Hi guys! Sorry I haven't been all that active lately – exams. Need I say more?

Anyway, here's the next chapter of the diary – it's got at least another two to go, mind.

I hope you enjoy this, anyway – it's a little more action-orientated than the previous chapters (the diary has a lot of that) – I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Enjoy!

Chapter IV

May 5, 1984. 9:25 a.m.

The room was perfectly still. All that could be heard over the deafening silence was the panting of the previous combatants. Waffles turned his back on his rival to face Alicia.

"Are you hurt?"

"Nothing I can't live with." Her annoyance of his interruption of her match, twinned with the fact that he had done so in a way that made it look like he was some kind of knight in shining armour, faded almost straight away, to be replaced by relief that he was out of the hospital wing. And as much as she wanted to hide that, she couldn't help but smile at him then. What with the way he looked, it was hard not to. He was wearing his usual extravagant, home-made dress robes, spotlessly bright green despite the mess. His usually wild, post-shoulder length hair had grown even more uncontrollable during his stay in the hospital wing, and now looked the epitome of bed-hair, despite his having tried desperately to tidy it up before his return.

However, this all paled in comparison to the fact that he was on fire.

Not in any major way, of course. Indeed, one could easily have argued that he was not, in fact, aflame whatsoever, and that he was merely outlined in fire, but the flame was certainly present. And also, in Alicia's opinion, rather comical.

Waffles returned her smile with ample enthusiasm, before sharing it out among the room's other occupants.

"Now, now, you know that if I don't get some sort of response I'm going to assume that the rest of you aren't happy to see me, right?"

The previous silence turned, fled, then hid in a hole and covered its face in the hope of avoiding detection by the utter maelstrom of incomprehensible noise which ensued as the entire club, including Professor Flitwick and Slinkhard's fans, burst into cheers and applause.

Waffles gave a twirling bow, grinning broadly as he did so. This spurred the crowd on to even greater commotion. As the wave of cheering reached its crescendo, he leaned towards Alicia.

"So... Did you miss me?" He asked, winking.

"Not one bit, idiot." Her voice was cold, but her twinkling eyes betrayed her.

"Meh. I guess I wasn't back quite soon enough, though. Was he really that unbearable?"

"Yes." This time, her eyes were serious, and Waffles wasn't going to argue with her when she was serious. He opened his mouth to agree, but was interrupted.

"Ahem." As soon as it had left, the silence returned with a vengeance. "It seems we are forgetting something here. You," Slinkhard pointed aggressively at Waffles, "interrupted my match. Does that mean that you are ready to take me on?"

"Any time, Slinkhard. Any time. We could do it now, if you'd like."

"Now now, boys. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Next week, maybe-"

"Are you sure you're ready, Squib? I seem to recall telling you you had a hundred years of practise before you could come close to beating me."

"Well, you know time isn't exactly linear – in fact, our own minds can warp it in various ways so as to make certain things seem to drag on while others go by awfully quickly – perhaps this was one of those, but you just didn't notice... Or maybe you were just wrong." The temperature of the room dropped slightly, though the people there hardly noticed, since the flames from the previous match had raised it greatly.

Can I really do this? What is this energy? Is it really something I can use? What...?

"Wand ready then. Squib. Come on, I have places to go, you know."

Waffles snarled with anger. He hated that nickname, despite it not being far from the mark. He reached for his wand, only to find it missing. In a flash, he remembered.

"I don't have it." Slinkhard laughed scornfully.

"You expected to beat me without it? Or did you forget it on purpose so you wouldn't have to fight?"

"Neither, I'm afraid – it broke."

"It broke... So you no longer even possess a wand? Then tell me, what exactly are you doing in a duelling club? You know you can't win with hand-to-hand combat alone – we worked that out last time, remember?" The room began to resonate with murmurs of agreement from Slinkhard's fans.

Waffles scowled momentarily, then his usual grin returned.

"We did... But that was then. I'm a little... Different now." The temperature of the room dropped further, and the flames which outlined him flared.

