Chapter 10- The Trial of Fire
Harry parried away from the spells that Bellatrix, Narcissa, James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, Marlene, Frank, Alice and Peter fired.
Andromeda stood at the side. She was an excellent duelist but was better with healing spells. She was to look after them and keep them from injuries.
" You have to be more accurate, guys. The followers of riddle may be scums but they are very much talented wizards and witches. He trains them himself and his inner circle would be very dangerous.
You have to be extremely good even if you need a chance to stand against them.
You are doing well guys. But you still need to up your game." He said and the others nodded to that.
" Come on guys. This won't do. I am one and the remaining of you are struggling to hit me with a single spell. You need to do better." He said.
He sent stinging hexes towards Peter, Alice, Marlene and Narcissa.
" Complicated spells are all right, simple spells must be done silently. You miss that I will hit you." He said seriously.
The others grimaced. Harry's stinging hexes are like blasting hexes.
They suddenly started to use fewer words.
Harry contemplated this matter. He had started training his friends with fighting.
He was a downright cruel bastard but he knew he had to be this way if they really wanted to survive the war.
He used to rain them with stinging hexes so that they would Dodge till they couldn't stand on their feet.
He would then have them fire their spells at him for target practice. They were hesitant at first but to this day, they had not managed a single hit on him.
For Merlin's sake the prat would be standing at a place and poof!!! He would have disappeared at the last moment.
The others were improving in leaps and bounds. They were complaining at first but fell into routine quickly.
Harry was impressed by their working abilities.
What surprised him most was Peter.
He knew that the remaining were extremely talented.
Peter, though not as good as them, was willing to work extremely hard. His abilities had skyrocketed after Harry started training him.
Harry had read his mind from scratch and his mind was very much clean. The boy didn't have an ounce of betrayal in him.
Harry truly was surprised. He vowed that he would protect the boy and look out for him. If he is this much loyal to his friends, then something big must have happened to him.
Harry pulled his hair loose and free.
" Time for family and offensive magic. Bella, Narcissa, Sirius, start casting.
James, the Potter curses and Peverell curses. Remus, offensive spells along with Lily. Peter and Frank and Alice, use your family spells." He said and took his stance.
He dodged and parried through the different barrage of dangerous curses. He swatted some away, conjured physical shields. He disappeared and reappeared near James, Lily and Sirius. He tied the three of them and hung them upside down.
He returned fire to Remus and Peter. The both of them went down to dodge and Harry got them with two stunners.
Frank was disarmed and Alice was bound
He waved his wand and disappeared in a black fog.
Bellatrix and Narcissa stood back to back in anticipation.
He appeared out of nowhere and disappeared with Narcissa.
He appeared near James and kissed Narcissa with passion and stunned her.
Bellatrix was wary.
" Ventus Maximus" she said and a huge blast of wind hit the area around her and the Black fog disappeared.
" Excellent love. But not good enough," he said and charged towards her.
Bellatrix started to fire a lot of spells but the damn prat was swatting it away like it was a quaffle.
He came close to her and slapped her wand out of her hand and lifted her up bridal style.
" Put me down Potter," said an embarrassed Bellatrix.
" And what are you going to do if I decline??" He asked with a smirk.
" I will curse that stupid smirk out of your face." She said hotly.
" Is that so??" He asked with a mock sigh.
"Yes," she replied and glared at him.
Harry leant down to her ear and nibbled it lovingly which caused her to shiver.
" You know my beautiful warrior, you look particularly ravishing after a fight." He said with a slow purr that had shivering and not from the cold.
" If the others were not here right now, I would have shown just how much I want you right after a fight." He said in her ear.
Bella's eyes glazed over and she blushed brightly.
Harry kissed her forehead and put her down.
" Well done guys. You all have done admirably." He praised them.
James snorted and Remus and Lily slapped their foreheads.
" Understatement of the century dear brother. You are the king of sarcasm." James said with a shake of his head.
" We didn't land a single spell on you Harry. It's the same way every time. We are as close to beating you as we were in the beginning." Lily complained, wiping the sweat off her face.
" Come on guys. You are not giving credit to your efforts. I am not this way from birth.
I have worked my arse off to stand where I am standing today. It wasn't easy, but I enjoyed every single minute of my training.
That is the reason why I train like there is no tomorrow." He said and sighed.
"I have inherited a hell lot of power guys. There are few who can match me in terms of power, possibly none. This power must be used to do something. Knowledge is something I thrive for.
None of my ancestors or my family is known to be weak or average.
Our Potter line is gifted with the best of war mages and that is the same with me."
He said to the others.
" When I see you guys, I feel extremely proud. Your work ethic is very good guys. I have seen many others who struggle to do at least a third of what you are doing.
To say that you have improved to the level of junior aurors will be an understatement." He said with a proud smile.
" You're joking," Sirius said in disbelief.
" No. I am telling the truth guys. You guys can cast silently, use offensive spells, you guys have improved very much in transfiguration.
James, Alice and Marlene. You guys are extremely talented in transfiguration.
James, you are really good with that brother.
Lily and Cissy, you guys are excellent in Charms. Your strongholds are those and I want you to stick to those more.
