I do not own Harry Potter, only any OC that may appear in my stories.
Hello guys, Badger here. I'm back again with a new chapter and, boy this was a long one. Took even longer to write when the heat practically knocked me out for a few days. It's not the longest chapter I've ever written, but it's definitely long. To begin with, I planned on Harry's qualifying duels to spread across at least three chapters, however, they would have been a rinse and repeat of the same thing, so I decided to make the Qualifiers one long chapter. I'm really spoiling you today.
Anyway, I hope writing this long chapter was worth it. I hope you enjoy and I will see you at the end.
Chapter 10
Blood. That's all Harry could see. The clean wood of the floors were being stained with crimson, as his family lay dead at his feet. James, Lily and Nathaniel, all lay with lifeless eyes, their bodies pale and blue, as blood continued to seep from their slashed throats. Harry had a blank look in his eyes as he stood there, wand in hand, feeling nothing but satisfaction as he continued to stare at their corpses, as a dark, cold smile crept across his face. Darkness enveloped the room, as a figure appeared from the shadows, standing behind him. The figure smiled as its red eyes, that practically glowed against its pale white skin, gleamed with cold delight.
"Well done Potter" The figure spoke with a smooth rasp "Your family stood no chance against you…your power is extraordinary…and I feel it grow stronger every day…come my heir, we have much to do"
…
Harry woke up, with a start, sweat starting to fall down his brow. Putting a hand to his forehead, he sat up, closing the curtains to stop the blinding light coming through the glass of his window. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Harry thought about the dream he just had. He wasn't sure what it was, or what it meant. But it disturbed him. Seeing his family laying there dead, by his hand. As much as he hated his family, with every fibre of his being, he couldn't see himself killing them. No matter how much he hated them. Running a hand through his hair, Harry checked the time to see it was nearing 10 o'clock. Not knowing when Flitwick would arrive, he decided to skip a shower, and chose to use a cleaning and freshening charm on himself, with a quick wave of his wand, before putting on the Duelling Robes and holster that Flitwick had gifted to him. They felt surprisingly comfortable to wear and had a slight bagginess to them, most likely to help with his movement.
After triple checking in the mirror, to make sure he was ready, Harry slid his wand into the holster before leaving his room, making sure to lock the door with several locking charms, so no one in his family could sneak into his room. His parents were in the living area, whilst Evelyn played with her dolls on the floor. Nathaniel was nowhere in sight, though the less he had to see the whale, the better. His parents were talking quietly between them, though Lily quickly noticed his presence and looked at his attire with massive disapproval. It was clear she still wasn't happy about Harry being in the Duelling Ring. His father seemed passive about it, though Harry was nearly certain his father seemed to look proud seeing Harry standing there in his Duelling Robes. Almost like Harry had already won the Duelling Ring.
Evelyn took a moment to look up from her dolls and her face lit up seeing her older brother. Though a frown quickly appeared, as she noted his clothing and figured he was leaving to go somewhere and immediately jumped up and ran to him, hugging his legs tightly.
"Harry, leaving?" She asked, looking up at him with her sad puppy eyes
Harry couldn't help but smile. She would always give him the puppy eyes to get her own way. It never worked. Mostly never. Sometimes never…..it worked every single time. Slowly removing her arms from around his legs, Harry got down onto his knees so he was eye to eye level with his little sister.
"I'm sorry princess, but I have to go somewhere, and I may have to leave a few more times over the next couple of weeks" Harry said "But I will be back later today, okay"
Evelyn nodded, though it was clear she didn't like it and quickly threw her arms around her brothers neck, giving him an extra tight hug. Harry returned the hug, and ruffled her hair slightly. As they parted, Evelyn went back to her dolls.
"I still don't like that you are taking part in this" Lily spoke up "Especially without talking to us about it first"
"You don't really have a choice in this matter" Harry shrugged uncaringly "I wasn't forced into this…Flitwick asked if I wanted to take part, and he thinks I have a good shot at winning this"
As if summoned, the Floo network ignited, lighting the room in a green hue, before Flitwick stepped out from the flames, dusting himself off. He gave a polite smile and nod to James and Lily, who were once his favourite students, though it didn't hold much warmth. It didn't take a genius to know Harry had been neglected by the two over the last ten years. He and Severus knew almost immediately during Harry's First Year.
