Harry felt a soft tickling beside his ear. Although his eyes were closed, he could feel the bright rays of light trying to penetrate the formidable darkness of his now disturbed sleep. Mumbling incoherently, Harry brought his hand up to brush the offending particle that disturbed his ear. As his hand reached up, however, he made contact with firmly solid material.
With his eyes closed, he investigated the source of his disturbance and kept blindly reaching behind him. His hand groped blindly and for a couple of seconds he could not quite register what the object beside his ear was.
Quite suddenly, something wet flicked out and touched his thumb. Harry let out a rather effeminate screech as he clambered off his bed and reached for his wand. Clutching his wand closely to his chest, Harry groaned as he realized that the room was still a bunch of dully pixilated blurs and reached for the glasses residing on his bedside table. It wasn't until he heard a soft giggling that he turned around and finally saw who had disturbed him from a rather pleasant dream.
"Dammit Ginny, you're such a bloody nuisance," Harry grumbled as he glared at the freckled face of the youngest Weasley.
Harry begrudgingly admitted that Ginny had started to grow quite into her own. Her long red hair accentuated the rather childish features of her face. Blessed with large cheeks and a smatter of freckles across her nose, Ginny Weasley held a sort of cute innocence about her. Harry knew it was just a visage for a rather mischievous spirit, no doubt influenced by her plethora of brothers.
Harry and Ginny's relationship was quite strange at first. Harry quickly found that he was the odd man out in the dorm room. Ron and Neville had been fast friends since they had met on the train in their First Year and while Harry had been present in their compartment, Ron and Neville had seemingly grown together. Seamus and Dean formed the other man couple of the dorm room which had left Harry by himself. Harry, a loner even when he was growing up, didn't particularly mind as he was decent enough friends with both pairs but he nonetheless felt lonely at times.
When Ginny Weasley arrived at Hogwarts, Harry didn't pay any particular attention to her until his Fourth Year. While Ron and Neville were out on their adventures, and Seamus and Dean had become quite the inseparable heterosexual couple, Harry found himself talking to the only daughter of the Weasley clan. He might have had a slight attraction to the freckled girl but quickly found out that they were hell-bent on causing as much torment in each other's lives. Accepting that he was the proverbial and literal fifth wheel in his dorm, Harry found himself spending quite a bit of time with the youngest Weasley and despite the teasing, grew a solid friendship with her.
Now if only I could find a way to shut her up for more than two minutes.
"Oh, you looked like such an idiot," she said in between giggles. Harry continued to glare at her as he snatched a shirt to cover his bare chest. Ginny mock fainted into his bed at the sight of his chest, and Harry retaliated by throwing a particularly dirty practice shirt at her face.
"Ugh, you're absolutely worse than Ron sometimes," she said as she lifted the speckled brown and green shirt from her face after a couple of sniffs.
"Yeah, well, at least Ron doesn't wake me up by blowing into my ear," Harry said as he grabbed a pair of socks from his dresser, "What are you doing here anyways?"
"In case you haven't noticed Prefect Potter, it's nearly noon," Ginny smirked, still lying down in his bed.
"What?!?!?" Harry quickly checked his watch and discovered that he had indeed missed two classes already and was in danger of being late to Creatures. He quickly found a fresh shirt to put on and abandoned a trip to the shower after an experimental sniff of his armpit.
"What are you doing up here anyways?" Harry said, mildly irritated that he had somehow overslept.
"I don't have classes on Tuesdays remember?" Ginny sighed. She sat up and gave Harry one of her mischievous looks.
"Why did YOU over sleep Mr. Potter? Late night with the one Hermione Granger?" she was grinning widely now, obviously enjoying Harry's squirming. Harry rolled his eyes for a moment and gave her the rather immature middle finger.
"Bugger off Ginny, I have to get to class."
"Oh, don't worry, I'll walk with you," she said brightly, not willing to let Harry leave the line of questioning so easily. Harry glared at her but knew she was not going to leave him alone. Without a word, he quickly exited the dorm, hoping that she would tire of him quickly. Unfortunately, he heard her leap up from his bed and follow him down the staircase.
"Why don't you ever just leave me alone?" Harry asked.