Remus, your speed is unbelievable. Very quick on your feet. Your spells are very fast and strong. You better concentrate on offensive magic Remus. Frank, your role is here as well. You have a knack for aggressive spells. Use them.
Peter, your talent with potions is well known but you are equally good with a wand. You better concentrate on defensive magic. Shielding spells are your strong forte and I want you to concentrate on those.
Bellatrix. I really don't know where to start.
Brilliant. Just Brilliant. Your casting speed is too good.
Dodging is something you have worked well on. Your spells pack a punch and those spell chains were marvelous.
You could do with lessening your wand movements. It will make you a bit dangerous.
Other than that, you are brilliant.
Well done guys", he praised them again.
Harry's praise meant a lot to the others. They knew that they would be a part of the war.
Harry was right. If they had to fight, then they had to be good.
They were joined by Katie and Marcus and Regulus.
" Well, if it isn't the love birds of Hogwarts." Andromeda said with a grin.
" Shut up Andi." Said an annoyed Katie.
Andi grinned.
" Quiet guys. I have something to talk about right now." Harry said seriously and that stopped them all.
" Take a seat guys." He said and the others sat down around him.
" Now tell me James. Why the hell are you, Sirius and Peter becoming an animagi, without supervision and without informing for that matter." He asked dangerously.
James gulped. " Uhmm… it was… it, we…. " He stuttered.
" I am waiting ,James." Harry growled.
Narcissa placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry took a deep breath and his anger abated a little.
"They wanted to help me, Harry." Remus answered. He shuddered when he saw Harry's glowing eyes, but it dimmed a bit.
" Why? Why are they becoming animagi of all things to help you?" Asked Katie.
" Well…. " He sighed. It was time to tell the truth. " I am a werewolf, " he said.
" I underwent changes in the shrieking shack. Werewolves tend to behave a bit calm with the company of animals. So they decided that…" Remus was cut off by a very angry Harry.
" So what Lupin?? You decided to let them become animagi?" He questioned angrily.
" Are the four of you so stupid? Are you having a death wish?" He said.
James was horrified. Sirius stared at Harry. Peter looked away and Remus though was totally down. He couldn't look at the others expecting revulsion in their faces.
" I am sorry. I really didn't want this. I thought that … " he was cut off from his ramblings by Harry.
" Listen to me you stupid wolf. I don't care. I don't fucking care that you are a werewolf. I wouldn't have cared even if you are a vampire if you did not give me a reason to hate you. If you think that I am prejudiced Lupin then you don't know me at all.
One of my favourite teachers was a werewolf and he was one of the best that ever taught me.
Remember Remus, I judge people only on their own merits. Their talents and hardwork. I won't judge people on things they have no control for.
I will be called a dark lord if I ever speak parseltongue in front of these people.
You could have come to me. Do you think so low of me Remus?" Asked Harry.
Remus understood that Harry didn't show it but he could see a faint sign of hurt in his eyes.
Remus didn't like how he felt when he saw the hurt in Harry's eyes.
He crushed his friend in a hug and cried his eyes out.
" I was scared. I thought that you would push me away. I don't have many friends Harry but you mean the world to me. I couldn't lose you as a friend." Remus cried.
" You know, I always wanted friends and family. Growing up alone was not kind to me. I was different from others but there was a reason for it. When I wanted to come back, I only wanted to see James, Kat, mom, Dad and uncle and aunt . I vaguely remembered these two beautiful baby girls from when I was born. I wanted to see them and play with them. But there were reasons why I didn't. I had a purpose. I could sacrifice certain years of my life if these ones are happy for the rest of my life.
Be something Remus. Be a light for others like you. If you could do something, then others like you will have a life. Don't pity yourself mate. You are a very good individual and you will do great things.
As for letting you grow. One thing that people don't know about Hadrian Potter is that the relationships he has are for life. Be it friendships, romantic relationships or familial relationships. The only people important to me are my family. My brother, sister, The Blacks, my dear Cissy and Bella, Frank, Lily, Alice, Peter, Marlene and you. Include the Greengrasses for the list.
Only an orphan can know the true value of love. Only a man grown up away from his family and loved ones will know the value of them. Only a person who is wise will know the consequences of his actions in the future." He said somberly.
Bellatrix and Narcissa smiled at their boyfriend.
" He is like none other Cissy. He really is special." Bellatrix said to her sister.
" I knew that from the moment I met him." Cissy said with a smile.
" You know Narcissa. I feel jealous of the attention he gives you. The love he has for you." Lily said with a sigh.
" But then, I remember that the love isn't only for you but the boy has it in spades and it is given to almost everyone and anyone.
I love him very much, but as a brother. He just feels like a right or perfect brother." Lily said with Alice and Marlene nodding.
" Well he belongs to us. You can search in some other places. " Narcissa said in a snobbish manner that had the other girls giggling madly.
" Sit down guys. James, if I catch you or Peter or that stupid mutt try something like this without my knowledge, I will just show you why your brother is truly dangerous." He said with a feral smile.
James paled at that along with Sirius. Peter whimpered in fright.
Bellatrix smacked his head.
" Harry. Behave" she chastised him.
Harry grumbled about beautiful and abusive girlfriends.
