A/N: This is one of the longest chapters in the story so far. 10 pages in Word! WOOT!! But it's worth it. Trust me, you'll enjoy the chapter. This is where a turning point happens in the story. Powers are reveled. Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: We don't own anything related to Harry Potter. The Tenshi are real people, we're best friends in real life, so please don't take the Tenshi. We'll have to kick your butt if you do.
The Duel
Nobody could stop talking about the duel that day and the prize money that went with winning. Hermione and Riley were trying to convince the others to review spells and defenses, but nobody really paid attention to them.
"Fine, it's not our fault if you lose because you didn't know what spell to use!" They huffed.
After dinner, everyone stayed in the Great Hall. Dumbledore stood and cleared the food with the wave of his hands. "Welcome, students, to our dueling competition. You will all take turns squaring off with each other until we reach the top ten contestants. Tomorrow night we will complete the competition," he explained. "The rules: no illegal curses. Anybody who uses one will be disqualified and suspended. Only students in the 5th year and above are able to participate. If you are knocked unconscious, you are out. Your professors will be monitoring the duels. If you are tapped on the shoulder, you are out. Good luck all."
Ron paired up with Neville, Dean and Harry faced off, Hermione against Lavender, Nicole against Seamus, Riley against Angelina, Fred and George faced off against each other, Robin was against Blaise, a Slytherin.
Two minutes into the duel, a bell went off. All the students stopped and looked at Dumbledore. "We have our winners for the first round. Congratulations to Miss Eversly, Mr. Ronald Weasly, Miss Goodfellow, Miss Granger, and Miss Devon for a record finish. You may take a rest while the others finish this round." Dumbledore said and the fighting continued.
Madam Promfrey was frantically scurrying across the room help children who had been injured. She continually made a tsking sound and gave Dumbledore furious looks.
Five minutes later the round ended. There were about 20 students left, so they were paired off. Fred was against Nicole, Robin was against Hermione, Harry was against George (who had tied with Fred!), Ron was against Cho Chang, Draco was with a Hufflepuff girl, and Riley was against a Ravenclaw. There were a few more Ravenclaws and Slytherins and one more Hufflepuff left in the duel.
Fred quickly disarmed Nicole, but he had not taken into account her wandless magic abilities. While gloating over his capture, Nicole leg-locked him securing a place in the final rounds.
Robin and Hermione had a tougher time. Hermione's spells were perfect, but Robin was excellent at deflecting them. Meanwhile, Harry distracted George with a Patronus Charm and then gave him jelly-legs. Harry was now a final contender as well.
Ron managed to shoot a vision spell at Cho and blinded her making her unable to fight anymore, which meant that Ron was going to the championship. Draco had no problem taking out his Hufflepuff opponent. In the meantime, Riley had disarmed the Ravenclaw and watched as he began did a crazy dance, because of her well-timed last spell.
Everybody finished and watched Robin and Hermione duel. Hermione's tickling spell had gotten past Robin's shield, and Robin was having a hard time saying any spells to hit back at Hermione. She thought something, and everybody screamed as a snake shot out of her wand and hit the floor in front of Hermione.
Hermione was not fazed and merely turned the snake into a daisy. However, while dealing with the snake, Hermione had given Robin the opening she needed. "Petrificus Totalus!" Robin shouted between laughs. Hermione went rigid and fell on the mat. Robin would be entering finals tomorrow evening.
Dumbledore stood up. "Congratulations to all our finalists. We will meet back here tomorrow night after dinner, to finish the competition."
Later, sitting in the common room, instant replays of the various duels were still occurring.
"I almost had you," Fred practically had to yell because the noise level was so high. "I didn't know you could do wandless magic, though."
Nicole laughed. "Nobody really knows. You never let anybody know the true extent of your powers. That way you're always understimated."
"Of course, there are no hard feelings," Hermione claimed. "Robin did very well. At least we were the best matched."
Nicole looked up from her conversation with Hermione only to realize that Riley was no longer in the room. "Harry," she yelled. "Where'd Riles go?"
"Beats me," he replied shrugging.
Nicole found Riley upstairs getting ready for bed. "What are you doing up here? The party's down there."
Riley folded her robes and placed them neatly on her trunk. She sat on the bed before answering Nicole. "You don't honestly think that this is a coincidence, do you? The duel, I mean." Nicole shrugged. "Nic, this is another stupid test. I feel it. And, there's no way that all we are doing tomorrow night is dueling other students. They've got something planned."
