Chapter Seven: A Halloween Duel

September passed in a blur. SS struggled to juggle homework and Qudditch but Rose helped him immensely. Hope suggested she start charging him. Al found the secret entrance to the Hogwarts' kitchen and Rose researched her muggle family trees until she was blue in the face. More students disappeared and concern began to grow amongst the staff. Time passed so fast that they almost didn't realize it when Halloween arrived.

James laughed as a first year Slytherin fell into a patch of mud. Irons high-fived him and laughed as well. SS and Hope were watching the idiots from across the lake. Hope was literally holding SS back.

"It isn't worth it. You'll just get in trouble," she warned him.

"He's tormenting those kids. We have to do something," SS protested as he tried to free his wrist. Hope rolled her eyes and looked back at James who had just blown a short Slytherin girl's notes away. She clenched her teeth in anger and SS struggled to break free of Hope's hold.

"Choose your battles," she told SS. The blond paused for a moment before he yanked his wrist back and stood up.

"I choose this battle," he declared and stomped around the lake, headed towards James.

"Of course you do," Hope groaned and followed him.

"Nice one, James," Atwood told his leader. James laughed and jinxed another Slytherin first year. His nose began to grow until it was as long as a yard stick. He shouted in fright and dashed back to the school. The other first years glanced around nervously, then gathered their stuff and ran after him. James laughed in victory.

"That's right, run away you stupid snakes!" he shouted after them. Atwood and Irons laughed dumbly.

"Hey!" SS yelled and stumped in front of James. The shadow that fell across the eldest Potter's face made him look dark and cold, evil in a way. "Quit picking on people half your size. Thought you were a Gryffindor."

"Ha! You wouldn't know Gryffindor if it hit you in the head!" James laughed, a cruel smile curling his lips.

"I know that we're supposed to respect other houses. Godric and Salazar were the best of friends, once upon a time. And those kids are first years, so leave them alone," SS replied and began to turn away.

"Why do you care? Defending your kind?" James taunted. SS turned back around and narrowed his gray eyes. His hand was already fingering his wand in his pocket. "You don't like me picking on them because you know that you belong with them."

"When are you going to come up with new insults?" SS responded, eyebrow raised, face calm but body tense.

"Sorry. You don't like me picking on the snakes because your friends with them. And you say I'm a disgrace to Gryffindor," James amended and nodded towards Hope. She glared at him and stood taller, her limbs vibrating.

"Try me," she hissed, her voice deadly calm. Atwood bit his thumbnail nervously. Hope seemed to ooze power and might so SS couldn't blame him.

"I'd love to. Tonight. While everyone's at the Halloween Feast. Right here. You two can bring the rest of your posse. We'll try you," James said and walked away, his two lackeys in tow.

"You did what?" Rose yelled at her two friends after they had explained their plans for the evening. "I cannot believe you two!" SS and Hope sunk down in their seats.

"You should have heard what he said about Hope," SS weakly protested.

"I don't care what he said!" Rose shouted back, pacing furiously. Al took a few steps back, not keen on being in the way of the wrath of his cousin. "You should have let a teacher handle it or you should have just let it go. Do you have any idea how much trouble you'll be in if you're caught!"

"Then we won't get caught," Hope put in. Rose slammed her hand on the table and everyone jumped. Madame Heydt, the librarian, glared at them from her front desk, causing Rose to turn red. She lowered her volume.

"That is not the point. I thought you two knew better than that!" Rose told them.

"You're going with us," Hope remarked, her head tilted to the side. Rose rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Of course," Rose scoffed, as if it was obvious. SS put his head in his hands.

"You're so weird," he groaned and turned to Al, knowing what he was thinking. "You don't have to come."

"But you're my friends. And James is my brother. And you need someone who isn't comfortable breaking the rules with you," Al countered and started biting his thumbnail. "I'm coming with you."

"So who's actually dueling?" Rose asked.

"All of us against all of them," SS explained and rolled his wand between his fingers.

