Ascension: The Triumvirate

by Define Anachronistic

(AU) The Triwizard Tournament is here and Harry has qualified as its youngest-ever participant. Rivals the world over have put a target on his back, but he's eager to test his mettle against them- the very best of his generation. But unbeknownst to him, all of this is within the scope of Voldemort's plan. Friends appear to be enemies and enemies as friends. Nothing is as it seems.

11. The Destroyer

CHAPTER SIX

The Destroyer

Michael wasn't proud of it, but he had deliberately waited until Harry was away for the Triwizard Tournament before enacting his plan.

It took a while to convince Megan to wait that long and he blamed himself for getting her hopes up in the first place. He should have waited to tell her, at least a couple of days before he had his opening and not a couple of weeks, but he couldn't take it back now.

Michael's entire plan hinged on Harry's absence. Not just because his best friend would disapprove, but because their squad's workload would inevitably increase in their teammate's absence. There was a considerable difference when Auror work was divided four ways instead of five.

As any good Captain should, Felicia took it upon herself to shoulder Harry's duties during the duration of the Tournament, which left her Cadets far less supervised than they usually were. Naturally, Michael chose his first unsupervised rotation of meal duty to enact his scheme. Without asking his friends for help, Michael decided that simplicity was the way to go, but the flaw in his plan quickly revealed itself.

Simple plans were easily unravelled if someone caught wind of them.

The smile slid from Michael's face when he turned the corner. There, leaning on the door that led to the cells beneath the Citadel, was Anthony Goldstein. His arms were folded and he looked disappointed but not surprised. He had expected Michael to be here.

"Anthony?" Michael pretended to be confused. "What are you doing here? I thought I was on meal duty today." He gestured towards the dozen or so trays that were floating beside him.

"Oh, I know," Anthony said airily. "But normally you waste at least twenty minutes trying to trade duties with the rest of us." His eyes narrowed, studying the air around the floating trays. "Especially anything that puts you in direct contact with the Dark Wizards you hate so much."

Michael shrugged like it was no big deal. "I just thought I'd pull my weight while Harry's away."

Anthony hummed. "You know, I just so happened to check the visitor logbook on my way here." He ignored Michael's scoff of disbelief. The logbook was at the other end of the Citadel. "Imagine my surprise when it logged Megan's Ouroboros."

"She probably came to visit you and Terry," Michael said casually. "You should go check."

Anthony glanced at his watch. "Wait for it." Before Michael could ask exactly what he was meant to be waiting for, Anthony reached into a pouch on his utility belt and removed the communication mirror. Now that it was free of the pouch, its chime began to echo off the corridor's bare walls. "Well?"

Terry's voice came through loud and clear. "Megan isn't here."

Anthony sighed as though his last hope had been stolen from him. Returning the mirror to his belt with one hand, he drew his wand with the other. Michael's shoulders slumped with defeat as the Disillusionment Charm that had been obscuring Megan faded, revealing her holding a stack of trays and the sheepish expression on her face.

"You do realise this is a breach of security, right?" Anthony asked calmly. "You're putting Felicia's job in jeopardy. Maybe the Commander's too."

Michael breathed in sharply, suddenly lightheaded. "But I'm the one breaking the rules! It's on me!"

"But they're responsible for everything those under their command do," Anthony said with that same menacing calm. "Not to mention they both put their necks on the line for us back in February. The Magister said we can't put another toe out of line, remember?"

Megan could no longer hold herself back. "Please don't blame him! I was the one who convinced him to do this for me." Michael now felt lightheaded for another reason. He was touched that she would lie on his behalf without being asked.

Anthony turned to her, and Michael could see him restrain himself. Apparently, only his closest friends were allowed to feel his cold wrath. "I'm sorry, Megan," Anthony said in a far softer tone. "But this is wrong. Cadets aren't even allowed to speak alone with prisoners. You can forget about civilians."

Michael had already been looking at Megan, wanting to comfort her in the face of this denial, which was how he saw the shrewd gleam in her eye. It vanished so quickly he thought he imagined it, and an earnest look was there instead. "Anthony, please," Megan widened her eyes as she beseeched him. "She's my mother. I know you would do the same if you were in my place."

Michael felt a sudden cold dread grip him. Those closest to Anthony knew to never bring up his parents. The mere mention of them was enough to put him in a dark mood. He didn't know how he'd react if someone brought them up as a method of manipulation; he'd never been stupid enough to try.

"Don't compare-!" Anthony paused and closed his eyes for a moment. "This is wrong," he repeated through gritted teeth. "Not just because it goes against procedure. It's wrong because that woman isn't a mother. She's a Vampire who abandoned you to follow her base instincts. She's not human anymore. She's not just a serial killer. She's a parasite."

Megan looked as though she had been slapped. "Y-you can't-!" She stuttered, but Anthony snatched the trays from her before she could finish.

"We'll switch duties for today," Anthony said, his voice strained. "See her out." With that dismissal, he turned on his heel and walked back to the door. He opened it with his onyx Ouroboros and closed it firmly behind him.

Michael sighed. "Well, there goes that plan." He turned back to Megan, only to find her staring at the closed door like it held the answers to life's mysteries. "Megan?" He asked. She jumped at the sound of her name.

"Huh?" She glanced up at him, momentarily confused before giving him a weak smile. "Sorry. I mean, thank you for trying." She made to turn and walk away, but he caught her by the arm.

"I'm sorry about Anthony," he apologised. "I swear he only has your best interests at heart. He just could have worded it better."

"Just like Harry, huh?" Megan asked scornfully. "You hang around a lot of people who don't watch what they say, don't you?" Michael wanted to defend his friends, but he knew they could be insensitive at times. "I don't know why I thought an appeal based on mutual pain would even work on Anthony. He doesn't know what it's like."

Michael's eyes narrowed. "Don't talk about things you don't know. You have no idea what Anthony's gone through."

"That's not what I meant at all!" Megan's eyes widened again, but this time he didn't see a trace of deceit in them. "I meant that Anthony doesn't understand what it's like to be ashamed of a parent. His were heroes."

Michael nodded slowly. "I get what you mean." It was a thought he had long been ashamed of, but one that kept recurring. Whether they were dead or alive, Harry, Anthony and Terry all had heroes for parents. They had proud, noble legacies to uphold while he had inherited nothing but shame and spite. Even Susan couldn't fully understand. At least her mother had been a distinguished Auror before she'd been cursed.

But maybe Megan understood what it was like to be left with nothing but hollow feelings. After all, she had been abandoned as well.

"Michael?" Megan touched his arm to break him out of his train of thought. When she caught the despondent look in his eyes, she enveloped him in her arms.

The feeling of warmth he got from this was different from the flashes of desire that shot through him whenever he was with her. He couldn't remember the last time he had been embraced like this. He hugged her back, pressing his face into her hair as he took steady comfort from her. She squeezed him a little tighter at that.

Finally, when he felt in control of himself again, Michael lifted his head from hers and was met with understanding eyes. Clearing his throat, he took a step back and said, "We had better get going before Anthony comes back."

Megan nodded slowly. "Alright. Should you disillusion me again?"

"No point," Michael shrugged. "That's the only part of the building restricted to civilians." He pointed his thumb at the door Anthony had disappeared behind.

Megan attempted a smile. "Good, because I'm not a fan of how it feels."

"Like someone dumped a glass of cold water on your head, right?" Michael sympathised. He started to lead the way towards the stairs but paused when he felt Megan slip her hand into his.

"Thank you," she said lowly. "For trying." She smiled gratefully, as though his botched attempt to sneak her in had been some great deed. He suddenly felt guilty for letting her down.

"You can thank me after you've spoken to Bethany." Michael corrected her firmly. "I'm getting you in once I come up with another plan."

"Really?" This time, when Megan widened her bright brown eyes, all he noticed was how pretty they were.

"Really," he promised. "I can't get the answers I need for myself, but maybe I can help you get yours." Megan's eyes flickered as they examined his, as though assuring herself of his sincerity. She seemed to find what she was looking for because she slowly leaned her head upwards and pressed her lips to his.

Michael had been kissed by girls before and had responded with mutual gusto, but there was something about this quick, fleeting kiss from Megan that had him yearning for more even while she was still connected to him.

It was left to Megan to lead the way out. He was too busy staring stupidly at her once she'd pulled away from him. "Come on," she said softly, tugging on his hand. "We don't want to be here when Anthony gets back, remember?"

