A/N This is, for me, a very short chapter. But I got to where it is now, and it just felt like the right place to stop. You also didn't have to wait 10 days. :)

As always, I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling, the mistress of Magic, does.

Previously,

Harry looked Nott in the eye, "In that case, House Nott, I demand satisfaction. I challenge you to an honour duel!"

"I accept!" snarled a red-faced Nott.

Blaise grabbed Nott and whispered in his ear, "You idiot! Didn't you hear what he said?"

"What do you mean? "

"He demanded satisfaction from House Nott, not Lord Nott."

Nott paled. If Harry won, he could claim the lordship of House Nott by right of conquest. He could have refused that and made the duel simply between the lords, but he couldn't change things after he had accepted. He then smiled cruelly, "that also means I can claim House Potter when I win. You act as my second and distract him while he is dueling me."

Zabini thought for a few seconds and smiled coldly, "I know just how to distract him."

Meanwhile, Hermione was talking to Harry just as quietly. She was not happy.

"What are you doing! You could lose your lordship. We could end up as his vassals!"

"Hermione, one, I along with the rest of the DA are much better trained than he is. Two, I am taking this seriously. I am going to clam 10% of his wealth, enough to hurt without being a huge problem. I am also going to demand he leave us alone."

Hermione huffed. "This affects me too! Next time we talk FIRST!"

Harry's face fell, "Sorry." He blurted, knowing Hermione was right.

Neville appeared next to Harry. "You sure about this Harry?" he queried.

Harry shrugged. "If I don't draw a line, it will never stop."

Neville sighed and nodded. "True. I've got your back. What terms?"

"First blood, no unforgivables." He looked at Neville, "are you happy for seconds to fight?" Neville nodded, "I'll set it as only if the primary is incapacitated." Harry nodded in reply.

With that, Neville walked across to Nott and Zabini and bowed.

"Lord Nott, I act for Lord Potter. May I ask who your second is ?"

Nott and Zabini both bowed in return. "Lord Longbottom, thank you. Lord Zabini will act for me."

Neville walked away a few steps with Zabini to give them some privacy.

"Lord Zabini, as the forms require, I ask you; is Lord Nott prepared to apologise?"

"Thank you, Lord Longbottom. No, he is not."

"Very well, Lord Potter requests the following terms for the duel. First blood or yield, no unforgivables. Seconds are to fight only if the principal cannot continue. Are these terms acceptable to Lord Nott?"

Zabini went and spoke to Nott briefly and returned. "Lord Longbottom, these terms are acceptable."

"Does here and now suit Lord Nott for location and time?"

"It does Lord Longbottom."

"Thank you Lord Zabini, then let us be about it."

Harry walked to the Teacher's table and stopped in front of the diminutive Charms Professor. Bowing, he asked. "Duel Master Flitwick, would you please officiate in a Honour Duel?"

"Filius, you can't!" interrupted the Headmistress.

Filius shook his head, "You know the rules, Headmistress. Once I have been asked, as Duel Master, I cannot refuse."

McGonagall's lips pressed into a thin line, she did know that. She also knew that since it was a matter between Lords, she couldn't interfere. However, this wasn't appropriate for the younger students. She raised her voice. "All students in third year and below will go to their common rooms until the conclusion of the duel. Prefects will be sent to retrieve you."

Filius stood and with a wave of his wand, a dueling platform appeared in the middle of the hall and wards sprang up on either side of it to protect the crowd. The ends remained open so that the duelers and seconds could enter.

Harry and Nott both climbed onto the platform, wands in hand.

After speaking to the seconds, Professor Flitwick stood and cast a sonorous on himself. "A challenge has been made and accepted. Reconciliation has been asked for and refused. Terms are to First Blood or Yield, Seconds are only to fight if the principal is unable to continue and no unforgivables. Are you ready?" he asked looking at both ends.

Both Harry and Nott nodded, then both Seconds likewise nodded.

"Then, for the honour of your Houses, Lay On!"

Harry dodged as a Bone-Breaker hex came towards him followed by the Blood-Boiling curse and an entrails expelling curse. Harry batted away the second and dodged the third. Nott started to get worried, most of his practice opponents had only shielded and he had no problem in wearing down their shields. Harry, by contrast, hadn't even used one yet. Nott tried several more spell chains, only to have the same thing happen and started to feel a little fatigued from the magical energy he was expending.

Zabini, realising that Nott was going to be in trouble soon, decided to act. He moved back enough to see Hermione past the dueling shield. He raised his wand and pointing it her he intoned, "SECTUMSEMPRA!" The curse flew towards Hermione.

