The wheelchair-bound warrior is speedrunning Hogwarts.

Looking at the person's sincere and genuine appearance with a complicated expression, Hermione pursed her lips for a long time, but finally couldn't help herself and reached out to pinch the person's rather soft face under Vera's surprised gaze.

"I can't be happy at all when you say that to me," Hermione murmured softly, a hint of complaint in her voice.

Vera was taken aback by Hermione's sudden action, and after hearing those words, she opened her mouth in bewilderment.

It seems... it really hit people hard.

Thinking about it carefully, I realized that during class, my learning progress was roughly the same as Hermione's.

But now, to suddenly force the ever-proud Hermione to confront the gap between them is indeed somewhat cruel.

She gently grasped Hermione's wrist, but did not pull away forcefully, instead letting the other pinch her cheek.

“No,” she said earnestly, looking into Hermione’s eyes, “Hermione, you are also the most outstanding witch I have ever met. Your diligence and wisdom are something I will always need to learn from.”

Hermione's hand trembled slightly. As clever as she was, she naturally realized that Vera's words were a response to her earlier words of advice and comfort to this person by the Black Lake.

She withdrew her hand shyly, and coughed lightly, "You still remember..."

“Of course,” Vera nodded without hesitation, “because it was something very important said by a very important person, so I will always remember it.”

Hermione's face flushed red, and she fidgeted with her wand awkwardly, unsure how to respond.

After a long while, she finally mustered up the courage to look at Vera's face, which was slightly red from being pinched, and asked, "Did I... pinch you too hard just now?"

"No, not at all." Vera gently rubbed her cheek. "You can pinch it anytime you want next time."

Hermione chuckled: "Who wanted to pinch you!"

In an instant, the somewhat tense atmosphere finally relaxed again.

She took a deep breath and raised her wand again: "One more time?"

Vera smiled and nodded: "Okay."

Over the next few days, Hermione continued to try various spells, including traditional offensive spells as well as minor curses, which Vera countered one by one.

To help Hermione regain some confidence, Vera deliberately slowed down the pace so that Hermione could clearly see her casting the spell and learn from it.

She herself is constantly adjusting her magic output and spellcasting methods, searching for the most effective countermeasures.

Hermione learned quickly, and after a few attempts, her understanding of controlling magical output and the timing of spell release had improved significantly.

“That’s it!” Vera blocked a stun spell and nodded approvingly. “You’ve improved very quickly.”

Hermione wiped the sweat from her forehead, and finally smiled: "You taught me well."

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony,” Vera replied seriously.

The two smiled at each other, Hermione pursed her lips, and suddenly leaned down to give her a hug: "Thank you, Vera."

Vera was slightly taken aback by the sudden hug, then gently hugged her back: "You're welcome."

Just then, the classroom door was flung open, and Harley burst in, breathless: "I know! Wood told me—"

Her voice stopped abruptly, her green eyes widened as she stared at the two people embracing in front of her, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

Hermione was the first to react, quickly releasing Vera: "You've come at the right time, Harry. Vera just taught me some spellcasting techniques, and I was thanking her."

Seeing that Harley was still somewhat dazed, Vera turned her wheelchair towards Harley and asked directly, "What did Wood say?"

“Oh…” Harley scratched her head before walking in. “Wood said that Flint has a very fast reaction time, and he especially likes to use stinging charms on people, which is quite nasty.”

The sting curse is a minor curse that causes skin to become red, swollen, and itchy. The person affected by the curse will have their face swell up like a pig's head, and their eyes will shrink to slits.

Even Hermione, upon hearing this, couldn't help but instinctively touch Vera's hand: "You have to be careful."

"Yes, I know," Vera replied softly, her expression slightly cold.

Chapter Ninety-Two: A Truckload of Bread People Arrived

[Defeat 4 opponents, Battle Resonance Value: 20]

[Current Battle Resonance Value: 20. During this battle, casting speed is increased by 20%, magic power by 20%, and all basic attributes by 20%. Continuing to defeat enemies will grant new bonuses. This value will be reset to zero after the battle ends.]

