Lady Matlock insisted Lizzy go to bed immediately after dinner.

"I thought I might go with Georgiana to the music room," Lizzy carefully countered. The little girl had been moving her fingers across the table as though it was a keyboard throughout dinner, which she had been allowed to join the adults for.

Georgiana looked positively delighted by the idea.

Lady Matlock could not remain so firm when confronted by the anticipation displayed by her reticent niece. "Oh, very well. But only for a half hour, Georgiana. Miss Bennet needs her rest."

"I am much better after that fine meal, my lady," said Lizzy, offering Georgiana the hand of her uninjured arm.

"I've been through enough of these tournaments with my husband to know how to look after you, dearie," said Lady Matlock. "I will become quite cross with you if you are not in bed by the end of this hour."

Lizzy laughed at the pronouncement as Georgiana dragged her away. Lizzy found much joy in listening to Georgiana pluck through several different songs. She had needed to hide a blush when the girl played the lullaby Lizzy knew she had once sang in the forbidden forest to a hippogriff and that Darcy had hummed during one of her breakdowns, for Lady Matlock told her that Darcy, himself, had insisted Georgiana learn the piece and asked the girl to play it nearly every time he came to see her. Georgiana played it with more skill and feeling than anything else.

Lady Matlock made good on her word. Exactly thirty minutes after entering the music room with Georgiana, Lizzy was shunted out of the room and upstairs. She had an efficient maid assigned to her and was settled comfortably only fifteen minutes after making it through the door to her room.

When she woke the following morning, Lizzy felt remarkably well-rested. She had begun going about dressing herself in her freshly laundered dueling robes when the assigned maid came in with a tray and took charge of Lizzy's preparation for the day. Begrudgingly, Lizzy admitted to herself that she enjoyed being on the receiving end of such dedicated attentions from her hosts.

"Good morning, Miss Bennet," Lady Matlock greeted pleasantly when Lizzy entered the breakfast room. She had nibbled from the tray brought to her while getting ready, but looked forward to a full meal.

"Good morning, my lady," Lizzy said with a smile. "As I know you shall ask, I will go ahead and tell you that I slept very well."

Lady Matlock responded by way of quirking an eyebrow from behind her teacup.

"How good of you to be up and about at a reasonable hour, Miss Bennet," said Lord Matlock upon entering the room. "I confess I feared you would be attached to your bed as Georgiana is to hers in the morning."

"Georgiana does not appreciate mornings, I take it?" Lizzy asked.

Lady Matlock snorted in a decidedly unladylike fashion.

Matlock looked affectionately at his wife before attending to Lizzy once again. "We will leave as soon as we finish eating. The first matches are to happen at half past ten."

Lizzy looked at the clock on the wall and started. She had not realized just how late she had slept in; she must have been asleep nearly twelve hours!

"And you will only be more exhausted tonight," said Lady Matlock knowingly.

Lizzy blushed at her thoughts being so accurately found out.

Lord Matlock only grabbed a scone and a cup of coffee before heading for the door again. "I have some letters to attend to before we depart. Eat more than you think you need to, Miss Bennet. You'll be thankful later."

And eat, Lizzy did. Some things she ate because she was truly curious to try them as they were prepared by the Matlocks' excellent cook. Other things she ate because Lady Matlock insisted on it, like the extra serving of ham.

"I hope you will not be averse to my being absent from dinner tonight, my lady," Lizzy said, more to spare herself from having to force more food into her already bulging belly than anything. "I have hopes of dining with my aunt and uncle."

Lady Matlock frowned at the pronouncement. "I think it would be in your best interest to be as inactive as possible outside the ring, Miss Bennet."

"I understand, my lady, and, as my host, if you insist I stay, then I will, but I do so wish to see the Gardiners," Lizzy said with appropriate caution.

Lady Matlock pursed her lips as she thought, then said decidedly, "Leave details to me, Miss Bennet."

