Chapter 4 – A Real Duel

"Come on Harry! We have to cut the cake." Harry's Mum called from a few paces away.

As Harry walked in her direction, Marissa followed close behind him with a hand on his back, saying, "You should have seen your face. You were so surprised!"

"Of course I was. Everyone seems to have forgotten the fact that my birthday is tomorrow."

"Oh we know, but what kind of surprise party would it be if we had it tomorrow?"

"Wonderful." Harry forced a smile. He thought he would enjoy himself on his birthday but he wasn't feeling that sense of happiness so far. He was missing something. His friends. Ron and Hermione weren't there, and neither was Ginny. Harry imagined her feeding him a piece of cake and then kissing him on the cheek. No matter how much he tried to shut out his feelings, they would come back to haunt him, and he might as well face them than run.

He could have been happy even if he had spotted his bratty sister amongst the crowd, but he hadn't. It would be nice to know that despite the fighting and snapping, she still cared for him. They were siblings after all.

In a couple of seconds, he was surrounded by all the people who were staring at the magnificent cake. It was composed of three layers with blue icing and the numbers seventeen sparkling in midair.

Mum handed him a long slender knife and he wasted no time before slicing the cake with some enthusiasm as everyone sang happy birthday. Believe it or not, he could feel himself blushing. Harry had never been surrounded by so many people observing him.

First, he was fed by Mum and Dad who gave him small chunks of the cake, but as he moved to the twins, he was pinched. Turning around, Harry found Marissa glaring at him, "Hello? Forgot me?"

He laughed nervously, "No, of course not."

Harry found out he never should have turned around because the next second there was a huge piece suspended between his lips, the icing smearing all over his face. Marissa's hands were working around.

"Ok, ok, stop!" Harry protested, and thankfully, it worked.

And then, the music came on, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what would come up next.

"Let's dance Harry!"

"No! I mean…no one else is."

"Of course not! You're the birthday boy and you start it. You love to dance!"

Her blonde hair bounced as she lead him to the middle of the living room. She wrapped her arms around his neck and moved her feet too quickly according to the music. Everyone watched with raised eyes. Did this girl have any shame? He wouldn't be caught dead touching his girlfriend in front of his friends.

As they danced, Harry looked around at everyone and spotted some familiar faces. Besides Sirius, Lupin, and Peter, there were Seamus, an upper classman Harry had seen a few times in the corridors, and to his surprise, Lavender Brown. She looked really different, wearing a mint green robe with a long pearl necklace shining brilliantly against her ivory skin. He had to say it: she looked extremely pretty. Next to her was Monica, chatting animatedly with her. He guessed they were best friends, and it made perfect sense. Lavender herself was a nosy, snotty, and supercilious person and matched with his sister.

"What are you staring at?" Marissa snapped him out of his reverie, "You're acting awfully strange. And would you dance properly? It's your birthday party, for Merlin's sake."

"Sorry. I was just checking to see who came. Want to take a break?"

"Not yet."

Harry sighed and kept on swaying to the music, but once she figured out that his heart wasn't in dancing, she let go and said, "Fine. I'll be back in five."

"Okay." Harry went to the couch where his father was drinking some juice and talking to Mum. He embraced his son as Harry sat down next to him, a hug incomparable to anything else.

"Having fun so far, son?" Dad asked.

"Yeah. Thanks so much. I was really surprised."

"I loved it. You should have seen your face earlier this morning when no one mentioned anything about your birthday. I was ready to crack up."

"It's always fun," Mum said, "Every year your party's on a different day and you can never figure out when."

"Yes, you definitely got me. I seriously did think everyone forgot. Thought Monica must have Confunded you all."

They both laughed, "Nah, she tried that last year but got in major trouble."

At that moment, Lavender made her way through the crowd and stood in front of Harry. He knew what was coming…

"Harry, dance with me!" She squealed, coming to grab his hand but he swiftly moved it away.

"Err-"

"O come on!" Lavender pressed on.

"Go on," Dad patted his back, "She won't bite."

Soon, eh didn't have a chance to say no because Lavender pulled him up and dragged him through the crowd.

"I missed you…" Lavender sang as she danced with him closer than normal.

"Excuse me?" Harry said, confused about what she had just said.

"What do you mean 'excuse me'? We were once lovers, until you went after her." Lavender said in a nasty tone.

Oh no. How many girls had he gone out with?

Suddenly, Lavender's lips were pasted against his. Harry instantly retreated and went back two steps, fuming, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"You know you liked it." She said in a slick attitude. Her eyes went to her left and froze, "Oh no."

That didn't sound good. Harry slowly looked in her direction and found Marissa shocked at one place, staring at him with utmost sorrow lingering in her eyes.

