The weekend couldn't have come fast enough.
Harry, Jean, and Susan led the rest of the group through Hogwarts' winding hallways, heading for the Room of Requirement. The mood? Somewhere between "excited to prove ourselves" and "one wrong move and we die horribly."
Well, simulated dying. No one was dumb enough to bring actual Death Eaters into Hogwarts. Not even Fred and George. (…probably.)
"Alright, everyone ready?" Harry asked as they reached the familiar stretch of blank wall.
"Born ready," Fred said, cracking his knuckles.
"Ready to dominate," George added with a grin.
"Ready to learn," Hermione corrected, giving the twins her signature I swear if you mess this up, I will personally end you glare.
Ron muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Ready to not die."
Jean rolled her eyes, hands on her hips, looking like a warrior goddess in casual Hogwarts robes. "Oh, come on, Ron. Where's your sense of adventure?"
"Buried six feet under with my dignity," Ron muttered.
Susan smirked. "So, same place as your homework?"
Neville snorted, and Ginny full-on cackled. Percy, standing stiffly with his arms crossed, muttered something about "undignified behavior in a training exercise."
Harry, ignoring all of them, focused on the wall. The stone shimmered, then transformed into an enormous pair of iron doors, complete with ominous chains and the faint sound of distant screams. Because clearly, the Room of Requirement was feeling theatrical today.
He pushed them open.
The inside looked way too real—crumbling alleyways, flickering torches, and broken cobblestones beneath their feet. The whole vibe screamed post-apocalyptic wizard duel, which was great for training. Less great for morale.
"Blimey," Neville murmured. "This is... a lot."
"Damn," Cedric said, running a hand through his already perfect hair. "This is next level."
"It should be," Jean said, crossing her arms, eyes glowing faintly. "The Room read our thoughts and built an accurate battlefield."
"A bit dramatic, don't you think?" Ginny asked, eyeing a crumbling bell tower.
"Nothing like a little life-or-death pressure to make things interesting," Harry said, grinning.
Tracey scoffed. "Yeah, sure. Love that for us."
"Speaking of," Susan cut in, turning to the magical mutants—the group of students whose abilities went beyond standard wizardry. "Remember the rule: We only use our mutant powers. No wands. No spells. Just pure, unfiltered chaos."
Daphne—Ice Queen—cracked her knuckles, a cold mist curling from her fingertips. "Fine by me."
Neville, still without a codename, clenched his fists, and immediately, the ground responded. Roots and vines coiled up from the stone, twisting and flexing like they had a mind of their own. "Let's see how this goes."
Luna—who refused a codename because, in her words, "labels limit the imagination"—tilted her head, staring off into space as though listening to an invisible choir of ghosts. Knowing her, she probably was.
Cedric, still codename-less but rocking the cool guy with claws aesthetic, flexed his fingers. Snikt. Razor-sharp claws extended from his hands. His enhanced reflexes made his movements quick and sharp, like a coiled predator.
And then there were the heavy hitters.
Jean—Phoenix—stood tall, a fiery aura flickering around her like she had her own personal heatwave. The air crackled with raw telekinetic power.
Harry—Marauder—rolled his shoulders, a faint shimmer of golden energy outlining his form. For a moment, wings of light flickered behind him before vanishing. He had a lot of powers, and he intended to use them.
Susan—Veritas—was the last to speak. "Stay sharp. This isn't just about fighting—it's about coordination. Teamwork. Knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses."
"Ugh, you sound like Percy," Ron groaned.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Susan said, smirking. Percy, for his part, looked both pleased and slightly offended.
"Alright, everyone!" Harry clapped his hands. "The simulation begins in sixty seconds. Team Mutant, on me. Everyone else, you have free rein to use your wands, but remember—our enemies won't hold back. So neither should you."
The group split up. The battlefield flickered. Shadows moved.
Then the first Death Eater stepped into view—dark robes, silver mask, wand raised.
Then another.
And another.
And then twenty.
Cedric sighed. "Well. That escalated quickly."
"Right?!" Tracey said.
"Okay, guys," Harry called out. "No pressure, but if we lose, I'm pretty sure the Room of Requirement will trap us here forever."
"Wait, what?!" Ron yelped.
"Just kidding," Harry said cheerfully. "Probably."
And with that, the fight began.
