Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: In this chapter, Harry is going to use the Confundus Charm. Since we never actually learned much about that charm from what JKR write in the books, I totally made up how it works. I just hope it will be understandable and reliable. Have fun reading!
Chapter 12 – Dueling:
"So you've been a bit mysterious lately," stated Blaise the next morning. They were heading for Defense Against the Dark Arts once again. Harry didn't say much to them all during breakfast. He looked incredibly tired; his eyes were bloodshot, and he had dark circles around his eyes, making him look rather scary-looking. A group of first years passed them, and when they caught a glance from Harry, they shrieked and ran away as quickly as they could. "You don't look good, either. People are starting to think that you are a Death Eater."
"Didn't they think that before?" Harry growled in a low voice. "Nah, I'm fine. I'm really tired, that's all. Been in the library for too long, I guess."
"'Been in the library', please!" Draco said sardonically. "You've never set a foot there before, why are you now?"
"I might've been there a few times before without informing you; and mind you, that was when I only needed to look for something. They have a wide selection of some really helpful books there, you know. You should try and visit there too, sometime. It wouldn't kill you."
"What were you looking for, anyway?" Blaise asked curiously.
"A spell," Harry replied simply.
"A spell?"
"Yeah."
Luckily, for Harry, they reached the class just in time, so he didn't have to explain more than that.
Professor Lupin asked everyone to take their seats. They have all expected to hear about the approaching Dueling Club, and when the last student sat down, Lupin clapped his hands once and smiled broadly.
"I've received the last details about the Dueling Club," he said. "After discussing it with the Headmaster, we decided that the Great Hall will be too small, so the Club will be held on the Quidditch pitch, that way, the whole school could also come and watch.
"Now, for the timings: Seventh year students will be dueling between 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Then there's two hours break, during which you can eat lunch. And then from 2 until 5 p.m. you will be dueling.
"For your protection, each one of you will be receiving this –" Lupin took out something from his pocket, and held it up for everyone to see. It was a thin, white, plastic bracelet that looked just like the one that patients usually wore in a Muggle hospital.
"Hey, that's my brother's Shield Bracelet!" Ron Weasley called happily. Harry rolled his eyes. Great, he'll have to wear something that is Weasley-made.
Lupin chuckled. "Yes, it is. And though it is very practical sometimes, it can only protect you from getting seriously hurt. Please notice that it won't block simple jinxes that can be lifted later, like freezing charms or the Jelly-Legs jinx, for example," he said.
The class went on as usual after that, and when the bell rang, Harry once again stayed behind to talk to Lupin after everyone left.
"Yes, Harry?" he asked.
"I found this spell in a book. I think it can be very useful," Harry explained.
"What spell?"
"It's called the Confundus Charm."
"Ah, right. It's a good spell when it used cleverly," Lupin said with a small smile.
"Could you teach me how to do it right?" Harry asked eagerly.
"I can, but I'm afraid I'm too busy tonight, Harry. I need to get things ready for the Dueling Club. I've been meaning to tell you that we don't have a practice session tonight," Lupin said, truly sounding like he was sorry.
Harry looked disappointed. "Oh, that's okay. Too bad we can't tomorrow night, either; I've got loads of essays to submit and I haven't got started working on them yet."
Lupin seemed to think about something for a second, and then he said, "You know, I'm not teaching in the next hour, we can practice it now, if you don't mind missing your next class," he suggested.
Harry's mouth broke into an expectant grin. "Yes, please! I've got Herbology! I'll do anything to escape that!" he said excitedly.
"Fine, I'll write you a note and give it to Professor Sprout," Lupin said. "Well, don't just stand there; take out your wand, if you wish to get started."
Harry pulled his wand out and stared at Lupin, waiting for any further instructions.
"I better put this on," Lupin muttered quietly. He meant to put the Shielding Bracelet on his left wrist, but then stopped and took it off. "Or maybe not. We won't be able to know whether it worked or not. We use – here, a spider."
Lupin picked up a large spider he found crawling in the corner of the classroom, and put it for Harry on his desk. Harry looked at the spider. He didn't really know what he should do with it. He didn't really know what the spell will do to it.
"Right," said Lupin, pacing around Harry and the desk. "So, the incantation for the Confundus Charm is 'Confundo'."
"Confundo," Harry repeated to himself, memorizing it.
"This charm is not simple, but not too complex, either. With a bit of practicing, I assume you'll get the hang of it. What it does at first is creating a wave of confusion on your opponent. He may hear correctly, but won't register what is said, since he'll try to focus on what made him so confused. His vision will become blurred, and his eyes won't be able to focus. That way he won't be able to concentrate like he normally would. It will simply weaken him. You should know, though, that the wave will last for only a few seconds, and then will fade away. After that, your opponent will see whatever you want him to see. If you really want to cast this spell on Dean, I suggest you don't start with it, but save it for later.
"Now, to work this charm properly, you need to think what exactly you want Dean to see or believe, and that way you can trick him and win the duel, by confusing him to see something that only he will see."
"So if I want to confuse the spider, for instance, to believe that I'm its prey, what do I do?" Harry asked. "How do I make it feel all the stuff you just described? Do I just cast the spell? If so, then why is it supposed to be difficult?"
"You won't be able to cast it because it's too hard to produce if you have not practiced it enough. You need to really concentrate on what you want the spider to see or believe. Clear your head and think about the illusion the spell is suppose to create, what you want the spider to see you as, then cast the spell."
Lupin moved to sit on his chair behind the desk, folding his arms over his chest, and watching Harry closely. The spider was now standing still on an old book that lay on the desk, and Harry looked at it carefully. Concentrating on what he wanted the spider to see, he pointed his wand at it and called "Confundo."