Lord Matlock returned before much longer. Lizzy was surprised when Lady Matlock went out to the garden with them.

"I have not yet seen my nephew duel, and have every intention of doing so today," Lady Matlock offered in explanation.


Darcy felt nearly ready to burst at the sight of Elizabeth walking into the room with his aunt and uncle. To know she was so accepted by his family pleased him excessively. While he was very sorry for his cousin Harland, he was grateful for the change it brought about in the Matlocks. Had Harland not suffered as he did, Elizabeth surely would not have found such acceptance so easily.

"Good morning, Elizabeth," he greeted with a smile.

"Good morning!" Elizabeth chirped.

"No greetings for your aunt and uncle?" asked Lord Matlock. "Look how easily we're forgotten by our dear nephew, Diana!"

Lady Matlock made a show of giving her husband a disapproving look, but it only made him laugh all the more.

"Good morning, Aunt," said Darcy with a slight blush. "Good morning, Uncle."

"The damage is done, boy, no use trying to make up for it now," said Lord Matlock good naturedly. "We see where your priorities lie."

Darcy could not fight his uncle on the point, as the implied assumption was completely correct. He would choose Elizabeth, always. The only person that possibly had a chance against her was Georgiana. Luckily, he did not think he would ever have cause to choose between the two.

Lady Matlock's attendance drew quite a bit of notice. Between people coming to greet her and Elizabeth flagging down acquaintances, Darcy was unable to exchange a single word further with Elizabeth until they took their seats.

"How was your evening?" Darcy asked. His own he had spent wishing he was at Matlock House instead his family home in London.

"Short," Elizabeth laughed. "Your aunt is quite the taskmaster."

Darcy nodded his agreement. His aunt's implacability when it came to her family's health was just one of the reasons he had felt comfortable leaving Georgiana with her. "I am pleased to know you were so well looked after."

"And you?" Elizabeth asked. "Did Lady Matlock send an agent over to Darcy House to assure you got a proper amount of rest?"

"I saw no unfamiliar faces, but I would not be surprised if she bribed my housekeeper to nearly smother me with attention," Darcy chuckled.

The pair quickly sobered as the proceedings for the day began. Since those left competing would all duel at least twice during the day, a second ring had been set up. The first four names were called to step into the rings.

In the fourth bout of the day, Elizabeth and Darcy were called to face each other.

"Well, I suppose it had to happen sometime or another," Flitwick sighed. His face suddenly hardened. "If I believe either of you act in such a way as to throw the duel, I will be excessively disappointed."

"We can each afford to lose one duel today," Elizabeth reasoned. "I see no reason for either of us to take pity on the other." She then looked expectantly at Darcy.

"No mercy," Darcy said with a nod, and he meant it. He would much prefer it if Elizabeth won the duel, but knew how very angry she would be if he let her win, and was also well aware of the fact that the spectators would notice such a thing, as well. It would lower their opinion of her, and he would not have it.

Before Matlock could do so, Darcy offered his arm to Elizabeth and escorted her down to the ring. He heard an increase of whispers as a result of his actions, as well as his uncle chuckling quietly, but found he did not care in the slightest.

"Shall we make this interesting, do you think?" Darcy asked Elizabeth lowly.

"This is not interesting enough, already?" Elizabeth came back with.

Darcy smiled in acknowledgment of the quip. "What would you like, Elizabeth, if you win? Name your terms."

Elizabeth put a finger to her chin as she mocked deep thought. "If I win, you shall have to do everything I say for two days complete," she said decidedly.

"Would my behavior be so very different from what it usually is?" Darcy said laughingly.

"We will find out, won't we?" Elizabeth asked archly. "My first order would be that you were not to argue with me about a single thing. Now that would be a challenge for you, sir."

Darcy bowed his head in acknowledgement. Yes, he did often bend to Elizabeth's wishes, but he fought her on the point first, sometimes winning her over to his side.

