Chapter 35 The Tournament Continues

Round 3 of the tournament happened on Wednesday. Harry was mildly curious about the duel between Sirius and Lily. But his heart just wasn't in it anymore. When the tournament had started, he'd been excited. Now…now he just wanted it to be over.

When the duel started, however, Harry reluctantly found himself watching. Sirius and Lily were both very good. Their practice had definitely paid off. While Lily was still pretty set in straightforward casting rather than dodging like Harry did, she used charms to great effect. Part of it, Harry was certain, was just to irritate Sirius and get him back for the minor pranks he'd pulled on her over the years. That seemed especially true when she gave him donkey ears and made him bray every time he tried to speak. Sirius, to his salvation, was very proficient in silent casting. He threw transfiguration spells and a wide variety of hexes left and right, smirking all the while.

For the first eight minutes, Sirius and Lily seemed pretty evenly matched. As time wore on, though, Sirius's greater experience and stamina began to show as Lily began to tire, despite not moving around too much. As they passed the fifteen-minute mark, Harry started to grow anxious for the end. James, beside him, was biting his fingernails, torn between cheering for his best friend and cheering for his hopeful girlfriend. Remus was clearly and blatantly favoring Lily, just to piss Sirius off. Peter was cheering for both of them, though he seemed to want Lily to win.

As the clock ran down toward nineteen minutes, the tide suddenly turned. Lily fumbled her wand trying to cast a series of spells all at once, and that moment of distraction was all Sirius needed. He cast a simple disarming spell into the opening as he sidestepped Lily's attempted barrage. A moment later, it was over. Lily's wand was in his hand and he was grinning like a loon. Cheers and applause erupted, from the Gryffindor side at least, and Sirius took a dramatic bow.

"Very well done, both of you. Mr. Black advances to the next round!" Professor Dean announced. The chart on the back wall automatically updated to show the results. Then the two participants returned to their seats.

Sirius was still crowing about his victory. Lily was clearly disappointed, and irritated at Sirius's excessive bragging. As she passed Harry to return to her seat, he heard her muttering angrily to herself and then she swore she would beat him next time. Harry smiled a little at her determination and vowed to offer to help as soon as she cooled off a little.

Next to the arena were Tonks and Remus. James was on the edge of his seat, muttering about the bets placed on this round. Harry rolled his eyes. He was sure this duel would be fascinating to watch, but Harry was equally sure Tonks would win, even holding back, if only by virtue of experience.

Professor Dean announced the beginning of the duel, and Harry watched in fond nostalgia as the two danced around each other, just like he'd seem them do many a time while they were training together over the summer, before Harry and Tonks ended up in the past.

As Harry watched, he realized that half the battle was a mind game. Tonks knew Remus's dueling style well, thanks to her time training with his future counterpart. Therefore, she could predict his movements and counter them easily, especially since this Remus was less experienced. However, Remus's keen observation skills and quick mind had him constantly catching Tonks off-guard by predicting her own actions or defying her predictions. They were constantly firing spells back and forth, showing off an impressive repertoire for a pair of sixth years (well, supposed sixth years). But neither really seemed to be trying to get a hit.

At least, not until the very end. With three minutes to go, Remus and Tonks both suddenly stepped it up a notch. Tonks showed more of her skill against Remus than she had against Harry, which meant Remus was pushing her that far. Remus began to show the strain, however, as Tonks cranked out some of her specialty moves. And right at the end, Tonks finally gained the advantage. One of her stunners got past Remus's defense and he went down, just seconds before the timer ran out.

"Very well done! That was certainly some fine dueling," Professor Dean said with a single raised eyebrow—a sign of clear admiration on the usually stoic auror-turned-professor. "And Ms. Carter advances to the next round!"

The board updated to show the final results.

"The semifinal matches will be held one per day, beginning on Friday. The finals will be held next Tuesday during class; however, it will be open to other students than just those in our class. The same will be true for the other two classes' finals match, which will be held next Thursday," Professor Dean explained. "So take tomorrow to rest and reflect, and then our first pair will be Ms. Carter versus Mr. Black on Friday. Turn in your notes from today's duels, then class is dismissed!"

There was a rush to turn in notes, then the bell sounded and everyone exited the classroom, talking excitedly.

All the sound rushed past Harry's ears, however, as watching his surrogate sister and his (younger) surrogate father duel sent him into a whirl of flashbacks from the previous summer's training. He was all but blind and deaf to everything around him as he struggled to fight off the memories that were making him unbearably homesick. At least, until someone bumped into him from behind. Harry pitched forward, James's hand suddenly firm around his bicep keeping him from face-planting in the middle of a crowded corridor.

"Oy! Watch where you're going, you greasy git!" Sirius snarled.

"My apologizes, Black," came Severus's smooth retort, oozing with sarcasm. "I didn't think you'd mind—after all, you've been doing a fine job of pushing him away lately."

Was Severus…defending him? Harry wondered as he regained his balance.

