'The Wedding'

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Eight days later Harry felt the duelling club proposal was ready to go and called all the teachers and Michael Erens the Head Boy together in his quarters putting an extra strong silencing charm and motion detecting charm on the door of his classroom just in case McGonagall decided to conduct a late night patrol.



‘Welcome, welcome everyone’ Harry said ‘Now I won’t keep you long but two weeks ago Michael the Head Boy here asked me to try and convince Minerva about setting up a duelling club, Michael can you outline to the other teachers why you want this club to start up?’



Michael got to his feet and inhaled nervously.

‘Well on an average of twice a week since my second year I have asked Professor McGonagall about starting up a duelling society. She’d put up with my what became nagging til the last week of last year when she threatened me with daily detentions with Mr Filch for this entire school year’



Jax let out a great snort of laughter.

‘Brave lad’ She said ‘I wouldn’t have dared’



‘Well that’s where Professor Potter comes in. On the morning of the first day of lessons this year I asked him if he could convince Professor McGonagall to start up a duelling club. I said it would be a good excuse to practice defensive magic and for the older students to practice non verbal spells. And since then I assume he’s been trying to convince her’



He sat down.



‘And in the last two weeks Professors Longbottom, Springs, Flitwick and Malfoy and I have been working on a proposal to help convince her’ Harry said flicking his wand so a copy of the proposal flew to each person at the table ‘I would like all of you not present at the brainstorming sessions to have a quick read of this and an even more detailed read of this tonight and let me know wether you’re in or out. As you’ll see from the structure it would be good to have all teachers on board that are familiar and I would hope experienced in casting the listed hexes. If you aren’t we can organise sessions within this group to practice them before we go to Minerva. Has anyone got any ideas on how to get her to come around?’



‘We’re assuming she’d say no’ Vector said peeing at interest at the first page.



‘She said no to Mr Erens for five years’ Slughorn said.



‘Yeah but Horace no offence to you Michael it was a student who asked’ Draco said ‘She might think it more of a well thought through exercise than a flippant joke if we present her with this proposal’



‘Professor Potter said something about a Professor Lockhart not being able to duel to save his life?’ Michael said questioningly.



‘Oh yeah that was legendary’ Neville said ‘Professor Lockhart was a…how would you describe him?’



‘A pompous git’ Draco volunteered.



‘A nano second away from being a squib’ Sinistra said with a grin.



‘Used his wand to pick his nose’ Vector said.



Everyone’s head snapped toward Vector.



‘You saw him do that?’ Harry exclaimed.



‘Yeah once, I hate to thing what else he picked with it’



‘Oh gross’ Neville muttered.



‘Okay back to business peoples!’ Harry called ‘Say aye all of you who are all of this duelling club idea?’



‘Aye’ came the collective reply.



‘And I suggest we all go to Minerva’s office now and convince her’ Neville suggested.



‘Neville it’s half past nine!’ Harry exclaimed ‘If we turn up at Minerva’s office now she’ll flip’



‘I agree with Harry’ John said ‘How about we all read the proposal then do it tomorrow night after dinner? That way we can practice any of the spells we’re not familiar with after school and before dinner. There’s three hours there’



‘Sounds fair enough to me’ Draco said.



‘Can I get some practice in on some of these?’ Michael asked Harry ‘I’ve not had any experience with the Dancing, Singing, Dragon Dung or Wedgie Hexes’



‘Sure come here after lessons tomorrow and I’ll help you out’ Harry said ‘Can I have some volunteers? I’d prefer some help just in case someone gets knocked unconscious'



‘Is that likely to happen?’ Jax asked with a raised eyebrow.



‘You never know when practicing a new hex or jinx’ Harry said.



‘I’ll help out’ Draco said.



‘Yeah count me in’ Neville said.



‘Okay thanks guys anyone else that would like to learn the new hexes in the proposal or would like to freshen up their skills come here tomorrow at quarter to five and we’ll get started’ Harry said ‘I’ll request a meeting with Minerva after dinner. Can I count on you all to be there? I’d appreciate the support’



A fissure of agreement went through the group.



‘I’ll be in like Flynn if you can convince Minerva to do it’ Slughorn said ‘It’ll be a job and a half for anyone to do it though’



‘Well that’s why I’ve got you all here tonight’ Harry said ‘With the entire teaching body behind this project she might cave in. And if she does it I’m going to do it anyway’



‘Aye?!’ Came the collective exclamation.



‘Well Gryffindor House anyway. I haven’t got authority over the other houses but I have in Gryffindor’



‘Harry there are two hundred and fifty students in Gryffindor’ Jax exclaimed ‘How do you plan on teaching them all this (She held up the three inch thick proposal) all on your own?’



‘I’d help’ Neville jumped in.



‘That’s still a hundred and twenty five students each that’s going to be a big ask’ Jax said.



‘I have no house allegiance I’d help’ John said.



‘Same here I’d be more than willing to help out’ Draco said.



‘Oh come on you’re Slytherin down to your toenails’ Neville said.



‘I was in Slytherin I’m not head of Slytherin house I think this duelling club idea needs as many teachers on board as possible to make it work’



‘No offence Professor but you’d never keep it secret’ Michael said ‘The first years wouldn’t be able to keep their traps shut and Professor McGonagall would find out in a trice. And the Hornby Twins wouldn’t be able to keep something this quiet for more than a nano second’



All the teachers sniggered.

‘And where would you find somewhere to fit a two hundred and eighty students apart from the Great Hall?’ Jax went on.



‘Oh I know of one place’ Harry said ‘But I can’t elaborate here and now you’ll find out later’



‘Well I’m intrigued I’m going to read this then come here after lessons tomorrow to see what you can do’ Jax said standing up ‘I’ll have to excuse myself I have loads of marking to do’



‘Okay everyone go and do whatever you have to everything’s finished here’ Harry said with difficulty suppressing a yawn.



One by one the teachers left til only Neville and Draco remained.



‘Would you lads like to partake in a night cap?’ Harry asked gathering up his things ‘You can floo to your quarters from mine’



‘Yeah I’ll take you up on that’ Draco said.



‘Yup I could go a shot or two’ Neville said slinging his satchel over his shoulder.



The three men made their way up the steps to Harry’s quarters and sat around the small dinner table. Ebony way perched on the back of Harry’s recliner and hooted when he entered the room.



‘Evening girl’ He said stroking her feathers.



‘Realistically what do you think the chances are of Minerva saying yes to this duelling club idea?’ Draco asked slinging his cloak over the back of a chair then sitting down.



‘Honestly next to nothing’ Harry said levitating the decanter of Firewhiskey and three glasses over to the table ‘But we won’t know until we try, at the very least I’d like to do an exhibition of duelling Ron and Hermione are in on the act and so is Molly Weasley. Molly and Hermione would be good with the girls and you two and I can work with the boys.



‘You know Harry I can really see this turning out well’ Neville said accepting the tumbler of Firewhiskey ‘Ta, Hogwarts can have it’s own inter school duelling society then maybe some new blood can go on the duelling circuit I haven’t seen anyone under forty at the competitions since I left Hogwarts. And duelling is considered a game under the constitution of the Department for Magical Games and Sports’



‘Why don’t you enter the competition then?’ Draco said swallowing a mouthful of Firewhiskey ‘You can duel a bit and there would be people lining up around the block to go against you’



‘I haven’t got the time and I’ll have less so once Hannah has the baby’



‘Don’t even suggest it’ Harry said when Draco opened his mouth and turned to him ‘With school, Ted and the Dark Force Defence League if I get elected I’ll have less time than Neville. I’m trying even now to find the time in my schedule to itch my arse’



Neville sniggered.



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The following day after lessons the teachers began filtering into Harry’s classroom. Draco and John were the first to arrive then Michael came.



‘You three are early’ Harry said waving his wand at all the tables and chairs to they all flew to the side of the room and began stacking themselves.



