BIGGER THAN US
Chapter 36
The morning of the final match, Draco watched Hermione plow through a monster breakfast.
"Hermione, you're eating enough for a troll," Draco commented.
"I need to have all my energy for Gin," Hermione said. "You need to eat up too."
"So you keep reminding me," Draco mumbled.
"What was that?" Hermione asked lightly.
"Nothing," Draco said.
At Grimmauld Place, Ginny was watching Harry tear through his huge breakfast.
"Eat up love, you'll need all the energy you can get against Hermione," Harry said.
"That's the problem, no matter how good I duel or how hard I try, Herms is better," Ginny said.
"Gin, you're dooming yourself to failure already," Harry said. "Just try your best, look at how far you've gotten."
"Aren't you nervous?" Ginny asked.
"Nervous isn't a strong enough word," Harry said. "I have to face Malfoy, who beat your two brothers and Snape to get to the final. I know he and Hermione have been brushing up on their dueling, so in a word, yes."
We're buggered! Ginny thought.
Harry and Ginny arrived early at Hogwarts to talk with Dumbledore. They heard about Hermione's new position and wanted to hear about it firsthand. Shortly before nine, they were walking toward the field with Dumbledore when they spotted Hermione and Draco walking their direction.
"Well, they seem ready," Albus chuckled.
No shite! Harry thought.
Both were strolling along, hand in hand as the crowd parted for them. They cut quite a path. They were both dressed in black t-shirts, snug black jeans, black trainers, knee pads and black leather gloves. Hermione had her hair slicked back in a tight bun and they both even had on the same sunglasses. They wore serious expressions until they spotted Albus, Harry and Ginny.
"Gin!" Hermione exclaimed and took off her sunglasses. Her warm brown eyes sparkled as she jogged towards her friend and gave her a quick hug.
"How are my favorite newlyweds?" she asked.
"Uh, good," Ginny said and glanced at Harry, who was shaking Draco's hand.
"Nervous?" Hermione asked.
"A little," Ginny replied.
"Me too, but it should be great fun today!" Hermione said. "Are you ready?"
"As ready as she'll ever be," Harry said and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
"Good to hear, see you soon!" Hermione said and walked away.
At 8:55 a.m., Albus walked to the center of the field and started the announcement.
"WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO THE FINAL MATCHES OF THE ALL-BRITAIN DUELING TOURNAMENT. OVER THE SUMMER, YOU HAVE SEEN STUNNING DISPLAYS OF POWER, SKILL AND CUNNING FROM THOUSANDS OF CONTESTANTS WHO HAD THE FORTITUDE TO ENDURE THE COMPETITION. THIS MORNING HOWEVER, I AM CONFIDENT THAT YOU WILL SEE THE BEST YET AS HARRY AND GINERVA POTTER BATTLE AGAINST DRACO AND HERMIONE MALFOY FOR THE TITLE OF GRAND MASTER WIZARD AND WITCH OF DUELING OF GREAT BRITAIN."
Albus had to wait for the cheering of the crowd to die down to continue.
"SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, WILL MADAME MALFOY AND POTTER TAKE THE FIELD!!"
In the stands, Hermione gave her mother a hug and left the stands. Ginny did the same with her family and met Hermione in the center of the field. Hermione had a serious expression, but her eyes gazed warmly at her. Ginny stopped in front of her.
"Good luck Gin, don't hold back," Hermione said, stepped forward and hugged her. "Because I won't."
Ginny swallowed and nodded. It was what she needed to hear. So far, no one had yet told her "don't hold back." How ironic it was that Hermione was telling her this. Then again, this was Hermione.
Tonks was the witch referee. "You know the rules. Stand back to back, take ten paces then let the fun begin."
Hermione winked at Ginny before they took their places. As they heard Tonks count off the paces, they both gripped their wands, preparing to cast a quick sticking charm as soon as ten was heard. Ginny could her her heart beating in her chest.
Hermione was one big nerve, but she couldn't let Gin know that. She had to play it cool and confident to keep a psychological advantage. Is it working? she thought as she heard Tonks count to ten. The crowd was on its feet, silent in anticipation. At nine, she gripped her wand, reviewing the sticking charm and at ten, she muttered the "PROTEGO" spell and the sticking charm. Both turned around with wands extended and took off at a run towards each other.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" they both shouted.
A sound similar to a thunderclap was heard when the spells of the two connected mid-air and were knocked to the ground. The crowd gasped.
"Good heavens," Kathy said.
Hermione hopped up first, her wand arm stinging from the backlash of magic. She could do wandless magic with the other hand, but preferred the certainty of her wand.
Ginny's head was pounding from the backlash of magic. Both she and Hermione were circling each other, wondering what the other was going to do.
"RELASHIO!" Hermione shouted. While a stream of fiery sparks shot towards Ginny, she wandlessly summoned a rock. She transfigured the rock into a broom.
