LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 38: "Duel of Skills and Pride"
— "Duel of Skills and Pride"
"Alright! Begin!" At Moody's command, both took their stances.
"Don't blink, kid," said the Auror with a violent grin as he raised his wand and fired multiple Disarming Charms.
Fred easily dodged them with smooth side movements, while two light swords appeared in his hands.
Each time a spell missed, the Auror grew angrier and faster. "Tch, slippery rat, let's see if you can dodge this. Bombarda! Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" he shouted, casting his spells in quick succession.
"Come on, man, didn't you say this would be quick?" Fred taunted, effortlessly evading the spells, even slicing through some with his swords.
"Come on, Fred, finish him off. He looks so weak," George called out from the sidelines, further infuriating the Auror, along with the other Aurors watching, who started cheering for their comrade.
"Come on, take that kid down!"
"Stop playing around!"
"Beat him!"
"Tch, Confundus! Full Body-Bind! Expelliarmus! Relashio! Reducto! Damn it, why isn't anything working?" After several failed attempts to disarm or destroy Fred's swords, the Auror realized those spells had no effect, as Fred specifically cut through them.
"Alright, Fred, finish this already, we don't have all day," Stephen said, growing bored since only Fred seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Alright, boss," Fred replied as he got into a running stance and sprinted toward the Auror, dodging the incoming spells.
Seeing Fred closing in, the Auror grew nervous and resorted to even more dangerous spells, but Fred either dodged or cut through them with ease. Finally, Fred reached him and delivered a kick to his chest, sending him flying nearly five meters, earning stunned silence from all the watching Aurors.
"Come on, Fred. What took you so long?" George teased, smiling at his brother's victory.
"I had to make it more dramatic; after all, he's an Auror," Fred said, turning away and walking back to his group without even glancing at the Auror behind him, who clutched his chest, struggling to breathe.
"D-Damn... Bombarda Maxima!" The enraged Auror recklessly fired an explosive spell at Fred's back, not considering the consequences. Fred swiftly turned and threw one of his swords, showing he had never let his guard down. The sword struck the spell mid-air, causing it to explode before reaching him.
"Enough! Attacking from behind? You've been defeated, get back with the others!" Moody barked, his fury evident as he nearly spat the words. His wand was in hand, looking ready to fire at any moment.
The embarrassed and wounded Auror clamped his mouth shut and blended back into the crowd.
"Well done, kid. Never lower your guard," Moody told Fred, having witnessed how he remained alert even with his back turned. "Alright. Next one, step up." He turned to the Aurors again.
"Alright, Fred, step down. Let your brother go next before he loses his mind," Stephen said with a smile.
"How was your master's performance, Harry? Awesome, right?" Fred boasted proudly as he returned to the group, since he was in charge of teaching Harry while George trained Ron.
"Amazing. You beat the Auror so easily," Harry said with admiration and a bit of envy, still struggling to master fighting with a single sword. He hoped to be that strong someday.
"You even stayed on guard after the fight. Did you know he was going to attack you from behind?" Harry asked.
"O-Of course, Harry. A swordsman never lets their guard down," Fred replied, avoiding Harry's eyes with slight guilt.
"Don't believe him, Harry. The only reason he's always on guard is because, after pulling pranks on Stephen, he needs eyes on the back of his head to avoid revenge," Fleur said, laughing, knowing how Stephen could be quite vengeful and childish in those situations.
"Well, I must say that thanks to that, the twins now have a natural defense against surprise attacks—especially if they don't want to end up as ducks," Stephen added, recalling the last prank war, which had left the twins quacking randomly for a whole week.
"Hey, don't get distracted from my great victory!" George shouted, annoyed that his friends weren't even paying attention, which only further angered his opponent, who was also being ignored.
"Get ready, kid. The other fool underestimated you because you're just a bunch of brats, but I won't," said the next opponent, who needed no introduction.
"Begin!" Moody shouted, just as the Auror was about to cast his spell. But suddenly, he felt a kick to the chest that sent him flying. Stunned and confused, he looked up to see George standing in place, while another identical figure had delivered the kick.