"Who else would you talk to? Who else would help you with your rather sordid love life?" Ginny continued to smile rather widely at the grumpy Potter.
"My love life is not sordid," Harry grumbled.
"Not right now it isn't. Right now, it's rather…non-existent."
"I could throw you over this railing."
"With what, your non-existent muscles of stone?" she gave a perfunctory poke against his rather underdeveloped bicep to make her point. Harry batted her hand away and stuck his tongue out at her as they continued to descend the staircase leading towards the rather empty dorm rooms.
"Ginny, why don't you just stay in the Common Room while I go find a blunt object to beat you with," Harry rolled his eyes, unbelieving that he had sunk to her level of insults.
"That's rather kinky of you, Harry," she fluttered her eyes at him with a mocking smile on her face while she twirled a stray lock on pinky finger. Harry couldn't quite take her ribbing anymore and poked her ticklish ribs with his index finger.
"Hey! That's off-limits!" she said, shocked at his retaliation as they reached the Common Room.
"You asked for it Ginny! Just leave me alone already," Harry whined, quickly picking up his pace as he strode purposefully towards the portrait.
"Alright, bed sniffer, just one more question."
"What?" Harry asked irritably as he opened the portrait.
"Do Ron and Neville know you say Hermione's name in your sleep?"
Harry promptly slammed the portrait in Ginny's smirking face.
---_____---
---_____---
Harry skidded around the corner just before the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor closed the classroom door.
"So sorry Professor! I…err…I…sort of overslept," Harry uncomfortably fidgeted in the front of the class as he tried to explain his tardiness.
"That's quite alright, Mr. Potter. I'll forgive it this time since you're usually very punctual," Professor Sheppard gave him one last bemused look before he turned to address the rest of the class. Harry quickly took a seat to Ron's left and waved to the rest of the Gryffindors seated down the row.
He focused his attention on the Ministry-employed Professor situated at the front of the class. Professor Sheppard (he refused to give the students his first name) had been appointed by the Ministry in an effort to advance the learning of their rather abysmal DADA curriculum. Haunted by a myriad of seemingly unlucky or incompetent teachers, the Ministry saw it fit to intervene and supply their own "qualified" teacher. Although Dumbledore certainly rejected any sort of government intervention on Hogwarts, he had allowed this certain professor to teach what most thought was the most important class since the War had resumed.
Professor Sheppard, a former Auror, was a tall, thin man that oddly reminded Harry of a grasshopper. Thin, almost pencil like arms were marked by his rather bony elbows which only further enhanced his rather insectile appearance. Harry guessed that he was entering the later half-century of his life but much like Dumbledore, his age only gave him an air of authority which none of the class, even the Slytherins, dared question. The only professor of equal competence in the field was Professor Lupin of Harry's Third Year. He, unfortunately, had been sacked on the account of his being a werewolf. To Harry, it was quite unfortunate because he was rather fond of the chocolate insisting professor.
"Alright class, today marks the beginning of dueling sessions," Professor Sheppard paced back and forth in the front of the class with his hands behind his back and his posture perfect. He was the most extreme example of a perfect Auror.
There was a murmur of whispers and the students turned to each other, excited and nervous at the same time. Harry leaned forward in his seat a bit to catch the professor's every word.
"Before we start, however, I need to lay down some ground rules," he gave everyone a stern glance as he flicked his wand at the chalkboard.
"There is to be no jerking around," he barked, "This is of the utmost serious matter, and the second I see you endanger yourself or any of your classmates, I will forcibly remove you from this class."
"Professor Dumbledore, along with Professor Flitwick, have created these special medallions that you MUST wear anytime you are preparing to duel. It is charmed to not only protect you from some of the more dangerous hexes that you will be flinging at each other but to also recognize which curses have hit you so we can identify your weaknesses. It will keep a rolling tally of what curses you have hit and also what curses you specialize in using," he barked each word with the utmost silence in the classroom.
"You will not be graded until your final evaluation, but I will be taking notes so do not be mistaken by your lack of grades. Your performances will be judged constantly by me."
