Broomsticks and The Wizards Gauntlet

Broomsticks and The Wizards Gauntlet

Chapter 14

The Wizards Gauntlet was in full swing! Harry was the first to make it across the thin elevated plank, as he made sure to be first at the start line. In retrospect, Draco wished he would have started first, instead of dead last, because he had to contend with the ignorant Gilderoy Lockhart type wizard’s. In fact, now that he looked, he was quite sure that the one who was swinging from one of the pendulums and screaming like a girl was Lockhart. He ducked under him and carefully stepped across the plank, waiting and watching for the split second when it was safe to go. At one point, he had to step over a wizard who had fallen over the plank, but had caught himself before he fell and was trying to grab onto Draco’s ankles for leverage in order to pull himself off.

Draco could see that Harry was already exiting the devil’s snare and entering the maze. Draco hurried, now in third place, as he found himself tangled in the devil’s snare. He cast the spell and sunlight burst from his wand. The tentacles of strangling vines ceased and retracted and Draco tumbled out of the snare, no worse for wear. He and the second place wizard entered the maze together and Draco didn’t waste anytime in throwing the bloke into a particularly thorny hedge. The guy’s robes stuck and Draco laughed at him before turning around and finding himself face to face with his father in a Death Eater mask. He cracked his cane at Draco and told him to hold out his arm to receive the Dark Mark. Draco backed up and then he remembered where he was.

“Riddikulus!” He shouted and the bogart diminished. He ran ahead, weaving in and out of the hedges. Draco was really good at mazes. He grew up with one at The Manor and had a superb sense of direction, so that he always knew where he was in relation to the entrance and the exits. Suddenly, the noise from the surrounding crowd was blocked out and Draco found himself running down a dank corridor. Screams rang out in his ears and a foul stench filled his nostrils. He recognized this place! This was Azkaban prison. A place where he had sent many unsavory people during his stint as Minister of Magic. The criminals were snarling and cursing at him, as he ran faster down the carved out rock hall. He stopped short, when Bellatrix Lestrange showed her ugly face. This wasn’t real. Bellatrix was dead.

“Riddikulus!” He shouted again and the prison disappeared along with his wicked Aunt. He roamed around the maze, turning right and left when he finally saw the end in sight. He was nearly out of the maze when he passed Harry Potter. Harry was laying on one of the hedges with his mouth open and his face a pale white. Harry was in deep shock as the dementor bore down on him, Harry’s hands frozen on his wand.

“It’s a bogart Harry! Get the fuck up. I’m not going to help you.” Draco ran ahead and leaped onto the rope that was hanging in mid air, attached to nothing at either the top or the bottom. Draco started to climb, not a contestant in sight. As he climbed, he could see Harry being overrun with dementors now. Hermione had told Draco about the dementors in their third year, the ones that almost killed both Sirius and Harry himself and how Harry saved them at the last second. Draco stopped climbing.

“Bloody hell, what is happening to me? Am I actually considering helping him? I’m a Slytherin!” Draco said to himself as he started to climb the rope again. He stopped again though and let go with his hands and dropped to the side of the pit below.

“Expecto patronum!” Draco shouted, pointing his wand at the pack of ravenous dementors that surrounded Harry Potter, a silver majestic dragon bursting from his wand. Harry shook his head and came back from somewhere that he hadn’t been in a long while. He hadn’t even seen a dementor since his Voldemort days, Harry always opting not to be the auror that escorted prisoners to Azkaban, just to purposely avoid any confrontations with the deathly beasts. He ran and leapt for the rope, catching it with one hand.

“Bloody hell! Draco said when he realized he had just allowed Potter to pass him up again. He lunged for the rope, but missed this time and fell in the pit of slithering snakes. Draco’s wand was at his side, as he lay flat on his stomach, his head looking up into the cold black eyes of a serpent. The snakes tongue was flicking as it hissed at Draco. He slowly slid his wand up his side, but the snake made a movement, as if to lunge and strike and Draco scooted back slightly.

