Harry Potter and Gaining Momentum
Abyss Returned
Dear Reader, Here’s the longer
chapter I promised. Hope you enjoy it. Please don’t flame me after this
chapter, you never know, Hermione may find some really good ways to get around
the Veela obstacle. :)
Ryanaven
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Today
was the day that Harry and Snape wer com come out of the transformation.
Professor Dumbledore had taken over Severus’ classes for the last week and was
delighted to be working with potions again. He found he missed the hypnotizing
way that one could get lost in their work of potions. Albus had once been very
close to pursuing a career in the subject and was going to train as a master.
He had gotten half way through his apprenticeship before he decided to change
his course of study, but not before he discovered thelveelve uses of dragon’s
blood and successfully helped Nicolas Flammel create
the elixir of life, not to mention his work on Alchemy that Nicolas had gotten
him interested in either.
Albus
called for Minerva and Draco Malfoy to be present. When the Transfiguration
professor was present he had her, once again, retrieve robes for Harry while
Draco did the same for Severus. Albus then told Minerva that he was going to
have Draco cast the spell with him to leave the embarrassment of the two
wizards to a minimum. He had a feeling he didn’t even have to explain, she
would have been happy to butt out anyway, after all, seeing one of your
students nude is probably not on top of ones list of ‘Things To Do’ on a normal
basis.
“You
know the incantation right Draco?” the Professor asked after they had gone into
the small study aside from the Headmaster’s office. Draco nodded nervously.
Though he was usually confident in his ability to do magic, sorting out someone
who was splinched with someone else could be
difficult. People had spent whole months in St. Mungos
for such accidents during Apparation.
He
remembered his father talking about some of his school mates
and having to be carted off to the
to get an end table or a lampshade removed from the inners their bodies. He’d
once been fascinated on how this could or would occur and for a long time tried
to convince Greg and Vince to attempt it while they were at his manner, but every
time his father caught him. He didn’t look particularly mad that he was trying
to manipulate them into harming themselves, just told him to keep in mind that
the ministry could detect underage magic in those not sorted out properly.
Draco, after all, took a potion on the first day of vacation every year so he
was undetectable. I was necessary for his Dark Arts Training. He scowled at the
memory.
“Ready
then?” the Headmaster asked looking at him imploringly. He nodded. “On three
then. One…Two…Three!” he commanded and they both mumbled the spell ‘
beautiful black phoenix with red eyes began to twist and grow.
The
total time of the transformation was far too extensive, but Draco supposed that
was because the two bodies were trying to fight their way free of one another
and out of the animal form. After about five minutes there were a total of four
arms. A wing was composed of two each. The legs came next and as the flawless
would split up and become two feet. The odd thing was that they were both left
feet on one side and right feet on the other. Dumbledore must have seen this
also because he cocked his head to the side slightly as if not only amused but
intrigued. Draco was soon blushing scarlet as he saw a bum being mooned his
way. This was not particularly the reason for the blush, no, he blushed because
he knew that bum, and he loved that bum. Harry’s back was soon facing both Draco
and Albus and the transformation continued to move up the trunk and to the
neck. Draco was now goggling at the morphing creature. It was amazing how the
one animal had carried two souls and bodies in the same essence of life. The
beak melted away and was replaced by a sneering pair of lips that was obviously
Professor Snape’s; meaning Harry was, in fact, the one in the back shielding
Snape’s nude body from view of Albus and Draco. Snape pulled his head forward
and took Harry’s with him and seemed to be fighting to pull free, not that it
was doing any good. Harry’s head had not lot lost its feathers and was still
faceless as his head looked like an extension of Professor Snape’s greasy
locks.
There
was a sucking noise as Harry’s head seemed to come out of the back of Snape’s
head (Draco was suddenly reminded of a story that Harry had told him of
Professor Quirrell and Voldemort being in the back of
his head. Had it not been such a tense situation, he may have laughed at the
irony) as if they were a piece of fine Tupperware. Harry’s face immediately
formed and he fell backward as the sucking sound ended with a ‘pop’. He put his
hands over his face as if checking to see if it was all there and then realized
he was falling. Strong arms caught him and as he looked down he realized
instantly who had caught him. There was no mistaking the ivory colored skin that
seemed to feed his eyes candy on a daily basis. Draco quickly wrapped a thin
sheet around him and horded him to the restroom to help him dress while Albus
did the same with Severus out in the room.
in boric acid after that,” Harry all but yelled as he turned on the sink, sheet
now wrapped around his waist and began to vigorously wash his face and hands.
“C’mon,
it couldn’t have been that bad,” Draco said grinning. Harry just looked at him
sternly through the reflection of the mirror above the sink.
“How
do you feel?” he asked in a more serious tone.
“I
told you, grimy,” he said sharply.
“Okay,
okay, I didn’t mean to push,” Draco said lightly hopping up and sitting on the
sink next to where Harry was now trying to clean out from under his gnawed
fingernails.