—
The battle started about as well as expected.
Which meant it was an absolute catastrophe.
The moment the first wave of Death Eater illusions attacked, everything went straight to chaos.
Fred and George, naturally, responded to the situation the only way they knew how—by launching a barrage of Exploding Snap bombs.
"FOR THE GLORY OF PRANKDOM!" Fred yelled.
"AND FOR THE LOVE OF MAYHEM!" George added.
They cackled as explosions lit up the battlefield, completely ignoring the fact that they were supposed to be practicing teamwork, not demolishing their own allies.
Ginny, in a valiant attempt to impose some kind of strategy, cast a series of Bat-Bogey Hexes—only for Ron to stumble over a loose cobblestone and nearly get hexed himself.
"RON!" Ginny snapped.
"MY BAD!" Ron yelped, scrambling behind a toppled bookshelf as a simulated Death Eater fired a hex that barely missed his head.
Meanwhile, Percy had taken it upon himself to yell orders like a Ministry official on a power trip.
"Formation, people! FORMATION! This is NOT how a well-organized battle should go!"
He then promptly got hit with a Stinging Hex and shrieked like a dying banshee.
Across the battlefield, Neville was having his own personal horror movie moment.
He had attempted to summon a few vines for cover—except they had other plans. Instead of behaving like loyal plant minions, they turned against him immediately, wrapping around his legs like overenthusiastic toddlers.
"I THOUGHT I CONTROLLED PLANTS!" he shouted as a particularly aggressive vine coiled around his arm.
"You do!" Harry called, punching an illusionary Death Eater with a perfectly executed right hook. "Mostly!"
"WHAT DOES 'MOSTLY' EVEN MEAN?!" Neville hollered as the vines flipped him upside down.
Over on the magical mutant side of the battle, things were somehow even worse.
Daphne raised a hand, intending to summon a sleek ice barrier for cover—except instead of an elegant, defensive wall, she got… an unholy mess of jagged icicles that collapsed instantly.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" she screeched, diving behind a broken cart.
"Maybe try channeling your emotions?" Hermione suggested in a too-reasonable voice.
Daphne, now dusted with ice shards, shot her a look that could have frozen the sun. "Oh, trust me, Granger, my emotions are VERY channeled right now."
Cedric—who, let's be honest, was still figuring out how to Wolverine his way through combat—charged at an enemy with his newly developed claws… and missed completely.
His wild swipe caught nothing but air, sending him into an uncontrolled spin that almost landed him face-first into the floor.
"Oh, COME ON!" he groaned, catching himself just in time. "Why does this look so much cooler in my head?!"
"Welcome to my life," Ron muttered, dodging yet another spell that was probably meant for someone else.
Tracey, having taken one look at the chaos, had immediately decided she was Not About This Life.
"Yeah, I don't think I'm cut out for this," she admitted, ducking behind a pillar.
Fred, cheerfully tossing another firework into the melee, called back, "Says the girl who hexed Pucey so hard last week he forgot his own name!"
"That was DIFFERENT!" Tracey protested.
Susan—ever the responsible one—blocked a hex with a well-timed dodge and promptly turned on the group like an exasperated older sister.
"Focus!" she barked. "This isn't a duel—it's a BATTLE! Watch each other's backs!"
"Yeah, we would, except WE DON'T HAVE BACKS WHEN WE'RE FLAT ON THE GROUND!" Neville howled from his vine-prison.
Luna, meanwhile, was standing off to the side, completely untouched by the chaos, observing everything with the calm curiosity of someone watching clouds.
She sidestepped a curse without looking, as though she just knew it was coming.
"Well, this is interesting," she mused.
"GLAD YOU THINK SO!" Cedric shouted as he barely dodged another attack.
Jean, standing next to Harry with an expression of barely contained judgment, lazily flicked her hand. A simulated Death Eater immediately went flying into a pile of rubble.
She could have just wiped out the entire battlefield in seconds—but no. She wanted to see if the others could actually handle this first.
So far? Yeah, not promising.
Harry landed beside her, watching Daphne nearly ice herself and Neville successfully punch himself in the face with an overgrown vine.
"Wow," he said, impressed despite himself. "This is… impressively bad."
"You did better than this when you started over the summer," Jean reminded him, arching a fiery eyebrow.
