In the morning,
Aaric woke up and felt Luna sleeping soundly in his arms, her face resting on his chest as she held him tightly.
Aaric smiled and kissed her forehead before simply looking up, waiting for her to wake.
He noticed Chaya resting beside him and gently caressed her head with a finger, smiling.
Luna stirred in his arms when Noctelle, who was perched by the window, began chirping.
She looked up at him and kissed him with a smile. "It's a good thing we don't get morning breath," she giggled.
Aaric kissed her nose, and she made herself comfortable in his arms again.
"No classes today, so let's stay like this for an hour or two," she mumbled, making Aaric laugh.
"I wouldn't mind staying like this for a whole day… but we do need breakfast," Aaric said, and Luna sighed.
Luna got up after giving him one more passionate kiss and raised her hand. Noctelle landed on it with a chirp, and Luna stepped back into a portal that formed behind her.
Aaric walked toward the Great Hall with a wide smile and noticed Daphne waiting for him in the common area.
Aaric went up to her and gave her a kiss. "Everyone knows you are with Luna," Daphne whispered to him.
Aaric shrugged. "Now they know I'm with you as well," he said and simply chatted with her as they waited for Luna.
After Luna arrived, they went for breakfast. Fleur and Ars joined their table as well.
"Oh! Ars, I forgot about the spar I promised you," Aaric said, as if he had just remembered.
Ars looked at him and frowned. "I… leave me alone," he muttered and went back to his food.
Aaric chuckled. "No, no. I cannot renege on the promise I gave you," he said, acting sincere.
Ars sighed; he knew how Aaric was, so he just stopped speaking.
Fleur perked up at that. "Let's spar later as well," she said, making Aaric scoff.
"By spar, do you mean me training you?" Aaric said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "I will be charging fees from now on." He waved his hand dramatically.
Fleur raised an eyebrow. "And what do you want, hm?" she asked with a faintly teasing tone, her French accent slipping through.
Aaric put a hand on his chin and thought for a moment before smirking as an idea came to him.
"Call me… sensei while I train you," Aaric said with a nod and a smile.
Fleur just shrugged at that and went back to her food.
After breakfast, Aaric dragged a limp Ars to the champion training grounds while whistling a tune. Fleur followed, glancing at Ars with pity.
"How about I spar Fleur instead?" Ars asked with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Grub, Ars's spirit mouse, also nodded eagerly at the suggestion.
Aaric shrugged and glanced at Fleur. He then approached her. "You should spar with him. Don't hold back," he told her, and she nodded.
As the arena was set up, Fleur stood on one side and Ars on the other. Grub climbed down from Ars's shoulder and stood in front of him.
"Give me a moment," Fleur said after she saw Grub.
She approached the mouse and gently patted its head with a finger. "You are so cute… I do not want to fight you," she said in a baby voice.
Ars and Aaric looked at each other with twitching lips as they watched the scene.
Aaric went to Fleur, pried her off the mouse, and dragged her to the other side of the arena.
Fleur pouted and looked away while Aaric sighed and stepped back. "Start," he said, and they both got serious.
Fleur began with an Incendio, which was blocked by Grub, who formed a layer of earth in front of the attack.
Ars took the opportunity and cast his own Incendio, which Fleur dodged.
She raised an eyebrow and grew serious, raising her wand to fire a Confringo, which was blocked by Grub again, while Ars sent an Expelliarmus her way.
Fleur raised a Protego to block the Expelliarmus, while Grub formed blunt earth spikes on the ground that shot toward her.
Fleur was not the best at wandless magic, but she could do a bit of transfiguration with it. She waved her hand, forming a metal wall to block the spikes.
At the same time, she used her wand to cast a powerful Stupefy toward Ars. He formed a Protego of his own, but it was weak, and the spell stunned him.
The match went on for about half an hour and ended with Fleur's victory.
Aaric clapped and brought out some potions for both of them. "Good work, you both," he said with a smile.
Fleur still looked dissatisfied. "He is younger than you, and it still took me all this time to barely win," she said. Aaric shrugged and helped her drink the potion.
"He had a mature spirit with him. It's more impressive that you could even beat him," Aaric consoled Fleur, who sighed and looked at him.
"Why are you helping train me?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
Aaric tilted his head back at her. "Why wouldn't I?" he asked.
"I mean… I am your opponent," Fleur said, making Aaric laugh.
"I don't care about that, you are my friend first and opponent second." he said, waving his hand as he went to help Ars as well.
Fleur just shook her head and picked up Grub, patting the mouse gently with her finger.
"You were a nightmare," she said to the mouse with a smile, giving Grub some treats.
She glanced at Aaric and smiled as she saw Aaric hitting Ars's back, making the boy yelp and curse Aaric.
A/n: Please leave reviews on the novel.
And power stones.