"I'm sorry for barging in like this" He said "I would've called ahead, but I imagine Harry has already told you about the Duelling Ring"
"He had" James nodded "Though we are slightly disappointed we weren't spoken to about it beforehand"
"I do apologise about that, I knew that you two would have your disapprovals, but I can see amazing potential in Harry" Flitwick said, before turning to the raven haired teen, removing a small object from his robe "I hope you're ready Harry, the Qualifiers start soon…as the Duelling Ring isn't accessible by Floo Network or Apparition, this Portkey will take us there"
"I'm ready" Harry said, as he touched the object, mentally preparing himself "Evelyn, be good, I'll be back soon"
Flitwick smiled, before muttering the activation word, where Harry immediately felt the sickening sensation, like he was being compressed, squeezed, twisted and stretched, as the Portkey whisked them away. The feeling lasted for a few seconds, before his feet touched solid ground again and he stumbled slightly, as he steadied himself. Flitwick placed a gentle hand against Harry, to keep him upright, patiently waiting for the boy to regain his bearings before they continued. When the world stopped spinning, Harry saw that they were in a dark room, where a man sat behind a desk stood in their way of large ornate doors, which no doubt led to the Duelling Ring. Flitwick led Harry over to the man behind the desk, who stopped writing on his parchment when he heard them approach.
"Can I help you?" He asked, with a thick French accent.
"Coach Flitwick here to sign in Harry Potter from England to compete in the Paris Magicka, under 17's, Duelling Ring" Flitwick replied, in a professional tone
"Ah, Harry Potter, I remember you from the newspapers, Order of Merlin winner" The man said, as he wrote Harry's name on some parchment and flicked through some charts "Your first opponent will be Alain Delcroix, a local boy and quite talented depending on who you ask, good luck Mr Potter"
Flitwick and Harry nodded politely, before the Ex Duelling Champion led hid apprentice through the ornate doors, where Harry was taken aback by the size of the Duelling Ring that awaited them on the other side. It must have been three times bigger then the Quidditch Stadium at Hogwarts. The room was circular and the seats surrounded the large podium where the competitors were going to fight. Looking at everyone sat in the stands, eagerly awaiting for the Qualifiers to begin, if someone were to tell Harry there was over a million people watching, he would believe them. Standing to the side, so they could get a good view of the podium, Flitwick had a quick word with Harry.
"Now, Harry" He said "Listen close, this is very important…I want you to watch every single person who comes up to fight on the podium…read their movements, read their methods, find faults in their duelling techniques which you can use to your advantage…you never know if you'll have to go up against one of them later on, and it's always best to have an understanding of your opponent"
Harry nodded, just as fireworks went off and the crowd cheered, as a man got up on the podium, the tip of his wand pressed against his neck, to project his voice for everyone to here.
"Hello everyone and welcome to the 150th Paris Magicka, under 17's, Duelling Ring" He said, causing the crowd to cheer louder "We have a ton of Qualifiers today, so I hope you're excited…you know the rules…everyone of our competitors will partake in 3 duels, each one against a different opponent…if a competitor loses 2, or all 3 of their duels, they will not pass the Qualifiers and therefore will not continue to the playoffs…so let's get started…to kick off the Qualifiers, we have Zhirov Nikitovich from Russia, going up against Alain Delcroix!"
The crowd cheered as the two boys got onto the podium. Harry started paying extra attention, having heard Alain's name. As his first duel was against the French boy, this would give Harry a good first impression of what to expect when it was his turn to cross wands with him. The boys met one another in the middle of the podium and brought their wands to the front of their faces.
"You know the rules boys" The referee's voice rang out "No killing and no Unforgivable Curses…either offence will lead to immediate disqualification, understand?"
The two boys gave their affirmative response, before they bowed, and turned on their heels and walked 30 paces. As soon as they reached the 30 pace mark, they both immediatley turned and took their duelling stance. The entire room was quiet and Harry could practically feel the tension as both boys glared at one another, eagerly waiting for the signal. It felt like an eternity, before the referee gave the go ahead and, as quick as a flash, both boys fired off a spell which collided in the centre of the podium, signalling the beginning of the Qualifiers.