“Sheeesiiisheeeoooiiissshh” Harry said from the rope, speaking parseltongue and the snake suddenly backed up and turned away from Draco. Draco looked up and smiled genuinely. He grappled for the rope and the two men continued up the rope as fast as they could. Slime dropped down the rope making it harder and harder to climb. Draco and Harry both, would climb a few feet and then slide back down the rope a foot. Draco’s hands were raw with rope burns, yet he pressed on. He and Harry reached the top at nearly the same time., Draco right behind Potter. Harry jumped on a broom and away he went. Draco too mounted the first broom he found on the platform. The flying course stretched out across the vast dark skies of Loch Lyon. There were flaming hoops with clues on them and Draco knew that if he didn’t get each and every one of them, then he was screwed. He leaned down on the broom and sped up, gaining on Harry Potter. It wasn’t enough though, Harry was just too fast and Draco knew it. He had thought about he and Harry’s competitive spirit at quidditch throughout the years. He had gone over it time and again in his brain, the different moves he could have done that would have guaranteed him the snitch instead of Harry Potter. It seemed now he was going to get to test those theories out. He lined himself up with the first flaming hoop. Its blue flames lighting up the night sky around the hoop. His aim had to be exact, because what he was going to do would require flying blind, but if done properly should give him the edge he needed to overtake Harry and set him ahead for the rest of the course. He was already low on his broom, his chest against the hard wooden broom handle as he pulled up on Potter. He put his forehead against the broom, and stretched his legs out, making himself like an aerodynamic bullet, careening through the skies. He counted, three,two,one and prayed that he had judged the distance properly and had timed it right. In one swift maneuver Draco spun in a one-eighty as he shot through the ring of fire, his hand snatching the clue as he flew past Harry. Draco sat back up on his broom now and traversed the difficult flying course. He was snickering under his breath at seeing Potters bewildered face. He beat him to the end of the course and when he pulled up hard on his broom the broom handle snapped in half and Draco went flying into the tunnel. He had all of the clues in his hand and Potter had none of them.

He suddenly heard footsteps, both in front of him and behind him. Draco staggered to his feet and suddenly there was wand light pointing directly into his face.

“Well, hello there! Er…I seem to be a bit lost. I cant figure out this clue, but yer a bit far behind me so I must be still in this thing,” Oliver Wood exclaimed. Just then, a panting Harry caught up to them. Wood tried to chat with Harry but Harry just shoved him out of the way. Wood hit Draco and Draco was slammed against the cave wall. In anger, Draco shoved Wood back at Harry and Harry fell down briefly.

“Hey now boys! I dun thinks this is the proper time for a fight, now is it? And I aint a bloomin bludger!”

“Shut up Wood!” Harry shouted as all three men now staggered through the caves banging into the walls and each other. They finally came to a door.

“Harry, I do not think it fair that yer ‘ere, since ye made the clues!” Wood exclaimed as they all stood at a doorway leading to whatever lay beyond it.

“Hermione made the clues this time, Wood! God you’re thick! You aren’t in this okay…you bloody failed! We were the group behind you!”

“Is this some sort of a trick?” Wood argued back.

“Will both of you shut the fuck up, I’m trying to think!” Draco yelled in his gruff and husky voice and both Harry and Wood looked at him in shock.

“Malfoy?” They both said in disbelief.

“Shut up!” Draco yelled. He fumbled at the first clue and started to read it.

“He got all the clues Wood, what’s the first clue say?” Harry asked, trying to coax Wood to give him his clues.

“You’re screwed Potter!” Draco laughed under his breath as he read the clue again.

Blasting rock may not be right in this instance, it’s elementary and it takes the path of least resistance.

Elemenatary…elements…least resistance…water! Draco said to himself as he raised his wand to the giant monolith blocking the door.

“Give it here! I’ll help you Wood, just give me the clue!” Harry screamed and Draco saw Wood hand Potter all of his clues, like an idiot. Draco’s door pushed open as the water streamed from his wand. Draco moved through the doorway to find himself at a fork in the tunnel. He glanced down and read the second clue.

Coming of age and a quill and a parchment will show you the way and give you safe passage.

Draco could hear Potter and Wood bickering amongst themselves as they came through the door and into the room where Draco was. Draco thought about the clue and then it dawned on him. Coming of age is a rite of passage and quills and parchment are used for writing! He took the right passage and ran down the dark tunnel until he came to a fairy. He stopped abruptly at the fairy with golden wings and long glittering eyelashes. She blinked and smiled at him. She was tall and beautiful, not at all how one would think of a fairy, and her skin shone like the moon, casting a luminous blue light.

“Honesty is the best policy I’m sure you’d agree. Answer honestly, and I will go free.”

“Okay hurry up, give me the question,” Draco said seeing Harry and Wood stumbling into the room. Suddenly two more fairies were standing in front of both Wood and Potter. They repeated the same phrase to Harry and Oliver.

“Er…you a sight for sore eyes. I dare say it was worth getting this far. Would you go out with me sometime?” Oliver Wood said and Draco shook his head. Harry Potter laughed.