"Cheating!"
"His brother attacked!"
"Damn trickster twins!"
The Aurors quickly lost control and started complaining.
"Hey, I'm over here," Fred called from outside the field, still chatting with his group. Everyone was left bewildered—because now, instead of twins, they were triplets.
"What's going on?"
"Are there three of them, not two?" some Aurors asked, staring at the two standing on the field while another stood off to the side.
"No. It's just me. That was just an illusion," said both Georges, until one of them began to fade, leaving only the one who had delivered the kick.
"Looks like you lost, even though you were more on guard than your partner," Fred said with a grin, looking at his opponent. Seeing that he didn't react, he simply turned and walked back to his friends.
"Get up and get back," Moody ordered without an ounce of compassion.
"Did you see that, Harry? Who do you think is cooler, Fred or me? Remember, Fred took way longer," George said as he rejoined the group.
"Yeah, but I showed more moves. You just appeared and kicked him. What's so cool about that?"
"I beat him in one second, while you took twenty. That means I'm stronger."
While the twins began to argue with Harry stuck between them, Stephen ignored them and spoke to Fleur.
"Do you want to give it a try now? Though I doubt they'd be much of a challenge. Most of them graduated from Hogwarts, so technically, they only started actual combat training when they joined the Aurors," Stephen said, downplaying Hogwarts' combat training. Not because it was bad—it had some of the best professors in Europe—but that didn't include Defense Against the Dark Arts, since with so many teachers changing every year, they never got a complete battle education.
"Sure, why not? I'm already here anyway," Fleur said, stepping forward to the center, waiting for her opponent.
Her challenger was a nervous young woman who hesitated as she stepped up, looking at Fleur with a hint of admiration. The moment Fleur arrived, several Aurors who had served as security at dueling tournaments recognized her immediately.
"Begin!"
At Moody's command, Fleur summoned light swords while levitating them with her wand at lightning speed. Her opponent was momentarily mesmerized, and by the time she snapped out of it, five swords were already pointed at her neck. Fleur aimed her wand at her as well, her smile and overwhelming aura making even the onlookers tense.
"You lost."
"Losing like this doesn't feel so bad."
"Well, she is the Queen of Swords."
"I wonder if she'd give me an autograph."
"Haah… I wouldn't mind getting hit by her."
It seemed that most of the Aurors were fans of Fleur, though it was unclear whether it was because of the movie or her dueling tournament appearances. By the way, in the tournament scene, she had earned the title Queen of Swords, especially after she started competing in team battles. In those matches, she was responsible for launching spells and flying swords while Stephen fought on the front lines.
Stephen had also earned a title fitting their duo: King of Battle. The twins often teased him, saying he got promoted from prince to king.
"I'm done," Fleur said with a smile, gracefully rejoining the group.
"Alright, I have to admit she's cooler than me," Fred said, finally ending his argument with George.
"Yeah, we need to learn to accept defeat," George agreed, surrendering as well.
"That was amazing! I wish I could do something like that one day," Harry said, his eyes filled with admiration.
"Nice job," Stephen greeted Fleur with a smile.
"So, what now, kid? Are you going next, or are you sending the boy?" Moody asked, looking at Stephen.
"No. He's not ready yet. Let me go instead—after all, that was your plan from the start, wasn't it?" Stephen said, revealing that he had seen through Moody's intentions from the beginning, all while approaching with a cocky grin.
"But as the master of these fools, I'd like to show you what a real fight looks like. So pick the ten best Aurors—I'll take them all on at once to make things more interesting," Stephen declared, instantly sparking the fury of many Aurors.
But no one spoke up, because after seeing what the other three had already demonstrated, they had been utterly humiliated. And from what they knew, this guy—the one openly mocking them—was their instructor. That meant he had every reason to be confident in his strength.
"Haha! Now that's what I like to hear, kid… You ten, the best among you, step up. Try not to embarrass the Auror corps any further," Moody ordered his team without an ounce of sympathy.
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