!


Stand Tall

Chapter XVI

New Shoots


The way from the seventh floor corridor to the second floor classroom where Remus was waiting for him was long and laced with bitter frustration. As a group they had made repeated trips to the Room since they had discovered it, none successful, and it was beginning to feel as though it was simply a useful dead end. Harry rounded a corner, walking past two Hufflepuff second years that avoided eye-contact with him as though their lives depended on it. He has seen a lot of that recently. People embarrassed by their behaviour towards him, now barely able to meet his eyes for guilt. Picking which behaviour annoyed him more was becoming tricky.

"Harry!" He turned to meet the voice calling his name, and found Cedric Diggory jogging to catch up with him, small smile on his face. "You know, I never got to say well done for how you dealt with that dragon. I'd never have thought of even bringing a lev rune."

"I wish I could say it was some intentional stroke of genius, but honestly bringing those runestones was pure fluke. I just couldn't see a reason not to."

Cedric's smile grew. "The do say success is when preparation and opportunity meet, to be fair."

"Sure," he replied, grinning. "That and a bucket-load of luck."

They both laughed at that, as they walked past another selection of students, this time openly gaping at the pair of them having a friendly joke with the other. The dragon task had restored his reputation somewhat, it hadn't stopped rumours that Cedric resented him for being named champion however. Most of the school still believed he had cheated, it was just that apparently being nearly killed by a furious dragon made cheating somewhat okay.

"Say, Harry - how have you gotten on with your egg?" He glanced across at the other boy, who was watching him from the corner of his eye with a wry smile.

"I haven't really had a lot of time to think about it." He answered, mostly honestly. "The duel announcement has caught me a little off guard. I want to make sure I don't make an arse of myself - you're all way older and know way more than me!" Another half-truth. He had been focused on the duels but he was a lot more confident than he wanted Cedric to know.

"Of course, of course." The Hufflepuff said appeasingly. "You know, I've felt awful about the way people in my house treated you when your name came out of that cup. I saw your face when you came into the room with the rest of the champion's that night - there's no way that you knew your name was coming out." He said, giving him a meaningful look that was lost somewhere in that grey area between empathy and pity.

"Not your fault, Cedric. I'm kind of used to how this place reacts to just about any news concerning me at this point. I mean, this is the same student body who believed whole-heartedly that an eleven year old boy whose parents had been killed by Voldemort, was raised by muggles and had a muggleborn best friend; was also the same person that was the heir to Salazar Slytherin and was off murdering muggleborns between classes." He ignored Cedric's wince at Voldemort's name, and his own distaste at the idea that what Vernon and Petunia had done with him constituted 'raising' him.

"Even so," Cedric started hesitantly, evidently not sure what to make of his sudden frankness, "I'd like to try and make up for it, at least a little." He said, easy grin finding it's way back onto his face. "If you want my opinion, there's fewer things better for puzzling things out than a warm soak. Try taking your egg for a bath, and just, mull things over. If you want to use it, the password to the prefects' bath is 'Pine Fresh'." Harry blinked at that, but Cedric just clapped him on the shoulder. "See you around, Harry."

His session with Remus ended up being one of the most productive yet. They spoke for a little while about the lev runes that he had used against the dragon. How subtle changes to the carving could change the spell attached slightly. Delays, timers, the addition of sticking charms - the possibilities were practically endless. It was why curse-breaking was such an incredibly deadly job. Any number of defensive rune arrays with a huge number of different spell combinations in play, each able to be able tweaked in innumerable more.

The more he learned about runes, the more he thought Bill Weasley was bloody mental for having the job he did.


The sun stretched high above Hogwarts' grounds, yet hardly seemed to touch the crisp winter chill that seemed to creep through Blaise's continuous cycle of warming charms. Still, they had done enough to prevent him from showing the cold, which was important. He sat in a raised box lined with hard benches, the outside of which was decorated in the vivid emerald green of his house; and flanked by Daphne Greengrass on his left side, and Pansy Parkinson on the right, he had never felt more like he was within a den of vipers outside of when his mother was entertaining 'friends'.

