The silver curse shot straight at Lyla, but she dodged it with a fluid sidestep.
"What?!" The Dark Wizard was stunned, looking at the petite girl in surprise. He hadn't expected his magic to be so easily evaded by someone who barely looked like a teenager.
But when he caught a glimpse of Lyla's pointed ears and silvery-blonde hair under her torn hood, his face twisted into a sneer. "A damn Veela!"
He immediately attributed Lyla's astonishing reflexes to the bloodline abilities of a magical creature.
"But this is even better... a Veela is far more valuable on the black market than a random little witch!" he cheered. He raised his wand again, slashing it through the air. "Stupefy!"
The red light of a Stunning Spell shot forward, and Lyla instinctively ducked.
As the curse soared harmlessly over her head, she let out a soft sigh of relief.
Thank goodness... I haven't forgotten my Durmstrang training... To graduate from Durmstrang Institute, a student had to pass an incredibly rigorous dueling examination. As one of the very few students in history to graduate early, Lyla was most proficient at combat magic.
Because she was short, exceptionally agile, and had mastered non-verbal spellcasting, Lyla had won the Durmstrang Inter-School Dueling Championship for two consecutive years.
Simultaneously, because she was deeply disliked by her peers, she was subjected to constant hexes and jinxes during her daily school life. Thanks to years of bullying, dodging curses had become an unconscious reflex.
"You slippery little freak..." The Dark Wizard pursed his lips, realizing this was going to be trickier than he thought.
He had no time to waste on a duel; if an Auror from the Ministry of Magic discovered him here, a cell in Azkaban awaited him.
Deciding to play dirty, he suddenly whipped his wand around and pointed it directly at the paralyzed Luna.
"Don't move another inch!" he shouted, "Or your little friend here loses her life!"
Oh no... Lyla's face paled.
Without a wand, she couldn't fight back. And if she couldn't even dodge... She looked at Luna, feeling a surge of guilt. She had come to save the girl, but now she had gotten herself into a hostage situation.
Suddenly, Lyla noticed Luna's silvery eyes. The girl couldn't turn her head, but she was looking intensely down at her own right sleeve.
"Keep your hands glued to your sides! Walk slowly over here!" the ragged man barked. "Don't think I don't know that Veela can cast wandless magic!"
It seemed he was ignorant of the fact that Lyla was only a half-blood; she couldn't actually cast wandless spells.
"Don't make any sudden movements, or I'll use the Killing Curse immediately!" he threatened, pressing his wand closer to Luna's temple.
Lyla took a deep breath. Her face beneath her tattered hood was deathly pale, but her blue eyes were surprisingly calm.
She carefully exchanged a final glance with Luna, then bit her lip and slowly walked toward the Dark Wizard.
Watching the terrified, pale-faced girl approach, the middle-aged man grinned triumphantly.
He knew a lot of unsavory people who would pay a fortune for a Veela. He hadn't expected to hit the jackpot today!
He greedily tightened his grip on his wand, completely oblivious to the silent communication that had passed between the two girls.
As Lyla slowly approached, she brushed past Luna. Their sleeves lightly touched, and Lyla's hand blurred into motion.
Click.
Her body pivoted sharply, her right hand diving into Luna's sleeve.
"What are you doing?!" The middle-aged man panicked, instinctively flicking his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
A sickly green jet of light erupted from his wand tip, hurtling straight toward Luna.
But Lyla was faster. The silver-haired girl sidestepped, throwing herself in front of the paralyzed student.
Bang!
The deadly green curse, striking like a viper, hit Lyla's outstretched hand fiercely. Then, to the Dark Wizard's utter astonishment, with a sharp flick of Lyla's wrist, the Killing Curse was violently deflected, slamming into the brick wall behind her.
"Wh-what?!" The man stared in shock at Lyla's hand. She was holding a slender, pale wand.
It was the new wand Luna had just purchased from Mr. Ollivander, hidden perfectly in her sleeve.
"You damned wretch!" the Dark Wizard roared in anger. He raised his wand high again. "Avada—"
Before he could even finish the incantation, a blinding red curse, as thick as a tree trunk, blasted from the tip of Lyla's borrowed wand.
Non-verbal spells were faster, more covert, and ultimately more lethal than ordinary spellcasting.
Bang!
