You
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A crackle of light. An endless void.
Something quieter than silence.
Nothing, and suddenly–
Sebastian opened his eyes as his body lurched forward. His hands met the smooth surface of a desk, not sure whether or not he was about to throw up or fall over. He hadn't felt this disoriented since he took a tumble off a hand-me-down broom when he was ten. His head swung back, vision blurring and refocusing on the ceiling above him. As his vision re-focused against the sunlight pouring into the room, he found himself facing Professor Hecate's prized Hebridean black skeleton.
"Weren't you taught not to look away in the middle of a fight?" A nasal voice resounded from a few paces in front of him.
Bewildered, he turned his head to see Leander Prewitt. He stood before him, wand at the ready with his usual prickly, scrunched-up face. The blinding sunlight filtered through the maze of skeleton bones above, casting jagged shadows across his obnoxious ginger hair. He then noticed a gaggle of students surrounding him, but they merely chattered at their desks, paying little mind to the two. He froze, dumbfounded, and questioned if Leander was good enough to actually land a stupefy on him. But before he could contemplate Leander's prowess any further, the boy stepped forward. With lightning speed, he hurled a spell toward Sebastian. Leander stole the upper hand as Sebastian reoriented himself. That being said, the twat was quick, but Sebastian was quicker.
The freckled boy flicked his wand, blocking the spell on pure instinct before his muscle memory kicked in and he fired another back. Leander stumbled as their spells collided with a flurry of sparks, almost losing his balance. Hit teeth clenched in irritation, as he narrowed his eyes at another blocked attack.
“Is that all you've got?” Sebastian shouted, instinctively immersed in the fight happening right in front of him. The previously preoccupied students stood up from their desks to observe the spectacle.
"Bombarda!" He yelled again, and another burst of light flew towards Leander.
However, the lanky boy, distracted by the sudden frenzied onlookers, flicked his wand recklessly in response. He parried the attack, shooting it straight at the skeleton's head above them. In an instant, the spell ricocheted off the skeleton's head. The few students who hadn't been paying attention leaped up as the skeleton's skull rolled off its perch, hurtling toward the floor.
"Leviosa."
A purple glow enveloped the skull, stopping midair before gently returning to its resting position.
"Professor Hecate!" A Gryffindor student cried.
"Perhaps you'd be good enough to blast each other to pieces on your own time. I get new students every year but I only have one Hebridean black skull." She chided but the older woman seemed relatively nonplussed.
‘Defense class?’ He questioned as he met eyes with Professor Hecate, who commanded the front of the classroom.
"It was a token from the great poker raid of 1878--" She began, but her words quickly became a blur.
The others scrambled to their seats as she monologued, but Sebastian was glued in place with discomfort. Why was he suddenly in Defense Against The Dark Arts? He glanced around the room for his things before shifting awkwardly away. The class stared back with cluelessness as he spotted the only unoccupied table. He sat down slowly, only to discover all of his textbooks sitting beside him. His heart sank as he eyed the books out of his peripheral.
On the very top of the stack was a rough leather-bound book titled "Advanced Defense Against The Dark Arts," but he remembered destroying it by accident halfway through the semester by a 'Bombarda' gone awry. He continued to go to class without it for a week before Professor Hecate noticed and he was forced to owl home for a replacement. But there it was shining condescendingly in perfect condition. He couldn't recall walking to class, let alone getting entangled in an entire duel with Privett of all people. Professor Hecate gave him a questioning glance before pulling out a white quill to take attendance, her eyes scanning the black-robed students with sharp precision.
He smiled gently as usual in return, but his heart was pounding as he clenched his chest. He gripped the desk tightly, urging himself to calm down. Perhaps he had simply sleepwalked to class or was surviving such an excruciatingly unremarkable fight with Leander that his brain decided to forgo the other half. The latter was possible, but not likely. His chest was heaving, and he willed himself to breathe. Fortunately, his unease began to settle with each labored breath he took.
Sebastian picked at his quill, pretending to take notes as the Professor began her lecture. He willed himself to focus. Unfortunately, he found himself toying with his wand and absentmindedly throwing "Leviosos" the practice dummy. Before he realized it, he was on the dueling floor once again. Sebastian prided himself as a duelist and quickly set his troubles aside as he met eyes with his opponent.
Ah, the new student he'd been hearing so much about.