" Ok then. Sit down. You guys have worked on occlumency right??" He asked them.
They nodded in affirmation.
He checked the mental shields of them. They were surprisingly strong. Even Lily, who was a muggleborn, was good with it.
" Good. You guys have a great grasp of it and surprisingly good shields." He said.
The others gaped at him.
" You already checked our shields??" Asked Frank.
Harry gave him a blank stare.
" Ahh. I know. You are Hadrian freakin Potter and you are awesome. Carry on." He said with a grin to which they all laughed.
" So close your eyes guys. I want you to seal your minds close. Reinforce your shields. I want all of you to concentrate on a single point in your mental shields." He said as the others made to follow his instructions.
" The only things you are supposed to sense are my words and your breathing. The rest aren't of importance at all." He continued.
Harry raised his hand and chanted in Gaelic.
The others started to feel pain. As the chanting continued, their pain went up as well. They started shaking badly.
" I am sorry guys. It's very painful. But please fight it. Hold yourself. Don't let yourself down against your inner beast." He said calmly.
Remus, who sat nervously, felt bad for his friends. He couldn't become an animagus due to being a werewolf.
" Harry. They are in a lot of pain", he indicated.
Harry nodded.
He finally waved his hand and summoned a golden glow of light and banished it to the group. All of them fainted.
&&&&--
James woke up in a forest area. He looked around and found a dark brown stag sitting in front of him. Scrutinizing him, it got up and went close to him. It nodded and brushed its head to him and disappeared in a form of a mist. James lost consciousness and fell down.
&&&&&--
Lily woke up to see the same setting as James but this time she was faced by a doe. The doe judged her worthy and entered into her heart. She fell unconscious.
&&&&&&--
Sirius and Regulus wake up on the same horizon. They turned to see two big dogs staring at them before they merged with it and lost consciousness.
&&&&&&--
Frank woke up and came face to face with a grizzly brown bear. The bear roared and slashed his hand on Frank who fell unconscious.
&&&&&&--
Marlene, Alice and Katie and Marcus woke up in the same grass field and watched four white wolves in front of them. They lost consciousness as the wolves reached them.
&&&&&--
Andromeda was face to face with a black panther. She smiled. It was a beautiful beast.
The panther roared and jumped at her and she lost consciousness.
&&&&&--
Peter stood up in a small grass patch. He looked around but didn't see anything. It was then when he heard a squeak did he observe a small rat.
He smiled wryly at that but lost consciousness as he tried to touch it.
&&&&&--
Bellatrix and Narcissa woke up in the same place. A dense jungle.
They started to go forwards when they heard an almighty roar.
The both of them made their way towards it and we're rewarded with a beautiful sight.
They saw a beautiful Asiatic lion sitting in the clearing, looking majestic and just like the king he is known for.
It wasn't the lion that they were drawn to but the eyes of the lion.
It was a very familiar green. A very brilliant glow of green that they had come to love.
They saw movement near the beast and saw two lionesses one with violet eyes and the other with blue eyes.
The lionesses approached their king and rubbed their mane against his, making the lion give a pleased roar.
The two females were suddenly jumped by the lionesses and the last thing they saw was those glowing emeralds.
&&&&--
" Ahh, I see that you all are awake." Harry said looking up from his book he was discussing with Remus.
" You are a right prat, Potter." Marlene said weakly.
" Well all in good time Ms McKinnon. Now get your arses up and stand around me here." He snapped, causing them to obey.
" Just imagine the forms you just saw in your mindscape." He instructed the others.
" Every external feature and its body structure should be taken into consideration." He instructed.
" Push your magic into the form and merge your mindscape with that of the animal." He said as the others followed him.
" Now, imagine the conversion from you to the animal." He instructed.
There were changes all around and suddenly the group of them were transformed into their animagus forms.
Harry smiled at them.
They had accomplished animagi within an hour. Of course, when you learn from someone who has been alive for six centuries, you have to pick certain tricks.
Harry stopped a bit when he saw Bella and Cissy. His smile became all the more brighter when he saw what they had become.
He took a step back and launched at them and transformed into the King Lion in mid air.
He slowly approached who he considered as mates and rubbed his head against the both of them.
They responded equally and happily leaned against Harry.
Harry let out a happy roar and continued to play with the two.
He then turned back.
" Reverse process guys. The reverse of the entire process and you will turn back. Do it slowly guys. " He told and repeated the process to get them to turn back.
They turned back altogether.
Harry caught Narcissa as she turned back to her human self. He had guessed that she would lose a bit of energy as she was a bit delicate and he was true.
Narcissa was panting after her first transformation. All of them were worse for wear but she was a bit more tired.
Narcissa looked into Harry's green eyes. Harry looked at her lovingly with a hint of worry.
Harry dipped his head and kissed her. She closed her eyes, enjoying the kiss of her boyfriend and cooled down a bit.
Harry broke the kiss and tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.
He sat her down and pulled Bella next to her and kissed her quickly.
" Well, this means that we are really good for each other." He said with a charming smile that had Narcissa swooning and Bella to beam at him.
" You helped us become an animagus, one of the most difficult forms of magic and completed teaching us in an hour. What the bloody hell Potter??" Asked a flabbergasted Lily.