Harry felt Ron turn to whisper something to Hermione and Neville as the Trio murmured quietly. He didn't quite know what to expect out of the Trio in terms of their dueling skills. Harry had only seen Neville duel in their Second Year and it was hardly a duel after Neville had spoken in Parseltongue to the enchanted snake. He already knew Hermione was quite smart and therefore knew she could at least defend herself though he had never seen her in combat. While Ron might have seemed to be the least talented of the Trio, Harry had played enough chess with him to know that there was a certain strategic element that only Ron could master.
Harry's ears perked as Professor Sheppard cleared his throat.
"For today's lesson, you will be matched with a partner. In combat, you will usually be accompanied by at least one, if not more people. Therefore, it is imperative that you develop the communication skills necessary to enter combat with a partner. As such, I will be assigning partners," there was a groan from the class.
"Longbottom…Crabbe," Harry saw Neville roll his eyes at his misfortune. Crabbe, a Slytherin, stupidly gaped at the Boy-Who-Lived.
"Weasley…Granger," Ron gulped as he glanced at Hermione out of the corner of his eye.
"Brown…Thomas."
"Finnegan…Goyle."
Professor Sheppard continued to assign partners as Harry patiently awaited his assignment. After a quick head count, Harry was dismayed to find an odd number of students in this class.
Maybe I'll partner up with the Professor.
Harry had no such luck. Professor Sheppard seemed to realize his predicament as he finally arrived in front of Harry. As he was opening his mouth to speak, however, one last student walked into class. Harry could only groan at his misfortune.
He was going to be partnered with Draco Malfoy.
"Mr. Malfoy, thank you for gracing us with your present," Professor Sheppard barked, "Five points from Slytherin for excessive tardiness."
"Sorry Professor," Malfoy did not look the least bit sorry.
"You're going to be partnered with Potter," Professor Sheppard eyed the blond teenager.
Harry met Malfoy's eyes for a moment and resolutely glared at the sour Slytherin.
"You can't be serious," Malfoy eyed Harry like he was some unfortunate every flavor bean that had become stuck on his expensive shoes.
"I am very serious. Your performance is influenced by your ability to communicate with your partner Mr. Malfoy. I hope you two become friends quickly," Professor Sheppard addressed the Slytherin icily before returning to his spot in the front of the class.
Harry begrudgingly moved his bag so Malfoy could sit next to him. Malfoy eyed the seat beside Harry warily and opted to sit one seat down from him. Harry only rolled his eyes at the rather exaggerated show of petulance.
"I will give you ten minutes to discuss with your partner before I start assigning duels," Professor Sheppard announced before taking a seat behind his desk.
For a minute or two, Harry and Malfoy just glared at each other. Neither of them insisted to be the first to speak. Recognizing that they eventually had to cooperate, Harry sighed and opened his mouth to speak.
"Listen, Malfoy, you git, we're going to have to eventually dual another pair so we might as well learn our strengths…weaknesses," Harry grinded his teeth as Malfoy continued to simply glare at him.
"My only weakness is that I'm partnered with such an incompetent duelist," Malfoy drawled. Harry bit out a sharp retort.
While Harry was by no means a complete failure at Defence, the only time in which he was asked to demonstrate his talents was his rather paltry performance against a boggart in his Third Year. Embarrassed by what the boggart had turned into, Harry froze on the spot and Professor Lupin was forced to quietly ask for the next person to advance. Since that incident, Harry had a reputation of being a panicked student.
Harry was resolutely prepared to enter this duel with much more ferocity. His Dad had been visiting Harry more frequently ever since the conception of the Second War. Although Harry was glad that he had a chance to see his father more often, James and Lily Potter seemed to still maintain a slightly frosty relationship. Nevertheless, Harry embraced every opportunity to see his father as his father had started to impart his knowledge of Defence to Harry.
I have just a couple little tricks that I'm ready to show.
Harry broke out of his grim thought by addressing Malfoy again.
"Nevertheless Malfoy, you're stuck with me so we better formulate a plan of some sort," Harry managed to speak without insulting the blond. Malfoy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Here's the plan, you try and not be a complete failure at life while I watch and defend whatever paltry curse comes at me," Malfoy blew a stray lock out of his eyes.
