Their magical spell || BSD × Hogwarts AU

Chapter II.

The secret duel
________________________________

  “Hold on-!”

  The student in gray turned around to see the boy from Potions class running after him.
  If he had to be honest, it was quite impressive how the latter was able to locate him with such accuracy despite how large the whole school was as well as the major time gap between their last meeting.

  “Well, hello. May I help you with something?” he greeted the boy in dark Hogwarts uniform politely, just like he always did.

  The boy shook his head, clearly trying to regulate his breathing as he bent down to support his tired body over his knees.
  “Not this time.” he finally replied in between irregular breaths. “I've acually wanted to thank you for the advice. It was probably the only reason I've survived that damn class.” he explained, grinning.

  “It was nothing breathtaking, but I appreciate it nevertheless.” the boy in gray smiled down at him.
   Their gazes met when Ravenclaw's head tilted upwards. He took the opportunity to move their small talk to bit higher level.

  “Right, I have one more thing to say. A request, if you will.”

  “Interesting... May I know what exactly do you propose?”

  “I propose a wizarding duel to you!” the Ravenclaw student announced with confident smirk and wide gesture of launching his index finger towards the other boy. The latter's eyes widen at the sudden mood swing.

  One would lie if they denied how surprised the he looked, yet soon his expression relaxed into a calm smile.
  “I duel? Very interesting. How could I decline? State the time and place.” he accepted.

  “Room of Requirement, today after dinner. I'll lead you there, don't worry.” he assured him.

  “I'll be looking forward to it then.” boy in gray nodded. “But before we go separate ways, I'd like to know my opponents name.” he added, tilting his head with voice smooth as it could be,, even charming in someone's opinion.

  “Edogawa Ranpo.” the Ravenclaw boy introduced himself with confidence, posture straight and smirk painted on his face,, definition of attempted superiority.
  Ranpo put one of his hands on his hip, holding a folder in the other, cocking his head to the side.
  “And yours?” he asked.

  “Edgar... Allan Poe.” the latter said, pausing mid sentence, yet transitioning into his blankly smiling expression quickly whilst reaching out for Ranpo's hand to shake.

  Ranpo's heartbeat almost stopped when he's heard the other's name. He knew him... Not in person, but he's already had something that belonged rightfully to the other. Something as obvious as if it was slapping you directly to the face! There was no way he didn't notice...
   No, it was just a detail. Coincidences like this happen. Yes, that was it. Time for him to brush it off.
   With that, he finally took Poe's hand and shook it, thought bit awkwardly - handshakes weren't his common way of greeting, so he had to put his two correctly functioning braincells together to figure out how tight his grip should be -.

  “Nice to meet you. Though I'm afraid I should get going now- I'll see you in the evening then. Goodbye!” Poe excused himself before spinning on his heel and leaving whilst waving goodbye gently.

  Ranpo returned his wave. With that, he was once again alone.
  He then stood in the hallway, still trying to process what has just left his mouth.
  Proposal of duel? To someone who he's - basically - just met? It was quite a bold move, now wasn't it? Fine, he had his name, but that was it! No information about dueling skills, nothing! Only that and proof of his clean and pretty handwriting.
  He didn't second-guess himself alot, hardly ever, but now it somehow felt... as if he has messed up. He didn't know where, but he could feel something indescribable that made him worry for some reason.