“Sorry,
but having a condescending old Potions Master to speak to for a week was not
the best vacation I could have asked for,” Harry said rolling his eyes.
“You
mean you could still talk to each other? Like telepathic?” Draco asked
astonished. Harry never seemed to stop amazing him.
“Yes,
but we spent the majority of our out time with our Occlumency wall tightly shut
so we didn’t have to talk. He was especially rude when you all tried to
Snape was hollering about detention the whole time,” Harry said snickering.
“What
do you mean ‘try to Obliviate’? Luna did do it, he
totally forgot about it after she did it,” Draco asked confused.
“Dumbledore’s
walls are as good as mine and Snape’s. No memory charm is getting in that mans
head,” Harry said knowingly. “He was just putting on a show for the rest of the
Professors.”
“It
was quite a show,” Draco murmured thinking about how he was going to tell Harry
about Pansy and his Veela side.
“You
have no idea,” Harry commented, “The old coot could talk a phoenix of his
feathers if he wanted them enough.”
“Oh,
so he can be manipulative?” Draco asked with his eye brows raised in surprise.
“Again,
you have no idea,” Harry said rolling his eyes at the though. He was working on
his pinky finger and was getting very irritated at how no matter what, he still
felt dirty. “Arrggg!” he exclaimed again.
“Harry,”
Draco said putting a hand on top of Harry’s so to distract him. “You’re not
dirty,” he said as he lifted Harry chin with his hand and planted a kiss firmly
on his lips. He didn’t want to have the talk that was coming “I missed you.”
“I
missed you too. It seems like we never have time for one another these days. I
just can’t wait till its time to go home for Christmas. Imagine, two whole
weeks with no classes and no extra work. Just you, me, and the master bedroom
at
hours on end,” Harry said fondly. Draco got a dreamy look on his face. Hours
indeed, he thought.
“I’m
excited already,” he told Harry though the pit of his stomach clenched. Harry
smirked.
“Been
wanting to visit the south pole for a while now have you?” he asked quirking an
eyebrow much the same way Snape did when he was looking for a better
explanation.
“I’m
always willing to visit the South Pole, it just hard to take a trip there when
there’s not a lot of time in your schedule for it. I feel like I should
schedule the trip on your time table or something,” Draco said sarcastically.
“It’ll
get easier, I promise, but right now, since it’s barely past the beginning of
the term, I have to get set into the routine so I can interrupt it more
efficiently,” Harry said. Draco just nodded. “So, how has everyone been?”
well, that I’ve seen. I can’t speak of the
I think Luna and Neville are getting together, though nothings official yet. I
do believe that though Neville has grown a back bone over the past year, he has
yet to overcome nervousness around girls,” Draco said grinning. Harry laughed
lightly at this.
“I’ll
have to have a talk with him. He’s a catch that shouldn’t just be cast aside;
he just needs to believe that.” Draco nodded at this. “So
anyg elg else?”
“Not
really, everyone has pretty much been waiting and hoping that you and Severus
came out of the transformation okay really. I was worried sick for a long time
and though it sounds odd, Ginny seemed to be also. I think she’s taken a liking
to Snape for some reason,” Draco said amused. Harry gave him a scandalized
look.
“I’ll
definitely be speaking with her later,” he voiced. It was Draco’s turn to laugh
lightly.
“Hey,
you never know, maybe someone is finally seeing past the greasy exterior of our
old potions master,” Draco said sarcastically hiding his nervousness.
“Oh,
yes, bitterness and vengeance are such appealing virtues,” Harry remarked
equally sarcastic.
“Harry,
we need to talk,” Draco said slowly looking at Harry suddenly seriously.
said as if attempting to read his mind.
“No,
no, I don’t expect you to. It’s not about Severus, it’s about us,” Draco said.
Harry gave him a confused look so he elaborated. “We may not be able to see
each other much longer,” he said quietly.
“It’s
because I’m dangerous isn’t it,” Harry whispered dropping his head.
“Oh,
no, no,” Draco said urgently, “It’s me, I swear. There are just a few gs Igs I
need to work out. Hermione is helping me with them and hopefully we’ll be able
to continue our relationship soon, but for right now it’s dangerous for me
financially,” Draco voiced.
<&nbs
year now. If I don’t abide by the contract a percentage of the Malfoy
estate goes straight to Pansy as alimony. It was arranged the day Pansy was
born, which was only two months after I was. You know,
Pureblood-Pureblood crap. Hermione is looking for a flaw in the contract and
will sooner than later find one that will let us be together. The contract
doesn’t say I can’t be with you, but it does say that I have to conceive a
child with her by my seventeenth birthday,” Draco explained.
“Seventeenth,
that’s so young,” Harry said incredulously.
“That’s
where the second reason comes into play. My Veela half will come into heritage
on my seventeenth birthday and my body will start looking for its perfect mate.
If I conceive a child before then, the heritage will never come, which is why
the agreement was made with Pansy’s parents, it was a precautionary measure.