Nothing happened. The spider rubbed his front legs together, but stayed still. Harry tried again, concentrating harder on his goal. Five minutes had passed, and after several failures, Harry gave up. He was panting heavily. He didn't know it would be so difficult and frustrating. It was so hard that it made him feel completely exhausted.
"That's okay, Harry, it's a hard spell to perform," Lupin said calmly, watching Harry catch his breath. "I think it's better you forget about it –"
"No," Harry cut in, his breathing are still shallow. "I want to do it. I want to try again."
Ron and Hermione's next lesson was Charms. Professor Flitwick told them to start practicing the Time-Freezing Charm they studied in their last lesson. While Hermione managed to stop her watch and the hourglass that Professor Flitwick gave her several times by now without any difficulties, Ron was rummaging through his bag, looking for something. He was starting to get worried he might have lost it somewhere, but couldn't remember where.
"Mr. Weasley," squeaked Professor Flitwick as he came over. "Why aren't you practicing the charm like everyone else?"
"Sorry, Professor," he said hastily, putting his bag down. "But I can't find my wand anywhere. I think I left it somewhere..." He emptied all his pockets and twice he ran his hand over to his ears, to see if he hadn't put it there without noticing. "I know I had it earlier."
"Don't you think you need to be more organized? This is the second time you've lost your wand, Ronald," Hermione whispered.
"Yes, I know that Hermione, there's no need to remind me. Great, now I'm going to get a Howler from my mum."
"And a T if you won't do anything in this lesson," said Flitwick, an angry tone in his voice. He then walked away from their table, observing the other students.
"Wait –" Ron suddenly called, standing up. Flitwick turned around and looked up at him. "Maybe I dropped it in Professor Lupin's classroom. May I please go and check there, Professor?"
"Be sure to make it quickly," Flitwick said with a nod. "Your grade depends on it."
Ron quickly left the class and ran as fast as he could one floor below. When he got there, he saw Lupin's classroom door was closed. He took in one long breath, but choked in a fit of coughs, when he heard a yell coming from inside the silent classroom.
Once he relaxed, Ron looked up and down the corridor. Nobody was there but him. He was sure the classroom was empty, it didn't sound like there was a class inside. Being in quite a hurry to get his wand and be back to his class, he shrugged it off, forcing himself to believe he was just imagining, only then he heard it again, louder than before, but still not that clear.
It wasn't a call for help, but sounded like someone yelling out an incantation, Ron had no doubt about that. Somehow he had a strange feeling that something was wrong. If he had someone else there with him to hear it, they would have told him that there's nothing wrong, that Lupin is probably teaching right now, and the class is practicing as usual, but Ron didn't think so. He recognized one person's voice, not several voices, and the incantation wasn't being repeated, as if there was a group of students there, studying.
Thinking of one reasonable thing to do, Ron walked slowly to the door and pressed his ear against it.
Inside, there were two people having a conversation. The first voice Ron recognized was Professor Lupin's. The second was quiet and muffled. Ron couldn't identify whom it belonged to. Ron didn't know if he should interrupt this conversation, it could be very district or important, but he didn't know what else to do. He needed his wand, or he'll fail today's Charms lesson.
He was about to knock on the door, when he heard Lupin talk with a tired voice.
"...If you want to do it, then do it, but I don't think you can."
There was a sigh, and a short silence followed. Ron pressed his ear to the door again, listening carefully. Who is Lupin talking to and what's going on?
The person Lupin was talking to was breathing rather heavily. Ron could hear his breathings, and it sounded like this person was quite angry.
"CONFUNDO!" yelled the other person; by the tone of his choked voice, it was obvious he was struggling to get the spell out of his mouth.
What spell is this? Ron panicked. And then, it hit him. He knew that voice. That's Harry Potter with Professor Lupin, he told himself. And when the name of his sworn enemy popped to his head, a sudden fear took place. Potter was casting a spell at Professor Lupin!
Without thinking much, he opened the door in a swift move and watched the scene that was before his eyes.
Harry Potter was pointing his wand at Professor Lupin. He was panting, and looked sweaty and tired, but angry all the same.
Professor Lupin was sitting in his chair in front of Harry, only the desk separating them. His hands were folded over his chest, like he was waiting for Harry to strike. It was then when Lupin acknowledged Ron's presence. Lupin turned his gaze to him, and looked at him calmly, like nothing was wrong. He even gave him a small smile.
Harry followed his gaze and looked at Ron like he had just insulted him deeply. He slowly lowered his wand, looking impassive, but yet menacing. He folded his arms as well, though not as same as Lupin had, it was as if he waiting for Ron to leave right away.
Ron tried his best not to look directly at Harry. "I... I'm sorry, Professor. I heard shouts, and I thought something might be..." He glanced briefly at Harry's fierce glare, and finished the sentence with a hoarse voice, "...wrong."
"That's all right, Ron," Lupin replied serenely. "Why are you out of class?"
"Be...because I think I've dropped my wand here somewhere. I...I came to look for it," he replied shakily. "If that's okay and I'm not interrupting anything."
"No, of course you're not. You need your wand," Lupin said with a small smile. He got up from his chair, pulled out his wand and pointed it to where Ron sat earlier this morning. "Accio Ron's wand!" he called. The lost wand rose suddenly in the air in the back of the class, and flew right to Lupin's hand. "Here you go, Ron," he said as he walked over to him and handed him back his wand. "Keep it safe next time."
Ron nodded. "T...thank you. I'll do that," he stuttered and Lupin closed the door behind him.
Once he was safely outside the classroom, he leaned against the cool stone wall and sighed. He couldn't believe what he just witnessed to. The rumors were all true, just like he suspected. Harry Potter was indeed a Death Eater!
Checking the time on his watch, Ron saw it took him long enough to get his wand back, and hurried back to Charms. He couldn't wait to tell Hermione everything he just saw, and prove her wrong about Potter.
