Erised's Bane
Author's Note: I know I haven't updated in a while, but it has been for very good reason. I've been working on a website for my school's marching band, a humor site mainly, and then I have two other projects, (well three now) on fictionpress. But anyway, here I am again to do some more fan fiction for all you guys! I hope you liked my cliffie last chapter!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter could be mine if you would give me a few billion dollars. So how about it?
Chapter Ten: The Professor's Duel
"I won't take it any longer, Albus." Harry moved out of the way as his father crossed the room over to Dumbledore's desk. The headmaster, who looked exactly as Harry had always remembered him, peered calmly up through his half-moon spectacles, giving James the look Harry knew so well. "He's threatening my family and I won't have it."
"James, I can't do anything to stop Voldemort from attempting to intimidate you. He has his reasons for doing so. You know those reasons."
"It doesn't mean I have to accept them." James said curtly, moving away from the desk. Harry heard a small whoosh and suddenly Hermione and Ron were standing next to him, staring at the same scene Harry was looking at.
"Dumbledore told us about the pensieve." Ron said. "I think...blimey." he had just caught notice of James Potter and his eyes were wide open. "He looks...just like you. Is that...?"
"My father." Harry finished, watching James pace about the room.
"Do you think I'm going to stand by and watch when Voldemort is threatening to murder those I care about?" James said harshly as he sat down in the chair opposite Dumbledore. "If it isn't enough I'm being forced into hiding, now you're telling me I have to let him taunt me this way? Every time I think something is safe, he finds some way to show me it isn't."
"You know as well as I that there is a traitor among us." Dumbledore said sternly. "You can't let his knowledge of little secrets unravel us at the seams, James. For the sake of Lily...for the sake of Harry, James...leave it alone and try to ignore..."
"I can't!" James almost shouted.
"Oh, Harry." Hermione whispered. "This is...this is so awful."
Harry, who was still staring at his father, didn't answer. Suddenly a click was heard at the door and everybody, including the three unseen bystanders, turned. Harry almost fell back when a woman with long red hair entered, smiling happily. A little boy with messy black hair was gurgling as he bounced along on her hip.
"Hello, James." She said as she crossed over and kissed her husband. "Hello, Albus."
"Lily." Dumbledore nodded as Harry's mother took a seat.
"You sure were a cute brat." Ron snorted, making Hermione jab him hard in the ribs. "Sorry..." he said quickly as he wheezed, trying to breathe again.
"Sirius will be up in a minute." She said with a smile. "He gave Harry and me a ride on that infernal motorcycle of his over here."
"And what about..."
"Not coming." Lily sighed. "Had some business to attend to."
"The full moon is out right now." James said. "So Remus can't come."
"So it's just us three?" Lily asked as she bounced the baby Harry on her knee. Dumbledore nodded.
"It's better this way." He said simply. "It will make the entire process go much quicker. I have the final information on the Fidelius Charm for you. If all goes well, you should be able to get back to Godric's Hollow and be well hidden by tonight."
"And the voices?" Lily said quietly.
"I don't know." James said, running a hand absently through his hair. Harry smiled slightly at the gesture, remembering the times he had done so himself. "It's practically a fifty-fifty shot. One way, the charm keeps them away, the other I hear them and go insane after three nights alone with them."
"I'll thank you not to go insane." Lily said absently. "We have a child to raise."
Despite the anxiety of the situation James turned and gave Lily a smile. "That's quite enough, Red."
Lily laughed. "They seem so happy." Hermione whispered. "You would hardly know..." she faltered when she saw the look on Harry's face. "I'm sorry." She said quickly.
"No, it's all right." Harry said. "I know what you mean. And they do seem happy. I'm...glad."
"So will you agree?" Dumbledore said. Harry turned and saw the harsh look in his eyes, a look that made Harry flinch.
"Agreed on what?" Lily asked, looking from James to Dumbledore.
"That I'll be a good boy and go into hiding with you and Harry. That I won't hunt out the evil bastard myself and be done with him." James said coolly.
"What?" Ron said. He wasn't going to consider fighting You-Know-Who...like that?"
"You were not thinking of fighting Voldemort single-handedly!" Lily shouted, making baby Harry cry out.
"No, of course not." James said. "But I can do things the others in the order can't. I almost defeated him once, Lily. As you well know!"
"That was pure luck!" Lily said with a frown. "And I was there as well. I only wish that bloody Bellatrix Lestrange hadn't been so quick with her wand."
"Forget her." James muttered, shaking his head.
