A Strange Old World Ch.13 (Patreon)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 13– The Beginning of an End

AN: I'm writing Fleur and Apolline's dialogues with a french accent, which means purposely misspelling some words. Hope this doesn't confuse anyone. Let me know if this is fine or if you prefer just straight forward conservation.

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Harry had always imagined the Quidditch finals to be the day of reckoning. The day when Voldemort and his merry band of thugs would finally taste just the flickers of his vengeance.

The anguish they’d caused him over the years, the people they’d taken from him, the pain they’d put him through…..Today was supposed to be his way of answering to all of them.

An answer made of blood and retribution.

The Quidditch finals was always supposed to be the day when Harry finally started his grand plan, setting himself loose upon his enemies.

Which was why when Harry says that the day’s events had progressed in a way he would never have expected in his wildest dreams, he meant it completely.

“Fleur?” Harry called down softly to the witch who held onto him like a lifeline, hugging to his body tightly.

Her lithe but delicate figure fit under his chin perfectly, and not for the first time did he wonder why this life was being so good to him. Barely a couple of months in this world and he already had two powerful witches quite loyal to him.

And that tally did not seem to be stopping anytime soon, if the way Fleur Delacour was now holding onto him was any indication.

Just made him even more paranoid for the future to come.

His eyes flickered to the movement at the back, where the other witch was done comforting Gabrielle, and was now approaching them with cautious steps.

She seemed to stop inside the shadows, turning slightly to give a look at the beheaded Death Eater at her feet.

As if a nightmare was now over, she gave a slight shudder before walking towards them again.

"Fleur." The woman called out, her voice cautious, with just a hint of warning mixed in.

Harry frowned, squinting past the fire's shadows to make out the woman in full. And the moment her face finally came into his vision, he felt his breath leave him in a whoosh.

She sauntered with the nimble grace of a feline, an almost airy weight in her steps making her seem to be gliding. Her face had the kind of astonishing beauty he’d only ever seen on Fleur. And as she walked deeper into the light, his eyes drank in the delicate line of her collarbone, before moving down towards the straining bundle of cleavage just peeking at him from a very mussed up dress.

Her body was a work of art and perfection, unrivalled by anyone on this planet

‘Well…maybe two rivals but that’s it.’

A unique ethereal glow seemed to hang off of her, separating her as a divine amongst mortal.

‘Did Fleur have an older sister in this world? Maybe a cousin?’

“Fleur, Ma fille…” She called again, her voice husky and arousing even through the worried tone.

'Why does this world have such hot women?' Harry sighed.

Her words finally seemed to break whatever spell Fleur was in, and the girl in his arms suddenly let go of him, backing away with wide eyes and a wince.

"Aee... apologize, ‘Arry." Fleur said, hesitant and cautious. Dread and paranoia seemed to be fighting with pure desire inside her "A-Aee mean ‘Mr. Potter. Je meant to...ahh...Aee did not mean to be so disrespectful...ahh…forward, zat is."

Harry stared at the girl, a bundle of confusion and bewilderment.

Multiple questions boomed inside his mind, all wanting to get out of his mouth as words. The result of all their mixture elicited the most basic response known to man. “What the fuck?”

The girl winced again, giving his sister a look that desperately begged for help. ‘Please run some damage control’, might as well have been written in her eyes.

Harry snorted, occluding away his confusion to glance around their surroundings. "I have many questions that need answering, but I must say...your choice for our first meeting leaves much to be desired."

That prompted a bashful smile out of the girl, some of her tenseness dying away as her cheeks reddened. “Aee…I Apologize for that.”

‘Holy Merlin...’ Was he seeing this correctly? He made Fleur Delacour blush? The Fleur Delacour was blushing? He genuinely couldn’t remember ever seeing that look on her face. Not even for Bill.

‘Yep. She’s definitely not the girl I knew.’

“Apology accepted.” He graciously forgave her with a smile, before getting serious. “But now I really must ask, Fleur. Why are you here? And why were death eaters after you?”

The girl tilted her head, his earlier confusion reflecting back in her eyes. She opened her mouth to reply but her sister finally seemed to act, gently touching her arm to take the lead.

“Those were not death eaters, Mr. Potter.” The woman, who he assumed to be the elder Delacour, said grimly, her tone still cautious. “The man you killed is…was, Henri Delacour.”

“…Right.” Harry nodded slowly, growing even more confused. “So…he’s your long lost cousin? Here to have his revenge for all the times you bullied him at school?”