The Dark Wizard took the Stunning Spell straight to the chest. He flew backward like a bludger, crashing violently onto the filthy cobblestones of Knockturn Alley. He didn't move again.
"Phew..."
As the middle-aged man fell unconscious, the seemingly calm Lyla finally let out a long, trembling breath. Her pointed ears, which had been standing straight up in tension, slowly drooped against her head.
It was a good thing she had noticed Luna's subtle hint about the wand in her sleeve. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
She had been entirely too reckless... but it had to be done. Lyla couldn't just stand by and watch her future student be kidnapped.
As a loyal soldier of Lord Grindelwald, she believed that such base human trafficking was completely intolerable!
Hmm... I suppose Lord Grindelwald also did many illegal things, Lyla reasoned internally. But you can't generalize, right? After all... I never actually saw him do anything evil with my own eyes!
Having successfully rationalized her master's morality, Lyla shook off her nerves and gently tapped Luna's shoulder with the borrowed wand.
With a flash of silver light, the Full Body-Bind Curse was lifted.
"Are... are you alright?" Lyla asked softly, her voice trembling slightly from the adrenaline.
"I'm quite alright," Luna said, looking as if absolutely nothing had happened. She wasn't nearly as flustered as Lyla had imagined, nor was she overly joyful.
Instead, she calmly glanced down at the Dark Wizard groaning on the ground, then looked back at Lyla thoughtfully.
Compared to the life-or-death duel they had just survived, Luna seemed far more interested in Lyla herself.
"Can all Veela use non-verbal spells so effectively?" Luna murmured dreamily. "And..."
Without warning, she reached out and gently tugged on Lyla's pointed ear.
"Eek!" Lyla shrieked, jumping back several paces and slapping her hands over her ears.
"Are your ears very sensitive?" Luna asked curiously.
"Mm... Mm!" Lyla nodded frantically, blushing bright red. She scrambled to pull her torn hood back up. She felt incredibly ashamed; she hadn't realized her ears had been completely exposed during the fight.
"Ah... I'm sorry," Luna bowed slightly in apology. "You're the very first Veela I've ever met... I was simply curious."
"Why did you try to hide them before?"
"Because... they're... they're strange..." Lyla whispered softly, staring at the ground. "Don't you think they're... disgusting?"
"Disgusting?" Luna seemed genuinely taken aback by the word. "They're clearly very interesting."
"Int... interesting?" Lyla had heard many colorful insults during her time at Durmstrang, but never the word 'interesting.'
"Yes," Luna nodded earnestly. "Just like Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. They also have a pair of very lovely pointed horns."
Pointed horns and pointed ears are completely different things, aren't they...? Lyla thought, bewildered. Still, seeing that Luna didn't seem to harbor any prejudice against her appearance, Lyla felt a massive weight lift off her chest.
After all, the nicknames she was used to hearing were things like "Pointy-Eared Goblin" or "Triangle Freak." Just thinking about them brought up terrible memories of her school days.
"Ah... I suppose I should thank you." Luna smiled, her silvery eyes crinkling. "Thank you for saving me."
"Ah... no need..." Lyla blushed again. She wanted to say something polite, but her social anxiety clamped her throat shut. She just stammered uselessly.
Luna simply smiled at her awkwardness. Then, she reached up and unclasped her necklace.
It was a strange piece of jewelry, with a single Butterbeer cork dangling from a delicate string.
"Here. Take this," Luna said, gently placing the necklace into Lyla's hand.
"This is..."
"A necklace I made myself," Luna whispered conspiratorially. "It will help keep the Nargles away."
Nargles? Lyla had absolutely no idea what those were.
But this... this was a gift. It was the very first gift she had ever received from a friend.
Even if it was a very strange gift, Lyla clutched the cork tightly. "Tha... thank you..." she whispered genuinely.
"Thank me?" Luna tilted her head, looking slightly confused. "Didn't Miss Hamilton just save my life?"
"Ah... I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Lyla shook her head, her social anxiety making her immediately apologize for thanking her.
"Hahahaha," Luna chuckled, a light, airy sound. "Miss Hamilton, you are truly a fascinating person."
"You remind me a lot of Daddy."
That doesn't sound like a good comparison... Lyla thought, remembering the incredibly weird man sniffing her sleeve in the wand shop.
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