November 26th, 1994.
The Great Hall of Hogwarts was overflowing with all kinds of peculiar noises as the students from the three schools were being served breakfast together. The Beauxbatons students had sat on the Ravenclaw table while some of them had also moved to the Hufflepuff ones. The Durmstrang students had monopolized over the Slytherin table, much to the arrogant smile that Malfoy was wearing, as he busied himself with irritating Victor Krum with all kinds of questions. On the Gryffindor table, Ron Weasley sat with his mates Seamus and Dean, and were busy discussing whatnot about the oncoming Quidditch season, with Ron giving pointed looks at Harry who was sitting with Neville at one end of the table. Hermione seemed to have decided to ignore Harry until he gave up the lost cause and confessed that he had been cheating all along. Not that Harry noticed, for he was more than happy to ignore her. It had all resulted in making Granger much more reclusive than she originally was. Her high-strung behavior did not help matters either.
Albus Dumbledore stood up from his throne and addressed the audience. "Now that we are all watered and fed, it is time that I make a few notices about the oncoming events, which I am sure you all were waiting for." His declaration met with a huge round of cheers as excited whispers grew from all the four tables.
Dumbledore cleared his voice, making the hall go silent again. "Now the dueling event will officially begin from the 1st of December, that is, five days from now. The rules are thus- every school is going to have twelve participants, making thirty-six contestants for the main event. Now, listen carefully as I explain the selection process for Hogwarts."
He took a dramatic pause. "Each of the four houses shall have their own inter-house tournaments, supervised and presided by their respective Head of House. Every House will select three contestants by the screening process, which will have to be done within one week. Those twelve participants will contest under the Hogwarts banner. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will have their own screening processes, and their High Master and Headmistress will explain those to them personally." The students cheered again at the news, while the Durmstrang students smirked. Durmstrang had always been dedicated to dueling, and they could help but anticipate the chance of handing the arses of the other schools to them.
Harry and Daphne gave each other a subtle glance as they smiled, each reminding the other of their 'duels'. It would indeed be a fun contesting. He glanced at Neville and found him looking down on his plate. The boy's wand was surprisingly in his hand as he tried repeatedly to cast some spell. Deciding that he had dilly-dallied long enough, Harry decided to take things in his hands. He never noticed that gray owl bringing a letter to his girlfriend as he busied himself talking to Neville.
"Hey Neville!"
The two of them were in the Gryffindor common room, sitting and talking to each other.
"Yeah Harry?"
"You want to participate in the dueling contest?"
Neville looked up embarrassed, his face reddened and for the first time in this timeline, Harry found himself facing an angry Neville Longbottom. "I know I am pathetic, Harry. I do not need you of all people to point that out."
"NO! You misunderstand me Nev," Harry raised his hands in surrender, "-I was not making fun of you. I simply wanted to know if you wanted to practice with me. You know, for the contest."
Neville looked at him skeptically. "You are good enough on your own. I watched you during the task Harry. You subdued a damned dragon. You would win even if you don't practice." His tone was filled with harsh skepticism. Harry gave him a sad smile and answered, "You are right Nev, but that does not cancel the fact that you are my friend. Do you want me to help you?"
Neville looked down with sheer disappointment etched on his face. "I am pathetic, Harry. This wand, my father's wand, I cannot even cast a simple charm out of it properly. How can I even think of participating in the contest? I am no better than a squib."
Harry looked inscrutably at him, deciding the best way to reveal information to the boy. "Neville, you yourself said it that I am much more advanced for my age, correct?"
Neville nodded subtly, eyeing him carefully. Harry continued, "I have a theory I would like to test with you." He whipped his wand out and conjured a feather. Neville looked at him blankly.
"You are not going to have me relearn everything from the start, are you?"
"Yes, Neville. That is exactly what I intend to do. Put your wand away."
"Harry, I-"
"Put your wand away Neville."
Neville put his wand back in his robes without a word. Sighing, he looked at him. "What now?" Harry levitated the feather and dropped it on Neville's open palm. "Look at this feather. Watch it, feel it."
