Chapter 10: All about dueling
Chapter 10
December 18th, 1992
It was December already and an interesting event had been announced a week ago. Today would be the first session of a new dueling club that had been brought back to life. Hogwarts used to have a dueling club, however, a deadly accident during the first war with Voldemort led to its discontinuation.
Harry was very excited at the original announcement. This would be the perfect opportunity to test his power and see how far his practice with Nick had actually taken him. Hopefully, they would be allowed to choose their opponents. He really wanted a chance to fight some of the upper years. No one in his year had a realistic chance against him. Who knows maybe this will be an opportunity to intimidate a certain Slytherin a second time?
To Harry's great disappointment Lockhart would be overseeing the Dueling Club. He was hoping to be able to engage the former dueling champion, Professor Flitwick, in some conversation about the European Championship in Berlin the upcoming summer. Flitwick would be an excellent mentor and advisor.
As Harry made his way down to the Great Hall, he noticed that the club seemed to be far too popular for some reason. Many of the girls came in their best robes and had enhanced their features with makeup. Lockhart must have been the reason for that, Harry thought.
Still, many of the upper years were present as well. There would definitely be some competition. Roger Davies and Cedric Diggory are said to be excellent at dueling, at least for Hogwarts standards. Harry also noticed Hector Rosier. A seventh-year Slytherin that was supposed to be Britain's future dueling champion until he was disqualified from competing again for using some very questionable curses against his 15-year-old opponent back two years ago at the Championship in Rome. The Slytherin would definitely be someone to watch out for.
Harry entered the Great Hall and saw that the table had been moved aside. Instead, a large dueling stage stood in the middle of the hall with currently Lockhart and Snape on each side. Lockhart introduced himself and explained that Snape would be assisting him during their sessions.
Both professors started by demonstrating the disarming curse 'Expelliarmus', which Harry had mastered around this time last year.
Lockhart completely embarrassed himself by being thrown back against the wall after Snape easily disarmed him. He tried to hide his lack of knowledge of anything dueling-related by talking about 'providing a demonstration for the students' and being 'easily able to defend himself' if he only wanted to.
The students paired up and started practicing the curse. Harry paired with Terry, who showed great enthusiasm and was undoubtedly skillful compared to the rest of their year. The Great Hall was a mess. Wands flew from every corner and duels got out of hand when people started using other spells besides the disarming charm.
Lockhart blew a whistle and everyone turned their attention to the teachers on the stage.
"Well, that was not so bad. However, I think another demonstration from the students might be necessary to truly understand the spell. What about you two. Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy, why don't you come up the stage and show the rest of your peers."
Harry noticed how Warrington gave Snape a look and received a nod from his head of house in return.
Snape stopped Granger and Malfoy from entering the stage.
"A brilliant idea Professor. However, I propose a different pairing. Mr. Potter shows great confidence in his abilities and I have just the right student to humble him a little. Surely you agree that some of the more popular students will make an excellent demonstration for the rest of that class."
Lockhart whole heartily agreed, since so far Harry always managed to avoid him and he could use the publicity of being friends with The-Boy-Who-Lived.
"An excellent proposition Professor Snape. Mr. Potter, come up over here please! Harry, I may call you Harry right, perfect! Professor Snape, which student did you have in mind?"
Excited whispers went around the hall as Warrington stepped forward:
"Mr. Warrington will be an excellent representative for house Slytherin." Snape sneered
"You're dead Potter!"
"He doesn't stand a chance"
"Hopefully he takes him down a peck or two."
"Will he use dark magic against Cassius?"
Harry chuckled at the comments about him from the crowd of students. Lockhart did not seem to care about the age difference between the competitors:
"Alright Harry, as soon as Cassius raises his wand, you do the following!"
Lockhart tried and failed at some nonexistent wand movement and dropped his wand. Harry didn't pay him any attention anyways. His focus was on his opponent who whispered with Snape and turned to Harry with an evil grin on his face.
Harry calmed his mind. This was his chance… time to show what you're made of Potter. Make Nick and Penny proud. He took his stance and Snape's eyes widened, probably recognizing the stand of Antonin Dolohov.