"Then we have a good shot. We have superior numbers," Rose speculated.

"But they're older and more knowledgeable," Al protested. He had moved onto his index finger nail.

"Please," Hope laughed. "They're all as dumb as a donkey's backside." SS chuckled and even Rose smiled. But Al still looked upset.

"You don't have to come," SS reminded him. Al shook his head and squared his shoulders.

"I'm not abandoning you to the mercy of my brother," Al replied. "We're going to be fine. We can do this." It sounded as though he was trying to assure himself as much as the others.

The four second years walked past the glowing Great Hall and out of the castle, heading towards the tree standing at the other side of the lake. James, Atwood, and Irons were already there, waiting for them. Hope walked with an eerie calm. SS had his shoulders back, his posture was confident. Rose's eyes were narrowed and the hand that held her wand out in front of her so it could light the path trembled slightly when she saw the boys. Al had his shaking hands hidden in his robe pockets, trying to swallow his fear. But it was nearly impossible.

"You came," Hope remarked with surprise as she stopped in front of James, arms crossed. Her friends fell back, letting her lead.

"Of course I did. I'm a man of my word," James replied, a smirk on his lips, his wand flipping over his fingers. In the moonlight his red hair looked like blood.

"You're a boy, not a man," Rose scoffed. Irons sneered at her and Rose tilted her chin up in superiority.

"Are you here to talk or duel?" James asked, brown eyes narrowing.

"Let's duel. Hope you have your bed booked in the Hospital Wing," Hope told him and stepped back.

"You speak well but there is no way that you are more powerful than me. My father is Harry Potter. Who's yours, Hope?" James laughed and pointed his wand forward. Rose and SS flanked their friend and aimed their wands at Atwood and Irons. Al stood behind the group, trying to not look like a target.

"Why don't you just cast your little jinxes," Hope growled. James opened his mouth to cast a spell but Hope beat him to it. "FLIPENDO!" James dodged and the spell hit Irons, sending the blond into the tree he stood in front of. A low groan let the duelers know that he was in pain but still alive.

"FURNUNCULUS!" James yelled and a blazing white light hit SS. Boils erupted on his skin and he cried out in surprise. James smirked at the sight of SS wincing in pain. Rose and Hope raised their wands it sync.

"FINITE INCANTATEM!" Rose said simply, healing SS.

"LOCOMOTOR MORTIS!" Hope yelled, wand sending sparks towards James who pushed Atwood in front of him. The brunette's legs latched together and he fell flat on his face. James's eyes had taken on an angry glow and he growled low in his throat.

"INCARCEROUS!" James yelled. Ropes lashed out and tied up Rose, squeezing her tight, curling all over her like a snake. "INCARCEROUS! INCARCEROUS!" Ropes tied up Al and SS as well, making them fall to their knees. The ropes pulled tighter and tighter, causing Rose to croak out in pain.

"You're hurting them!" Hope protested, outraged by the display she saw. James laughed, a cruel clear sound.

"It's a duel, darling. And now it's just you and me," James replied, smirking.

"Help!" Rose chocked out as the rope curled around her neck and began to strangle her. Hope wanted to help her but she knew the moment she did, James would try something and hurt her. She had to deal with James first.

"You want to duel?" she hissed, anger taking over her mind. "Let's duel." She slashed her wand through the air and a beam of green light flew towards James. It hit the tree behind him as he dodged, leaving the bark smoking. James stared at it and a flash of fear took over his face for just a moment. But then he was a picture of anger again as he flicked his wand.

"PERTRIFICUS TOTALUS!" James yelled and red light flew toward Hope who just flicked her wand and deflected it.

"You really think that's going to stop me?" she screamed at him. The noises of her friend's pain egged her on. "You will lose because I am more powerful than you could ever wish to be!"

