Rematch [Max/Rowena]

[Max Kameren]

July 2039.

---

Max had finally found something akin to a rhythm at the Ministry. After a month of Junior Auror training on top of his intensive work with the seasoned Aurors Alex relented, freeing Max from his punishment and giving him a chance to breathe between dueling practices. His dueling sessions since the battle at Wollaton nearly killed him were designed to find his boundaries, the very limits of what his body could take. It soon became clear that being the Shield was punishment enough.

With healing kit in tow – often sorely needed after a session – Max took a handful of Floo from the mantel in the Kameren Estate Library and threw it on the fire. He had been living at the Estate for over two months, when the lifting of his suspension came with the requirement he submit to protective custody in order to return. The Shadowloved had taken so much: Bryn, Emory, his relationship with Rowena, his career, his health, and now even London.

But the only way out was through. All he could do about it now was keep his head down and prepare in the hopes that when they reached the end they’d done enough. At the moment quite literally; when Max exited the Floo into the Ministry’s Atrium he hunched his shoulders and ducked lower than his natural height at the cacophony of commuters’ auras bombarding his senses. The din only quieted when he was in the stairway (lifts were out of the question) and had a floor of separation.

“Kameren?” When Max entered the Department of Magical Law Enforcement he was immediately stopped. Auror Quincey’s desk was closest to the staircase entrance that was rarely used by anyone but Max. “What’re you doing here? You’re supposed to be at the Dragons for dueling.”

Max stopped in his tracks and turned to face Quincey in confusion. “What? Not until four. I’m assisting Cain in the morning.”

As he spoke Quincey shook her head. “No, no. Changed it, Christians said you needed to be at the Dragons first thing. Left you a memo.”

“Memos go to the office.” Quincey stared at him blankly and he threw up his hands. “Why send a memo to the office if that’s not where I’m supposed to be?”

Quincey didn’t blink. Max’s eye roll turned fluidly into a pivot, apparating for the Dueling Dragons.

.. .. ..

And now his rhythm was thrown. Max hadn’t prepared to duel first thing in the morning. There were warm-ups he’d been practicing with the Occlumency expert to better ward himself in battle that he needed time for. His healing potions were running low and he had been planning to brew more in the morning; if he overreached and didn’t have the right potions his recovery time could be longer. Why hadn’t Christians said anything? Or even Alex, who he was living with? Did Alex even know?

“Late, Kameren!” Christians leaned out of the doorway to the observation deck to bark at him as he pulled the door to the dueling pitch. “You show up late at the battle and we’re all dead.”

“Send an owl next time you twat!” The raspy chortle that the door muted only served to rile Max more. He dropped his healer’s pack at the side of the pitch and wandered to the center, pulling his wand from his pocket. If he didn’t have time to fully warm up, he could at least meditate to center himself while he waited for the session to begin; he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and opening his mind for the auras around him to wash over…

Wait.

An all-too-familiar aura suddenly blinked into existence and started in the direction of the aurors’ dueling pitch. His pitch. The one he was standing on. It appeared an entirely unwanted reunion was in order.

Max’s eyes opened with a flash of temper and he turned to the observation deck with a glare. “DAMNIT Christians! I told you no! I told you last week I didn’t want to do this when you floated it!” Despite the soundproof nature of the pitch Max knew very well Christians understood him by the wide grin on his face.

The door opened to reveal his dueling partner. The door locked behind her, and wouldn’t open until a victor was declared to the satisfaction of their observers. Max glowered at her, then threw his wand into the grass before him on the pitch.

“Yield.”

[Rowena Jones]

They were squished around the tiny table in her equally tiny kitchen, trying to pretend that their situation was any kind of normal. Rowena was a perfect picture of how wrong life was these days. Where once she wouldn’t have been caught dead looking so casual in the presence of others, she now sat dressed in a tattered t-shirt and old pair of shorts. She hadn’t even combed her hair yet and it tumbled around her face in knotted waves. She brushed crumbs off her lap as she turned to face one of her companions, an Auror, whose sole reason for being in her kitchen was to keep an eye on her.

“Nope. You saw what happened last time. I’m not going to be responsible for you losing your job. I already have too many people angry with me,” she replied to his earlier plea.

“Please Rowena, no one will find out.”

Rowena rolled her eyes before glancing at the third person in the room, a tall willowy woman who was looking at her companion with an amused grin.

“Back me up here Emily? Tell him he should just give up; we’ve tried this at least a hundred times already.”

“Never! I’ve been practicing. I can do it this time.”

“Matthew Louis Albertson! Is that why our living room looks like a tornado hit it?” Emily asked, turning on her husband, eyes flashing with ire. “You said it was the kids!”

Rowena grinned wryly as Matthew flushed, looking anywhere but at his partner. She tried not to focus on the negative, that these two lovely, funny, innocent parents might leave their children orphaned if they were on guard when it finally happened, when her sister came to collect the debt.

When she’d originally been put under house arrest, she’d been furious. It went against everything she had been trying to do for so long; push people away from her to keep them safe. All she’d wanted to do was protect people, to get the Stone away from people who would almost certainly be killed when her sister came to collect it. But instead she’d been arrested, questioned, put under guard and then Max had turned up and that last bittersweet goodbye they’d shared at her home had been replaced by bickering and anger.

When she’d finally been released it had been under the condition that she would be moving to a safe house and kept under the watchful gaze of several Aurors. She was a known target, but most importantly, the Ministry no longer trusted her to be left alone. Not everything had gone to plan. Her current ‘home’ was Safe House #4. Safe House #1 had been the victim of an uncontrollable fire, #2 had collapsed and brought down half the neighborhood and #3 had just simply vanished, leaving the Ministry scrambling to cover up the incident.

But Rowena figured that that was their problem, not hers. Perhaps if she caused enough trouble, they’d let her go home and live the few remaining weeks of her life in solitude, the way she’d always planned. Deep down, she hated that she’d made new friends while alienating the old. She was painting targets on people’s back… or at the very least giving them someone else to mourn.

Nevertheless, despite her best efforts, the Albertson’s had gotten through her walls… or maybe her walls had crumbled in the face of so much gone wrong. Maybe she was just too damn tired to keep them up. Whatever the reason, Alice and Matthew had become her friends… which was perhaps a tad frowned upon by the Ministry seeing as their job was to keep an eye on her, but it had happened nonetheless. And during the many, many hours they had spent watching her, Matthew had developed a small obsession with a particular skill she’d once demonstrated; levitating other people.