Looking at the notification on her retina, Vera turned her head to look at Harley, who had just been knocked down and was now wincing in pain.

"Are you alright?" she asked with concern, pushing the wheelchair forward and reaching out to help Harley up.

Harley waved her hand, got up from the ground, and dusted off her robe: "It's okay! Let's try again!"

Hermione watched from the side and shook her head: "Harley, you've tried four times since then, and you can't last more than two moves against Vera each time."

Harley wiped the sweat from her brow, unconvinced: "That's because Vera is too strong! But I feel like I improve every time!"

Vera nodded in agreement: "Harley's reactions are indeed getting faster each time."

Whether in the original story or here, Harley is a natural-born warrior, the type who can grow rapidly in actual combat.

Hermione crossed her arms. "Okay, but I think you two should both take a break. Vera, you don't look too good."

Vera then noticed that she had indeed used up a lot of her energy, and fine beads of sweat were seeping from her forehead.

Due to physical limitations, her endurance was inherently much shorter than that of ordinary wizards.

Considering there were less than three hours until the agreed time, that was just enough time for her to recover.

“Alright, let’s rest for a while.” She nodded, while her magic circuits continued to circulate slowly within her body, helping her to recover faster.

This was something she learned from the Room of Requirement's notes: through magic circuits, she could reduce the time it took for her to recover her magic by another quarter.

With future upgrades to the magic circuits, recovery time should be able to be further reduced.

Harley plopped down on the floor next to Vera and pulled a few chocolates from her pocket: "Have something to eat to replenish your energy!"

Vera took one and gently broke open the packaging: "Thank you."

Hermione sat down as well, thoughtfully munching on her chocolate: "Now I'm not worried about the outcome of the duel anymore, but... Vera, I'm worried Flint might pull something."

Malfoy did the same thing last time, bringing up a duel with Harley, but in the end he secretly complained to Filch, trying to trap them like fish in a barrel.

If Vera hadn't been prepared, they might have been the ones who got caught.

Vera took a small bite of the chocolate, savoring the sweet taste melting on her tongue: "Don't worry, I've already considered that."

Let's set aside the question of whether Flint himself would risk being punished by complaining to the professor.

Based on the principle that we cannot place all our hopes on the choice of the enemy, Vera had already made arrangements when she arrived at this classroom.

If Flint really leads the professor to catch them in the act, the magical circuits that are briefly connected to Hogwarts will alert him before the professor even sets foot in the classroom.

It's as if Vera installed an invisible surveillance system in the vicinity.

If any problems arise, she and Harry and Hermione can run away beforehand.

Anyway, when it comes to violating school rules, as long as they aren't caught red-handed, no one can do anything to them.

Harley and Hermione exchanged a glance. Although they were still a little worried, they felt somewhat relieved seeing Vera's confident demeanor.

"So, shall we continue practicing?" Harley licked the chocolate crumbs off her fingers, her green eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Vera glanced at the time, calmly turned her wheelchair around, and said, "No, it's dinner time."

If you keep practicing, you won't have enough time to recover.

Harley looked at Hermione's calm profile, hesitated for a moment before wanting to speak, but Hermione tugged at her clothes.

She turned her head and saw Hermione quietly shaking her head at her, so she had no choice but to give up.

The three packed their things, left the abandoned classroom, and headed towards the auditorium.

Torches had been lit in the corridor, bringing a warm glow to the dimly lit castle.

Because it was the weekend, the atmosphere in the auditorium was more lively than usual.

At the Slytherin table, Flint and his teammates would occasionally cast provocative glances toward Gryffindor.

Harley glared back fiercely, stabbing the steak on her plate hard with her fork.

“Ignore them,” Vera whispered. “Conserve your energy.”

Hermione glanced warily at the faculty seating area: "Hopefully, the professors haven't heard about this..."

Vera calmly cut the food on her plate: "No, Flint is more afraid of the professor finding out than we are."