Warrington seems to just wait to finally be able to cast against Harry. The anticipation was visible on his face.
"Alright gentleman" Lockhart shouted." No lethal spells and a fair match. on the count of three!"
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three, Begin!"
Either Warrington was deaf on both ears, or he deliberately started early. On the count of two, he started his wand movement for a stunner, followed up by a disarming charm. So far, his spells were all acceptable.
Let's see how long it remained that way.
Harry dodged the stunner and the charm following after. He would continue dodging until he found a pattern or obvious weakness that he could exploit. Warrington's technique was simply trash. His spells might be powerful for a fifth-year, but there was no tactic, no strategy behind his casting.
After only a minute of Harry dodging his spells, Warrington became frustrated. He sends a Confringo at Harry followed up by a Bombarda. Harry managed to dodge the first but was finally forced to conjure a shield. Snape's brows always vanished in his hairline at the sight of Harry's bright and strong Protego. The spell did no physical damage to his shield; however, it created some debris as parts of the platform were damaged from the impact.
Time for some offense Harry thought as he noticed that his opponent was getting tired. Harry levitated the debris in front of him and combined smaller pieces into chunks of roughly the same size, comparable to a golf ball.
Swirling his wand in a circular motion over his head, the chunks of stone started rotating around his body, like a moon around a planet. The chunks accelerated until one could barely make them out individually.
The entire hall fell silent. Snape looked like he knew what might happen next and was about to interfere on behalf of his student. With a flick of Harry's wrist, the first golf ball-sized chunk raced towards Warrington, who barely managed to dodge it. He managed to conjure a shield, which crumble under the onslaught as the second, third and fourth ball struck against it.
The firth ball connected with Warrington's chest, making him groan in pain and knocking the air out of him. Harry dropped the last two balls and send a hair removal charm at his opponent followed by a toenail growing hex.
Now it was time to embarrass his opponent and send a message to his peers: He was not to be messed with.
With a Densaugeo, Warrington's front teeth started growing uncontrollably, which combined with an overpowered tickling charm, led to some very painful wounds in his mouth. Harry lazily summoned the wand of his downed opponent and bound the fifth-year in some ropes for good measure.
The entire hall was silent. One could hear a needle dropping to the floor. A second-year just managed to embarrass a fifth-year Prefect, that most younger-year students were immensely scared of. All of a sudden someone started clapping.
"An excellent demonstration of some very advanced charms-work Mr. Potter. Way beyond your year! Levitating several objects simultaneously like that is almost OWL level. Take 20 points for Ravenclaw!"
Marcus Flint had enough. His best friend had been embarrassed in front of the entire school and Potter even received points for it. Not caring the the entire hall could see him he shouted:
"Serpensortia!"
A four-meter long thick Black Mamba exploded from the tip of Flint's wand and raced towards Harry, who was just about to start a conversation with Flitwick. Harry sensed the incoming spell thanks to his training with Nick and Penny and instantly flicked his wand back into his palm. With a Reducto he banished the snake backward from him.
The enraged snake seemed to not enjoy being treated like that and turned its attention towards Justin Finch-Fletcher, a Hufflepuff second year.
Harry tried to aim at the snake to stop it from attacking Finch-Fletcher but too many students were in the way.
He had a split-second decision to make. Justin might get seriously injured by the venomous snake. He could save the boy some pain by revealing his Parselmouth abilities. Should he do it?
"Ssstop! I order you to stand sssstill!"
The snake instantly stopped its attack.
"As you wish sssspeaker! Are you the one that called me?"
"No! You will soon return from where you have been summoned"
Harry gave Snape a nod and the Professor vanished the snake while still staring at Harry wide-eyed.
The entire hall was staring at Harry in shock. Many of the students looked outright scared. A couple of the upper-year Slytherins looked interestingly at Harry as if they were actually able to see him properly for the first time.
Harry turned to Justin:
"Mr. Finch-Fletcher are you okay?" Harry asked
Justin looked like he was about to pee himself: "Why? Why did you tell the snake to attack me? I have never done anything to you?"
"Attack you? What about you talking about? I literally told it to stand down and leave you unharmed!" Harry said, as he began to get angry.
