The Master of Death
Chapter 5: The Flamel's and the Duelling Tournament
A/N: The poll is now closed so these are the results.
1) Fleur Delacour: 132 votes.
2) Susan Bones: 119 votes.
3) Tracey Davis/Nymphadora Tonk: 106 votes.
4) Oc: 65 votes.
5) Hermione Granger: 50 votes.
So, Fleur and Susan along with Daphne are in the harem. Just to let you know, romance is not my greatest aspect so please forgive me if it isn't as good as other authors write the romance aspect of the story.
"Normal speak"
'Normal thought'
"Spells,"
§Parseltongue§
"Announcer"
-X- Line Break -X-
Upon arriving at the Kings Cross Station, Harry quickly used Neville's and Theodore's taller than average frames as cover. His friends chuckled at Harry's current predicament. All knew that while Harry wasn't shy of his fame, it didn't mean he had to like the attention he would constantly receive.
Susan and Hannah were the first to break off from their group. Both having spotted their parents - or guardian in Susan's case - talking to one another. Then it was Terry, Peter and Graham. Each of them wishing the small group of four a nice holiday. The four continued to push through the crowds, until they found the people they were looking for.
Neville's grandmother, Augusta, was just like he remembered. Stern looking with out of date robes. Neville's father, was much like Theodore in terms of lankiness and height however, it was obvious that most of his looks came from his mother. Blaise on the other hand, was dark skinned, though she had a lighter skin colour. Despite showing a few signs of aging, for example, a few wrinkles. She was still very beautiful.
Besides them all coming from different factions, each of the parents welcomed his three friends in different ways. Augusta gave Neville a brief hug, ending far too quickly to give any thought of how she felt about her grandson.
Blaise's mother was very affectionate, hugging him tightly and even giving him a kiss on the cheek. Mrs Nott was similar to that of Augusta, while Mr Nott simply gave a tight nod in Theodore's direction. One which was returned equally as stiff.
"So, you are the great Harry Potter?" Mr Nott said in questioning. Harry looked into the man's cold and indifferent gaze and responded with his own.
"Harry Potter, yes. The great Harry Potter, no." Harry replied. Mr Nott nodded his head in turn. Allowing the Potter heir to know that he had passed the first test, the test to see if he was too arrogant and believed in his title. If Harry had, Lord Nott would have no desire to form an alliance.
"Any plans for the holiday, Heir Potter?" Mrs Zabini asked.
"Yes, I plan to travel to France and spend my time there for the holiday." Here Neville, Theodore and Blaise smirked, knowing exactly what Harry planned to do. "I also plan to compete in the Duelling tournament held there."
"Duelling? I didn't think you were into that." Augusta answered.
"I don't, but I wish to be remembered for being something more than just the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry replied strongly.
"Then we shall come watch you." Neville said, before nervously looking towards his grandmother, the woman in question simply gave a roll of her eyes before nodding her head in agreement.
"Yes, we shall." Now she turned to face her grandson. "We have to get home. I wish you the best of luck Harry, Lord and Lady Nott, Lady Zabini." With that Augusta left, but not before Neville said goodbye to the others.
"I believe we shall also follow Lady Longbottom's direction." Lady Nott said, gaining nods from her husband to Mrs Zabini.
"See you around Harry." Theodore said.
"Yea, perhaps I might come watch you in the duelling tournament." Blaise continued. Lady Zabini simply smiled at her son before dragging him away.
Harry watched them go, feeling a sense of hollowness in his heart. Watching three families together, it made him feel alone. He clenched his fists tightly at the thought of his lack of family. One day, he vowed. One day he would have people he could call family. It was only a matter of time.
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Diagon Alley was quieter than it was at the start of the school term, but was much busier than it was during the Christmas holiday. Thankfully, his baseball hat kept his scar and eyes hidden from the world. Meaning, he looked like an ordinary child, albeit one with magical abilities, making him anything but normal.
Entering Gringotts, he walked towards the centre desk, just like when he was first here. The Goblin was once again completely oblivious to the wizard in front of him.
"I'm here to see my account manager." Harry spoke up. The Goblin looked up, studied him and then nodded his head. A Goblin soon appeared and led Harry back down towards his account manager's room. Upon entering the room, he found Ripclaw already waiting for him, behind him as well were four other Goblins, each going through their own stack of papers.
"Ah, Harry, it is nice to see you again." Ripclaw announced, Harry took note of the sneer that crossed the faces of the other Goblins in the room at the mention of his name.
"Yes, it is good to see you too, Ripclaw. It seems you've gone up in the world however, they don't seem to like me very much." Harry declared. Ripclaw chuckled in amusement before turning back to face the other Goblins. He must have done something as they quickly bowed their heads and went back to work.
"They are the previous account managers of your other accounts. However, since you gave me ownership over their managing they went without a job for a while, as you can tell." Here they both looked at the Goblins. "They weren't exactly happy. Now though, they work for me." Nodding his head, both Harry and Ripclaw took a seat on separate sides of the table.
"So, what have you got for me?" Harry asked. Ripclaw smirked savagely and pulled out a piece of paper. He checked over it for a minute, making sure that everything that needed to be on there was there before handing it over. Taking it, Harry began to read through it.
Identity:
Hadrian James Potter.
Immediate Family:
James Potter, Lily (Evans) Potter.
Lordships:
The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter.
The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell.
The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Le Fay
The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw.
The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Albion.
Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter:
Potter Main Vault: 2,469,217 Galleons, 10 Sickles, 490 Knuts, including family Grimoire.
Potter Trust Vault: 1,080 Galleons, 5 Sickles, 200 Knuts.
Potter Manor and fifty acres of surrounding land.
Diagon Alley Shops:
2nd Hand Brooms, Amanuensis Quills, Apothecary, Broomstix, Eeylops Owl Emporium, Junk Shop, Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions, Magical Menagerie, Obscurus Books, Potage's Cauldron Shop, Rosa Lee Teabags, Scribbulus Writing Instruments, Second-Hand Bookshop, Second-Hand Robes, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, Sugarplum's Sweet Shop, TerrorTours, Twilfitt and Tatting's.
