(Ron(ald) Weasley - PoV)
"Dodge."
My eyes widen as the bloody nutter launches the desks at us, one coming straight for my face.
Dropping to the ground (as usual), I wait for the crash...
"Ugh," I complain, rubbing my bruises as we leave the classroom. "What a load of crap. I get enough 'dodging' practice living with the twins."
"I just can't believe he actually told us to run away. What does he think we are, Slytherins?" Seamus comments.
"Hah! Right? He is supposed to be teaching us actual magic so we don't have to run away!"
How am I supposed to show off my magic when so few classes actually teach any? Only Charms and Transfiguration so far, and Transfiguration is...Ugh.
And then Neville ruined Flying. Him and Iris, who...
...
What kind of snake actually jumps in to help someone like that?
She just wanted the attention, right? Showing off like her friend, that bastard Black?
...
That's probably it.
(Coeus Black - PoV)
"Bishop to C4."
Gah!
Grumbling under my breath, I watch the fancy, stuck-up bastard march across the board to smash up my own Bishop.
We are all hanging out in the (rather crowded) common room instead of our own room today, and I find myself playing chess with Draco. And losing, as usual.
"Black Knight! Charge!" I command.
The black armored soldier looks up at me before returning his attention not the field. Glancing around for a moment, he picks a target and lunges forward, smashing it to pieces with his giant sword.
So cool.
Wizard chess would be awesome if not for the whole chess part.
"Hey Draco, want to sword fight?"
"Absolutely not."
Ugh. How am I supposed to get any practice if no one will fight me?
"Wait, do you have more swords?" Iris asks.
"What? Of course! Who has just one sword?"
"Most people don't have any swords," Daphne interjects.
"Most people are boring."
"I'll sword fight," Iris offers.
I stare at her.
"If you want...?"
"Hah!" I smile.
Once again, Iris is the best. Of course she would be interested!
Cackling, I start digging in my robes for Pocket so we can get equipped.
Daphne sighs.
"No way this can go wrong... And I'm not carrying anyone to Madam Pomfrey, just so you know. These are new robes, I'm not getting blood all over this set."
"Coeus, we were in the middle of a game!" Draco complains.
Oh, right.
Turning back, I lean over the board.
"Everyone, the time for these silly rules and restrictions is no more! It is time for WAR! Army of Black, KILL THEM ALL!" I declare, pointing towards the other side.
Draco sighs as all of my pieces attack at once and the board dissolves into chaos.
"Must you?" he asks.
"It's war!" I argue.
"We weren't playing war, we were playing chess! You played war out on the lake!"
Oh, that kind of was, wasn't it? It was fun. We should do it again.
Watching the battle, I see my Black Knight fighting two pawns. Overpowering the first, he cuts it in nearly in half before knocking the other's shield from its hands and kicking it off the table.
I give him a solemn nod of approval.
He is a true Black.
"Ok everyone," a voice calls out, clapping their hands. Oh, the Prefect. S-Something. "It's time, so we are going to get started. Welcome, to Slytherin House Remedial Defense. F-"
Frowning, I turn to the others.
"Wait, that's today?" I ask. "It's only been a few weeks."
I assumed it would take months to get that going.
"Wait, you didn't know?" Draco asks.
"There would not be much point if they put it off too much longer," Daphne replies. "And why do you care? We assumed you knew," She glances at Phoebe and my eye twitches, "and didn't care. It's not like you need any help in Defense, after all. I was surprised to see you all down here."
Phoebeeee...
"We aren't here for the lessons," Phoebe replies.
...
Glaring and grumbling at the manipulator, I sigh before rising up with her.
"We are here to teach," I finish.
"...Still not carrying anyone," Daphne announces as they leave to approach the Prefect.
(Samuel King - PoV)
Glancing at the list she hands me, I barely resist blanching before raising an eyebrow at the First Year.
I was hoping they would help humble a few foolish third years, not pull whatever this is.
She smiles at me.
Sweet, innocent, cherubic.
The same smile she gave the Sorting Hat after apparently terrorizing it or something.
I nod at her and the two of them walk away.
...
Well, she's confident, at least.
I suppose we will see just how well her Sight holds up.
"...practical demonstration. Hall! Get up here."
Jumping slightly, he steps forward, gripping his wand tightly as he steps into the temporary ring we set up for today.
"Black!" I call, waving to the ring.
I shake my head when Hall starts to relax a bit.
"This demonstration is that of a blatantly unbalanced fight," I announce. "Never a situation you want to be in as the disadvantaged party, but a very common one."
Straightening further, Hall's confidence is visibly building, in the position of a Third Year versus a First.
The laughs and carefully worded comments from the crowd only build him up further. He doesn't notice the gleam of anticipation in their eyes.
"Ready? Three! Two! One! Begin!"