"And your terms, Mr. Darcy?" Elizabeth asked lightly.

Darcy leaned very close to Elizabeth's ear so there was no chance of being overheard, "If I win, I plan to commemorate my victory with a kiss."

Elizabeth blushed bright red. "Not in front of so many people!" she hissed.

Darcy grinned wickedly and did not answer, resulting in Elizabeth huffing in quite an annoyed fashion. He had no intention of doing so in front of an entire crowd, true enough, but he enjoyed the opportunity to make Elizabeth so nervous. It was a nice change of pace, for she so often made him so.

Matlock and Flitwick had, apparently, also made some sort of bet. The two laughed and shook hands on the deal before parting to opposite sides of the ring.

"Do we have an agreement, Miss Bennet?" Darcy asked lightly as she and he stood just outside the ring.

Elizabeth straightened her spine and looked at Darcy with harsh resolution on her face. "I will not be intimidated by you, sir!"

Darcy flashed a smile, kissed Elizabeth's hand, and went to Flitwick.

"Dare I ask what your exchange was about, Mr. Darcy?" Flitwick asked with a raised brow.

"Just the latest assignment you gave us, Professor," Darcy replied with incredible levity.

"I'm sure," said Flitwick flatly, though he smiled. "Well, I hardly think I need advise you about your opponent."

"No, Professor."

"I would like to hear, once again, that you will not go easy on her, however," said Flitwick.

Darcy could not resist smirking as he watched Elizabeth determinedly ignore him in favor of conversing with Matlock. "I have sufficient desire to win, Professor," he assured. "I will do all that I can."

Flitwick chuckled, wished Darcy luck, and took his spot outside the ring.

The duel between Elizabeth and Darcy would be discussed for the rest of the day. They knew each other so well they were able to predict actions with remarkable accuracy, which made the entire exchange highly entertaining to watch. That the competitors smirked knowingly at each other throughout the duel was also a point of great interest to the spectators.

In the end, Darcy managed to trip Elizabeth with a well-timed jinx made possible by his ability to predict her motions, and he was able to disarm her while she stumbled.

"I believe this means I've won, Miss Bennet," Darcy whispered as he offered Elizabeth her wand back.

Elizabeth stood with her hands on her hips. "If you think I'm not going to evade you in front of all these people, you are sorely mistaken, sir!"

Darcy smiled a little too innocently, then offered his arm after Elizabeth snatched her wand back. "I did not say my commemoration would be immediate. I like to keep you guessing."

"I begin to think you are a wolf, Darcy," Elizabeth huffed as she accepted his arm.

"Only when it comes to you," Darcy said lightly. "Do brighten up, my dear, or people will think you a sore loser."

"Heaven forbid I be thought of as the dour one in this relationship!" Elizabeth exclaimed, breaking into a wide smile.

"Indeed," Darcy said, quickly assembling his mask. "I should hate for people to think me a pleasant man. Such would encourage them to attempt conversing with me. Thank you, Miss Bennet, for bringing me back to my senses."

"You are excessively welcome, Mr. Darcy."

"Come, Miss Bennet, and sit by me," said Lady Matlock when Elizabeth and Darcy returned. "I will shield you from my nephew's smugness over his victory."

Elizabeth accepted Lady Matlock's offer with an exaggerated disdainful look at Darcy.

"I suppose now would not be a good time to beg an invitation to dinner?" Darcy ventured with a smirk.

"Miss Bennet and I shall discuss whether such an invitation might be issued at length," Lady Matlock said haughtily.

Darcy smiled as he turned away, fully aware that Lady Matlock and Elizabeth were only acting. He was so very happy they got along as well as they did.


By the day's end, Elizabeth and Darcy had each only suffered one loss, and so would continue to compete in the last two days of the tournament. Both were entirely exhausted. Elizabeth had stood up four times. Darcy five.

