Author's note: I wrote this little story because I wanted to examine the prospect of the four friends duelling each other. I wanted a plausible, canon compliant approach; a set of duels a reader could believe they could happen in Rowling's world. (Although I may have exaggerated Hermione's skills.)

Disclaimer: All characters and places by J. K. Rowling.

The Burrow Champion

Day 1

Harry sat in the Burrow garden, resting his back at an apple tree. His mug of butterbeer was almost empty, had been like that for a long while as he had become forgotten in his thoughts. These last free days of summer had been some of his happiest, but now his, as well as everyone else's thoughts were turning to the upcoming year at school. Harry didn't quite know what to expect of it. The last year had been especially tough, with Umbridge, the OWLs, and the unfortunate battle in the Ministry. Surely the next year would be easier. But then again, that was what he had thought every summer, until finding himself in a perilous adventure again. And with the Dark Lord gathering his strength, nothing could be taken as granted.

Not to forget the Prophecy.

Harry sighed, and finally took the finishing sip from his mug. "Ron, I've been thinking", he said.

Ron lay flat on the lawn a meter from Harry, his legs crossed, his arms behind his head, a worn straw hat shading his eyes from the sun and looked like he was sleeping. "If it's not about going and getting another butterbeer, I don't want to hear about it," he muttered in a lazy tone.

"That's not a bad idea, either," Harry chuckled, "But no, I've been thinking about Voldemort and everything. And that back in the Ministry we got into a fight I wasn't ready for, and it went all bollocks."

Ron sat up, and fully opened his eyes. "I thought we did pretty damn good! None of us got killed."

"Sirius got killed," Harry stated dryly.

"Oh, right. Yeah," Ron stammered. "Sorry about reminding you of that."

"Anyway, you're missing my point. It's just that the prophecy…" His voice trailed out.

Ron stared at him gloomily. "I know. You're to kill You-Know-Who if he doesn't kill you first. That prophecy. Unless there's more of them and you've not told us."

"No, no! No secrets from you and Hermione," Harry said quickly, and glanced behind at the porch where his other best friend was reading her book, seemingly oblivious to the world. "I guess, what I really mean is that if I'm ever going to have any chance against Voldemort, then I need to take my head out of my arse and do something – constructive. The DA was a start, but it didn't develop my skills personally. I need to prepare. I need to practice spells. Duelling. All that kind of stuff."

"I don't think any amount of duelling practice is going to help you in a duel against Voldemort," said Hermione unexpectedly, not taking his eyes off the book. "He's just too powerful."

The boys looked at her, then at each other. "So, you say that I shouldn't start and practice fighting? I should just lay down and wait until either one of us drops dead and hope it's not me?" Harry said.

"No, of course I'm not saying that," Hermione retorted, and finally looked at them with a frown. "Practice is always good, as well as taking your head out of – you know. But the prophecy doesn't say anything about you having to duel Him, specifically. There must be something else in that. But what I do believe is that you may need to fight your way to Him before you can deliver the finishing blow. Or something like that. And He will do everything he can to stop you." She paused and looked at him intently. "So, if you really want and start preparing, I'm all behind you. Even if it's duelling you want to do. Should become handy against Death Eaters at least."

Hermione turned her attention back to the book. Ron watched Harry quietly a while, and then said, "So… What do you want to do then?"

Harry stood up. "I don't know. I really don't. But duelling practice is just as good a start as anything. So please, duel with me, Ron. Simple spells, nothing dangerous or too powerful. We'll just begin with that and see where it takes us."

"Okay, I can do that."

They stepped through a gate in the garden fence and walked on to an open area that also served as a quidditch field. On one side the area was restricted by the fence, then there was a barn house on the other side, and the rim of the forest a little further. They stood a little apart, took a standard duelling stance and started exchanging the spells. It was clear from the beginning that Harry was the more skilled one, as his spells frequently connected with Ron while Ron only rarely made a hit at him. Every once in a while, they paused to discuss or make adjustments to the rules of the duel. If was mostly fun for either of them, and Hermione doubted if their practice would be of any use in a real fight against Death Eaters. But it was a start, maybe they'd eventually get somewhere. She was about to focus back to her book when the door opened, and Ginny walked out.

"What's all this racket?" asked the redhead.

