Harry Potter and the Mind Mage
By James Milamber
A/N: My apologies for the long wait, but I wanted to be sure I had this right. This chapter is being posted un-Beta'ed, as CQ is having trouble with her computer. Now, let us all pray she gets said problems resolved asap, so she can begin work on her next masterpiece.
Oh yes, I almost forgot – two stories I'm Beta'ing have been nominated for the Accio! Fanfiction Awards. Big round of applause for Whimsical Firefly (Sirius' Choice) and CreativeQuill (Trust) – and if you haven't read their stories already, what more incentive do you need, exactly?
Monday dawned to find the grounds of Hogwarts covered by the thick layer of white, the results of a heavy snowstorm the night before. Classes had been cancelled for this last week of term, and a feeling of tense excitement could be felt throughout the castle, most notably within those who would compete in the tournament.
Harry woke early, that same sense of excitement translating itself into nervousness. He wasn't really worried about his own performance, rather that of those students he had taught – it would directly reflect on his ability to teach, and would show once and for all if he'd actually accomplished something over the last few months, or if he'd been wasting his time.
His heart almost stopped when he felt something stirring beside him in bed, only to realise it was Ginny – he didn't think he'd ever get used to that. The smirks of his roommates had almost been enough to send him to McGonagall to request a private room – almost. He shuddered to think of what would happen if the stern Deputy-Headmistress ever found out about their sleeping arrangements.
It seemed to take an age, but finally ten o'clock rolled around, and with it the start of the tournament. The Gryffindor competitors left the common room to a rousing cheer from their housemates, and with Harry in the lead they made their way to the Entrance Hall where they found the Slytherin and Ravenclaw entries already in attendance. The Hufflepuffs joined them a moment later.
Harry tried to ignore the smirk on Malfoy's face, concentrating instead on the double doors leading into the Great Hall. They had been told that McGonagall would come to retrieve them when everything was ready.
Finally the doors opened, and McGonagall emerged.
'Good, you're all here,' she nodded curtly. 'When you enter the Hall, I would like you all to go to the corner decorated with your House colours. You will find your Heads of House there with more instructions.' She turned and re-entered the Hall.
'Short and sweet,' Alex muttered as they followed her, making for the corner resplendent in Gryffindor colours. It was not McGonagall who waited for them, though – she had vanished through a side door near where the Staff table usually stood, but now was an empty place.
'Come on, hurry it up,' James grinned at them from the Gryffindor area.
'Professor Milton?' Greg Redfield asked in confusion. 'But –'
'Professor McGonagall has other duties, so I've been appointed temporary Head of Gryffindor for today,' James informed them. 'Now, get your butts into gear and take a seat.'
Smiling, they all did as instructed, each taking a seat on one of the chairs that had appeared at his words.
'Right, we're using standard duelling format for this,' James said. 'Everyone know what that means? Yes? Good, I'll just refresh your memory on the more salient points, then. No physical contact, wands only, nothing lethal.'
'Pity,' Harry heard Alex mutter to Isabelle. 'I was so looking forward to being able to flatten Malfoy again.'
'You still can,' James grinned at his son, obviously having heard every word. 'Just not with your fists. Savvy?'
Alex grinned back viciously. 'Of course, dear father,' he said innocently.
'Good,' James winked at him, then turned back to the rest of the group. 'Right, first round is standard two on two, so you'd best all pick your partners. The first round will begin very, very soon.'
The noise was incredible. Huge stands had been erected around the perimeter of the Hall, and these were filled to overflowing with students, all cheering and waving flags with their House insignia on them. The middle of the room had been cleared, and a standard duelling ring had been drawn on the flagstones, complete with shields to stop stray curses from hitting the crowd.
The first match was between Hermione, Ron, and two seventh year Ravenclaw students. The results were fairly predictable; Hermione took down one boy with an Incapacitator curse, a spell shown to them by Tonks that was an odd combination of a Stunner and Full Body Bind, while Ron took down the second when he managed to deflect the boy's own Disarming Hex back on him with a well timed Shield Charm, and followed up with a Stunner.
'Gryffindor win!' McGonagall's magically amplified voice rang through the Hall, and a very pleased Hermione and Ron made their way back to the Gryffindor corner while Madam Pomphrey rushed out onto the ring to tend to the fallen students.
'Most impressive,' Dumbledore murmured aside to McGonagall, who had retaken her seat next to him. 'Harry seems to have them well educated in defending themselves.'
'He does, rather, doesn't he?' McGonagall said with a note of pride.
The next match was Malfoy and Blaise Zabini against two Hufflepuffs – which ended rather abruptly when one of the Hufflepuffs collapsed in a heap after being hit in the back with a Reductor Curse. The other turned to look at the Teacher's stand, an outraged look on her face, and was taken down by Malfoy's Stunner.