"Right," he muttered. He was disappointed until he realised they could spend the rest of the day together if he got out of the Citadel without Felicia seeing him. He hurried upstairs, pulling an amused Megan behind him. "Let's go somewhere! Hogsmeade? Diagon?"

"Wherever you want," she smiled graciously.

That stumped him. Both Su and Padma had been happy to decide what they got up to and he'd been happy to go along with it. "School?" He asked, blurting out the first place that came to mind. He flushed when he realised how uninspired that was. "I-I mean…we can go-?" He floundered, the ideas he had a moment ago fled from his mind as he tried to think of somewhere they would both like to go.

Megan interrupted him before he could make a bigger fool of himself. "School's perfect," she kissed him again, longer this time, and he felt his excitement overtake his embarrassment. "As long as we can be alone?"

Michael nodded rapidly. "Yeah. Alone. Whatever you want." He continued up the stairs, smiling bashfully. He was so busy feeling good about himself that he missed the flicker of guilt that overcame Megan's features.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

From his comfortable seat in the Hogwarts Box, Harry was able to relax and luxuriate in the awed fawning of the spectators. But while this pleased him, it only served to irritate his teammates.

Or at least one in particular.

"Wipe that smirk off your face," Eliza muttered darkly. She hardly moved her lips as she spoke, not wanting to be caught telling him off on camera.

Harry surreptitiously glanced at the massive Odeon that was displaying the live broadcast. Instead of focusing on the following duels that were already underway, they kept cutting to close-ups of him, looking more aloof than ever. "I'm not smirking," he said with a hint of mirth.

"I can feel you smirking on the inside," she snapped. She was speaking openly again now that the images on the screen shifted towards the Castleobruxo and Ilvermorny Triumvirates as they clashed at the centre of the arena. "The worst thing you can do at this point is get cocky."

"No, she's right," Cedric warned Harry when he rolled his eyes. "Anyone strong enough to reach the Top 8 isn't here for the experience. They won't try to knock you off your pedestal because they think you might be the weakest link like in the earlier rounds, but because your display was the best so far. Beating you is the fastest way for someone to make a name for themselves."

"So, you're saying that everyone already thinks I'm the strongest?" Harry asked, straight-faced. The screen had shifted to catch his response to the last of Ilvermorny's Triumvirate falling as his wand arm was severed by one of Castleobruxo's. "That must rub you the wrong way."

"Not even slightly," Eliza lied through clenched teeth. "I'm Team Captain, remember? However powerful people think you are, they're thinking I must be something else entirely."

It was lucky the broadcast had moved on to advertising excellent deals for Poseidon's Kingdom this coming winter because Harry was unable to stop his expression from souring. Cedric only helped slightly as he added, "I don't look so bad being ranked below a Fourth Year now, so cheers for that."

As the day dragged on, the focus on Harry became less and less frequent as other schools managed to pull off their own impressive displays. Uagadou and Koldovstoretz were among this small number with Ekon and Andrei leading their respective offensives.

Amusingly, not even the boisterous Molotov was daring enough to match Harry's performance. From his put-out expression, he guessed their taciturn Team Captain had something to do with that. It was curious that neither twin was leading their team. It either meant Koldovstoretz did things differently than Hogwarts or the scarecrow-looking boy was even more powerful than his impressive teammates.

That thought both frightened and excited Harry.

However, the Koldovstoretz Captain hung back, only moving to defend Stepan as Andrei stole the show once more by charging fearlessly at the other team. When a spell struck him, he dissipated into mist and a figure clad in earthen armour shot out from the ground behind the other team and knocked them over like bowling pins.

They were rather easy for Stepan and the other boy to pick off at that point.

"He's reckless," Eliza noted, sounding impressed rather than disapproving. "But he might be defenceless without his brother." It sounded as though she was already plotting their likely face-off against the Molotovs.

Uagadou won their match with near ease and, predictably, this was due to Ekon. As though taking offence to the commentator's repeated praise of Harry and his lightning-quick win, he won his own three-on-three duel in half the time. Relying on his teammates to protect him from the first volley of spells, he jabbed his wand into the ground and impossibly large roots broke through the earth underneath the other team and tightly bound their limbs to their sides.

Audible cracks! echoed throughout the arena as the bound team had their wand arms, as well as their other limbs, mercilessly broken in multiple places. There was a collective inhale from the thousands in the stands but Harry knew this was only done to intimidate him; Ekon had turned to stare directly at him as it happened.

It was only the thought of Nicolas and the expectations he had for him that stopped Harry from responding with a rude hand gesture, cameras or no cameras.

"That guy doesn't like you," Cedric muttered to Harry. He glared darkly at Ekon until he turned away and returned to his box. "What did you ever do to him?"

"I embarrassed him by being a better Auror Cadet in front of the Magister," Harry shrugged. "I got a medal for distinguished service, and all he got was a scolding."

Harry's stomach clenched when the name Mahoutokoro flashed on the screen. He glanced at the one person he'd been avoiding looking at all day. It hadn't escaped his attention that not a single image of Kurai Ikari had been shown in the highlights for any of the preliminary rounds. This made Harry think he'd left his competitors in no condition to be broadcasted.

Considering the level of grotesque violence that was integral to both Duelling and Quidditch, that was saying something.

Strangely, Kurai didn't seem the least bit interested in today's duels. In fact, he seemed to have nodded off.

Perhaps due to this, Harry got to see the other two Mahoutokoro students take the stage. The first witch, Emi Hayashi, won her first one-on-one duel rather handily with a tricky bit of Transfiguration she used at the exact right moment. Even though she lost to her second opponent, she managed to wear him down enough that her other teammate beat him almost immediately by targeting the injury Emi had given him.

When the second witch, Izumi Yoshimura, won against the third opponent in a terrific clash of fire whips and tornados, she humbly accepted the crowd's praise before returning to the Mahoutokoro Box. While he was as impressed with their performance as he was by anyone else's, he couldn't see anything remarkable or particularly dangerous about their style of duelling, not like he'd expected anyway.

However, he found it telling that both girls were huddled together at one side of their box, giving a wide berth to their younger teammate. It was almost like they were afraid of being attacked.

Not like I expected at all, Harry mused. It's not the entire team that's dangerous. Just him.

Finally, when the Top 16 whittled themselves down to the Top 8, Master Devereaux called for another picking for the Quarter Finals. Everyone held their breaths as the school names on the brackets flashed for what felt like a full minute before finally settling. Harry released his breath slower this time, not wanting to draw negative attention as he'd accidentally done with Beauxbatons.

Still, it was hard not to feel relieved when he saw Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry presented directly across from The Durmstrang Institute for Magical Learning.

Devereaux then announced a long break for the competitors and the broadcast returned to its regularly scheduled programming. As the audience left the arena for the games and attractions that had been set up around the stadium, the remaining Triumvirates were sent back to their breakrooms to rest for this evening's duels.

Expecting to perform in the quarter-finals, Harry made sure to take a nap in his designated sleeping area. When he opened his eyes and dully checked the clock on the wall, he rolled off his bunk and fumbled for his duelling gear. Eventually, he remembered he'd left half of it strewn across the common area outside the door. He stumbled outside to see his put-together teammates.

Eliza snorted when caught sight of him. "I was gonna say "Sleeping Beauty finally wakes!" but you're a complete mess." She mimed wiping the corner of her mouth. "You've got drool all down your chin." She cackled when he actually checked, only for the back of his hand to come back dry.

Harry wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Why didn't you wake me?" He demanded, hurrying towards their shared bathroom. "I've only got ten minutes to get ready." His mind was struggling to see how he could clean himself up, eat, stretch, warm up and get to the middle of the arena in what little time he had before Cedric stopped him.

"What makes you think you're fighting this round?" The older boy asked amusedly.

His words didn't make any sense. "What are you talking about? Of course, I'm fighting."

"No, you're not." Eliza raised her voice, speaking over his protests. "We put our necks on the line for you in the last round, trusting you to make good on your promise."

"No, you didn't," he corrected. "You just thought I'd tire them out a little and you could step in and finish the job."

Her lips twitched and she didn't deny it. "Either way, we let you handle things last time. Now it's our turn."

Harry turned to Cedric, hoping to appeal to the Hufflepuff's inclination for teamwork, but he was met with denial. "Put your feet up, Junior. We'll take it from here." As if that wasn't condescending enough, he patted Harry on the head as he moved for the door.