"The boys are playing Aurors and Death Eaters again," said Hermione with a smirk. "Oh, it's just a duelling practice, as you can see."

Ginny watched them a while. "Should they be taking this more seriously? Even I could take them out," she said, just a bit too loud for Ron to overhear her.

"Shut it, Ginny!" he yelled. He quickly glared at the girls on the porch, and the distraction cost him. Harry's tripping jinx hit him full force, and he fell down on his face into dirt.

The others burst into laugh as Ron got up, his face red with embarrassment but then even he chuckled. "Okay, that was fun. Now piss off! Harry wanted duelling practice and you're distracting."

His tone annoyed her. "I'm serious, actually," Ginny said. "I could take you out, Ron." She descended to the lawn and walked over to the gate.

"Huh? No bloody way!" Ron said. "And before you think of it, I'm not fighting my little sister just to prove a point." He turned back to Harry and took a duelling stance, but Ginny stepped in front of him.

"Really? Well, Ron, I challenge you," Ginny said, poking his chest with her finger, "to the duel. And if you're too scared of humiliation and decline, I'll just hex you anyway."

"Come on, Ron," Harry replied with a snicker. "She's not so little anymore. You've seen her in the DA. She is quite good, really. Maybe we could use an opponent with a little bit different style of duelling. And with a proper choice of spells to keep everyone safe, it may be really fun."

Ginny's jaw dropped. "Fun? Safe! Harry Potter! Are you patronizing me?" she fumed, but there was an amused flicker in her eyes.

"I… What? Of course not!" said the dumbstruck Harry.

"Yes, you are!" she said, "You know, I think there's only one way to solve this matter. We're going to have a duelling tournament."

Harry and Ron looked at each other in shock, then at Ginny, as she continued. "First I'm to kick your arse," she said to her brother, but quickly changed her mind, spinning around to face Harry, "No, on a second thought, it has to be your arse first, and then Ron's."

"Why…. why me first?" Harry asked, not quite keeping up with her.

"Because you're better than him. I may need my element of surprise," she said, and grinned like only she could. "Hermione, you want a piece of them, too, after I've softened them up for you?"

The older girl frowned and looked like she didn't want to leave her book. Then she made up her mind, stood up, and with a confident smile she joined the others at the opening. "I wouldn't want to miss a chance."

The boys, once again, looked at each other, and shaking their heads wondered how they had gotten themselves in this situation. But there was no going back, they had to duel with the girls. After all, it might be fun, even somewhat exciting.

"Is it okay if we go on with the rules we already set out with Ron?" Harry asked, and explained. "We should have no more than three spells each that we can use: a stunning spell, a shield spell, and one free choice spell. Nothing that will injure, nothing that will leave a mark, nothing too dangerous, you know the drill. We're all friends here and I'd like to keep it that way! And you can't change the free choice spell during the tournament. The duel goes on until you're stunned, or you lose your wand." Everyone nodded an agreement. "I was using a Punching hex as my free choice spell earlier. I think I'll take that one. What about you, Ron?"

Ron cleared his throat and thought about it. "I don't want to take the same as you, Harry. So, let's say a Tripping jinx."

"Ginny?"

"Hmm. Maybe a Stinging hex," she said, still pondering her choice.

"A Stinging hex. Really?"

"Really," she confirmed, now with certainty.

"The Stinging hex is not exactly a combat spell," Ron said.

"Nor is your Tripping jinx!"

"Your funeral."

"We'll see about that."

"Hermione?"

"I have some ideas, but I haven't decided yet. If it's okay, I'll think about it during the first match," Hermione said. The others agreed, and the first pair, Harry and Ginny, faced up against each other. Ron and Hermione moved out of the way, behind the fence.

"Combatants ready?" Ron shouted. "Begin!"

Harry had thought of a witty one-liner to shout at Ginny to start the match but yelped "Shite!" instead when her first hex took him completely off guard and hit his shoulder before he could open his mouth. It hurt; it really did. His shoulder felt like it was on fire. "What the hell was that?"

Ginny coolly rested her wand on her shoulder. "A Stinging hex. It's an improved version that Tonks taught me. Quite annoying, don't you think?"

