CHAPTER 32: A CLASH OF WANDS
The group turned to see the golden trio standing before them. Hermione Granger held a rusty-brown cat that seemed to have had a few unfortunate encounters. Adrian Potter glared at them, while Ron Weasley held a rather pale rat in his hand, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Harry's eyes widened at the sight of the rat. He couldn't believe he had never seen it before, but then again, he had never seen Ron with his rat. Quickly calming himself, he turned to the group. "We're meeting Sirius Black for cookies and milk," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "What do you think we're doing in Diagon Alley?"
"Don't talk to me like that!" Adrian retorted, crossing his arms defensively.
"Are you going to stop me?" Harry challenged, an edge to his voice. "We're not at school; little brother, Dumbledore isn't here to protect you. You may have your friends, but I doubt the bookworm or the ginger trash collector would be much help."
"Hey, don't insult us!" Hermione interjected, a frown forming on her face. "There's no reason to be rude!"
"There is a reason, and it's because I enjoy being rude," Harry replied, crossing his arms with a smirk.
"Harry," Daphne interjected, stepping closer to him, her voice soothing. "Come on, just leave the Gryffindors alone. I'm not really in the mood to play with them."
"Yeah, why don't you listen to the little snake?" Ron spat, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Watch yourself, Weasley," Harry warned, taking a step forward, his stance firm. "Physically and magically, you stand no chance against me. And in terms of intelligence, you're basically unarmed. But my lady is right; we have better things to do than deal with you."
"Is that so?" Adrian sneered, trying to regain his composure. "You think you're so clever, don't you, Harry?"
Harry smirked, glancing down at Snuffles, who was wagging his tail, seemingly unfazed by the tension. "I don't need to think it, Adrian. I know it."
Daphne gently squeezed Harry's arm, pulling him back a fraction. "Let's just go, Harry. We don't need to stoop to their level."
Harry looked at her, and for a moment, the fire in his eyes dimmed. "Fine," he said begrudgingly, turning away from the trio. "But this isn't over."
As they walked away, Harry couldn't help but glance back at the golden trio. "Snuffles and I will be waiting for our cookies and milk, you know!" he called out, a cheeky grin spreading across his face.
The group resumed their walk through Diagon Alley, laughter and chatter resuming as they left the uncomfortable encounter behind.
"I can't believe you just did that," Daphne said, shaking her head, though a smile tugged at her lips.
"Yeah, but it was fun!" Harry replied, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes as Snuffles barked in agreement.
Astoria laughed, and even Rose smiled, feeling the tension melt away. They continued their adventure, the sun shining brightly overhead as they made their way toward their next destination, the promise of a delightful summer ahead.
At that moment, Snuffles spotted the rat that Ron was holding. His ears perked up, and a low growl emanated from deep within his throat. Without warning, he lunged forward, trying to rush at it, but Harry held tightly onto the dog's leash.
"Calm down," Harry said firmly, feeling the tension in the leash. Snuffles continued to growl, his body tense and ready to pounce. "We'd best be on our way. Come on, guys."
Harry led the group and Snuffles away from Adrian and his friends, keeping the dog close. "Patience," Harry whispered to Snuffles, bending down slightly to meet his gaze. "Not yet. Trust me; I have a plan."
They continued walking, laughter filling the air, but Harry's instincts were on high alert. He sensed trouble was brewing.
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. Harry fired his own stunning spell at Adrian, and then shot another one at Ron. The girl, Hermione, blocked the first spell with a flick of her wand, while Ron ducked just in time to avoid the second.
"Don't these idiots know this is a three-on-three duel?" Harry growled, glancing at Daphne, Astoria, and Rose. It seemed they had just noticed this, as Adrian and Ron began firing at Harry, unleashing a barrage of curses.
The chaos unfolded quickly. Spells whizzed past Harry as he rolled out of the way, seeking refuge behind a nearby rock. He glanced back to see the two boys battling it out against each other, spells flying everywhere, with Hermione gaining the upper hand.
"Hey, focus!" Harry shouted, but it was drowned out by the sounds of magical explosions and shouting.
Adrian barely managed to dodge a bone-crushing curse, the air thick with tension. Harry formulated a plan in his head; he would blow up one of the nearby rocks and let it hit them, then he would take them out. Just as he raised his wand to execute his idea, he was stunned to see the stone he aimed at transform into a wolf. The creature growled fiercely, launching itself at Hermione, who barely dodged its attack.
