Chapter Text
Alfred was super excited to be starting his second year at the Magus University in Massachusetts – they got to fight duels! How awesome was that?! He wasn’t the only one who was restless, nor the only one who arrived early to settle in. Most of the Ignis House had turned up, including Alfred’s room-mate, Jake. The guy came from Australia and had already managed to burn down their curtains. Alfred had only laughed and they both went shopping for new ones.
For the other Houses, the students dribbled in over the next week or so. Those in the Aerius House breezed by them on their way in, some using their powers to float along the ground. Alfred had to get out of the way of some burly Terra House residents who muscled their way by – at the back of the procession were a couple of smug girls who didn’t seem like people who should be messed with. He had wondered who was actually doing the protecting in that group. The fountains started up again the day the first of the Aqua House arrived and the times of the days were messed with when both the Lux and the Tenebris House residents popped up. Both he and Jake were frustrated when the final House, Navitas, acquired its residents and they shorted out the power during a welcome party.
Eventually, the day came when their classes started and Alfred was up unusually early, waiting by the door and bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Come on, Jake! What’s taking ya so long?!” he called into the bathroom.
“I need to look good for the ladies!” he replied, emerging from the bathroom looking much the same as ever. Alfred gave him an incredulous look before shaking his head and opening their dorm door.
“Whatever! Hurry up!”
They ran out of the Ignis building and rushed across the campus. Other students were making their way to lecture halls and conference rooms, most using their magic to do so. It was a pity that, if either Alfred or Jake wanted to use their powers to travel, they’d have a hell of a repair bill. So all they – and anyone else from the Ignis House – could do was run. That’s why the Ignis students were easily the fastest on the track field.
Arriving at the lecture hall just in time, they rushed up the stairs towards their friends from the Aerius House, Matthew and Charlie. “You were almost late,” said Matthew, pulling his bag from the seat he’d saved for Alfred. “As usual.”
Laughing, Alfred waved his comment off. “So? How was your summer?”
“Good, thank you,” Matthew told him. “I’ve been practising. I managed to knock several cans off a fence without destroying it, too.”
“How many fences did you destroy before that happened?” Alfred asked with another laugh.
Matthew pouted. “A few…” he grudgingly admitted.
“What about you, Char?” Jake asked. “Did you practise, too?”
“Well, I practised forming clouds from water droplets,” the Kiwi explained. “I’m much better at defensive magic, you know.”
Grinning, Alfred watched Jake become exasperated with Charlie, gesturing and trying to explain why offensive magic was needed. His gaze then drifted over all the familiar faces; he felt so happy to be back with them all, every one of them eager to learn. As his eyes passed over a group of Europeans, though, he spotted a new face – blond hair, grumpy expression, trying to tell Francis to bug off by the looks of things. Blinking, Alfred frowned. Was it a first year in the wrong class?
“Who’s that?” he asked Matthew.
“Huh? Oh. That’s Arthur Kirkland. He’s an exchange student from the Ariolatus Et Magia University in Britain.”
“Hm,” said Alfred, wondering if he should go introduce himself before the professor arrived.
Unfortunately, he was too late. Julius Vargas strode into the lecture hall and gave them all a cheerful grin. “I know you’re all wondering where Professor Beilschmidt is but he couldn’t make it to give your theory class today. So I’ll be taking it. Well, in theory.” He chuckled to himself as the students all frowned at him, wondering what the infamous wizard was up to today. When he received no reaction, he pouted for a second before shrugging. “Follow me. We’ll skip over the theory and see what you second years are capable of. To the gym hall!” Pointing into the air, Julius took off, the bemused students gathering their things and giving chase.
Jake caught Alfred’s eye and they grinned with barely concealed excitement.
Personally, Alfred loved the gym. It was a large, empty space with lines marked out for various sports’ courts. In the corners stood fountains, continuously pumping water into the hall. Massive vents provided good air conditioning and one wall was made entirely out of dried earth. The lighting was good but could be switched off when needed with a simple click of the fingers when standing in the right spot. All in all, the gym was the perfect place for each and every student to practise their powers.
Grinning, Alfred tried to squeeze through the crowd to all the other Ignis students. Before he could get very far, Julius turned to them all from the centre of the hall. “All right. Let’s see what you can do! I’ll pick names out of a hat to go one-on-one in a duel.” With that, he pulled a top hat from thin air using his Lux magic: he was famed for his illusions and for his sort-of rivalry with the Tenebris wizard, Beilschmidt. He paused just as he was about to reach in the hat. “Actually… I believe we have a new student with us today. Mister Kirkland? Would you like to go first?”
Further along the edge, Arthur stepped out of the crowd, confidently striding into the middle of the room. When he turned to survey the rest of them, Alfred could see him a little more clearly. He had piercing green eyes accentuated by large eyebrows. With how bushy they were, Alfred thought he probably looked irritated all the time – or maybe that was just his natural state. His eyes, though… Those eyes looked ethereal and it was obvious he had magic in his blood. He was wearing a t-shirt with an Aqua design on it and dark jeans with a pair of Doc Martens. It made him look more earthy than Alfred would expect, considering his casual declaration of using water magic. Or maybe that was just to confuse people.
“All right, then!” Julius cried and, without further ado, pulled a name from the hat. “Aha! This will be interesting! An Aqua House student against an Ignis House student.” Arthur tensed as did several of the other Ignis students. Alfred, however, tried to keep from bouncing in excitement: that would truly be a duel to watch. “Your opponent, Mister Kirkland, is Alfred Jones!”
Alfred’s eyes widened. Beside him, Jake gave Alfred a sympathetic look. When he glanced around and found everyone staring at him, Alfred hurriedly moved forward, standing a few feet from Arthur. He clenched his fists, feeling tense, and he took a deep breath. Arthur stared at him, just as tense as Alfred was. Julius moved out of the way, making the hat vanish as he did so.