"I've been—" Sirius cut himself off with a growl. "You listen here, snake. You keep your greasy hands away from my friends, or I'll give you a reason to be slippery."

"Sirius…" Harry began warningly. He was ignored.

"Oh, I very much hope you beat Miss Carter," Severus sneered. "I'm so looking forward to teaching you a lesson."

Sirius growled again, sounding very much like an angry Padfoot. "We'll see who's teaching who a lesson," he snarled. "Get out of my sight, grease pit."

Severus's mouth twitched toward a nasty sneer, but he did not reply or raise his wand. Instead, he calmly walked away.

Of course, that only infuriated Sirius more.

"I'm going to kill that greasy snake," he muttered.

Harry smacked him upside the head. Hard. "Shut up and let it go, Sirius," he said fiercely. "Or I'll be the one teaching you a lesson. And we won't have Professor Dean's thoughtful rules."

Sirius grimaced but dropped the subject. Harry gritted his teeth and walked a few steps ahead of him as they headed toward their next class.

"Why do you keep antagonizing him?" Remus asked.

"Who?" Sirius snapped.

"Harry," Remus answered. "Severus might be dangerous, but you've seen Harry angry before. Do you really want to keep being on the receiving end of that?"

Sirius grumbled something inaudible.

"You are taking it a bit too far, Padfoot," James said hesitantly. "He bumped into Harry on accident, and he didn't seem bothered."

"Yeah," Peter spoke up. "So why did you have to turn it into a bigger issue?"

"What, are you all against me now?" Sirius demanded. "We've hated and picked on Snape since the very first time we saw him! Why are you all suddenly against this?"

"Maybe," Harry interjected, facing him, "because everyone else is starting to grow up. You, on the other hand, are still stuck in first year. Apparently."

"And what do you know?" Sirius shouted. "You're just a transfer student; you don't know what he's put us through over the years!"

Harry gritted his teeth again, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "Maybe not, but I have seen what you've put him through." His voice grew cold. "And I don't like the way that looks. Growing up, I was Severus Snape—bullied, unwanted, and different. And I hated it. So forgive me for not wishing that fate on someone else."

Then Harry spun on his heel and stomped away before he started throwing curses—or punches. Punches would probably feel better.

"You need to open your eyes, Sirius," Peter said quietly, "or you're going to lose us." Then he hurried after Harry.

The rest of Wednesday and Thursday, Sirius and Harry refused to speak to each other. Sirius even refused to speak to Peter, because Peter had taken Harry's side quite obviously. The others had tried very carefully not to, or at least not appear to. So it was a tense group that made their way to DADA after breakfast on Friday morning.

"The first semi-final match-up today will be Mr. Snape versus Mr. Avery," Professor Dean began once everyone had taken their seats. "Congratulations for making it to the semifinals, both of you. Please take the arena, contestants!"

The two Slytherins did exactly that, giving each other nasty, competitive glares all the while. Harry was pretty sure Snape would win a (mostly) fair fight, but he wouldn't put it past the future Death Eater to play extra-dirty, even against his own house—he had a nasty look in his eye.

"Ready…Begin!" Professor Dean announced. The arena shield snapped into place and the two Slytherins were immediately at each other's throats.

The duel was almost halted three times in the twenty-minute span because borderline-dark curses were being cast without care or remorse. Avery lost several points for casting an entrails-expelling curse that luckily missed by a wide margin; Harry suspected it was cast as a scare factor more than anything else. Severus retaliated with a spell Harry had never seen before that left a nasty cut across Avery's cheekbone—and suddenly Harry knew why his future self had a scar there. He shivered, remembering the few times he'd come up against the man before coming to the past. They were not pleasant memories.

They ran down the clock trying to get an impressive finishing blow in, until finally Severus gave up on trying for an impressive finish and instead went for the surefire victory—he sent a barrage of incapacitating spells while at the same time closing the distance between them. It was harder for Snape to dodge Avery's retaliatory spells, and as a result he received several minor cuts and bruises. But the sacrifice was worth it, because in the next moment Avery was hit by three close-range stunners and an overpowered disarming charm. He went down hard, wand flying from his hand and into Snape's, and landed unconscious on the arena floor.

"And the victor is…Severus Snape! Congratulations on making it to the final!" Professor Dean announced. The board on the back wall updated to show Severus Snape advance to the finals. "As our time is short today, you have a few minutes to get your notes in order, then class will be dismissed with the bell. Next Monday will be Mr. Black versus Ms. Carter, and the final round will be on Tuesday after lunch. The schedules are being rearranged to allow all sixth-year classes to observe. The same will happen on Thursday for the other class's final round."

Professor Dean looked around the room. "Are there any questions?" There were none. "Then finish up your notes and hand them in."

The room filled with chatter as notes were written and students rushed to hand them in.

That weekend all anyone could talk about was the last semi-final match and the final. The bets and the stakes and the odds kept getting higher and higher—some people were going to be very rich, and others would be sorely disappointed when they finally saw the result. Because Harry was certain there was no way for Tonks to lose—unless she wanted to.

