Nymphadora Tonks
"Why are we here, Moody?" I asked as I looked around the packed stadium. I'd never been that interested in dueling for sport. It just seemed like a waste of time when my job required me to actually fight.
"We're looking for skilled individuals." Moody grumpy said, his magical eye spinning around erratically as he took stock of every person in sight.
"We're looking for recruits, then?"
"Or potential problems."
Letting out a sigh at my mentor's paranoia, I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms behind my head to support my neck.
The dull sound of idle chatter was replaced with excited roars as the spectators saw a man walk onto the arranged field.
Placing his wand against his neck to project his voice, he said, "Witches and wizards! Let me be the first to welcome you to the two-hundred-thirty-sixth annual Dueler's Cup! We are excited to put on a show for you all today as seasoned members of the community face off with fresh faces looking to make a name for themselves. Are you ready for the first match?"
The crowd grew to a roar as the bloody fools threw their arms up and hollered various dueler's names.
I just rolled my eyes at the spectacle and hoped this wouldn't take too long. It wasn't like most of the contestants could measure up to someone like Moody, and I'd been attached at the man's hip for over two years. It was difficult to impress me these days.
"Then without further adieu, allow me to present our first matchup of the day!" The man spun around dramatically as he pointed towards one end of the field. "The man you all know and love, known by his well-earned moniker The Nimble Caster, winner of our fine competition for three years running, please help me welcome Bartholomew Brown!"
The stands went absolutely mental as a man in a multi-colored, gaudy robe strode into the stadium, his arms out at his sides as he basked in the praise.
"Twit." I said under my breath.
"He is, but he's also good. Pay attention and you might learn a thing or two." Moody said, his magical eye still scanning the crowd. There were a lot of people to inspect.
"And his competitor for this the first bracket of our competition, a new face to dueling! Perhaps we'll be able to see more of him next year?" the announcer said with a cheeky grin as the crowd laughed at his joke. "I'm kidding, of course! All the luck in the world to our new friend Xarion!"
There were several polite claps, but the noise level was nowhere near the raucous roar that had accompanied Brown's entrance.
Walking onto the field from the entrance on the other side was an attractive young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He stood six feet tall and was wearing what looked like a lightly armored black jerkin over a pair of black pants, strangely without a robe to complete the look. His hair was black as a cauldron and his eyes were brown like a piece of tanned leather. He walked as if in a daze, and who could really blame him? He'd probably worked his rear off to get here only to be eliminated in the first round. It was rather rotten luck.
Maybe I'd offer him a drink or two to help him through the loss? He seemed-
"Business." Mad-eye said as he turned to face me, a stern expression on his face as he narrowed his only eyelid at me. "We're here for business. Get drunk with strapping young wizards on your own time."
"I wasn't gonna-" I stopped talking as Moody stared unbelievingly at me.
Crossing my arms over my chest and sticking out my lip, altering it to be a little larger than normal out of spite, I slumped in my chair to watch the match.
The two competitors had come together in the middle of the field, and the fans were roaring at the show of sportsmanship as Brown put his arm around the new guy's shoulder. Then the crowd started booing when the new guy lifted Brown's arm off of him and stepped away, turning his back in a show of disrespect.
Moody snorted in amusement at the sight. "Kid's got a good head on his shoulders."
The two of us watched as Brown and Xarion took their starting positions within the circles a set distance away from each other.
"Contestants! The match will begin when this bell is rung!" the announcer said as he climbed to a booth overlooking the field, a large bronze bell hanging next to him. "Good luck to the both of you!" The man picked up a large mallet, and the crowd grew deafening as he brought the hammer against the bell.
Brown raised his wand…. and was blasted twelve feet backwards as a bolt of orange energy slammed into his sternum, forcing him into an unmoving heap in the dirt.
My jaw fell open as the entire stadium went dead silent.
It had been fast, but I'd been trained to see fast. The new guy, Xarion, hadn't pulled out his wand. He'd waved his arm in a strange way and summoned up this weird circle with symbols on it and his spell had launched out of that all before Brown, a man praised for his speed in duels, could aim his wand.
In the complete quiet of the stadium that was only moments prior roaring with excited fans, the young man's shocked voice carried to everyone in the stadium.
"Wait, I thought that guy said he was the reigning champion? Oh, shit. I didn't kill him, did I?"
"Well I'll be damned. We may have actually found someone this year." Moody said, his usual grumpy tone colored by the barest trace of respect.
I couldn't do much more than stare at the man who had just handedly beaten one of the foremost duelists in Britain with wandless magic.
