Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything you recognize… only that which is new is mine.
A/N: IMPORTANT OK, so I realized that I left out some important dialogue in this chapter ::ducks tomatoes:: anyway, please REREAD the duel between Harry and Draco… I think it makes more sense now… Happy reading!
Chapter 17: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Harry peered through the curtains toward the audience. Every seat was almost filled and Harry's stomach was heavy with anticipation. He let the deep purple curtain fall back into place making the crowd disappear. He walked off of the stage and turned into the chamber which lay of off the Great Hall.
In order to allow all of the students a decent view of the matches, Dumbledore had moved the High table to the side and conjured a large wooden platform with deep purple curtains surrounding it. All of the students were still sitting at their own House tables.
Harry walked down the side stairs from the stage and into the antechamber where all of the finalists were waiting. Harry could feel the tension in the room, though he considered it to be decidedly less than that of the Triwizard Tournament during his fourth year. Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny were seated in a far corner talking amongst themselves. Most of the other contestants were keeping to themselves looking as if they were going to be sick if they had to speak. Harry felt grateful that he was not the only one who was nervous. During the Triwizard tournament he had been so much younger than the other contestants and had felt therefore more vulnerable. At least with most of the others his same age he felt much more confident and at ease.
Harry slowly made his way over toward his friends, but his path was suddenly blocked. His vision was obstructed by a very familiar dark haired girl. Harry half smiled at Cho who looked at him seriously.
"Harry, I just wanted to wish you good luck."
To say that Harry had been slightly surprised by her words would have been a slight understatement. He nodded his thanks and smiled, "You too."
Cho smiled, looking unsure of what to do, until an arm encircled her waist and pulled her to the side.
"Now, Cho no fraternizing with the enemy," Michael Corner remarked coolly.
Cho looked apologetically at Harry and then to turn the situation she turned back to her boyfriend, "Don't be a prat Michael, and besides you are the enemy too."
Michael laughed half heartedly before steering Cho away from where Harry was standing. He shook his head and continued to his friends. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all staring in his direction.
He played innocent, "What?"
Ron chuckled slightly, "Feeling any old sparks flying here and there mate?"
Harry swatted his best friend in the back of the head. "Don't start… and no."
Ginny continued to stare in his direction before he caught her eye. She smiled weakly and turned to Luna, who had been talking to her. Harry slumped down in a chair next to Ron.
Ron patted his arm, "You nervous mate?"
Harry looked at his best friend. "This just reminds me a little of the Triwizard tournament."
Hermione spoke up, "Don't worry, Harry, you will do great. You are probably the best out of any of us really."
"Thanks Hermione," Harry smiled at her, "It is a lot easier with you two here with me."
Hermione reached over Ron to touch his arm lightly, "As we always will be."
Harry smiled at them gratefully and sat back in his chair with his eyes closed. He hadn't realized how nervous he would be. When he had woken up earlier that morning he had even considering using one of Fred and George's new products that could give the user a fever. But in the end he had worked up the courage to go down. He wouldn't back down to Voldemort. Surely if he could battle the dark lord, he could take on his classmates. Besides, there was no maze, no portkey, no Cedric.
He suddenly realized why Cho must have confronted him. Out of all people she would be the one to understand the effect that the Tournament was having on him. No one else had experienced the loss that they both had. Harry assumed that this Tournament was succeeding in the bringing back memories to Cho as well.
He opened his eyes and looked in her direction. Much to his disgust she was in the corner with her arms around Michael. He was glad to note that instead of feeling pangs of jealously he was relieved to see that she was happy. He was also happy that she had wished him good luck.
It was good to know that even though they had a bad relationship they still shared something deeper, a deeper connection from his fourth year. One of loss, which is probably one of the strongest connections two people can have; besides love and hate.
Harry was awakened from his reverie by the sound of the large antechamber doors closing. McGonagall stood in front of the door.