“If only zat were so.” A slight smirk lit up her grim face, brightening the darkness around them on its lonesome. “Zat man, Mr. Potter, was Fleur’s father.”

It took him a second to understand ‘Father’ as it sounded more like Faath-air. Bur he knew he had his priorities all wrong right now.

‘Focus on her words, not her voice fool.’ He chastised himself. ‘And definitely not on her lips.’

“He wasn’t my father!” Fleur snarled out suddenly, her words nothing but throaty sounds to Harry. Albeit quiet attractive, even more so in their fury.

“I see.” Harry coughed, thankful for his occlumency’s presence. He glanced at Fleur, taking her thin lips wobbling in fury, before turning back to her…sister? Cousin? “And you are, Miss….?”

“Apolline Delacour, Mr. Potter.” She extended an arm cautiously, her eyes staring deep within his own. Had he not been applying some passive occlumency already, he would’ve worried she was trying to get inside his head. “And you have my gratitude for freeing me from my captor.”

‘Apolline Delacour?’ Harry barely kept his eyes from widening as he shook her hands. ‘This was Fleur’s mother?’

‘But that meant the man I killed was her husband.....’

Harry shook his head, letting occlumency reign over his mind completely this time. Cause he’d just realized that he was witnessing something far more deeper than he could afford to get into right now.

Whatever their deal may be, they needed to get going. Tommy wasn’t gonna wait for anyone.

“Right, you three,” Now all business, he beckoned them over while bending down to pick up a piece of rock. “Whatever your story is, I think we can discuss that later. First, I must send you to a safe house...unless you have some prearranged Portkeys? Or know any destination to Apparate in England?”

The two witches glanced at each other before the older one took the lead. “Zat will not be necessary, Mr. Potter. We thank you for saving us, and know zat we shall do our best to repay the debt. But we are more than capable of taking care of ourselves.”

Harry dismissed her words, waving his wand over the rock with a silent ‘Portus’. “There is no time. The camp is being attacked by Death eaters, and soon it’s gonna be a real shit storm. You won’t get a chance to escape again. If you truly wish to risk your life, you are free to do so. But I must ask you to let Fleur leave with her sister. They shall have no part in this.”

The woman looked stunned for a quick second before worry and trepidation replaced it. “You do not jest?”

“I have no reason to.” Harry gave a shake of his head.

Apolline turned to her daughter, and a whispered conversation rapidly took place between the two witches. She looked to be trying to convince Fleur of something, pointing at the littlest one. He did hear his name being thrown around by Fleur, but with his own growing impatience, he paid it no mind.

“I really don’t have the whole day to spend here, Miss Delacour.” Harry interrupted the two. “And even if I had, I would not wish to spend it like this. Your decision now, please.”

His words gained their attention and almost immediately both the females spoke out loud.

“We shall leav-.” Apolline started, but was quickly cut was by Fleur’s loud, “Will you come with us?”

Apolline shot her daughter a look of annoyance, which quickly morphed into a sigh of exasperation when she realized Fleur’s eyes were stuck on Harry.

"That...is a very tempting offer, Fleur.” Harry let a smile curve up his face at the renewed blush over the quarter-Veela’s face. “But I must politely decline. I have work to do here.”

It was almost comical the way her face drowned in disappointment. “Oh. Aee…Aee see.”

With the now enchanted pebble in his grasp, he started approaching the group, intending to get them out of here quickly.

As if by reflex, Apolline came to stand in front of Fleur, a wand rising at Harry’s chest.

He was sure she wasn’t aware of her own actions, but he couldn’t afford to be taken by surprise. The moment he saw it aiming toward him, he released a quick wave of wandless magic towards the woman.

Unprepared, she couldn’t do more than gasp as her wand left the grasp of her fingers and snapped into his hand. “Please don’t point that at me.”

Widened eyes glanced at her fingers then at his hand, before turning to his face warily. “I apologize, Mr. Potter. It was not my intention to sreaten you.”

As he reached them, he offered her wand back, along with the portkey. “Understandable. But I must get going now, so if you could please see yourself to safety.”

She accepted the wand with the same caution as before, before giving a thankful nod. “You have our gratitu-“

He raised a hand, silencing her, his senses extending as he felt just a flicker of magic in his range.

The forest now laid in an unnaturally thick silence, giving the feel of spooked animals. The sun had gone down completely now, plunging the entire area outside of the bonfire in darkness.

His battle hardened instincts were warning him of an imminent danger, and his enhanced hearing was working in overdrive, trying to hear even the drop of a pin.

