If Aurelian Gaunt had to describe his situation with complete honesty, he would have to admit that his friends' private training had gotten… a little out of hand.
During the first week, everything went perfectly. The small group consisting of Cedric, Fred, and George worked themselves to exhaustion. The three of them pushed themselves to improve day by day, sweating buckets, completely unfazed by the brutal, almost sadistic training methods Aurelian imposed on them.
But all the order and exclusivity of the group changed drastically the afternoon Cedric Diggory appeared at the door of the Room of Requirement, dragging his girlfriend, Cho Chang, along with him. The Hufflepuff knelt before Aurelian, Hestia, and Flora, begging them to please accept her and help her improve her magic, even if only a little.
Of course, the presence of another person he hadn't invited made Hestia and Flora nearly pull out their wands to skin her alive. The poor girl had to hide behind her boyfriend. However, after a few tense minutes, Aurelian managed to calm his fiancées down. Reluctantly, the twins accepted the new member of their "training group."
Aurelian truly hoped that, after Cho, no one else would join them.
How wrong he was.
A few days later, the Weasley twins brought their friend, Lee Jordan. As the days went by, his club ceased to be a secret and began to spread like wildfire through the castle corridors; more and more people started approaching Aurelian, begging him to train them. What threw him off was that several Slytherin students, claiming to be loyal to their Lord, demanded to join the ranks to prove their worth. Aurelian had no choice but to accept them.
Without realizing it, what had started as a favor to the three idiots he called friends was quickly turning into a massive underground dueling club. An unusual place where, for the first time in decades, students from all four houses could interact freely, train side by side, and laugh together without prejudice based on blood or the color of their ties.
One afternoon, as he walked down a fourth-floor hallway on his way to "training," Aurelian ran into Luna Lovegood. The Ravenclaw girl was crouched down, searching for her belongings scattered across the floor, victims of yet another cruel prank by her classmates.
Sighing, Aurelian knelt down and helped her gather her things again.
"Thank you so much, Aurelian," Luna thanked him with that dreamy smile that was her trademark, clutching her books to her chest.
Aurelian smiled back at her.
"Be more careful where you leave your things, Luna," he advised her gently.
For some strange reason, he always tried to soften his tone when speaking to the eccentric Ravenclaw girl. There was something that prevented him from being harsh with her.
Aurelian said goodbye and continued on his way, but after a few steps, he noticed a soft tapping behind him. Turning his head slightly, he saw that Luna was following him. Aurelian walked and walked, and Luna simply followed him, skipping happily behind him while smiling at him without saying a word.
When they finally stood in front of the wall that served as the entrance to the Room of Requirement, Aurelian stopped. He let out another sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and looked her in the eyes.
"Do you want to go in?" he asked, giving in.
Luna nodded happily, her huge blue eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Aurelian conjured the door and stepped inside with Luna. As they crossed the threshold, the deafening clang of spells colliding with shields greeted them. The atmosphere in the hall was chaotic. Some students were practicing stunning spells on dummies, while others were dueling on the various platforms.
And right in the middle of all that chaos stood Hestia and Flora Carrow. The twins watched the trainees with serious, terrifying expressions, shouting insults and curses at them every time they saw someone mess up a move or let their guard down. Yes… their teaching method as assistant instructors was incredibly difficult to follow and bordered on being more psychological torture than simple instruction, but no one could deny that it was producing results.
As soon as the girls saw Aurelian enter, their expressions changed magically. Their faces lit up with dazzling smiles, and they quickly approached him.
But upon noticing who was skipping along right behind their fiancé, both of their smiles froze.
"Lovegood," Hestia and Flora hissed under their breath, their eyes narrowing as they watched the one they considered their greatest enemy.
Luna, completely oblivious (or perhaps immune) to the Carrow sisters' murderous instincts, approached them and greeted them warmly.
"Hi, Hestia! Hi, Flora!" Luna greeted them in a cheerful voice. "How are you? It's been ages since we last spoke."
The twins blinked. Before they could shoot back a snide remark, Aurelian stepped in.
"Go take a look around the hall, Luna. I'll be right over to help you with a couple of spells," Aurelian promised.
Luna nodded, humming a tune, and went to watch the duels, disappearing into the crowd.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Aurelian pulled Hestia and Flora toward him, wrapping them in a tight embrace. The twins immediately melted into his arms, momentarily forgetting about Luna.
"You're doing a great job with them, my loves. They've all improved so much," Aurelian praised them, kissing each one on the head.
Hestia and Flora pressed themselves against his chest and smiled smugly, their chests swelling with pride.
"Of course we are, my love. That was obvious," Hestia purred.
"With us in charge, these useless fools will learn to fight or die trying," Flora finished arrogantly.
Before Aurelian could add anything, a boy with platinum-blond hair approached them. It was Draco Malfoy; he looked tired but had a determined look on his face.
"Aurelian," Draco called out respectfully, "could you show me how to cast the Stabbing Curse correctly? "My wrist movement is still too wide, and I lose speed when I do it."