‘I want to get started!’ Michael exclaimed enthusiastically removing his cloak and dumping it and his satchel on a nearby chair ‘I’m ready to do some sanctioned hexing’



Draco laughed.

‘That is such a Slytherin attitude’ He said with a laugh putting on some gloves.



‘Professor McGonagall said to me once I was very Slytherin’ Michael said with a grin also pulling on a pair of gloves ‘I don’t know is nagging a Slytherin trait?’



‘Yeah it can be Slytherins do what they have to do to meet their ends’ Draco said ‘That I suppose could include nagging’



Within ten minutes the rest of the staff except Slughorn had arrived in Harry’s classroom.



‘Horace sends his apologies he has to supervise a detention with a fourth year Hufflepuff’ Vector said ‘He did say he would try and get along just before dinner’



‘Okay then lets get started then’ Harry said casting a locking and silencing charm on the door and rolling up his sleeves ‘Michael which hex do you want to try first?’



‘I’d like to try the Wedgie Hex’ Michael said with a grin.



‘Okay remember the incantation?’



‘Yup ‘Sub pardus sursum tergum (Underpants up the rear)’



‘Okay I will attempt to cast the Shield Charm and you will attempt to cast the Wedgie Hex. Do what is legal and what won’t necessitate a trip to the Hospital Wing to break it and cast the hex on me okay?



‘Gotcha’



‘One two three!’



Michael flourished his wand and brought it down in a whip like manner and in an instant Harry felt his underpants firmly and painfully yanked up his bum.



‘BOLLOCKS!’ He cussed wincing as all the other teachers fell about laughing and applauding Michaels spell work. The Head Boy flourished his wand again and undid the spell.



‘You cast that like you’ve practiced it’ Harry said once he’d picked his underpants out of his bum.



‘I have sort of’ Michael said ‘During lunch I transfigured a chair into a mannequin and practiced in an empty class room in the Charms Department. I added ‘Maxima’ to it just out of curiosity and I broke it’



‘Well that was some good spell work I didn’t expect non verbal magic this early on’ Harry said ‘Good stuff I really should’ve expected that considering we only did non verbal spells last week’



‘Slack Harry very slack’ Draco said.



‘Okay smartarse you have a go’ Harry said.



‘You’re on’



‘You’ll have to be on your nettle here mate Professor Malfoy is an ace dueller’ Harry said to Michael quietly ‘Fifty points to Gryffindor if you can do the same to him’



Michael grinned.

‘I’ll give it a go’ He said.



‘On the count of three’ Harry said ‘Non verbal spells aren’t necessary at this stage…One! Two! Thee!’



‘PROTEGO!’ Draco bellowed.



‘PERFRINGO (Penetrate)’ Michael bellowed back ‘SUB PARDUS SURSUM TERGUM!’



Draco was knocked off his feet from the force of the Shield Breaking Charm and he yelped as he was hit by the Wedgie Hex. Despite the pain of the hex he pointed his wand at Michael and bellowed ‘ACER! (Stinging). But Michael countered by yelling ‘PROTEGO MAXIMA!’ so loud Harry’s ears rung.



‘Okay Okay that’s it!’ Harry called holding his hands up.



Michael removed the Wedgie Hex from Draco and held out a hand to help him to his feet.



‘You’re awfully good at this duelling caper’ Harry said to him ‘Are you sure you haven’t done it before?’



‘Well yeah I have’ Michael admitted ‘I regularly duel with my two oldest brothers during the school holidays. Mum and Dad won’t let my youngest sisters join in til they reach sixth year. And my oldest sister in Sixth year this year so she’ll be able to join in. She’ll be really enthusiastic about this duelling Club if we can get it off the ground’



‘You did really well’ Draco said ‘I haven’t been knocked off my feet before I’ll have to watch myself next time we duel’



So for the next two and a half hours Harry, Draco, Neville, John, Jax, Sinistra, Vector and later Slughorn each practiced the new hexes with Michael all being on the receiving end of Michaels experience and enthusiasm for duelling. The Head Boy himself was only knocked down once when he was on the receiving end of a Self Assault Hex from Neville.



Harry called an end to proceedings when his watch read quarter past six.

‘Okay we’d better wrap things up here is everyone comfortable with the hexes we practiced today?’



‘Hell yeah!’ Michael exclaimed enthusiastically ‘That was brilliant! I really hope Professor McGonagall says yes to this. I’ve only got one year left at Hogwarts’



‘Well after dinner we’ll go and see her and see how things turn out’ Harry said pulling on his cloak.



Everyone filed out of the classroom and slowly made their way down to the Great Hall.



‘You know I haven’t felt this enthused about something since the DA during our school days’ Neville said to Harry ‘I still have my DA galleon you know’



‘Yeah really?’ Harry asked in interest ‘I think mine is in my vault at Gringotts’



‘Isn’t there the danger of you getting it mixed up with the real Galleons?’



‘Nah I have it in a secure box along with various other keepsakes’ Harry said ‘I know Ron, Hermione and Ginny have theirs in their vault too. We don’t have much call for it any more. Not since the DA days. Hermione was the one to summon people to meetings and you summoned people to help in the last battle’



‘I suppose if we ever have a DA reunion we could use it then’ Neville said ‘We don’t really see the others any more do we? The only people I see on a regular basis is you Ron. Hermione and Ginny’



‘They were all there when you and Hannah got married’ Harry pointed out.



‘Well apart from that I haven’t seen all of them since the end of the war six years ago’



‘Well we all grow up and move on and as a result form our own lifestyles’ Harry said ‘Maybe we ought to initiate reunions once we all start having kids’



‘That’s a good idea’ Neville said ‘Hey are you doing Patronuses with your students?’



‘Yeah I’m only doing the sixth and seventh years at the moment but tomorrow I’m going to bring it into the third year curriculum. If I could start producing one then they can start trying to produce one’



‘How are the older ones doing at it?’



‘Not too bad the seventh years have it down pat but the sixth years are a bit scratchy. That doesn’t surprise me though apparently the last D.A.D.A teacher only taught it to seventh years’



‘Really? Hell even I would’ve taught it to at least the fourth years up’



‘Yeah that’s what I thought Michaels Patronus is a cow you know?’



Neville sniggered.

‘Well mine is a short fat pony’ He said ‘What is it with the people you teaching having farmyard animals as their Patronus?’



‘Dunno but it’s not me that shapes what a persons Patronus is. And not everyone’s Patronus is a farmyard animal…Hermione’s is an otter and Seamus’s is a fox and last time I checked the fox and an otter are not standard farmyard animals’



Neville laughed.

‘I like my Patronus’ He said ‘I named her Patrice’



Harry snorted so loud a group of fourth years walking in front of him stopped and looked back.



‘You named your Patronus?’ He said with a grin after shooing the fourth years on ‘That’s hilarious’



Neville’s cheeks pinked up.

‘It’s something I only did recently after a joke Hannah made’ He said ‘I picked a name out if thin air. Hannah named her Macaw Patronus Leroy’



Harry laughed out loud at that.

‘Y-y-you’re kidding?’ He sniggered ‘Were you drunk when you decided to name them?’



‘Yes very’ Neville said with a grin ‘What would you name your Patronus?’



‘Oh I don’t know Percival?’ Harry said with a giggle ‘Or maybe Alfred, or even Algernon. Ignatius has a nice ring to it’



‘Oh now you’re just being sarky’ Neville said rolling his eyes.



‘It’s not something I can imagine doing while sober’ Harry said as they entered the Great Hall ‘But next time I’m at the Manor I shall bring it up with on and Hermione I’m sure they would have a lot to say on the subject’



‘Prat’



Harry and Neville took their seats and started on dinner. It wasn’t until dessert that Harry brought up the meeting with McGonagall.



‘Minerva do you have some time after dinner?’ He asked ‘A couple of the teachers and I want to ask you a question’



‘Of course but wouldn’t it be easier to do it here?’



