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Chapter 10

Let the Games Begin

When he woke up the next morning, Corvus grinned at the ceiling. Today marked the beginning of the tournament for those who weren't in the main event, which meant he would finally get to show up some idiots from Hogwarts and prove their school was lacking – something that the rest of Europe had known for decades.

Flora yawned and stretched, blinking tiredly. When she noticed that Corvus was awake, she grinned back at him. "Time to have some fun."

"Do you want to warm up?" Corvus asked, slipping out from underneath Hestia.

Flora scoffed. "As if we need practice to beat the Hogwarts students."

"But what about the ones from Beauxbatons?" Corvus smirked.

She frowned but didn't say anything, which meant he had won this short debate.

They got dressed and prepared themselves for the day, doing some stretches. They would need every advantage they could get, if they were to win over the unknowns from Beauxbatons.

After grabbing a teacher to supervise, Corvus and Flora found themselves standing across from each other on a shot duelling platform in the room set aside specifically for this. They held their wands at the ready – Corvus using the one with a phoenix feather since that was the one that had been tested by Ollivander yesterday, and thus would be the one he used in the tournament.

"On my mark," the professor instructed. "Three… Two… One… Begin!"

Corvus and Flora launched curses at each other in the same instant, both of them casting without speaking just as they had practiced. They traded spells back and forth as seamlessly as some people traded Chocolate Frog cards. Multiple colors of lights flashed across the walls as they exchanged spells for an amount of time that neither was aware of, their sole focus being the defeat of their opponent.

While Corvus always enjoyed a duel with Flora or Hestia, this one was undoubtedly one of the best.

Before he knew it, Corvus was laughing. He cast a Shield Charm that reflected Flora's Bone-Breaker Curse back at her, forcing her to dive to the floor to dodge it. She rolled back to her feet quickly, however, and continued casting without hesitation, grinning as she too enjoyed their duel.

Corvus only wished they could incorporate transfiguration, but that would involve either Conjuration – which neither they nor Hestia were quite skilled enough to do yet, although Hestia was close enough that she would probably manage it within a year – or they could use furniture or pieces of the ship, but that was far too messy to be considered worth it.

The duel ended when Corvus disarmed Flora, snatching her wand from the air.

"Damn," he panted. "That was…"

"Too much," Flora finished, breathing heavily.

"You both should get some rest," their supervisor suggested. "You will need it for the tournament."

Corvus and Flora thanked the teacher for his willingness to watch them this early in the morning then made their way back to the room, where they found Hestia reading on the couch.

"Good morning, meine schöne." Corvus kissed her.

"Good morning," Hestia smiled. "How was your duel?"

"Take a guess," Flora grumbled, tossing her wand on the bed. "I'm taking a shower. Don't leave without me."

"Wasn't even considering it," Corvus said innocently.

She glared at him before disappearing into the bathroom.

"So what's up?" Corvus asked, flopping onto the couch beside Hestia. She curled against his side, tucking her legs underneath her while he wrapped an arm across her shoulders. He looked at the content of the book she was reading and wrinkled his nose. "I still don't get why you signed up for Ghoul Studies, of all classes."

"It sounded interesting," Hestia said in her defence. "It is interesting."

Corvus stared at her. "How?"

"For starters, they include poltergeists in their definition of 'ghouls,' which means I know how to keep bloody Peeves away from us while we're here."

"I'm listening."

Hestia snorted. "Of course annoying a spirit is where your interest catches."

Corvus held up his free hand in surrender.

"Anyway," she continued, "it seems like useful information, knowing how to get rid of ghouls."

"Isn't that what Defence Against the Dark Arts is for, though?" Corvus frowned. "Why would you need an entire class for one specific branch of creature when they aren't even that common a problem?"

"Because that would make things too easy," Hestia pointed out with a smirk. "I know you just love how simply the world works."

After Flora finished her shower, Corvus took his turn. Once they were all freshened up and cleansed of any sweat, the trio left the Queen Anne's Revenge and wandered to Hogwarts for breakfast. They were joined by Pansy, Blaise, and Teddy in the Great Hall at the Slytherin table.