“Fine.” Rowena finally relented. “One try. Last time. Ever.”

Matthew grinned like a kid on Christmas Day as the trio moved outside. After the disasters of the previous houses, the Ministry had finally decided isolation was key and so there were no witnesses as the Wizard took a deep breath and focused on his task.

“Are you ready to fly Rowena?” he asked. Both witches glanced at each other, sharing their amusement at his enthusiasm and Rowena decided that he deserved a win. Both of them had given up precious time with their children to take on extra shifts guarding her. Other Aurors hadn’t wanted the job, claiming she was too difficult or worse… that she was a traitor and didn’t deserve their protection, but they had stepped up. Rowena appreciated it, even as she hated herself for wanting them around.

So this time, instead of letting Matthew face defeat, she reached inside of herself, to the immense well of power that slumbered and focused. When the Auror spoke the levitation spell, she let her own magic raise her from the ground.

“I did it!!! Ha. I told you. Wow! Look how high you’re going! This is amazi-”

“Does someone want to explain what, exactly, is going on here?”

The sharp bark of an order cut through Rowena’s concentration and she fell to the floor with a hard thump. There was a sharp whoosh of air as her magic released and she heard muttered curses as she opened her eyes to evaluate the damage. Was House#5 on the table already? Instead she was met with the irate glare of Auror Potter.

“And this is exactly why you’re coming with me,” he stated matter of factly. He didn’t even give her a chance to open her mouth before his hand enclosed her arm and the sharp pull of apparition took her far away from her silly casual morning and into a far more unpleasant one.

“What? Why?” Rowena sputtered as they arrived and she took in their location. Potter walked down the corridor, expecting she would follow. She had half a mind to stay exactly where she was, but curiosity won and she hurried after him. “Duelling? What’s that supposed to do?”

“The Ministry has come to the conclusion that we cannot let you practice your magic at home.”

Rowena’s anger flared. Oh no. They were not taking her magic from her. It was practically the only thing she had left.

“Before you get all hissy with me, we’ve also realised you can’t contain it… so you’re to come here. To practice and further your control. To take the edge off. Max is waiting for you inside,” he continued as they stopped in front of a door.

She scoffed. “He’d never agree to this….” A pause as she thought. “He doesn’t…. didn’t know did he? You ambushed him just as much as you did me.” She said.

Potter shrugged. “He also needs to practice his powers. Seemed like the most logical solution.”

Rowena opened her mouth to argue, but then realised he had a point. If she really wanted to get used to using her magic, and she had to in order to pull off her plan, then she needed someone who could match her. And there really was only one person who could do that. The fact that she was angry with him only actually made it easier for her to use her powers. She couldn’t deny it would bring her a little pleasure to get one up on him… even if she was all too aware that the Ministry would be watching and evaluating her every move.

“Fine, though you could have at least let me get actually dressed!” she called after him reproachfully as he walked away in the direction of the Observation Deck.

She stepped through the door, her gaze immediately zeroing in on the figure in the middle of the room. As always, her traitorous heart skipped a beat as she looked at him. He looked tired… but most of all he looked pissed off.

“Yield.”

“Hello to you too,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes at his immaturity. “You do realize we all know that you don’t need that to fight,” she said, nodding towards his wand before turning to look at the Observation Deck. Her abductor was there along with two others. “I told you he’d refuse,” she said. They had to be listening. They’d put two temperamental and powerful magic users with a well-known volatile relationship together. Sure enough…

“Don’t be obtuse Max. This is for your own good. Rowena understands. You both need the practice and, well, we’ve pretty much maxed out what we can throw at you. And since Rowena here keeps destroying our safe houses…”

Rowena shrugged a shoulder in reply. “If you’d let me go home that wouldn’t be a problem.” She retorted.

“Ha. No can do Miss Covington, no can do.”

She grinned. “It was worth a try. How about if I beat Max?”

“I’m pretty sure that would mean we’d have to keep an even closer eye on you…” came the reply. Rowena frowned. She didn’t want that.

“Well then I guess it’s a good thing he’s refusing to fight. Though I admit, I never thought he’d actually want us all to get killed… given up then have you? No point practicing if you’re going to die I suppose…” She directed the last part of her conversation in her ex’s direction. Nevermind the fact that she was practicing precisely because she was planning on dying… she knew where that conversation led to with Max.

[Max Kameren]

“Yield.”

“Hello to you too,” she scoffed. The sight and sound of her brought the feelings he would spend months trying to temper tumbling back into the forefront of his thoughts. It was a cyclical process, telling himself their separation was for their own good then falling in love with her all over again the moment he felt her aura near; something of a one step forward, ten steps back process. In their last few encounters (save for one blessed, peaceful night) he’d couched it in anger to cover it, an attempt he undoubtedly planned to continue. “You do realize we all know that you don’t need that to fight.”

“It’s a gesture,” he growled, “in official dueling meaning ‘I’m not going to bloody fight her!’” As he ranted Max turned to the observation deck, focusing his words on the real source of his irritation: the Ministry. “I told you! I’m not testing something this unpredictable on someone I – a civilian.” Nearly slipped up, there.

“I told you he’d refuse,” she said. Max gestured in agreement; it was hardly a surprise that this was how he would react to being pitted against his ex-girlfriend in battle. He assumed that was how most people, people who weren’t aurors or his decidedly abnormal ex-girlfriend, would react to being forced into an experimental duel.

“Don’t be obtuse Max. This is for your own good. Rowena understands. You both need the practice and, well, we’ve pretty much maxed out what we can throw at you. And since Rowena here keeps destroying our safe houses…” 

Max didn’t have a retort. Instead he made pointed eye contact with Christians up in the booth and sat down on the pitch, his irritation growing at the amenable nature of Rowena’s aura in his peripheral. He didn’t want to use the love of his life as a guinea pig to test out powers with potential safe-house-leveling destructive ability. It was comforting to know the feeling wasn’t mutual.

“If you’d let me go home that wouldn’t be a problem.” She retorted.

“Ha. No can do Miss Covington, no can do.”