Knockturn Alley Shops:
Beard Trimming, Chimney Sweep Elf, The Coffin House, Dystyl Phaelanges, E.L.M and Wizards Undertakers & Embalmers, Fledermaus and Tanner Bats & Skins, Markus Scarrs Indelible Tattoos, McHavelock's Wizarding Headgear, Moribund's, Noggin and Bonce, Tallow and Hemp Toxic Tapers, Trackleshanks Locksmith, Shyyverwretch's Venoms and Poisons, The Spiny Serpent, The Starry Prophesier, The White Wyvern, Wizarding Supplies, Ye Olde Curiosity Shop and Msaw Ætare.
Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell:
Peverell Main Vault: 7,340 Galleons. 10,000 books including the family Grimoire and 100,000,000 Galleons in liquidated treasures.
Seventy-Five acres of land (currently been built upon).
Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Le Fay:
Le Fay Main Vault: 306,900 Galleons, 25,700 Sickles including family heirloom, library and Grimoire.
Le Fay Manor and Godric's Hollow
Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw:
Ravenclaw Main Vault: 482,600 Galleons, 37,159 Sickles and Family library and Grimoire.
Hogsmeade and forty acres of land in the surrounding area (currently being built upon).
Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Albion:
Albion Main Vault: Family heirloom, library and Grimoire.
Island of Albion (currently being built upon).
"You've done well, very well." Harry said in awe at what his Account Manager had accomplished.
"We Goblins can do anything we put our minds to; if properly motivated." Harry knew exactly what Ripclaw meant by motivation, money.
"Thank you, your help shall not go unrewarded." Harry pulled out a red stone, one which Ripclaw instantly recognised, if the widening of his eyes was anything to go by. "The Philosophers Stone, said to be able to turn anything into gold with a single touch." At the mention of gold, the rest of the Goblins stopped what they were doing and looked up. "While I will not give to you to keep, I'm sure lending it to you for the remainder of the two weeks will do me no harm. After all, the summer holidays do not start until that time." Ripclaw nodded his head and dumbly took the stone. It was amusing to watch.
"Then I shall put this stone to good use. Are we keeping to our earlier agreement?" Ripclaw asked. Harry shook his head. The earlier agreement was that Ripclaw would gain thirty percent of any profit earned by Harry, while the remaining seventy percent would go to the boy himself.
"No, you can use sixty percent of the gold for your own uses. While I want forty percent to be transferred into the Potter Main Vault. In return for this, I want the location of the Flamel's." Ripclaw studied Harry for a few moments before giving a terrifying smirk.
"Then consider this a deal well struck." Harry and Ripclaw shook hands, something that was rare to see amongst wizards and Goblins. "Have you got your Portkey from Moribund's?"
"Yea, I got it in the Yule break." Harry soon left afterwards and just like in Harry's first visit, Ragnok entered the room.
"What has this visit awarded us with?" Ragnok asked while walking towards the desk. Ripclaw placed the Philosopher's Stone down on the table and Ragnok brought it up to his eyes. "The boy surprises me more and more. With this, dear brother we can bring our family back to its former glory. Goblin and Wizards alike will fear the descendants of Urg the Unclean once more." Ragnok grinned savagely, all the while Ripclaw stared at him.
'You always followed after father, brother. However, I am my mother's son and when you least expect it, I shall kill you for what you did.' Ripclaw thought.
-X- Line Break -X-
Once he landed, Harry looked at the piece of rope in his hand. He had heard that travelling by Portkey was uncomfortable, like a hook somewhere behind the navel pulling him. Luckily, he managed to stand upright, even though it was his first time travelling by Portkey. It seems the key to all magical travelling was to begin walking as soon as you started using magical transportation, except for the Knight Bus.
Looking around, he saw himself in the French Ministry of Magic. Unlike the British Ministry of Magic, it was built out of white marble instead of black stone. However, the layout was similar with a few differences. More specifically the methods of entering the Ministry building and the statues.
Walking forwards, he came towards a large line of check-in desks. The woman behind the desk looked up from her clipboard after finishing writing what needed to be done.
"Next." Walking forwards, he watched the woman place down her clipboard. "Wand please." Handing over his wand, the woman cast a spell upon it, and Harry watched as his name appeared upon the paper. "Hadrian James Potter; that is your name?" Harry nodded his head. "How long are you staying?"
"I'm staying till the Duelling tournament is over with, but I might be staying longer." The woman nodded her head and handed him back his wand. She picked up the clipboard and wrote down what he said.
"Ok, once the duelling tournament is over with I need you to come back and go to Magical Tourism Office and tell them of your extended stay." Harry nodded his head. "Please step through here." Harry did so and felt magic pass through him. "Right, I hope you enjoy your stay."
Harry allowed his mind to think over what had happened over the previous two weeks. Ripclaw had made a large profit, a total of one hundred thousand galleons, and was still making more from the all the gold he had earned. However, he had looked on-edge, as if something was bothering him. It was confusing and worrying. What could make a hardened Goblin like Ripclaw nervous?
Not only that, but Ripclaw may have bent the rules slightly to allow him to gain hold of the Potter grimoire. So, he had spent two weeks learning from it. Unsurprisingly, the Potter's were masters of Battle Transfiguration, just like his father apparently.
That, and with the book on Advanced Transfiguration from Susan, made for two weeks of constant training that many would have thought insane.
Every morning he would get up and run all the way around Diagon Alley from seven o'clock to eight o'clock. Then he would spend an hour working on Occlumency to calm his mind and his body. Then he would spend two hours working on making sure that he retained what he learnt from Professor Flitwick. Finally, he would spend time reading through his books on advanced Charms and Transfiguration and the Potter grimoire. Performing the magic that was in there.
While he was not one to be overconfident and arrogant in his skills, but he doubted that there would be many if not any that would be able to stop him from winning the tournament.
