Chapter Eighty-Two: It's Time to Duel
The Order of the Lightning Bolt was easily the most fun Daphne had had at Hogwarts. It was a bit like the practice she'd done with Harry, Hermione, and Ron the year before, for Harry's tasks, or the dueling she'd done with Harry and Dad, and with Sirius over the summer, only with a much larger group.
While she'd known that she and Harry had had the most practice in something akin to a real dueling setting, she'd never really realized just how big the gap was, even in the simple act of casting the spells in isolation.
Harry had the 'original' members of the Order of the Lightning Bolt, meaning the Weasleys, Hermione, and Daphne herself, pairing up with people who had the most trouble, like Neville, because they'd all had at least some practice dueling over the summer and needed less practice themselves, though of course, he did allow them to pair up with each other as well to improve their own skills.
Through some coincidence, Daphne usually ended up practicing with Ginny near the end of the lessons, and those moments were invariably the most fun.
After one duel, in which Daphne had skillfully baited out an attack from Ginny to open her up for a counter, Harry said, "That was really good, Ginny. Here, let me show you a trick…"
He grinned at Daphne. "Care to help me with a demonstration?" he asked.
Daphne grinned back. "A real duel, then? All-out?" she asked.
Harry nodded. Excited murmurs went through the group. While Harry had given demonstrations of the spells they'd been practicing (in the few lessons they'd had only the Disarming Charm, Impediment Jinx, Knockback Jinx, and Reductor Curse, though that last one obviously wasn't used on each other) he hadn't dueled anymore since his demonstration with Smith in the first lesson.
"Okay, everyone stand close to the walls. I don't want anyone caught by stray spells," Harry said.
Once everyone had found a spot, Harry and Daphne stood facing each other. Then he seemed to focus on something, and something like a transparent dome seemed to rise around Harry and Daphne, separating them from the others.
"I asked the Room for a shield to protect the people watching," he explained. "I hope I haven't gotten rusty," he added with a grin.
"Don't start getting too arrogant, now. Wouldn't want to be beaten by your girlfriend in front of everyone, would you?" Daphne replied with a smirk.
"Ginny, could you count us off?" Harry asked.
"Sure. Both of you ready?"
Harry and Daphne nodded.
"Alright…go!"
Daphne fired an Impediment Jinx immediately, but Harry had already moved away and returned fire with a Stinging Jinx.
Daphne had no time for a Shield Charm, but she managed to parry the Stinging Jinx with a silent flick of Flipendo, before opening up a bit more distance, firing another Impediment Jinx but aiming right in front of Harry, who saw what Daphne was going for but decided to parry it anyway and return fire with Expelliarmus, but Daphne had already moved, firing Stinging Jinxes to annoy Harry and keep him busy with parrying, only he shot back an Impediment Jinx of his own which she was forced to dodge by diving, but she immediately cast Protego to make sure Harry couldn't make use of her moment of weakness, and not a moment too soon, either, as his Leg-Locker Curse hit the shield and ricocheted off.
Daphne fired a Stunner in return, which Harry blocked with his own Shield Charm, but he'd managed to angle the charm in such a way that Daphne had to duck to avoid being hit by her own Stunner, and Harry shot another Expelliarmus at her, which she barely managed to parry.
She grinned, knowing that Harry could have ended the duel if he'd used a Stunner too, since those were far harder to parry. Apparently he was having just as much fun as Daphne herself.
Deciding to get slightly more creative, she used Wingardium Leviosa to pick up one of the pillows on the floor and throw it at Harry, but he reacted quickly, blasting the pillow back at her with a Banishing Charm.
Daphne parried the pillow using a silent Flipendo and immediately shot another Impedimenta at Harry afterward, but he'd made good use of the short moment where the flying pillow had obscured Daphne's vision and he'd sidestepped to counter, but Daphne avoided the spell by diving again, this time rolling to her side to avoid Harry's follow-up, and using the motion to shoot a Leg-Locker at him, which he dodged.
Daphne now leapt to her feet and flicked her wand, trying to knock Harry off-balance, but he braced himself and was lined up perfectly for a shot.