"Forget who?" Harry felt a prickle up his spine as a familiar voice resounded behind him. He turned to face a young and handsome Sirius with short hair cropped around his face. "Hello, Lily. And how's my favorite godson?"
He strode over and picked up baby Harry, who squealed in delight. After a moment with the baby, he turned back to James. "Who were you talking about, James?"
"Your cousin." James said, shoving his hands into his pockets. Harry saw Sirius' eyes darken.
"No family of mine." Sirius said coldly. "You guys are my family, as you well know."
James laughed and strode over to clap his old friend on the shoulder. "No need to get sentimental Sirius. Glad you finally decided to join us."
"Had to take care of the bike." He said with a grin. He tossed Harry in the air and caught him again. "Got to give it to my godson one day."
"Like heck you will." Lily snorted.
"I can't take this any more." Hermione cried. "Let's get out of here." Ron and Harry turned to her to see tears glistening in her eyes. Harry--who had been on the verge of either screaming or tearing up himself--laughed slightly.
"I think she's right. But how do we get out?"
No sooner had he said it than the three of them were swirling about and had reappeared in Dumbledore's office. They all turned to look at their headmaster, Hermione sniffling the entire time.
"What was that for?" Ron whispered. "How did that help?"
"Thanks." Harry said despondently to Dumbledore, who was looking at him intently. "I think...I think I understand. It means..."
"Harry, no." Dumbledore stood and gave him a smile. "Whatever it meant to you, keep that to yourself. I only gave you the source, the rest is yours." He opened the door and the three friends left, Hermione still suppressing sniffles.
"We have to go to Care of Magical Creatures." Hermione said after a long moment.
"Yeah." Harry said, taking a deep breath. The three started towards the great hall, but when they were halfway down it's length Harry paused, turning to see in his minds eye a trio heading down the same staircase, the red haired woman laughing as she tightly held her son in her arms.
"Harry? Are you coming?" Ron called.
"Yeah." He nodded and caught up to his friends, feeling as lonely as he ever had.
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"Does anybody know what the standard accepted theory of a paralysis curse is?" asked Young as she stood before her class, absently tapping her wand on the palm of her hand. It was no surprise that the only person who raised her hand was Hermione.
"Ah yes, Miss Granger. Would you be so kind as the explain the theory to the class?" Hermione blushed but nobody paid any attention as she cleared her throat to speak up.
"The theory of paralysis curses ranges in the variety of the curse that you are using. First of all, the Full Body Bind, which is very effective, is not a true paralysis curse because..." Harry didn't listen as Hermione's voice droned on. Instead he turned to the window, watching as gray clouds loomed overhead, threatening rain. Because of this they were back in the classroom, though most of the desks had been piled at the back of the room and they were all either standing or, as in Harry's case, leaned against a wall as Young lectured.
He looked up when he heard Hermione go quiet. Young was nodding in approval. "Thank you. Now, I would like to assign you your chapter on paralysis curses and would like an extensive description of each curse, including your own experiences with the spell." She nodded at the stunned look on the faces of her students. "You may use a friend or your assigned dueling partner if you wish, but I will not stand for anybody who does not take the incentive to practice outside of class." She seemed not to notice that it was much too early to assign homework as class had only started fifteen minutes earlier, but she didn't make any explanation for the hasty lesson as she brushed the pile of homework on her desk into her bag and snapped it closed.
"Now," she said again, making half the class jump, "I would ask you to please move around to the sides of the room. I believe it would be in good measure since, as most of you have never seen a real duel, I show you what exactly that entails. For that reason, one of your fellow teachers has kindly agreed to help me show you."
"Who do you think it is?" asked Hermione.
Harry shrugged, unable to imagine little Professor Flitwick or McGonagall facing off against Young. He heard a tap at the door and turned, craning his neck with every other student in the class to see who was there. "Hello, Severus." Young said as she opened the door. "Thank you for coming."
"My pleasure." Said Snape in an oily voice as he walked into the room. "I hope you don't mind that my class will be joining us?"
"Not at all." Said Young in a semi-restrained voice. Harry glanced over to the door as the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins started coming into the class. Ginny walked over and smiled faintly.
The whole class had broken out in nervous chatter. "Snape?" Ron said. "Of all the teachers she gets, Snape? He won't fight fair. She'll be a toadstool by midmorning."
"Oh Ron, Snape won't do something illegal in front of so many people." Hermione said.
"Interesting, isn't it?" Ginny said as she turned to look at Snape and Young, who were talking near the head of the room in low undertones.
"One of them is going to kill the other." Ron said stoutly. "And I don't have to think about which I hope it'll be."