Walking through the streets of the French version of Diagon Alley, he looked around at each of the shops. Most were similar to those in Diagon Alley. He entered the book shop and looked around. There were a few books upon the history of Magical France, something which he picked up along with more on Charms and Transfiguration. He had a quick skim read of them all and found that the books on Transfiguration were the same as the ones he already had in his possession however, the books on Charms about three of them covered things about stuff he didn't know.
So, he took the three books on Charms and the books on the history of Magical France and bought them with the money he had brought with him.
Stepping out of the shop, Harry pulled out his wand and whispered, "Point Me."Instantly his wand moved around like a compass before stopping in a single direction. He followed it, sometimes it would change directions and Harry would then move in that direction. However, once he came out of an alleyway onto a large road where there seemed to be nothing except empty and abandoned shops. As he exited onto this road, his wand began spinning wildly. Knowing this was the place, Harry pulled out a slip of paper and read the contents. As soon as he did he looked up and watched as the area shimmered before revealing a large dense forest. Looking around to see if anyone could see him, Harry entered the forest and began walking through it.
He was barely three steps into the forest before a large number of bushes behind him blocked off the exit and all the lights disappeared.
"Lumos." Instantly light filled the area, allowing him to see around him. It was done just in time as well because a large branch swung down towards him. "Shit!" Jumping backwards, he rolled along the ground and brought his wand to bare. "Incendio!" He roared and unleashed a large wave of flames that engulfed the trees immediately in front of him. Using the new path formed for him, he ran forwards. Making sure to avoid any branches being swung at him from the multiple Whomping Willows that made up the entire forest.
He ran for what felt like hours before he found himself back in the same place as last time.
"What the?"
"Stupefy." A voice sounded from behind him. It was distinctly male, but that was all he managed to pick up before darkness claimed him.
-X- Line Break -X-
Nicolas Flamel was not one to be on edge. He had fought many powerful wizards who had come for the Philosopher's Stone and each time, he had defeated them. However, all of them had paid the Goblins to reveal information on their whereabouts. He had worked out a deal with them last century that would stop them from doing so. Even then, he and his wife, Perenelle, had constantly moved their house from place to place.
The only people that knew of his house's location, was his wife, Dumbledore and the Goblins.
His wife would never reveal their location and Dumbledore was far too scared of Perenelle to tell anyone. That left only the Goblins. It was worrying to know that the Goblins had broken their agreement. It was made even worse by the fact that he and his wife needed the Goblins more than they needed them.
"Has he woken up yet?" Turning to the right, Nicolas watched his wife move into the room. While aged, looking much like a woman in her late fifties, she was still beautiful.
"No, not yet." He turned back to face the young boy as his wife placed a small wet cloth upon his forehead.
"Jesus, Nic. How hard did you hit him?" Perenelle asked.
"I only used a low powered stunning spell." Nicolas tried to reason, but he soon grew nervous by the stare he received from his wife. "What, I took him out. Excuse me for acting first and asking questions later. From what I remember-"
"Don't you dare bring her into this! You know very well that she was trying to kill you and you still brought her to your bed!" A groan from the bed stopped them from arguing further. The two watched as Harry looked around the room before looking down at the ropes tying him to the bed.
"About time you woke up." Nicolas spoke up, causing Harry to face him. Then his eyes strayed back down.
"Sorry to break it to you old man, I ain't into bondage, or older men." Harry snarked causing Perenelle to cover her mouth with her hand to muffle her amusement. Nicolas on the other hand was not as amused, if his twitching left eye was anything to go by.
"Watch yourself brat. I'm not into you, nor am I into bondage."
"I'm sorry, do you remember when asked for your opinion. Yea, me neither." This time everyone heard the small giggle of amusement that escaped from Perenelle. Nicolas drew his wand and pointed it at Harry.
"Alright, enough you two." Perenelle said, effectively stopping both of them from doing anything else. "What's your name child?"
"Hadrian James Potter."
"Now then, I believe that I speak for both myself and my husband when I ask, what are you doing here?" Harry looked between the two of them before sighing.
"I don't know if you know this or not, but the Philosopher's Stone was…"
"In Hogwarts. We know. We gave it to Dumbledore because he said he was trying to find out who among the staff were loyal and who were not." Nicolas explained.
"Yea, well one Professor, Professor Quirinus Quirrell; he tried to steal it. I also admit with five others, planned to steal it." It was obvious to Harry that Perenelle was the calm and collected one, and Nicolas was brash and hot-headed.
"So, you had a hand in our Stone being broken?" Perenelle pressed further.
"Broken?" Harry asked in confusion. "I managed to steal the Stone and killed Professor Quirrell through pure luck to get it. I guarantee you that the Philosopher's Stone is not broken. I even allowed the Goblins to use it so that they would give me your location."
"So that's how you did it." Nicolas said in wonderment. "That was smart, I'll give you that. The Goblins have been trying to get hold of our Stone for a while now. Do they still have it?"
"No. I loaned it to them for two weeks. I gained part of the profit and your location and they gained most of the profit in return."
"So, where's the Stone?" It was Perenelle this time that asked the question.
"I don't know. One of my associates has hold of it for the rest of week and then he gives it to someone else to hide. For all I know they could have it on them right now." Perenelle and Nicolas nodded their head at the logic.
"What do you want in return for our Stone?" Perenelle questioned.
"You've been around for six hundred years, maybe more. I bet you have learned and seen all sorts of magic in that time. I want you to teach me everything you know."
"Fine, we'll do that." Nicolas said quickly.
"Swear a magical oath." Seeing the glare sent to him by Nicolas he smirked. "I'm not some naïve child. I know that if I gave you the Stone there is nothing that will stop you from breaking your end of the deal. There's a piece of paper in my pocket that I need you to read out, on it is my list of demands. Just to let you know, both of you have to do this."
"It is alright, Nicolas." Perenelle placed a hand on Nicolas' shoulder, effectively calming him. Slowly, Nicolas moved forward and grasped hold of Harry's hand. "Will you, Nicolas Flamel, swear to teach everything you know to Hadrian James Potter?"