Harry ran for it. He didn't watch for people in his way, because he knew he was about to be steamed in mere seconds. Being careful not to look behind him, he continued ahead and climbed up the stairs three at a time. He finally came to his bedroom, and with a swish of his wand, he shut the door and locked it tight. His breaths were heavy and uneven, and Harry had a haunting instinct that Marissa was on the other side of the door, not making any sound and waiting for him to come out. He knew she would be out there for eternity.

"Harry…" Her voice trailed, a note of mystery present in it, "Come out. I won't yell at you or hit you. Seriously."

"No." Harry said flatly.

"Would you be a man and get out of there?"

"No. I'm not a man. I'm a boy."

"Not funny. Look, if you don't come out, then I'm telling everyone you're up here, just neglecting your birthday party."

Harry sighed, and having no other choice, he opened the door and faced her. Marissa's cheeks were red from either chasing or anger. He selected the latter. She folded her hands and huffed.

"Now, what was that all about?"

"I don't know. She just started dancing with me and kissed me."

"Am I really supposed to believe that? It takes two people to kiss, genius."

"I know, but she surprised me and I broke off as soon as I could. You can't blame me for this."

"Then why'd you run away and lock yourself in there?"

"Because I knew you would react like this." Harry explained.

"Do you take me for a fool? I know about yours and Lavender's history."

"Which is over." said Harry. He couldn't understand how he had even fallen for this girl. That gave him an idea.

"Actually, no it's not." He said as an afterthought.

Marissa raised an eye, "Excuse me?"

"Yes, that's right. I have a thing for Lavender and tonight she convinced me to go back to her."

"What? Are you out of your mind?" She stood flabbergasted.

"No. It's the most sensible thing right now. Maybe if you trusted me and paid more attention to my thoughts and feelings rather than my lips then it would have worked."

"Are you dumping me, Harry?" She spoke threateningly, bringing her hands together as if trying to figure out what to do with them.

"Er-Yeah." Harry said plainly.

"Throwing the five months away?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, I'm not spending any more of my time here. You disgust me, you cheating bastard. Have a fabulous time shagging Lavender!" And with that, she stormed off downstairs.

He was actually relieved by her reaction. Harry had been expecting a more aggressive one. Finally, it was over. He made a mental note to thank Lavender when he went downstairs. Boy, the Harry in this world was going to have major news when he returned to his turf, but Harry knew it was for the best. He wasn't going to get anything out of dating that kind of girl.

Harry cautiously went down the steps, making sure Marissa wasn't still in the house. He didn't really expect her to be, because if he had been in her place he would have left the mine minute he'd caught her cheating.

"Harry, dear!" A voice startled him, "Where'd you go?"

"Just to my room, Mum, to get something."

"Alright, well, try to stay down here."

He didn't want to stay down there. He wasn't having fun. He was a sad face surrounded by laughter and dancing.

…

Over the next few days, no one knew of his and Marissa's breakup, because he wasn't foolish enough to divulge that information. If only Monica hadn't been friends with her, then everything would have gone smoothly. At a Friday night dinner, she said to Harry, "So Harry, you on the lookout for another girl?" His fist balled up dangerously as he imagined it countering with her smug face. In the next half hour, Harry was compelled to explain why it happened, what the problem was, and other things that he just didn't want to talk about.

The next family event took place the next week, where they set out in the morning to a farm nearby to pick strawberries, apples, and other fruits. Harry couldn't understand why they were doing it if they already had all of it at home.

"Smell them," Mum told them, "That way you'll know whether they're ripe or not."

Clint found this humorous, "Here," he pointed to Mase, "He's ripe. Throw him in the bag."

They fought after that, and Harry just laughed. He was glad to find a distraction from all the fruit picking. As they split up, Harry approached Monica and tapped her on the back.

"Why did you tell everyone about it?"

"They deserved to know." She picked off a leaf, not looking at him.

"No, they didn't. It's my business. You should have asked for my permission."

"Please. I don't have to ask you anything. She told me so I spread that information on."

"Seriously, what is your problem?"

"In the spirit of all the little children, go away!" Monica yelled in a high-picked voice. Harry rolled his eyes, and at that moment, something stirred behind Monica. It was a snake. For all he knew, it would have been a python because it was humungous, expanding as it slithered toward his sister.

"Move." Harry breathed softly. He felt that if he made any loud noise the snake would strike.

"You move." She retorted.

But as Harry stepped back slowly while keeping his eyes fixed on the serpent, Monica turned, betting anything it was a joke. Her eyes lowered and she screamed. Monica's body sprinted across the farm. She looked back frantically, only to spot the snake hissing after her.

"Stop!" Harry commanded the snake. It didn't work. He repeated the word and suddenly, it coiled to face him and slowly slithered its way back into the bushels. He breathed in relief. Now, it appeared that Monica was afraid of him rather than the serpent. The accusing eyes calculated him. He moved closer to her and she moved back, stumbling slightly.