"Oh, I suppose you can join us for dinner, Darcy," said Lady Matlock as she watched Darcy get up from his seat with some amount of difficulty.

"Thank you kindly, Aunt," Darcy said with a relieved smile.

"And Filius, you must, of course, join us as well," Lady Matlock said to the professor.

"Alas, Lady Matlock, I am required at Hogwarts this evening," Flitwick sighed. "I trust my competitor will be well looked after."

"Oh, certainly," said Matlock, "even if he did best my own competitor in her first duel of the day."

Lady Matlock apparated with Elizabeth, Darcy with his uncle.

Georgiana squealed in delight when she caught sight of her brother, and Darcy was so tired he almost failed to catch her when she launched herself at him. He sat down with her quickly.

"And how are you today, dearest?" Darcy asked his sister. He was aware that others were moving about him, but devoted the entirety of his attention to his sister. She had not even the slightest trace of fear upon her face, and he was entirely lost in pleasure at the sight.

Georgiana leaned toward her brother's ear. "I am happy today," she told him.

Darcy immediately crushed his sister to his chest. He had not heard her say such a thing since before she had been kidnapped. He felt Georgiana giggle and thought he could not possibly be filled with more joy. He was pleasantly surprised to find he was wrong.

Georgiana squirmed out of her brother's embrace, then went over to Elizabeth and raised her arms in a request to be picked up. Despite the fact that Elizabeth was pale with exhaustion and had been rubbing the sight of her previous injury all day, she did not hesitate before taking Georgiana in her arms and settling the little girl on her hip.

Darcy wished he could have a painting made of the vision before him, but knew the image would never do the reality of the sight proper justice. If he were to suddenly die at that very moment, he could not complain.

Lord Matlock gently removed Georgiana from Elizabeth and set about distracting the girl so Elizabeth and Darcy could both simply rest. Lady Matlock saw to the ordering of dinner and preparation of a room for Darcy. Within an hour, everyone had a full stomach and the lady of the house demanded the two young duelists she hosted go to sleep.

Darcy offered his arm to Elizabeth to escort her to her room and managed to find some spring in his step.

"I did not think I would ever say I was tired of dueling," Elizabeth said as she and Darcy labored to climb the stairs, "but so it is. I wish we had a full day to recuperate."

Darcy gave noncommittal replies to Elizabeth's various observations until, finally, they were outside her door.

"Well, goodnight, Darcy," Elizabeth said after stifling a yawn. "I trust you will go directly to sleep, yourself."

Darcy quickly glanced down both ends of the hallway, then grabbed Elizabeth's hands and stepped until he was so close his nose nearly touched her forehead. "I haven't forgotten the deal we made earlier, my dear."

Elizabeth eye's widened, then she smiled archly. "Oh? You'll have to remind me, sir, what deal we made, as I find I have completely forgotten having done so."

"Tease," Darcy muttered. Quickly, before she could impishly turn her head away, he swooped down and planted his lips on hers. There he blissfully remained for several moments until slowly drawing away. He wrapped his arms loosely around her, set his forehead to hers, closed his eyes, and sighed contentedly.

Elizabeth cleared her throat after some amount of time.

Darcy opened his eyes and moved so he could see the whole of his beloved's face. "Yes, my dear?" he asked.

Elizabeth smiled in such a way as he had never seen before, then placed her hands on his arms still wrapped around her. "I do like hearing you call me that," she whispered.

"And I like saying it," Darcy replied.

"I think it would be in our best interest to part ways before your aunt comes to see if we have followed her orders or not."

Darcy groaned and set his forehead to Elizabeth's again.

Suddenly, Darcy felt lips against his. His eyes snapped open in surprise. Elizabeth took advantage of his handicap by slipping out of his arms and opening her door. "Goodnight, William," she whispered before closing herself into her room.

Fitzwilliam Darcy might as well have walked on air to his own chamber. He fell into a deep sleep remarkably quickly, more pleased with life than he had been for well over two years.


