Of Power, Wisdom and Courage
"Focus on the power of the Triforce. Try to get a feel for it." Ganon listened to Flitwick's instructions and opened himself up to the magic inside the Triforce. It was... strange. It felt calm, but chaotic at the same time. Hot, but cold as well. The instructions his mother had left had proven to be far to advanced for him to use, so Flitwick used what little experience he had with wandless to ease him into using the Triforce. "Can you feel it?", the teacher asked and Ganon nodded. "Good, then try casting Lumos. There shouldn't be any backlash with a simple spell like that, but be prepared to close your eyes.", Flitwick instructed and Ganon nodded again. Taking a deep breath, before casting the spell, Ganon could feel the magic inside the Triforce starting to move. It travelled to his open palm and a bright flash of light filled Flitwick's office. Ganon tried controlling the flow, but every time, he thought he had it, it slipped away again. The only thing he could control, was whether to use the Triforce or not, there was no in between, only 0% or 100%. He forced the magic to stop and the light subsided. "So, what did you feel?", Flitwick asked and Ganon shook his head. "It's like a raging torrent! I can't control it.", he said, but Flitwick gave him a reassuring smile. "You only need some time, practice makes perfect after all. Try again, but this time try to force some of the magic back inside. You may not be able to stop it yet, but using your own magic, you can weaken the stream." Ganon did as he was told and tried again. Drawing on his own magic, he started pushing against the stream leaving the Triforce. Sweat started pouring from his body, but there was some success. The light, while still bright, was dimmer then before. Looking at it was still painful, but it wasn't blinding any more. He stopped the magic on both sides, panting heavily. "See? I knew you could do it.", Flitwick said while patting Ganon's shoulder. "I think this is enough for our first lesson. Next time, we'll know where to start.", Flitwick said. "Professor, there is something I wanted to ask you." Flitwick nodded for him to go ahead. "I received a letter from Gringotts, detailing everything inside the Slytherin vault. There was a full set of tomes on duelling inside and I found two spells inside them, that would be quite useful in the tournament." "And you want to know, if they are allowed?", Flitwick asked and Ganon nodded. "Tell me about the spells." "Well, the first spell is aimed not at the opponent, but at the ground beneath his feet. It covers the ground with ice, making the opponent lose his footing." "I don't see a problem with that, but please be careful when practising it on your own. Elemental spells can be very exhausting. And the other spell?" "It's an elemental spell as well. You cast it at the opponent's legs and it encases them in stone.", Ganon replied. "You can use that one as well, but you shouldn't practice them today.", Flitwick said with a smile and Ganon left his office with a grin on his face. Flitwick looked after him. The boy had made a good choice regarding the spells. Against any opponent, they would be of great use, though it seemed to Flitwick, as if the boy was preparing to fight someone stronger then him. Flitwick shook his head with a smile. "You don't need to worry about your power, Ganon.", he said to himself.
-Of Power, Wisdom and Courage-
Throughout the next two weeks, things went good for Ganon. His training, whether it be Quidditch, duelling or controlling the Triforce, was going quite well, although the progress regarding the Triforce was slow. The bonds with his friends deepened as well and most of the time, the Weasley twins joined them as well. They kept asking Harry about what he had said during the Halloween feast, but Harry only smirked, shared a glance with Lyra and said nothing on the matter. When Ganon asked him, he only gave a cryptic response. "A marauder doesn't reveal his secrets.", before laughing. Since the troll incident, Draco and Meredith stayed close to Ganon, the later often hugging him, while Draco teased him about it. They were his best friends without a doubt. They also kept discussing Snape. The days following the troll incident, Snape was very irritable, often taking points from students for the most trivial of things, like from Harry and Lyra for 'disturbing class with their loud breathing'. Harry also told Ganon, that Snape seemed to despise him for what ever reason, often targetting the boy and harassing him in front of the other students. Lyra was treated the same way and often got detentions from Snape. But despite being the biggest prick of all time, he didn't make another move regarding the dog. The third week after the incident started and during training, Cullen announced, that they would their first match against Hufflepuff next week. Ganon was excited as he thought about the upcoming game. He and Draco had both gotten themselves their own brooms, both Nimbus 2000, though Ganon's was a bit different from Draco's. His Nimbus was a variant designed for Keepers, that was a bit slower then the standard model, but was easier to control, allowing for faster turning and changing directions.
