Lewis had to admit that living with three people was far more interesting than living alone. After breakfast, he took Hermione out, each carrying a Nimbus 2001, heading toward Stoatshead Hill outside the village to practice broom flying.
In his original plan, this was supposed to be a fulfilling—and slightly intimate—training session. For a complete beginner like Hermione, someone would need to guide her from the very basics, teaching her step by step. Lewis had even planned it out in advance. To ensure her safety, he would act as her support, riding the same broom behind her while she practiced. If anything went wrong, he could immediately step in and stabilize the situation.
Of course, that would inevitably involve some physical contact—holding hands, steadying her waist—but those were just natural parts of training. Nothing unusual.
However, Cirilla's presence shattered half of that plan right from the start.
The moment she heard they were going to practice flying, she volunteered herself as a sparring partner. With her watching closely, the effectiveness of Lewis's lesson dropped by more than half. Under her sharp gaze, even Hermione became hesitant, pulling back at the slightest contact. Any chance of a slightly ambiguous atmosphere disappeared entirely.
Fortunately, while the "romantic" half of the lesson was gone, the actual teaching aspect became incredibly effective.
With Cirilla throwing in the occasional sarcastic remark, Hermione trained with near-stubborn determination, unwilling to embarrass herself in front of her rival. On the very first day, she managed to sit steadily on the broom and fly at a slow, controlled pace. At this rate, Lewis estimated that within a week, she would be speeding through the air with ease.
In addition to broom training, both Hermione and Cirilla were assigned their own lessons each day.
Combat magic.
Lewis didn't know whether, under his butterfly effect, the Chamber of Secrets would still open next semester, but one thing was certain: with Harry Potter at Hogwarts, Voldemort's return was inevitable. The wizarding world was gradually becoming more chaotic. Whether for self-preservation or future ambitions, they needed to improve their combat abilities.
To that end, Lewis expanded the basement using magic, turning it into a training ground for spells. That very afternoon, he brought them there.
Since Hermione and Cirilla were at completely different levels, their lessons differed accordingly. Cirilla, with her witcher techniques and years of experience hunting magical creatures for a living, already had plenty of combat skill. What she lacked were effective magical abilities.
So Lewis directly taught her two spells and let her practice on her own.
"Dragon's Breath: releases a cone of fire in front of you. It can be cast instantly, but has a cooldown."
"Elemental Rebuke: when attacked, it instinctively triggers a counterattack, surrounding the enemy with elemental energy."
One required no preparation, and the other was a reactive counter—both extremely practical in intense combat. Cirilla was very satisfied and moved to the other side to train by herself.
Meanwhile, Hermione had the privilege of receiving Lewis's personal instruction.
"Wizard combat can generally be divided into two types," Lewis explained. "Prepared battles and unprepared battles."
"A prepared battle means gathering information about your enemy beforehand—their identity, location, fighting style, and preferred spells. Then you prepare defenses, potions, and strategies accordingly, set up an ambush, and strike when they appear."
"This is the kind of battle wizards prefer. With enough preparation, a wizard can counter almost any type of enemy."
"For example, when facing a dragon, you'd prepare fire-resistant potions, flying tools, restraining devices, and eye-targeting spells."
"To deal with a basilisk, you'd need detection tools, antidotes, anti-petrification potions, and even a live rooster."
"Prepared battles rely on knowledge, resources, and the breadth of spells you've mastered."
"But most of the time, we face unprepared battles—ambushes, sudden encounters, spontaneous duels, or unexpected magical creatures."
"In those situations, knowing many spells doesn't matter. The outcome is decided in an instant. The only thing that counts is the spell you can cast the fastest."
"In that regard, Cirilla does very well."
"Unprepared combat boils down to three things: speed, accuracy, and decisiveness."
"Whoever strikes first, hits accurately, and hits hard—wins."
"As for 'decisiveness,' that depends on your mastery and magical power. We won't go into that now."
"Today, you'll focus on speed and accuracy."
"Speed comes from familiarity with spells."
"So today, I won't teach you anything new. You'll practice a spell you already know—the Disarming Charm."
"It's one of the simplest and fastest combat spells."
"If you can cast it quickly, accurately, and decisively, you can handle eighty percent of dark wizards."
Hermione listened intently, while beside her, a quill continuously took notes using the Copying Charm.
Lewis didn't intend to turn Hermione into someone like Cirilla. Fighting with both sword and magic was something only legends like Godric Gryffindor himself might achieve. Hermione was better suited for prepared combat. This training was simply to give her a better chance of survival.
"Your goal is to hit the red marks on these targets."
With a wave of his wand, several straw dummies appeared twenty meters away, each marked with red dots on the wrist, chest, and forehead—the ideal strike points.
"Begin."
Hermione focused, gripping her wand tightly. Suddenly, the leftmost dummy sprang up. She reacted quickly, casting a red beam of light—but it missed, grazing past the dummy's shoulder and striking the wall behind it. Before she could try again, the dummy had already dropped back down.
Lewis shook his head. No matter how powerful a spell was, if it didn't hit, it was useless.
Hermione's reaction was fast enough, but her accuracy needed serious improvement. There were no shortcuts in combat. Only repetition.
They trained for a full hour until Hermione was exhausted, her magic nearly depleted. Lewis helped her sit down on a nearby sofa and handed her a blue potion to restore her energy before heading over to Cirilla.
He found her practicing Dragon's Breath while rolling and dodging, trying to cast it in motion.
When she saw him, she stood up, wiping sweat from her forehead. "Finished teaching the little girl?"
Lewis nodded. "Let's see how you're doing. Any problems?"
Cirilla tilted her head. "Dragon's Breath is fine. I can cast it reliably now. But Elemental Rebuke is tricky. It's a reactive spell—I can't really practice it alone."
She looked at him expectantly.
"Need my help?" Lewis asked, already understanding.
"Of course!"
She eagerly handed him a practice sword, clearly prepared in advance. "Since you offered, how about sparring with me?"
Lewis had never seriously trained with weapons before. Sparring with someone like her was practically asking for a beating. But as a man, he couldn't exactly refuse.
"Alright."
He took the blunt practice sword, giving it a few casual swings to get a feel for it.
"Since you've invited me so sincerely… I'll give you a few rounds."
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