"Don't come near me."

"Don't be ridiculous." Harry said.

"What was that? The spitting…and hissing." She brought her hand to her mouth and gaped in horror, "You're a Parselmouth! Oh my god!"

Everyone came running to them. Dad exclaimed, "What happened? Why were you screaming?" He turned to Monica, who pointed a threatening finger at Harry.

"He's a Parselmouth! I heard him hiss at that snake!"

"Oh stop it Mon. That's impossible."

"Why? Why? I saw him, heard him. He's a Parselmouth, I swear!"

"No, no." Dad said, while the others stared at Harry. He could see the twins' confused faces. Obviously, they didn't know what a Parselmouth was.

"Honey, the only recent one was Salaazar Slytherin and I'm sure Harry isn't related to him. We're all Gryffindors!" Mum explained.

"So. Dad's a pureblood and so was Slytherin. I'm telling you the truth. I'm not making this up." She said desperately.

Harry just stood there, not knowing to say. How could he defend himself when she was right? The only negative side of it was that they would take him as a dangerous person from now on. That look in Monica's eyes was inevitable. She was treating him like a stranger.

"Yeah, I am. I just didn't know it before. I told that snake to go away and it did." Harry said.

"This is bad. Oh, this is so bad. He can't live with us anymore. I could never sleep if I knew there was a Parselmouth in our house. What if he set a snake on me like he just did now?"

"I didn't do that!" Harry shouted, "I tried to get you away from it, but you wouldn't listen!"

"Both of you shut up." Dad said calmly, and both Monica and Harry's heads turned to him.

"Monica, stop overreacting. He would never do that to you. And Harry, are you sure you're telling the truth?"

Yeah, about this, he thought, but not about how I used a Time Bender to get here. "Yes, I am."

"Mommy, what's a Pacheltung?" Clint asked.

"It's a man who can talk to snakes."

"Oooh. Does that mean Harry is evil?"

"NO!" Harry bellowed.

"Can we just go?" Monica said, "I've had enough of this farm for a lifetime."

"Alright. Come on, everyone." Mum said, leading everyone to the front of the farm so they could pay for the fruits. She gave Harry a look that he had never seen before. He could see the question written all over her face: What is my son? A Parselmouth? IS that my son? If only he could tell them the truth…

…

The house was pacified the next day. Everyone tried to forget what had happened the day before, but they could all read thoughts in each other's minds. Harry had sure mad a debacle. He should have just grabbed Monica's arm and lead her away from the snake instead of attempting to command it.

Harry kept to himself for most of the day by finishing his homework in his room. Something had to take his mind off of things. Day by day, things were worsening, and day by day he felt like returning to his own world. Things were too complicated in this illusion for him to handle, and the only benefit he was getting out of it was seeing his Mum, Dad, and Sirius. His mind told him to go, but his heart told him to stay. Which should he listen to?

Somewhere during mid-afternoon, Dad came upstairs to his room with a plate of food. "How is my favorite son today?" He laid the plate on the bed, "Don't tell your mother I said that."

"What, is Mum too scared to serve food to me now?"

"Don't be stupid. She's busy with the twins."

"This whole thing is stupid. I didn't do anything wrong."

"I know son. Just give it a couple of days and it will all blow over. They're just surprised, not scared."

"Yeah, sure." Harry said doubtfully.

"Don't worry about it. I think it's actually cool that you can talk to snakes."

Harry's heart lifted, "Really?"

"Yeah. If I'm ever near a snake, you can save me. You'll be useful, I tell you."

"Er-Okay." Harry said.

"Now, your mother and I are going out to dinner at about…five, so take care of everyone, alright? Don't stir up trouble."

"Got it, Dad."

"Monica's sleeping over at her friend's house but she should be back in an hour or so. If she says anything to you, just ignore it. You know how she is."

"Yes I do."

"And don't trap yourself in here. You'll go mad. Come downstairs."

"I will. Let m just finish this essay." Harry pointed to the half-written parchment.

"You're doing your homework? Weirdo. I never did my homework."

"Then how'd you get it doen?"

"I copied Moony's work."

"He must have been furious."

"Oh he was, but he wouldn't let me fail."

That reminded Harry of Hermione. Hermione…oh, she must be so worried about me.

"Yeah, well, I would never copy the work off my friends. They're all duds."

Dad nodded, "True."

They sat in silence for a few seconds and then he got to his feet, "I'm leaving now. Have fun baby-sitting."

Harry smiled slightly. He wondered where they were going where they couldn't take their children. Weren't pregnant women supposed to stay home most of the time?

Believe it or not, Harry finished his homework the next hour and then went downstairs. Apparently, Monica was waiting for him.