The two glared at each other in silence, then began to circle each other. With every passing second, the room grew colder, and tenser, until -

"Enough!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed, his breath condensing in front of him as he did so. "You," he gestured at Slinkhard, "have just finished a match, and you," he gestured at Waffles, "have no wand. Not to mention the fact that you've only just returned from the Hospital Wing! Neither of you are in any state to be duelling. I daresay we've seen enough excitement today as it is. If you are that set on duelling, then please save it for next week!"

The two would-be combatants opened their mouths to contest their teacher's decision, but were both stopped.

"No means no, boys. Now, out! It's break time. We'll resume with practices this afternoon."

Professor Flitwick ended with a note of finality which quelled the spirits of everyone in the room. In an instant, the flames around Waffles were extinguished, leaving the onlooker wondering whether they had ever really been there in the first place. Gradually, the room began to warm up again, and the chattering commenced once more. With one last glare at Waffles, Slinkhard turned and strode out of the room, followed by his fanclub. Waffles walked over to Alicia.

"Are you sure you're okay? I could've sworn I saw you bleeding earlier..."

"I'm fine, really. Come on. Let's get out of here before we get swarmed." Waffles nodded.

Professor Flitwick watched them leave silently, stroking his chin as he pondered on the occurrences of the day. That wasn't a spell, for certain. Indeed, it was hardly noticeable, yet the room grew so cold... He shrugged. Well. I'm sure next week everything will be answered. Still... He sighed to himself, then followed the last of the club members out. It was time for a well-deserved glass of something delicious.

May 5, 1984. 1:45 p.m.

"You know, the house elves are going to start getting annoyed if you keep doing their job for them."

"Yeah, but I don't really care. It's only two people, after all. They still get to cook for the rest of the school, so it's no problem, right?" Waffles grinned, brushing the crumbs from his home-made chocolate rum torte from his mouth. Around them, various pieces of crockery lay strewn about the floor of the otherwise deserted Ravenclaw common room.

"Plus, they still get to do extra washing up, so it balances out rather well, by my reckoning." He laughed, and Alicia joined him.

"When did you have time to prepare all of this, anyway? The Gryffindor common room is miles away from the kitchens... Unless you lied about going to visit Michaelangelo?"

"Since when have I lied to you? No, I prepared the marinade before I came to duelling club. It only takes a few minutes to actually cook – the time-consuming part is waiting for the marinade to do its job, and you provided me with some decent entertainment while I waited, I must say. Both of you, of course." He added hastily as Celestina ruffled her feathers, irritated at being ignored. "I'll have to go and get another wand as soon as I can, though – I can see what you mean about Slinkhard getting out of hand." Alicia nodded, frowning, then changed the subject.

"Hey, did you hear about those Death Eaters you got into a fight with?" She asked.

"I thought they were all taken in?"

"All but one. All we got were rumours, but apparently one of them managed to escape somehow – must have gone through a couple of the teachers by the sound of it – which would explain why we've had a few lesson cancellations recently. From what I hear, he's been causing all kinds of trouble since then, which makes me think that he's having to prove his worth again, after his failure here. Makes you wonder what they were doing here, doesn't it?"

"Hmm." Waffles could only nod as he remembered the face of the one that got away. It had to be him. His eyes... I remember. He had such lonely, angry eyes... "Well anyway, that's in the past now. He isn't exactly going to be coming back here, after all, is he?" He gave a bright smile, his eyes twinkling. "How about we head off to Diagon Alley, then, seeing as it's the weekend? - I got special permission from Professor Flitwick, and I'm sure they won't mind if you tag along. After all, I'm sure I'd feel quite helpless all by myself, wandless and afraid," He laughed, and she joined him.

"And maybe," he added, a sly grin forming on his already merry face, "I might even buy myself a broomstick."

Alicia stared at him, momentarily dumbstruck.

"I thought you weren't interested in Quiddich?" She asked, bemusedly.

