Harry Potter and the Other Path

by Fez8745

Harry's life up to his eleventh birthday was painful and harsh. Dumped in an abusive home by dead parents, running away from that home to take his life into his own hands and then surviving by his wits and his feet. Then a letter came, and opened a whole new world... An AU fiction with hopefully enough action and comedy to entertain.

36. Changeling Child: 2

Harry Potter and the Changeling Child Chapter 2: Cold Warrior

"Mr Potter."

"Professor Dumbledore." Harry looked up from the breakfast table. "Hi, how are you? Would you like a pop tart?"

"No Mr Potter, I would not."

"Are you sure? There's strawberry, chocolate, cherry-"

"Mr Potter where were you last night?"

"I assume in bed." Harry replied calmly.

"Have you forgotten Harry?" Dumbledore's voice was flat and a touch threatening. "I have ways of telling where you are in Hogwarts. You were not in Hogwarts for much of last night, you were only in your bed from around one in the morning."

Damn it. Harry tried not to scratch the bracer on his wrist. He had been so hoping the evil eye could protect him from Dumbledore's map.

"Your map must be faulty." Harry grinned.

"My map is not faulty!" Dumbledore snapped. "Tell me how you left Hogwarts!"

"I didn't leave."

"Do not lie to me Harry Potter!" The whole school was watching now in rapt attention.

"Getting a little angry Professor?" Harry asked. "Maybe your map... no, maybe your knowledge isn't as complete as you think."

"I dislike being kept in the dark."

"Then prepare to suffer." Harry said darkly. "I've been kept dark for years by you. It's time you reaped what you arrogantly and unthinkingly sowed. Prepare to live in the dark Professor. I hope you brought lanterns." With that Harry stood and walked from the hall, with every eye following.

"Harry? Harry! Ha... oh he is here." Parvati pointed into the disused attic the marauders had used the previous year. Ginny looked in and saw him calmly chalking something on the floor. The marauders wandered in slowly, with Malfoy close behind.

"Hi guys." Harry got to his feet and threw a piece of chalk he had been using away. "Just getting this place ready, we can use it to train after lessons."

"Harry where were you last night?" Hermione asked the question none of them wanted to voice.

"What you guys too?" Harry laughed and summoned a mug of coffee off a pile of books. "Relax, I didn't leave Hogwarts. I was just training in a place the map can't see, that's all."

"Where?" Ginny asked at the same time as Malfoy said,

"The room of requirements?"

"The what of what?" Harry shook his head. "Nah, just... somewhere. Anyway look at this." Harry pointed down at the floor. On it there were a number of rectangles, some long, some short, some thin. It looked kind of familiar.

"It's the bookcases." Harry said proudly. "In the room beneath us."

"Wh... why?" Ron asked.

"Don't ya see?" Harry grinned. "It's Dumbledore's map. It's 2D you see, birds eye view, he can't tell what floor we're on. So long as we don't cross the bookcases he'll think we're just in the library. So long as we're in curfew we can train in here without him knowing. Anyway, lets go to potions. Don't want Snape angry at us."

"Harry," Padma stopped him with an outstretched hand. "Did you have to be so... adversarial... with Dumbledore?"

Harry paused for a moment before answering...

"Yes."

... and walking on out of the attic. The marauders shared a long look and followed him.

Potions passed uneventfully. Harry split his time between the book on his knees and the cauldron in front of him meaning that his potion wasn't even near finished. but at least it didn't explode. Charms was next and Harry didn't bother paying attention there either, though in this case it was because he already knew how to give objects wings. He could give them swan wings if he wanted, or giant black leathery ones. When the lesson was over Harry didn't even bother to speak, he just gathered his stuff and rushed back to the attic. Ginny met them on the way.

"We're not going to lunch?" Ron asked as they reached the musty room.

"No."

"But I'm hungry!"

"Call Dobby." Harry shed his robe and stepped into the center of the largest empty space. "Malfoy, you first."

"If you're sure." Malfoy drew his wand. "You injured your hand last time."