And he heard it. The sound was low, very much so. But in the empty woods, it echoed like the crack of a muggle bullet, the lone snapping of twig beneath the feet of multiple people, all walking towards their direction.

Then came the murmuring. Soft buzz of talking, too soft for human ears…buthe picked it up. Just the very last notes of those mutters, growing louder by the second.

But the last…the last was what confirmed to him their identity as wizards. He felt it with his magical senses, just the slightest impression of Lumos charm. The feeling was tender, like a flicker of spark in a never ending darkness. Far, perhaps a hundred meters away or so…..

But it was there, and it was growing stronger. Coming closer.

“They come.” He whispered to the women. “Quickly, to me.”

Now, there was a chance that it may just have been some Aurors coming to investigate…

But Harry wasn’t willing to take any risks. His gut said they were enemies, so he will treat them as such until proven otherwise.

The females must have understood the grimness in his words because they didn’t even question him, gathering Gabrielle and quietly coming to stand behind him.

With a wave of his wand, he silently casted the extinguishing charm, completely putting out the bonfire. Instantly, the entire area was plunged into darkness, lit up only by his own lumos.

“You three must get out.” Harry commanded quietly. “This is not your fight. I will engage whoever it is, take that chance to slip away. The Portkey is set for 5 minutes.”

“It was nice meeting you, Fleur. See you later.” He didn’t wait for their answer, shooting a quietus on his legs and taking off into the darkness. He heard Fleur calling after him but a quick and powerful imperturbable charm around them cut her off.

The cool wind of the night glided over his long hairs as he tore through the forest. His legs moved with inhuman dexterity, easily jumping over logs, and skipping through vines and shrubs. The magic guided him to their exact spot, the feeling of multiple lumos acting like a marker for him to follow.

When the sound of his future-victims grew stronger, he slowed down to a saunter, circling their position to observe them from the side.

There were three of them, all walking side by side on a narrow path with their wands held aloft, gentle lights glowing around their immediate surrounding, washing the darkness in a blue hue.

Harry followed after them slowly, always keeping to their right. He must’ve been just about a dozen meters or so away from them, but his feet were silent as a feather, and he traversed through the forest with practiced ease.

Compared to him, the three might as well have been drunk giants for the amount of noise they were making.

‘Why haven’t they charmed their shoes?’ Harry frowned, puzzled, observing the trio of wizards closely.

Two of them were dressed in troll-skin dueling robes, something Harry was very familiar with, while the last one was wearing a simple black robe that most assuredly wasn’t meant for dueling. One of the specialties of the dueling robes was that they were specifically designed for complete mobility. Normal ankle-length robes were one of the most impractical things to wear for any physical activity, no matter what type of protective enhancement they may have.

‘Arrogance.’ Harry finally concluded, his eyes scanning the three with contemptuous eyes.

They didn’t bother with subtlety, they didn’t bother with protection. ‘Typical dark wizards.’

Harry would be sure to punish them for their mistakes.

The trio of wizards came to a sudden stop as their right-most member raised his hand. There was a small twig hovering over his palm, seeming to guide him along Harry’s previous path.

‘They may be heading for Fleur.’ He realized, tsking at the unexpected complication. ‘I’ll have to take them out before that.’

“He must’ve Apparated again from here.” The robed-figure muttered in a male’s voice, his hood doing a good job of hiding his face. “Strange kid. His path is almost like a skipping stone.”

“I don’t give a shite.” The middle one sneered, his wand now loosely grasped between his fingers. “And give that leaf to me. We’re close enough to the boy. You two stay here, I’ll handle him myself.”

“It’s not a leaf.” The right one’s absent mutters were ignored as the left one folded her arms, the impressive swell of her breasts giving away her gender. “We’ve our orders, Krafft. We can’t afford any mistakes today.”

The middle one, Krafft, suddenly whirled around, his wand coming to poke the woman below her chin.

“You don’t tell me what to do, girl!” The man hissed, and Harry wondered why he even bothered to sneak in here.

He could’ve simply walked beside them and he doubted they’d have noticed.

“I was alive when your grandmother was still spreading her legs to pop out your pig of a father!” Krafft continued, snarling in the woman’s face. “Just because those English freaks stuck the same number on us doesn’t make us equal!!”

The woman didn’t back off, straightening her spine and looking ready to engage…until the other wizard lodged himself in the middle of them. “If the boy escapes, you two better have some retirement plans. Cause returning empty handed is a sure death sentence.”

