The All-England Wizarding Dueling Competition started the 18 and finished the 21 October. The first day was the longest with the qualifier stage. All competitors were put into sixteen pool and each winner would then participated the next day for the public competition. The final and reward session would be the last day to let the finalists recover and display the best of their abilities.
A constant with pink hair and golden eyes registered himself as Joshua Anderson, a seventeen years wizard home-schooled. Drinking a bit from his gourde, the youth walked to the stand. The wizard at the stand checked the papers and wand, everything seemed in order, exchanged the Galleon entry fee for the armband number 120 and make the newcomer signed the competition rules and death acceptance. The qualifiers would start the next day, but all participants had to register and pay up in advance so the dueling competition could prepare the building for the event.
At the end of the day, 379 participants were recorded. It was less than the previous years as death wasn't forbidden in this championship except for the Junior circuit. The qualifiers would divide the constants into sixteen pools of twenty-three or twenty-two wizards. Only the one duelist with the most victory in his pool would be selected as the chosen sixteen for the quarterfinals shown in a public arena.
The third year in the house of the snake barely participated in class. Only responding that he didn't know the response to the professor or eying into emptiness. As soon as class ended, that student would move away and stayed closed in his room, avoiding meals and a blond hair second year alike. When he got caught by the girl, his words were simple or nods from time to time.
The longest part of the competition was this phase, the qualifiers as each competitor had to duel more than twenty times this day. The private arena in an underground building displayed sixteen of duel's platforms separated by a wide area with benches. Those were protected by wards to prevent any match to interfere with each other.
As the first challenges started, the staff were composed of a jury and two arbitrators for each pool declared the winner when the opposite contestant was either knockout, kick out of the platform, incapacitated beyond dueling ability, give up or died. Each victory was recorded by the jury and ties were like a lost, granting no points. The team of ten medics for the whole competition had to jump from one injured participant to another as the adult duelists weren't kind to each other and some used pretty dark curses not forbidden, but almost.
The fifth pool had two graves injured when it was the first match for Joshua. The pink hair was ridiculed by his opponent for his appearance while both exchanged the formal bow. The instant the opponent moved its lips, a concentrated light beam pierced its lung from behind. The pink contestant didn't hesitate and another two beams injured the opponent's wand arm. Incapacitated, the not bleeding wizard screamed in pain.
The match was a victory for the pink hair as the arbitrators stopped the duel since one was unable to continue. Feeling great, the youth drank some of his gourde while waving to his fellow duelists. The display of wordless and the speed of summon made the other contestants in the pool wary of the strange wizard. Many of the duelists present this day displayed strategies that relied on spell chain. The wand motion for one spell ended with the starting position for another one. This succession was fast, without interruption.
For his second match, the pink wizard copied the most common chain to confront his opposition. Starting with a levitating charm, followed by a fire making one and finished with the Knockback Jinx, this succession could be spammed in less than four seconds and the cost wasn't heavy. Feeling alright after the tenth chain casting, the number 120 began varying the chain with either changing one of the spell for another or adding a new element like the severing charm. A very long chain of eighteen spells, six times the common one, hit true the panting opposition.
Another ten minutes passed before the next match started for the pink wizard. The duelist on the opposite side was ready and shield himself as soon as the arbitrator declared the start. This one was more experimented than the previous case as he avoided with minimal effort the chain spell flying toward him. The older wizard countered only with techniques that enabled him to build magical power at the tip of his wand before it was released. Each spell released that way was overpowered and could destroy the chain spell.
The pink hair avoided each of those powerful attacks with different side steps. The match lasted until the opposite side collapsed on the ground, hyperventilating. The side effect of such technique when the concentration wasn't enough made him lost the round. Some sweats had appeared on the pink contestant, he spent too much energy on this fight to observe that technique which was a lot more refined than specified in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2.
The medical unit couldn't give the number 120 pills to refill his magical reserve. Gritting his teeth, the wizard analyzed all his pool and outside match. For the rest of the confrontation of the morning, the pink hair conserved his energy and ended up the matches as soon as possible with his attack demonstrated in his first duel.
At lunch, a reporter and her cameraman visited each pool, discussing with the juries before interviewing each group's favorite. The pink hair contestant finished his meal and drink when it was his turn. Not even a second passed and the camera strangely emitted black smoke from the inside. The blond hair set in elaborate curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face didn't seem alarmed at all. Despite this small set back, as she said, the woman asked questions about the duelist life, education, dream, love, ambition and stopped when the arbitrators began to continue the qualifiers.
Taking the last sip, the number 120 watched as that reporter reached the other pool. Interviewing made her notes burned to cinders.