"Tonks?" Moody calling my name dragged my attention away from the man gingerly poking Brown with the toe of his boot back to my mentor. "Offer him that drink and learn everything you can about him."
Oh, so now I could get drunk with strapping young wizards?
X
How did I get here?
Logically, I knew how it happened. I found a city, sensed some magic, asked the mage responsible for the nearest newspaper, was directed to the wrong stand, was entered into a tournament before I realized what had happened, decided to go along with it because I had literally nothing better to do and it would keep my mind off other things, bested seventeen of this world's 'expert duelists' in less than a second each, and won the tournament.
Still, how did I get here?
"Mr. Xarion, was it? I'm Rita Skeeter, journalist for the Prophet. You just became a very famous man."
"Thanks?" I said as I tried to politely walk away from the blonde haired woman with an unhealthy obsession with the color green.
"Certainly, you've taken Wizarding Britain by storm. Is there a reason we haven't heard of you until now?" she said as she followed after me, a floating quill scribbling notes onto a floating pad in front of it.
"I've recently arrived." I said honestly, looking around for the exit to this place. They hadn't given me whatever the award was yet, but frankly I didn't really want whatever it was.
This had gone from being a novel distraction to a headache. I was genuinely considering just pulling a disappearing act and walking away invisible, but that would probably cause problems for me later down the line. While I vaguely recalled a setting by the name of Harry Potter, the details in my memory were sparse at best, so until I knew more about the dangers here, I was going to play it straight.
"And where is it that you have been hiding all these years? Someone so fluent in wandless magic as yourself would surely stand out amongst any crowd." the reporter said, a false smile on her face as she tried to get a juicy story that would make her the most money.
"Ma'am, not to be rude, but I am incredibly overwhelmed right now. I didn't expect any of this when I showed up today. Hell, I didn't even mean to join the tournament. Blame the guy behind the desk for signing me up when all I did was ask for a newspaper. If it isn't too much to ask, could you please let me off the hook this once?"
The woman pursed her lips. "An american accent and diction. I suppose that will be enough." She snapped her fingers and the quill floating above her dropped into her hand as the notebook shut with a clap. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Xarion." She spun on her heel and sauntered away from me, moving through the competitors milling around and falling upon the guy I'd fought first.
I think I'd just ruined his life. I'd be sorry, but the guy sucked. He wouldn't have lasted a day in DXD.
"Good people, may I have your attention?" the announcer said, his voice echoing as he used magic to amplify it. "First, I would like to thank all of our competitors for coming out today. We had a wonderful tournament, and surely you are responsible for that." He made a show of clapping his hands, prompting others to politely clap along. "Now I would like to invite our Champion to the stage. Xarion, please join me!"
A loud bout of cheering grew as those in the stands and standing on the field started clapping. My fellow competitors fixed me with looks ranging from awe to loathing. I didn't really care, I just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. I was getting hungry, and a sandwich was sounding real good about now.
Hurrying up to the stage, I stepped away from the announcer as he went to hug me. He awkwardly recovered and said, "To the victor go the spoils, and many spoils there are! The one-thousand galleon prize is yours, my friend!" Another cheer rose up as he presented me with a golden trophy.
Rather than be pleased at my winnings, I only had one thought.
What the hell is a galleon?
X
Taking a large bite out of my sandwich, I couldn't help but sigh. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, however long ago that was, and maybe it was the hunger talking, but this little dive made some good sandwiches. I'd looked around the magical eateries, but they all looked like they would have failed an early 1900's health code inspection, so I returned to the 'regular' world to get my food.
As soon as I'd been handed a rather nifty bag that didn't have a bottom filled with an ungodly amount of gold coins, I made a mad dash for the exit. Unfortunately for me, several reporters including the one I'd spoken to earlier were there waiting for me.
I'd ducked out of the eyeline of everyone and cast an illusion over myself before walking right past them. The illusion was still in place, just a simple alteration to give myself brown hair, green eyes, and a large number of freckles. I probably could have dropped it by now, but I didn't want to get mobbed again until I figured out what to do, which I was putting on hold until my sandwich was gone.
"Buy a girl a drink?" a woman with bright purple hair said as she sat down at the bar next to me.
"There's a man in the corner who came here looking for a one-night stand." I said without looking away from my sandwich. "If you want sex, he's your guy."
"Oh, but I'm not here for the muggles. I want to meet Britain's newest dueling champion." the woman said with a grin.
"If I see him I'll let you know." I said before taking a large bite out of my sandwich and chewing it slowly to drive home that I wasn't talking to her anymore.
