"So how are we going to do this," Regulus asked.
"Well first we are going to need some more space unless any of you want to blow up the kitchen in the process," Severus said. He couldn't help but be excited at having the chance to duel some of the people in the room. But he would never show it.
"Well this is the Room of Requirement so shouldn't we just think about our needs and the room will conjure it," Remus suggested.
"Ya that sounds about right," James agreed.
Charlus closed his eyes and pictured the room of requirement as it was shown in Harry's memories. Slowly the room groaned and creaked as it transfigured into a more suitable space. The living room remained the same, however, the kitchen was longer present. In its place was a suitable duelling arena. The two opposing walls were entirely made out of mirrors. The floor was covered in a soft mat. Already erected was a shielding charm that prevented anyone from watching except the two duelers to be involved in the fight. One could walk around it when they entered the separate room. It was simple but it would suit their purposes.
"Okay that is impressive," James said.
"So how are we going to choose who's going to be duelling who?" Lily asked.
"Draw names out of a hat," Remus suggested.
"We will need a hat," Lily said. All of a sudden a small bowler hat appeared in the air and dropped lightly onto her lap. She looked up into the air and called out. "Thank you". To the amusement of the others.
"We're an odd number, what should we do?" Narcissa pointed out.
"I'll sit out," Dorea volunteered.
"Are you sure mom?" James asked.
"Yes, I'm sure, besides I am more of a healer then a fighter, plus if an accident occurs I will be needed to heal it." Which with the group involved it was highly likely someone would take it too far and hurt the other.
"Okay, then why don't you pick the names of who goes against who," Charlus said.
"Alrighty," Dorea said as she grabbed the hat with all of the names already written on individual pieces of paper. She grabbed two at a time. "First up we have James and Regulus." She said then drew the next set. "Then Sirius and Charlus. Lily and Narcissa. Last up is Remus and Severus." Dorea said once she drew all of the names. "Okay rules are anything goes except the dark arts and anything that could result in serious bodily harm," Dorea stated as she got rid of the names and the hat.
Both Regulus and James made their way to the duelling arena. They stood on opposing sides facing one another with their wands drawn. They were about 10 ft apart. Everyone else was gathered on the edge of the living room area that bordered the duelling room. They were all curious as to the outcome of the fight. They kept looking back and forth between the two. Wandering who was going to strike first. Then the fight began.
The two of them were paired well together. Despite James being hit with the Anteoculatia hex which ironically caused him to grow antlers. He was still able to disarm Regulus, ending the fight in his favour. It was relatively quick, however, James did have an extra year of experience on Regulus. They shook hands afterwards. Both in good spirits.
Next up was Sirius vs Charlus.
It was clear to see that Sirius was very much outmatched but nonetheless he tried very hard against Charlus. However, his undoing was when he cast a Ducklifors Jinx which Charlus was able to block with a Backfiring Jinx. Therefore, Sirius was the one who turned into a duck. It was humorous watching Sirius squawk as he waddled around trying to get someone to transfigure him back. It wasn't for another 10 minutes before Dorea took mercy on him and returned him back to his previous state. He was glaring at Charlus but obviously, it was all done in good fun.
Lily and Narcissa had by far the longest duel. They were both vindictive fighters and were ruthless in their attacks. Back and forth they traded hexes, always able to dodge or block the incoming spells. They were at it for 5 minutes, however, they were both growing extremely tired. It seemed as though Narcissa gained the upper hand when she casted a trip jinx that aimed true. Despite being on the ground. Narcissa let her guard down long enough to be hit in retaliation with the Petrificus Totalus. It was a good duel though and Lily held out her hand to help Narcissa up.
Severus ended up winning his round by knocking Remus over with a knockback jinx then hitting him with a fairly harmless stinging jinx. It was fast and happened within a span of 10 seconds. Severus didn't even hesitate in striking quickly and efficiently.
Everyone took a quick 10-minute breather before continuing onto the second round of duels. James was to be duelling against his father. Everyone was excited to see how the two Potters compared to one another. The two were nearly identical in their fighting styles. The way they transition from spells was uncanny especially since they looked so similar, what with their unruly hair and glasses. However, Charlus had much more experience and a higher repertoire of spells to his knowledge and was able to defeat his son with a simple Tickling hex.