Harry tilted his head. ‘For a mission with such grim consequences, they sure don’t act like it. Might as well have come on a picnic.’

Were they truly underestimating him to such a degree?

Brilliant.

The two, who’d been looking close to a fight, seemed to finally calm down at the interference.

Or so it seemed as Krafft suddenly surged forward, his hand making for the twig…only to be smacked aside by the twig-carrier. “Krafft, don’t be-“

“This is my mission!” Kraff bellowed, furious eyes glaring at his teammates, completely unaware of the real enemy. “I do this alone, my way! You two can stay guard here and let no one come after me. But waste by time anymore and I’ll carve a bloody smile on your pretty necks.”

The woman seemed ready to fight back but the last wizard raised his hand, signaling for calm. “Alright, Krafft. Your way, it is. But I’ll need you to take an oath with me. Should you not succeed, the blame for your failure will fall solely upon your own head. Also, this you will confess before the Lord.”

“Coward.” The man, Krafft, spat on the ground, but obliging to the demand all the same. “Have your fucking oath then.”

Harry readied himself, sheathing back his Holly wand and palming the Elder one. A quick plan brewed in his mind as his magic coursed through him in preparation for the action that was about to ensue.

If he understood correctly, the oath will require all three of them to participate. Two oath takers and one bonder. And in that moment, he will......

All his plans came to a sudden halt as Krafft pointed his wand to his palm, and dragged it across to lay a solid cut. The man then closed his fist, moving it up in front of his face. "I, Gideon Krafft, do swear to take all the responsibility for the mission's failure.....or success."

'....Well, that was a bummer.'

"Now give me the leaf!" Krafft barked, snatching the delicate green twig between his blood-drenched fingers while his wand came up to point at it.

"Avenseguim." The man cast impatiently, his wand movements rough but quick.

At once, the charmed twig flew over for Harry's position with long leaps.

Harry frowned, not remembering the specific spell. 'That's how the bastards were following my path. Avenseguim.... I'll have to remember that.'

He briefly wondered why exactly they were following him in the first place. He wasn’t The-Boy-Who-Lived here.

But he had more urgent problems right now. Mainly the fact that the twig seemed to find his exact hiding spot, flying over rapidly to close the distance.

"What?" Came Krafft's confused mutter. “Where in morgana’s soggy arse is that thing going?”

Harry paid them no mind, his mind whirling to take an urgent decision: Fight or flight.

If he fought now, the other two were guaranteed to support their teammate once defeat looked imminent.

'...Retreat, it is.' He reluctantly settled.

The twig was close now, very close, and his occluded mind came up with a simple plan: lead him away.

The darkness around them supported his decision, enabling him to quickly slip away from his position. He turned around and took off for the opposite direction with silent leaps, mixing in with the woods to cover his retreat.

“It seems you were leading us wrongly from the start, little Matty!” The loud taunt of his chaser rang through the forest, originating from somewhere behind him. “I knew you two would be utterly useless!”

The darkness was now becoming a hindrance for Harry, as his enemy’s lumos finally stopped supplying even the slightest hint of light. Both of his wands were strapped to his holsters and he did not wish to slow down even a little.

As if reading his mind, his mysterious Phoenix suddenly materialized before his eyes with the quietest whooshes of flames, matching his pace as it flew beside him.

“Just in the times of need, eh?” Harry smiled, giving the bird a quick scratch under its chin while still running..

Harry didn’t bother questioning its presence, not looking the gift horse in the mouth. “Will you lead me to a clearing, Buddy?”

It chirped at him softly, before taking off faster with a flap of its tiny wings.

Harry followed after its blaze, the twig of doom right on his heels.

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Gideon Krafft was annoyed. And has been so on and off for over two hours now. The day was almost like a rollercoaster for him.

When the mission first started, he’d been quite looking forward to it. Even he didn’t know why, but the task to hunt Harry Potter had slowly begun looking like an exciting prospect. Especially when he realized how highly the boy was regarded here.

That excitement was drowned quickly however, when his two…juniors. joined him in the middle. Suddenly the fact that he wasn’t alone in this hunt had splashed all over his face like cold water, and the first bout of annoyance had begun brewing.

That annoyance was, once again, quickly drowned when his eyes had fell upon Stella’s busty tits. His mind had begun planning for some personal fun then, realizing that the forest was the perfect place to apply his own brand of….forceful ministrations.