"But do you notice how happy Snape looks?" Ginny said. Harry turned to look and saw that she was right. Snape was smirking dryly and was looking at Young with a triumphant glare.
"You're right." Harry muttered back. "He must think he'll show her up, prove he's better."
"All right, everybody." Young finally stepped away from Snape and clapped her hands for silence. "The rules of the duel have been agreed upon in this way. No physically damaging curses are to be used, nor any that cannot be immediately reversed. It will last thirty minutes, at the end of which if neither of us has won a draw will be called. The winner of the duel will be the first to disarm their opponent." She turned to Snape. "Agreed, Severus?"
He nodded. "Of course, Sabrina." She turned back to the class and smiled. "Well then, I hope you're ready for the show.
"As always." She raised her wand to the class, which was gathered about the walls. "But before anything begins, I would ask you to all please take a giant step back." Looking at her as if she was mental, they did what she said. Harry heard a faint pop and immediately reached out, feeling something stop the movement of his hand in midair. A sheet of glass had appeared out of nowhere to shield the students from any wayward spells.
"Now let us begin." She smiled as she bowed deeply. Snape stiffly bowed back to her. And no sooner had he arisen again than Young had raised her wand.
"Ovito Misserda!" she cried. Sparkling lights jetted out of her wand and began shooting towards Snape. Growling, he used a negate to destroy the little bits of light and raised his own wand.
"Floridius Faunus!" Snape bellowed. Young swiftly ducked out of the way and the spell hit the floor where she had been standing. Vines sprouted from the beam of light that hit the floor and cropped up, swaying as if a harsh wind was blowing on them.
"Ohh..." Hermione whispered, "I've heard about that one. If it had hit Young she would have been encased in those vines. Watch...she has to keep from touching them or it'll be even worse than Devil's Snare."
Young apparently had the same idea and she pointed her wand at the vines. Quickly they jumped to life and began creeping quickly towards Snape before he summoned several large blades out of midair that shredded the wayward vines into pieces. They disappeared along with the knives in a moment and the two of them were again facing each other.
"This is much more exciting than the dueling club." Ron muttered under his breath.
"I hope Young clobbers him." Ginny said reverently. "She's fantastic."
"Invisi Skeletor!" Everybody turned when they heard Young shout loudly. A general cry arose and Harry felt his stomach churn in repulsion as Snape's skin seemed to disappear leaving nothing but muscle before that left also and only his skeleton remained standing, wand gripped in it's skeletal fingers.
"That's disgusting." Ron groaned.
Young, who looked very pleased with herself, raised her wand. "Expelli..." she cursed as she dodged a beam of light that had been emitted from the skeleton facing her and a cry arose among the crowd of students watching as Snape's flesh returned to it's rightful position.
"I've got to learn that one." Said Ginny eagerly.
"What, do you think Draco Malfoy will be more attractive without skin?" Harry snorted, eliciting a poke on the arm from her.
"Five minutes in." whispered Hermione, poking her watch into his view.
"Tarantellegra!" Snape said triumphantly. Young used another negate to destroy the spell before raising her own wand.
"Optimis Hilaritous!"
"Did she just use a cheering charm?" Harry asked Hermione in confusion.
"Yeah...she did. I can't see why...oh!" Everybody turned their attention to Snape as he doubled over in laughter, a sight which made Harry navigate somewhere between calling St. Mungo's to see if he was losing it or the lavatory because he was going to lose it--his lunch, that was.
But despite Snape's rather odd laughter, he was able to compose himself enough to level another curse Young's way, one that she was unprepared to dodge as she herself was amused over his predicament. She cursed as she floated several feet up into the air, and the sight of Snape laughing like mad and Young floating like a helium balloon was too much for most of the class. Even the Slytherins were hard set to compose themselves at the sight. However, in a few moments it was over, as Snape had performed a countercharm and Young had popped the inflation charm.
"You'll pay for that." Said Snape, who was now as stern as ever.
"Only if I don't get to you first." Young retorted, drawing out cheers from the Gryffindors in the room.
Harry felt a jolt as Snape sent a curse her way, one which she deftly avoided, but as the last of her negate was wearing off and she was quite unprepared Snape sent another her way and in a moment Young was encased in a large column of black shadows. Young blinked before shooting an angry glance at Snape. "That is a deliberate physical attack."
"Only if you touch it." Snape retorted dryly, shooting her a dark glance.
"That's an anti-magic barrier." Hermione explained. "They keep you from doing magic while you're in them."
"So...why doesn't she step out?" Ron asked.