She grinned. “It was worth a try. How about if I beat Max?” Max snorted at the prospect; on this very pitch he had crushed half the Aurors’ dummy population against the walls, and lately his healing pack was more often used for his adversary than for him. If Rowena struggled to meet him on the dueling pitch before their lives were thrown into chaos, she would surely be out of her depth now. But he wouldn't blink at beating the hell out of Auror Christians, or Theo. They weren’t Rowena.

“I’m pretty sure that would mean we’d have to keep an even closer eye on you…” came the reply.

“Well then I guess it’s a good thing he’s refusing to fight. Though I admit, I never thought he’d actually want us all to get killed… given up then have you? No point practicing if you’re going to die I suppose…”

Max’s glare shifted from his handlers to his ex, arching a skeptical brow in her direction. “I would say ‘nice try’, but that attempt was somehow even more pathetic than it was transparent.” He shook his head. “I’m not dueling you.”

“Well that door isn’t opening until we’ve declared a victor and you can’t apparate out of the pitch, so figure it out amongst yourselves.” In defiance of Christians’ menacing tone Max settled in; if the battle was one of pure stubborn will, he would already be well on the way to victory.

[Rowena Jones]

“I would say ‘nice try’, but that attempt was somehow even more pathetic than it was transparent.” Max shook his head. “I’m not dueling you.”

“Really?” Rowena scowled at Max sitting stubbornly on the floor. “This is childish, even for you.”

“Well that door isn’t opening until we’ve declared a victor and you can’t apparate out of the pitch, so figure it out amongst yourselves.” Fat lot of help they were. They dragged her all this way in her pyjamas, didn’t even give her the decency of ten minutes to shower and brush her hair and then, they locked her in a room with her sullen, utterly infuriating ex.

“For fuck’s sake Max. Maybe you don’t mind wasting time, but some of us have got things to do. It’ll take three minutes. You attack, I attack, I get to see what I can actually do, I beat you and then we can both go back to our lives and you can forget all about me.”

She supposed, if she let herself think about it that she could see where he was coming from. No one really knew what either of them could do which was dangerous for everyone involved. And they were both powerful, no one was hiding that. In fact, Rowena suspected that if they really wanted to, that locked door wouldn’t stay closed for long… but that was besides the point.

She actually wanted to do this. Not because she wanted to hurt Max, though he was kind of asking for it, but because she’d never had a chance to truly push herself and see the true potential that had awoken within her. She didn’t really fancy doing that kind of testing on the final battlefield, but it was hard to find a dueling partner who would be able to withstand the sheer strength of her power.

Rowena wasn’t being arrogant in thinking that way either. All that had happened before, from the initial explosion when she’d been broken to the recent incidents with her safe houses, they had only been the fall out of her being unable to control the backlash as she released her original magic. The witch suspected, and she was rarely wrong, that a controlled and focused use of that new power would be several times stronger.

And Max was like her. Blessed or cursed depending on how you wanted to look at it, with something beyond anyone’s knowledge. This was their chance to test it. But instead he was acting like a child who wasn’t getting what he wanted and throwing a tantrum.

Which brought her to her current conundrum. What spells did one use exactly to coax your exceedingly powerful ex-boyfriend into dueling you? Too weak and he would merely ignore her, or worse, mock her. Too powerful and she might actually seriously hurt him. Despite how it might sometimes look to outsiders watching their interactions, she didn’t actually want to kill the man.

Add that to the fact that Rowena was all too aware of their audience. Having several senior Aurors watching her, a mere… what had Max called her, civilian, with such scrutiny made her a tad nervous. She hadn’t ever been known for her dueling talents… in fact she’d had to have lessons. Given to her by the very man who now refused to fight. Merlin, life really threw her some shitty situations sometimes, she thought in a moment of self-pity which was quickly replaced by anger born of frustration.

Enough was enough. She didn’t plan on being stuck sitting around all day, a victim in some stupid battle of wills between Max and his superiors.

“I’m not the same person you’ve dueled in the past Max,” she said. “Things are different now.”

She’d never really been able to explain it to others. Magic had been a part of her for as long as she could remember, but she’d never been consciously aware of its presence. She’d needed a wand and words to direct it, to make it form into anything visible. But whatever Rosalie and Michael had done to her, it was as if they’d removed a wall she’d not known she’d had. Now magic lived within her; a tangible, almost living thing. It pushed against her consciousness, and she had to be ever mindful not to fall too far in for fear of never getting out again.

But that was why she was here, to see if it was possible, to find those limits. Max was the only way for her to do that… so she’d use him, even if he thought he could refuse. She wasn’t stupid though. She wasn’t going to dive right to the bottom... if there was one... just go a little further than she'd done previously. So far, all she'd done was skim the surface. Today, she'd go below it.

The Druid’s teachings echoed in her mind as Rowena focused her intent, but anger still coloured her emotions. Why couldn’t Max just take her seriously, see how important this was? Yes she was planning on these powers ending her own life prematurely, but she also didn’t want to take out the entire battlefield. There was only one way to ensure that kind of control and that was practice.

As soon as she touched the pool of power within, Rowena realised that it was not going to go well. Her eyes exploded into golden light as she wildly threw her hands up. The air around her whistled sharply as it rushed past her. Grass and mud flew up, creating a trench as that powerful gust raced towards Max’s position.

Rowena could only watch as he was picked up and thrown across the pitch. She made a split second decision as he landed unpleasantly. “Now will you fight?” she asked, ignoring the burning tingle in her hands.

[Max Kameren]

“For fuck’s sake Max. Maybe you don’t mind wasting time, but some of us have got things to do. It’ll take three minutes. You attack, I attack, I get to see what I can actually do, I beat you and then we can both go back to our lives and you can forget all about me.”

With the aurors ducking out of the argument Max twisted his body to face Rowena and cock his head questioningly up at her. “You really want to test your powers on me? You really do?”

Meaning: you, not the Ministry? He’d expected pressure from the aurors and he could tell by her appearance she’d gotten even less notice than he did about the dueling idea, but why was she so intrigued? He’d heard about her safe house mishaps through eavesdropped office gossip, so he knew she understood her destructive ability. Max himself knew harnessing his Shield abilities was about as stressful as Russian Roulette, and at times just as dangerous.

Just last week, the mishap that prompted this very situation came about when Max pushed too far in his abilities and injured Theo. He’d been concussed, knocked against the ceiling of the pitch by Max’s attack and had to spend a night at St. Mungo’s to recuperate. Theo, a Senior Auror. Theo, who had been on Max’s security team during the Demon Wars, who has literally been dueling longer than Max has been alive. If he could hurt Theo like that, did he trust himself against Rowena?

