Chapter Eight

This is it, boy. This is war.

Some Nights - Fun.

It was still as a tomb. Five fully grown men stood on the field. Facing them were six teenagers. The teens looked terrified. Though they had the advantage of numbers, this was a fight they knew they would lose.

In the Weasley family it was an unwritten, unspoken rule that Ginny was off limits. The twins could pull pranks on her and she and Ron wrestled from the time she could crawl. Percy and Ron beat her soundly every time they played chess. On the Quidditch field, there were no holds barred.

But she was not to be hurt. Ever. If she liked a guy, nothing could be done to him besides the standard threats. If he broke up with her, he was fair game. If she got into a fight, they sat on the sidelines until the fight was over or their assistance was required. Then they killed whoever was stupid enough to touch their baby sister.

Kingsbridge entered the field. This was an Auror sanctioned duel. By all rights, the Weasley clan should have been able to call in a sixth to make it even but Kingsbridge knew the Weasley boys. If he'd wanted to make it fair, he would have asked Charlie and Bill to sit out.

He looked around at the small crowd. A small army of Ginny's classmates stood on the sidelines, safely behind the wards. They'd had to invent a few wards just to make sure they covered all their bases. The Weasley boys were on a rampage and the twins alone were capable of just about anything.

Molly stood tall and strong, flanked by Arthur and Fleur. The French witch looked like she would take on all of the teens on her own if anything happened to her husband.

Kingsbridge was about to call the fight on when he caught sight of two blonde heads working through the crowd.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy joined the crowd. Kingsbridge was shocked, more so when their son joined them. Ron, Hermione and Harry stood in a little cluster and wonder of wonders, Harry beckoned Malfoy Jr. to join them.

The kid did so and Narcissa walked over to Molly. The two women spoke briefly then nodded and faced the field again.

Kingsbridge tried to figure out what the hell was going on but decided against it. The Weasley boys were looking anxious to get this on.

"This is a Wizard's duel," he announced in his artificially magnified voice. "The losers will be stripped of their magic. As a fellow witch was hurt, there will be no backing out of the duel. Death is the only quarter allowed," he said, knowing in his heart that death was too good for these teenagers. He very much liked Ginny.

Kingsbridge looked at the Weasley clan then to the teenagers. He nodded once and took his place on the sidelines. To his left, six orbs lit up in green, signifying the six teenagers. To his right, five orbs lit up red. The Weasleys.

The twins had always worked best in a team. Usually it was just the pair of them but in Quidditch they could hold a team together on their own. And of course, no team could ever hope to surpass their family.

The five men knew each other better than they knew themselves and they worked like a well oiled machine.

The teenagers grouped together at first. Charlie took the lead with a series of particularly vicious hexes. The teens battered most of them off but two made their marks. The rest of the Weasleys stood still, letting Charlie get it out of his system.

One of the teens, Theo Nott fired off a nasty spell. Charlie moved to block it but would not have made it in time if Bill hadn't stepped in.

Charlie fell back and Bill took the lead. Bill knew spells no European wizard could hope to learn. He utilized that skill. In moments the core of teenagers realized they were sitting ducks as a group.

They broke. Fred took out one of them right away, evening the odds. Fred and George focused on Theo Nott, who seemed to be the ringleader. Percy went after Astoria who was holding her own. Bill went after Devon Astleton, leaving the remaining two to Charlie.

Percy narrowed in on Astoria. She knew quite a bit but Percy had not survived over eighteen years of dealing with the twins without learning a few effective counter curses. Counter curses had become his specialty after the war and everything she threw at him, he countered instantly.

He watched as she grew more flustered. Clearly she expected him to just shield. But there were spells that could eat through a shield. So much better to just keep countering. Astoria gave ground. She stepped back, her ankle giving beneath her. In a flash, Percy saw Ginny. She had tripped just like that.

Percy launched his first offensive spell of the fight. Astoria screamed and was flung back into the wards. She fell, landing badly. Percy saw her leg break. Percy cast one more spell and it was over. Astoria crumpled and did not move.

Percy holstered his wand and turned to watch his brothers.