"Did I?" Harry froze.

"Well you're not using it."

"It's fine, It's my left anyway." Harry shrugged and wiggled his fingers as proof.. "Must have fallen on it or something."

"If you're sure." Malfoy said dubiously. "Well then... Expelliarmus!"

"Ferio! Stupefy!" Harry shot Malfoy's spell out of the air and threw his own a moment after. The blond boy shielded and Harry was forced to duck under his own stunner. "Fulgar Fletch!" Harry flicked his wand and sent a swarm of sparkling blades flickering through the air towards the momentarily shocked Malfoy.

"Protego!" Draco shielded desperately but was forced backwards as the flencers hit it.

"Mobilisolum!" Harry jerked the floor towards him and saw Malfoy topple onto his back. "Stupefy!"

"Volucers!" Malfoy's wand jabbed into the air and Harry the stunner was absorbed by a black cloud. The cloud expanded and rushed towards the shocked Harry.

"Bloody hell!" Harry heard Fred yell at the same time as his twin yelled, "Hornets!"

"Arg! Ouch!" Harry felt stings on every piece of open flesh. Burning all across his skin like a chemical fire. Another wizard would have been overpowered by the pain, but Harry had felt far far worse. "Take this! Tempesto!"

Wind sprung from the dead air and rushed over Harry, carrying the Hornets away in a furiously buzzing tornado.

"Eat it Blondie." Harry grinned and flicked his wand towards his opponent. The Slytherin's triumphant grin suddenly turned to fear and pain as the swarm engulfed him.

"Fin-ow! Fi- bloody things! Finite Crabro!" The hornets disappeared and Draco was left disheveled and snarling in the middle of the whirlwind. Harry let it rage for another second before canceling it too. The two combatants stared each other down for a few moments, both pockmarked with stings and sweating.

"Maybe you two should stop." Hermione suggested hesitantly from the sidelines. "Before you hurt yourselves. More I mean."

"Maybe we should." Malfoy said, lowering his wand.

"I guess." Harry smiled, knowing this game. He kept a close grip on his wand. Wait for it...

"Confringo!"

"Protego!" Harry's shield was up in plenty of time to block the curse. "Ha! Nice-" Harry's shield shattered and he was lifted off his feet as his chest exploded in pain. He was thrown backwards and rolled across the pitted and scarred floor. He jerked before he hit the slanted wall and managed to push himself to his feet. His wand was gone, rolled across the floor away from him.

"Damn it! Damn it! Stupid bloody shield!"

"Are you injured Harry?" Malfoy called out.

"I'm fine." Harry pushed himself off the floor. "Bloody shield broke like a pastry shell! Keeps doing that..."

"It's the wand movement Harry." Hermione called out. "If you look at the theory-"

"I've read the theory. I've read the original paper. I've read the whole book." Harry grabbed his wand off the floor. "I don't get it. It's a charm, it's a basic bloody charm and I can't do it right."

"You can." Neville said encouragingly. "It can stop basic spells."

"Well Voldemort won't use basic spells!" Harry punched the floor violently. "He'll use nasty, evil, powerful spells."

"You're right." Malfoy said flatly. "He'll be using the killing curse and it won't matter if you have the best shield in the world. If you don't dodge you're dead."

"Simplification." Harry waved the comment away. "Come on, we've got time for another duel before creatures. Unless we skip it..."

"We can't." Hermione said automatically.

"Especially since we know Voldemort's boosting his army with dark creatures." Padma agreed.

"Fine fine." Harry shook his head. "Ron and Hermione, duel me."

"Both of us?"

"Like, at the same time?"

"Yes." Harry shucked off his sweat soaked t-shirt. "Get on with it."

"But that's not fair." Ron pointed out.

"Neither's this." Harry blasted the floorboards by Ron's feet causing him to yelp like a puppy. "Draw your bloody wands."