Eliza made to join him, pausing only when Cedric had departed. "Don't think you're the only one who learns from their losses," she warned, unknowingly giving Harry chills down his back. "Just watch me." With that, she swaggered out of the room like she'd been crowned Triwizard Champion already.

Wasting one of his few precious minutes glaring at the closed door, Harry remembered he was in a hurry and started for the bathroom again. A few minutes later, he emerged clean and fully dressed from the breakroom. He was about to rush for the Hogwarts Box but he stopped at the sight of a familiar figure leaning against the wall opposite his door.

"What are you doing back here?" Harry asked. His hand dropped to his wand holster. "This area is restricted."

"My family is one of the major sponsors of this event." Alia shrugged carelessly. "Nowhere in this arena is restricted for those who paid to build it." Harry kept his face expressionless, but he was unnerved by the idea that a stranger could have walked in on him as he slept.

"From the lack of spellfire, I can tell you made sure to avoid Eliza," he smirked. "You have a keen sense of self-preservation."

Alia's jaw clenched but she didn't rise to meet the bait. "I wanted to apologise."

"What?"

"I'm sorry for getting you involved in my business with the Hawthorn sisters," she clarified.

He narrowed his eyes. "We were in direct competition with each other, so it's not like I took it personally. Besides, I got involved in the duel of my own volition to protect my teammate."

"I'm not talking about the duel." Alia shook her head, and his eyes unwillingly followed her unbound dark hair as it glimmered in the fading light. "The only regret I have about that is not taking advantage of Hawthorn's befuddled state much faster instead of toying with her. No, what I'm sorry for is using you."

Harry felt as though he had been slapped. "Using me?" He repeated incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

Alia raised her eyebrows as though surprised he didn't immediately know what she was talking about. "I knew a boy your age, especially one as sheltered as you are, would fall apart after a bit of attention. It's the only reason I approached you."

Harry wasn't sure what he found more insulting: her idea that he was a naïve little boy or that she thought he could be swayed by a pretty face. "Calm down. You're not all that."

"Excuse me?"

"It'll take more than a bit of flirting to get under my skin."

"Yeah?" Alia dropped her apologetic veneer for the first time, revealing a calculating smile underneath. "But who said anything about flirting?" She kicked off the wall and glided across the wide corridor towards him. "It's telling that's the first place your mind goes."

Harry kept his bored expression, but he could only hope the heat creeping into his cheeks was hidden by the glow of the setting sun. "We both know that's what you were implying."

"Just as we both know the reason you started the fight by going for Amon and not me was because you didn't want to hurt your chances." Those confident words gave Harry pause. Why had he targeted Amon? "Just for future reference, in case we ever find each other on opposing sides again, a good duel won't put me off in the least."

"No?" He was glad his voice remained steady because his entire body was on edge by her proximity to him. She was close enough now that he could feel the heat from her skin and the only thing that he could smell was the vanilla scent of her hair. "I thought you didn't have any interest in a sheltered boy like me?"

"I never said that." Alia's voice was low and her dark eyes wide as she gazed up at him. "You have other traits that make up for your inexperience." She was so close now that even pulling her into him would hardly make a difference. As he watched her lips move to form her next words, the fact that he still technically had a girlfriend wasn't as much of a dealbreaker as it should have been. "You don't mind if I steal you away, do you?"

Harry's immersion in her was slightly tainted by the idea of Moody's reaction if he didn't show his face in the Hogwarts Box, but he was tempted. "That depends on what you have in mind. It'll have to be really good for me to ditch Eliza and Cedric."

Alia's face was so close to his that he almost missed the way her expression shifted at the mention of Eliza's name. "I think Hawthorn can survive without you for a single round," she teased.

He might have believed those words had they come from anyone else, but from Alia, it was like being dumped with ice-cold water. The fractured immersion was now completely ruined as he realised she just wanted to get back at Eliza. "Something you should have realised by now," Harry said sullenly as he leaned away from her. "I'm not even fighting in the quarter-finals. You're wasting your time trying to distract me."

He slid out from the small gap between Alia's oppressively close body and the wall, already scolding himself for falling for her playful coquetry. Her words followed him down the corridor. "Reyna took my brother from me, Harry," Alia warned darkly. "It's only right I take her sister from her in return." Harry stopped at that, turning back towards her with a mouthful of warnings mixed in with swear words, but Alia was already stomping away in the other direction.

Swallowing his confused anger, Harry stormed away and took his seat in the Hogwarts Box. Cedric and Eliza were at the centre line and Devereaux, having taken Harry's lateness in stride, was already going over the rules of the duel.

Devereaux flipped his coin and when the silver Sickle landed on tails in Durmstrang's favour, their captain hardly paused to think before saying, "We will begin with a two-on-two." Everyone present took this in stride, as it was the most expected request for this particular team. After all, Koldovstoretz wasn't the only school to have students who competed in the Doubles Championship this summer. Emma Ahlgren and Lukas Engstrom had clawed their way to the quarter-finals only to be crushed by the Molotovs.

Harry thought it was both amusing and tragic that they would lose another second quarterfinal duel a month later.

As they turned to walk back to their starting positions, Harry saw his teammates exchange a look, and just from that he knew that they remembered as much about their opponents' duelling style as he did.

Emma and Lukas had probably begun duelling as partners out of friendship or something that was equally as antithetical to competition because they didn't complement each other's styles as efficiently as they could have. Similar to Harry and Eliza, they had taken the top two positions in Durmstrang by focusing on offence with only just enough defence to outlast their opponent.

Simply put, if Eliza and Cedric were a spear and shield, then Emma and Lukas were a spear and another spear.

Harry couldn't see their expressions when they turned back to face their opponents, but from the Odeon he could see that his teammates looked calm and collected. However, a discerning eye would note the tension in their bodies. While Cedric rolled his shoulders and jumped up and down on the spot to keep himself loose, Eliza kept her tension as she stared at her opponents with glassy eyes, like a bird of prey.

"BEGIN!"

Eliza moved first, not even letting the sight of a still Emma and Lukas slow her down like it would have Harry. With a forward jab of her wand, the air between the two pairs rippled with intensity before igniting into a wall of fire that swept across the pit. The close-ups from the Odeon showed that the Durmstrang duo were unphased by this. When Emma summoned an immense wave of water to counter the flames, Lukas conjured a swarm of lightning-coated darts to hide within the moving liquid.

Unsurprisingly, the two elemental attacks cancelled each other out and the result was a dense layer of steam that descended onto the arena floor. Eliza had expected this and was already slashing her wand in the air to transfigure the vapour into a wall of ice spears. But when she did so, this revealed the previously hidden electrified darts. Caught off guard, she hesitated for the briefest of instances, but Cedric was ready. He transfigured the spears back into a wave of water and sent it right back at the Durmstrang duo.

The result was Emma and Lukas' combined attack being returned to them like a tennis volley. The darts had been caught by the wave's momentum and were sent back in the direction they had come from. The electric current bouncing between the metallic darts was visible even beneath the moving water's surface.

To their credit, the Durmstrang duo didn't let this rattle them. When Emma stabbed her wand at the packed earth and created a deep, wide moat for the water to fall into, Lukas transfigured it back into ice so that its velocity didn't cause the electrified water to splash at them.

However, while they were busy defending themselves from this attack, Eliza had already made her move, clearly eager to redeem herself from her earlier moment of hesitation. Conjuring another cloud of fog to coat the arena floor, the spectators voiced their protests at having their vision of the duel obscured for the second time. They only quieted when she sent it rocketing at her opponents through the use of a Vortex Charm.

Mutterings were sweeping around the arena as no one, including Harry, could figure out the intention behind this. After all, a Vortex Charm was equally useful in weaponizing air as it was mist. The intention behind her tactic wasn't even revealed when Lukas transfigured the misty tornado into a swarm of bats, using them as camouflage for their approach and their next attack.

Harry felt his stomach clench when the Odeon captured Eliza's triumphant smirk. He had no idea what her angle was.

Emma hesitated as her eyes caught the dried glittering remains the fog had left behind on the ground, but it was only when Lukas pointed his wand at Cedric and the bats failed to obey his Attacking Charm that Harry understood what Eliza had done. The fog hadn't been conjured from thin air, but merely summoned from wherever Eliza kept her stash of potions. She had transfigured it into mist before anyone had realised.