"Here is your schedule for today and tomorrow, Miss Bennet," said Lord Matlock, approaching with a scroll after stopping at the sponsors' table.

Lizzy took what was offered her and perused. She would have five duels today and four tomorrow. Luckily, she had nearly an hour and a half to rest between each of her bouts and, in contrast to all other duels before, today's would have a time limit of five minutes. "So I open today? What time do we start?"

Matlock looked at his pocket watch. "We have nearly twenty minutes. Who is your first opponent? Crouch? Well, come. Let us find the Longbottoms and see what observations they have to offer."

Lizzy accepted Matlock's arm and wove through the crowd with him until finally coming upon the older couple. Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom were quite happy to offer Lizzy several general pointers, as well as give specified advice for combating Robert Crouch.

Felicia Daelyn joined the group after a time, though her stepdaughter was not at her side. "Perhaps you might introduce me to your competitor, Lord Matlock," she said kindly upon approach.

"Certainly," said Matlock. "Mrs. Daelyn, allow me to introduce to you Miss Elizabeth Bennet, sixth year at Hogwarts, of Gryffindor House."

Lizzy found she rather preferred this introduction to that of being "Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn in Hertfordshire."

"Miss Bennet, Mrs. Felicia Daelyn, winner of various tournaments and competitions throughout Great Britain and a graduate of Hogwarts, herself," Matlock continued.

Lizzy shook hands with Felicia and smiled pleasantly. "I hoped I might meet your stepdaughter," she said.

"Ellen will be along shortly, and I shall be pleased to introduce you," said Felicia. "I understand you are familiar with my niece, Phoebe Weasley?"

"She is one of my dearest friends!" Lizzy said excitedly. She delighted in conversing with Felicia and was fairly buzzing with pleasure when provided with various things she might use to tease her friend.

"I have long been disappointed that Phoebe's interest could not be directed toward dueling," Felicia sighed. "She has such spark. I'm sure she would do well."

"She may have no great interest in dueling, but she applies herself devotedly to Quidditch and is quite the fierce player," Lizzy said.

Felicia laughed. "The Weasley children are forever tormenting my poor sister by staying out until all hours of the night flying around their grounds."

Matlock, who had been continuing to engage with the Longbottoms, tapped Lizzy's shoulder to garner her attention. "It is time, Miss Bennet."

Lizzy parted with Felicia and accepted Lord Matlock's escort down to the ring.

"Remember, Miss Bennet," Matlock said lowly as they made their way, "you have only five minutes to convince the judges that you are more worthy to represent England than Crouch."

"Yes, my lord," Lizzy dutifully replied.

"If you cannot win in that amount of time, at least be sure to make it an impressive draw," Matlock continued. "After all, there will be a good deal of draws in the next two days. The more memorable yours are, the better."

Lizzy dutifully listened to her sponsor as he spouted last minute bits of advice all the way down to the ring, where he released her to take her place.

Robert Crouch, rising to meet all expectations, was a noteworthy opponent. By the end of her five minutes with him, Lizzy felt well and truly drained, though she was pleased to see Crouch was in the same position. They shook hands, shared a quick few observations with each other, and parted civilly.

When Lizzy resumed her seat, it was to find that she and Darcy had been joined by Felicia and her daughter, as well as Howard and his sponsor. Throughout the next several duels, Lizzy was happy to talk with Ellen Daelyn. The girl was not terribly close with Phoebe, as Felicia had only married her father three years previously, but was genial enough that she and Lizzy were able to converse easily. Lizzy delighted in hearing Ellen speak of all the places she and her father had travelled. Admiral Daelyn had retired from the Navy five years previously and had always traveled with his wife and daughter.

"Was it not terrifying?" Lizzy asked interestedly after listening to Ellen tell the tale of a massive sea storm.

"Oh, I hardly remember," said Ellen. "I was in the family cabin with my mother, who was quite the expert at distracting me. I'm sure she used a variety of spells to make the storm less noticeable to me."

