Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or anything to do with the franchise
A/N: Here you're an update finally. Managed to get some muse together for this chapter. Hope you enjoy it.
Room Of Requirements
Daphne swirled and dodged Harry's incoming spell fire. They had been mock dueling for nearly 30 minutes and she was beginning to feel the effects. The other girls watched on, they too were going to be put through their paces by Harry, however she had been first, why she had no clue, in fact she had no idea why they were mock dueling in the first place. Harry had been tight lipped. All he had said was that he was preparing them for Voldemort and Dumbledore, but Daphne was certain that wasn't the real reason. She suddenly found herself having to use a shield charm to block one of Harry's spells, however that held for like five seconds, as Harry continued to bombard her with spell fire. Honestly she had no clue where he was getting his energy from. Soon she couldn't take it anymore, and dropped her guard, allowing Harry to hit her with a simple dis-arming charm. Daphne wand flew out of her hand, as the spell knocked her to the floor. She noticed Harry stopped firing and then helped her off the floor.
"Good Daphne, we continue again tomorrow. Now who is next. Hermione your turn."
Harry watched Daphne walk over towards Astoria and Gabby, he wished he could tell her why he was doing this, however he was forbidden, thanks to the Goblet contract. So he would just have to prepare her the best he could. he had used the excuse that he was afraid for their safety and that he wanted to prepare them for when the time came to face Voldemort or Dumbledore. After all as his wives they were sure to have a huge target on their back. Daphne had already been marked by Tom bum chum, and no doubt the plan was to have her transported to the graveyard, well that wouldn't be happening, not alone anyway. Harry turned to face Hermione, if there was one witch who could give him a run for his money at dueling it was Hermione.
Both Harry and Hermione took their positions, and bowed to one another. Soon as the formalities were over the real fun began. Harry found himself quickly on the back foot. as he avoided the incoming spells, those he couldn't avoid met his shield spell.
Daphne and the other girls looked on amazed. "Wow Granger is certainly giving Harry a run for his money, it's as if they know each others moves, and are countering each other perfectly." Daphne had to agree with her little sister, Hermione was putting on a display.
Hermione was matching Harry spell for spell, they had done a few mock duels when they were in fifth year and in there sixth and seventh year , away from the rest of the DA, obviously Ronald had trained with them, but he never lasted five seconds vs either of them. It was just another thing the red head was jealous of Harry for. Hermione suddenly ducked as a stunner missed her by inches, however she never saw the next spell, a freeze spell that hit below her feet, causing the floor to turn to ice. Hermione tried to keep her balance, however it was no use, she fell backwards, and then found herself dis-armed and a smiling Harry towering over her.
"Nice Duel Hermione, however you still fell for the same trick I used last time." Hermione allowed Harry to pull her up of the ground. Harry was right, he had used that same trick in the last time-line. However next time she would make sure she was ready.
By the end of the afternoon, all the girls were tired and just wanted to return back to the suite and try out the new bath that appeared in their suite. They all left the room and watched as the door vanished from sight. They all then made their way towards the fifth floor. Once inside the suite, all the girls fell onto the sofa, and started to moan about one thing after another.
Few Days later
Harry and his girls sat with the rest of Phoenix table. He had been informed by the headmistress that the second task would take place today. Daphne was already dressed in her champions robes, however she still had no clue what the second task was. Harry for the last two days had been putting her through duel after duel, finally he was certain she was ready to face the others. Harry looked to the stage where Crouch Snr was stood on the pedestal.
"Good Morning everyone, I am happy to announce that the second task will be taking place after your breakfast this morning. The champions are to report straight to the Quidditch field where they will be given further instruction. As for the rest, you are also to make your way over to the Quidditch field where seating has been arranged for the task. I wish all four of our champions the best of luck."
Quidditch Field Champions Tent
Daphne stood with the rest of the champions, waiting for the ministry official to enter. She had asked for Harry to be here with her, but he had told her it wouldn't be fair to the other champions, Daphne had tried to argue that he had been their for the first task, however she had been informed that there was no danger with this task which seemed to have put her mind at ease. After all it looked like the second task was going to be completely different to the last time line. Daphne watched as the tent flap opened.
"Good morning champions, and welcome to the second task. This task will put you against each other in a dueling competition. First place will be awarded 100 points, 2nd place 75 points, 3rd place 50 points and finally 4th will earn you 25 points. Now if you could please pick one ball from the bag, so that we can find out who you're facing."
Daphne suddenly understood now, why Harry had insisted she practice her dueling. He was preparing her for this. Daphne watched as each of the other champions removed a ball from the bag. She then placed her hand in the bag and pulled out a ball. She had the number 3, Cedric had the number 2, Victor had the number 1 and Fleur had the number 4.
