Unofficial Portkey Archive

The Duelist by Hawkins
EPUB MOBI HTML Text

The Duelist

Hawkins

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and don't profit from my writing.

Chapter 21: Journeyman Duelist

Wednesday they had the second meeting of the DA. Harry met with Hermione, Ron, Luna, Ginny, and Neville in the Room of Requirement beforehand. He drilled with each of them through their favorite five spells, the ones they expected to use over and over again.

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. Bruce Lee said that." Harry lectured. "I think that there may be times when we want to know a broad range of spells, but for every day fights with Death Eaters, I think we could get away with a handful and never suffer from it. Besides the killing curse, what do they use? Crucio? My fight with them in the graveyard shows that they're not fans of variety. I don't think we need variety to kick their asses."

He watched them, went around to each to help them with the finer points of the wand movements. Once they were all tired and need a break, he sat with them on the floor.

"I'm really learning a lot from Flitwick and all this dueling. Almost every night I find a little time to duel with whoever is here that week. What I'm learning is that besides perfecting the spells, which you can do on your own time for the most part, the biggest thing is confronting your own mental limitations. Getting enough experience so you can feel the fight develop, see what spells they're throwing your way and knowing whether you need to dodge or can afford to shield. Most of my fights seem to come down to who's fastest, both at dodging and at casting. I think Ashdown's training is really coming in handy there, so be sure to take that as far as you can."

"Ok, pair up. We have time for a few short duels."

Hermione paired with Ginny. Ron paired with Luna. Harry paired up against Neville, planning to watch what he could of the others at the same time.

They each lined up in formal dueling protocol. Harry had let them know not to get too used to this, because a lot of their fights would be just fights and being too tied to formal dueling style would be a hindrance, but with three duels going on simultaneously, it was better for the space. Each bowed to their opponent, saluted and the duels began.

Ginny instantly shot out a reductor curse, which Hermione neatly sidestepped, while waving her wand in a complicated pattern. Harry didn't immediately recognize the spell, but when Ginny transformed into a red fox, he realized Hermione had gone for her new transfiguration knowledge.

Luna and Ron both went for stunners first, but Luna was faster and Ron was unconscious.

Neville chose expelliarmus as his first attack. Harry sidestepped, keeping an eye on the other boy. Neville shot a bludgeoning hex and then a piercing charm. Harry dodged one and blocked the other, using the opportunity to practice. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione return Ginny to human form and Luna wake Ron, then he had to look away to dodge a string of curses from Neville. The other two pair, bowed, saluted and began dueling again. Harry looked back to Neville to find a string of bludgeoning hexes headed his way. He tried to dodge, but Neville had put enough spread on them that dodging one put him right in the path of the next. It hit him in the ribs, hard. Neville's spells were always powerful now and the bludgeon hit Harry like a freight train. He was blown back ten feet and he heard some of his ribs crack. His breath was knocked out of him and he couldn't speak.

Luckily, with non-verbal casting, he didn't have to. Before his conscious mind had registered what had happened, perhaps before he'd even hit the ground, he'd disarmed, stunned, and bound Neville.

"Damn, that hurt." He groaned.

"Harry, are you ok?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I will be, but man Neville throws a mean spell."

He released Neville and woke him.

"Good one, mate." Harry said, helping him up.

"Well, thanks, but I shouldn't have let my guard down when I hit you."

"True, Nev, true, but still a good job." Harry replied.

He took a second to watch Ginny against Hermione. Ginny had the Weasley temper and being changed into an animal had set her off. She cast as fast as she could sending a never ending stream of curses at Hermione. Hermione calmly dodged and parried, her eyes focused on Ginny's hips so she could take in the girl's whole body including her hands. The old Ginny would have cast a single spell at a time. They'd all been in that mode at first. Harry remembered his first duel with Malfoy in front of Snape and Lockhart. It was like punch, then take a punch, punch, then take a punch. That was just a good way to get punched. Ginny had learned and was trying to keep Hermione defensive so she couldn't cast back. Before Black Isle, Harry didn't think Ginny would have been able to keep up the onslaught for that long, either, but she'd built up her magical reserves and while Harry wasn't precisely counting, he was pretty sure she was near 20 spells in a row now.

Hermione continued to duck, sidestep, and shield when she had to. Her curly hair was escaping from her braid in little tendrils and Harry had never seen her look so hot, with her face flushed and the intense look on her face. Ron and Luna stopped to watch as Ginny chased Hermione around, casting spell after spell.

"Blimey." Ron said, his mouth dropping open.

Hermione's defense was perfect. She finally slightly changed her shield, although with the non-verbal casting it was very difficult to distinguish one shield from another and Ginny was hit by several of her own spells rebounding back at her.

"Brilliant, but scary." Ron said.

Harry heard a knock at the door and began to let the others in. Once everyone was gathered, he stood.

"We worked on expelliarmus last meeting." Harry said, "Good job! Now, I've got rather a lot that I want to go on with and probably never enough time to do it. So I want to demonstrate several charms. The first is the Patronus charm. It is a very advanced charm requiring complete focus on your happiest memory in addition to the incantation and wand movement. A partial Patronus or shield form is useful, but a truly corporeal Patronus is the most helpful. I want to demonstrate this spell, then give you each a chance to try a few times. I'll make sure you have the incantation and the wand movement down. I don't expect all of you or perhaps many of you to successfully cast this one, but if I get you started today, you can practice and we'll work on it again next week."

Harry demonstrated, again slightly exaggerating the wand movement and very clearly enunciating the incantation. Prongs sprung from his wand.

Hermione demonstrated as well, her otter patronus swimming around her in a playful way. Ron cast his terrier. Luna summoned her hare. Ginny cast the horse she manifested.

"Good job, Cedric!" Harry said, seeing a shield charm with hints of a form, "Almost there, Cho."

A few of the older students managed to cast a shield form in the few attempts he gave them time for, but no new corporeal forms were summoned.

"Good job!" Harry said, interrupting. "That's really advanced magic, which is why I wanted to introduce it early. We'll work on it throughout the year. Now I want to teach you a second offensive spell, the stunning spell. The incantation is stupefy. Split into pairs and work together. I suggest everyone grab cushions."

He demonstrated, then went around the room with his assistants, helping and supervising. He decided to cut it short when he noticed most of them had managed the stunner. He wished he had a whistle, then noticed a whistle hanging on the wall right next to him. 'Bloody useful room.' He thought, then blew the whistle.

"Great! Last spell for the night. We talked about dodging as much as possible, but I do want you to learn the shield charm. The incantation is protego and the wand motion is thus."