"No, I trained with you and Susan over the summer," Harry corrected. "These guys? They're winging it."
Susan, dodging another spell, grumbled, "I told you we should've started smaller. Maybe a few simulated pixies before jumping straight to Death Eaters."
"Hey, go big or go home," Harry said with a grin.
"WE MIGHT ACTUALLY DIE, HARRY!" Ron bellowed, using a broken statue as a shield.
"Details," Harry called back.
Jean finally decided she'd had enough of this circus. With a wave of her hand, the ground ripped apart, sending half a dozen Death Eaters flying in all directions. The sheer force of her telekinesis flattened the battlefield, leaving behind a stunned silence.
Everyone turned to her.
Jean crossed her arms. "That is what happens when you actually train your powers," she said.
Cedric groaned. "Yeah, yeah, rub it in."
Daphne muttered, "Show-off."
Susan pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alright. Regroup. Everyone take a breath. Try not to panic."
Harry clapped his hands together. "Okay! Learning moment! What did we do right?"
Silence.
"Okay, what did we do wrong?"
Everyone immediately started talking at once.
"RON ALMOST SET HIMSELF ON FIRE!"
"NEVILLE ATTACKED HIMSELF!"
"DAPHNE NEARLY FROZE HER OWN TEAM!"
"CEDRIC FLAILS LIKE A BABY DEER!"
"I DO NOT FLAIL LIKE A BABY DEER!" Cedric snapped.
"Oh, you absolutely do," Tracey confirmed.
Harry raised his hands. "Alright, alright! So maybe this wasn't our best first attempt at teamwork—"
Jean cut in. "Understatement of the year."
"—but," Harry continued undeterred, "we learned things! Right? Like, uh… don't panic?"
Ron groaned. "That's your takeaway?"
Luna, still completely unharmed and oddly cheerful, chimed in, "I think it's going well."
Everyone turned to look at her.
"Luna," Hermione said slowly, "what part of this looks like it's going well?"
Luna blinked. "Oh, none of it. But it's quite fun to watch."
Neville, finally freed from his vines, flopped onto the ground. "I officially hate this."
"Come on, Nev," Harry said, nudging him with his foot. "You've survived worse."
"Yeah. Barely."
Susan crossed her arms. "Alright. We take five, then we try again."
Ron groaned. "Can't we just skip to the part where we're good at this?"
"That's not how training works, Ron," Hermione scolded.
Jean cracked her knuckles, eyes glowing faintly. "I can dial back the simulation… but where's the fun in that?"
"JEAN," Hermione warned.
Jean sighed. "Fine. Smaller Death Eaters. Happy?"
Harry grinned. "Alright, everyone. Round two. Let's try to suck less this time."
The battlefield reset.
The Death Eaters returned.
And the team braced themselves for another disaster.
(Hopefully with less friendly fire this time.)
—
Okay, so technically this was an improvement over round one. Nobody set themselves on fire this time, which was a definite win. But that didn't mean things were going well.
Ron, for example, was still a disaster.
"WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?!" he howled as he tripped—again—and barely managed to avoid getting his face hexed off. He hit the ground hard, rolled, and smacked into a broken pillar.
"Get it together, Ronald!" Percy snapped, hands on his hips like he was about to deduct points from Gryffindor. "You can't just flail your way through battle!"
"I'm TRYING!" Ron shot back, rubbing the back of his head. "And I'll have you know, flailing is a valid strategy!"
"No. No, it's not," Hermione cut in, side-stepping past him and blasting a Death Eater straight into one of Neville's rapidly expanding vine traps. "Honestly, Ron, footwork!"
Meanwhile, Fred and George had turned this into their own personal fireworks festival of doom.
"You know," Fred mused as he lobbed a particularly colorful explosion at an incoming Death Eater, "we could totally market this."
"Oh, absolutely," George agreed, watching as one of their firework dragons headbutted a Death Eater off their feet. "'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes: Battle Edition.'"
"Guaranteed to confuse and disorient your enemies!" Fred added.
"And mildly irritate your allies!" Ginny snapped as she batted away sparks from her hair.
"Details, Gin," Fred said with a shrug.
Ginny groaned, rolling her eyes as she conjured a shield charm just in time to block an incoming hex. "You two are going to get us all killed."
"But what a way to go!" George called back cheerfully.