"What's she going to do with a broom? Sweep something?" Harry asked.
Draco smiled in pride at his wife. Everyone knew that Hermione didn't fly on brooms. Period. Until a few months ago that is. Hermione decided that her final opponent would be distracted to see her on a broom, so she asked Draco to teach her to fly. He did happily, and was pleased to see her take to it. She would never play quidditch, but was a decent enough flier. Ginny was going to get a good shock.
While Ginny was busying herself with "aguamenti" against the fiery streams, Hermione wandlessly cast a tripping hex against her and stopped the relashio. She started casting smoke from her wand, leaving their part of the field in a fog. Ginny cast "evanesco" the best she could to clear the smoke. She heard a "whooshing" sound from above and looked up through the dissipating smoke. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Hermione gliding through the air on a broom.
Good idea Herms! she thought and conjured a broom herself. Ginny felt a burst of confidence at this development. She knew she was a better flier than Hermione. Hermione grinned at Ginny and took off like a shot in the air and Ginny followed. When they were fifty feet up, Ginny was about ten feet behind when she saw Hermione's wand in her direction. She quickly pointed her wand and shouted "AVIS!" Hermione saw a dozen pigeons speeding toward her. Now she had to fly amidst a dozen birds and defend against whatever Ginny had planned next. She flew back toward the ground, slapping at the birds fluttering around her.
Just as she had second year against the cornish pixies, she yelled "IMMOBULUS" against the birds and they became still, their little eyes looking around as they floated immobile in the air. Ginny was flying toward her, wand outstretched and she did the same. The crowd was clapping when they saw the two witches flying toward each other. Ginny saw Hermione's mouth move and wand flick then felt her broom become warm. It soon became uncomfortable then too hot to sit on. She was still twenty feet from the ground and had to get there quick, the broom was starting to burn some private parts. She hopped off the broom, dnaced in discomfort and cast "aguamenti" on herself and the broom on her descent.
"What's Gin doing?" Harry asked when he saw Ginny glide to the ground dripping wet with a steaming broom and start hopping.
She looked up to see a broom still flying, but with no passenger. Was Hermione still on the broom, but invisible? Or was she on the ground somewhere invisible, controlling the broom? She glanced at the clock to see seven minutes left in the match. Deciding to take a chance that Hermione was on the broom, she cast a "Reducto" on the broom to see it crumble into shards.
What Ginny didn't know was that Hermione indeed was on the broom and was surprised when Ginny cast "reducto" on the broom. She hopped off just in time to descend to the ground, but still caught flying shards of wood to her forehead. She saw six minutes left and Ginny glancing around to see where she was. She disillusioned herself behind Ginny and raised her wand. She whipped around and saw Hermione there, a determined look on her face with blood and scratches on her forehead and unfortunately a larger one impaled in her neck.
"RICTUMSEMPRA!" Hermione shouted and Ginny almost doubled over from the tickling sensation. She managed to sputter the jelly-fingers jinx against Hermione. She couldn't hold on to her wand and mentally berated herself for not casting a new sticking charm.
No wands it is then! Hermione thought when she was hit with the jelly legs jinx.
How had Gin managed to cast it through the tickling hex? No matter, she wouldn't be able to use her wand much longer. Hermione saw four minutes left on the clock and had to do something. Deciding to simply accept the fact that her legs didn't work, she sat on the ground, extended her hand and said "Engorgio" to Ginny's wand. It grew a few inches in length and girth.
"Eat slugs!" Ginny gasped through her tired laughing.
"Oh no," Hermione mumbled, felt nauseous then wretched a huge slug.
She raised her hand again, said "engorgio" and Ginny's wand grew again. Now she had to hold it with both hands. Hermione threw up another slug. Hermione cast multiple "engorgio" on Ginny's wand until it was the size of a baseball bat.
"Finite," Hermione said with a wave and Ginny's rictusempra hex ceased.
Hermione felt sluggish from the nausea from the slugs and the stinging from her neck. She saw two minutes left on the clock. Ginny wiped her face and took deep breaths as she struggled to hold on to her giant wand.
"Langlock!" she shouted and thrust her hand toward Ginny.
Ginny knew it was over for her. Her wand was too big to wield and she couldn't utter a spell, curse or hex. Now the question:
How is Herms going to end it? she thought.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Hermione choked and Ginny's giant wand flew from her hands.
Now the crowd was cheering and clapping as less than a minute remained on the clock.
When Ginny took a step back, Hermione stated "Petrificus totalis" with a wave of her hand and Ginny felt her body stiffen, sway then fall back. Hermione said "arreste mementum" and felt her body lowered gently to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hermione's hand fall to the ground then heard "MATCH OVER MALFOY WINS!!!"
The crowd was as loud as one would be at a quidditch match. Tonks ran to the field, removed the spells from Ginny then went to Hermione and removed the spells from her as well.
"Come on champ, let's get your neck looked at," Tonks said and helped her to her feet.