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Harry Potter And The Game of Death
Level 1
Chapter Twenty-Four: Portkey Shenanigans
Of all the people Harry had hoped to encounter at the portkey site, Draco and his father had not been among them.
The pair of blond prats were currently standing in a clearing with two other wizards, their posh wizarding robes standing in stark contrast to the Muggle attire worn by Harry and his guardians.
It seemed that, as usual, the rules issued by the Ministry were considered to be below the Malfoys. Designed to prevent magical folk from accidentally breaking the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy on their way to the Cup, the Ministry's directive for all magical folk to wear Muggle attire when going to or coming from the Cup was supposed to have been obeyed by everyone.
Harry glared at Draco's smug little face and snorted in disgust.
Red suffusing his face over the insult, Draco started forward.
"Not now, Draco," Lucius Malfoy murmured. The man used his long gentleman's cane to block his son's progress. "Never give into the riffraff's taunts."
Sneering, the blonde ponce turned to face Sirius. "Ah, Sirius, what an unexpected pleasure it is to see you again. It's been, what, nearly fifteen years? You look so different from your time away that I hardly recognized you."
"Oh, I've been positively wonderful, Lucius." Sirius' aristocratic drawl, usually light and nearly unnoticeable, thickened as he replied. "After spending a few years at an island reserved for select clientele – a matter which I'm certain you know all about seeing as how many of its long term residents are old friends of yours – I decided that it was time to stop allowing certain people to have their run of things back on the mainland. So I cut my time there short and made my triumphant return; it was all over the newspapers a few weeks ago. I was going to look you up sooner, but I suffered a nasty stomachache at the thought of seeing you again and had to focus on my health. I'm certain that you understand."
"Quite," Lucius said in his own slow drawl. "You always did possess a rather frail constitution. A shame that your time at the island was unable to… correct it."
"Seeing as how you're not looking too well yourself, Lucius, I could recommend to Director Bones that you take my old room. I promise to put in a good word for you with the staff."
"A very kind gesture on your part, Sirius. However, I feel that I must decline your offer; I have far too many pressing responsibilities to shirk by taking a vacation at this time. You see, unlike some members of our venerated society, I take my role as a pillar of the community very gravely."
"Heh. From what I hear, your ex has a rather different take on that, Lucy." Sirius said with a smirk. The news about Narcissa's divorce of Lucius had gone public two days ago and was all over the papers. "Would you like for me to go into detail? Oh, but of course you do! She's already given at least four interviews where she describes your union as being, and I quote, a 'cold, loveless, sham of a marriage", and went on to say that 'Lucius' highest goal in life is to constantly soothe your pathetically small ego.' Nasty stuff, but Narcissa always did have quite the caustic tongue when pushed too far."
Remus gave a throaty chuckle at Sirius' comment. It was probably not a smart decision, considering that he was a Hogwarts professor and Lucius was a member of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, but in this situation Harry did not care. In fact, listening to Remus break with decorum inspired him to laugh and take a shot of his own at Draco's dear old daddy.
When Lucius' eyes flickered towards him, Harry smiled and mimed reaching down to draw his sock.
The man's pale face went red with anger at the reminder of how he had lost Doby to Harry's simple trick. The gloved hand he used to grip the head of his cane tightened, and the wand hidden within it was drawn out several inches as he stared murderously at Harry.
Draco and the two unnamed men beside him made to draw their own wands as well. And not to be caught unawares, Harry and the rest drew their own wands.
A crackling tension filled the air as both sides looked at one another, waiting for the other side to make the first move.
Harry felt his free hand begin to twitch as he picked out his target. Across from him, he saw Draco's fingers tighten on his wand.
But before anything other than glares were exchanged, a strange voice filled the air.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Ahoy there everyone, what's this that I see? A duel? How fantastic!"
A sandy-haired man whom Harry did not recognize in the slightest was the source of the boisterous voice. The man had a bluff and craggy face, what looked to be an oft broken nose, and possessed an athletic frame that had long since gone to seed. Dressed in what looked to be a fancy pair of slacks, clogs, a beaner, and a Manchester United jersey, the man fit Harry's typical mental image of a wizard trying – and failing – at blending in with Muggles. He was running up to the group, face turning red from the exertion while a small gaggle of wizards and witches off in the distance tried to catch up to him.
