Chapter 3
The entire class trailed out of the room, and down onto the grounds. Ed looked around, and said to his brother, "Al, move 'em back a little. Like at the Eastern Headquarters when I duked it with Mustang." He watched as his brother hurried the students back a hundred feet, and then he looked at Malfoy. "Okay, here's the rules. You can use any spell, jinx, curse, charm, countercurse, or otherwise you can think of. I'm not picky. No harming the crowd, though, and no whining when I put you down. Got it?"
Malfoy just grinned, and drew his wand. "Professor Shrimpy, My name is Draco Malfoy, and you have just bitten off more than you can chew. I accept your terms." He stepped back a few paces and bowed.
Al stepped forward, and watched as Ed checked the fit of his gloves. He raised his hand, and with a single high-pitched yell of "fight!" the match began. Malfoy opened with a simple Full-body bind, which Ed easily dodged. Ed retaliated by snapping his fingers, and a gout of flame almost three meters in length erupted from his hand, singing Malfoy's robe as he dodged just in time. Ed started to dance around, and Harry thought he could see a slight drag in one of the teacher's legs. Ed kept snapping and burning, and Malfoy now tried using Water Charms, in hopes of putting out the flames. Ed suddenly smiled as Malfoy let loose a particularly large jet of water. Ed snapped his fingers, and the two met in midair. the water vaporized instantly, obscuring the scene from view. There was a clap, and a burst of light, and when the fog cleared, the match was over. Malfoy was bound hand and foot, held in place against the castle walls by, of all things, the castle walls. It looked as if the wall itself had flowed like water and wrapped him up. He was cursing and swearing profusely, and Ed walked over calmly, picked up Malfoy's wand, and pocketed it. "Malfoy, shut up. Any more profanity and I'll give you detention, plus take twenty points in the bargain. You lost, so now you'd better honor your word, and pay attention in my class. I'm going to release you now, so you'd better behave." He took a piece of chalk from his pocket, drew a complex circular design on the wall holding Malfoy, and clapped his hands. When he touched his hands to the stone, it flashed brightly, and flowed back to the way it was originally. Malfoy rubbed his wrists and scowled when Ed tossed him his wand. Ed turned, and Harry was watching him walk back toward the door when he caught movement from the corner of his eye. Malfoy had raised his wand, and was aiming it at Ed's back! Harry watched as the first syllable of the Stunning Curse left Malfoy's lips, and Harry reacted without thinking. He shouldered Ed out of the way, and at the same time flicked a knife from his now ever-present sheath. he watched as the knife reached Draco at the same time as the spell fired. He took it right on the chin and blacked out.
Harry awoke in an office he'd been inside before. He sat up. "What happened?"
Ed spoke from behind him. "Careful. You took a Stunner head-on. Nice throw, by the way. You really saved my bacon back there."
"No problem. I just moved before my mind could start to work. How's Malfoy?"
"You didn't kill him, but he'll wish you had once I get through with him. I just have to give his right hand some time. You split his wand and pinned his hand to the wall. Very good throw. Reminds me of a close friend of mine. Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. He uses knives, too. Smaller, and a different design, but the same carry. By the way, I took your knives off you when I brought you in here. They're on the table by the window. Thanks for the save, Harry."
"You're welcome, Ed."
"Now get to your dorm. Last thing I need is you getting busted by a prefect or something. Now scram." Harry left.
Back at the dorm, people were absolutely raving about the match, and Malfoy's attempted treachery, and Harry's dazzling save. In the telling, of course, certain parts were judiciously embellished, and the first thing said to Harry upon his arrival was how in the world did he manage to pin Malfoy's entire arm to the wall and not hit any major blood vessels, and the second was did Malfoy actually try the Cruciatus curse on Professor Ed. Harry just grabbed some things, and hopped on his broom. He rode the Firebolt out the window, down to the grounds and away from everyone else. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his latest aquisition. At first glance it looked like a small wooden box, but when Harry tapped it with his wand, it expanded and grew into a wooden dummy the size of a man. Harry hung it from a tree, stepped back, and started to practice. He threw from every conceivable position, from all the modes of carry, and even tried some moving shots with the target stuck to his broom. He was getting good at leading a moving target, and took a little pride in un-horsing the dummy three times in a row, with clean headshots each time. He was lazing against a tree, flicking a blade into the dummy's torso a few feet away, and drawing it back with Summoning Charms. After about the fifth "Accio Knife" he heard footsteps behind him and wheeled, coming face-to-face with Ron and Hermione. "Hello, guys. Nice weather, eh?" he said, lowering the blade in his hand.
Ron was first to speak. "Harry, you were brilliant! You saved a teacher's life, and you got Malfoy! Bravo!" Harry was too bored to tell Ron to be quiet. He just grinned, wheeled, and flicked the knife into the dummy's head. "I practiced. How long until his hand heals?"
Hermione, who'd been silent up to this time, spoke up. Her tone was subdued, and her expression dark. "It won't. I was just up by the hospital wing to visit Neville. He tripped and fell into a Venomous Tentacula earlier. I was going past Madame Pomfrey's office when I overheard her talking to someone. She said that the wounds were through Malfoy's wrist, and that it almost completely severed his nerves. No magic can heal nerve damage, Harry. It means that he's lost the use of his right hand.