"What?" Harry asked before she got a chance to open her mouth.

"A duel. You and me. Right now." Her hands landed on her hips.

Harry laughed, "You can't duel. You're not allowed to use your wand."

At the cue, Monica pulled out a long wand from her back pocket.

"You stole someone's wand?"

"No. It's Mum's. You're not getting away with what you did yesterday. Duel me."

"To death?" Harry said in disbelief.

"No, you dolt. Just until I break all your bones and have blood running all over your slimy skin."

Oh, that's a disgusting image, Harry thought.

"What do you say?"

Harry didn't think twice before he said, "You're on. In the empty room."

She was going to lose. He knew it. He might not be good at sword dueling but he did know how to use a wand.

They faced each other formally and held their wands up. Harry didn't see a glimpse of fear in Monica's eyes or any uncertainty from her poise.

"Ready-" Harry started, but an unexpected voice interrupted him, "What are you doing?" Mase walked in with curiosity.

"Nothing, just playing sweetie. Go back to your room." Monica said softly.

"No, I want to watch!" Mase whined.

"Let him stay. Nothing will happen."

"Or so you say." Monica spat out, "He could get hurt."

"I thought you said you were playing!"

"We are, and yes, you can stay. Just don't get in the middle." Monica said. She flicked her wand, sparks igniting at the tip of the wand, and opened her mouth. A red jet of light emitted across the room. Harry quickly deflected it and Disapparated. He appeared right behind her and pushed her with as much force as he needed so she would tilt. Harry yelled, "Absumo!"

Monica fell flat face on the floor with a heavy thud, screams pouring out of her mouth. A hand bent upwards and she pushed herself to her feet.

Harry smirked. His sister's whole face was spot red, much like the time when Marrietta Edgecombe had been covered with purple pimples. Monica felt her face, and immediately, her nose flared and gaze was fixed on Harry.

"You-" Another spell was shot at him and he ducked in instinct. He muttered an incantation and yellow light erupted from his wand. Before Harry had time to see whether it made contact with her, Mase amidst them and exclaimed, "Ooh! Yellow light! I wanna try!"

"No, Mase! Get out of-"

Harry was cut short by a forceful blast to his back. It was his turn to dive deep to the floor. The pain was equal to a magnitude of a thousand bees sucking blood from his back. His hands balled up in fists and eyes surrounded with the intensity. Where the hell had she learned a spell like that?

"You'll pay for that!" Harry bellowed, still on the ground, and screamed, "Levicorpus!"

The sight was sweet. Monica dangled in the air as he watched from ground level. Her arms and legs wiggled all around as she egged, "Let me down, you scoundrel!"

"Say 'My brother is the ultimate dueling champion' and I'll let you down."

"Never!" She pushed her legs down but the attempt was horribly futile.

"Fine then. You'll have fun up there. Maybe I should get you a cloth so you can clean that ceiling. I do believe I see some spider webs up there."

"Shut up you prick! Get me down now!"

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN IS GOING ON HERE!"

Both heads turned to the source of the voice and found their father with a on-fire-furious expression. Harry would never do anything wrong again if he had to see that face…

Dad muttered the countercurse and Monica came down slowly.

"Dad. What are you doing here?" Harry said sweetly.

"Oh, I don't know, just saw some strands of light and thought YOU'D GOTTEN ATTACKED!"

"Okay okay."

"Explain yourselves." Mum said, folding her arms.

"Nothing Mum. Just entertaining ourselves." Harry said.

"Yeah, you know, just some bro-sis time." Monica followed.

"Right. Bro-sis time," Dad mocked, "The time when you act like brother and sister will be the day I walk around with an artificial duck head."

Mase giggled, but stopped when Mum gave him a warning look.

"How many times have we told you not to fight! You could kill yourselves, you fools! Wait-is that my wand? Give that to me!"

Monica cautiously walked to her mother and held out the wand. With a swift motion, Mum snatched it.

"You two, you're not going anywhere until school starts. That's your punishment."

"WHAT?" Monica freaked, "That's not fair! If you didn't notice, I was the one dangling in the air!"

"I don't care." Dad said callously, "You both were fighting-"

"They said they were playing." Mase interrupted.

"-and lying. Anything else?"

"He turned my face red!" Monica pointed at Harry.

"She put some bozo spell on my back!" Harry yelled.

"I wanna play!" Mase screamed.

Dad performed the strangest action. He closed his eyes and counted to ten out loud, followed by, "It's okay…just calm down…"

"You can be calm all you want!' Mum said, "Both of you go to your rooms and don't come down until the next morning! Go!"

In a straight line, the three children walked upstairs, and just as Monica and Harry were about to go into their rooms, Monica voiced a thought, "I hate you."

"That's nothing I haven't heard before." Harry said, and closed the door behind him as he entered his room.