Although she was concentrating on the platform, Hermione had had too much training and combat experience not to remain aware of her environment. Seeing the flash of the spell from the corner of her eye, Hermione ducked and watched the spell flash over her head. She immediately raised a strong shield with her own wand. She also immediately felt a spike of fury from Harry through the bond.

If Blaise Zabini had intended to distract Harry, he succeeded. He also succeeded in turning the anger he felt toward Nott into incandescent rage.

Harry thought 'that's IT'. For the first time in the duel, he went on the offensive. "Stupefy!" he called, fueled by his anger, the spell was hugely overpowered even for Harry's old power level, let alone his new one. The white light flew at Nott and blew through his shield and he immediately collapsed on the ground.

Looking at Zabini he snarled, "You're next!" Zabini paled when he saw the huge waves of magic roiling off Harry.

Realising he now had to fight, Zabini sent a dark curse at Harry and raised a shield.

Harry batted aside the curse and replied. "REDUCTO, STUPEFY." Knowing that Zabini was competent, he expected the first spell to weaken his shield with the second maybe penetrating. However, he still had no appreciation of his new power level. The first spell shattered Zabini's shield and hit his wand hand which exploded in a spray of blood, bone, flesh and wood. He then dropped to the ground unconscious from the second spell.

Stalking up to the prone body of Nott, he pointed his wand at him. "ENERVATE" he yelled. When Nott's eyes snapped open, he kicked his fallen enemy's wand at him. Still pointing his wand at Nott, Harry snarled, "you're not bleeding yet, pick it up!". Grabbing his wand, Nott scrambled to his feet a little shakily, still feeling the effects on the stunner. Looking around wildly, he stared Zabini's unconscious form lying next to the platform covered in gore with his wrist pumping blood.

He spun back to look at Harry in shock, noticing now that Harry's eyes were glowing green with an inner light. Harry just smiled at him coldly. "Your friend there just attacked Lady Potter, almost certainly because you asked him to distract me. Let's continue the dance shall we? I really want to do the same to you."

"You're bluffing! You wouldn't dare."

Hermione spoke up at this point, her voice calm despite the close call she had had. "Harry doesn't lie, he might not tell you something, but he never lies." She said with calm assurance and absolute certainty. Nott looked at her through the translucent dueling wall and her own shimmering shield and then back at Harry.

"Oh Please, please start something." Harry begged with a predatory look in his eyes.

Theo Nott stared at Harry Potter and suddenly saw, in a moment of extreme clarity, that this was the man who had defeated Lord Voldemort. This wasn't children exchanging taunts across a schoolyard anymore. This was life... or possibly death, in the raw. He looked at the glowing tip of Harry's wand and saw, very clearly, the certainty of his own death if he continued. He threw away his wand and dropped to his knees, "I YIELD! I YIELD!"

"Duel to Lord Potter" Duel Master Flitwick intoned.

The entire audience was stunned into utter silence by what had happened.

Rapid footsteps echoed loudly across the hall as Madam Pomfrey rushed over to Blaise Zabini, now that the fight was over. Quickly applying a tourniquet to his forearm, she halted the bleeding and after spelling a Blood Replenishing potion into his system, she conjured a stretcher and placed him on it in order to take him to the infirmary. The entire process took mere seconds. She was about to leave when she heard Harry call her name. "Madam Pomfrey." She turned to Harry who had his arms around Hermione. "If you transfer Lord Zabini to St. Mungos, please let them know he is not to leave until the Aurors have spoken to him." After staring at Harry for a couple of seconds, she simply nodded and left with her patient.

Harry turned to Professor McGonagall, "Headmistress, please call the Aurors, I intend to ask them to charge Lord Zabini with the attempted murder of my wife."

With that comment, the dam burst as everyone started taking at once.

The Headmistress cast a Sonorous charm on herself and called "QUIET!" Immediately there was silence again as everyone looked at her. "All students not immediately involved in this incident will return to their common rooms. The house elves with serve dinner there." With that, she left to contact the Aurors.

Harry and Hermione had simply been holding each other for comfort. He now looked down at her and asked "are you okay?" since he could sense her turbulent emotions.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I will be," she said. "I'm coming down off the adrenaline rush now." She hugged Harry a little tighter, taking comfort in the warmth radiating from Harry's body. "What about you?" She asked.

"So long as you're okay, I'm fine," he said softly and kissed the top of her head.

Hermione felt his love through the bond as he said that and her insides melted. 'How did I get so lucky?' She thought.

Ok, that was short, but fairly intense I think. Next chapter will be the fall-out from the duel and other reactions. Please review if you would. Likes and follows are good too! :)