"It depends," Hermione admits, in answer to Steph's first question. "Honestly, if they're skilled enough to cast something really, truly dangerous, I'd run if I didn't have a wand on me. But one thing you can do is get behind things which will deflect spells- metals usually work best, even better if they're reflective surfaces. Brittle things tend to burst into shards, wood conducts magic or takes fire."

And she gives a sidelong smile. "Or, yes, you can try and get whatever they're holding that they channel magic through. Not everyone uses something for that here, and I've read and seen some things about staffs and crystals and what not. But in my world, we use wands, and disarming a wizard or a witch is usually accomplished through magic- but if you've got a weapon at the time, I'm sure you can aim for the wand arm."

Which might sound surprising, coming so easily out of the mouth of a librarian, especially someone as bookish and rule-abiding as Hermione. With a wand in her hand she looks infinitely more confident, and she definitely sounds like she knows her stuff- not just the theory, but how to use it in a fight.