True Friends

By: Craw/Brad

Author's notes: Sorry about taking so long. About halfway through it, I got writers block and couldn't think how to finish a duel. Thanks for sticking with this for so long. By the by, I don't know how many of you have bothered to go to my bio, but I am a huge Alan Rickman fan. Anyway, I went and got a list of his movies and was shocked by the number that I hadn't seen yet. So, now I have a list and am re-watching Blow Dry for the third time… If you haven't seen it, you should.

AN2:This is the beta-ed version. Watch Dark Harbor.

Chapter Fourteen

Hugglebunnies put on "A Busy Day". It was bad. I mean, the acting was fine, but apparently they didn't have someone like Remus to tell them no on the strobe lights. Then again, this was the team that allowed themselves to be named "Hugglebunnies", can't really expect them to have a huge mental capacity.

After lunch, we all had twenty minutes to get changed for the duels. So we scurried down to the dungeons. Raven had opted to not participate in the activity due to an unfair advantage caused by his extra training. When I heard this, I had to resist the urge to do a little dance. Now this thing was in the bag. I was so going to win.

Due to my oversight when running away from home the previous summer, I neglected to pack my dueling robes. Therefore, Harry lent me what he assures me is the muggle equivalent. He handed me a tight, fitted vest and a pair of flowy, black linen pants. Raven, little minx that he is, didn't even try to hide the fact that he was watching as I changed. Looking in the mirror, I said, "There is no way they fight in this."

"Some do," he argued. "Besides, I can promise you that you'll be the best looking person in the room."

"Well, of course," was my indigent reply. "I could be in neon pink and still be the best looking person in the room." When he pouted at me, I amended, "Perhaps the second best, if you're not in neon."

"That's better, not perfect, but better," Harry said, wrapping his arms around my waist. "We had better go down now or you might miss your own fight."

X

Not nearly as many people had signed up for this as had for the singing. I guess they weren't as excited about getting cursed as they were about making a fool out of themselves. Only five other people had signed up for advanced and we were to fight in three one on one battles and then the winners would fight in a three way fight.

The days first pairing were as follows,

Malfoy vs. Mac Dougal

Weasley vs. Zambini

Finch-Fletchley vs. Granger

After drawing straws, Blaise and the weasel were first up. I didn't really have an accurate gage of Weasel's power, but I knew that Blaise wasn't that strong in charms or curses. His true strength lay in divination and arcane magics. I didn't know what to expect once they begun. Before they started, Madam Hooch, who had been nominated referee, asked, "Rules?"

Without thought, Weasley said, "Anything goes, last person conscious wins."

Hooch looked to Blaise. "Nothing illegal."

At Weasley's nod, she blew her whistle and it was on. The redhead shot a stunner at my friend, which Blaise quickly blocked with a shield. The glowing wall stayed in place as Blaise sat himself Indian style and began to chant. "Spirits of my ancestors hear my call. Children of Anubis and Hades, I summon thee." As he chanted, a gust filled the air and a light mist appeared to waft off of him.

Weasley began to panic and started to send curse after curse, hex after hex at the other boy's shield. Said shield didn't hold long, but it was enough time for the mist around Blaise to become almost palpable. Weasley shot another spell at him, and like magic the mist began to dissipate. Once it cleared I could again see my long time friend, now however, his usually sapphire eyes had become a swirling rainbow of color.

It was well known that channeling ran in the Zambini line, but this was the first time I had ever seen it first hand. I was starting to rethink my chances in a fight with him.

Back to the duel, with a wave of his hand, Blaise sent Weasley flying into the far wall. The Weasel began to yell, "That slimy poof is using Dark Magic!" at the professors. This caused Madam Hooch to call a time out.

"What was that, Mister Weasley?" She asked.

"I said that he was using illegal magic! You saw him!" the redhead screamed from where he was still pinned to the wall.

"There is nothing illegal about using necromancy." It was Blaise's lips moving, but that wasn't his voice that came out. This new voice sounded aged, tired.

Hooch looked to the headmaster, who nodded. "Mister Zambini is right. Continue."

Weasley was quickly slammed back into the wall again. Blaise murmured something, looking vaguely bored and a light shot out of his hand. When the light hit the redhead, he slid to the floor unconscious.

"Mister Zambini wins," said the flying instructor.

X

After a few rounds of other level fights, MacDougal and I were up. MacDougal was a short brunette with light freckles. He stood opposite me on the platform wearing light weight dueling robes, his chestnut eyes glaring death at me. When asked to agree on the rules, he said without hesitation, "First unwanded, anything goes."

The other boy looked at me expectantly, as if he thought I was going to amend his statement. I simply nodded instead. If he wants to leave all my options open, that's his problem. We took our places, turned, bowed, and began.

Before I was even fully out of the bow, a spell shot by my ear. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a clump of silver hair fall to the ground. Raven isn't going to like that. I wasted no time in firing my own curse back at him. My aim was much better. In the day's fastest duel, MacDougal went down in the first round.

After a while, it was Granger and Finch-Fletchley's turn. After agreeing to very Gryffindor-esque rules, nothing dark or illegal, first unwanded, they began. It started with first year curses, jelly legs, and proceeded to seventh year, triple-burn. After twenty minutes, they started on spells not taught at Hogwarts. In the end though, the Ravenclaw became winded and quickly got hit with expelliarmus.

Later that afternoon, after the other two levels were complete and had winners, they called Blaise, Granger and I to the stage.

"Last standing," Blaise said as soon as we stood facing each other.

"Nothing illegal," was my contribution.

