Chapter 46

Harry's Point of View

Annabeth and Luna did actually go canoeing in the Lake the following day. Draco, Blaise and Theo sat on the shore, dressed warmly against the slightly frosty air, yelling at us, and teasing us when we deliberately fell in. Laughing, we swam quickly through the water, splashing all three of them. Annabeth and Luna chuckled.

A few of Annabeth and Luna's friends had tagged along as well, shocked that their normally responsible friend would do something so reckless, and interested to meet the boy who had persuaded her to do so. Hopefully it wouldn't be unreasonable to say they weren't disappointed by (in Annabeth's words) how stupidly reckless and yet intriguingly persuasive we were.

School carried on the same way up to Christmas. We joked about with our friends, Iris-messaged camp regularly... Hermione bickered with us as we completed our transfiguration project. There were about three more attacks, much to the mortification of Alyssa. However, without any clues other than quite young and red haired girl. Despite our thoughts immediately leaping to young Ginny Weasley (her family were infamous for their red hair, just as the Malfoy's were for being blond, or the Potter's for our ridiculous messy black hair) we had discovered about five other red haired girls in First and Second year, none of which we knew very well.

We had also discovered that young Ginny Weasley was rather lonely herself this year. Before last year, she had spent most of her time with Ron - we'd seen it. They had been happy to have fun and mess around together. But since Ron had come to Hogwarts he had decided he was to cool for his younger sister, and so had dropped her in favour of our brother and Hermione. So the youngest Weasley was alone this year. Considering we only knew really one other girl her age, we introduced her to Annabeth and Luna. They weren't close friends, but we did see them round school together quite a bit, which was nice. At least Ginny had someone now, since her brother was so terribly neglectful of his little sister.

Two weeks before Christmas, flyers went up in every common room. Our oh-so-fabulous DADA teacher had decided to grace us with his so very superior knowledge and start a duelling club. Most of the Slytherins decided not to join in, having received some rather superior tutoring in duelling from our parents due to the ancient traditions around the act. Duelling was a challenge to defend honour, or settle feuds. It was a vital part of the ancient believes that so many pureblood families still followed. All the same, Draco, Blaise, Theo and we decided to join in, just to see what complete and utter mess would occur with Lockhart in charge. Apparently Severus had been coerced into joining as well, which was just going to make it better.

Despite it being the week before most people would be travelling home for the holidays, Lockhart hosted his first club meeting on Wednesday before term broke up for Christmas - or Yuletide (or indeed, just the winter holidays), depending on the religion of the student.

Anyway. The duelling club... I daresay you can imagine how hilarious it was to watch Lockhart being beaten by our godfather. It was amazing.

The four of us (five if you count Percy and me as two) arrived early, to get good views up at the front, where the dining tables had been pushed together and transfigured into a duelling platform. Lockhart was already up there, welcoming his adoring fans and basking in the attention as per normal. Finally, about fifteen minutes later, when the Hall was packed and the doors had finally swung shut, Lockhart was ready to begin.

"Welcome! Welcome! In light of recent events, the Headmaster has granted me permission to start this little duelling club, to make sure you are all prepared and ready for whatever might cross paths with you..." He announced dramatically, pulling at the strings holding his velvet green cloak on. "Now, if I may introduce my lovely assistant, Professor Snape, who has so kindly volunteered to help me demonstrate to you all the correct procedure for a duel."

Severus stormed up the steps on the other side to Lockhart, his thunderous face and flapping robes leaving no delusion that he had actually volunteered to help the flamboyant Defence teacher. All the same, he drew his wand, nodding to the crowd of students. Meanwhile, Lockhart had untied his cloak, and threw in into the audience, where a Hufflepuff girl caught it, much to the disappointment of her peers, if the moans of disappointment were to be believed. We chuckled as Severus rolled his eyes.

"If we may start, Professor Lockhart, perhaps we might demonstrate how to disarm you opponent?" The Slytherin potion's master suggested, stress Lockhart's name and title to draw the man's attention back from blinding us all with his flashing teeth as he smiled.

'Once again, I find myself believing that his teeth should come with a warning - do not look on pain of blindness!' Percy half-joked, squinting our eyes. I laughed in agreement.

While we'd been momentarily distracted, the two teachers on the duelling platform had been getting ready, standing toe to toe, wand in front of their faces. They turned, walked five paces apart, turned and bowed, then assumed duelling positions.

"Ex-"

"Expelliarmus!" Severus cast, cutting through Lockhart's attempt. The younger man was sent flying backwards through the air to land heavily on his bum, even as his wand fell into Professor Snape's outstretched, waiting hand. The potions master let a small smirk of amusement cross his features, before training them back to solid indifference when Lockhart looked up at him.

"Good!" Lockhart praised brightly. "Perhaps a little overpowered, but an excellent demonstration, Professor. Now, children. The incantation is 'Expelliarmus', and the wand movement is a sharp flick of the wrist."

The teacher demonstrated. "Perhaps a demonstration? Ron! Charles! What about you?"