Daphne—who, after last time, had apparently decided she did care about not looking like a total fool—was playing it much safer. Instead of trying to ice storm everything into oblivion, she was actually focusing on practical defenses. Thick walls of ice sprang up in strategic places, shielding their team from incoming spells.
"Ice Queen's learning," Hermione observed, ducking behind one of Daphne's barriers before flinging a hex at the nearest enemy.
Daphne wiped some ice off her cheek, looking both pleased and irritated. "Don't call me that."
"Why? It suits you," Hermione said with a smirk.
"Whatever," Daphne muttered. "At least this isn't a total disaster."
"Don't jinx it," Tracey called from her perfectly safe spot behind a chunk of rubble. "I swear, the second someone says something is going well, everything immediately falls apart."
And, as if on cue—
"OH, COME ON!" Cedric groaned as he, once again, absolutely failed at using his new claw magic. He almost got the Death Eater this time. Instead, he overextended, lost his balance, and completely wiped out.
Flat on his back. Again.
Ron, who had just gotten back to his feet, reached down to help him up. "Mate, you've gotta stop doing that."
Cedric groaned. "Tell that to my stupid claws."
Tracey, watching all this, smirked. "It's kind of impressive, really. You fall with style."
Cedric glared at her like she'd personally insulted his entire family. "Don't encourage this."
On the other side of the battlefield, Neville was actually doing... surprisingly well?
His vines—which, in the first round, had spent more time attacking him than the enemy—were now forming a pretty solid perimeter. Thick, thorny brambles lashed out at any Death Eaters who got too close.
Neville grinned, looking vaguely like a mad scientist. "Okay, okay, this is... working!"
"Just don't let them get too out of control," Susan warned, her wand flicking up to send a perfectly aimed binding spell at an approaching Death Eater. "We don't want this turning into some magical horror jungle."
"I make zero promises," Neville replied, ducking behind his vine barrier as another spell whizzed past.
Susan sighed. "Of course you don't."
Jean—who had been watching all of this with an expression that screamed barely contained boredom—finally snapped.
With a flick of her fingers, she yeeted a Death Eater straight into the air.
"Jean!" Harry groaned, even as he effortlessly disarmed another opponent. "We talked about this. Let them practice."
Jean, arms crossed, golden eyes flashing, huffed. "They need practice. I don't."
"Not the point," Harry said, exasperated.
"Fine, fine," Jean muttered. But she definitely flung another Death Eater aside with a suspiciously forceful spell.
Susan, watching this, gave her a look. "That was totally unnecessary."
Jean just smirked. "I call it... quality control."
Luna, meanwhile, had been completely unfazed by the chaos.
"Well, this is going swimmingly," she said, dodging a spell without even looking.
Ron, face scrunched up in disbelief, stared at her. "Luna. We are barely holding it together."
"Exactly," Luna said cheerfully. "We're making progress."
Susan sighed. "You are enjoying this."
"Oh, yes," Luna replied dreamily, tilting her head as another spell just missed her. "It's very... unpredictable."
Harry sighed, rubbing his temple. "Alright, team. We're doing better, but we still have a long way to go."
"That's an understatement," Daphne muttered.
"Does this mean we're doing a third round?" Ron groaned.
"Yes, Ron," Hermione said, exasperated. "Because that's how training works."
Jean raised an eyebrow. "Maybe next time, don't throw everyone into a full-blown battle scenario immediately?"
Harry held up his hands. "Okay, okay. Noted."
Ginny tossed her hair back, smirking. "Good. Now let's go actually save the world."
And, just like that, slightly more prepared and slightly less likely to trip over themselves, they got ready for round three.
—
The second Jean Grey clapped her hands, a telekinetic ripple crackled through the air like a thunderclap, nearly knocking Ron off his feet. Which, honestly, was impressive. He wasn't even moving.
"Alright, listen up, losers," Jean announced, golden eyes glowing just enough to make it clear she was having way too much fun with this. "We're on hard mode now."
A collective groan rippled through the group.
"Hard mode?" Ron demanded, already looking personally victimized. "We weren't already on hard mode?!"
"You were on fall-flat-on-your-face mode before," Jean corrected. "This? This is when it actually gets difficult. The simulation only ends when someone captures the flag in the Death Eater stronghold. No respawns. No mercy. No cheat codes. Survival of the fittest."