"Ready for the duelling tournament later?" Teddy asked.

"Of course," Corvus and Flora scoffed at the same time.

"Who's competing from Hogwarts?" Hestia said. "I haven't heard anyone talking about it yet."

"From fourth year, there's two from each House," Blaise answered, "plus the two extra students who did well at the tryouts for the remaining spots."

"They didn't test who could actually duel first?" Flora exclaimed.

Pansy made a disgruntled noise. "Did you really expect Dumbledore not to do the fair thing?"

She had a point. In hindsight, it was obvious that the staff of Hogwarts would decide to include as close to an even amount as possible from each House to avoid any of them claiming favoritism and causing issues because they didn't get their way. It was just another reason why the House system was a hindrance to advancement in Great Britain, even if it worked when the school was founded. All it did was cause tension and division between the four Houses, no matter whether they got along or not, which led to problems in the future when they left school and began their careers.

Hell, from what Corvus had been taught about the Wizengamot growing up, he would be better off walking into a nest of acromantulas with a blindfold and trying to find his way out than attempting to get any of the idiots in power to work together.

"So who's competing?" he asked, bringing them back to the original question.

"From Gryffindor, you've got Granger and Thomas," Teddy sneered. "It's pathetic, really – there's four purebloods and not a single one of them was even considered."

"Lavender and Parvati care more for enjoying themselves than paying attention in any class aside from Divination," Pansy reminded him. "And Longbottom and Weasley don't even deserve to own a wand, much less attend a school of magic."

"I'm not so sure that the wand Longbottom uses is actually his," Blaise speculated. "Have you seen how beaten and used it looks?"

Teddy and Pansy couldn't say anything against that.

"What about the other Houses?" Flora questioned.

"Susan Bones and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff," Teddy told them. "Bones might have a trick or two up her sleeves, her aunt being Head of the DMLE and all, but Macmillan's useless."

"That's four," Corvus noted. "So Ravenclaw and Slytherin got three each?"

"Yep," Blaise confirmed, popping the 'p' with a smirk. "What else would you expect from the Houses famed for intelligence and creativity, cunning and ambition?"

Corvus returned the smirk. "Fair enough."

"You've got Boot, Patil, and Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw," Pansy said, counting them off on her fingers. "And Teddy, Daphne Greengrass, and Malfoy from Slytherin."

"Malfoy?!"

"How the bloody hell did he manage to get picked?" Flora growled.

"We think his father bribed Professor Snape," Blaise sneered. "Either way, he won't be a challenge."

"Far from it," Corvus agreed, scowling.

"So we'll be duelling you, then," Hestia grinned at Teddy.

The Nott heir swallowed thickly. "Yeah. Fun."

The Durmstrang trio laughed while Pansy and Blaise patted Teddy's shoulders. They all knew that it would hardly be a fair fight, with Corvus and the twins having been trained to duel for half their lives while Teddy was more of a researcher than anything. He probably knew plenty more spells than they did, but that wouldn't matter without the skill to use them.

After breakfast, Corvus and the twins returned to the ship to plan out what spells from their arsenals were allowed and which ones wouldn't be controversial to use. It was just after lunch when they were joined by Lord Black, Grandmother, Uncle Cygnus, and Aunt Druella from the Black family. The four adults helped them find some spells that were more obscure that could come in handy before they were joined by Lord and Lady Carrow and Romulus and Evelina. Together, the twelve of them managed to come up with more than two dozen different spells to use today, saving the rest for later.

"Thanks for the help," Hestia said when they started preparing for the duels in half an hour.

"As long as you win, it will be worth it," Uncle Cygnus replied. He looked remarkably like his sister, with the great good looks the Blacks were renowned for and dark hair streaked with grey.

"Of course they will," Grandmother scoffed. "They're Blacks – anything less is impossible."

