The session had been underway for over an hour, and the Room of Requirement hummed with the rhythm of training. Spells flew across the room, footsteps echoed against the enchanted floor, and the voices of students called out instructions and encouragement in equal measure. Seeing the lower years exhausted, Amelia called for a short break, so all of them lingered at the edges of the room, chatting with each other about their improvements despite their exhaustion.
Fabian's voice cut through Gilderoy's thoughts. "Lockhart! Bones!"
Gilderoy turned to face him. Fabian was grinning, his wand twirling idly in his hands, his expression the kind of open challenge that suggested he was about to ask for something he knew would be entertaining.
"You've been running drills all session, I heard," Fabian said, stepping forward. "Gideon and I have been watching today. We think it's time for something a bit more practical."
"We want to see what the leaders are made of," Gideon said, appearing at his brother's side, his expression more measured but no less eager, "and show our younger members how a proper duel is done."
Amelia's eyebrows rose slightly. "You want to duel us?"
"Two on two," Fabian confirmed, his grin widening. "You and Lockhart against me and Gideon. We want to see what you've really got."
Gilderoy glanced at Amelia. She met his gaze, and he saw the flicker of amusement in her eyes. She wasn't threatened by the challenge—she was intrigued.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"I think they're going to regret asking," she replied, her voice carrying just enough volume for the twins to hear.
Fabian laughed, a loud, unselfconscious sound. "We'll see about that."
They moved to the centre of the room, the training targets vanishing as the space shifted to accommodate them. Adrian cast wards to create a dome so that stray spells didn't hit anyone outside. All the United members formed a loose circle against the walls, their expressions ranging from curiosity to anticipation to excitement.
Gilderoy walked towards Amelia and stood beside her. Fabian did the same, joining his brother on the other side of the room. The four of them stood in a rough square, wands raised, the air between them charged with anticipation.
"Rules?" Gilderoy asked.
Fabian grinned. "No rules. Just no lethal spells. We don't want to meet Madam Pomfrey's wrath."
"Agreed," Amelia murmured, a brief image of the stern matron's disapproving glare flashing through her mind. She could already hear the lecture about irresponsible students and unsupervised duelling.
"Ready when you are, guys," Gideon said, his voice calm.
Gilderoy felt the familiar exhilaration building in his chest, the focus sharpening in his mind. Beside him, Amelia was still, her breathing steady, her wand held at the ready.
Fabian moved first. "Flippendo!"
Did he seriously cast a first-year spell at me?
Gilderoy sidestepped, the jinx sailing past him, and countered with a swift "Expelliarmus!" Fabian deflected it with a flick of his wand, the red light glancing off his shield and dissipating against the wards.
Gideon seized the opening, his wand snapping toward Amelia. "Locomotor Wibbly!" The jinx flew toward her legs, but she had already stepped aside, her own wand rising.
"Glacius!" Ice burst from her wand, spreading across the floor toward the twins' feet. Fabian leaped back, but Gideon was already countering with "Incendio!" The flame met the ice with a burst of steam that filled the space between them.
Impressive, Gilderoy thought, his gaze tracking both twins simultaneously. They moved with the same rhythm, the same instinctual awareness of each other's positions. When Fabian attacked, Gideon defended. When Gideon moved, Fabian covered.
Is this their advantage because they're twins?
Fabian pressed forward, his wand a blur. "Impedimenta!" The jinx tore through the steam, aimed at Gilderoy's chest. Gilderoy sidestepped, already casting.
"Ventus!" A gust of wind caught the steam, sending it swirling toward the twins and obscuring their vision. But Gideon was already countering with "Repello Inimicum!" and the wind and steam rebounded, dissipating harmlessly.
Amelia moved while they were distracted. "Ebublio!" Bubbles erupted from her wand, engulfing Gideon's head in a thick, shimmering sphere that left him stumbling blindly. Gilderoy capitalized immediately.
"Incendio!" A wall of flames burst from his wand, cutting a fiery arc across the floor between Gideon and Fabian, separating the twins.
Fabian reacted instantly. "Avis! Oppugno!" Birds burst from his wand—a dozen of them, their wings beating furiously, their beaks aimed at Gilderoy. He raised his shield, protecting himself and Amelia, but the birds swarmed at high speed, striking from every angle and forcing him to maintain the barrier.
Amelia was already moving. "Evanesco!" The birds vanished mid-flight, their conjured forms dissolving into nothingness.
Gideon recovered from the bubble sphere, his footing steady again. "Tarantallegra!" The jinx flew toward Amelia, but Gilderoy saw it coming and cast a swift "Repello!" The shield charm rebounded the jinx back toward Gideon. His eyes widened, and he dodged, the spell striking the wall behind him.