The blond girl caught the green robe before he left for his bed. She forced feed him some candy she had in her pocket. The boy's face thinned by days and black bags formed under his eyes. Despite the lack of concrete reaction, or desire, she took him by the sleeve. Both wandered around the castle, in silence. Tilting her head many times, pocking the familiar face she stayed with him to watch the squid swimming in the sunset.
Reaching twenty-two victories, the pink wizard and his fellow fifteen qualifiers' chosen grabbed the portkey to the public arena. The eighth-finals were in the morning while the quarterfinal and semifinal in the afternoon. The public would assist to eight matches in the first part of the event then four and two in the last part. Some sponsors met with regular duelists, preparing compensation for the publicity they could get.
A sweet company representative gave the pink wizard on hundred Galleons if he entered the quarterfinals, two hundreds were waiting if he qualified for the semifinals and five hundreds if he won the competition. Of course, in his speech, he would have to speak well of the 'Anderson White Pudding' and take photos while eating each famous product of the sweet catalog.
Accepting the deal, the pink competitor sat with his opponent in the competitor's tribune. None were disturbed by his drinking habit. Some had nervous ticks, stepping on the ground every second. The rest of the competition was different from the qualifiers. Now it was one match per duelist and only the victorious would ascend to the next step. The small competition for the place 16th to 9th would take part in the evening so the spectator would see in priority who was the finalists before the end of the day.
The pink hair wizard changed his armband from 120 to number six, the third match of the eighth-final. The number five was an old one, with white hair, pale skin and beard. The similarity with a school headmaster stopped there since the facial was different, the eyebrows, crook nose and strangely thin blue lips. Both spent one minute to present themselves to the public before the duel began.
At the beginning, both exchanged some short-chains spells while avoiding each other attack without any shield. When the velocity from the pink hair started to make the opponent evaded more than attacking, the older duelist changed his tactic. No more he was moving like a youngster. Instead, smaller shields, covering a palm's size appeared in the air and stopped any spell.
The pink contestant had to avoid transfigured ground instead of linear spells. Water was turned to ice which developed into shards storm and swamp. Spell of fire rained down over the old wizard while the younger had to propel himself out of the changing ground or dispel some transfigurations. The fire rain, like the old wizard new tactic, didn't hit the shields but were transfigured into black smoke, covering the whole platform.
When the smoke disappeared, the older contestant was grounded with only his bleeding head above the wood structure. The medics removing the corpse cast a loathsome glare to the pink contestant. The public wasn't pleased either with the outcome, they booed the victory. The dead wizard was a kind figure and he often participated in the competition while never killing.
Uncaring for the other contestant cold shoulder the pink wizard returned to his seat. The reaction was expected. Unlike the qualifiers where almost everything was permitted, here, under the sight of the wizard population, most of the competitors restrained themselves to keep a good image to attract more sponsors. A grayish witch in her twenty, got up and stood in front of the killer.
She stared deeply into the golden color, not saying a single word. The competitor sixteen returned to her seat when a staff member recalled her to not disturb the other participants.
The entertainment from the duels made the visitors cheered up some, applauded other, boo the rest. The techniques, skills and strategies were far more interesting than the previous day. Each one pushed themselves harder, using hidden assets they had in their sleeves. Many regulars had specific strategies to counter some participant style, like the witch with blue lips who excelled in elemental magic. She had a hard time against another witch that relied more on illusions.
The pink competitor won his quarterfinal match transfiguring the whole area into a deep forest, controlling the branches, conjuring yellow-lipped snakes and invisible raven. The distracting animals bite the poor soul to the other world. The forest presence prevented the jury and the arbitrators to announce the match's end. To the medical staff's expertise, the cause of death was faint-banded sea snake venom.
The jury came to talk to the pink competitor after this match. In a private room, they explained to him that, while it wasn't forbidden to kill your opponent, it was really disapproved by the community, especially during the open matches. Because of such behavior, the ministry was going to end this competition in Great Britain next year. The old jury threatened to expel the pink wizard if it happened again for foul play and dark magic practice. Consuming the last drop of his gourde, the contestant exited the private room.
Unlike what he wished for, the pink wizard wasn't against the blue lips witch for the semifinal. Dueling against an elemental expert of her level was rare. With a sigh, the number six bowed to his female counterpart. That witch specialized in speed casting, not bothering with chain spell. The reddish color announced the spell nature, but didn't lower her fighting ability. She was a lot faster from all the other opponent the pink hair met before.
Avoiding in the beginning, the number six summoned shields from time to time, smaller in size, but more compact. One of those modified shields could sustain five hits, then six, seven and reach a limit at twelve. Coating his hands with the protective layer, the wizard started to bash away the stunner. The magical reserve of the witch was impressive, for minutes she shot dozens and dozens of stunner without fail nor fatigue's signs.