"Cassiopeia apologizes for being unable to make it," Aunt Druella informed them. She looked similarly to Liv, her brother's granddaughter, but with golden hair that fell over her shoulder. "Her business on the continent is taking longer than anticipated, but she believes she will be able to make it back in time for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament."

"That's all right," Corvus said, though inwardly he was upset. Aunt Cassiopeia was always fun to be around – she was the most intelligent of the Blacks and regularly travelled the world, looking for different magical artifacts she could pilfer to further improve the family's status.

There was a knock at the door.

"Enter," Corvus called.

The door opened to reveal Karkaroff, whose face paled upon seeing so many Blacks in one place. Corvus saw Grandmother's lips twitch as if she were trying not to smile.

"What do you need, Karkaroff?" Lord Black asked gruffly.

Karkaroff swallowed thickly. "The duelling tournament will begin soon. The students are needed."

"We'll be right out," Lord Carrow assured. "We just need a few more minutes."

Karkaroff didn't hesitate to flee the room, forgetting to close the door behind him.

"Idiot," Uncle Cygnus grouched, shutting the door. "What's a fool like that doing as headmaster?"

"Causing trouble," Grandmother snarled. "If it wouldn't be so obvious…" She let her threat trail off.

While the others kept talking, Corvus grabbed his things and entered the bathroom. He changed into his blood-red school robes and holstered his phoenix feather wand on his right forearm and his thestral hair wand on his left. While only one wand was allowed, Corvus wasn't about to walk around with Dumbledore so close and only a single tool to defend himself, regardless of how many others would be present – and that was only considering the danger he was aware of. Next he placed the Heir Black ring on his right ring finger and the Slytherin ring on his left middle. He had decided against wearing the ring for House Potter after yesterday's interview. The best way he could distance himself from the name 'Harry Potter' was by removing any connection possible.

With the Peverell and Potter rings safely tucked away in his trunk where no one else would be able to get to them, Corvus and the others left the room and headed back to the castle.

Everyone was making their way into the Great Hall, which had been redecorated for the tournament. Gone were the four House tables, and in their place was a large duelling platform running down the center of the hall with spectator benches running the length of either side. The hall was illuminated by thousands of candles floating overhead beneath the enchanted ceiling, which was displaying the clear blue sky from outside. The benches were rapidly filling up with students, parents, and random wizards and witches who had travelled to Hogwarts to watch the first day of the tournament.

"Well look who it is," Aunt Druella drawled, sneering.

The group followed her gaze to see three heads of blond hair – two wizards and a witch. Corvus recognized the youngest as Draco Malfoy, who looked exactly like a younger version of the other wizard, which could only make the man his father, Lord Lucius Malfoy. Based on that information, the witch had to be Lady Narcissa Malfoy née Black, the youngest daughter of Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella. She looked like a Black, that was for sure, but she had her mother's hair and blue eyes.

"So she's still married to him," Uncle Cygnus sniffed. "I had hoped she left the prat and disappeared."

"How long has it been since you've spoken to her?" Grandmother asked, watching her brother closely.

Uncle Cygnus looked pained. "Since the wedding. Malfoy may be a pureblood, but he has always been undeserving of a Black."

"Well, here's your chance to speak with her," Lord Black interjected. "They're coming this way."

Sure enough, the three Malfoys were indeed walking towards them. Draco was noticeably nervous, his eyes darting between Corvus, Flora, and Hestia apprehensively. It was undeniable that they would bring up their first confrontation with his parents here, and he didn't look too pleased about that.

Narcissa, on the other hand, was much more composed, but her eyes held evident anxiety at the idea of speaking with her parents and birth family for the first time in over a decade.

Lord Malfoy strutted with the arrogance he was infamous for in the Black family, as if he expected them to kneel before him like he was their king. Corvus could see in the eyes of every member of their family that they were resisting the urge to curse him. Grandmother's hand twitched as if she were about to draw her wand.

"Lord Black," the man greeted silkily. "A pleasure to see you and yours again."

"I wish I could say the same," Lord Black replied coolly. Uncle Cygnus and Druella were having a staring competition with their daughter while Corvus was smirking at a trembling Draco.