"Exp-"
"Reducto!"
"ellrami-AH!"
"Incindio!"
I sigh as Hall's casting arm is broken before he finishes his first spell. With the distraction, he makes no effort to dodge the next either.
"AHHH!"
And with his opponent not even attempting to fight back, Black is free to cast at will, dumping spells downrange.
"Match!" I announce with a wave of my wand.
Black stops immediately, thankfully, huffing and shaking his head as he steps away.
"It was worse than a training dummy..." he mutters. "They at least dodge."
"Alice, if you would help Mr. Hall?" I ask, having to raise my voice above the laughs.
"And yes, if it wasn't obvious, this lesson was for Hall. He was on the wrong side of the disparity and didn't even realize it. Rather highlights the importance of..."
"Mills! You're up!"
The second of that pair is understandably even more hesitant than his friend was but slowly makes his way to the middle.
"Black!" I don't quite manage to hide my smile at Mills flinch as I call the name, "You ready?"
He blinks when Phoebe steps forward rather than Coeus.
"I trust ev-"
Drawing her wand, Phoebe turns and tosses it back to her brother.
...
"Is...Everyone ready?" I ask carefully.
That was very deliberately timed...
And why do I get the feeling it is bad news for Mills?
Smiling beatifically, she nods.
Mills' expression of pure befuddlement is never one you want to have in a fight.
"Right...Three. Two. One. Begin!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Mills promptly shows he has learned absolutely nothing from the last match and goes for a full-body bind right from the start. Effectively a win if it lands, sure, but so slow. Phoebe is nearly on top of him by the time it finishes, easily ducking under and into a slide. Thrusting forward, she,
"AH!"
Ah. Damn, I never even saw her pull the knives. Already attempting to backpedal, Mills falls as his legs are slashed, loses his wand after his arm is opened up nearly wrist to elbow, and does his best to keep still as Phoebe kneels on his chest, still smiling as she presses a blade to his throat.
"Match!" I call, waving Alice towards the bleeding Third year as the little Black pulls away from him.
Eyeing the crowd of students, especially some of the younger years, I resist sighing.
Merlin, t-
"No fair!" The other Black complains, yelling from their group's little spot as he rummages about in his trunk. "No fair! I didn't k- Hah!"
He pulls out that bloody sword...
"Rematch!" He demands, pointing the sword at Hall. "I demand a rematch! I want to use my sword!"
Hall, his burns and breaks mostly healed, rapidly shakes his head while I give Phoebe a look.
This was supposed to be educational, first and foremost. And they are turning it into...
She raises an eyebrow at me and I sigh.
Yes, I suppose I should have expected this.
Everyone knows the Blacks are unhinged, after all. I greatly underestimated exactly what that meant when I invited them.
Now I have to try to avoid traumatizing half the younger years with too effective demonstrations.
"Burke, Fox," I call the Fourth Years up.
Unlike Mills and Hall, these two aren't bad in Defense. However...
Burke shoots Fox a glare as he takes position, mouthing under his breath.
Flipping her hair, she gives him the finger as she takes a stance.
"Team Black," I announce, calling both twins forward.
"Lose the sword."
"What!? B-"
"You're a wizard, Black. And these are magic lessons. You can cut people up on your own time."
Huffing and grumbling, he throws the sword on his chair before stomping back and fuck I should have chosen my words better! I just gave the little lunatic permission to stab people.
They are going to remember that and use it against me, I just know it.
As I prepare to begin the match, I just barely notice Potter stealing the recently abandoned sword from the chair.
Are they contagious or something?
"Ready? 3. 2. 1. Begin!"
"Reducto!" "Incindio!" "Stupify!" "Reducto!"
Unlike their previous opponents, Burke and Fox know not to underestimate the twins. Reducto and Stupify, good openers, and good on Fox for learning Stupify early.
The twins certainly don't sit still, however. Phoebe keeps back, casually avoiding every spell sent her way with minimal movements while throwing out big, flashy or disrupting spells while Coeus slowly moves closer, dodging erratically and throwing the more dangerous "finishers" at least as fast as the older students.
It's here that the lesson hits home. The twins clearly have a plan, each taking a role and working together seamlessly, even timing their attacks when possible.
Fox and Burke, while older and with far more spells and practice, are each acting completely separate from one another. Not only do they take the occasional glancing spell or two, but eventually,
"Oof!" "Gah!"
They stumble as they manage to dodge directly into each other.
"Wha-" "You!"
"Reducto!"
"Petrificus Totalis"
Coeus's spell hits before they can recover, breaking Fox's arm and throwing them both to the ground. Phoebe's follow-up takes Burke out of the fight completely.
"Match!" I call before the twins can start bombarding the two with spellfire.
"An excellent demonstration," I praise. "Who can point out..."