"You must miss her very much," Lizzy said sympathetically.

"On the daily," Ellen readily confessed. "Felicia is a wonderful woman, however, and I am pleased to have her in my life."

After hearing so many stories of different lands from Ellen, Lizzy was all the more resolved she should make it into the final four of the entire tournament so she could see different peoples for herself and travel to India, to boot.

When it came time for Darcy's first duel of the day, Lizzy squeezed his hand a smiled encouragingly.

"Nothing more for good luck?" Darcy asked lowly, with an arched brow.

"You, sir, are incorrigible," Lizzy laughed. She lightly pushed him away. "Off you go!"

"You're quite the lucky girl, Lizzy," said Ellen wistfully after Darcy had walked out of hearing range.

Lizzy basked in the compliment, feeling the truth of it. "Well, if you should truly like to get your cousin Phoebe involved in conversation, you can ask her all about myself and Darcy when next you meet. I'm sure her rendition of our knowing each other will be highly entertaining."

"Oh?" Ellen asked interestedly. "And you do not want to tell me, yourself?"

Lizzy laughed. "I have been teased by Phoebe enough. I will not give you my own recounting of the events, as they will likely clash quite horribly with what Phoebe will say and only lead her to annoy me further!"

Ellen shared Lizzy's amusement, though the pair quieted soon after as Darcy took his place opposite his first opponent of the day, Elijah Ridgeway. Lizzy was familiar with Elijah. A Slytherin, he had graduated Hogwarts two years past and now worked with dragons. Despite the fact that their houses were enemies, she and he had gotten along fairly well, bonded by their admiration of various magical creatures.

When Darcy came back to his seat after his match with Elijah having timed out, he leaned on Lizzy for support.

"That was very well done, Darcy," Lizzy said as Darcy rested his head on her shoulder. "Elijah only has the one notable scar after his two years of fighting dragons, and yet you kept him occupied a full five minutes. It seems you are as formidable as the greatest of reptiles."

"Perhaps I will do for guarding your cellar, then," Darcy mumbled. "It would save me a good deal of funds and bother."

Lizzy laughed lightly and shrugged her shoulder to encourage Darcy to sit upright again as the next contestants took their places.


Elizabeth and Darcy somehow managed not to lose a single duel throughout the day, though they did not win any, either. All their matches came to draws. Flitwick and Matlock both assured that this was a favorable outcome, as it showed incredible endurance and skill under pressure.

"I'm so tired I don't even know that I'll make it through dinner," Elizabeth whispered as she and Darcy followed their sponsors to the appropriate site for apparition.

"I'm sure Lady Matlock will assure we are fed, whether we are conscious for the meal or not," Darcy answered wearily. He nodded at another finalist in passing, who seemed just as spent as Elizabeth and Darcy were.

"Oddly enough, the idea of being force fed while unconscious currently holds a great deal of appeal," said Elizabeth.

"I think, Augustus, it might be wiser for our charges to travel by floo than side-along," Flitwick suggested as they neared the area of departure.

Matlock looked at Elizabeth and Darcy, who might as well have been swaying on their feet, only a moment before agreeing.

Darcy was grateful for the suggestion. He and all his other classmates had begun studying apparition several weeks prior and, while he was much more used to the uncomfortable sensation now, he had not been looking forward to such an experience after his long day. He went through the fire right after Lord Matlock. Elizabeth followed quickly behind.

"Aunt Gardiner!" Elizabeth squealed almost as soon as she tumbled out of the grate. Her exhaustion was forgotten in her rush to greet her aunt.

Darcy blinked several times as he processed the fact that the Gardiners, both Muggle-borns that came from trade, had been invited to dine at the Earl of Matlock's house. He had not realized the transformation of his aunt and uncle had been so complete.

"Where is Georgiana?" Darcy asked his own aunt while Elizabeth chattered excitedly with hers.