"I wasn't. But my mother's always telling me to try new things, and I must say I agree. And anyway," he paused to shoot her another grin, "that Browning fellow still hasn't turned up to any of our duelling club sessions, so I suppose I shall simply have to beat him at his own game." At this, Alicia frowned slightly.

"Why are you so fixated on beating Gladius? I thought Slinkhard was your "Eternal Rival"?"

"Well, he is, but, well... I can't only compete with people I loathe. Sometimes, you have to find yourself a good-natured rival as well, from whom you can learn a thing or two."

And then there are the things about him which only I know. I swear, upon my battered pride, that I will see him atone...

May 7, 1984. 12:55 a.m.

It felt good.

Waffles stood in his combat robes, gazing up at the moon. His new watch swayed slightly in the cool evening breeze, invisible to the rest of the world thanks to his perfect cloaking charm. Ash and Dragon heartstring... Not much different to my old one in theory, but in practice... This one resonates with power. I can feel it. He smiled to himself as he remembered his day. The trip to Diagon Alley, the frantic dashing from shop to shop as Alicia dragged him around like a doll. Not that he minded, of course.

And then there was the broomstick.

It was quite good, all things considered. Quiddich was undoubtedly the single most popular wizard sport, and decent broomsticks were renowned for costing a proverbial arm and a leg. However, he had got quite a bargain on the sleek, modern Comet, purely because it had been removed from its packaging by a troublesome customer, who had promptly returned it, stating that "black was far too dreary a colour for a broomstick." Waffles, however, preferred it. It reminded him of the night sky. Speaking of which... He gently eased his mind away from the recollection of the weekend, to face the task at hand. Sighing gently, he sheathed his wand. It was nearing time to return to his dormitory, but the training session had gone well. He had decided to end on technique practice, but he couldn't resist. Two weeks was far too long, after all. He felt sure his sparring partner had missed him greatly. Poor thing will probably begin to pine before long, he thought to himself, chuckling at his pun.

Slowly and cautiously, Waffles began to make his way towards the Whomping Willow.

Gradually, the silhouette began to take a form, the thick branches winding and swaying about the massive trunk. Above Waffles one of the great boughs creaked as it twisted through the air, itching for something to pummel. He watched his step carefully as he crept towards the great tree, mindful of the multitude of gouge marks in the ground, a testament to the Willow's violent nature. A sudden sound caused Waffles to freeze in his tracks.

He had stepped on a twig.

Slowly and silently he raised his head to gaze fearfully up at the towering construct. He held his breath, tense for the impact. Which didn't come. At least, not immediately. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he detected a slight rustling behind him. He hesitated for a brief moment, then dived to the side as a mass of vines whirled past, burying themselves in the ground where he had been only moments before. He blinked in surprise as he sprang to his feet. It's gotten... Better. It never used to be able to ensnare. He grinned. Then again, I'm a little better too. Let's see who has improved... The most!

Silently, he dodged two spiked branches before diving skywards, somersaulting backwards several feet above the air to land well beyond the reach of the Willow, which bristled in frustration. He gave a short, sharp laugh.

"Now, don't be like that. I just need to catch my breath, that's all."

The tree rustled its leaves in response.

"Right. That's that, then. Let's see if we can't make this a little more interesting, shall we?" He shut his eyes, casting his mind back to his hospital bed.

Back then, I could... See... The magic. If I can remember how it felt then, then maybe... Just maybe, I'll be able to see this as well... Concentrate, Waffles, concentrate... There! He snapped his eyes open, then gasped.

The sight which greeted him was utterly breathtaking.

