"Excellent. I couldn't have asked for a better first duel. Ten points to Gryffindor each," Professor Merrythought said. "Mister Dumbledore, how is your shoulder?"

Albus held his right shoulder with his left hand and fought a wince. "I'm fine."

She raised her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

"I am."

The shield charm had undoubtedly weakened the reductor curse, so there most certainly was nothing wrong with it. He just was surprised the pain hasn't left yet and how much it had hindered him to defend himself from the final disarming charm.

He carefully moved his shoulder.

"This is why it's always recommended to dodge rather than to rely on the shield charm," she remarked. "Unfortunately for you, Mister Potter's curse hit you in the worst place. Unless you could have healed it during the duel, you would have had to bear with this handicap."

He knew. That was why he had purposefully decided to focus on a more aggressive dueling form and trusted his reflexes to dodge the spells coming his way. Harry however hadn't followed the normal recommendations and had trusted his shield charm to hold.

There was something incredibly unfair that he was the one whose shield broke. Normally, it should have been Harry's.

"Are you sure you do not need to go to the infirmary?"

"I am." He crossed his arms and willed himself not to show everybody it still hurt.

It was mostly his pride that got wounded if he was being honest.

Professor Merrythought thankfully didn't insist. "As it will be the case all year," she said to the silent class, "we will watch two of you dueling to then analyze the fight. See which spells were used, try to understand why they were used this way, and whether you made a mistake or not in doing so. So, we're going to first discuss Mister Dumbledore's dueling style. What can you tell me about it?"

The class didn't answer and Albus couldn't stop a wince.

"You can tell the first thing in your mind," she tried again. "How he held himself, which spells he used, how he used them. What struck you when he duelled Mister Potter?"

Still no reaction.

The Defense Professor sighed and slowly turned to the brunette. "What about you, Mister Potter? What can tell you about Mister Dumbledore's style? Considering you fought him, what struck you the most?"

The winner of their duel glared at him. "The colouring charm," he spat.

"Yes, we are going to address that later. What other charms did you recognize though?"

Harry gritted his teeth before closing his eyes. After a few deep breaths he answered, "The conjuration charm. And the shield charm."

"Conjuration for the bees and the dog, yes. And the shield charm in the end. What else did you think he casted?"

Harry opened his eyes and hesitated. "I don't know."

"And why don't you?" When Harry shrugged, she turned to the class and asked, "Any idea?"

A Slytherin slowly raised his hand.

"Yes, Mister Black?"

"Dumb-" Black coughed. "Dumbledore was using non-verbal magic. As he didn't hear any incantation, he didn't know which spell he was using."

"Exactly. Five points to Slytherin. Non-verbal magic is a rather powerful weapon in a duelist arsenal for it usually wins him a few precious seconds to cast the spell. It also confuses the other duelist who usually tries to figure out which spells are being casted. It appears that Mister Potter didn't bother to do that and decided to remain in the defensive instead."

"But how do we figure which spell is being used if we do not hear the incantation?" Arthorius raised his hand and asked.

"The wand movement mostly. If I'm correct, your classmate began by using transfiguration spells to turn you into either a teapot or a a mouse," she answered as Albus pointedly looked away. "He then tried to turn the shield charm itself into a regular shield he could have broken afterward. This never works by the way. Transfigurating magic itself is impossible," Albus gave a grimace but she continued, "and even if it is, the shield charm is the worst spell and this duel the worst moment to attempt that. I also spotted a dancing feet spell and when he tried to push the shield out of the duelling circle, he used a few curses like Everte Status. Did I miss anything?"

Albus blinked and slowly shook his head. "No, Professor."

"Now, unto Mister Potter. He has not once used non-verbal magic so this should be easier. What spell did he use?"

Elphias slowly raised his hand. "The disarming charm, mostly. But he also tried a few stunners."

"Expelliarmus, and stupefy," she confirmed. "What else?"

