Millie grinned with satisfaction as her spell hit, tossing the second year back on his behind. A thrill ran through the young witch, and she gripped her wand with tighter confidence. If she could win her duel now, even if it was against the younger Mr. Mohr, maybe she wasn't so behind in her proficiency after all. She was eager to see her opponent land on his behind again, too.

Her eagerness dissipated with the start of the next round, which was granted again to her opponent. The third year bristled at the notion, shouldn't she be the one to start this time? It wasn't fair that the young witch was constantly on the backfoot, and could only hope for success with her second wind. Willing her concentration to the duel again, Millie shut her gaping mouth and waited for Mr. Mohr's second spell to be cast.

She gasped this time instead of moving, nerves driving a chill up her spine. Like in her Defense classes, Millie found herself rattled facing a direct attack, and this one was the worst of them all. All the cleverness and ideas for counter-charms vanished, leaving her with only instinct. Fearing the loss of her only real defense, the young witch swished her tightly-gripped wand with a reactionary cry of "Protego!"

It was her only hope that the shield charm did better now than she had in the classroom.

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