“Er, hi,” said Alfred, giving Arthur a tentative grin. Arthur’s eyebrow raised but, otherwise, he didn’t react.
“Well, boys!” said Julius. “Begin whenever you want! Navitas students, please raise some shields for the other students, if you please.”
Alfred glanced over his shoulder and waited until all the shields had been raised, the blues and greens and pinks merging to form a sort of see-through, rainbow-tinged layer of energy between the duellers and the audience. Then he turned back to Arthur and took a deep breath. “Well, uh, should we-?”
“Don’t forget to introduce yourselves!” Julius called from the side.
“Oh. Right. Uh, I’m Alfred F. Jones from the Ignis House.”
“I am Arthur Kirkland,” the student replied, his English accent crisp and clear and carrying. “I am from the Aqua House.”
They stood there for a few moments, awkwardly watching each other, wary of attacking. Then Alfred decided to just do it and, with a quickly muttered spell, sent a fireball straight at Arthur’s chest. Just before it hit, Arthur took a deep breath, waved his hand in a big loop and a wave of water appeared, dousing the flame. Alfred hummed in approval: it seemed as though Arthur had gotten the defensive magic down pat.
Before Alfred could open his mouth to use his next spell, Arthur spoke, his spell ringing though the air and, suddenly, there were several whooshing noises. From each of the fountains in the corner, spirals of water were twisting through the air towards Alfred. Surprised and alarmed, Alfred threw up his own defensive wall of fire, watching as the water evaporated. Once it had, he lowered his shield and stared at Arthur, wondering what their next moves would be.
“Hm,” Arthur said, smirking. “You’re better than I’d thought you’d be.”
What was with that arrogant attitude? Alfred frowned at him. “Well, you’re just as bad at this as I’d thought you’d be.”
Arthur’s eyes flashed; he raised a hand pointing towards Alfred and said a word. A large ball of water came flying through the air, straight at Alfred and, before he had time to react, the water hit him with its full force. Alfred went flying through the air, landing hard on his back. Gasping for breath, he staggered to his feet and attempted his own fireball again, shooting several in quick succession. Arthur dodged two of them, blocked three but the last hit his shoulder and he stumbled back, his t-shirt singed. Growling, Arthur sent a wave of water back at Alfred who panicked and sent a wall of fire towards it. The two forces clashed and burst apart in an explosion which forced Alfred back a few steps. When the steam and soot cleared, Alfred found Arthur was still upright as well.
“Come on, boys!” shouted Julius. “This is hardly a duel! Enough of the testing – use your powers to fight.”
The two of them stared at each other. Then, almost without warning, they launched their attacks, water flying everywhere, the room heating deliciously. When they realised that they could defend against the other’s attacks, they put more force into it, more energy and elemental force. Alfred tried to think of how to get past water attacks when the water could put out his fire.
Before Alfred could figure it out, Arthur spoke a spell which was far longer than the spells he had used before. Water came from the fountains again and, once more, Alfred put up a shield. However, instead of flying towards him, the water came between them, each spout twisting around each other. Slowly but surely, a whirlpool formed in the middle of the hall. Alfred could only stare through his fire, jaw dropped. He had never seen anyone make one in the hall before, let alone one so large.
He realised he was in danger when the water put out the fire directly in front of him. Desperately, he tried to raise his shield again but the air was too wet. Stepping backwards, he summoned his remaining fire into his hand, where he quickly said a spell, making it burn hotter and hotter. If he could get it hot enough, he reasoned, he would be able to evaporate the water – but only if it was hot enough.
His hair was getting wet and it was beginning to get difficult to see through his glasses. Droplets ran down the side of his face and he began to falter. His fire nearly went out but he persevered and, eventually, he released the heat, directing it towards the water, letting it envelope it. Fire burst forth from his hand, blue in colour now as it twisted around the dangerous waterspout. Water still passed through the barrier but, as time moved on and the fire grew hotter still, Alfred could feel that the water was hot when it hit his skin.
It was beginning to boil.
As soon as he realised that, the water faltered, shifting to the side as if it was about to fall over. Alfred celebrated for half a second before the water suddenly became upright again, the spirals tighter now. He gaped at it, realising that Arthur had gotten control of the boiling water, something hardly any Aqua wizards could do. Usually, when water boiled and the water molecules moved apart from each other, it became harder to control. Each molecule had to be coaxed into staying as a liquid. It took someone skilled and focussed to keep the water as water.
Almost losing control of his fire, he instead tried making it hotter, the flames turning white. He began to pant, the intensity of his flames beginning to drain his energy. If they didn’t stop soon, he’d likely drop. Then something happened to the water inside the fire; it moved erratically, searching out a gap in the fire. Alfred tried tightening the grip his flames had on the water just as the water expanded.
There was a loud bang, a force which took Alfred clean off his feet and hot water and flames went everywhere. Alfred banged into the shields and dropped to the floor, gulping huge breaths of the now humid air. He lifted his head and looked across the hall, squinting through the steam to see that Arthur was in much the same position. They stared at each other, both waiting to see who would move first.
“All right, you two!” called Julius. “I think that’s enough. Have a rest. Now, let’s find out who’s duelling next.”
Alfred struggled to his feet and hovered, waiting for Arthur to get close as they returned to the crowd of awed students. “That was amazing!” he told his opponent, still slightly out of breath. “Just… amazing!”
“Yes…” Arthur said, looking at Alfred thoughtfully. “I think you may be more powerful than you realise…”
“Huh?” said Alfred but Arthur was already walking away. Alfred watched him, equal parts intrigued and confused. He had the feeling that his second year was going to be very interesting.