"Well, another chapter said and done. And this was finished even though my regular muse went missing. I read in the Grand Line Times she was involved in an incident at someplace called Sabaody Archipelago. So I'm doing this with a guest muse until I manage to track her down."
"What do I have to do to get some peace and quiet around here!" Naru Narusegawa spat angrily.
"I didn't mean you!" I scowled.
"Yeah, he meant me! Revel rood part!" Zatanna grinned as waved her wand, conjuring a lever labeled 'impostor muse ejector switch', which she gave a mighty pull.
CLUNK!
"Author no BAAAKKKAAA!" the red head yowled as she fell down the trap door that opened under her feet.
"I get the feeling we're gonna get along just fine. One last bit of business before the fic starts. Zatanna, if you would?"
"Sorakage Sama doesn't own any of this. He's just borrowing it for his and your amusement." the magician smiled as she and I disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Chapter 12: The Tangled Web
I'm gonna kick your ass so hard you're gonna kiss the moon- Harry
"I don't want you to thunk that I'm ungrateful for your generous offer, but who are you, where am I, and why are you offering to help me?" Harry blinked.
"As I said, I was one of Voldemort's first victims when he started his campaign of terror throughout the United Kingdom. I've been stuck as a wandering spirit for the past several decades after he hit me with a dark curse that separated my spirit from my body and stuck me in this dream realm. And as a spirit, I've had more than my fair share of free time to keep an ear to the ground, so to speak." Riddle drawled.
"Oh?" Harry blinked.
"Yep. And one thing I learned is that Voldemort is not as dead as people think. The snake faced bastard was ripped from his body the night you got that scar much the same way I was. Only he lost most of his abilities."
"So Voldemortis still more or less alive and if we meet, he'll try to finish what he started a decade ago." Harry grimaced.
"Exactly! It looks like you can teach a young dog some new tricks!"
"OI! I told you to watch the put down or I will kick your butt from here to Uranus!" the middle Elric snorted indignantly.
"Oh? Wanna put that theory to the test?" Riddle drawled.
"Why not, I could use a workout."
Harry blurred at Riddle throwing a quick right, that had it connected, would have knocked out half the man's teeth. The older man casually palmed the proffered hand.
"Lesson one; all the skills in the world won't do squat if your opponent is just plain better than you." Tom said solemnly.
A hundred of streamers of light collected around Riddle's fist as Harry stood there in slack jawed horror.
"Lesson two; augmenting physical attacks with magic can have explosive results. Ouka Hou Ken (Blossom crushing fist)!"
The magically enhanced fist slammed into Harry's gut with the force of a semi-trailer. The middle Elric suddenly experienced a curious feeling of vertigo as his body rag dolled across the dreamscape. Only to come to a screeching halt as he hung suspended in mid air.
"Lesson three; the fundamentals can have just as crushing an effect if you use them correctly. This is a basic levitation charm that you learn in first year. It can be used for many things. You just have to be creative."
Harry dropped to the ground as a sickly yellow beam of light shot out of Riddle's wand and arced toward him with blinding speed. Harry closed his eyes and suddenly felt a curious cooling sensation. The three eyed boy's eyes shot open when he realized that the spell did nothing other than make him a little damp. His relief was short lived when he saw that Tom was blurring at him with another Ouka Hou Ken wrapped around his hand.
The fist stopped an inch from his face.
"Lesson four, the art of deception. Make an opponent think that you're going to do something, and then do something else. Any questions?"
"Can you teach me?" Harry asked weakly.
"Why not…It's not like that's what i came here to do!" he replied glibly.
Harry sighed as he woke in his bed, the workout was bore a passing resemblance to Boot camp from hell. Riddle had worked him into the ground, spending the few hours they had in the dreamscape to drill a half dozen beginner's spells. They were a mix of charms a transfiguration. And when used in conjunction with his Alchemy, those spells had the potential to really do some damage.
This was an especially good thing since the Librarian, Madam Pince, guarded her precious book with a fervor more suited religious zealot than a librarian. Just the other day harry had tried to look up some beginning dueling techniques, only to discover they were all in the restricted section. His one attempt at gaining access led to the tyrannical librarian chasing him out of the school library with a hoard of enchanted goods; rulers, bottles of whiteout, massive bundles of lined paper. The middle Elric was lucky to escape with only a few lumps and bruises.
So Riddle coming to him and offering new techniques was a god send. One the eleven year old was going to take full advantage of.