"He banished the bees," Elphias continued, "he also tried to slow Albus with an Impedimenta. And-and he used that spell… reducio, I think."

"Reducto," she corrected. "The Reductor Curse is used most of the time to blast solid objects into pieces. It's rather powerful magic compared to the others, so it's not very surprising it was that spell which went through Mister Dumbledore's shield."

Except it shouldn't have, Albus couldn't help thinking. His shield was strong enough to handle such attack normally.

Professor Merrythought, as if she could hear what he was thinking, softly said, "Non-verbal magic has many advantages, but it has also a couple of flaws. One of them is that, most of the time, the spell casted non-verbally is comparatively weaker than one casted verbally. With enough experience, one learns to compensate but you didn't. As a result, your shield charm was weaker than your usual spell. As Mister Potter was also angry, his reductor curse was also stronger than usual."

Albus slowly nodded. That would also explain why Harry's shield charm had managed to hold that long. If all his spells had been weaker than usual, it would have needed far more to make a real dent. Moreover, he hadn't actually wanted to outright break the shield. Still, he had been surprised by the shield's unusual strength.

"I'm curious though." She slowly crossed her arms. "Why did you use the colouring charm?"

Harry sent him a venimous glare. "I've heard of a new duelling spell recently," he slowly began, "one that was used in the Morgana Cup and-"

"Mister Snyde ultimately got disqualified for using it," she interrupted. "Using feints is legal, true, but this one has been declared too close to comfort. You didn't use the modified sleeping charm but considering there was no incantation, Mister Potter would have well been within his right to ask for a reduel had he lost."

Albus sighed.

He was aware what he had done was slightly frowned upon. Still, he had been curious and this had been the surest way for him to have his answer. Moreover, he had believed Harry wouldn't manage to drop the shield and dodge on time. He had really thought nobody would realize what he had attempted to do.

Harry had said he had never really duelled before and yet knew curses commonly used in duelling circles. The way he had managed to get rid of his bees and the strength of his shield charm had been impressive but he hadn't attempted more complex spells with the exception of the banishing charm and the reductor curse. Finally he had stayed still for most part of the duel and made the mistake of letting Albus set the pace of the entire duel. So, rather than a duellist, he had speculated the wizard was simply a fighter.

Albus had just wanted to test his hypothesis.

Seeing the new student was still glaring, Albus attempted a slightly bemused smile. "You didn't actually believe I would use that curse, did you?"

Considering he was the one who lost the duel, he should be the one being upset.


Harry spent the rest of the lesson shooting daggers at Dumbledore.

Not even Professor Merrythought slightly scolding the prefect had been enough to calm him. In fact, the more time was passing, the angrier he was.

The prefect had read that when two wizards were duelling, one had to analyze everything. From the wand movement of your opponent to which tactic was to be used. He had tried to explain he had seen their duel like a chess match where each spell, each move was a piece to advance. And feints like the one he had used were apprently commonly used to break one's apparently impenetrable defence.

So, even though he hadn't actually said it, it was not his fault Harry couldn't recognize one.

Harry tightened his fist.

It had been the same green that had taken Cedric. It had been the same green that had killed his father and his mother. It had been the same green that had haunted his sleep before he even knew what it was.

And, from the way Dumbledore was presenting it, he was overreacting and he should have known better?

His jaw clenched as Professor Merrythought after explaining their strengths asked the class which mistakes Dumbledore and he had made.

"From the way you were presenting it, non-verbal magic wasn't the best course of action," the Slytherin whose name was Black proposed.

Professor Merrythought paused. "Not necessarily. He did gain an advantage as Mister Potter was operating blind. I was just saying he hadn't taken into consideration the fact his spell would be weaker. How long have you been using non-verbal magic, Mister Dumbledore?"

"Not very long, I admit," the wizard mused. "I thought the power differential wouldn't be that important but it looks like I was wrong."

Harry gritted his teeth and raised his fist.

"Mister Potter, I'm sure you have an idea why you won."

Harry decided not to beat around the bush. "He underestimated me."

