"They started it! They actually dared to strike first! Beat them up!" Leonard shouted from within the crowd.
In the chaos, only a handful of people noticed who had actually cast the Disarming Charm. The students around the one who had been hit were furious. All they saw was George dodging aside as the spell flew past him.
To them, that meant George had done it. Without hesitation, they launched their attacks.
The few who had seen the truth were quickly swept along by the crowd, dragged into the momentum and joining the assault on George and Fred.
Countless spells streaked through the air. From above, the magic looked like multicolored threads weaving together into an airtight net. At the center of that net stood George and Fred, with nowhere to hide.
Faced with the rain of spells, the twins exchanged a glance. The panic on their faces vanished all at once.
They slipped into their training state.
The web of spells closing in from all directions looked impenetrable, but George and Fred knew better. Most of the wands were held at roughly the same height.
What they had formed was nothing more than a flat, two-dimensional net.
The twins bent low and rolled forward in practiced, fluid movements. Coming out of the roll, they each held a half-crouched stance, firing spells at the closest opponents.
"Stupefy!"
Two incantations rang out almost simultaneously. Two students were blasted backward, crashing into several others who hadn't even realized what was happening.
The sudden reversal stunned the surrounding students. Before they could react, George and Fred each fired off two more Stunning Spells.
Two more students were knocked out, taking another two or three down with them as they fell.
The rest finally snapped out of it. Depending on how fast they reacted, their spells flew toward George and Fred at wildly uneven speeds.
Too slow. Far too slow.
George and Fred were surprised to realize that even when these students weren't frozen in shock, their casting speed was still painfully sluggish, barely on par with what the twins had been capable of before their training.
At that pace, they would have been hit by stones long ago.
Without realizing it, the twins had fully reverted to their training mindset. Back then, stones had flown straight at their heads. Any delay or mistake meant getting nailed on the spot.
During those sessions, they had thought the method downright inhumane. The constant tension, the feeling of being one misstep away from disaster, had nearly broken them.
But now they understood its value.
Even with spells flying straight at them, they could stay calm, choose the best direction to dodge, and line up their next counterattack.
"Stupefy!"
The twins spoke in unison, dropping two more opponents. They didn't linger for even a second, retreating immediately as stray spells slammed into the attackers' own allies.
The remaining students' faces darkened. They had clearly surrounded two Gryffindors, yet fighting them felt like trying to catch a pair of slick eels. No matter what they did, they couldn't pin them down.
Worse still, because of their positioning, they had taken out more of their own people than George and Fred had combined. If this kept up, they might actually be wiped out.
Panic began to spread. The more anxious they grew, the worse their aim became. Someone tried shouting instructions, telling others to aim at the ground to avoid hitting allies, but he barely finished speaking before George seized the opening and knocked him out.
With the coordination gone, the scene dissolved into chaos. Before long, students were falling all around the perimeter.
On the surface, the situation looked completely one-sided. George and Fred were close to taking down everyone.
Yet the pressure on them didn't ease. It grew heavier.
Even as the numbers dwindled, the remaining spells became sharper, their angles more vicious.
Dodging was getting harder.
Orlando watched the twins tumble and leap across the field like monkeys, his expression grim but controlled.
As the organizer of the dueling matches, Orlando himself was a standout duelist. Whether in one-on-one or two-on-two fights, he was experienced and steady.
Though their numbers had thinned, most of those still standing were veterans like him. They had already figured out George and Fred's approach: constant evasion, followed by swift counterattacks during the brief gaps in others' casting.
It sounded simple enough, almost obvious.
But executing it was another matter entirely.
The twins' spellcasting speed surpassed everyone else's. Their movements were clean, their timing precise.
Orlando had to admit it. These two really knew how to duel.
But that was as far as it would go.
He had already found a way to counter them. As long as the remaining seven worked in staggered waves, gradually sealing off the twins' escape routes, George and Fred would have nowhere left to run.
And after dodging for this long, they had to be exhausted.
Watching the twins pant in the field, pressed into ineffective counterattacks by the staggered spells, Orlando let out a quiet sigh.
This chaotic duel felt like a farce. Even if he won, it would still—
Before the thought could finish forming, Fred suddenly shouted from the field.
"George!"
Orlando froze and looked up just in time to see one of the twins stop abruptly, stepping in front of the other. His wand flashed, releasing a transparent barrier.
"Protego!"
George's face was etched with exhaustion, yet he still managed to flash a provocative grin.
Several spells slammed into the Shield Charm and bounced away with ease. But the shield wavered visibly, its stability failing, no longer able to provide solid protection.
A few of the attackers were still instinctively tracking George's usual dodge path. By the time they realized Fred had stepped forward instead, it was already too late.
"Protego!"
Fred's Shield Charm flared to life, blocking the incoming spells. At the same time, George dropped his own defense and snapped his wand toward three opponents, firing off Stunning Spells in rapid succession.
All three collapsed instantly. The pressure on Fred was cut in half.
Fred immediately disengaged, raised his wand, and took down the remaining three attackers. When it was over, the twins stood side by side, gasping for breath, their wands trained on Orlando.
"Ha ha, we won," Fred said between breaths, his face pale with exhaustion but still wearing his trademark goofy grin.
George remained outwardly calm, but the joy shining in his eyes was unmistakable.
They had really done it.
Just the two of them, and they had taken down an entire group.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on P@treon.
Also, join as a free member to read free advanced chapters.
[Upto 50 chapters ahead for now]
[email protected]/BlurryDream