'Cheater!' Ron roared from his place beside Harry as the majority of the crowd booed and Malfoy swaggered back towards his housemates. 'You can't do that!'
'He can, actually,' James said grimly as the girl hit with the Reductor Curse was stretchered from the ring, a smoking hole in the back of her robes. 'It's bad form, but since it's not actually lethal, there's no rules that says he can't. You all have to be very, very careful against the Slytherins, got that? They won't play around, and they don't have any qualms about hitting you when your back's turned.'
Harry and Ginny, who were partnered and going up against a pair of Slytherin seventh years in their first match, exchanged a slightly worried look.
'Professor,' Harry spoke up a moment later. 'Could you do that spell on me again? The one that cuts my link to…you know.'
James looked at him closely, then shook his head. 'You Gryffindors are far too noble for your own good,' he muttered. 'Why on earth would you give up your biggest advantage?'
'Because Voldemort doesn't know about it yet, does he?' Harry said with a smile. 'No point tipping my hand before I'm ready, is there?'
James stared at him for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed. 'Every time I think I've got you pegged, you go ahead and surprise me,' he chuckled. 'Fine, let's get started, before Malfoy spots anything.'
'The next match between Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley for Gryffindor and Megan Turner and Chris Chambers for Slytherin.' McGonagall's magically amplified voice carried to every corner of the Hall, and from his place in the ring Harry tensed. Ginny stood beside him, her wand at the ready and her back proudly straight. Begin!'
Harry immediately shot a Stunner at Chris and dove out of the way of his return spell, which judging by the way it sizzled against the flagstones, couldn't have been pleasant. He came to his feet a few feet from the shields and levelled his wand at Chris again. The two traded spells for a short time, and Harry was faintly conscious of Ginny doing the same with Megan.
Harry's Shield Charm deflected a Tripping Hex from the Slytherin boy and he returned with an Impediment Jinx that just managed to slip through Chris' defences. The Slytherin's movements slowed, and Harry was just about to follow up with a Stunner when Ginny shoved him out of the way of a Body-Bind from Megan.
'Too slow, Potter!' Chris yelled as he regained full movement and leapt across the ring to join Megan.
'You okay?' Ginny muttered to Harry, who nodded. Ginny's robes were torn at her right shoulder, and a small amount of blood stained the edges of the rip. 'Come on, lets finish these two off. I'm getting bored.'
'Right.' Ginny helped Harry up, and they stood side by side. 'The Dual Defence, you reckon?'
'Worth a try,' Ginny smiled, kneeling in front of him. Harry took a deep breath and levelled his wand to the two smirking Slytherins.
'What, decided not to give up yet?' Megan taunted. 'Really, there's no need for you be humiliated any further, you know.' She followed her statement with a Disarming Hex aimed at Ginny.
'Speculum!' she yelled, swishing her wand. The air in front of her appeared to shimmer and curve in on itself, and when the jet of red light reached it, it seemed to elongate. Quite suddenly, the spell reversed course, taking a very surprised Megan in the stomach. Harry deftly Summoned her wand before she could recover, and finished her off with a Stunner.
'Nice trick, Potter,' Chris nodded slightly. 'Pity it won't work twice. Commoveo!'
The powerful spell blew through Ginny's shield and struck her injured shoulder. She let out a cry as she was lifted off the ground and spun through the air, landing in a heap a few yards away.
'Gin!' Harry cried, ducking a second spell from Chris. He half spun and sent a Stunner at the Slytherin boy, forcing him to duck out of the way, and followed up with a Body-Bind. Chris barely managed to get off a Shield Charm before the spell hit him, deflecting it harmlessly into the ground.
Ginny moaned softly, half sitting up and shaking her head to clear it. 'Ouch,' she muttered. Her whole body ached – evidence of its rather hard impact with the floor. She blinked hard, noting blood flowing over her left eye. Judging by the sharp stinging pain in her forehead, there was a rather large would where her head had hit the stone floor.
She raised her head enough to be able to see Harry and Chris, duelling hard. The Slytherin ducked another spell from Harry, and returned with a Disarming Hex, which Harry deflected with another Shield Charm. Finally seeming to grow tired of the back and forth play, Harry stood his ground, levelled his wand and roared, 'Praecipito!'
Chris barely had time to let out a startled oath before he was thrown violently across the floor – straight towards Ginny, who by that time had located her wand and cleared her eyes of blood.
'Stupefy,' she said through clenched teeth as the helpless Slytherin slid to a stop not four feet from her. He collapsed in a boneless heap as her spell took him cleanly in the chest.
