Cassius was the first to break the silence after Tonks' brilliant victory. We had all been watching the fight intently. I hoped each of us had taken something useful from it.
"That was a duel… truly spectacular," he said with a smirk. "But honestly, I wouldn't say she's stronger than that Farmus. More like… trickier."
I gave a slight nod:
"Not just trickier. Tonks has an unorthodox technique — she doesn't play by the 'textbook': she prefers to twist and evade instead of hard blocks when possible; instead of pressure, she strikes precisely. And most importantly — it's all pure improvisation. And notice, she doesn't waste energy. Most of her strikes are precise and always have a purpose, even if they don't breach the opponent's defense."
"The key is control," Blackmore remarked firmly. "Power without control makes you predictable. Farmus today was like a hammer trying to drive a needle. Yes, powerful, yes, scary, but slow and clumsy. Tonks, though less powerful, was piercing, like that very needle."
Cassius snorted, pleased:
"I get it. For example, with a combination of weaker spells, she disrupts the rhythm, and then something powerful breaks the shield, instead of just throwing everything she knows in a row. That's why we need to learn by watching others' duels."
"Yep." I smiled with the corner of my mouth. "And learn to see not just the spells, but the tactics. How people move, react, defend, and so on."
Blackmore shifted his gaze to me, and I understood he was already mentally applying her techniques to our future match.
"Alright, you two keep talking, I need to have a word with someone," I said and stepped away a couple of paces, looking towards Tonks.
Nymphadora was accepting congratulations. Laughing, waving a hand as if it were all nonsense, but her eyes shone, and her color-changing hair betrayed her emotions — she was clearly enjoying the attention from her classmates and housemates.
"Dexter, if there's time left, let's get on the platform after your duel today."
"Well, if…"
After that, I stopped listening. My thoughts were on one thing.
Was it worth approaching? Yes, it was.
I couldn't afford the luxury of ignoring my only cousin. A half-blood? Yes, but also an heiress of blood, the same blood that flows in my veins. A part of the Black family that can't be lost. If I want to revive the Black name, I'll have to gather the family from what remains.
Like it or not, for any lineage, quantity is important — not at the expense of quality, of course, but often within a large quantity of lower quality, you can find rare quality. For example, the Weasleys, despite their status and finances, were already quite numerous, and in a generation, there would be even more of them — and that's a huge opportunity for elevation. Meanwhile, the Malfoy family couldn't boast numbers, nor could the Blacks nowadays.
For me… mother, father, Aunt Bellatrix in Azkaban, Sirius — also there, maybe a couple of old Blacks simply living out their days with no hope left for the revival of the glorious name of the darkest house. Also, there are distant Malfoy relatives in France, long bearing a similar but now different surname, whom I've never even seen. Funny? Not a bit.
And here she is — nearby. Even if she grew up in different conditions, even if grandmother once blasted them off the family tree. Even if half Tonks, the other half is Black. And family blood remains family blood.
I exhaled, gathered myself, and approached, calculating in my head a communication style that wouldn't repel such an unusual girl.
Meanwhile, the crowd buzzed like a hive. Spells flashed overhead, shields flared up one after another, repelling charms boomed — the next pairs on the two platforms. The upper-year students fought seriously, though within the rules. I paused my gaze for a second: a bright blue mass of magic struck a Protego dome and flew off as sparks to the side. Time to step out of the din — and I spotted Tonks, who, having calmed down after her victory, had moved to the wall and sat on the first row of benches.
I purposefully strode towards her. A more perfect moment couldn't be found, as she had separated from the crowd that, due to her sociability and friendliness, always surrounded her. Oh, those friendly badgers — the Hufflepuffs. Sometimes I'm even envious.
Of course, she noticed me. She didn't even seem surprised — just straightened her robes and crossed her arms.
"Congratulations, Miss Tonks," I said with a slight nod. "The duel was spectacular."