‘No not really this requires a little privacy…we have a suggestion about tweaking the curriculum just a tad’



‘Okay I have some time immediately after dinner if that’s okay with you. But you could’ve brought it up at the staff meeting at the beginning of the week’



‘Yeah I had thought of that but I’ve been swamped in marking’ Harry lied ‘I’m running out of red ink’



‘I know how you feel’



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After dinner Harry waited til Minerva was safely ensconced in her office before making his way to the stone gargoyle with the rest of the teaching staff and Michael.



‘House Elves’ Harry said to the Gargoyle clapping his hands.



The Gargoyle moved aside and the spiral staircase leading to McGonagall’s office appeared. Harry led the way up the staircase and knocked smartly on the ancient wooden door at the top



‘Enter’



Harry opened the door and entered the office. McGonagall was behind her desk quill in hand reading a document that had the Magical Education Board crest on it.



‘Mr Erens what are you doing here?’ McGonagall asked with a raised eyebrow ‘You’re not a member of the teaching staff’



‘Professor Potter invited me’ Michael replied sitting in one of the chairs Harry had conjured up ‘It might be best to ask him why we’re all here I don’t know’



McGonagall rolled her eyes.

‘Do you really expect me to believe that Mr Erens?’



Michael grinned.

‘Professor I can’t make you believe or disbelieve anything but I am Head Boy and a member of the most respected house in the whole of Hogwarts you wouldn’t expect me to tell a outright lie to you the Headmistress of the most prestigious magic school in Europe would you?’



‘Oh that’s sucking up on a Slytherin scale’ Draco said rolling his eyes as the teachers and McGonagall laughed.



‘Okay I better start’ Harry said ‘At the beginning of Term Michael approached me about starting up a duelling club…’



‘Oh here we go’ McGonagall said ‘Mr Erens what did I say to you at the end of last term?’



‘That if I brought up the subject of a duelling club again you would give me daily detentions with Mr Filch for the final year at Hogwarts’ Michael said ‘That’s why I went to Professor Potter. The stories of his duelling ability during the last battle are legendary amongst Gryffindor House students…so really it’s not me that’s bringing up the subject of a duelling club at all its professor Potter. If anyone deserves the daily detentions it’s him’



Neville and Draco snorted statically and their faces turned fire engine red as they tried to suppress their giggles.



‘I’ll give you five minutes Harry’ McGonagall said shortly.



Harry placed a copy of the duelling club proposal on the desk in front of McGonagall.



‘Since Michael came to me about the idea of a duelling club Draco, Neville, John and I have been writing this’ He said ‘In there is a list of over seventy hexes and jinxes all categorized by level of difficulty and the appropriateness of use by year level. The list goes from minor to moderate jinxes and progresses to the harder ones for the fifth, sixth and seventh years. Also listed are the counter curses and other methods for shielding oneself from an unfriendly spell. And we briefly outline the possible side effects from being on the receiving end of each of the hexes or jinxes listed. We have tested each one amongst ourselves and we are convinced that executed properly no hard will come to any student apart from a skinned knee or a bad headache’



‘You went to all this effort?’ McGonagall said in interest flipping through the book.



‘Yep every day after school and before dinner we got together and wrote it’ Draco said ‘Harry knew after the deplorable display by Professor Lockhart in out second year some planning and structure would be necessary. We utilised the library’s defence against the dark arts section and Harry and Neville accessed their materials from their Auror training’



‘And Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Andromeda Tonks, and all the members of the old Dumbledore’s Army members have accepted our invitation to participate in demonstrations and instruction’ Neville said weighing into the conversation ‘Especially Seamus and Ernie McMillan they both work in the Experimental Charms Department and deal with hexes and their counter spells every day. And even Kingsley has agreed to come in when his schedule allows’



‘And it’s not just Gin and Molly who have volunteered for this scheme if we get it running’ Harry said ‘The whole Weasley clan have agreed. In particular Percy he thinks it’s a great idea’



‘You managed to get the Minister for Magic and his Undersecretary to agree to this?’ McGonagall exclaimed incredulously



‘Yep and the whole staff of the Auror Office, I want to do this properly’ Harry said ‘Neville and I picked the best duellers we know and added them to the willing list of volunteers’



‘Well you know the reason I’ve been saying no to Mr Erens for so long is because I thought it required too much organising for anyone to be bothered with’ McGonagall said ‘And I didn’t want a repeat of the Lockhart fiasco that was embarrassing, but you have made me see a duelling club is not totally out of the realms of possibility especially with so many excellent duellers volunteering for this project’



Harry grinned.

‘So how about a duelling club Minerva?’ He said.



McGonagall inhaled and exhaled flopping back in her high backed chair.

‘Let me think about it’ She said ‘I need to read your proposal first then I will weigh up wether the pros outweigh the cons. There are a thousand students here at Hogwarts and it would take a lot to mobilise that many students’



‘In the latter pages there is a timetable we’ve written to overcome that issue’ Neville said ‘Of course at this stage it’s only a draft we can make a more permanent one if you decide to give us the go ahead’



‘And just so you know Minerva you wouldn’t have to organise a thing’ John said ‘We that being the teaching staff will do it all’



‘You’re all making it very hard for me to say no’ McGonagall said ‘Filius you used to do a bit of duelling when younger what do you think of this whole thing? I have to say I am very reluctant to agree to it’



Flitwick sat up straighter in his chair.

‘In my opinion it’s an excellent idea’ He said ‘My only wish is that we had one before the final battle then maybe we wouldn’t have lost so many. I think duelling is something all students should be competent at upon graduation. This duelling club could be the way to do that. At this stage the only way for of age students to learn more complicated wand work is the camps and workshops the Dark Force Defence League run during the holidays and that’s hardly sufficient. In my opinion the young ones need to learn how to defend themselves long before they graduate. If they start learning in their first year they could be skilled enough to enter the novice level of competition of the Duelling Society competitions straight out of school’



‘Hmmmm’



‘Oh come on Minerva this is a brilliant idea’ Vector said ‘You know it is, I’m jealous I didn’t think of it first great stuff Harry’



A murmur of agreement went through the group and Harry gave them a subtle wink before turning to face McGonagall again.



‘Harry I can’t really decide now’ The older witch said removing her glasses and rubbing her face ‘Firstly I have to finish reading this monstrous package from the board of governors about the Potions Olympiad in January. And secondly it’s nearly quarter past ten, I promise I will read your proposal and give you an answer by the end of next week’



‘The end of next week?!’ Harry exclaimed ‘But Minerva if we’re to…OW!’



Harry felt what felt like a Slapping Jinx of the back of the head and turned around to see who had cast the it. Neville shook his head subtly and hissed ‘Leave it’



‘Yeah the end of next week will be fine’ Harry said ‘We’ll leave you to it eh Minerva? Thanks for hearing us out’



‘Not a problem Harry I have to say you’ve put a lot more thought into this than Gilderoy did’



Harry along with the rest of the teachers and Michael got up and left the room. As soon as the gargoyle slid back into place the teachers and Michael burst into whoops and cheers.



‘That’s further than I thought we’d get Professor!’ Michael exclaimed after slapping Harry a high five ‘Brilliant stuff!



‘I reckon we should back off for now’ Neville suggested to Harry ‘Give Minerva a week or two then ask her what she thinks’



‘Yeah that sounds the right thing to do’ Harry said ‘Oh thanks for the slap in the back of the head by the way’



Neville grinned

‘It was my pleasure’ He said ‘I toyed with the Self Assault but I figured the slapping charm was a bit more subtle’



‘Prat’



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The days seemed to pass excruciatingly slow for Harry as he awaited McGonagall’s decision on the duelling club. He had to exercise all his self control not to badger the older witch and thought he’d burst from the effort of waiting when finally ten days later McGonagall flooed into his quarters after dinner.



‘To what do I owe the pleasure?’ Harry asked helping the older woman out of the grate.



‘I’ve made a decision about your duelling club idea’ McGonagall said gesturing to one of the chairs around the dining table ‘May I sit?’



‘Of course, Firewhiskey?’