Neville nodded, feeling the texture of the feather in his palm.
"Now, close your eyes."
"Harry what-"
"Just do what I said Nev."
Deciding to play along, he closed his eyes. Harry circled around him, whispering close to his ears. "Now imagine that you are holding a wand. Think that your palm is your wand. You have seen the spells fly out of wands, correct?"
Neville nodded, his eyes still closed.
"Feel that energy in you. Let it saturate you. Allow it to reach your palm."
Neville fell silent. His energy hummed, happy to be finally allowed an outlet better than the incompatible wand. Harry could see the boy's aura rising, as his magic responded to his call.
"Now, levitate the feather."
The feather shot up by eight feet.
"Stop. Let it levitate where it is. Let your magic support it from falling."
The feather stopped, and remained there, still at eight feet above his palm.
"Now, open your eyes."
Neville opened his eyes, and to his shock, the feather was not there in his palm. Harry smiled brightly at him and urged, "Look above, Nev."
A couple of hours later, Harry found himself walking towards the Room of Requirement. So many things had changed, he mused. He had come into the past timeline, with just one intention in mind- killing Voldemort quickly and importantly, saving Fleur. Now though...
Daphne had come into his life. He had changed his foe into a friend and now, a partner in all things. Yes, he still had feelings for Fleur—it was downright impossible to completely forget her and commit himself to Daphne's affections. The talk with Theo and then the big surprise...it had completely changed his outlook towards life. Daphne had certainly been downright shocked when he had later kissed her.
He smiled. Nostalgia had a way with him. Standing in front of the room, he entered it and found his girl sitting on the couch. She saw him enter and stood up, striding towards him and giving him an affectionate hug.
"How are you?"
She just pressed herself closer, as if trying to hug him for her life's worth. She drew back and looked at him in the eye. "The final missive for the duel has arrived."
"When is it?"
"Tomorrow morning."
"Malfoy's champion?"
"Igor Karkaroff, the Drum-"
"Durmstrang High Master."
Daphne gave a solemn look at him. "He is an accomplished master of the Dark arts. I don't know what I should feel about this..."
Harry just smirked. For the first time, he felt amused by the happenings of fate. Igor Karkaroff had escaped his hands the previous time, and had met his death in a Fiendfyre that had consumed Neville.
Not this time... this time I will get to kill the bastard personally.
"Where is the duel?"
"My father has asked for your choice in the matter. Considering it is you who is fighting for us. The place is ours to say, while the time is theirs."
"Interesting. In that case, I choose Godric Hollow."
Daphne raised her eyes. "Godric's Hollow? But isn't that where-"
"Yes. The Death eater will die in the same place that caused his fall the first time."
"In your time, in the—the future?"
Harry nodded,
"Very well. I will send the message to my father." She hugged him again, "please make sure that you are fine."
Harry smiled.
I will.
POTTER CHAMPIONS FOR GREENGRASS FAMILY! ANCIENT HONOR DUEL AT GODRIC 'S HOLLOW!
We at the Daily prophet were completely flummoxed to know that an honor duel is going to be held between the families of Malfoy and Greengrass this very day at Godric's Hollow. A duel that has resulted because of the buyout of an age-old contract that existed between the two Houses. As per as the contract, the eldest daughter of the Greengrass family had to be wed to the eldest son of the Malfoys. Ever since the creation of the contract, this is the only time when the Greengrass family has an older daughter, namely one Daphne Greengrass—Slytherin fourth year, and at the same time, the Malfoy family has Draco Malfoy as its eldest and only scion. As per the wording of the contract, the betrothal must be completed successfully before either of them turn seventeen.