Harry felt like he had done something terribly wrong. Normally, being caught out of class by Ron Weasley wouldn't bother him that much, even if he was a Prefect, but something told him that he wasn't feeling guilty for nothing.
The look on Ron's face when he opened the door told Harry how shocked was Ron to find him there, in Lupin's class. His face has gone completely white, even paler than the usual bright shade of his skin. What exactly did he see? Harry wondered. He already knew Ron was positive that he was a Death Eater, so what now?
Didn't he see him practicing spells with Lupin just now? Or did he come to the wrong conclusion? Harry wasn't sure what exactly Ron had put into his head, but he knew he will tell someone about it as fast as he could; someone who is close to him, that's for sure.
Harry could just imagine how Ginny would react to whatever Ron will tell her. It will probably push her even further away from him. These past few days that went by, felt empty to him, without getting a good glimpse at her red hair, or hear her voice, even if she sounded angry or scared. It somehow made him feel whole whenever he saw her. He didn't know why.
He didn't know how to get himself out of this situation. After all, it wasn't his fault everyone thought he's a Death Eater. He didn't land himself in this position, Snape did. Why would Snape make him the Quidditch House team's Captain and then tell such lies about him like that? He knew that on some level, he had always hated him. He had his favorite students, Draco was one of them, but Harry was never even close. Harry still couldn't figure out why he chose him as the Quidditch Captain, and not Draco, if he hated him so much.
"Harry, are you okay?" Lupin asked, still leaning against the door.
Harry realized he was standing in place, looking down at the floor and not moving. He was staring into blank air, clutching his wand loosely between his numb fingers. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied quietly.
"No, because it seemed to me like you were miles away for a moment there," Lupin noted, walking over.
"I said I'm fine," Harry insisted, shaking his head out of his thoughts, though he couldn't get rid of the memory of the last time he saw Ginny. Her face was as scared as Ron's had been just now. It made him feel a little twinge of pain in the pit of his stomach, just to picture her eyes wide with fear of him hurting her. Oddly enough, thinking how they met at the beginning of the year, he wanted her to get hurt as a payment for hurting him in the Quidditch pitch, but now he couldn't bear the thought of see her getting hurt. What changed?
'When are you going to ask out the red-head?' Blaise's voice rang in his ears.
"Um... okay, maybe you should forget about Confundus?" Lupin said, looking nervously around his desk.
"Why?" Harry looked up at him. Didn't he make any progress?
Lupin pointed to the desk. Harry looked down and noticed the spider had vanished. "Okay, so it might be here somewhere," Harry said, crouching down to look for it under the desk. "It's a large spider; it can't have disappeared so quickly. We'll summon it." He was about to call the summoning charm, but then Lupin pushed his hand back down.
"I'm afraid our little friend has been blown up by you, Harry," he said with a chuckle.
Harry looked down at the desk again. All he could see on the old book where the spider stood a few minutes before was a small pile of ashes, which was still smoking. "Great..." Harry muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I can't even do that right."
Lupin checked his watch. "We do have some time left. What do you say, I'll get another spider from my office, and you can try again? Maybe you'll succeed this time."
"No, it's no use. I can't concentrate now. There's too much on my mind."
Lupin looked at Harry closely, seeing how frustrated he was, he decided that he shouldn't give up so quickly. "Sit down, Harry," he said, and pointed to the closest table. Harry went to sit behind it and looked at his Professor. "Is there something troubling you? Something that isn't related to the Dueling Club?"
Was it that obvious? Harry thought. Maybe he can help me more than Blaise and Draco could?
"Well, as a matter of fact, yes," Harry answered. He could feel a hot drop of sweat sliding down from his forehead from his uneasiness, and hurried to wipe it with the back of his hand.
"Ron made you feel nervous, did he?"
"No, it's not him. Well, it's what he might tell people that bothers me more. You've heard the rumors, haven't you?"
"Oh, I did; quite amusing, I might say," Lupin chuckled. "Don't mind the rumors, Harry. Rumors aren't facts, and in your case, they're definitely incorrect. No matter how hurtful they can get, you should always remember that you know the truth; you're not a Death Eater, Harry. There always will be someone who has a rumor going around about someone else. Today it's you and tomorrow it will be someone else. When people will find out the truth, they will come around, and some might apologize."
Harry let out a sigh in return. "Yeah, but it's not just that."
How exactly he supposed to say it?
Lupin eyes had a sudden twinkle in them and his lips formed a lopsided smile. "Ah, it's about a girl, isn't it?" he said knowingly. "You're afraid she'll believe the rumors and turn her back on you, right?"
Harry nodded. "You're good," he said with his eyebrows raised.
"And this girl, I assume, doesn't know how you feel about her?" Lupin went on.
Harry shook his head. Then he realized something. "I don't even know what I feel about her," he mumbled. "I haven't exactly told anyone about it, either..."
"I see. Look, Harry," he got back to business, "if you really want to do the Confundus Charm right, you need to concentrate. You can't let other things occupy your mind. As long as you keep things to yourself and won't let them out, it will only get worse. You need to figure out what exactly you feel for this girl. Now, if we want to make some progress today, we need to help you concentrate, meaning, you need to let this out."
Harry didn't know what Lupin expected from him. He may have told him he has a crush on someone, but he definitely will not open out his heart to him and tell him all about Ginny and how exactly he felt every time he saw her. No, he would have to protest.
He was about to tell that to Lupin, but then the Professor spoke instead. "That's why I'm going to give you this –"
Harry watched Lupin turn around to his desk and grabbing a small spare piece of parchment from one of the drawers. He held the parchment in front of Harry. Harry just looked at him strangely.
"How exactly is this parchment going to help me?" he asked, frowning, half expecting the parchment to grow a mouth and give him an advice.
Lupin simply tore the parchment in half. Now he held two small square pieces of parchment, both were the same size of the palm of his hand.
