There was a pronounced sense of anticipation as the referee signalled Naomi Shinso and Viktor Krum to begin their fight. The fact the audience had almost doubled as the day progressed only added to the atmosphere.
In a single sweep, Naomi cut a rock out of the ground, raised it into the air, multiplied it and animated them all to fly at Krum.
Immediately two of her rocks were completely destroyed by Krum's opening attack, three different explosive spells, a metal spike and even a lightning bolt.
The remaining rocks flew across the arena, forcing Krum to focus on them. The closest was pegged with a reducto, with the next being transfigured into a life sized boar.
However, his spell missed the 5th rock, which collided with his right shoulder with a loud 'Crack'. In just five seconds Naomi had been the first to hit Krum in a duel and dealt major damage.
Not that she was able to capitalise on it, since during Krum's distraction she had drawn a ward matrix into the ground, bunkering down at the end of the arena.
Heedless of the danger, Krum's boar ran head first into the barely visible ward, where it immediately shattered into bright blue sparks before returning to rock.
Grunting, Krum swapped his wand to his off hand and cast a healing spell on his shoulder, which glowed a continuous deep red. Rolling his arm stiffly, he began to pepper the ward with his power.
Each attack caused a ripple of deep red magic to spread across the ward, along with a loud boom. Despite this, the shield held strong, allowing Naomi time to recover her energy.
Her first counterattack was a wall of fire, which was easily swept out of the way by Krum and seamlessly added into his next attack.
Without missing a beat, Naomi swapped to water and ice attacks, extinguishing the fire on the way. Once again Krum swept his wand and made the attack orbit around him, however Naomi's freezing charm managed to wrest control back.
Before the circle of ice even hit the flaw, Naomi managed to detonate the ice and sent shards flying in all directions. Moments before he disappeared within the ice, Daphne spotted Krum summon a transparent green shield.
There was a brief lull as everyone waited for the ice to settle, which revealed Krum hidden safely behind a cylindrical ne motus shield.
His shield had barely begun to dissipate when he restarted his attack on the wards, which now featured a noticeable decrease in power after the ice.
It seemed like no matter what charm Naomi used against Krum, he had something to counter, until with one great burst of power Krum fired a giant yellow ball of energy at the ward.
The ball was easily the size of Krum, powerful enough that visible arcs of energy erupted from it. The ball moved slow enough that anyone could have outwalked it, but trapped within her wards Naomi was stuck.
Upon contact with the shield, the ball briefly halted, before the entire ward collapsed. The struggle had reduced the ball to about half its original size, not that it mattered as it gently drifted into the floor.
Immediately the ball burst open, sending arcs of lightning exploding outwards. The explosion was big enough to completely cover the area Naomi had protected, spreading scorch marks up to the middle of the arena.
This time, when everything settled, it was clear who the winner was. On one side, Krum looked exhausted but still capable. On the other, Naomi was lying on the floor, lightly smoking and unmoving.
The moment Krum was called the winner, Madam Pomphrey checked on Naomi, then told the official something. As she levitated the girl into the medical tent, the official announced to the crowd "Ms. Shinso has only suffered minor electrical damage, which will cause no lasting damage. In light of that, Mr. Krum will continue onto the next round!"
"In the muggle world, that type of damage would be considered a lot worse." Harry muttered, "Honestly, between our natural resistance to damage and our healthcare, we have a pretty messed up idea of 'minor damage'."
"I guess? For us, that's just life. We don't consider ourselves as resistant or anything, it's just the muggles are… more delicate than us."
It took some time before Harry was called to start, mainly as the officials tried in vain to repair the damage from Krum's lightning. By then, thunder clouds had begun to gather above the nearby mountain range, looming ominously on the horizon. The wards would keep the worst of it out, but it didn't bode well for the next few fights.
Just like when Krum had stepped into the arena, the crowd broke into deafening applause when Harry strolled onto the pitch. It was hard to even hear his opponent's name, a Durmstrang boy called Stanislav, over the noise.