The interesting thing however is that the Greengrass family has settled for the activation of the buyout clause of the contract- a monetary sum of three hundred thousand galleons shall be funded to the Malfoy family while the ancient Greengrass manor that has had been held as Malfoy property all these years will have to be returned back. At the same time, the two families will need to settle the dispute with an honor duel. Only if the Greengrass family wins, will the contract be broken successfully. There is an interesting twist though, dear readers- the champion for the Greengrass must not be a member of or married into the family. That is exactly what has resulted into one of the most sensational news of the year.
Harry James Potter, the Boy-who-lived and presently the fourth Triwizard Champion, has agreed to be the Champion for the Greengrass family, while Igor Karkaroff—ex-death eater and present High Master of Durmstrang Institute, has agreed to be the Malfoy's Champion. Harry Potter has been recently seen a lot in the company with the elder Greengrass and is believed to be romantically involved with her. Is this some kind of mysterious plot employed by the Slytherin girl to use the fame of the Boy-who-lived into getting her out of the contract? Is this some kind of twisted attempt on the Boy-who-lived's life? Only today's duel will tell.
The venue has been decided to be Godric's hollow- the same place where the boy-who-lived vanquished the dark lord You-know-who all those years ago. Will today's duel also gain another win for him? Will the duel-to-the-death simply end Harry Potter's life at the very place it had originated?
The paper had caused chaos-total, absolute, uncontrolled chaos. Malfoy had stormed up to Potter in the morning, asking him to pull his name off from the duel, surprisingly aided by Weasley (requesting him not to help the slimy Slytherin). Hermione had scoffed and muttered loudly about how it was another hair-brained attempt that would endanger his life. Ever since the first task, the reaction of the whole school had drastically changed regarding him. The Gryffindors had been eager to embrace him back and enjoy his glory... the Ravenclaws had become silent and frustrated at the fact that the spells he had used were way too powerful even for the brightest of them. The Slytherins had grown wary of him and his power, and had decided that enraging him might not be the best idea. Blaise, Theo and Tracy had an amiable relationship with him just as usual with Theo and Blaise often teaming up against him, trying to make him reveal just how he performed such dazzling magic. Never mind the fact that their attempts were dismally unfruitful, the three boys had formed a quick bond among each other. As for the Hufflepuffs, the fact that he had simply outperformed Cedric, not to mention that Cedric himself had failed dismally in the task himself. The amount of bashing had stumped down to low levels, with only some peculiar students like Malfoy and Zacharias Smith being the only one left who refused to listen to sense.
"Harry, what exactly are you doing?"
Harry turned back to see the young Longbottom looking tersely at him; his new wand held tightly in his palm. After the last day's session, the LongBottom boy had finally understood what was wrong. Harry had all but carried him to Mcgonagall's office and made Neville demonstrate the entire thing again. The fact that the boy was capable of wandless magic, and yet could not use a wand properly, simply did not make sense. Two hours later, Neville could be seen coming out of Ollivander's shop, a new cherry and dragon heartstring wand in hand-one that was continuously erupting sparks as the normally subdued boy bubbled with excitement.
Harry looked at him and considered his words. Neville was not here to complain why he had stood with Daphne's family—he was too open-minded for that.
"I am doing what is right. Besides, that was what the contract was about."
"A contract which you signed on your own terms." Neville skeptically pointed it out at him. Harry sighed in resignation. "Don't worry Neville, I will be all right."
"Harry, this will be a duel to the death. To win, you will have to kill Karkaroff. He will try his best to kill you too."
"Simple, isn't it? No pretentions and-"
"Stop it Potter. Do you think this is a joke? You think this-" Neville raged, completely shaken by the casual way his friend was dealing with such an issue. His wand erupted sparks, emanating the same surge of emotions as its owner.
"Is that your new wand?"
Neville looked blank for a moment; the sudden change of topic caught him off-guard. "Yes, why?"
"Looks good on you. How does your magic feel now?"
Neville looked uncertain. "Good. I can actually do the spells. However, my spells are a bit overpowered now. Professor Mcgonagall says that it is because I am accustomed to overpowering them, trying to shove my magic through an incompatible wand all this time."
"You do understand that it was my idea that got you a compatible wand?"