In the end they were glad for the outdoor setting of creatures, although they were the only ones not wearing coats. Harry eased his aching left hand in a slow circle, it was worth it. It would be worth it. Harry listened with half an ear to the lesson, it was about unicorns. The chances of Voldemort sending an army on unicorns was low to laughable so Harry lidded his eyes and dozed.

As the lesson ended Parvati turned towards Harry to wake him and found that someone had beaten her to it. Someone unexpected.

"Oh no." She whispered under her breath.

"What is... oh." Her sister stood beside her. "This isn't going to end well."

"It could." Parvati said shakily. "He could apologize."

"Have you met Harry?"

Parvati's heart dropped and they watched mute as the figure tapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Hello Susan." Harry said calmly, then opened his eyes. "Is the lesson over?"

"Yes Harry, it is." Susan Bones folded her arms and seemed to be waiting.

"Great," Harry stood and stretched. "Thanks for waking me." Harry turned to leave.

"'Thanks for waking me'?" Susan said incredulously. "That's it?!"

"What do you want Susan?" Harry asked flatly.

"You didn't write. The whole summer! You didn't say goodbye before you left. You just... disappeared."

"I was busy." Harry said sharply. "I still am. Anything else?"

"Wh... what is this Harry?" Susan swallowed. "Am I still your girlfriend? Are we arguing? Are we breaking up or did you break up with me at the end of last year and just forget to tell me?"

"Susan..." Harry glanced down, for the first time in the conversation his stony mask slipped a beat. But when he looked back up it was harder than ever. "I don't have time for a girlfriend now, and I won't for a long time. So yes, we're broken up." Harry turned and began to walk back up towards the castle.

Susan just stood there, her hands lightly clenching the fabric of her robes. Staring into space. As the twins watched she sobbed wetly and drew a hand across her eyes before running off towards the greenhouses, one arm shielding her face from any passers by.

"That was... I mean that was..." Parvati began bet trailed off. "What he did, it was just..."

"Cruel. Harsh. Cold. Evil." Padma finished for her.

"Yeah, that." Parvati nodded. "I'm going after her."

"Good. You do that. I'm going after Harry."

"I know what you're going to say." Harry said when Padma finally caught up to him in the hall.

"Well you're going to bloody listen anyway-"

"No I'm not." Harry interrupted, and disappeared. Padma saw the shadow of a disillusionment move off down a passage but lost it a moment later.

Harry wasn't in history of magic. No one expected him to be.

"Is this it now?" Padma asked her sister as they got ready for bed. "Fight all day? Let Harry bruise us up, ignore his new attitude and get ready for tomorrow so he can do it all over again?"

"He's going through some stuff." Parvati sighed. "He needs our help. He needs us."

"He has a funny way of showing it."

"He thinks this is what he has to do." Hermione voluntered. "He thinks he has to be like this to beat Voldemort. This hard, this cold."

"He's wrong!" Parvati insisted emotionally.

"That's the sad thing sister." Padma shook her head sadly. "He may not be."

Snape was awakened in the middle of the night by glowing silver light. One of the benefits of being an occlumens was total mental control and Snape was awake in an instant. As his eyes flickered open he groaned inwardly, then thought better of it and groaned outwardly.

"What is it you old fool?" Snape said angrily. The phoenix patronus couldn't hear him and wouldn't report back so it was a perfect target to vent at.

"Come to my office immediately Severus. It is about Harry."

Snape was already out the door before the silver bird disappeared. He shucked his robe on as he hurried down the corridor. Wait, why was he walking? Was Harry's safety less important than not looking stupid. Snape broke into a run. The sound of his flapping feet filled the corridor as he hammered towards the Headmaster's office.

"Slug ice-cream." The gargoyle slid aside and Snape threw himself into the stairwell. The stairs began to rise, painfully slowly. Snape gasped his breath back as he silently urged them to go faster. Eventually the Headmaster's door came into view and Snape pushed it open quickly and said, "Albus! I'm here."

"Severus welcome." The Headmaster was sitting calmly at his desk. "Read this if you would."