Harry glared Ginny as if she had somehow managed to twist the rules. The sharp pain was already diminishing into a mere nuisance and he was ready to retaliate. He abruptly sent a Punching hex at her, and then quickly a second one while she sidestepped them one after another. She shot her stunner at him, but he saw it coming miles away, and easily blocked it with a shield spell, then replied with a barrage of three punches, following her path of movement as she tried to duck them. The first two barely missed her, but the last one hit her into her upper body, taking her down to ground.

Harry's heart skipped a beat with the fear of his hex hurting Ginny. She went down with it, but then nimbly used her momentum to roll over and bring her back to a standing position. "That was it?" she yelped with surprise. "That was your great Punching hex?" Her eyes narrowed as she shot another stunner at him. "You're afraid of hitting a girl, aren't you?"

Her stunner was strong, as Harry was able to tell when his shield vibrated with its energy. He almost let his shield fall to make a strike himself, but then had to concentrate again to keep it up. Ginny's stingers rapped against the shield at breath-taking frequency, and Harry quickly understood the reason behind her choice of spell. While the Stinging hex was, unlike a properly delivered Punching hex, not powerful in combat situations, it provided a fine distraction when it hit. And Ginny was incredibly fast to cast it. Somehow one of her stingers ended up either through or more probably around his shield, and it hit his left ankle. The sudden pain made him lose his concentration and his shield collapsed.

Harry knew that his ankle was physically just fine, and dared to shift his weight on it, but his nervous system wasn't yet agreeing. He awkwardly fumbled down to his left, and Ginny's stunner missed him by an inch. Kneeling on the ground, he saw her firing another stunning spell at him, and forced his shield up again. The hasty shield absorbed most of the stunner, but some of it got through, and he got blasted backwards with the remaining force. Numbness tried to take him but as there had been barely any magic left in the stunner, he quickly fought it off. Struggling to get up to his feet again, he saw Ginny approach him warily with her wand poised at him, and he shot a hurried pair of punches at her. As she had to protect herself with a shield, he took the time to stand up.

After that, the battle went on for several minutes and neither of them could gain an upper hand. The exchange of spells resumed with fierce intensity, but surprisingly, quickly diminished as the combatants became wary of one another's attacks. Harry was developing a solid fear against Ginny's stingers which came in series and were somehow always taking him by surprise. And Ginny, after taking a direct hit of a couple of Harry's Punching hexes, understood that the boy had finally found out that she could take them as well as anyone and that he wasn't going to hold back anymore. And that scared her a little more than she was willing to admit.

It was also becoming imminent that they both were beginning to tire, both due to the extensive use of magic and the physical activity of dodging. While fighting off the effects of yet another stinger, Harry dodged yet another Ginny's stunner, and began advancing towards her with a desperate war cry. He shot his strongest punch he could muster, followed by another, and another, until nothing but a spark got out of his wand.

Ginny saw him approaching and raised her shield. The first punch hit it with such power that she thought it would collapse right away. Yet it held. The second one not only demolished her shield completely but also made her stumble a few steps back. She instinctively raised her arms to protect herself from the last blow which eventually threw her down and several meters backwards. The fall pushed the breath away from her lungs, yet adrenaline told her to get up and keep fighting. She gathered the energy to lift her wand arm at Harry, only to find out that her wand was missing. With the realization of defeat, exhaustion finally took over her, and she slumped to her back and just panted.

Harry, too, was down, gathering his breath on his knees. He had watched her fall as if in slow motion, and he had seen her wand clatter down behind her as his last Punching hex had found her arm. When she had momentarily tried to get up, he had known that she was unharmed, and the relief had taken the last bit of his energy away. Only then he became aware of the spectators again.

"Bloody hell, Ginny!" Ron yelled, checking on his sister while Hermione took care of Harry. "That was brilliant!"

"Well, thanks, but I lost anyway," Ginny said, now angry for herself. She hadn't seriously believed in her chances against Harry at first. Harry was the Boy Who Lived, he was their DA teacher, and he had confronted Voldemort more often than any wizard alive. But then she had surprisingly been able hold her own against him. And now, with her competitive nature, the narrow defeat frustrated her. "I was so close having his arse kicked!" she shouted, her fists pummelling the ground.

