I wasn’t expecting, repelled it nonverbally. I heard several gasps from the students surrounding us, and an almost-squeal from Professor Flitwick. Great. Impress the professor right off the bat, that’s a sure fire way to be the pet. But instead of having time to be impressed myself, I was struck.

His first curse struck the shield I’d put up right after my initial spell, and I was ready with a, “Repello,” to ward off the second one. So THAT was how he wanted to play it. Fine then. I couldn’t help but feel an unspoken tension, almost a challenge issuing from him. Allowing a smile to escape my lips, I retaliated the same way he had. Giving my wand a quick flick upward, I shot a “Wingardium Leviosa!” at him nonverbally. If anything, it would make his head spin, knock him off his feet if I was lucky. Although being honest with myself, I wasn’t expecting it to happen. He had great reflexes.

The smallest piece of me was starting to think I’d enjoy this year.