" What can I say??" He started but was continued by the rest.
" You are Hadrian Potter." They completed and burst out laughing.
&&&&&&--
Lucius Malfoy received a letter from his father. As he read the contents of the letter, he smiled brilliantly.
His father had always thought him to be ambitious. He was a proud pureblood.
He, like his father, felt that filth like mudbloods should be put down.
This idea was fueled further by the Dark lord.
His ideals and his power had drawn him and his father to him. He accepted it quickly and most of their allies had also been drawn to him as well.
He had been ecstatic to know about the marriage contract with the Black family. He had dreamt of having one of them at his mercy.
Like many others, Lucius had been blown away by the beauty of the Black sisters.
But the most appealing to him was Narcissa.
Oh he wished and dreamt everyday of how his life would be with the blonde bitch at his service. He dreamt of breaking her.
Everytime he thought of her, he just dreamt of him, pulling her shining blonde locks and making her scream as he broke her.
That went down the drain when he came. The bastard was the bane of his existence.
He would never admit it but most of his group were scared of him. He was a monster in the form of a man.
His eyes gave him and his friends the creeps.
His father had come back from the meeting paler than usual and he was muttering something about that Potter.
He was angered when he learnt that he was not getting that bitch to play. He cursed Potter's name when he heard that he had interfered.
He then felt elated when he learnt the plan to deal with him.
Today he had received a letter about the duel and he was happy with the duelists who were fighting for his side.
He and his friends were discussing when the Black sisters entered the common room.
" Ahh, if it isn't the beautiful Black sisters." He said.
The girls stopped. They turned around and were surprised to see themselves being surrounded.
" Well Bella. I hope you are getting ready to be the next Lady Lestrange." Rudolphus said with a grin.
Bellatrix smirked.
" Oh, I am ready, Ruddy. But to be the next Lady of the Most Ancient and Noble house of Potter. Not your stupid famiy." She said, with a confident grin.
" I wouldn't be so sure ,Bellatrix. 'Accidents' may happen to Potter out of nowhere." Narcissa stiffened. Bellatrix growled.
" Are you threatening us??" She asked and slid her wand into her hand.
" Oh that's not a threat dear Bellatrix. I am only reminding you of what your 'boyfriend' will face on the day of the duel." Malfoy said smoothly.
" If Harry finds out what you are trying, then you guys are dead men walking." Narcissa said, surprising herself with the amount of defiance she had in her voice.
Corban Yaxley was the one who spoke this time.
" Ahh, that is where you are mistaken. As you know, what happens in Slytherin stays in Slytherin. And here, we rule the roost and no one would dare say otherwise." He said with a smirk.
" He is as good as dead, girls. He doesn't know what he has gotten himself into."
He advanced towards the girls and put his arm around Andromeda's waist.
" Personally, I think that we must make you ours right now. No use in delaying the inevitable.
Lucius pulled Narcissa towards him. Bellatrix had enough. She sprung into action.
She blasted Rudolphus away from her as he tried to touch her. She then summoned Narcissa and Andromeda towards her and then started to fire spells towards Malfoy and his henchmen.
They started to fire their spells. The sisters fought extremely well. Narcissa, with the offence and Bellatrix with the curses while Andromeda shielded them.
They were overwhelmed but they stood fighting.
Nobody came to their help as they didn't want to make enemies out of the group.
They were few of the most powerful families present.
The girls were suddenly joined by Marcus and Regulus. The fight got evened out but Malfoy still had greater numbers.
Bellatrix had enough of this and casted with a speed possessed. She stunned four of them quickly.
Two were tied up and another four were silenced and bound upside down by Narcissa. Marcus and Regulus cursed three of them as well.
Bellatrix was suddenly caught unaware when Snape attacked her from behind. Bellatrix then was blasted back and her sisters were taken with her. Marcus and Regulus were stunned.
Malfoy approached the group with a feral smile. He crouched in front of Narcissa.
" You have been a very naughty girl Narcissa. And girls like you must be taught a lesson." He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up.
The common room suddenly dimmed. The fireplace started to crackle and flicker dangerously.
The temperature of the room dropped and a chill began to grow in the room.
It was Bellatrix that broke the silence. She laughed. The others thought that she had gone crazy.
Bellatrix simply smirked into Malfoy's face.
" He is here," she said and smiled again.
Malfoy was suddenly thrown back with a great force.
His bodyguards were alert and looked everywhere around them.
" You shouldn't have touched them, you shits", came a soft voice that sent chills down everyone in the room.
" You just made the biggest mistakes of your lives." A voice came from behind them.
Yaxley went down screaming bloody murder.
" You shouldn't have even dared to look at them when I am alive." The voice said from somewhere to the right of them.
Rudolphus and Rabastan Lestrange sprouted blood as they fell to their knees.
The entire common room started to shiver in fright.
All of the sudden, the attackers started to scream and twitch in pain. The other occupants whimpered in fright at what they were witnessing. The ghost-like voice was making them wet their pants.
A black smoke with green eyes came out from different parts of the room and came to a stop in front of the girls.
The smoke cleared and there stood a very scary Hadrian Potter with glowing green eyes.