Personally, Gideon didn’t enjoy suppressing the screams of his victims with magic. But considering how loud women screamed, especially muggle women, he was usually forced to do so anyway.

So the prospects of taking a witch from behind in a forest, and enjoying her screams of anguish, had lifted his mood anew.

It would’ve all been so perfectly simple as well. Kill Mathew with a quick killing curse, then enjoy his night’s entertainment for a good few minutes, before going after the boy.

His dreams were ripped apart into pieces however, when his eyes took in the small ‘Lvl 5 Dueler’ badge on her shoulder, the exact same one he’d been given.

And while all that remained of his own badge were ashes, currently rotting in the trash can, this stupid witch seemed to wear it proudly.

This slip of a girl, wearing that wretched badge, acting like she were his equal….

Gideon had not liked that. Not one bit.

Yet, there had been nothing he could do but mald in anger by himself. The chances of her actually being a competent dueler were high, and should she survive his attempt at force, Gideon may as well sign his own death warrant.

To rape a random muggle was one thing, but to rape a member of Alliance was a crime.

Even if he convinced Abernathy to turn a blind eye for one time, Lord Grindelwald will be waiting for him, ready to skin him alive.

Afterall, should the news of new recruits being treated like such spread, the others would be more hesitant to join.

So here he was now, two hours later and filled with annoyance at the whole situation.

‘Why can’t she have been a little weaker?’ Gideon grouched, still following after the leaf. Or twig…

Oh, twig or leaf, he cared not.

He just wanted the boy captured and this day to end. There was a small muggle family in this area, with a plump wife that he would love to bury himself in. And now that their truth was out in the open, no would could even stop him....

Thus were the plans brewing in his head when his robe suddenly bungled up with some vines, and he fell down on the ground face first…..for the 6th consecutive time since he started chasing after the leaf.

“Aargh!” A roar of frustration left him as he pushed himself back on feet.

Was there any need for the leaf to suddenly change directions!? Better yet, what the fuck was that boy even doing down here, all alone in the forest!?

“I’ll find it myself.” Krafft growled, resuming his chase.

Unfortunately for him, his path through the forest seemed like a personal hell, made just for him. Mosquitoes bit him in the legs and back, rocks hit him in the shins and toes, branches and leaves smacked him in the face...

Worse, he can’t even use magic to clear a path for him without risking the loss of that tiny leaf.

Thankfully he quickly caught up with his prey. He knew the boy had been running from him, having caught sight of his small but intense fire at one point, standing out in the midst of complete darkness. But the boy had easily left him in dust then. Quite literally.

Gideon Krafft had never believed in karma before, but as his eyes finally fell upon his awaiting prey, standing all alone in the middle of a large clearing…..

He still chose not to believe in it.

Instead, he observed his prey with a growing smile of accomplishment.

The boy stood inside a ring of fire. Not the literal kind, but in the form of small candles littering the ground that lit up the entire clearing with their orange glow.

Gideon Krafft walked towards him slowly, enjoying the moment for all its worth….and not at all because he was panting and groaning like he usually did after a bout of debauchery.

For him, sex has indeed become a very tiresome job, even when he was done under a minute or two. Sometimes, he just forgot his age.

Still, he paid his breathlessness no mind, entering the sphere of candles to meet his awaiting enemy, who was watching him with the eyes of a hawk, albeit of a much greener and vibrant shade.

He did check for disillusionment charms or traps, but considering the boy had perhaps a minute or two before his arrival, he didn’t pay it any mind.

‘Finally, my job is finished'

“There you are…” Krafft practically purred, his heart pumping with the familiar excitement of hunting a weaker prey. “Harry Potter, the youngest European champion…did you arrange this little place for me? How considerate. You’ve made this a whole lot easier for me.”

“Now be a good boy….and kneel.”

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“…Now be a good boy…and kneel.”

Harry snorted, elder wand ready in his grasp as he called upon his magic.

“It’s ridiculously funny you think there’s any chance of you coming out on top here.” Krafft sneered, cutting quite a pathetic sight as he shakily rose his own wand.

His robe was dirty and torn, scratch marks littered all over his face, and dried blood patches marred with dirt rested on his forehead.

“You look like you’re half dead, Mr. Krafft.” For the first time since his arrival, Harry replied to the man. It was also meant to be the last. “Let me help you die properly.”

‘Kill.’

There was no more to it. The moment Harry’s mind settled on a course, he proceeded to apply it.

Taking a quick dueling stance, he stood sideways with his wand held like a one-handed sword. Something that was matched by his opponent.