"Don't worry. You don't have to tell me anything." Lupin laid the two notes on Harry's table, side by side. Harry merely just stared at them, not sure what to do with them. "Like I said, the best way to get you focused is to get those feelings out. Don't ignore what you feel. Take out a quill and write on both papers the same thing. Write down her name and how you think you feel for her, and you'll see you feel more relieved."
Harry thought about it for a moment. Should he do it? There was nothing to lose, anyway. Thinking that this exercise might come out helpful, he did as Lupin had instructed him, but then he found out he was stuck. Again, he didn't know what he felt for Ginny.
A few moments have passed and Harry still hasn't written a single word. Lupin waited and watched him with his dilemma. Harry was confused. How is he suppose to get it out when he didn't even know what was there to get out?
"Here is my tip for you: Don't think too much on what you should write. Let your mind flow and your heart speak for itself. You'll write down the words without even noticing it," Lupin said.
Harry pressed the quill to the parchment and closed his eyes and tried to picture Ginny in his mind. At first she looked as grumpy as he first noticed her on the train at the beginning of the year; then her face was laughing, smiling and looked amused; and at last, scared and annoyed. He pictured her together with Dean, and he could feel his face flush red with anger. What was it that he felt? Why was he angry seeing her with Dean? Why did it made him feel relaxed when he saw she was happy, and feel guilty when he saw her sad or scared? She had such an impact on him, so strong that it made him feel like his life depended on her. He remembered how he told himself to stay away, but was never able to do it.
He couldn't make up his mind. So he knew he had a crush on her, and he kissed her once (though it didn't turn out so well), and he couldn't stop thinking about her, he didn't think a day was worthwhile if he didn't get a chance to see her. Was Blaise right after all?
'I know you fancy her,' Blaise's voice teased him again. 'Just get over your denial and define what you're feeling towards her.' If Blaise could see it, why couldn't he?
Was it a just crush? He looked back at his past and tried to remember how he felt toward the other girls he went out with. He never had the same strong feelings for anyone other than Ginny. No, he told himself. This is more than 'just' a crush.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked down. His eyes grew wide with shock to find that he actually wrote down words on the two pieces of parchment, without even realizing it, just like Lupin said. He stared at what his hand wrote. The words were the same on both notes, and he couldn't believe he wrote them. It just couldn't be. For a short second he thought that Lupin had taken the chance to write this down by himself when Harry's eyes were closed, but that idea faded as quickly as it came, when Harry recognized the handwriting as his own.
Surprised, and yet pleased to finally get this out of his chest, he stared at Lupin, who was sitting comfortably in his teacher's chair.
"Did you do it?" Lupin asked and Harry nodded. He shielded the two pieces of parchment with his hands, embarrassed that Lupin would see what he wrote.
Lupin straightened up in his seat. "All right. You feel more relieved now?" Harry nodded again. He was still a bit shocked and couldn't form words, not even to tell Lupin that his plan was brilliant. He simply smiled widely.
"I told you. Now, the trick is to keep one note with you all the time and the other you leave here, on your desk, until we'll finish practicing for today, okay?"
Smiling despite himself, Harry nodded for the third time in a row. He folded the two notes. The one he kept in his pocket, while he left the other lying on the table.
Lupin went to his office and brought another spider. Harry focused really hard on it and on his goal. He missed for the first two times, but that was also because the spider kept moving around and didn't stay put like the previous one. And then, on his third try, after the spider stopped moving and Harry yelled the spell, the spider started to act differently. It walked forward a few inches and lowered its head, its pincers clicking eagerly all of the sudden.
"Try to move from side to side, Harry," Lupin whispered, watching the spider with amazement, as did Harry.
Harry slowly moved from side to side, the spider's gaze was locked upon him. Suddenly, it bounced forward, but Harry escaped from it. Harry laughed. He did it, he made the spider think he was its prey. The spider crawled on the floor and looked around to find its lost victim. Harry walked carefully behind it, so it won't notice him. Even though he was bigger than it, the charmed spider didn't see him.
"Great job, Harry! You did it!" Lupin chortled, clapping his hands. He pointed his wand at the spider and said "Finite." The spider came out of its trance and relaxed again like nothing had happened.
Harry felt like he finally achieved what he wanted all along, from the first time he asked Lupin to help him. That spell was all he needed to win the duel with Dean.
"Are you sure that's what you saw? Are you one hundred and ten percent sure?" Hermione asked Ron quietly over lunch, when they insulated themselves away from everyone else, so no one could hear them.
"Yes, for the umpteenth time! I'm just telling you what I saw," Ron whispered back.
Hermione went quiet for a moment, thinking of what Ron had just told her, and running it through her head over and over again. "No, there's got to be some logical explanation for it!" she hissed.
"Yeah, that he's threatening the teachers, like I told you from the beginning! Stop defending him for once, Hermione, and see the other clear and obvious side of the story. Besides, you know I would never make up something like that."
"I didn't say you are. This is just so surreal. He doesn't act like a Death Eater in disguise – beside what you say, of course," she added quickly. "Why would he be pointing a wand at Professor Lupin? Isn't he a friend of his parents?"
"When you're given an order from your fellow Death Eaters, you must obey it, Hermione. No matter how close you are with the person you are suppose to kill," noted Ron.
"And how exactly you know that?" Hermione raised her eyebrows at him. "Killed anyone lately, Ron?"
"No!" he cried indignantly, sounding offended. Quickly, he changed the subject back. "Look, I heard a shout coming from inside the classroom. It wasn't exactly a shout, more like a curse or an incantation being said out loud. It sounded like Carefo... no, that's not it... Can-fun-do, maybe? No, that just doesn't make any sense whatsoever..." He was talking more to himself now, rather to Hermione, and then shook his head.