In the hospital bed, he had been able to see the magical energy from the spells which the teachers had been casting. Now, though, he was looking at an entity comprised of nothing but magic, and the picture was quite astounding. Every branch, every leaf, shimmered with a silvery light. He could see every tiny detail, from the cracks and hairs in the bark to the stomata in the leaves. What's more, he could hear. Not only the impatient rustling of the leaves, but also the owls hooting deep within the forest, the dormice scurrying through the field, the slight disturbances on the surface of the lake. He felt... Perfect. He was taken aback at the thought, but there was no other word for it. Every fibre of his being tingled, itching to move, to dance... A new, raw energy flowed furiously through him, and soon, he could resist it no longer. With a cry of elation, he launched himself forwards, easily twisting his body in mid-air to avoid the Willow's slashing branches. With perfect precision he landed, spinning around then back-flipping to avoid another barrage of blows from the infuriated Willow. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another thick branch swinging towards him, almost in slow motion. He contemplated dodging, then a smile began to play on his lips as he thought of something else. Drawing himself up, he waited for the huge branch to draw closer, searing through the air. Only when it had almost reached him did he act. Calmly, he concentrated all of his energy into the palm of his hand, and braced himself for the contact.

His feet slid a few feet backwards from the force of the impact, but he felt nothing. It was as though he had caught only air, despite the fact that the blow would have killed him had it landed.

The tree ceased its movements for a moment, apparently at a loss as to how to react. Then, it reacted in the only way it knew how. It attacked. In moments, a formidable array of limbs and vines were hurtling through the air towards Waffles. This time, however, he was different. He released the branch in his hand and closed his eyes in order to concentrate, searching within him for the core of his energy, for the key to his new power. It wasn't long before he found it. He hesitated for a moment, then released it.

The result was cataclysmic.

In a second, he became a flurry of motion. Instantaneously he perceived everything around him. Waffles crouched, then sprang upwards, spinning and whirling his arms with incredible accuracy. Around him the air began to fill with splintered branches and swirling leaves as Waffles leapt into the air and brought his legs into play. A branch as think as he was snapped in two from a violent roundhouse kick, then a bunch of vines were snapped in half by a fierce, flurried slash from his hands. But for every limb Waffles smashed, split or splintered, there was another to take its place. The seemingly invincible Willow drove on relentless. However, Waffles was not to be denied. As the tree began its final barrage, its largest and highest branches Springing into action, Waffles landed in the small clearing among the detritus and planted one hand on the ground, coiling his body up like a spring. He waited, persistently increasing the tension in his body until the last possible moment. For a split second, the world seemed to stand still. A few droplets of sweat from Waffles' brow froze, suspended in mid air as the compacted ground beneath his hand began to sink under the astronomic pressure. Finally, Waffles pushed off the ground, his arms extended and his body rotating at such a pace as to draw in the air around him. Before long, the twigs and splinters on the ground levitated and joined them, a tornado of swirling debris. As the first branches struck the vortex it began to rotate faster, causing them to glance off harmlessly. Even the monstrous branches from the top of the tree sank only a few inches into its gyrating depths before being shrugged off with ease, to crash harmlessly into the ground.

With a sigh, Waffles allowed his feet to return to the ground, his defensive wall of debris following his lead. He looked around to assure himself that nothing was moving anymore. As he did so, a thought struck him.

He had defeated the Whomping Willow. No-one had ever made it past the Willow, let alone fought with it and lived. But now not only had he fought with it for the umpteenth time and survived, but he had won.

However... The staff might not be all that pleased with me, He pondered as he eyed the mess around him. With a sigh, he walked over to the trunk of the tree and placed his hand on it softly. What he felt surprised him. Although he could see the light which the tree was giving off from its magical energy, he never would have expected it to be so warm. Or soft. It's apparently rough bark was covered in a thin layer of some kind of fur, leaving it with a finish almost as smooth as velvet. With a smile, he patted its great trunk affectionately. It had left him battered and bruised many a time, and now that had been paid back in full. He had the most bizarre feeling that the Willow felt it, too: That they were even. Leaning forward, he gently whispered his thanks to the tree for allowing him to train with it, and for being, in its own way, his companion. And with that, he left for bed. At no point did he feel the need to check that the tree was not assailing his unprotected back. Its reaction to his touch had said it all: It had come to respect him.

You better be ready for me, Slinkhard. He thought to himself as he strode back towards the castle.Because... Here I come.

May 7, 1984. 6:00 p.m.