Neville looked flustered. "I know that, but why are you-"
"Neville," Harry's voice turned cold. "I have decided that I will be taking this wand away from you. You will have to suffice with your father's wand. Give it to me." He extended his palm towards the other boy.
Neville felt a cluster of emotions bottleneck inside him. Why would Harry ever do this? After being a squib for ages, he finally had his own magic answering his call. Yes, Harry had helped him get the wand, but-
"No!"
"Excuse me?" Harry narrowed his eyes, making them look like slits. His voice suddenly went all cold and menacing. Neville shuddered under his cold glare but refused to hand it over.
"No, I will not hand my wand over to you."
"Why? It is just a wand." Harry posed sarcastically.
"It is not just a wand, damn it. It is my freedom. My magic's freedom."
"The contract is stealing away Daphne's freedom too, Neville."
"WHAT?"
"Yes." Harry confessed, his tone returning to being tranquil once again. "If I do not fight for her, she will be enslaved to Malfoy's will for life. Tell me, am I wrong?"
Neville looked at him for a moment, his eyes glancing back at his precious wand and then back to his friend's green eyes... "You are right. Give him hell, Harry." Nobody noticed how Harry almost froze hearing the words from the Longbottom boy.
After the breakfast was over, Harry received a missive from the Headmaster, asking him to meet him urgently in his office. Smirking at the most expected behavior, Harry left off for the Headmaster's office. It wasn't as if he cared about the classes anyway.
"Ah, Harry, come in, please." Came the Headmaster's voice as soon as he knocked on the door. Opening it, he entered into the circular room.
It was crowded. Beside the headmaster's chair, Mcgonagall, Moody and Flitwick stood—the anxious expressions giving away their moods immediately. On the other side, Madam Maxime and Igor Karkaroff stood. The former holding a serious expression on her face while the latter completely enraged, to put it politely. Karkaroff was positively frothing in anger.
"Boy, what is the meaning of this?" Igor roared the moment he saw Potter enter the Room.
"Good morning to you too, Death eater." Harry greeted with a false cheer in his voice. His eyes narrowed as he looked around. "What? Are all of you going to try stop me from entering the duel?"
"We just want to know why you agreed to such a thing in the first place." Dumbledore expressed from his seat. Harry sighed. "I am going to say this once and for all. Daphne Greengrass is my girlfriend. I am also contractually obligated to be her Champion for this duel—a contract I may add-" he continued with a raised voice as he saw the Headmaster try to interrupt, "—I made with my complete discretion. If our prestigious Durmstrang High master over there-", he pointed towards Karkaroff who bristled in fury, "-withdraws his own name from the duel, it will simply end all the problems."
"Surely you are not thinking that you, a filthy fourteen-year-old can kill me?" Karkaroff frothed.
"This filthy fourteen-year-old destroyed your old Master when he was a toddler." Moody intervened, his gruff voice taking everyone by surprise. "What?" Moody shrugged. "I support the boy."
Harry gave him a slight nod of gratitude, before turning back to Igor. "As you yourself said, I pose no chance against you. Where is the problem then? This is an honor duel. If you kill me, there will be no prosecution. Just think- you can get away with the murder of the Boy-who-lived! Your old Master would be so happy!" he concluded cheerfully, clapping his hands in fake delight. Moody snorted while Mcgonagall and Flitwick beamed at him in disbelief.
"Harry!" Dumbledore tried. "I know you have trained yourself exceptionally well. However, does it have to end like this? Think about what your parents would have wanted?"
"THEY WOULD HAVE WANTED TO LIVE, HEADMASTER!" Harry thundered, the others getting silent as they watched the Boy-who-lived in fury. "They would have wanted to live and see me grow up in their presence, but they couldn't, because of people like THIS son of a bitch!" Karkaroff's face grew red as he flitted between fury and fright. "But they didn't. Did they? They died, and I had to suffer. Now, the same thing is happening to Daphne. The contract will take away her independence. She will become a slave to Malfoy. Her entire life, her future will be destroyed, and all because of this thrice-damned contract! I cannot change my own life but I will be damned if I let her life be destroyed."