"Good day everyone… I wanted to go over some of the rules before we begin. You may watch the other duels if you wish. There have been chairs conjured in front of the stage for your comfort; or you may remain in here until your name is called. We strongly recommend that you use creativity and skillfulness in your hexes. But, the winner will ultimately be determined by the disarming of your opponent. Remember the curses that we went over which are not to be used during your duels…Unforgivables, of course being among them. Use of any of these will result in disqualification. Also, once you have defeated your opponent, or a judge tells you the contest is over you must stop. Excessiveness will also result in disqualification. Remember, this is a chance for our younger students to see Hogwarts' best. So please control yourselves."
She nodded curtly before turning around and hauling the large door open once again. She leaned out the doorway as if communicating with someone. Before Harry could lean back to see whom she was addressing she turned back around quickly, "We are going to begin."
The room went eerily silent as everyone filed out of the small room. They were to participate in the opening ceremony, which was basically a chance to once again congratulate all of the finalists.
Harry walked up the stairs to the platform, entering the stage, darkened by the surrounding curtains. The fifteen finalists stood side by side as they had been instructed. When the curtains opened they were met with excited cheers from all tables of the schools, even Slytherin.
Harry looked out into the crowd. Right in front of the stage was a small table, at which the judges were sitting. The judges were Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick. Harry was more than delighted that the resident Potions master was not among the judges. Behind the tables he also noted the presence of a line of empty chairs; he presumed that they were the ones that had been conjured up for the finalists. Beyond the chairs were the House tables, in their usual places.
Harry watched as Dumbledore rose up from the judge's table and turned toward the students, who quieted. Harry noticed that the remaining teachers were lined against the wall on either sides of the Great Hall.
Harry felt a chill go up his spine. He moved his eyes to the back of the Great Hall, where Snape was staring at him. Snape snapped his eyes away from Harry's as soon as Dumbledore addressed the room.
"Welcome to the Hogwarts' Tournament!" More cheers erupted throughout the Great Hall, creating a booming effect on Harry's ears. Luckily, Dumbledore motioned for them to quiet once more.
"Today our fifteen finalists will be competing for the prize of 200 House points! We only ask for complete silence throughout the duels and that you remain in your seats. Otherwise I cannot guarantee your safety."
After that comment, Harry watched as many of the students turned toward their neighbors with worried expressions. He could only imagine how they felt about being hit by a stray hex or curse.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and his mouth curled up into a small smile. Harry realized then that he must have placed some kind of Imperturbable Charm around the stage to prevent that from happening.
"Now, we will be hosting the duels one at a time, thus there will be fourteen separate matches. As I am sure most of you are aware there will be one bye because of the odd number of finalists. The judges have all agreed that the first round will be bypassed by the person who was ranked number one out of the Preliminaries…"
Dumbledore paused momentarily, appearing to enjoy the anticipation immensely, "Harry Potter."
Harry's stomach lurched as he felt Ron grab his shoulder and shove him forward. Harry had not expected it in the least; after all he had lost his first Preliminary match. But as he tried to remember he realized that after that match he had managed to gather his concentration and he had in fact won the remainder of his matches.
He smiled weakly as the Hall roared with cheers and clapping, and the occasional jeer from the Slytherin table. He moved back into the line along side Ron who was clapping excitedly with a large grin on his face.
Dumbledore's gleaming eyes met Harry's for a second. Harry caught a small wink from the old wizard before Dumbledore took his seat at the table. McGonagall, who was seated beside him, took her turn and stood up.
"The first match will be between Susan Bones, Hufflepuff, and Hermione Granger, Gryffindor."
The finalists slowly went off of the stage, with the exception of Hermione and Susan, who were left nervously standing in their places. Harry followed Ron to the front of the Great Hall where they each sat down. Many of the other finalists had decided to observe the matches as well.
Professor Flitwick stood up from the judge's table. "Begin!"
At once Susan and Hermione jumped to face each other. Hermione began, "Locomotor Mortis!"
Susan, who had not been fast enough in her defense, snapped to attention, as her legs appeared to lock at the knees. Harry could tell that she was careful not to move; otherwise she would end up falling over.
After Hermione ended the curse Susan pointed her wand at Hermione, "Expelliarmus!" She cried out loudly.
Hermione had already jumped to the side and shouted the same thing. But, Susan had anticipated the move and careful hoped to her right side, successfully avoiding the oncoming hex.
Susan once again regained her composure and pointed her wand at Hermione, "Tarantallegra!"