The assistants circulated, continuing working with the DA members until everyone had a useful shield charm. Some of the more advanced students had time to drill before Harry blew the whistle and called it a night. He used the map to help everyone get started towards the dorms without getting caught. Umbridge was getting more and more suspicious, but they'd managed to avoid her and her new inquisitorial squad so far. Harry intended to keep it that way.

H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr

Harry and Hermione had to be up late that night, as it was one of their scheduled nights to patrol. They'd managed to arrange the schedule so they were always together. With the help of the Marauder's Map, prefect patrols were quite simple and gave them time for their own snogging. Harry was relieved that Hermione had relaxed since they'd been dating. He was happiest giving warnings and sending couples back to the common room. He never wanted to take points for things he would be doing if he weren't patrolling. Hermione was open to this philosophy. So their patrols consisted of finding any wayward students on the map and telling them to go home. It never took more than about an hour, and then they could go the Room of Requirement for some private time. Meanwhile, their reputation was for being infallible. Nobody escaped their notice.

Their bond was as deep as they could make it, but practice was still fun. They were also incorporating more legilimency versus occlumency practice. Splitting attention between bonding and meanwhile attacking the other's mind was a truly schizophrenic exercise to build multi-tasking skills.

H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr

Harry never checked the class standings. He didn't need to, knowing Hermione kept a close eye. He'd moved up to number two, which had been somewhat of a challenge having to overcome three years of barely above-average work, but each year was weighted more heavily. Harry normally wouldn't have cared, but he wanted to be Head Boy to be able to have private quarters with Hermione in their last year. Although married students also had private quarters, he knew Hermione wanted to be Head Girl and while not a jealous person, he couldn't imagine anyone else being paired with her.

Potions class was going much better for him. Snape was no longer going out of his way to sabotage his work, although he was as sarcastic and derogatory as ever. Harry learned that his work with the Machine was useful there, too. He could set his subconscious to making the potion of the day while his own mind wandered. With his mind free, he'd began to be curious about whether there were other ways to make potions. When he'd done some of the supplemental reading, he'd discovered that their standard potions text didn't always feature the best way to process some of the ingredients. The standard text might recommend dicing when crushing was considered better in the supplemental text. He'd brought it up to Hermione one evening in the library.

"Hermione, have you ever read any of the supplemental texts for potions?"

Hermione just regarded him with a flat stare.

"Right, stupid question." Harry said, "Did you notice that our main text doesn't always use the best way to get whatever we need out of our ingredients?"

"What do you mean, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Well, the one I noticed was the Draught of Peace. You can crush the Valerian root for more juice and it improves the potion, but our main text never mentions that."

"But Snape rights the instructions on the board." Hermione said, "If he meant us to deviate from them, he would give us the other instructions."

At this, Harry gave her a flat look.

"Ok, you're right. We're not here to learn to please Snape, we're here to learn to brew potions well." Hermione sighed, "So you want to annotate these differences?"

"Yeah," Harry offered, "If we do a quick read through of the supplemental text and annotate the differences, then one of us could try with the differences and one the default way. If we see a difference, we'll know. I'm willing to do the different steps if you want."

Hermione looked at him for a second. "It might be better to alternate. That way if we get counted off, it's not always one of us being counted down, but if it turns out better, it's not always one of us getting more points."

"Ok." Harry said.

Since they'd started doing that, they'd noticed that the supplemental text alternate methods were generally superior. Snape had noticed too, watching whichever one of them was using the alternate methods. That person almost always received a higher grade unless they made a large mistake elsewhere, which never happened to Hermione and rarely to Harry.

That evening, they met for occlumency.

"You have made enough progress now," Snape said, "that it's time to start over."

Harry looked at him, not understanding what he was saying.

"When you look at me like that, Potter, I wonder if you're actually related to Weasley and not just his friend." Snape said with a sneer, "In small words, what I'm saying is that you've actually learned to some extent what you're doing. While you're reinforcing your walls nightly, you're just reinforcing the old walls that you started before you really knew what you were doing. You're still using the mental organization that you started before your mind was truly organized. Now that you've got a strong subtle shield up, you can afford the risk of completely dismantling and rebuilding your core shields. Remember that in the mind, you're not limited to normal building materials. If you want diamond walls, a mithril portcullis, or adamantine gates, you can build it that way. The key is that it's only as strong as you believe it is. Tonight and until you're finished, I want you to reorganize your memories, from bottom to top. With the benefit of your improved occlumency, you'll find the increased organization worthwhile."

They immediately began work, opening up their bond fully to cooperate. They didn't want to waste time if one of them had a good idea then the other should have access right away. That was how they'd ended up where they currently were, with identical defenses.

H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr

The next Tuesday evening, Harry walked into the dueling classroom in the dungeon with Hermione beside him. They found more people gathered than usual. Professor Flitwick was there, as always, but with him were Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Madame Pomphrey, and Mr. Ashdown from their summer work.

"Mr. Potter, I have asked the Headmaster and our other guests here today, because I feel we've come to a milestone." Professor Flitwick began, "I have had a chance to evaluate your ability as a duelist and you have been wholly adequate thus far, so it is time to commence the second stage of your training with me."

"Most duels between skilled duelists are won or lost on speed. I think you've seen this in some of your duels. You are exceptionally fast, which I suspect is due to subconscious magical intervention on your part to make it so. You then received instruction from Mr. Ashdown on how to purposefully increase your speed, which I believe you utilized well. After almost several months of utilizing his techniques, you will benefit from close personal work with him, the Headmaster, and Professor McGonagall for their expertise in transfiguration."

"Then, I wish you to demonstrate your abilities to the Headmaster. I think you may benefit from personal attention from him."

Harry nodded, looking at Hermione, who was also in agreement.

"Harry," Ashdown started, "You've done wonderfully with the techniques I've taught you. As long as you occasionally focus on keeping those techniques up, you'll never have a problem with your physical fitness. You don't need to run regularly to do it, as your magic will continue to work even if not encouraged by regular exercise."

"I completely agree with Professor Flitwick, that you had subconsciously been encouraging your speed and reflexes with magic your whole life, on top of a genetic heritage of the Potters, who've tended to be inclined to that already, as anyone who had seen your father play Quidditch would attest to."

"Now, though, you've come to the point where we can take it further. Professional dueling does not have the same prohibitions you may be accustomed to from Muggle sports. There is no equivalent to 'doping'. Any enhancement duelists make to their bodies is legal and is not even looked for, unless other competitors or coaches are looking to steal their techniques. Lord Voldemort is an extreme example. He has used dark rituals to make himself stronger, faster, and more resistant to damage."