Something silvery flowed down Dumbledore's eyes, hidden well by the half-moon glasses on his face. "Harry, I am sorry but-"
"NO, YOU ARE NOT!" Harry roared-his magic raging out with his emotions as the instruments on the table vibrated dangerously. "You stood there, let Grindelwald ride out at the expense of so many deaths. Only when it was already too late, you responded back. I lost my fucking great-grandfather to Grindelwald. You, the great Albus Dumbledore let Voldemort become what he became. I lost my parents and grandparents to that bastard. I am NOT going to lose Daphne to your inaction again, Headmaster. Second Chances do not matter; the dead do not matter- only the living and the future matters."
With that final statement, he turned coldly towards Karkaroff and whispered menacingly. "Have your last meal, Death eater. You surely aren't going to get any when I send your arse to hell." Saying so, he banged the door open and darted off.
"Dumbledore, you surely cannot stand this injust-" Karkaroff frothed, but Moody beat him to it. "Oh shut up you bastard, that boy is going to hand your arse to you. I will be damned if I don't get front seats." The old ex-Auror let out a gruff laugh, as he prodded out of the Room.
Four hours later, at Godric's Hollow.
A makeshift dueling ring had been transfigured as Amelia Bones, The Minister of Magic, Albus Dumbledore and many other esteemed members of Britain's Ministry stood anticipating the most sensational duel of the decade. Since an honor duel invoked principles of ancient laws, it was mandatory for people like the Chief Warlock, the Minister and the DMLE Head to be present. They had to maintain that all rules be followed to the T. The others had simply come because after all, the boy-who-lived was fighting to the death. That itself was enough for throngs of people to come to the place, just to witness the history that was being created.
The centre ring had been created and on either side, two tents had been drawn up. The Greengrass and the Malfoy family held either of them. Surrounding the ring, benches had been conjured and set up, allowing the numerous people to sit and witness the historical duel that was soon to follow. A duel to the death- it meant that by the end of the day, one of the participants would be lost forever. Who that unfortunate soul was, remained the subject of intense speculation.
Inside the Greengrass tent, Harry was sitting calmly. Daphne sat on his lap, hugging him tightly, and her emotions flitting almost every moment. One moment, she was hopeful that harry would win—the next moment she was completely hysterical that he would die. Then again, her mind suggested that she should agree to the contract. She would become a slave, but harry would live. She also played with the idea of leaving her family; at least Harry would be safe.
"Harry, I don't want this to happen. Cancel the fight." She wailed hysterically, causing him to hug her again and let her cry. "Nothing will happen." He promised, his fingers rubbing her back softly in round circles, caressing her. Cyrus Greengrass stood solemnly, his eyes wide in admiration at the boy who had taken the daunting task upon his shoulders. He knew that the boy was powerful, much more than himself even—but that did not negate the fact that he was taking a big risk.
"Mr. Potter, you have no idea how grateful I am for what you are doing for us. We will forever be in your debt." He shook the young man's hand gratefully, who simply returned his acknowledgement with a smile. "I am doing it for her." Harry conferred.
Cyrus smiled. "My daughter's affections are more than clear to see, Mister Potter. Perhaps sometime later in the near future, we can sit and decide on the issue. After all, I want to see my daughter happy."
Harry smirked. "You are mightily confident that I will win."
"I am."
Amidst a shower of excited whispers and shouts, the two contestants took to opposite sides of the dueling ring. Harry observed his surroundings. The higher-up authorities from the ministry of Magic were there, including one man in a hood. Harry's sharp eyesight recognized the hood and the insignia almost immediately.
Unspeakables. I just hope they do not interfere in the fight.
His eyes studied the crowd. People from all over Magical Britain had come, including students. Even Victor Krum and some of Durmstrang students had arrived. There was Fleur too, and... Is that Sebastian Delacour? The fierce-looking intimidating man had never been at even with Harry in his past lifetime, and for a moment he wondered why the man was here of all places. This bore thinking about.