Hope flicked and slashed with her wand, sending bolt after bolt of green light. James couldn't dodge forever. Eventually, a beam hit his leg and he fell to his knee. Al squeaked out in fear for his brother but the duelers were far from over. James cast spell after spell from the ground, speaking so fast that all his words blended together. Hope deflected them all. She walked closer and closer, her green strands of light cracking and swirling like whips.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" Hope declared when she was three feet away from the kneeling red head. James's wand flew out of his hand and into the Great Lake. James shouted in anger but it made no difference. Hope had won. But James didn't want to admit defeat.

"You'll never win," he growled. "By the time you figure out how to free your friends, they'll be dead."

"You would kill your own brother for what?" Hope demanded. She gripped the front of his robes and pulled him close, anger coursing through her body, ready to snap. James laughed, despite the burning pain in his injured leg.

"For glory," James simply answered. "You might want to let me go so you can save your friends." Hope glared into his brown eyes before she threw him to the ground.

"Fine. Run away," Hope hissed and turned sharply on her heel. She ran back to her friends. When she glanced back she saw James taking Atwood's wand and undoing the jinx on him, then instructing him into the tree to find Irons. Hope realized his plan too late. James aimed Atwood's wand at Hope.

"INCENDIO!" he yelled and a jet of flames shot, not towards Hope, but towards Al. Hope screamed and leaped in front of him, dropping her wand accidently, throwing her arms wide. A green light shot from her palms and formed a wall, shielding her and her friends. The flames sputtered and died as they hit the wall. Al gasped for air behind her and Hope dropped to the ground. She tried to yank on the ropes but they wouldn't budge. Al's breathing was shallow and the ropes were tightening even more. Desperation clawed at Hope's heart as James yelled taunts from the other side of the green wall.

"No, Al, please don't die," Hope begged. Suddenly, her hands began to smoke. The rope she was holding crumbled to ashes. Al's lungs sucked in air like it was gold. He groaned gratefully and turned over, still unconscious. Hope stared at her hands for a moment before she realized what she needed to do.

She ran over to SS and placed her hands on the ropes. They disintegrated into ashes as well. Only SS was still conscious. He blinked in surprise at his friend. Then his face grew angry. Slowly, he stood and pulled out his wand. SS walked forward, through the green wall, and faced James.

"Hope, save Rose," he instructed the crouching pale girl. She nodded and crawled over to her last friend. Meanwhile, SS stared down James, who now had Irons and Atwood at his sides. James was still holding Atwood's wand, so Atwood had his fists up, ready for a fight.

"Surprised to see you up so soon," James growled. "You should have died."

"Sorry to disappoint," SS replied, face blank. Behind him, Hope had freed Rose and was trying to see if she was breathing.

"Oh, you won't," James assured SS.

"Come on, Rose," Hope muttered and tried remember some healing spells. "SS, she's not breathing!"

"You did this," SS growled. His friend was dying and the person who had caused it was right in front of him. His vision turned red and tunneled, focusing on James. "You will pay."

"As if," James laughed. But red searing light was already headed straight toward him. James barely jumped out of the way in time. Atwood and Irons didn't, though. They fell to the ground, severely burned. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"You tried to kill me!" SS yelled back and sent another wave of red light from his wand. James ran behind the tree which burst into flames. "Thought you were a Gryffindor! Come back and fight, coward!" SS chased James, constantly shooting bolts of red light at the running red head. He screamed and started running back to school. When SS was sure he wouldn't come back he ran to his friends.

Hope was sobbing over Rose who was now breathing shallowly. Al, who had regained consciousness, was rubbing his hands over her head, a soft yellow light emitting from the connection.

"What happened?" SS demanded as he kneeled at Rose's side.

"Al woke up. He healed her," Hope muttered, stunned. She wiped her eyes and forced herself to take a deep breath. "You did it. You beat James."

"You sound surprised," SS remarked and held Rose's hand. He was happy she was okay but he was a little jealous that he couldn't save her.

"Just impressed," Hope responded. Al sat back and took a few ragged breaths. Then he noticed Irons and Atwood laying in front of tree with severe burns.