The man's baby blue eyes sparkled as he inserted himself into the middle of things. "I didn't know that I'd be spectating a wizard's duel as part of my morning commute. It's an undervalued sport in my opinion; doesn't get enough attention nowadays from all these younger folks who think that the noble sport of duelling is beneath them."
After giving the two Malfoys an enthusiastic handshake which neither seemed eager to return, the stranger turned to face Harry and the others. A look of barely controlled excitement that was eerily reminiscent of Lockhart's vapid persona came across the man's face as his eyes fell upon Harry.
Harry felt an instant dislike and distrust of the man.
"By Merlin's staff! You – you're – you're Harry Potter!" The man gave a gasp of surprise which was much too exaggerated to be natural. "Please, Harry, forgive me for not recognizing you sooner. It is pleasure to meet you. A pleasure and an honour!"
The man grabbed Harry's free hand and pumped it with gusto. "You did us all a favour when you defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. That you did, my boy, that you did. Why, if I'd had my way about it, you'd have received far more than that one measly little statue the Ministry had commissioned a few years back; there'd be statues of you and your parents all over the place, in every village and every major building in all of Magical Britain to commemorate the incredible service you provided to this great nation of ours."
Harry felt his mild dislike of the newcomer turn to disgust. There were few things in the world Harry liked less than hearing about his fame, or about how the wizarding world owed him some great debt. To have someone wax on about it to him at first meeting, in a manner that was anything but sincere, was revolting.
As the man paused to take a deep breath, Harry saw his chance to change the topic. "Sorry, sir, but should I know you?"
"Oh! Where are my manners? The name is Ludovic Bagman, but I go by Ludo instead. I'm the head of the Ministry's Department of Magical Games and Sports, though you might know me better from my long years playing Beater for the national Quidditch squad." The man gave a broad wink as he continued to shake Harry's hand. "In any case, I should have known that you'd be into duelling. Quidditch players, especially Seekers, often are, as it can help improve one's reflexes. And from what the Quidditch rumour mill says about young and promising players, Harry, you're pretty impressive in the air."
"Um, well, I guess, sir," Harry said as he managed to finally free his hand from the older man's grasp. His shoulder had begun to ache something fierce from it. "But I wouldn't really know for sure. I might be talented on a broom, but I've only been learning how to duel recently; what little I know about it comes from my godfather and a few others."
Ludo's already sparkling eyes kicked into overdrive at the comment. "But of course! I had almost forgotten that seeing you must mean that Sirius would be nearby!"
The strange man turned on his heel and bounded over to where Sirius stood with a hand on his forehead. From his expression, Sirius was looking forward to talking with Ludo with all the enthusiasm of someone who had just bitten into a sour grape.
Sirius rolled his eyes and lowered his wand with an aggrieved sigh. "Hello, Ludo. It's, ah… a pleasure to see you again."
"A pleasure? Why Sirius, my old friend, it's much more than just a pleasure! We simply must celebrate later and catch up. I saw your face on last week's cover of Witch Weekly and I must say that you looked absolutely smashing!"
"Erm, yeah. We'll see. But before we get too sidetracked, Ludo, can't you see that we were in the middle of something?"
Ludo blinked at the yell. He then looked around and, as if for the first time, noticed that it was not just Harry and Draco who had drawn their wands.
The man's bluff face fell. "Oh. Oh, dear. I've made quite a mess of things, haven't I?"
Lucius Malfoy gave a snort of disdain at Ludo's belated observation. "I guess that's to be expected of you, Bagman. Without Bartemius here to cover for your mistakes, you're just a walking bag of hot air."
"Why I never – see here, good sir, that it totally uncalled for!" Ludo shouted indignantly in response.
But his words fell on deaf ears as Lucius ignored him. The elder Malfoy's eyes were still burning with rage as he pointed his wand at Sirius. "Ludo's antics aside, we'll finish this later, Black. And just in case you try to squirm away, I declare there to be a formal challenge between the House of Malfoy and the House of Black, with all who are gathered here as witness."
Sirius shrugged and gave the man a grim smile. "Sounds good to me, Malfoy. I'll accept under normal House rules; just name the time and place."