"Excellent, Professor Sheppard will mark me down as the excellent Defence student while writes down how you're a bumbling idiot," Harry couldn't contain his remark any longer.
"Do you really think that's what he will be writing down Four Eyes? Merlin, I knew you were thick."
Harry was caught aback by Malfoy's statement and struggled to recover without seeming to desperate to know the answer. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Harry could see that Malfoy was not going to continue his tirade.
"What is he writing then?"
Malfoy seemed to size up Harry with his rather patented glare. Harry only stared back at him. After a moment, Malfoy relaxed his posture and turned to address Harry properly for the first time.
"Only because you're a Potter," Malfoy sneered while Harry rolled his eyes again, "Sheppard over there is just taking down notes for his Ministry buddies so they know who to send those letters to."
"Oh."
"Yes, oh, you dimwit. While my father would never let that happen, I'm not going to take my chances. Now you understand why I'm just going to sit there and let you hound the glory," Malfoy went back to crossing his arms and idly blowing the hair out of his eyes.
Harry was surprised by the rather dismal turn of events. While he certainly wanted to perform to the best of his new capabilities, he did not want to attract any unwanted attention by the Ministry. He did not want to receive one of those bright, blue letters anytime soon. Before he could mull over his thoughts, however, Professor Sheppard stood up to mark the beginning of their first dueling session.
"Now, remember what we have studied so far. For now, you are strictly FORBIDDEN to cast any hex that could permanently damage one of your fellow classmates. Any curses I deem are restricted will no doubt lead to your immediate expulsion. Am I making myself clear?" The student body in the class nodded their heads.
"Excellent, first up…Longbottom and Crabbe versus…Patil and Macmillan."
"This one is going to be a joy," Malfoy said with more than a bit of sarcasm. Harry could not help but agree with the git beside him. Although Longbottom was partnered with Crabbe, Harry doubted Patil and Macmillan could take the Boy-Who-Lived regardless. He wasn't the top of the Defence class for no reason.
There was a shrill whistle as Professor Sheppard started the dueling session.
Padma and Ernie immediately threw two Disarming Charms at Crabbe. Neville immediately conjured a Protego to deflect both of the charms. Crabbe spun dumbly to avoid the charms. Unfortunately, he managed to simply walk out from behind the Shield and into the line of fire yet again. Padma and Ernie combined to throw two more Disarming Charms at Crabbe. Crabbe somehow managed to narrow his rather wide body as the two charms managed to miss him by a wide margin.
The pair who had the advantage prepared to cast another series of Disarming Charms but suddenly came under fire from Neville. Neville quickly cast a series of spells and Harry could make out Impedimenta and Immobulus as two of the spells that Neville uttered. While Padma managed to conjure her shield in time, Ernie's shield was considerably weaker and he was blasted off of his feet and propelled into the air.
"Herbivicus!" Padma yelled with a flourish of her wand.
An overgrowth of plants promptly came in between the dueling partners, obscuring their vision of one another. Harry could even see Malfoy was mildly impressed by Padma's quick thinking.
"Diffindo! Expelliarmus!"
There were a couple of sharp cracks of the conjured branches as Neville's severing charm opened the way for his potent Disarming spell which just missed over Padma's shoulder . Harry watched as Padma, partially obscured by her charm, pulled Ernie to his feet.
"Herbivicus!" now Ernie incanted his own spell and there was more overgrowth obscuring their vision. Harry watched as Neville slowly stepped through the plants, careful not to break any branches as to give away his position. Crabbe was dumbly situated on the other side of the overgrowth with his wand in front of him, looking quite like a frightened first year.
Harry watched as Padma and Ernie made their way to the exposed Crabbe. Harry could see that they were looking to eliminate the other threat for simplify the duel. Neville had seemingly realized the same thing. Harry watched as Neville backtracked his way to Crabbe and kneeled down behind a rather large bush with Crabbe in sight. The classroom was deathly quiet as they watched the exhilarating cat and mouse game. Crabbe still did not see Padma and Ernie and realized his predicament too late. Two disarming charms flew out of the shrubbery on target. Crabbe screamed and shielded his face as he prepared himself for the inevitable.