As the day of their first match drew closer, Ganon's excitement turned into anxiety, almost dreading his first match. When the day had finally come, he was sitting with his friends at dinner, but he was wasn't eating much. The others tried to cheer him up, but nothing worked, until Sam came and dragged him into the entrance hall, away from prying eyes. "Listen to me, Ganon. I know how you feel, this is your first match after all. But you don't need to worry, you're not alone out there. The others will help you." "But what if I mess up? We could lose the game because of me!", he replied, his eyes tearing up, but she smiled at him. "Then we lose. Losing isn't the end of the world. You learn from your mistakes and win next time. This is your first game, Ganon, nobody expects you to be perfect. Just do your best.", she said and wiped a tear away. "And don't cry, it's not like you to suddenly start crying, you're stronger then that, right?" "Right.", he replied and finally smiled as well. Sam led him back into the great hall, where he could finally eat something.
-Of Power, Wisdom and Courage-
Quidditch was quite simple at Hogwarts. Each team would play three times during the year, each time against a different opponent. The victorious team would get the lead they had on the other team during the game as points for the tournament. So if Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff with a score of 250-200 for example, then Ravenclaw would earn 50 points for the whole tournament. The two teams with the most points would face of against each other for the Quidditch Cup, while the other two teams would play for third place. Based on which place the teams had achieved, their house would get a set amount of points, 100 points for first place, 75 for second, 50 for third and 25 for last.
After they had all changed into their Quidditch robes, Cullen called them all together. "This is our first match. Today, we need to show everyone out there the strength of our team, prove, that we are the best. We have trained hard and we have prepared for everything. We will win and show everyone, that we will win this as well tournament!", he shouted and everyone cheered with him. They left the locker rooms and went out onto the pitch. Madam Hooch was already waiting for them, a broom in her hand and one of her feet resting on a large chest, containing the balls. Cullen and the Hufflepuff captain approached her. "I want this to be a nice and fair game. Shake hands, captains, then get into position.", she said. Cullen shook the other boys hand, before getting on his broom, while holding his bat in his left hand. Ganon had already taken his place in front of the rings, Draco hovering next to him. "Well, this it.", Draco said and locked at his friend. "Keep the rings safe. I know you can do it." "And you hurry up and catch that snitch. The less time they have to come at me, the better.", Ganon replied and Draco nodded, glancing towards the stands. Amongst the teachers sat a man with long blond hair, Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father. Before they had gone into the locker room, Draco's father had come to them, wishing them luck for the upcoming match.
Madam Hooch finally released the balls, the bludgers and the snitch leaving the chest. The snitch immediately zipped away, while the bludgers stayed close to the ground and circled Madam Hooch, until she threw the quaffel into the air. As both teams tried to claim it, the bludgers started searching for their first victim. One of the Hufflepuff chasers, the captain himself, took hold of the quaffel and flew towards the Ravenclaw goal rings. About halfway there, he passed the quaffel to another chaser. While the ball was still in the air, Sven sent a bludger towards the chaser. Having to avoid the bludger, the quaffel flew past him, allowing Aiden to catch it. His brother covering him, he shot towards the Hufflepuff keeper. He feigned a shot, instead passing the quaffel to Erika. The Hufflepuff keeper realized his mistake to late and Erika scored the first goal in the match, making the Ravenclaws cheer. "And that's the first goal! With a beautiful set-up, Ravenclaw pulls ahead. Hufflepuff needs to counter immediately, otherwise the 'Claws will flatten them." Lee Jordan, a friend of the Weasley twins, commentated the game under the watchful eyes and ears of Professor McGonagall. The Hufflepuffs had gotten possession of the quaffel and were making their way towards Ganon, avoiding the combined attack of Aiden and Dante, while their beaters kept Erika busy. His eyes trained on his opponent's, Ganon waited for them. "Don't worry, you can do this, young one. Stay calm and watch them carefully, then act.", D told him and Ganon nodded. When the Hufflepuff chaser threw the quaffel, he was ready. Without a problem he caught it and quickly passed it to Dante, the older boy already on his way to the Hufflepuff goal-rings.