Harry blinked at the sudden return to hostilities. He was also somewhat confused as Lucius' wording dredged up an old memory. Had Draco's father just challenged Sirius to the same sort of fight that Draco had challenged Harry to back in First Year?
Huh. The apple really did not fall far from the tree after all.
"I was hoping you would say that," Lucius said cruelly. "Then in accordance with House rules, I declare the challenger to be my son, Draco."
Sirius' eyes narrowed to slits. "Do you think that I'm an idiot, Malfoy? If it were a simple one on one fight, or a normal duel, then Harry could beat Draco in no time flat. But a duel under House Rules is different. I won't stand for you using some technicality to have him lose when my godson is by far the better wizard."
"Only in your dreams, Black," Lucius said with a disdainful snort. "Your lack of confidence in the boy is utterly apparent considering that you are already whining about losing. Besides, you have already accepted the challenge under House Rules, meaning that I am well within my rights to name Draco as my challenger. But if you wish to face the boy yourself, then by all means, go ahead. I am certain that defeating a child will do wonders for your self-esteem."
"You're one to talk about that," Sirius snarled angrily. "Don't think that I've forgotten about all those rumours of what you and Abraxus were up to ten years ago."
"Careful, Black. Besmirching the good name of your better, without any evidence, might get you sent back to your island home."
The two men both stepped closer as they snarled at one another and looked as if they might come to blows right then and there.
But not wanting Sirius to get in trouble with the law for smashing Lucius's face in front of a bunch of witnesses, Harry decided to step forward and pull Lucius' attention to himself.
Ding!
Ignoring the notification, Harry gave Lucius his best imitation of Dora's predatory grin. "Don't worry about it, Sirius. If I could take Voldemort down as a baby, then taking Draco down as a teenager won't even cause me to break a sweat."
Draco rolled his eyes in disdain at Harry's comment. But it was the boy's father who spoke.
"Excellent. Then I believe that my challenge has been accepted, Sirius." Lucius's nostrils flared as he slammed his wand back into his cane. "In accordance with tradition for a battle between minors, and with everyone here serving as witness, the duel shall be held between Harry and Draco two weeks from now at the duelling arena present at the World Cup. Agreed?"
"Agreed." Sirius said through clenched teeth. His dark eyes flashed with concern when he looked at Harry as he spoke, but he did not back away from his words.
"Then I look forward to seeing you lose." Without waiting for any further reply, Lucius turned and began to walk away. "Draco, let us leave this area. I believe the Parkinsons previously extended an invitation for us to join them at their transport site, and I would find their company eminently more preferable to that which is present here."
But before the group left, and just as Harry was trying to cast a stealthy 'Observe' on the group, Draco turned around and opened his mouth to get in one final word.
"Are you sure that you're man enough to face me in a proper wizard's duel, Potter?" Draco called out mockingly. "I've been working hard all summer, and unlike the last time we duelled I won't be foolish enough to summon a snake you can use your Parseltongue on."
"I'm sure that you've improved loads, Draco." Harry said in a mocking tone of his own. "But you've yet to win a match against me in Quidditch or anything else, and I don't see it happening anytime soon either. Besides, I believe in your unparalleled ability to come up with new and improved ways to make yourself look like the world's biggest berk in front of a crowd. It's one of life's familiar constants, like gravity or Hermione's brilliance."
"Of course you'd mention her, considering that she's got you wrapped around her little finger. But the mudblood won't be able to save you this time, Potter. This time it'll just be you and me in the ring, and no one else!" Draco snapped.
Harry saw red. His wand-hand darted upright, his lips already forming the words to a nasty jinx Dora had taught him the day before.
No one called Hermione that name in front of him. No one. And free from Hogwart's restrictions against student duelling, Harry felt no compunction to hold back from thrashing the inbred blonde then and there.
But as the spell was on the verge of leaving Harry's lips and wiping the vile smirk from Draco's smug face, a hand reached out and shoved his arm down.
"Alright, Draco, that's enough for today," Sirius said in a stern tone of voice as he held onto Harry's rigid arm. "It's time for you to run along like a good little pureblood boy lest you end up forfeiting the duel before it even begins; I'm sure that your dear old daddy would love to have you pile some nice, old fashioned dishonour on your House's name while my cousin continues to drag its reputation through the gutter press."