She nodded. "This is the source of the problem. He clearly underestimated you and just tried to push you out of the duelling circle instead of fighting you. That is the worst mistake a wizard can ever make. In this world, there are threats one may outright overlook and pay dearly. For that alone, Mister Dumbledore wouldn't have had a passing grade had I decided to mark you."

Albus ticked and Harry couldn't help a vindicative smirk.

"Now you. What mistakes did you make, Mister Potter?" Professor Merrythought turned to him and Harry owlishly blinked. "You won the duel, that is true, but do you believe you handled the fight adequately?"

Harry crossed his arms and tried to imagine what he would tell the DA had he not been the one fighting.

"The beginning was bad," he slowly started, "like, I got lucky my shield held that long and he used non-verbal magic." Seeing her nodding, he sighed. "I couldn't move at all and didn't know where to go."

Harry had been for most of the duel a sitting duck. Dumbledore might have intended to push him outside the duelling circle the same way one would push a spider outside one's house, he could have also stepped on him and there was very little Harry could have done to avoid that.

"I just… I just don't see what I should have done."

"You made the mistake of letting him set the pace. He casted the first spell and he kept casting spells while you were stuck on the defensive. Mostly, you only reacted to his attacks."

Harry startled. "But-"

She raised her hand and Harry shut up. "The moment he started to tire himself, you used the opportunity to attack but even then, you kept reacting," she pointed out. "He had many opportunities to win the duel while you had very little by comparison. He used the colouring charm to break the statut quo, but he hadn't considered the wind may turn in your favour. And once you started attacking, all you needed was for one of your spell to pierce his shield to end the fight. Which leads me to what probably is the most important point in today's lesson. We saw today two rather gifted wizards exchanging spells right in front of us," she told the class. "And yet, as you must have noticed, they both acted very differently. Can anybody make an educated guess on why their styles were so different?"

Harry crossed and his arms and thought about the question.

Elphias said that certainly was because Dumbledore must have known more spells and had a more varied arsenal, which was true. The blonde Weasley said that was probably because Harry being a traveller had learned differently from them, which might also be true.

"Harry wasn't duelling," Dumbledore finally said. When he saw everybody frowning, he elaborated, "His style is unlike any duellist' because he is not one. He was fighting."

"He was defending himself," she corrected. "He was only fighting at the end. He was defending himself like some of you might have to one day. Neutralizing somebody's spells before they can harm you, casting defensive charms and hoping they are going to hold, trying to find a weakness, an opening in somebody's attack… It is not as pretty nor as elaborate as many duels you may see in dueling circuits but this is how many fights, if not all of them, go. Admittedly, Mister Potter made the mistake of not trying to neutralize Mister Dumbledore from the very beginning but he had the reflex to protect himself the second he saw he was about to curse him. More importantly, he dodged a curse he identified as one he would never manage to protect himself from. That is what I will try to teach you in my class. How to defend yourself when you're facing an unknown and potentially life-threatening attack." She clapped her hands. "Now, as we still have thirty minutes, we will finally start our lesson. I want each of you to find a partner and attempt to cast the Disarming charm. The incantation is Expelliarmus and the wand movement is on the board," she said as the chalk started writing on the blackboard.

From the corner of his eyes, Harry saw Dumbledore advancing in his direction.

Harry took the first wizard on hand and proposed to help him with the disarming charm.

Black raised an eyebrow, but ultimately shrugged. "You clearly know the charm so I'll just disarm you."

Seeing after his fifth try what he was doing wrong, Harry told him he was flourishing his wand too much and showed him the correct wand movement.

"Did I ask for your help?" the Slytherin snapped. "Expelliarmus!" he exclaimed as he replicated Harry's wand movement.

This time, Harry's wand flew in his direction.

The raven-haired caught his holly wand and smirked. "See? I didn't need your help at all." Harry sighed as the wizard threw his wand back. "My family taught me dark magic ever since I was a child. So let me tell you, if you had fought me, you would have lost."

