Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K Rowling.

A/N: Howdy everyone! I've been looking forward to sharing this chapter, and the next two. I won't keep you any longer, enjoy your read.

Chapter 34: The Dancer

-Harry-

Flitwick didn't smile when he opened the door to my house. He didn't just look not happy, he looked outright unhappy. He had bags under his eyes and his wrinkles were more prominent than they had been before.

"Hello, sir," I said and stood up.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," he said with a forced smile. "I trust you have prepared well enough for this duel?"

"I hope so."

Flitwick gestured for me to sit down again; Flitwick sat down in an armchair too with a sigh.

"I believe you have a right to know," he began tiredly. "Hogwarts is in pure chaos," he continued bluntly.

I raised my eyebrows. "How so?"

Flitwick frowned. "Two groups, the inquisitorial squad and another labelled rebel group are essentially fighting a war."

I blinked in rapid succession. "What?"

"Yes," he said gravely. "It started with just an attack or two every week, but it is almost at the point where students are duelling in the corridors between classes."

"Is there nothing you can do, Professor?" I asked with a hint of concern.

"I possess very little power, I am afraid, it is the same for every teacher, except the head inquisitor."

"Umbridge," I surmised.

Flitwick inclined his head. "Indeed."

I paused for a second. "Why did you think that I deserved to know all of this, Professor?" I asked, albeit I feared that I already knew the answer.

He smiled tiredly. "I think a new saying should be invented, when one takes off a lion's head, two more take it place."

I narrowed my eyes. "Am I the head here?"

He didn't answer. It didn't take a genius to figure out who had become one of the two heads. Hermione.

The question was if Ron was with her. Or was it Neville?

"How many students are there in each group?" I asked hesitantly.

"I truly don't know. It is just north of thirty in the inquisitorial squad, but the rebels have kept themself hidden." He grimaced. "It could be five, it could be fifty."

"You must have a guess."

"I would say about fifteen to twenty."

"Has anyone gotten seriously hurt yet?"

"No, I think that is the only thing which is keeping the ministry from intervening even more directly. It has only been some pranks and disfigurations so far." Flitwick smiled. "But don't worry about this, Mr. Potter, focus on your duel. Bring some light to Hogwarts, it is desperately needed."

-()-

We had gotten to the stage where I could almost make out the sky between the chaos of platforms and branches above me. Climbing higher and higher through the tree as I slowly prevailed had been immensely satisfying. I looked forward to being able to duel with nothing above my head, nothing but the sky and the stars. First I had to get there though and the road there held Alice as an obstacle.

The arena we found ourselves in was huge. It must have been twice as large as the arena for my first duel. Countless faces stared down at me from above. Each and everyone of them anticipating an exciting duel.

I glanced over at the tent which housed my opponent. My friend. Her back was turned to me and Chaviet was in the middle of explaining something to her.

"You ready?" Flitwick asked from below.

"Yes," I responded with a tired smile. "As ready as I'll ever be."

-()-

-Alice-

I could feel his gaze in the back of my head.

Chaviet smiled at me. "He is looking at you."

"I know."

"Defeat him," she said sternly. "If I would have known that you would face him in the end, I would never have allowed you to go to that dance together."

I arched an eyebrow. "As if you have any say in who I go to the ball with."

Chaviet didn't look impressed. "I could have you performing 'the laughing goose' for five hours without rest if I pleased."

I chuckled. "Then your best pupil would arrive at the duel exhausted, you wouldn't want that, would you?"

She shook her head. "Why did I choose an insolent brat as a student?"

"Because you like me?"

Chaviet glared at me, but I could tell it wasn't real. "I like the renown you bring to my school," she corrected.

"Of course you do," I said and winked.

Chaviet huffed and pushed me towards the stage. "Now you won't get any final advice," she said sternly. "You will have to make due on your own."

"I have a chance of winning, then," I quipped and ascended the stage.

Harry's face held a concerned frown.

Good, he should be concerned.

Yet so should I.

The referee called us fourth and we gathered just a couple of metres away from each other.

Harry's glance went over me like I was someone he had never seen before. A complete stranger who meant nothing.