Fred raised a hand. "Hypothetically speaking, what if we bribe you?"
George nodded. "You know, in the spirit of capitalism."
Jean smirked. "You two do not have enough money to bribe me."
Fred sighed. "Well, we tried."
George nodded solemnly. "A noble effort."
Hermione, ever the responsible one, ignored them and crossed her arms. "So, let me get this straight. We have to push through the enemy, get to the flag, and escape without getting wiped out?"
"More or less," Jean said, stretching her arms like she was settling in for a good show. "Oh, and the Death Eaters are now smarter, faster, and meaner. So... have fun!"
"You're a sadist," Daphne muttered, eyeing Jean like one might a particularly smug cat.
"Thank you," Jean said, not at all insulted.
Susan Bones, who had mastered the art of looking like she wasn't impressed by anything, adjusted her grip on her wand. "She's a pretty sadist," she amended.
Jean beamed. "Flattery will get you nowhere, but keep it coming."
And then—without further warning—the simulation began.
Unlike last time, nobody immediately set themselves on fire or tripped over their own feet. Progress.
Ron, in a rare moment of competence, actually dodged a curse instead of just letting it hit him like a human target dummy.
"Did you see that?!" he yelped, diving behind a fallen column. "I dodged!"
"Congratulations," Ginny deadpanned, knocking out a Death Eater with a Stunner. "Try not to die of shock."
Meanwhile, Fred and George had gone full war criminals.
"Introducing—" Fred announced, whipping out a fistful of glowing spheres.
"—Boomslang Bangs!" George finished, tossing them into the battlefield.
A split second later, the area erupted into blinding flashes, multicolored smoke, and—most importantly—an absolutely disgusting stench that had Death Eaters dropping their wands to gag.
"Merlin's beard!" Cedric choked, stumbling back. "What is that smell?!"
"A trade secret," Fred called over.
"But feel free to suffer," George added cheerfully.
Susan, moving with terrifying precision, took the opportunity to weave through the chaos like she was born for battle. Every spell she cast hit its mark. Every movement was calculated. If she was in a video game, she'd be the one player with a perfect K/D ratio.
"You're making the rest of us look bad," Tracey muttered from behind cover.
Susan smirked. "I do my best."
Neville, meanwhile, had leveled up.
His vines were no longer random. They were controlled. Death Eaters were getting yanked into the air, tripped, or bodily dragged across the battlefield by sentient greenery.
Hannah, dodging a rogue vine, called out, "Nev, your plants are everywhere."
"Yeah," Ginny huffed, nearly getting yoinked by a stray tendril. "Friendly fire is a thing!"
"I'm working on it!" Neville shouted, even as another Death Eater got yeeted into a wall.
Cedric, desperate to prove that he wasn't the human equivalent of a banana peel, narrowed his eyes and focused.
His claws extended—sharp, deadly, and actually impressive.
This time, he landed a hit.
"YES!" he whooped—right before getting absolutely bulldozed by a Death Eater.
Ron sighed and helped him up. "Mate, I'm starting to think you're cursed."
Cedric groaned. "Shut up, Weasley."
Jean, watching the chaos unfold, let out a very put-upon sigh.
"Alright, I've been good. I've been patient."
"You've been smug," Susan corrected.
"Semantics," Jean waved her off. "Point is, I think it's time I—"
"NO."
Jean blinked.
Harry—sweat-drenched, panting, but still very much in charge—glared at her.
"You're not interfering," he ordered. "We need the practice."
"But I want to," Jean pouted.
"And I want an easy life," Harry shot back. "But we don't always get what we want."
Jean huffed. "Fine. I'll let you all struggle for a bit longer."
Harry, satisfied, turned back—
—only to realize Luna was gone.
While everyone else was fighting for their lives, Luna had simply... wandered off.
Now, inside the Death Eater stronghold, she tilted her head at the flag sitting unguarded in the middle of the room.
"That was surprisingly easy," she mused, poking it.
She could have ended the game right there.
Instead?
She smiled.
Watching everyone struggle, watching them actually get better, was much more fun.
So, with the smug serenity of a cat that knew it was better than you, she simply sat down beside the flag.
And waited.
Harry, breathless, scanned the battlefield. "Wait. Where's Luna?"
Everyone froze.
Daphne narrowed her eyes. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."
