Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

...

Gazing over the grounds from his office, Albus considered the news that Minerva recently gifted him in regards to who would be competing on behalf of Gryffindor in the upcoming dueling tournament. To hear that Harry hadn't so much as put his name down to qualify was surprising given his aptitude for violence.

There were both light and dark sides to this information however. Without baring witness, it was still difficult to understand just what level of strength Harry had at his disposal. He was still a first year student after all but that was in title only, undoubtedly he could pass what was required of him at the end of the year with ease.

On a more positive note, it did show that Harry wasn't simply looking for a fight without reason. That was promising and on a more light hearted note it did mean that the bracket for the younger students was far less predictable.

A majority of the student body would likely be in attendance, along with a great deal of the faculty members for an extended period of time. Chuckling to himself, Albus allowed the gears to turn as he realized just why Harry hadn't entered the tournament. While he wouldn't be utilizing his skills in front of his peers, he would be making use of the time he was given.

Simple yet efficient.

Perhaps this time Harry would make it all the way to where the Mirror of Erisad stood.

Looking back at the list of names to actually see who had put their name down, their was one name which did stand out as surprising, Depending on how said individual performed could have ramifications going forward, for good, bad or neutral it was hard to tell.

...

"You did what Neville!" exclaimed Hermione before covering up her mouth, shocked at herself for how loud she had been. Thankfully, amongst the boisterous atmosphere of the Gryffidor common room, her voice barely phased any of those standing within the proximity.

"I put my name down for the dueling tournament," repeated Neville, the news once again seeming to flabbergast Hermione.

"But why? We were meant to all go down 'there' together when the tournament is going on. Does Harry know about this?"

"I thought I'd tell you before telling him, as a bit of a practice you know," said Neville sheepishly.

"You better have a good reason for this Neville," said Hermione as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I've got several," said Neville as he made himself comfortable, raising a single finger. "Firstly, given how we now have Daphne and Tracy along for the ride, along with Fred and George, there really isn't much need for all seven of us to go down there. I'm sure there's not really much of a challenge that the six of you can't solve without me being there."

"Go on," gestured Hermione as Neville raised a second finger.

"Secondly, given Harry's notoriety in regards to his strength, everyone is kind of expecting him to participate," stated Neville. "Now while we know that he isn't going to, it would seem strange on a recruitment standpoint if one of the three of us didn't put our hand up to fight. Even if I am only able to make it past one person, at least that's a showing on our behalf given how our peers view me at this point in time."

Hermione's teeth encroached on her bottom lip as she considered what Neville was saying. On a tactical standpoint it made sense and for the years going forward it was going to be important for their group to remain relevant and while not necessarily in the spotlight, they did need to remain involved. "Is there any other reason?"

"If either Crabbe or Goyle are involved, I really want to get them back for what they did to my wand."

Hermione released a sigh, almost having expected the third reason to be something of that nature. "So are you going to ask Harry for help? Learn some of his..."

Neville raised a hand to cut her off before she went too far. "When my gran told me that Harry should stop with the ice magic I couldn't help but wonder why so I've been doing a bit of research in my spare time," said Neville. "From what I can find, wizards as a collective seem to have an affinity towards certain topics, be it Charms, Transfiguration or so on. If somebody has an affinity for an element however, that's something completely different."

Hermione found herself holding her breath, momentarily glancing around the common room to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation. As it always was, the rest of their peers seemed to give them a wide berth given their relationship with Harry. "Elemental magic isn't restricted to any specific class as it sort of weaves amongst the lessons we get taught. More importantly though, it is a reflection of the person who is casting it."

"Because Harry's affinity is ice, ice is a reflection of who he is? Are we talking about his soul or his magical core or something else?" asked Hermione.

Neville could only really raise his shoulders in response. "That was all the information that I could really discover other than all the warnings saying not to delve into elemental magic as it could, theoretically, strengthen the characterisations that come with that element. If Harry's magic is centered around a cold and isolated element..."

"He in turn will become more cold and isolated," finished Hermione.

...

Severus inspected the solutions that Harry had created, each one of them slightly different from the rest that the young student had crafted. Given the small changes from the recipe that Harry had done, it was difficult to figure out just how efficient each solution would have in regards to one another. Despite that however, Severus was certain that if required, each of them could be used within a qualified medical facility without much question.