The last thing my father wanted was me going after a half-blood or Muggle-born.
Once the Veela part takes over, I no longer have any say over what happens in
my love life, it could choose a werewolf for all I know,” Draco said.
“And
the reason you can’t be with me is because even if you did break the contract
and give her the part of the estate owed to her, your heritage would still come
into play because its impossible for us to conceive, not to mention dangerous.
Then there’s the fact that I may not be the one chosen…right?” Harry asked
understanding the predicament. Draco nodded.
“How
long do we have?” he asked Draco hopping up on the sink beside him and taking
his hand.
“I
was thinking we should slow it down as soon as possible so we don’t get anymore
attached than we already are,” Draco all but whispered.
“And
by slow down you mean end it?” Harry asked with a pained expression. Draco
didn’t even answer audibly, just nodded once more, too ashamed to look at
Harry. Harry took a deep shaky breath and looked over at the milky skinned boy
and closed his eyes as a tear rolled down his cheek. He was angry, sad,
depressed, and felt oddly rebellious. His emotions were twirling like a cyclone
at sea, leaving nothing but a confused boy to look at the remains. His breath
once again shuttered as he tried to keep his emotions in check, but is was no
use. He had to cry. As weak and vulnerable as it made him feel, it was the only
way to let the emotions out, he had to show an outward expression…so he sobbed
silently, making sure not to make a sound.
His
ribs raked with grasping breaths and he put his face in his hands to cover his
tear soiled face. He had only felt the pain in his chest once before in his
life and that was the day he had destroyed the Headmaster’s office, just after
he had lost his Godfather, the only parent he had left. He suddenly felt the
void again. He didn’t know why, but the hollow abyss was suddenly very
prominent again. He felt like his heart was being torn out and handed to
someone to care after and that person was dancing atop it.
Draco
reached over to comfort the sobbing sixteen year old, but Harry flinched away
as if Draco had burned him. He didn’t want to be held, he wanted to be left
alone. He wanted to wallow alone with his own thoughts, his own heartache, in his
own arms. Self pity it may have been, but he only had himself now anyway. Why
except false security that was only going to be ripped away again?
Draco
slid off the sink and took one last look at Harry. His eyes prickled with
unshed, but wanted tears. A Malfoy didn’t cry. He may not agree with a lot of
what his father said, but this was one thing he would not allow himself to
succumb to…tears. Casting one more painful glace at Harry’s hunched and sobbing
form, he walked out of the lavatory and closed the door tightly behind him. He
had just taken away Harry’s last safe haven.
Thoughts
Harry never thought he would have, floated around in his head. Thoughts of
doing rash things to get the blonds boy attention once more raced like frenzied
fairies in his head, he wanted to make Draco see the errors of his ways. He
wanted to show Draco how much he meant to him, but couldn’t do so knowing what
Draco had just explained to him. Of course his rational side was telling him
this was in fact the only practical thing to do, but his rash half was saying
that ‘love conquers all’. He heaved and his breath caught in several hick-ups
as he lowered himself off the sink. Though he knew it wasn’t true, he felt like
he had nothing left. He felt like his last link to real love, real happiness,
had just extracted itself away from him, leaving this, once ag
lost his first love without a fight.
Harry
didn’t even leave the restroom; he simply disappeared in a ‘puff’ of smoke and
reappeared in front of the Room of Requirement. He shuffled past the portion of
the wall three times before entering.
The
room was filled with glass objects, all very thick pottery type objects. He
waved his hand furiously at a portion of the room and the vases, pots, and
ceramics burst turning to glittery shards of glass that dissipated before even
landing on the floor. He waved again sending another section into chaos as the
glass objects burst with ear splitting crashes and burst into millions mallmall
pieces. The recklessness didn’t so much feel good as it did reliev He
He
wanted to tear away at something, leave it lifeless, but he couldn’t kill…so he
resorted to the next best thing, chaos.
The
articles of the room reappeared as soon as they were destroyed. He turned in
quick circles frantically waving his hand as the room around him exploded in response.
He wailed, screamed, and cried as his arms and hands split through the air like
knives in blurred movements. He was once again heaving breaths but paid no
attention to the hyperventilating. His chest began to burn, and his hair stood
on end as his body felt like it had been hit with a bolt of white lightening.
The pain became overwhelming and he dropped to his knees mid-wave and cringed
at the pain. The pain built until it was as if the black and empty void was
full of fire then with an ear piercing scream, all the objects in the room exploded
and Harry lit up with white light. This time, the articles did not reappear.
Harry fainted.
“Harry...Harry!”
a voice exclaimed.
“Harry…mate…wake
up!” another deeper voice said. Harry didn’t want to open his eyes, he was too
tired, he just wanted to stay in the darkness where is was cool and quiet.
“Harry,
if you don’t open your eyes, we’re going to have to take you to Madam Pomfrey,”
a stern familiar voice told him. Harry cringed at the tone, he wanted to ignore
it, but something told him the voice was perfectly serious. So he rolled over
on to his back and squinted his eyes open just enough
for a fraction of light to come in, then he snapped them shut again.