Karkaroff stood at the other end of the ring, a sneer fixed on his face. His wand lay tightly held in his right hand like a baton. Harry let his wand slip out of the holster, sliding easily into his palm, and twirled it in his fingers. An over casual appearance to fool one's enemies.
Sebastian Delacour observed the young man carefully. The animagus form of a hawk had given the man fabulous eyesight and extremely sharp reflexes. He could see the casual way the boy held his wand. An obvious deception, when he could simply cast a shield with one single stroke at nary a thought.
Such a cunning young man! He is simply playing with Karkaroff.
Cornelius fudge stood up and held his wand upwards. His wand shot up a crimson jet as he yelled, "BEGIN!"
The audience got their first flair of shock with the first spell collision. Karkaroff has fired a dark spear, which Harry had intercepted with a bombarding curse. The two spells had collided with a resounding gong—the sound reverberating through the entire arena. Igor had sent dark severing hexes in complete succession, despite the fact that the smoke was hiding the true location of the Buy-who-lived. Out of the smoke, a shining thestral Patronus galloped out, catching him by surprise. The immense light of the ethereal creature blinded his eyes as the two exploding hexes that went in quick succession caught the man off-guard. Only a hastily drawn shield protected him. However, the delay had produced a weak shield, as a result—the collision had sent him back by a couple of feet. Getting up, he roared in fury as he saw Potter standing and smirking at him-his wand still twirling in his palm. Affronted at the atrocity of the situation, he let out a ferocious yell and hurled out dark spears, fireballs and blasting spells at full power. Harry stood his ground and waited for the spells to reach him, much to everyone's shock.
"Why isn't he doing anything to stop it?" Cyrus wondered aloud. Daphne just smirked as she saw her tutor demonstrate one of his newest techniques out in public.
"Don't worry Father, Harry is completely in control."
Cyrus glanced at her daughter, and observed the serene look on his daughter's face. He figured that she knew her 'tutor' much better anyway.
The spells kept coming closer, closer, and just at the last moment, Harry thrust his wand forward like a sword and slashed it in an anticlockwise arc.
"Imprimis Patrocinor."
Sebastian Delacour watched with awe as he witnessed the mage shield manifest into reality. The azure blue coloration that formed in the air formed two runes as a magical metal shield, almost eight feet in diameter, materialized behind them. The runes glowed and stuck to the shield, letting out strange energies, which seeped out from the sides of the shield. The spells converged and hit the sturdy shield—the powerful reverberation sending out shock waves in every direction. Just as the mage shield was believed to be, the shield held back the incoming barge without a single scratch on the surface- yelling out to the heavens that its creator was a legendary mage of a kind.
"Extraordinary! Extraordinary!" he whispered reverentially. The thought that the powers of the legendary mages of old had resurfaced, it practically sent shudders of excitement down his spine.
Karkaroff stood in awe as the fourteen-year-old demonstrated that fantastic shield which had completely held off his attack, without so much as a scratch. Infuriated at the thought that a boy was getting the better of him, he slashed his wand forward as he yelled to the heavens.
"OCCIDERE TENEBRARUM!"
The battle of powerful magicks had just begun.
Amelia Bones watched in awe as the highly magnificent battle had just raised a bar. Karkaroff had got truly enraged and had finally resorted to using his true spell repertoire. It was almost funny how the Durmstrang High Master was casting forbidden magicks in the heart of Great Britain and in presence of Ministry Heads, and yet he was free from any kind of prosecution.
She saw the dark ball hurl out of Karkaroff's wand and form a powerful black lasso, one that screamed deadly power. Karkaroff wielded the lasso towards his opponent, smirking as he did. The spell, which was essentially a touch of death-was one of the most powerful spells in his repertoire. One single touch and the victim would die instantly. It was like using a more effective killing curse, except that this one took much more magical power to cast.