"And this must be your heir," Lucius continued, turning his gaze to Corvus as if he weren't being stared at like the filthy rodent he was. There was being a Slytherin, then there was being a coward, and the Malfoy Lord undoubtedly fell under the latter option. "Yes, Draco has told me much about him."

"I don't see how he could," Corvus spoke up before the others could, "seeing as how we have only had one discussion in which he insulted me and mine – then further proved his inadequacy when he forgot that the House of Black is, and always will be, superior to the House of Malfoy. Your heir," he said the word as if it had left a bitter taste in his mouth, "could find use in repeating his etiquette lessons, if that is the way he believes he is allowed to behave."

Lucius gritted his teeth while his wife shot their son a look that meant they would be talking about this later.

"On behalf of my House," Narcissa said before her husband could make things worse, "I apologize for any slights against you and yours, Heir Black."

Corvus smiled. "It is of no consequence, Lady Malfoy. I am sure we can settle this today during the tournament. I have learned that your son will possibly be one of my… opponents," target practice, more like, but he was sure they understood the implication, "so we can finish matters then."

"An excellent idea," Lord Carrow agreed. "And speaking of the tournament, we should probably find our seats before they are all taken."

Grandmother was one of the first to leave, followed by her Uncle Cygnus, Aunt Druella, and Romulus and Evelina Carrow, none of them giving Narcissa so much as a passing glance. While they respected her pureblood marriage, that didn't mean they had to approve of it – Bellatrix's husband had gotten her locked up in Azkaban with his foolish decision to offer her up as a servant of Voldemort, after all. Every born Black knew how to fight – that was something they had always expected of their children because it was what had brought them power and prominence in the magical world – but they were Slytherins to their cores. Open war was a foolish notion for those with delusions of grandeur, not those who were cunning and resourceful enough to truly find success through hard work.

Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella had fallen into a depression for years after Voldemort was temporarily defeated all those years ago. One daughter a blood-traitor, the other married to a disgrace to all wizards, and the third locked away in Azkaban – they had plenty of reason not to be happy with life.

It made Corvus feel proud of himself that he could help them smile on occasion.

"A pleasure as always, Malfoy," Lord Black deadpanned, walking away.

"Good luck," Corvus told Draco, smirking.

With Hestia's arm in his, Corvus turned and followed Lord Black to where the others had found a seat, Flora on his other side and the girls' parents behind them. The family wished the three students good luck before they left to join the other seven Durmstrang students from fourth year. Damien, Gunilla, and Antonia swiftly engaged them in conversation, each one speculating on who from each school would be the biggest challenge, according to what little they knew.

From Hogwarts, they only expected a challenge from Anthony Goldstein, Susan Bones, and Daphne Greengrass – the former two were from families famous for turning out skilled Aurors, and the latter's father had been in the duelling circuit for roughly a decade before she was born.

They didn't know the names of most of the Beauxbatons students, but Damien was friends with two of them – a girl and her orphaned cousin who lived with her family. They regularly did business with the House of Deveraux, however, so the three had grown up spending a lot of time together.

"Aimee is skilled," he informed them, "she and I used to duel when we got bored, but her cousin, Danielle, is more interested in potion-making and enchanting. She isn't very talented, but she's clever enough to make up for it, much like your friend Nott."

"Should be fun, then," Hestia mused, grinning.

Before their conversation could continue, a whistle sounded and the Great Hall fell silent. Dumbledore climbed up onto the duelling platform and walked to the center, his arms spread wide in welcome with a large smile on his face.

"Welcome!" he said. "Today marks the start of our duelling tournament between the best that Europe has to offer. Officiating the matches to take place, we have our very own Filius Flitwick!"

There was a lot of applause as the part-goblin Charms teacher joined Dumbledore on the stage. Corvus recalled that he had been a duelling champion before he started teaching, which meant he was more than qualified enough to be the one in charge of this event.

A part-creature like Flitwick was preferable to Bagman, anyway, the ex-Beater was that awful.