"Could it be Confundo?" she asked, her eyes widening in shock.
"Yes, that is it!" He nodded vigorously.
"And you said Lupin acted like nothing had happened after you entered the class and explained what you've heard?"
"That's right. Why, what is this spell?" Ron asked worriedly.
"That's the confusion charm, Ron. A person uses it to make the one they attack with it to believe what they want them to believe, to confuse them."
"So Potter used it on Lupin, to make him believe he's innocent! 'If you want to do it, then do it, but I don't think you can,' that's what Lupin said to him. It might have really pissed him off, so he used it to show Lupin that he can do it. I told you, Hermione! This is as bad as the Imperius Curse or Obliviate."
"Well, we bound to tell Dumbledore, but we can't now, we'll go to see him later after classes are over," said Hermione in a rushed voice.
"Okay. Hopefully Potter won't kill anyone during the next few hours..." Ron muttered.
Harry watched Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger talking at the very neglected end of the Gryffindor table. He, on the other hand, was sitting alone, not sure where Draco and Blaise were. He had heard some mutterings about them staying back at the greenhouses because they had done something, but he thought he'd ask them about it later when he'll see them. It was actually great, because he wasn't showered with questions for once, and he could easily watch the two Gryffindors without any interruptions. They looked a bit nervous, and they were whispering to each other something that they obviously didn't want anyone else to hear. From time to time, one of them looked around to check they weren't being overheard.
Though there were millions of optional reasons what they could be talking about, Harry had a good clue what was the exact topic of their conversation, without the need to eavesdrop.
He just couldn't let Ron tell Ginny what he was obviously suspecting. She already believed he was a Death Eater, and he didn't want her to believe whatever Ron was telling his girlfriend at this moment. Harry wasn't stupid; he already knew Ron was certain he was a Death Eater. Now he was going to stretch this rumor even wider because of what the thought he saw in Lupin's classroom, then he would tell this to Ginny and then she would get even further away from him.
So, when Granger took off early for her next class, Ron finally finished stuffing himself with food. He stood up and strode out of the Great Hall. Harry walked after him, twice as fast, in order to catch up with him.
When he reached him, he surprised him by grabbing his shoulder from behind. "Weasley, could I have a word if you don't mind?" he whispered.
This startled Ron, and he stopped walking. He turned around to see Harry looking back at him with an unreadable expression on his face.
"What do you want?" Ron asked fearfully, a shiver going down his spine.
Harry got straight to the point. "You didn't tell anyone by any chance what you saw earlier in Lupin's class, did you?"
Ron's eyes widened. "N-no. Of course not. I-I wouldn't," he stammered.
"No, because if you did, I'll be very... upset. You would tell me if you told someone, right?"
"I didn't tell a soul," Ron said with a choked voice.
Harry stared at him pointedly. "Not even Granger?"
"No, I swear."
"Good. Keep it that way," said Harry with a small smirk, and walked off to his next lesson.
"Yeah, maybe you let me live until the end of the year," mumbled Ron behind Harry's back. As soon as his classes were over, he rushed back to Hermione.
"We can't go to Dumbledore," he said at once.
"Why not?" she asked, looking confused.
"And you can't tell anyone what I told you. Not Dumbledore, not Ginny, not anyone. Pretend like you don't know anything about it, either. It's has to stay between us. We better not talk about it again, too," he said so fast he almost forgot to breathe.
"Ron, you're scaring me. Did something happen?" she asked worriedly.
Ron gulped, inhaled a sharp breath and then said, "Potter... kind of... threatened me not to tell."
"What? Are you sure?" Ron nodded. "He threatened you?" Another nod. "That is exactly why we need to go to Dumbledore, then! He is the only one that can put a stop to it! Potter can't keep going around the school and threatening people whenever he wants!"
"So you finally believe me now?" Ron asked. "You don't side with him anymore?"
"No, if he's threatened you, than I guess I do believe you," she said, but didn't sound that convinced. "Unless you misunderstood him."
"Hermione!" Ron hissed. "He told me not to tell anyone what I saw, because then he'll be very upset – His words."
She sighed. "Okay, let's got to Dumbledore," she said, and led the way to the Headmaster's office.
But ten minutes later, Ron and Hermione left Dumbledore's office, feeling disappointed with themselves. Nothing they'd said seemed to convince the Headmaster that Harry Potter was a Death Eater. He told them that he trusted Harry and that he believed in him. Dumbledore also wasn't pleased to hear such accusations about his students from the school Prefects, and dismissed them with an assurance that there was nothing they need to worry about, and that they shouldn't bother him with this topic again.
"Great, now I feel stupid," Hermione said, once they returned to their common room. They sat on the couch and stared at the fire distractedly.
"Sorry, it's all my fault," Ron said glumly. "Could've accepted a T in Charms, but nooo! I had to go down to Lupin's classroom and see that!"
"See what?"
Ron and Hermione turned their heads and saw Ginny walking towards them. She sat herself on the hearthrug and looked at them. "What did you see in Lupin's classroom? Ooh... did you see the answers to the test I have tomorrow?" she asked excitedly, rubbing her hands mischievously and grinning broadly.
"No," Ron replied quietly and gave her a weird look.
"Ginny!" Hermione scolded, her mouth agape.
"What?" Ginny retorted defensively. "I could've really used a bit of help, but someone was too busy!"
"Fine, I will make you some notes, but cheating is not the way to pass a test."
Ginny waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, I wasn't serious anyway. I just wanted you to give up and make me those notes. So what did you see in Lupin's classroom, Ron?"
"Er..."
Once again, Ginny burst out excitedly. "Ooh, let me guess, you caught Lupin snogging a student?" she suggested.
"No. Ginny –"
"A female student, then?" she tried again.
Hermione started chuckling. Ron rolled his eyes, "No!"
