George was still getting used to his new wand - carved by Wei Wuxian, wand core found by Jiang Cheng, and enchanted by Sirius - but there was still some testing to be done. He was managing to use it well enough for smaller spells that assisted him with his joke shop, inventing, and teleportation, but there was still a lot to be tested.
Hurtling a full body bind at Jiang Cheng, who deflected it, he grinned, feeling alive in a way that came from the heat of battle and a wand that worked well with its owner. His old wand had felt off balance for years, since the Battle of Hogwarts, and he had suspected it had something to do with how he had changed with Fred’s death. It wasn’t uncommon for a witch or a wizard to outgrow their wand with major life changes, but he had been stubborn about getting a replacement, clinging to the memory of when he and Fred had visited Ollivander’s to get their first wands together.
The broken wand was now officially retired, sitting in the case at the Burrow.
But the pain of losing a piece of him like his wand had faded quickly, when the magic coursed through him so powerfully with a new tool for direction. It felt right in a way his old wand didn’t anymore, so the loss was easy to bear now.
It didn’t hurt that he got to spend this journey creating a new wand with Jiang Cheng, who was quickly becoming his partner in all ways of the word.
Dodging a water spell and being drenched again, he threw both his hands up in surrender. “Alright, you win! Let’s take a break, yeah?” He asked, slipping his wand in a holster strapped to his thigh as he made for the picnic they had set out in the clearing by the river they had been dueling in. It was a beautiful fall day, cooler than what was comfortable if it hadn’t been for some warming charms they had cast in the area.
Wand magic was still an intriguing mystery to Jiang Cheng. He understood the principle of it, how it worked more than why it worked, but the mechanics were mostly still new experiences. He had to go off instinct more than anything else. Thankfully, his magical instincts were solid and his George instincts got stronger every day. Especially since the attack had taken down his last wall.
Being in love didn't mean he was going to go easy on George though. He wanted to be sure his lover was secure in his magic, that his defenses were stronger than ever. And he also didn't mind showing off a bit. He flashed a sharp smile as George called for a break and lowered his hands, moving closer to the picnic area.
"I'll allow it," he teased, carefully lowering himself to the blanket in the grass. "Maybe when we pick it back up, you will stop being so gentle." He pulled two water bottles out of a basket and held one out to George. "How did it feel?"
George very carefully did not confirm nor deny he was being deliberately gentle with his spells and reaction time. It was always hard to fight against the instinct to protect the ones he cared about even in practice duels. There was no way to practice duel with spells that could maim or kill without actually trying to maim or kill the person he was fighting, so he used spells that bound, that were easily reversible, and didn’t cause a lot of pain. It was just easier on his conscience to do that than go full tilt and somehow hurt his partner.
“I’ll get better with it when I’m more used to the new wand,” he said instead, taking the water bottle with thanks and taking a swig of it, before laying on his side. Hand supporting head, he fluttered his eyelashes at Jiang Cheng and said, “Anyway, don’t you like it when I’m gentle?”
Teasing words aside, he added, “It’s nice though, this wand. I feel more connected than I did with my other one, more like how I did in the beginning with that one than the latter years.”
Jiang Cheng lifted an eyebrow, smirking knowingly. George's way of dancing around things with charm and humor was hardly new.
"Not on the battlefield," he countered. It was perhaps a little too serious, but he was someone who had battled his own brother rather dramatically once, to deceive anyone watching. He leaned into George's shoulder and lowered his voice. "I only meant I can take more."
With that counterstrike delivered, he reached out to run his fingers along the wand in its holster. He would always be deeply curious about magic. "Why do you think that is? The connection?"
George had the act of deflection down to an art form most of the time, but he should have known better than to think he could fool Jiang Cheng. In the near year that they had known each other, George had been the most honest with him than anyone else he had known, save for perhaps Fred. And even Fred didn't know the low depths he had sunk or was capable of sinking into, doing his best not to bog his twin down with the details of the years that followed his death.