Snape blinked in confusion for a moment, then noticed the paper on Dumbledore's desk. He stepped closer and saw that it was an early copy of the Prophet. This was the emergency? Perhaps he was missing something?

MURDER AFOOT

Dannion LeSang was found dead in his home this morning. A window of his penthouse apartment had been shattered, possibly so that the killer could gain entrance. Once inside poor Mr LeSang was beaten horribly, with a blunt instrument, possibly a table leg. The aurors have cordoned off the area and refused to release any detals but this reporter has discovered that his injuries were not what killed him. Oh no he was poisoned! Poisoned by a toxin that the ministry

HAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE!

Is there a psychotic killer at loose? The aurors gave no comment, perhaps because they as yet, know nothing! Why anyone would want to kill Mr LeSang is unknown, perhaps an old rival from his long and distinguished quidditch career...

Snape dropped the paper in disgust.

"Is this your emergency? Is this what you dragged me from my bed for?"

"Dannion LeSang was a known death eater."

"I am aware that Dannion LeSang was a death eater. Do you perhaps remember who informed you that Dannion LeSang was a death eater? Who gave you the shocking news that the daring, smiling, star chaser for the Wigtown Wanderers loved to torture muggles? Do you?"

"It was you."

"It was me."

"You do not think his death is important?"

"I do not think his death involved Harry."

"No order member was involved."

"Albus there are people other than the order who despise death eaters." Snape felt like laughing, and did. "People other than Harry as well. Perhaps-" Snape was cut off as the door to the office was flung open again.

"Why did you know the password you arrogant little toerag!" Filch dragged Harry in by the ear and pushed him onto the floor.

"Fairly obvious choice." Harry chuckled and pushed himself up from the floor. He was fully clothed, at two o clock in the morning. "I mean surely by now you've used all the non-disgusting sweets."

"Hello Harry. Thank you Mr Filch, you may go." Dumbledore gestured and the ancient stinking squib of a caretaker bowed out. As soon as he was gone Dumbledore handed the newspaper to Harry. "What do you know of this?"

Harry reached out slowly and took the paper, his eyes scanning from one side to the other. After a moment he looked up.

"I know nothing about this." Harry held out the paper. "May I go now?"

"You were not in history of magic yesterday." Dumbledore said pointedly. "Did you leave the castle?"

"I'm never in history of magic." Harry barked a laugh. "But no, I didn't leave the castle."

"You understand I have trouble trusting you Harry." Dumbledore said levelly. "It is very easy to see you turning vigilante. That would be a mistake."

"We've had this conversation before." Harry said abruptly. "Didn't end well for you I recall. But come on, poison? A toxin the ministry can't identify? Honestly, do you think that's me? You've seen my potions marks."

"I did not think you had the skills to brew it Harry. But I know you have the resources to buy it."

"Well I didn't." Harry threw the paper on the floor. "Can I go?"

Dumbledore leant back, meeting Harry's eyes with his own flinty stare. For a long moment the old wizard and the young stared each other down across the silent office. Snape could almost feel the sparking magic as the headmaster tried to force Harry's mind open. After a moment Harry snorted and said,

"Whatever." Harry turned and pushed the door open. "Wake me if you have any other unsolved murders you want to pin on a scapegoat."

The two teachers stood without speaking as they heard Harry's footsteps echoing away from the stairwell. Even after they had faded to nothing it was a long time before either of them spoke.

"Do you believe him Severus?"

"Yes."

"Why pray tell?"

"Because I trust him." That was a lie, it was because Harry wouldn't have broken a window.

"Mr Potter."

Hmmm...

"Harry Potter!"

Hmmm... sleepy.

"Harry Potter why is it always my class you choose to sleep in?"

Dumbledore's fault. Blame Dumbledore. Wanted to sleep...

"Alright fine Mr Potter. You have driven me to this." There was silence for a few moments, then... "Sonorus. HARRY POTTER GET UP!"

Harry was buffeted by sound and slowly, blearily, rubbed his eyes. In front of him was a broken glassy stump. Harry reached forward and picked it up.