"I will." Nicolas ground out. A slither of red magic shot from Perenelle's wand and wrapped around the clasped hands of Nicolas and Harry.
"Will you, Nicolas Flamel, swear to keep no piece of information secret from Hadrian James Potter?"
"I will."
"Will you, Nicolas Flamel, swear to not harm Hadrian James Potter without his permission?"
"I will." Perenelle nodded her head as a sign of everything having been completed. He looked towards his wife. Husband and wife swapped positions.
"Will you, Perenelle Flamel, swear to teach everything you know to Hadrian James Potter?"
"I will."
"Will you, Perenelle Flamel, swear to keep no piece of information secret from Hadrian James Potter?"
"I will."
"Will you, Perenelle Flamel, swear to not harm Hadrian James Potter without his permission?"
"I will." Turning to Harry who looked pleased at the events, she asked, "Are we done?" Harry nodded his head. With a wave of his wand, she freed Harry from his bonds and the first thing he did was rub his wrists.
"I'll get in contact with my associate. I'm partaking in the Duelling tournament, he will be there with the Stone. I'll give it to you afterwards." The two Flamel's agreed, though Nicolas was hesitant.
"The tournament is in two days, is it not?" Nicolas asked. Harry nodded his head as an answer. "Then you best prepare yourself. You've blackmailed yourself into becoming my apprentice, then I will expect you to win." Smirking, Harry watched the two leave the room before heading towards the second door in the room. When he opened it up, he saw that it was just a simple bathroom.
Meanwhile, Nicolas and Perenelle walked down the corridor.
"You were very out of character love." Perenelle finally broke the silence that plagued them. Nicolas snorted and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"I know. I wanted to see how he reacted to different types of people and he did very well." Perenelle nodded her head, knowing that her husband liked to do all sorts of things to test people. "He has potential. Lots of it. Then again, I should have expected nothing less, Albus always had a knack for finding those with potential."
"Will you introduce him to them?"
"Yes, if he wants to learn what I know. He will need to receive training from them first. But right now, I can teach him a few things for now."
-X- Line Break -X-
"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen to the Under 13's World Duelling Championship. We have 256 competitors, each vying for the title as the Under 13's world champion duellist. Each competitor will compete in one v one matches until only one stands. Now for the rules…" The rules were what one would expect, no outside interference, no dark magic, so on and so forth.
Harry sat in the competitor's booth, dressed in a simple black t-shirt and pants. In his right hand he was gripping his custom wand tightly. His emerald eyes panned over the booth and looked around at the competitors he could see that were competing in his box.
One hundred and twenty-eight competitors in each box. Only one winner from each box could go to the final. He planned to be that victor. From what he could tell, the competitors were bragging about their power. It was foolish, as they were supplying the enemies with information, but there was the chance that they were giving false information. So, for now, Harry planned to take whatever they said with a grain of salt.
In the two days he had been at the Flamel's, Nicolas and Perenelle had made him brush up on the skills he had. They said that having better skill with the basics would beat any of the weakly controlled advanced magic.
"Let the first match begin, will…" Harry watched as each duel was fought. Some had skill, others power, others control. Each duel that went by, Harry would take note of everyone's areas of expertise. By the time it came to his match, he knew a bit of what the winners of the previous matches could do. "Will Hadrian Potter and Absolon Martin, please come down to the arena floor."
Harry quickly walked down towards the arena, in front of him was his opponent. Just by the way he walked, Harry could tell he was a pompous fool who believed that this would be an easy fight.
Walking onto the arena, Harry turned to face Absolon. The boy had long blonde hair pulled back into a topknot and blue eyes. Even from this distance he could tell that Absolon was arrogant. Smirking, Harry relaxed his posture and made sure that there seemed to be an air of indifference and boredom in him. It got the desired result as Absolon ground his teeth in anger.
"Are you ready?" The referee asked Absolon, who nodded his head. "Are you ready?" Harry nodded his head. "Fight!" From his wand a cannonball like noise sounded, signalling the start of the duel.
As soon as the signal was given, Absolon sprang into action. His wand twirling though the wand movements. One thing Harry noticed was that he wasn't very fast.
"Depulso! Diffindo! Diffindo!" Harry slightly moved his body to the left, avoiding the banishing charm. The next two severing charms were both done so that they cut through the air, horizontally. One was meant to aim for his chest, the second for his knees. Neither would kill him, but both would injure him. That was if he didn't jump through the middle of the two attacks.
Rolling along the ground, Harry thrust his wand in Absolon's direction.
"Bombarda." He said quietly. The explosive charm struck the ground and launched Absolon off the duelling arena.
"In an impressive display of agility, Hadrian Potter has defeated Absolon Martin with a single spell!" There was a large cheer from the British crowd, with a polite applause from the people he assumed to be from different countries. Smirking, Naruto walked back towards the competitor's booth, those that had once judged him with distaste and disgust, now judged him with nervousness present in their eyes.
It made his smirk deepen, they had dismissed him as being the British's poster boy with no real power, but they realised that their assumption was wrong.
Now he was a threat that needed to be watched carefully if they hoped to win. They needed to study him, watch how he thought to make sure that when they fought him, they had a chance.
Two hours went by quickly, the only thing that remained was the quarter, semi and the finals themselves. Out of all the competitors that remained, there were only two people he recognised, Sue Li a half-blood witch of Asian descent and heiress to the Ancient and Noble House of Li. Then there was Daphne Greengrass, a Pureblood witch and heiress to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass.
Daphne was in his box however; Sue Li was in the other.
Overall though, Sue Li was by far the most skilled for their age group. She had speed, precision and understanding of duelling tactics. If he was a betting man, he would bet on Sue Li to make it to the final. In his box, he had no doubt it would be him. There was no one of real note so far, though from what he had seen there was only two people that could challenge him.
Daphne Greengrass and Akihiko Fukushima. Daphne was a duellist much like Sue Li, relying on speed, precision and her mind to help her win. Akihiko however, relied on brute force and wide damage spread attacks. Both would require a certain skill set to defeat. Lucky for him, he had those skill sets.