The moment the duel began, Stanislav began waving smoke throughout the arena, completely disappearing within it. Without the arena's built in Homenum Revelio, they would've been unable to see what was happening.
From the way Stanislav was prowling towards Harry, it was clear he had cast his own revealing charm, while Harry calmly walked into the centre of the arena.
Daphne knew from experience that Harry had a multitude of ways to see through the obstruction, however she didn't expect the smoke to begin to shift around him.
Without her elevated position, it would've been hard to see, but the smoke was clearly being manipulated to spin around him. While at first he only affected the area immediately around him, as the speed increased his area of influence grew equally.
Whether he detected what was happening or not, Stanislav seemingly decided it was a good time to attack, firing at Harry's exposed back. They could see the light from the spell travel towards Harry, but the smoke blocked everything else.
From what they could see, the spell struck Harry, without any effect. Two more spells met a similar fate, but by the time the 3rd spell got close the smoke had moved enough to uncover him, leaving him untouched in the eye of the storm.
As the spell closed in, the small dark orange disk of the Armum shield flicked into existence in front of the spell, smashing on impact and taking the spell with it.
It was a level of control that frankly flawed her. It meant Harry had wandlessly, wordlessly and sightlessly cast the shield, while perfectly matching the strength of the spell.
Then you had Harry's miniature whirlwind, which was still happily picking up speed. The wind buffering Stanislav was strong enough to effect his aim, enough that the next spell whizzed harmlessly past Harry's ear. The following attack had a similar fate, as it splashed at the ground next to Harry's ankle.
Clearly giving up on attacking, Stanislav began pushing his way closer to Harry, in some misguided belief that a closer proximity would help. Cocking his head to the side, Harry started letting icicles form from his wand, each flung into the whirlwind with a sharp flick.
Whilst they disappeared within the smoke, the outline of Stanislav started to react as if struck, before quickly moving as if maintaining a shield.
In response, Harry added his wand to the mix and noticeably sped up the whirlwind. With how fast the wind was going, Stanislav was having considerable problems with just standing, let alone try to fight back.
As the smoke hit hurricane speeds, Harry turned towards Stanislav and thrust his wand out. Instantly, the smoke stopped, while a giant jet of fire bellowed out of Harry's wand.
The force was great enough that the smoke which had covered the area was torn aside, revealing Stanislav's shocked face a moment before the fire reached him. His wand flashed towards the fire even as it rippled over him, hiding him from view entirely.
Within moments the fire had completely consumed that side of the pitch, going far enough to bounce off the wards and back into the mass. After just a few seconds of maintaining the fire, Harry violently ended the spell, breathing deeply.
Without any fuel, the flames vanished swiftly, leaving a smoking Stanislav kneeling on a small island of blackened grass. Everything else, including the damage from Krum's lightning was gone, leaving just ashy dirt behind.
Despite the clear burns, Stanislav grimly got to his feet, transfiguring an iron sword from the ground and pointing it at Harry. Grinning, Harry transfigured his own sword, cheerfully tapping it against Stanislav's.
With that, the two resumed their duel, but while it was clear Stanislav was skilled with his blade, his burns and exhaustion made him sloopy. Meanwhile Harry clearly lacked the experience his opponent had, but made up for it in energy and strength.
Stanislav quickly learned to stop blocking Harry's attack, when each clash almost forced the sword out of his hand. It didn't take long for Harry to catch Stanislav off guard, easily prising the sword away and back-handing him hard enough to send him to the ground.
It took a moment, but people gradually realised the Durmstrang boy was unconscious, having been struck with a stupefy with the back-hand. With the referee calling Harry the winner, the crowd erupted in cheers.
This time, the officials didn't even bother trying to repair the grass, they just put out the remaining fires, leaving over half the pitch completely burned.
Making her way to the pitch, Daphne got to pass Harry, who was making his way to the stands. "Did you have to burn half the pitch? I've got to compete on that!" She called, causing a smirk to appear on his face.