"What are you drinking?" she asked, still sitting right next to me.
"Solitude."
"Butterbear it is!" Turning to face the bartender, she called out, "Two butterbears please!"
The man nodded and went about preparing two mugs.
"If you're here for an interview or whatever just ask what you want to ask then leave." I said as the bartender dropped off her drinks.
"Sorry, I'm not a reporter. I'm a cop!" she said with a smile as she slid a mug over to me.
"Last I checked, I hadn't stolen anything. Did the whatshisface in the rainbow tutu call in a favor to get me arrested or something?" After feeling that 'champion' glare at me throughout the entire tournament, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd sworn an everlasting blood feud against me and all my descendants.
The woman choked on her beer as she went to take a sip and ended up spitting some out onto the counter.
"Is it really that bad? Here, take mine back." I said, sliding the mug back towards her.
Taking a shaky breath, the woman looked up at me with a wide smile. "Ok. I like you. We're officially friends now."
"Pretty sure it doesn't work that way." I idly said as I reached into my nifty, bottomless bag to pull out two fifty pound notes. I caught the bartender's eye and held them up. "For having to clean up cop saliva. Also the sandwich was really good - make sure the chef gets a piece." The exchange rates for wizard money to normal people's money were downright ridiculous. If any wizard started investing in normal businesses they'd make enough to have trust-fund great-great-great-grandchildren.
I put the bills on the counter as the bartender thanked me, and walked towards the door.
Behind me, the woman quickly drained the rest of her mug, then the one she'd set in front of me, then ran out the door to catch up.
"You didn't drink your beer." she said accusingly as she glared up at me.
"You didn't take the hint." I said unrepentantly as I picked a random direction and started walking. I had to hit a hotel at some point. "How'd you even find me, anyway? Everyone else bought my little charade, so what makes you special?"
"Simple." the woman said with a shrug, her hair growing longer and turning a fiery auburn as she did. "I'm a metamorphmagus, too. I've used that trick dozens of times."
"A meta-what now?"
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as her hair went back to her shoulder length purple. "You mean you're not a metamorphmagus?"
"Given that I don't know what that is, the answer is a resounding yes. Is the interrogation over yet? Do you need more before your boss will let you have the night off? I'll tell you what, you say you got a lot of intel out of me, and when they come to check I'll tell them you were so skilled that I can't go outside anymore for fear of cop vixens ferreting out my secrets. Just make up whatever bullshit story about me that you want and I'll back it up."
Her confusion giving way to amusement, the woman pressed a finger against the corner of her lip. "Tempting, definitely tempting, but no. I'm a bit more responsible than that. Not much, but a bit."
"Shame."
We walked in silence as she followed merrily behind me while I walked with no destination in mind.
"I didn't introduce myself, did I? That was kind of rude of me." the woman finally realized.
"I had just classified you as 'cop girl' in my head. I'm totally alright sticking with that."
"Nah. How are we supposed to get to know each other better without a starting point?" Stepping in front of me to block my path, she held her hand out and said, "Nymphadora Tonks, auror extraordinaire!"
"Xarion, guy whose path you're blocking." I said in a deadpan, not shaking her hand.
She smiled to herself as I walked around her, falling into step beside me once more. "So where are we headed?"
"I have literally no idea. I've never been here before and have just been wandering around."
"Do you not have a place to stay, then? You can come back to my-"
"Hard pass." I said instantly. "You seem nice, but I'm not sure how much of that is genuine and how much is your boss telling you to scope me out; especially with the whole metamorphmagus thing I need to look up later."
"That reminds me, how did you change your face if you're not a metamorphmagus? Did you have a polyjuice on hand?"
Stopping on the sidewalk, and probing with my mental magic to make sure we were alone, I flexed my magic and my visage changed to an exact replica of the woman standing in front of me. "Maybe I'm just really good at what I do?" I asked in her voice, causing her to take an uncomfortable step backwards.
Grinning, I dropped the illusion and returned to my true appearance. "Or maybe you're all just crazy and I've looked like this the entire time? Really, who would be able to tell?"
Obviously shaken at how easily I'd assumed her appearance and mimicked her, Nymphadora shook her head for a moment, then looked up at me with a smile. "I bet you're fun in the bedroom."
"Have I really not made it clear yet that the sex angle won't work? Because if not, let me be clear; the sex angle will not work. There. Are we on the same page now?"
"What if I wasn't a cop?" she asked as I started walking again. "Would the sex angle work then?"