It took him a moment to register what he was looking at. She was short. He nearly missed her gaze as she would have to stand on a platform to be anywhere near his line of sight. She stood in a sturdy fighting stance with her wand at the ready, but she seemed positioned more for a fistfight than a proper duel. Her stance made her look even smaller, but something about her was off. They held eye contact while he grinned almost maliciously, wanting nothing more than to absolutely obliterate the newbie. She turned away suddenly and sighed before raising her wand again. He faltered at her movement and tried to get a look at her expression, but her hair fell over her eyes, restricting her vision. He smiled at the obvious disadvantage.
He laughed a little to himself, forgetting about his earlier concerns. This would be fun.
"Time for a proper Hogwarts welcome." He smirked, readying his wand.
Despite his confidence, the fight ended just as quickly as it began.
He gripped his wand with defeat. He considered himself...No, he was the fastest duellist, but before he could even cast a single spell, found himself hovering two feet in the air. Before he could regain his footing, he was shot into the air once again. She flicked her wand back and forth like a machine, as if winning the duel were nothing more than a senseless chore. Every single time he faltered she attacked until he was in a daze on the ground, his wand clattering across the wood floorboards.
Sebastian sat up, wincing as he massaged his back, completely flabbergasted. He had never been beaten so quickly before, let alone by a newbie. He watched the others fight in pairs on the sidelines and pursed his lips at the sound of his fellow classmates excitedly praising the new girl for such a great duel.
'That wasn't a duel.' He thought to himself with a forced smile. 'That was a full-blown massacre.'
He smiled, feeling the adrenaline of competition wash over him as he turned to meet the new girl's eyes.
"Not bad for a beginner." He muttered, before nodding in recognition. "You give as good as you get."
"I enjoyed that." She smiled, but it seemed hollow, almost sad.
Sebastian frowned.
"Well, that duel was quite something." He offered, examining her face. "Everyone will be talking about it."
"It was certainly good practice." She responded in an almost monotone voice.
This seemed to throw her off guard a little as she looked up, her brown eyes meeting Sebastian's with newfound warmth.
"Practice? Felt more like dueling..." He began, before realizing, "...an expert..."
He paused. The expression on her face was still completely indifferent, but her eyes flashed with something Sebastian didn't quite understand. It was a look that only lasted a moment, but it made his stomach twist.
"Well...perhaps this wasn't your first duel...?" He tested, examining her expression carefully.
She grinned, crossing her arms.
"I've dueled enough." She offered arrogantly, but the tiredness in her voice wasn't lost on him. "I've got a lot of practice under my belt."
She began to walk away, but before she could get any further, Sebastian took another step forward.
"Practice? Where?" He asked, genuinely curious.
The question made her stop for a moment. She studied him seriously for a second before returning to a lighthanded grin.
"Goblins. Lots of goblins." She replied coolly, but she had a glint in her eye. "...And wolves. And spiders."
Sebastian let out a low whistle and a laugh.
"Well," He scoffed, not believing her in the slightest. "Let's hope that your numerous exploits will be enough to beat me when we have our rematch."
"A rematch, huh?" She replied, a smirk pulling at the corners of her lips.
"Of course. I'd want nothing more." He chuckled.
She offered her hand. She was magnetizing somehow, he realized briefly. As boy shook her hand, she grasped his hand harder and nimbly pulled him in a little closer. His eyebrows scrunched up in surprise at the sudden gesture, reeling back. A mischievous smile danced on her lips, and she glowed brilliantly at his hesitation.
"Well then," she said, quiet enough for just the two of them to hear. "We'll give it another go. Though we need to go again and again and again until you win. Sound good?"
"Sounds like a deal." He offered, slightly ruffled by her intrusion. "Though I wouldn't worry, I'll beat you next time," Sebastian assured her.
His gaze lingered on her for a moment as she packed her things swiftly. The odd girl scamper off with books in tow and followed her down the hallway a few paces, but when he turned the corner, she was nowhere to be seen. He instinctively began walking the path to his next class without even thinking, replaying the earlier events in his head. He cursed himself at the realization that he had forgotten to ask for her name. He smiled for a moment, toying with the idea of her name being "witchling". But as quickly as that thought came, he felt a wave of nausea pass over him.
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He came to a halt in the middle of the hallway.
'...Wasn't her name Y/N?'