"Very good, now for the match ups. The first round will be 1 vs 2 and the second match up will be 3 vs 4. So Mr Diggory and Mr krum, if you two would like to follow me." Crotch led the boys out of the tent. This of course only left Daphne and Fleur. At the moment in time Daphne was wishing she was anywhere but here. The two girls already saw themselves as rivals thanks to Harry and now they would be dueling each other. Daphne was wondering what spells the French beauty had in her arsenal. Seeing how she was from a different school and different country then Daphne was certain she would be facing spells she had never come across before. Daphne watched as Fleur just smiled.
"Well this will be easy." Daphne narrowed her eyes, she so wanted to wipe that smile of the French beauties face. The bitch was assuming she had already won the contest, well Daphne was going to make sure that it was she who would be going into the finals.
In The Stands`
Harry was sat with Hermione, Gabby and Astoria, he noticed Victor and Cedric were the first ones out. That meant it was Daphne vs Fleur next. Harry kept looking over to the tent expecting it to catch on fire or something. Daphne and Fleur in the same tent with no supervision was bad news. Harry knew Fleur still had a thing for him, even if she had made her peace with Gabby.
"Harry is something the matter? You seem more interested in the tent then the match." Harry noticed the concern on Hermione, he had good reason to be concerned, especially with those two in there.
"Just a little worried, Fleur and Daphne are in that tent, and you know how they feel about each other. It only takes one spark as to speak, to start an inferno. "
Harry attention was suddenly drawn to the stage. It looked like Professor Flitwick would be acting referee for this match. Harry watched as Cedric and Victor, bowed to one another and took up their stances. Soon as the charm professor arm went down the duel began.
In The Tent
Daphne paced back and forth, going over the various spells Harry had taught her, several were new to the ex Slytherin so the pronunciation and wand movement had to be spot on. A few of the spells had been crafted by Harry's parents, one was a stronger Protego, and the other were various combat and defensive spells.
"Hmm I don't see why you get to be with Harry, He is too good for the likes of you and your sister. As for the Granger girl, well she could do with a complete make-over, how Harry can have her hanging off his arm, is beyond me. he deserves a Higher class witch, like Moi"
Daphne was gripped her wand tightly, she was so tempting to hex the bitch right there and then, but knew she would be dis-qualified. Maybe that was why Fleur was trying to annoy her.
"You know what Fleur, I think your trying to annoy me, so I hex you, then you win by de-fault, it's clear you're afraid of me, as for Hermione, looks are not everything, after all we can't all be little miss perfect can we."
It was Fleur turn now to try keep calm. If they had been anywhere else than here, Fleur would have used a few nasty spells she knew especially for girls. One prevented a girl from wearing make-up for a whole week, and the other caused them to dress like a hobo for the entire week, no matter what they wore. Just has Fleur was thinking of a few other spells the tent flap opened.
"Miss Delacour, and Lady Peverell, will you follow me please." Daphne and Fleur were still glaring at one another. Eventually both began to follow Crouch Snr out of the tent. Daphne noticed the huge stage in front of them and everybody looking watching. She looked to the crowd and noticed that Harry was smiling at her, this reassured her a little. Daphne walked to one side of the stage, while Fleur walked to the other. Both Witches stood ready.
Professor Flitwick stood in the middle. "This is a duel between Lady Peverell and Miss Delacour. The first witch to be dis-armed or knocked out will win the match. Any competitor considered using a dark spell or a spell that would endanger their opponents life, will be dis-qualified. Now please bow to each other, and wait for my signal to begin." The little Charm professor watched as each girl bowed, even he could feel the tension between the two ladies. He raised his arm and then dropped it.
Daphne immediately went on the offensive, causing Fleur to swirl and twirl around the stage. the bitch was making dodging her spells look easy. She was dancing around each spell as if she was performing a ballet, by returning her own spell fire. Daphne suddenly found herself on the defensive, not only was the bitch firing no stop, but she was doing it silently which made predicting what spell she was casting that much more difficult. The problem was Daphne also knew how to cast silently, but to avoid blowing their cover, she had to say her spells out loud, as they didn't learn silent casting until sixth year.
Up In The Stands
Harry sat watching nervously, Fleur was really giving Daphne a good beat down, so far Fleur had dodged every single spell and Daphne had been forced to use several shields charms already. Harry knew Daphne was trying to find an opening, however Fleur was not letting up. Just then a stunner whizzed past Daphne, had that hit then this match would have been over.
Back on stage
Daphne was getting tired really quickly, just then she remembered the spell Harry had used on Hermione. She quickly ducked before sending the freezing spell right beneath Fleur feet. She watched as Fleur started sliding all over the place. This bought a smile to Daphne. "Lets see how you dance on ice bitch!" Daphne suddenly saw her opening and took it. She used a spell that suddenly wrapped Fleur up in ribbon and then she used the dis-arming charm to remove the French witches wand. The match was over, she had won.
