CHAPTER 32: THE MASTER OF DUELS REINSTATED

A couple of mornings later McGonagall announced that the Master of Duels was going to be reinstated. What was known as "the creature of Salazar" had been defeated at last.

"And we owe it all to-"

James was on the edge of his seat, holding his speech tight.

"-professor Powers."

James collapsed into mope-mode.

"I did that!" he sulked.

He watched sourly as Powers swaggered onto the stage.

"Powers just wanted to push it into a different timeline!"

"I know," said Sirius. "But it isn't over yet. The Master of Duels has been reinstated. Once I become Champion Dueller we will be back in the lead!"

"But some points for the trouble would have been nice. Although it was the opposite of trouble."

They finished their breakfast.

"Ok let's go and get signed up!" said Sirius.

"Anybody may sign up," said McGonagall. "Who has turned twelve."

"Whaaat!"

"Maaaan!"

Meanwhile a lot had happened on Spells & Curses.

Doctor Heartfeel! What have you become! WHAT HAVE YOU BECOME!

Double episode, it was like Yuletime. There was a quick advert break and then the next episode started. It opened with they young intern healer doctor Merdorian Grey entering the healer centre and having an inner monologue about life:

Jam. You think that raspberry jam will always be your favourite jam, that you will want to eat it every day forever. But then one day, you take it out of the fridge and it has gone all mouldy because you didn't eat it as quickly as you thought you would. It is like relationships.

Then his cranky mentor turned up and began to shout verbal abuse.

"That guy is so mean," said Remus.

In a couple of days he was going to be discharged, and he'd be allowed to attend all classes except for PE.

"When do you turn twelve?" Sirius asked.

"I turned twelve in March."

"Then can we sign you up for the Master of Duels?"

"Yeah sure."
"Cool. I just hope the thing won't interfere with your exploding appendix."

Remus gave him a Look.

"I don't have an exploding appendix."

"Then what super rare disease did you have?"

"I don't have any super rare disease. I made that up. It was a cover. I thought you knew that."

"But if you don't have any super rare disease, why do you hang out here so much?"

Brief hesitant pause.

"Because I get injured."

"You were injured?" said James. "What happened?"

"Is someone giving you a hard time?" Sirius asked.

"That would be me I guess," said Remus. "I've been giving myself a hard time."

There was an exchange of Looks, that seemed to ask, if the other part had lost it.

"Or… You could say it was the other one. That's just what happens in there."

His eyes went vacant for a bit.

"There's nothing else in there…"

"So Dumbledore makes you go in your cage to be your own scratch post. Ok I'm waiting for you guys to explain to me what a pussy cat he is." Sirius turned back to the telly with a distastefully smug smile.

"It's not a cage!" said Remus.

"Oh, okay!"
"It's not like he can do anything else."

"Sure he can."

"Like what?"

"He could let you out for example."

"Do you even hear yourself? Before you wanted me dead and all of a sudden you want me to kill everybody."

"I said let you out, not let you in."

"Tell you what he should do," said James. "Build a huge fence all around! Then announce total curfew. Honestly it is really that simple. But they say that the brain turns to plastic after 25."

"It didn't seem like anything was going to keep you in before," said Remus.

"Yeah but that was before! Now we're game."

"So because you're game, that means everybody's game?"

"It should! I am seriously disappointed with Dumbledore. Was a shitty cage really the best he could come up with?"

"It was supposed to be temporary. The cabbage patch kid and the maze was supposed to be the real solution."

And all of that, was gone.