Padma, Michael, and Harry all sat around a table in the Ravenclaw Common Room, reading any book that could help with Harry and Padma's upcoming duel. "Ok," Padma said, closing her textbook. "Now that you've got me involved in this, let's get ready."
"Good idea," Harry replied. "And I thought you were the best choice compared to Michael. No offence," he said to Michael.
"None taken," Michael replied absently, not taking his eyes off his textbook which he was highlighting with his quill. "So, what spells do you know?" he asked.
Harry thought of all the spells that could be useful in a duel. "Wingardium Leviosa, Incendio, Diffindo, Petrificus Totalus, and Expelliarmus. But I haven't used the last two spells."
Michael sighed. "Not many of those are traditional duelling spells."
Padma agreed. "Incendio and Diffindo are too dangerous to be used in a non-lethal duel."
Harry shared her feelings. Like Bruce, Harry had a strict no-killing rule.
Michael slid the book he was reading over, having underlined two spells.
"Flipendo and Fumos," Harry read. "The Knockback Jinx and the Smokescreen spell."
"We don't have much time to practice," Padma said. "So we better get started."
Harry nodded, and scanned the book to learn how to cast the spell. He swirled his wand in a circle and yelled, "Fumos!" His wand leaked a weak stream of grey smoke that lingered in the air before quickly dispelling. "Better than nothing," Harry muttered. A few other Ravenclaws glanced at Harry but elected to ignore his attempts at spells.
"There's always more spells," Michael consoled, patting Harry on the shoulder. "Try Flipendo."
Harry aimed his wand at the textbook. "Flipendo," he cast, and the book slid across the table as though struck by an invisible fist.
"Nicely done," Padma complimented. "Now let's try dodging." Before Harry could react, Padma had sent an Expelliarmus to Harry and his wand sailed above him into the air.
Harry honed his training from Bruce and waited for his wand to fall within reach. He swiped the wand from the air, pointed it at Padma, and countered with his own Expelliarmus. Her wand clattered to the floor, leaving a disarmed and shocked Padma. "Good reflexes," she eventually said, picking up her wand.
The three continued to practice the few select spells that were deemed suitable. At around half past six, Harry and Padma bid their farewells to Michael and headed to the Trophy Room. Harry insisted on getting there early so he could scope out the layout and get a 'tactical advantage'.
The room was large, with shelves adorned with cups and trophies. The walls were covered with various plates, shields and medals, some of which were protected by a layer of glass.
Harry thought what approach was best to take with the duel. He would start with a smokescreen spell, to provide some cover, then he would try a Petrificus Totalus. Finally, he would either end with an Expelliarmus or a Flipendo.
By seven o'clock, Malfoy and Pansy strolled in. "Potter," he acknowledged, "I thought you'd be too much of a coward to show up."
Harry narrowed his glare. "I'm here Malfoy. Now let's get this over with."
"Eager to lose?" Malfoy mocked, and Pansy giggled loudly. The two Slytherins made their way over to the far end of the room, and Harry and Padma walked to the opposite end. Padma had informed Harry of duelling etiquette, the two pairs would bow to either, before trying to disarm or incapacitate their opponent.
Malfoy and Pansy stared at Harry and Padma, and the four bowed to each other.
The duel had started.
"Fumos!" Harry shouted, and the area was filled with a thin layer of dark smoke.
Malfoy scanned the concealed area carefully before launching a volley of spells. "Locomotor Mortis," he yelled over and over, sending a repeated ball of purple lights into the smoke.
The majority of spells whizzed by Harry but on struck him squarely in the chest. Harry's legs bound together, and he toppled face first to the floor.
From the floor, he could see Padma and Pansy duelling, the room full of coloured lights trying to hit the other person. A stray spell collided with the trophy case behind Harry, showering him with broken glass.
Malfoy was making his way over, walking towards Harry just as Harry hoped he would. Harry threw his momentum into his arms, rolling over onto his front and pointing his wand at Malfoy. "Petrificus Totalus," he cast, and Malfoys arms were forced to his side and his legs were involuntarily stuck together. "Wingardium Leviosa." Malfoy was lifted into the air where he scowled at Harry.
One final jab of his wand and a yell of "Flipendo," and Malfoy's petrified body was blasted out of the air and across the room.
Harry looked over to Padma, and saw she had already defeated Pansy. The two nodded to each other and walked out of the room, leaving the Slytherins to recover their pride.
As they walked the corridor, they saw Professor Snape patrolling the hallways. His back was to them and he was at the opposite end of the walkway. "Are we allowed to be here?" Harry whispered to Padma.
She nodded. "But, we'll get in trouble if he finds out about the duel," Padma realised.
Both she and Harry tried to silently run down the corridor away from Snape, but he heard the footsteps and walked in their direction.
The two decided to forgo their silence, instead breaking into a full sprint. The two saw Hermione, who was coming out of the library, her arms full of books.
Harry ran by Hermione, who's view was obscured by her pile of books, skirting around her as he approached. Padma wasn't as lucky, instead colliding with Hermione, knocking them both to the ground.
"Oh Gods, I'm sorry," Padma said quickly to Hermione, pulling herself and Hermione up and picking up the books as fast as she could.
"No problem," Hermione reassured. "What's with the hurry?"
Padma scrutinised Hermione for a moment, before remembering that Harry had spoken to her before. "Harry and I were in a duel with Malfoy and his friend," she disclosed. "And now, Professor Snape is looking for us. Please cover for us," Padma said, running away.
Hermione looked at the running girl, as she reorganised the books she had taken out from the library.
Professor Snape neared Hermione. "Miss Granger," he seethed, "have you seen anything suspicious here?"
Hermione knew she couldn't lie to a teacher, so she did the only thing that she could think of, tell the truth. "No Sir, I have not," she replied. And it was true, in her mind, students ran all the time in the corridors and Hermione hadn't personally seen the duel occur.
The professor maintained his stare for a few seconds. "Very well," he conceded. The man turned, and walked back the way he came.
Hermione stood to recover her nerve, before running after Harry and Padma. She found them outside a room door. "What were you two thinking?" she asked. "You got into a duel on your first day."
"Malfoy challenged us," Harry explained. "Is Snape gone?"
"Professor Snape is still in the area."
"We should hide," Harry said. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Hearing footsteps approaching, he whipped out his wand and muttered "Alohomora," at the lock.
The door unlocked, and the three entered the room. Harry relocked the door and pressed his ear against it to determine the location of the footsteps.
"Harry," Hermione whispered urgently.
"One minute," Harry whispered back, hearing the footsteps near.
"Harry," Padma repeated, just as urgently.
Harry waited until the footsteps had passed before turning. "What?" he asked. "Oh."
Facing him was a snarling, massive three-headed dog, a Cerberus. One of the heads gave a large roar and the beast started to advance with each head snarling. "Everyone out!" Harry ordered, re-unlocking the door and ushering the girls out before leaving, slamming the door behind him.
The three ran down the corridor, stopping outside the library. "What was that?" Padma asked as she attempted to regain her breath.
"A Cerberus," Harry and Hermione answered in unison. "But why does Hogwarts have one?" Harry added.
"Did you not look under it?" Hermione asked. Harry and Padma looked at each other before shaking their heads. "It was a trapdoor," Hermione explained.
Harry contemplated for a minute. "We meet here tomorrow," he decided, and the girls nodded. "We're going to figure this out."