“We
can’t make the lights dim, you’re in control of that, remember, you were the
first person in the Room,” the voice of Hermione told him. It dawned on Harry
where he was, and why he was there and he let out a soft whimper, but
apparently not soft enough.
“Does
something hurt mate?” Ron’s voice asked concerned. Harry covered his face with
his hands as tears once again tried to form.
“Harry,
what hurts?” Hermione asked frantically, but Harry shook his head in a ‘no’
fashion. “We can’t help if we don’t know what to do,” she said in a pleading
voice.
“Draco
left me,” Harry said in a barely audible voice.
“I’ll
kill him!” Ron roared furiously.
“Ron,
calm down…No...Come back Ronald Weasley!” Hermione said as Harry heard one pair
of foot steps stomp off and another set dash after the first.
Harry
laid there a second thinking. Why did someone always need to nose into his
affairs? The headmaster and his friends were notorious for it, especially
Hermione. She just had to know everything. She couldn’t be happy with an ‘I’ll
tell you later’. And Ron though you were hiding soing ing if he didn’t unveil
all his secrets to the boy, that annoyed him to no end. How did they know where
to find him anyway? Had they put a tracking spell on him? No, he thought, I
would have felt that. Then it occurred to him, the DA was meeting today. They
were supposed to start on the new Patronus spell today.
Without
thinking a second longer, he disappeared and reappeared in his four-poster bed
inside the boy’s dormitory. He didn’t want to instruct the class today, he just
wanted to be alone. He waved his hand and cast both a silencing charm and an
unbreakable charm on his bed curtains before turning over on his side into the
fetal position. Harry let himself be over come by the darkness again, but this
time, he was just sleeping.
Harry
woke the next morning with the sun cutting sharply through his bed hangings and
pouring into his eyes. He rolled over to escape the light and laid there
thinking. Yes, it was another day, another day without Draco. How would he be
able to look at him and bare the heartache that would course through him? How
would he be able to mask the gaping hole that threatened to consume him without
alerting anyone else? Occlumency help mask the feelings, but it did not help
mask pain. Even in the most physical painful of situations, Harry would only be
able to hold back a grimace. But it seemed that when ones heart was broken, the
pain ate away at you. It was like a silent killer that never showed a sign of
damage, it only made sure you felt it. It was savage, ruthless, and sinister.
It cared not for task to be done, or what was to come, it only cared that one
felt the lost to the fullest before it left, if it ever left at all.
Shedding
only a misty eyed tear, he removed the charms from his bed hangings and swung
his feet off the edge of the bed. He was Harry Potter, and though it would take
ever last reserve of will power he had, he would continue on. No matter how
painful, he had to keep going. The weight of the wizarding
world that resided upon his shoulders depended on it.
He
went about his morning routines numb, but allowed it. Dumbledore had once told
him that his ability to feel such pain was what made him different from
Voldemort but what if he didn’t want to feel it? What if he wanted to stay numb
like he was? He would try for as long as possible so that he could keep going,
but he knew it would eventually break through and come out of dormancy once
again, but maybe by then, he’d be ready for it, if there ever was such a thing.
He
made his way down to the Common Room. Today was the day of the Dueling Tournament.
He was to show what he was made of today, he had to show what he was made of
today. So many were counting on his to be the one that defeated Voldemort, what
kind of martyr hero would he be if he did come out on top?
He
grabbed a few of the books that he had not yet read before he went to the plush
chair beside the fire place. The competition didn’t start until
all intentions of doing his best to prepare. He lowered his Occlumency walls
and started reading one of the first books and gradually began building his
walls up behind him as he read. This allowed him to be trapped with nothing but
the knowledge. Although everything outside the wall was overly evident, it was
easier to ignore. The book titled: Lost Spells and Curses of the Egyptian
Tombs, by Devan Gliff, was
interesting, but some of the material was so gruesome that only Tom himself
would dare to use them. There were some to extract whole limbs, keep some alive
while beheaded, even steel ones magic temporally, but the worse, even worse
than death, was an advanced form of the Cruciatus. It made a person’s body feel
as if it were being dipped in acid. If under it for a prolonged period of time,
it would actually eat away the flesh but always keep the victim awake and
coherent to make sure the victim felt the pain.
He
got through two books before he finally came out of his trance for breakfast.
Hermione was sitting next to him reading some of the books he had brought down
with him. She seemed so engrossed that she didn’t even notice that he was no
longer reading.
“Like
the book?” he asked turning and setting his by the end table next to his bed.
“Oh,
you’re back with us. Actually, I don’t like it, but it gives a rather intimate
look at the ways of the Egyptians. They must have really cherished the
after-life to put some of these in place. There gruesome, but I’m sure
effective,” she said marking her place and putting the book down. “Breakfast?”
she asked brightly apparently trying to get Harry’s sprits up.