Ginny looked taken aback. "Really? I always thought he was a poof. All the facts pointed it out: He's thirty-something, nice and still single... Well, if not a student then a teacher perhaps? Snape? No, he's not his type. Madam Hooch? Trelawney? Eww! Don't tell me it's McGonagall!"
"Ginny, Lupin was not snogging anyone in his classroom!" Ron yelled. "He also was not in any other intimate situation with anyone, and nor was he naked or wrapped around the waist with a swim ring in a shape of a yellow duck!"
A few people around the room cast them weird looks, but he didn't care.
"Damn, I hate it when you know the questions I want to ask," Ginny said in disappointment.
Hermione was howling with laughter and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. "Ginny..." she managed to say once she calmed down. She thought it's best not to tell her who Ron really saw doing what in Lupin's classroom. "Ron lost his wand so he went to find it in Lupin's classroom, but found a spider crawling on it, and you know how he is with spiders. Well, anyway, he had no choice but get his wand back or else Flitwick will give him a T, so he bravely kicked the spider away, and took his wand back."
"Yeah, only he gave me a P because I didn't manage to stop my watch," he complained.
Ginny giggled. "Well, next time, maybe you should let Hermione pause time for you so by the time she'll finish her lame story, you'll be back in class."
Ginny entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on Friday morning, ready to take the test she studied for all week. She reread the notes Hermione made for her the night before and repeated to herself the main ideas she needed to remember.
When she took her usual seat at the front row, Professor Lupin entered and ordered them all to clean their tables of all the unnecessary paperwork and sit down. He began to pass them the exams and when he reached Ginny, he asked her to put all the notes she dropped on the floor in her bag. Ginny looked at him, confused, and checked the floor for any of her notes. All she found was a folded piece of parchment that she was positive didn't belong to her. She opened it to check just in case, but found inside something very unexpected.
"Ginny, I thought I told you to put that in your bag," Lupin said. "Put it away now or I'll have to fail you," he warned.
Ginny's mind had floated to somewhere else, and the Professor's voice barely registered inside. She couldn't stop staring at the note she held in her hand. What kind of joke is this?
Ginny suddenly felt a hand grabbing the note from her palm and putting it in her bag. Luckily it wasn't Professor Lupin, but good old Luna, who didn't want her friend to fail the test. Ginny smiled weakly at her as a thank-you, and shook her head forcibly to restore her thoughts back to the test. It was hard to concentrate after what she read in the note, but she felt like she did pretty well.
The bell rang and they all submitted the tests. Ginny felt like she needed to get out of there as fast as possible. Luna caught up with her and stopped her in the hallway.
Ginny looked like a mess, and Luna began to worry. "What is it, Ginny? Didn't you do well on the test?"
Ginny shook her head. "No, it's not that. It went fine."
Luna looked at her suspiciously. "Are you sure? Because you read that note that Professor Lupin almost failed you for... What, didn't you study at all?"
Ginny ran a hand through her hair absently. "I did. I studied all week long. It wasn't that kind of note, anyway, and it didn't belong to me, either. Someone left it on the floor by my desk, so I thought I should pick it up to see if it was mine so Professor Lupin won't think that I tried to cheat on the test, but it was mine... It was... something else..." she finished slowly.
She put her hand in her bag and started rummaging inside, then pulled out the mysterious note and showed it to Luna.
Luna looked at the note with raised eyebrows and then back at Ginny. "And you found it on the floor, next to your desk?"
Ginny nodded. "Isn't it weird? Like the person who wrote it put it there on purpose so I'll find it. But who could write such a thing?"
"A rackfet," Luna said at once without a doubt in her mind. She handed Ginny back the note and they walked to their next class. Ginny looked at her friend with a puzzled expression on her face. This was one of the times that Luna happened to invent a bizarre creature that no one ever heard of except for the readers of The Quibbler.
"What's a rackfet, again?" she asked, like she forgot and needed to remember.
"Rackfets are very rare, small creatures that have a lifetime of a week. They usually pull stuff like that, you know, prank stuff, until they die," she explained with her dreamy voice, sounding very sure of herself. "Daddy's magazine had a really fascinating article about them last month, didn't you read it?"
Ginny wrinkled her nose. She didn't like lying to her friend, but the stories The Quibbler came up with were just weird. "No, I guess I missed that issue," Ginny mumbled quietly. "But as much as I would like to believe a rackfet wrote me a prank note, I really think a student did it. Maybe not even as a prank, maybe it was sincere."
Honestly, Ginny couldn't really think of anyone in particular at the moment. Luna suggested it was Colin Creevey, because he always sat behind her in Defense classes. Ginny hoped it wasn't him. "Colin is cute, but I mean just cute, like unicorn-cute," she said as an excuse. But she didn't know what she would do if she'll find out it was really Colin who wrote the note. What would she say then?
She glanced at the caption on the note again. A lost expression crossed her face. Who could have written it? She racked her brain but couldn't think of anyone. She hadn't noticed if someone had looked at her with affection recently. Well, except for Dean, though she knew what his handwriting looked like, and it wasn't even similar to the handwriting on the note; and of course, there was Neville, who she just found out liked her. First there was Neville and now Colin, she thought. What is with everyone lately? I'm not that popular... The lettering still looked familiar to her, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen it.
She decided to drop it for now, concentrating on a conversation with Luna about how well they did the test, and somehow, Ginny wasn't sure how, the rackfers issue came up again...
Saturday finally arrived, and Harry couldn't wait until he'd be dueling with Dean. Time, however, seemed to go even slower than possible. The buzzing sound of excited students filled the Great Hall over breakfast, and soon, the seventh years started their turn in the Dueling Club down at the Quidditch pitch. Most of the school went to watch them duel, and almost filled all the stands in the stadium.