Daphne was a traditionally pretty girl if you were into that kind of thing, he supposed. Sharp features highlighted cool blue eyes that seemed to systematically dissect everything they took in. She was typically unflustered and immaculate in appearance despite the cold and had her hair tied back, a sure indicator that she had come wanting to be taken seriously. A slight tightness to her eyes whenever Pansy did anything that highlighted her presence was the only tell that things weren't going to plan. She had clearly wanted to catch him alone - unlike Pansy, Daphne wasn't above using her appeal to sway the male contingent of the house when she wanted something. Pansy's presence scuppered that, though it would have been a fruitless avenue for her regardless.

Pansy for her part was equally unhappy about Daphne's presence, though that seemed somewhat offset at the pleasure Daphne's displeasure apparently brought about. Parkinson also clearly wanted something, though she knew him well enough not to bother trying to exploit any potential attraction. Roars and shouts of support began to rise in volume as the first of the competitors walked out, positioning themselves on opposite ends of the duelling platform in the centre of this makeshift arena.

"I never saw a duellist in Diggory." Pansy noted idly, leaning back in her chair. The girl could not be making her disinterest more plain if she tried.

"Potter seems to think highly of him." Blaise said, testing the waters, and nearly smirked when both sets of eyes flicked towards him suddenly intent. So, this is all about Potter. It was upsettingly predictable.

"Hm." Pansy's response was supposed to sound nonchalant, and failed entirely to do so. "If he's halfway as competent as you say Zabini, he'll have the beating of the French witch out of hand."

"Do you know Aimée Cadieux then, Parkinson?" He asked quizzically, eyebrow raised slightly.

"Not personally, but anybody from that school will be sub-standard when compared with Hogwarts. Clearly."

It was a typically Pansy comment. Laced thoroughly with the kind of prejudicial nonsense that got the likes of Draco Malfoy all hot under the collar. It was a curious thing, though, to see up close the way Pansy's eyes dulled as she said it regardless of how much malice she forced into her tone. Her words had never sounded insincere when they were young, just ignorant. Now, Blaise wasn't so sure. What game was she playing here?

"She's made a strong start." Daphne said, so out of hand he almost didn't notice the slight, triumphant hint of a smile that she wore.

Cadieux had done just that. A few months ago, and Blaise might not have been able to pick out just how on the back foot Diggory had found himself, but now it was clear as day to him. The Beuxbatons girl had opened with a volley of strong hexes, a well-rehearsed spell chain that had Diggory cowering behind a shield from the start. His feet were too planted. A duelling platform was too narrow for a the kind of manoeuvrability that Blaise had become used to using in a duel, but there was enough that Cedric could have dodged rather than hid behind a shield with nowhere to go.

It was almost exactly how Harry had justified making them move as much as they did when they fought. A more powerful opponent will pin you behind a shield as soon as he can, and they will keep you there until they can break it. A proficient duelling shield would resolve the problem somewhat, but they were challenging to cast, and only master-duellists could do so competently enough to be able to deflect the more powerful offensive spells.

No, moving was a much better choice if possible. Wizard-kind were so reliant on their magic, they had begun using it before their minds without even really being aware that they had done so.

Diggory needed something clever, and it wasn't coming. His shield cracked and his eyes widened, before it shattered like fine glass and a spell that Blaise didn't know broke through. It sent Diggory sprawling from the platform, but seemed to have had no ill effects beyond that. He rose, sheepish, and congratulated a decidedly smug Beuxbaton witch for her victory. The Hufflepuff had held his shield admirably, but it was clear he had no idea how to handle himself in a fight.

Krum and Fleur was a much better match, and Blaise was struck by the thought that Hogwarts might be the only magical school in Europe that didn't teach duelling explicitly. Their footwork was form-perfect, their spells sharp and penetrating, bouncing between chained combinations and punctuated individual bits of nastiness. Krum scored first and Delacour scored back on his almost immediately. They went back and forth like this for some time, duel stretching out and forcing more and more of the crowd watching from makeshift stands to the edge of their seats.

The pair were easily a match for any of their group besides Harry, and he was unprepared for how much that thought nagged at him. They needed to be better. It had still never been explicitly spoken about, but Blaise felt his instinct about why their group had been formed was right. He had picked his horse now, and rolled his only dice - on behalf of both himself and his Mother.