“That’s
the reason I stopped reading. If I’m to compete today, I’ll need my energy,”
Harry said in a neutral tone.
“How
are you…”
“Fine,”
he answered before she could get the question all the way out. She didn’t
protest, but she did give him a look of sympathy, or was it pity, before
nodding and standing.
“Let’s
be off then, Ron can meet us down there,” she said as they made their way out
of the Common Room and down the corridors. He requested, silently of course,
that the stairs not move today because he was hungry. Hogwarts did not protest.
It
was then that he noticed the castle was colder than it usually was. The
corridors seemed to be engulfed in darkness despite the torches and burning
grates. The rocks seemed to moan in protest to the very movement of the air. He
looked around at the once strength inspiring walls to see them looking
crumbling and frail. He felt something was wrong, but took no notice. He and
Hermione made it to the, to, to find it full of both professors and students.
They were staring at the ceiling in confusion. Sunlight shown brightly through
the windows around the halls, but the ceiling was not showing the same picture.
It was showing storm clouds. There was black and grey clouds rushing by,
roaring with thunder and flashing with lightening. The sky looked to be boiling
with rage and the occupants of the hall could only watch in confusion as it
looked as if it were going to rain its wrath down upon those in attendance.
Harry
didn’t give the spectacle a second glance, he knew what was wrong. The castle
was reflecting what he was feeling because he was carrying the wards. The Heir
to two of the houses was mourning, and thus was the castle. Harry noticed that
Albus gave a few curious glances his way but said nothing. Harry knew that that
old man probably knew what was going on, but would not make the mistake of
approaching Harry without some type of tact for resolving the situation. By the
time Harry and Hermione had fought through the crowd to make it to their seats,
he Great Hall was full for breakfast.
“What’s
wrong with the ceiling?” Ron asked upon taking his seat next to Hermione. Harry
just shrugged and continued to force himself to feed his body which lacked an
appetite.
“I
don’t know but it is curious,” Hermione said glancing back up at the enchanted
ceiling. “Did you notice that the whole castle seems to look a lot more dreary
than normal?” she asked Ron and Harry. Ron nodded and forked some sausages onto
his plate while Harry again shrugged as though it didn’t really matter to him,
which it didn’t. The silent students turned to face the Headmaster as he rose
to speak.
“Please
excuse the castle today; it doesn’t seem to be feeling up to par. Anyway, the
Tournament will begin at
as your Common Room bulletin boards should have conveyed. Those competing will
meet in the small chamber at the end of the Staff Table and will receive their
rules and regulations there. Competitors please meet there at
Thank you,” he said sitting down and giving Harry a penetrating stare. Harry
looked away and back down to his plate.
“It’s
because of you isn’t it Harry,” Hermione hissed quietly. “Because you hold the
wards and you’re an Heir?” she stated more than asked. Harry just gave her a
look that clearly said ‘shut up’ and looked back down at his plate.
Ron asked with a mouthful of pancakes. Hermione hesitated for a moment glancing
at Harry nervously. They had not yet made it common knowledge, even to their
friends, that Harry was an Heir.
“Harry’s
the Heir to Gryffindor,” she said quietly so not to draw attention. “He’s also
carrying the wards; it’s why the castle listens to him. Now it’s reflecting
what he’s feeling because of the break-up,” she said sorrowfully. Harry
couldn’t take anymore, what she was saying was making the numbness go away. The
ceiling above flared red with fire as Harry stood and stormed briskly out of
the Great Hall. Not many noticed that Harry was leaving because they all stared
fearfully at the ceiling once more, this included the professors.
He
made for the Room of Requirement but was stopped by Fawkes who materialized in
front of him on his way down the last corridor. Tied to his leg was a small
note and he landed on Harry’s shoulder to allow him to untie it. Harry did so.
Harry,
Please come to my office at your earliest
convenience.
A.D.
Short
and sweet, just like the ones he used to send to Albus. He sighed and rubbed
his face. He was not in the mood to talk with anyone at the moment.
“Tell
him, ‘maybe later’ please,” he addressed Fawkes before striding away again. But
Fawkes apparently had other plans. The Fire Phoenix squawked and disappeared
with Harry. They reappeared in front of a mirror that sat beside a picture of
Harry appraisingly for a moment before nodding as if satisfied then a ripple
went through the mirror. He looked at the phoenix curiously before looking back
at the mirror that now looked normally again.
“
heart dear boy,
again then a small hole appeared in the center. Harry tilted his head at it
curiously as the hole began to grow until the mirror cease to reflect.
“Well,
go on it boy,” Godric said in a patronizing tone.
Harry almost glared at him before his curiosity got the best of him and he
strode in the dark hole.
He
was immediately fascinated with what he saw. A small arched hallway led into a
large personal chamber that was fit for a king. Harry immediately presumed it
was self cleaning because the room was spotless and glowed with brick red and
gold all around. The walls had portraits of moving wizards that Harry had never
seen. The grate was lit and cast a warm glow on the room. The feeling was like
having the Imperius cast on you successfully. Bliss was the only way to
describe the feeling. He had no cares, no aches, no
black gaping hole. He felt warm comforted and free like riding on his broom on
a sunny day. The room he was in must have been the living room because there
were plush chairs and shag carpets cast about the room in an arranged fashion.