She snorted with laughter:
"'Miss Tonks'? Oh, no, only professors call me that when I've pulled another 'mischief.' Dora — or just Tonks, if that's easier."
"Then I suppose I'll address you as Dora," I replied calmly, as if it were meant to be. "I'm Arcturus Malfoy, by the way. You can call me Arctur or Arcturus."
"Pleasure to meet you, but I already knew you, albeit indirectly," said Nymphadora, her hair slightly changing color. "I've watched your sparring a couple of times. You handle a wand very well, especially for your age. Even Professor Flitwick has mentioned it."
"Thank you for the praise, but that's all child's play. You, however, showed real class. I saw how your opponent… to put it mildly, was flustered, and then was defeated as if it were child's play. And I'd be flustered by such moves and feints too."
"You're too observant for a second-year," she parried, but her eyes sparkled. "You know, in a duel, it's not just about striking. You have to watch how a person moves, breathes, where they'll slip up. I catch the rhythm and slip into it, and disrupt it."
So, I'd found common ground with her; just needed to build on the success.
"Tactics through chaos?"
"Well… you could say that," laughed Tonks. "I like making people trip up."
I nodded, studying her face. At that moment, her hair became slightly brighter — the usual pink gained fiery red strands that seemed to flare up, betraying her mood more than words.
"That's interesting, but your hair… it's astonishing," I said quietly. "You're a Metamorphmagus. Your hair changes with your emotions."
She rolled her eyes, but her hair instantly shifted to a soft pink shade and seemed to coarsen slightly.
"Yeah, a gift and a curse at the same time. Hard to lie when you give yourself away with color," she muttered and, as if frightened by her own frankness, immediately changed the subject: "But it's great for entertaining the crowd. Can you imagine how furious McGonagall gets when I show up with green braids?"
"I can imagine, but I'd really like to see it in person," I smirked. "McGonagall is the living embodiment of seriousness."
She snorted with laughter, and I caught how her hair trembled slightly, shifting from light to saturated. I was talking to her frankly and without pretensions — and understood she'd appreciate that. That's what made my cousin wonderful — natural and always smiling.
At some point in the conversation, I even forgot I'd approached with a specific goal. Because I'd discovered a pleasant person with whom I didn't need to pretend. And sometimes you need that — because I pretended in front of everyone else, but with her, only a little.
So we bantered — skirting around, occasionally returning to the duel.
"But I admit," I continued, "your tactics are very interesting. You operate through improvisation."
"Isn't it wonderful?" Tonks winked. "If we meet on the platform, I'll disrupt your neat plan."
I smiled, not arguing.
"Perhaps. But then I'll start improvising too. With my own year, I can't reveal my 'chaotic' side. I'll have a chance to test my strength."
She tilted her head, gave me an appraising look, and her hair darkened slightly, as if pensiveness surfaced.
Meanwhile, another duel ended in the hall — a Gryffindor boy fell from the platform, and his second immediately ran to him.
"Too bad you're a second-year, otherwise I'd be happy to clash with you. But for now, you're no match for me, Arctur. Just don't get cocky."
"Next year I will be."
"You will, you will. Hah! See, you're already getting cocky," Dora said cheerfully, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Don't believe me? Then I propose a wager."
Tonks laughed, waving her hand:
"You know, Arcturus, you're a Malfoy and a Slytherin; I expected more arrogance from you. But you seem like a funny and pleasant second-year. I'm starting to doubt you're a Slytherin."
She sometimes behaved so simply that she could inadvertently offend, but deep down, I wasn't the snob that Muggle-borns thought I was. And I wasn't deceiving myself.
"You've just met the slimy ones. I'm a Slytherin and can be different. Depends on who I'm talking to," I replied and allowed myself a slight smile. "Anyway, it was pleasant talking to you; you're interesting."
"Alright, now I believe… I believe you're a Slytherin after all. And still… why do I feel like you didn't just approach me for no reason?"
I smirked. Her voice held not contempt, but rather curiosity.
"We have something in common. I think we should talk about it."