Up In The stands
Harry was smiling from ear to ear. Daphne had done it. Using the same spell he used a few days ago. he stood with the rest of the family and clapped. However he was now nervous of Daphne being in the finals, Krum had schooled Cedric in his match, and he was pretty sure that Krum wouldn't be gentle considering she was a girl. Harry noticed professor Flitwick was in a heated debate with Fleur, obviously she wasn't happy with the way Daphne had won. The final duel would not be happening till after lunch, so Harry wanted to go down to the tent and make sure Daphne was okay. Harry noticed Daphne was stood outside waiting for them. She ran into his arm and hugged him.
"Well done Daphne, you really gave Fleur a run for her money. Now lets go to lunch, you need to recover your stamina as you're up against Krum in the finals."
Great Hall
Daphne sat at the table and began helping herself to some food. Harry was right, that duel had taken a lot out of her and she needed to recover her energy. If what Harry said was true, then she would need it to take on Krum. Just then all hell broke loose. Fleur came storming up to their table. her Sapphire blue eyes glowing with rage. Harry had his wand ready just in case things turned nasty, Daphne had told Harry, what the french beauty had said about Hermione, that had not gone down too well with the Young Lord, and now the girl was causing the pressure cooker to boil over.
"You cheating little Bitch! That was an underhanded spell you used in our match, and so take this!" Fleur brandished her wand, and pointed it at Daphne, a spell on the edge of her tongue, however before she could say it, Harry brandished his own wand.
"Electio!" The spell collided with Fleur own spell and sent both spells right back at the French beauty. The effects were immedate, Fleur clothes suddenly changed, she was no dressed as a home-less person, her make up a mess her hair dirty and unclean. She screamed and ran from the great hall, with the laughter echoing behind her.
Harry turned back to his lunch, he had no sympathy for Fleur, she was about to use the spell on Daphne, so he though she deserved a taste of her own medicine. Harry felt warm lips on his cheek and turned to see Daphne had just kissed him. She had a huge smile on her face.
"Honestly will she just give it a rest. When will she learn that Harry is not interested in anymore female company. " Harry looked over to see Hermione, ranting away, she was right, he didn't need anymore female company, especially someone who thought they were better than anyone else. Harry treated all his girls equally, not one was thought above the rest.
Quidditch Field Duel Platform
Daphne stood opposite Victor as once again, the little charm Professor was stood ready to act as judge. originally Daphne was to duel after Fleur and Cedric had dueled for third place. However with Fleur recent appearance, she had forfeited and so Cedric was declared third place winner. Daphne held her wand and then stood in her stance ready. Soon has the little Professor arm had dropped. the duel began. Daphne decided to test the waters a little and sent a few minor hex and jinxes towards Victor, who either dodged them or swatted them away. Daphne was surprised that it was she who was doing all the attacking, Victor should stood there taking the spell fire. Daphne decided to up her game.
"Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Petrificus Totalus, Incarerous!" The spells left her wand one after another. However she just watched frustrated as Victor just shielded against them. her spells were doing nothing to his Protego shield. In fact it was stronger than Harry's. Daphne now knew she was in trouble.
Up In The Stands
Harry watched on, this was going worse then he had thought. Krum was toying with Daphne, the famous Seeker had yet to launch a counter against Daphne assault. Harry knew that Daphne only had so much, just then he saw three spells leave Krums wand. The speed of the spells were so quick that Daphne was only able to block one, before she suddenly was turned to stone. Harry's eyes widened. he didn't know their was a spell that could do that. he watched as Professor Flitwick put the duel to a close, he then broke the spell on Daphne, reverting her back to normal. Harry could see the surprise written all over her face. Harry didn't care that she had not won the duel, she had given her all and gotten to the final. In fact this task to him didn't really matter, it was the third task that he would have to be on his guard. Harry watched as Crouch Snr stood on stage.
"That Ladies and Gentleman bring this second task to a close. The results are as followed. In 1st place with 100 points is Mr Krum, in 2nd place with 75 points is Lady Peverell, 3rd place with 50 points is Mr Diggory, and finally in 4th place is Miss Delacour with 25 points. Lets give all our champions a huge round of applause on their performance here today."
The crowd all stood and applauded together, once the noise had died down, Crouch Snr spoke once more. "Now the third task will take place later this year. We look forward to seeing you all for that."
Harry waited until the end of the speech and then made his way down to Daphne, with the rest of his girls, he would ask Krum about that spell later, however now he needed to spend some time with Hermione and the rest of his girls alone. After they had picked up Daphne, Harry and his girls made their way towards the main school.
Unknown to Daphne, Harry had spoken to all the girls and they had all agreed that tonight would be Daphne's night, after all what she had just been through, she more than deserved it.
A/N: There you go, I may put this up for adoption, I haven't decided yet. In theory once Voldemort is taken care of at the end of this year, it will leave Dumbledore to deal with. That I am still thinking about.