Not really, even if their abilities were evenly matched their bodies were just as fragile. When working on such a destructive scale, all it took was one wrong move.

Max made no motion to comply with what Rowena wanted and he felt her aura percolating, trying to find another way around his stubborn resolve. He felt the concentration turn over into frustration then anger and he pushed himself back to his feet. “Ro, I don’t want to do this. I’m not going to fight you.”

“I’m not the same person you’ve dueled in the past Max,” she said. “Things are different now.”

“I know. Exactly.” The air around them felt filled with static and Max could taste dust in the air; he put a hand up to try to placate his ex from doing anything drastic. He was petulant by default with the aurors, but he wanted Rowena to hear him out. “We’re not dicking about in Godric’s Hollow anymore. We can really hurt each other now. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Max quickly found the hard way that that feeling was not mutual. In one quick motion Rowena ignited in golden light and the earth in front of her exploded, sending Max flying backwards and landing flat on his back halfway across the pitch. The impact knocked the wind out of him and he coughed, closing his eyes to lose the stars in his vision. The dust settled between them and Max let out a shallow sigh as he accepted his fate; the consensus of the aurors he could wave away, but if Rowena wanted to duel him this badly he had little choice but to oblige.

“Now will you fight?”

From his place on the ground he growled in frustration. “Fine.”

The lights above them dimmed and in the observation deck the auror’s hair stood up on the backs of their necks. When he reopened his eyes the blared the blue-white of Patronus light and his coloring changed. His practice with the Shield slowly overtook him more and more as he tapped into it. Now his eyes didn’t just glow, but blared light forward like a harvest moon; his teeth and mouth also took on a blueish-white light, and his skin would shift in opalescent white as he moved. It was the Shield getting used to him, conforming to his aura and becoming part of him physically.

The power of the Shield, to Max, was distinctly borrowed. It was a separate self, one he would have to open the door and invite instead of tapping into. His rigorous dueling schedule was created for that reason; it wasn’t just Max who had to learn to use the Shield, the Shield itself had to get used to him. The power wasn’t his to take. Because Rowena had chosen him, so had the Shield.

Max pushed himself up into a crouch and a wave of light rolled off his shoulders, growing larger and its barrier thicker the further from him it moved. When it met Rowena it didn’t throw her but push, its overwhelming size enveloping on all sides and taking her in the wave of its momentum. It finally came to a gentle stop within a meter of the pitch’s far wall, encasing Rowena in a prison of opaque white light.

Max was not far behind, his glowing figure blurred by the Shield but visible on the other side. When he spoke his voice wasn’t sound, but an echo of the feeling of hearing him direct her just behind her ear:

Break it.

[Rowena Jones]

“Fine.”

Finally. He’d been spinning it in a way that she hadn’t even considered. Rowena didn’t want to test out her powers on him because she wanted to hurt him… she was embracing the situation she’d been forced into because quite honestly, he was the only one she could trust to do this with. And she needed to find out how much he could take, to see if he would be able to shield others from her if it came to it.

She realised she hadn’t known what to expect from him when he finally did decide to join the duel, but she did know she hadn’t pictured him to start glowing the way he did. It was so very… alien like, for lack of a better word. And a tad disconcerting. Did she look anything like that when she used her powers? Eoin had mentioned golden eyes once or twice but Max’s teeth were glowing! He reminded her of some kind of bioluminescent jellyfish.

And then there was no time to consider the physical changes in her ex-boyfriend as his retaliation reached her. She’d been so distracted by his appearance that she hadn’t even tried to summon her own powers and so found herself pushed until she was enclosed against the wall by a prison of light.

Break it.

She couldn’t hide how her body jumped in surprise when she heard his voice taunting her from behind and she didn’t even bother to hide her eye roll at his theatrics. “Show off,” she muttered under her breath as she considered her next move. Max’s attack, if you could call it that, had been decidedly less violent than her own. Exceedingly flashy, but in no way harmful.

Contained as she was, Rowena found that her anger had disappeared. Max had challenged her. He didn’t think she could do it, and those two words ignited the competitive streak he’d always sparked within her. Despite the dark realities of their situation, Rowena grinned.

She’d been trying to find joy in the small moments these past few weeks. If she was destined to die, then she wanted to make the most of the time she had left. She’d left Max to protect him and sacrificed the happiness he’d brought her while they’d been together, but for today she’d cherish that she got to spend some time with him, even if he was pissed off and dueling her. After all, hadn’t this been part of the reason she’d fallen for Max in the first place? He was the only person who had truly challenged her, pushed her to keep going further and to not give up.

Speaking of, she had a barrier to destroy. Rowena was somewhat hesitant to dip into her powers again, her hands still burning from her previous uncontrolled burst, but she didn’t think it worth even trying her traditional magic. Nevertheless she paused as she mentally danced around the edges of that golden pool.

She’d so far been able to skim the surface and do some pretty impressive things without hurting herself so she decided to start with that. In retrospect it had perhaps been foolish of her to try so much so quickly, but Merlin, Max could just infuriate her so much by doing so little!

Grounding herself, as she’d been taught to do by the Druids, Rowena harnessed the edges of her power and pushed it experimentally against the light that surrounded her. It felt like an impenetrable wall. Her eyes narrowed and she slowly allowed more power to trickle through. The air grew heavy and hot as she narrowed her focus to a single spot and gave Max’s shield a strong deliberate shove.

“Shit!”

Rowena yelped as the magic rebounded and ricocheted towards her. It hit her squarely in the chest and she gasped involuntarily at the shock of it. Instead of throwing her like a ragdoll as it had done Max, it seemed as if she just reabsorbed it, and she was left standing there gasping, clutching at her chest where her heart beat wildly. Her whole body tingled and her throat felt like she’d swallowed fire.

It was becoming more and more apparent that her powers were very much an intrinsic part of her, tied to her very emotions and thoughts. They were an extension of self, almost like another limb. But she was not invulnerable to it. Just like her own feet could trip her up and hurt her, so could her magic. As much as this power was of her, it could and would destroy her if she was not careful.

And yet, Max’s shield stood unflinching in its presence. If she wanted it gone, and she really, really did, then she was going to have to take more. Which she supposed was the whole point of this exercise. But what to do with it when she had it?