‘Oh just a nip’



‘You know I was beginning to think you were letting me hang for the fun of it’ Harry said pouring McGonagall a tumbler of Firewhiskey.



‘I wouldn’t do that to you’ McGonagall relied accepting the tumbler of amber liquid ‘I’ve thought about it long and hard and I’ve decided to let you go ahead with this duelling club idea’



Harry stared at the older woman.

‘Pardon?’ He said stupidly.



McGonagall rolled her eyes.

‘Yes’ She said ‘Harry I am saying yes to your duelling club proposition. You can go ahead and conduct it as you wish I trust you to the hilt and after reading the proposal you Draco, Neville and John authored I’m convinced having a duelling club within Hogwarts is a good thing’



Harry grinned.

‘Thanks very much Minerva’ He said ‘Can we start from tomorrow after dinner?’



‘If you can get everything organised in time then yes’ McGonagall said ‘Can you do that?’



‘In a heartbeat’ Harry said enthusiastically I can put a notice on the Gryffindor noticeboard and get Margaret, Mignon and Horace to put one on the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin noticeboards. If the students now are anything like they ones I went to school with they’ll have a nosey at it in the morning on coming down to breakfast’



‘Do you need me to do anything?’



‘No I’ll organise everything. You just have to turn up in the Great Hall tomorrow after dinner at eight o’clock that gives the rest of the teachers and I half an hour after dinner to clean up the great hall move the house tables to the side of the hall and set up a stage for a demo to be held on’



‘Well I’ll leave you to planning everything it’s time for me to get some shut eye. See you at breakfast tomorrow’



‘Evening Professor’



After McGonagall left Harry grabbed a sheaf of parchment and dipped his quill into a pot of purple ink and wrote the following notice.



ATTENTION ALL GRYFFINDOR STUDENTS

All those interested in joining a new proposed duelling club

Please gather in the Great Hall after dinner tonight at 8PM

A demonstration will be conducted

Followed by instruction according to year level.



Professor H.J Potter (Head of Gryffindor House)

And

N.F Longbottom (Deputy of Gryffindor House)



Upon completing the note Harry got down on his hands and knees then threw some floo powder down calling ‘Neville’s quarters!’



Green flames erupted around his head and Harry felt his head make the dizzying trip through the Hogwarts grates before it arrived in Neville’s quarters. Neville was dozing on his lounge when Harry’s head arrived and he fell off the couch on shock.



‘Bloody hell Harry don’t DO that!’ He yelped getting up and smoothing his shirt ‘What’s up?’



‘We’re on’ Harry said with a grin ‘Minerva said yes to the duelling club’



Relief flooded Neville’s features and he flopped back on the lounge.

‘You’re kidding?’ He said in surprise ‘I thought she was going to say no considering how long it’s been since we had that meeting in her office’



‘Well she said yes, Can you sign this notice I’m going to put on the Gryffindor noticeboard then notify the other teachers? I’ll let Mignon, Margaret and Horace know myself and get them to put the same notice on the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin noticeboards’



‘Sure’



Harry pulled the notice through the floo and gave it to Neville. He signed it then gave it back to Harry with a grin.

‘Were going to have fun with this Harry’ He said.



‘I think so too catch you at breakfast eh?’



‘Sure thing’



Harry pulled his head out of the grate and back into his quarters. He threw down another handful of floo powder and went to Margaret Vector’s quarters. He didn’t see her in his immediate line of vision so called.



‘Margaret are you there?’ He called ‘Helloo….’



‘In a second Harry!’ Came his colleague’s voice.



A minute later Margaret Vector emerged from her bedroom dressed in a navy blue dressing gown and her hair encased in a white towel twisted into a turban.



‘Whoo hoo sexy look Mags’ Harry said with a grin.



‘Oh ha ha’ Vector said with a roll of the eyes ‘What’s up?’



‘Minerva gave us the go ahead for the duelling club! Can you put a note for the Ravenclaw students on the noticeboard letting them know about it and to gather in the Great Hall at 8PM tomorrow night? I’m going to let Horace and Mignon know at the same time’



‘Of course you look excited’



‘I am this is going to be really good for the school I can tell’ Harry said with a grin ‘I’ll catch you later eh? I want to get to Horace and Mignon before I hit the hay’



‘No worries Harry, congratulations on getting this through I didn’t think Minerva would say yes’



‘Neither did I, neither did I’



After he’d let Slughorn and Sinistra know of McGonagall’s decision Harry pulled on a jumper and left his quarters making his way to the Gryffindor Common Room. Despite the late hour several students were still up doing their homework on several of the tables the common room offered. Included in that group of students were Michael Erens and the Head Girl Louise Allen.



‘Evening all’ he greeted them retrieving the notice from his pocket.



‘Evening sir’ Came the scattered reply.



Michael saw Harry affix the notice to the noticeboard and came over to read it.

‘Oh wow McGonagall said yes to the duelling club?’ He said in awe ‘Blimey! I thought she’d say no!’



Michael’s excitement piqued the interest of the other students in the common room and within seconds Harry found himself surrounded with nosy students.



‘Oh this is soooooooo cool!’ A small first year boy Harry recognized as Fergus Flatley said in his broad Irish accent ‘We can hex the bogeys out of those gits in Slytherin’



‘Oy I’m not starting up this Duelling Club just so you can hex every member of Slytherin House’ Harry admonished in amusement ‘This is a chance to learn how to use your wand more effectively and to protect yourself from any unfriendly spells. Anyone caught hexing for the sake of hexing will get an automatic detention’



‘Nuts way to go ruining my fun Professor’ Fergus said.



Harry grinned.

‘Trust me; you’ll have more than enough fun tomorrow night without having to resort to hexing Slytherin students’ He said ‘As this goes along I’ll be bringing in some guests to demonstrate different duelling methods’



‘Oh wow really? Will Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger be coming?’



‘At some stage yes’ Harry said ‘Ginny Weasley too and one of the best duellers I’ve ever met Molly Weasley’



‘You’re kidding Mrs Weasley is coming along?’ Louise exclaimed her face flushed with excitement ‘Oh that is beyond cool I can’t wait to meet her’



‘She’ll be flattered to know that’ Harry said ‘I’ll see you all at lessons tomorrow eh? Don’t stay up to late’



‘Ha! We’ll be up to three in the morning after the work Slughorn gave us on the Amortentia Potion’ Saxon Rawiller one of the seventh year prefects said with a roll of his eyes ‘Sadistic bastard I want to graduate at the end of next year not at the end of the next fecking Millennium at this rate I’ll be working on the project til my kids are seventh years’



Harry laughed.

‘When do you have to hand it in?’ He asked.



‘Friday three days time’



‘Come to me tomorrow and I’ll give you a pass for the restricted section of the library’ Harry said ‘There’s text in there that’ll help you’



‘Thank you sir!’



*******************************************************************



Harry went through the next day like an excited child in anticipation of a trip to Honeydukes and several times he went over with the night’s plans with Neville, Draco and John to the point where they threatened to hex him.



‘Potter if you go over one more detail about tonight I’ll transfigure you into a woman and make you wear nipple tassels to the launch of this thing’ Draco said with barely contained amusement during morning break ‘I am not going to forget what we have to do’



Harry flopped down into a nearby seat.

‘Sorry I’m just so keen to get tonight off and running you know?’ He said ‘This is something I can really get my teeth into’



‘You know when you get onto the board of the Dark Force Defence League you’re going to have absolutely no time to yourself’ Neville said from across the room.



‘I don’t have any time to myself now’ Harry said pulling his third year lesson plan toward him ‘I think if I had a free schedule I would spontaneously self combust’



Draco laughed.



*******************************************************************



As the day progressed Harry was convinced every clock in the castle was bewitched to go slower the only time he was distracted enough was when a scheduled Patronus lesson came up for his third years at the last lesson of the day. This lesson was with Slytherins and Gryffindor students the same group that tackled the Boggart in the first lesson of the term’



‘Hello hello hello we’re going to have lots of fun today!’ Harry greeted his students as they filed into the classroom that was cleared all the tables and chairs pushed to the side of the room.



