The atmosphere instantly grew tense, as the Slytherins instinctively avoided his gaze, some even involuntarily taking two steps back. Only Malfoy forced himself to say, "This is between us Slytherins and Gryffindors, don't meddle, Vid Gray!"
"Draco—" Noat tugged at his arm, whispering, "This is getting pointless, let's go—"
"It's because of me!"
Neville summoned his courage, trembling slightly as he said, "I ran into them on the way, Malfoy used the Leg-Locker Curse on me. He said he wanted to practice the spell—Harry—and Ron and Hermione—stood up for me and clashed with Malfoy, then Malfoy called Hermione a—a Mudblood—"
"Neville!" Michael snapped.
Neville's voice halted, bewildered for a moment, then he caught on from the looks of others, feeling a bit fearful as he looked at Vid.
Everyone suddenly realized there was another non-magical lineage present—Vid had never specifically mentioned at school that his parents were Duds, only that they couldn't perform Magic.
Because in the eyes of Wizards, Duds and Muggles didn't differ much—even Duds were more discriminated against. Muggles had achieved remarkable, world-changing feats, while what did Duds have? Only being discarded as worthless scraps by the Wizarding World.
When Vid first enrolled, he faced some disdain due to his non-magical lineage. But soon, he shattered the prejudice with his capabilities, and no one mentioned his lineage anymore, some even assumed Vid was born of a Pure-Blood Clan and had received elite Wizard training from a young age.
—Otherwise, it couldn't explain why they seemed utterly inadequate by comparison.
At this moment, everyone was reminded that Vid was also from a non-magical family, the air suddenly grew silent, the previous hints of noise vanished completely, quiet enough to almost hear their own breathing.
Noat released Malfoy's hand.
"So that's how it is—practice spells between classmates, isn't it common?" Vid looked at Malfoy, "Fortunately, I learned a spell too, care to show me, Malfoy?"
If he had yelled angrily and charged up like Harry and the others, Malfoy might've felt more at ease. But now, Vid wore a nonchalant smile, not seeming angry at all, which scared Malfoy instead.
"Wha—what—"
He gripped his Magic Wand tightly, stammering.
If Malfoy could look in a mirror, he'd find his current expression remarkably similar to Neville's when encircled earlier, with even more cowardice and guilt.
Vid raised his Magic Wand, slightly bowed, his cold gaze fixed on the person ahead—
"Bow, Mr. Malfoy."
"I—I refuse—" Malfoy instinctively denied, pointing his Magic Wand at Vid, attempting to justify, "I meant Granger, that Mud—wasn't talking about you—Longbottom said earlier—"
[This person… truly malicious and naive...]
Vid sighed inwardly, swinging his Magic Wand—
"Expelliarmus!"
A dazzling red light flashed, striking Malfoy with the spell's glow, sending him flying backwards, directly colliding with Crabbe behind him. His Magic Wand slipped from his grasp, falling with a clatter at Noat's feet.
Noat glanced around, didn't pick up the Magic Wand, instead stepped back two paces.
No one paid attention to him, all eyes were on the blonde boy curled on the ground. Pansy Parkinson did want to act, but was immediately stopped by Michael, smiling with his Magic Wand pointed at her.
"I usually don't hit girls, Pansy—don't make me break the rule—" Michael said in a gentle tone.
Theo and Leian watched the other Slytherins, ready for action.
None truly did anything more, even Malfoy's two chubby sidekicks just stared blankly at Malfoy on the ground, not even thinking to help him up.
Malfoy clutched his head, climbing up himself, glaring at Vid, shouting, "Don't think I'm scared of you, Vid Gray! Do you know who my dad is?"
Vid merely kicked his Magic Wand over, saying, "Continue."
Malfoy picked up the Magic Wand, his arm trembling slightly, a mix of anger and resentment, but more afraid.
The Vid Gray before him was nothing like Granger, the bookish one; supposedly he mastered more spells than some fifth-year students—
"Ah, I seemed to forget to count down from three." Vid said mockingly, "after all, I'm also a Mudblood, not quite understanding your Pure-Blood Wizard etiquette—"
This "Mudblood" felt like a slap across the Slytherin students' faces, their expressions ranged from embarrassed to utterly mortified.
"—If I remember correctly, count to three, Malfoy, and then comes the first spell—"
Malfoy clenched his teeth, his eyes flickering.
"One… two…"
Only reaching two, Malfoy vigorously waved his Magic Wand, shouting, "Locomotor Mortis!"
Vid, prepared in advance, dodged as soon as he opened his mouth, the beam of the spell struck Noat beside him, pretending to be invisible, and his legs immediately stuck together, fell with a thud!
"Three—"
Vid calmly counted to three, waved his Magic Wand again, "Tarantallegra!"
Malfoy's legs immediately twitched as if dancing a merry jig, yet he wanted to attack Vid, twisting his lower and upper body in opposite directions. Consequently, he swiftly followed Noat's fate, cracking his waist with a snap, and fell down.
Despite this, his legs continued flailing rapidly in the air, pulling on his sprained waist, making Malfoy cry out in pain.
The sight was quite comical, even among the Slytherin students, a few inadvertently laughed aloud.
Malfoy's pale face turned red, glaring with murderous eyes, but from his angle, the crowd seemed like chaotic swatches of color in his vision, familiar faces now looking strange and cold, unable to discern who was mocking him.
Vid deliberately waited a moment, and the Slytherins watched on. To other unrelated students, it seemed they were the ones ganging up, bullying a lone Malfoy.
Until Malfoy was on the verge of crying loudly, Vid finally walked over, lifted the spell. He squatted beside the sweat-drenched, disheveled Malfoy—
"Bullying—fun, isn't it?"
Malfoy stared at him with fearful eyes, breathing heavily, silent.
Vid chuckled, stood up. The Slytherin students automatically stepped aside, as they watched him leave with the others.
No one spoke, no one obstructed.