"Wise duelists will not go so far as he has. At the extreme, you begin to cause harm to yourself. Like Voldemort, you may become inhuman. I have a mastery in transfiguration specializing in human transfiguration, specifically performance enhancement. I will not be overly modest, I really am the best at what I do. I have examined you fully and conferred with Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, who are very familiar with your magical core and are experts in the field. We have outlined the most aggressive course of action we can take without causing harm to you. We are prepared to coach you through the magic yourself while we assist. Are you agreeable?"

Harry conferred with Hermione instantly over their bond.

"I am." Harry replied, then added on his own, "But I also want Hermione to be offered similar help, if she wants."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I thought you'd insist on that, so we took the liberty of designing the appropriate scheme for her, as well. It is slightly different, because she has not been doing this subconsciously her entire life, has a different genetic background, and as a female of child bearing age we should be somewhat cautious not to interfere with hormonal processes that are more sensitive than the equivalent in the male body."

"I will talk you through your portion of the process, Harry." Dumbledore continued, "If you will engage your auramancy, with your permission I will enter your mind through legilimency and show you the pathways you will need to focus on enlarging and altering. Then Poppy will monitor your well-being while Minerva and I perform the external transfigurations Mr. Ashdown has thought prudent."

"Will I look different?" Harry asked, worried.

"Not at all, Mr. Potter." Ashdown chuckled, "That's part of what I meant by wise duelists not going to the extremes. Your body type and genetic heritage were already conducive to speed and quick reflexes. Most descendants of the ancient families are to some extent as there has historically been some selection pressure. You've noticed that most of the Quidditch players are Purebloods or mixed heritage strongly associated with an ancient family, such as yourself?"

Harry nodded.

They led Harry to a bed they'd already set up within a ritual circle. Madame Pomphrey placed several magical devices with sticking charms on and around his body to monitor. Harry engaged his auramancy and concentrated on himself, while Professor Dumbledore cast legilimens.

'Harry, follow me into your mind' Albus said, being allowed past Harry's mental barriers. They went deep into the central portions, deeper than Harry's memories, to the control sections of his mind. Harry could sense the vast roiling energy of his magical core. Dumbledore quickly showed him the representations of the relevant portions of his brain and talked him through the techniques for widening already existing pathways that he'd developed instinctively and with Ashdown's help between his magical core and those portions. Once he'd shown him what was needed, he withdrew to help with the rest of the work.

Harry was too focused to notice the ritual happening around him, but Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore cast intricate human transfiguration spells to assist Harry's body in tuning his metabolism, strengthening his muscle fibers, his bones, and the attachments between them, optimizing his nerves for rapid conduction. They'd planned to correct his vision, but on closer examination quickly realized it theoretically should have been perfect and abandoned that plan, since there was nothing apparent to fix.

Coming out of his focused trance, Harry yelled at the pain. It was not cruciatus level pain, but it was a very uncomfortable burning sensation. He noticed his muscles jumping randomly and uncontrollably.

"What the hell is this?" he shouted.

"Language, Harry!" Hermione scolded, realizing after she'd said it that it was completely inane, but too worried to have caught herself.

"I forgot to warn you, your body will have to accustom itself to the new input." Ashdown said calmly, "It shouldn't be long before the worst of it is gone. The muscle fasciculation may continue sporadically for the night, but I expect your body will have healed itself by morning."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, but any potion would just exacerbate the condition and delay your acclimation." Poppy Pomphrey said to one of her favorite patients.

"I'll be fine." Harry said, "It's already better. I was just surprised."

Hermione secretly thought that Harry wouldn't call out if his arm were ripped off, so she didn't look forward to her turn, but was glad he was ok.

"Miss Granger, it is your turn." Professor McGonagall said.

Harry thought he could tell the Professor was pleased he'd insisted Hermione receive the same treatment, but then again he was certain he wouldn't be able to read McGonagall any better than he could read ancient Greek.

Hermione lay on the hospital bed and had the instruments attached. She focused on her auramancy. She was amazed at how far their auras had developed in the past year. She and Harry both had almost identical green and gold auras, which were very tightly drawn into their bodies, but to the sensitive eye were indicative of great magical power. The bond between them was readily apparent, the same size as the ribbon of aura itself, composed of a twisted ribbon of green/gold. The appearance made her smile. Harry's dark fragment was the same as it had been last time she'd examined it, but seemed to be even more encapsulated by overlapping rings of intense green and shining gold. The dark color didn't flow into any other part of his aura, but seemed fully isolated. She felt Dumbledore 'knock' on her occlumentic barriers and she skillfully relaxed them to allow him entrance.

'Follow me, Miss Granger.' Dumbledore's mental voice said, 'This piece here, this here, and this need to be connected more fully to your core along these pathways you have built.'

Dumbledore watched as she began the changes and then, satisfied she could do it without assistance or guidance, withdrew.

Professor McGonagall had begun the transfigurations for Hermione and Dumbledore, having worked with her since he'd trained her, noticed the utter perfection she was demanding of her art in this work. If he hadn't already been fully convinced of Miss Granger's role as her favorite student, this would have shown him, since Minerva couldn't have put more care into the ritual if it had been her own daughter. He added his own prodigious power and near century of transfiguration mastery. They were accustomed to working together and while they might not be bonded, as Harry and Hermione were, decades spent working together formed its own bond. When they were finished, he thought that in both cases they had never before done a better job.

Hermione yowled as she opened her eyes.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" she whimpered. Harry held her hand and rubbed her back until the pain went away. She had the same muscle fasciculations he had.

"I had planned to test you both." Dumbledore said, after Hermione's symptoms had abated, "However, I did not plan that well. Observing your dueling abilities now would be no test at all and might be dangerous. Perhaps you would invite me to the meeting of your defense association and I could evaluate you there?"

Harry was stunned. He'd never thought Dumbledore would come to one of the DA meetings, but it was a brilliant idea. His presence, even once, would have a huge impact on morale.

"Please, Professor." Harry said, "That would be fantastic! We normally meet immediately after dinner with just my assistants and I. Then, an hour later, everyone else arrives and I teach a lesson with time for practice."

"Please invite everyone to attend from the beginning for this session." Dumbledore said, "I will make your evaluation a bit of an exhibition, then I will help as one of your assistants during the lesson."

Harry was wide-eyed at the thought the Headmaster was going to be assist the DA. He finally caught himself enough to nod.

"Very good, Mr. Potter." Professor Flitwick said, "Pending the results of your work with the Headmaster, we will discuss your further training. Please meet here next Tuesday at the normal time. Professor Dumbledore may have additional sessions for you before then."

Harry waited until the professors had left and then apparated he and Hermione to the hallway outside the Room of Requirement after checking the Marauder's map to insure it was clear. He paced three times in front of the blank wall and a door appeared. He led Hermione in to a simple room with a narrow table at approximately hip height.

