"Yes, but I've never even heard of the magic you were using!"
Cassandra looked genuinely aggrieved.
Liam had been far too ruthless.
He certainly hadn't treated Lockhart this harshly.
"That was intentional."
Liam crouched down beside her.
"The point is to train your ability to think independently. Even I don't know every spell in existence. Instead of teaching you the solution to every problem, I'd rather teach you how to find the solution yourself."
That was one of the main reasons he trained Cassandra this way.
Her personality was proud, confident, and sometimes overly bold.
People like that often attracted enemies.
Especially among Dark Wizards and Death Eaters.
While Liam could create countermeasures against the three Unforgivable Curses for her, it was impossible to prepare defenses against every spell in the world.
Ultimately, Cassandra needed to become stronger herself.
At Hogwarts, her talent was enough to suppress most students.
Even many older students struggled against her.
But adult Dark Wizards were completely different.
The dangers they posed were far greater than anything she had faced inside the castle.
"Oh, please."
Cassandra covered her cheek and pouted.
"Then you still shouldn't have cut my face. What if it leaves a scar?"
She was very proud of her appearance.
If Liam ruined it, she would never forgive him.
"Don't worry."
Liam stepped closer and carefully examined the small cut.
"I'll heal it."
His wand gently brushed against her cheek.
A soft glow flowed from the tip.
The wound began closing immediately.
At the same time, he healed the various scrapes and bruises she had collected while dodging his attacks.
Liam had only dared push her this hard because he was confident he could fix the damage afterward.
"Hmph."
Cassandra folded her arms.
"If I end up with a scar, I'll bite you to death."
Liam laughed.
"Is that so?"
"And then you'll have to take responsibility."
"Responsibility?"
He blinked.
"What kind of responsibility?"
"Marry me, obviously."
She said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"If you ruin my face and nobody wants to marry me, then you'll have to marry me yourself."
Liam froze for a moment.
"Have you considered that I could simply choose not to heal you?"
"Then you're the one who suffers."
Cassandra smiled sweetly.
The answer left him completely speechless.
Then her expression suddenly became serious.
"You know, if we're talking about marriage, you have a lot of enemies."
Liam's gaze softened slightly.
"Exactly."
He nodded.
"I won't enter a relationship until you're strong enough to protect yourself."
"Huh?"
"It would put you in danger."
His voice was calm.
"And it would create a weakness for me."
Cassandra stared at him for several seconds.
Then she suddenly laughed.
"Don't underestimate me."
Her eyes shone with determination.
"This was the first time I'd ever faced an attack like that. If you make me do it a few more times, I'll adapt."
She was extremely confident in herself.
Dark Wizards?
Death Eaters?
So what?
Liam could face them.
Why couldn't she?
She had always considered herself one of the most talented students in Slytherin.
Only Liam stood above her.
If he could accomplish great things, then she could as well.
One day, she wanted to stand beside him as an equal.
Besides...
There was something she had never said aloud.
She wanted to protect Liam too.
After all, she was older than him.
"Alright."
Liam smiled.
"Then work hard."
He extended a hand and helped her stand.
"Today's training ends here."
"My legs still hurt."
"That's because your body is exhausted."
Liam brushed dirt from his robes.
"Go back and rest."
Then he continued.
"A wizard needs more than magical knowledge. Physical fitness is equally important."
Cassandra listened quietly.
"No matter how powerful your magic is, it means nothing if you can't hit your target."
"Likewise, if you can't dodge your opponent's spells, you'll eventually lose."
"So train your magic."
He paused.
"And train your body."
Cassandra looked at him strangely.
"How do you know so much?"
The question had been bothering her for a while.
Even the Auror tutor her father had hired had never explained things this way.
Liam was silent for a moment.
Then he answered.
"I don't know that much."
His voice was unusually calm.
"I just survived longer than the people who died."
Cassandra froze.
The answer sounded simple.
Yet it somehow carried an enormous weight.
Liam didn't elaborate further.
"Anyway, I need to go to the library."
"Again?"
Cassandra immediately guessed what he was doing.
"Working on those improved spells of yours?"
"Mm."
She instantly became interested.
"Then you have to teach them to me later."
Liam laughed.
"That's what you're interested in?"
"Of course."
Cassandra nodded without hesitation.
The modified spells Liam used were far cooler than ordinary magic.
Any child would want to learn them.
"Fine."
Liam agreed.
"When you can comfortably handle today's attacks, I'll start teaching you."
"Deal."
Cassandra immediately brightened.
A cheerful tune escaped her lips as she walked back toward the Slytherin common room.
Meanwhile, Liam headed toward the library.
Recently, his research into the curse hidden within the Dark Magic book had progressed extremely smoothly.
A large part of that was thanks to Hermione.
Her knowledge was absurdly broad.
Whenever he encountered a difficult question, she usually knew the answer immediately.
It saved him countless hours of searching through reference books.
In many ways, she was like a walking encyclopedia.
When Liam arrived at their usual table, however, something felt wrong.
Hermione was sitting there with a book open in front of her.
Her eyes were red.
And although she appeared to be reading, her gaze was completely unfocused.
She wasn't seeing a single word on the page.
Liam immediately sat down across from her.
"What's wrong?"
His voice softened.
"Did someone bully you, Hermione?"
Hermione looked up.
"L-Liam... you're here."
She quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
Then she forced a smile.
The sight made Liam frown.
"What happened?"
Hermione hesitated.
Several emotions flashed across her face.
Finally, she gathered her courage.
"I want to ask you something."
"Alright."
"I need you to answer honestly."
"You have my word."
Liam nodded.
Hermione took a deep breath.
"Am I strange?"
The question came out almost as a whisper.
"My classmates..."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"They look at me differently."
She lowered her eyes.
"Some of them say I'm weird."
Liam immediately understood.
"I don't think you're strange."
Hermione looked up.
"Really?"
"Of course."
Liam leaned back in his chair.
"In fact, people often dislike someone simply because they're better than them."
Hermione's expression softened slightly.
"Is that really true?"
"It is."
Liam nodded.
"You know, my Legilimency is fairly advanced."
Hermione blinked.
"I can sometimes pick up fragments of people's thoughts through their eyes."
He smiled faintly.
"When I became famous and refused Marcus Flint's invitation to join the Slytherin Quidditch team, plenty of students secretly wanted to see him humiliate me."
Hermione looked surprised.
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
"That's one reason I don't bother socializing with most of them."
Liam shrugged.
"A lot of people don't actually like me. They're only interested in the reputation attached to my name."
The honesty in his voice made Hermione feel unexpectedly better.
Then she suddenly remembered what he had just said.
Her eyes widened.
"Wait."
She leaned forward.
"You can read minds?"
Liam raised an eyebrow.
A look of panic immediately appeared on Hermione's face.
If Liam had looked into her thoughts earlier—
Then wouldn't he know about the love potion?
Wouldn't he know everything?
She might actually die from embarrassment.
Liam quickly noticed her reaction.
"No."
He shook his head.
"I would never do that to a friend."
Hermione froze.
"That's basic respect."
His expression remained calm.
"You helped me willingly. Invading your privacy would be unacceptable."
Relief flooded through Hermione.
At the same time, her admiration for him grew even stronger.
She hated to admit it.
But simply sitting here and talking with Liam was already making her feel better.
Which was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Because a terrifying thought suddenly appeared in her mind.
Oh no.
Do I actually like him?
....
Join my P*atreon for 100 premium chapters ahead of the public release.
Link: pa*treon.com/MysticVerse (Remove the *)
Free members also get 2 advanced chapters for free.