Jean blinked. "Wait, wait, wait—don't tell me she—"
At that moment, Luna's too-cheerful voice crackled through their earpieces.
"Oh, don't worry about me," she said pleasantly. "I'm just at the finish line, watching you all work so hard."
Silence.
Then—
"LUNA."
Luna giggled. "I haven't touched the flag yet. This is much more entertaining."
Harry groaned. "You're evil."
"I prefer the term whimsically unpredictable," Luna corrected.
Jean, delighted, clapped her hands. "Oh, I like her."
Ginny took a deep breath. "New plan. We get to Luna before the Death Eaters do."
Ron sighed. "Great. Now we have to race against the girl who doesn't believe in the laws of physics."
Jean smirked. "Now this just got interesting."
And just like that, round three got even more chaotic.
—
"Alright, team," Harry gasped, dragging a hand through his perpetually untamed hair as he surveyed the absolute mess around them. Smoke from Weasley-brand explosives still hung in the air, and at least three Death Eaters were rolling on the ground, gagging. "New objective: Get to Luna before the Death Eaters do."
"Fantastic," Ron wheezed, bent over with his hands on his knees like he had just run a marathon. "That's definitely something we can do. It's not like she defies the laws of physics on a daily basis or anything."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Luna's voice chimed through their earpieces, light and airy, as if she weren't currently sitting in enemy territory. "I think reality is far too rigid, personally."
Daphne, dusting off her frost-covered gloves, scowled. "You do realize we're all going to hex you when we get there, right?"
"That's assuming you get here," Luna countered cheerfully.
"Why are you like this?" Ginny demanded, half-shouting into her earpiece.
"Whimsically unpredictable," Luna corrected.
Jean, watching her so-called 'team' stand around not running, clapped her hands sharply. "Alright, children, less whining, more moving. You do realize Luna is literally sitting in the middle of enemy territory, right? Maybe hurry it up before the Death Eaters remember they have legs?"
"Oh, yeah," George muttered, rubbing his temples. "Because clearly we weren't already feeling the pressure."
"Some people need motivation," Jean replied sweetly. "Now, MOVE!"
With renewed—if slightly resentful—determination, the team sprang into action.
Fred and George, deciding that subtlety was for boring people, immediately launched another batch of Boomslang Bangs into the fray. The resulting KA-BOOM blinded their enemies, filled the air with thick, acrid smoke, and released a stench so utterly revolting it could probably be classified as a war crime.
"Oh, come ON!" one Death Eater gagged, waving his arms.
"That's just rude," another wheezed, doubling over.
"Yeah, well," Fred called back, grinning, "we're in a hurry!"
"Apologies for the inconvenience," George added, not sounding apologetic in the slightest.
Meanwhile, Neville—who had fully embraced his role as 'guy who makes nature terrifying'—sent a swarm of thorny vines lashing out across the battlefield. Death Eaters were snatched off their feet, flung into walls, or just aggressively tripped.
"Better?" he called out.
"Functional," Hermione acknowledged, smoothly Levicorpus-ing an unfortunate enemy into the air. "Though we really need to talk about your concept of friendly fire."
"I swear I'm working on it!"
Susan, however, had reached an entirely different plane of existence—one that involved terrifying precision and absolutely zero wasted movement. Her wand sliced through the air as she stunned, disarmed, and shield-broke with almost mechanical efficiency.
Tracey, watching Susan flip over an incoming curse, counter it midair, and still manage to land gracefully, whistled. "You do realize this is just a simulation, right?"
Susan, casually blasting a Death Eater unconscious, arched a brow. "And?"
Tracey sighed. "Just checking."
Daphne, standing atop an ice-formed ledge, shook her head. "I'd say she was showing off, but I think that's just how she is now."
"At least she's on our side," Percy muttered, efficiently dispatching an opponent with a quick Incarcerous.
Jean, never one to let a perfectly good moment not be ominous, stage-whispered, "That's what you think."
Susan, who absolutely heard that, slowly turned her head to stare at her.
Jean grinned.
Cedric, determined to prove that he was not cursed with bad luck, locked onto a group of incoming Death Eaters. He took a deep breath, extended his claws with a sharp snikt, and muttered, "Okay, no messing this up."
Then he moved.