"Excuse me," a voice said behind Adrian.
Harry seized the opportunity, sprinting at him. He collided with the Japanese boy, sending him stumbling back against a rock. In one fluid motion, Harry kicked the boy in the chest, causing him to stagger.
"Get up!" Harry urged himself, adrenaline surging through his veins as he rushed forward, delivering a sharp punch to the boy's ribs, which made him cry out in pain. Before he could recover, Harry landed a right hook to the boy's face, knocking him off balance.
Seizing the moment, Harry grabbed the boy's wand arm and the back of his head, pulling him down while simultaneously kicking his legs out from under him. The boy crashed to the ground with a thud, but he rolled away quickly, regaining his footing.
The boy, now furious, attempted to fire a slicing curse at Harry. Anticipating the attack, Harry leaped into the air, executing a perfect kick to the boy's face that sent him reeling.
With quick reflexes, Harry grabbed the boy's wand arm, knocking the wand from his hand to eliminate the threat. But the boy wasn't finished yet. He snarled and retaliated, landing a punch to Harry's ribs that made him grunt in surprise.
In a surprising move, the boy lifted Harry off the ground, spinning him around before tossing him into the air. Harry instinctively grabbed the boy's shirt with his right hand, using his left to clutch the boy's wrist.
As gravity pulled them both down, Harry twisted his body, and they landed hard on the ground, the boy crashing face-first into the dirt. But Harry had little time to celebrate, as he quickly rolled them over, positioning himself on top of the boy.
With a swift punch to the boy's face, Harry knocked him out cold, adrenaline pumping through him as he stood up, heart racing.
But the fight was far from over. He narrowly dodged a curse as a green explosion flew toward him, and he turned to see the Japanese girl glaring at him, her expression murderous.
Her clothes were torn, and she had a few cuts on her legs and arms, likely from the wolf he had transformed, but she seemed undeterred. She fired another killing curse, but Harry rolled out of the way, instinctively starting to run as she unleashed spell after spell. Some narrowly missed him, the air crackling with danger as he dodged to avoid serious harm.
In a moment of desperation, he picked up a rock mid-run and changed direction, charging toward the girl. She aimed another torture curse at him, but Harry jumped off a nearby stone, vaulting over the spell. Mid-air, he spun and threw the rock as hard as he could.
The rock soared through the air, striking the girl squarely in her wand hand. With a gasp of shock, she dropped her wand, a look of disbelief flashing across her face.
Harry took a breath, the thrill of the duel igniting a fire within him as he prepared to finish what he had started. The summer promised laughter and friendship, but he was ready for whatever challenges lay ahead—especially if it meant defending those he cared about.
As he continued running toward her, the girl had one last trick up her sleeve: she pulled a sword from a pocket, its blade glinting ominously in the sunlight. Harry's eyes widened in surprise as she swung it with expert precision.
When he got close enough, he dropped to his knees and slid past her. The friction burned his skin, but it was worth keeping his head. Rolling away, he sprang back to his feet just as the girl swung her sword at him again. Each swing was calculated, her skill evident as she aimed for him with deadly intent.
Harry ducked and weaved, narrowly avoiding the sharp blade. He could see the exhaustion creeping into her movements; blood dripped from her arm, evidence of her injuries from earlier. When she lunged for his legs, he jumped, narrowly avoiding the slash that could have cost him dearly. In mid-air, he pulled out his wand, ready for a counterattack.
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted, but she deftly dodged his spell and retaliated with another wild swing. He rolled to the side just in time, adrenaline pumping through him.
Thinking quickly, he picked up a small stone and hurled it at her face. She attempted to block it but failed; the stone struck her nose, causing pain to flash across her features and blood to trickle from her nostrils.
Seizing the moment of distraction, Harry shouted, "Expelliarmus!" again. This time, her sword flew from her grasp, clattering to the ground. Without hesitation, he followed up with a body-bind curse, and then a stunning spell.
The girl's stiff body fell to the ground, and the sword came back down from the air, landing right next to her head, narrowly missing it.
Harry stood there, breathing heavily, as the shield fell and the audience erupted in cheers. A broad smile spread across his face as he soaked in the applause of his friends and onlookers. He heard Snuffles barking with enthusiasm, echoing the cheers.
Not long after, Harry left the arena with the Greengrass family, Daphne holding his arm, her smile radiant. Snuffles trotted proudly beside him, with Rose holding his leash tightly.
"You were amazing!" Astoria exclaimed, her eyes shining with admiration.