Hermione stood quietly for a second before her legs took control, causing her to break out into a fast paced dance.
Harry could hear Ron snicker softly and he had to use all of his control not to laugh at the site. Harry felt a slight shove from Ron as Ginny pushed Ron to be quiet from her seat. Harry felt slightly guilty, as he knew that Hermione would not have laughed at him if he had been in the same situation.
Susan had lifted the hex and jumped to attention, waiting for Hermione to make her next move. When it appeared that she was not going to make a move Susan tried desperately do disarm her once again.
But Hermione dashed out of the way pointed her wand at Susan while shouting, "Petrificus Totalus!" Susan's body went rigid and she fell flat over on her back.
Neville, who was sitting to the right of Harry, nudged him softly in the side, "That's a favorite of hers isn't it?"
Harry chuckled softly and clapped along with the rest of the students.
Professor Flitwick had motioned to the curtains with his wand, which closed in response alerting everyone of the end of the match.
He addressed the students, "And the winner of the first match is Hermione Granger."
Harry saw Hermione step down from the side of the stage and enter the antechamber. Ron apparently saw this also because he quickly stood up and walked off to the antechamber.
Harry waited as Professor McGonagall stood once more, "The second match is between Millicent Bulstrode, Slytherin and Virginia Weasley, Gryffindor.
Harry turned to his left where Ginny was sitting; she quickly leapt up from her chair and ran to the side of the stage. Millicent, who had not watched the first match, almost collided with Ginny as she entered from the chamber to go up the stairs. Ginny politely motioned for Millicent to walk up the stairs first, even though the girl had already started.
Harry decided to wait and watch Ginny before going in to congratulate Hermione.
The curtains slowly opened, revealing the two girls, standing at the opposite ends of the stage, wands at the ready. Harry could see the determination on Ginny's face. He was surprised to realize that he was not nervous for her; he knew that she was capable of handling herself; she did have six brothers after all.
Professor Flitwick stood once again, "Begin!"
Millicent loomed in the corner for several seconds before rushing to the center of the stage, "Furnunculus!"
Harry has been expecting Ginny's body to break out in boils, but the hex appeared to stop in front of Ginny and was thrown back from whence it had come. Immediately thereafter, Millicent's skin showed evidence of painful boils. Harry was not sure if they were even supposed to cause harm like that to their opponent, but the judges didn't stop the match.
He looked at Ginny once again and realized that she must have done a protection spell on herself.
Ginny appeared to take pity on the Slytherin and ended the curse.
She didn't give her any time to react however when she pointed her wand once again, "Rictusempra!"
It was a very odd site. Harry never remembered seeing Millicent Bulstrode smile. But there she was, on stage, laughing uncontrollably. Harry was happy Ginny was doing well, but he was secretly hoping she would end the curse; the site was too unsettling for him.
Ginny let it go on for a little while longer, until it looked as if Professor McGonagall was going to stand up and disqualify her. Before she could Ginny lifted the hex. Harry thought that he actually saw relief on McGonagall's face that she would not have to disqualify a student from her own house.
Millicent's smile contorted into a look of pure rage. She lunged at Ginny, looking as if she wanted to physically hurt her.
Harry watched as Ginny smirked and pointed her wand at Millicent's chest, "Expelliarmus!"
Millicent's wand was forcefully plucked from her own hand as she fell to the floor. The curtains slowly closed once more as all of the house tables, save the Slytherins, cheered loudly.
Harry clapped loudly and rose from his seat, walking quickly over to the antechamber. He ran to the back of the room where Hermione and Ron were seated.
"Congratulations Hermione! Both of you just missed Ginny beating Millicent. It was amazing."
Hermione smiled and Ron looked proud, "I always knew my baby sister could pounce those Slytherins!"
"Ron!" Ginny's groaned as she approached them, "What would I honestly have to do in order for you to not consider me your baby sister?"
Ron looked up at her, "Been born a few years earlier."
Ginny laughed and slumped into an adjacent seat, "Don't I know it!"
Harry tried to listen to what was going on in the Great Hall, "Who is up now?"
Ginny sighed, "Draco and Seamus… I hope he makes it out intact."