Draco's eyes scanned the air for the snitch as the game continued. The Hufflepuffs put up quite the fight and the score stayed at 60-40 for Ravenclaw. The snitch was still no where to be seen and Draco kept circling the pitch in search of it. The fact that his father was here actually annoyed him. Before his father had shown up, he had been trying to calm Ganon down, after he had made an appearance, the tables had turned. His father had high expectations, if he didn't catch the snitch, it would anger his father a lot. A glimmer in the corner of his eye suddenly caught his attention. Turning to look at it, he saw the snitch. He glanced over to the Hufflepuff seeker, the older boy hadn't noticed anything, so Draco slowly made his way over to the snitch. When he was only a few meters away, the snitch zipped away, Draco pursuing it immediately. "Oh, seems like Malfoy has seen the snitch. Hufflepuff seeker Cedric Diggory should hurry up, otherwise the match will be over and Ravenclaw will come out on top." Draco scowled as he heard the commentator's voice. Great, now Diggory knows, he thought and within moments, the older boy was right beside him, fighting with him over the lead. Draco, being lighter and smaller, managed to pull past him, his hand already reaching for the snitch, when he heard a scream. Startled, he missed the snitch, which quickly fled as both Draco and Diggory stopped and looked for the source of the scream. Draco looked towards Ganon, only to see his friend's broom violently trying to shake him off.
Ganon didn't know what was going on, as he was holding on for dear life. His broom had suddenly started bucking and tried to throw him of. The Hufflepuffs used this opportunity and scored a goal, while he was unable to defend the rings. "Hold on young one! I'll try to weaken whatever it is", D yelled in his mind and Ganon hoped that he would do something fast.
"Ganon's in trouble!", Harry said, as he watched the scene unfold through his binoculars. "What could cause something like that?", Lyra asked, while Meredith could only watch on in horror. "I don't know, a curse maybe. Had to be a rather strong one tough, brooms are well protected against tampering." He glanced over towards the teachers, stilling looking through his binoculars. All of them were watching as Ganon's kept trying to shake him off. His eyes finally landed on Snape and his face immediately twisted into a scowl as he saw the potions-master mumbling. "It's Snape! He's trying to kill Ganon!", he yelled and handed Lyra the binoculars. "We need to do something.", she said after looking through them. They left Meredith alone and made their way towards the teacher's stands. "And how do you think we're going to stop him?", Harry asked and Lyra shrugged. "Don't know, kick him in the balls maybe. Mum told me to do that, if a boy annoys me. Should work on the greasy git to." "We can't kick him in the balls! If we distract him, that should be enough.", Harry replied and Lyra sighed. "Fine, but I'll set his robes on fire. That should distract him."
They finally reached the teachers and Harry immediately went about carving path for Lyra. Putting on his invisibility cloak, he pushed many teachers out of the way, allowing Lyra to reach Snape.
Up in the air, Draco was doing his best to get to the snitch as fast as possible. Once the game was over, they could rescue Ganon. Quickly glancing over to his friend, Draco saw Aiden next to him, whom had been told told by Cullen to stay close to the goal-rings either to stop a coming quaffel or catch Ganon, should he fall off. Turning his attention back to the snitch, Draco raced after it, Diggory hot on his heels. The snitch kept changing directions and Draco and Diggory had almost collided once, trying to catch it. Draco had to finish this quick. Every minute that past not only brought the 'Puffs closer to victory, even if he caught the snitch, but also made it more likely for Ganon to fall of his crazy broom. The snitch suddenly dived downwards and both seekers followed. As they got closer to the ground, Draco started getting worried. Diggory was gaining on him and the snitch didn't look like it was about to change its course. If this keeps going, we're gonna crash, Draco thought in fear, but he didn't relent. Diggory must have thought the same, as, when they were only about a meter away from the ground, he pulled his broom up, while Draco reached out, his hand closing around the snitch. He desperately tried to pull up, but he still hit the ground. Pain shot through his right arm and he clenched his teeth as he sat up, holding his left hand up into the air showing everyone the snitch. The Ravenclaws erupted into cheers and a tired smile spread across Draco's face as he saw his teammates flying towards him, Ganon among them. Lee Jordan was calling out the score, Ravenclaw had won 230-100, earning them 130 points in the tournament. "What was going on with with your broom up there, Ganon?", he asked as the taller boy helped him stand up. "Dunno, but it stopped just as suddenly as it started. Come, let's get you to Madam Pomfrey. She should take a look at your arm."