It was several hours later when Harry sat down next to Ron at the Gryffindor table. Thankfully, no one made much of a fuss over a Ravenclaw sitting there. The two were engrossed in the time honored male tradition of comparing scar stories.
"I got this one from wrestling with my older Brother Charlie; he knocked me into a gully when I was six. I fell into a huge brier patch, scratched me up something awful." Ron said, pulling up his shirt, showing a latticework of old scars on his left side.
"I got that topped. I got this one from falling out of a tree. I slammed into a rock and tore up my shoulder. I spent six months in a cast and another six in therapy getting my full range of motion back!" Harry said, pulling down his sweater at the shoulder and showing off a particularly long and deep gouge, making sure not to pull it down enough to reveal his automail.
"Ooops!"
SPLAT!
Without warning, a plate full of food splattered onto Harry. The boy who lived found himself wearing a plateful of half eaten eggs, toast, and bacon.
"Looks like I did you a favor Potter. Now you act like trash and look the part as well!" Draco sneered.
"What did you say you rat faced little turd?" Harry snarled, going nose to nose with the blond.
"I call 'em like I see 'em. And I see a piss poor excuse for a wizard." The sallow skinned boy sniffed.
"That is IT! You wanna throw down ferret? I'm gonna give you such a beating that'll send a big enough shockwave back in time to prevent your misbegotten ancestor from planting baby seeds!" the three eyed boy hissed angrily.
"Fine, a wizard's duel it is. None of that Muggle trash you seem so fond of."
"Before I agree, I have a question for you. What's your middle name?"
"Ignatius…why?"
"Because I Harry James Potter Elric, heir to the house of Potter accept you challenge, Draco Ignatius Malfoy, heir to the house of Malfoy. We meet tonight at midnight, here in the great hall. And just so you know, there are no rules in dueling against that so called 'muggle trash I like so much'." Harry grinned wolfishly.
The color drained from Draco's face as Harry stated word for word the proper acceptance for a wizards duel. The air around them crackled as magic itself bound the challenge
"Oh fudge nuggets…" Drago gulped.
"What happened?" Professor Dumbledore, who was followed by Snape and Professor McGonagall, said coolly.
Harry jerked a thumb at Malfoy, then grabbed the back of his robe as he tried to run away. "Malfoy challenged me to a duel, I accepted."
"I'm afraid that's not possible, dueling isn't allowed on school grounds."
"That would be true normally, but if that flash of magic was any indication, I'd say that the duel is going to happen, rules or no rules." Harry grinned.
"Indeed…" Dumbledore blinked owlishly.
"But headmaster, you can't Potter allow to…"
"Severus, my hands are tied. The duel was accepted properly and there is no way to undo it. Under these circumstances, I will grant you both the day off to prepare for the challenge tonight. Be in the great hall tonight at midnight with your seconds."
Snape shot a dark glare at Harry as he led Draco by the shoulder.
It was later that night that Hermione and Harry sat by the fire.
"Well, I have an hour until the duel, so we'd better get to the Gryffindor tower so I can get Ron. I don't want to be disqualified for not having my second with me."
"I don't see why you need that red headed baboon to help you in this duel." Hermione sniffed.
"No offense Hermie…but if I want to get through this with my skin one piece, than I need someone to watch my back. Malfoy has live in a magical household all his life. I wouldn't put it past him to have had a wand and been learning spells since he could talk. I need all the advantages I can get. And besides, that 'red headed baboon' is a friend of mine. So watch the put downs please?"
"I will if he does." The brunette mumbled.
Ron and Hermione shot each other hostile glares as they made their way down a corridor away from the common room. Only to stop when they heard a voice mumbling from a shadowy corner.
"What am I gonna do? The Fat Lady's already gone and even if she was in her frame, I don't remember the password!" Neville Longbottom whined.
"Neville? Is that you?" Ron blinked.
"EEP! What are you doing out of the dorms after curfew!" the nervous boy squeaked.
"I have a duel with Malfoy scheduled in forty five minutes, and I'd like to get there on time. So either you stay here, and get caught by Filch or come with us." Harry said shortly.
"I think I'll take my chances with you three thanks." The chubby boy said gratefully.
The next several minutes went by without incident, until the four met with two unwelcome delays one after the other.
"What are you doing here Elric/Delvina?" the Hufflepuff and the Ravenclaw said with equal venom in their voices.