"Of course! Krum challenged me to beat him with his lightning, so I did. Really, it's his fault for trying to challenge me." He returned, spinning around so he could face her.
"Also, what happened to your 'that's a messed up idea of minor damage'? I don't think setting the entire area on fire would be minor."
"The fire wasn't hot enough to be serious, his biggest issue would've been lack of oxygen. Enjoy your fight!"
Muttering under her breath, she climbed onto the field and stood facing off against Fleur Delacour. A Fleur Delacour who specialised in fire, standing on a recently burnt patch of ground. Harry would've struggled to give Daphne any more of a disadvantage, especially with how dry the air had become.
The moment she could, she cast Aguamenti, focusing it entirely on the ground at Fleur's feet. She had been trying to master the spell ever since she saw Fleur cast it in the first task, finally getting it to work without any help.
With the water laid, she had to dodge the two fireballs Fleur had sent her way, transfiguring a third into water and blocking the final with a protego, each fireball having easily been the size of her head.
A quick flick shot a basic hex at Fleur, then began a strong spell chain. To her annoyance, Fleur effortlessly blocked every single spell, finishing with a wall of fire that evaporated most of her water.
Growling, Daphne reached out with her magic and forcefully froze the remaining water, trying to gain an advantage. From the ice sheet that now covered part of the arena, she was able to raise several icy spikes, putting a wall between them both.
Running to the side, she used another aguamenti pointed at the sky, inducing a brief shower. Which was as far as she got before Fleur exploded one of the ice spikes, sending fragments flying towards Daphne.
Thinking quickly she stepped to the side and used her power to redirect the ice around her, making an orbit just like Harry would. With a flick of her fingers, the shards flew back in Fleur's direction, disappearing in a shield of fire.
However, a banished ball of earth followed the shards, earning a satisfying "oof" when it sailed through the fire and hit Fleur. She sent another chain of spells, including the numbing hex that had been so successful against Harry. Unfortunately all of them broke against Fleur's shield.
Undoing one of the spires, she transfigured two wolves from the ice, tasking them with attacking the other witch. Then she doused the area around Fleur in copious amounts of water, instantly freezing them and drawing out more spikes.
With Fleur occupied, Daphne also took the time to strike the air with a powerful cooling charm, eyeing the distant storm clouds enviously. For her efforts, she had to duck under a fireball and then roll away from a whipping chain.
What Daphne didn't expect was for the air behind her to solidify and throw her forwards, a trick she had only ever seen Harry use. She tried to recover, sending a wave of ice towards Fleur, while simultaneously dodging her spell chain.
To add insult to injury, one of her wolves was turned against her, making her waste time dealing with it. Right as she finished reverting it back into ice, her magic screamed at her from the side. Trusting her instincts, she rolled backwards, manipulating the ice to push her onto her feet.
The move saved her from the bolt of fire that blew through her previous spot. The fire was easily thicker than her arm, shooting out of Fleur's still extended fist. Steam erupted from the borehole the fire had dug, passing through the ice without any difficulty.
In order to buy herself time, she fired a strong spell at the French girl, which to her surprise broke through her shield and was barely dodged. Grinning, Daphne began a blistering attack, eating away at her remaining magic but putting Fleur heavily on the back foot.
Her water and ice based attacks either landed for minimal damage, or were left on the arena, giving Daphne more material to work with. Right as Fleur took a step back, Daphne raised a block of ice over her foot. With a surprised yell, Fleur fell backwards, just barely sending out a wall of fire as she fell.
With the wall coming towards her, Daphne needed to shield herself, allowing Fleur time to get to her feet. Pressing her hands together, Fleur frowned in concentration then slowly pulled her hands apart, revealing a small orb of fire.
As her hands drew apart, the fire grew bigger and stronger, until Fleur was levitating a swirling blazing ball bigger than a beachball. The fire was hot enough it was almost white, visible affecting the air around it. Despite the fact Daphne was sweating heavily from the proximity, Fleur seemed completely unaffected by the heat.