"No, no! What on Earth are you talking about? The motion of the wand should always, always, mirror the nature of the spell behind it. My word, Charlie. One day you're going to seriously hurt yourself." Waffles sounded very much like a schoolteacher as he lectured his friend, who mock-scowled.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. So..." He leaned over the table so as to whisper, causing the rest of the group to lean in as well.

"I hear you're going to be taking on Slinkhard this Saturday. All right if I invite a few people?"

"Invite... Who, exactly? And will they be wanting cookies? I'm probably going to be making some later this week, anyway, but just in case it's always nice to know numbers..."

"No, they won't want cookies. Well they might, but... Dammit! That's not important!" Waffles looked at him as though he was mad, the words "not important?" forming on his lips.

"Anyway, it's just a few friends from charms club. Oh, and my sister and her friends."

"Actually, my cousin was thinking of joining – is it okay if he tags along?"

"Oh yeah! I've had a few people ask..."

Waffles sighed. I suppose I should have seen this coming. Ah, well. I'm sure it'll all turn out good in the end. I ama performer, after all.

By the end of dinner, Waffles felt certain that he was going to need a bigger room for his upcoming match. He had only issued his challenge that morning.

"So... Feeling confident now?" Alicia asked after bidding her friends goodnight. Waffles was always the last to bed – apparently he did not require sleep.

"Confident enough, I think. His techniques are impressive, but my new wand's pretty good. Also..." He stopped himself suddenly.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." He laughed. "Actually, no. That doesn't make sense. The human mind is incapable of the concept of nothing, therefore it really isn't a word which should be used in that context. How about 'wait and see'?" He added, gazing up at the ceiling.

Alicia narrowed her eyes at him, wondering if she could talk him into telling her, then decided against it. She probably could, but it was late and she was tired. She'd find out whatever it was on Saturday, anyway.

"Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow. By the way..." Waffles' eyes returned to her as she paused, " do you ever go to bed?"

"Sometimes," he smiled. "Well, off you go to bed, then. Big day tomorrow!"

"What's happening tomorrow?" She cocked her head to one side.

"Double Defence against the Dark Arts with the Gryffindors." He grinned. "I hear we're going to be studying curse defences tomorrow." He paused for a moment, posing with his hand on his chin so as to appear deep in thought.

"Hmm, do you fancy skipping it, or shall we go in anyway and see if we can earn some bonus house points?" Alicia laughed.

"We don't really need the points, but why not? Oh! I am so going to partner Gladius – he needs to be knocked down a peg or two for that comment in potions earlier." She laughed again, and Waffles felt his heart sink slightly.

"I look forward to seeing it," he said, perfectly faking a broad smile.

Waffles waited until the sound of footstep up the stairs to the girls' dormitory had faded before glancing around the room to ensure no-one else was still up. Well, here we go again. He thought to himself as he rose to his feet and started to bounce gently on his toes. His hands were still bandaged from the previous night, and he was covered in bruises, about which his classmates had no clue. However, as always it was far too tempting. Silent as a mouse, he crept over to the secret door, pulled it open, and stepped outside.

Only to find that he was not alone.

A gargantuan, heavily bearded man stood in the corridor, leaning against the opposite wall. He wore a huge, tattered brown trench coat and massive dragon-hide boots.

"H-Hagrid? What are you doing here? Don't mind me, I'm just on my way to the , ah..." He trailed off nervously. Hagrid looked at him sternly at first, then his gaze softened.

"You know, I was like you when I was at Hogwarts. Always sneakin' out to wrestle trolls in the forest, an' dangerous stuff like tha'. Never really grew out of it, ter be honest." He sighed. "But with you... I reckon you need ter think about things a little more, you know. Yer a prefect, after all."

Waffles looked at him in confusion.

"Hold on... What are you talking about?"

"Look, Waffles, I like you. I think yer a decent bloke an' all tha', but, well..." He cast his eyes downwards, causing Waffles' jaw to drop in surprise.