'Gryffindor win!' McGonagall's voice echoed through the Hall once again, accompanied by a round of cheers from not only the Gryffindors, but also the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws who enjoyed seeing Slytherins put in their place.
Harry didn't hear the great wall of noise, however – he was far more concerned with Ginny's wellbeing. He hurried over to her, helping her to her feet.
'Are you alright?' he asked breathlessly as she smiled wanly up at him.
'I'm fine, Harry,' she assured him as Madam Pomphrey rushed into the ring to tend the two downed Slytherins. 'Just a scratch.' She tried to take a step but her legs buckled beneath her, and if not for Harry's firm grip she would have slid back to the ground.
'Come on, you need to sit down,' Harry wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders. 'You took a pretty bad hit, you know.'
'Yeah, I suppose,' she sighed, allowing Harry to help her to the Gryffindor corner. James met them there, a concerned look in his eyes.
'Bring her here,' he ordered, indicating a chair. Harry led her to the chair and helped her sit, trying not to fuss as she winced in pain.
James ran his hands over her shoulder, frowning in concentration. A soft blue glow emanated from his palms. 'Broken shoulder,' he murmured. 'That spell must have hit pretty hard.'
'Broken shoulder?' Harry asked, startled.
'I didn't even notice,' Ginny said ruefully.
James shook his head. 'Gryffindors,' he muttered under his breath. 'Hang on a minute, I'll just go get Madam Pomphrey, she'll be able to fix this up quick smart. And you,' he pointed almost menacingly at Ginny, 'are not to move a muscle until I get back. Have I made myself clear?'
'Perfectly, sir,' it was now Ginny's turn to be startled as James stalked away, his robes billowing out behind him in a very Snape-ish manner.
'What was that all about?' Ginny asked in bewilderment.
Alex chuckled. 'Dad gets a bit overprotective sometimes. Count yourself lucky, you have the most powerful man in England looking out for you. Well, except for maybe Dumbledore and Voldemort.'
They were silent until James returned with Madam Pomphrey, each lost in their own thoughts. Once she had seen to Ginny's shoulder, and checked her over for any other injuries, she declared her fit enough and left.
'Not one to waste words, is she?' Isabelle said dryly as they watched the matron's retreating back.
'They never are,' James said cryptically. Harry was distracted from trying to puzzle out his meaning when McGonagall called out the next match – Alex and Isabelle verses two Ravenclaws. The match was pretty much a foregone conclusion – between Alex's enormous repertoire of spells and Isabelle's Slytherin-learned cunning, the Ravenclaws never knew what hit them.
'That was easy,' Alex remarked as he and Isabelle returned to the Gryffindor corner, although he was limping slightly where he had been hit by a stray curse.
'Don't get overconfident,' Hermione warned, but he waved her off.
'I know, Hermy,' he said resignedly.
'Don't call me that,' she said rather testily.
'Of course not, Hermy,' he replied amicably. Hermione dropped her head into her hands and groaned.
The next match was between Aaron Davis and Greg Redfield for Gryffindor and two Hufflepuff sixth years. Harry almost groaned aloud when Aaron was hit almost immediately by a Disarming Hex, and eliminated. Greg did alright, managing to take down one of his rivals with a Body-Bind, but was Stunned soon after.
'Too bad, mate,' Ron said sympathetically as the pair as they made their way back to the corner after being checked out by Madam Pomphrey.
'Ahh well, better luck next time,' Greg shrugged.
'Shouldn't have underestimated the 'Puffs,' Aaron muttered to himself.
'Probably not the best idea, no,' Alex agreed with him.
Gryffindor won their last match of the day – Michael Wilde and Elizabeth Richmond duplicated Harry and Ginny's earlier trick, and managed to Stun both their fifth year Slytherin opponents in one attack.
'They were only fifth years,' Michael shrugged off any congratulations later. 'I'd imagine seventh years would have put up more of a fight. Besides, we just copied Harry and Ginny's idea, so we can't really take the credit.'
'Well, it certainly worked better for you than it did for us,' Ginny said ruefully, moving her shoulder experimentally.
'True enough, I suppose,' Michael granted. 'Cheers anyway for giving us the idea.'
The final tally ended with Gryffindor on four wins, one loss, Ravenclaw on three wins, two losses, Hufflepuff on one wins, four losses, and Slytherin on two wins, three losses. Harry felt a little sorry for the Hufflepuffs – he watched Professor Sprout comforting her downcast students, of which eight had been eliminated in only the first round of duels.
'Poor sods,' Ron muttered, coming to stand beside Harry.
'Better them than us, though,' Alex commented, moving to stand on Harry's other side. 'Still, four wins, we're not doing too badly, are we?'
'No, I suppose not,' Harry sighed. 'Even so…' He left it hanging.
