"Is that what they were brewing in the back of my class?" Alabasandria complained mildly.
Arthur looked so proud he might faint, clapping with delight despite not being able to see what was happening.
When the smoke dissipated, Harry was fairly certain the two opponents had switched sides of the platform, but neither looked like they had been hit. Another volley of spellfire began, and they moved at an impressive speed. One would start an incantation and the other would begin the counter before the first had finished and then the other would start a shield before they were finished muttering the counter.
They were completely in sync. When one retreated, the other stepped forward, and they remained locked in intense eye contact throughout the duration. It felt as though most of the fight was occurring inside their heads. Planning a move, preemptively anticipating the other's response, and adjusting for it before uttering a single spell.
As beaters, they had excellent hand-eye coordination and danced around the stage, parrying the spells with a physical block from bouncing the spell off the broadside of the other's wand.
Just as quickly as the shots had begun, they stopped without cue and began to circle each other again. Then they began to empty their pockets, chugging items at the other. A chicken, a mouse trap that chased them around and bit at their toes, small colored bits of rocks - Harry wasn't sure what those were about until one of them landed on a twin, and he screamed in anguish as his face began to swell immensely. He slurred out a spell but it failed through his puffed up cheeks. Enemy disabled, the other twin disarmed him and won.
"Which one was that?" Harry asked.
"Fred, I think."
"George, pretty sure."
"Er, the winner is - this one?!" The referee raised the arm of the healthy Weasley. "Which one are you?"
"I'm not sure," that one said.
"For the love of - pick one, Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall ordered.
"Alright, Fred then, I think."
The twins, freshly de-swollen, joined their group as the stage was cleared of their prank items.
"Excellent job you two, that was really impressive," Charlie said.
"Yeah, I didn't realize you could use the candies in a fight like that!" Ginny said.
Arthur pulled them both into a hug and gave them a proud grin. Molly looked a bit stunned but congratulated them regardless. The twins preened at the compliments.
"Ronald Weasley, Blaise Zabini," McGonagall announced next.
"Harry, wanna bet on how quickly Ron beats his ass," Fred asked.
"Alright, I got a galleon with Nev he beats him in under a minute."
"Hmm. Five galleons if he beats him in under a minute and spends a good half of that minute showing off." Harry thought those were rather poor odds and Fred was just trying to swindle him of his money but agreed.
Zabini, whom Harry did not know much about, except that he was a Slytherin, and thus probably an asshole, did a lap of the stage and waved to the ecstatic Slytherins. Ron jumped into his spot and gave their group a fishlike look as though he was holding in vomit or about to faint. To cheer him up, the Weasley horde cheered ferociously, including some unique, obscene suggestions from the brothers.
"C'mon Ron!" Harry muttered.
"Blast his dick off! Grind his bones into dust, Ron!" The Weasley children shouted to Molly's horror. She did not have enough hands to silence all of them.
"This is a professional tournament, could the audience please settle down," the referee complained. "On your marks, gentlemen. Ready, set, go!" He blew the whistle and Zabini shouted the disarming jinx immediately. Ron didn't even move, it flew several feet to his right. Zabini fired again and again. Ron dodged them all, moving out of the way with precision, and was only required to conjure a shield once.
Zabini panted with exertion. He'd fired off a dozen spells and Ron had countered with nothing. He raised his wand to try something new and in that moment, Ron lept at the opening.
"Expelliarmus, stupify, petrificus totalus!"
They hit him near simultaneously, each aimed at a different spot on his body. Zabini stiffened, dropped his wand, and keeled over.
The whistle could not be heard over the excited cheering of the Weasleys.
"That's my boy!" Arthur shouted.
"Fifty-three seconds," Hermione supplied.
"Damn it!" Harry fished around in his pants for the money.
.....
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