"Ginny, my arse does feel like it's been kicked," Harry said with a grunt, and awkwardly stood up. He rubbed the itching bits of his skin, then lifted his shirt to check the damage. The spots where Ginny's Stinging hexes had hit him were bright red. "Uh, Ginny," he said. "Are you sure that they'll wear off."

"Don't be such a baby, Harry," Ginny retorted with a smirk. "They'll be gone by tomorrow. Besides, I'm sure I have a few bruises myself that I'll find hard to explain mum."

"But," Harry began with a flushing face, and lowered his voice to a whisper almost. "But they look like hickies! And I have some on my neck. There's no way I can hide them."

"Shite. Mum's gonna flip," Ron said. Ginny snickered, but then she realized that it wouldn't be Hermione who'd be taking the blame of making hickeys to Harry, and her smile froze.

Harry sighed, and decided there was nothing he could do about it. He would have to avoid Mrs. Weasley or be prepared for funny faces and a lecture about chastity. Neither option sounded appealing. "Okay, Ron," he then said. "You and Hermione next. Ginny, let's get out of the way."

They all took their positions. "Combatants ready?" Harry yelled and looked at each of them to catch their eyes. "Begin!"

Ron had decided to throw out a quick Tripping jinx, and then bring his shield up against whatever Hermione might have planned for him. He raised his wand but then took a look at her and froze with hesitation. Hermione stood completely still. Her eyes were closed, and she looked defenceless and delicate – and beautiful. It took a second or two for Ron to realize that her lips were moving, she was whispering something, and the tip of her wand was making funny little twists. This couldn't be good.

He yelled the incantation for the Tripping jinx as soon as he came back to his senses, but it came out ill aimed and slow. Hermione flashed her eyes open and barely had to move to dodge it. Then she thrusted her wand ahead, and a greenish light shot out at ground a couple of meters in front of her. Suddenly, as the light faded, there stood an acromantula the size of a large dog. Ron cried in horror as the giant spider scooted at him, leaving a faint cloud of dust behind. He retreated, shooting stunning spells, and screaming all the time, his voice high pitched and tense with panic. He actually hit the monster several times, but each hit did nothing more than made it jump back a little, before advancing at him again. Just as the spider was about to leap and bite its jaws on him, he got contacted by Hermione's stunner. Ron's world went black.

"Well, that was even quicker than I anticipated," Ginny said, a little bit shaken by Hermione's efficiency. Hermione pointed her wand at the spider and with little resistance sucked it back to where it had come from. Harry revived Ron.

"Is it gone? Am I dead?" Ron yelped under the first gasps of breath.

"Yes, it's gone, and you're okay," Harry said, and pulled him up.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! I thought the rules were clear. Nothing dangerous!" Ron shouted.

"Take it easy, Ron," Hermione replied coolly, "I assure you that you were perfectly safe all the time."

"Yeah? It was already about to bite me. I like being safe with my head still on!"

"Ron! I know what I'm doing. I'm sorry that thing freaked you out, but I would never do anything to hurt you. You have to know that!"

She was very close now and he could not help but notice how nice her scent was. Her hands lay on his shoulders, her gaze was honest with a plea, and Ron found his agitation melt away. "Yeah, I know. Sorry for snapping." He gave her a little nudge on her arm, and chortled, "It was a scary spider, though. I never stood a chance. Good thinking, Hermione."

The girl beamed for his praise. "Thanks, Ron. I'm glad we're okay. Next pair up then!" It looked like the most reluctant duellist in the beginning had now become the most eager one. "Are you ready to go up against Ginny? Maybe I should let you catch your breath and duel Harry first," she blabbered.

"Fine, I can go with you first, Hermione," Harry laughed. "I'm still a bit sore from Ginny's stingers, but I think knowing that you'll be conjuring a giant spider will even the odds. I'm not as scared of arachnids as Ron."

"Why do you think it's an acromantula I'm about to summon?" Hermione asked smugly.

"Because once you use the Summon Spider charm, you'll have to stick with it until the end of the tournament. Those are the rules, Hermione," Harry emphasized.

"Yes, the rules. I get it. Whatever you say." But her smile only grew wider.