All he could do now was make sure he did everything possible to ensure they came up in his favour.

Krum won, finally. Endurance and power winning out against agility and cunning, though neither duellist had been short of any of those qualities. Unconsciously, Daphne and Pansy both leant forward, eyes upon the golden tent that the champions had been coming in and out of.

Harry emerged, looking a good deal more confident than when he had first seen the crowds at the First Task. That was good. Duelling in front of an audience had been playing on his mind, and Harry didn't need the distraction. Elena Hristov was a hard looking girl, black eyes and blacker disposition, and she took her place and gave her bow like a clockwork toy, stiff and jerky.

Then it began. Hristov was aggressive and cocksure, launching into a flurry of spells that Harry began to adroitly manoeuvre around on the narrow platform, occasionally returning fire. Potter was confident in his ability to dodge and rightfully so, Blaise knowing first hand just how difficult The-Boy-Who-Lived could be to hit. He was gaining her measure, testing the waters of he duel and seeing how he stacked up against his opponent. It was a waste of time, Blaise could see that Potter was better, and he was sure Potter knew it. So what is he up to?

He narrowed his eyes, and a faint magical shimmer gave the game away. Potter had cast an illusion over his side of the platform! One hand for casting, doing just enough to make his opponent think he was on the ropes; the other, was dropping rocks out of his pocket. Innocuous enough. But a few moments after a rock was dropped, a snake dropped off of the back of the platform, out of sight and hidden under Harry's illusion. But how on earth is he transfiguring the snakes? It couldn't be a spell - his wand was busy - and doing it wandlessly would have been preposterous even for him.

The snakes had begun to edge towards Hristov's side of the platform, hugging the edges tightly and remaining out of sight. Finally, when several of them had gathered, the climbed the side and slithered up the girl's legs. Startled, she staggered back and tripped, the snakes winding around her legs and arms and transforming into heavy rope.

Harry hadn't just won, he'd one it with humiliating ease.

"You weren't wrong, Blaise - Potter really is the real deal." Pansy said, eyes never leaving the platform, even as Harry dispelled his ropes and moved to help his opponent to her feet. "That defence group of his - I want in." Before Blaise could respond, Daphne snorted.

"Just like a rat leaving a sinking ship, Pansy. How expected." She turned to him. "I have no history with Potter, or with insulting and humiliating his friends and consorting with his enemies. If possible, I would ask that you pass on my request to join."

Blaise stared at the two of them, mind racing. This changed things.


The defence group sat casually in the Room of Requirement, the room changed from their usual practice area to a cosy room decorated finely in the colours of all four Hogwarts houses. A fireplace crackled warmly in the corner, and snack food covered the circular table they sat around on high-backed dark wood chairs. Susan took a casual sip of her hot chocolate and settled back into her chair. It really must have been charmed to be this comfortable without any cushions.

"Cedric's duel proves the point that we've been making since we started - staying still and relying on shields is a huge mistake." Neville said thoughtfully, leant forward against the table.

"Definitely." Hermione agreed. "Until we begin working on proper duelling shields - I can't get my head around the fact that they're not on the actual N.E.W.T defence curriculum anymore, I have no idea why Dumbledore would do that - good movement is the best way of avoiding a hit."

"The Aurors train the same way," Susan added, "saves any nasty accidents with unforgivables if you treat everything you're not absolutely certain isn't one as though it is."

"What did you guys make of Krum and Delacour's duel?" Harry asked them all - he was the only one that hadn't seen it.

"They'd sure as hell beat any of us-" Neville blurted out before he'd thought about what he was going to say, and Susan had to stifle a giggle. "Besides maybe you, Harry - they're both really good." He added, blushing faintly.

"I came to the same conclusion." Blaise said quietly, causing the rest of them to nod in agreement. "They're clearly experienced duellists, with a better spell repertoire than we could possibly be expected to have. Delacour moves as well as you, and Krum matches Longbottom for power."

The unspoken thing in that sentence was the knowledge that they'd not managed to find anybody else in any of the three schools that could match what Harry could bring to a duel. At least, not within the student body. Susan took another sip of her drink, kept magically warm, before speaking.