"Georgiana has made a new friend," Lady Matlock said with deep contentment. "They have been above stairs for well over an hour."

Darcy abandoned the parlor with alacrity and took the stairs two at a time. That his sister might have a friend just seemed too good to be true.

"…and I shall be a Gryffindor, just like Lizzy!" said a small voice excitedly that Darcy vaguely recognized as he approached his sister's door.

Darcy slowed dramatically and crept the rest of the way to his sister's room, that he might open the door more fully and observe how his sister behaved without knowledge of his presence.

"Do you hope to be a Ravenclaw like your brother?" Darcy was able to match the voice to the face of Elizabeth's cousin Irene. "I think the colors of the house suit you well, but I've always thought being a Ravenclaw would be boring."

Strewn about the room were various bits of fabric and ribbons that matched the colors of the Hogwarts houses. Irene had a scarlet cloak about her shoulders and a quill in her hand, as though it were a wand. Georgiana held no such prop.

Georgiana shrugged in response to Irene's questioning, but that did not deter Irene in the slightest.

"Mama says I will tire my professors dreadfully," said Irene. "I can use some magic already at will, you know. Have you managed?"

Georgiana shook her head and flexed her fingers several times.

"Well, that's not so unusual," Irene said with a wave of her small hand. "Come on, Georgie! You must pick a house, or we cannot get on with our game!"

Darcy held his breath as Georgiana looked at the colored scarves Irene had placed before her. She had displayed a strong aversion to participating in anything remotely magical since the incident resulting in Mrs. Younge's death.

Irene continued prattling on about each of the houses until, finally, Georgiana set her hand on the scarf bearing the colors of Gryffindor, if not in an appropriate design for the house.

Darcy felt tears sting his eyes as Georgiana wrapped the scarf around her small shoulders like a shawl. The commonplace motion was anything but.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Darcy!" said Irene, finally spotting Darcy in the doorway.

Georgiana turned, smiled, and ran at her brother.

"Hello, dearest," Darcy said hoarsely once his sister was in his arms.

"Just like Lizzy," Georgiana said, showing the scarf to her brother.

Darcy kissed his sister's cheek. "Gryffindor would be a fine choice, Georgiana. Any house would be lucky to have you," he declared.

Georgiana blushed and began fiddling with her brother's collar.

"Hogwarts is not so very scary, dearest," Darcy told his nervous sister soothingly. Now that she had willingly displayed some interest in the magical world, he was eager to take advantage.

Irene approached and tugged on Darcy's sleeve, drawing his attention. "Has Lizzy come with you?"

"Miss Bennet is in the parlor with your parents," Darcy answered. "I'm sure she would be very happy to see you, Miss Gardiner."

"Come, Georgie!" Irene said excitedly. "Let us go see Lizzy!"

Georgiana patted her brother's shoulder, a gesture he knew to be a request to release her. As soon as she was on the ground again, Irene grabbed her arm and the little girls began making their way through the halls. Darcy followed close behind, drinking in the joy of seeing his sister behave almost like a normal child her age.

Irene shrieked with pleasure at the sight of her cousin and began demanding details of the days of dueling without delay.

Darcy looked down to his side when his sister pulled insistently on his hand. At her beckoning, he lowered himself to his knees, though his legs protested him doing such. "Yes, Georgiana?" he asked.

"Is Lizzy to be my sister?" Georgiana asked quietly with unmistakable hope in her eyes.

Darcy thought his heart might melt. "I certainly hope so, dearest," he answered.

"When?" Georgiana eagerly demanded.

Darcy bought time to compose himself by leaning forward to kiss his sister's forehead. "All in good time, dearest. In good time."

Georgiana pouted, for she was not satisfied with such an answer. Darcy felt rather the same way. He would have preferred to give an exact date, one in the near future, but had no such luck.