-Of Power, Wisdom and Courage-
"You did well, Draco, a display worthy of our family.", Lucius Malfoy said, looking at his son, who was lying in a hospital bed, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to come. "Thank you, father.", the boy replied and Lucius turned his gaze to Ganondorf. "I must also commend you, Ganondorf, you displayed great skill as a keeper. Any idea what was going on with your broom?", he asked, but the tall boy shook his head. "No sir, I wish I knew though." Just as Lucius was about to reply, the door to the hospital wing opened and Lyra and Harry entered. They stopped when they saw Draco's father. "Heir Potter, Heiress Black, to what do we owe the honor of your visit?", he asked and Harry gulped. "We're here to see how Draco's doing, Lord Malfoy. He is our friend after all." Lucius raised an eyebrow at that and turned back to his son. "You didn't tell me about this, Draco. Why?" He sounded condescending and Draco started fidgeting around in his bed. "They are just friends, father. I didn't want to bother you with it.", he sheepishly said and his father sighed. "It seems you have forgotten your lessons, but I don't have time to lecture you now. You will write me letter, detailing what you did wrong. I expect it tomorrow evening, not a moment later." With that, the eldest Malfoy left. Ganon looked at his friend. "What did he mean?" "Remember when I told you about him trying to make me the perfect heir? One of his 'lessons' was, that there are no friends, just people you can use. If they think, you're their friend, that's good in his eyes. They'll be telling you a lot more that way, but I should never consider anyone my friend." The blond boy looked at Ganon. "But that's not how I want to be. I want friends, people I can trust, not business partners, that will sell me out the moment they see a better deal." Lyra patted his arm. "It's okay, cousin, we know you're not like your father." Draco smiled at his friends, when Madam Pomfrey came with a potion bottle in her hand. "You need to drink this, Mr Malfoy, but just as a warning, Skele-Grow tastes horrible." She handed him the bottle and he sighed, "I know.", before downing the whole thing. The face he made, caused his friends to laugh loudly and Madam Pomfrey couldn't help but smile, as she watched them. "That is all, be careful with your arm, it should be healed completely by tomorrow morning." She took the bottle from him and disappeared into her office, leaving the four friends alone. "There is something we need to talk about. We know what was going on with your broom.", Harry said, looking at Ganon, who's expression turned grim. "Let's go to the Nest, no one will be able to listen in on us there." They left the hospital wing and made their way towards their little sanctuary. On their way up, the met Meredith, who joined them on their way.
After everyone had taken a seat, Harry began. "When your broom started going crazy, I thought about would could cause a broom to do that. Only a curse would be powerful enough. I then took a look at the teacher's stand, as only one of them would be strong enough to cast a curse like that." "Who was it?", Ganon asked. "Snape. He was mumbling something the entire time and when we distracted him by setting his robes on fire, you broom stopped." "The fire was my idea.", Lyra said, sounding quite proud of herself. "So let's tell somebody about it.", Draco put in, but it was Meredith who shook her head. "I already told my uncle, but he can't do anything unless we have a proof, otherwise we'll only be the students accusing a teacher we don't like." "Accusing a teacher? What happened?", Rowena asked, who had just entered her portrait again. They quickly filled her in and in an instance, she was furious. "Someone tried to kill my heir!? If I wasn't a painting, I'd personally flay the fool!" Ganon chuckled a little. "Didn't know, I meant so much to you, Rowena." "The woman huffed. "This isn't about me liking you, this is about family honor. In my time, you could have legally killed him." "He still can, they haven't changed the laws and every try to do so was rebutted.", Draco said and the others looked at him. He shrugged sheepishly. "One of the things my father drilled into my head." Ganon laughed at that, before he turned to look at Rowena. "I don't think that we should do something so drastic. We've been watching the greasy git for some time now. He hasn't tried going near the dog again and we still don't now what that thing is guarding." He looked at Meredith. "Did you manage to get anything out of your uncle?", he asked and the black-haired girl gave a shy smile. "Not from him actually. Hagrid came by one day and talked about Fluffy, I think that's the dog's name, and how much Flamel must trust Dumbledore to let him guard something so valuable. My uncle stopped him, before he could say more though." "Flamel?", Lyra asked and Meredith nodded. "Could he mean Nicolas Flamel?" "You know him or anything?", Harry asked. "No, but my mother does. She studied alchemy under him. I could write her, if you want. Maybe she knows what could be so important, that you need a cerberus to protect it." "Yes, please do that.", Ganon replied, quickly glancing towards the clock on the wall. There was still some time left until dinner, so the group stayed in the room, talking about this and that. Rowena asked each of them how their studies were going and she was pleased to hear, that Draco and Ganon lived up to expectations of a Ravenclaw. After that, she left the children alone, but not before addressing Ganon one final time. "If you see my daughter by the way, please tell her to come here. I will ask her to tell the ghosts to keep an eye on Professor Snape and the hallway with the cerberus. They shall report to you, Ganon, should anything come up." With that, she left the children to themselves.