Daphne parried with a horizontal flick — but Harry hadn't used a spell at all, instead choosing to drop low into a crouch, firing an Expelliarmus which Daphne couldn't react to in time because her parry had left her wand out of position, and her last-ditch attempt just wasn't fast enough. Her wand was ripped from her hand and Harry caught it with a grin.
For a moment the room was silent…but then the others began to applaud and cheer.
"That was awesome!" Tracey shouted.
"Good duel!" Anthony Goldstein said.
"Wow, Harry, good moves," Dean Thomas said, slapping Harry on the back — he'd asked the Room to dispel the safety barriers, so everyone could move freely again.
"As you saw," Harry said, and the noise quieted down, "Daphne used her environment to her advantage by throwing the pillow at me, but I turned it around into an advantage for myself, instead. I also misdirected her by making her think I'd use a spell immediately, but instead I made sure she parried nothing. In Quidditch terms it's similar to making the Keeper dive for the wrong ring.
"We stuck to simple jinxes and hexes for the duel because…well, honestly, because we were just having fun, and because we don't want to get hurt in training, but the point of this demonstration was more to give you an idea of what a duel might actually look like than to showcase every single spell we know. In a real duel, you'll probably use the spells you're most confident with."
"What was that parry thing you were doing?" Cho asked. "It looked like you were just flicking your wand."
Harry looked at Daphne with a grin, who said, "It's a silent Flipendo. Because the parry just needs to be fast, not strong, it's fairly easy to pull off. Ideally, you parry your opponent before they even fire the spell, but as you saw, you can also use it to deflect a spell already coming at you, though it becomes harder the more powerful the spell used against you is. For example, I can parry Expelliarmus at the last moment, but Stupefy would likely have gotten through, at least partially. Don't even try it on Unforgivables."
"You might also have spotted," Harry said, taking over again, "that not all our spells had great execution. In a duel, it's more important to keep yourself safe than to make your spellwork flawless. As this is a Defense group, and not a dueling club, we'll be focusing a lot more on form at first, though I'd like to get some dueling in later for those who are interested in it. If you'd prefer to just practice the spells, of course, you can."
He grinned. "But dueling is a lot of fun when you're just practicing. And if you think Daphne and I are good…you should see what proper duelists are capable of. Alright, I think it's time to call it a day, but first, Hermione's got something for all of us."
He beckoned Hermione forward, who handed everyone a fake Galleon, on which Harry could set the date and time of new meetings. The Protean Charm on the coins would then make sure all the others would change to reflect the date Harry had set.
As everyone was being directed out by Harry again, Ginny came up to Daphne and said, "Maybe we should try and practice on our own a bit sometime. I mean, there won't be a lot of meetings because the first Quidditch match is coming up, but I'd like to get a bit better at dueling, and you and Harry make it look like a lot of fun."
Daphne grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me," she said. More practice was always fun, especially if it also meant she got to spend more time with Ginny.
"They've got Quidditch practice tomorrow, so…tomorrow night?" Ginny asked.
Daphne nodded. "Yeah, sure!"
Ginny smiled brightly at her. "Alright, see you then!" She quickly made her way over to Fred and George, who were being sent off now.
"Going to do some extra training, then?" Harry asked.
"Yep. Jealous?" Daphne asked with a smirk.
"Only that you get to stay inside. I have to go out and fly in that terrible weather," Harry said with a grin. "Good thing I still have your bracelet, or my hands would go so numb I wouldn't even be able to get the Snitch at all…"
"I can't believe you've never taken that off," Daphne said with a shake of her head.
"Of course not," Harry said. He smiled sheepishly and checked if no one was listening, and then leaned in and said, "At first it was because I liked you and didn't want to admit it…Now it's because…God, this sounds cheesy…because it reminds me you've got my back."
Daphne felt her face heating up. "You sap," she said, though she couldn't stop herself from grinning.
"Told you it was cheesy…anyway, you should get going," Harry said.
Daphne nodded and kissed him, maybe a bit longer than their usual greeting kisses, and then made her way over to Tracey, Adrian, and Hallie, who were already waiting for her at the door.
"Where did you learn to duel like that?" Adrian asked as they walked.