"Because it would give her a good jolt." Harry answered to everybody's surprise. When Hermione gave him a confused look he shrugged. "I did a lot of reading over the summer. You'd be shocked to know I actually started Hogwarts: A History. Didn't finish it, mind you."
"So how does she escape?" Ginny said, furrowing her brow.
"It's a sort of mind thing." Hermione replied. "Concentration...that sort of thing."
Of course, as she spoke the shadowy pillar disintegrated and Young was left back in the open. "Expelliarmus!" Snape and Young roared at the same time, knocking each other backwards. The entire room winced as they crashed into the barricades and shakily stood.
"Uh-oh..." Ginny said nervously. "Snape looks angry."
"So does Young." Ron said quietly.
It was true. By the looks the two of them were shooting one another, Harry wouldn't have been surprised if they forgot their earlier rules and didn't just kill one another--which would have been a shame as he was starting to enjoy Defense Against the Dark Arts. Having a new Potions professor wouldn't have been so bad, though, he supposed...
"Twenty minutes." Hermione whispered to Harry as they continued to watch. The duel was getting more and more fierce, and Harry thought suddenly that perhaps the only time he had seen such intensity in a duel was when Dumbledore and Voldemort has faced one another. Not even the fight between the Order and the Death Eaters could compare to the emotions going into this duel...
Something inside Harry at that moment struck him and he realized that Sabrina Young must have gotten along with his dad, because she seemed to hate Snape as much as James Potter had.
"Narcolepsis!" Young cried. Snape used a shield charm in an obvious attempt to send the charm back to Young, an attempt that didn't go over well and simply caused the light to ricochet around until dissolving into air.
"Iridescence Follicus!" Snape sneered. Young blinked and suddenly the entire room burst into laughter as her hair erupted in shades from red to blue to pink. She cried out and Harry noticed her fingers twitching on her wand. But, to his utter shock, the let the wand drop just as Snape sent Expelliarmus her way and her wand flew into his hands.
His eyes widened as the shield disappeared and the room erupted into cheers. Young bowed to Snape in assent and stepped forward to take her wand, swiftly changing her hair back to it's dark brown shade. "Touché." She said softly. Plastering a smile onto her face she stepped before the class.
"I hope you all benefited from seeing a real duel first hand. This is what I expect to see of you when you duel with your own partners. Thank you, Severus. I'll see you next class block. I believe I have the Ravenclaws and your own Slytherins."
"I'll see you then." Snape replied. He nodded to her, a smirk plastered on his face, and led his class out of the room as Ginny swiftly waved goodbye to them.
But Harry couldn't help but stare after him and then at Young in shock. He could have sworn she hated Snape. In fact, he was sure she did.
So why had she just let Snape win?
________________________________________________________________________
"Memories have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect them."
Harry turned when he heard the familiar airy voice at his back. "Oh, hello Luna." He said to the slightly off blonde, who today had a stuffed bat pinned into one side of her hair. It's wings were softly flapping and Harry couldn't help but suppress a laugh as he thought of the old saying of a person having 'bats in the belfry'. "What do you mean about memories?" he asked, thinking of the memory he had seen only two mornings ago.
"It's just something about them. Most memories you don't have to think about. The really important ones come to you when you need them most." She said, shrugging. "Or at least, that's what I think. They sort of talk to you, don't they? When you need them?"
"I--I guess you could say they do. I never really thought about it." Harry said.
"Well, of course you didn't. You're not one of those people who are always thinking. Or at least, you're not thinking in your head."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, not sure if he was being insulted or complimented--as always with Luna Lovegood, the branch could sway either way.
"You're special. There's only a few of us who think in a different way here at Hogwarts. Do you know who they are?" she asked.
"Who?" said Harry, mentally cursing himself when he realized it was a question he might have better left unasked, if only for his own sanity.
"Well, there's you." She said happily, as if it was pure euphoria to be sharing her theory. "And me, of course. Ginny Weasley. Neville Longbottom. That little Megan girl, the muggle-born who lost her parents. And Professor Snape and Professor Young."
"And how do we think?" he asked reluctantly, seeing it would be the best way to get rid of her.
"We think with the air." She said triumphantly. "Because the air is everything."
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Heh-heh...sorry about that last little cryptic part. I just had to do it. I know, I know, it was a bit odd, but still I think it was quite interesting.
I know it took me a while to write this chapter but I was forcing myself to work on any number of my other completely unfinished stories on fictionpress.net and, idiot that I am, started a new one. I also started a new Marching Band fan fiction story, believe it or not, which shows my nerdiness because it is not only a marching band parody but also a Star Wars parody. Crap, I have issues.
Well, please read and review!
Thanks!
Megx