‘Aww cool are be doing another Boggart?’ Nick Hornby asked enthusiastically dumping his satchel on a nearby table.



‘We did that three weeks ago you nit’ Mystic muttered with of a roll of her eyes.



When the last student arrived Harry turned and faced the eager group.



‘Today ladies and gents we are starting Patronuses’ He said ‘Can anyone tell me what a Patronus is?’



To Harry’s surprise Nick Hornby thrust his hand into the air.

‘Sir it’s a positive force, sort of like a shield charm but whereas a shield charms deflects an unfriendly spell a Patronus can drive it away’



‘Great explanation ten points to Gryffindor now what are the primary uses for a Patronus Charm?



‘They ward off dementors’ Nick continued ‘And my Dad told me once they be used with the Anti-Disapparation Jinx in to confine someone in one area sort of like a guard dog’



‘Brilliant take fifteen points this time that’s correct the primary use for casting a Patronus Charm is to drive off a Dementor but the Auror department also use it as a restraining method for arrestees. Now there’s two types of Patronus a Shield Patronus which is used to protect oneself from unfriendly magic and there’s the corporal Patronus which is a fully formed clearly defined form…can anyone tell me what a Patronus looks like?’



Mystic eagerly raised her hand in such a perfect imitation of Hermione Harry had to bite back a laugh.



‘Yes Miss Springs?



‘The form of a Patronus is unique to every witch or wizard’ Mystic said ‘No two Patronuses are the same. They might be the same animal like a horse or a dog, but they look different in markings and build’



‘Exactly now the key to producing a Patronus is to fix your attention on a happy memory. It can be anything. Receiving a long awaited present, meeting a relative you haven’t seen for a while. Having a great holiday etcetera. Make sure that memory is as strong as possible then cast the following incantation….’Expecto Patronum’ Can you all say that?’



‘EXPECTO PATRONUM!’ The student parroted.



‘Again?’



‘EXPECTO PATRONUM!’



‘Terrific stuff now line up in two lines facing each other about twenty feet apart then we can start trying to produce a Patronus’



And with a twitter of excitement the student’s began thinning out and eventually the twenty students faced each other. One line of Slytherins, one line of Gryffindors.



‘Sir can we see your Patronus?’ Luke Hornby asked in interest.



‘Okay then’



Harry thought of the moment he asked Ginny to marry him then spoke the incantation.

‘EXPETO PATRONUM!’ He bellowed.



A Silver coloured stag erupted from the end of his wand and landed in the middle of the line of students Harry flourished his wand and it began galloping about the room like a racehorse then it leapt over Harry’s desk and disappeared out the classroom window in a formless mist.



‘Oh that is so cool!’ Nick Hornby said in awe ‘Can we do that with our Patronuses?’



‘Yes once you are able to form a corporal Patronus you can make it race another one’ Harry said ‘It’s something I amuse my godson with. Okay lets get started on the count of three ONE, TWO THREE!’



Within seconds the classroom was full of formless mist and once Harry was convinced he saw something like a Zebra appear. The atmosphere lightened and for no particular reason Harry felt happy and excited like he’d just come off a whizzy ride.



‘OKAY OKAY let’s stop for a minute!’ He called ‘Great Effort that I definitely saw the start of a corporeal Patronus in that. Did anyone see any form to their Patronus?’



‘I think I saw something that looked like an eagle’ Mystic said excitedly ‘Can I try again?’



‘Sure go ahead…’



Mystic gripped her wan thrust in in front of her and bellowed….

‘EXPECTO PATRONUUM!’



An eagle did infact erupt from the end of Mystic’s wand but immediately disappeared.



‘Crud it disappeared!’ She said.



‘No no that’s great!’ Harry declared ‘The fact you can produce a definable Patronus is great. Remember you’re all only thirteen years old many qualified of age wizards have trouble producing even a shield Patronus. This is very advanced magic and many schools around the world don’t teach it to their students til well into their seventh year. I’m teaching you this particular spell because at this age was when my Defence against the Dark Arts teacher taught me this spell. The thing to nailing this spell is concentration. You have to concentrate on that happy memory. After today I want you to practice the incantation and next week we’ll do Patronuses again…how about you Mr Hornby? Let’s see you have a go’



Nick steeled himself and with great enthusiasm yelled….’EXPECTO PATRONUM!’



A huge elephant erupted from the end of his wand and waddled to the end of the room before disappearing in the same formless mist.



‘That’s incredible!’ Harry exclaimed ‘Brilliant stuff…what was your memory just out of curiosity?’



To Harry’s surprise Nick blushed a shade of red Ron would’ve been proud of.



‘No matter you don’t have to tell me’ Harry said with a grin ‘Okay Luke lets see you try remember concentrate as hard as you can on your happy memory…go on..’



‘EXPECTO PATRONUM!’



With a wave of mist like a tap being turned on full Luke’s Patronus erupted out of his wand and formed into a giant breed lop eared rabbit; it hopped the length of the room lasting slightly longer than his brothers before swirling into a blob of mist.



‘Whoo hoo!’ Harry cheered ‘I would define that as a corporeal Patronus congratulations Mr Hornby you just earned Gryffindor thirty points’



‘Really?’



‘Yup now you go with your brother and Miss Springs into a clear part of the room while I work with the others lets see if you can make a fully fledged Patronus before the days out eh?’



‘Yes sir!’



And for the next forty five minutes Harry worked with the other seventeen students on producing a Patronus. They Slytherin students to his surprise proved to be just as enthusiastic as the Gryffindor students and by the time the bell rang the whole class were able to produce a Patronus however brief they lingered.



‘Okay everyone no homework this lesson apart from practice the incantation and the wand movements for producing a Patronus and I’ll see you here on Tuesday’ Harry announced.



‘Awww but professor that was fun!’ Nick moaned ‘Can’t we stay a bit longer and do it some more?’



‘You really want to?’ Harry asked in surprise.



A rumble of agreement went through the students.



‘Okay then if you really want to’ Harry said putting down his satchel ‘You know you’re probably the first lot of students I the history of Hogwarts that voluntarily stay back after lessons end. I ought to write to the board of governors and let them know about you lot…but then maybe not they’d probably all die of shock’



The students laughed loudly.



‘Okay just practice what we did in the lesson and if you need or want any help I’ll give you a hand’



Harry took off his robes and slung them over his desk chair. He then sat on his desk munching on some crown mints as he watched his students work. About fifteen minutes later Draco came in.



‘You keeping them back already?’ He asked joining Harry on the desk as nearby two Slytherin students bellowed ‘Expecto Patronum!’



‘They wanted to stay back’ Harry said holding out the bag of mints ‘Mint?’



‘Ta’ Draco said dipping his fingers into the bag ‘Everyone’s wondering why your class is still back. All that can be heard is ‘Expecto Patronum’. Got any corporeal Patronuses yet?’



‘Yup three solid ones the Hornby Twins and Mystic Springs…It’s..’



Harry’s conversation was cut off by a solid Patronus taking the shape of a Bald headed eagle flew by as solid as if it were real.



‘I DID IT!’ Mystic screeched as the Patronus flickered.



‘CONCENTRATE CONCENTRATE!’ Harry bellowed leaping off the table and rushing to Mystic’s side ‘Concentrate really hard and flick your wand a bit like you would for the Levitation Charm see if you can get it to move a little’



Mystic swished and flicked her wand and her Patronus started flying around the room performing loop-the-loops. All the other students stopped bothering with their Patronuses and stopped to watch Mystic. Harry produced his Patronus and together he and Mystic raced their Patronuses around the room before aiming them out of the window.



‘Ohhh maaaaaaaaaaaaan that was awesome!’ Mystic shrilled doing a little jig ‘My defence teacher back home would be cacking herself over that! Patronuses aren’t taught til sixth year at the Institute’



Harry applauded her.