"You broke my glass." Harry reached up to his face to make sure his own glasses weren't broken then drew his wand and repaired the champaign glass. He didn't even know what he was supposed to be turning it into, possibly some sort of squid.

Why a squid?

We were dreaming about a squid.

That makes no sense.

Shut up.

I can't shut up I'm part of your brain.

I'll lobotomize you.

No you won't, go back to thinking about squid. Or wait, maybe we should pay attention to McGonagall.

She is looking kind of angry.

"I can turn it into a squid. I swear, just watch." Harry held the glass up sleepily and tapped it with his wand. "Kalamaraki Krasi."

The glass split along its top, flipped upside down and scuttled along the desk blowing gassy bubbles out of a fleshy protrusion. Harry smiled,

"See! I did Ok."

"Harry..." McGonagall was staring at the glass squid, which was currently hiding behind a chair leg. "We were turning them into tulips."

"Wha...? We were?"

"How in the h... How did you do that?"

"I... don't know."

"Would you hazard a guess?"

"Well..." Harry tried to gum together an explanation from his shaky knowledge of Greek. "Well Kalamaraki means squid... and I think Krasi is some sort of vegetable..."

"Harry..."

"Yes?"

"Go back to sleep."

Harry gave a rough double thumbs up as he sank back down to the table.

Harry slipped into bed that night confident in the knowledge that he had got at least two hours sleep over the course of the day. He dozed with an alarm clock under pillow until it sounded and prompted him to shuck his blankets off and leant out of the window. He looked over towards the Headmaster's tower, the light was still on. Harry flicked a pair of binoculars out of his bag and focused in on the faraway window. Dumbledore was staring into a pensive, the silver light playing on his lined face. He looked tired, very tired.

But at least he wasn't looking at the map.

Harry slid out onto the wall and confidently let himself fall. The wind whistled thrillingly in his ears as the tiles rose up to meet him. A moment before he hit Harry felt a rough tugging around his chest and his terminal drop slowed to a crawl. His feet touched ground and he flitted off across the tiles. Harry reached the window that was his destination and flicked it open with his wand. He dropped through again, trusting his bought magic, and landed lightly in front of a sink.

"Sissasc." Harry hissed. The sink stayed exactly where it was. "Bugger, er... Zissasc? Sizzak? Sizzasc? Ci..." Harry broke off as the sink began moving.

"Damn! Silencio." Harry caught it before it made too much noise and watched as the entrance to the chamber of secrets was slowly revealed. Harry lowered himself into the tube and said, "Cissycis." This time he got it first time and the entrance began closing up as Harry slid off down the chute.

Harry landed feet first, expecting to hit mucky water, and instead felt dry rock. This place had been cleaned up a bit since last time he was here. Harry continued through the cave, passing the giant snake-door. The chamber was dark, maybe Markus wasn't here yet... Damn it!

Harry dove to the side as the stunner flashed through the air. He threw a bludgeoning hex towards where it had come from but heard nothing. A moment later Michelson appeared, totally unruffled, out of the shadows.

"Nicely done Pipsqueak." The Professor clapped his huge hands. "But you should have aimed more, that hex didn't have a chance of hitting me."

"I couldn't see you." Harry pointed out.

"You saw my spell." Markus folded his arms. "You saw where it was coming from. You also know the layout of this room and could use that cunning brain of yours to guess where I was hiding."

"There wasn't much time."

"Make time by moving faster." Michelson drew his wand and squared up in the middle of the room. "Come on lad, time to duel."

"Duel? Seriously?" Harry shed his robe. "I thought you were gonna teach me some more useful spells first. Right now I won't last ten seconds in a duel with you."

"Well who would?" Michelson laughed, then grew serious again. "You know enough spells to get started, we'll fill in the blanks on the way. Anyhow I've seen that you know spells. I want to see whether you know how to use them."

"Any rules?" Harry asked, knowing the answer.

"Yes, win."

"That could be troublesome to apply to both of us."