Draco opened his mouth to respond, his face flushing angrily, but a clipped command from his father caused the boy to reconsider. He settled for a venomous glare, one which Harry returned with zeal, and turned his back on them.
Lucius placed a hand on his son's arm and gave both Harry and Sirius a final sneer. Then, with a trio of loud and sudden cracks, they and their two companions were gone.
The silence was briefly broken by a sour faced Ludo, the man's previous look of cheer nowhere to be found.
"If the man weren't such a big donor, I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than interact with him," he muttered. "But that's business, eh? Anyway, Sirius, it looks my employees have finally managed to catch up. We'll search for the portkey and call you once we find it.
Ludo signalled to the gaggle of witches and wizards who had just arrived. After exchanging a few words, the group wandered off in various directions to search the area.
Taking deep breaths to calm himself, Harry managed to disperse the tension which riddled his body. He reached his free hand over to tap his godfather's arm. "I'm alright, Sirius. You can let go now."
Sirius slowly removed his hand from Harry's arm and gave him a look that was half-worried, half amused. "I wouldn't expect anything less from the son of Lily Potter, kiddo. I knew what was coming the moment I heard the little mongrel's insult; your mother had quite the temper on her, too, and more than a few people who called her that word were taught to be wary of her wand."
Harry gave a soft laugh. "I'd expect nothing less of my mum from what you've told me about her."
"Heh. You don't even know the half of it. But those are stories for another time. In addition to your quest, Remus and I will need to get you up to speed regarding formal duelling etiquette; under House rules, losing the duel due to a technicality is a real possibility, and you wouldn't want that to happen again, right?"
Harry gave a shudder at the thought. Losing to Ginny on a technicality, in a pickup Quidditch game, had felt rotten, and was an experience which Harry would not soon forget.
But losing a public duel to Draco Malfoy due to a technicality? Harry would rather eat toad spawn and sing Snape's praises in an all-day Potions class.
So whenever Remus and Sirius began teaching him about duelling rules, Harry sure as hell was going to learn them inside and out.
Continuing to take a few more deep breaths to calm himself, Harry took advantage of not having anyone other than Sirius or Remus nearby to look at the Game's earlier notification.
Quest Alert Notification
Beat the Brat
Your Godfather and Lucius Malfoy have Set a Duel Between You and Draco Malfoy
Defeat Draco to Pass the Quest
Quest Reward:
1 Level
Please Select
Yes or No
The reward for the quest was rather small. The tiniest Harry had yet to see from a quest. But as he figured that beating Draco did not amount to much of a feat by any definition of the word… well, its miniscule size did make sense.
Harry quickly selected yes before composing a quick message using the Game's 'Party' feature. Then he sent it to both Sirius and Remus, silently filling them in on the Game's latest quest.
Both men jumped, undoubtedly from the unexpected noise generated from the sending of a message using the Game, but otherwise gave no other visible sign that Harry had done anything. Neither was quite on his level when it came to manipulating the Game of Death, but they were getting better.
Ludo wandered back shortly after Harry had sent the message. The man had apparently found the portkey in short order and now seemed unable to hold off from once again interjecting himself into the middle of things.
"Lucius' personal rudeness aside, Sirius, that was smashing, utterly smashing! Here I thought that I was going to have yet another boring commute into work, only to find myself bearing witness to an official challenge between two noble Houses. Having you back in the wizarding world is like a breath of fresh air!" Ludo Bagman's boisterous voice cut through the air as he slapped Sirius' shoulder. "You really must allow me to oversee the event; with my help and support, young Harry here'll become an even bigger star than he already is!"
Harry grimaced at the thought. He was already too big of a star in his own opinion. More fame would only make things worse.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll consider your offer, Ludo, but I won't make any promises at this time." Sirius said as he shrugged off Ludo's arm. "We might have to put up with all the publicity nonsense that comes with these sorts of events, but that doesn't mean we have to embrace it."