"What's this Harry?" Hermione asked, "I'm not sure I feel up to any bedtime activities and a bigger bed might be better for cuddling."

"We can do that after, but this is a massage table." Harry said, "I thought it might help if I rub your muscles. I don't know what I'm doing, but since I can feel what you feel, I don't think it should be that hard to figure it out."

"That's very thoughtful, Harry." Hermione said with a little smile, "Thank you."

She undressed and lay down after Harry cast a warming charm on the table. A shelf with various bottles of massage oil appeared beside the massage table. Harry picked one that smelled relaxing and began to massage Hermione's muscles, starting with her neck, moving down her shoulders, massaging both arms, down her back, both gluteal muscles, and both of her legs. He agreed that he wasn't up for anything more strenuous, but it was difficult to resist her nude body, especially when he massaged her glutes and upper thighs, but he prevailed. Her moaning noises were not helping.

"Ok, turn over." Harry announced.

"I can't. I can't move." Hermione protested.

Harry pulled out his wand and gestured, levitating her, gently rolling her, and then lowering her body back to the table.

"All silent." Hermione said, "Very nice."

"I probably could have done it wandlessly." Harry said, "But I didn't want to take a chance on dropping you."

He massaged her front, which was even more challenging from a self-control standpoint, but he succeeded. After he was done, he scourgified his hands and her body, then transfigured the narrow table into a bed. He called for Dobby and had him take a quick note to leave on Ron's bedside table, letting him know they wouldn't be running in the morning. Crawling into the bed next to the sleeping Hermione, he pulled up a transfigured comforter and fell asleep.

He woke to Hermione leaning over him.

"Hi." She said when she saw his eyes open.

He groped for his glasses and put them on. "Hi." He said, smiling.

"You let me fall asleep." Hermione said.

"I don't think there was any stopping that." He chuckled, "I just didn't wake you."

"You didn't get a massage, though!"

"I didn't want to undo the good I'd done by making you get out of bed." Harry said, "I was ok."

"Well, we woke early enough that I can fix it now." Hermione said. She transfigured the bed back to a massage table and picked an oil she thought smelled like Harry, like fresh air and broomsticks. She carefully massaged every muscle in his body, making him realize exactly how wonderful and relaxing the experience was. She made him roll over and massaged every muscle on the front of his body. Then, rubbing extra oil into her hands, she rubbed them over his abdominal muscles and onto his upper thighs, sliding her hands down his inner thighs and over his groin.

"Mmmm…not that I'm complaining, but I thought we weren't up for that." Harry mumbled.

"Oh, you're up for it." Hermione said smiling, "That was last night, Harry. This morning, I just woke from a lovely sleep and feel a million times better."

"Then come up here." Harry said, grabbing her hip.

Hermione knelt over Harry, still facing his feet. She scourgified the oil off his penis, sure she didn't want to find out what it tasted like, but leaving it on the rest of him, liking how his slick skin felt against hers. She lowered her mouth, taking him inside, first just the tip, but then as deeply as she could. She groaned, muffled, as she felt his lips and tongue moving against her most sensitive parts. What a way to start the day… she thought.

Afterwards, they rushed to the Gyffindor dorms, splitting for a quick shower and change of clothes. Then they met Ron in the common room.

"What's up with you two?" Ron asked.

"More work with Ashdown last night." Harry answered.

"Oh, that fitness trainer guy?" Ron asked, "No wonder you weren't up for running this morning."

"You don't know the half of it, Mate." Harry agreed, as they walked out of the common room together.

At breakfast, Hermione sent the message to the charmed galleons of the DA, alerting them of the slight change in plans. Harry noticed DA members around the Great Hall getting their message and then finding them with their eyes. He resolved to warn them to be more careful about security. Umbridge was already suspicious. She couldn't learn the whole truth or they'd be sunk.

Harry and Hermione hurried to arithmancy, which helped pass the time for Harry, who was nervous about the DA meeting that evening. Transfiguration went well, with both he and Hermione continuing to perfect their abilities at the standard curriculum.

"Feeling well today, Mr. Potter? Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked as she circulated to their desk.

"Very well, thank you Professor." Hermione responded for both.

She nodded and continued her rounds.

After lunch they had herbology and care of magical creatures. Being outside was nice and helped the day pass more quickly for Harry. He ate a light dinner and then ran up to the seventh floor hallway after ensuring the coast was clear. He paced while thinking of the DA's practice room. The door materialized and he hurried in. He paced in the training room while Hermione let the others in after she'd taken down the roster, not wanting to see they'd named themselves 'Dumbledore's Army' in case he was offended.

"What's up, Harry?" George or maybe Fred asked.

"Why the early start today?" the other continued.

"Dumbledore's coming." Harry said shortly.

There were surprised rumbles at that and the DA members quickly started speculating amongst themselves.

"He wanted to check out the group." Harry said, "He said he'd do some kind of exhibition with me."

"Awesome." Neville said.

Everyone chuckled at that.

Precisely at 6 p.m. there was a flash of fire and Professor Dumbledore was amongst them.

"Oooh." "Wow, that's the Phoenix?" "Cool."

"Mr. Potter invited me to see your organization." The Headmaster stated, "I will have to insist this group remain…informal, given the recent decrees by the Ministry, but I think it is vital you learn to protect yourselves, so I will not shut it down. However, if you are discovered, I will not be able to stop the Ministry from disbanding this group, so please be discrete."
"I had hoped the dueling club that Professor Lockhart proposed several years ago would become what this group appears to be, but alas, that did not happen. I thank Mr. Potter for his more successful efforts. He has become my apprentice, pursuing a mastery in defense. I am tutoring him outside the normal classes. I have asked if he would be willing to demonstrate dueling at that level with me today."

There were cheers as the DA members imagined seeing Harry Potter dueling Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore gestured and the room was cleared, all the students congregating near the walls. Harry took his place on one end of the dueling strip while Dumbledore took the other. With a gesture of the Headmaster's wand, a dome arose around the two of them, protecting the spectators. Harry bowed respectfully, then snapped a sharp salute with his holly wand. Dumbledore did the same with his light colored wand. Time seemed to slow for Harry, as Dumbledore leveled his wand and with only his fingertips sent a stream of spells at him. Harry sidestepped and returned fire with a fluid stream of his most crisply cast hexes. Dumbledore blocked all of them, then conjured two suits of armor similar to those lining the halls of Hogwarts, animating them to attack Harry. Harry gestured with his left hand, vanishing them both, before sending another chain of spells at Dumbledore with his wand.