"Not for me. Ewwyiky!"

Harry had no idea what the hell that was so dived for cover, rolling and coming up with his wand trained on his teacher. Somewhere behind Harry there was a loud squelching sound but Harry was already fighting back.

"Ferio!" Harry threw, not expecting it to go through. Instead it was just a distraction for, "Cronos spear!"

"Protego." Markus wasn't fooled. Harry watched, awed, as Michelson angled his shield to reflect the bludgeoning hex right into the path of the frozen bolt following it, reducing them both to a shower of noisy sparks. "You'll have to do better than that!" The massive man called out calmly. Harry answered with violence.

"Incendio! Reducto!" Harry aimed the first at Markus and the second at the ceiling far above him. "Stupefy!" Harry blasted the spell into Makrus' face and didn't wait to see if it hit. Instead he aimed at a chunk of falling ceiling. "Confringo!" And flung himself away as it detonated like a bombshell. He rolled on the floor and came to his feet in time to fling the first three spells he could think off at the figure in the center of the expanding cloud of dust and fire.

The only warning Harry got was a flash of red before the spell flashed from the cloud and hit him in the stomach, throwing him to the floor.

"Better even than that." Michelson stepped out of the dust, not a hair out of place. "That was good though, imaginative. Good trick with the rock, might have caught a lesser wizard. Again."

Harry forced himself to his feet and raised his wand. This time he lasted just a few seconds before a stunner blasted through his hastily raised shield and knocked his lights out. Familiar unconscious blackness held him in it's comforting embrace for a few moments before Markus brought him back.

"That was not as good."

"I know, I know." Harry shook his head. "Bloody shield. I can't do it, it's useless."

"Don't use it then." Markus shrugged, as if they were discussing the weather.

"Don't shield?" Harry laughed humorlessly. "Just let stuff hit me?"

"Look kid, you first learnt this spell three years ago." Markus explained. "You've had to use it lots of times since then. You've practiced. You've practiced a lot and it hasn't got any better. It's fair to assume you and the shield charm just don't go well together. It happens."

"To you?"

"No. But to other people."

"So that's it?" Harry sighed. "No way around it?"

"Yes. Use other things." Markus turned and walked back to his starting mark. "You know plenty of other ways to block spells. Play to your strengths and use your prodigious imagination."

"Use your imagination." Harry rolled his eyes and wearily stood. "Right... Incendio!"

Harry lasted almost a minute of furious dodging and franticly blowing spells out of the air before he was disarmed and slapped himself hard. He had to be better.

"Again."

... Harry was clipped by a curse and went down...

"Again."

... Mown down by a bar of iron that came from nowhere...

"Again."

... Floored with a punch...

"Again!"

... paralysed...

"Again!"

... stunned...

"AGAIN!"

... shocked...

"AGAIN!"

"This is hopeless." Harry didn't bother to get up from the floor. "I'm not getting any better. We should just face it, I can't duel."

"Not with that attitude."

"I'm sorry I brought you here."

"I'm not." Markus folded his arms. "At least I wasn't until now."

"I thought I could get better."

"I think you can get better."

"Whole world should just give up." Harry held his head in his hands. "I can't beat him."

"Who? Voldemort?" Markus Michelson threw up his hands. "Well no! I don't think I could beat him. I don't think Dumbledore could beat him. He's one of the most powerful living wizards and has access to powers decent people don't touch. But if what you've told me is true then you've got... what was it?"

"'A power he knows not'" Harry quoted sarcastically.

"Right. But it doesn't matter." Markus walked around so he was standing in front of Harry. "I'd bet money on you even if there wasn't a prophecy."

"Why?"

"I'd get good odds." Markus smiled and winked. Harry didn't laugh. "But seriously, you can learn to duel. You already know enough to beat any regular wizard hands down."

"Voldemort isn't a regular wi-"

"I know!" Markus interrupted him angrily. "Which is why you need to learn to duel like a master. Which is why you called me. Which is why you should listen to me! Now... you need to play to your strengths. Tell me what you're good at."