Shaking off his suspicions Harry moved to his place. He closed his eyes to calm down, took a deep breath, exhaled, and cracked his neck side to side. He glanced at Ginny who was there to set them off and nodded at her to announce his readiness. It was not until that point when he looked at Hermione and took the stance, when he saw that she was already muttering her spell, and her wand made those same twists than with Ron earlier. She was taking a false start. Strictly speaking it might have been against the duelling rules, but it was on a grey area, and Harry was ready to allow it. It really didn't matter that much, he thought.

Indeed, as soon as Ginny announced the start of the battle, they both sprang to action. Harry shoot two Punching hexes at Hermione in order to intercept her spider conjuring. Hermione concentrated on the spell of her own and didn't even see them coming. Yet she was obviously expecting Harry to do exactly what he did, as she quickly dropped herself flat to the ground, and his hexes sailed over her head. At the same time, she pointed her wand ahead, emitting the familiar bright, greenish light.

But to Harry's horror, what appeared was nothing like a spider. The monster was vastly bigger, the size of an African elephant with four short legs, two curvy horns, a whip-like tail, and purple skin. He heard Ron swearing loudly and Ginny letting out a short scream. Harry had planned his tactics with an expectance of a spider, and while this new monster briefly distracted him, his confusion only lasted a moment. He raised his shield just in time to block Hermione's stunner, but then the beast was on him.

Harry dived left, out of the way, and its own momentum took it far behind him before the breaks kicked in. He quickly cast a stunner at Hermione, to keep her occupied. "What the hell is that thing?" he yelled.

"It's a Crumple-Horned Snorkack!" Hermione replied as her shield absorbed his spell.

"That's impossible!" Harry cried back. "They only exist in Luna's imagination!"

"Look out, Harry, maybe the Snorkack doesn't know it," Ginny shouted, pointing at the monster which had taken its turn, and was accelerating again. Harry shot his most powerful stunner at the beast, but then had to dive away again, as his spell didn't even slow it down.

"How can you claim it's the same spell?" he yelled at Hermione while ducking her stunner and then shot a quick punch at her, barely missing.

"It is the same spell," Hermione said. "I do respect the rules!" She shot a stunner, not at him but at the point where she expected he would dodge the charging Snorkack.

Harry saw the stunner in time, but he didn't have room to avoid it because of the monster blocking his way. Then a desperate thought occurred to him, or more likely it was a reflex as he didn't have the luxury of conscious thinking, and he dived under the belly of the beast, and passed between the legs while casting hexes at it at the same time.

He stood up and saw, in the corner of his eye, as Ginny held an astonished smile on her face, as if she had just understood something big. "She's speaking the truth," the girl yelled at him. "It really is the same spell she's using!" Harry didn't see it when she whispered something to her brother's ear, but soon after he got a glance at Ron, eyes wide and mouthing a word "Bloody…"

Harry was having extreme trouble dodging the Snorkack while at the same time trying to fence Hermione's stunners. It left him preciously little time to attack himself, but he tried to do that in every occasion possible. And all the time his mind tried to process the odd feeling that something was off. It only got even more strange when he saw the Weasleys behind the fence again. Ron was cheering loudly at Hermione, pumping his fist up, and Ginny so caught in excitement that she had to jump, her face twisted into her widest smile. They were just all too happy, and not worried for him in the least.

He had stopped trying to hex the monster as nothing he did seemed to make the difference. It also occurred to him how lucky he had been so far with dodging. More than once he had been sure that the beast would stamp him down, but somehow it had always missed him. It had to be a kind of a safety restriction on Hermione's behalf.

Unless… No! Could it be?

He ducked under Hermione's stunner, and quickly shot a single Punching hex at the rampaging monster's feet. As always, it didn't slow it down. It went right through! Only dirt made a burst where his spell hit the ground.

"It's an illusion!" he yelped with astonishment. "It's not real!" And right there and then Harry realized he could easily walk through the image of a beast, and it could not hurt him more than he could touch it.

It looked like the Crumple-Horned Snorkack was getting ready for the final, desperate lunge, as it stopped in front of him, and rose to its hind legs in order to crush him down. As terrifying as it looked, Harry knew it was nothing more than a clever trick. Yet the human instinct to dodge was strong, and the beast's body also blocked his view at Hermione. He took a step left – and walked straight into Hermione's stunner.