"Can we get moving please? The duel is in half an hour!" Ron groaned as Harry and Rose glared at each other and made no effort to move.
The second distraction came moments later in the form of the castle caretaker, Argus Filch. A more odious man there never was.
"Sniff 'em out my sweet! Those wayward students have to be around here somewhere! Wizard's duel my eye! I'll teach those little ghouls the penalty for beain' out after hours. Maybe Dumbledore will let me use the whips and chains this time. It will be so much fun!" Filch hissed to his cat.
"Bugger me! That toad's the last thing we need right now!" Ron moaned.
"I think a strategic withdrawal is in order…" Hermione gulped as Filch's voice came closer.
"What does that mean?" Neville blinked.
"Run for it!" Harry barked.
The five students ran back the way they came, several chaotic minutes later, they took a breather in a little used corridor.
"Why…did I…run…again…? I didn't do anything!" the brown and pink haired girl growled.
"Because that odious little man wasn't going to listen to any explanation. And unless you wanted to be hung by your ankles and have Filch do who knows what to you, you had as much choice as we did." Harry snorted.
"W-why do you h-h-hate Harry so much anyway?" Neville squeaked.
"He ruined my life, that's why! Him and his damnable brothers poked their noses where they didn't belong and all but left my village in ruins."
"Be kind and rewind please? Unless I'm missing something, Father Cornello may have brought prosperity to your town, but he was planning to turn your desert dustbowl into his own personal army! He was going to use your people to take over the country! So boo, frickin', hoo! Get over yourself Delvina! Lord knows I did!" Harry spat.
"Don't act all righteous you little toad, you had a stake in bringing Cornello down! You were after his MPPHH!"
Harry slapped his hand over her mouth.
"Ix-nay one the on-stay! We'll both get in big trouble if you spill state secrets on my watch!" the three eyed boy hissed angrily.
"What are you two jabbering about?" Ron sputtered.
"Nothing, just keep an ear out for Filch please?"
"They're this way my sweet!" the caretaker hissed.
"Oh Hells bum! What do we have to do to get rid of him!" Hermione groaned.
"Hells bum?" Ron blinked.
"You try to think of something witty when people are yelling right in your ear!" the brunette grimaced.
"Out of the way!" Harry groaned as he shoved them aside. Throwing caution to the winds, harry clapped his hands together and slapped them palm first into the door. The wooden slab glowed brightly and dissolved into a cloud of ash.
"Get in! Get in!" the three eyed boy hissed as the other piled into the now open corridor.
Harry repeated the process, and the pile of ash dust turned back into a door.
"How did you do that? That wasn't any magic I've read about! You just disintegrated that door and put it back together with a touch of your hands?" Hermione cackled.
"Quiet please? I'm trying to listen for Filch!" Ron snorted as he put his ear to the door.
"I can tell you how he did it." Rosé said conversationally.
"Shut it! Or did you forget already what I said about state secrets? Bradley would have my nuts on a platter if you blabbed!" the middle Elric scowled.
"Not my problem!" the pink haired girl sing songed.
"Oh yes it is! If I go down, you do too! I am not going alone if you decide to do something stupid!"
"What are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know at the moment…but it'll be unpleasant! I can promise you that!
"D-D-D-D-D…" Neville stuttered as he pawed at Harries nightshirt.
"Knock it off! I'm trying to keep an ear out for Filch!" Ron hissed.
"DU-DU-DU-DU-DU…" the frightened Gryffindor whimpered.
"For the love of…what's going…MOTHER OF MADNESS!" the redhead screeched.
"DUCK!" Neville yelled.
"A duck? Where?" Hermione asked, though she would later fervently deny having said anything.
Ron grabbed Hermione and Rosé and dragged throwing them to the ground, narrowly missing having their heads bitten off by the giant three headed dog that snapped at air above their collective skulls seconds before. Harry leaped aside just time while Neville scrambled away on all fours.
"Why did I have to get dragged along with you turkeys?" Rose shrieked as got to her feet and barely dodged a lunge from the three headed canine.
"I don't know, but I want this whole fowl situation to end once and for all. So can we run for our lives please?" Harry cackled as he threw the door open…only to find Filch standing in front of him, grinning triumphantly, crowing "I have you now!"
But that didn't stop the five from making their mad dash for safety, mowing the caretaker down in the process.
WHAM!
"Sorry!" Hermione squeaked.
THUD!
"My apologies!" Harry said weakly.
BONK!
"I always wanted to do that!" Ron chortled
BANG!