He saw Dumbledore smile at that, then spin his wand in large circles over his head, flames rising in a hurricane of fire all around the dome. The Headmaster seemed to control the flames with his wand and the fire ripped around the circle, howling towards Harry. Harry cast the flame freezing charm and felt the tickle of the harmless flames wash over him. From the flame freezing charm, he flowed right into the freezing charm. Dumbledore blocked it, frost erupting on the floor and condensing into ice along Albus' shield.

Albus sent a disarming curse, which Harry blocked, returning the same. Dumbledore blocked and flowed into another disarming curse, which Harry blocked, riposte, parry riposte. They returned the curse faster and faster, as if in a demented drill. Harry's wand flew through the tiniest motion faster and faster, barely keeping up with the insanely skilled movements of the Headmaster. Eventually Harry no longer consciously blocked or returned, unable to pick out the individual spells, but his wand moved nonetheless and the curses kept bouncing from one to the other. Finally, he had to dive out of the way, but cast several reductors as he rolled along the floor. Dumbledore parried them without any seeming effort. He conjured birds out of nowhere and sent them screaming at Harry, who vanished them wandlessly. Birds were harder than metal suits, but still within his ability.

"Very good, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said, "I think we have given an excellent exhibition and propose we call it complete."

Harry bowed to his mentor, acknowledging the end of the duel. He knew Dumbledore had held back significantly, had used it as a training exercise, but he'd seen enough to be impressed with the Headmaster's skill and know he had a lot to learn. He hoped he'd shown enough skill to warrant Dumbledore's direct involvement. Harry felt he'd performed better than ever. The speed he'd been able to muster had been impressive, his perceptions and movement all faster than they'd ever been. Time had seemed to slow as the Machine had taken over.

Dumbledore removed the dome protecting the DA members and a wall of noise washed over Harry.

"Blimey, Harry, that was wicked!" Ron shouted.

"If I'd known you could have done that, I'd never have doubted you, Harry!" Zacharias Smith said excitedly, which Harry never thought he'd hear.

Hermione ran to his side and gave him a big hug. "Well done, Harry." She said quietly.

"Thanks, everyone." Harry said loudly. "Thanks, but let's get going. The Headmaster has agreed to work with us, so I don't want to waste his time. Today I want to start with a brief period to continue working on the Patronus charm. Then we'll learn and practice two new spells, the bludgeoning hex and the reductor curse. I'm going to ask for a demonstration. Ron, would you cast the bludgeoning hex on that dummy?"

Ron stepped forward, eager to show his skills as one of the Black Isle crew, although he'd left early he was still advanced among the DA. He carefully cast the spell, using large wand movements and clearly speaking the incantation. The dummy had a dent where the spell hit the side with a loud 'thwack'.

"Very good!" Harry said, "Now a spell I could have used on the animated armor, the reductor curse. It's good on anything inanimate. In really bad situations, it's also useful against people, but remember it's not for use against people you don't want to kill outside of dueling wards which will blunt the damage. Ginny, would you be so kind?"

Ginny pointed her wand, made the clear movement, and shouted, "Reducto!" Her dummy exploded into fragments.

"Well done, Ginny!" Harry said enthusiastically, "Any questions? Ok, begin with the Patronus."

Dumbledore circulated, giving tips and encouraging his students. His skill with legilimency was very useful, allowing him to see what memories students were using and letting him help them pick stronger ones where needed.

"Susan, you've got the shield form, good job!" Harry said as he passed the Hufflepuff.

"Colin, keep it up! You're almost there and this is a really tough charm."

Harry blew his whistle, bringing everyone to a stop. "Really, really good work, guys. Now we're going to work on the bludgeoning hex. I don't really think we need to hit anyone with this, so we'll be working with dummies, but I still want you to pair up. Watch your partner and be ready to critique them, then they'll do the same for you."

"Fred, George, you're naturals at this one! It must be all the time you spend around bludgers!"

"Thanks, Harry!" George said.

"We had to be good to keep them away from your skinny a…" Fred said, suddenly seeing Dumbledore nearby, "…accident prone body."

Harry chuckled.

"A little more of a twist at the end, Alicia, it really does make a difference." Harry said.

"Smaller movements, Cormac." Hermione said, "You'll be much faster."

Harry whistled.

"Ok, same pairs, but work on the reductor curse." Harry directed, "The partner can not only critique, but repair or replace the dummy when needed. Watch where you're pointing your wands. You don't want this one to go astray."

They circulated very carefully, watching all the DA members closely during this dangerous spell. Dumbledore was clearly also watching closely, but everyone was taking it seriously and there was no horseplay. Harry had worried that Smith might be a problem. Or McClaggen, but they'd both been pretty inoffensive.

Once they'd all had a chance to practice the reductor, Harry blew his whistle for the final time that evening.

"Well done, everyone." Harry said, nodding, "Please, everyone thank the Headmaster for being here today. That'll wrap up this meeting, let's plan to meet again next Wednesday, unless anyone has a Quidditch practice?"

"No, we've all tried to move them away from Wednesday." Cedric said, "Slytherins are practicing Wednesday."

"Hey, thanks." Harry said, "That's really helpful."

"No problems, Harry. This is really helpful. I thought I was good, but I'm really learning a lot." Cedric said.

Harry and Hermione supervised the students' departures while Dumbledore disappeared in a flash of fire from Fawkes. The couple sat on a couch which appeared next to one of the bookshelves at their thought. Harry continued to watch the map while Hermione leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You did really well today, Harry." She said.

"Do you think so?" Harry asked honestly.

"I do." She said, smiling up at him. It never failed to surprise her how he could be the poster boy for the entire wizarding world, at least when the Daily Prophet wasn't smearing his reputation, but he never thought he was anything special. Boy-who-lived, youngest seeker in a century, Tri-Wizard Champion, but he had no ego at all. "Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have bothered showing up for anyone else, let alone dueling them."

"That wasn't really a duel." Harry said, "The look wasn't there in his eyes. I want to duel him until I get that look. Then I'll know I'm something. Until then, it's just drill."

"Maybe so, but the Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump, the defeater-of-Grindelwald, doesn't just drill with anyone." Hermione said, grinning.

"Thanks."

Hermione kept her eyes on the map. "This map is really amazing." She said, "I've been picking Sirius' brain on parchment charms. I'm almost there with a map of England that will show us where the other Horcrux are."

"Really?" Harry exclaimed, sitting up. "I didn't think that would be possible."

"Neither did Dumbledore, at first." Hermione said, "Not until we pooled our information did we make that kind of progress. He knew about your Horcrux, but I had done some research while trying to figure it out when I thought it was just a 'curse scar' that told me how to calibrate off the signature. It was Sirius and Remus' expertise with the Marauder's Map that helped me figure out how to use that signature. Otherwise, I was going to have to make a dowsing rod that would only work when we were really close and that wouldn't be much help at all."