"What does that have to do with you being up here instead of downstairs having fun?" Nicole asked.
"I plan to win. There is no force on this earth that will stop me, including exhaustion. So, I don't plan to stay up all night rehashing today's events. After that boggart thing..." Riley trailed off lost in thought.
"Riley?" Nicole prodded.
"I was just wondering why I didn't have to face my fear. And why did I faint? It's just so weird." Riley frowned.
Nicole sighed and sat down on the bed. "Riles...I think you did face your fear. There's something about you that scares you. We all faced our fears, but we didn't conquer them. There's a big difference. I'm never going to find a way to make my foster father less scary. Robin is never going to get over her fear of us dying. And, for some reason you don't know what it is about you that you're frightened of." She paused to let that sink in.
"I don't know why you fainted," Nicole continued after a bit. "Maybe you couldn't handle it. You were awfully scared though. I felt it. There are some things even we can't beat. I can suggest something that might help though."
"What's that?" Riley asked.
Nicole smiled. "There's a party going on downstairs. Fred and George got us some food and Butterbeer. I say, we go down and party, then leave early, so we can get a full night's sleep before tomorrow. And, I'll help ya look up some spells as well."
"You? Do work? Please. Look, kiddo, I'm fine. Not worried, just confused. I'm not staying up here to sulk. I really am beat. Now, go down there and get your grove on with Ron." Nicole slapped Riley's leg. "Ouch. You know it's true. Look at that smile. Go. Let me get some sleep."
Nicole laughed. "Believe it or not, I do know how to do work. Why do you think I caught up with you and Robin so fast back home? But...you're right. Why am I up with a boring, stick-in-the-mud like you, when there's a cute guy by the name of Ron waiting for me?" Nicole smiled. "See ya tomorrow, Sleeping Beauty."
Nicole walked downstairs and joined the party again. With a sly smile and a wink at Ron, Nicole pulled a stereo out of her robes and with some words, music began playing and everybody began dancing. Laughter filled the air, as Nicole stood up on a table and showed everybody her PG version of table dancing. The party continued until 1 in the morning when McGonagall came up and threatened to take away house points.
Dumbledore had created a dueling ground in the center of the Great Hall. It was on a slightly elevated platform and seats were arranged around it for the spectators. "Welcome to the final round of the dueling competition," he began. "First up, we have Marietta Edgecombe," Ravenclaw students erupted in screams, "and Draco Malfoy." Slytherin cheered just as loudly.
Draco and Marietta took their places at opposite ends of the platform. At the whistle, they drew their wands. It was a skilled duel. Curses and hexes flew across the ring. They fought for five minutes before Draco was able to get around Marietta's shield and hit her with a stunning spell. Draco smiled and stepped out of the ring, feeling proud that he was moving on.
"Very nicely done, you two. Next, if Ron Weasly and Nicole Eversly would step forward please," Dumbledore said. There was a stunned silence. Gryffindor house members were confused about who to cheer for. Awkwardly, Nicole and Ron stepped onto the platform.
Nicole felt bad. She knew that Ron could use the money, but Riley's word kept echoing in her mind. She couldn't lose. She had failed the other night, and she would not fail again.
She decided she would trick Ron into accepting the money if she won and went for it. Ron was not going to be easy to beat. They parried back and forth for ten minutes before Nicole was able to bind Ron in ropes. As she stepped down from the platform, she noticed Riley beaming at her, but she could feel the sympathy radiating from her. At least Riley knew what she had just sacrificed.
Nicole sighed and sat down in a chair to watch the rest of the competitions. Ron came down and somewhat hesitantly sat next to her. She looked at him. "I'm sorry Ron." She said as she offered a sad smile.
"It's alright," he replied, smiling. Nicole was relieved that she could sense no anger or coldness from him.
"Well done. Robin Goodfellow and Roger Davies, you're next," Dumbledore announced. Robin and Roger stepped up, with the cheers of their respective houses and friends egging them on.
Robin bowed to Roger before starting, and Roger did the same. They finally started dueling, but it didn't take too long. Robin paralyzed Roger within two minutes, and the duel was over.
"Again, well done. Riley Devon and Zacharias Smith, if you please." Zacharias and Riley stepped up on the platform and bowed.