"Oh come on." Harry snorted. "Don't give me this psyco-crap."

"What. Are. You. Good. At?" Michelson punctuated each word by poking Harry's sitting form.

"I... I don't know."

"Yes you do!"

"I don't." Harry shook his head. "I guess I'm not really good at anything useful."

"Oh for Merlin's sake! Who are you?" Markus leant down, his angrily pointing finger barely an inch from Harry's face. "Where's the Harry I met three years ago? I don't see him. Where the hell has he gone? Where's the kid who walked this school like he owned the place and obeyed teachers on sufferance? Where is that arrogant bastard because he's the one who can beat Voldemort! Not the whiney brat he apparently became! Well I need him here now! WHAT ARE YOU GOOD AT!"

"I... Charms?" Harry said, staring up at Michelson.

"Right." Michelson nodded. "You're good at charms. You're excellent at charms. You're a bloody savant at charms. If I heard the rumors in the staff room right you built a professional quality broom at thirteen years old. Out flew a Firebolt."

"That was mostly Ginny doing the flying." Harry shook his head again. "And anyway I don't see how that'll help me in a duel."

"Harry you..." Markus Michelson held his hand to his head and breathed out a long, tired breath. "Let me try this a different way. You've seen a lot of duels right?"

"Yeah."

"You've seen a lot of people duel."

"Yeah."

"Seen differences?"

"What do you...?" Harry bit his lip. He didn't want to get yelled at again. "Yeah, there are differences."

"What differences? Specifically?"

"Well... It's like... you kind of have... This is hard. Can I explain it how I see in in my own head?"

"Of course."

"You have kind of three types." Harry gestured vaguely. "There are the standard duelers, they throw stunners and hexes, lots of shield charms too, and they seem to mostly come out of the Hogwarts defense classes. Not that that makes them bad. Some are really good, but they all seem to use this one style. This one set of spells."

"Hmm... and the next type?"

"Death eaters. They aren't all even very good at fighting. But they use curses. Unforgivables and stuff. And that makes up for the lack of skill."

"And the last type?"

"The masters." Harry shook his head. "I watched some duels on video while I was traveling. Thought I could pick up some tips. Most of the duelists were group-ones, but some of them... the best ones... they're not even in the same league. They move like they're weapons. They don't chuck stunners around, most of the time I couldn't even recognize the spells they were using. It wasn't dueling like I'd ever seen. Except maybe when I saw you fight Tom Riddle, right here. That's the difference I guess. That's the difference between duelists."

"Harry, you are absolutely right." Michelson was smiling broadly. "What you just said is exactly right."

"Um... so? I'm still not seeing how that's connected to anything."

"You've grasped one of the central concepts of dueling. One of the things that make people group threes. The learning curve is huge, there's a point when you just become beyond everyone else. When you stop dueling with dueling spells and start dueling with everything. Do you know what the other difference is?"

"No."

"It's that we all have tricks." Michelson winked. "All the group threes. Some trick that makes us better, something that separates us from each other and from the ones and twos."

"A... trick?"

"Look at Dumbledore, he uses transfiguration. By the end of a fight with Dumbledore you're not just fighting him, you're fighting the walls, doors, ceiling and floor. Plus anything else he can twist into a moving, thinking weapon against you. Voldemort? Well he uses dark magic, plain and simple. You've already realized that that gives a person power beyond your skill. And he already has plenty of skill. Me? I use foreign spells, spells my enemies have never heard of. The last words of a surprising number of my opponents was 'What the hell is that?'"

Harry chuckled, but Markus wasn't finished.

"Dee Finsbury, the current world champion duelist is also a champion illusionist. Your own Professor Flitwick dueled for England, you think he threw around stunners? And you? Well you can do charms. Right?"

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "Yes."

"Say it."

"Yes I can do charms."

"Good. Then use them." Markus turned to go back to his mark. "And get up off the floor."