"You're really amazing." Harry said, looking in wonder at his fiancée.

"No, I'm just highly logical and very well read." Hermione said, "Which allows me to make connections others sometimes don't."

Harry laughed.

"Guess what else I learned about the Marauder's Map?" Hermione said, "There are other modes."

"Other modes?" Harry said, "What do you mean?"

"Well, they planned on you being the first of the new generation of the Marauders." Hermione explained, "The map was designed to recognize people. You remember when it made fun of Snape when he tried to read it? Try this, put a drop of blood on it and say, 'I solemnly swear I, the son of Prongs, am up to no good'."

Harry pricked his finger, allowing a drop of blood to hit the map, while he said the new password. The blood seemed to suck into the parchment while the words appeared, almost seeming like the blood became the ink.

"Messr Prongs is proud to greet the newest Marauder! Welcome Pronglet to the Marauder's Map. Uncles Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail join Prongs in welcoming the newest Marauder. Additional commands are below… to find a person by name, say find… to recommend a route away from staff, say escape… for directions on how to circumvent the girl's dormitory stairs, wait until you're older… to register your marauder name, say Pronglet is now called name."

"That's really cool." Hermione said, "I don't know why Remus failed to tell you about that before."

"He's always been the best behaved of the bunch." Harry said, "That's why he was prefect."

"Oh, that's right." Hermione said, "So are you going to give yourself a Marauder name?"

"No, I don't think so." Harry answered quietly, "I like being Pronglet for now. I think I'll ask Padfoot and Moony to name me, maybe when I've done the animagus transformation."

There were a few minutes of silence as they sat companionably together on the couch.

"Can you believe how far we've come in the last year?" Hermione asked, "You and me, together."

Harry just looked at her for minutes, taking in her well-loved face. "I know what you mean, but at the same time now I can't imagine it being any other way." Harry said.

"Me, either." Hermione replied, "I think the only reason I was ok before was that I didn't know what it was like to have found you."

"I knew I was broken," Harry said, "but I didn't know I had another piece waiting to make me whole."

Hermione's eyes became suspiciously bright and she buried her face in Harry's chest. After a few minutes, she looked up at him. "Feel free to say things like that anytime, Harry Potter." And she kissed him.

H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr

That weekend was the first Quidditch game, Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Harry never thought the Quidditch schedule made much sense. There were so few games that one bad game could ruin a House's chances for the Cup. Muggle sports would have had games almost every weekend instead of less than monthly.

This game would be Ron's first and Harry had put effort into making sure Ron was ready. Both by flying with him as well as by working with him on his mental game. They'd sat and talked about what Harry was learning about the mental game from Flitwick. Ron said a lot of it sounded familiar from his Master Wu. Harry had admitted he'd thrown up before his first game, which made Ron feel better about his nervousness.

"I think you've got it made, Mate." Harry said, "I had to get over my nerves and I was four years younger than you are now and I didn't know occlumency. Those techniques should be bloody useful for dealing with nerves."

"Oh, good point." Ron said, "I can just wall them off."

"That's it." Harry said, "Wall off the nervousness. Remember, the Slytherin's are going to try to taunt you. You're a bit known for a temper."

"Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?" Ron protested.

"Yeah, I suppose it is." Harry admitted, "But you'll need to wall that off, too. You can't let them get under your skin."

"Ok, Harry. I've got it." Ron said.

When Harry saw him Saturday morning, it was apparent he really did have it. His face was calm. Well, it was more just blank, but Harry recognized deep occlumency. He did a quick visual inspection of his friend, making sure he had his Quidditch robes on right. His gear and broom were locked in the Gryffindor locker room, safe from sabotage.

"Hungry Ron?" Harry asked, trying to gauge him even more.

"Starved, Mate." Ron replied and began eating.

Luna ran up with a huge golden lion hat. As she reached them, it chose to roar.

"Isn't this great?" Luna said, "I charmed it myself. I wanted Godric to have a dying snake in his mouth, but I ran out of time."

"That's amazing, Luna!" Hermione said, "You made it?"

Luna smiled, basking in Hermione's praise. "I made it to cheer on Ronald. He's going to be brilliant today! His mind is definitely in the right place. I offered to wank him off to relieve a little stress and he said he was too focused on the game."

Hermione choked on her pumpkin juice.

Ron, deeply insulated by his occlumency, just gave a tight smile.

"Right, then." He said, "Better be off."

Ginny walking up shook her head. "How my brother can eat more food in 5 minutes than the rest of the team can eat through all of breakfast is astounding. Hi, Luna, nice hat."

"Thanks!" Luna said, smiling dreamily.

"Don't ask her about Ron's mental state, no matter what you do." Hermione whispered.

Harry and Ron walked to the pitch together. Neville had decided to join them, although he'd be watching from the bleachers.

"Hey, Nev, did you ever consider trying out?" Ron asked.

"I have recently." Neville said quietly, "I was thinking of trying out for beater when your brothers leave."

"You should, Neville." Harry nodded.

"Thanks, Harry."

They walked in silence until they separated at the locker room. Neville went up into the stands to get seats while the other two went in to get ready.

"Ron, you ready?" Angelina asked, examining her new Keeper.

"Never readier." He said steadily.

"Good answer." She said looking him over, "What about you, Harry?"

"I'm ready." Harry answered, "I feel fast today. Just tell me when to catch it."

"That's the spirit!" Angelina said.

Once the entire team was suited up, they left the locker room in formation. Angelina was in the lead, while Harry was in the center of their vee. They ran out in step, making their footsteps sound like thunder.

"Gryffin…" Angelina cried.

"Dor!" the rest of the team responded.

"Gryffin…" Angelina cried.

"Dor!"

"Gryffin…" Angelina called a third time.

"Dor!" rumbled out from all the Gryffindor fans.

The team took their places and Angelina shook hands with Montague, the Slytherin captain. Harry noticed the silver crown pins the Slytherins were wearing and knew it couldn't be anything good. The balls were released and the team exploded into the air like birds taking to the sky from the surface of a lake. Harry watched Ron zoom to the goalposts while he himself banked hard, settling into a high orbit and looking for the Snitch. He forced his vision to shift into auramancy and immediately saw the balls highlighted by their magic, including the Snitch, which he felt drawn to instinctively. This felt almost like cheating and he fought with himself whether he should use it, but he remembered what Flitwick had said about no doping in dueling, so maybe unfair advantages were a Muggle concept. Why else could the Slytherins by a full set of racing brooms? Or why was he on a top of the line broom while others were on school brooms? No, he didn't think wizards believed in Muggle ideas of equity. So he circled, trying not to let on where the Snitch was and waiting for either Angelina to give him the signal or Draco to get anywhere near the Snitch, whichever happened first.