"All I know is that the snake was attacking me and you were talking to it! Please just leave me alone, I promise I won't do anything to you."
Harry couldn't believe it! Were these people actually that stupid? Even without understanding his specific instructions to the snake, they must have noticed that the animal stopped its attack AFTER Harry spoke to it.
Not wanting to waste any more time with some mindless students Harry turned on his heel, stepped down the platform, and left the Great Hall as the students quickly created a pathway for him to leave as if he was about to attack them any second.
Harry was beyond pissed. His decision to help another student backfired again, just like helping Granger last year. 24 hours ago, he wouldn't have believed that his popularity among his peers could not drop any lower, however, it seemed as if fate was a bitch.
Even his euphoria due to impressing Flitwick faded by the realization that now anyone would truly think him the Heir of Slytherin and responsible for the attacks. Him being a Parselmouth must look like undeniable truth to those sheep.
He stopped his train of thought as he saw the Weasley girl walking down the stairs case.
"Don't worry, I won't attack you" Harry said annoyed but took a second look at the girl as she gave no response whatsoever. She seemed almost in trance. Not taking any notice of Harry walking right next to her.
Harry watched her from the third floor as she suddenly stopped at the entrance to the second floor and took a right towards the corridor in which Mrs. Norris was prettified a couple of weeks ago.
Even though her behavior was extremely suspicious, Harry didn't care right now. He just wanted to be alone, clear his head, and release some anger. He stepped into an empty classroom and began firing spells at the opposite wall until his core felt almost completely drained.
Tomorrow he would find Flitwick and try to talk to him. Ideally, the charms master would allow him to practice under his teachings or refer him to some people that could put his name into the Championship this summer.
Worst case scenario, he simply got some tips on dueling and maybe a reference to an interesting book. He had nothing to lose.
Harry woke up the next day and continued his workout routine just as usual. The benefit of staying in excellent physical shape was clear after he managed to continuously dodge Warrington's spells for over a minute with ease last night.
Making his way to the Great Hall for breakfast, Harry immediately noticed that the entire school was even more scared of him than last night.
Apparently, there has been another attack last night and Justin Finch-Fletcher and Nearly Headless Nick have both been found petrified. He did not even have a chance to sit at his table before his Head of House asked him to accompany him to Dumbledore's office.
Flitwick and Harry arrived at the Headmaster's office and were immediately granted entrance. Dumbledore, as always, sat behind his huge desk. Out of the corner of the office, Harry heard a thrilling. There on a perch sat a beautiful large golden and red bird-like creature. As Harry approached the Phoenix sang a sad short hymn but allowed Harry to touch and pet him, nevertheless.
"Hello, Fawkes." Harry replied to the bird's greeting with a chuckle.
"I did not know you have met before, Harry? Fawkes is usually very reluctant in letting strangers pet him." Dumbledore inquired.
"We haven't met before, Sir. But Nick and Penny me about your Phoenix. I am surprised I did not see him the last two times I have been in your office."
"Well, Harry, Fawkes does not really follow any schedule. Unless not one I could identify over the last 50 years. However, unfortunately, Fawkes is not the reason I invited you to my office today. I was hoping we could chat about what happened at the dueling match last night?"
Harry sighed:
"Flint was angry that I embarrassed his friend publicly. He conjured a snake and I banished it away after its first attack on me. The snake fell into the crowd of students and was about to attack Finch-Fletcher when I ordered it to stop the attack so that Professor Snape could vanish it.
I did not order the snake to attack Finch-Fletcher. Hell, I probably saved his life and still get shunned for it."
"How long have you known that you could speak Parseltongue, Harry?"
"Ever since my first visit to Diagon Alley, Sir. Do you think I might be able to speak it since I am a descendant from Slytherin?"
"It is a possibility, Harry. You would certainly not be the last member of the family with magical ties to Salazar Slytherin himself. That position unfortunately is already occupied by a different wizard, as you might know.
However, you might be related via your mother's side. Lily Evans could have been the last descendant of a Slytherin Squib-line. The ability to speak Parseltongue might have been reborn in you with the magically potent blood of your father. However, I have a different theory."