‘Great stuff’ He said ‘You must’ve really been concentrating on you memory….Okay everyone another fifteen minutes then I’m chucking you out us teachers do like to rest away from the hoards you know!’



‘That was sensational’ Draco said to Harry as Harry sat back down on the desk ‘I’ve only ever seen a fully qualified wizard cast a Patronus like that’



‘I didn’t expect this lot to produce a corporeal Patronus so early’ Harry said as he watched his students go into action again ‘I thought it would take half a dozen lessons for that to happen but every one of them have produced a definable one however brief’



‘Great now all I’m going to hear in my third year Transfiguration class on Monday is 'Wah Professor Potter is awesom,e wah the sun shines out of Professor Potters arse, wah I want to marry Professor Potter wah wah wah’



Harry rolled his eyes.

‘Oh shut up’ He said ‘Arrogant arse’



Draco laughed.

‘Have you done Patronuses with the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff third years?’ He asked.



‘No not yet that comes on Monday’ Harry said watching Mystic cast her Patronus again and zoom it around her room.



‘Word’ll get out how much fun this lot had and you’ll have Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws pestering you all weekend to start the lesson early’ Draco said.



‘I’ll confine myself to my quarters then’ Harry said with a grin ‘So how are things going with Katie? Gone out on a date yet?’



Draco’s cheeks pinked up.

‘No but we’re going to this nice restaurant in Goathland on Saturday night candlelit dinner, roses chocolate you know all the romance and fluffiness’



Harry had to restrain himself from clapping loudly.

‘I had a feeling you two would be going on a second date’ He said with a grin ‘What date shall I reserve in my diary for the Malfoy/Bell wedding?’



‘Oh fuck off Potter’ Draco muttered under his breath so the students wouldn’t hear ‘Weddings my arse I’ve only been on one date with the girl and you’ve already got us married you’re worse than mother. I owled her about Katie and she sent me an owl back going on about eternal happiness and love and fluffy bunnies and all that crap. Hell I’m barely ready to get into a new relationship let alone getting married’



Harry laughed.

‘Only jokin’ mate’ He said ‘I hope everything goes well for you two you both deserve it’



‘Thanks’



Twenty minutes later Harry dismissed his class.



‘Okay peoples I’m turfing you out now’ He said sliding off his desk ‘Us teachers do have a life outside school hours you know’



‘Really? That’s not what I’ve heard’ Nick Hornby said with a grin.



‘Oh ha ha go on with ya Mr Hornby, you coming to the duelling club tonight?’



‘Hell yeah I wouldn’t miss that for all the Peppermints Toads in Honeydukes’ Nick replied with a grin ‘I hear you’re going to hex Professor Malfoy into a puddle of Centaur poo’



‘Who told you that?’ Draco exclaimed.



‘I overheard one of the Hufflepuffs in our Herbology class say that first lesson this morning’



‘Well that’s not going to happen unless he forgets to cast a good strong shield charm’ Harry said with a grin shooing Nick out of the room ‘Go on nick off go and do something constructive’



‘Yes sir’



‘Bloody smartarses’ Harry said after the last student left ‘Bloody Hufflepuffs spreading rumours like that, sounds more Slytherin to me’



‘Nah Slytherins wouldn’t say something like that where they could be overheard’ Draco said with a grin ‘Now that I know you’re going to hex me into a pile of centaur shit I’ll have to be on my guard’



‘Oh ha ha…go on nick off’



‘Yes sir’



‘Git’



*******************************************************************



‘Oy what’s this I hear about you hexing Draco into a pile of Centaur shit?’ Neville asked Harry as Harry took his place at the Head Table two and a half hours later.



‘Who did you hear that from?’



‘I overheard one of my third year Hufflepuffs say it this morning in my first class’ Neville said with a grin.



‘Thought so Nick Hornby told me he’d overheard the same thing’ Harry said spying a plate of apricot pork and accompanying crackling and piling some of it onto his plate ‘Of course Draco’s being a total smartarse about it going on about casting a extra strength shield charm’



‘So are you and Draco going to start the demonstration then?’ Neville asked.



‘Yeah I thought we would, would you mind pairing up with John?’ The others have agreed to separate the students into smaller groups’



‘Sure where is John anyway?’ I haven’t seen him since the end of lessons’



‘I think he’s having dinner with his wife tonight he said he’d be back by eight o’clock’ Harry said slathering apple sauce on his pork. I’m going to pull him aside when he gets back and get Mystic to show him her Patronus’



‘Oh yeah I know you were starting Patronuses with your third years today how did it go?’ Neville asked with great interest.



‘Oh it was brilliant every one of them produced a corporeal Patronus however brief but Mystic really surprised me her Patronus was so strong she races my stag around the classroom’



‘You’re kidding her Patronus was that solid after only one lesson?’ Neville asked in surprise his eyebrows disappearing into his fringe.



‘Yep as solid as if it were real’



‘What form does it take?’



‘A Bald Headed Eagle the epitome of American patriotism’ Harry said ‘It’s a bloody huge thing too and one of the Slytherins have a Zebra Patronus and I’m sure I saw a rhinoceros’



‘My Patronus is almost boring compared to that’ Draco said leaning back in his chair and sipping a pumpkin juice ‘A Friesian Horse is boring compared to a rhino’



‘I suppose your Patronus has helped you in the past?’



‘Of course’



‘Then it doesn’t matter what it looks like. Friesians are elegant horses’



‘And in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries they were the horses used to pull hearse….a bit depressing’



‘Whinger’



‘Bugger off’



*******************************************************************



After dinner Harry felt his excitement build as he the rest of the teachers and Michael shooed the students out of the Great Hall and began setting up for the duelling club launch/demonstration. He and Neville magicked the Gryffindor table to lean up against the wall while Slughorn and Draco did the same with the Slytherin table and Vector and Sinistra did the same with the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Harry and Neville then levitated a regular sized trestle like table to the centre of the Great Hall then pointed their wands at it and cried ‘ENGORGIO MAXIMA!’



The table transformed to a stage half the length of the hall then Harry called Michael over.



‘Yes sir?’ Michael asked almost skipping over.



Harry suppressed a laugh.

‘Can you give me a hand re-enforcing this thing?’ He asked ‘Start down the entrance hall end meet me in the middle’



‘Yes sir!’



‘I don’t know who’s more excited you or the Head Boy’ Draco said with a laugh as Harry began re-enforcing his end of the stage ‘He’s bouncing around like he’s choofed on Helium’



‘I think that’s because this is the culmination of six years of nagging McGonagall and that finally one of the teachers listened to him’ Harry said flicking his wand in the reverse way of the levitation charm ‘I’d be happy as a pig in shit too if something I’d been hoping for, for that long eventually came to fruition’



Harry and Michael met in the middle of the stage then Harry conjured non slip mats out of thin air and affixed them to the table. He then got up on it and ran up and down it stamping it with all the effort he could muster every few strides to test it. The rest of the teachers then finished off conjuring up chairs for the students to sit in.



‘So what do you think Minerva?’ Harry asked getting down off the stage and going over to McGonagall who was watching the setting up process in great interest.



‘You really have planned this down to the last detail tonight haven’t you?’ She said casting her eyes over the chairs which were set up in a ‘V’ shaped grandstand like manner. Gilderoy never thought of going this far’



‘No offence Minerva but Lockhart was a wimpy wibbly little coward’ Harry said ‘A first year has more balls than he did’



‘I tend to agree with you’



At five to eight John arrived back puffing having just run.

‘So sorry I’m late!’ He exclaimed ‘Dinner went a bit longer than I anticipated’



‘Got lucky eh?’ Draco said with a grin.



‘Rack off Malfoy’



‘Ooooooooh’ The teachers chorused.



‘Okay teachers everything’s ready you can bring in your house students now. Neville can you and Michael mobilise the Gryffindors?’



‘Right y’are Harry’ Neville called.



Harry got up on the stage and McGonagall sat down where the teachers seating was set up. Within seconds the Great Hall doors were open and the students began pouring in the anticipation in the air was much like the atmosphere prior to a quidditch final. Draco joined him on stage and waited while the eleven hundred plus students found their assigned seats.