"Oh, interesting. I'm listening."
And then Flitwick announced it was Blackmore's and my turn. I got up from my seat next to Nymphadora.
"Seems this conversation will have to wait for another time, and that's fine. Better to talk somewhere less crowded. I have to go."
"Alright, Arcturus," said Tonks. "We'll chat later. Ugh… who does that? You create intrigue and then leave without answers…"
"Well, I'm a bit cunning. We'll see each other, cousin," I said and walked away towards the platforms where Blackmore was already waiting, warming up. Yes-yes, this was a tactical retreat while Dora processed the end of my phrase.
On the platform, I noticed her attentive gaze. It was amusing to see her hair shifting — from playful pink to deep black.
"Alright," said the half-goblin, looking at us. "Here we have a pair of skilled second-years. Reminder: no forbidden charms. The goal is to disarm or render the opponent incapable of continuing the duel."
"A half-bow, and begin, young duelists," said Flitwick cheerfully — he always walked around in a good mood for the rest of the day after the Dueling Club.
We bowed to each other and raised our wands.
Blackmore reacted first: Expelliarmus! I blocked the spell with a shield and immediately countered with Flipendo. Blackmore dodged, then responded with the same spell.
The first seconds passed in a flurry of basic spells — Protego, Stupefy, Flipendo. Yet, from the very start, it was noticeable: our pace was different. Blackmore attacked confidently, but each of his spells was slightly slower than mine, as if he thought a fraction of a second longer, and it also seemed to me that I knew how he would move and what he would counter with.
And it was like that with any opponent, except perhaps Tonks, because imagining her as my opponent, I couldn't be sure what she'd do next or how to respond, while with those I faced, I felt like a fish in water.
I wasn't in a hurry to finish. On the contrary — I caught the rhythm, dodged, tested him, and most importantly, gave him time to show himself, while also demonstrating our skills. I moved right, then left, sometimes just let a spell pass by turning my body, and sometimes defended with a shield to not overexert myself. This was especially true for the relatively fast Expelliarmus, which was hard to dodge. But it was foolish to take it on a shield, despite its non-lethal effect — the Disarming Charm pierced magical defenses well, better than Flipendo or Stupefy, and the latter stunned more powerfully than Expelliarmus hitting the body.
But for some reason, I preferred to take this spell on a shield, especially after the summer. For the aforementioned reasons, such a simple spell was used in duels of any level.
"You're not rushing," Dexter grinned, sending a "double" of repelling spells.
"I'm waiting for you to speed up," I replied, catching both spells on Protego.
He did speed up eventually. Changing attack angles, an unconventional spell arc — I had to defend more tightly; several times, I didn't evade as easily as at the beginning. A pleasant thrill shot through my chest: now this was more interesting!
I began responding in kind: feints, false swings, red sparks as if it were Stupefy, but instead — an empty flash, just to distract. Dexter fell for it, slowed his response a couple of times — meaning the plan was working.
Finally, the moment. I sent sparks again, and Dexter, expecting this, simply didn't slow his barrage of spells, but I hid a real Stupefy among the decoys, sent low, almost at knee level. Dexter noticed at the last moment and miraculously stepped left, jumping slightly. I had anticipated this, or rather, had taken precautions just in case. Specifically: at the moment the spell flew, I sent a Repelling Jinx to where Blackmore had stepped.
The beam went there too, to the left, slightly below his center of gravity. Perfect — Dexter didn't have time to shield. The blow knocked him off his feet, and he crashed face-first onto the platform. The bitterness of defeat came with pain, as the cushioning charms worked outside the platform, not inside.
I immediately disarmed him — with Expelliarmus — and only then was I declared the winner.
"Victory to Mr. Malfoy!" exclaimed Flitwick. The applause wasn't exactly thunderous, but it was there at least.
I offered my hand to Dexter. He smirked, accepted the help, and got up.
"You're a serpent of Mordred," he said, but without malice. "You still calculated my step."