I made sure to do the same thing to him. This was the duelling rink, we left our friendship outside. We could pick it up when we were finished.

We bowed deeply to each other and went to opposite sides of the ring.

The chaos of noise descending from the stands was shut out and everything disappeared except the boy on the other side.

If I had felt nervous about performing in front of tens of thousands of people before, I wouldn't even know it now. The knowledge of the crowd around me had left my mind.

The referee let a spell strike the ground with such force that the impact reverberated over the ring.

Harry stood as he always did. Relaxed but tense. I knew from experience that he was ready to do just about anything.

"Let's duel," I murmured.

A blue bolt of danger darted from my wand to strike Harry in the chest. The boy slid out of the way with an elegant step and smiled.

I narrowed my eyes on him.

Harry's hands started glowing an eerie green colour and I planted my feet firmly. Then he pointed his fingers at me and two hands flew from him straight at me. I conjured a magical net and caught them firmly. They squirmed and writhed inside. Even from a couple of metres away from me, I could feel the pure terror they diffused.

I tossed the net with the hands inside towards him and the magical creation exploded against a conjured shield of his.

Harry's brows were furrowed in focus.

Time to stop playing, I thought.

I conjured a pair of spears and banished them with ferocity.

Harry dropped to the ground and let the spears fly above him. They collided against the shield at the edge of the arena and stayed there.

Then the spears came to life again and melted together into one large sphere.

The ball caught fire and rolled towards me like a car at maximum speed. I conjured a ramp ahead of me and the ball flew over me without any harm done. I removed the ramp and sent two jets of light for him. He shielded the first one and the second one struck him. I was about to summon his wand when I felt my eyes widen. The spell had been caught inside a translucent ball.

I paused and waited for him to make his move. He smirked and the ball levitated into the air. Then it exploded.

It felt like I was staring into the sun, I was blinded.

I felt the spell coming towards me and I dived out of the way. I didn't catch the landing and fell to the ground. I conjured a shield in front of me blindly and tried my best to regain my vision. The blurry world slowly grew into existence again but the drumming of spells against my shield grew ever stronger. Then the shield broke and I jerked out of the way. I heard a crackle where I had been a second ago, then I felt the next one coming and tried to get away again.

It felt like someone had grabbed a hold of my hand. I was lifted off the ground and I could make out that I was several feet in the air, despite my vision.

I could feel my wand being dragged out of my hand and then I was lowered back down.

"Point Potter," the referee said with excitement.

I remained on the ground, sitting, until my vision returned. I glared at the boy who was waiting for me on the other side of the ring. With a shake of my head, I picked up my wand and let out a deep breath.

James DuFonte was in the stands. I had to be able to do this. This was what my entire life had come down to. My life had been countless streams, each one singing its own tune in nature; but now, they had all come together to form a ravenous river. A river which had to wash everything in its way away, a river which had to prevail, a river which had to win.

For my past, present and future, I thought and readied my wand.

I barely registered the spell that hit the ground. My eyes were on the black haired opponent. He always let me deal the first blow, I would not give him that satisfaction now.

A purple eagle burst from his wand like an arrow. I conjured a stone plate which stopped its path, then I banished the broken pieces towards him with a flick. Giving him no respite, I flung spell after spell in his direction. At his head, at his feet, at his chest and also, where he was not, but where he would be.

Seeing him move and shield to evade reminded me of a dance. Harry was a good dancer, he had been taught well.

Out of nowhere, two of my spells changed direction in the middle of the air and flew towards me. I was almost so surprised that I didn't have time to shield. But I did and the two thuds served as a good reminder to net let my guard down.

Let's go for a little bit of irony, I thought to myself and spun in a circle, waving my wand furiously.

Countless frogs appeared on the ground around me. Harry wasted no time to act and summoned his signature purple flames. I was prepared and conjured a wind to send the flame back at him.

The flames consumed him for a quarter of a second but it was all I needed. The flames recede to reveal a smoking boy but he was on the backdoor.

I sent spell after spell, used combination after combination. I did things I had never even thought of before, mixed charms no one had ever dared mix before. It all flowed beautifully, it was a dance of light and dark. A dance of outstanding colour and endless beauty.