"Could you lay off'f the Whompin' Willow fer a bit, please?" Hagrid said this rather hastily, then continued, "I wouldn' ask, but y'know, I had a hard time explainin' to Dumbledore when I found it this mornin'."

Waffles stared at him in amazement.

"Hold on... How did you know that that was me? I thought my cloaking charm was perfect." He asked, all pretence abandoned.

"You don' need ter be able to see you ter know somethin's up when the Willow starts thrashing abou' halfway through the night. Not from my house, anyway. An' you don' need ter be a genius ter know tha' you're the only one who could cause tha' much damage withou' usin' magic. O' course, if you'd have used magic the teachers'd've known abou' it."

"Look, waffles. I'm not tellin' yer to stop goin' out fer a bit o' practice, especially with yer match agains' that little cockroach Slinkhard comin' up, jus' lay off'f the Willow fer a bit. Okay?"

Waffles was flabbergasted, and could scarcely muster an apology.

"Yeah, sure. Sorry about that, Hagrid old chap."

"Don' worry abou' it." Hagrid replied, his huge face spreading into a broad grin. "Say, those trolls are getting' ter be a bit of a nuisance, though. Reckon you could go an' sort them out for me?"

Waffles couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course not! Just point me in the right direction."

Hagrid began to go into the details of the layout of the forest as they walked, and Waffles quickly remembered to put a cloaking charm about himself lest they be confronted by any of the more responsible members of staff.

It seemed as though Hagrid, far from being angry at Waffles for damaging the Whomping Willow, was happy to have found someone he could trust to share the secrets of the forest with, without having to worry about them getting hurt. A situation which suited Waffles just fine. After all, he had never fought trolls before.

Panting, Waffles put his wand away. Focus... He cast his mind back to the Duelling Club hall three days before. I felt it then; I know I did... He glanced about him. Two trolls lay, defeated, several feet away from him. However, they were not the reason for his breathlessness. He had defeated them without too much trouble, not even needing to use his wand. However, when another five had shown up he had started having difficulties. The trolls were huge, each one at least twelve feet tall and almost half as wide. Their skin, if it could be called that, ranged from stone-grey to a disgusting brown-green, which put Waffles in mind of something unspeakable. They all wore some form of clothing, though precisely where they had found it Waffles couldn't have said. Wherever it is, Icertainly wouldn't set foot in the store. He thought to himself with a smile. One of the trolls raised a ham-like hand to its face, in what Waffles could only assume was an attempt to scratch its wide, squashed nose.They're certainly stupid, ugly and violent, but I still think they're misunderstood, Waffles thought to himself as he recalled a debate he'd had in a Care of Magical Creatures lesson earlier in the year. Well, at least a little bit. He looked around again.

Hagrid said there were eight... Where's the last one? He leapt to one side, rolling to break his fall, as one of the newcomers aimed a massive blow at his head with a gigantic club. He got to his feet shakily, starting to doubt his decision to refrain from using his new-found powers in an attempt to develop another new technique.

"My, my... It was tiring enough just getting here... Ah, well. I suppose it can't be helped."

As he had a habit of doing when he was concentrating, Waffles shut his eyes and put his hands together, as though he were praying. Around him, the trolls began to close in.

I can feel it... I know I can. But... This is different. This is... This is it!

"Yes, Poppy?" Professor Dumbledore answered the knock by addressing the knocker. The door opened.

"Professor. It's about the Waffling boy." Madam Pomfrey had grown accustomed to the Headmaster's apparent ability to see through walls, and was thus unsurprised that he had been able to identify her through the door.

"The tracer is still in place?" Professor Dumbledore asked, quietly. Madam Pomfrey's bottom lip quivered slightly.
"Yes, sir. Well, we can't see any reason why it should not be. It's just..."

"Yes?" His voice grew quieter, and Madam Pomfrey began to stutter.

"I-it's showing the infection as being, well... Everywhere."

"I thought it was contained within the wand's core?"

"it was, sir. That's what we can't understand. But we've checked the other monitors, and the fragments don't seem to be there any more. It's just... Disappeared."

