Hermione took up the spot that Harry had occupied just moments before, as Marvin drew up his shields around him.
"Mr. Grey, you played the role of caster against Harry, so I'll ask you to play the role of shielder next. Ms. Granger, you will be the caster."
Hermione's head barely dipped in response to the Professor's words, so intent was she in her focus. She closed her eyes and raised her wand into the air. As she whispered, a low hum broke out across the classroom, filling the air with its heavy thrum. Marvin felt the vibration pulse along his shield before it modulated into a higher tone. It beat against his defenses, rising higher and higher, flying about the scales in a frantic pitch. Something clashed against his magical nodes, filling the air with a cacophony of sounds.
Then, all of a sudden, the terrible keening stopped. He could still make out a muffled hum in the background, but it had ceased its bone-shattering ascent.
Hermione seemed to sense this too, as her spells began to change shape. She opened her eyes, her brown orbs locking with Marvin's own. With an indistinguishable yell, she let fly one, clean, clear shot straight into his shield. Purple magic crashed and sizzled and lit up the room with a sickening crack, but, his defenses held. He was untouched.
Undismayed, she raised her wand to try again. A shower of blue sparks erupted from her wand and rushed at him en masse. His face broke out into a mad grin. Did the girl honestly think she could overwhelm with this paltry display of power? It was the same tactic she had used but a moment ago!
But, just as the bright blue ball of fire plummeted towards him like some giant, cascading firework, the tiny sparks shot off in all directions. What had been going right suddenly swerved left, and a spell that had been steadily going up, suddenly cut down. They zigzagged every which way, and there was no way to follow them all!
He pushed the rest of his magic into the outer core of his shields, praying that they would hold. But, for as much as he poured into his defense, some of the little buggers wormed their way through. He rolled to his left, in an effort to dodge, but there were too many. They nipped at his face, his robes, and his arms all at once. His wand was ripped from his grasp and winged gently over to his erstwhile opponent.
He was floored. Literally and figuratively. Not only had he been beaten by a girl, he'd been beaten by a Gryffindor girl. His gaze turned cold and calculating as she sauntered over to his prone form.
She crossed her arm over her chest with a formal bow. "Magic guard and keep you."
Marvin reached for his wand and their hands met at the hilt. "And also to you." He responded back. It was proper dueling etiquette, but he hadn't expected her to know it. He narrowed his eyes at the girl as he picked himself up off the floor. "I hope you'll grant me an opportunity to discuss our duel at a later date." He said, brushing the dirt and dust from his robes. "As I found some of your spells rather-- intriguing."
Her eyes lit with an unusual light. The smirk that she had heretofore been holding back, finally carved its way into her face. "I look forward to it." She added in quiet tones as she turned on her heel and walked away.
Professor Snape cleared his throat as a wave of twitters and awed whispers flitted through the crowd. "Intriguing duel indeed." He said with a sniff of disdain. "Ms. Granger, while I'm sure your classmates would love to hear you regale us with tales of your daring adventures, that, I'm afraid will have to wait until another time. For your next class on Wednesday, I expect a full 12 inches on the various methods you could use to improve upon your dueling techniques. This includes, but is not limited to, the hows, whys, and whats of dueling."
"And I would encourage each of you," he added dryly, "to make an effort to stretch the contraption you so unfortunately call a brain." He gave them one long look over his hooked nose. "You are dismissed." He said, as he stormed out of the room in a billow of robes.
Thus, they were left to their own devices. So, as the Gryffindor girl packed up to leave, Marvin sank into the shadows, preparing to follow her to wherever her destination might lead.
..........................................................
To the library, it seemed, or at least it would have been, had she not stopped mid-flight on a wandering spiral staircase.
"Are you following me?" She turned, her hands rolling to the sides of her hips. Marvin slunk out of his hiding place. He was surprised, to say the least, that this girl had been able to catch him. It usually took someone extremely paranoid to pick up on his steps.
"Perhaps I am, and perhaps I'm not. Our paths could conceivable lie on the same course-- as a matter of coincidence of course." His answer was deliberately evasive.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "If you wanted to talk about our duel, all you would have to do is say so, you know."
That was why he had been following her originally, but now that he was pressed about it, he wasn't so sure he wanted to ask. He didn't want to seem desperate, or worse yet, stupid. Stalking someone for the purpose of information struck him as something more along the lines of what Draco Malfoy might do, and he definitely didn't want to be associated with that. So he seized upon the girl's other odd tendencies: her penchant for reading unusual books in the library at early hours in the morning.
"I wasn't following after you for information about the duel, Granger; I was following after you to ask about the books you were reading in the library this morning. What's a Gryffindor girl like you doing with something like Blood Bonds Through the Ages and Sanguine Magick?"
"You saw?" Her voice came out in an alarmed whisper. "But—wait a minute," realization dawned in her eyes, "you just admitted to following me!"
"And you just admitted to reading books about blood bonds."