Then, he rained down spells upon the Death Eater.

His plan was simple; Kill this one, capture the other two, get any relevant information, then rejoin his family.

Three quick waves of his wand, and 3 rapid one-shotters leapt out; Expelliarmus, Stupefy, and Flippendo. All meant to put the man in defensive.

With a snort of contempt, the arrogant Death Eater brought his wand forward and a large blue shield materialised in front of him, blocking away his spells.

The man’s smile slipped however, when the shield wobbled like elastic under the weight of his power.

‘Arrogant mistake.’

Harry hadn’t counted on getting an advantage so early, but he adapted instantly. He kept up the pressure, drowning the man under the same chain of spells.

Just the start of their duel, and the Death Eater has willingly given away the initiative in Harry’s hands.

Making full use of his advantage, he slowly moved forward, pushing the man back. His chains of one-shotters hit the Death Eater rapidly, like muggle bullets, soon managing to form cracks along the surface.

Krafft was stuck. He cannot retaliate or disapparate without freeing his wand. He cannot try dodging out either, considering Harry was launching a couple of spells every second. And Krafft knew this.

The death Eater realised his fuck-up instantly in fact, and tried to correct his mistake by capitalizing on Harry’s motionless figure. With his wand hand tied defending himself, his other hand slashed at Harry, and a wandless force suddenly made a nearby pebble fly at him.

Harry just took a step forward and kept going, letting the stone fly past him.

“Ah, fuck!” Krafft exclaimed, now clutching the wand with both hands as his momentary lapse of attention was paid by his shield.

The thing with one-shotter spells like Stupefy and Expelliarmus was that they were incredibly quick to cast. So shielding against them was generally considered a rookie move, as it could force a dueler to turtle behind their shield, powerless against the peppering tide.

A skilled or dexterous enough dueler may try to dodge, distract, or retailed in any way, in order to get out of the trap.

But not against an opponent who completely surpassed them in power, speed, and dexterity.

The entire area around them was now lit up by the colour of their magic. The blue shield clashing with red spells created a hue of supernatural power that mixed in with the fire’s glow to create a scene of surrealism.

Just a minute into their duel, and Krafft was already on his knees and screaming with all his might, desperately trying to hold onto his shield, which was now riddled with cracks.

'A final push.'

Harry halted his assault for just a minuscule second, preparing the most explosive chain in his repertoire.

With a cry of relief his opponent wobbled to his feet, no doubt looking to disapparate away. Had he been at his peak form, he may have succeeded.

As it was, he stumbled down on one knee from exhaustion, and that was all Harry needed.

‘Bombarda, Confringo, Bombarda Maxima.’

All three casted silently, tore through the air to reach the kneeling Krafft.

With a yell of desperation, the Death Eater reformed his shield. But the combined might of the three spells cracked it open, creating a massive explosion that sent Krafft flying with an agonized scream.

The cracking boom of explosion that ensued no doubt spread throughout the forest as the land where Krafft had stood was torn asunder, leaving deep trenches and tree stumps in place.

In the aftermath of the attack, one side of the fire’s encirclement was completely extinguished, plunging it in darkness.

The scene that created was such that Harry alone stood in the light, while his opponent was lost in darkness. It was as if magic itself was announcing the result of their duel.

Incredibly, his opponent turned out not to be dead when his voice, enhanced by sonorus, rang out in a pathetic cry of agony and pain. “Heeeelp!”

With a snarl Harry moved in to finish his opponent, but the two cracks of disapparition thwarted his attempt.

Two figures, the same man and woman he’d observed before, materialised in front of him from thin air. While the woman landed safely, the man instantly went down with a howl of pain, clutching his leg.

“Splinched my ankle!” He bellowed. “Told you disapparating in a random location is–“

Harry capitalized instantly, giving them no chance to talk.

‘Sectemsempra!’ He intoned silently, putting his complete focus behind the spell.

At the peak of its mastery, the spell was meant to hit as fast as a one-shotter while moving completely invisibly.

And indeed, his wand glowed blue but the spell left no trails.

Unfortunately, the female member of their group turned out to be far more competent than her peers, predicting its path correctly as a thick slab of wood flashed barely a feet away from her male partner. The wood was torn neatly in two but the man got away with a minor cut on his cheeks.

“Morgana’s leakin’ asshole!” The man screamed still. “I just died!”

With a tsk, Harry turned to the woman, his wand now facing the only injury-less member of this pathetic trio.