'I'm just happy to see the Slytherins getting their arses kicked,' Ron said in satisfaction.
'Ron!' Hermione scolded him. 'I've told you, this isn't about –'
'I know, Hermione,' Ron interrupted her, rolling his eyes in Harry's direction, who smiled faintly. 'I'm just saying, is all.'
'Yes, well, in the future, don't just say,' Hermione huffed.
'Women,' Ron muttered aside to Harry and Alex.
'Hear, hear,' Alex chuckled, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Isabelle, who was chatting with Ginny, using exaggerated arm movements to illustrate whatever point she was trying to make. 'I never know what this one is going to do next.'
'You never do, mate,' Ron clapped him on the shoulder. 'You never bloody do.'
A/N: I know there's a spelling mistake in there somewhere, I just can't find the bloody thing. (mutters under his breath about a lack of Betaing). And this time, I PROMICE the next chapter will be out tomorrow! Really!
Review Responses:
(Thanks to everyone who reviewed and voted – it's down to Harry or Isabelle, so keep the votes coming!)
dress-without-sleeves: Nice to see I can still make people break their own rules. ;p You've just been promoted to one of my favourite reviewers, you know that? It took me a solid ten minutes to stop laughing when I got that review. I seriously considered deleting it, but I figured I'd leave it up for the entertainment value. Now, if they'd left an e-mail address, they'd probably get a very long dissertation on the psychological reasons Harry is, in fact, very unlikely to notice an feelings for Ginny, meaning that as the book is from his point of view, as pointed out by Mr/Mrs Anonymous, THEY WON'T BE IN THE BOOKS UNTIL HE REALISES HE HAS THEM. Whoops…sorry, didn't mean to yell at you…but the amount of people who understand the human psyche NOT AT ALL and then make an idiot of themselves by making comments like that…well, it's rather amusing, to say the least. And Harry has plenty of reasons to fall for Ginny…if Mr/Mrs Anonymous actually READ the books, they'd see that. The number of hints and clues is staggering…hence the reason H/G is the single most popular ship in HP fanfiction. Erm…whoops, I'm rambling again, aren't I? Sorry…and you might want to get the poor cat looked at – falling out a window can't be a good thing…oh yes, there is a reason Cass is still single, but you'll have to wait to find out what it is. (Cass: Yeah, I have to be the one that suffers while everyone else is off having snogging contests. pouts JM: Hush, you.)
Whimsical Firefly: Yes, I know he doesn't usually do that sort of thing…but in James' case, I reckon he'd make an exception. Remember his past…it's a little more extreme than Snape's.
Terris: Percy's coming up soon, I assure you. Probably at Christmas.
stayathomedad: I hadn't heard that one before…I'll have to find a way to work it in somewhere.
Katie: I'm trying to put in a bit of fluff here and there, but my Muses aren't cooperating at the moment…they keep demanding more action scenes. Stupid bloody Muses…(shakes fist)
Shorty: Now Bella, how could you suggest such a thing? Isabelle would never "accidentally" flatten Snape. It would be entirely deliberate – and he'd know it, too. And of course I can rig it – I'm the author. So nya. :p
Perenelle: A Mongoose? What the?
Merusa: Deranged father figure…I like that. It suits Moody…As for Ares, I haven't had much reading time lately, but it's on my list of things to read…(discretely bumps it up a few spaces)
KumoriKage: Keyword, "yet" (smirks)
Lion of Gryffindor: New Zealand? Why in Merlin's name would you want to go there when Australia is so close? ;)
bluemonkeyman: Nope. Ginny's good, but she's not as good as, say, Hermione. Whoops, did I say that out loud?
mimiham: I have to ask, did you actually read my response to Phoenix of Hogwarts, or are you just assuming? Because no offence, but if you managed to extrapolate what you were commenting on from what I said, I can't really say much about your intelligence. Go back and read it again – and pay attention this time, yes?
Maximillian1: Vel'bol natha waele klez ulu xun.
UnRealityCheck: I never said Moody was right…
magickk: Erm…I'm not really that much like James, although he does have a few of my qualities – I just gave him a few of my speech patterns, is all.
MsMissProngs: (scowls) Bugger, you're good…and I used Drow because a) I like the language and b) I was fairly sure you'd be unfamiliar with it. Incidentally, Drow is the ancient name for the Dark Elves of Faerun. Just so you know. (mutters about stupid Google searches spoiling fun)
hmm: There is a massive difference between invading someone and protecting yourself and your country. Think about it.
texasjeanette: As I said to UnRealityCheck, I never said Moody was right…
Larna Mandrea: Why, thankee!
Daimen Darkstar: Cheers, I'll remember that one.