Harry saw all the seventh years gathering around a group of Professors, among them were the four Heads of Houses, Lupin, Dumbledore and also Madam Pomfrey and Hagrid, for some reason, was also presents.
In the middle of the pitch stood a long stage, and near the group of teachers was a small golden cauldron. From where he was sitting, Harry couldn't see clearly what the cauldron contained inside, but in the dark grey, skies of November, he noticed something thick and red shimmering inside, almost like burning lava.
Lupin began to describe the rules to the seventh years, and shortly after that, he turned to the golden cauldron. He taped his wand twice, and looked inside. He called out two names, the first turned out to be a Ravenclaw girl, and the second Gryffindor boy.
The two of them came closer to Lupin, took a Shield Bracelet from him and put them on their wrists. They got onto the stage, bowed to each other and backed away a few steps from each other.
A second did not pass, and each one of them yelled a different kind of jinx. The girl, smart as every Ravenclaw, ducked in time and escaped the spell that was shot towards her. The Gryffindor, on the other hand, got struck and his body immediately started to shake madly. Seeing he couldn't function and continue the duel, Lupin called the Ravenclaw as the winner of the first fight. The Ravenclaw house started to clap their hands and cheer for her.
And that's how it went for everyone else. Some duels were short and quick, while other took several minutes until someone was called as the victor. Harry and his friends spent lunch commenting on the duels they'd seen, and made suggestions and ideas how they thought they would perform. They shook hands and made jokes with fellow seventh year Slytherins that won on their duels.
Harry was positive he would do well. He had so much confidence that he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to finally get payback for what Dean did to him. He had a smug smile on his face, but it slowly disappeared as he remembered his only concern. What if Lupin didn't keep his promise, and didn't let him duel with Dean? How would he make the golden cauldron show his name inside together with Dean's, anyway? He guessed he didn't have anything else to do but wait and see. He trusted Lupin would keep his promise.
And at last, the sixth years were called at 2 p.m. to the Quidditch Pitch. When they got there, the stage looked way bigger than it looked from up in the stands. When everyone finally gathered around the stage, Harry looked around. A satisfied smile played on his lips when he noticed Dean was standing with the rest of the Gryffindors who thought to show up. Whether Ginny told Dean to come or not, it didn't matter now, because he was there. He tried to search for her in the crowd, but there were so many people there, that he couldn't even spot the bright color of her hair.
The same group of teachers appeared after everyone settled and went quiet. Lupin got up on the stage and looked at them.
"Hello everyone," he greeted happily. "Glad you all came! Before we begin, I want to clarify the rules. Since you already learned a few years ago how to duel, we won't waste time to cover what you already know. So, as you have probably seen earlier, the cauldron picks your name with someone from a different house. You'll get a Shield Bracelet from me and then you face your opponent, you bow, take a few steps back and then, on my count, you start dueling. The attacks will only include light jinxes, charms and spells. It's of course unnecessary to say that Unforgivable Curses are forbidden."
At that, Harry could feel everyone's stares fixed on him. He rolled his eyes in annoyance. His insides just wanted to scream and tell them the truth, but he refrained himself from doing that and gave them all an ugly smile.
Lupin clapped his hands once. "That's it. So now I'm going to call two names, and those two are going to be our first duelers."
He walked to the golden cauldron, tapped his wand twice on it, and a light red fume was emitted. Lupin looked inside the cauldron, smiled, and called. "Ernie Macmillan, Hufflepuff and Neville Longbottom, Gryffindor."
The first fight was over in no time. Though each of them was about the same level as the other, they both suffered light injuries after a few spell casting. Lupin had to call it a tie.
The morale was extremely high. The crowd cheered and made the air feel lighter. Other names were called, and a few more duels ended before Blaise got picked. His opponent was a slim Ravenclaw girl. Unbelievably, the girl was announced as the victor a few minutes later. Blaise, after being taken care of by Madam Pomfrey, returned and waited with Draco and Harry, looking very ashamed of himself, for losing to a girl. Harry and Draco did their best not to laugh at him.
Amazingly, Draco's opponent was Ron Weasley. Ron looked concerned, though not entirely scared. He exhaled deeply and held his wand really tight in his hand. Draco, with a grin on his face, got onto the stage and dueled with him. A minute, two minutes, five have passed, and the two were still shouting spells at each other. Draco eventually got tired of 'playing around'. He held his wand high and conjured up a very angry-looking snake. Ron froze at the sight of the snake and stood in place, motionless, not doing a thing, but keeping his distance away from the creature. Draco seized upon the opportunity and shot a freezing charm at Ron. Ron's body went rigid and fell to the floor with a loud thud, and Draco was called as the victor.
Then, when Lupin called out the first name of the next two duelers, Harry was surprised to hear he called out for Dean. Quickly and nervously, Harry caught Lupin's eyes and then saw him secretly tapping on the cauldron one more time. Lupin looked inside the cauldron again, and called: "Harry Potter, Slytherin."
Then there was silence, like people tried to hear carefully if they've heard right. Then a wave of whispers filled the air and when Harry got up, the silence returned. Harry didn't care, however. He was finally going to get his vengeance at Dean. And after that, no one will call him a coward anymore.
Smiling inwardly, Harry got onto the stage. After he took the Shield Bracelet from Lupin, he rolled up his sleeves and put it on his wrist. A sudden gasp escaped from most of his fellow sixth years. Looking at some of their faces, he realized what the deal was about. Their eyes were fixed on his left forearm. They were surprised to find that he didn't have the Dark Mark on it. Harry ignored them all, and threw Lupin a last quick glance. He saw him nodding feebly at him for reassurance and it made him feel even more confident than before.
Harry turned around. Dean was only a few steps away from him, a stern look in his eyes. He tightened the grip on his wand nervously.