"Disappeared? What do you mean?" The Headmaster's voice grew graver.

"Well sir... We have reason to believe that the core has been... Absorbed." She cast her eyes down to avoid his. Even though she knew he would not be angry, she still did not want to hear the inevitable.

"And the core itself?"

"We can't be sure. However, since the infection has been spread throughout the body, we concluded that it must have settled in the source of the bloodstream."

Dumbledore sighed. He was beginning to doubt his decision to "wait and see". However,

"Has he shown any signs of-"

"Oh no, sir! He seems perfectly fine..." She trailed off as she realised she had interrupted the Headmaster. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Fear not, my dear." he smiled. "I'm sure everything will be fine. If he is showing no signs of stress, I think we can assume that there's nothing to worry about too much. For now, at least. Is there anything else?"

Madam Pomfrey shook her head.

"Very well, then. I think I'd best not keep you any longer, then. Thank you for coming to see me."

She bowed, and took her leave, her relief visible on her knew he would be able to set her mind at ease.

As Madam Pomfrey left, Dumbledore sat back into his chair and sighed inaudibly. Well, well. This is the first time I've seen something like this... I hope it works out. After all, from here the consequences could be anything... Anything at all.

There! Waffles snapped his head up as he felt the familiar surge of energy. Leaping backwards, he fired off a quick shield charm to deflect a large rock thrown by one of his hulking opponents. He blinked in surprise. It had come so naturally. He had not expected it to be so easy as that. Grinning, he began an incantation. Even the trolls seemed a little surprised. Even they, he decided, had probably learned to associate magic with wands. To see someone using it with their wand in its sheath must have come as quite a shock.

Finishing his incantation, Waffles concentrated once more on drawing the shards of his old wand together within him, feeding them with energy as he did so. The trolls began to close in again just he completed the process. His hands began to crackle with energy, as lightning began to pass between the tips of his fingers. In the palms of his hands, white orbs of light began to manifest, fed by the lightning. Staring straight as his opponents, Waffles clamped his hands shut.

The compressed energy screamed to be let out, causing Waffles to grit his teeth in concentration. He waited, panting, as the pressure reached its peak, then hurled himself at the closest troll, just as it raised its club over its head to strike. He kept his hands balled into fists until the last possible moment, then twisted to the left, slamming his left palm into the side of the troll's ribcage. It bellowed in pain as the energy surged from Waffles' palm to its torso, and was violently flung sideways, to crash into one of its comrades and land in a heap, both of them unconscious from the shock.

Two down... But I only have one shot left. Unless... He sighed, focusing his energy once again. The remaining trolls grouped together at a safe distance and prepared to charge. Slowly, Waffles brought his hands together, concentrating only on keeping the energy in his hand. He knew that if the technique was released too early, the consequences could be disastrous. Painstakingly slowly, he opened up his right hand and placed the two together. As he did so, the trolls charged.

A single bead of sweat began to roll down the side of his face as he concentrated furiously on containing the pressure. Then he felt it begin to spread.

He drew his hands apart then, lightning crackling from one to the other, until they were spread almost as wide as they could be, the lightning spread out in a wide curve in front of him. With a cry, he wrenched his palms outwards, severing the connection between them instantly. He reacted instantly, controlling and manipulating the energy from both hands at once in order to arc the lightning towards the charging trolls. The result was almost instantaneous.

There was a bright flash, as the bolts branched into thousands of smaller ones and met their targets. The massive trolls howled as they were lifted bodily into the air and flung backwards through the trees, their trunk-like limbs smashing branches like twigs. Soon, though, they were out of sight. Waffles very much doubted that they would return. Even trolls knew when they were beaten.

Still... I could've sworn Hagrid said eight... So where...? He shrugged, and had made the decision to start heading back, when the ground beside him exploded.

He flung himself to one side, grazing himself badly on the rough surface as he landed, the flipped himself back to his feet and summoned a swift gust of wind to clear away the dust from the explosion. It became evident straight away what had caused it.

