Freddie conjured a few lanterns and placed them around the room so they would have more light to see by.
"Should we clear some of this debris out of the way?" Ada asked. Freddie looked around and the broken furniture and uneven floorboards and she shook her head.
"Leave them. An important part of a duel is being aware of your surroundings at all times. If one of us trips over something or falls it will be because we aren't paying close enough attention and we should do better."
"Okay," Ada said with a nod. "So...how shall we begin?"
"Well you stand here," Freddie said, positioning her friend in front of one wall. "And I'll start here... No lethal spells, obviously. I think that should be our only rule. If we're fighting Death Eaters they won't be holding back. They'll use anything in their arsenal to try and take someone down and so should we."
"Right," her friend said grimly.
"If I'm injured somehow and can't take care of myself, there are potions in my bag. Use a Summoning Charm to find what you need, it's kind of mess in there. Essence of Dittany, Burn Cream...You would know what to do, you're a smart girl. If anything happens that you can't handle, go and get Severus. His office is down in the dungeons, you can find a Slytherin to show you the way."
"Jeez, Freddie, I'm not going to maim you!" Ada said with a slight nervous chuckle. "At least I hope not."
"Well I'm telling you just in case. Okay, I think that's everything. Are you ready Adalene?"
"Yes," she said, tightening her grip on her wand.
"First we bow to each other," Freddie instructed and they both bowed low. "Then hold your wand in the accepted combat position – like this, that's right. And on the count of three, do your worst. 1...2...3!"
Freddie threw up a Shield Charm as Ada fired three consecutive Stunners at her. They bounced off the shield and Ada dodged as one ricocheted back towards her. Freddie stood still with her shield in place, waiting to see what her friend would do next. She remembered her first duel with Snape, how he hadn't fired any spells or reacted at all until she'd broke through his Shield Charm. She wondered if she should use his style.
"Reducto!" Ada shouted and her spell hit the shield with a surprising amount of force. Freddie's shield flickered for a moment and Ada shot another Stunning Spell at her. Freddie deflected it easily with a Stunner of her own. The spells collided and both girls moved, dodging the sparks.
"Colloshoo," Ada said and Freddie quickly stepped forward, avoiding the hex that would have glued her feet to the ground.
"I don't think so, Adalene," Freddie said lightly. Locomotor mortis, Freddie thought, brandishing her wand. The silent spell hit Ada, locking her legs together, and the girl toppled over, swearing loudly.
"While you're laying there," Freddie said with a slight smirk. "You do know how to perform nonverbal spells, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Use them whenever you can. In a fight a nonverbal spell can give you a split-second advantage that can be the difference between life and death," she lectured. Before she'd even finished her sentence Ada had unlocked her legs nonverbally and she fired a Stunner that Freddie didn't have enough time to react to properly. She threw her arms up in a defensive posture as the spell hit her and knocked her back several feet. But she'd been hit with enough Stunners in her life that she didn't fall. She braced herself as quickly as she could and returned fire.
They battled silently for a few minutes. Occasionally Ada would shout a spell out loud but for the most part she remained nonverbal. Freddie was impressed with her friend's skills and she noticed with some curiosity that Ada's nonverbal spells weren't as strong as her verbal ones. She made a mental note to mention it later, then fired a silent Confundus Charm that missed the girl by an inch but sent her sprawling nonetheless as she tried to dodge it.
"Protego!" Ada cried hastily as she scrambled back to her feet, blocking another spell from Freddie who nodded approvingly. "Everte statum!"
Freddie dodged again, then threw up her shield again as Ada immediately started to fire more Stunners.
"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!"
"Nonverbal spells, Ada," Freddie said from behind her shield. "If I know what you're doing it's easier to deflect."
Ada looked a little frustrated but kept her mouth clamped shut as she fired more spells. But she was focused on keeping her mouth shut and Freddie took advantage of her distraction.
Everte Statum, she thought, dropping her Shield Charm to fire. The spell hit Ada and threw her backwards into the wall.
"Are you okay?" Freddie asked cautiously, keeping her wand raised so she could defend herself.
"Fine," Ada groaned, picking herself back up. Freddie felt slightly guilty and wondered if she should go easier on her friend. Ada bent to brush the dirt off her jeans, but then surprised Freddie with a silent spell that made her whole body go ice-cold. It startled her so much that Ada was able to fire off a second spell and Freddie felt her tongue begin to swell in her mouth.
Finite! She thought hastily, canceling the effects of both spells instantly.
"Clever girl," she said, blocking the next spell Ada aimed at her. "Making me think you were brushing dirt from your legs then hitting me with that. Very clever."
"Thanks," Ada said, panting slightly. "Stupefy!"
Freddie clicked her tongue disapprovingly as she deflected the spell. Ada sent two more Stunners silently, then shouted-
"Flipendo!"