When it was time for dinner, they all left the room, laughing because of Ganon. "It gets better, Charles got Susie's pet tarantula, hoping that it would eat the smaller spider on his bed, but he didn't know, that Susie had just fed her spider, so the tarantula was just sitting there and suddenly the smaller spider started moving, running right past the tarantula. Charles was sprinting out of the room as if the devil was after him, although the spider stopped right in the middle of our room." "And how did you get the spider out of the room?", Draco asked between laughs. "Susie came to get her tarantula back and took the other spider as well, setting her free in the garden.", Ganon replied with a smirk. "We heard the word 'spider'. Did our brother come running by, screaming about one again?", someone behind them asked and they turned around to see the Weasley twins. "No, why, is he scared of spiders?", Draco asked and one of the twins, Ganon thought it was George nodded. "We turned his teddy bear into a spider when he was younger and since then, he can't stand being in the same room as one." The twins joined them on their way to the great hall, where the twins sat with their friend Lee Jordan at the Gryffindor table, while Ganon and the others sat down at the Ravenclaw table. The food was good as always, but the longer dinner went on, the more sullen Draco got. "Hey, what's wrong?", Meredith finally asked. The blond boy sighed, before he told her, what had happened in the hospital wing with his father. "And what are you going to do?" "I have to write a letter, otherwise I will never hear the end of it. My father is not some one you want to cross." "Then tell him, what he wants to hear. Tell him, that you were only putting on an act to fool us, so you couldn't give him the answer he wanted in the hospital wing.", Ganon suggested and his friend looked at him. "You think that's gonna work?", he asked, sounding worried. "Sure. You father wants you to act like a true Slytherin, right? When he hears about your 'plan' to fool us, he will be proud of you and will accept it as a scheme worthy of a Slytherin.", Ganon replied and Draco finally gave him a weak smile. "Alright, I'll try."
-Of Power, Wisdom and Courage-
"How could fail at such a simple task!?", Voldemort bellowed and Quirrel flinched in fear. Quirrel had put up multiple mirrors in his quarters, so that his master could look at him while they talked. "I'm sorry, my master, if it weren't for Snape's countercurse and the boy's own magic fighting against me, he would be dead.", he cried out, his master's rage making his mind writhe in pain. "And even with them fighting against me, if that Black girl hadn't made me fall, he still would have died." "I don't want any excuses, Quirinus! Twice so far you have failed me. The first time with the troll when you were thwarted by Severus and now this!? It seems I will have to take matters into my own hands." "Master?" "The goblin said, that Ganondorf has joined his lessons, right?", Voldemort asked and Quirrel nodded. "Good, then on the day where he chooses the four first years, who will be joining the tournament, we will be there and watch. I am quite sure, that he will allow Ganondorf to compete, but one can never be to certain. We will strike during the tournament.", he said and Quirrel looked at the mirror to see a smile on his masters face.
-Of Power, Wisdom and Courage-
Dear Father,
as you wanted, I'm writing to you about what happened in the hospital wing. I haven't forgotten my lessons, it was because of them, that I said they were my 'friends'. They really think of me as their friend and to keep up the illusion, that I feel the same way, I couldn't react in any other way. I'm hoping to find out more things about them and their families, that happen behind the scenes and they will be more inclined to tell me, if they think they can trust me.
Ganondorf revealed something to us all today. He is the Heir of Ravenclaw and from what he told us, this gives him a lot of power at the school. I will keep up the act and maybe this way, I can get him to change things at the school the way you want them to be.
Sincerely your son,
Draco Malfoy
Lucius read through his son's letter again, a glass of wine in one of his hands. He couldn't help but smile. His son had taken what he had taught him to heart, it seemed, and the revelation, that the Dragmire boy was the Heir of Ravenclaw was certainly intriguing. Draco had done well, so an reward was in order. Maybe a chess set, that he could use at school. His musings were stopped, when the door to his study opened. Narcissa entered, a letter in her hand. "I have received a letter from my cousin, Sirius Black.", she said and Lucius set his glass down. "What does he want?", he asked, barely containing a snarl. "He writes that his daughter is good friends with Draco and she has asked him, if Draco could come over for Christmas.", his wife replied and he raised an eyebrow, before smiling. "It seems Draco is doing even better then his letter implied. His friendship with Black's daughter is nothing more then an act." "So, do we let him go?", she asked and he nodded. "Of course, what kind of a father would I be, if I stopped my son in his endeavour to use Black's daughter for the good of our family." He leaned back in his chair, his smile getting wider. "You can tell Black, that our son will come over for Christmas and I'll write him a letter with a few more instructions." Narcissa nodded and left him to his glee.