As the duel went on, Harry did as Flitwick instructed and watched both Alain and Zhirov as they duelled, reading their movements and duelling techniques. Zhirov was large and muscular for his age. He was a brute and this was evident in his duelling. Zhirov used heavy spells that would leave a significant amount of damage to Alain if they hit. Blasting Curses, Bludgeoning Hex, Bone Breakers. He was using all of them. However, Harry noted that, Zhirov wasn't very agile. He was quite slow in his movements, preferring to rely on his heavy damaging spells more then his agility. Something Harry could use to his advantage if he was to go up against the Russian in the future.
Alain on the other hand, was quite agile and quick on his feet. The man at the front desk was also right in saying Alain was quite talented at magic, as the boy was able to preform some rather impressive and flamboyant spells. However, it seemed Alain knew he was talented too. The boy seemed overconfident and cocky, which almost cost him the duel on more then one occasion. The boy's cockiness was something Harry could exploit in their duel later on. Harry continued to watch, as the duel went on, eventually ending when Alain fired a Disarming charm and Bludgeoning Hex in quick succession, which Zhirov was unable to avoid and resulted in his wand being torn from his grasp before being knocked to the ground unconscious by the impact of the Bludgeoning Hex, which made Alain the winner of his first of three duels.
Harry growled at the smug expression Alain gave off, as he bowed and waved to the cheering crowd. Harry was going to enjoy it when he wiped that smug smile off of the boy's face.
…
An hour had passed and Harry had watched and analysed every competitor who went up to duel. There were definitely a few he was wary of, like Alvaro Ferrandis from Spain, who was insanely quick in his movements and hit heavily with his spells. Eventually though, it was his turn to go up against Alain, who was giving Harry a smug smile as they made their way onto the podium. The overconfident look on the boys face told Harry, the French duellist already thought he was going to win. Harry scoffed, fully prepared to break that ego of his, somewhat. The two bowed to one another, before walking 30 paces and taking their duelling stance. Harry opted to go with a stance Flitwick taught him that would limit target size and keep Harry light on his feet, in case he needed to move quickly. Considering Alain was quick in his movement and spell work, Harry didn't want to take any chances.
After a few silent moments, the signal went off and Harry immediately spun out the way of a bone breaker sent by Alain. Mid spin, Harry fired a weak cutting curse, hoping it would catch against Alain's wand arm, causing him to drop his wand. Alain, however dodged the spell and fired a Disarming charm, a Bludgeoning Hex and a Stunner in quick succession. Remembering Flitwick's lessons on movement and dodging, Harry kept on the move and easily dodged the Disarming charm and Bludgeoning Hex, but had to put up a quick shield to block the Stunner. Not giving Alain another chance to fire a spell, Harry quickly fired an 'Incendio', to distract the boy, before firing a Knockback Jinx. Alain's eyes widened at the flames, but he easily dodged them, nearly burning his robes during the process, before blocking the Knockback jinx.
Harry could already see the boy's cockiness coming into play. Alain was being overly, and unnecessarily, flamboyant in his movement and spell work, as if he was showing off to the crowd purely for the attention. It made Harry's blood boil as he felt like he was looking at an older version of Nathaniel. Only this Nathaniel was French…and not as fat as a whale. Deciding to put an end to things as soon as he possibly can, as Harry ducked under the boys stunner, he fired off another cutting curse, which cut into Alain's right leg. Alain hissed in pain at the sudden hit and Harry saw and immediate change in the boys demeanour. It was clear the hit had knocked some sense into the French duellist.
As the two continued to trade spells, it was clear the cut on Alain's leg was starting to take effect, as his movements began to slow due to the pain that was spreading across his body. The grimaces Alain made every time he moved was evident to the pain getting worse after every passing second. Smirking, Harry fired the ice forming spell that Flitwick had taught him. The spell impacted Alain on his wand arm, causing the ice to form and spread much to the boys shock. Immediatley, Harry fired a weak Bone Breaker, causing the ice to shatter and Alain yelled in agony as both his arm and his wand broke. With a quick flick of Harry's wand, Alain was then hit in the chest by a stunner and he fell to the ground with a dull thud, where the referee announced Harry as the winner.