Lily and Severus were, strangely enough, trash-talking the other before and even while they duelled. Severus though had a smirk on his face the entire time, even when Lily said something quite nasty, which seemed to impress him despite the insult. It was a quick transition between verbal and non-verbal spells. Lights blurred between the two. Lily was moving more in an attempt to gain the upper hand while Severus remained in one spot simply blocking her defensive spells. He seemed very familiar with her fighting style. This was obviously not their first time practicing duelling. Severus though, won the fight which Lily begrudgingly accepted.
Everyone decided to have dinner now in order to give Severus some time to rest before the final duel before Charlus and him fought. Some like Sirius and James assumed that Mr. Potter would come out victorious from the fight. While Regulus and Narcissa were leaning the other way. Remus and Lily on the other hand were unsure of how this fight would go.
After dinner, the duel continued. They both entered the room, with everyone standing behind the shield not knowing what to expect.
The two of them faced each other, prompting the other to attack first. It was unclear who attacked first, however, they both opted to use non-verbal spells. They both immediately erected a shield charm as their defensive spells became more advanced. It was getting intense between the two and the seriousness of the duel almost looked like they were attempting to seriously harm the other. Especially when Charlus casted a cutting curse that directly hit Severus' arm. Causing blood to drip down his arm. Charlus was able to dodge a nasty curse that Severus sent in return. The two were sweating. And just when you thought one of them was gaining the upper hand the other would retaliate in kind. The duel came to a climax when Severus suddenly shouted Expulso. A streak of blue light flew past his opponent and hit the glass wall behind him causing the glass to completely shatter. The explosion threw Charlus onto the grown as shards of glass rained down onto him. In a last-ditch effort to throw Severus off, he casted a Patronus, as he tried to regain his bearing as he made his way back to his feet. Severus was prepared for a counter-attack though and casted the Orbis Jinx which sucked Charlus into the ground.
The two were out of breath and exhausted from the duel. The pair were both bleeding from their injuries, luckily they were both minor. Everyone was shocked and impressed. They knew Severus was good but they had no idea how good he was.
"That was impressive, lad," Charlus said as he gave Severus a pat on his shoulder. He was tired and sweating profusely. Severus on the other hand was barely showing any tiredness. One could tell how much that exerted him by how much he was struggling to catch his breath. Taking shaky inhales. "I look forward to fighting alongside you in the battlefield," Charlus said firmly accepting Severus amongst the ranks.
"Be glad it's together and not against," Severus said, accepting the olive branch.
"Now just imagine how well he would have fought if he was allowed to use dark magic," Regulus pointed out, causing a dark shiver to run down some people's backs. Especially James. Seeing his classmate outduel his father was terrifying. Especially when it made him realize how much Snape held back in the duels he had with James and Sirius. It really puts things in perspective.
"Damn you are one scary individual," Sirius said.
"You have no idea," Severus said with a smirk. He was holding his arm loosely by his side.
"I'm sorry for your arm," Charlus said, resulting in Severus to shrug indifferently.
"Call us even," he said as he pointed to the various cuts on Charlus' face from the broken glass shards.
"Honestly you shouldn't be encouraging him," Dorea chastised Severus as she made her way over to him to heal his arm. Then she redirected her aim to her husband. "And dragging him along with you. You're lucky I am a trained healer and we need to stay at the school. Otherwise, I would drag both of you to St. Mungos by the ear. Just so you two would get fussed over.
"Dad, did you cast a Patronus?" James asked. "I've never seen it used in a duel before."
"Yes, but it wasn't corporal. I didn't need it to be. I just needed it to be big enough of a distraction, but as you saw it didn't work" Charlus explained.
"What is the corporal form? I've never seen it?" James asked curiously.
"Expecto Patronum," Charlus stated as a silver shape produced from his wand. It slowly started to grow in shape and mass. It grew into a giant bear. It sat on its hind legs, peacefully.
"Interesting," Lily said.
"What's interesting," Narcissa asked.