A boulder, at least as large across as any of the trolls he had just fought were tall, lay buried in the ground only inches away from where he had been stood only moments ago. Quick as a flash, Waffles' sharp eyes began to drat around the clearing, searching for the source of the boulder.

It wasn't hard to spot. Conveniently, it also solved the mystery of the missing eighth troll. This one, however, was very dissimilar to the others.

Its hide (it definitely couldn't be called skin, in this one's case) was dark brown, and concealed muscled which Waffles felt sure were going to burst out at any moment. Its twenty foot frame was covered with the furs of animals Waffles felt sure he would have run away from had he ever encountered them, and its club was spiked with the teeth of said animals, each of which was as long as Waffles' forearm. The creature glared at him with huge, bloodshot eyes for a moment, then threw back its massive, monstrous head and let out a blood-curdling roar.

Waffles winced at the sound, then allowed his mind to race as he tried to calculate how to defeat this new opponent. Most of his energy was spent already – the lightning technique was incredibly tiring. The ground shook as the troll began to stamp towards him, grunting angrily. Waffles sighed.

"There really isn't anything else, is there? Very well." He searched within himself for the power once more, and was astounded at how much more quickly it came once called than before. He leapt backwards into a tall tree, so as to stand eye-to-eye with the troll.

"Very well." he repeated. "Let us see... Which of us is stronger!"

It felt so easy. Even though the troll was not magical by nature, he could read its movements easily. Every time a muscle contracted, he saw it. Every time its weight shifted, or it pushed harder against the ground in preparation for a charge, he knew. It was all so easy. He laughed at the thought of himself worrying only a few moment before. This was nothing to be afraid of... In fact, this was just plain nothing. The troll howled in frustration as it brought its club down once more on Waffles, who surprised it by leaping into its attack. Grinning, he swung like a monkey up onto the shaft of the club, pushing off from it only moments before it slammed into the ground and causing it to bury itself so deep that even its mighty wielder could not free it. He soared upwards towards the troll, and grabbed ahold of the front of its clothes in order to aim a massive kick at its chin, which sent it careering upwards and left a piece of tattered fur in Waffles' hand. He landed on a wide tree branch, the launched himself forwards again, slamming into the troll while it was still in mid-air and raining down upon it with a series of rapid strikes.

The troll slammed into a tree, howling in pain, and swung a massive fist at Waffles, who simply hopped onto the fist and used it as a platform to launch another attack. The troll thrashed to its feet, forcing him to back off for a moment, and hurled a fallen tree at him, which he promptly dodged.

This is getting a little dangerous. Perhaps I'd better end it. Dodging another gargantuan fist, Waffles kicked off the ground so hard that it cracked, flying high above the troll's head as it busied itself trying to extract its fist from the ground. Waffles gave one last battle cry as he fell towards it, somersaulting repeatedly and allowing his foot to gather tremendous speed, before slamming his heel down on the troll's skull.

There was a resounding crack, and the troll's eyes crossed for a moment, then... Thud.

It was over.

Waffles landed gracefully a few metres away, then winced as his right leg gave way. Even when charged with power, it still couldn't quite handle that kind of impact just yet. Still, though, he was pleased with the night's progress. He had discovered a new ability; one which would definitely be of use to him in his upcoming battle against his rival. And he had discovered that even in his empowered state, he could still be harmed – a discovery which was far better made sooner than later.

He began to hum as he strode back towards Hagrid's house. He would have whistled, but he had never learned how.

Well, that's that. As always, please review - I might write faster if you do. And I'm not lying to get more reviews here, it really does help to get some feedback. I promise.

Well, whatever. The important thing is that I'm letting you guys choose what the next chapter will be! If you choose more of the same, to finish this part off, then that's what you'll get (and it might be a little quicker as it's already started) or a continuation of the main plot, in which case I'll get to work right away but it might take a little longer.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed this and I look forward to hearing what you thought!

Yours,

-Gem.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read and review – I sometimes find myself wanting to leave this for a while and do other stuff, but you guys make me carry on :) - So thanks!