As if on cue the door from the Great Hall opened and Seamus entered, looking slightly miffed. Harry heard him mumble several words including, "Slytherin" and "git."
"That was quick," Ron mused. Hermione elbowed him… hard.
Ron pretended to look hurt, "Well, it was."
Seamus had already planted himself in a chair across the room next to Ernie and Susan.
The four sat in amiable silence for a while. Every few minutes they could hear shouts and cheers coming from the Great Hall. Most of the others had been drawn out of the antechamber from curiosity, but Harry and his friends remained.
Harry was watching the moving pictures on the wall. After a while the door opened once again and Neville peered his head inside, his face flushed and sweaty.
"Ron," he huffed, "Your on… against Justin."
Ron jumped up in response and raced out of the door, his mind apparently involuntarily focused on nothing but the match.
Hermione followed him out. Harry rose to follow, but felt a small hand encircle his wrist. He turned to face Ginny.
"Harry wait… can I talk to you for a moment."
Harry nodded and sat back down, slightly concerned.
Ginny sat across from him, "I just wanted to warn you… I overheard Malfoy talking earlier… If you face him Harry please be careful."
She paused momentarily. "He said that he would do anything necessary to get you eliminated from the competition. He is going to bait you Harry. I just don't want you to lose on account of his callousness."
Harry met her eyes, "I know Gin, thanks… but you know I can't promise anything. Besides, we don't even know if I will make it to facing Malfoy."
She smiled, "Harry… when has fate ever not put you two at odds?"
He laughed, "Good point."
She rose from the chair and started toward the door, "We better see how Ron is making out."
Harry acquiesced and also lifted himself from the seat, going through the door, which Ginny was holding open.
He walked around the stage to see the curtain close. He felt rather disappointed that he hadn't been able to see Ron compete. Hermione motioned over to him from where she was sitting.
"He won!" she said.
Harry grinned and turned to the side of the stage from which Ron was coming toward them. He had an extra bounce in his step as he bounded toward them. He pulled Hermione into a hug. It was something that he regretted immediately, as his ears turned bright red and he quickly took his seat. Hermione looked surprised, but content nonetheless and sat next to Ron. Ginny just smiled knowingly at them.
Professor Dumbledore stood from the judge's table and the Great Hall was once again silent. "That is the end of round one… we will now continue onto round two. First up are Cho Chang, Ravenclaw and Virginia Weasley, Gryffindor."
Ginny jumped up to the stage once more.
Harry turned to Neville, who was once again seated to his right, "Neville what are the results that I missed?"
Neville looked up to the ceiling in thought, "Well the others were Luna and Michael Corner… which of course Luna won. Err, you know Draco won and so did Hermione. Cho beat Goyle, not that it was really a surprise… Ginny won, Ron did too, and I won."
Harry smiled, "Wow that's great Neville! Congratulations…who were you against?"
"I dueled Ernie… He's actually better in theory than practice I guess," Neville shrugged.
"Neville you probably beat him because you are better… I heard that the new wand has been doing wonders for you."
Neville smiled, "Yes, Gran was slightly disappointed that I wasn't using Dad's anymore, but she is happy that I am actually able to do spells now."
Harry nodded and turned as the curtains had opened once again. Ginny and Cho were standing very close together in the middle of the stage. Professor Flitwick announced for the two to begin.
Cho turned her wand on Ginny and started the incantation, "Confundo!" Ginny, who looked like she was going to say a curse, simply stood in a state of confusion.
After a few moments Cho lifted the curse and they continued on. Ginny successfully put her infamous Bat Bogey Hex on Cho, who then retaliated with a jelly-jinx hex. They each attempted to disarm each other, but in turn both missed as they jumped out of the firing range.
Cho yelled, "Serpensortia!" which Harry thought was out of character, as the only person he could remember ever using this curse had been Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin.
Ginny was not phased however as she simply raised her wand to it, "Engorgio!" The small green snake grew to about triple it size.
Cho stood back, not knowing what to do while Ginny continued, "Mobiliarbus!" The snake lifted off of the ground and followed where Ginny's wand directed… right at Cho.