"I r-r-r-regret nothing!" Neville stuttered.
WHAP!
"Better you than me!" Rose deadpanned.
"Potter has one minute before he automatically forfeits the duel. You might as well declare me the winner now, since he's too much of a chicken to show." Draco crowed triumphantly.
"Patience Draco, he still has a minute left and then we'll declare you the winner." Snape drawled.
"I'm telling toy he's not going to show up! Just declare me the winner now! I'm more than willing save yourself the trouble!"
"I'm certain Mr. Potter will be here momentarily. So please have patience" Dumbledore said evenly.
"You're right headmaster! There's no way I'd miss out on this!" harry growled as he and the others walked into the Great hall.
"Now, that both parties have arrived, we can begin." the headmaster nodded.
Draco grimaced and took his place standing back to back with Harry.
"I'm gonna kick your ass so hard you're gonna kiss the moon!" the middle Elric brother scowled.
"I don't know how you got away from Filch, Potter. But you made a mistake in coming here. I'm going to prove once and for all that I'm better than you. And after this, everybody will know it too!" the blond spat.
"You sent that toad after me you little cheater? That's it! The kid gloves are off!" the three eyed boy snarled, eyes blazing wrathfully.
"On the count of three, begin…one…two…three!" Dumbledore barked as he stepped out of the line of fire.
"Exuviae!" the three eyed boy incanted.
"Protego!" Malfoy yelled as he skidded to a stop.
The shield spell snapped into existence just as the basketball sized spell shot out of Harry's wand with the force of a cannonball.
The enchantment ricocheted off the shield and shot away from the combatants.
"Impedimentia!" Draco cast.
Amazingly, Harry did a perfect split and made the spell sail over his head, missing completely.
"Avis!" the Malfoy heir cast.
Harry yelped as a flock of birds shot out of Malfoy's wand and swarmed the three eyed boy.
"Plango!" Harry cast desperately.
The blond ducked and the spell shot over his head. Harry concentrated and violently slashed his wand downward.
"You're aim is pathetic!" Draco sneered.
"Who said I was aiming for you?" Harry growled as he swatted a stray pigeon.
WHAP!
The floorboard that harry had aimed the spell at rose up in an almost serpent like fashion and whacked the bond on the back of the head, knocking him out cold.
"Check and mate!" Harry grinned, turning toward the judges. His triumphant smile turned into a frown when he saw that Professor Snape was face down on the ground, out cold. Ron was crouched next to him poking the downed professor in the cheek with his wand. Hermione looked like she couldn't decide whether to be amused or upset. And Rose was on her back laughing up a storm.
"Um, what happened?" Harry blinked
"That spell you cast, the one that ricocheted off Malfoy's shield, his him in the head." Ron supplied.
"Erm…ok. Maybe we'd better get out of here before he comes to and decides to kill me slowly…" Harry gulped.
"A-a-agreed." Neville nodded.
Hermione sat in one of the armchairs by the fire, seemingly deep in thought.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Harry asked.
"Two things. First, what was that dog doing in the castle. Something that big and angry shouldn't be locked in in a tiny corridor."
"Agreed." Harry nodded.
"Also, did you see what it was standing on?"
"No. I was more preoccupied with making sure that it didn't use me as a chew toy than its feet" Harry snorted.
"Well it was standing on a trap door."
"Maybe it was guarding something?"
"That was my thought too. But we'll look into that later. My second point was you."
"Me?"
"Yes you! How were you able to destroy that door with a touch?"
"I can't tell you. If I do, I'll get in more trouble than you can imagine."
"Can you at least tell me what that was?"
"I know I'm going to regret this later…but it was an advanced form of Alchemy from my home country of Armestris. You can't tell anyone about this, or I'd, literally end up in front of a firing squad!"
"One last question...will you teach me alchemy?" Hermione asked.
"No, iie, non, nyet, ikke, nil, ingen, nein, haud, tidak, nem, ban bu dao, aniyo, det händer inte…should I keep going, or have I lost you already?" Harry deadpanned.
"Bu-but why? Why won't you teach me?" She complained.
"Because, you're my friend. So I'm going to give to you straight. You simply don't have the mindset to learn this art. I and almost everybody I know sacrificed their mind body and soul to gain their current level of mastery. You aren't suited for this science. Not even Merlin himself has the power to overcome that."
As Harry walked away, Hermione stayed up into the wee hours of the morning dwelling Harry's words.
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