"Just that your Patronus is a bear and what it says about your personality I guess," Lily said. And for someone who wasn't very familiar with the individual, a Patronus was a great indicator of who that person is like.
"How do you know what it means about his personality?" Remus asked.
"I read this book on Animals, Familiars and Patronus and it gave a detailed list of their personality traits. Actually, I have it on me." Lily said as she suddenly ran to her room. Leaving everyone waiting. She came back with a large tome in hand and quickly went rummaging through it. She found what she was looking for and said; "The bear signifies a wild and free heart. Often self-sufficient and are natural leaders. They also are courageous creatures."
"Fascinating, what's mine?" Dorea asked before conjuring her own, which turned into the shape of a small fox.
"The fox is associated with their cunning. The calculating fox can outwit its enemies with strategy and adaptability."
"Oh that is perfect for you dear," Charlus said, earning a scowl from his wife. Charlus then began whistling innocently.
"I am assuming your Patronus is the same as your animagus," She asked James. "The stag is a symbol of strength. Is characterized by their inclination to heroism and nobility. Usually, people who produce this Patronus are confident in their capabilities and hold pride in their actions and beliefs."
"Don't' forget ostentatious, what with those antlers," Severus muttered under his breath. Remus, overhearing with his werewolf hearing, choked on his laughter.
"Remus?"
"A wolf. I guess a side effect of my illness," Remus said with a shrug.
"Not necessary. Wolf's have incredible instincts and are loyal to their pack." Dorea said to placate the boy. Earning a nod of agreement from Lily.
"Well, mine is the same as Sirius. And the Grimm represents death," Regulus said, not really wanting to know what that means about his personality.
"A Grimm is also known as a Deerhound. Despite being bred for hunting are gentle dogs with a very friendly nature." Lily said, earning a pensive look from both Sirius and Regulus.
"What's your's Lily?" Remus asked, causing a slight blush to appear on her cheeks.
She casted her own and a gentle doe appeared. "A doe is fiercely protective of its loved ones, as displayed through its caring and nurturing nature. The doe is also representative of gentleness yet strong determination."
"Interesting how it's the female mate to a Stag," Sirius said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Causing Lily to blush even more. James taking pity on her despite being ecstatic inside continued on.
"Moving on, Narcissa?"
"It's a snake but I am not sure which species."
"Let's see," Severus said. Like she said a snake came forth. However, Severus was able to identify it as a rattlesnake.
"Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes. They lie in wait for their predators. They are strongest when they have control over a situation."
"Huh, for some reason I thought yours would be a swan," Sirius said. "What's your's Snape?"
It took a moment before Severus was able to cast his. It was a large cat that looked mangy in appearance, if it's battered ears were any indication. The creature prowled around the room.
It took a moment before Lily was able to find it in her book. "The lynx is a solitary wild cat. They hunt alone, have a great sense of hearing and stealth. Are able to catch their prey off guard."
"Very suitable," Narcissa said with a smirk.
"Why is it suitable? I figured it would be a bat," Sirius said. Earning a scowl from some of the members in the room.
"I just mean you do have a tendency to sulk in the background and observe others instead of engaging with them," Narcissa answered.
"He's got a point, you could easily blackmail and manipulate people with all of the information you have on all of them. Hell, you could probably be Minister of Magic if you wanted," Regulus said with a thought.
"He can't seriously have that much blackmail," Sirius said. But noticing the looks on his brother and cousin's face he turned to look at Severus who was looking down and avoiding eye contact with him. "You can't seriously have that much blackmail."
"You would seriously be surprised by how much people say when they don't think anyone's listening," Severus explained.
"What do you have on me?" Sirius asked curiously.
"You don't want to know," Severus said. Dismissing the question.
"Seriously, what do you know?" Sirius persisted.
"You might wanna have a drink first," Severus recommended as he pulled out a bottle of whiskey.
"I'll pass."
"Then I am gonna need a drink," Severus said as he took his own sip.
Author's Note: I will be posting every Friday until this story is complete. Hopefully I will post two chapter at a time but I am in school and might not have that much time so I will as least post 1 chapter a week.