"Protego"
"Stupify"
"Reducto"
"Petrificus Totalus"
"Confriga"
"Shields," I lecture after the last spell dissipates futilely, having made no effort to dodge. "An essential part of combat, an immense advantage. Ignoring the complexities of advanced, specific shields and countering, even the humble Protego cannot be underestimated..."
"As mentioned, shields are an immense advantage in a fight. It has even been said that those who can cast a shield have an insurmountable advantage over those who cannot. Let's put that to the test, shall we? West, Rose, let's see what you can do."
Blinking, the Fifth and Sixth-year glance at each other before stepping forward.
"Black! Potter!" The girl jumps slightly when I call her name, apparently having not been informed of the plan. "Think you can prove all the experts wrong?"
Despite her surprise, she recovers quickly. Nodding seriously (and setting aside the bloody sword) she approaches alongside Coeus.
"Wait, you seriously want us to duel First years?" West asks.
"If you want to yield now I am willing to be magnanimous," Coeus speaks up before I can.
West's eye twitches.
"I might take you more seriously if you weren't near the bottom of your year, West. Not to mention the fact these lessons are essentially for your sake. And while Rose is good at theory, she dearly needs to work on her practical."
His mouth clenches shut.
"Now, if there are no more objections? Good. Three. Two. One. Begin!"
...
I sigh.
Rose and West both pop shields while the firsties throw out Reductos.
Unfortunately, Rose's practical is even worse than I thought. Her shield collapses almost immediately, already a terrible sign, but also throwing her off her game (what little she has...) completely. She is so focused on recasting it she doesn't even try to dodge and to slow to do so before the next pair of spells lands.
"Rose is out!" I announce as she falls, arm mangled by Iris's spell and who-knows-what broken in her chest from Coeus's.
Fifth-year with a history of A's and E's, everyone.
What a joke.
West quickly proves himself little better. With his partner down he starts pulling out a greater variety of spells. Spells he is less practiced with and casts even slower.
The difference between Iris and Coeus is interesting enough, their similarly erratic movements, but defensive versus aggressive, and smaller overall movements versus larger, with Iris covering surprising distance for her size.
Still, while West is crap, he is not weak, and the sheer difference in age means that actually getting through his shield is not going to be easy.
"Incindio!"
"Expul-Wha?!"
The flames, rather than petering out as they hit the shield, ignite it? A modified Incindo?
Cast abandoned, West waves his arms futilely as the flames spread across his body.
Technically he is still unharmed, his shield is still up, but while covered in flames, his only protection feeding the fire...
"A-Aqua, Aquam-"
"REDUCTO!"
And blocking his vision, giving his opponents free rein to set up their own casts. Such as an overpowered reductor...
The spell takes him straight to the chest, shattering his shield and blasting him off his feet entirely.
It would be a match-ender even if he were not on fire.
"Match!" I announce
Alice has barely lifted her wand when Coeus extends his hand and clenches, snuffing out the flames.
Did...Did he really just...
Laughing, he throws an arm around Potter, dragging her back to their seats.
...
Alice and I share a look.
Unhinged and dangerous.
"Thank you all for attending the first Slytherin House Remedial Defense lesson, I believe it was a great success. We will let everyone know when the next will be, until then..." I wave my hands, shooings (most) of the house away.
Alice approaches as the crowd filters out.
...
"So."
I nod.
"So."
"I don't recall all that being in the plans."
WIthdawing the slip of paper, I flick it towards her.
Hall - Coeus
Mills - Phoebe
Burke, Fox - Coeus, Phoebe (Don't let Brother use his sword unless you like regrowing limbs)
West, Rose - Coeus, Iris
"Phoebe gave that to me before we started."
She hmms.
"Still, I half expected you to call it anyway after she cut that idiot up."
"I might have, if I hadn't gone to Lord Black to get the wardstones for our little dueling setup."
"Ah."
"Yeah."
There's always something.
Still, as far as unforeseen costs go, this was both minor and tolerable.
...
"What the hell, Sam?"
"I don't know."
"Modifying how Incindio burns, setting a target on fire instead of burning all at once? Sure. But changing it to feed off magic?"
...
"How the fuck? I've never tried that, how the hell does a First Year pull it off? And extinguishing it wandlessly? That is seventh-year minimum, and I doubt most of our year could do it."
"It is what it is, Alice."
She gives me a look.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"Wizards have never been equal. Some are just stronger, or magic comes easier. It can make quite a difference. And then there are the real outliers."
She hesitates.
"You know exactly what I mean. The Wizards who can pull off things no one else can, change the world by themselves."
Bring nations to their knees.
...
"You think...?"
"The Girl-Who-Lived alone, the raw power she is throwing around? And those two? Everything about them."
I turn to her.
"Do you not?"