If Robin's duel had been quick, then Riley's was lightening. Zacharias had barely begun to speak and his wand was in Riley's outstretched hand. Because she knew it was over, she decided to have a little fun. She muttered a spell, and Zacharias was bound bright sunflowers. She smiled, bowed, and returned to her seat.
"Show off," Nicole said smiling.
Riley shrugged. "I found the spell today. I thought it'd be funny."
"Yeah, but the poor boy won't ever live that down. Being tied up in flowers...you'll damage egos that way," Nicole pointed out.
"Very well done. Harry Potter and Adrian Pucey, you're next." The cheers were loud. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff joined in with Gryffindor to cheer on Harry, but Slytherin was making them work to be heard.
Harry bowed, and as he did a spell zoomed over his head. Adrian shrugged innocently at the boos he was receiving. He straightened quickly and attempted to disarm his opponent. Adrian dodged and sent another spell Harry's way. The duel went back and forth until finally, Harry was able to stun Adrian. With this opening, Harry petrified him and walked off the platform.
"Congratulations to all of our finalists. Now, for your final task you must duel the teachers." After the gasps died down, Dumbledore continued. "First, we have Harry Potter against Professor Flitwick, Master of Charms."
The crowd tensed as Harry squared off against Professor Flitwick. They bowed, and the spells began. Professor Flitwick seemed completely different. At one point, he levitated a chair and threw it at Harry. Harry dodged and was able to disarm Professor Flitwick through a well-timed disarming spell. The whistle blew. Harry would move on.
"Nicole Eversly will duel with Professor Flitwick, and Harry moves on to duel Professor Snape, master of Potions."
Nicole entered the platform and bowed to Professor Flitwick. He bowed back, and they began. Nicole yelled, "Wingardium Leviosa!" Professor Flitwick began to float in the air. This was a bad for him, because defense against spells was now virtually impossible. Finally, Nicole had enough. "SILENCIO!" She yelled. Flitwick was unable to speak and cast spells. Nicole bound him in ropes and the battle was over.
"Draco Malfoy will now duel Professor Flitwick, and Nicole moves on to duel Professor Snape, as well."
Draco bowed, and they began the duel. Before long, Draco was hit with one of Flitwick's flying objects. He fell to the ground unconscious. Madam Pomfrey rushed to the stage and lifted Draco away.
"Riley Devon is next to duel Professor Flitwick, and Draco, I'm sorry to say, has been eliminated." Cheers erupted from all but Slytherin.
Riley and Professor Flitwick bowed. Professor Flitwick began by causing several objects to head for Riley. With a flick of her wand, Riley stopped them mid-air. She used the precious moments of Flitwick's shock to bind him as Nicole had. She was moving on, too.
"Robin Goodfellow is the last to duel Professor Flitwick, and Riley moves on to face Professor Snape."
After the bows, Robin muttered a spell, lowered her wand, and smiled slyly. Confused, Professor Flitwick attempted to send a chair at Robin from behind. As the chair neared Robin, it seemed to bounce off a shield. It hit the professor, and he was out.
"To start the next round, Harry will be facing Professor Snape," Dumbledore announced. The room took a collective breath.
Harry gulped and took a deep breath. Snape was sneering with delight. They tensely bowed, and it seemed as if the room was completely silent. No one was even breathing. Harry dodged Snape's first to spells and managed to give him a case of boils, but finally Snape got Harry with a petrifying charm, and Harry was done.
"Nicole is next to duel Professor Snape, and Harry has, unfortunately, been eliminated." Cheers erupted from Slytherin.
Nicole approached Professor Snape and bowed. He did the same, and the room held its breath once again as they watched the match. Snape and Nicole battled it out. Every spell he shot at her she deflected. Finally, they both hit each other. Nicole let out a cry as the spell hit her. The crowd gasped as blood began to drip from cuts that suddenly appeared.
Snape wasn't in better shape. He had to put out a fire that started on his robes. Nicole ignored the cuts and vanished from the ring. Surprised gasps filled the room, and then Snape was knocked out. Nicole appeared behind Snape, with a sly smile on her now pale face.
Nicole sat down next to Hermione who muttered a spell and the bleeding stopped. "Thanks!"
"Riley is next to face Professor Snape, and Nicole will move on to face Professor McGonagall, master of Transfiguration." Once again all but Slytherin cheered.