Harry did his best to absorb, shield and dodge the spells but I gave him no chance to ever retaliate. Every attempt to ignite a fire of resistance was met with a wave of ice cold water.

Then he slipped once and a purple spell sent him spinning through the air. I cancelled my onslaught and summoned his wand. The piece of wood felt as wrong as every wand not my own did. I had won.

"Point Marston," the referee said, practically bursting from within with pure joy.

Not even the silencing charms could contain the explosion that followed. The stands were in uproar. This was the duel, I realised. This was the duel people would talk about for years to come.

I smiled and tossed Harry's wand back to him. He picked it up and glared at me.

Good, as long as he didn't become a selfless prat.

He was too nice sometimes. Too nice.

-()-

-Harry-

One to one.

This was it.

I stretched and got into position.

Alice looked a little too smug where she stood. I would make sure to wipe that smile off her face.

I narrowed my eyes and sent a spell straight at her head when the duel began. She shielded but I wouldn't let up. I conjured a pair of purple wolves to charge her. Her spells failed to destroy them, forcing her to conjure spears and pin them to the ground like they were marshmallows on a grill stick.

I summoned a cloud of black smoke and the stage descended into darkness. I ran to switch position but didn't reach the position I wanted before a bright light cleared the smoke. She spotted my movement and a flock of birds flew towards me with cackles and laughter.

I smiled and created a wall of levitating water which they flew into with muted splashes. Then I froze it and trapped the creatures inside. A spell from Alice later and the block exploded, sending shards of ice in every direction. I was forced to conjure shields of fire which caught the pieces and made them into gas before the shards hit me.

In my moment of distraction, Alice had created a whip which had grabbed hold of my ankle. I was jerked towards her violently and a red sword appeared in her other hand. I thought quickly and conjured a green sword of my own to protect myself from the blow.

There was a brief moment where our faces were mere decimetres apart, I could make out the sweat on her forehead. The creasing of her forehead in concentration.

Her sword disappeared and I flew into the air. I slammed into the ground with a grunt. I couldn't feel the wand in my hand.

I heard the clatter of my wand against the floor when she threw it back.

One moment of distraction.

"Point Martson," the referee said in the background.

Alice's forehead was glistening with sweat. She looked ready to collapse at any given moment.

I tried to stand up but my legs screamed in agony. It felt like I had just finished a marathon. Exhaustion had descended on me with merciless fangs. They had taken a deep bite and wouldn't let go.

This was it, I realised. This was what I had longed for.

I swayed on the spot and struggled over to my side. There was no way on earth I would let her win. She was taking deep breaths, in and out.

The impending continuation of our duel felt impossible, implausible.

Yet this was were the iron was hardened. We had both reached the hottest temperature we could both withstand.

No, I decided. I was not done yet. I would prevail, I would fight. This was my moment to shine. This was the time for the sun to burst through the fog and the clouds. This was the time to prove my worth. To show the world that the apprentice of Rowena Ravenclaw was the greatest, even if they didn't know it.

My iron had not reached the highest temperature. Not yet.

I raised my wand, ignoring the screams of exhaustion from my muscles.

I would become hotter than the sun. The dragon inside of me broke free of its cage and roared furiously, all constraints were off. It spat fire and the heat became greater than anything I had experienced before.

-()-

-Alice-

I stared across at the man on the other side. He radiated something incomprehensible. The air around him quivered and shrunk away from him, as if it was afraid.

Nothing I could do could stop him. I tossed spell after spell and tried technique after technique like a cornered warrior. I felt my river dry up, the heat was too much -unbearable.

He was like the sun, nothing I could do could stop the pure rays of heat coming from him. His green eyes burned. I couldn't take my eyes away from him, even if I wanted to. He was the sun and everyone else were planets, moons and asteroids. He was the person everyone gravitated towards and zoomed around. He was the person everyone watched. The person everyone only dreamt to be - not the person one could defeat.

It was something special, I realised. This wasn't an ordinary duel.