The two Gryffindor's grinned and started to clamber up on stage, but Professor Snape's sharp voice cut in before they could. "Ron Weasley? I don't think so, Professor Lockhart. With his wand in the state it's in, we'll be sending Potter here back in a matchbox. However, if I might suggest one of my own students instead? Say... Harry and Percy?"

The hall shifted nervously. Half of them had been there at our last duel, almost a year ago. Percy had all but blown up the Lake after Charles had hurt me mentally. We smirked.

"We're game if Charles is. What do you say brother? Shall we show them how it's done?" We offered, a mischievous glint in our eye.

Charles seemed to catch on, an identical smirk dawning on his own featured. "I must say, brother, it sounds like fun. Do try not to blow anything up this time, though? The idea is to show professional duelling, after all, isn't it?"

Severus paled, realising what he had just suggested. Lockhart looked bewildered, glancing between the two of us, as we stood in front of each other on the platform. Charles had his wand in front of his face, cocking an eyebrow at us as he waited for one of us to do the same.

'Please! Please, please, please, please, please!' Percy begged, desperate to some form of fighting after so long without a motive in our training bouts with dummies. I laughed, and relented.

'Create Hades, Percy.' I requested before stepping back to watch the show.

Tension in the room rose even further as our robes flashed red, and Percy flicked our left wrist summoning his wand. We nodded, then turned, pacing five steps turning again and bowing. We then assumed the position, and waited for Lockhart (as the referee) to tell us to start.

"Begin!"

We immediately both jumped into motion. Percy, thinking fast, cast a quick 'rictusempra' ticking charm, which Charles almost failed to dodge. Charles retaliated with a jelly-legs curse that Percy jumped over, folding over into a dive and rolled past Charles, turned quickly and cast 'colloshoo' to stick Charles' feet to the floor. Our brother snarled, his feet stuck in place, half turned to face us. Percy grinned.

"Got to stay light of your feet, brother!"

"Expelliarmus!" Charles incanted, but Percy shook his head, moving just slightly to the side to dodge it.

"Fumos."

A cloud of smoke created a screen, blocking us from Charles' view as we snuck behind him on with feather light footsteps, not making a sound as we moved.

"The idea is to disarm only!" Lockhart stressed, clearing trying to see through our smoke screen. We also heard a yell of triumph from Charles as he freed himself. Really though. He should of through of removing his shoes earlier.

"Mimble wimble!"

The tongue-tying spell caught us from surprise, and we were unpleasantly surprised to find our tongue stuck to the roof of our mouth. We glowered at Charles as the smoke screen cleared, and he chucked tauntingly.

"What's wrong brother - cat got your tongue?"

The Gryffindor's laughed, and we rolled our eyes. I joined Percy and flicked our right wrist, summoning my wand to. Silence filled the hall. Of course, everyone knew that we had two wands, but seeing them both out, ready to use... Even Charles, who had faced it before, paled.

'Really brother? Did you thing a tongue tying spell would stop us?' We projected our thoughts at him, and his stumbled back.

"Hey! Stop it." Charles pouted. "You know I hate it when you do that weird thought thing..."

Severus snapped his head to us in surprise, before signalling with a small nod of his head to meet him in his office afterwards. We nodded back.

'Finite incantatum.' We chorused in our head, unravelling the spell. Our tongue slipped free from its prison on the roof of our mouth and we grinned. "Expelliarmus."

Charles' wand flew from where it lay limp in his grasp. He stared at us in shock, and belatedly we realised we had used wordless magic. In front of the entire lower school. Ok, so Charles knew we could do it. But I doubt he expected us to actually use it.

"You were off your mark today, Charles." We frowned, handing him back is wand and sheathing our own. Charles sighed, and rubbed his neck.

"Sorry. I guess... I don't know. I guess I'm not used to duelling in front of large audiences." He admitted shyly.

We put a hand on his shoulder to offer our sympathy. "Best get used to it. Isn't James entering us into the junior duelling league at the end of the summer?"

Charles groaned. "Don't remind me!"

We both jumped off the platform, immediately surrounded by Draco, Blaise, Theo, Ron and Hermione. Draco narrowed his eyes at us.

"That was child's play! You two know how to duel better than that." He complained mournfully. Blaise sniggered.

"We'd been hoping you might blow up the hall - or at least set Lockhart's trousers on fire." He pouted. "Now I owe Draco five galleons."

"You bet five galleons on that?" Ron looked disgusted. "What do you do - throw money around?"

"Well, for those with it..."

We elbowed Blaise sharply, and gave him a warning look. Too late, it would appear, however, as Ron punched Blaise in the face. Immediately, Draco and I stepped back, even as Charles and an excited Theo stepped in. Hermione scowled.

"Can they be any more immature?"

We considered, tilting our head. "Well... Charles gets into huffs when James steals his breakfast cereal, so definitely yes for him... Theo and Blaise do have a bet on how many girls in the school want to date Lockhart too... Don't know very much about Ron. What do you say Draco?"

Draco smirked. "Oh, I'd say the Weasel is at his limits, if he's fighting over someone else's money that they themselves bet."

Hermione growled, slapping us both. "Oh, you arrogant little Slytherins!"