I'm on the floor? Harry looked around. Oh yeah, he was. Harry pushed himself to his feet with renewed vigor. He gripped his wand and turned towards his teacher. Use charms? Well he would give it a shot. What should he use? Michelson appeared to be just waiting to see what he would do. Well, he'd have to do something...

"Engorgio!" Harry aimed, not at Markus, but at the flagstones and saw his teacher stumble as the rock puffed up like a muffin. "Reducto!" Harry blew the stone to smithereens.

Markus righted himself easily and flicked his wand. Harry blanched as a gigantic fireball was sent rocketing towards him. Harry swallowed, time for risks.

"Ardor-Algidus!" Harry yelled and stood his ground as the inferno passed over him. He caught a glimpse of Markus' shocked face as he emerged unscathed on the other side before he aimed and fired. "Confringo! Ferio! Stubefy!" The surprise attack forced the teacher onto the defensive, shielding desperately. A moment later he brought up a shining silver sphere. Harry's spells bounded off like pins off a frying pan, sending echoes all over the vast chamber. Michelson looked out appreciatively from the safety of the sphere.

"What was that Pipsqueak?"

"Flame freezing charm." Harry smiled proudly. "Nullified your fireball."

"Nicely done." Michelson nodded. "Try... this!"

"Bugger!" Harry dived for cover as the shadows erupted with movement. Giant leathery movement. Harry dashed behind a pillar as the bats flung themselves through the air towards him. They were huge, wings at least a meter wide, with huge fangs. "Incendio!" Harry waved a fiery swath through the bats but more just materialized to replace them.

"Jupitall!"

Harry dived out of the way as a spinning orb of plasma burnt through the air where he'd been. Michelson wasn't going easy on him just because he was busy with the bats. He couldn't dodge forever, if he didn't clear the air he was dead.

"Depulso!" Harry yelled desperately, but the bat's were too strong and Harry had to throw himself against the wall to avoid another thrown spell from his opponent. He needed a charm... what charm? Wait! Bats were like, sort of giant hornets... really. "Tempesto!"

Harry called a wall of wind and threw it against the leathery creatures, swatting them out of the sky and crashing them into the far wall of the chamber. Michelson didn't give him any respite though and responded with a punishing waterfall that appeared out of nowhere above Harry. Harry felt a stab of old terror, but the fear only made him think faster.

"Arefacio!" The drought charm banished the waterfall before it even touched him. "Accio!" Michelson was forced to bring his silver shield back up as a hundred bat corpses funneled past him.

"Depulso!" Harry flicked his wand, spinning the ball of bodies back away from him and bowled it back to break against the Professors shield sphere. Harry wasn't going to let up now. "Diffindo!" The spell scratched against the shield to no effect, screeching like a violin. "Reducto!" Michelson wasn't even knocked backwards as shield once again absorbed the spell with a brassy note. Harry gripped his wand angrily, nothing he had could break this sodding silver shield.

Wait... maybe he didn't have to!

"Motus!" Harry aimed squarely at the center of the silver ball and twisted. It vibrated like a bell and filled the chamber with ringing. Harry twisted further and the sound intensified. Inside his bubble Michelson clutched his ears. Harry found the resonance and twisted harder, the sound outside the shield was deafening, inside it must have been excruciating. Markus threw his arm out violently and Harry had to fling himself sideways as the screaming shield cannonballed past him. "Ferio!" Harry threw a hex at the staggering Michelson that he just caught with a counter. Harry kept up the onslaught in a rush of glee! He was winning!

"KhaNDana!"

The bolt came from nowhere. Slicing out of the dark too fast for him to react. Harry was thrown to the ground, electric sparks raging down every artery and turning him into a screaming battery of pain. Harry felt his wand torn from his unresisting hand and at last managed to blank is mind to the pain. He waited in the dark for it to recede. When he at last opened his eyes Michelson was staring down at him. The huge wizard put his wand to first one ear then the other, muttering something, then whipped away the blood that had ran from both of them with a sleeve.

"Good." He said, unusually loudly. "Again."