The light gradually returned, and three fuzzy figures appeared in Harry's view. "Are you okay?" Hermione's voice asked.

"Yeah," Harry replied, and his eyesight was quickly normalizing. He saw his friends were smiling widely, and he could only do the same. "It was an Illusion charm, Hermione! But I've never seen even Professor Flitwick do a better one. I mean, there were skid marks and mud flying and everything. That was incredible!" He laughed heartily with the relief of the terrible monster not being real, and finished with his uncanny Flitwick imitation, "Fifty points to Gryffindor!"

While Harry was having his fun with the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, Mrs. Weasley sat in the Burrow living room, knitting a jumper. To be exact, she was using her magic to knit two jumpers simultaneously while reading a used Witch Weekly magazine that her neighbour always saved for her. It was only August, but Molly Weasley had learned the hard way that you could never start too early. After all, she did have a husband and seven children of her own, as well as two youngsters whom she almost had come to consider as her own already, and maybe a few others. And they each would receive a jumper for Christmas. At the moment she was working on Arthur's and Bill's since they were the same size, and therefore easy to knit in tandem. She would leave Ron and Harry's jumpers last, as she didn't dare to estimate how much they'd still grow over autumn. And perhaps Ginny, too. Molly frowned. She doubted Ginny would grow much in height, but were the girl anything like her mother, she was soon to receive a prominent addition to her bust circumference. Thankfully, she was skinny. Better make her jumper a loose size, though.

How fast did her babies grow!

And the twins! The house had been so quiet since the twins moved out. They'd still spend some nights at the Burrow, but mostly they were in their shop. Those two had always something suspicious going on, and it usually ended up with a bang. Sooner or later there would be a bang. That was why Molly was so happy to hear the ruckus and uproar from the backyard. It made her home feel Home. And as long there was noise, she wouldn't worry about everyone's well-being. She'd start worrying once it becomes silent. But it wouldn't hurt to check on the youngsters every now and then. She put her knitting work down and headed to the kitchen.

A minute later she appeared at the back door with a basket containing four mugs and a jug. "Hello dears," she said. "You must be thirsty. Have some pumpkin juice." She eyed the kids. They were having a break by the open gate of the backyard fence. They were dirty, bruised, stained, and sweaty. All except Hermione, unsurprisingly. And Harry was taking too much time tying his shoelaces. What was he hiding?

"Is it some muggle sports you're up to again? Like quidditch without brooms?" she asked, trying to keep her voice unsuspicious.

The kids looked at each other and couldn't hold back the laugh. "Yes, it's the, um, boollyfoot," Ginny said, as she sprang up to take the basket from her mum.

"Football," Hermione corrected.

"But we lost the ball into bushes," said Ron quickly before her mother would ask them about a non-existing ball. Harry enthusiastically nodded behind Ron's shoulder.

Molly paused and looked at them each a moment too long, giving the teens a feeling that she was on to them. "Well, go on then. But be careful. I'll be in the kitchen making dinner if you need me," she said, passing the basked to Ginny.

"Thanks, mum," the girl said happily. "We really needed this."

"You're welcome. And Harry!" Molly said, already walking away.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," Harry responded too quickly, and swallowed.

"I recognize a love bite a mile away. With seven children and all the practice of my own so many years back, I should have the experience. Those, my dear, whatever they are, are not hickeys. If they still itch when it's bedtime, come to me and I'll find you an ointment." With that said, she went in and closed the door, grinning at the bursts of laughter from outside.

"Ron, Ginny, you're next," Harry said when everyone had downed their juice and had a short rest. The siblings nodded and moved out to the duelling arena.

"Okay, tactics", Ron thought, as he waited for Harry to set them off. "She'll have a lightning fast start. I need to begin moving so that she can't hex me. Send a Tripping jinx at her while dodging. Then stun her when she's going down. Move – trip – dodge – stun. Should be easy. Move – trip – dodge – stun."

"Begin!" Harry yelled.

Ron began to strafe to his right, at the same time casting his Tripping jinx at Ginny. Her first Stinging hex missed him, but all too soon came the next one, and the next, and still two more that hit him as he wasn't nearly agile enough to dodge them all. Ron saw his jinx hit Ginny, and he would have felt triumphant had there not been several stingers overloading his nerves. All major muscles cramped, and he fell. "Got to – dodge – stun – breathe," he thought, fighting for regaining the control of his body.

