Chapter 26: Duel!

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"No, I prefer making as little Potions as possible, thank you very much," Ron says.

"I have to agree with that," Harry says.

"You realize that without Professor Snape breathing down your neck, you'd probably be good at it, Harry?" Hermione points out. Ron doesn't seem to notice the mild slight against him.

"But what's the point if he's always going to be breathing down my neck?" Harry shoots back.

Hermione sighs. "Well, I suppose we have been in here all day, so it won't be too bad to just skip the practical part – especially since we wouldn't normally be able to do so anyway. Thanks for studying with us, by the way, it really helped."

Ron snorts. "As if you needed it."

"It certainly helped me," I say. It did. I found out I can cast a decently-powered Reductor and recover in less than an hour. Although I wonder if using my magic is increasing my recovery time or the amount of magic I have in reserve. Or both.

"I got quite a bit out of it myself," Harry admitted.

Hermione beamed. "Good! I'm glad, Harry. You guys go ahead, I need to speak with William about something."

"Uh oh," I say.

"You're in trouble," Ron says in a mocking, sing-song voice.

"In danger of being snogged, more like," Harry says with a grin.

"Don't make me have the room to toss you outside," Hermione warns in a rather non threatening manner. "I imagine the landing wouldn't be pretty from seven floors up."

"Well, it was nice knowing you, William, sorry about your luck," Harry says, still grinning. "By the way, can I have your bed? I think I'll move it next to mine to make it a double. See you at dinner, Hermione." He quickly ducks out of the Room to avoid a cushion that Hermione throws at him.

"Git! Sorry about them," she says, turning to me.

"Nothing to be sorry for, it's fun, playful banter."

She giggles. "I suppose it is."

"So what's on your mind?"

Her face instantly becomes serious. "William, have you always used that wand?"

My face blanks. There is much more to this question than meets the eye. I sift through possible ways this conversation could go. "No," I say.

"What happened to your old wand?"

"It was broken at the end of the last school year, a few months ago."

"Where did you get this one?"

"Hand-me-down from a relative. Not sure whose it was." I'm a little upset that I have to lie, so I feel like I have to add some truth. "I never got to use it before I got to Hogwarts."

Her lips purse. "Have you always been proficient at wandless, nonverbal magic?"

I almost sag in relief that I don't have to lie this time. "No."

She sighs, then runs her fingers through the bushy tangle of brown hair behind her head.

"You know, you don't have to beat around the bush, you can just ask me if you have a question."

She flushes in embarrassment and looks at the floor. "Sorry, it's just...something feels off here, and I can't puzzle out why. When we were doing that testing with our magic it almost seemed like you were brand new to casting spells, but I guess it makes a bit of sense if you'd never used that wand before and you've been using wandless magic lately."

Phew, I just dodged a bullet there.

"We're going to have to do something about your classes, though," she says, frowning in thought. "Unless you want everybody to know of your proficiency with wandless magic?"

Too much attention is bad, especially for me. "No, I would rather not."

She nods. "I thought not. Transfiguration won't be a problem – it seems to be perfectly suited to your method of casting since we've largely gotten past using incantations – but Charms and DADA will be an issue."

"When I was practicing on Friday, I figured out that I can say pretty much whatever I want as long as I don't think about it, but when I try to move the wand, it ruins my concentration for some reason."

"Hmm. It might be worth practicing that to see if you can at least fake it. If not...well, you should be able to get by in Charms for the most part, but Flitwick will be watching you closely for the practical midterm and final exams. I just don't know about DADA though – since we have a new professor every year I never know what to expect." Her face pales. 

"Oh no, William, what happens if you have to duel?"

I groan. "Well, I'll stick to Shield Charms and Stunners, I suppose. I shouldn't have to think too much then. But I'm really slow at casting right now. Maybe we should practice that, too?"

"We'll have to, I suppose, though you'll have to be careful not to overexert yourself. To be safe we'll need more than just two of us, and we'll need to make sure we can all cast Rennervate in case the Stunners are strong enough to knock us out. Which you can be sure will be the case with Harry."

"Yeah. Remind me to never pick a fight with him, by the way."

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"Okay, I'm ready," I say. I'm not.

Hermione stands across from me in a dueling stance. Oh damn, she's going to kick my ass.

Ron clears his throat. "Right then, you know the rules. Uh...three, two, one, go!"

I open my eyes to see Hermione's worried face hovering above mine. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," I say, a bit confused, "why wouldn't I be? I'm laying on this nice cushy—oh."

"Sorry about that..."

"No, no. That's good. I mean, good for you. I think I remember seeing a red light first. How about two out of three? And you go blindfolded? With your right arm behind your back? And you stand on one leg? Hey, I'm just trying to make it fair!"

Hermione rolls her eyes. "Come on, you aren't that bad!"

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