Violet sighed inwardly as Rosier awarded her 5 points for her answer. Usually she was eager to earn points, but not for an answer like that--she'd meant to shame him by implying that he was afraid of Muggles. Now half the class probably thought she meant what she said.

And now--all those answers the students were giving about how to get rid of Muggles--she knew most of them were probably saying those things just to avoid trouble, but--people seemed to be enjoying it a little too much. If they all pretended long enough, would they really turn into bloodthirsty pawns in this dangerous wizard's game?

Violet pulled out her wand and cast "Bombardo" at the first dummy she saw, but she was still nervous and missed. Oh no, what would he do to her if she didn't hit one? Hurriedly, she cast the spell again, taking aim this time, and hit the next dummy dead center, watching it explode in a flash. Okay, it's just like shooting at bottles, just aim and hit. Violet exploded another dummy, then another, almost like a robot, all the time saying to herself, They're not real, They're not real, They're not real...