He turned to the girls. He helped Andromeda up.
" Are you fine Andi??"He asked his cousin. She nodded. But Harry could see the faint fear in her eyes. He hugged her and consoled her. He kissed her forehead and covered her with a conjured blanket.
He then went to Bellatrix. " You fought extremely well, love. " He said. Bellatrix smiled and nodded. " Next time, be merciless." Bellatrix's grin was absolutely feral as she nodded.
He kissed her hard on the lips and dipped her down as he did. When he broke, Bellatrix' s smile lit up the entire common room.
Harry then turned to his darling Cissy. Her near hair was a mess and she was close to tears.
Harry pulled her to him and she hugged him tightly. " Hey. It's alright. I am here right now. I am sorry that he did that to you. Never ever again. Got it??" He said softly as he hugged her to him.
She nodded into his chest and calmed down slowly.
Harry took her towards the fallen Malfoy who was looking at the two of them. He pulled the man by his hair and looked into his eyes. He employed legilimency and what he found made him extremely sick.
His anger peaked when he found out what the bastard wanted to do to Cissy.
He exited his mind. His eyes looked positively murderous. The tables and chairs in the common room started to break and catch fire.
He went to Cissy and kissed her so passionately and lovingly that the entire common room quietened. Malfoy looked like his eyes would pop out of his skull.
" You won't touch her. You won't be able to be anywhere close to her. She is mine, and mine only. If you or anyone else even dares to look at her in a way I don't like. That will be the last day of your life." He said and the others knew instantly that he was not joking.
" Listen and listen carefully. You and your scum of your father won't even be able to pluck a hair out of my head. I am waiting for that duel to take place. Throw anything at me. I will come out victorious. I will crush you. I will crush your ideas. I will make you and your father, all of your fathers and all those shits who follow that mad man dead and six feet under.
Cissy will always be mine. You have a problem with that, you will deal with me. And I can't wait to get my hands on you." He said.
He then swiped his wand and Lucius's right hand was chopped off and fell limp.
He screamed in agony. He wiggled on the floor in pain.
" That was just for touching her hair. Next time, I won't be so forgiving." He said and burnt the hand.
" I dare you to go to your father. I dare you to go and tell him that I cut your hand.
I will enjoy rubbing it in his face next week." He said and stood up from him.
He repaired the room with a wave of his wand. He then kissed both his girls and disappeared.
" Damn, that was scary. said the first year. Bellatrix smiled at her.
" You haven't seen anything, little one." She said and left with her sisters to her rooms.
&&&&&--
As the morning arrived and the students got down to the great hall for breakfast.
James and his gang made his way towards breakfast.
They had heard what happened yesterday from Harry.
He sat along with his friends at the table and they were joined by his cousins from the Slytherin table.
" Where is Harry??" Asked Bellatrix.
" What happened Bella?? I had seen him in fury before but yesterday was more than that. He said that he needs to let out some steam and has not yet returned." James informed her.
" He made a statement yesterday. We three are off limits. He even made sure to kiss the both of us in front of those bastards and rile them up. He then used legilimency on Lucius. I don't know what he saw but he was scarier than usual after that. He cut off Malfoy's hand." She said with a shrug.
Sirius choked on his food. James's eyebrows disappeared out of his forehead and the rest of them gasped.
" You are joking." Remus said with wide eyes.
Bellatrix just smirked. It was then that Lucius Malfoy arrived in the great hall.
The group gasped when they saw him missing his right hand.
Lucius and his group were shaking in fear.
The hall could see them shiver and they all guessed that it wasn't because of the cold.
Dumbledore approached the group of Slytherins.
" Mr Malfoy. What happened to your hand??" He questioned the group.
" N… nothing professor." He said weakly.
" Lucius, just tell him." Rudolphus asked him weakly.
" It's nothing , headmaster. Just an accident. I was working with a spell. A family spell and it went horribly wrong. " Lucius replied with a glare at Lestrange.
Harry chose that moment to walk into the great hall. The Slytherin students took a step back as he walked in.
Lucius looked ready to piss himself as he looked at Harry.
Harry stood right in front of him. He stared at Lucius.
" What's wrong Malfoy??" He said irritably.
Malfoy jumped back as if he was struck.
His face became more pale than usual.
" N...n... nothing…" he shivered.
Harry raised his eyebrows.
He turned towards the headmaster and shrugged.
" Morning," he said. Dumbledore nodded.
" Mr Potter. Did you know anything about why Mr Malfoy is missing a hand??" He asked.
Harry just shrugged.
" Maybe, maybe not." He said.
" Is that idiot blaming me for that??" He questioned and turned to the group.
" What the hell Malfoy??" He asked with a growl.
" N… nothing… I need to go." He said and made to leave. Harry smirked.
" There you go sir. Plausible deniability. Innocent until proven otherwise." He said with a silly grin.
" The curse must have been very painful. Ain't it boys??" He asked with a sweet smile.
Lucius shuddered.
" Yes. Yes it was." He said with a soft voice.
Harry just gave a salute and walked to the Gryffindor table.
He sat in between his girlfriends and started to eat.
As the breakfast progressed, the hall was suddenly bombarded with owls trying to deliver the newspaper.