As the game unfolded below him, he began to hear faint strains of a song from the Slytherin fans.

Weasley cannot save a thing
He cannot block a single ring
That's why Slytherins all sing:
Weasley is our king

Weasley was born in a bin
He always lets the Quaffle in
Weasley will make sure we win
Weasley is our king

Weasley is our king
Weasley is our king
He always let's the Quaffle in
Weasley is our king

Harry was confident Ron wouldn't take the bait. Snape may have mocked his ability for occlumency, but he had learned well enough to shield his emotions from schoolyard taunts.

The Quaffle went back and forth. The Gyffindor team was probably better overall with more experienced beaters and a top-rank chaser squad, so it all came down to Ron, the new keeper. Harry took an instant to watch Ron as he saw that Malfoy was nowhere near the snitch. The Weasley is our King song rose up from the stands in a crescendo as the Slytherin fans tried to distract Ron.

"…and it's Warrington with the Quaffle, heading for the Gyffindor goal, out of bludger range with just Weasley, the new Gryffindor keeper ahead…"

Ron zoomed in front of the Quaffle and easily blocked it, sending it back towards Angelina, giving the Gryffindor chasers the advantage.

Harry caught Ron's eye from far above and gave him a nod. Ron returned it, then went back to his sentry, just as Harry went back to his.

With Ron proving himself, it wasn't even close. Angelina, seeing how the game was going let it continue so they could run up the score, helping their Quidditch cup chances later and giving Ron some real on-the-field experience. Harry circled in his usual fashion, keeping a subtle eye on the snitch and a less subtle eye on Malfoy, making sure he never saw it. He took a few advantages to toy with the Slytherin team, such as watching a breakaway Slytherin chaser push for the Gryffindor goal while the Slytherin beaters had the bludgers. Harry pretended he saw the snitch and went into a full speed dive, shooting right in front of the Slytherin chaser at speeds that would have made impact fatal. He distracted Malfoy, who desperately dove to reach the non-existent Snitch before Harry could and he caused the Slytherin chaser to drop the Quaffle. By the look on his face, he might have soiled himself, too, but Harry didn't have time to gloat, as he pulled out of the power dive inches above the turf, his trainer tips dragging the grass as he recovered. Malfoy had been too slow and hadn't even gotten into a full dive, which was the only thing that saved him from plowing into the soil. Harry chuckled, knowing there was always next time. He kept his speed up, not giving up his bluff. He didn't want to become known for how often he used the Wronski feint or it would be less effective, so he continued flying as if he still had the snitch in sight, taking Malfoy weaving through the supports beside the stands.

Finally, watching Angelina, Harry caught the sign. The score was 100-0, Ron having protected the goal amazingly well. His brothers had kept a close eye on him, too, and had taken out some promising chaser runs. Harry had helped. With the Weasleys and Potter, it was like having one family provide the majority of the Gryffindor team and they'd played like it.

Harry had kept an eye on the snitch the whole time. He had a suspicion for how the snitch detected seekers to avoid them and he brought his aura in as tightly as he could. Among all but the most sensitive witches or wizards, he would pass for a muggle for how he felt magically. He couldn't do anything about the magic of his broomstick, but he hoped the snitch looked for the seeker and not the stick. He casually circled closer to the snitch while trying to ignore it, then, when he was within reach of a quick run, he dropped the tip of his broom and went to full speed. Draco was close, too, and seeing Harry go into a dive, he dropped his broom into his own dive. The snitch began evasive maneuvers, whether it detected Harry or Malfoy, he wasn't sure, but it jinked towards the Slytherin goals, which took it towards Malfoy. They were flying neck and neck. Feet from the ground, Harry lifted his hand from the broom, reaching for the snitch. Maloy jostled him from the side, trying to stretch past him, his fingertips scrabbling over the back of Harry's hand. Harry banked hard into him and then back, sending Malfoy careening off towards the stands while Harry's fingers closed on the snitch. He pulled up into a victory roll.

He felt something was off, his auramancy screaming of hostile magic inbound. He jinked to the side, hoping to throw off the aim of whoever was shooting a curse at him, only to see a bludger scream by where he'd been milliseconds earlier. A bludger felt like that? He supposed it did, now that he took a look. They were even nastier with their aura visible. He winced, knowing what a bludger to the back would have felt like.

Harry landed, looking for Madame Hooch, hoping whichever beater had hit the late bludger would be penalized.

"It was that thug, Crabbe." Angelina said angrily, "He whacked the bludger at you the minute he saw you'd grabbed the snitch. But we won! Your friend was really good today. I wasn't sure about him, but he was so cool out there, like it wasn't his first game at all. You're the only one I've ever seen play that way during your first game."

"Thanks, Angelina." Harry said, grinning, "He was good, wasn't he?"

Just then, Ron landed beside him and Harry slapped him on the back.

"Great game, Mate!" Harry said, "You were amazing!"

"I was, wasn't I?" Ron asked, with a cheeky grin.

"Now don't go getting a big head, Ronald." Hermione said, running up to them and wrapping them both in a monster hug. As soon as she released them, Luna threw herself into Ron's arms, her hat roaring. Harry stepped back to watch, a smile on his face. It felt almost like he had a family when he was around his friends.

"Saved Weasley's neck, didn't you?" Malfoy sneered at Harry, "Did you like my lyrics? He was born in a bin and probably a borrowed bin, who knows if the Weasleys could afford their own."

Harry looked disbelievingly at Malfoy.

"Saved him? What's that rot? He didn't let in a single goal. Your song proved to be right, Weasley is our King!"

"We wanted to write another couple of verses!" Malfoy called, "But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly… we wanted to sing about his mother, see…"

Harry's mind was working fast. Malfoy mocking was nothing new, but he seemed almost desperate this time, given that Ron had played really well. Why?

"Talk about sour grapes." Angelina said, casting a disgusted look at the Slytherin.

"…we couldn't fit in useless loser either…for his father, you know."

Fred and George heard that and stiffened looking around at Malfoy. Harry caught their eye and gave an almost imperceptible shake. Something was up and he knew he didn't want to fall for whatever Malfoy had planned.

"Leave it," Angelina said, taking Fred by the arm, "Leave it, Fred, let him yell, he's just sore he lost, the jumped-up little sh…"

"…but you like the Weasleys, don't you, Potter?" said Malfoy sneering. "Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I supposed when you've been raised by Muggles even the Weasley's hovel smells okay.."

Harry ignored it, isolating the portion of his mind that was calling for blood with a heavy dose of occlumency.

"Or perhaps," said Malfoy leering as he backed away, "you can remember what your mother's house stank like, Potter, and Weasley's pigsty reminds you of it!"