"It's been a long day. We've seen many skilled young duellists try their hardest." Harry snorted at that bit of the commentator's speech, many of those so called 'duellists' didn't know the difference between a curse and a hex. "But we are reaching the finals and now these eight duellists are the only ones standing. First up, a young wizard who has proven himself to love causing chaos and destruction, I give to you Akihiko Fukushima of Japan!" There was a loud round of applause from the Asian crowd. Each of them pleased someone from their continent had made it this far. "And a boy shrouded in mystery, having slain a Dark Lord as a child, slaying a Troll and proving himself to be a skilled duellist. I give to you, Hadrian James Potter of Britain." Again, there was a round of applause.
The two fighters arrived on the duelling arena and bowed towards each other before getting into a ready stance. Akihiko's was a square on stance with his knees slightly bent and his wand pointed forward. A perfect stance for someone who is a wizard preferring wide area damage spell.
Harry's stance on the other hand was one suited for a speed type fighter. It had been his preferred fighting style as it suited his natural speed and toned body. Not only that but it served to give false information to anyone wishing him harm. Call him paranoid, but he would rather have them believe he wasn't a powerhouse and just a speed type fighter so that could overwhelm them when push came to shove.
The stance itself involved him stood side on, with his left foot at the front. His wand was held in his right hand, hidden behind his back. There was no tensing of muscles, it was all relaxed allowing him the chance to move at a moment's notice, unlike Akihiko's whose main way of avoiding was to use a shield or use the debris around them as cover.
"Duellist ready?"" Akihiko nodded to the referee. "Duellist ready?" Harry also nodded his head and studied Akihiko, said person was more focused on the referee.
Foolish mistake.
-X- Line Break -X-
Augusta looked down at her grandson who was sat beside Blaise Zabini and Peter Pike. The three of them were watching Harry tear his way through the competition. Each victory that he won, they would give a cheer for their friend just like everyone else supporting one of the remaining British competitor's.
Beside her was Mrs Zabini, who she had learned was called Giulia Zabini. The two women had conversed very little over time. Even now with the youngest generation of their family being friends, they did not converse. On her other side, sat Mr and Mrs Pike. From what she remembered, Mr Pike had once been a duellist however, he had never progressed far.
"He is quite skilled is he not, Lord Pike?" Augusta asked.
"Yes, very much so." He studied Harry's form before giving a whistle of appreciation. "Heir Potter's form is very impressive. Almost flawless, just enough holes in it to invite attack, but I can tell by the way he stands he put them there on purpose."
"So, Harry wants them to attack him?" Blaise questioned. The adults looked down to see that the three young wizards had turned to listen in on what they had to say.
"Yes, he wants them to attack so that he can use their own attack against them. Watch." Lord Pike pointed towards the duelling arena where the duel had just begun.
-X- Line Break -X-
"Fight!" The referee shouted and instantly Akihiko started off with multiple wide area damage spells.
"Confringo! Expulso! Reducto! Bombarda!" The four spells were very powerful and very advanced. Each of them were slow. Akihiko had the power to do large amounts of damage, but not the control to increase its speed. For those two things were needed for a spell to be truly effective. Akihiko only had one.
Quickly, Harry stepped forward while simultaneously leaning his body to the side. The Blasting curse struck the ground behind him and caused an explosion. The more advanced version of the Blasting curse shot towards him, but Harry repeated his similar movement. This time however, he stepped to the right and pushed off his right foot, flipping over the Reductor curse before rolling underneath the final spell.
His wand flicked out and the debris from behind him changed into arrows that all turned to point at Akihiko. The boy in question took a step back in shock at the sheer number of arrows. Another flick of his wand and the arrows all shot towards the Japanese duellist, who used his own wand to conjure up a small slab of stone.
"Incendio!" Akihiko roared, using Harry's surprise at seeing conjuration from someone so young to his advantage. Pouring most of his magic into the spell, Akihiko watched as the wave of flames flew towards Harry at great speeds. Harry meanwhile, was shocked at the amount of magic being channelled into the spell. If he had to guess, Akihiko was of equal strength to him in terms of pure magic.
Grinning at the thought of a challenge. Harry prepared himself for what he was planning to do.
It had been something he found in the Potter Grimoire. A spell created by his grandfather. He had heard stories of both his father's and grandfather's skills in Transfiguration magic, but his grandfather was also said to be able to do some amazing things with magic. It was a spell he created during World War Two when he fought Gellert Grindelwald's forces. Despite what Magical Britain thought, Lord Voldemort was not the most powerful Dark Wizard to ever live. In fact, he didn't even register in the top twenty most powerful Dark wizards to ever live.
Gellert Grindelwald did and was a large fan of using Fiendfyre in open combat. To stop this, his grandfather had created a spell that would compress the fire into a single point before launching it back at his opponent with twice as much power. It also worked just fine on normal fire spells.
"Ignis rediero!" The spell translated to 'I return fire,' and it did exactly what it said it did.
The flames that many believed would consume Harry Potter whole, began compressing into a single ball in front of his wand. Harry in turn was hunched over as sweat dripped down the sides of his face, with his brow furrowed in concentration.
Akihiko watched in shock as more and more of his fire was compressed into a single point, until it resembled a tennis ball. Then, his magical control exploded, and the fire shot back into the direction it came and Akihiko had to hastily jump off the duelling arena to avoid been burnt to a crisp.
When he landed on the ground, the Japanese duellist watched as the flames continued forwards until they slammed against a magical barrier that stopped them from progressing.
Seeing this, Harry stopped supplying magic into the spell allowing the flame to dissipate.
Silence followed as the audience tried to wrap their minds around what just happened. Slowly, one person clapped and then that turned into two until everyone was clapping at the performance given to them.
"I don't believe it! In an excellent display of an unknown classification of magic, Hadrian Potter has shocked us all by turning Akihiko Fukushima's own attack against him! With it, Hadrian Potter advances to the semi-finals!" The announcer exclaimed.