‘I am so going to hex your arse’ Draco said to Harry as nearby some Hufflepuff students picked their seats.



‘You wish Malfoy’ Harry said with a grin as the last of the students took their seats and turned their eyes on his expectantly.



When the teachers sat down Harry cast Sonorus on his voice.



‘WELCOME, WELCOME EVERYONE TO THE FIRST MEETING OF THE AS YET UN-NAMED HOGWARST DUELLING CLUB!' He said 'THE PROFESSORS AND I OVER THE PAST THREE WEEKS HAVE DEVISED A PROGRAM IN WHICH YOU ALL HOPEFULLY WILL LEARN TO DEFEND YOURSELF MAGICALLY AND HOW TO USE YOUR WAND MORE EFFECTIVELY. WE HAVE DEVISED A PROGRAM PARTICULAR TO EACH YEAR LEVEL IN WHICH WE WILL COACH YOU IN DUELLING ETIQUETTE AND OF COURSE A LIST OF HEXES AND JINXES WE DEEM APPROPRIATE EACH YEAR LEVEL. THEY WILL BE MINOR HEXES, JINXES AND CURSES FOR THE FIRST YEARS RIGHT THROUGHT TO THE ADVANCED HEXES, JINXES AND CURSES FOR THE SEVENTH YEARS WE HOPE THAT THIS CLUB WILL HELP THOSE OF YOU WHO WISH TO ENTER THE FEILD OF DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS UPON YOUR GRADUATION AT THE VERY LEAST IT'LL IMPROVE YOUR HAND EYE CO-ORDINATION SKILLS. TONIGHT PROFESSOR MALFOY AND I WILL CONDICT A SHORT DEMONSTARATION THEN IF YOU DESIRE TO WE WILL DIVIDE YOU ALL INTO PAIRS AND BEGAN COACHING YOU IN THE SKILLS APPROPRIATE TO YOUR YEAR LEVEL. NO HEXING FOR THE SAKE OF HEXING WILL BE PERMISSABLE AND ANYONE CAUGHT DOING SO WIL INCUR A IMMEDIATE DETENTION’



‘C’mon Professor enough with the introductions we want to see some sanctioned hexing!’ Nick Hornby called with a grin.



Everyone including all the teachers laughed hard.



‘Okay let’s begin’ Harry said to Draco after removing the Amplification Charm from his voice ‘Ready?’



‘As I’ll ever be’



Harry began walking down the stage towards the Entrance Hall end of the Great Hall then turned around about twelve feet from the end. Like etiquette decreed he bowed at his opponent then flourished his wand and within seconds a full blown wizard’s duel was underway.



TRIPUDIO’ Harry bellowed bringing his wand down in a whip like manner.



A red flash erupted from the end of his wand and hit Draco with a loud snapping sound. He jumped up and began a lively hip swinging mambo waving his arms in the air and sashaying up backwards and forwards about twenty feet. The students roared with laughter as Harry swung around and bellowed….



‘SONO, SOMETIMES!’



Draco began bellowing out a song



‘SOMETIMES I RUN.

SOMETIMES I HIDE,

SOMETIMES I’M SCARED OF YOU

BUT ALL I REALLY WANT IS TO HOLD YOU TIGHT

TREAT YOU RIGHT BE WITH YOU DAY AND NIGHT,

BABY ALL I NEED IS TIME....’



The entire school body including the teachers roared with laughter as Harry’s quick spell work made Draco look like an idiot….Harry had to suppress a laugh as Draco hit with two hexes tried to cast his own defences.



‘I DON’T WANT TO BE SO SHY UH-UH

EVERYTIME I AM ALONE I WONDER WHY

HOPE THAT YOU WILL WAIT FOR ME....PROTEGO!...’



With a flick of his wand Harry deflected the shield Charm and twirled his wand in a circle to keep the dancing and singing hexes on Draco.



‘YOU SEE THAT, YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE FOR ME

I WANNA BELIEVE IN EVERYTHING YOU SAY

COZ IT SOUNDS SO GOOD

BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT ME, MOVE SLOW

THERE’S THINGS ABOUT ME YOU JUST HAVE TO KNOW….I HEX LIKE HADES</b>…! AUGAUMENTI MAXIMA, DENSAUGEO (The tooth growing jinx) …LOCOMOTOR MORTIS!’




Harry was knocked off his feet as a great torrent of water erupted from the end of Draco’s wand and crashed down on him soaking him to the skin. His eye teeth the sprouted to the size of walrus tusks and finally his legs snapped together with the Leg-Locker Curse. He rolled over deciding to use non verbal magic and thought ‘LEVICORPUS!’



With a yelp Draco was pulled into the air with the Levicorpus Charm. He swung like a pendulum from the force of the spell then waving his wand arm like the blades of a windmill Harry caused Draco to spin in a rapid three sixty degree circle and drop his wand which fell off the stage with a loud clatter. His opponent disarmed Harry undid any spells and bowed to him to signify the end of the duel.



The students leapt to their feet and roared their approval. Neville gave Draco back his wand who removed his hexes and jinxes from Harry and bowed graciously in defeat. Harry’s robes were instantly dry and he strode forward to shake Draco’s hand.



‘You would have to hit me with a Britney Spears song’ He said dryly ‘Why not a Weird Sisters or Hobgoblins tune?’



‘Because I wanted to embarrass you’ Harry said with a grin ‘You’re getting slack Malfoy dropping your wand? That’s a bit first year isn’t it?’



Draco just rolled his eyes.



‘OKAY LADIES AND GENTS PAIR OFF INTO YOUR HOUSES AND AIM ONLY TO DISARM YOUR OPPONENT AND SHEILD YOURSELF FROM DISARMAMENT TIL A TEACHER CAN COME AROUND AND GIVE YOU A HEX OR JINX APPROPRIATE TO YOUR YEAR LEVEL. SIXTH YEAR GRYFFINDORS FOLLOW PROFESSOR LONGBOTTOM, SEVENTH YEAR GRYFFINDORS COME WITH ME!’



Harry and the teachers removed the stage and chairs and the seventh year Gryffindor students followed Harry to where the Head table normally stood (It had been pushed back against the wall).



‘Okay Ladies and Gents you get to perform the meatiest spells’ He said ‘The spell I’m going to teach you is one Ron Weasley invented. Its side effects can be quite horrendous depending on the force in which it’s cast. So for the time being I’m going to ask you to conjure up helmets to protect yourselves from any injury. If I send all of my seventh years to the hospital wing Madam Pomfrey will have my head’



All ten of the students conjured up motorcycle type helmets and put them on.



‘Okay this Spell is called the Frypan Assault Hex’ Harry said ‘It conjures a cast iron frypan out of thin air and hits the hexee over the head. It’s a hex the Auror office use quite a lot on assailants that won’t come quietly. Cast with enough force this can render the hexee unconscious’



‘We’re using an Auror spell?’ One of the boys named Patrick Ferguson asked in awe.



‘Yup this one is used quite a lot’ Harry said ‘The guards of Azkaban have authority to use it as well’



‘Has anyone ever been knocked unconscious with this spell?’ Louise asked.



‘Yes twice. Once during testing and once last year when Pierre L’Carriaire was arrested down in Doncaster’ Harry said ‘You might have read about the case in the Prophet he was knocked unconscious from the force of this spell and had to spend a month in St Mungos’



‘Oh yeah I remember that’



‘Okay now the incantation is ‘Custulum Oppugno’ it’s literal translation is ‘Kitchen Assault’



‘Is it Latin?’ Michael asked ‘Professor Binns said in our fifth year a lot of spell names have a basis in Latin’



‘Yes it is’ Harry said ‘Okay ready to practice the incantation? Wands away I don’t want any Frypans going astray…one..two..three!’



‘Custulum Oppugno!’



‘Again with a little more feeling you want this hex to render your opponent unable to cast a returning spell or to drop their wand’



‘Custulum Oppugno!’