"Our five judges will score each duellist on their accuracy, the amount of spells they land on their opponent, the amount of spells cast overall, and which student comes out on top," Dumbledore continued. "The victor of each match will proceed to the next round while the defeated will duel against others who have also lost. Today's session will go for five hours, until dinner, and the rest of the matches will occur after the first task of the Triwizard Tournament."

Corvus wasn't happy about that. Looking around him, it didn't seem like anyone else was, either. What was the point in incorporating all those other factors to determine a victor when they could choose the simple method of whoever is standing when the dust settled?

"They're hoping to give the Hogwarts students a chance," Gunilla said in disgust. "They know they cannot win outright, so they must give every advantage possible to their own."

"Then we'll just have to put them down faster," Flora seethed.

"All of today's matches," Dumbledore went on, "will be between the fourth years of Hogwarts," the audience applauded loudly, "and the fourth years of Durmstrang!" There was far less applause for Durmstrang, but considering how a majority of the crowd was British, they didn't have much room to complain about it. "Let us begin!"

There was a third round of applause as Dumbledore climbed off the stage.

"For our first match," Flitwick announced, his high-pitched voice barely heard above the sounds of the murmuring crowd, "Flora Carrow from Durmstrang against Susan Bones of Hogwarts!"

Corvus and Hestia hugged Flora. "Take her down quickly," Corvus whispered in her ear, receiving an understanding nod in reply. While they would be scored for the amount of spells cast and landed, it would be more beneficial to end the duel before their opponents could get up to speed.

After receiving wishes of good luck from everyone, Flora mounted the duelling platform and gracefully swept to the center.

Susan Bones smiled, extending a hand that Flora took with a smile of her own – though, knowing his betrothed as well as he did, Corvus was well aware that Flora was reluctant to touch the blood-traitor for anything so polite. But for now, how they appeared to the public was of utmost importance, and his having been noticed as 'Harry Potter' so soon didn't help matters any.

Corvus just hoped that Flora didn't embarrass Bones too much – her aunt was present in the front row. If Bones was toyed with, well, it would be harder to remain unnoticed more than it already was.

Flitwick counted them down, and the duel began.

Flora whipped her wand forward. "Depulso!"

Bones was forced to dive out of the way of the Banishing Charm, the spell narrowly missing. Corvus noted that her reflexes were fairly impressive – there was no way she hadn't received at least some training in duelling before.

Flora didn't let up with one spell, though. She continued casting with a variation of charms – nothing that was intended to cause too much pain; it was all stuff learned in school. Her intention was quite clear: she was going to gather as many points as possible before ending it. Flora planned to certify her place in first, and to do that, she needed the points.

When the moment finally came, Flora aimed her wand low. "Accio!"

Bones' leg was pulled forward foot-first as her shoe was summoned. While Bones attempted to regain her balance, she failed to notice Flora's Disarming Charm and was stripped of her wand. The duel ended when Flora sent a Stupefying Charm at Bones and the Hufflepuff collapsed, unconscious. The whole duel had lasted less than two minutes from its start.

"Match one to Durmstrang!" Flitwick announced. There was no need to account for points when it was blatant which witch had done the best. "Flora Carrow wins!"

The crowd applauded politely – for the most part, anyway. There were several in attendance who looked far from satisfied with the outcome. Corvus was satisfied, though; Flora hadn't caused too much embarrassment for Bones, giving her a fighting chance, at the very least.

"The duellists of the next match," Flitwick continued, "are Damien Deveraux and Terry Boot!"

That duel wasn't even a competition – Damien almost literally wiped the floor with Terry. After them, it was Antonia against Anthony Goldstein, which was the closest duel so far. Corvus was pleased to see that not all Hogwarts students were incompetent – Goldstein nearly managed a draw against Antonia, but in the end, he just didn't have the endurance to match a girl whose older brother was the youngest professional Seeker in history and best friends were all duellists themselves.

The next duel was Hestia against Hermione Granger. Corvus almost felt bad for the Mudblood.

Almost.