On Monday the entire school was buzzing over the last semifinal match, speculating who would win and how. Harry would be more than happy to skip ahead to after the final, but as the day wore on in anticipation for DADA, he found himself getting caught up in the excitement. Consequently, when he got to class after lunch, he was just as eager as anyone else to see the match.

"Contestants, to the arena please," Professor Dean called as the last of the stragglers entered and took their places in the makeshift stands. Harry and the other Marauders were on the very front row, with the girls right behind them. Slytherin took the other side, clearly interested but trying not to be.

"Take your marks," came the call.

Smirking, Sirius took his position. Tonks returned his smirk with one that was frighteningly identical.

"Ready to lose, Black?" she taunted with a grin.

"Ready to win, you mean? You bet I am," Sirius replied with a grin of his own.

"Ready?"

Both contestants nodded.

"Begin!"

Spells flew immediately. Sirius's impatient and straightforward nature had him casting first, and Tonks defended accordingly. She made it look easy. Sirius, however, had clearly practiced beyond the practice sessions they'd held before the official start of the tournament. He was casting with confidence and precision, though he lacked a cohesive strategy. Tonks, on the other hand, was darting all over the place, not just to dodge his spells but also to distract him while she laid traps in the terrain—one of her favorite strategies. Aside from prank spells, that is, and she was getting plenty of those off as well.

Sirius did well to avoid the most embarrassing ones, but he got caught with a few first-year spells and simple jinxes. Tonks grinned in triumph as he tripped over the uneven terrain under the influence of the jelly-legs jinx. But Sirius cast back right away, and while he was off-target, he distracted Tonks just enough that he was able to cancel the spell on himself and resume the fight at full power.

Ten minutes in, it seemed Tonks had an overwhelming advantage. Several of her terrain traps had been triggered, and Sirius was splattered with goo and his face and arms were dotted with tiny lacerations from a makeshift mine that blew loose pebbles and rock shards all over the arena. Tonks had been hit, too, but she didn't seem to notice or mind. Sirius had also been knocked over, tripped, or thrown off-balance a number of times. He simply refused to stay down. Harry had a feeling Tonks was getting frustrated with his persistence.

With three minutes to go, the tide subtly shifted. Sirius was still stumbling all over the place, but he was slowly but surely pushing Tonks back. She was littered with the debris of several prank spells as well—her robes were pink and black striped, feathers littered the ground around her and still clung to her hands and neck, and her hair, while retaining its color, was a literal birds' nest. With eggs and everything. There had not yet been a decisive strike on either side, but both participants were growing impatient.

In the last thirty seconds, there was a sudden flurry of action, spells flashing everywhere, and the arena became obscured with dust and fog. Spells continued flashing back and forth, but no one could tell anymore what was going on inside the dust cloud.

"Time!" Professor Dean cast an immobilization charm on the area inside the arena, and conjured a gust of wind to blow away the debris.

As the dust cleared, silence reigned.

Sirius remained standing, battered but intact, while Tonks lay on her back several feet away, deprived of her wand and clearly unconscious.

A collective gasp of surprise swept the makeshift stadium, breaking the silence, and then the cheers began. Those who had bet on Sirius were screaming and cheering loud enough to nearly deafen Harry (it didn't help that James, who was one of them, was screaming right beside his ear).

"And Sirius Black is the clear winner!" Professor Dean announced. He then revived Tonks. "Very well fought, Ms. Carter." He turned to the crowd. "Tomorrow at 1 PM will be the final match between Mr. Black and Mr. Snape. Good luck to the both of them!"

Cheers filled the room again. Sirius threw a nasty glare toward Severus, making a vulgar hand gesture as he did. The room erupted.

It was just as well that Professor Dean didn't try to give any further instructions, as the temporary arena filled with a cacophony of noise. James was collecting bets amidst protests and cheers, and the Slytherins were booing Sirius loudly, thanks to the gesture he'd made.

The bell rang while the chaos continued. Professor Dean had to set off a bang like a firecracker with his wand to get everyone's attention and shoo them out of his classroom.

"Snivellus is going down!" Sirius crowed in triumph.

"You haven't beaten him yet; there's no need for the theatrics now," Remus said mildly.

"But I will. I will definitely beat him." Sirius rubbed his hands together. "Damn, I've been waiting for this opportunity for a long time."

Harry bit back a retort and deliberately lengthened his stride to pass the other Marauders and catch up to Tonks. His sister was being heaped with praise and pity by her roommates as they walked to their next class. None of them could deny it was a fair victory, but Marlene still stuck her tongue out and made a face at Sirius as they drew ahead. Sirius didn't notice.

A/N: And now the climax is about to begin! I've caught up to where I'm writing, so updates may be a little less frequent. On another note, I've recently started a Harry Potter X Fairy Tail crossover. The first two chapters are up. Check it out on my profile and tell me what you think!