Perhaps that's why he had fallen so quickly for this man from another world and time. In the few months he had known him, he had revealed more of himself than he thought he was capable of revealing. So it was unsurprising that he didn't buy George's act of innocence, so he didn't bother carrying on with it. Choosing the most simple route - the truth - always did bode well for him when it came to Jiang Cheng.
"Cheeky," he smirked, though it was gentled into a smile as Jiang Cheng touched the wand. He pulled it out and offered it to him, his brother's beautiful inlay gleaming in the sunlight that shone across the clearing they had chosen. "In the wizarding world, it's not unheard of for someone to outgrow their wand if they've gone through something major." He paused, before admitting. "I suppose you could say that Fred's death changed me at a fundamental level. So it's not unusual that my old wand was no longer a match for the person I had become. It worked fine, but this one?" He reached for the wand, testing the balance before twirling it between his fingers. "This one just feels right."
It pleased Jiang Cheng to get a direct answer. Even more so, an illuminating one. He held the wand carefully across his palm. “That makes sense. Magic at home is deeply personal and malleable. With a weak core or without one at all…” He gestured with his free hand at the center of his chest. The pinch at the corner of his eyes was the only evidence of his own traumatic history. “…There can be no cultivating of any real strength. Not using standard cultivation anyway. My brother found a way around that, but he had to go far outside our ways to get there.”
There was a time when he’d have said that with a sneer. It was stated more matter-of-factly now. He would never love demonic cultivation. But he did love his brother. And he did prefer Wei Wuxian have the power to protect himself. Jiang Cheng closed his hand around the wand for moment and reached out to the magic within it using his own. It felt like George. Likely more than his old wand had in years.
He held it back out to George. “It sings of you now.”
There was something deeply touching about the way that Jiang Cheng could sense his magic. Not just his type of magic, but the distinctive type of magic that was all George Weasley. George never knew anyone so deeply in touch with their magic, not like the cultivators from the world his partner came from.
"I wish I could sense magic like you can," George admitted, taking his wand back but shifting to a sitting position so he could put his free hand on the center of Jiang Cheng's chest. "What does it feel like, to sense me in my wand?" His question was laden with curiosity, not an uncommon thing for George. He was constantly hunting down more magical knowledge and inventing. If being a Gryffindor wasn't so deeply ingrained in his entire being, there was a chance he could have been a Ravenclaw.
“I wouldn’t say I can sense all magic. Or lack thereof,” Jiang Cheng admitted reluctantly. He hadn’t been able to tell that his brother was without a core, after all. “But our magic is very focused on energy and often related to sound. I know your energy and I helped find this core. I can feel…” He’d never really had to describe anything like this, so he hummed thoughtfully as he tried to find the right words. “…I think I recognize the vibrations of it.”
Slipping the wand back into George’s holster, Jiang Cheng pressed his cheek against George’s for a moment. “It might call to me specifically because it’s yours. Or it might just be that strong now.” He sat back up and smiled. “Probably some of both, honestly. Perhaps you could try some spells that were more difficult with your old wand.”
Oh. There was something downright romantic about the way Jiang Cheng explained it. To know someone’s energy, to have it matter because it was his. Maybe he hadn’t meant for it to be something a little breathtaking, but George’s breath was absolutely taken away by the revelation. “I will, later,” George said, distracted, chasing after Jiang Cheng’s touch and pulling him to him. “But maybe you can tell me more about how you can recognize the vibrations of my magic because it’s mine.” Pausing, he tilted his head. “With your face. On my face. Tell it to me like that.”
Jiang Cheng gave an affectionate roll of his eyes. It would’ve been less of a hypocritical reaction if his pulse hadn’t immediately started racing, but he didn’t mind that part either. His ability to deny George what he wanted when he wanted the same thing was near nonexistent now. And a quick glance around proved they were still very alone, so Jiang Cheng wound a hand in George’s hair and rolled him back onto the blanket.
“Our food better hold,” he warned weakly. “And don’t think I’ll forget why we came here!” It was a wasted effort to sound focused and inflexible, of course, when he was smiling as brought their mouths together. He’d pull them back to practice eventually. But he’d learned the benefits of a break from work with George Weasley.