Her head shot up as she locked eyes with the boy before her. "I thought I told you before, that it was just a bit of light reading."
Marvin merely smiled. "So it has absolutely nothing to do with the research Dumbledore asked you to do?"
"And how, exactly, do you know about that?"
Marvin clicked his tongue disapprovingly. Seriously, the girl compounded her guilt with every new word out of her mouth. If he hadn't been sure before, he certainly was now. The girl herself had single-handedly relieved him of all his doubts!
"You made mention of it at the Sorting Ceremony a few nights back."
"You remember that!"
He let out a bitter laugh. "It's one of the few things I do remember." He muttered darkly, half to himself, and half to the girl in front of him. He crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive stance, and decided to push his luck. "So, are you, or are you not, going to tell me why a girl-- a Gryffindor one at that-- is getting mixed up in as nasty a business as blood bonds?"
"Hmmm... let me see…" her voice trailed off as if she were actually giving thought to Marvin's words."Does that mean I have the option to either tell you or not tell you?"
"But of course." He said, his smile turning feral. "I would never dream of forcing a person to answer against their will."
Hermione answered with a non-committal sound at the back of her throat. She wasn't sure she believed him. "Given my choices, I can say with relative certainty that I don't think I'll be answering your question any time soon." She tipped her head to the side by way of apology, but the inflection in her tone didn't sound particularly grieved. She fixed her eyes on his in an uncompromising stare. "You'll just have to content yourself with that, as it is a matter for Dumbledore and I to address. So, if you'll excuse me, I would like to get back to my work."
Marvin said nothing in response, choosing merely to sweep his arms to the side in an invitation to continue on her way. He watched as her slight form faded into the distance, his sharp gaze lingering long after she had disappeared from view. A quiet seriousness took over his dark countenance. That Hermione girl was proving to be quite an enigma. He would need to use every scrupulous and non-scrupulous tool at his disposal to unravel her secrets.
...................................................................................................
A.N. So there's the duel between Hermione and Marvin. And Hermione won! Hot dog! We'll just have to see what type of repercussions that sows for Hermione later on.
To my reviewers: as usual, thank you for your much-appreciated support! I love hearing from you—your input is invaluable to the story, and helps me keep on my toes.
To frozenpixie: I am glad you liked the duel between Harry and Marvin. That's an interesting point you bring up about Harry's and Marvin's wands. That might play a role in the story later on. ;) What did you think about Hermione winning?
To Fragorl: I'm glad you're still with me. ;) I will definitely try to keep you guessing!
To babe-chan: I have to say that Hermione was pretty awesome in this chapter. The hows and whys will come a little later though!
To heartofice21: Hello! Sorry that Harry had to lose the first duel, but don't think I'm done with them yet!! I have the feeling (as they are Harry and Tom) that they will be battling it out sometime in the future—haha sometime in the future! What a pun. Sometimes I crack myself up… ;) Also, I am glad you liked the Ravenclaw door… there will definitely have to be more of that hilarity soon.
To Nicole317: Also hello! Here is the update. I typically update on Tuesdays and Fridays, so be sure to watch for me. (This week being an exception to the rule as I updated on Wednesday…)
To MingIsRandom: I am glad you were able to picture the duel in your mind's-eye. I hope this chapter was just as successful in conjuring images in your head. It is great praise indeed for an author to hear that her work has succeeded in providing vivid imagery from which to read. Thanks!
To flamelm: Thank you, thank you. I definitely love the character of Professor Snape. I am sure he will be in other chapters of this story, and I hope to have him just as sarcastic, and just as snarky. I hope I hit the mark in this chapter as well. Let me know what you think. You have a really good eye for characterization!
To matterhorn: Oh I am so glad you like the interactions with Ron and Marvin. I am striving so hard to have Ron not come across as merely a dunderhead and an inconvenience. I really do think he adds to a story—he certainly has a large role to play in this one. As for Tom and Hermione, well, they write their own scenes!! They are just so dynamic together—it's hard to get the words out fast enough. I am glad you liked the line: 'one would think he had just brought down the savior of the Wizarding world.' I try in all my chapters to have some line, some particular phrase of unusual interest. That was one of them. I'm glad you picked up on it and commented—it's nice to hear that it's not all in my head. ;) You have been the only reader so far to supply a possible reason for Marvin to be sorted into Hufflepuff—and what a reason it was!! I loved it!! If I hadn't already written him in as a Ravenclaw, I might have written him in as a Hufflepuff! Haha. Now wouldn't that have made for an interesting story… hmm… I can see it now. (cackles manically)
To greatstars: Well, you hit the nail on the head!! Tom is definitely more motivated and ambitious than Harry, and he definitely underestimated our favorite Gryffindor witch. Hermione still has some tricks up her sleeve—so we will just have to see what's in store!
To JC1988: A battle of wits—I like it!!! That is definitely going to go somewhere in this story!! Brilliant!!