The inevitable did not occur, however, as Crabbe toppled over and narrowly avoided the two Charms. Neville had anticipated Padma and Ernie's plan and threw an Impedimenta at Crabbe's feet as soon as he saw the two charms fly out from the trees.
"Incendio!"
A small fire erupted near Padma and Ernie's location. Padma yelled and Harry could only watch as she jumped out from the shrubbery in her panic to avoid the fire, her body twisting and turning to and fro to dodge the flames.
"Padma, no!" Ernie stretched his arm to yank Padma back into the overgrowth.
"Expelliarmus!"
Ernie's wand flew from his outstretched arm. Padma seemed to realize her error and turned to face a sprinting Neville Longbottom.
"Impedimenta! Expelliarmus! Flipendo!" Padma yelled in fright.
Neville deftly ducked and dodged the three incoming spells. Harry felt that Neville did not need to even duck because the spells were terribly off target. Neville muttered a quiet Expelliarmus and raised three wands in his right hand to signal victory.
Professor Sheppard gave three blows of his whistle to signal the end of the duel. After Professor Sheppard casted a series of counter-curses, the room returned to its normal state. Neville handed the wands back to its owners. Ernie snatched his wand out of Neville's hand a bit more quickly than Padma, his pride no doubt stung by the defeat.
Harry watched as Neville walked back to Ron and Hermione. Ron clapped him on the back, no doubt expressing his congratulations while Hermione took him by the elbow and talked to him excitedly. Harry was not surprised by Neville's good showing. He knew from observing Neville that he was quite the student in Defence, no doubt confident from his previous experiences with various Dark creatures and Dark wizards.
Harry smiled to himself though, prepared to show that he was not nearly the scared Defence student that he had been in his Third Year. Professor Sheppard, however, did not call his name next. Instead, Seamus was called, and Harry watched as his dorm mate nervously approached the circle marking the dueling arena.
This process continued as Harry watched student after student duel each other. After Neville's rather impressive showing, the rest of the students struggled to even disarm each other. Harry noted that a majority of the student's spells were simply off target. Harry listened to Malfoy's rather sour commentary as the dueling continued and found he begrudgingly agreed with the criticism. Harry noted that there were few standouts from any of the Houses.
After watching Dean Thomas receive a sound beating from Blaise Zabini, Harry realized that there were only two pairs remaining. He was suddenly unsure whether to reveal his plethora of knowledge since he was going to duel Hermione and Ron. Harry snuck a glance at Hermione and their eyes met for a second. She had a determined look on her face that slightly unnerved Harry. He knew how competitive Hermione was and for the first time, Harry was unsure whether he would emerge the victor in this battle.
Do not doubt yourself Harry. Move with conviction.
James Potter's warning rang clear and loud in Harry's head. Shaking himself, he nodded at Hermione and Ron who nodded back at him. Harry turned to address Malfoy and found Malfoy taking off his robes and rolling up his sleeves.
"I thought you said you were just going to defend yourself?"
"There's no way I'm going to lose to Weasley and the mighty Huntress," Malfoy muttered as he rolled up his sleeves. Harry opened his mouth to retort but Malfoy cut him off.
"Just shut your chivalry Potter, we don't have time for it. Just make sure you don't go bumbling into my line of fire. As long as you stay out of my way and don't cause me a nuisance, then we should be…why the hell are you smiling?" Malfoy was infuriated by Harry's smirk.
"I think you're the one that's going to need help Malfoy."
"Figures. Stupid Gryffindor knows he's going to lose and just takes it in stride. Why'd I have to get stuck with such a bumbling dumberville."
"Just make sure not to cross my line of fire, Malfoy."
"Fat chance of that happening. That requires you actual getting off a spell," Malfoy said as the pair crossed the line of the dueling circle.
Harry cracked his neck as he surveyed the pair across from them. Hermione stood with her back ramrod straight, her head held up high. Ron looked as if he were bracing himself for a fist fight. His knees were slightly bent and his chin tucked into his chest. Harry gulped as he waited for Professor Sheppard to blow his whistle. He quickly tried to summarize what his Dad had taught him during the past year. His wand felt sticky in his hand. He could feel the perspiration making its way down the back of his shirt, his body eagerly anticipating the duel. Sneaking a look at Malfoy, Harry saw that the blond had taken to glaring at his two friends. Harry did note, however, that the boy's jaw was clenched very tightly, and he could make out the blonde's quivering jaw bone.