I held for as long as I could and I realised with muted panic that it was two points against two points. If I lost, I lost more than just the duel. I lost my future. The river would be dead, dryer than the Sahara desert -leaving behind nothin but infertile land and dead potential.

Yet I was powerless. The duel began anew and transfiguring the entirety of the earth to solid gold would have been easier than to defeat him.

When tragedy finally struck and I whirled through the air like a lost newspaper; I couldn't help but regret imploring him to try his best.

-()-

-Harry-

The silencing spell around the circle disappeared with a deafening explosion. I held Alice's wand in my hand and I stared at it in awe. It felt like a great wave of noise had overwhelmed me, yet no matter how high the wave was, nothing could ever reach so high as to topple me. Was this how it felt to be powerful?

Was this how Dumbledore felt? Was this how my master felt?

Was this how Voldemort felt?

It felt like I was in the sky, soaring through the sky at a hundred degrees. Something had just changed, I couldn't tell you what it was, but it was there. I felt a finality.

My master had helped me to learn how to walk and then fly, as she had promised. Now I had taken off and was entering space. Uncharted territories.

I smiled broadly and held my fist up victoriously. I drank in the cheers and the shouts, the flashes of the cameras, the stares of admiration and the declarations of greatness.

It was earned. It was finally earned.

It was finally me. Not anyone else, not luck.

I smiled broadly at the huge crowd.

This was all me.

-()-

-Hermione-

I entered the Great Hall like everyone did these days: with heavy bags under my eyes and with a glare at the speck of pink at the teacher's table. Yet something felt different this time. There was an energy in the air I hadn't felt in months. People were smiling, despite the early hour. I saw a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw talking with excitement emanating out in heaves. They had a newspaper clutched between them.

I sat down next to Angelina and Alicia who were chattering with broad smiles. "What's going on?" I said with a small smile. The mood was infectious.

Alicia picked a newspaper up and handed it to me. "This."

The front page was made up of only one large picture.

Harry.

His hair looked as messy as always, but now, he exuded an elegance and a character I had never seen him have before. Something about the way he stood, the way he held himself. He was smiling broadly and I realised at once that none of it was fake. I smiled fondly, I didn't know how, but he was the perfect in the picture.

I had never seen him so happy before. His eyes sparkled and he raised his fist into the air with determination.

The crowd in the background cheered and shouted animatedly.

He looked like a superstar.

An icon. A great. A hero.

The man in the picture was younger than me, but my mind shouted at me that he couldn't be. The person outshone everyone around him; how could someone so young possibly do that?

There was no way a fifteen year old could have all of that. There was no way Harry could have all of that. Despite what might be thought of him, Harry was fifteen, just like the rest of us.

Yet there was no faking it. Harry had changed into something far more than a fifteen year old boy. If that change was good or bad was up to see.

"He's…" I trailed off.

"I know," Angelina said. "He looks incredible."

Alicia nodded. "Look at his hair, it's perfect."

I chuckled. "Didn't know you were such fans."

Angelina shrugged. "We're not, but look at him. He has grown up, it's like he's reached his ultimate form or something."

Harry smiled at me brilliantly from the picture and gave me a wink.

Ultimate form indeed.

-()-

-Draco-

It felt like Potter was smiling at me everywhere I went. Therefore no one was more enthusiastic than me when Umbridge banned them, and consequently allowed me to burn every single copy I came across.

They had already left their mark, the effect was as obvious as the sun in the sky.

This, I was happy for.

This was Hogwarts. Hogwarts was back.

People from different houses stood grouped together and chattered as if there wasn't someone lurking behind the corner, ready to attack them. I couldn't bring myself to give people detention nor reprimand students for running in the corridors.

This was the Hogwarts I had grown up in, the Hogwarts I wanted others to grow up in.

There wasn't a single exception who didn't share the good mood. Saying that surprised even myself. I sent another glance across the table to assure myself that I wasn't imagining things.

No, Daphne looked content. Almost happy.

She didn't smile, of course not, but there was a satisfied curl by her lips.

"Is everything alright?" I voiced out loud.

Daphne looked up at me with a questioning look. "Shouldn't I be?"