“Through the darkness you must go, for the answer I must give to you is…No,” the fairy said to Wood. Wood was suddenly whisked back through the tunnel the doors closing behind him as he was sucked back through the wind tunnel. DXraco and Harry held o for dear life, their hands cutting into the jagged rock as they waited for the vacuum Wood had been sucked through to cease. When Draco looked up the fairy nodded.

The fairy blinked and smiled before saying to Draco…

A woman’s love is a precious gift. Which words of hers give you a lift?

The obvious answer would be the words “I love you”, but the fairy’s first warning was that the answer must be honest. Harry shouted at the fairy I LOVE YOU HARRY, and his door opened. Draco began to panic. Okay, think Draco, he said to himself. What words when Hermione says them, make me feel incredible? He smirked widely and then opened his mouth.

“Don’t…stop…fucking…me…EVER!” Draco could hear Harry let out a long deep resonating laugh from the tunnel in front of him. Draco picked up the fairy and threw her over his shoulder and started to run. Harry ran smack into him on his way back to get his fairy. He had been so excited to see the final door open, that he forgot to pick the fairy up to free her. Draco stumbled to his feet with the fairy on his back and began to run again. Harry slammed him and the blue fairy up against the wall and the fairy let out a shriek and dug her nails into Draco’s back.

“Fucking Potter, you can’t knock the fairy on the ground!”

“No rules, remember! You aren’t beating me Malfoy!” Harry said and Draco stopped dead in his tracks, pulled out his wand and gently flicked it, before walking breezily towards the finish line. Harry was two steps form the exit of the tunnel when he fell flat on his face. Draco stepped over him casually.

“Didn’t your mother teach you how to tie your shoelaces? Tsk Tsk. Sucker!” Draco smirked and then crossed the finish line. He collapsed on the ground with the fairy still on his back.

Harry swaggered out and dropped his fairy on the ground with a thud, his heart racing and his body exhausted. That’s when Draco bust up laughing. He was so tired and the thought of Wood asking the fairy out for a date and being cast back to the beginning of the tunnel was just too stupid and funny. Harry started laughing too, falling down and rolling on the ground nearly in tears.

“And what you said to the fairy…I said I love you and you said…don’t stop..” Draco stopped laughing.

“Shut up Potter! That’s private.” Then Draco bust up. By the time Hermione got to the finish line to congratulate the winner, she was shocked to find her husband and Harry Potter laughing together.

“Draco Malfoy, I know that’s you! Everyone could hear what you said!” Hermione said blushing and reaching down to help her husband up. Draco took her hand and pulled her down on top of him.

“Now, is that any way to treat the winner of The Gauntlet? Where’s my medal and my kiss from the Mistress of Ceremonies?”

“A kiss was never part of it Draco,” Hermione smiled.

“It is now,” Draco said, pullingoff his mask and kissing his wife passionately. His tongue darted between her lips and Hermione ran her fingers through his soft blond hair as she gave her hero a smoldering kiss.

“You shouldn’t have done this. But…I’m really proud of you.”

“That was pretty impressive flying Malfoy. I gotta hand it to ya on that move where you overtook me. I’ve never seen that move before. How did you think of it?” Harry asked and Draco smirked. No, he wasn’t going to tell Harry that he thought about how to beat him on a broom ever since his second year, when Harry made a fool of him in front of his father.

“Thanks Potter,” Draco merely said as he bent his head and received his medal from Hermione.

“That’s the Minister! Look the Minister beat Harry Potter!” The crowd was beginning to cheer now and then a ‘Malfoy for Minister’ chant rang out in the dark Scottish countryside.

“Come on, I want to see Luna and the kids,” Draco said ushering Hermione away from the crowds. He could see the family clapping atop a hill, which must have been where Potter’s house was, though he still couldn’t see it because of all the wards.

.

“It’s a raid!” Draco and Hermione heard a group of witches and wizards say at the bottom of the hill. Torches lit the night and the sound of music and festive cheer drifted in the wind. Hermione looked at Draco with wide eyes.

“Come on!” Draco said scooping Jessie into his arms and taking Hermione by the hand. “I hope you have the portkeys ready, because we have to go now!” Harry was charging up the hill towards Luna and Blaise and all the rest of them.

“Auror’s! Twenty of them! Time to go!”

Review!?

So I will cut it off here. Big chapters coming up! Hope you liked this one. The Gauntlet is a HUGE obstacle course, for Heather and others who might have been confused. I apologize if I didn’t describe it well enough in previous chapters. I really was saving most of the Gauntlet for this chapter though.

** Please review me and I will update when I see a few!!