Hestia made the girl look like a fool – probably as a form of revenge for the way Granger had looked down her nose at Pansy for the last three years or chided Parvati for caring about her looks more than her classes.

While their relationship with the Patils was strictly business between their families, that didn't mean that they didn't care. Had they gone to Hogwarts, Corvus and the Carrows would all have been Slytherins and Slytherins looked after their own, no matter the circumstance. Just because they valued self-preservation didn't mean they couldn't be brave if the situation called for it, but they were looked down on just because they prioritized the good of the people closest to them over the good of the many, like Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors did.

In any case, Corvus felt nothing but pride for Hestia's victory. She had proven herself capable of being as ruthless as her far more threatening sister, and it made Corvus happy that Hestia had shown them all that she wouldn't let herself be pushed around just because she could act with manners.

The next five duels were hardly a fair fight, just as the first half had been. The students of Hogwarts weren't even close to the same level of skill as those from Durmstrang. But as time went on, it became more and more obvious which student Corvus would be facing, and he found himself grinning because of that realization.

He would be facing off against Draco Malfoy. The prick had undoubtedly bribed whoever was in charge to arrange this – Malfoy probably wanted revenge for their first encounter, even though he had been the one who started the whole confrontation.

If only Malfoy was smart enough to realize that a true Black would be merciless once pushed to the limit, and Corvus knew plenty of spells to make Malfoy's life miserable for the next month or so without straying anywhere close to the border of legality or morality.

"For our final duel of the evening," Flitwick shouted, causing the Great Hall to quiet, "Draco Malfoy of Hogwarts will be facing Corvus Black of Durmstrang!"

The cheers this time were thunderous. Everyone knew that Corvus was really 'Harry Potter,' which meant they would all get to see what their 'saviour' was capable of. Corvus prayed that some of them were intelligent enough to realize that someone as pathetic as Malfoy wasn't going to pose even a semblance of a challenge. While students from Durmstrang were on a different level to those from Hogwarts, Corvus was in an entirely different league than the likes of Malfoy. Flora and Hestia were, as well, but they had been holding themselves back to keep their true skill hidden to surprise their opponents from Beauxbatons when that day arrived.

Corvus wouldn't be doing the same – not this time.

He ascended the steps to the duelling platform, his eyes locked on Malfoy's, an unbidden smirk twisting his lips as he did. Corvus was very much looking forward to giving Malfoy what he deserved.

He saw the members of the Black and Carrow families watching him. Grandmother and Uncle Cygnus looked more excited than Corvus had ever seen them, their eyes gleaming with hope that he taught Malfoy a new definition of pain. Lord Black's steely gaze met Corvus' and he gave an imperceptible nod, giving his approval for Corvus to do whatever he felt was necessary to end this here and now.

Malfoy didn't even attempt to shake hands, sneering, but Corvus used what little control he had over his emotions at the moment to appear expressionless and held out a hand. He wanted Malfoy to seem like the instigator here – it would make things easier later on.

When it was obvious Malfoy wasn't about to take his hand, Corvus pulled it back.

"Take your places, gentlemen," Flitwick instructed, shooting Malfoy a look of disapproval.

Corvus gripped his phoenix-feather wand, standing lightly on his toes and ready to move the moment the duel began. The incantation for his first spell was on the tip of his tongue, prepared to be cast.

Across from him, Malfoy looked awkwardly as if he had never truly duelled in his life. He stood with his shoulders slumped, trying to make himself a smaller target, and Corvus could see that his grip wasn't nearly as loose as it should be – it would only be too easy to end the duel before it could truly start, but that would take the fun out of it.

Corvus wanted Malfoy to suffer for insulting his mother.

The moment they were signaled to start, Corvus thrust his wand and bellowed, "Furnunculus!"

The Pimple Jinx struck Malfoy in the face. He yelped and reached up to soothe the pain, but that only made him yelp again.