"With that Mister Potter, I believe our time together has come to an end," declared Severus as he placed the container he had been holding down on the desk in front of him. "You have taken the task set for you and accomplished it admirably."

"Thank you sir," said Harry as he cleaned up his workbench, making sure no trace of his prior preparations were left behind.

"While I do not approve of you actively altering recipes while in class, if you ever wish to discuss alternative approaches to the world of potion making, try to discuss it with me beforehand. It would be greatly upsetting were something to happen to you without a caring eye watching over you."

Harry said nothing as he analyzed what the professor had said. While it could have just been a passing prase, Professor Snape had mentioned a 'caring eye.' Watchful or professional could have easily replaced the word caring and made the same level of impact, even more so. Did Snape truly care for him or did he just see him as a potions prodigy and didn't want anything to happen to him until such a time he could properly look after himself?

Or maybe he was overthinking the entire situation.

"I will Professor," he said after having taken a few seconds to finish cleaning his bench. "I'll take my leave."

Severus said nothing as he watched the retreating form of Harry leave his classroom. It was clear that the boy was still very suspicious of everything around him and given the threats that surrounded him on a day to day basis, it was well warranted. Albus had let slip that he believed that Harry and his merry band of cohorts would likely be making their move through the third corridor in the weeks to come and he knew what the final test was before the Mirror. Between himself and Miss Granger, the two of them would solve the potion riddle and Harry would likely step forward but when he did so, he would do so alone.

His true test of character would come forth when it was just him, alone with a magical artifact that showed his truest desire. How he wished he could witness just how Harry would act in such a situation but he could only have faith in the boy. If he wasn't able to overcome that last test, he could very well lose everything gazing at a future that would never be possible.

...

Neville shuffled across the impromptu battlefield, narrowly avoiding the spell that had threatened to crash against him. In the brief respite he had, the first year student shit forth a spell of his own. With his movement however, his spell was wayward to the point that his opponent watched the spell crash aimlessly against the nearby wall.

"You're looking a bit fatigued there Neville, want to call it quits for the day?" asked Fred, Neville's impromptu dueling partner.

"No," declared Neville through ragged breaths. "Let's keep going."

"There's nothing wrong with taking it easy," said George from the sidelines, analyzing the display of both his brother and the younger student. "Word around the common room is that nobody is really expecting you to make it through the first round."

"That's why I have to keep going," proclaimed Neville as he wiped beads of sweat away with his forearm. "For so long I've only ever been looked down on and even if I can just take out a single opponent..." As much as he wanted to finish his statement, Neville found himself unable to properly state his wishes out loud.

"Remember though that you're not just fighting for yourself here," said Fred as he stepped back into the original line where he and Neville had begun. "You, Hermione and Harry have your thing going on and there's no telling just what's going to happen during that brief period or even what we're going to find while you're fighting. Just know, that every second you waste taking on your opponents is an extra second you grant us. If you drag out a fight for minutes simply by dodging and preventing yourself from being struck, that's more time for us to get in, find out whatever it is that is being hoarded away and get out."

"So even if you want to spend the next few minutes weaving between Fred's spells, that's perfectly acceptable," said George as he stretched his arms over his head.

"I know what I have to do for Harry and Hermione, don't fret about that," said Neville as he took a calming breath before looking at the wand his grandmother had recently helped him purchase. "I also know what I have to do for me I don't want to be the first person knocked out simply because I shouldn't even be in consideration. Let's be fair, the only reason there were so many vacancies in our bracket was because nobody in Gryffindor wanted to come up against Harry. I need to prove to Harry and Hermione that I'm not going to be a burden moving forward."

Fred and George shared a look between one another and shared a silent nod before Fred retook his position. "In which case Neville, given your going to be fighting anyone through years one, two and three, what say we finally put you to the test against what a third year can really do?"

Neville's head sunk slightly, having already expected that the Weasley twin before him had been going easy. His grip on his wand tightened however as he looked up at his opponent. "Thank you," he said softly before he raised his wand, mentally bracing himself for what was to come.

"Alright lads," said George, gazing between the two students. "Begin!"

...

Hermione scrolled through the tomb of a book in front of her, absorbing any and all knowledge that she believed could be beneficial, no matter how small it may seem. Given that they were soon to embark on a journey through a forbidden hallway and facing against who knows what, there was nothing quite like being overprepared.

