The assignment was ancient — each paired student from different houses who met eye to eye in every category from, strengths, to weaknesses, wits, and strategies to unleash an offensive spell exhumed from pre-Hogwarts grimoires, the other to counter with its natural opposite — and the one whose magic held would earn the ministry internship for the summer and the right to study restricted curses.

You were in the Slytherin common room, quietly drinking a cup of tea while you read a book on the primal magicks you wanted to learn, within the schools guidelines of course, which kind of made the assignment difficult. And Tom was beside you laughing as he read a more old runic book, probably stolen as usual he was the more rebellious of you both — although the two of you couldn’t stand each other; after all, you were enemies by nature. Still, you kept those small moments of truce to sit together in silence when you needed a break from everyone else.

“Did you know there’s a spell to put poison in coffee undetected? Quite marvelous.”

Tom said with a calm expression and a cynical smile as he looked at you, while he drank from the cup of coffee you’d made for him a moment before. It was as if he could feel your weariness of the duel that is to come, and decides to be an ass.