Chapter Text
Akk and Wat were walking back from Herbology together, their robes still carrying faint traces of damp soil and crushed leaves, when they spotted Khan standing in front of one of the notice boards near the Great Hall with an expression of such obvious excitement that Akk immediately knew he had found something interesting.
“Oi, Khan,” Akk called as they approached him. “What are you looking at?”
Khan turned toward them with a wide grin and gestured eagerly for both of them to come closer. “Come here. You need to see this.”
Akk and Wat stepped up beside him and looked at the enchanted announcement pinned neatly to the board. Golden letters shimmered across the parchment, announcing a special duelling workshop for all third-year students, where they would finally be allowed to practise proper offensive and defensive magic under the supervision of Hogwarts professors.
“A duelling class!” Khan exclaimed, practically bouncing where he stood. “Isn’t that amazing? We finally get to learn offensive and defensive spells properly instead of only reading about them in books.”
“It does sound interesting,” Akk admitted as he carefully read through the details. “I wonder who the instructors will be.”
“The Defence Against the Dark Arts professors, probably,” Wat replied with a shrug. “It would make the most sense.”
Before any of them could speculate further, someone walking down the corridor caught Khan’s attention.
“Hey, Aye!”
Akk looked up at once.
Ayan was strolling toward them as though he had nowhere important to be, his hands tucked casually into the pockets of the blue-and-cranberry Ilvermorny robes he still insisted on wearing despite having already transferred to Hogwarts.
The moment Ayan noticed Akk, the corner of his mouth curved upward in that familiar, irritating smile.
“You joining the duelling class?” Khan asked, gesturing toward the notice.
Ayan stepped closer to read it and, whether intentionally or not, moved directly into Akk’s space until their shoulders nearly brushed.
“So Hogwarts is finally letting us hex one another legally?” Ayan mused before turning his attention to Akk. “Are you joining too?”
“That’s none of your business,” Akk replied at once.
“Aww,” Ayan teased, looking far too entertained. “I was hoping to see whether our famous Ravenclaw prefect is actually any good in a duel.”
Akk folded his arms and lifted his chin. “If we get paired together, I’ll make sure you wipe the floor with my spells.”
Ayan’s grin widened. “I can’t wait.”
He then walked away as casually as he had arrived, still wearing those ridiculous Ilvermorny robes that had somehow become a personal insult to Akk’s eyes.
Akk glared after him and briefly wished that murderous looks were strong enough to cast Incendio.
Khan nudged him with his elbow. “You two seem to be getting along surprisingly well.”
“We are absolutely not,” Akk snapped, turning his glare on Khan instead. “And what is this ‘Aye’ business?”
Khan shrugged as though it were obvious. “He asked me to call him that. We share a House and a dormitory, remember?”
“You’re awfully familiar with him already.”
“He’s easy to talk to,” Khan replied. “You can call him Aye too, you know.”
Akk huffed and turned away. “No, thank you.”
--------------------------------------------
The day of the duelling workshop arrived sooner than Akk expected, and all the third-year students gathered inside the smaller practice hall beside the Great Hall, where a polished duelling platform had been raised in the centre of the room.
Just as Wat had guessed, the Defence Against The Dark Arts Professors, Professor Chadok and Professor Waree were standing at the front as the instructors for the afternoon.
Akk settled near the platform with Wat, Thua and Namo while the rest of the students crowded around them in excited groups.
Thua glanced around the hall. “Where’s Khan?”
“I’m here!”
Khan pushed his way through the crowd with his usual lack of subtlety, while Ayan followed behind him at a much more relaxed pace.
“Late as always,” Namo teased.
“We’re not late,” Khan argued immediately. “The class hasn’t even started.”
While Khan and Namo continued bickering, Ayan drifted closer to Akk, once again standing near enough to be annoying.
“Excited?” Ayan asked.
“I feel completely normal,” Akk replied, pretending not to care.
“I’m just curious to see whether all that confidence of yours is justified.”
“It is,” Akk said firmly before his gaze dropped to Ayan’s clothes. “And why are you still wearing those robes?”
Ayan glanced down at himself. “They’re comfortable.”
Akk sighed in frustration, because apparently some people truly enjoyed making the lives of prefects more difficult.
Their attention shifted to the duelling platform when Professor Chadok raised his voice and brought the room to silence.
“Today, Professor Waree and I will demonstrate the correct form and etiquette required during a formal duel,” he announced. “You will observe first, and then you will practise with an assigned partner.”