Cho, despite knowing that she herself had conjured it fainted as the large snake floated over to her. Ginny made the snake disappear with a simple wave of her wand while the curtains closed once again.
Harry, who was very surprised at how Ginny had turned the situation, was vaguely aware of his name being called.
He drifted back into reality as Hermione appeared in front of him, "Harry we are on."
Harry was shocked. He dumbly walked behind her and onto the stage.
Hermione nodded at him nervously, "It's okay Harry, whatever happens… well, it happens."
He nodded and waited for the curtain to open. They were standing about a good deal away from one another. He could feel the hundreds of eyes that were tuned on him. Not to mention because of the added tension of him dueling one of his best friends.
He watched as Flitwick mouthed the words, "Begin" but he could not hear them. He turned to Hermione who had hesitated also. But he remembered what she had said.
He strained his arm to focus his wand on her, "Rictusempra!" He figured that if he had to hex her he might as well use ones that were not harmful. He broke the charm relatively quickly and they moved in a circle across the stage.
Hermione raised her wand hesitantly, "Locomotor Mortis!"
Harry jumped out of the way quickly and was able to avoid the curse. He wasn't prepared that she was about to shout another one.
Harry wasn't quick enough as the instant scalping curse hit him straight on. He lifted his hand quickly to feel his hair, or rather, where it had once been. Laughter started from the hall and Hermione looked like she was going to be sick.
"I'm so sorry Harry, it was the first thing I thought of."
Harry simply nodded, "Two can play at that game." And with that he retaliated.
Hermione, who was still distracted from what she had done to him, instantly sprouted a leek from each ear. The laughter continued to roar throughout the hall as Hermione felt in horror her ears.
Harry made to apologize but she continued on, "Tarantallegra!" Harry felt his legs moving fast as he danced unwillingly across the stage.
He pointed his wand back at her, "Expelliarmus!"
Hermione's wand flew from her hand and into his own. She looked slightly shocked but was smiling. They had never ended the spells so he was still bald, and dancing around the stage. She quickly realized that she had lost and was still housing leeks in her ears.
Professor Dumbledore stood up from the table, looking extremely amused, "Finite Incantatum!"
Harry was relieved to feel his legs stop moving. He involuntarily reached up to the top of his head, for once relieved that the messy mop was still in fact there.
Hermione rushed over to him, "Good job Harry."
He placed his arm around her shoulder as they walked down the stairs, "Same to you, at least we entertained them."
Hermione blushed, "Yes by embarrassing ourselves."
Harry smiled as Ron came over to them, "Great job Hermione, you almost had him there… that was the most hilarious thing I have ever seen… Harry, without hair!" Ron was practically falling over from peels of laughter. Hermione looked at Harry apologetically but he smiled.
"Well Ron, I guess I will be sure to remind her which hex to use the next time she gets mad at you."
Ron stopped laughing immediately and turned to Hermione, "You would never do that to me, would you?"
Hermione smiled slyly and walked back to the chairs in front of the stage.
Ron turned to Harry, "She wouldn't."
Harry smiled and followed Hermione, laughing at how unsure Ron had looked.
Harry sat with the others while the matches continued. Ron had faced Neville. Much to his consternation, he had actually lost. Neville had been able to throw in an extra disarming curse as Ron was dealing with birds that Neville had sent attacking him.
The following match had been over relatively soon, with Draco Malfoy defeating Luna. She had put up a good fight in the beginning, but it soon became obvious that Draco was playing dirty. He was of course, playing by all of the rules, not using any curses that weren't allowed. But he tended to attack his opponents when they were not aware; always taking them by surprise.
Round three began with Ginny facing off with Neville. Harry had very much intended on paying attention until he realized that because the two of them were dueling, the only other person left that had won from round two was Malfoy. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of curses Malfoy would try to use on him during their match.
The match between Ginny and Neville had been extremely close, neither of them really wanting to harm the other. But in the end it had been Ginny would had pulled through and beaten Neville.
Neville didn't look all that down about it, he had been too distracted by Luna who had immediately complimented him on his creativity in using curses.
Harry braced himself for what he knew was coming.
Professor McGonagall rose from her seat and said in a loud stately voice, "The next match will be Harry Potter, Gryffindor and Draco Malfoy, Slytherin."