One Death Eater barely had time to react before Cedric was on them—ducking low, slashing their wand arm, and twisting away before another spell could hit him. His movements were fast, fluid, and—dare he say it—actually badass.
"Would you look at that," Ron muttered, watching Cedric weave through the chaos. "He finally figured out which way is up."
"Shut up, Weasley," Cedric grumbled, but there was a very smug smile on his face.
"Don't worry, mate," Harry added, slapping Cedric's shoulder as he passed. "We'll still remember you for your greatest achievement—tripping over absolutely nothing in the last round."
Cedric groaned. "You're never letting that go, are you?"
"Not a chance."
While her team fought for their lives, Luna sat cross-legged on the floor of the Death Eater stronghold, humming to herself.
"Do you know," she mused aloud, mostly to the empty room, "I always imagined Death Eaters would have much better interior design sense."
The flag beside her, still untouched, fluttered slightly as if agreeing.
Luna smiled. "At least you have good taste."
Back on the battlefield, things had reached a breaking point. The team had cleared the field, leaving only a few scattered Death Eaters scrambling to retreat.
Harry wiped his brow. "Alright, now we just have to—"
"Already here!" Luna's voice chimed through their earpieces.
Everyone froze.
"Luna," Ginny began, slow and dangerous, "please tell me you did not just—"
"Oh, don't worry," Luna assured them. "I haven't touched the flag yet. But you are taking an awfully long time to get here. I was beginning to worry."
There was a long, painful silence.
Then—
"GET HER!"
With a collective roar, the team sprinted for the stronghold like a pack of wild animals.
Luna, still as unbothered as ever, simply smiled.
When they finally burst into the room, wands at the ready, Luna merely tilted her head and gestured toward the flag.
"You should probably grab that," she said mildly. "Before the Death Eaters realize I'm not actually guarding it."
There was another silence.
Then, without a word, Harry stomped forward, snatched the flag, and held it up.
"Simulation complete," a mechanical voice announced.
And just like that, the battlefield dissolved into nothingness, leaving them standing in the empty training room.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then—
"We did it!" Ron cheered, throwing his arms up. "We finally—"
"Oh, by the way," Jean cut in, smirking. "We're doing this again tomorrow."
A chorus of groans.
"You're a monster," Fred muttered.
"A cruel, inhumane monster," George agreed.
Harry grinned. "Yep. And you're gonna thank us when you actually survive a real battle."
"Assuming we survive the training first," Neville muttered.
Jean clapped her hands. "Alright, hydrate, rest up, and prepare your best complaints for tomorrow."
As the team trudged out, grumbling, Luna fell into step beside them, looking immensely pleased.
"So, what's for dinner?" she asked cheerfully.
"YOU DON'T GET TO ASK THAT, LUNA!"
Luna just smiled.
—
Jean and Harry were making their way to Gryffindor Tower, and let me tell you, they were not okay. Sure, they might've won the training session—technically—but there was no denying that the rest of the team was lying around in a pile of sweat, confusion, and bruises like a bunch of ragdolls that had been through a blender.
Harry, still damp and, honestly, looking like someone had used him as a mop, ran a hand through his wild, messy hair—like that was going to help. It didn't. It never did. "Well, that was a disaster," he muttered, sounding less like someone who'd almost won and more like someone who was reassessing their life choices in the middle of a wrecked training room.
Jean, who was way too chipper for someone who'd just been part of a near-death experience (yes, it had gotten that intense), tossed her braid over her shoulder and gave him a sly smile. "Oh, come on, it wasn't that bad. We technically won."
Harry shot her a look that could've melted steel. "You mean, Luna let us win."
Jean shrugged, the grin still plastered on her face. "Details, details. We did win. And let's not forget the morale boost factor."
Harry was about to retort, but honestly, he couldn't. The rest of the team looked like they'd been hit by a truck, so he figured it was best to save the sarcasm for later. "Fine, fine, but we need to talk about Cedric."
Jean's expression shifted, going from playful to thoughtful in the blink of an eye. "Yeah. That kid's got speed. He's got claws. But when it comes down to it, he's fighting like he's afraid to use them. It's like he's scared of his own power."
"Tell me about it," Harry said, rubbing his neck like that was going to ease the frustration. "He's constantly second-guessing himself. Which, you know, is great in a chess game but deadly in a fight. You hesitate for a second, and the enemy will make you regret it."
