"A pity, really, that I didn't have an audience for what I did to your parents," despite every bit of training, despite knowing what the comment was aimed at achieving, Hermione froze in her tracks, heart stuttering at the mention of her parents. Exploiting Hermione's hesitation, movements almost too quick to follow, Briar pulled her wand, sending a monstrously strong "Diffindo!" in her direction. Hermione had time to wordlessly cast a half-assed shield charm, the lack of a wand in her hand contributing to how easily it blew apart, the slicing hex opening a line of fire along Hermione's thigh. Fucking hell, that hurt.