The whisperings started. Many students were pointing at him and we're discussing in hushed tones.
The Slytherin boys were smirking at something in the paper.
Frank picked up a newspaper. He was drinking pumpkin juice when he saw a news report that made him spit the liquid on an unsuspecting Alice.
" You better have a damn good reason for spitting juice over me, Frank Longbottom." She said in anger.
Frank just stared dumbly at the newspaper.
" Guys, look at this," he said and showed the paper.
'LORD PEVERELL CHALLENGES THE LORDS OF YAXLEY, LESTRANGE AND MALFOY TO A DUEL.'
"Lord Hadrian Jameson Potter Peverell, the lord of the most ancient and noble house of Peverell and heir to the most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, has challenged the Lords of Lestrange, Malfoy and Yaxley for the hands of the three daughters of the Black family.
It has been reported that Lord Peverell is likely in love with two of the sisters, Ms Bellatrix Black and Ms Narcissa Black. They had been seen very much close in the recent ministry ball.
The fight will take place in a week's time from today in the Quidditch stadium of Hogwarts.
What is special about this fight dear readers is that this is ' The Trial By Fire'.
Yes readers. The fight that is happening is of the old kind.
' The Trial of Fire' is just like it's namesake. A trial by fire. The fighter or duelist takes entry into the fight and the fight ends only when the last man standing walks out. In this case Hadrian Potter will be facing the four time world dueling champion ' David Yaxley', two time dueling champion ' Thorfin Rowle' and the French Butcher ' Antione Malfoy'. The three men are known to be ruthless and extremely talented men. We could only hope that the fifteenth year old Lord Peverell knows what he is doing and could probably die peacefully. '
The group was stunned into silence. Narcissa started to tremble in worry. Bellatrix didn't show much but her eyes showed fear.
Harry read the paper in silence. He shrugged and went back to his food.
He felt the eyes of the entire hall on him.
He sighed.
" If I see anybody staring at me for no reason, I will pluck your eyes out if your damn sockets." He growled.
That broke the silence and people proceeded with their work although many of them were sneaking glances at him.
" Harry " Narcissa called him softly.
He turned and smiled at the lovely girl in front of him.
" Don't worry about me,love. I didn't come back all the way here just to die on you guys." He said.
" I will promise. I will swear on my name as a Potter that I will come back to you." He said and pulled her close to him as he hugged her.
&&&&&--
" What's the matter, Charlus??"Dorea asked her husband, who looked worried.
" The duel will happen a week from now. It's a trial of fire." He said gravely.
Dorea gasped. She sat with a thud in her seat.
" He will be alright won't he Charlus??" A
She asked her husband.
It pained Charlus to see his dear wife like this. She was very much lively but this was not her.
He smiled as he lifted her chin and kissed her.
" From what I know about him, they won't stand a chance." He said confidently.
He then pulled his wife up and led her to their room.
&&&&&--
It was a fully packed Hogwarts that Charlus and Dorea came into.
Today was the day of the big duel.
It was open for all of the common wizarding public.
They made their way towards the tightly packed stadium. As they climbed into the stands, they were joined by Arcturus and his family.
" Arcturus" Charlus wished him.
Arcturus nodded.
He then looked at his worrying sister and softened.
" He will be alright, Dorea. He will be victorious." He consoled her.
Dorea just nodded.
They were joined by their children.
Narcissa rushed to her mother and clung to her.
Druella could only hold her daughter to her chest.
Bellatrix rushed to Dorea.
" Aunt Dorea!!" She stood next to her and held her hand tightly.
" I am scared." She said,
Bellatrix tried to hide it but failed to calm herself.
Harry had disappeared for the past four days. He used to send letters telling that he was preparing but didn't appear.
" Ohh. He will be alright my dear. He will come back to you guys. Don't worry." She consoled her soon to be daughter in law.
James then came to his father.
"I don't know but I am feeling nervous dad." He said. " I know he is very capable but I am scared. I am really scared." He said with a somber look.
" If anything happens to him, then I will kill every single one of them. I won't stop till I end all of them." He said with venom.
&&&--
Harry arrived at the arena. He was ready. He knew that these guys won't stand a chance against him, but overconfidence won't do any good to him.
Harry saw the packed quidditch stadium. He sighed loudly.
" Hence, it begins." He said quietly.
He sat waiting for his introduction.
&&&&&--
" Welcome one and all to the Trail of Fire.
Ladies and gentlemen, we can call it a privilege that you are getting to watch this event." The announcer spoke.
" We are witnessing a duel for the stakes of a marriage contract." He announced.
" Put your hands forward for the champion of the Yaxley, Lestrange and Malfoy families.
David Yaxley, Thorfin Rowle, Antione Malfoy." He announced and the three duelists took to the grounds.
The duelists were strongly built. They had tall physiques and lean build. People could just understand why they were good duelists just by looking at them.
" Now, Welcome the Lord Peverell. Hadrian Potter!!!!" He announced.
Harry entered the arena to loud cheers.
He made his way to the arena like a predator. His eyes were glowing brilliantly. They were failing to conceal his high power.
His confident strides along with his calm smile gave a warning bell to his opponents.
The blonde smirked.