Riley faced Professor Snape. He was enraged that someone had managed to get past him. They stiffly bowed to one another. Snape immediately fired off a shot at Riley. She deflected it with ease. Her shot, however, was deflected just as easily. After a few more parries between the two, Riley took a deep breath and muttered something inaudible. Snape was surrounded by a thick, black cloud. Riley bound him and removed the cloud. He was furious.
"Robin is last to duel Professor Snape, and Riley will move on to face Professor McGonagall, as well." Cheering erupted.
Robin bowed nervously to the head of her house, and they began to duel. When it had gone on for ten minutes, Robin finally knew what to do. She muttered a spell, took a glove off her left hand and shot a spell at him. The dark power wrapped around Professor Snape, and he stopped struggling immediately, a strange look in his eyes. The match was over. Robin released her spell and stepped down amid silence. Riley and Nicole smiled at her encouragingly as she sat down.
"To start the next round, Nicole will face off with Professor McGonagall."
Now, it was Nicole's turn to face the head of her house. She took a deep breath and stepped to her spot. They bowed and began. First, Nicole constructed a shield of protection, only to watch McGonagall whisper a spell and shatter her shield. Nicole dove to the ground as a spell flew over her head. She tried to fire off spells, but none of them hit her opponent.
They dueled for awhile, with Nicole rapidly tiring from her efforts. McGonagall aimed her wand low and fired a spell that hit Nicole's leg. Nicole began to hop around on one foot, since her other foot had become limp. With Nicole's concentration broken, McGonagall bound her with a rope and Nicole fell to the ground defeated. A quick spell healed Nicole, and she exited. She sat down and drew her knees up to face, to try and hide the tears that were running down her face.
"Good job, Nic. You were brilliant," Riley whispered as Dumbledore stood to announce her. Nicole wiped her face off and silently thanked Riley. She watched as Riley stood up to face McGonagall. 'Get her early, Riley. Read her thoughts, I'm sure you'll hear what she's planning. Good luck.' Nicole thought, knowing that her friend would get the message.
"Riley is next to duel Professor McGonagall, and sadly, Nicole has been eliminated." Cheers erupted from Slytherin.
After bowing, McGonagall deflected one of Riley's spells. She then created a pit of quick sand beneath Riley's feet. To everyone's surprise, Riley floated mere inches above the pit. In her shock, McGonagall had let her guard down. Riley bound her as well and joined her house.
"Finally, Robin is to face Professor McGonagall. Riley will move on to face Professor Lupin, master of the Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Robin stepped up on the platform. She figured that she had a fifty-fifty chance of defeating McGonagall. Riley had, and Nicole had not. After bowing, Robin created a shield. It was just in time, because McGonagall had attempted to transfigure her wand into a rubber chicken. Robin knew that McGonagall would go for her shield next and used the opportunity to pitch the room into total darkness. Robin saw her shield shatter, but she also saw that McGonagall could not see. She sent a disarming spell across. McGonagall deflected it. Robin tried again and was successful as the lights were restored. With McGonagall disarmed, Robin bound her and left the platform.
"To start the next round, Riley will face off with Professor Lupin."
Riley calmly stood before Lupin. There was no way she was going to fail now. 'You can do it, Riles," Nicole thought. 'Easy, peasy, Riley,' thought Robin. Riley smiled and bowed. After dodging a spell of Riley's, Lupin yelled, "Silencio!" His spell was a direct hit. He smirked. Riley glared at him, and he thought he had won. Suddenly, Lupin was up-ended and hanging mid-air. He watched helplessly as his wand flew to Riley's out-stretched hand. Riley smiled and sat down.
"Robin will now face Professor McGonagall. Riley will move on to face Professor Dumbledore, master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The entire room gaped at Dumbledore. "Oh my, that's me, isn't it?" He questioned with a small smile. He glanced at Riley. She looked determined.
Robin stood up as her turn was announced. She saw Riley and Nicole give her the thumbs up in a gesture of good luck. Taking a deep breath, she bowed to Professor Lupin. As he bowed, her spell entered her mind, and she allowed herself a quick smile. This would be easy. They both created shields, and Robin began to form her spell.
Lupin saw her smile however and realized that she was up to something. It was but the work of moment for him to cry: "Expelliarmus!" But Robin kept her wand held tight. Pointing her wand at herself she cried out, "Evanesco!" and she vanished.