A couch as positioned in front of the fire place with two chairs on both sides
and a thick shag rug in the center of the three. There was a book case along
the wall next to the fireplace that had a few books occupying them. He sat on
the couch and closed his eyes breathing in the heat of the grate as if it were
a drug. The suit was absolutely intoxicating. He basked in the feeling until
sleep took him. It was the most comfortable sleep he’d ever had.
Harry
woke to Fawkes gently trilling in his ear. His eyes fluttered open and the
comfortable room came into focus. He looked around wondering how long he’d been
out before sitting up and being startled by a picture hanging above the mantel.
He could have sworn it wasn’t there before.
“Hello
Heir, sleep well?” the face of Godric Gryffindor
asked.
“I
did,” Harry commented defensively. Godirc didn’t seem
to notice.
“You’re
bird says that you have a Dueling Competition to be at in ten minutes so I
suggested he wake you up,” the portrait said.
“Can
I come back sometime?” Harry asked horridly. He usually didn’t make it habit to
invite himself places, but the simple feeling of the room seemed to fill
Harry’s pain with something more pleasurable.
“I
don’t know, can you?” Godric said in an amused voice.
“I’m
afraid I don’t understand,” Harry said almost glaring at the portrait again.
“Well,
it’s your suit so I don’t understand why you’re asking?” Godric
said smiling warmly at Harry.
“Because
it was once mine, thus it is passed to you,” Godric
said solemnly.
'> “Oh,”
Harry said for lack of a better response, “Am I allowed to bring anyone in
here?” he asked.
announce any visitors and only let those in that you see fit.”
“And
those I don’t?”
“Will
be turned away without a second glance,” he said simply. Harry thought about
this for a few minutes. Right now he didn’t want company; he wanted to stay to
himself until he felt better.
“For
now, allow only me. When I feel up to visitors, I’ll let you know,” Harry said
looking at Godric’s picture.
reminded and Harry’s eyes grew wide and he nodded fast before disappearing from
the room in a flash of flames and reappearing before the door to the end
chamber with a puff of smoke.
“Ah,
there you are,” Albus said from a chair in the corner as Harry walked in. “We
were just about to start without you,” he said glancing at the clock on the
right wall. Harry followed his eyes and saw that he was fifteen minutes late.
“You wouldn’t have happened to have seen Fawkes today have you?” he asked
casually as he searched for something in his pockets.
“We
just departed, he should be back in your office now,” Harry said thinking
quickly. He almost said he left them back at the new suit that was found, but
thought better of it. He didn’t want anyone to know about it yet.
“Good,”
the Headmaster said before standing and putting slipping a golden pocket watch
into the pockets of his robes. In his hand he held a parchment and read the
names off in attendance as a formality. “Right,” he said putting the roster
away, “The Rules. The Duels will last until one party is not able to fight off
its counter, simple disarming doesn’t count. You must hinder them unconscious
before you have rightfully won. No unforgivables or
any curses that will put your counter in grave danger. No magic with a staff
and no magic that will not be able to be countered by someone than your self,”
he said looking at Harry. That meant no Will Magic. “Your names will be called
out and you will all duel each other once in the first round no matter how many
you loose or win. The judges, Professor McGonagall, Flitwick,
Snape and myself will rate your performance. The seven
finalists will be judged according to score and number of wins. Have fun and
give us a good show, let begin!” he finished and walked toward the door to the
room that led to a raised platform outside where they would be dueling. “First
is Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger,” he announced to the crowd and Ron and
Hermione walked out on to the platform.
The
duel was surprisingly short. Ron couldn’t find it in him to curse his
girlfriend but it didn’t look as if she had any qualms about it. She won in
under a minute after she put up an illusion ward and he thought he was looking
at an acromantula. He nearly fainted. Hermione got
rated nines across the board, including Snape who was smirking at Ron’s pale
form.
Next
up was Ginny and Draco in which Draco won, though not easily. Ginny showed the
crowed exactly why to be afraid of her Bat-Boggey hex
when it nearly incapacitated him with the first strike. He was leery after that
and watched her wand movement closely to make sure to avoid another one. He
finally got her when she disarmed him and he still retaliated with a wandless
stunner. One of the few spells he could do wandlessly. Because Ginny was
unaware that he was capable of this, she stood shocked until the mild stunner
caught her and knocked her out. He received nines from all of the professors
but Snape who gave him a ten. Typical, Harry thought.
Neville
lost his first one against the Slytherin, Michael Mulciber, a seventh year how was known
to openly support Voldemort though there was no proof yet that he carried the
Dark Mark. Michael had yet to lose a duel and this was starting to worry Harry.