"My dad did some dueling in school, and he taught Harry and me how to do it. And we've been practicing with Sirius Black, who's a Hit Wizard. And, of course, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I practiced a lot last year to help Harry get ready for his tasks," Daphne said.
"You got that good in only a year?" Tracey asked.
"Like I said, we practiced a lot. And even then, Harry and I together can't even beat my dad or Sirius. They know a lot more spells, and they're very adept at using them," Daphne said. "Besides, it's much easier when you don't have to worry about getting hurt for real. In a real fight, it's probably not going to be a Stinging Jinx or Leg-Locker, but something much nastier. I wouldn't want to fight a Death Eater unless I really have to."
The next evening, while Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were training, Daphne and Ginny met up in the Room of Requirement, which felt nearly cavernous now that they were just there with the two of them.
"So, anything in particular you wanted to practice?" Daphne asked, lightly stretching to loosen up a bit.
Ginny shrugged. "Not really. I thought we could maybe just have a couple of duels to see how it goes." She grinned a bit guiltily. "And maybe I'm just still trying to keep you from your book."
Daphne laughed. "I thought it might be something like that. But I don't mind; I like dueling, and maybe this extra practice will help me get better than Harry. I do beat him on occasion, but I'd like to make it a bit more even," she said.
"I can imagine. I hate losing too," Ginny said.
"Well, let's get to it, then," Daphne said.
They faced each other, bowed, and began their duels. As the evening went on, they increased their pace and began using more and more varied spells, and by the time they were done, both of them were breathing heavily from all the running and diving they'd done.
"That was fun," Ginny said. "Same time tomorrow?"
Daphne laughed. "You really don't want me to talk to Pythia again, do you?" she asked.
Ginny shrugged uneasily. "I just…I can't see anything weird about the book, but I…I just can't trust it, either. Every time I think about it I just see the Chamber of Secrets and Riddle again…only it's you lying there. I…Look, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but least of all on you, because you were the first one who tried to help me in my first year."
"Your brothers and Harry wanted to help you too, though," Daphne said.
"I don't just mean with the diary. Even before, with my school things. And since then, too, like the dress robes last year or this summer, by convincing my mum to let me stay for the meeting.
"I'm a year below you, so I don't really get to join in on the adventures you and Harry and Ron and Hermione have, and I can't really do anything for you except watching you guys get caught up in all sorts of weirdness.
"That's why I'm so happy to have the Order now as well. It feels like I can finally do something useful, something meaningful. And if, on the side, I can keep you from getting possessed…well, that's just a nice bonus," Ginny said.
"Wow. I…I knew it was important to you, but I never realized how important," Daphne said. "What if…I bring the book here next time? I can read it here, and you can keep an eye on me. That way you know nothing strange is happening. It'd probably be good to have someone with me anyway, because I'm bound to lose track of time while I'm reading…"
"That's…fine, I guess," Ginny said.
"I have to know some of the things in that book. I have to learn Occlumency, and I want to become a better Seer. There is a lot of useful information in that book, and I can literally question it on its contents. It's like studying without having to memorize page numbers. Without it…well, let's just say you're not the only one feeling like she's not contributing enough…"
Ginny looked at Daphne speculatively. "Alright," she said. "We'll meet up here again tomorrow, while Harry is at Quidditch training. We'll practice dueling for an hour, and then you can read your book, and I'll do some homework, or something, while I keep an eye on you."
"Deal," Daphne said.
"Good. Then let's get back to our common rooms. I don't know about you, but I could use a shower…"
Daphne nodded fervently. "Yeah. If there's one downside to being active, it's how sweaty you get. Well, at least we didn't have to spend two hours flying in the wind and the rain."
Ginny grinned. "That's true. Well…see you tomorrow!"
They left the Room of Requirement and went their separate ways. Daphne was smiling all the way back to the common room. The year was getting better and better.
I admit, I really like writing the practice scenes because they remind me of two things I love doing IRL: fencing and krav maga. Fencing for the competitive element and the 'dueling', krav for the practicing of techniques in isolation and then stress-testing them at the end of the lesson, and the supportive nature of the trainings. It helps that it's also useful for me to set up moments between Daphne and Ginny.