We swapped glances with Draco as Hermione stressed the word 'Slytherin' like it was the worst word she could think of. We then abruptly burst out laughing. We were Slytherin's. Why Gryffindor's always used it as an insult was quite beyond us.

"Well, if we're arrogant little Slytherins, then you must be a Ravenclaw wanna-be Gryffindor." Draco offered, and we burst into a fresh bout of giggles.

Severus turned up at that point, casting an annoyed gaze over where Blaise and Theo were brawling with Ron and Charles. He sighed woefully and turned to Draco and us. "Pray tell why they decide to have a fist fight in a duelling club?"

"Well sir. Blaise was bemoaning the fact he lost five galleons to me because he bet the Potters would blow something up in their duel. Ron heard and was insulted he bet such quantities of money, and so commented, to which Blaise of course replied." Draco explained.

"Ron didn't very much like his reply either. He punched Blaise in the face. Then Theo - who I think has wanted to fight all day to be honest - joined in, and Charles didn't want to be left out. We were just bemoaning their immaturity, weren't Hermione?" Percy added, innocently.

Hermione gritted her teeth but nodded. Sighing again, Severus flicked his wand, too bored to even take points from the beaten up miscreants. He just sighed, and shook his head.

"Either duel it out like Wizards, or take it somewhere else. I have neither the will nor the energy to sort you out now." Severus turned to leave, then turned back. "I don't suppose you'd care to join me, Harry and Percy?"

We nodded, and bade our goodbyes to our friends, our brother, and his friends, before following our Godfather. The halls were silent as we walked slowly down them in companionable silence, with only the clatter of footsteps and crackle of torches on the wall to keep the silence warm and comfortable.

Severus sighed as we entered his office. He sat us down, and offered us a mug of tea. We accepted, welcoming the warm beverage with delight. Few could make better tea than a potions master.

"In the Hall, after your brother tongue tied you," Severus said after a moment of silence, "you use legilimency, didn't you? Projecting your thoughts at him though, rather than delving into Charles' mind."

We nodded. "It's... easy for us, I guess. We have natural skills in occlumency - we told you about that last Christmas. Charles asked us to teach him, if you recall. So we projected thoughts at him, and tried to help him block them. He's not very good yet, but we've been practising."

"Behind your parents and the Headmaster's back, I presume?"

We frowned. "What does the Headmaster have to do with anything? I mean, I know he's leader of the Light, but Voldemort hasn't returned. Yet. So the Headmaster should have no say in whatever extra-curricular activities Charles takes part in, unless it was drugs, sex or alcohol, in which case Charles should be should be sent home for bad behaviour."

Our godfather sighed. "Your brother will always have the Headmaster as an authoritative figure in his life. The Headmaster is a meddlesome fool, though he means well. Now I'm not saying bow to his every command, but take it into account when dealing with him. Show too much talent and he might start meddling with you too."

"Draco said something along those lines. Not about the Headmaster, per say, but that we should keep our talents to ourself lest someone looks up and takes note. We don't know who will be our enemies, and we won't truly know until the war starts - if it starts." Percy shook our head. "War. When did we become old enough to talk about war as a fact, and not a far off possibility somewhere in the far future?"

"It isn't a fact though, not yet." Severus pulled us into a hug, and smiled warmly at us. "But for now, you focus on your schooling. Let the real adults do the worrying."

We smiled thankfully, and snuggled into his hug, sipping our tea. Severus truly was a good godfather, and Head of House. How in the name of the gods we were lucky enough to get him was quite beyond us. But for now, we would just relax and enjoy the fact that he was watching over us, and spend more time on our studies. Maybe this weekend we could help him with his weekly potions for the medical wing, and talk to Hermione about the finishing touches to our model.

A knock at the door had us looking up, and Severus letting go of us. We sighed regretfully as Severus called for whoever it was to enter.

"Ah, Severus. Talking to your young prodigy, I see. Still top of most of your classes, Harry, Percy?" The Headmaster asked as he breezed into the room, sitting in the other more comfortable chair Severus had in his office for talking to his House during 'open office', were we could take our problems to him as our Head of House.

"Not all of them." We shook our head. "Magical History is a problem - Professor Binns seems rather good at sending us to sleep, more than anything else."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes I suppose he does. He was the same when I was taught here too, mind. Of course, he was alive back then..."

We laughed too, and Severus even managed a half-smile.

"Headmaster, how might I help you tonight?"

"Ah, yes. I heard about the Potter twin's duel tonight. I was surprised you suggested it after last time they duelled, and so wanted to check Harry and Percy here were all in one piece. Charles seemed quite alright in the hall, apart from a few bruises."

We chucked again. "He and Ron got into a fight with Blaise and Theo. I assure you, Headmaster, the bruises were nothing we gave him."

"Good, good." Dumbledore nodded. "Well, that aside, it's nearly curfew and I'm afraid I must call Severus away for a staff meeting. I suggest you run along to bed, you've got school tomorrow!"

We nodded, exchanging goodnights with Severus and the Headmaster before 'running along to bed'. The Headmaster was right. School was tomorrow, and no doubt several of our teachers would be giving us end of term tests, to check everything was in order before the holidays.