Harry couldn't help but smile as he watched Alain being levitated to the medical section of the Duelling Ring, so his injuries could be treated and healed, in time for his next and final duel. However, considering his wand was broken, Harry doubted the French duellist will be able to compete. If he was able to continue competing, Harry had no doubts that Alain would demand a rematch during the Playoffs as soon as he woke back up.
"Well done Harry" Flitwick praised, with a proud smile, as the raven haired boy made his way back over "I'm glad you listened to my instructions and observed your opponent"
"Alain may have had talent, but he was too cocky" Harry replied "Winning his first duel had made him way too overconfident and that caused him to make a few mistakes"
"Amazing work" Flitwick smiled "Even if they repair his arm, I doubt he'll be able to continue with the Qualifiers, considering your broke his wand in the process"
Harry smiled as he turned his attention to the crowd, and the other duellists eagerly waiting for their turn, as they took a ten minute break before they started the next duel. As he looked amongst the other duellists, his gaze landed on a girl who he guessed was the same age as himself. Her smooth skin, sapphire blue eyes, silvery blonde hair and even the way she stood made her seem like she was some sort of royalty, making Harry wonder why she was competing in the Duelling Ring. As he looked at her, Harry could feel a tingling sensation in the back of his mind. He quickly shook his head and the sensation went away, making Harry wonder what it was, as he moved his gaze away from the blonde haired girl.
…
As Harry waited for his next duel, he observed everyone who went up to the podium. He had been informed by one of the Duelling Ring officiates that his next duel was against Remco Grevenslag from the Netherlands. Harry had watched the Dutchman duel. They were a brute, but was quick on his feet. As Harry watched the man duel, he noticed that the Dutchman used the same spells: Bone Breakers, Blasting Hexes and Cutting Curses. He didn't use anything else, meaning Harry could use the man's predictability to his advantage to run rings around him.
"Now, onto the next competitors" The announcer's voice rang out "We have Anthony O'Donovan from Ireland, going up against local girl Fleur Delacour"
Harry watched, as the silvery blonde from earlier got up onto the podium. Immediatley, Harry noticed an immediate demeanour change in every male in the room. Every one of them started turning into drooling wrecks, as they cheered and practically tried jumping out of their seats. Harry was confused as to what was happening. He only grew more confused, when he saw the Flitwick wasn't a drooling wreck like everyone else.
"Professor, what is happening to everyone?" Harry asked, causing Flitwick to look around before a small smile came onto his face
"Miss Delacour, she's a Veela" Flitwick replied
"Veela?" Harry repeated "I don't think we've learnt about those yet"
"And you won't" Flitwick shrugged "Veela's used to be taught to students as part of the Magical Creatures elective…however, there were many complaints and teachings were dropped, though many, especially Pureblood Supremacists, still view Veela's as lesser beings"
"Why does that explain all these men that are acting like mindless apes?" Harry asked
"Think of Sirens from Greek Mythology" Flitwick said "Veela's let off an Aura they can't control…the Aura puts men into a trance like state, and fills a mans mind with strong romantic and sexual desires…desires that do tend to turn them into mindless buffoons"
"How come you aren't affected Professor?" Harry asked
"I'm part Goblin Harry" Flitwick smiled "We are immune to such effects…though, I am surprised that you aren't affected…it's rare to find a wizard that's immune to the Veela charm"
"I guess I'm not like most wizards" Harry muttered
"No you're not" Flitwick chuckled slightly
Harry turned his attention back to the duel, just as Anthony and Fleur began firing spells. It was immediately clear to Harry who was going to win. Despite how much Anthony tried to ignore Fleur's Veela Charm, his attempts were futile. He was too busy gushing over the silvery blonde, rather then trying to hit her with any spells and he nearly got hit by her spells more then once. Rolling his eyes, Harry turned his attention to Fleur. She moved with ease and with elegant grace, like a dancer. And it was clear she was talented with her spell work. Harry knew that if they were to cross wands, she would be a tricky opponent.