Freddie stepped aside quickly and the spell hit the broken leg of a chair instead, sending it end over end with enough force that it embedded into the wall behind her.
"You need-" Freddie said, deflecting another spell as she spoke. "-to be- silent."
Silencio! Freddie thought, but Ada quickly dodged. She tried again. Silencio! Silencio! Mimblewimble!
The last one broke through and Ada let out a squeak of surprise as the Tongue-Tying Curse hit her.
"Wh'id'do- wh-" she tried to say and Freddie grinned at her.
"I made you quiet. Now you have to use nonverbal spells. Come on," she directed. "Do your best."
Freddie knew Ada could have easily released the curse on her own, but she didn't. She faced Freddie's challenge head on and started sending nonverbal spells again.
They battled silently for the next ten minutes, each of them getting hit a few times but nothing too serious. So far Freddie had avoided using Legilimency on her friend, even though she knew it would give her more of an edge in a nonverbal duel. When Ada managed to hit her with a Conjunctivitis Curse that caused her eyes to burn, she let out a yelp of pain. She held her Shield Charm blindly while she tried to think of the counter-curse. She couldn't see but she could feel Ada's spells hitting her shield, pushing her back inch by inch, and she could hear her footsteps on the creaky floorboards as she tried to get around Freddie's shield. Freddie stepped carefully, trying to match Ada's movements just by listening.
Her eyes felt like they were on fire and tears were streaming down her face as she tried to remember the spell to fix them. All she could think of was the Oculus Potion, something she knew would work, but she didn't have it in her bag. Then the bombardment of spells against her Shield Charm stopped and she could no longer hear Ada moving. Frustrated, Freddie reached out with her Legilimency.
She met resistance at first, as Ada was practiced in Occlumency, but the mental attack had surprised her and Freddie used that stream of emotion to break through her natural shield. The first thing she found in her friend's mind was the counter-curse she needed to fix her eyes – she did that in seconds, blinking as her vision cleared. Her eyes found Ada just as the girl raised her wand to fire a nonverbal Disarming Charm. But Freddie heard the Expelliarmus in her friend's head before the magic even left her and she knew what was coming. She let the spell hit her, holding tight to her wand with a silent Gripping Charm so that it didn't budge an inch. Ada's eyes grew wide.
"Ow'd'nah'lo'wan?" she asked, her tongue still tied from Freddie's curse.
With a flick of her wrist Freddie Disarmed her friend, grabbing her wand as it shot towards her. Ada let out an unintelligible sound and Freddie smirked.
"Titillando," she said lightly and the Tickling Hex sent Ada to the ground, clutching her sides and laughing thickly through her tongue. She tried to stand but couldn't, all she could do was laugh helplessly. After a minute Freddie released the spell.
"Finite," she said simply and Ada's arms dropped to her side. She'd canceled the Tongue-Tying Curse as well and Ada smacked her lips in surprise, then stuck her tongue out at Freddie who smiled.
"I guess that means you win," Ada said and Freddie stepped forward to help her to her feet.
"You did well," she said as she gave her her wand back. "I was impressed."
"Thanks – but how did you not lose your wand when I hit you with the Disarming Charm? I thought for sure I had you! But you didn't even flinch – I hit you dead on and you didn't so much as twitch!"
"Something I learned from Severus," Freddie explained with a quick smile. "I let you hit me and I held onto my wand with a quick Gripping Charm."
"But how did you know what I was going to do?"
"I used Legilimency on you," she said, slightly apologetic. "You blinded me, I had no choice. I had to do something. If I couldn't see I needed another sense."
"Oh that's what I felt! I didn't know you were in my head. It felt weird, I thought you'd hit me with a Confundus Charm or something."
"Nope. Legilimency – and proper Occlumency – can be another powerful tool during a duel. Especially when your opponent is well-versed in nonverbal spells."
"I've read that," Ada said with a nod. "I thought my Occlumency was good."
"I caught you by surprise," Freddie said with a shrug. "You shouldn't let me do that. You should always have your thoughts shielded. On some level you should always be expecting an attack – whether you're dueling or walking down the street. It has to be constant and unbreakable."
"I don't know if I can do that all the time. It sounds exhausting."
"It takes practice. You can do it. You definitely should, especially since you're thinking of fighting back against the Dark Lord."
"I'll work on it," she said with a determined look in her green eyes.
"Good. You should also work on your nonverbal spells. They should be as strong as your verbal ones. Yours were weak."
Ada scowled slightly but nodded.
"I don't mean to sound mean," Freddie said gently. "I just want to help. You want to fight, well, I want you to be the best you can be."
"You're not mean, you're right. I have things I need to work on. That's why I wanted to duel in the first place, so I can get better. Can we start again?" Ada asked hopefully, raising her wand.
"Let's take a short break first, then yeah we can go again."
Author's Note: Action-packed fighting scenes have always been difficult for me, but this was kind of fun to write. I hope you all enjoyed.
~RPP