Once Harry and Akihiko had gone their separate ways, the announcer began speaking once more.
"For the next match we have, Daphne Greengrass of Britain! A speed type duellist much like Hadrian Potter. Her opponent, Aleksandar Lyubomir. Another speed type duellist! Who will win?!" There was a loud cheer from the crowd as they cheered for their chosen duellist.
For a few moments, neither competitor moved as they both studied one another's stances, before in an unspoken agreement, fired two knockback jinxes. Both blue spells zipped past each other and went straight towards the other duellist. Aleksandar raised a shield to block the spell, while Daphne simply moved to the side and avoided it barely.
Due to not having to lower a shield, Daphne could instantly began firing spell after spell at Aleksandar. All were generally basic spells such as knockback jinxes, banishing charms and severing charms. None of them pierced Aleksandar's shield, but each forced him back ever so slightly.
Harry had to admit, that as he watched Daphne duel she presented a beautiful image. Each movement was graceful and elegant. The very image of nobility.
"She has a certain elegance to her, doesn't she?" A voice sounded from behind. Turning around, Harry found himself looking at Nicolas Flamel.
"You do know that this room is reserved for competitors only." Harry replied blandly.
"I'm not stupid, Hadrian. This room is reserved for finalists and their coaches. I believe I count as a coach, after all I helped you prepare for this, did I not?" Snorting, Harry turned back to the arena where Aleksandar was launching his counter assault. It was plainly obvious to anyone that understood duelling that Daphne was simply allowing him to exhaust himself while regaining her magic back.
"So, when do you plan to teach me?"
"I don't." Seeing Harry turn to face him with a glare and his emerald green eyes glowing brightly, he raised his hands in a placating manner. "I have spent centuries learning to perfect every magic I could get my hands on. I, in turn, have passed my teachings on to others. Seven others. To learn from me, you must first learn from those seven."
"And where exactly are these seven?" His voice was filled mockery. "And how do I even know they are still alive?"
"They are still alive because I have gifted them with a Philosopher's Stone of their own. As for their whereabouts, the Seven Wonders of the World, where things of their own creation." Sighing, Harry turned back to the arena as the Quarter-finals drew to a close.
"So, they are at the Seven Wonders of the World?"
"Yes, unless they have moved. Now, have you got my Stone?" Nicolas asked.
"No, I'm getting it afterwards." Nicolas nodded his head. "Speaking of Stones. From what everyone has said, you only created one, but now you are saying you have seven."
"Contrary to popular belief, Dumbledore was never my partner in creating the Philosopher's Stone. In fact, he was only ever my student. One day, he came across the Stone and had an infatuation with it. I decided to sate his curiosity and help him create one of his own. I never taught him the true recipe, keeping key parts from him, but once he had done he had explained to the world of his 'creation.' After that I refused to teach him anything else." Nicolas snorted as he remembered Dumbledore's foolish actions. "It seems you're up."
Harry looked down to the arena to see that Daphne Greengrass was already making her way towards it.
"I repeat, will Hadrian Potter of Britain come down to the duelling arena."
"Good luck." Harry waved over his shoulder in response.
-X- Line Break -X-
Entering the arena, Harry stared at Daphne Greengrass. His stance was slouched, and he had an easy-going smile on his face.
"It's good to see you again Daphne." Harry instantly took note of her gaze growing colder. "What, am I still unable to call you by your first name? Ok. How about a little bet? If I win, then you have to make an attempt at getting to know me. If you win, I will leave you alone unless it is business related. What'd you say?"
"Fine." Harry smirked at that. If he managed to get the victory here, which he would, then he could potentially get closer to Daphne, and by extension her father. With the Greengrass' on his side he would have direct relations to the Neutral faction and all the alliances part of it.
"Duellist ready? Duellist ready? Fight!" Instantly, Daphne started the fight she always did. With a Knockback jinx. Raising his wand, he knocked the spell to the side before whipping his wand in the opposite direction.
"Diffindo!"
"Protego!" The shielding charm blocked the severing charm easily and then Daphne instantly went on the offensive. "Confringo! Expulso! Petrificus Totalus! Locomotor Mortis! Reducto!" Each spell shot towards him and Harry carefully avoided each one. Knowing that if a single one hit him, it would injure him greatly.
As each spell missed him by a hairs breadth, he could feel the magic brimming in each one. He didn't know the full extent of Daphne's magical core, but he knew that she was both extremely powerful and hiding it like he was, or was aiming to finish him quickly. But from the way she was heavily breathing, he could see that it was the latter and not the former. It was a shame really, he had looked forward to facing her. Now, she was just a disappointment.
Sighing at the loss of a good fight. Harry readied his magic before channelling it through his wand.
"Bombarda!" He didn't stop there and raced after her just in case she managed to stay on the arena. Something she did as she skilfully manoeuvred the debris away from her body. Harry thrust his wand forward as a cover image while swiping his left hand to the right behind his back.
Instantly an unknown force knocked Daphne off the arena.
"Amazing! Daphne once again displayed a great deal of magical knowledge as she tried to end the match quickly! But Hadrian Potter once again showed his great agility, precision, and awareness to quickly dispatch his opponent!" The commentator waited until the crowd had quietened before continuing. "Will Sue Li and…"
Harry drowned out the sound and instead focused on the retreating figure of Daphne Greengrass. Quickly catching up, he fell into step beside her.
"So, it seems I won our bet, Daphne." Harry finally said.
"You did. Have you come to rub that fact in?" Turning to face Daphne who had stopped to regard him coldly, but he could see the anger in her eyes.
"No, I have not. I was rather hoping to start that little friendship we talked about."
"You talked about, you mean." Daphne corrected, and Harry nodded his head.
"Yes. The friendship I talked about. I can honestly tell you that I had no interest in rubbing-in my victory over you." Daphne regarded him for a few more moments before giving a stiff nod and began walking again. "Mind telling me why you're so annoyed at me? Besides the fact I beat you."
