AN: Ok, here's the deal: Remember how last chapter I said that I had 13 chappys written and only nine posted? Well, none of those chapters included the duel that was hinted at in that chapter. And, since nearly everybody said they couldn't wait to see the duel, I had to write a whole new chappy for all you deserving readers out there. So here it is, and I really do hope you enjoy the next chapter of
The Founders Four
Chapter Ten: Old Habits
For over one thousand years, Helga Hufflepuff had been renowned as one of, if not the greatest Healer ever to have lived. This reputation, though having inspired countless generations of Hufflepuffs to follow in their Founder's footsteps, had nonetheless bestowed on Helga Hufflepuff a stereotype of a plump, bustling, motherly kind of witch, loyal to a fault, who's talents included healing, herbalism, and little else.
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
When treating patients, Helga Hufflepuff had been efficient, swift, and skillful, while still maintaining a gentle bedside manner. But outside her hospital, Helga Hufflepuff had been much more.
She had been a mother of four, and foster mother to hundreds, a skilled Chaser on the Quidditch pitch, a fierce defender of friends and family, a devoted learner, a patient teacher. She had been born a speaker of Mermish, and had sheltered many outcast merfolk in the lake of Hogwarts. A Master Spellsmith, she had perfected thousands of commonly used and obscure incantations. She had been one of the most powerful Empaths seen in several millenia, able to both sense and control the emotions of an entire army, bolstering courage and removing fear. She had invented Healer's Runes, lines applied to the flesh of the wand hand with a potion made from thestral blood and unicorn horn that increased the healing power of certain spells to an immense degree, even allowing certain injuries to be healed wandlessly.
Helga Hufflepuff had also been one of the premier duelists of her day.
And Helga Hufflepuff really needed to stop thinking of herself in her full name and get back to the duel in front of her.
The other reincarnated Founders of Hogwarts had not moved a muscle since the official start of the duel. Only particularly powerful emotions were physically visible to Helga, and to judge from the steadily increasing orangish tint to her vision, Godric was getting quite impatient. It had been tradition ever since their first friendly duel at the age of twelve to let Helga start, and nobody was about to change that now.
There was also a tradition as to which spell Helga would first cast, and whom she would aim toward, and what they would block with. But after that, the retaliation spell was entirely up to chance.
Gathering magic from the air around her and directly from her own Core, Helga felt the magic course down her Healer's Runes and into her wand.
"Ieuakalo!" she said.
Ieuakalo was a basic bone growth charm, pale yellow in color, that was used to heal bones that had been broken in ways that made it impractical to use an instant-healing spell. It did not require a lot of power, as it merely sped a natural process. The charm was, however, mildly dangerous, as too much power could cause the rapid growth to spread to other bones, causing bone spurs and fusing joints.
Helga's spell carried enough power to rip the human body apart, leaving nothing but a grisly 'tree' of bone.
Following tradition, Helga directed her innocuous stream of yellow light across the dueling stage toward Godric, who deftly summoned the skeleton of one of the birds who's entrails he had been perusing to block the spell. The tiny skeleton grew enormously, and shattered as it hit the floor. Godric, smirking joyously, banished the sharp bone fragments out toward Rowena.
The duel began in earnest. Rowena had a shimmering iridescent shield up in seconds, and with the bone fragments bouncing off it, she shot off a blasting hex toward Godric just in time to roll out of the way of Helga's next Ieuakalo. Godric had already engaged Salazar in a small back-and-forth exchange with Rowena's blasting hex, using shields that merely bounced the spell back toward the caster. They had been bouncing the same hex back and forth for about thirty seconds, grinning like kids in a candy store, until Helga got annoyed with them and, ducking a powerful banishing charm from Rowena, sent a Bat Bogey Hex hurtling across the stage toward her husband.
Without even looking, Salazar flung out a hand and unravelled the magic of Helga's hex. The silvery jet of magic seemed to explode, and, coalescing into an orange stream, changed course in mid air, and slammed into Rowena.
Rowena's hair turned green. Before Salazar could even realize that an incantation had been said, Rowena had him on the floor under a powerful tickling charm, screaming with laughter, hardly able to breathe. Helga jumped to the defense of her husband with a remembrance charm, forcing Rowena to remember an embarrassing episode involving Gilderoy Lockhart. Godric instantly retaliated with a fear curse.
Helga was barely able to duck fast enough, but she felt a whisper of Dementor-like chill sweep over her, and a thrill of irrational terror.
The duel kicked up a notch. Instead of simple blasting, tickling and prank spells easily repelled by simple shields, Stunners began to fly, emotion spells brought forth panic and terror, and more debilitating memories were conjured up. Spells flew with such speed that Godric had Rowena screaming over the death of her first mother—and Helga seeing nothing but the silver of Rowena's grief—before he even realized he had hit his wife. Blinded by anger at himself for torturing his wife thus, Godric's next spell was cast without careful thought or aim, and sent a conjured dagger hurtling straight toward Salazar's throat.
Before Helga could shout a warning, Salazar had taken care of the dagger. With a lazy flick of his wand, he said "Kataotrepho." The dagger disintegrated.
The duel froze.
Kataotrepho was Dark.
Salazar realized a second too late what he had done. Godric was so angry, Helga could only see red. A flicker of pale green fear raced across her vision from Salazar.
"Corrupted," growled Godric.
Salazar turned on his heel, and left the room, closing the staircase door with a sound so loud that Helga felt it in her knees. Godric just stood there, still glaring murderously at the spot where Salazar had been moments before, breathing heavily.
"That was stupid, Godric!" screamed Helga into the stunned silence. "You know he always reacts to projectiles with Kataotrepho! You were baiting him!" She too raced from the room to the long spiraling staircase that led down to the Chamber of Secrets.
"Salazar!" she called, but it was too late. Another bone shaking slam echoed up the long stone cylinder, and Salazar was away, probably already locked in his private training room, throwing Dark Arts at dueling dummies that looked a lot like Godric.
Helga bowed her head, and wept.
That was my first EVER fight scene. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT I DID WRONG!!! I'll try to fix it as soon as I can!
Thanks so much. New chappy up this weekend
Jaded