A silence seemed to seep throughout Great Hall. Harry mused that it was a little over dramatic, but he was eager to beat Malfoy and repay him for all of the things that he had done to him. He just hoped he could do it.
He walked up to the stage, following in Malfoy's trail. They entered the darkened stage and faced each other.
Draco sneered, "I finally have my chance Potter, to show everyone what an idiot you really are."
Harry smirked back, "Well at least I don't have anything to prove, everyone already knows you are an idiot Malfoy."
Draco raised his wand as Harry mirrored his actions. The curtains slowly opened up and they waited until they heard the word.
Malfoy sneered at Harry, "You better watch out Potter, it won't always be school duels… no teachers preventing the use of the Unforgivables...they use worse hexes than tickling spells."
Harry glared right back, "Been accompanying death eaters to work have we?"
"Better than idolizing ex-convicts who get themselves killed," Malfoy snapped.
Harry's heart stopped beating. He stared hard at Malfoy as he heard Professor Flitwick announce the start of the match.
Immediately everything began happening rather fast. Harry would yell the first curse he could think of while trying to dodge the ones that Malfoy was sending his way. Several times Harry could have sworn that he heard Malfoy quietly begin to say the Cruciatus. But, he would always stop himself and throw something else back at Harry. The minutes went by but Harry refused to give up.
After a while, Harry and Malfoy ended up facing each other, caught up in a ritualistic dance of circling one another.
Malfoy's mouth curved into a smirk, "What's the matter Potter? Did I hit a nerve? My father told me all about the infamous Sirius Black and his pathetic death… pretty pointless way to go wouldn't you agree?"
Harry's mouth went dry as he attempted to turn the argument from the topic that was the most painful to him. He knew that if Malfoy had any idea how much it affected him he would never quit.
"Having a heart to heart with Daddy dearest, have we? Well, at least I know where to steer the Ministry when they come looking for clues about the whereabouts of a certain Lucius Malfoy."
Draco Malfoy's face appeared to lose color momentarily. He quickly shook his head and plunged toward Harry throwing every hex he could think of.
They were matching curse for curse, both with fierce determination burning in their eyes. Harry had not looked off of the stage, for fear of taking his eyes off of Malfoy.
Malfoy was beginning to walk forward to Harry, causing him to move backward in an effort to maintain a safe distance between the two. He very badly wished he could turn around to judge the distance between himself and the wall. He did not want to entrap himself against Malfoy.
He pointed his wand at Malfoy, determined to not let him move any closer, "Locomotor Mortis!" he yelled.
Malfoy's legs locked in place, preventing him from going moving toward him.
Harry watched as Malfoy's eyes gleamed from anger to enlightenment. An eerie smile appeared on his face.
"I wouldn't worry about my father if I were you… I know that the dark lord has planned very exciting things for a certain Mudblood and Weasel… I for one cannot wait."
Unwillingly, Harry's eyes left Malfoy's and locked on where Ron and Hermione were sitting in the crowd. His stomach lurched as he thought of the horrible things they could suffer because of him.
Distracted, Harry had no time to react as Malfoy took the momentary lapse of concentration as the perfect opportunity to strike.
Malfoy lifted his wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"
The force of the spell hit Harry incredibly hard. He stood frozen in is spot until the spell hit him straight on. His wand exited his hand while his body fell backward.
The last thing that Harry was aware of was his head making contact with the wall which was a lot closer than he had anticipated earlier.
And then there was black.
~~~***~~~***~~~
Harry opened his eyes slowly, painfully aware that it was brightly lit wherever he was. He pushed himself into a seated position and squinted his eyes.
The hospital wing momentarily came into focus. He reached over to the night table and picked up his glasses, which had been laying there. Harry was all too familiar with this routine.
He strained his neck to look into the other beds, but they all appeared to be empty. He was curious to know how long he had been there. The last thing that he could remember was Draco Malfoy's face. And that was something that he very much wanted remedied. He reached up to his head and was surprised to find bandages there instead of his messy hair.
The doors to the hospital wing opened and three familiar figured strolled in. Upon seeing Harry awake, they rushed over to him.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "We thought you were going to sleep straight on through Christmas!"