“I heard Professor Chadok is a Duelmaster,” Wat whispered.
Professor Chadok and Professor Waree stepped into position, bowed to each other, and began.
Magic flashed brilliantly across the platform as offensive spells met defensive shields in quick succession. Their movements were precise and elegant, each spell controlled with the kind of confidence that only came from years of practice, and the demonstration finally ended in a perfect draw.
Professor Chadok lowered his wand and turned back to the students. “Thank you, Professor Waree. Now it is your turn. We will assign your partners.”
Much to Akk’s annoyance, and to Ayan’s obvious delight, the two of them were paired together.
Ayan looked far too pleased. “You and I really do seem destined to keep meeting.”
“Shut up and get into position.”
Ayan placed a hand dramatically over his chest. “So domineering. I love—”
Before he could finish, Akk flicked his wand and sent a stinging hex directly into Ayan’s shoulder.
“Ow!”
Several students turned to stare. Professor Waree’s tired voice carried across the hall. “The duel has not started yet. Please refrain from attacking your partner before the signal.”
Ayan rubbed his shoulder and gave Akk an exaggeratedly wounded look, while Akk simply looked away and pretended he felt no regret whatsoever.
The two boys moved into position on opposite ends of their assigned platform and bowed stiffly to each other.
“Begin!” Professor Chadok called.
Akk reacted immediately. “Expelliarmus!”
The spell shot toward Ayan in a flash of red light, but Ayan raised his wand just in time. “Protego!”
A shimmering shield appeared in front of him and deflected the spell harmlessly aside.
Akk smirked. “Nice reflexes.”
“Why, thank you,” Ayan replied before flicking his wand forward. “Depulso!”
The force of the spell crashed into Akk’s shield with enough power to shove him several steps backward. Before he had fully recovered his footing, Ayan sent another spell after him, forcing Akk to leap sideways.
“Stupefy!”
Ayan dropped into a smooth forward roll, allowing the red spell to pass over him, and somehow ended up directly in front of Akk.
Their wands collided with a sharp crack. For a brief moment, neither of them moved.
They stood close enough to hear each other breathing, their faces only inches apart as both tried to force the other backward.
“Not bad, Bigfoot,” Ayan murmured with a breathless grin. “You’re actually quite good.”
“Shut up, Shortstop.” Akk pushed him away and immediately raised his wand again but Ayan was quicker.
“Aguamenti!”
Water surged toward him, but Akk sliced through the stream with a defensive spell before firing back.
“Incarcerous!”
Thick ropes shot from his wand and wrapped tightly around Ayan’s body.
Akk allowed himself a satisfied smile. “Got you.”
His victory lasted only a few seconds.
“Confringo.” The ropes burst apart in a flash of heat, and Ayan threw himself sideways just as Akk raised his wand again.
“Expelliarmus!”
Ayan was a second too slow. His wand flew out of his hand, spun through the air, and landed perfectly in Akk’s waiting grip.
For a moment, both of them stared at it.
Then Akk lifted his chin. “I suppose I won.”
Ayan laughed softly, still slightly out of breath. “You proved your point.”
He held out his hand. “Now give me back my wand.”
Akk glanced at it before placing it in Ayan’s palm.
“Try not to lose it next time, Shortstop.”
Ayan’s eyes narrowed with amusement. “So that’s my nickname now?”
“It suits you.”
“Well done.” Professor Chadok’s voice rang through the hall, bringing the remaining duels to an end while several stray spells fizzled harmlessly against the walls.
“I saw some very promising technique today,” he continued, his gaze moving through the students before settling on Akk.
Professor Chadok stepped down from the platform and approached them.
“Your name is Akk, correct?”
Akk straightened at once. “Yes, Professor.”
“I must say, your control and reaction time were—”
Professor Chadok stopped abruptly.
Something on the floor near Akk’s feet caught his attention.
He bent down and picked it up, revealing a small pendant shaped like a sun embracing a crescent moon.
The moment he saw it clearly, his expression changed. His entire body went still.
“Where did this come from?” he asked.
Akk turned toward Ayan and immediately noticed the panic in his face.
Ayan searched beneath his robes with trembling hands.
“My pendant…”
He stepped forward quickly, all traces of teasing gone from his voice.
“Professor, it belongs to me. Please give it back.”
Professor Chadok did not move. Instead, he stared at the pendant as though it were something he had never expected to see again.
“Why do you have this?”
Ayan’s breathing grew uneven. “Please.”
