Alphonse and Emilie Lavallée are fraternal twins. Born in France, they enrolled at BeauxBatons, the French school for witches and wizards, when they were 11.
However, school life hasn't been all great for Emilie. Shy and awkward, she was quickly ta...
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Chapter 17:
Sweet Escape / Doux Refuge
Seb and Al stand in the snowy village, wands at the ready, their egos clashing like opposing spells.
"You're doing it all wrong," Al declares with his arms tightly crossed and a disapproving shake of his head.
Seb turns his piercing brown eyes towards my brother, one defiant eyebrow raised, still holding his wand in a ready position. "The fuck I'm doing wrong? You're just being all prissy with your spells."
I cautiously lower my own wand, looking between the two. "Um, guys?"
Ignoring me completely, Al presses on. "It's all in the gesture. Yours is completely off." He asserts, a line forming on his lips as he scrutinizes Sebastian with a mockingly superior expression. "That's not how it's done, Sallow."
"Really now? Would sa majesté care to demonstrate the correct gesture, then?" Sebastian lowers his wand this time, facing Al with an annoyed arch of his eyebrows.
"I don't think this is..." I begin, attempting to intervene, but my voice is lost in the brewing storm between them.
My brother, seemingly oblivious to my existence, speaks again, his attention solely on the impending lesson. "Watch and learn, for once!"
I let out a heavy sigh, my attention shifting back to Anne and Ominis, settled behind us. Anne's soft laughter floats in the air as she observes our two bickering brothers, while Ominis, wearing a disapproving expression, shakes his head.
This marks our first return to Feldcroft since Al and I first visited in September. The game plan was for the guys to help me tune my spellcasting skills on the mannequins scattered around the village, gearing up for my upcoming test with Hecat right after the break. With less than a week to go, I'm pushing hard to elevate my casting game. Despite making some progress, I'm still not hitting the mark Hecat expects.
However, instead of lending a hand, these two are knee-deep in a heated debate. Every time they attempt to demonstrate a spell, it's a constant clash of interruptions. We're approaching the two-hour mark, their patience is wearing thin, and the tension is hitting the roof. At this rate, it seems like I won't be getting any practice today. Talk about a magical fiasco.
Alphonse confidently casts the Incendio spell, setting the mannequin ablaze. Anne claps eagerly, her eyes sparkling with admiration. Al turns his blue eyes toward her, and in that moment, I swear there's a hint of pride in his gaze. He smiles back at Anne, raising his eyebrows in a silent challenge aimed at Sebastian, who stands beside him.