"Ah, of course, of course. I understand you completely, old boy. As my dear old mother used to say, there are no free lunches in this world. You have to work to get what you want." Ludo chuckled at his own statement, as if he had made some particularly funny comment. "By the by, did you hear me mention earlier that I've become Head of the Department of Magical Games while you were away? I'll also be the announcer for all the big matches in this year's Cup, and I've got the inside track on everything going on at the tournament's grounds. I'm sure that I can get you and Harry some special access at some point before the Cup comes to an end. Maybe even a backstage pass, or the chance to attend a team practice or two."
Sirius paused mid turn. He then exchanged a look with Remus, who stared back in guarded surprise.
Harry hoped that they were both thinking what he was thinking.
In order to complete the quest to stop the attack on the World Quidditch Cup, Harry and the rest would need access to the sort of places people were usually restricted from entering. They had figured to access them by using Harry's cloak – conveniently stored within his 'Inventory' so as to bypass any magical inspections – but there was always a risk of being discovered.
Having Ludo offer up the possibility of giving them the access they required, under the guise of doing them a favour, was too tempting an offer to ignore.
Even if it did mean furthering Harry's already annoying celebrity status.
When Sirius turned to look at him, Harry sighed and gave his godfather a quick nod. Then Remus grabbed Harry by the arm and moved off while Sirius did the same with Bagman. The sandy-haired man allowed Sirius to move him, motioning for his own companions to hang back as the two began to speak in lowered voices.
Harry looked up at Remus and raised an eyebrow as they walked. Years of dealing with the Dursleys had given him a basic working knowledge of how the discussion would go between Ludo and Sirius. "It's a weird feeling, Remus, knowing that Sirius is going to hawk me out in return for something. And that I've given him my permission to do so."
"I would imagine so," the werewolf responded dryly. "I know how much you dislike your fame, Harry. Being famous for the deaths of Lily and James is… well, atrocious. But something that you have to understand, and that you demonstrated with your action today, is that you cannot run away from it either."
The professor then used an arm to bump Harry's shoulder. "Just make sure that you never let it go to your head."
Harry gave a snort at the very thought. "As if that'd ever happen. And if it ever got close, well, I'm sure Hermione would snap me out of it."
"Indeed. Ms. Granger is a wonderfully stabilizing influence on you. I quite look forward to seeing her once again."
"Me too." Harry replied softly. Saying her name just now had made him realize that it had been over a month since he had last seen her. "Do you think that she'll be able to make it to the Cup?"
Remus nodded. "Eventually. I made sure to communicate with her parents by telephone yesterday; they have decided to extend their holiday a little, but Hermione will be able to attend the finals at the very least."
That would be nice. Harry missed having his best friend around. Going on an adventure, fighting Draco, and learning about magic just was not the same without her.
Several minutes later, as Harry thought over how he would go about describing today's events in his daily letter to Hermione, a bright light began to pulse from Remus' wand.
The professor grabbed Harry by the shoulder and gently tugged him back towards Sirius. "That's the timer. The portkey should be activating soon. When we get to the device, remember to have at least a finger on it so you are not left behind."
Harry nodded. The two of them then hurried to where Sirius and Ludo stood. And, judging by the smile on Ludo's face, their own conversation had finished as well.
They were soon joined by the wizards and witches who worked for Ludo. One of whom reminded Harry of Cho, though he quickly put it out of his mind as everyone crowded in close.
It turned out the portkey was a broken cricket bat, it's worn wood shining with light. One of the witches passed it to Ludo, who held the mangled piece of wood towards the group and motioned for everyone to touch it.
Ten seconds later an invisible force hooked into Harry's body with uncomfortable strength. The hook settled somewhere behind his navel. And before he could attempt to resist it, the hook jerked him upwards into a blinding flash of light.
A/N: Hm. Could it be that I always had a reason… or two… or maybe more… in having Harry lose to Ginny by a technicality back in chapter 19? Inconceivable! :p
With more than a year of hindsight on this chapter, I must admit that it is also not one my best; having it come on the heels of another subpar chapter is especially galling. Though hopefully the extensive edits I've made have improved it.
Oh well. Like I said in chapter 1, a big reason why I'm writing this story is to make mistakes and learn from them. Because of issues like this, Level 2 should be a much smoother ride.
Until Next Time,
~Elsil