"No!" Pansy interrupted vehemently. "Potter has progressed and everyone is happy!"

I had lied, there was one exception.

"I feel as if I should be concerned about the fact that you take joy in other's misery," Blaise remarked with a thin smile.

Pansy huffed and turned away, muttering about stupid boys.

I sent Daphne a pointed look. "You didn't answer my question."

The blonde girl flicked her hair and smiled with her brilliant white teeth. "It'll hurt more to fall from the sky than from a tree."

-()-

-Harry-

I searched for Alice desperately after the duel, but there was no finding her in the sea of bodies. All the same, I couldn't feel down right then. It felt like I was a bottle of soda someone had shaken violently. I felt ready to explode.

Countless people approached after the game and wanted all sorts of things. A little boy wanted an autograph which I only gave him because he looked on the brink of crying when I said that I didn't hand sign things. An old man asked for, or well, demanded to know a spell I had used. I refused.

Then there were the people who gave me things. A tanned, fit-looking girl handed me a slip of paper and suggested with a wink that I should floo her soon.

Throughout every single of these exchanges I longed to disappear. There were only two people I wanted to talk to right now. One of them was gone somewhere. The other was trapped in a book.

As quickly as possible, I excused myself and practically ran to my room. I couldn't stop myself from doing leaps of joy on the way.

My room had never felt more like home and the book's pages had never glowed more welcomingly.

Even the room felt different than usual. The crackling of the flames made me remember things past, a time when the present hadn't been comprehensible.

I smiled and didn't even have to think before I sat down in my armchair.

My master arched an eyebrow. "You seem different." Rowena leaned forwards. "Will you allow me to look at the duel?"

I met her gaze for a long moment before I nodded.

"Legilimency," she whispered and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

Rowena stood up and walked over to stand just in front of the fireplace. "That was above adequate," she said with her back turned to me.

I stood up and jumped in joy causing her to turn around. "I know!"

Rowena smiled at me a little hesitantly and I got the most sudden urge before I could even think about what I was doing.

"Thank you, master," I said and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much."

I felt her become tense as a stick at the contact and I drew back.

"I could never have achieved this without you," I said with a smile, trying to save the moment.

She was completely frozen in place for a second before she raised her eyebrows. "I only gave you the blueprint, you were the one to build this."

"But I wouldn't have been able to do anything without the blueprint," I answered earnestly.

She shook her head. "You're getting needlessly sentimental, you haven't even won the thing yet."

"I know, I won't grow complacent." I sat down in the armchair again with a grin I couldn't contain, despite my efforts. The feeling was all encompassing, like I was bathing in a pool of pure satisfaction; it reached every part of my body. "It feels great," I said softly.

Rowena smiled knowingly, her expression laced with soft fondness. "I know," she paused for a moment. "And you should, you deserve this, Harry. You've worked harder for this than most people have ever worked for anything in their lives."

I shrugged, and blushed a little under the praise. "I guess..."

"No, take time to savour this, Harry, it's not something you'll get every day, or even once a year." She breathed out slowly and stared into thin air, as if she was lost in memory. "I remember when we finished Hogwarts, the day when all of our enchantments and spells and runes and everything was perfected down to the last detail. Seeing that castle form infront of my eyes was one of the greatest moments in my life."

I smiled broadly. "I'm not sure if my win is worth as much as the creation of Hogwarts, but-"

"You're wrong," my master interrupted. "Sure, your win may not be as impactfull to the greater world, but don't you think that it is just as impactfull for you?"

I shrugged and breathed out a relaxed sigh. "Maybe you're right. It's just... I never imagined that I would care for this tournament, I always just went here intending to learn and get some experience..."

Rowena inclined her head, remaining silent, allowing me to continue.

"But now, I want to win this. It'll be something no one can take away from me, it'll be something which'll remain behind, regardless of how my fight with Voldemort goes."

Rowena smiled knowingly. "Harry, this will only be the first part of your legacy. It'll grow like a tree under the warm rays of sunshine, I know it."

A/N: I'd love to hear you thoughts! The chapter next Friday will be a big one, but who knows, something might appear before then...