Aurelian stepped away from the twins and showed Draco the exact wrist rotation and the necessary intonation to maximize the curse's damage without sacrificing speed. Draco nodded repeatedly, practiced the movement in the air a couple of times, and walked away smiling, satisfied with the correction and ready to return to the dueling platform.
Aurelian watched him walk away. He let his shoulders drop and murmured with a small smile.
"Teaching is incredibly exhausting. I would never, not for anything in the world, go through this again," he said wearily.
Hestia and Flora nodded solemnly on either side, crossing their arms to show their full agreement with their boyfriend. It was definitely a truly exhausting job trying to get those wands-wielding brutes to learn anything.
The soft, rhythmic ticking of a clock on the wall echoed in the silence of the headmaster's office.
Aurelian Gaunt was seated in a chair in front of the desk. Forming a semicircle around him, with expressions that varied from person to person, were the heads of the four houses: Professor Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, and Severus Snape. Alongside them, completing the unusual committee, was Professor Horace Slughorn.
Aurelian crossed one leg over the other, let his gaze wander over the faces of those present, and smiled slightly, amused by the situation.
"I must admit, professors, that it's becoming something of a habit for me to be summoned to the headmaster's office and greeted by all of you," Aurelian remarked, breaking the ice to try to ease the tension in the room a little. "To what do I owe the honor this time?"
Dumbledore, interlacing his fingers on the desk, watched him intently.
"We've received some rather... interesting information over the past few weeks, Mr. Gaunt," Albus began in a firm voice. "Rumor has it that you're secretly leading a large group of students, and that you're personally training and teaching them. Tell me, Aurelian, is that true?"
Aurelian let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he recalled the chaos, the screams of Hestia and Flora, and the number of classmates who now crowded the Room of Requirement every afternoon.
"Yes, it's all true," Aurelian admitted, sounding exhausted by the subject. "Though I must clarify that, at first, I didn't want it to become something this big. It was only going to be something more personal for a couple of friends, but word got out and the situation quickly got out of hand."
Albus nodded slowly, processing the young man's information.
"I've summoned you here today because, as you can understand, the idea of a student forming and leading what appears to be a small militia has several of my colleagues… anxious about such activities," Dumbledore explained, gesturing slightly toward the professors around him.
Aurelian raised an eyebrow, maintaining his composure. He uncrossed his legs and looked at the professors with boredom.
"I assure you all that there is absolutely nothing to worry about," Aurelian declared. "We aren't planning anything, and I'm clearly not breaking any of the school's rules. I'm just helping them practice their spells and improve their coordination in duels. The students who come to me just want to feel more prepared."
Dumbledore clasped his hands, weighing the boy's words and the truth in his eyes.
"I hope so, Aurelian. I truly hope so," the headmaster concluded. "You may go now."
Aurelian nodded politely, rose from his chair, and left the office.
The moment he disappeared, Professor McGonagall stepped forward, looking concerned.
"Are you sure about this, Albus? Is it really safe to let the son of… to let him continue gathering so many students under his command?" Minerva asked, voicing the silent fear in the room.
Before Dumbledore could answer, Horace Slughorn immediately intervened, waving a hand in the air.
"Please, Minerva, don't be so dramatic!" exclaimed Horace, coming to his student's defense. "Aurelian isn't doing anything illegal at all. We can't punish him, let alone ban his meetings, simply for having the noble initiative to help his classmates study and improve their skills."
Albus burst out laughing, his laughter echoing through the office, as he looked at his old friend with obvious amusement.
"Well, well, Horace... it seems you've grown rather fond of the boy after all, haven't you?" Dumbledore teased him.
Slughorn blushed slightly, looked away toward Fawkes, and began muttering unintelligible excuses to himself, adjusting the collar of his robes.
Professor Pomona Sprout let out a warm laugh and nodded.
"Well, I have to agree with Horace. Frankly, I'm very happy with what Aurelian is doing," the Head of Hufflepuff remarked with a broad smile. "Not only is he helping students improve their grades, but, without even realizing it, he's greatly improving the camaraderie between the houses."
Filius Flitwick nodded enthusiastically at his colleague's words from his spot.
"Exactly, Pomona!" remarked the Charms professor. "I've been teaching in this castle for decades, and I've never before seen students from all four houses getting along so closely and with such camaraderie. Now you can even see groups of Gryffindors and Slytherins walking and laughing together in the hallways! It's unprecedented."
Minerva, listening to her colleagues, softened her expression slightly. She recalled seeing some of her Gryffindors joking around with a couple of Slytherins the previous afternoon.
"I suppose... if we look at it from that perspective, it is actually quite good for the school," Minerva conceded, easing her skepticism a little.
Severus Snape, who had remained silent, observing everything with his arms crossed, snorted.
"It seems to me that all of this is just an absurd waste of time," Snape grumbled.
Dumbledore laughed again at the varied comments from his staff. His blue eyes regained their cheerful sparkle as he looked at the Hogwarts teachers.
"Well then, I suppose the verdict is clear and decided by majority," Dumbledore announced, clapping his hands softly once. "We'll let Aurelian continue with his little 'training club.' Let's see what benefits this brings to the school."
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