While her casting speed was fast, the spell itself didn't overcome its limit velocity. She was a perfect partner for the pink contestant. With her help, he mastered some more tricks he picked up from the competition. Seeing this mockery, the witch went frenzy. Finished was the stunner, now dark curses flew toward the wizard despite the jury indication of her disqualification.
One of the spells hit true, exploding a finger from the pink wizard. Catching before it fell, the number six disillusioned himself from everyone's sight. No transparent shape could determine the actual position of the invisible contestant. The witch couldn't calm herself as fire lasso sliced her legs, torso and head in fist-size cubes of flesh. The jury panicked at this obviously dark magic display.
The security agents backed up by ministry aurors intervened immediately. They activated Anti-Disapparition Jinx, anti-portkey charm and searched the whole building and surrounding arena, but they didn't catch the culprit.
Exiting the Forbidden Forest, the green robe sat next to a lone figure. No wraith guardian in sight. They seemed to avoid this spot. The black lake reflected the multiple stars in the sky. The girl beamed with delight. Her soft hands pinched his cheeks which made him kept an expressionless face. The closeness wasn't a problem for the orphan, her behavior was. She acted as if he would disappear at any moment and clang to his robe.
Feeling a bit guilty, the wizard let her follow him to the seven-floor. She held his sleeve in the dark corridor. The curfew was passed since hours and the night luminosity wasn't enough for some passages. The witch watched in wonder as the green robe passed forth and back three time before a tapestry with a troll trying to dance. The empty wall was decorated with a new door.
Inside the come and go room, bottles of Firewhisky flew to the wizard hands. Garbages were transfigured into fluffy cushions. Taking a sip of the drink, the orphan didn't feel anything. His throat was cold. Breathing out, the green robe pushed a bit the blond girl to seize the inside of his magical pouch. His hands removed some white pudding with delicate decorations that were packeted.
Without any use of his magic, the green robe was alerted by the appearance of a small table with two silver spoons. Not at all perturbed the blond witch put the sweets on the table and cut them in half. Each pudding had a different flavor, but the skin was always white with different decoration for chocolate, banana, butterscotch or vanilla. Intrigued by this room aspect, the ritual adept tested some hypotheses while eating some spoons of sugar.
Taking a grip at the long purple cloak, two figures twisted space, disappearing from their initial place. The cold air from the sea greeted the newcomer. The light was still in the sky as both reach a desolated building. Half crumbled, the roof protected a woman in her fifty assisting a sheep to give birth. A little girl tightened her grip on the woman's leg, trembling while watching the newcomers' shadow. As the intruder entered the private property the animal bleated, alarming the woman of the potential danger.
Despite her surprise, the adult reacted with civility, politely demanding them to leave since they had no business here and she had a hard time with the birth preparation. The daughter hid behind her mother, not showing her face. Yet, a few words exchanged with the headmaster convinced the wary sheep keeper to let them stay. Calming the beast with warm comfort, the owner didn't bother to invite them to sit anywhere and continued her preparation for the incoming event.
After a reassuring hug between parent and child, a jet of green light hit both women and the animal alike. Falling face against the dirt, still in their embrace, both stopped moving. The older wizard transfigured some of the stone into red and gold decorated armchair for him and a simple sofa for the student. Removing his beard from his belt, the elder waited for his student to sit down. " Life is so fragile Mikhael. ", the blue eyes dimmed with the sunlight. " What do you see ? ", the crooked nose tilted forward.
" Your teaching. ", the green robe didn't react to the headmaster's random actions.
" While not incorrect, Mikhael, you missed the most important. ", the silver hair wizard started a fire to warm the room while transfiguring the rest of the building roof and walls. The elder man covered the laying bodies with warm blankets. " You noticed how Camille tried to hide Alice behind her back when the sheep first fell. Despite not being a witch, she, her instinct, demonstrated that her self-preservation came second to the well-being of her daughter's security. ", the wizard straightened his back, facing his student.
" It saddens me to witness how far you went, but there is still hope. Love, is not foreign to you, Mikhael. ", the blue eyes stopped a moment at the Butterbeer cork bracelet. The gaze continued with a quicker glance at the green robe chest, as if it could see the cross and crystal orbs behind the fabric. " Though, I can't spend too much time with you. Please, take your time to meditate on it. Focus on your past. What your parents would say to the actual you ? Would they be proud, or ashamed of what you have become and achieved ? ", the speaking man stopped a bit, looking to the now raining weather.
" Compassion and love are the first steps, Mikhael. ", waving his wand the animal breathed again and its pain faded away while new crying filled the room. Another spells removed any blood or wounds remaining on the beast. The lamb too weak to move by itself had to wait for its mother to be in the right position for the feeding.
" To forgive, one has to accept his sin. ", the headmaster took from his pocket a silver spoon with 'good meal' engraved on its handle. Giving a last sight, the wizard put the object on the table before calling for its familiar and faded in flames.