However, it was only when the bats turned rabid and attacked those nearest to them, Emma and Lukas, that Harry recognised the concoction: Bloodlust Potion.

Harry's eyes widened. Emma and Lukas had breathed it in too.

The entire stadium watched the Durmstrang duo freeze on the spot as their rational minds battled against their now artificially heightened aggression. Just when they visibly resolved themselves to charging headfirst at their opponents rather than attack each other, the bats descended upon them in a swarm of pointed teeth and sharp claws.

Before either Emma or Lukas could do more than raise their wands against the screeching rodents, Cedric made his move. Unfortunately for them, he was an expert at picking the right moment to attack. The Durmstrang duo had stepped onto the moat of ice to charge at their opponents, and with a mere flick of his wand, Cedric returned it to its liquid state.

Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem. Both Emma and Lukas were capable sorcerers; encasing themselves within a bubble or preventing themselves from falling into the water in the first place should be child's play for them. But as they were distracted by the bats- protecting their bleeding wounds from any more bites and scratches- they fell into the watery depths. At any other time, this might have been a respite from the duel, a short breather before they came back stronger than ever with a counterattack.

Unfortunately for them, the lightning-coated darts had still been sparking even within the depths of the icy moat. When they fell into the water, they were struck with a high electrical voltage.

It was such a sudden end for the duel that the crowd only realised it was over when the Healers rushed onto the arena floor as Emma and Lukas floated to the surface.

In the middle of the confused clapping and loud questions as to what had just happened, Devereaux called for the final member of the Durmstrang Triumvirate to step into the arena.

Viktor Krum looked as though he would rather be anywhere else in the world at that moment, but he approached the centre line regardless. It was obvious to anyone who paid attention to these things that the Durmstrang Headmaster had only chosen the world-famous Seeker to flaunt his school's prized jewel on the world stage. Harry wondered if he regretted that decision now.

As Durmstrang had won the earlier coin toss, Viktor had the right to decide how this next duel would go. Like any reasonable man, he chose a one-on-one fight against the clearly superior team rather than take them both on at the same time. Regrettably, that meant he now had to fight the ferocious Eliza rather than the more even-tempered Cedric.

The contrast between their levels of strength was made brutally clear when she had Viktor strung up in ropes made of shimmering silver not ten seconds into their duel.

"With a clean sweep, Hogwarts moves on to join Koldovstoretz in the semi-finals!" Devereaux announced. "Only two more spots remain in the Top 4! Who will join them? Let's find out!"

It didn't take long for the two remaining spots in the Top 4 to be filled. While Harry wasn't surprised that they were eventually taken by Uagadou and Mahoutokoro, he was impressed that one of the teams they had bested was a Citadel squad that had managed to stick it out for this long.

Later that night, both Dumbledore and Moody joined them in their house to celebrate their performances thus far. "I thought it might have been a mistake when I allowed a Fourth Year to represent our school," Dumbledore informed Harry over his mug of mead. "But you have proved me wrong. You have reclaimed Hogwarts' honour today!"

Moody snorted. "He's only saying that because you got back at Beauxbatons for knocking us out of the Tournament three years ago." Dumbledore looked abashed but did not deny it. However, while Moody was pleased, he was still a strict taskmaster. "Alright, enough of that." He waved his wand and vanished their cups and seats. "Get your arses in bed! I want you in tip-top shape tomorrow."

Grumbling and rubbing their bruised backsides, Harry, Eliza and Cedric got off the floor and went up to their rooms. It was only when he was lying underneath the covers and staring up at the sky through his invisible ceiling that Harry realised the odds of fighting Mahoutokoro, of fighting Kurai Ikari, were now two to one.

It was starting to feel like an inevitability.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Michael had exhibited a level of craftiness she hadn't expected of him when he recruited Luna for their next breach of Citadel security.

Well, perhaps recruit was too generous a word for the part she played. If Michael had done more than simply bring up the idea of Anthony meeting Mr Lovegood and learning how The Quibbler was published in conversation, Megan might have called it an outright manipulation, but he hadn't. However, it was surprisingly difficult to convince him of this.

"You didn't use her," Megan whispered as she again struggled to walk down the dimly lit steps without being able to see her invisible feet. "You just had an idea. It's not your fault Luna ran with it."

"Then why do I feel so guilty?" Michael asked. It was a good thing his raised wand wasn't levitating the trays she was carrying. He looked distracted enough for his spell to fail.

Because you're a better person than I am, Megan wanted to say. Instead, she squeezed his free hand as she awkwardly balanced the trays in her arms. Michael couldn't see her disillusioned form, but his eyes dropped to where her squeezing fingers left imprints on his hand. He looked as though he wanted to say something but was forced to keep it to himself as they stepped up to the secure door that led to the cells.

Pressing his onyx Ouroboros against the cool metal of the door, Michael waited for it to audibly unlock before he pulled it open and stepped into the long corridor that lay beyond.

If the Citadel was a stronghold, then this was its dungeon. It was a meticulously straight passageway that ran the length of the building and had heavy iron-wrought doors running along the walls on either side. Perhaps it was a part of the education that Cadets received, but Megan had no idea why cells like this were even necessary when prisons like Hollow Penitentiary and Azkaban were available to the Corps.

It's a good thing, she reminded herself. A Cadet would never have been able to sneak me into a real prison.

Like the obedient Levitation Charm that she was pretending to be, Megan followed Michael dutifully towards the desk the two Auror Sentries were sitting behind. From what they had discussed in the planning phase, she knew that one was meant to guard the door while the other was supposed to patrol the corridor and peak into the tiny windows on the doors that opened into tinier cells. It was a lucky break that they had aligned their break-in at the same time this lazy pair were on duty.

"Go ahead," the taller of the two grunted with a glance at Michael's offered Ouroboros. His partner didn't even lift his eyes from the sports page of The Daily Prophet.

Megan followed Michael down the corridor, her invisibility allowing her to glance back at the two so-called guards in case they thought to question why the Cadet was starting his rounds with the furthest cell instead of the nearest. However, they seemed more interested in Chudely Cannons' unprecedented victory last night than anything else.

Despite the creature that was trapped within, Michael opened the cell door without a hint of fear. She only knew why when she stepped inside.

There, strung from the ceiling in chains that seemed to glow red with heat at the tiniest movement, was the same woman from the photographs Hestia had shown to her as a child.

Megan's breath caught when the woman lifted her hanging head, nostrils flaring before her eyes fixated on her exact location. Vampires have heightened senses, she remembered eventually from her WOMBAT Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

For a few tense seconds, neither moved and chose instead to simply stare at one another. The spell was only broken when a small glass bottle of blood bumped into the side of the Vampire's head, as though annoyed it was being ignored.

Without removing her eyes from Megan's location, the woman began to devour the thick, scarlet liquid as though it were the most euphoric of substances. Megan felt her stomach turn when the woman finally closed her eyes in silent rapture as she chugged the bottle's contents, only opening them again in despair when the bottle ran dry.

Vaguely aware that Michael had left the cell to continue serving lunch to the other inmates, Megan tried to speak but was beaten to the punch.

"I know you're there, Megan." Bethany Jones asked, her voice raspy. "Your scent hasn't changed since I saw you last."

Of all the things she expected her mother to say, that was not it. "Since you saw me last?" Megan repeated. "How many years ago was that?"

"Years?" Bethany leaned forward before hissing as the movement made the chains burn her skin. "I last saw you this July, with that tall redheaded girl. Bones." She smiled sadly. "I'm glad you've finally found a friend."

There was so much to unpack in those two sentences that Megan hardly knew which to question first. "You've been…what? Following me this entire time?"

"Not as closely as I would like," Bethany admitted grudgingly. "But enough to know you have your father's kind eyes."

All the anger she had carried with her these past few years seemed to evaporate into thin air, leaving nothing but fragility in its place. "If you care so much to keep tabs on me, then why didn't you care enough to stay?" Megan demanded, too overwrought to even think about keeping her despair hidden from the one who had caused it. "Why did you even leave in the first place?"

"Revenge," Bethany said plainly. "What else?"

Megan blinked. "Revenge?"

"Yes," Bethany nodded as though what she said made any sense at all. "Even though I knew you would grow to hate me for choosing retribution instead of you, I couldn't let them get away with it."