" So this is the kid who we are fighting?? Well this must be too easy. " Antione Malfoy drawled.
" You have been a great pain Potter", growled Thorfin.
Harry just laughed.
" Kid. Well you really are all alike aren't you Malfoy. Royal prats. Well, we can always correct that. Fight first." He said and got to his position.
Dumbledore came up to the position of the duel. He was the referee for the match.
" I hope you are ready, gentlemen. I have to check you for extra spells and potions." He said. As the others nodded, he got to work and scanned the four of them with his wand.
When convinced they were clear, he nodded and moved away from them.
He then started to cast wards to keep the stray spells away from the audience.
Dumbledore then started to chant in Gaelic. The entire arena glowed brightly and then a ring was formed around the battlefield.
" The ring of fire is activated. Duelists take positions." He said.
He then fired a loud gong from his wand to indicate the start of the duel.
&&&&&--
Harry took his stance. The other three started to spread around him and covered three fourths of the sides.
" Bombarda" said the three of them together.
Harry evaded the spells.
He smiled. This will be very easy. They were casting verbally. 'Big mistake' he thought.
He stood smiling at his opponents.
"Crucio", roared Yaxley.
Harry calmly stepped out of the path of the spell.
" Crucio!!"This time two more joined Yaxleys curse.
Harry evaded the two and swatted the third right back at Yaxley.
The three opponents stood smirking when the three Crucios hit the boy.
What they didn't expect was to swat an unforgivable and hit them back.
Yaxley stood rooted to the spot and couldn't shield himself.
The curse hit him and he screamed in pain.
Harry decided to start attacking.
He flicked his wand and a powerful blasting curse hit the three. They were thrown back by the impact of the curse.
He conjured two stone lions which roared as they attacked three of his opponents.
They blasted the lions off the ground. Imagine their shock when the beast got up and attacked them again.
Malfoy cancelled the transfiguration. He was looking a bit pale.
Clearly they had underestimated the boy.
Harry flicked his wand and summoned a flame whip.
He thrust it towards the three of them.
Rowle though was caught in the axis of the whip.
His legs gave way suddenly and he saw why. His legs were chopped off.
He screamed in pain.
Blood was pouring out of his legs at an alarming rate.
Harry now looked at the scene grimly.
He shot a ribbon cutting curse at the man.
It impaled him and his head separated from his body.
" Crucio!!!" Roared the two of the remaining duelists. This time the curse struck true and hit Harry.
Harry grit his teeth and fell onto his knees. His body trembled with pain but he refused to scream.
He stood back shakily and roared as a golden beam from his wand struck the two of them.
Malfoy and Yaxley hadn't expected the boy to bear the cruciatus. Now the two of them were really scared.
The boy fired a golden beam that hit the two of them. They were thrown backwards at an alarming speed and a resounding crunch indicated that something had broken.
The damage was visible. Yaxley had broken his left arm. Malfoy if not broken anything was very much worse for wear.
They looked to see a murderous looking Hadrian Potter. It wasn't the eyes only that unnerved them. His hair was now let free. His flowing hair which was rippling in the wind and the unnaturally bright glowing green eyes was totally scaring them.
" You should have used the killing curse." He growled.
Harry disappeared in a black smoke.
Yaxley was still moaning on the ground. Malfoy was looking all around trying to catch where the boy had disappeared.
He was suddenly bombarded with a barrage of spells from all directions. He wasn't able to tell from where the spells hit him.
He was thrown back and was hit with a bone breaker on the ribs.
He was hit with ten cutting curses of varying degrees that had opened up wounds all over his body. He screamed in pain and looked around but the boy was not visible.
He heard a scream and looked at Yaxley. He was as much as if not more worse than his own condition.
The boy appeared out of nowhere.
He fired a quick bone breaker that caught him in his left hand.
The boy grimaced in pain.
He waved his wand and healed a few injuries. He then started to cast with a high speed.
The boy just swatted away his spells.
Malfoy was then joined by a heavily injured Yaxley. They looked at each other and nodded.
" Fiendfyre!!!" They roared.
&&&&&&--
Harry's family watched Harry arriving at the arena. They watched him walk into the grounds with a grace that was soothing their worries.
They watched as Dumbledore checked the opponents for spells and potions.
As the duel began, they felt extremely unhealthy.
What followed next was something that had them looking with awe.
Harry just swatted spells away with ease. He dodged the spells gracefully.
The shocking matter was when he redirected an unforgivable.
That had many others' jaws dropped including Dumbledore who was looking at Harry with wonder.
The transfiguration would have not made much news of not for the stone lion to get up and fight again.
That was truly shocking.
Students were blown away by the level of dueling they were witnessing.
When they saw two unforgivables hit Harry, Narcissa screamed in fright and held onto her mother.
What came next was totally mind blowing.
Harry didn't scream from the torture curse. He stood back up and hit them with a curse.
That was supposed to be impossible. There was never a person who could cast while still under a cruciatus.
Harry had done the impossible.
Bye then disappeared in a black smoke and attacked his opponents out of nowhere.
When the opponents cast Fiendfyre, they screamed in fright.
The flames formed into a giant snake and attacked Harry. He was inflamed.