Ron sat in a chair beside the bed, "Nice of you to join us mate."
Ginny simply smiled and hopped up on the edge of the bed next to Harry's.
"Err," Harry started, "What happened exactly?"
Hermione huffed, "Malfoy did the disarming charm on you… you fell back and hit your head on the wall… it was a dirty trick, everyone knows it… but since he technically didn't do anything illegal they had to let him continue."
Harry stared in disbelief, "So who won the Tournament?"
Ron looked positively gleeful, "Well Malfoy did."
"Err… excuse me Ron, but I didn't know that you would be so happy that something as dreadful as Malfoy winning the Tournament happened," Harry stated in absolute shock.
Ron shook his head, "No Harry you don't understand, Malfoy technically won the Tournament. But that was only because they person who really beat him was disqualified."
It didn't take Harry long to figure it out. He looked to the side in disbelief. "Ginny? You were disqualified?"
Ginny smiled slyly, "What can I say Harry, when opportunity knocks…"
"Harry," Ron interrupted, "You should have seen it… I have never been more proud in my life! They faced off and everyone was still really angry about what Malfoy did to you. Well our little Ginny here… sorry Ginny… well, she started off just dueling him… rather well, actually. Sure he got a couple of shots in here and there but for the most part she was controlling it. Then things started to get… interesting."
Ron stopped and jumped up, dramatically replaying the dueling maneuvers.
He continued, "Draco leaned over and started talking to Ginny and she just flipped. All of a sudden he was floating in the air one minute, and then the next his feet were on fire. And this was the best… She did the Densaugeo spell."
Harry searched his memory for that spell, as he could have sworn that he had heard it before.
He finally realized what it was. "Hermione, Draco used that one on you didn't he?"
She nodded and smiled at Ginny.
Ron continued, "Harry his teeth were down to his chest before McGonagall finally had to end it. Ginny was disqualified of course but the whole school acts like she was the champion anyway. Well everyone besides the Slytherins anyway. He was in the hospital wing with you for a day before they were back to normal. Who knew Ginny was so creative really? I immediately owled Fred and George. I knew how proud they would be."
Harry looked at Ginny, who had remained quiet the entire time. She was sitting contently on the bed, her gaze focused on a painting on the wall.
Hermione slumped into a sitting position on the end of Harry's bed, "The only thing is that the Slytherins now have two hundred extra house points from winning the Tournament."
"Yes," Ron agreed, "But it was so worth it to see Malfoy that way."
Harry shrugged, "I wish I could have… would have made losing to him at least bearable."
Ron stood up from the chair, "Well don't let it get you down mate, it's almost Christmas!"
"How long have I been in here?" Harry asked.
Hermione replied, "About a week."
Harry looked at her, "So everyone is gone? Wait, I thought you were going home."
Hermione slid off of the bed, "I am… I convinced my Mum and Dad to let me stay at least until you woke up… now that you are up I suppose I will leave first thing tomorrow."
Harry turned to look at Ron who looked noticeably glummer since the topic had come up.
Ginny hoped down from the bed, "Well we should be off anyway; Madame Pomfrey is going to come in here and kick us out. You need your sleep Harry. That way you can be back in the tower by Christmas."
Harry nodded and the three started toward the door. Hermione turned back, "Merry Christmas Harry. I'll see you at the Burrow on Christmas Day!"
Harry smiled and waved. His head was beginning to ache. His three friends disappeared through the door. He sunk back down into the bed, but was startled when the doors once again flew open. This time, a single red headed figure dashed toward the bed.
"Harry," Ginny stated out of breath, "I almost forgot to give you this… Colin did it for me… consider it an early Christmas present."
She smiled and placed an envelope in his lap. Before he could say anything she turned quickly and ran back out of the doors.
Harry looked down at the envelope and turned it over. Slowly, he opened it and took out its contents. Staring back at him, trying desperately to hide his face was none another than Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret, who finally had the teeth to match. Harry smiled and reminded himself to buy a frame the next time he was in Hogsmeade, before he drifted off to sleep.
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Special Thanks to my beta "Bootstrap" Jim ^_^