Karkaroff hurled one end of the lasso towards Harry who simply dodged it, somersaulting in the air and then hitting the ground with his wand. A flash of energy flooded into the earth and the rocks erupted where Karkaroff stood, causing him to get misbalanced and fall down. The lasso remained attached to his wand though.
Karkaroff tried to get up but multiple fireballs and exploding hexes sent his way stopped him from gaining his balance and standing up straight. He had to be content with rolling and dodging over the ground, not being able to use the lasso again. Eventually he got his chance, and rolled over the ground, apparating away and returning back to the ground, standing and panting. Harry flicked his wand towards his opponent and raised the pebbles on the ground—one single flick and hey all changed into steel spikes, and one forward hurl made them shoot for Karkaroff, who simply yelped and apparated again.
He appeared behind Harry and hurled the lasso at him again, missing the boy by mere inches as Harry conjured a marble slab to intercept its path. The lasso tore through the marble but that instant; Harry dodged it and sent a shower of water towards Karkaroff, drenching him completely.
"Glacius Maximus!"
The entire rocky terrain froze into ice as Karkaroff found his legs bound in the thick ice. Cancelling the Lasso spell, he sent off a couple of fire spells on the ground, dissipating the ice completely.
"Stop playing, boy!" he frothed. "Stop playing with me for I am going to kill you." He thrust his wand towards Harry and yelled, "Avada Kedavra!"
Everyone drew their breaths in as they watched the cold menacing green jet of light shoot towards the boy-who-lived who simply stood his ground. Just at the last moment, he bent his body left, allowing the curse to pass him, avoiding his body very narrowly. Karkaroff stood aghast, watching in shock as the boy had simply dodged his killing curse at the last moment.
"Aruspices expellere!" he yelled, throwing out the entrails-expelling curse repeatedly at the boy. He had been casting spells since long and was feeling the loss of his magic slowly. He had to end it quick. Harry raised his wand and waved it in a clockwise arc with a straight shove at the end.
"AUCTA VI CLYPEUM!"
An immensely large wave of light emanated out of his wand as the wide-area deflector manifested in front of him. The incoming spell was deflected away upwards as the expanding protective dome converged it back towards Karkaroff who seemed to stare at it in shock. Just at the last moment, he decided to lose his restrain and let out what would remain forever his last spell ever cast.
"FIENDFYRE!"
Harry saw Karkaroff wave his wand and perform the familiar motion. It was something he had often seen Lord Voldemort perform during his many battles with him. Knowing he had to act quickly, he hissed "Moitas Espadas" as a dozen sharp swords materialized before him. A single flick of the wand, and the swords used the current of the wide-area deflector and shot at full speed towards Karkaroff. The swords pummeled into his dying body but not before Karkaroff shot out his last spell.
He had literally summoned Hell on the grounds of Godric's hollow.
No...
The crowds watched with fear and fascination at what could be termed as one of the most legendary duels in the history of Magical Britain. The whispers comparing the ongoing duel to the likes of the legendary battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald were already high among the audience.
They watched as Karkaroff raised the bar and the more deadly magicks ushered into the battle. They were dazzled at the brilliance and the power of the Boy-who-lived, and watched in awe as the young boy deflected the power spells and performed complex transfigurations with effortless ease. Dumbledore had a smile on his face when Harry had conjured steel spikes with nary but a thought, and he could not but feel proud at the ingenuity and potential that his student had. For a moment, his hopes for a threat-free future visualized before his eyes.
That was before Karkaroff went mad and cast the killing curse.
The crowd watched with disbelief as the boy-who-lived simply dodged the killing curse at the last moment and brilliantly deflected the deadly entrails-expeller back to Karkaroff. They had even decided that Karkaroff had met his end when the steel swords shot out at the man, aiming for his gut.
Their increasing sense of anticipation suddenly drowned as Karkaroff shot out his last spell, wreaking havoc to Godric's Hollow.