-Of Power, Wisdom and Courage-
The year progressed and for a time, nothing special happened. Once a week, one of the ghosts would come to Ganon and tell him either about Snape or the corridor leading to Fluffy. Today it was Friar Tuck. "Hello sir.", Ganon said when the ghost approached. "Hello, my child. You know why I'm here, but I'm afraid, there is nothing to report. The only one going coming to visit the cerberus, was Hagrid to feed it. As for Professor Snape, he has been acting completely normal, except for a few quarrels with Professor Quirrel." Ganon sighed. "Thank you. I'm sorry, that I'm wasting your time with a task like this.", he replied, but Tuck smiled. "It's quite alright, my child, there's not much to do as a ghost anyway, so everything that changes my daily routine even a bit is welcomed." The ghost left and Ganon continued on his way to his duelling lesson. Today, Professor Flitwick would finally tell them, who got to compete. Of course, the diminutive professor had already told Ganon, that would be allowed to join the tournament, nut he didn't know who the others were. He was hoping that his friends would get their chance as well, but he would have to wait and see. As he kept going towards the room, that was used for the lesson, he thought back to the problem with Snape. From Lyra's mother they knew, that the dog was probably guarding the Philosopher's Stone, an alchemic master piece created by Flamel himself, that could turn any metal into pure gold and allowed a person to keep living forever, so long as they kept drinking from it. It was obvious to them, what Snape wanted with the stone, riches and eternal live could easily corrupt any man or woman, but that still didn't explain why he wanted Ganon dead.
He finally reached the room and went in. His friends were already there and they kept chatting, until Professor Flitwick came in, followed by Alan, Professor Quirrel and Dumbledore. The students all gathered in front of them. "I'm happy to see, that so many of you strive to learn the noble art of duelling.", Dumbledore began with a smile. "However, only four of you may compete. So without further ado, let's hear who has been chosen by our dear charms master." Flitwick cleared his throat. "Now then, two of you, I have already decided on. Mr Dragmire and Mr Potter, both of you may compete." The other students cheered for them, except Weasley, who looked quite sullen. "Now, the other two will have to be chosen through duels. First, Mr Malfoy and Mr Finnigan. Both of you have shown great skill, now we will see who may proceed." The two boys took their place, while everyone else sat down on the benches, that had already been brought in for the tournament. The duel was quite short. Seamus did what he could, but against Draco, who had often trained with Ganon, he stood no chance. Then came Lyra and Blaise. Draco encouragingly patted her back. "Go get him, cousin.", he said and gave her a bright grin. Both off them got into position, wands raised and ready to strike any moment. At Alan's signal, both sent out spells. Ganon watched, as the duel in front of him unfolded. Having trained with both of them, Ganon knew how they fought. Lyra was stronger in terms of raw physical power, while Blaise was more skilled, but not as powerful. Ganon raised an eyebrow, as he watched Blaise weave trough Lyra's spells and couldn't help but smile. During one of their lessons, someone had asked, why Ganon kept dodging instead of blocking a spell. He had just shrugged and said, that's how he fought, but Flitwick had explained why his way of fighting was good. During a duel, most wizards only used their magical energy, witch was separate from the energy used to move one's body, commonly referred to as life force. Because of this separation, a wizard could save up his magic by avoiding spells, instead of blocking them and both energy's could be transformed into the other. A wizard could draw upon his magic to reinvigorate his body or make himself faster, as well as use his life force to fuel his magic, but depending on the body of the wizard, this could have many side-effects, good and bad alike. For one, it could be used to burn fat at a high rate, but if the wizard didn't have fat reserves, the body would take from muscle mass and other important body parts, weakening the wizard and often leading to magical exhaustion. Because of that, duellist always kept themselves fit, often striving for perfection in magical and unarmed combat alike. Blaise had taken this advise to heart, it seemed, as there will still no sign of exhaustion visible on him, while Lyra was already sweating. Ganon shook his head and sighed. "She is losing.", he quietly said and Harry and Meredith looked at him, while Draco silently nodded. "What do you mean?", Meredith asked, but it was Draco who answered. "Blaise doesn't have as much power as Lyra has, so he let's her exhaust herself by dodging her spells, instead of blocking, and only occasionally casting himself. If she notices soon enough, she might have a chance to put an end to it, but it's unlikely. We all know, that she doesn't plan as much as we do. Of all of us, she is closest in power to Ganon, but she doesn't have his strategic mind set." Ganon nodded. "Blaise would probably fight me the same way, but other then Lyra, I have already thought about this possibility. I'd have to end the battle real fast, otherwise, I wouldn't better then her. I could keep going longer, sure, but eventually, I would lose, if I fought him like he is."