"Get away with what?" Megan asked bewildered. "Revenge on who?"

Bethany paused then, looking at Megan as though she was reconsidering everything she knew. "Vanessa Acosta and her lieutenants," she said finally.

Megan's mouth fell open, unnerved by the infamous name. "The Acolyte?" She whispered.

"Yes," Bethany nodded. "The one who took your father from us."

"Don't," Megan hissed, her anger overcoming her brief spell of fear. "Don't lie about my father."

"I never would," her mother promised. "What do you know about William's death?"

Megan opened her mouth, ready with the words her sister had taught her years ago- My father died from Dragon Pox. I never knew him- but the door creaked open as Michael stepped back inside.

"Done with lunch?" He asked casually, waving his wand at the empty bottle that had been levitating beside Bethany's head this entire time. Michael made his way back to the door with the bottle, pausing to give the still-invisible Megan enough time to step out into the passageway.

As tempted as she was to remain and get even the half-truths and cruel lies her mother was likely to spin, she didn't want to be trapped in a cell with her to get it. Especially as Michael's next turn on lunch duty was just days away.

"Don't worry," Michael said reassuringly. He squeezed her hand as they approached the school gates. "I'll make sure the two of you have more time together next time."

Megan smiled weakly at him, and kissed him on the cheek, knowing he needed to be rewarded for his continued aid with the affection he so desperately desired. "Thank you, Michael. I don't know what I'll do without you."

She was so wrapped up in her turmoil that the sight of his trusting smile did nothing to unsettle her this time.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Having been in Memphis for almost a week, the Hogwarts Triumvirate had now adjusted to the pre-preliminary round routine, going through their morning motions before boarding the ship and making their way to the arena floor.

Today they arrived after the doors were already open and the crowds were in their seats. It made sense, seeing as there were only three duels scheduled for today, so there was no point in keeping the spectators waiting outside.

Following Moody's lead, the Hogwarts Representatives lined up on the far left next to the other schools. Looking now at the students that stood to his right, Harry thought it was crazy that the thousands of competitors could have been whittled down to a small group of twelve, or that the next Triwizard Champion was standing among them. He knew who the favourites to win were (Ekon Adebayo followed closely by Andrei Molotov) but Harry was worried about one of the few who he had never seen duel, Kurai Ikari.

His eyes widened and he quickly turned his head back to face the front when he saw that the Mahoutokoro Captain was already staring at him. He had never been so grateful to see Master Devereaux take the stage as he was right now.

"Welcome, one and all, to the semi-final round of Triwizard Tournament Preliminaries!" He held his arms open wide as if to embrace everyone watching, but seeing his face magnified by the massive Odeon playing behind him only enhanced his unbearably stoic expression. Despite his lack of excitement, the claps and cheers from the surrounding crowd were appropriately hyped for today's duels.

"By the end of today, one of these four teams will be going home in defeat, and we will have our three Triumvirates for this year's Triwizard Tournament!" Even though everyone who cared enough to come and watch in person would have known the setup of this competition, the spectators still roared their approval as though this was incredibly impressive news.

"Now then," Devereaux continued once the clamour had died down. "It is time to decide who will face who in today's duels!" He waved his wand at the Odeon behind him which immediately took on the now familiar bracket, but this time it only had the names of four schools in the mix.

As the names flashed by too quickly to see, Harry held his breath. He knew he had gotten lucky in avoiding the most dreaded team so far, but he just needed to get lucky just one more time. As long as we get through the semi-finals it'll all be okay, he told himself. We would have earned our spot and could go home to train before the First Task. I'll never have to fight him directly. Just one more round, Harry prayed. Just one more-

He swore under his breath when the names came to a stop. The words Mahoutokoro Academy for the Wizarding Arts were connected by a thin line to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry felt momentarily weightless like he was floating adrift in the open sea. Glancing at the other teams, he first noticed Ekon and Andrei mean-mugging one another, though the latter was only doing it to mock the former. He steeled his nerve and turned to face the Mahoutokoro Triumvirate. He first noticed Emi and Izumi, as they were more focused on their boots than their rivals. Then he felt a creeping sensation take hold of him.

His eyes instantly located the source. Kurai was staring directly at the Hogwarts Triumvirate with unfiltered interest.

Harry averted his gaze.

In front of him, Harry saw Eliza determinedly lift her chin. "Come on," she said once they had been dismissed to their breakrooms. "Let's get ready." The moment the door was closed behind them, Eliza hurried to the sink, pouring cold water into her cupped hands and splashing it onto her face.

Knowing that she would be further unsettled by Alia's hints that the breakrooms were enchanted for spying on its inhabitants, Harry decided to let Eliza calm herself down however she needed to.

"You felt it too then?" Cedric asked, his voice unsteady. He crashed down on the nearest chair as though his legs had been about to give out from under him.

"No one else reacted, so I think it was just directed to the three of us." Harry waved his wand. A glass of cool water appeared in his free hand, he drank it all before speaking again. "I think he targeted us the same way he did with that Coven team at the end of the second round."

"But what did we ever do to him?" Cedric wondered. "We couldn't even help those boys he was hunting. All we could do was escape."

"That's all it would take." Harry thought of Dolohov and how he had fixated on him until he helped kill him. "As long as he felt wronged by it, that's all it would take."

"But why would he put his chances of winning the tournament in jeopardy to settle a petty score?" Eliza wondered.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know, but it doesn't matter right now. What does matter is not letting him get to us. We've all got to use Occlumency during this duel."

"We already do," Eliza snorted, as though he'd forgotten that the versatile art was the basis of many spells and techniques in any powerful sorcerer's arsenal.

"Only intermittently," Harry corrected. "For enhancing our bodies and sensing magic, but it's not on all the time."

Cedric shook his head. "If we use it all the time, we'll slow down enough to…" he paused as though trying to picture it. "We'll be sitting ducks."

"Probably." Harry shrugged. "But it's either that or we go out there, in front of the whole Wizarding World, and show them how scared we are to fight that kid."

"It's not that bad," Eliza muttered. "We'll be fine once we get into the swing of things."

"Even if you're duelling him one-on-one?" Harry asked, before relishing in her stubborn silence. "Look, I've had Elissa Corner herself use that technique on me and my friends. At its worst, it can knock someone out. If we go out there and annoy him, he'll just have to look at us to keep us rooted to the spot, or worse, collapsing in front of anyone who might be watching." He was looking at Cedric as he said that last bit, but it was intended for Eliza.

He hadn't forgotten what she had let slip about her sister when he had been Polyjuiced to look like her best friend during the Chamber of Secrets investigation.

"Fine," Eliza grunted. "We'll keep the brat out of our heads and then bury him for the inconvenience. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Cedric sighed.

Thirty minutes later, the Hogwarts Triumvirate stepped back onto the arena floor. Stopping at the centre line across from the Mahoutokoro Triumvirate, Harry observed how unnaturally stoic the three were. However, while Kurai truly seemed to have nothing underneath his disturbing exterior, his teammates seemed to be vibrating with tension, as though yearning to be away from him.

Master Devereaux was either an extraordinary actor or he was utterly oblivious to the uneasy atmosphere that lingered amongst the six teenagers before him. He continued as though nothing was amiss. Once he was done reiterating how the structure of their duel would be decided, he withdrew his usual silver Sickle and asked the two captains to make the call once it was in the air.

"Heads!" Eliza called a little too loudly.

"Tails," Kurai said quietly.

As the Sickle reached the apex of its toss and began to descend, an almost imperceptible breeze jostled it before Devereaux caught it. The next moment seemed to stretch into infinity, and Harry was able to tell that no one but Eliza and Kurai were aware of what had just happened. However, while the former seemed infuriated, the latter's lips curved upwards into an ominous smile.

"Tails it is!" Devereaux announced. "Mr Ikari, what type of duel would you prefer?" For a moment, Kurai stared directly at Eliza, as though daring her to challenge his blatant cheating. His smile only grew when she held her tongue.

You did the right thing, Harry wanted to tell her. Challenging him now would have only made us look afraid to face him. He smiled ever so slightly to himself. Besides, he doesn't like to duel anyway. We'll just have to duel his teammates while he takes another nap on the sidelines-

"Three for Hogwarts, one for Mahoutokoro," Kurai said in languid Japanese, his ever-expanding smile settled into an unnatural grin. "I will be representing Mahoutokoro."