"You're to blame yourself; you love dodging left too much, and in an emergency, with 100% certainty, you'd dodge left, as is your habit," I replied, returning the wand to its rightful owner.
Habits are a terrible thing. They make a person predictable. And predictability is almost the same as defeat.
I decided not to participate in any more duels today and headed to the targets. You could practice with everyone from the start while waiting your turn, but that would wear you out, and watching other duels is useful.
During duels, I sometimes tried to vocalize spells so as not to work completely non-verbally, because that would make me stand out too much, considering that shouting incantations was the norm even among the upper-years in our club.
Over years of practice, many had simply gotten used to it, while others, apart from the simplest spells, couldn't cast anything non-verbally. Many could often cast Lumos or some Repelling Jinx, but everything else required a loud shout, which slowed them down.
Fortunately, I didn't have such limitations and could send three or four spells at an opponent in a second, each with a light flick, often just moving my wrist. And if initially I thought of showing off with this, I now decided to save many tricks for more challenging opponents.
I think that same Farmus would get a proper beating if I faced him and used all my tricks. It's just a pity that if this weren't a training duel — that is, without such strict limitations — I couldn't stand against him due to weak spells.
Firstly, my arsenal lacks strong spells, and secondly, I haven't even reached meta-magic yet — those modifiers like "Duo," "Tria," "Maxima," and so on, which amplify weak spells to an acceptable level. But that's a separate, extremely broad topic I'm not ready to rack my brains over now.
Besides, I also don't know any explosive or piercing spells that relatively easily pierce shields and human bodies, not to mention any area-of-effect things.
And why haven't I learned at least Bombarda yet? It's just difficult, that's all. It's just that if for a second-year, repeating the formula and movements with the mental image of the spell, it's easy and simply lacks the reserve to cast it at least a couple of times or strong magical channels for creation, then both these factors are sufficiently developed in me. But, as Professor Flitwick said, it's hard for me to study spells this way. Because I rely on control, mental imagery, and intent.
That is, due to the spell's complexity, I still lack skill, plus it's dangerous to study this on my own. Though I've already made timid attempts. But as soon as I master at least a simple Bombarda, it will be much easier to study other spells of a similar level.
It's not that my reserve is monstrous, but it's enough for a simple Bombarda, or rather, a barrage of simple Bombardas, but I can't cast spells more demanding than simple explosive ones yet, due to the weakness of my magical channels.
As for the reserve — why do many other second-years lack it if it's studied after the third year? It's all because between the ages of 11 and 17, the amount of magic in a wizard's body increases many times faster than later. Of course, with the proper potential, like mine, I won't even come close to my peak during this time, but the fact that each year, the magical energy within me becomes noticeably greater is a fact.
By my estimates, my reserve has become two to three times larger over the past year. I simply remember how many Flipendo spells it took before to feel close to exhaustion, and how many now. However, it's not just the rapid reserve development but also the training that stimulates this process. It's like growth. I've thought about the topic of reserves so much I don't even want to remember, especially today, as I had a mountain of things to do.
When the club meeting ended, the first thing I did was wash off the sweat, and after lunch, it was time for more important matters. And the matters were indeed important. It all started with Amanda and Nox, whom I decided to reconcile at the beginning of the semester, and ended with my plan. The result was regular meetings of all the 'important' second-year Slytherins, through which I controlled our Slytherin year and protected everyone from attacks, both from our upper-years and other houses. Thanks to this, I gained not illusory, but quite tangible authority among my peers, respect, and a sense of duty.
The second-year council I created included the mentioned Nox and Amanda among the girls, and among the boys — Blackmore and I, plus with me came Avery and Cassius. Cassius and Avery were there, more or less. I could rely on them completely. Mark knew how to think, Cassius — how to work and carry out tasks. The two of them were indicators that I was in charge here and decided who would sit in this council and discuss important matters… as important as they can be among schoolchildren. In general, at our meetings, we decided on 'party' policy and many other things. And today, there were many topics for discussion.