The duel didn't last much longer as Fleur conjured a flock of birds, that began pecking at Anthony and, whilst the Irishmen was busy trying to get rid of the birds, Fleur fired a Disarming Charm followed by a quick Stunner, which took Anthony out of the fight, where the announcer declared Fleur the winner of the duel.
…
Fleur paid no mind to everyone who began cheering for her. They were just drooling wrecks who were affected by her Aura. Things may be bad now, but when she reached 18, her Aura was going to become more powerful and make things even worse. As she began making her way off the podium, she caught eyes with someone. A raven haired boy, with emerald green eyes. She remembered watching his duel against Alain. It was clear to her that the boy was talented with magic and could give her a run for her money. Fleur watched the boys duel and spent a lot of time wondering why the boy looked so familiar. She felt like she had seen him before and didn't know why.
As she met the boys gaze, she was surprised to see he wasn't a drooling mess like every other male in the room. He seemed to be immune to her Aura. Instead of looking at her with lustful looks, his eyes were narrowed, as if he was observing her, no doubt analysing her movements and wand skill, just in case they crossed wands in the future. She sniffed impassively, before leaving the podium, though in her mind, all she could think about was the fact that someone was immune to her Aura. She entered this tournament to prove to others that she was more then worthy of her magic and the title of a witch and it seemed she was going to have to watch this raven haired boy much closer, if she hopes to beat him should they go up against one another.
…
It wasn't long until Harry found himself standing several feet away from Remco Grevenslag, who glared at Harry with murderous eyes. It was clear that the Dutchman intended to win. Harry wasn't going to let him though. The Dutchman's predictability was going to make this an easy duel for Harry.
The exact moment the signal went off for the duel to begin, Remco immediatley fired a Bone Breaker, which Harry easily blocked with a shield. This seemed to offend the Dutch duellist, as he growled before firing two more Bone Breakers, which were followed up by a Cutting Curse. Harry kept on the move as he dodged the two Bone Breakers and, as he ducked under the Cutting Curse, Harry fired off a Binding Charm, followed by a Bone Breaker of his own. Remco dodged the ropes, however he ended up jumping into the Bone Breaker, aimed specifically at his legs, which impacted his right foot. Remco let out a curse in Dutch, before he fired a Bludgeoning Hex followed by a Bone Breaker. Harry quickly jumped to one side, to avoid the Bludgeoning Hex, where he was only just able to put up a shield to block the Bone Breaker, which would have hit Harry in the chest, if he didn't form a shield in time.
Deciding to end things quickly, Harry dropped the shield and, with quick speed, fired of another Bone Breaker, followed by a Disarming Charm and Knockback Jinx. Due to his broken foot, Remco was unable to avoid the spells in time and the Bone Breaker ended up hitting his shoulder. He was unable to react to the pain before his wand was ripped from his grasp, where he was then sent flying out of the podium ring, which immediatley made Harry the winner of the duel. As Remco was being led to the medical bay by Healers, the Dutchman gave Harry a murderous glare as he was led away. Harry merely smirked at him in response.
…
As the day went on, Harry watched more and more duels, noting which ones he should be wary of, during the playoffs. He also kept a close eye on Fleur Delacour. She may have looked like a princess, but she didn't fight like one. She was quite brutal in her remaining two duels. Both of which she won. No doubt her anger about her Aura and her opponents turning into a drooling mess and mindless buffoons, played a part in that. It felt like a long time until he was called up to his final Qualifying Duel, where he was up against fellow Englishmen Matthew Higgins.
As Harry stood in front of the boy, Harry felt like he could pass off as a brother to the Weasleys. The pale complexion. The sprinkle of freckles on his cheeks. The blue eyes and flaming red hair. If Matthew stood with the rest of the Weasleys, you would think he was part of the family. The Weasleys were known for having lots of children, no one would bat an eye.