So far she’d always used it almost like a pure battering ram, shoving her power against others and winning from pure brute force. Truthfully she found it difficult to use, not because of its strength but because it needed so much guidance from her. All her life, she’d been taught spells and wand gestures that directed the magic for her. This though was much more, in fact she supposed it was similar to wandless magic, a skill which she’d never mastered.

What to do then? Were there any weak spots that she could take advantage of? Rowena sent out a pulse of energy that pushed once again against the barrier from all sides. All around her, she was met with resistance… but not under her.

The witch paused. Could she circumvent Max’s shield and attack him from behind? Did doing so defeat the purpose of her discovering her strength? Maybe, but damnit, he was so sure that he could beat her. The arrogance of it all was infuriating. And obviously no one else around here had been able to take him down a peg or two. She would only be doing her civil duty to ensure that Max’s head didn’t get too inflated by his extraordinary powers.

Ok, maybe that was a reach. He hadn’t ever really been much of a public bragger…no, he’d always seemed to save that overconfidence for her, constantly acting like he was better… at least until they’d started dating. He’d toned it down a little after or perhaps she’d just stopped seeing it that way.

Focus Rowena! She snapped herself back to the present and the task at hand. No. She wouldn’t go under. He’d challenged her to break it so break it she would.

Anger had influenced her first attack, had caused her to lose control. This time, she embraced the excitement of a new challenge, reveling in the joy of new discovery. She dove past the surface. The only way to come close to describing how it felt was to compare it to sinking into a too hot bath. It wasn’t necessarily painful, but nor was it painless. It was both warm and comforting and yet also hostile.

Rowena was glad the Druids had pushed her to practice meditation. She focused and the burning lessened as she controlled the magic, forming it into a ball of bright light that floated between her cupped hands. Rowena spiraled further down, gathering more and more power and feeding it into her spell. The edges grew so bright that they were impossible to look at as the center turned the opposite, becoming pitch black and crackling with energy.

When she felt confident that she’d done enough, Rowena released the spell. Again the air around her whooshed by her and for a second she couldn’t breathe. Her vision distorted as everything appeared to move, as if sucked into the black hole she’d created. And then it all exploded outwards and the arena was filled with bright golden light that caused the Aurors watching them to fall back cursing and clutching at their eyes.

At the centre, Rowena braced herself for another potential backlash as her magic collided with that of the Shield. Instead of rebounding back at her, this time it washed through and where gold met blue, blue faded until it disappeared. When the light dimmed to more acceptable levels and Rowena could see again, she could make out Max standing in front of her, no longer hidden behind his barrier.

“Is that it? I thought this would be a challenge…” she asked, brushing some stray strands of hair from her eyes as if she hadn’t just destroyed half the pitch. Was it bad that she was a little disappointed? She’d only just started to push through the edges of her newfound power. If Max could do no more then this little experiment was over and she wouldn’t get to see what else she could do. Then again, all he’d done was make a wall. If he was holding back for fear of hurting her, he needed to stop. Now.

“Are you going to actually try now?”

[Max Kameren]

When Max caught up to his barrier he clasped his hands behind his back and paced its border, surveying Rowena with his Empathy like a cat trapping his prey. Something about how the Shield wove into his mind helped organize his otherwise cumbersome sixth sense into an godlike omniscience; through the eyes of the Shield Max could feel every aura around him at once and make sense of it, giving him the ability to see through every eye and hear through every ear on his side of the battlefield. When he felt her excitement at the challenge he couldn’t help but grin, flashing bright teeth as he paced around the opaque barrier.

“Show off,” she muttered under her breath.

You wanted a fight, The faint feeling of speech in the back of her mind was listening and ready to reply, you thought you were going to blow me halfway across the pitch and I would go easy on you?

The radiation of fury and frustration emanating from the other side of his barrier reminded Max of the good old days pestering his new girlfriend around St. Mungo’s. He didn’t doubt that Rowena missed the mental stimulation of Healing as much as he did, sitting through long days in protective custody waiting for the worst to happen. If he had to fight, Max supposed, he would choose the impossible puzzle of his ex-girlfriend over smashing more Aurors’ facilities. There was better conversation in it, especially with his newfound ability to imprint the sensation of words instead of speaking within earshot of eavesdropping Aurors. For the first time in months he could talk to Rowena when neither was experiencing an imminent life-of-death crisis.

The thought put additional spring in his step while he paced, feeling her twist in the trap he’d constructed around her. Traps and blunt force were all he had to spare in this duel. The prophecy named him Shield, not Arsenal; he had one tool to work with as creatively as he could. Even moreso that the contact with the Shield pulled Max’s aura just far enough out-of-body that he couldn’t reach his regular wandless magic to use. When it claimed him, it claimed all of him.

The impenetrable nature of the blue light was a big advantage, yes, but it made it difficult to attack. In his practice sessions Max started learning how to move people and weave the barrier to block more spells at once on a chaotic battlefield more effectively. But when he needed to attack, so far the most Max had done was wield his power like a blunt weapon, swinging at opponents or pushing them against the walls of the pitch until they turned to pulp. It was a clumsy technique and hardly one he wanted to try on his ex-girlfriend.

“Shit!” Suddenly the tower of Max’s shield lit up gold from the inside and Max stalled, shining eyes searching the silhouette on the other side.

You alright? In his distraction the barrier weakened and momentarily they could see each other, standing face to face with only the thick width of his spell between them. He watched in fascination as she absorbed the heat back into her own body, the bright light settling like a furnace in her chest. It was his first time getting a good look at her on a battlefield, and Max couldn't help but be impressed as he took her in. She was like a ray of sunlight, eyes glowing a bright gold and the moving heat of her aura stinging like embers in Max’s mind. It was beautiful. She was beautiful.

She reset in her determination and Max tilted his head, a wry smile growing across his face. Is that… mediation? Rowena! Max barked out a laugh and arched a brow at her through the barrier. All it took was months of separation but you’ve finally come arou –

The field flared in blinding golden light. Max shrank back and a thin shield of light protected him from fallout as he watched his weakened tower of light fall to his opponent’s golden glow. Where Max was sure he was supposed to feel failure instead he welled with pride; how far she’d come since shooting half-hearted stunning spells half the length of a dueling pitch. Through all the pain they’d endured in their separation, there was also progress. The power Rowena’s aura wielded in the halls of St. Mungo’s she now held physically in her hands.