‘Great you’ve got the feel for it. Now once you’ve cast the spell you can wave your wand and direct the fypan to hit where you aim it to. Now I only want you to practice this one pairing at a time. There’s room to move and it’s less likely that the hex will stray and hit anyone else. Saxon you first with Patrick. I want you to cast the hex and Patrick I want you to try and deflect it. Stop when I say so’



‘Yes sir!’



‘Custulum Oppugno!; Saxon cried jabbing his wand at his classmate.



A cast iron frypan the size of a large pizza appeared out of thin air and hit Patrick on the head. Patrick stumbled then Saxon swept his wand downwards like holding onto a skipping rope. Patrick was forced to leap in the air and jump over the frypan as it came back at his head ready for another swipe. But this time he was ready and bellowed ‘BOMBARDA!’



And with a deafening bang the frypan exploded and disappeared into black smoke.



Harry clapped.

‘Fantastic stuff!’ He said happily ‘That’s one way of ending a duel that I should’ve thought of’



‘It was the first spell that came to mind’ Patrick said his voice slightly muffled from the helmet he was wearing’



‘Great first effort. Louise you and Davina next’



For the next hour Harry coached the Gryffindor Seventh years on the Frypan Assault Hex and the Self Assault Hex. He then stood on the Head table and brought attention to himself by letting off red sparks from the end of his wand.



‘OKAY LADIES AND GENTS THAT IS IT FOR TONIGHT. WE WILL HAVE THE SECOND MEETING NEXT TUESDAY AFTER DINNER AND THEREAFER ON TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS WHERE YOU WILL BE DIVIDED INTO YEAR LEVELS AND BE COACHED INDUVIDUALLY IN OTHER PARTS OF THE CASTLE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE SEE A TEACHER OR SEND AND OWL. WE DO APPRECIATE FEEDBACK AND WILL BE ABLE TO TAILOR THIS PORGRAM TO SUIT YOU BETTER IF WE KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO LEARN!’



A loud groan emanated from the student body.



‘NO ARGUMENTS’ Harry said with a grin ‘TUESDAY IS ONLY FOUR DAYS AWAY’



The students grumbled as they were ushered out of the Great Hall by the prefects and Head Boy and Girl. Harry and the rest of the teachers returned the Great Hall to it’s normal appearance then retired to the staff room.



‘That went brilliantly!’ Harry exclaimed flopping down into the recliner nearest the fireplace ‘Better than I hoped it would’



McGonagall looked almost as excited as Harry.

‘Harry I’m glad you convinced me of this duelling club’ She said ‘You and the others conducted it very professionally, the Duelling Society committee would be impressed with how you ran tonight’



‘Thanks Minerva it means a lot to me that you think so much of the night but it wasn’t just me everyone else helped do it’



‘Well thankyou all it was very well conducted you all did very well’



‘Terrific do I earn points for Slytherin for being a good boy?’ Draco asked with a grin



Minerva rolled her eyes while everyone else just groaned.



*******************************************************************



A short time late after a nightcap Minerva left to her own quarters leaving behind John, Draco, Neville, Slughorn, Mignon and Margaret, Jax, Flitwick and Harry. They gathered around the largest table and began a post mortem of the evening’s activities.



‘Well that went well’ John said ‘I’ll turn up on Tuesday’



‘Ha ha’ Harry said ‘The Gryffindor seventh years aced the Self Assault and the Frypan Assault Hexes. How did the groups you all had go with theirs?’



‘I supervised a group of Ravenclaw fifth years and they got pretty far along with the Singing and Dancing hexes’ Draco said ‘And they all want to try it on Tuesday’



‘And the first year Hufflepuffs want you to know the Wedgie Hex is the funniest Hex they’ve ever heard of’ Neville said to Harry with a grin.



‘Thought that would go down a treat’ Harry said ‘How did they go with executing it?’



‘Really well, I think their enthusiasm for it made it easier’ Neville said.



‘Okay all we have to do now is work out between us who takes each year level’ Harry said pulling his quill, ink and a sheaf of parchment out of his satchel ‘I thought if it was okay with you all we’d each take a year level from each house. I don’t mind staying with the seventh years’



‘Well I can stick with the sixth years if you like’ Neville said ‘I can manage a group on my own’



‘Thanks, Jax can you go with the second years? I saw you working with them earlier’



‘Sure I can do that’ Jax said ‘But Harry if we all do it there’s a hundred and forty students each that’s a huge amount’



‘Do you think it’s unmanageable?’ Harry asked.



‘Well no not unmanageable but it’s not going to make teaching them easy. Plus apart from the Great Hall where can we hold a hundred and forty students?’



‘Half the rooms in the transfiguration department could hold more than that’ Draco said ‘And with a few enlargement charms some of the larger rooms in the Charms department would be sufficient’



‘Smartarse’ Jax muttered in amusement



Draco blew the older woman a kiss.

‘Mwah Darling’ He said with a grin.



‘What year group did you have?’ Harry asked Draco after writing Jax and Neville’s names on the parchment beside the year level they’d teach.



‘I flitted between fifth and first years with Filius’ Draco replied



‘Can you take the fourth years? And Filius if you could take the fifth years that would be great’



‘Of course’ Flitwick squeaked.



‘Mignon, would you be alright with going with the first years?’ Harry asked ‘That should be pretty easy group’



‘No worries Harry’



‘Ta, now that leaves the third years, Margaret that lot have your name all over them do you mind?’



‘Nah that’s fine Harry’ Vector said.



‘John I saw you working with the fourth years on the singing and dancing hexes do you want to stick with them or come with me and work on the seventh year program?’



‘I’ll work with you on the seventh years if that’s alright’ John said ‘I like the list of advanced hexes you have and wouldn’t mind trying them out’



‘Okay then you can stick with me then as this thing goes on maybe you can rotate with the other groups don’t know what the curriculum is like at the Salem Institute but if you rotate amongst the group say every two weeks and with each once you can learn all the hexes you’re not familiar with quick smart’



‘Sounds a good strategy’



‘So are we going to conduct next Tuesday’s session in the Great Hall?’ Neville asked pointing his wand at the nearby drinks cabinet and summoning from it a bottle of cold lemonade ‘Or would it make more sense to go to other parts of the castle?’



‘I think it would be best to take the seventh years to another part of the castle’ Harry said ‘They’re going to be learning much more difficult and dangerous hexes and I don’t want to risk a first year copping a frypan over the head’



‘I think it would be prudent to have the fifth sixth and seventh years separate to the rest of the years due to the danger and difficulty of their spells’ Flitwick squeaked ‘The other year levels I think would be safe within the Great Hall’



A murmur of agreement rippled over the group.



‘Okay I’ll leave it up to you to decide where you will take your class just let me know my Monday night so I can decide where to take my seventh years’ Harry said ‘Now any ideas for when we should conduct Tuesday’s session? I’m half inclined to hold it after school hours and before dinners. I think after that is a bit late for the younger students and we all have marking to do’



‘I’m inclined to agree with you’ John said ‘Though my workload isn’t as big as you others after tea all you tend to want to do is flake out’



‘So would four o’clock be an agreeable time for you all?’ Harry suggested ‘No one’s got and tutoring or remedial subjects at all?’



‘Harry it’s only three weeks into the new term’ Neville said with a roll of his eyes.



‘Yeah but you never know’



‘I think it’s safe to assume Tuesday at four o’clock is okay’ Draco said suppressing a yawn with difficulty ‘Okay I’m off to my quartes if I stay here any longer I’m going to fall asleep in my chair and you don’t want that to happen…apparently I drool in my sleep’



‘Who told you that?’ Harry said with a grin ‘Katie?’



‘Oh fuck off’ Draco said rolling his eyes (And Harry noticing blushing at the same time) ‘That joke was about as funny as a pickaxe in the back of the head’



‘That must be pretty funny then’ Neville piped up with a grin ‘Night Draco’



‘Night all’



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