Narcissa couldn't watch any longer.
" No!!!" She screamed. " No. He cannot do this." She shouted.
" He promised that he won't die on us." She couldn't take it anymore. She collapsed into her seat.
" He promised. He promised he won't leave me." She said to herself softly.
Bellatrix had become deathly white. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears. She felt empty all of a sudden. Her grip on her aunt's arm tightened.
She was unaware of the hug she was caught in. Her aunt just held her closely as she cried.
" Let it go dear. Let it out. Don't hold back."
Dorea said softly.
Bellatrix couldn't hold on much longer. She sobbed into her favourite aunt's shoulders.
The dam broke and she cried hard. She felt an unfillable void inside her.
Katie was near inconsolable. She had curled up in her father's arms. James was hit the worst. He sat silently. He didn't move. He didn't even budge a bit. He sat still and emotionless as a stone.
It was Arcturus that got their attention.
" Holy shit. Impossible." He exclaimed.
" What's wrong Arcturus??" Asked Melania.
He pointed to the arena. The fire decreased and there stood a very dangerous looking Hadrian Potter.
&&&&&--
Harry was engulfed in the cursed flames.
He smirked. This was something he had prepared for exclusively.
The concept of fiendfyre was very vague at best.
It requires considerable power, ability to bend a beast , a beast of hell's clutches to his own will. A few can cast the fiendfyre successfully. A very few can bend it to their will and control it.
Nobody can stop it. Nobody but him.
People say that you need to be very evil to cast it but that's a load of shit.
This was one of the thing he had wanted to do. He had started to create a spell to stop the accursed flames.
He raised his wand and created an arc around him. He channeled his inner magic and started waving his wand in intricate patterns.
" Aqua bestia interfectorem!!!" He roared.(Aqua cursed beast slayer)
A blue glow left his wand and started to increase in size. The blue glow started to take the shape of a water thestral. It stood strong and proud. It opened its mouth and took in the flaming snake head on. There was a struggle but the thestral snapped the snake and swallowed it whole.
The beast was consumed and the thestral stood proudly next to Harry with its eyes blazing green. The arena cleared and a murderous looking shirtless Hadrian Potter stood twirling his wand.
&&&&&--
" What the bloody hell??" Lucius shouted. The others were unnerved by this. There legs gave way and felt weak.
The damned Potter conquered fiendfyre.
He stood there twirling his wand without a care on the world.
" How much powerful is he really??" Rabastan questioned.
" I really have no idea." Randalph said in a low voice that shook with fear.
&&&&&--
" He s...stopped Fiendfyre" Dumbledore said dumbly. He couldn't believe his eyes.
Minerva sat next to him, her jaws dropped to the floor.
Filius Flitwick sat stunned by what he saw.
Watson looked like he would faint any moment now.
" How good is this boy??" Asked Dumbledore faintly.
&&&&&--
Charlus's jaw dropped at what he witnessed. His family were in various degrees of shock. Arcturus had sat down without a word.
Narcissa was the one who broke the silence.
" He survived. He fought fiendfyre." She said, happiness evident in her voice.
" He kept his word. He kept his promise." She said.
Bellatrix was looking at her boyfriend in awe. ' How good are you Harry??' she thought to herself.
She smiled to herself. ' He is alright. He is fine. I have my Harry back.' she thought to herself.
" He is really fine Aunt Dorea." She said.
Dorea nodded.
" He is my son. Of course he is alright." She said with pride.
&&&&&--
" Ah. Hello gentlemen. Lovely day today. It was a bit hot. But you know, I have someone to keep me cool." He said to the shocked two duelists that stood in front of him breathing hard.
" In spite of all this, I have a question.
Aqua here kept me safe from you.
But who will keep you safe from me??" He said with a feral grin.
" As I told your cousins, this was the last mistakes of your lives.
Get ready to meet death." He flicked the Elder Wand.
' Custos portae inferni' ( Gaurdian of Hell's gates) he thought and slashed his wand in a triangular pattern.
A cloaked demon erupted from his wand and came to stand next to him. He had blazing fire as his eyes. His appearance was suffocating to say the least.
He stood tall with a flaming trident.
" It was good meeting you gentlemen. I had a great time. Don't worry. I will be sending many more of them to you guys. It will be a waiting period but not for much. Welcome to Death's Lair and I will leave you in the capable hands of Area here." He turned to the summoned demon.
" Finish them off" he said and nodded to the two men.
The demon nodded and glided to them and split into two clouds of smoke and touched both the duelists.
They screamed as there bodies started rotting. They started to claw on their own skins and tried to gouge out their own eyes. The smoke disappeared and the two men were dust.
Harry sighed. He turned to the arena that sat still of what they had witnessed.
He stepped towards the sitting area of the Malfoy, Lestrange, Yaxley and many other dark families.
He just stood their his hair flowing freely and looking calm and collected.
He just raised his hand in victory and smirked.
TBC--
Hey guys. This fic took long to update and I hope that I have lived up to your expectations.
The duel finally Happened.
It took some time to write it and I hope you guys like it.
Your reviews for the fic AOLP has been very positive and I am very thankful to you guys. Please keep the reviews coming forward.
Stay tuned……