Where Rowena stood in the misted rubble of his barrier Max met her, a smile wide across his face. “You’re brilliant.” He shook his head. “Brilliant, I really mean it this time. You’re going to lose, but… wow.”

As he watched his tower fall he caught his mistake: the Shield had weakened in his concern for her. It was a running problem he was trying to mend in his dueling. The Shield’s powers weren’t what he needed to tone so much as his own instincts. Though he was an agile and creative duelist Max didn’t have the aggressive instinct required to kill an opponent and end a battle. Even in simulation he would hesitate. He knew the fear, the pain of the final moments before he lost his connection with an aura and it crossed to the other side. That perspective made his first instinct always mercy, a reaction he was trying to blunt. With Rowena opposite him on the dueling pitch he was sure to let his concern get the better of him if he wasn’t careful.

“Is that it? I thought this would be a challenge…” she asked.

He scoffed. “Big talk. How’s your chest after that ricochet?”

“Are you going to actually try now?”

She'd shown she could handle all-out war between their powers by taking down his shield, and she did have a point in their mutual need for practice. He would be lying if he wasn't curious. Fine, then. He'd let her win the argument, but not the battle to follow.

Max took a deep breath and remembered his own mental training for this scenario, distancing himself from Rowena’s aura. He had been treating her like a partner and had forgotten she was an adversary. It was time to reset course. Fine, after a while to think you found your way out. You won't have a while in a real battle. You'll have to –

“Think fast.” In an instant two walls of Shield came swinging in on both sides of his ex and slammed together. This time the walls weren't hard barrier but a tight atmospheric pressure, holding Rowena between them. He had her trapped Max turned and swung her like he was participating in a hammer throw, hoping to swing Rowena and give her a flying trip to the other side of the dueling pitch just as she’d given him.

[Rowena Jones]

“You’re brilliant.” He shook his head. “Brilliant, I really mean it this time. You’re going to lose, but… wow.”

Rowena scoffed at his almost compliment, but she couldn’t help how her heart leapt and fluttered even as pretended to be annoyed. She had missed this; the banter, the challenge, him. “Only you could so arrogantly ruin such a nice sentiment Max,” she said with a roll of her eyes. He was so confident that it made Rowena all the more eager to put him in his place.

“Is that it then? I thought this would be a challenge…” she continued, brushing some stray strands of hair from her eyes as if she hadn’t just destroyed half the pitch.

Max scoffed. “Big talk. How’s your chest after that ricochet?”

“That?” she waved her hand nonchalantly. “A slight miscalculation. It won’t happen again. Speaking of, how’s your barrier? Oh right… it’s gone.” Rowena smirked, “So are you going to actually try now?”

He didn’t reply out loud. Instead she heard him once again in her head and she scowled at the patronizing tone he took once more.

Fine, after a while to think you found your way out. You won't have a while in a real battle. You'll have to –

“Think fast.”

She was so distracted by her annoyance and plans to put him in his place that she barely heard his voice… but she absolutely felt the moment when her body was trapped, lifted and thrown across the room like a ragdoll.

During the two seconds it took her to catch up to what was happened, Rowena somersaulted through the air, her legs flailing over her head as she struggled to fix the situation she’d quite literally been thrown into. The witch reached for her powers and they came without hesitation, filling her with warmth and strength. And as they did her ungraceful arch through the air came to an abrupt halt and she was left floating high above the pitch. The air crackled and Rowena’s already messy hair now sparked and flew around her face in an unseen current.

Her eyes had dulled back to their usual colour after she’d taken down Max’s shield but they flared bright again as she glared down at her ex.

“Fuck,” she swore, rubbing her neck that was now aching from the sudden whiplash, “that bloody hurt.” This fight was decidedly affecting her more than it was Max. Time for that to change.

Her golden gaze narrowed as she floated closer to her opponent. “Think fast!” she called back mockingly as her palms opened in his direction. A loud crack echoed in the arena. Then the floor fissured under Max’s feet and began to fall away.

[Max Kameren]

“Only you could so arrogantly ruin such a nice sentiment Max,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“Be happy for the sentiment! To everyone else I’m just arrogant.” The cheeky smile on Max’s face couldn’t be contained even to spite the aurors watching them; he couldn’t deny he was having fun. He missed everything about Rowena, but he missed this most. Their conversation, sparring not just in the duel but with words and wills. There was no feeling he missed more than Rowena’s aura working through a problem, bristling at his teasing, or reveling in her victory. Today he intended to provide more of the former emotions than the latter.

“Is that it then? I thought this would be a challenge…” she continued, brushing some stray strands of hair from her eyes as if she hadn’t just destroyed half the pitch.

Max scoffed. “Big talk. How’s your chest after that ricochet?”

“That?” she waved her hand nonchalantly. “A slight miscalculation. It won’t happen again. Speaking of, how’s your barrier? Oh right… it’s gone.” Rowena smirked, “So are you going to actually try now?”

Fine, after a while to think you found your way out. You won't have a while in a real battle. You'll have to – “Think fast.” Max watched with satisfaction as in one motion he trapped Rowena within his shields and flung his ex to the other side of the dueling pitch. Before she even hit the ground he braced for retaliation; he knew he wouldn’t be getting away with a move that drastic for long. If he knew Rowena, retribution would be swift.

True to form Rowena put a stop to his attack mid-air. Max flinched when the spell left her flailing like a ragdoll before she got her bearings to face him in mid-air. Every misstep that caused a bump or bruise left Max ready to reel back like he’d touched a hot stove; was this being the Shield? He was normally protective, but his role in the prophecy had somehow bolstered it even more. Any accidental injury to Rowena was working against their goals. Warily he glanced at his healing kit at the edge of the pitch, still in place despite the ground ripped up around it. “Alright, Ro?”

“Fuck, that bloody hurt.” Her golden gaze narrowed as she floated closer and Max squared his shoulders, his shining blue meeting hers. His fingers flexed in preparation, ready to put together a shield for whatever she threw at him. “Think fast!”

But he hadn’t expected from down below. With a surprised yelp Max was upended into the ditch Rowena had dug for him. He landed on all fours with a meter of dirt between him and the surface. He turned around to prepare for immediate retaliation, but just as quickly a thought occurred to him and he settled in as quietly and still as his glowing form could take.