Mulcliber won by shooting flat headed darts at
Neville. They, of course, stung but because they did him no permanent damage,
it wasn’t looked down upon. Snape gave him a seven because he said it wasn’t a
task to win over Neville, but McGonagall gave him a five for inflicting pain.
Both Dumbledore and Flitwick gave him eights for his
quick conjuring and transfiguration skills.
Both Harry and Katie
Bell had won their first duels. Katie went up against Hermione and surprised
everyone when Hermione conjured a net and threw it at her, but half way there
Katie animated it and sent it back too quickly for Hermione to undo the
animation. It bound her tight until Katie sent a stunner at her. Hermione
wasn’t at all a sore looser; she actually hugged Katie and congratulated her on
an excellent animating job. Though, rumour has it that Hermione was the one who
tutored Katie on the subject. Katie was rated with a nine for the complicated
animation from everyone but Snape, of course, who gave her an eight out of what
seemed, spite.
Harry won his against
Casey Price which is the best friend of Michael Mulciber
and another Dark Lord supporter. Harry had a bit of a battle with the
Slytherin, but after about five minutes of duelling, he finally just shot a
stunner strong enough to shatter the other boys shield and took his wand. He
earned an eight from everyone besides Snape who gave him a five.
The duelling went on
for hours, as it was supposed to. After every duel the competitors would
retreat to the chamber and have their hexes removed and medical attention of
needed. They were even allowed to have Pepper-Up Potion if they needed after a
particular hard duel, like Hermione’s with Casey Price. That duel lasted ten
minutes and ended in Hermione besting Casey, but both were battered by the end
and Hermione had used many complicated spells in which she lost a lot of
energy.
By
o’clock in the
evening the first rounds results were posted and the placement was as follows:
1. Harry Potter 2. Michael Mulciber 3. Draco Malfoy
4. Hermione Granger 5. Casey Price 6. Katie Bell 7. Ronald and Ginny Weasley –
tied.
Both Harry and
tied for Seventh place. Because there was also a point system, Harry was
considered number one and Mulciber number two. But
this system could not be applied to Ron and Ginny because they also had the
same amount of points. They made Ron and Ginny duel out the tie before moving
on so that they would have seven as they needed because of the fourteen that
started. Ron won the duel, but only out of sheer power. His spells were getting
so strong lately that even Harry would have cringed if on the opposing end.
The
second round was to be an elimination round. They were paired off in three sets
of twos with the person in the top position in left out to duel the winner of
the first match.
Hermione
and Draco dueled a very long and suspenseful duel.
Hermione seemed to be taking the duel personally as she send some pretty nasty
hexes at him not working on the defensive side at all. Harry didn’t know how to
feel about this. He wanted to be mad at her for being so rough on him, but at
the same time he wanted her to hex Draco to oblivion for leaving him. It ended
when Hermione disarmed him and Draco disarmed her back wandlessly. He was then
awarded with two wands in which he used to shoot a stunner at her that caught
her before she could recuperate from the disarming charm.
Katie
Bell and Ron dueled until Katie bested Ron by sending a conjured rock that was
then transfigured into a spider and enlarged to scare. It seemed to do the
trick as Ron threw his wand at the spider and ran off stage sending everyone
into hysterics. He really needed to get over his fear of spiders or he would
never make it in a real duel with a Deatheater.
Next
was Casey Price and Michael
a mock duel. They simply threw curses at each other and countered them
effortlessly. Harry could tell they were trying to just make a show out of it,
but Casey did some sloppy wand movement and floundered
a spell while Mulciber disarmed him. This was not at
all up to par for either and Harry had a feeling why. Mulciber
was hands down the better dueller and he wanted to go on to win. But as he had
said when they first heard of the Tournament, he wanted to duel Harry.
As Draco was the first
to win his duel, he had to duel with Harry to leave the three finalists. The
duel, unlike those before it, seemed to be very tense. They both disarmed one
another, but Harry did not allow Draco to use wandless magic on him. He
conjured a pair of handcuffs that had wandless wards on them and placed them on
Draco with an unbreakable charm before stunning him. Harry felt both horrible
and good about this. He didn’t want to hurt the boy he loved, but he also
didn’t want to let him have his way again. This time Harry chose and won.
It was finally down to
Harry, Katie and Mulciber. Harry,
still being in the top spot, had to first duel the Head Girl, and then duel the
Slytherin.
The duel with Katie was
a very physical one. She had become very efficient in animation and saw fit to
make her self an army of dogs that were more than happy to snap at Harry if he
made any sudden movements. Harry, not wanting to banish the dogs one by one,
set up a beastless ward and made Katie
second ward to eliminate any conjuring, animation, or transfiguration; this is
when the duel got dirty. Harry and Katie were throwing hexes, curses, spells,
and charms at one another left and right. Harry had rarely done such duelling
without showing too much power, but was determined not to show his true colours
to all of Hogwarts by drawing from the crack in his dam. He could clearly see
why Katie was made head girl though; she was very determined and smart. Though
Harry knew all the spells thrown by the studious girl, most were not even
taught in Hogwarts and would only reside in the Restricted Section, if anywhere
at all.