"Yes, he was," Daphne added proudly, planting a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Yeah, I was," Harry grinned, puffing out his chest in mock pride.
"Why did you hold back so much?" Daphne whispered in his ear, her voice teasing.
"I wanted it to last longer," he whispered back, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Harry, you got hit earlier," Roxanne said, her tone laced with concern. "That red-haired boy threw you into the air!"
"Plus, there was that knee burn when I slid to avoid having my head cut off," Harry replied, shrugging it off. "But the knee burn healed quickly. The fall didn't do much damage because I rolled to lessen the impact. And honestly, the hit didn't hurt much; the guy hit like a wimp."
"Hmmm, I would have thought a Japanese boy would know a bit more about fighting," Cyrus mused thoughtfully, his brow furrowing.
"Hmmm, nice to know my future father-in-law is a bit racist," Harry shot back playfully.
"Wait, wait a minute," Cyrus protested, raising his hands defensively. "I... I... okay, I admit that was a bit racist."
"Just the tiniest bit," Harry agreed, Snuffles barking in support.
"Yeah, it was," Roxanne chimed in, playfully hitting Cyrus on the head.
"I didn't mean it like that!" Cyrus defended himself, laughter breaking the tension.
"Ah, Harry," a voice called from behind, causing the entire group to halt. A collective sigh escaped from everyone as they turned to see the twinkling eyes of Dumbledore approaching them.
"Can I help you?" Harry sighed, his tone bordering on exasperation.
"It's a pleasure to see you here," Dumbledore smiled, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the air.
"Pleasure? Sure, let's call it that," Harry replied, crossing his arms. "What do you want?"
"I wanted to congratulate you," Dumbledore continued, a twinkle in his eye. "It was an excellent duel."
"Thanks, now, if you don't mind, we'll be leaving because we have better things to do," Harry said, trying to dismiss the old man.
"Like what?" Dumbledore asked, curiosity piqued.
"Oh, I don't know," Harry said, pretending to think. "Going back to England, eating, showering or bathing, and snogging my girlfriend."
"Harry!" a flustered Daphne exclaimed, her cheeks flushing. "My parents are here!"
"I'm aware of that," Harry said dismissively, a cheeky grin on his face.
"Don't talk about such things in front of them," she scolded gently.
"Oh, come on, it's not like they don't know we've snogged," Harry shot back, a playful glint in his eyes.
"I would have been surprised if they didn't," Cyrus admitted with a chuckle.
"So would I," Roxanne agreed, sharing a knowing look with her husband.
"What did I tell you?" Harry grinned, turning back to Dumbledore. "Is that all, sir?"
"I wanted to talk to you," Dumbledore admitted, his tone shifting to something more serious. He had suspected that Harry would be competing in the tournament again, and now that his suspicion was confirmed, he wanted to discuss it further.
"Sure, that's why you followed me all the way to Japan," Harry said, raising an eyebrow. "If you were 90 years younger and a woman, I might have been flattered, but right now, I'm incredibly concerned. It's not often that old men follow me; the last time it happened... well, I never want to think about that again."
"Very funny," Dumbledore chuckled half-heartedly, his eyes still glimmering with that familiar twinkle.
"I don't find it funny," Cyrus interrupted, his brow furrowed in concern. "I mean, the joke was funny, but I don't think you following my future son-in-law is amusing."
"Ah yes." Dumbledore's smile faltered slightly as he considered the implications of Harry's relationship with Daphne Greengrass. He realized that this relationship could significantly alter his plans.
In Dumbledore's vision, Adrian was meant to marry Ginny, strengthening his control over the next generation. However, if Harry were to marry Daphne, he would inherit a vast network of influence: the Black, Peverell, Potter, Flight, and Greengrass families. Harry would effectively control the government, sidelining Adrian from inheriting the Potter fortune. Dumbledore was determined to steer Harry away from that path, but he knew that outright confrontation would only push Harry further away.
"You see," Dumbledore continued, forcing a pleasant smile, "I was just with the Japanese minister when I heard about the event and decided to check it out. Now that I'm here, I wondered if I could have a brief word with Harry alone."
"No, I'm a bit too exhausted for your presence right now. Goodbye." Harry turned on his heel, and the group followed him, resolute in their decision.
"That man," Roxanne sighed once they were far enough away, her voice dripping with disdain. "I've never liked him."
"You're not the only one," Harry replied, shaking his head. "He just doesn't get it."
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