He seemed to be on the brink of laughter when everyone- the Hogwarts Triumvirate, Devereaux and his teammates- froze at his request. It was clear why. When Harry had made his three-on-one gambit, he had pitted himself against a still unproven team, but this was different. Hogwarts had swept two rounds with near contemptuous ease.

But while everyone else seemed rocked by this, Harry was feeling cornered by Kurai's targeted smile.

As he and his team walked back to their box, those words reverberated so loudly within his skull that it took him a few moments to hear the rapid exchange that was happening right next to him.

"He's cocky," Eliza was saying with surprising confidence. "We can use that against him."

"How exactly?" Harry asked before raising his hands when she glared at him. "I'm not even being sarcastic. How do we use that against him?" His stomach dropped when all she could do was glance around herself as though she expected a plan to materialise from thin air.

Cedric tried to save Eliza from her floundering. "Whatever he throws at us, I'll stop it dead." He promised. "So, if I do my job will you both do yours?"

"Of course." The relief was clear to hear in Eliza's voice. "I'll take point in the attack, you'll nullify whatever he throws at us, and Harry-"

"-will take him by surprise." Harry finished for her. When she nodded, he had to struggle to keep his expression clear. He had no idea how he was supposed to pull this off. If he'd learned one thing from his duel against the Beauxbatons team it was that too many allies could be a hindrance sometimes.

He had a feeling Kurai knew that as well.

They returned to the centre line once Emi and Izumi had settled themselves in their box and listened to Devereaux go over the rules of the duel once again. When it got to the part where he warned them against anything that may cause immediate death, Harry saw Kurai's eyes flash in annoyance. The image of that replayed in the front of his mind as they all returned to their starting positions, and Cedric had to snap him out of it.

"Focus," he said warningly. "We can't afford to lose our heads here." Harry considered telling him about what he saw, but he ultimately kept his mouth firmly closed. After all, it wouldn't do them any good at this stage.

Leaving Cedric to his defensive position at the centre of their line-up, Harry moved to the far left away from Kurai's wand arm. Hopefully, he would be able to land a spell on his weak side while Eliza had him engaged from the right.

Swallowing thickly, he waited for Devereaux to make the call to start, but every passing second felt like it added increasing pressure to the tight band of anxiety that was wrapped around his chest.

Come on, he thought with increasing desperation to begin. He always felt better when he was acting rather than thinking. Come on, just start already. Come on-!

"BEGIN!"

Somehow, even though he'd been internally pleading for it, the call to start still caught him by surprise. Fortunately, Eliza was never one to hesitate.

Looking as though she were fencing, Eliza put one foot forward and stabbed her wand at Kurai, and an arc of electricity was fired out the end. Even though her movements were exaggerated enough for any experienced duellist to at least attempt to erect some kind of defence, Kurai simply stood at his starting line with his wand still within its holster.

The crashing boom of thunder overtook the duelling pit as the lightning made contact with its target. Powdered earth was kicked up from the ground by its sheer proximity to such a powerful spell. There was a moment of long silence, and even though the Barrier prevented him from hearing anything from outside the pit, Harry knew that every spectator was equally as quiet as they pondered the same thing:

There's no way it's over already, right?

When the smoke cleared a moment later, it revealed Kurai standing in the same spot as before. His wand was still in its holster and not a single hair was out of place.

Eliza and Cedric were unsettled and hesitated, but Harry's flight or fight response was kicked into high gear by a threat he couldn't understand. Flicking his wand at the enemy, Harry cast silently. Sectilis Procella!

Kurai must have caught sight of Harry's movement because he immediately snapped his head in the direction of the incoming attack, even though it was unseen by the naked eye. A thousand razor-sharp blades of air zipped silently towards him, ready to slice his body into shreds, but he still didn't draw his wand.

Along with everyone else watching this duel, Harry's eyes widened in shock as black sand seemed to seep from Kurai's skin, crawling over his clothes and coating his entire body in thin armour. Harry's attack landed on his enemy a split second later, and though the sand didn't appear durable enough to protect him, not a single blade of air managed to cut through the armour.

This time it was Harry's turn to be shocked and Eliza's to act. With a wave of her wand, her signature firestorm ignited and swept over the arena. Even though it wasn't targeted at them, both Harry and Cedric had to hurry and cast Flame-Freezing Charms over themselves so they wouldn't burst into flames themselves.

Perhaps it was part of her plan, or maybe she sensed Kurai struggle to wrench control of it from her, but Eliza waved her wand again and condensed the fire into a hoop that she then tightened, threatening to bisect her opponent with. It was so unexpected that Kurai finally drew his wand to defend himself, slashing it downwards like a sword to split it in two.

Emboldened at this response, Harry moved again, twirling his wand as he cast, Serpefors! The split lengths of flames were transfigured into two massive pythons that turned before they even landed to lash out at their target. However, even from this distance, Harry could see their fangs shatter against the dense sand armour that encased his opponent.

Before he could follow that up with another move, Harry's attention was diverted by the sound of Eliza hissing in his direction, and he realised too late that he had interrupted whatever she had planned for the fire. Kurai took advantage of this discord by sprinting forward with incredible speed directly for Eliza.

Cedric finally moved, quicker than the rest of them as he shot forward and erected a wall of earth to shoot from the ground between the three of them and the encroaching enemy. This didn't give Kurai pause, and he drew his armoured fist back and broke through the wall in a single blow.

But the Triumvirate were nowhere to be seen.

In a quickly formed tunnel thirty feet underground, Cedric was glaring at the other two. "Both of you need to knock it off!" While Harry thought it was a little unfair to be lumped in with the territorial Eliza, he kept his mouth shut. Cedric waved his wand and sent them rocketing back to the surface where Kurai was waiting.

Cedric took point this time around by sending a shower of blades at Kurai, but while Harry would have expected him to merely take the blow as he had the pythons' fangs, the boy surprised him by leaping out of the way. It only became obvious why when the runes etched onto each knife glowed gold before exploding.

First, the fire and then the explosive, Harry noticed. I've got you now.

"Do that again," he told Cedric lowly. "But make sure you leave at least one for me." The other boy was confused, but he kept his eyes on Kurai and nodded anyway.

Eliza whipped her wand around again, stopping Kurai's rapid approach by conjuring water around his feet and then encasing his entire body in a ball before lifting him high into the air. However, before she could take advantage of this, it was transfigured into ice by its prisoner who proceeded to punch his way out of its hold.

Harry didn't stick around to see him break free. Jabbing his wand at the ground beneath him, he fell into another hole and rapidly tunnelled his way beneath the duelling pit. Emerging disillusioned behind where he sensed Kurai was, Harry saw that the situation had already changed in his momentary disappearance.

The air was hazy due to the smoke of Cedric's second explosive attack and Eliza was leaping backwards to avoid the black gas that caused her flock of hawks to fall to the ground, dead. At the same time, Cedric was moving forward behind a pair of stone golems as they brought their massive fists and feet down at Kurai.

While he was able to tank blows from air blades and lightning bolts, it seemed that immense weight was as beyond him as the fire was. Kurai was forced to dodge around at incredible speeds.

Unfortunately, the moment of surprise Harry was hoping for was a pipe dream as Kurai snapped his head around to face him the moment he reemerged.

So, you can use Mage Sight too, Harry internally sighed. Hoping he couldn't was a long shot, but one that wasn't completely impossible. After all, plenty of professional duellists couldn't, and Kurai hadn't exactly revealed himself to be a master of spellwork, instead relying on his black sand technique to protect him whenever he was overwhelmed.

Still, Harry had learned his lesson from earlier. He needed to wait for an opening before making his move instead of stopping Eliza when she was mid-way through hers. Fortunately, it didn't take very long to appear.

When Kurai turned his head to face Harry, Eliza used his moment of distraction to transfigure his sand armour into glass, before following it up with a fiery Explosion Curse.

So, I wasn't the only one keeping track of his weaknesses, Harry thought, half-impressed, half-annoyed.

Kurai moved like a blur, dodging out of the curse's path before visibly flexing his body to release a new layer of black sand in such volume and force that the glass encasing his body shattered.

Harry was already moving before that, conjuring a small herd of beefy rams to charge directly at him, and silently commanding them to attack in pairs. As expected, the rams met a brutal death at the sand-wrapped fists of his enemy, but when the fifth ram attacked alone and Kurai raised his blood-coated arm to punch down at it, Harry made his move.