The duel ended with
Katie put up a last minute shield to reflect his disarming charm and it was
reflected back at him. Katie seemed to think she was winning then and threw a
stunner at him as most would do, only to have it reflected from his own reflecting
shield that he erected at the last minute wandlessly and sent it back at her
stronger and faster. In all, the duel lasted twenty minutes.
Finally,
junior Deatheater from Slytherin.
They bowed.
“Ready to beg for mercy
Potter,” Michael spat. Harry almost flinched at the unnerving intensity of his
voice. He really hated Harry.
Turn, ten paces, turn,
“
hissed first. Harry almost didn’t get out of the way due to shock. The
Slytherin had used the power draining spell he was just reading about this
morning. Harry disappeared and reappeared behind Mulciber
making the crowd gasp. If the Junior Deatheater was
going to play dirty, so could Harry.
wand at the crowd. A silvery gold wall went up and Harry surrounded himself
with flames that almost touched the ceiling. Mulciber
looked stunned for a moment before he cast a water spell to put the fire out to
get at Harry, but Harry wasn’t there. He had already made himself invisible and
walked though the fire around to the other side of the Slytherin.
“Avis,”
Harry hissed conjuring his phoenixes to take care of some of the spells. The
Slytherin started shooting off stunners at the birds only to have them eat them
and continue flying.
“
hissed again then commanded the large anaconda-sized snake to bind the
Slytherin. By this time everyone in the Hall was standing pressed up to the
barrier that was protecting them from the fire.
“
himself to Mulciber who was still trying to get rid
of the phoenixes. The last spell go his attention and
the Slytherin turned and saw the huge snake heading towards him. He started
shouting the banishing charm only to have it eaten by a phoenix that would
swoop down and consume it before circling over head again. Mulciber
had cast a spell on himself that made him glow green for a second before
settling back to normal. Harry knew that ward. Stunners no longer worked on
him.
“How
dare you use a curse like the power draining curse.
You could turn someone into a squib if you did it wrong!” Harry said furiously.
“What
do you think my intention was?” Mulciber retorted
sadistically.
if you shot the killing curse at me!” Harry said advancing on the junior
started to look panicked.
“Give
me your wand and I’ll call the snake off,” Harry said to him. The Slytherin
barked out a loud mad laugh.
“And
you call me mad?” he said incredulously. “Only someone that was as thick as you
would do such a thing,” he said. Harry nodded.
“Fine,
you give me no other choice,” he said raising his wand. “Declaro
Dark Mark!” he said and the sleeve of Mulciber’s robes was ripped off. Beneath
it, on his forearm, was the scull with a snake protruding from its mouth.
Harry’s eyes went steely.
“Surrender
your wand!” he all but bellowed the his opponent. He
ordered the snake to stop.
“Never,
my master will have you soon Potter,” the Deatheater
said as he grabbed something out of his pocket and tossed it to Harry. Harry
knew immediately what it was.
“Bad
move Mulciber, now you’ve given us a safe route to
your master, very unwise indeed,” Harry said. “Oxosso
Exterebro!” Harry said under his breath. The spell
flew so fast that the Deatheater never had a chance
to dodge. He fell to the ground and started screaming in agony as his bones
started dissolving within his body starting at his feet. “Give me your wand!”
Harry said not wanting to approach the boy. There was no way he was going to spend
another week as a bird because he had to eat another killing curse.
“NO!”
the boy bit out between screams.
“
bellowed as the boy was picked up, still screaming, but clutching his wand. He
was now about twenty feet in the air.
putting as much power as possible behind the spell. The spell hit the ward and
shattered it while throwing Mulciber across the hall
and into the brick walls of Hogwarts. There was a gut wrenching thud that made
Harry wand to vomit, but it seemed to work. He had successfully knocked the
Slytn oun out when he fell to the ground and his wand rolled away from him.
Harry waved his hand and took down the protection barrier. Snape ran after the
student who was lying on the ground and Dumbledore strode quickly up to Harry.
unharmed?” he questioned looking Harry over. He nodded.
“Is
he alive?” Harry asked in a small voice.
“Yes
he is Potter,” Snape spat, “What were you thinking!” he yelled. Harry’s temper
rose.
“I
was thinking I had to knock him out and tear down that ward before he threw the
killing curse at me for the second time this week. You see the Dark Mark! He
deserved no justice!” Harry bellowed at the Potions Master. Snape glared at him
before picking the boy up and racing towards the Hospital Wing.
“You
did what you had to do Harry, I understand. Would you like to come to my office
and speak with me be our our late dinner?” Albus asked kindly, no doubt wanting
to speak with Harry about he and Draco’s break up.
Harry shook his head no.
“I’m
not ready yet,” he said and then disappeared in a swirl of snowflakes and
reappeared in front of the mirror to the Gryffindor suit. “
Heart,” he said then entered.