“You know that jewellery is prohibited under school regulations,” Professor Chadok replied slowly. “I will have to confiscate it.”
“No!”
The magic exploded before anyone could react. A violent burst of raw power erupted from Ayan’s body and struck Professor Chadok directly, throwing him backward across the platform.
The hall filled with gasps and screams.
Professor Waree rushed toward the fallen professor while students stumbled away in shock.
Akk stared at Ayan.
There was no wand in his hand.
It had been accidental magic.
“Aye,” Akk said, grabbing both of his shoulders. “Calm down.”
Ayan blinked as though he had only just realized what he had done.
His horrified gaze moved from Professor Chadok’s unconscious body to the pendant lying on the floor.
Without saying anything, he tore himself out of Akk’s grip, snatched the pendant up, and ran from the hall.
“Ayan!”
But he was already gone.
“Class dismissed!” Professor Waree shouted through the chaos. “Everyone return to your common rooms immediately.”
Students began filing out, whispering frantically among themselves while Professor Waree remained behind to tend to Professor Chadok.
By the time Akk reached the corridor, the story had already begun changing with every retelling.
“A student defeated Professor Chadok.”
“He did it without a wand.”
“He blasted a Duelmaster across the hall.”
Akk told himself he should not care.
He was only curious.
He only wanted to understand what had happened.
That was all.
Yet somehow, he found himself searching half the castle.
He checked the Owlery, the Greenhouses and the corridors near Gryffindor Tower, but Ayan was nowhere to be found.
Khan shook his head when Akk asked him. “He hasn’t come back to the dormitory.”
“Where did he go?” Akk muttered.
He did not know why the memory of Ayan’s desperate face made his chest ache, nor did he understand why he felt so restless at the thought of him being alone.
Eventually, Akk went as far as the Quidditch pitch.
That was where he finally found him.
Ayan was lying across one of the empty spectator stands, his body curled slightly on the wooden bench as though exhaustion had overtaken him before he could return to the castle.
Akk guessed the burst of uncontrolled magic had drained him.
Not wanting to wake him, Akk sat nearby.
Not too close.
Only close enough to make sure he was alright.
That was when he noticed the pendant resting against Ayan’s chest, now safely fastened around his neck.
It must have been hidden beneath his robes all this time and come loose during the duel.
Akk could not stop wondering why Professor Chadok had recognised it.
“It belonged to someone I love, in case you were wondering.”
Akk nearly jumped. He cleared his throat and looked away. “I wasn’t asking.”
Ayan opened his eyes lazily and tilted his head to look at him. “I can hear your thoughts. They’re very loud.”
“You’re not a Legilimens.”
Ayan slowly sat up and moved closer until their shoulders nearly touched. “I might be. You’ll never know.”
“Ridiculous.”
Akk shoved him lightly away before standing. “You seem fine, so I’m going to dinner.”
“Aww,” Ayan said as he immediately rose to follow him. “Were you worried about me?”
“No.”
“I didn’t know you cared.”
“I don’t.”
Ayan leaned closer, his voice lowering playfully.
“Are you sure, Mr.Prefect or have you already started developing feelings for me?”
Akk’s ears turned crimson.
“W-What are you even talking about?” He turned sharply and began walking away. “I’m going to dinner. Don’t follow me.”
Ayan stood where he was and watched the Ravenclaw disappear down the path.
His teasing smile remained for a few seconds before slowly fading. He curled his fingers around the pendant.
“I promise,” he whispered. “I’ll find out the truth.”
“And will you survive finding it?”
Ayan spun around immediately, drawing his wand.
A familiar sixth-year Hufflepuff stepped out from behind one of the pillars.
Ayan lowered his wand when he recognised him.
“Oh. It’s you, Jeng.”
Jeng smiled knowingly. “Hello, dear cousin. So, how are you finding Hogwarts?”
Ayan glanced toward the path where Akk had disappeared.
“Bearable,” he replied, and a faint smile returned to his face. “I’ve found something interesting here.”
Jeng chuckled softly. “Something,” he asked, “or someone?”
Ayan did not answer immediately.
Instead, he continued looking toward the empty path before finally smiling to himself.
“Maybe both.”
Jeng’s expression softened, though concern remained in his eyes.
“I know why you transferred here, Ayan,” he said quietly. “My advice is to be careful.”
Ayan’s grip tightened around the pendant.
“I know.” Even then, his gaze remained fixed on the direction Akk had gone.