Ginny felt a bit overwhelmed by the fact that she had not been able to dodge Ron's attack which had been almost as quick as her own. The Tripping jinx swept her legs off, and her body met the dirt the same time with Ron's. But unlike Ron, she still had control over her upper body. She twisted herself so that she was directly facing Ron and with a careful aim shot her stunner at the practically petrified brother of hers. The duel was over in seven seconds.

Harry and Hermione ran to congratulate Ginny and lifted her up to her feet. She was still somewhat unsteady but smiled widely as she heavily leaned on Harry for support while Hermione revived Ron. The poor boy cried in agony until the stings eased off. It helped a lot as Hermione held him and soothed.

"I told you I can beat you," Ginny gloated when he had calmed down a bit.

"Yeah," Ron replied quietly. "You don't have to rub it in. I knew you'd be tough when I saw your duel with Harry. Congratulations, Gin."

"Gee, thanks Ron."

"You did very well, too, Ron," Hermione said in supportive tone. "It was a good duel. Short, but good. You were quite evenly matched, could've ended up either way."

"Nicely said, Hermione," Ron said, and finally dared a faint smile. "I didn't have the chance to see it that way myself as I was so busy becoming hexed. Rematch tomorrow, Ginny?"

"Of course, dear brother," Ginny grinned. "Whenever you feel the need for humiliation, you just come to me."

"So, only two pairs to go. Who wants to be next?" Harry asked.

"Nah, I think I'm done," Ron said, and slowly stood up. "I feel plastered enough for today. Besides, Harry already whipped me before we even began this tournament. So, it's going to be you, girls."

"Okay, I'm ready in a moment. My legs feel like my own again," Ginny said, and reluctantly detached herself from Harry's supporting embrace. She jumped up and down to refresh her muscles and looked at Hermione. "Unless someone else wants to give up, too."

"Why would I give up?" said the brunette, raising her eyebrows. "I'm the only undefeated one."

"Well, the illusion sort of loses the edge when everyone knows it's an illusion."

"Oh, I think I still have an ace or two in my sleeve," Hermione said, grinning.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Ron announced, "The final event of the day! The most anticipated match of summer. Catfight of the year. On the left corner, the contender, the Burrow Constrictor, Miss Ginnnyyy Weassleyyy!" The crowd, i.e. Harry, went wild with applauses. Ginny's glare told Ron just what she thought about her new stage name. "On the right, the defending champion, the Mad-Eye Muggle, Miss Hermiooneeee Grangeeer!" The crowd went equally wild again. Hermione rolled her eyes – madly.

Ron quickly jumped over the fence and took cover behind the laughing Harry. "Begin when ready!"

Then nothing happened. The girls just stood there, watching each other warily. "I'd like to see the monster you've got planned for me," Ginny said at last, "before I step through it and finish you off."

"How very thoughtful of you, giving me a chance," Hermione said. "I'll try to make you regret it, though. Thanks, Ginny." She concentrated and did the required spell casting things. She opened her eyes but halted right before she'd cast the actual illusion. "Any guesses?" she asked the others with half of a smile.

"A dragon," said Ron immediately. "It has to be a dragon. It's the only thing that's bigger and scarier than what we've seen already."

"I don't know, Ron," Harry said. "She always does the unexpected thing. Maybe it won't be a monster at all."

"You may be on to something, Harry," Ginny pondered. "I was – just before mum delivered the pumpkin juice – wondering how scary she sometimes is when she really puts her mind into it. No offence, Hermione."

"None taken," Hemione said, wondering where the younger girl was heading at.

"That made me think of what would be scarier than Hermione. And the obvious answer is, well, two Hermione's would be scarier than one. I bet she's making an illusion copy of herself, maybe even more than one, so that I wouldn't know which one to hit."

Hermione almost dropped her wand. "Ginny, you don't know how close you guessed! I was thinking about doing exactly that. But then I discarded the idea because so far, I can only make one feasible copy of me, and that wouldn't last long as you could easily hex each one until you found the real me." She paused and raised her wand. "So, eventually I came to think of this kind of a monster." The greenish light shot out again.