"Hermione, if you had to try and pinpoint any flaws?"

"Krum leans a little too hard on his power, if you were stronger," her eyes glanced at Harry, "you could exploit his expectation that he's stronger than you." She began quietly. "I have to say though, they are incredibly well-rounded - I just don't understand why nobody but Harry incorporated any battle-transfiguration?"

Neville frowned. "If that's something they don't practice at their schools, that could be something you could use to your advantage, Harry. You learn at school through repetition, the same will go for their duelling. Practicing countering specific spells, improving specific shields. If they're not ready, some more unusual strategies could be the way forward - those snakes certainly seemed to work well enough."

"Thanks for that guys, it feels weird asking you to spy for me like this."

"Don't be ridiculous Potter." Blaise said, deadpan. "Most of the school knows about this group by this point. You getting put on your arse would make the rest of us look bad. We'll stop that from happening even if we have to baby you through it." That got a chuckle from just about everybody, and Susan decided to use that as an opportunity.

"Speaking of the rest of the school, Harry..." She started, for some reason suddenly nervous. "I have a bit of a request."

"Of course, Susan - what's up?"

"Well, it's just that a lot of people know about this group now. People have started asking me about it. To join."

"Who?" The frown he wore as he asked gave nothing away.

"Well, so far it's just Hannah and Justin, but others have been talking about it."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione beat him to the punch. "Actually Harry, a few Ravenclaws in one of my study groups have asked as well..."

"Okay, before we talk about this, how many of you were going to ask me something similar?" Both Neville and Blaise raised their hands, and Harry raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Really Blaise?"

"Really. Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson have both enquired. I told them I would speak to you, but no more than that."

"Thoughts?" He asked.

"They both want something. They're Slytherin in behaviour far more than even I have been with you. Greengrass' family has nearly no associations to unsavoury families, which as you know, is the exact opposite to Parkinson's situation." He paused, and Susan could almost see the gears moving inside his mind. "There has been something off with Parkinson recently. I'm not sure what, but she is not the same this year."

Harry nodded slowly. "Okay, how about this then. I'll accept nearly everyone who wants to join, as long as someone already a member can vouch for them. We'll accept as many as will come to the practice session, but I reckon the five of us keep our meetings afterwards to ourselves to start with. My only exception to this is Pansy." Harry sighed, clearly reluctant to turn anybody away. Even now, Susan realised, he wanted to give the Slytherin a chance. Hermione's eyes on the other hand, were hard. She was somewhat less willing.

"I just can't accept Pansy at face value with our history. I don't trust her and it wouldn't be fair to those that have already been a victim of her and Malfoy. There would need to be an apology - a public one, and I would need Hermione to okay with it. I won't have anyone here being made to feel uncomfortable or unhappy by another. If she asks again Blaise, you can tell her that those are our terms."

Blaise winced slightly, but nodded in acceptance.

She could think about that reaction later however. For now, Susan was simply excited that her best friend could finally join her.


Ron moved quickly from the Transfiguration class, practically power-walking away from the crowd slowly leaving it. He didn't particularly want to hang around for another interaction with Harry. Their last conversation had set his temper soaring again, and now that Potter was back in the school's good graces an argument with him in public would do him no good at all.

He had avoided the temptation of a clash with his former best friend by focusing on other things - namely, on his search for Luna. It was one that had been fruitless so far but argument with Harry or not, he wasn't going to give up on someone who needed help.

"Weasley - fancy meeting you here." Malfoy stood casually in the corridor in front of him, flanked as usual by his two flunkies. "Crabbe, Goyle - why don't you go on ahead. I'd like to talk to Weasley alone." The pair slunk off without a word without ever questioning or saying a word.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

"Relax, Weasley. I told you, things are different now. I'm not here to fight or throw ridiculous insults like children." For a moment, he grew serious. "If there's one thing we're not, it's children." He said, almost to himself.

"Then why are you here?"

"You know, Weasley - it strikes me that Potter's head has only swollen since we last spoke. Our last little joint venture was successful, but not enough." He smiled, eyes gleaming dangerously. "I have an idea, if you're interested in a collaboration?"