It was a testament to how hated Malfoy was that most of the students in the room laughed loud enough to shake dust from the rafters. Lucius was furious, but his wife placed a hand on his forearm to subtly remind him that there was nothing he could do until the duel was over. Grandmother was grinning ferally while Uncle Cygnus looked like he was struggling not to join her in her glee.

Corvus decided to play with Malfoy some more and continued casting. He hit him with a few Stinging Jinxes, overpowering them just enough to make Malfoy feel as if he had been struck with a paddle rather than a stick. A cry of "Ventus!" conjured a jet of wind that swept Malfoy off his feet. He landed flat on his back and gasped as his breath was forcefully removed from his lungs.

Corvus was debating whether or not to end it when Malfoy surprised him – he pointed his wand in the general direction of Corvus and cried, "Serpensortia!"

A long, jet-black snake exploded from the tip of Malfoy's wand and soared through the air, landing on the ground not even five metres away from Corvus. It reared its head and hissed menacingly.

"Gods above, Malfoy!" Corvus chastised. "Are you truly so dimwitted?" Without giving Malfoy a chance to attempt an answer, he turned to the serpent.

"Stop," he hissed, speaking in Parseltongue. Several observers screamed. The serpent, however, froze where it was, unmoving and awaiting further instructions. Corvus returned his attention to Malfoy. "Have you forgotten that I am the heir of Salazar Slytherin, you incompetent excuse of a ferret, or did you assume that it was merely a title?"

Malfoy gawked at him.

Corvus aimed his wand at the snake. "Vipera Evanesca!"

There was a spark of silver light as the snake was incinerated from either end until nothing was left.

Deciding his fun was over, Corvus adjusted his wand so it was pointed at Malfoy. "Stupefy!"

A jet of scarlet light rendered Malfoy unconscious, ending the duel.

Corvus sniffed. "That idiot's a disgrace to Slytherin House."

The Durmstrang students were the first to start cheering, soon followed by the Blacks and Carrows. They were quickly joined by the Beauxbatons students – whom Pansy had delightfully informed Corvus had already been insulted by Malfoy for being 'weak, pretentious French with no talent at all,' apparently forgetting that his own family was from France, even if that had been centuries ago.

"Corvus Black wins!" Flitwick declared unnecessarily.

Hestia wrapped her arms around Corvus' waist and kissed his cheek when he rejoined the Durmstrang contingent. "That was perfect," she whispered in his ear. "Hopefully he leaves you alone now."

Corvus stared at her. "Do you really think he will?"

She grinned. "Not at all."

"Durmstrang takes the lead after day one," Dumbledore said resignedly over the applause. "Once again, the duelling tournament for the fourth year students will continue after the first task, which will be held on the twenty-fourth. I hope you will all come out and support our champions. Now, if you could all exit the Great Hall, please, so that we may prepare for dinner. Thank you!"

Corvus and the twins rejoined the other Blacks and Carrows.

"Excellent job, Corvus," Grandmother praised, beaming at him.

"Indeed it was," Lord Black agreed. His expression was blank, but Corvus could see the pride that shined in Arcturus' eyes. "You have made your family proud today, my heir. Well done."

"Thank you, sir," Corvus acknowledged with a slight bow to show his respect and gratitude for the compliment.

"Perhaps we should have dinner on our own," Calix Carrow suggested before the conversation could continue. He was looking at a group of reporters trying to make their way over to where the Blacks and Carrows stood. "It will be easier than dealing with this mess."

Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella voiced their agreement, but they were looking at the Malfoys.

"Grimmauld Place is ready," Lord Black said. "I'll have Kreacher start preparing something while we head to the nearest Floo."

As the group made their way out of Hogwarts and down to Hogsmeade, where they would be able to use the Floo in the Three Broomsticks to get to London, Corvus couldn't stop grinning. With Hestia's arm in his, Flora smirking on his other side, day one of the duelling tournament out of the way, and the success of embarrassing Malfoy on his mind, he couldn't help but feel happy with life. There was still the Triwizard Tournament to worry about, but that could wait until the morning.

For now, Corvus was going to enjoy a night with his family.

AN: There's that!

THANKS FOR READING!