"And what would that be, Sir?" Harry asked curiously.
Dumbledore seemed very careful on how to form his next sentences:
"I think the night Lord Voldemort murdered your parents and failed to kill you, thanks to your mother's sacrifice, he unintentionally gave you some of his powers, including his ability to talk to snakes.
Your scar is no ordinary curse scar, as I am sure you must have noticed during your confrontation with Quirrell last year. Something extraordinary happened that night. But I am afraid no healer in the world will be able to explain exactly what."
Harry was deep in thought. Could that be true? Could some of his powers and skills merely be a by-product of Voldemort's failed attempt to kill him?
"Well, how do you wish to continue, Headmaster? I am not the one responsible for the attacks and I don't have a hunch at who it might be right now. The other students, no matter what happened, will still fear me and think the worst of me."
"Indeed, Harry. Unfortunately, the minds of children are easily impressionable. I will just ask you to report any suspicion you might have back to me."
Harry agreed and made his way to his classes after getting some snacks from the kitchen. No one interacted with him anymore. Even some of the professors seemed scared of him and limited their interaction with Harry.
Charms was his last class and Harry stayed behind to finally talk to Flitwick about dueling.
"How can I help you Mr. Potter?" the Professor asked, seeing Harry waiting at his desk.
"Sir, I really enjoy dueling. I was hoping you could give me some tips and teach me what you know. The European Championship will be held in Paris this summer and I was hoping to compete in the Under 14 Category."
"A very ambitious goal for someone who will barely turn 13 by that point in time. Your opponents at the Championships will certainly put up a better fight than poor Mr. Warrington last night. I am still very impressed by the abilities you showcased however.
Why don't we have a little friendly duel, and you show me some of your skills? I will give you my answer to your earlier question if I am satisfied with your current work."
Harry got slightly nervous at the thought of dueling with the charms master, but this was an opportunity he would not waste. With a flick of his wand, Flitwick pushed the tables and chairs aside and put up a couple of wards to limit the damage the classroom might take.
Harry took his position at the opposite end of the classroom and entered his familiar stance.
"A very interesting stance, you show there Harry. I have seen it before on a man that is currently imprisoned in Azkaban. While he was a competent dueler no doubt, I do hope that you do not follow in his exact footsteps."
"You think I would take up a death eater's mask and follow the man that murdered my parents, Professor?"
"I apologize, Harry, I did not mean to suggest that exact path, merely meant getting lost in the darker aspects of magic."
"Rest assured Professor, if I ever encounter the man himself, I will make what I did to Warrington last night look like a harmless Wesley Prank."
The dueling master chuckled but started his spell chain out of nowhere, hoping that Harry had gotten momentarily distracted. Harry expected that Flitwick wanted to test his focus. He quickly dodged the first couple of spells and shielded from the others before returning fire with some precise stunners to Flitwick's chest.
"Very good Harry. You don't let your opponent distract you," He casually said as he flicked away Harry's most powerful stunners.
"However, against a more agile and quicker opponent like myself, it is unlikely that you will outlast in terms of physical stamina. You have to be more aggressive and take the fight towards your enemy."
Harry went on the attack and distracted Flitwick with a couple of Reductos while banishing one of the chairs towards the tiny Charms professor. Flitwick stopped the chair midair, multiplied it with a Gemino spell, and shot them towards a wide-eyed Harry. Harry conjured his strongest shield and watched as the chairs crashed against it, the knockback almost making him fall over.
He collected the splitters of the wooden chairs and transfigured them into small spears which he sends flying towards his professor. Flitwick seemed unimpressed and battered the incoming spears aside with just a flick of his wand. The Charms Master closed the distance and started increasing the tempo of the casting.
His Confringos pushed Harry further and further back until he stood with his back to the wall. In a desperate attempt, Harry tried to hold the professor back with some ropes he conjured, but Flitwick cut through them by using the Defindo and holding his wand almost like a sword.
Finally, an Impedimenta caught Harry's leg and the student slowed down enough for Flitwick to banish him against the wall with a Depulso. A simple disarming charm later and