"You hurt them?" Al gasped and raced over to them. He pressed his hands onto the two injured boys and almost instantly their burns began to heal. A soft yellow light glowed from their skin as well.

"I didn't mean to. It was an accident. I don't even know what happened," SS admitted, shame beginning to creep into him.

"It's fine. We'll figure it out," Hope assured him then lowered her volume. "Did you know that Al could do that?"

"No. I didn't know you could make a wall. I didn't know I could burn people. I didn't know Al could heal people," SS sighed and put his head in his hand. "Rose, please wake up. We need you."

"We should get back to school. Sneak into our dorm rooms, try to hide any evidence that links this duel to us," Hope suggested and Al walked back to them.

"They're still unconscious but I healed all there burns. And don't ask me how I did it because I don't know," Al muttered.

"We won't. We all did things we don't understand yet," Hope sighed and jostled Rose. Her golden eyes flashed open and she gasped. "Oh thank Merlin, you're awake."

"You...," Rose gasped, looking at Hope. "You were amazing. Where did you learn to do that?"

"I don't know. But we can discuss it later. We need to get out of here," Hope told her friend and helped her stand. "Remember, we were never here."

"I'm not really comfortable lying," Al admitted. Hope's dark eyes narrowed as SS held onto Rose's other side.

"It's not lying. It's just not telling to truth," Hope explained and the group hobbled back to school.

"Hope," Professor Venus called as the dark haired girl began to leave Charms class on Monday. "I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Hope asked innocently as she sat across from the curly blond teacher.

"Two boys were found at the Great Lake Friday night with severe burns which were partially healed. James Potter told us where they were. He said you attacked them and threw his wand in the lake," Professor Venus answered coolly. "Care to explain?"

"James is lying. I wasn't there," Hope replied, giving one of her sparkling smiles. "You know how he loves attacking Slytherin house. I wouldn't put it past him to frame all of us."

"I am well aware of the boy's feelings towards your house. However, he also mentioned that SS was with you when you attacked the boys," Professor Venus continued.

"James has hated SS since the day he first boarded the Hogwarts Express. And SS will assure you that we were not there. Al had received some sweets from the house elves in the kitchen, which were undercooked, and we didn't feel right so we stayed in our common room during the Halloween Feast. Our dorm mates can attest to that," Hope told her teacher and stood up. "Is that all?"

"I guess. Perhaps the boys were having a duel with each other and went overboard. However, causing that sort of damage to a person is very advanced magic. Whoever did it could not have been a second or third year. They might not have even been a seventh year. The magic was that powerful," Professor Venus sighed and shuffled some of her papers. "You are free to go."

Hope ran out of the room, straight to the library. Rose was at their normal table, going through thick ancient books and heavy stacks of notes. She glanced up as she heard her friend approach.

"Hey, Hope. I don't have any new information. The only thing I found was that the magic we did should not have been capable at our age," Rose sighed and flipped the pages of a heavy text that sent dust into the air.

"It's fine. Professor Venus just talked to me. They found Atwood and Irons. They're fine. But James is trying to pin their injuries on me and SS," Hope began as she sat across from Rose.

"Are you guys in trouble?" Rose demanded, leaning closer.

"No. There's no proof. Everyone knows how much James hates us, so everyone thinks he's lying. Plus, we were all sick in bed due to the under baked sweets Al gave us," Hope replied smugly, smirking slightly as she crossed her arms.

"Okay, I admit it. You're pretty smart," Rose laughed and shook her head so her bushy hair swayed.

"I know," Hope giggled. "You'll figure it out. It'll just take time."

"Time we don't have," Rose groaned. "Every day more students are disappearing. Everyday Albany remains silent. And our magic is now unpredictable. I can't help but feel like everything is connected."

"We'll figure it out. Why don't we go bug Al for something to eat? You look hungry," Hope suggested, her hand on Rose's.

"I did skip lunch," Rose admitted.

"Then let's go!" Hope cried and dragged her friend out of the library in search of their sweet carrying friend.