cloudy with a Chance of freedom

chapter 29

"Constant Vigilance!" barked Moody.

Skull grinned. He couldn't wait to see what a real class with the actual Moody would be like.

So he was only slightly surprised when Moody called him up.

"Black. Heard you have had the highest scores in this class for three years running. Think you have what it takes to take me on?" said Moody, his grin terrifying...for everyone else.

"Bring it," said Skull, taking his preferred stance when it came to casting magic. Moody looked at him with open approval. The form was loose, but solid enough to cast quickly, efficiently and retaliate within seconds.

The two stared at each other, with the other students outside the bubble made to contain spell damage and the desks firmly against the wall. It was like two expert swordsmen staring each other down, waiting for the unseen signal to attack.

Most people thought a duel between experts was a clash of violence and action. They would be wrong.

Moody made the first move, seeing as how Black clearly had patience to outlast the limited time they had.

His grin was wide as he struck, working his way up to the more dangerous spells.

"Diffindo!"

Skull dodged, using his much more limber body to contort his frame away from the spell while casting at an angle.

"You need a new eye, old timer? I thought you Aurors were made of sterner stuff?" Skull catcalled.

Moody didn't rise to the taunt. Instead he upped the ante, not giving the brat a chance to rest. To his surprise and pleasure, the kid was not only able to take it, but he started to make the pace rise even more.

Then the atmosphere shifted...it was no longer a play duel between a teacher and student, but a magical sparring match between war veterans.

Skull's eyes began to glow an ominous purple color with amber rings as he began to grin in a feral manner.

Outside, Camellia frowned and realized the danger.

"Someone go get Fon, now," she ordered. "Or Verde, whoever is closer."

"Why?" asked Blaise.

"Look at his eyes. This isn't a game to him anymore and if it escalates any further he won't limit himself to just magic," she replied.

Blaise looked and saw she was correct. He knew the other's schedule well enough, just in case of times like these. He went straight to the special potions classroom.

"Professor, can I borrow Fon or Verde for a moment. There's an issue in the DADA classroom that they are best to deal with."

"What's going on?" asked Snape. With the addition of new teachers, he was able to slate certain students for extra attention from a potion master, which meant that they could properly flourish without being bored making basic potions.

Needless to say Skull, Fon, Verde and Camellia were all immediately slated for these extra lessons.

"What happened?" asked Fon, already clearing out his cauldron with quick spell.

"Moody pulled Harry up for a mock duel to show them what a real spell battle is like and he's getting a little too into it. Camellia sent me to find you two," said Blaise.

Fon didn't need to hear any more, he was out the door before Verde had a chance to grab his things. Instead the Lightning merely collected Fon's school things and his own before following at a hurried pace.