After all, he is Slytherin's Quidditch captain. If he is banned from the tournament for dueling in private, Slytherin's Quidditch Cup hopes for this year will be in jeopardy.

After dinner, the three of them went straight to the fifth floor.

Vera pushed her wheelchair to the center of the classroom and sat there quietly, a wand lying across her lap. Her long, silver-gray hair, which cascaded down like a waterfall, was already tied up, and she exuded a sickly paleness.

No one would have expected that a girl like this would take the initiative to challenge an older student to a duel.

Harley and Hermione stayed by her side, vigilantly watching for any movement at the door.

Time passed second by second, and finally, with a slight tremor from the magic circuit, Vera narrowed her eyes.

“They’re here,” she said softly.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the classroom door was flung open, and Flint strode in, followed by the entire Slytherin team.

It seems that Flint himself was also worried that someone would betray them during the duel, so he simply used his captain's authority to forcibly summon everyone.

"Hey, little cripple, you actually dare to come?" Flint grinned, revealing his uneven teeth. "I thought you'd run away at the last minute."

Harley clenched her fists and glared at Flint: "Shut your stinking mouth!"

Vera gently pressed Harley's wrist and pushed the wheelchair forward: "Now that you're here, let's begin."

"You really want to fight?" Flint looked her up and down with disdain. "Blake, it's not too late for you to admit defeat now—I won't go easy on you just because of your leg."

Vera's expression remained unchanged as she directly probed the soul: "Are you scared?"

Flint's face turned bright red: "I'm scared? What a joke!"

He drew his wand. "Today I'll show you my skills, senior!"

After the pre-match trash talk, Vera went straight to the point: "The rules are simple: whoever gets knocked down or disarmed first loses. On my side... Harley will be my assistant."

Flint snorted coldly, glanced at the group of team members behind him whose expressions ranged from eager to reluctant, and directly called out, "Derrian, you come!"

“This is Slytherin’s Chaser, Drian Pursey,” Harley immediately whispered to Vera.

Vera nodded slightly, glancing at the other person's tall, thin frame to indicate that she understood.

Chapter 93 He really got hung up and whipped (Bounty x1)

As is customary, the duelists bow to each other as a sign of respect, and then assume the standard dueling stance.

[Current Mana Reserves: 140/140]

Vera's gaze pierced through the magic circuit's prompts, fixing intently on her towering opponent.

After sparring with Hermione and Harley in the afternoon, her magical reserves were boosted once again.

Dealing with this student duel shouldn't be a problem.

Hermione stood between the two, gripping her wand tightly. "Wait until I count to three before you do anything. One, two... three!"

Before she could finish speaking, Flint immediately waved his wand: "Stinging Jinx!"

The moment the incantation tore through the air, a beam of white light shot straight at Vera's face.

But Vera didn't even move her wheelchair. She simply raised her right hand and quickly drew a vertical line in the air: "Armor Protection!"

The malicious incantation struck the invisible barrier and was immediately deflected.

Caught off guard, Flint could only hastily dodge to the side, the rebounding spell grazing his shoulder and striking a Slytherin behind him.

The unfortunate Slytherin immediately covered his face and screamed in agony; his face swelled up into a pig's head at a visible speed.

Lint's face turned ashen; he clearly hadn't expected Vera to block his spell so easily.

He gritted his teeth and raised his wand again: "Fire!"

A burst of intense flame erupted from the tip of the wand, hurtling straight at Vera.

"careful!"

Hermione and Harley gasped in surprise, but Vera remained calm and quickly waved her wand: "Clear Water!"

A stream of cool water shot out from her wand, colliding with the flames and hissing. Steam instantly filled the entire classroom.

In the hazy mist, Vera's expression hardened, and her eyes, strengthened by the Source, keenly caught Flint raising his wand once more.

“Front teeth like big sticks!” Flint’s voice came from the mist.

Vera quickly deduced the trajectory of the spell, her wheelchair turning slightly as her wand traced a graceful arc: "Spell Stop!"