"The tournament was my way of being known as something more than a witch or the heiress of the Greengrass family. To separate myself from all other pureblood witches that are content to be a simple trophy wife." Harry nodded his head. Any pureblood or half-blood knew that witches were sold off to families with the greatest influential power to incur good will and alliances.
"I see."
"No, you don't!" Daphne snapped in a rare show of emotion. "No one in the history of your family has been a Slytherin. They don't know what happens inside it. You may have charisma and political skills that make you formidable and a contender in the house, but that alone doesn't make up for your lack of awareness on the inner workings of Slytherin house."
"Do tell." Harry finally said after a moment's silence. His eyes just as cold and indifferent as Daphne's. "As your friend, I may be able to help you. But I can only do that when I'm aware of what I need to know." Daphne stared at him for a few moments before finally releasing a sigh, knowing that she may need his help later on.
"When Slytherin witches enter their third year, there's a ritual or tradition that Slytherin's have followed since its founding." Harry didn't need to be a genius to guess what this ritual was. "The older Slytherin boys are allowed entry into the girl's dorm and unless you have sufficient protections then…" She left everything else open for Harry to figure out himself.
"Oh."
"My family's power will only protect me for so long. No one except the potential suitors my father is looking into would dare do anything to me. This tradition is the way many suitors are chosen." Harry nodded his head in understanding. It made sense, if a suitor could overpower and bypass any defences placed would be worthy. "If I won the tournament it would mean my father would have to set a different task for suitors."
"To beat you in a duel?" Harry questioned, gaining a nod of the head from Daphne. "What would happen if I were to declare you and anyone else under the protection of the Potter family?"
"Then the suitors would have to defeat you before going on to me and the others."
"I see." Harry hummed in thought for a few moments as he mulled over the idea for a few moments. "Then, I shall officially declare you under the Potter family's protection at the start of the year."
Silence prevailed for a few moments.
"Thank you." It was but a whisper, silent and gentle like a breeze. However, Harry heard it clearly and he smiled at seeing his offer seemingly get through Daphne's façade.
"I'll see you around Daphne." Another nod was given as an answer and the two heirs parted. "Oh, a quick word of advice." Daphne turned around to regard Harry with curiosity. "Don't start with the Knockback jinx, it's quite predictable." Nodding her head, Daphne continued to walk away.
-X- Line Break -X-
To say the crowd was shocked was an understatement. Many had assumed, rightfully so, that Sue Li would be the victor and would progress into the finals. Instead it had been James Smith from America. The boy had shown great aptitude for the shielding charm, capable of blocking any spell and physical attack sent his way. Nothing that Sue Li tried got through his shield and then, in a single strike he had knocked her off the duelling arena.
Harry himself was shocked. He had fully expected that Sue Li would have progressed. She was far more skilled, had a greater repertoire of spells and her physical capabilities were much greater.
His eyes however, had picked up a certain anomaly surrounding James at all times. Sure, when a spell would come straight at him he would raise his wand and say the incantation for the shielding charm. The very same anomaly would glow brightly as if he had summoned it. But the fact was, even when he wasn't channelling magic to form a shield, the anomaly was still there.
It was very slight, he only noticed it because of the slight distortions in the air. Even then they were very brief.
Getting onto the arena, Harry readied himself while he studied his opponent. The American simply stood there, square on with no stance and his wand held loosely in his left hand. He already seemed confident in his victory, as if nothing Harry tried would stop him. Harry smirked at the thought.
"Fight!" Harry sprang into action. His wand going through movement after movement as he fired spells at high speeds towards James.
The American in question raised his wand and shouted, "Protego!" The shielding charm blocked all spells and redirected them into the ground destroying it. Another flick of his wand and the debris changed into weapons and attacked the shield. Swords, spears, axes, etc. All slamming against James's shield.
None of them pierced it.
With a quick tug of his magic, he forced all the weapons back to his side of the arena before pushing them all forwards, followed by a shout of, "Depulso!" That pushed the weapons towards James at greater speeds.
Once again they struck the American's shields and were deflected in different directions.
'So, it seems his shield is incredibly powerful. Interesting.' Harry quickly had to start avoiding every spell sent his way by James, each were quite powerful and would do some damage. However, Harry skilfully avoided each one. Sidestepping, ducks, spins and acrobatics to dodge each spell. Never losing momentum while occasionally firing spells of his own in return. It made for an awe-inspiring sight that enraptured the gaze of the audience.
"Stand still!" James roared, his patience having reached its peak. Chuckling, Harry continued to avoid each of James' spells.
-X- Line Break -X-
Blaise, Neville and Peter watched as Harry continued to display physical abilities that they had not known he possessed.
"You know, seeing Harry like this really makes me wish I could do stuff like that." Neville finally spoke up as they watched Harry push off his hand and flip over a spell. Peter snorted, and he nodded his head in agreement.
"I agree Neville. I feel really jealous." Blaise continued.+++++
"Why don't we ask him to help us then?" Peter added gaining the attention of the other two. "What? Look at him, he's barely tired at all and he's been flinging spells around and dodging spells since the start."
"You're right you know, Peter." Lord Pike intruded into the conversation. The three boys turned around in their seats and turned to face Lord Pike. "Our magic naturally keeps us healthy and fit. However, in doing so we cannot access our full magical power. By training your body physically, your magic can instead focus on healing injuries and increasing your stamina. That's the reason why most duellists and Auror's are forced to go through rigorous training regimes. Both after and before graduation."
The three boys waited for Lord Pike to continue, but when they saw him relax into his chair they realised he had finished. They then turned around and watched Harry launching his own assault on James, only to see each attack being blocked. Each of them realising that perhaps they should begin training physically and not just magically.
-X- Line Break -X-
Harry flicked his wand from side to side and each spell he launched towards him at great speeds and power. Nothing happened as the spells were deflected, leaving James unharmed.
Each spell he fired allowed Harry to see that underneath the clothing James wore; a green glow could be seen as his spells impacted against the shield. It was faint, almost unnoticeable, and it made sense why so many had been unable to notice it. In the heat of a duel, little details such as this would go unnoticed. However, when one was actively looking for something, it all of a sudden became clear.