At that, even Harry's occlumency was not enough. With his barriers fully engaged, he went into a cold rage. His mind worked at dueling speed, deciding on a response. Reductor to the head was his first idea, but murder would play into Malfoy's plan, even if it resulted in no more Malfoy. He suddenly realized his only response.

"You've insulted the House of Potter, Malfoy. You're the heir of Malfoy, so I know that you know better than that. You may retract your statement and admit you're a liar with no honor or you may face me on the dueling field. Hermione Granger, the future Lady Potter, is my second, as you have insulted the last Lady Potter. Have your second speak to her and pick a time and place."

"Here and now works for me, Potter!" Malfoy yelled.

"You don't even know how to choose a second?" Potter sneered.

Malfoy turned red and grabbed Crabbe. Harry laughed inside. He'd picked a second that could clean the floor with Malfoy if seconds got involved, while Malfoy had made the mistake of picking a thug with poor wand skills.

Malfoy whispered in Crabbe's ear. Crabbe lumbered up to Hermione.

"Draco says here and now, Mudblood."

"Lord Potter agrees to those terms."

Hooch, McGonagall, and Umbridge had reached them in time to hear this exchange.

"Mr. Potter, you're not proposing to duel Mr. Malfoy right here, are you?" McGonagall exclaimed, horrified.

"He said nasty things about my late mother, Professor." Harry said, coldly but respectfully, "I won't stand for it. The honor of House Potter won't stand for it. I challenged legally with an option for him to retract his statement. He accepted and chose now as the time and place. It is all within the codes."

"Hem, hem." Umbridge interrupted, "I have to agree with Mr. Potter, although this clearly appears to be another one of his attention-getting stunts, he is within his rights."

McGonagall's eyes narrowed. Lily had been one of her favorite students. She leaned near Harry.

"Don't kill him." She said, but then a look of hate passed over her face, "But you can hurt him, he has earned it."

The crowd cleared. Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape, and Professor Dumbledore appeared on the field.

"Are you sure you both want to do this?" Professor Dumbledore asked.

"Yes." Harry said coldly.

"Yes, I'm going to teach this halfblood a lesson." Malfoy sneered.

"They're within their legal rights." Umbridge said in her saccharine voice.

Harry wondered what she was thinking. Even if he killed Malfoy, he wouldn't be punished for it in a legal duel. He might lose some support, though, maybe that was her aim.

"Would you both be satisfied if I ran the duel?" Professor Flitwick offered.

"Yes." Hermione said.

Malfoy whispered to Crabbe.

"We want Snape." Crabbe said in his thick voice.

"Professor Snape." The Headmaster corrected automatically.

"We want Professor Snape." Crabbe replied.

Harry exchanged a look with Hermione and they both attempted to look unhappy, but then Hermione replied, "Professor Snape would also be acceptable to us."

"Charming." Snape said silkily, "I'm flattered. Very well. Standard rules apply. No unforgiveables. You will start back to back, take ten paces away from each other, then turn. You will bow, salute, and once you have both saluted, you may begin without any other signal. Is this understood."

"Yes." Hermione said.

"Yeah." Crabbe grunted.

Harry and Malfoy stood back to back. Harry could feel Malfoy shaking, but whether it was fear or just nerves, he wasn't sure. They took ten deliberate paces away from one another, then turned. Harry gave a crisp bow, letting the routine submerge him even deeper in his center. He saluted and then waited, expectantly.

"Diffindo!" Malfoy called out, sending a cutting curse at Harry, who calmly sidestepped, looking for the follow-up spell. Nothing was immediately forthcoming.

"Stupefy!" Malfoy cast. Harry didn't even have to side step, as he could see it would miss if he merely leaned aside.

"Confringo!" Malfoy yelled, becoming frustrated. Harry dodged. "Serpentsoria!" Draco cast and Harry actually laughed. Didn't he remember their earlier duel? He just provided a weapon for his opponent. Harry vanished the snake without a movement, wanting Malfoy to be confused at how he'd done it.

Malfoy's eyes were wide, but then narrowed. "Can't even cast any spells of your own, Potter? I guess you were raised by Muggles and had a Mudblood for a mother. Maybe you can't."

Harry just stood, ready. "Get on with it, Malfoy. I didn't want anyone to say I didn't give you a chance."

"Incendio!" Malfoy shouted, pouring his all into the basic flame spell, sending a decent stream of fire at Harry. It was nothing compared to the wall of flames Dumbledore had conjured previously and Harry cast the flame freezing charm silently, letting the harmless flames wash over him with a pleasant tickling sensation.

Then Harry flicked his wand sharply at Malfoy, sending a piercing charm through this right shoulder. Malfoy yowled in pain, dropping his wand and holding his shoulder. His Quidditch robes became darker as his blood began to soak through. Madame Pomphrey started to step forward, but Snape gestured her back.

"It is not yet done." Snape hissed.

Harry stalked towards Malfoy, his wand at the ready. Malfoy didn't even notice him until he was standing above him, as the blonde boy was holding his shoulder and whimpering.

"I offer you the chance to yield." Harry said, his wand leveled at Malfoy's forehead.

"You've already beaten me, Potter!" Malfoy cried.

"I could by rights, kill you." Harry said coldly, "Apologize, or I may yet."

"I'm sorry, is that what you want?! Just let them heal me, I don't want to die!"

"You disgust me, Malfoy." Harry said, "Never again. If you provoke me again, there will be no mercy."

He nodded to Snape and stepped away from Malfoy.

"House Potter accepts the Malfoy heir's apology." Hermione said formulaically.

"The duel is complete. Let no part of this fight leave this field." Snape said in response.

Harry walked off the field with Hermione, satisfied with how it had gone.

H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr H/Hr

A/N: I'm setting the stage for more action soon. Harry has to learn how to fight before he'll be put into fights. Luckily, the Death Eaters are also in a rebuilding stage, using Fudge's delay to rebuild their organization. Just like Harry is building up bigger and better during this period, the Death Eaters are also recruiting and training. There will be more of them than in canon, although many of them will be faceless minions.

Some things will come to a head soon. Umbridge is quiet for now, but it won't be long until she reminds everyone that she's present. The Inquisitorial squad is still active and she's still looking for the DA, Harry's just less worried about it, so it doesn't get much attention in this work. The Daily Prophet is still printing their garbage, but Hermione has a plan. She's just waiting for them to fully commit then ministry before she implements it. She's also almost ready to unveil her work with the dark curse information which she has integrated with the map. This will have a huge impact on the Horcrux hunt.

Dumbledore is going to begin to take a more active role in Harry's apprenticeship, as I hope I hinted at strongly here. Something I'm looking forward to!

Please review!