With a yell, Fleur balanced the ball of one hand, before punching it with the other. The punch ripped the ball out of its containment and spewed flames outwards, primarily towards Daphne. While the actual blast was smaller than Harry's fire had been, the flames were considerably stronger.
Drawing all the ice she could, Daphne did a backflip, pulling the ice behind her to make a ramp. Immediately on landing under the ramp, she cast an ever cold charm, ensuring the cold light of the charm coated the entire ice structure.
With a roar of wind, the fire shot overhead, having been redirected by the ice. The heat was strong enough that even with the Aeternum Frigus charm protecting it, the ice was slowly melting, letting the flames drop lower and lower.
Breathing deeply, Daphne pulled backwards before pushing her hands out as hard as she could, toppling the entire structure towards Fleur. Flames leapt everywhere as the ice fell, creating thick pockets of steam and mist.
Daphne was taken aback when a length of chain flew through the mist, missing her by several feet. Two more lengths crashed against the ice, one managing to partially bury itself within a spire. In response, Daphne set loose another wolf.
The drain she felt from completing the wolf was enough to convince her to stop using transfiguration, unwilling to lose the fight from magical exhaustion.
An explosion of fire freed Fleur from the ice, while simultaneously melting the wolf. The two witches waited a moment, staring at each other angrily, before bursting into motion. Daphne snapped off four different spells, only to be bodied backwards by a new wall of air Fleur erected.
Deftly redirected the spells, Fleur cautiously stepped forward, firing spells with far less accuracy. When an animation charm missed by several feet, Daphne confidently tried to raise her wand, ready to finish the duel.
Instead, she found a chain wrapped around her wrist, pulling her arm far to the side. Shocked, she tried to bring her left hand around, only for Fleur's spell to grasp that hand and knock it against the spire behind her.
The moment her hand hit the ice, the chain that had previously remained dormant jumped to life and wrapped around her arm. Before she could even think of controlling the ice, Fleur transfigured the spire into a heavy block of stone.
To add insult to injury, the third chain grabbed her right foot and pulled it from under her. Seeing a disarmer coming towards her, Daphne awkwardly threw a stunner in Fleur's direction, which was negligently stepped around.
Fleur's expelliarmus forced her wand out of Daphne's hand, while an unseen Rictusempra struck moments later. The childish hex was completely unnecessary, but left Daphne laughing helplessly while staring daggers at a nonchalant Fleur.
With her wand gone, bound and unable to free herself, the referee called Fleur the winner, while freeing Daphne and finiting the hex. Fuming, Daphne stormed off the pitch, taking refuge under the stands, away from the crowds.
"Hey, Daphne, are you okay?" Harry called, having eventually found her within the supports.
"She humiliated me, Harry, of course I'm not okay!" Daphne cried, "I failed. I was so close to winning, but I let my guard down and lost! Now everyone's going to think I'm weak."
"Don't be silly, you got to the third round and lasted the longest out of everyone. As for people thinking you are weak, I doubt it. You didn't stay long enough to see, but Professor Dumbledore was called in to fix the damage you and Fleur did. Your magic was too resistant to change for the officials to fix it quick enough, that's not the sign of a weak person.
As for you losing, the people near where I was sitting were impressed with how far Fleur had to go to trap you, they certainly weren't thinking you were humiliated. Do you think you're okay to come back and watch Cedric's match, or do you want to stay here a while?"
Carefully cleaning her face, Daphne slowly stood and breathed deeply. Nodding to herself, she turned to Harry and held her hand out. "Yeah, I think I'm ready. Just promise me you'll beat Fleur for me."
First, my schedule has once again gotten in the way. I will be doing theatre work for the next few weeks, which is why I'm releasing this chapter tonight instead of the normal Thursday. This will also mean I am not going to be writing for the rest of the month.
Also, if anyone has a type of magic / attack they'd like to see used in the next chapter, please let me know!