-Of Power, Wisdom and Courage-
Lyra was panting heavily. Blaise only stood there and waited for her next move. She gritted her teeth, that bastard was trying to tire her out and she hadn't noticed! She had to end this quickly, otherwise Blaise would win, but he kept dodging her spells. Guess I have to try that ice spell, Ganon told us about, she thought and raised her wand. She gave a quick flick and a white spell shot towards Blaise. Like before, the boy dodged, but the spell wasn't aimed at him. It struck the ground and a thin layer of ice started covering it. Blaise quickly glanced down at it and Lyra gave him a predatory grin. "Let's see, if you can dodge my spells now!", she yelled out and immediately started casting again. Like she had planned, the ice inhibited his footwork and a knockback-jinx of hers put him on his ass. Carefully getting back on his feet, he threw a spell her way. She ducked under it and cast a spell as well. Instead of dodging, Blaise blocked it and, while slinging spells, he started advancing, trying to get away from the ice. The battle had entered its final stage, now becoming a war of attrition, both hoping, the other would break before them. Somehow, Lyra knew, that she would lose, but she didn't want to except it! Channelling all of her remaining magic into a knockback-jinx, she hoped that this would be enough. Blaise, now not on the ice any more, saw it coming. She sidestepped the spell and let loose a knockback-jinx as well. The spell hit Lyra flat in the chest. When her head hit the floor, everything got black around her for a moment. When she could see again, her friends were looking down on her, Professor Flitwick and Professor Dumbledore at their side. "Are you alright, Miss Black?", the headmaster asked and she slowly set up. "I'm feeling kind of dizzy.", she weakly replied and the old headmaster nodded, before waving his wand. "Hm, thankfully, you don't have a concussion, but you're suffering from exhaustion, both magicly and physically. During the last moments of your duel with Mr Zabini, you started draining you life force to keep fighting." He looked at Ganon and the others. "Mr Dragmire, would you and your friends please escort her to the hospital wing?" "Of course, sir.", Ganon quickly replied and he and Harry helped Lyra get up, before they slowly left the room, Draco and Meredith close behind.
-Of Power, Wisdom and Courage-
"Are you sure this will work, master?" "Are doubting me Quirinus?", Voldemort replied and Quirrel paled. "No, Master, never! I'm just concerned, that Dumbledore will notice your presence.", the man quickly said and Voldemort laughed. "That is why you will alter the wards, so no one may enter or leave as well as silence what is happening on the inside to the outside." There was a knock on the door of Quirrel's office and a third year boy entered. "You wanted to see me, professor?", the boy asked, but was quickly stunned by Quirrel. The professor could feel his master's spirit leave him and a moment later, the boy opened his eyes. "Hm, it worked, just as I thought.", the boy said and Quirrel kneeled in front of his master. "Prepare everything for the tournament, Quirinus. I will acquaint myself with this new body and see what it is capable of. It's a shame we didn't get to see Ganondorf fight today, but no matter. Once I face him, his life will end!", the dark lord laughed, leaving the office.
AN:Finally finished chapter 7. I'm sorry for the delay, but both of my parents got sick and someone had to take care of them. Didn't leave much time for writing.
Now, regarding the fight scene in this chapter. I'm still trying to figure out how exactly to do fighting in my story, so it may be clunky for some time. Next chapter we will finally see Ganon fight for real and I've been waiting for this moment a long time. If you have any suggestions regarding the fight scenes, please share them with me.
As for chapter 8, don't expect it before next weekend. Starting tomorrow, I'll be on vacation and since we'll be staying at a monastery, I don't know how the connection will be.
With that said, have a good day and Zardas out!