The sharp blast in the air indicated the beginning of the duel. Immediately, Hermione fired what must have been at least four spells. Harry anticipated this action as he watched the dizzying array of beams streak towards him and Malfoy. What he did not anticipate, however, was Malfoy promptly shoving him to the ground. His knee made unexpected contact with the stone floor and Harry grimaced at the sharp pain.
You have to be bloody kidding me.
Harry barely managed to avoid Ron's Stunner and quickly rolled to make himself not a smaller target but a mobile one as well. Tucking his legs in, Harry leapt up in one smooth motion and blindly fired a Disarming charm in Hermione and Ron's direction.
"Incendio!"
Malfoy directed the conflagration towards the Muggle-Born Witch and Harry watched as Hermione coolly spoke.
"Duro!"
The small fireball immediately turned into a flying piece of granite. Hermione deftly stepped sideways and avoided the flying debris.
"Come on Bug-Eyed Bastard! Do something useful!" Malfoy yelled at him.
Malfoy's words seemed to break Harry's proverbial dueling barrier and he quickly fired a pair of Stunners at Ron. Ron avoided the first one and threw up a quick shield to deflect his second Stunner. Harry did not abate his attack but continued to push forward.
"Incarcerous! Obscuro!"
Ron managed to hop out of the way of the ropes that were looking to bind him but could not avoid the magical blindfold. Stumbling, Ron finally lost his balance trying to rip the blindfold off of his head. Harry fired a Stunner to finish him off.
Unfortunately, Hermione managed to summon a book just in time to intercept Harry's Stunner. Harry's Stunner was so strong that it managed to keep pushing the book into Ron's direction and there was a loud thud as the book came in contact with Ron's head.
"Oh bloody fuck!"
Harry fired three more Stunners at Ron but Hermione managed to summon not only a chair but one of the bird cages that were left over from Lupin. The objects continued to pelt Ron which only further irritated the red head.
Hermione was now under fire from Malfoy and Harry while she tried to rescue Ron from his magical blindfold. She awkwardly ducked another jinx from Malfoy while Harry kept a stream of pressure on Ron, finally seeing Malfoy's strategy. Harry was waiting for the moment to attack Hermione, who was distracted by the heavy fire coming from Malfoy's direction. He could see that she was quickly weakening, not used to the furious pace of the duel.
"Reducto!"
Malfoy didn't aim the curse at either of their adversaries but instead at the ground in front of them. Harry could only watch as he saw Hermione get blown off her feet before Malfoy and Harry were surrounded by the ensuing dust. The dust seeped into his nostrils and try as he might, Harry could not stop himself from sneezing.
"ACHOO!!"
Malfoy glared at him for revealing their position but there was no retaliation from either Hermione or Ron. The pair squinted to find their targets but it was no use. The thick cloud of dust blinded them from not only Hermione and Ron but the rest of the class as well.
"Expelliarmus!"
The Disarming Charm shot out from the cloud of dust and struck Harry. Harry could only watch, horrified at losing the duel, as his wand started to slip out of his hand.
No!
To Harry's great surprise, his wand turned in mid-air and came right back to him. His mouth dropped open as he struggled to rationalize what had just happened. He didn't quite have the time to sit and study, however, as a slew of curses suddenly broke the heavy dust in the air.
Ron had managed to Finite his blindfold and was now supporting Hermione as it was Harry and Malfoy's turn to be on the defensive side of the duel. No longer handicapped by Ron's inability to see, Hermione was releasing an absolutely horrifying amount of jinxes and it took all of Harry's quick reflexes to dodge and void the rampage. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Malfoy was struggling to avoid the jinxes as well.
Harry was not quick enough to dodge a cleverly placed Impedimenta and tripped onto his back. Ron saw his chance to subdue Harry and fired a number of Stunners his way.
"Protego Maxima!"
