As the start of school drew near, Ron suddenly remembered something.
That afternoon, after everyone had enjoyed lunch, they were all sitting idly in the living room. A hot wind blew in from outside. With a casual snap of his fingers, Aiden caused soft snowflakes to begin drifting down from the ceiling, and soon the oppressive heat in the room was dispelled.
"I remember now!" Ron exclaimed, leaping up from the sofa. "Aiden, you still owe me a duel!"
"Ronald Weasley, what's gotten into you?" Molly said sternly. "Do you want me to seal up your windows again?"
"Ho ho, a duel! Let them try it, Molly," Arthur said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Didn't you train him all summer? Let's see just how far Ron has surpassed his peers." He then looked around at the other boys. "You lot should go and try, too. And Harry, would you care to join?"
Molly jabbed Arthur with her elbow, but surprisingly, she didn't object further. And so, at Arthur's encouragement, the family trooped out to the reed field behind The Burrow.
'I have endured too much,' the reed field seemed to sigh.
"Alright, I'll be the referee," Arthur announced. "No poison spells or curses are allowed, nor any of those vicious spells that cause permanent injury or disability. But aside from that, there are no other restrictions." He gave a mischievous smile and was promptly rewarded with another jab from Molly. "Okay, has everyone heard the rules clearly?"
"Understood," came a chorus of seven voices.
"Now then! For our first match, let's have Ron and Aiden begin!"
Ron and Aiden walked to the center of the field and faced each other.
Outside the makeshift arena, Harry leaned over to George. "Do wizarding families normally have duels as part of their daily activities?"
"Not a chance," George replied. "It's a rare occasion that Dad agrees to let us duel like this."
Fred, overhearing them, came over. "We duel about as often as Muggles have street fights. Is that part of your daily routine?"
In the field, Ron made the first move. "Expelliarmus!" he yelled.
Aiden took a single, small step to his left, easily dodging the jet of red light.
"Well, look at you, Brother Ron," Aiden said, a playful glint in his eyes. "Using the Disarming Charm and everything. You've made progress."
"Don't be so disgusting," Ron shot back, striking a confident pose with one hand in his pocket. "Today, I'll let you experience your big brother's true majesty."
Aiden just smiled and clenched his empty palm. A long, silver-white staff materialized in his hand. In the audience, Arthur and Molly both drew their wands and cast subtle sensing charms on themselves, ready to intervene if necessary.
Ron flicked his wand, and the stones at his feet leaped into the air, shooting toward Aiden like a volley of cannonballs. Aiden watched them approach calmly. Magic gathered around him, forming a large, semi-transparent barrier in front of him. It took the shape of a huge hexagonal crystal, its surface as smooth as a mirror, refracting the afternoon light.
Arthur became visibly excited when he saw the new magic, a look of pure, boyish wonder on his face.
Then, Aiden gave his staff a slight spin and rose gracefully into the air.
"How can you fly?! That's cheating!" Ron shouted up at him.
"Hmph," Aiden replied from the air. "You should be glad I didn't just rush over there and punch you with my dragon scales." He then pointed the tip of his staff at Ron. "Zoltraak!"
A brilliant beam of white light shot down from the sky. The nervous Molly had already raised her wand, but Ron, tempered by a summer of relentless training, was reborn.
"Protego!" he bellowed.
The beam collided with his Shield Charm and dissipated, but the sheer force of the impact still pushed him a small step backward.
"Hmph! Don't think I can't do anything to you just because you're in the sky!" Ron waved his wand again. "Veravito Barrage!"
He transfigured the surrounding pebbles into a flock of birds, then magically accelerated them, sending them swarming toward Aiden in the air.
'Air superiority really is important,' Aiden thought, dodging the avian assault with the nimble grace of an elf. With a flick of his staff, four more beams of light shot out. Ron was forced to dodge, but he moved with a newfound confidence, calmly evading the attacks.
Because Aiden wanted to see the full extent of Ron's training, the two of them were locked in a stalemate. It became a war of attrition. Ron's spells could do little to Aiden in the air, while Aiden could act as an aerial turret, constantly wearing Ron down.
"Ronnie's about to lose," George commented to Harry.
"Why? It looks like he's holding his own," Harry asked, puzzled.
"His strategy was flawed from the start," Fred explained. "He never should have let Aiden get into the air."
"And without knowing Apparition or a flying charm himself, he's at a massive disadvantage," Percy added, joining the conversation.
Harry made a silent vow to himself: he had to learn a flying spell.
Finally, under Aiden's relentless, albeit watered-down, assault, Ron's defense faltered. A single beam of light bypassed his Shield Charm and shot toward him. Just before it made contact, Aiden cut off the magic, and the beam dissipated. The residual impact was just enough to pat Ron on the backside, knocking him off balance and onto the ground.
"Okay, that's it! Aiden wins!" Arthur announced.
"Oh, what a shame! I was so close!" Ron said dejectedly.
"Alright, next up is George versus Aiden! George, you're up."
'Hmm, so Uncle Arthur is trying to test me,' Aiden realized, landing softly on the ground and turning to face his next opponent.
"Aiden," George began, a sly look in his eye, "let's make a deal. Can you not use your flying magic?"
Aiden saw right through him. "Okay," he agreed.
"Alright, both sides, prepare! Begin!" Arthur commanded.
George immediately fired off a volley of three spells. "Petrificus Totalus! Densaugeo! Relashio!"
The gem at the top of Aiden's staff glowed faintly, and a transparent, hexagonal crystal barrier enveloped his entire body. The three spells hit the shield and vanished without a trace.
"Expelliarmus," Aiden said calmly, raising his staff.
A bolt of red lightning shot from the tip.
"Protego!" George yelled, raising his own shield.
But this was no ordinary Disarming Charm. The red lightning didn't disappear upon impact. Instead, it hammered against the shield, causing sparks of red light to explode outwards. As Aiden advanced, George was forced backward by the continuous assault. Finally, his Shield Charm shattered, and the force of the spell sent him flying, his wand arching high into the air.
George rubbed his behind as he got up from the ground. "Aiden," he muttered, "you're too ruthless."
"I was being merciful," Aiden replied, glancing at Arthur. "You can ask your father what happened to this field when I first developed that spell."
"Ahem, that's true," Arthur coughed. "Alright, enough of that. Fred, it's your turn!"
Fred walked up with a grimace on his face. "Oh, Aiden," he said in a wheedling tone. "Our beautiful, generous little brother. In our duel, could we perhaps stick to traditional magic? No long staff, and none of those strange new spells."
"Okay," Aiden agreed. The staff in his hand dissolved into light and flowed back into his palm, making Ron watch with envy. Aiden drew his familiar black walnut wand. Switching from the long staff to the small wooden stick felt a bit awkward, but he gave it a flick.
"Begin!" Arthur ordered.
Fred immediately went on the offensive. "Stupefy!"
The jet of light shot toward Aiden. He took a single step forward, and a layer of shimmering dragon scales erupted across his hand. He swatted the spell out of the air, and it dissipated harmlessly.
"What?! You're cheating!" Fred cried out.
"Hehe," Aiden sneered. "I didn't use any new magic, and I didn't use my staff. I kept my promise, didn't I?" He waved his wand, and the stones at Fred's feet transformed into thick vines, twisting around his ankles and binding him in place.
Fred, thinking fast, began to cast a spell to dispel the vines, but it was too late. He was hit squarely by Aiden's "Petrificus Totalus," and his body went rigid, ending the duel.
"Okay, Aiden wins!" Arthur announced once more.
***********
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