“You just got saved!” She scowled, though her attention was on him as she came to stand in front of her teammates. “And no thanks to you dipshit.”

Harry stared at his opponent, taking in her ruffled clothing and the Lvl 5 dueler badge.

An Auror level dueler.

Harry cared not. “Let’s make this quick.”

And then they started their dance.

Harry’s wand flickered through the air faster than humanly possible, and the wreckage of splintered woods, that littered the ground due to earlier explosion, launched themselves through the air at his opponent.

A small pebble rose to meet them, looking pathetically insufficient to stop the enormous tide, only to enlarge into a massive boulder the next second that easily tanked the pieces of wood.

Half of the splinters crashed uselessly, but the other half slowed in the air to coalesce together, transforming into two wooden chains that Harry guided to swerve around the boulder from both sides, continuing the attack.

For a second he couldn’t see the result of his attack, his vision blocked by the gigantic boulder as it dropped to the ground with a thump, his opponent focusing on the new threat.

But then thick ropes of fire came from behind the stone, heading straight for him. The conjured chains of fire were still carrying some of the wood splinters from his attack, though now in the blackened coal-form as the fire burnt through them.

Not willing to let go of the battle’s initiative, Harry disapparated away with a crack, materialising to the left-most edge of the clearing and intending to continue his attack. The place he just vacated was drenched down in an explosion of fire and splinters, enveloping the entire immediate area in powerful flames that shook the very ground underneath their feet.

Soft though it was, his crack of apparition still gave away his position and the last bit of fire changed their direction mid-air as they came hurling back towards him in the form of three thick lassos, trying to trap him within their circlet.

With a growl he took a step back, his wand swishing through the air.

“Aqua Erecto!” He bellowed out the first verbal spell of their duel.

A massive fountain of water met the three lassos of fire, but instead of letting it evaporate, Harry mixed the heat of the fire to rise his water to boiling temperature.

With his wand still gushing out copious amounts of water, he soon had an entire wave of boiling water at his command.

“Fuck.” Came from somewhere to his left front, before the massive wave fell upon the area like a furious flood.

“Hold on!” A desperate female screamed as the entire area around them was drenched under water.

So powerful was the stream that it uprooted entire trees from the ground as it spread aggressively through the forest.

It splashed all around them, smoking and hungry as any fire could hope to be. Harry stood still, pushing the raging wave away from him. The ground underneath his feet was the only place completely dry from water in the aftermath.

When the wave settled, his opponents were nowhere to be seen and a new clearing had formed around them, extending dozens of meters. The ground was left smocking, drenched under hot water as it was. All this Harry could barely make out as the last bit of fire in the area flickered weakly.

The only thing that stood relatively unharmed was the lone boulder. Smoking and hissing, but completely intact.

For a few precious seconds, silence reigned supreme around them and Harry took the time to send a bright lumos maxima in the air.

It quickly became the only source of light in the forest as the last piece of flames winked out, lighting up not just the area around him, but also the newly formed clearing.

The silence was then broken by a noise akin to grumbling thunder as the giant boulder formed a crack straight through the middle, circling all the way around. The entire thing was neatly cut into two parts that fell open like a capsule, and he could see their ends cut through like hollowed tunnels.

Huddling like a bunch of wet rats in the middle were the trio of very-much-alive wizards that were truly starting to become a nuisance now.

“Now, Mathew!” Screamed the witch, and all of a sudden the two cracked parts of the boulder rose to the air before blasting towards him at a devastating pace.

Not wanting to waste his time, Harry quickly disapparated away…or atleast, tried to.

Suddenly the magic around them was locked down completely, an impenetrable ward snapping in place that held him right there in mid-air.

‘Anti-Disapparition ward!’ Was the only thought Harry could get out before he was thrown down to the ground, barely managing to land on his feet.

He turned to the front urgently, now forced to face the mega pieces of stones as they came flying towards him.

With no time to think of any creative solutions, he fell to his most practiced answer.

‘Bombarda! Reducto! Confringo! Bombarda Maxima!’ With a yell of fury he let loose chains upon chains of devastating spells rapidly, each one tearing apart the boulder, chipping out large chunks and pieces of stones out from it and sending deep cracks throughout its body. When the boulders finally reached him, it was in the form of small blocks that were only going on through sheer momentum.

Harry hid beneath a large blue shield as he was peppered by the rain of stones.

That however, proved to be a mistake as while most stones simply slid off of the shield, some forced him down on his knees as they crowded atop his shield’s surface.