The duel intensified. Spells flew thick and fast—fire and ice, shields and hexes, conjurations and transfigurations. The room blurred with movement as the four duelists pushed themselves harder, faster, more creatively. The twins' coordination was seamless, their years of partnership evident in every move.
But Amelia and Gilderoy were learning.
Amelia moved beside him, her spells flowing into his, her defences covering his openings. She didn't have to think about what he would do—she just knew. When he cast Incendio, she followed with Ventus, turning his fire into a circular flamethrower that swept toward the twins.
Fabian's grin had faded. He was breathing hard, his eyes darting between Gilderoy and Amelia, clearly trying to find an opening. Gideon was more composed, but there was a furrow in his brow, a hint of uncertainty that hadn't been there before.
Gilderoy followed with a blinding flash of light from "Lumos Maxima!" that forced Fabian and Gideon to shield their eyes. Amelia had already closed her eyes before Gilderoy cast the spell, preventing herself from being flashbanged—which was never a pleasant experience.
"How are you doing that?" Fabian demanded, his voice carrying a note of genuine confusion. "You're not even looking at each other!"
Amelia didn't answer. She and Gilderoy moved together again, their wands rising in perfect sync. Gideon dove to shield his brother, raising a wall of water to counter, but the combined force of their attack shattered his defences.
Gilderoy saw his opportunity. He stepped back, his wand rising—not toward the twins, but toward the empty space beside him. His focus narrowed, his intent crystallizing.
"Creo Saxum!" A crude stone golem materialised from thin air, its form rough-hewn but solid. He followed immediately with "Duro!" The hardening charm reinforced its form, making it solid and unyielding.
He didn't stop there. "Creo Saxum!" Another crude stone golem materialised, followed by "Duro!"
Another. "Creo Saxum!" "Duro." A third.
Sweat beaded on his forehead. Conjuring multiple golems from nothing was slightly exhausting, but he pushed through, his focus absolute.
Amelia held the line. "Protego Maxima!" absorbed Gideon's thunderbolt, "Fulminis!" while she sidestepped Fabian's hex, letting it sail past her and dissipate against the wards.
As soon as she saw Gilderoy harden the golem he had conjured, she flicked her wand.
"Piertotum Locomotor!" The first golem lurched forward, its movements crude and brutal but purposeful.
"Piertotum Locomotor!" The second golem lurched forward.
"Piertotum Locomotor!" The third golem joined the others.
Fabian's eyes went wide. "What in Merlin's name—"
"I will focus on attacking the stone monsters!" Gideon shouted, but the golems were everywhere now, lumbering toward them with relentless purpose.
Fabian was already occupied same as Gideon, his focus entirely on destroying the golems. "Confringo!" He blasted one with a powerful curse, and it shattered. But Gilderoy was already conjuring another, and Amelia animated it before the dust had settled.
The golems closed in. Both twins were so focused on defeating the stone creatures that they forgot to block the spells that had left Amelia's wand.
"Incarcerous!"
"Incarcerous!"
Fabian was bound in ropes, his wand lying several feet away. Gideon was similarly restrained, his expression a mixture of frustration and grudging respect. Both twins were breathing hard, their robes singed and torn.
Gilderoy lowered his wand, his breathing only slightly elevated. Beside him, Amelia was steady, her chest heaving. The golems had crumbled to dust, their conjured forms spent.
Fabian laughed—a genuine sound, full of disbelief and admiration. "Ha! Bloody hell, you power couple," he said. "That was..."
"Brilliant," Gideon finished, his voice carrying the same awe. "You two move like you've been fighting together for decades. That's not just practice. That's something else."
Gilderoy shrugged, aiming for casual. "We train together a lot."
"Train together?" Fabian repeated, his voice incredulous. "Gideon and I have trained together since we could hold wands. We've never moved like that."
Gideon nodded slowly. "It's like you're reading each other's minds."
Amelia's expression remained placid. "We just know each other well."
The ropes dissolved with a wave of his wand, and the twins stretched, their joints popping. Gilderoy helped Fabian to his feet, then Gideon.
"Next time," Fabian said, his grin returning, "we're going to win."
"I look forward to seeing you try," Amelia replied smirking.
The room had fallen silent, every member staring at the four duelists with expressions ranging from awe to disbelief. The twins had demonstrated exceptional skill, but Gilderoy and Amelia had moved with a synchronicity that seemed almost supernatural. Whispers rippled through the crowd as students exchanged glances.
Amelia addressed the group, her voice cutting through the murmuring. "Alright, everyone has progressed very well. Bedtime!"
The members filed out slowly, the room emptying as the night deepened. Gilderoy and Amelia remained behind, watching the space settle back into silence.
"That went well," Amelia said.
"Better than well," he agreed. "The twins are impressive. They'll make good additions."
---
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