Restituo!

The ram shimmered around the edges, before switching places with the two remaining enchanted blades from earlier. Cedric seemed to understand his role without words. Harry took great pleasure in seeing Kurai's eyes widen in shock for the first time as the blades embedded themselves in the black sand on his chest just as the runes turned gold.

The explosion wasn't all that big when compared to a well-cast Explosion Curse, but from such proximity, it was enough to injure anyone, no matter the shield used.

But as it turned out, Kurai Ikari wasn't just anyone.

When the smoke cleared, Kurai was standing a little further than he had been before, as though he had taken a few steps backwards, but he was still on his feet. However, what was more shocking was the form his armour took on. While it had been a thin layer before, it was now a full suit of armour made of plated black sand rather than metal and his head was firmly secured within a helm.

Most disturbing of all were the tormented faces that rose and melted back into the armour, faces that matched Kurai's precisely. Their expressions were twisted by rage and agony and looked at the Hogwarts Triumvirate with hate.

Harry took in all this information in an instant. But before he or his teammates could even move, much less come up with another idea of attack, Kurai made a move of his own. The explosion had sent clumps of black sand in every direction and when their eyes were on him, they didn't spot their movement until it was too late. The black sand lashed out at them from the smoky floor like snakes formed from shadows.

Harry felt his feet leave the ground before he was hit with a burning sensation from his gut. Glancing down, he felt the last of his breath leave his lungs as he understood what had happened. He had been skewered by a spike formed from condensed black sand, like a cube of meat on a kebab.

Losing control of his limbs, Harry dropped his wand. He was too weak to turn his head, but he could hear two other wet coughs that matched his as a mouthful of blood fell from his lips. That was enough to tell him that Eliza and Cedric were in identical positions to him.

He wished he could look at them, and take courage from them, but all the strength had left his body. His hanging head could not turn away from Kurai and his watching eyes.

The last thing he saw before the darkness took hold was the sand of his helmet folding back, revealing the look of indignant rage upon the other boy's features.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Megan's voice was dampened as the enchantments on the cell walls suppressed all sound that came from outside. This wasn't done for all cells, just the ones that contained Vampires. Their sharp ears would be able to pick up classified information if they were allowed to listen freely to the goings on of your average Citadel.

This was why the on-duty Sentinels didn't come running the second Megan stepped into her mother's cell and loudly demanded, "Why would Vanessa Acosta kill my father?"

"Do you know what your father did for a living?" Bethany asked.

"He was a Custodian." Megan's voice sounded aggravated. "But Dark Witches are under the Auror's purview."

"But it's quite rare for a witch or wizard to dedicate themselves to the Dark Arts without trying to use it for material gain," Bethany explained patiently. "Sometimes the lines of jurisdiction begin to blur, especially when said Dark Witches and Wizards partake in common crimes."

Megan seemed to be following. "So, she was involved in a crime, my dad caught wind of it, and she killed him to keep it quiet?" When Bethany nodded, Megan pointed out the obvious. "But that doesn't make sense! Why would she care if her name gets caught up in standard crimes? She was already facing life in prison for all she did as a Death Eater."

"Try to see things from outside the Auror-Death Eater dichotomy." Bethany sounded wildly patronising for someone who was hanging helplessly from the ceiling in chains. "While the ICW was giving the war all their attention and pumping endless time, money and manpower into it, the attention that was given to common criminals and Rogues became rare to the point of non-existence." She paused before adding, "As long as you were smart about it anyway, and Acosta is anything but a fool."

"But why would she care about her involvement becoming known?"

"Because," Bethany's voice now carried a hint of irritation at Megan for not keeping up. "If a Death Eater is involved, then it becomes an Auror problem, and all their time and effort would go into stopping her."

"So, Dad found out in an investigation?" Bethany paused before nodding. Megan continued in a rush as though she were excited about what she was hearing. "And she killed him before he could expose her?"

"Yes." Bethany's voice was solemn.

Megan let out a slow breath and her posture straightened as though she had been carrying a heavy burden all her life and her mother's words had lifted it from her. "You were hunting them? The ones who killed him?" Bethany nodded slowly. "You didn't just abandon me?"

"Never." Her whispered assurance echoed off the bare walls as her daughter stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her midsection.

Feeling as though he were intruding on a personal moment, Terry averted his gaze and sensed Anthony do the same. Together, the two disillusioned boys watched Michael depart from the dungeons with a stack of floating empty trays and bottles floating along beside him. They followed him up the stairs, only to deviate as they headed to their family home.

When they were finally alone in the security of their family's quarters, Terry could no longer hold himself back. "I told you we should listen in before busting them," he said as he threw himself down on the sofa.

Anthony was too anxious to sit. Instead, he began pacing the length of the room. "I can't believe Megan would fall for that pack of lies," he hissed.

"I don't know," Terry shrugged. "It all sounded quite plausible to me."

"You're joking," Anthony said flatly. "Didn't you see how the way she hesitated when Megan asked about her father's investigation? She was holding something back."

"Even if that's true, a lie of omission isn't the worst sin in the world," Terry said amicably.

"No, murder is, and she's guilty of that too!"

Terry could no longer hide his concern. "You're taking this personally, Anthony." He waited for a response. When it never came, he continued. "Bethany's a manipulative serial killer, but it has nothing to do with you."

"I know!" Anthony snapped. "It's just…" His pacing stopped as he visibly calmed himself down. "Parents shouldn't use their children."

"Use?"

"You really think she's going to be content with just the occasional visit from her lost long daughter? No, she's going to ask for her help in escaping."

Terry paled. "We should tell Mum and Dad."

Anthony shook his head. "We could do that, or…" he trailed off with a smile.

"When did you start coming up with the crazy ideas?" Terry groaned. "And when did I become the voice of reason?"

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Harry felt his mind rise into consciousness slowly. His first coherent thought was about the duel, but it was quickly overshadowed by the burning pain emanating from his stomach.

Eyes snapping open, Harry tried to wrap his arms around his midsection on a reflex but was horrified to find his wrists restrained to the metal handholds on the bed he was lying in. Breath quickening at the mere thought of being captured in his insentience, Harry weakly moved his head to scan his surroundings but was calmed by the touch of familiar hands on his arms.

"Harry!" Maia was yelling to get his attention, but with the sharp ringing of pain in his ears, he could hardly hear her. "Harry, you're alright! We're here! We're all here!"

Seeing that he was in a private infirmary- most likely in Lady Lestari's Hospital- and that the only people around him were Maia, Remus and Nicolas, Harry allowed himself to relax back into his pillows. "Is it that bad?" He asked, his croaky voice almost inaudible to his still ringing ears. "They wouldn't have brought you here if it wasn't."

Maia's hands tightened on his arms and her expression was pinched, but she didn't answer him. Nicolas was standing by the window, staring outside with his arms folded, and he didn't even bother turning around to acknowledge him. In the end, it was only Remus who dared to look him in the eye and provide a straight answer.

"It was touch and go for a minute there," he said for a second time when Harry asked him to raise his voice. "We were watching it live at home. We came as soon as we saw what happened, but it was worse than we thought."

"Remus, enough!" Maia snapped in a strange reversal of their typical attitudes. Harry couldn't quite make out what his godfather replied with, but he thought he saw his mouth form the words, "better he knows now" or something along those lines.

"How was it worse?" Harry wondered. From their startled expressions, he gathered he was shouting. Lowering his volume, he continued. "I've seen people come back from worse. Hell, I just did something similar to two-thirds of the Beauxbatons Triumvirate yesterday." He stopped speaking abruptly as that single sentence had winded him. His lungs felt abnormally tight.

"Two days ago," Nicolas corrected, and somehow Harry heard his grunt perfectly well.

Maia glared at him reproachfully before turning back to Harry with a softer expression. "There was Dark Magic in that sand, Harry. You and your teammates already started to suffer the effects of it before the Healers caught on and transported you all here."

Harry started, which was unpleasant as it sent sharp pains shooting throughout his body from his bandaged middle. He forgot that Eliza and Cedric had been in as much danger as he had been. "Are they-?"

"They're fine," Remus assured him, before pausing. "Well, they will be once they undergo the same treatment you will."

"What? I thought I was already healed." He tried to reach for his stomach again, but the restraints stopped him. "Can you get these off already?"