Jean nodded, her gaze distant. "It's the whole... 'feral instincts' thing. It's like his body's telling him one thing—fight like an animal—and his brain is still stuck in wizard mode. The result? Total confusion, and we saw how that turned out in the simulation."
"Exactly," Harry agreed. "He's got the raw talent, the reflexes, the instincts… but he doesn't trust them. And that's a huge problem."
Jean's eyes lit up like a lightbulb went off in her brain. "Well, there's only one person who can help with that."
Harry didn't even need to ask. He pulled out a small, sleek communication mirror from his pocket, flipping it open like it was just another Tuesday. "We both know who can get him out of his own head," he said, already tapping the mirror.
Jean raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "Oh, this is going to be good."
A few moments of static passed, then the mirror flickered to life, showing the grizzled face of Logan, aka Wolverine, who looked like he had better things to do than talk to anyone. His voice came through gruff and annoyed, like he'd just been woken up from a nap that involved too much booze and grumpy old man vibes.
"If this ain't a life-or-death emergency, you better have a damn good reason for botherin' me, bub," Logan grumbled.
Jean couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, trust me, Logan. You're going to love this one."
Harry leaned in, wearing that grin that said, "I've got the perfect plan," and looked directly at the mirror.
"We need you to teach Cedric Diggory how to be a proper animal."
If Logan had been drinking something (and he probably was), he would've spit it out. Instead, he just stared at the mirror, clearly trying to figure out if this was some kind of joke.
"What?" Logan growled, his brow furrowing like he'd just bitten into something way too spicy for his liking. "You're asking me to teach a kid who can barely control his claws how to, what, go full beast mode?"
Harry leaned back and crossed his arms, grinning like a mischievous kid who'd just pulled off the perfect prank. "You've been doing it for decades. Thought you might be the expert."
Jean chimed in with a wicked smile. "Plus, Cedric's got the instincts. He just needs a little help with the 'embrace the chaos' part."
Logan didn't answer immediately. For a second, it was just the sound of some grumbling in the background, probably Logan cursing about something in his extremely Logan-esque way. Then—
"Fine." Logan finally muttered, his face still scowling like he'd just been forced to eat something extra disgusting. "But I'm only doing this because you're both gonna owe me big time. And I mean big time. So get ready to make me a very fancy dinner next time I'm in town, or I'll make you regret it."
Jean couldn't hide the laugh that bubbled up. "I'm sure we can handle that. Thanks, Logan."
Harry smirked. "You're the best, as always."
Logan's voice was dry as ever. "Yeah, yeah. Now get that kid to stop acting like a scared kitten and start acting like something that could, I don't know, rip through a pack of wolves if he had to. And let him know that the next time he's in danger, he better not freeze up on me."
With that, the mirror flickered out, and Jean let out a victorious sigh.
"Well, that should do it."
Harry nodded, pocketing the mirror. "Yeah. Now, let's just hope Cedric doesn't accidentally claw someone's head off before Logan gets to him."
Jean snorted, shaking her head. "Ah, well. It'll make for an interesting story either way."
And with that, they continued their way to Gryffindor Tower, the only sound being the occasional distant laugh or groan coming from the training room behind them. Just another day in the life of Hogwarts, right?
---
Hey fellow fanfic enthusiasts!
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Whether you loved it, hated it, or have some constructive criticism, your feedback is super important to me. Feel free to drop a comment or send me a message with your thoughts. Can't wait to hear from you!
If you're passionate about fanfiction and love discussing stories, characters, and plot twists, then you're in the right place! I've created a Discord server dedicated to diving deep into the world of fanfiction, especially my own stories. Whether you're a reader, a writer, or just someone who enjoys a good tale, I welcome you to join us for lively discussions, feedback sessions, and maybe even some sneak peeks into upcoming chapters, along with artwork related to the stories. Let's nerd out together over our favorite fandoms and explore the endless possibilities of storytelling!
Click the link below to join the conversation:
https://discord.com/invite/HHHwRsB6wd
Can't wait to see you there!
If you appreciate my work and want to support me, consider buying me a cup of coffee. Your support helps me keep writing and bringing more stories to you. You can do so via PayPal here:
https://www.paypal.me/VikrantUtekar007
Or through my Buy Me a Coffee page:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/vikired001s
Thank you for your support!