Charlie was deftly holding off his two. Percy, who knew his brother, did not make a move to intervene. They were each fighting separately. Their anger was something they had to work through. Percy had felt his own temper die down a little as he fought Astoria.

Charlie threw up a barrier and watched the pair of teenagers throwing their spells. He wanted a good handle on their abilities and he was getting one. These two were pathetic. Charlie had spent years working with dragons. Dragons were interesting but they did not have much variety in their attacks. Breathe some fire, bite a few things, lash out with their tails, repeat.

The two teenagers reminded him of dragons. He took down his shield and lashed out at the smaller of the two. His spell knocked the kid flat on his ass and he did not move again. The bigger boy looked at his comrade then threw a spell at Charlie but he was too slow. Charlie's shield was back up.

He waited, studying the younger man. He had seemed to learn from his comrade and now he moved with deliberation. Charlie had no interest in prolonging this. His vengeance was not yet slated and he knew his brothers well enough to know that this whole thing was merely a formality. They could each kill these children over and over again, a hundred times each and it would not be enough. Not until Ginny was happy and healthy and smiling at the kitchen table with them around.

But death was not allowed here. It was impossible to kill in a wizard's duel. Millions of spells went into the preparation of the wards and any harm done would be reversible.

Charlie dropped his barrier and began firing spells. The kid did not know what to do and put up a shield. Charlie cast a spell that broke the shield, shattering it beyond repair. The kid stumbled back with a groan. Charlie cast a final spell and the boy dropped. Charlie walked over to his still form and stared down. He was just a child. Charlie was used to thinking that kind of thing about Ginny and Ron but this time he really meant it.

He had no sympathy for the boy. He turned and joined Percy. Together they watched.

Bill enjoyed up close and personal fighting. He knew it worried Fleur and it was part of the reason he had the scars from Fenir.

When he put his wand away, Devon had the nerve to look cocky. By the time Devon realized what was going to happen, Bill was already too close. Devon pulled back to hex him and Bill snatched his shirt front. He slammed his forehead into the kid's nose. Devon stumbled back, dropping his wand. Blood streamed down his face. Bill kicked him in the gut and Devon went down.

Bill bent to pick up Devon's wand. He wanted very badly to break the wand but it was not how he was raised. Instead he threw it, underhand, to Devon. "Get up, worm," he said.

Devon swallowed, his throat working. He grabbed the wand and fired off a spell. Bill had his wand out just in time to counter it. Bill countered the next one then cast his own spell. Devon went down in a spray of orange sparks. Bill felt very unsatisfied. He stepped forward and Devon was on his feet, punching. Bill dodged. He looked around and saw that Devon had snapped his wand himself, most likely by accident.

Bill grinned and put a right hook into Devon's gut. The kid moved in time to avoid the worst of it before trying an uppercut. Bill had better reflexes and and smashed his fist into Devon's face. He stumbled back and Bill put an uppercut into Devon's jaw. The former Slytherin fell and this time when Bill stepped up to him, he did not get up.

Feeling better, Bill turned to see Charlie finishing off his two. The only ones still fighting were the twins and Bill wasn't entirely sure it could be called that.

In fights, Fred and George were unstoppable. Unless they were fighting each other in which case it got redundant fast. The problem was that they thought too much like each other.

Today, it was not a problem. The twins knew a ringleader when they saw one. They were very good at avoiding that particular pit fall.

The twins circled Theo. In other fights, there would have been the temptation to taunt, to provoke or just to goof off a little. Not today. Not here and not with this low life.

It was quick and it was brutal. There was no toying. The spells came fast and remorselessly. Theo had no chance to defend himself or even cast a spell. Offense was the last thing on his mind.

The former Slytherins limped off into the woods. As was customary for a Wizard's Duel, none of them had had healing before being sent on their way.

"What the fuck do we do now?" Astoria demanded, wiping at the blood still streaming down her lips from her nose.

Theo was in no shape to formulate a proper response. In fact, when the two older men, one with long silvery blonde hair and the other with striking red hair, stepped from the shadows, no one could come up with any response that appeased either man. As they were given a very thorough thrashing, the thing that struck the children most was that the two men seemed to be working in perfect agreeance.