Then, he waited. Minutes passed of still silence, the only indication Max had of the world above in Rowena’s triumphant aura. Triumph turned to calm preparation anticipating the next attack. More minutes passed; confusion. It had been too long since he said anything, and no movement gave away his status. Confusion gave in to worry. Then fear. Enough time had passed that even the aurors were on-edge. When he heard the dirt moving above him and finally saw the light of the pitch breaking through, he struck.

When Rowena was within arms reach Max grabbed her by the the shoulders and rolled, trading places with her in the hole. “Glad I’m not the only one who worries,” It was too close to see but the wry smile was evident in the sotto voce of Max’s voice in her ear. They were close for only a minute before Max’s shields expanded between them and pushed him to the surface. When he pushed himself to his feet the shield expanded, creating a floor between the ground of the pitch and Rowena in the ground below him. If she wanted to use the terrain against him he’d make his own place to stand.

When Rowena found her way back to open air she would be met with a barrier with hardly enough room to stand and shortening, the pitch-wide, thick shield pressing her further and further down with each passing second. Max was cognizant now of Rowena’s power and that he didn’t need to go easy on her. His shields were stronger this time, and would be harder to break.

[Rowena Jones]

Rowena couldn’t help the triumphant grin that erupted as Max disappeared beneath the earth. Merlin, how she loved getting one over him. Nothing could quite beat the feeling of finding the one thing he hadn’t prepared for.

She waited for him to emerge so she could taunt him with her success and they could continue their duel. Her next attack itched at her fingertips, anticipating the right moment to strike.

Except nothing happened. Her grin faded as she stared at the patch of earth where Max had once stood. Why had nothing happened? He should have been back on the ground, or what was left of it, by now. Where was he? She floated downwards, closer to the area, eyes narrowed in suspicion. What was he doing?

Unless. Had she underestimated the strength of her attack? Had he fallen too hard? Too quick? Was he lying there, hurt and buried? Rowena’s heart beat faster with the fear that she’d hurt him. She didn’t want to hurt him, she needed to save him.

She needed to save him. Rowena landed gingerly on the upturned earth where he’d been standing and began to move it slowly out of the way. She’d barely caught a glimpse of messy hair and triumphant glowing eyes when she found herself grabbed and twisted. Now she was the one staring up at Max.

“Glad I’m not the only one who worries.”

From this angle, his face was partly shadowed so she couldn’t make out his expression, but she absolutely could feel the way her traitorous heart thudded against her ribs at their proximity. The last time they’d been this close had been at her cottage when they’d… Rowena flushed. Her hands pushed angrily at his chest.

“You prick. Don’t scare me like that!” she hissed, even as his Shield formed once more, pushing him to the surface. As he ascended, she twisted to stand up in her hole. Summoning her power she also started to raise herself upwards… only to come to a halt as Max’s shield stopped her from exiting the small ditch she’d made. And then it started pushing her back down.

Rowena glared upwards at her ex, letting him know her displeasure at being kept in the dirt. Then she dove down into that deep well seemingly without end, siphoning her power through and out to build up against the shield that contained her. Golden light lapped against the bright blue white of Max’s power, eagerly awaiting the command to burst through and then attack, obscuring the woman below.

It felt like she was swimming through a sun warmed ocean, caressed by the current and a blissful smile spread across Rowena’s face. She could get used to this. It was magnificent and comforting and she knew at the moment that there truly was no limit but that of her own body and mind. This magic; it was eternal and impossible and somehow it was hers.

Ours little sister.

A flash of dark eyes and a whisper was all it took. That moment of darkness broke all concentration. Suddenly she no longer knew which way was up and now she was falling down and down and the magic escaped in an uncontrollable torrent, her body but a mortal gateway to the world.

And it burned.

Rowena felt like her skin blistering as the magic scorched her from the inside out. Her eyes turned white from the heat and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Too much. Much too much. There was nowhere to escape.

With no mortal command to hold it back, it burned through Max’s shield in seconds. With no direction, it filled the air with it’s shimmering heat. The dummies pilled against the walls turned to dust. The walls changed colour to orange, then blue, then yellow and back to blue. The lights in the room exploded. Flowers burst from the ground, blooming in a rainbow of colours before they too were turned to ash.

And at it’s heart, Rowena was curled around herself as she desperately tried to regain control. This is what she couldn’t let happen. When the day came, she would not destroy the good with the bad.

She bit through her lip as she sought the way to slow the flood. She could control this. In. Out. In. Out. She could sense Max and she grabbed at that anchor to reality to realign herself, to find the exit. And suddenly she could feel her control returning, her grip tenuous at best but enough to slowly restrict the flow. And finally stop it altogether.

When it was over, Rowena lay on the floor, skin reddened and damp from sweat, chest rising unsteadily as she sought desperately to stay in control of her breathing. Her hair was smoking, the ends singed as she tried to focus her dulled gaze on Max’s face.

“Enough,” she rasped in surrender. “No more.”

[Max Kameren]

“You prick. Don’t scare me like that!”

Max laughed, reveling in the twinge of mutual attraction felt heavy between their auras. That golden feeling from months ago still lingered whenever she was near, buried beneath denial. It would instead show itself in small flashes whenever they slipped. Especially when they touched, Max realized from their previous encounter in the Cell Hall and moreso during their night together in Rowena’s hideaway.

The addictive feeling was almost painful to let slip through his fingers as he let her go, putting space between them with a shield pushing him to the surface. If she wanted to use the terrain against him he’d make his own place to stand. When he pushed himself to his feet the shield expanded, creating a floor between the ground of the pitch and Rowena in the ground below him.

Max felt her eyes on him and turned to grin arrogantly at her glare. He shrugged his shoulders as the shield began to slowly press down to trap her in the dirt, pacing around his ex from above as he awaited her next move.

With his Empathy he felt her dig deep into meditation once again. Despite their circumstances Max liked this new Rowena, powerful and confident and braver than he was. Where the Shield only brought Max anxiety for Rowena her power felt freeing, flowing so naturally from her that she was giving Max trouble after weeks of hard practice. He watched as a layer of sunny-gold light pressed against his shield and felt Rowena digging ever deeper, searching for power strong enough to best him.

Then it struck, like a bolt of darkness through Max’s mind. It was that same feeling, the sickly stabbing pain of the Dark Lady that had followed them in their auras since the very beginning. The flash through Rowena’s aura was all it took to ignite and she was burning.