"Okay, this has been….yeah. But I think I'm going to pay for a hotel somewhere, and I don't want you to know where I'm staying, so have a nice night." I looked up at the sun still descending in the sky. "Evening; whatever. I'm going literally anywhere else."
I disappeared in a burst of flame as I used my phoenix fire to teleport three-hundred feet into the air, shooting my wings out and casting an invisibility spell the moment I appeared.
Looking down at the woman who had just been talking to me, I saw her look around the street to see if anyone had noticed me, then, when she realized she was in the clear, she pulled out an elegantly carved stick and flicked it around. A silvery jack rabbit appeared before her from out of the stick, and she spoke to it for a moment before it disappeared.
And that, kids, was why you never let your guard down around a pretty face. Maybe she did work for the magical police and it was them she was reporting to, or maybe she was an agent of some hidden Cthulhu cult that wanted to sacrifice me in order to bring about the return of her true masters the Great Old Ones. I didn't remember enough about this setting to know if that was a thing or not, and Ddraig's betrayal had taught me what happened when I allowed myself to trust people.
Rolling in the air, I flew away from the woman after commanding one of the few spirits I'd managed to find to watch her. They were a limited resource right now, but figuring out who that woman worked for and what she wanted was important. Besides, I'd find more spirits. If there was one thing you could be sure of, it was wherever there were people, there would be dead people the living had killed. People were assholes like that.
XXX
Albus Dumbledore
"Alastor, my old friend!" I said with a smile as a large man in a heavy leather trench coat limped out of my fireplace. "It has been too long." I walked up to him and pulled him into a short hug. "Keeping well, I hope?" It had been quite a while since we had been able to meet in person. Why, the last time was during an Order meeting nearly two years ago now.
"Well enough." the man said with a grunt. "A new problem's been dropped on my head, but it isn't the first time and it won't be the last."
"Is there anything I can do to assist, my friend?"
Shaking his head, Alastor said, "No. The higher ups are just worried about the new dueling champion. Something about a grand scheme to usurp their power and install a new regime; typical political bullshit."
"Ah, yes. I heard about him. A prodigy who used wandless magic to effortlessly defeat the entire field. What was your measure of him?" Such a man could prove to be a great ally or a worse foe depending on his temperament.
Alastor snorted in amusement and said, "The kids got talent, and he doesn't seem to be a twit. I had one of my aurors harass him a bit and the read she got and the one I got in the brief time I was able to watch him was that he doesn't have many ambitions and just wants to be left alone. If the rumors are right, he didn't even mean to join the tournament. A booky signed him up without consulting him and he went along with it because it seemed fun."
"Truly? Well that is peculiar." This man was sounding more interesting with each passing moment. I would very much like to meet him.
"Now enough about me, what did you call me here for?" Alastor said, cutting to the heart of the matter.
"Ah, yes. Well, my friend, as you know Hogwarts is in need of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year and I was wondering if-"
"Albus." he said, staring at me with a dry look. "Do you have any idea how much work I have to do before the end of the quarter? And that isn't even counting everything that will pile on in a few months."
"I know you are busy, but I cannot think of a better choice for the position."
Sighing heavily, Alastor said, "Alright. I'll agree to take the position if you don't find someone else, but you have to make a legitimate effort to find someone. If the position is still empty at the start of the year, I'll take it."
Smiling widely, I shook my friend's hand. "Wonderful! Thank you, Alastor. I will do all I can to find a replacement, but knowing you will be there should I fail puts me at ease."
The man huffed. "Just do your best to find someone else. I've got work to do. Good day, Albus."
"Good day to you as well, Alastor."
Alastor limped back into the fireplace and said, "Department of Magical Law Enforcement!" He disappeared with a flash of green fire.
Smiling idly to myself, I sat back behind my desk and picked up the paper laying on it.
On the front page was a young man holding a golden cup and looking very uncomfortably around at all of the people taking photographs of him.
This 'Xarion' seemed like an interesting character. With skill and power like his, he could be a great friend. For the same reasons, he was a great threat.
While some of the greatest magical duelists I knew did not participate in contests such as the one Xarion had won, myself, Severus and Alastor among the greatest I personally was aware of, the fact that he was able to defeat seasoned wizards so effortlessly would have drawn my interest on his own, but he did so using wandless magic, demonstrating such effortless casting that has not been documented since Merlin himself.
It was important that I learned all I could about this new player and kept an eye on him. He may be the answer I had been searching for, or the harbinger of the end; I could not tell which.
I had some free time later, perhaps I would meet with him.