So far, they knew that there was a Cerberus that they had to get past. Given what Fred and George knew of the creature, that was perhaps the easiest part to get through. After that was the pit filled with Devil's Snare. The lot of them were aware of what they were encountering so there was no true threat there. After that was the room filled full of keys which Harry had already secured the proper key in order for them to proceed towards the giant chess board.

While Daphne was preparing herself for that, none of them had any clue for what lay behind the next door. It was optimistic to believe that it would simply be whatever it was that was being so safely secured but that was far too hopeful. It wasn't improbable by any means but what kind of passage of challenges would end with a game of chess of all things.

There had to be something more, Hermione was sure of it.

It would be many hours later when Madam Pince eventually kicked the first year girl out of the library before verbally combating the girl and informing her that she couldn't withdraw a dozen books out on such short notice. Hermione begrudgingly only took two back with her to the common room that evening.

...

Waking up that morning, Harry gazed over at his personal potions area to what he had spent the previous night concocting. He truly hoped that they wouldn't be necessary, especially given the results of what had happened last time he had used those two potions in conjunction with one another. Now however he was traversing with a crew that were going to be following his leadership. If one of them were to accidentally break, it could be disastrous.

Without knowing what was lying ahead however, it could very well be worse off not knowing what was to come.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Thus, Harry prepared himself for what was to come and the consequences of the actions that he and his peers were about to embark on. It was time to see just what was being hidden at Hogwarts.

...

Neville stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, his fingers tightly gripping onto the basin as his reflection glared at him. Today was the day he had been preparing for and without question he was terrified. Terrified of not progressing through the first stage, terrified of making an embarrassment of himself, terrified of letting his friends down.

He knew that all it was was his fear getting the better of him. Neville truly wished that he could bury the feelings but no matter what thoughts he tried to bring forth they were only weighed down by his own self doubt.

Was this a mistake? Did he make the wrong choice? What was going to happen?

"Oi Longbottom, try not to embarrass us too much you hear!"

Ron's declaration rang through the bathroom and enticed some snickers from those who had heard his words. For Neville however, he had felt as if he had just heard everything he needed to. Placing his hands beneath the faucet, Neville threw some water into his face and looked at himself with new reinvigoration.

It was time to show Hogwarts just what Neville Longbottom was capable of and even if it didn't amount to much at the end of the day, he wasn't going to be afraid to show what he could do.

...

Albus nodded to the young students who had greeted them on their way to secure themselves a seat for the upcoming spectacle. It had been decades since that last time a sanctioned duel had taken place on school grounds and the stakes had been much smaller than, nothing more than a squabble between peers. Now though, the students would go against one another in front of their peers in order to prove themselves the best in the school.

He'd already arranged suitable prizes for every student, regardless of where they came. After all, even if a student was knocked out in the first round, they still deserved something for having committed to the event in the first place when their peers had not.

As more and more of the student body began to arrive and take their places, Albus had well and truly deduced that there would be a handful of students who wouldn't come. There would be a few students who simply didn't want to watch the scenes in front of them play out and he could sympathize with those individuals. Duels weren't for everyone after all.

The students Albus was focused on however weren't here simply because they didn't want to be. They had a task to accomplish, and they knew that time was against them.

One way or another he would know if they succeeded by day's end. Hopefully they would succeed with minimal casualties, but perhaps he was being more than a little hopeful in that regard.

...

Harry gripped onto the key in his hand, the animate object desperately trying to get out of his grasp but to no avail. In front of him stood the door that contained a Cerberus, a vicious animal which was large enough to easily tear him to shreds if it was given the chance.

Thankfully, he had no wish to even give it a moment of a chance.

Looking over his shoulder at his companions, he considered them all for a brief moment. Hermione, Fred, George and Daphne, a motley crew if there ever was one. It was a crew however that he was so happy to be a part of. He had earlier asked Daphne why Tracy wasn't joining them to which Daphne had replied that her friend had her own objective to achieve. That was all the information Harry was given but at the same time that was all that he needed. If the first year Slytherin wished to do something, there was no reason to force her to do something else.

Everybody here was here because they wanted to be.

Now it was time to solve this mystery.

"Let's go," commanded Harry as he pulled out his wand, the action being followed by those behind him. It was time to discover just what Hogwarts was hiding.

...

Hope you enjoyed.