Max acted on instinct and immediately cut his shields while they were being eaten by her power. He dropped to his feet on the uneven pitch and rushed to her side, pulling Rowena’s tense body out of the hole and holding her through the event. Her aura transmitted all she was feeling to Max, but the lightshow around him left the wizard unscathed; when the Shield was activated he became the strongest piece, nigh-invincible when he was focused on one adversary and not spread thin across the battlefield. And he was focused on protecting only one person: Rowena.

Her aura floundered and fluctuated with the burning and growing of the pitch around them and Max pulled her closer, sitting on the pitch with Rowena half-pulled in his lap. He cupped his hands on either side of her face and bent to touch his forehead to hers. The torrent she was discharging was overwhelming but he tried to focus, opening his aura to absorb as much as he could and help Rowena find her bearings. She started mindful breathing and Max matched her breaths, trying to bring his body into rhythm with hers. If she could match him and find his aura she could regain control.

When the storm finally passed Max laid back in the dirt and ash that now amounted to the dueling pitch, exhausted. He closed his eyes and when they reopened they were green, the blue-white glow of his entire body flickering out like a spent light bulb.

“Enough,” she rasped in surrender. “No more.”

“Don’t think I can anyway,” Max breathed, tilting his in the direction of his healing pack on the edge of the pitch. It hadn’t made it; a blackened lump that would have been his case steamed in a pile where he’d placed it.

The telltale click of the announcement system switching on broke the peace after the chaos endured. “Yeah, we think we’re going to wrap it up for the day, you two…”

[Rowena Jones]

Her head ached, a persistent pulsing behind her eyes that made her clench her jaw. She pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed at them in an attempt to lessen the pain. With her magic still roiling inside her like hot lava and her control still frayed, she didn’t trust herself to treat anything by her usual magical means.

“I don’t suppose you have any---“ She followed his gaze to the smoking remains of his healing pack and sighed. “Nevermind.”

The telltale click of the announcement system switching on broke the peace after the chaos endured. “Yeah, we think we’re going to wrap it up for the day, you two…”

Rowena couldn’t help the raw throaty chuckle that escaped her at that announcement, though she winced at the ache of it. She’d forgotten they were being watched, so caught up in the challenge and following disaster of duelling with Max. That they were pretending that they’d had any sort of control over the day’s events once they’d put Max and her together was comical. She met Max’s gaze and rolled her eyes, a small tired smile dancing around the corners of her mouth.

Too exhausted to acknowledge the Aurors verbally, she raised one hand in a weak ‘Ok’ sign before it flopped back to the ground. Her eyes didn’t leave Max, taking in every detail. Every time they met, she was sure it would be their last time. Sometimes it had ended well, other times it had ended in spectacular disaster. She wasn’t sure what this time was, but regardless, she wanted to savour the moment.

Even though her body had been overcharged with intense magical power, she’d still felt the moment that Max had held her, had felt the way her skin had sparked in an entirely different way to the burning her magic had done. Even now, after all these months, after all their fights and disagreements and losses, Max Kameren still felt like home.

Realising she had been staring, Rowena flushed, glancing down at her lap and focusing on the singed hems of her clothes. Her fingers played with their frayed edges as she sought to distance herself emotionally once more.

No one would deny it any longer; time was running out. And after today, she knew how it was going to end for her. Rowena scowled at the thought of her demise… she’d been hoping it would be less painful. She supposed that at least it would be quick. Todays’ events had happened in seconds and that was with a fraction of what she planned to release. Plus it wouldn’t be just her own magic she’d be channelling… Rowena wondered how her sister’s magic would influence it all. Her magic felt like true Light – white hot and cleansing (in its deadly way). How did Dark magic feel and when combined, what would it do to her in those final moments?

A chill ran down her spine at the thought and Rowena couldn’t help but look to Max again in an unconscious attempt at comfort. He could do it. She’d known for a while that he could probably save her with his own powers. She also knew it would be at the cost of everyone else on the battlefield – a cost she wasn’t willing to pay, nor one that they’d be able to live with.

No, there was a reason she’d left all those months ago and while things had evolved and changed and she had admittedly failed completely at distancing herself from him, that reason still stood. When the time came, Max couldn’t hesitate or be distracted. This was and always had been, bigger than them.

With that thought in mind, Rowena pushed herself to a seating position and then, ignoring the sharp spasm of protest from her body, to standing.

“Well then, I better return to my cell – I mean lovely house.” She said with a glance upwards. Sure enough, the Aurors were watching, a scowl on Potter’s face. She grinned cheekily in their direction before turning her attention back to Max. “It was urm—“ What exactly did one say to an ex in this situation? “nice to duel you?” she finished lamely.

[Max Kameren]

“Yeah, we think we’re going to wrap it up for the day, you two…”

The bitter chuckle that burst from Max was interrupted by a burst of pain pinching every muscle up his back. When focused the Shield protected him from most mortal harm, but getting tossed like a ragdoll across the dueling pitch was still no picnic. As his ex raised her hand in an ‘ok’ sign Max chose a less cordial gesture, half-heartedly waving two fingers in Christians’ general direction before letting his body go limp.

“What was that about meditation…” The quip on Max’s lips faded from mind when he turned his head to catch the seriousness in Rowena’s stare. She always was the rare person who could put him in his place, quieting him with only a flash of those sharp amber eyes.

In those eyes Max saw his future. Not just the prophecy. When Max thought ahead to past the battle, beyond the Shadowloved, no matter how she warned him, a world without Rowena Covington in it didn’t exist. His picture wasn’t a happy ending without her; over the year they’d gotten close, she had become more to him than he could express. She was his happiness; she needed to live and be part of the world even if he couldn’t. He didn’t push onward if she fell. She was it, for him. Everything.

“Well then, I better return to my cell – I mean lovely house.” She said with a glance upwards. “It was urm— nice to duel you?” she finished lamely.

“Chalk this one up as a forfeit, I think.” Max sighed, his head finally tilting to take one last bittersweet look at her. “By my math that means we’re still tied.”

If time went on, this couldn’t be the end. It was why Fate kept bringing them back together. They had had their last meeting so many times now, and each time the idea of saying goodbye sounded more and more unwelcome. Max refused to believe it. Instead he would push it away, give himself more time to look forward to the future he really wanted. The shadow of a smile pressed his lips. “I’ll get you in the rematch, Ro.”