Instead of Harry's usual golden, shimmering shield, a dark blue shield was summoned in its place and there was a loud gong as the Stunners reverberated off of the shield and raced back towards its castor. Ron was wide eyed as he saw the number of beams in his direction and was not quick enough to avoid all of them. With a final Expelliarmus, Harry downed one of his adversaries.
Unfortunately, Hermione was overwhelming Malfoy. Like a furious storm, Hermione kept moving forward, her mouth moving as quick as her wand hand as spell after spell came flying towards Malfoy.
"Ventus!"
The strong gust of wind knocked Malfoy's wand finally out of his hand and Malfoy turned around to see three blue Stunner heading his direction.
"Accio shoe! Waddiwasi!"
In two quick spells, Harry summoned Malfoy's shoe, thus pulling the boy off his feet and out of the way of the Stunners. After summoning the shoe, he flung it back towards Hermione. Hermione was caught off the guard by the rather strange object flying in her direction. Harry used her slight letdown as his opportunity to win.
"Ventus!"
Hermione's wand flew out of her hand. She glared at Harry as she realized her imminent defeat. Still on his back, Harry scrambled to his feet and pointed his wand at Hermione. Gulping, Harry found himself unable to cast any spells.
Do not doubt yourself Harry. Move with conviction.
Although his Dad's warning rang in his head, Harry still found himself unable to disarm Hermione.
"Potter, what the bloody hell!" Malfoy scrambled over to his wand and Harry finally blinked out of his daze. It was too late, however, as Hermione already reached her wand. With a quick Accio and another Expelliarmus, Hermione summoned Malfoy's wand and disarmed Harry. Numb, Harry watched as Hermione glared at him while raising the three wands.
Harry could only distinctly hear Professor Sheppard blowing his whistle three times. He was still somewhat shell-shocked that he had lost the duel after clearly having the upper hand.
"What the fuck's the matter with you Potter? You had the bloody Mudblood right there! Leave it to a fucking Gryffindor not to win the duel because of some smarmy sense of chivalry. Merlin, you're so incompetent I could probably have gotten a bleeding House-Elf to be my partner and win!" Malfoy was furious and in Harry's face but to Harry it was just a dull ringing in his ears.
"HELLO! Anyone in that empty skull!" Malfoy tapped Harry's head twice and knocked him out of his stupor. Harry shoved Malfoy in the chest and muttered, "Sod off."
Malfoy looked as if he was not done ripping into the Boy-Who-Gave-Up but slinked away as he saw Professor Sheppard step from behind his desk. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione approaching him with his wand. Ashamed, Harry could not meet her eye as he reached for his wand.
"You didn't have to go easy on me just because I'm a girl," Hermione hissed. Harry opened his mouth to apologize, but Hermione had already hustled off. Harry watched as she grabbed her belongings and raced out the door, not sparing a glance backwards.
"Don't worry about her mate, I thought you did bloody marvelous," Ron came up and clapped Harry on the back.
"It was more than marvelous! Those were some real advanced spells!" Neville came up to congratulate him along with Seamus and Dean. While they were showering him with praises, Harry still could not get rid of the embarrassment of losing and disappointing Hermione. He was dimly aware of Professor Sheppard asking for a full report of all the duels as homework and cancelling class next Thursday, but Harry was still slightly shell-shocked.
"Oh, Mr. Potter, wait here after class," Sheppard addressed him with a stern look.
As the rest of the class shuffled out of the classroom, some congratulating him and Malfoy glaring at him, Harry see sawed from foot to foot as he waited for Professor Sheppard. Sheppard was shuffling around his notes as Harry waited for him to speak.
"That was an impressive display of wandless magic, Mr. Potter."
Harry's mouth inadvertently dropped open. Sheppard only confirmed what Harry had thought but his admission still caught Harry by surprise.
"Sir, I don't know what you're talkin-"
"Don't play dumb with me Potter. I saw you Summon your wand after Miss Granger had disarmed you," Professor Sheppard. Harry nodded and stared at his feet, willing himself to sink into the ground.
"Is there anything else sir?"
"Not at all Mr. Potter, I just wanted to compliment you."
Harry nodded and left the classroom, feeling more frustrated than even after he had lost the duel.