Ginny gasped when she saw Hermione's illusion. She was expecting the unexpected, yet nothing quite like this. Standing right between her and Hermione, there was a wall. A solid-looking redbrick monstrosity of a wall, twice the height of an average man, and twice as wide as it was tall. In spite of her shock Ginny didn't forget to raise her shield, and she managed to do it in plenty of time before Hermione's stunner arrived.

The wall completely blocked the view to Hermione so that Ginny couldn't see her. But obviously, Hermione had way to see where Ginny was, as her second stunner hit Ginny's shield again straight into middle, even though the younger girl had moved aside.

Now recovered from the surprise, Ginny grinned, and holding her shield up she approached the wall in order to walk through. But it wasn't as simple as she had imagined. When she moved forward, the wall moved with her to the same direction. She took a few quick steps to her left. The wall moved with her. And then things were about to get from bad to worse, as the far edges of the wall were bending ahead, obscuring even more of Ginny's view. She supposed eventually the wall would form a complete circle around her.

Suddenly, Hermione's stunner came towards her from the flank, bouncing off from the very edge of her shield, and barely missing her. Ginny quickly shot a few Stinging hexes at the general direction where the stunner had come from, and then raised her shield again. Her eyes narrowed as she considered her options. She couldn't just dash through the wall. Hermione could be anywhere and might easily get a stunner in from the flank, or even from behind. And she couldn't rely too much on her shield anymore, as Hermione would be using the cover of the wall to go around to her backside. Sometimes she heard light steps from the other side of the wall, or a twig snapping, and that gave her a general idea of where Hermione was. Too soon the circle closed, and wherever she looked at she would see the wall only.

Then at last came the moment Ginny saw her chance. It had been a gamble, but Ginny had been expecting it when Hermione shot a stunner at Ginny from behind. She had heard Hermione's steps. She had faked that she'd have any idea of Hermione's position. She relied on her quidditch-trained reflexes when she dodged the incoming stunner. She rolled left, swung around, and shot four or five quick stingers with some spread towards the source of the stunner. There was a gasp, a muffled squeak, and the wall flickered when Hermione's concentration became distracted. The wall resumed quickly but Ginny had already gotten a glimpse of the other girl's exact position.

Ginny reacted immediately. She shot one stunner at Hermione, knowing she would have to pull her shield up. Then, as she sprinted towards her, she fired stingers as rapidly as possible. Passing through the wall reminded her of the sensation of entering platform 9¾. And then she was on the other side. Hermione was already moving sideways, about to dodge her continuous flow of Stinging hexes, but Ginny adjusted her aim so that Hermione didn't have a moment to let the shield down and use a stunner instead.

The last few steps closed the gap between the girls.

Hermione's shield may have been the best defence against most kind of magical attacks, but it was useless against the 47-kilo projectile of lean muscle and icy determination that was Ginny Weasley. The smaller and lighter girl leaped up, collided with the brunette at almost full speed, forced her to the ground, and ended up sitting on her waist, with the left hand gripping Hermione's wand arm by the wrist and pinning it down, and the right hand pointing a wand at her temple.

"This is where you let go of your wand," Ginny said triumphantly.

The older girl obeyed, hardly disappointed of the defeat. The wall had already vanished on itself as it needed Hermione's conscious effort to stay up, and it had become obsolete the moment Ginny had passed through. "Well played, Ginny," she said.

"Thanks. It was she scariest brick wall I've ever faced," Ginny replied, standing up. Then she offered Hermione a hand and pulled her up, too. The boys joined them, and they laughed and chatted about their duels for a long time until Mrs. Weasley called them for dinner.

In the evening, when Harry and Ron had retired up to Ron's room in order to apply Mrs. Weasley's ointment, and Hermione was washing up for bed, Ginny helped her mum clean up in the kitchen. "Had a good time today?" her mum asked.

"The best kind of," Ginny replied with a happy smile.

"Good, that's good. I hope the boys didn't give you hard time when you played."

"Don't worry, mum. Whatever they did I was able to pay them back."

"That's my girl! I'm so proud of you. Well, off to bed you go. I can take the rest from here. Thank you for your help."

"Good night, mum," Ginny said.

"Good night, dear," her mum said, giving her a kiss goodnight. "My little constrictor," she added mischievously.