It was obvious that he had to get whatever that was through the series of tests to find something that gave the duellists an unfair advantage. Nothing could be given to duellists after they passed the tests, meaning that it had to have been on his person before the tests.
Furthermore, that meant it didn't respond to all attacks or actions. This meant that it responded to only the intent behind the action. All the remained was to test that theory.
"Reducto!" The spell shot forwards, but its target was not James. It was instead the ground behind him and just like he expected, the spell breached the anomaly and hit its intended target.
Smirking, Harry shot forwards as fast as he could, his mind made up on simply entering the anomaly.
In response to his charge, James fired spells at an even faster rate. Harry however, never broke his stride and continued onwards, avoiding every spell sent his way. He felt the vibrations of the anomaly as soon as he entered its area.
"H-how?" James asked in shock.
"How what?" Harry returned while continuing to walk forwards. With every step Harry took towards James, James would take a step backwards. "I could tell you if you want, but then I would have to tell everyone and reveal you for what you really are. So, surrender, and your secret is safe with me."
"And why should I believe you? For all I know you could tell them anyway despite what I do." James shot back before stopping his movement as his foot reached the edge of the arena floor. Harry however, had no need to stop and continued until he was directly in front of him.
"The thing is, you lose either way and I win. There is no way this ends with you being victor." James stared at the ground for a few moments and then he raised his wand into the air. Red sparks shot from it, sending a ripple of shock through the crowd once more as he surrendered. To anyone watching, it had looked like James would win, but then all of a sudden he surrendered.
Had he run out of magic?
What was the reason he had surrendered?
These were but a few thoughts circling inside the heads of the audience.
Harry meanwhile, stood smirking as he watched James glare at him hatefully. Patting him on the shoulder, Harry walked past him allowing the arena to be cleared and repaired for the next match between Sue Li and Daphne Greengrass. The victor would be then declared as third in the overall tournament.
-X- Line Break -X-
With the tournament ending and Harry being named Under 13's World Duelling Champion and given fifteen thousand galleons. James had come in second with Sue Li in third. However, the final match between Sue Li and Daphne Greengrass had been extremely close.
Now, Harry was making his way towards the exit of the duelling colosseum. Already, he could see that families of the competitors that made it to the finals were still around. Congratulating and in some cases berating others on their performances.
"Oi, Harry. Over here." Looking in the direction of the voice's origin, he found Neville waving at him. A smile formed on his face when he saw Blaise and Peter along with them. While he was a bit disappointed that Theodore and Graham couldn't make it, he understood why. After all their parents are extremely strict in the way they raise their children according to the two of them.
"So, how does it feel to be friends with the new Under 13's World Duelling Champion?" Harry asked once he reached his friends.
"It feels no different than normal." Blaise replied, after pretending to consider the question. Beside him, Neville nodded his head in agreement. Peter on the other hand looked around in confusion.
"I could have sworn Harry got his arse kicked." He finally said, his voice filled with faux bewilderment.
"Ha, ha. Very funny Peter." Harry replied sarcastically, while Neville and Blaise laughed at what Peter had said. "And I don't know why you two are laughing, you would have got your arse kicked by all of them." Even when he said that, the three of them still continued to laugh.
"I agree with Heir Potter." Giulia Zabini joined in the conversation. "Despite what you might think Blaise, you would have probably made it to the quarter-finals before being beaten." This time Harry joined Neville and Peter as they laughed at Blaise's embarrassment.
Seeing that her son had been embarrassed enough, Giulia turned towards Harry and smiled.
"Congratulations on your victory, Heir Potter." Harry simply smiled at the praise and bowed towards Giulia.
"Thank you, Lady Zabini."
"Yes, I have to agree with Lady Zabini, you did very well on your showing. Especially for someone of your age." Lord Pike joined in on the conversation. Harry in turn bowed towards Lord and Lady Pike, in thanks for the kind words given to him. "While I would love to talk of your duelling capabilities, I have urgent business back in Britain that I must get to."
"Of course, I would not wish to keep you busy Lord Pike." Harry then turned towards Peter and they shook hands. "I'll see you in Diagon Alley, when our letters arrive, yea?"
"Yea." Peter agreed.
"We're gonna go as well Harry. We have to go meet my grandparents in Italy." Blaise said as well. The brown skinned Slytherin nodded his head in his direction. Harry knew exactly what it meant, Blaise was getting all potential witnesses out of the way so that Neville could give him the Stone.
Once Blaise and Pike had gone with their parents, Harry turned to face Neville.
"Where's your grandmother?" Neville seemed especially nervous when he brought this up.
"I'm right here, Mr Potter. Now, do you mind telling me why my grandson is in possession of the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry gave Neville a look that said, 'we'll talk later.' The Longbottom heir in turn, simply gave a nervous laugh.
Seeing this, Harry turned around to face Augusta Longbottom who had her emotions perfectly under control. Nothing showed on her face that gave away how she really felt. Something which made the only Potter, more nervous than it should have done.
Sighing, Harry knew there was no way to escape this. More so when Augusta slightly opened her robe to reveal the Philosopher's Stone clutched tightly in her hand. Yep, definitely no way out of this one.
"When this is done." Harry said to Neville over his shoulder. "I am going to teach you how to properly lie." Once again Neville gave a sheepish laugh in response.
"I believe that we were in the middle of something, Mr Potter." Augusta gained his attention once more and Harry looked into her indifferent gaze. He couldn't tell whether she was angry or happy. He would only tell when he said his piece, but perhaps choosing his words carefully would help him a little bit.
A/N: I've finally done it. The next chapter of the Master of Death. You have no idea how difficult and frustrating it was to write this chapter. Every time I wrote it out it just didn't seem right, and I had to rewrite loads of it. So, I gave myself a break from it and started writing my next story, Shinobi no Kami. If you haven't read that yet and you're a fan of Naruto FanFiction then please go check it out.
Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review on what you think. Even if it's something simple like saying 'good chapter.'