Frank of course could not swallow it. He shoved Mark Collins forward, that same unlucky bloke Tom had once swept off a staircase with a casual flick. After the scuffle, everyone from both sides had somehow forgotten him, even the onlookers. He had been the only one actually injured... which left Mark both gloomy and secretly relieved. If no one remembered, then he had not lost face. Still, fire boiled in his belly. He stormed onto the platform and glared at Ginny. "Do not blame me for picking on a first year."
"Shut it, big nose."
Professor McGonagall could only sigh. Ginny really did go straight for the throat, all offense, no filter. Mark flushed hot, hawk nose going scarlet first, like a clown.
At the signal, the duel began. One trick used well will carry you far. Ginny opened with the Bat Bogey Hex again. Mark thought himself stronger than Vanessa, which was his mistake. Ginny's hex was silent this time. His Protego was half spoken when he met the same end as Vanessa.
This time McGonagall did not even need to call. Rouse hopped up helpfully and ferried Mark to Madam Pomfrey, then sauntered back to Frank and arched a brow. "That is the student you sent? No wonder the two of you think alike."
Gulp.
George and Fred swallowed in unison. Many looked at Ginny with the same horrified awe. Too brutal. A silent Bat Bogey Hex, how do you block that?
"When did Ginny get this fierce..." Fred muttered.
"I just saw Mum," George shivered.
Harry glanced at Ginny, then at a stupefied Ron. A ridiculous thought flickered through his head. Was there some secret to Ron's parentage? He kept it to himself. With the way his own sparring with Malfoy had strained things, he was not about to add fuel.
...
Just when most thought Ginny would stop, she spoke again, less aggressive now, more teasing.
"Next up... the noble pure blood scion from a two hundred year old nation, Miss Cassandra Voray. Oh dear."
Ginny covered her mouth, very prettily. "I do have the right to challenge you, do I not?"
Cassandra's face went from green to white to green again. It was a jab at what she had told Tom yesterday. The Hogwarts students caught on at once. So Ginny was venting for Riddle.
Eyes slid to Tom, who was still munching popcorn, so to speak. Daphne puffed her cheeks. She had planned to give Cassandra a lesson today and now someone else had stolen the show.
"Why look at me?" Tom asked, innocent. "Look at the stage. Do you not like watching girls fight?"
Of course they did, but why was a Gryffindor taking up for a Slytherin? Ginny's brothers ground their teeth, glaring daggers at Tom. Percy in particular felt the sky falling. Penelope ignored him but laughed with Tom, and now even his little sister had been lured away...
Was he even human? Surely not a male Veela?
Only when Cassandra stepped onto the platform did attention return. Ginny trilled, "Lady Voray, you will not cry if you lose, will you? You are the daughter of a great house. I would hate to see you take revenge afterward."
You little... dripping sarcasm like that. Cassandra clenched her fists so tight her knuckles creaked. She wanted to plant one right in Ginny's smirking face.
"The person you came for has stopped talking. Yet you are still bouncing around," Cassandra shot back. "Miss Weasley, I think you need a few courses in manners. Otherwise... no one will like a little savage."
Ginny's smile vanished. "Voray, what you need to learn first is courtesy. You came into another's home and picked a fight with the host. No wonder nothing good comes out of a barbarian country."
"Ahem." Professor McGonagall coughed hard. "Weasley, less chatter. Begin. Do not delay other matches."
That was a wide blast if ever there was one. She was afraid Ginny would end up insulting every American in the room. Ginny reined in, grudgingly bowed with Cassandra, then rose with her signature opener.
Bat Bogey Hex.
Cassandra was ready. Magic coiled on her wand tip and disturbed the forming hex. She countered at once. Threads of light flashed between them. Both girls had Protego. They dodged and parried, sparks bursting from their wards.
"Salvio hexia." McGonagall waved, layering a shimmering dome over the platform.
The exchange dazzled the crowd. Cassandra did not look like a third year at all. As for Ginny... she looked nothing like a first year. A female Tom, through and through.
McGonagall tried to keep a stern face, but the corners of her mouth would not behave. The wheel had turned. Gryffindor finally had a new prodigy.
Cassandra, meanwhile, was shaken. Her pride came from outclassing Ilvermorny peers, even upper years. But this was a first year. She could not hold back.
She clenched her teeth and loosed her strongest spell. "Thunderstrike."
Clouds gathered low over the platform. A muffled rumble rolled. Ginny's eyes tightened. She answered with her own hardest hit.
"Reducto."