Lupin blinked, and the students gasped. However, he didn't let his guard down. He strengthened his shield and reviewed some spells he could use. With a smile, he created a mirror and waited for her to move. He didn't have to wait long. A spell shot out of nowhere, and he used the mirror and his shield to reflect the spell towards her. The spell hit, and Robin appeared and fell to the ground. Her round was over.
Dumbledore stood slowly, as did Riley. Watching him, she couldn't help but smile. 'Professor, there's no need for that. I know that you are far more spy than your letting on,' she thought. As she suspected, he smiled as approached the platform more quickly. As they stood face to face and bowed, then spectators froze.
Ron looked over at Nicole and saw that she was turning blue. He patted her on the back. "Breathe Nicole. She'll do fine." Nicole smiled gratefully at him.
"Thanks. But, I still worry." She took a deep breath and then yelled into the silence. "KICK HIS BUTT RILEY!!"
"Expelliarmus!" They commanded simultaneously. Their wands shot forward, and, as they collided, the force of their commands shattered the wands. They stared at each other for a moment oblivious to the gasps. Both smiled and waved their hands. Riley was thrown across the room. Dumbledore was pitched backward as if the platform was bucking him off.
They stood quickly. Riley knew that this could go on forever. She had to do something drastic. Suddenly, she knew what to do. As Dumbledore recited a spell to make Riley float, Riley closed her eyes. All of a sudden, there were two Riley. Both dodged the spell. Dumbledore smiled. He muttered another spell, and the projected Riley disappeared. Riley took the opportunity to recite a spell of her own. With a wave of her hands, the platform exploded in a shower of wood.
In that moment, Riley focused her energy on Robin and Nicole. After a moment, she felt a surge of energy. 'Now, let's play,' Riley thought. Dumbledore thought, 'Imperio.' Riley grinned and shook her head. She pointed to Dumbledore, and he froze. The students gasped. Dumbledore broke free of the spell and created a giant crack to split beneath Riley's feet. She started to fall and then began to float.
Dumbledore waved his hand again, and Riley was thrown against the wall. At the same time, Robin collapsed across the room. Everyone was too busy watching the show to notice. Riley looked at Dumbledore, and with a nod of the head he was thrown as well. As Riley stood, she pointed to Dumbledore. He was lifted off the ground and wrapped in a white smoke. He locked eyes with her and though, 'Crucio.' Riley shook her head again, and on the other side of the room, Nicole fainted.
With a deep breath, Riley pointed to Dumbledore again. Hoping against hope that his instincts were right, he thought, 'Adava Kedavra.' Riley stumbled and fell to the ground. Suddenly, the room went black. The students began screaming in hysteria.
Almost as abruptly as they were off, the lights were back on. Riley was standing with a triumphant look on her face. They students stared in shock. Suddenly, the room broke out in cheers. The noise was so loud that the walls were shaking. Riley, looking faint, point to Dumbledore who promptly opened his eyes. As he stood, a smile stretched across his face from ear to ear. Dumbledore turned to congratulate her on her victory as she collapsed. Slowly the cheering stopped.
Robin and Nicole both awoke the moment Riley collapsed. They shoved their way toward her. Nicole fell beside her friend, tears rolling down her face. "Wake up, Riley. Please, wake up. Please."
Robin knelt beside Riley and placed her hand on Riley's forehead. A small smile crossed her face. "She's alive, just very weak. She's thinking about something and feeling guilty, again."
Nicole stopped crying. "Guilty? About...about what happened during the competition?"
"I don't know. I can't tell. But, I think we should take her to the hospital wing."
"I agree. Madame Pomfrey, your assistance, please," Dumbledore said beckoning for the nurse.
"I can't help her unless I know what's wrong, Professor," Madame Pomfrey retorted. She was quite cross.
"I believe that she just over-exerted herself," Dumbledore replied smiling.
Nicole snorted. "That's an understatement," she muttered.
"Very well," she said floated Riley toward the door. As she left, she was muttering under her breath about how "the things these students do is ridiculous" and "adults are supposed to be the responsible authority figures, not the assailants."
Nicole and Robin followed Riley and tried to keep from laughing at the infuriated nurse. The students left the Great Hall and headed to their common rooms, jabbering about what had happened.
Dumbledore turned towards Lupin and Ms. Lange, who both nodded. They left the room with Dumbledore to go discuss the events of the evening.