There was nothing he could do then but weather the storm, his shield the only thing that stopped him from becoming a human pancake.

Eventually the stones blocked his vision completely, slowly but surely burying him underneath them as they formed a pyramid upon him.

A lone shield was all that stood between him and dozens of stones wanting to crush him.

He stayed still for a second once the storm was over, gathering his magic and strength. Then, with a yell of exertion, he pushed through the stone castle, bursting out with all his super human strength and sending the rocks flying away.

“Fuck.” Uttered his opponents once more, this time the female one.

Harry stood upright, his occlumency barely controlling his fury as he stared down his enemies.

Two of them, the witch and Mathew, had pushed themselves back on their feet as they stared at him in caution and barely hidden fear.

“Your ankle’s alright?” The witch asked her partner in a quiet voice, not taking her eyes off of Harry.

“Yeah?” The response she got was uncertain.

“Well it better be.” The witch sighed, wary but looking ready for anything. “Cause we’re about to have the fight of our life.”

A sudden bark of laughter interrupted their staring as Krafft too climbed back on his feet, a single hand clutching Mathew for support.

Only then did Harry realise that the man was missing his left hand up his wrist.

The other two hadn’t gotten away unscathed, though were relatively well compared to their leader. Their robes had burnt away in places with small cuts and scratches littering their bodies, but looked perfectly capable of continuing the fight.

Krafft, on the other hand….

“Do you feel that, boy?” The man giggled with crazed eyes, waving his stump to the sky. “Do you feel the ward? The Anti-disapparition ward? It envelopes the entire land! The stadium, the seven levels, everything!”

He fell down on his knees in a fit of sudden coughing, his grip loosening from Mathew. The other two didn’t move an inch to help him.

And it was. Harry almost couldn’t believe it but the ward that he’d thought his enemies had erected actually originated from the center of the stadium.

He was simply unlucky to get caught in it.

“He is here.” Krafft spat out suddenly, that familiar fire of superiority and arrogance back on his face. “His power dwarves us all! Your friends, your family…everyone trapped! They won’t be leaving alive today, boy! Neither will you! Fuck those Death Eaters and fuck this mission. A monster like you can’t be allowed to roam free. He will understand.”

Apprehension grew within him as he realized something truly massive was happening right now. Something that he had never even imagined the possibility of.

The image of Lily and Bella’s lifeless bodies grew clearer in his head by the second. Dead and forgotten, buried within a pile of stones just like him but unable to break free.

Dread, unlike any other, grew within his chest. Dread and fear.

‘’Never should’ve left them.’ His inner self hissed. ‘You should’ve been at your Lily’s side now. For your own plans, for your own selfishness…you’ve put them at risk. The two who matters most to you in this world…once again at risk for your overconfidence.’

His mind conjured the images of his past lovers, Hermione and Ginny, dead due to his own incompetence. And their faces were now replaced with Lily and Bella, a similar fate awaiting them.

And he wasn’t even there to help them this time.

An anger, dark and raging, lit up within his soul. An anger, threatening to break through his occlumency.

Krafft once again pushed himself to his feet, waving his wand wildly in the air. “Feel his power, Harry Potter! And despair! For you will never be his equal!”

The silence stretched between them, broken only by the occasional coughing and laughter of the madman.

“You know,” Harry finally spoke, and his two enemies gave a start, their wands rising back up. “All this fighting, all my attempts to defeat you…they were never personal.”

“Double fuck?” Mathew muttered, a similar dread filling his eyes as they flickered around Harry’s surroundings wildly.

Harry’s wand was still facing down but the littering stones around him slowly started to levitate in the air as he let lose the biting fury inside him, letting his occlumency guide it in his magic.

“But now?” The stones melted away to form meter long spikes, sharp and strong. “Now, this is very much personal.”

Dozens of giant spikes spread through the air now, all pointing towards the trio of wizards as they readied themselves.

“I, am going to kill you all.” The spikes lit up on fire, connecting to each other to form a net of fire between them.

“Triple fuck.”

“And I, am going to enjoy it.”

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AN: And done! This was an important chapter, I hope it lived up to it's hype.

So, Fleur and Harry finally meet. Was it satisfying? Let me know. Also, there were two different types of duels in this.  Tell me which one you enjoyed the most. The straight forward spell vs spell kind, with some knowledge in the mix, or the more wild and destructive kind.

The next chapter will show what's happening with the others, with even more action present.

Leave a like if you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in the next post.

Peace!