"Nothing too painful or scarring." I understand and agree with Hermione here. I don't particularly want to disfigure either of them, but if I had said it, I would have sounded vain.

The stage was large enough that we could all bow and take our ten paces before we began. Without a thought, I threw a silencing charm at the other Slytherin. Can't chant if you can't make noise, right? Too bad he dodged it. As he dropped and rolled, Granger threw a binding charm at him. Seems we both saw him as the largest threat.

The other boy didn't have time to get out of the way and was soon bound to the floor with ropes. Without taking a breather, the bushy haired girl turned her wand on me. I threw up a rebounding shield before her curse hit its mark. Sadly, it veered off course and hit a wall instead of doubling back on her. To retaliate, I sent a tickling charm back at her. Being in the middle of a complicated incantation, she neither had time to block or dodge. She took the hit in a victorious effort to get her spell off.

The pink light hit me and I felt as if the world had flipped and left me standing in the sky. I was, obviously, disoriented, but I could still see the girl laughing across from me. Behind her was a sight I had truly hoped to not see.

Blaise, still strapped to the floor, was surrounded by a familiar mist. For someone so smart, it is amazing how stupid Granger can be. As my vision began to right itself, Blaise's bindings designated. About the same time, Hermione countered the charm on her person. So now, here we stood, back where we started, only now Blaise was more powerful.

The dark haired Slytherin turned toward the girl and she flew back much the same as the weasel had. After she fell to the ground unconscious, Blaise turned multi-colored eyes on me. A look of recognition flashed across his face before he raised his wand. Almost instantly a sharp pain shot into my chest. It felt like something was trying to eat its way out of my chest, yet the pain neither increased nor decreased. It seemed as if this feeling would never stop. Moments stretched into hours, hours into days. After an eternity, I joyfully fell into the waiting arms of darkness.

X

When next I had a coherent thought, it was 'Glad Blaise is usually on my side.' After which I took a moment to note the hardness of the bed I must be lying in and the stiffness of the sheet dropped over me. I also registered a hand gripping my own and the soft, even breath of a sleeping person to my right. After taking all this in, I opened my eyes a crack. Not one of my brightest ideas. After a handful more tries, I managed to keep the gray orbs open. I was in the brightly lit hospital wing and Raven was sleeping at my side.

My lovely boyfriend looked positively angelic as he sat there. Not because of his beauty, though that was there in abundance, but simply because he was there waiting for me. For the first time since first year, I was truly in awe of Harry Potter. Not for the first time, I wondered what I did to get this amazing man in my life.

Harry began to stir after only five minutes of allowing me to indulge in what is quickly becoming a favorite hobby of mine, Raven watching. "Morning sleepy head," I quibbled as I sat up. "What happened?"

"It appears that Blaise channeled a relative that had a bit of a bad run in with a Malfoy while they were still alive." He paused for a moment with a smirk, "Your family just can't stay out of trouble."

"I don't see you complaining about me," I rebutted.

"Well, you're an exception then aren't you?" Harry's green eyes were sparkling with mirth, yet the worry lines at the corners were a bit more notable than they had been that morning. We sat there staring at each other for a few moments before I reached over and pulled him to me. He held me as if I was a giant teddy bear as he whispered into my ear, "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

"I can't promise you that, but I do vow that I shall do everything in my power to prevent it," I replied, holding the boy who lived just as tightly.

We fell into a comfortable silence until Raven broke it with a rather conversational comment. "You won by the way."

"What?" I asked, for surely I must have misheard.

"Hermione was down first and then Blaise was disqualified. You won by default," my little lion restated.

"What did I win?" I asked him.

"Well, that's the thing, no one ever specified what the prize would be. Therefore the headmaster decided it would be your choice."

I had to beam at that. I knew just what I wanted.

X

"Excuse me?" Sev asked. We were seated in his sitting room, him, Raven, and me. I had made my request for a prize, now I only needed to know if he would agree.

"I want Harry to stay with me permanently," I repeated. "I was told that my prize would be my choice and I chose to keep Raven."

"I'll see what I can do," my godfather said after a few minutes of deep thought. "But I don't think the headmaster will go for it."

"If he doesn't," I replied. "Then I want free reign of Gryffindor tower."

"I'm sure he won't go for that," Raven put in.

"Whose side are you on?" I snapped.

"Dray, I'm just stating facts. He would have to be insane to let you into the tower. I don't know who would be in more danger, you or my housemates."

"Bumblebee's sanity was never in question, we all know that he is lacking. I just don't want you staying in the same room as them." I really was worried for my boyfriend's safety. Who knows what those idiots will get into their heads to do? The ones that didn't care he was dating a guy felt betrayed that he was dating me.

"It's your prize. I just think your wasting it on me," the golden boy said.

"Think how much nicer my room is than the dorm you would be going back to," I countered. Leaning close, I whispered in his ear, "Private bathroom."

"I'm sure he'll say yes," Raven said in a heart beat. "He better." The last was said with a wicked smirk.

"Watch out, Mister Potter," my Potions Master said. "Your Slytherin is showing."

X

Later that night, we found ourselves in the headmaster's office. "So nice of you all to join me," he said as we entered. "Tea?"

"No, thank you," I said as my companions shook their heads. "We are here to discuss the prize that I've won."

"What would you like, Mister Malfoy?" the old man asked with a smile.

"I want free reign of Gryffindor tower," I answered with a smirk.

"I fear that I can not give you that," Dumbledore said with an almost hidden glare.

"Then I want Raven to stay in my room after this is all over."

"If that is permissible by both your heads of house, then I don't see how it would be a problem," he answered.

"Thank you, sir," I said as we got up to leave.

TBC

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