Perhaps he should have stayed with Dumbledore.

"More seriously," Black said as he crossed his arms, "who are you? I have not heard there was supposed to be a new student until yesterday. And also, it doesn't look like you even have a quill or a schoolbag. And your clothes, weren't you wearing these yesterday?"

Harry tried a smile. "My luggage got lost. I'm afraid I'm waiting for the week-end to buy what I need."

"Sure. I'm sure these Gryffindors are buying it. Dumbledore is so air-headed he probably even gave you this idea by accident." The wizard casted the spell and Harry's wand flew to him once more.

"You think I'm lying."

Black gave him a look. "I'm not a Gryffindor, or a Hufflepuff. At Slytherin, we use that thing between our ears called a brain. A new student coming out of nowhere, a seer of great powers..." He shook his head. "Do you want to know what seers are good at?"

"Seeing?" he said as he ducked Black's expelliarmus.

Black snorted. "Right. Well, I'm not a seer but I see in your future is a lot of troubles if you don't get help from the right wizard."

Harry could stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Let me guess, you're the right wizard."

"Believe me, you should want me as an ally. Because, I can assure you, there will be a time when you will need help. And Dumbledore will not protect you."


"I don't get it," Elphias told Albus once the new student walked past them after class. "Considering it was you who lost the duel, you should be the one upset. Not the other way around!"

The prefect sighed. "While I do not know why he is angry at me, I suppose he has his reasons."

"You did nothing wrong!"

Albus shrugged. "I may have hurt his feelings without me noticing, I've been told I do that sometimes. I'll ask him once he has calmed down so I can apologize."

"But you did nothing wrong!" Elphias insisted while several Slytherins walked past them. "I don't even get why Professor Merrythought took you points!"

"That was because of the colouring charm, no doubt."

When Albus had casted it, he had known there was a risk their new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor would disapprove. Still, he had needed to know so he had decided to try his luck and made his feint to see if he was right about the new student. And, like many Gryffindors, he didn't care much about the House Cup so he wasn't particularily upset about that and had just done what he needed to do.

He had a new piece of the puzzle that was Harry Potter. Now, he had to figure where it fit.

"You have Muggle Studies, don't you?"

"Yeah." Elphias checked his timetable and sighed. "I should have picked Care of Magical Creatures like you. Or Runes." he lamented.

"Just one more year." He sympathically smiled as the wizard morosely started walking to Muggle Studies.

If his memory was correct, he didn't have class until tomorrow so he should probably begin with his homework.

There was also this potion he was trying to make. If he wanted to succeed, he knew he had to make sure everything would be perfect, so he had to make a little detour in the library.

When he turned left, he noticed a group of Ravenclaws was strangely looking at him.

"Is there a problem?" he amiably asked.

The witches startled. "N-No," a Fourth Year stammered. "It-it's just-"

"Is it true somebody beat you in a duel?" a witch blurted out.

The rest of the group glared at her and Albus smiled.

The entire school already knew, didn't it?

"It is," he tried to keep his tone light. "Professor Merrythought asked a student and I to assist her and we duelled. It happens I got careless and as a result lost."

The group looked as if he had just told them the Earth was flat.

"It was the new student, wasn't it?" a Hufflepuff finally asked. "The Seer."

Albus supposed he should be impressed. The new student hadn't even been here for two days and everybody already knew about him.

He had seen Black discussing with him and he had no doubt Horace would attempt to befriend the one who had managed to beat him as soon as he could. And after Horace, it would be everybody. A gifted student who had come from God knew where, a wizard who appeared to be a Seer and that had defeated Albus Dumbledore in under ten minutes. Harry Potter was something new, something exotic and a complete mystery begging to be solved. Of course everybody would want to look at that wizard. Albus had known from the very beginning this was going to happen but he had hoped to have a week before everybody started gravitating around the new student.

"Yes, it was."

Albus hoped Harry Potter liked fame.