Harry didn't want to bow to him, he just wanted to get it over with, but according to the rules, this was the proper way to duel. So they bowed, or at least, Dean had; Harry barely arched his back forward, and then quickly straightened back up. He took a few steps back, and held his wand at the ready, yearning to hear Lupin's voice call "one".
"Ready?" Lupin asked. Harry closed his eyes briefly and remembered the plan he had in his mind for the last week. "Three, two, one –"
"Protego!" he yelled immediately. This was a good choice to start with, as Dean yelled the Langlock spell as he heard 'one'. The spell hit the shield and bounced back, missing Dean by an inch. Harry was disappointed it didn't hit him, it could've spared him a few minutes and a few spells.
They continued dueling. One was shooting a spell, and the other was avoiding it. After a few minutes, Dean was bleeding heavily from his nose, and Harry was having a major headache. Harry realized his plan wasn't going well as planned. It was time for phase two.
Despite the throbbing in his had, he forced himself to concentrate really hard on what he wanted Dean to see and believe. All the practice he had with Lupin about this spell was coming back to him.
Dean was smiling, enjoining the support the Gryffindors were giving him. He thought he had it, that Harry was going to lose. Harry was starting to feel the effects of the jinx Dean hit him with starting to get worse, and the weakness showed on his face. That is why Dean looked so triumphant. He was positive they would call him the winner. Lupin was thinking on doing the same thing, but then Harry raised his wand.
"Confundo!" he yelled with difficulty. Dean didn't even have time to respond, he didn't see that coming. A streak of white light was shot from the tip of Harry's wand and hit Dean in the chest. Dean staggered back a few steps, and another gasp was emitted from the crowd. Ron and Hermione exchanged looks with each other.
Dean looked dumbfounded for a moment. He blinked his eyes rapidly, like trying to see in focus, and then he shook his head and looked straight at Harry.
Harry's throat went dry. It didn't work, he told himself, panic rushing through his body, his heart beating fast. He didn't know what to do now. The Confundus Charm was his only idea. He didn't think to have a backup spell, just in case that something like this happens. He wished he would have practiced the charm a few more times, and then he wouldn't have to find himself in this situation. He knew he couldn't try again, either. Dean will predict it and block it right away. Harry really didn't know what to do.
Dean started to look around. He turned in his place, like searching for something, and as Harry saw his new behavior, he smiled proudly to himself. It had worked! Dean turned around, searching for a missing Harry, even when Harry stayed right where he was. That's what he wanted him to believe: that he had disappeared.
"I'm right here," Harry said in a singsong voice, teasing him a bit.
Dean turned around in his place and looked around again. He couldn't see Harry anywhere and he didn't know where he went. He was so confused...
In the corner of his eyes, Harry could see Draco and Blaise looking at the scene with their mouths agape in amazement.
Then it was the time to actually duel and have some fun. Well, for Harry anyway. At first he shot a jinx that caused Dean to feel like he cut his hands, though it was only in his imagination. Then, he hit him with a spell that caused him to fall down to the ground. All this time, Dean was shooting spells all around the place, not sure where to aim his wand since he couldn't find Harry. Then, luckily for him, one of his spells hit Harry in the chest. He fell backwards and landed on his bottom.
They both stood up again, at the same time. "What's the matter, Thomas? Not lost, are you?" Harry asked mockingly, as he saw Dean looking around for him again. Then all of the sudden, Dean stopped moving, and looked down at his feet.
And when Harry least expected it, he saw Dean raise his wand at him. He didn't even hear the incantation, but only saw a ball of fire coming towards him in a speed. He felt a sharp burn on his arm, where he tried to protect his eyes in an instinct. He was on the ground once again and looked to check his arm, feeling a sharp stinging sensation on his wrist, and then he saw what got burned; it was the Bracelet and right underneath it, Harry noticed a small, red burn mark on his flesh. He didn't even have the time to wonder how Dean broke through the Confundus Charm, he already had another idea. Hit the Bracelet, he told himself.
"Incendio," he called, not even bothering to stand up. A long tongue of flam erupted from Harry's wand and hit Dean's in the wrist. He yelped in pain and Harry knew it worked, and while Dean was busy feeling his bleeding wrist, Harry had the chance to shot another Trip Jinx at him. Dean slipped backwards again and gasped for air as his body hit the floor. He stayed lying motionless for a few seconds, his arm staining the front of his robes with blood.
Harry just watched him lying sprawled like that, his mind blocking the cheers his fellow Slytherins erupted with as he only heard Lupin announced that he was the winner. All he could think of was how weak Dean looked at the moment, when he wasn't aiming a wand at someone who was defenseless. Harry knew he had looked the same way when Dean stunned him in Hogsmeade, and frankly, he didn't care about how he looked. He was glad, and not at all sorry, that he finally made Dean see how it had been for him.
A/N: That was long. And thinking it was combined at first with chapter 11... Well, anyway, I hope you liked it. First, I don't want to elaborate about it in the next chapter, so I'll say it here: The Shielding Bracelet tore because it was sensitive to fire. Harry was actually about to tell Ron to tell Fred and George to fix the bracelets because they were defective. Like Lupin said, they can't protect from everything. I cut that out because it didn't fit. I also wanted to note that the idea of the shielding bracelet came before I read HBP, so the idea wasn't taken from there.
Now, about the note Ginny found, I didn't want to tell yet what is written inside because I'm saving it for later, but I'm sure you all have a pretty good guess what she read there, it's not so hard to figure out. Chapter 13 will discuss about it more.
Chapter 13 is nearly finished now, and I'll probably send it to my Beta by the end of the week. You can check my profile page once in a while to see updates on this story.
And a final note: I'll be leaving for a month or so on the 29th, so chapter 14 will be written when I have the time and posted only after Beta process. I'm sorry if it will take a while to get posted.
Reviews are appreciated and more than welcome ;)
Well, until next time... bye bye :)