"Are those Gryffindor colors you're wearing, Georgiana?" Elizabeth asked, a smile in her voice. "Your brother will try to talk you out of them, I'm sure, but don't you dare let him!"

Disappointment forgotten, Georgiana skipped over to Elizabeth and showed her the makeshift shawl.

Dinner was wonderful on a great many fronts. Lady Matlock and Mrs. Gardiner seemed to genuinely enjoy each other's conversation. Lord Matlock and Mr. Gardiner were pleased to see their wives so happy, and thus were disposed to like each other, as well. Irene kept a steady stream of conversation with Georgiana the entire time, even if the latter said hardly a single word. Darcy was content to listen to the conversations around him and hold Elizabeth's hand under the table as he ate. If he dropped a few more things than usual, he felt comfortable being able to blame his state of exhaustion for the blunders rather than the fact his utensil was in his left hand, as his right was more agreeably occupied.

After being forced to consume third helpings of most everything available, Elizabeth and Darcy were ordered to go to their rooms by Lady Matlock. Darcy hoped he might be able to steal another kiss, but Lord Matlock laughingly declared he thought it likely the pair would collapse on the stairs and that he should escort them both to their respective rooms.


The last day of the tournament was absolutely grueling. Every last one of the competitors was incredibly tired, though they managed to summon enough energy to do themselves credit whenever called into the ring. On days previous, friendly words were exchanged between bouts and people switched seats frequently. Today, however, there was little conversation and even littler movement.

When it came time for Lizzy and Darcy to duel again, the crowd perked up considerably. After their duel timed out, they leaned heavily on each other on their way back to their seats. Felicia and Ellen offered them compliments and a few sweets they had picked up the previous day in Diagon Alley. Lizzy accepted the offered treats gratefully.

Lizzy was just about ready to cry with relief when she finished her last duel. She was not sure she had ever felt so very physically spent. "What now, Lord Matlock?" she asked with a wince as she settled back into her seat.

"Now, we watch Darcy's last duel," said Matlock. "He's closing."

"Exactly, my lord," said Lizzy, somewhat irritably. "What happens after?"

"We break for dinner," Matlock answered. "We'll reconvene in two hours, by which time the judges will hopefully have selected the champions."

"And if not?" Lizzy asked warily.

"If they are struggling on coming to a decision between a few duelers, another demonstration will be requested."

Lizzy set her face in her hands and groaned.

Darcy's last battle ended, predictably, in a draw. Rather than bothering with stumbling to his seat, he waited for his party to join him on the floor following the announcement of a break for dinner and deliberation.

Lady Matlock was prepared for the arrival of her husband, nephew, and guests. She had a light meal ready, which Lizzy and Darcy eagerly devoured, and then sent them to bed for a well-earned nap. Much to their displeasure, she assured they were awake half an hour before the awards ceremony would start. Their ire was mitigated, however, when she offered them more food.

"Oh, I'm so very nervous now," Lizzy told Darcy when they were back in their seats. The judges of the tournament stood down on the floor, the dueling rings having been removed.

Darcy's response was to simply kiss Lizzy's hand. He was rather anxious, as well, and preferred not to speak.

Elijah Ridgeway was announced first. He and his sponsor joined the judges on the floor and accepted congratulations graciously. Elijah looked as though he might fall over, asleep, at any given moment, but his happiness at being chosen was obvious.

Sophia Capulet, a woman of twenty years that had always been taught from home, was named next. She and Lizzy had shared a last duel and very nearly bested each other several times.

When Lizzy heard her name called by the judges, she froze, certain she had heard incorrectly.

"Come along now, Miss Bennet!" said Matlock jovially, offering his arm.

Feeling numb, Lizzy accepted Matlock's escort, shook hands with the judges, and waited for the last champion to be named.

It was Darcy.


Author's Note

Not to toot my own horn, but... there is SO MUCH cute in this chapter! Also, just so you know, I love writing Georgiana.

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