"May the best Englishman win" Matthew gave Harry a gentle smile, which Harry returned
The two walked 30 paces, before taking their duelling stances. Matthew had a calm expression on his face. It slightly unnerved Harry. He had seen Matthew duelling on the podium and he knew the red head was going to be a bigger problem then Alain and Remco. The signal went off and Harry immediatley had to dive out the way of the Stunner that Matthew had sent his way. It was so fast Harry had to dodge, not having a chance to put up a shield. Not wanting to give Matthew another opportunity, Harry fired a Knockback Jinx, but the redhead easily sidestepped to avoid it, the smile never leaving his face, before firing a Stunner and a quick Cutting Curse. Harry easily dodged the Stunner, but he found himself being hit by the Cutting Curse, which cut into his right shoulder. Pain shot through Harry's entire body, but he was able to just about dodge a Knockback Jinx that Matthew had fired hoping the Cutting Curse would be enough to distract Harry long enough to send him flying out of the ring.
Trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder, Harry fired his Ice Forming spell, which Matthew ducked under, where he continued smiling at Harry. Harry growled slightly, seeing that smile. Gripping his wand tightly, Harry fired a Bone Breaker, along with a Cutting Curse, hoping one of them would cause enough damage to allow Harry to fire a finishing blow. Matthew looked slightly surprised at the speed of the two spells coming his way, before ducking under the Bone Breaker and setting up a shield to block the Cutting Curse, which ricocheted off of the invisible barrier.
With a flick of his wand, Matthew conjured a flock of birds, which began pecking at Harry, before sending a Cutting Curse. Harry angrily swiped his wand in an arc, which caused the birds to vanish, however, as he turned to look back to his opponent, the red heads Cutting Curse cut into the left side of his abdomen. Harry let out a scream as he hunched down slightly, the pain ten times worse than the cut in his shoulder.
Looking up, Harry saw Matthew smiling at him. Seeing his damn smile made Harry see nothing but red. With a yell that rang out across the entire Duelling Ring, Harry fired a Blasting Hex. Matthew's smile dropped as he dodged the Hex, which impacted the ground, causing it to explode. Harry fired more Blasting Hexes, giving Matthew no choice but to dodge, as he ran around the ring, avoiding both the spells and shrapnel that when flying from the explosions. Growling, Harry shot flames from his wand. As soon as Matthew avoided the flames, Harry shot a Bone Breaker, which hit Matthew in the shoulder. Smirking at the pain on the red heads face, Harry hit the boy with a Knockback Jinx that sent him flying out of the podium ring.
"And Harry Potter is the winner" The announcer's voice rang out "Mr Potter has won all three of his Qualifying duels, meaning he is able to move onto Playoffs"
As Harry made his way back to Flitwick, he was stopped by Matthew who, despite having his shoulder broken and being sent flying out of the ring, he still had that damn smile on his face. Harry gave the red head a suspicious look, until Matthew extended his hand towards him.
"I'm impressed…you gave me one hell of a fight there" He chuckled "Even though you beat me, I still won my other two duels, meaning I'm moving onto the Playoffs…maybe me and you can have a rematch"
Harry couldn't help but smile as he shook the red heads hand. The two parted ways, where Flitwick gave Harry a proud smile as the Raven haired teen made his way over.
"I'm impressed Harry" Flitwick said "I knew I was right to sign you up for the Duelling Ring…keep putting in the effort like you've done today and I definitely think you have a good shot at winning…now let's take you to the medical bay…your mother is already unhappy about you taking part, I think she'll be more then unhappy to see you return home injured"
…
And done, what did you think? Did you enjoy the long chapter? Was it worth it?
Anyway...I hope you can see why I chose to make the Qualifiers one long chapter instead of several. I don't think you would have wanted to wait a long time just to see how the Qualifiers played out. I think we all knew Harry would pass the Qualifiers. I know Harry didn't really struggle much against his opponents, but don't worry, in future fights during the Duelling Ring, he will struggle more against new, and maybe old, opponents. Fun fact, during Harry's final duel, I considered making Harry go up against Bill or Charlie Weasley though, for some reason, decided against it. Which is why I made the comments of Matthew could be considered a Weasley. We also got introduced to Fleur Delacour (Can you guess who I'm planning on pairing Harry with yet...do I need to make it anymore obvious?)
Anyway, there are several questions left unanswered. Will Harry win the Duelling Ring? When will he personally meet Fleur? Will he duel against Fleur? And what was that dream Harry had at the beginning. All these questions will be answered. When? No clue. Whenever I'm able to write future chapters. I hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time.
Badger Out