Hell had come to godric's Hollow. Flames-angry, crimson, and glowing with deadly eldritch power, flames as uncontrollable as the raw magicks as old were rumored to be; flames so deadly that they could burn down dragons and phoenixes; flames that were supposedly summoned from the pits of Hell itself- such flames now rained down Godric's Hollow.
As Karkaroff drew his last breath, one could see his eyes lit up with a sick pleasure, knowing that he had wreak havoc on Great Britain. A Fiendfyre when summoned and then left uncontrolled—only meant one single thing.
Devastation. Clean, simple devastation.
The flames of Hell did not like to be summoned into mortal realms, and once summoned, did not stop until they had burned everything on their path. Unfortunately, someone had summoned them inside a ring surrounded by throngs of people. It was a veritable feast, and the flames plunged into the art of devastation.
Harry watched in shock as the Fiendfyre became uncontrolled and spread out rapidly in all directions. If let lose, it would ravage Godric's Hollow- not an option. Besides, there were simply too many people inside the village. The ancient wards did not allow anyone to apparate out.
In short, they were all confined in a raging, enclosed Hell.
He saw Daphne and her father try to defend themselves from the deadly heat of the flames; saw Dumbledore and everyone else try to control the untamable wrath of Fiendfyre, and fail dismally. He knew he had to act, and that there was only one thing that he could do to stop it.
Fight fire with fire.
He cast a wandless Sonorous on himself and yelled out to everyone. "SILENCE!" Everyone stopped on their tracks and turned at the fearsome wizard. Harry continued, "Everyone conjure granite walls all around the ring. I will handle the flames." Almost automatically, everyone obeyed his command and begun conjuring granite walls as per as their own magical prowess. Those like Dumbledore and Mcgonagall, conjured yards of thick granite barrier, while the others simply managed to create a few meters of granite slab.
Harry closed his eyes.
Three.
Two.
One.
He held his hands upwards, and yelled out to the heavens.
"FIENDFYRE!"
Sebastian Delacour watched with morbid fascination and awe as the young mage lifted his hand up, the motion being so eerily similar to the one he had read. Weird energies flooded out of his palms, materializing into a glowing ball of yellow flames from which huge flaming towers erupted out. Basilisks, Chimeras, Lions, manticores, dragons and all kinds of infernal creatures of fire shot out of the towering flames and attacked the uncontrolled Fiendfyre. Fire met fire. An overwhelming force had met its match against another overwhelming force.
The deadly battle continued between the raw primal fury of uncontrolled Hellfire and the successfully cast Fiendfyre controlled by the young mage who stood in the middle, almost oblivious to the happenings all around him. The primal rage was obscenely powerful at first, but Harry's stubbornness and his will proved more than a match against it. The two fires fought against each other, the ethereal fiery beasts destroying each other, emanating powerful bursts of light and energy.
After what seemed like an infinite amount of time, the wild fire slowly lost its will and converged into Harry's Fiendfyre, neutralizing each other completely. The entire ground was razed and almost half liquefied at the surface, and there at the middle, the green eyes of the mage glowed brightly before they shut abruptly as Harry surrendered himself to oblivion.
### A long chapter including the duel scene as promised. Do let me know if the duel was to your liking. As always, reviews please, everyone.
### A personal notice to the 'more intellectual' readers, the ones who read a couple of chapters and then try to shove their personal opinion and insults in a façade of reviews; I just have one thing to say... Bub! Just don't. Don't waste your time typing a useless review and I wont need to waste my time frowning and having to reply back uselessly as well. Sounds good right?
Just because a couple of ideas seems cliché to you... doesn't mean that you know what the story entails. Stop being fucking hypocrites and just enjoy the story as it comes. If you really want something completely original, read original works. Don't waste yours and other's time on Fanfiction unnecessarily.
### To my other readers, I cannot explain how wonderful it feels to know that people love and admire my work. I assure you all that I take due time and read and try to understand every single review, correction, praise and criticism that my precious readers leave behind so thoughtfully. Thank you everyone.