His godparents exchanged an uncomfortable look. "We can't do that, Harry," Remus said regretfully, but firmly. "Healer's orders."

"What the hell are you talking about? Get these damn things off me."

"We can't," Maia said mournfully. "I tried to get the Healers to do the same, but the second they did you tried to claw through your own skin. We had to restrain you so you wouldn't hurt yourself."

Harry understood then. "There's something in me, isn't there?" He didn't wait for an answer, closing his eyes in an attempt to sense the magic within his body, but Nicolas interrupted him before he could focus.

"Don't!" He snapped, his eyes still turned to the window. "If you open an avenue to observe it, you will give it a direct path to attack the Mana Reserves you hold deep within."

"It? What it?" Harry was starting to get scared. "What's in me?"

"As Maia said, the sand carried traces of Dark Magic. Truly malicious," Remus paused before continuing. "It attacks everything, decaying it. The Healers were able to contain it within your abdomen and undo the damage done to your vital organs, but it's still in there."

"And there's a plan to get it out?" Harry asked expectantly. "I don't want to carry around Dark Magic sand in my gut forever."

"There's a fairly simple procedure with an advanced Containment Complex," Maia said haltingly. "But it's…painful."

"I can deal with pain as long as it's temporary," Harry tried to relax as much as he could in his pillows, but one question stuck with him. "The last thing I remember is…well-" he didn't want to say "getting shish-kebabed" as his godparents looked as though they were already on the brink of tears- "but did we lose? I mean, did Eliza or Cedric come through in the end?" Their expressions told him all he needed to know. Harry tried to keep himself under control, but he was unable to stop a distraught grunt from escaping from his sealed lips.

For a few minutes, Remus and Maia lingered at his bedside and offered him words of comfort and encouragement, but even hearing how impressed they had been at his three-on-one duel with Beauxbatons didn't help lift his mood. In fact, it made him feel worse as he was forcibly reminded of how far he had fallen after his triumph two rounds later.

Sensing that he wanted to be alone, his godparents left the room but not before promising they would return to provide moral support for the procedure. Harry stared at Nicolas as he too turned to depart, willing him without words to remain. Mercifully, he granted Harry this much at least, closing the door after Remus and Maia before turning to face him.

It took him a few moments to realise that his master wasn't going to speak first, so Harry tried to explain himself. "It wasn't my first duel with partners or even my first duel with a group targeting a single individual, but…but I…" he paused, trying to come up with some excuse but coming up empty. "I was out of my depth," he admitted finally. The bitterness he felt after his loss against Marcus two years ago came rushing back. "He's so much stronger than me it's not even funny."

"What are you talking about?" Nicolas looked him in the eye for the first time today. "If he was an ordinary human, you would have been able to defeat him with ease all on your own." Harry didn't understand what he meant by "ordinary human", but Nicolas continued before he could ask. "The sight of you on that screen…I wanted to kill that boy," he finished hoarsely.

Harry relaxed properly this time. "I thought you were disappointed in me."

"Disappointed? Never." Nicolas attempted a smile, but all he could manage was a pained grimace. "You had the same look on your face as-" he abruptly cut himself off, but Harry knew he was about to name his stepson, Gerard.

Harry didn't bother telling him he didn't have anything to worry about. It would be a transparent lie. Death hung over him like a thundercloud. "Nic, can you do me a favour?" When his master nodded, Harry asked, "Can you keep Remus and Maia out during the procedure? I don't want them to see me like this."

"So prideful." Nicolas tutted, but he acquiesced before leaving the room.

Harry grew increasingly frustrated with the restraints with every passing second, so by the time the Healers arrived an hour later, he felt nothing but relief at the sight of them. That changed when he saw what they brought with them. One Healer carried a small oak box the size of a thick paperback novel, and its wood was inscribed with dark runes.

"I was told this was going to be painful," Harry said as he eyed the box warily. There were too many symbols etched onto the wood that were synonymous with destroy and annihilate for his liking. "How painful are we talking? Like on a scale from the Stinging Hex to Basilisk Venom?"

The lead Healer, a portly black man who introduced himself as Rowan, raised his eyebrows. "I read in the paper that you had slayed a Basilisk, but it didn't mention you had been bitten by one as well." He double-checked Harry's chart. "There's no venom in your system."

"My guardian has a Phoenix that happens to like me."

"Phoenix tears," Healer Rowan smiled and shook his head in wonder. "You truly are a lucky young man."

"I won't agree unless you say the procedure is closer to the Stinging Hex end of the scale."

"I cannot overstate this," Rowan grimaced. "You're about to discover a whole new way to measure pain."

Harry stared. "Healer, you need to work on your bedside manner."

If anything, Healer Rowan had downplayed how painful the procedure was.

Harry was glad the restraints were there when the Healers began as it prevented him from throwing himself off the bed like he wanted. At first, he tried to distract himself by focusing on their repeated mantra and wand movements, but the pain of a thousand tiny, hooked sickles digging into his innards became too much to ignore. The lingering grains of sand tore at his guts in a futile attempt to remain within his abdomen, but eventually, every last speck was summoned from his body and into the box.

When the procedure was finally completed, he caught a glimpse of a pile of writhing black sand within the box before the Healer holding it slammed the lid closed. Harry was breathing heavily as his arched body slumped back onto the bed. While his voice was hoarse from screaming, the sharp ringing in his ears had finally stopped and he counted that as a blessing.

His skin was burning to such a degree that his sweat evaporated the instant it touched the air. Worse, the still gaping wound in his midsection felt disturbingly pleasant as it seeped blood. It was almost as if he'd been scrubbed clean of all infection and the bleeding was simply flushing out the last of the disease.

That delirious thought was his last before he fell unconscious. The last thing he saw was the Healers hovering over him, frantically waving their wands to heal his organs and stop him from bleeding out.

He felt infinitely better when he woke up the next day. He was able to stand up again, though his godparents weren't happy when they caught him trying to sneak out.

The door to his room opened just as Harry had one leg out the window. "Well..." he muttered. "That's just bad timing."

"Where did you even find your wand?" Remus complained as Maia ushered Harry back to his dreaded bed.

"I once tracked down an Acolyte of Lord Voldemort in under two days," Harry pointed out. "Do you seriously think I wouldn't be able to find my wand in your bag?"

"My bag was on me the whole time!"

Maia groaned. "Wherever they are, James and Lily are laughing at us."

"Laughing at you," Remus corrected. "Deservedly so after all the worry you used to give us back in the day. They'll be feeling bad for me, though, for having to put up with him now as well as you." He grinned triumphantly when Harry laughed. Even Maia smiled grudgingly.

Later that day, Moody called a meeting for the Hogwarts Triumvirate. As they weren't allowed to leave until they were discharged the following morning, they ended up meeting in Cedric's room.

"It was a brilliant duel-" Moody began, but he stopped when Cedric groaned.

"If you of all people are complimenting us then things are worse than I expected."

Eliza nodded. "He's right. Don't coddle us, Mad-Eye."

"Albus managed to talk the Chief Assessor into postponing the final qualifying duel until you've been discharged," Moody said, seemingly relieved that he didn't have to get all mushy with them. "It didn't take much convincing, as everyone is eager to see another duel out of you lot." Whether it was because they had been impressed with their performances, or everyone wanted to see them lose again was left to their imaginations.

"Who are we facing?" Harry asked.

"Koldovstoretz," Moody announced. Harry didn't know why he'd asked, as he couldn't decide if this was the better option or not. "Uagadou has moved into the Tournament along with Mahoutokoro." Harry felt a flash of jealous rage that Ekon was able to best the Molotov twins when he couldn't even win against a single duellist while he had superior numbers on his side.

"When is the duel scheduled for?" Eliza asked quickly.

"Tomorrow evening," Moody grunted as he already began to limp towards the door. "Rest for today, because your fates will be decided tomorrow." He was about to step out of the room, but he paused and glanced back at them. "It honestly was a great duel," he said before closing the door behind him.

The silence that was left in his wake was deafening.

Cedric threw himself back into bed and turned on his side to face the wall. Eliza stepped over to the window and leaned against the sill, pressing her forehead against the glass. Harry was left alone in the middle of the room, not sure if he should stay or go.

Even when they had been at their most argumentative, their Triumvirate had never been as fractured as this.

Author's Note:

No excuse for why this took so long to write. Summer just got away from me. I'm aiming for more regular posts from now on.