Dueling Hearts Ch1 (Patreon)

Harry was shifting excitedly in his seat.

And what a seat it was. They were sitting in the front row, side view, right down the middle. The perfect vantage point.

The fact that the stands were mostly empty didn't dampen Harry's mood one bit.

"I just don't understand why this had to be on the same day as the quidditch final," Sirius grumbled from Harry's left.

From Harry's right, Lily Potter spoke up. "You didn't have to come, Sirius," the woman pointed out.

Sirius looked at her in exasperation. "And miss my godson geeking out every five seconds? Besides, I'm the one who got us these premium seats," He gestured around with a grin. There might have been a few dozen people in a stadium that seated thousands.

Lily rolled her eyes while Sirius offered his best charming smile. Harry ignored them, leaning forward in his seat as he stared at the empty arena.

"Honestly though, they couldn't move it up a week?"

"Schedule's set two years ahead of time," A short, corpulent man a few rows behind them commented. "Quidditch final was supposed to be later in the month. Bloody Bagman changed everything up last minute,"

Sirius looked over at the man with a searching look, "I've seen you before…"

The man nodded. "Bernard Whitby, Department of Magical Games and Sports. I organized this ruddy thing," The man sounded more than a little bitter.

Harry's head snapped from the arena to the man. "You run the dueling circuit?" He asked with dreamy eyes.

The man begged off. "I just did the meat and potatoes. All the dueling people are over there." He gestured toward the opposite end of the arena, where five older witches and wizards were huddled together trading large rolls of parchment around.

Thoroughly put off, Harry returned his attention back to the empty dueling ring.

"Now I remember!" Sirius snapped his fingers. "I've seen you around the Ministry! You're the one who orders the same thing everyday at the lunch hall!"

"Ashwinder egg soup," Whitby nodded proudly, "Proper English meal."

Sirius turned back to Harry and Lily, "He's a barmy one. I heard he takes a picture of every soup, has em all put up in his office,"

Lily wasn't sure if Sirius was joking. Either way, she was once again glad she'd never taken up work at the Ministry.

A voice overhead announced that the final duel would begin in ten minutes. This made Harry bounce with renewed excitement. Both Lily and Sirius smiled down at the teenager. Sirius would miss a dozen World Cup finals just to see the smile on his godson's face.

"She's gonna come out now! I finally get to see her!"

Sirius and Lily shared a look.

"Big Bellatrix Black fan, huh kid?" Mr. Whitby asked.

Harry glanced over his shoulder and nodded with a big grin. "She's brilliant! I've watched all of her duels!"

The man raised an eyebrow. "She's something alright," He answered with a grumble.

Sirius wondered if Bella was as aggravating to tournament organizers as she was to family.

Lily felt the now familiar knot in her stomach at the woman's mention. She didn't really know Bellatrix Black. She was Sirius' cousin, but it seemed the two weren't that close. Despite spending his teenage years as the black sheep of the Black family, Sirius now had a decent relationship with his brother and cousins. Even Narcissa and him were friendly, though he still despised her git of a husband. Sirius hadn't mentioned what his relationship with Bellatrix had been like as a kid, but the woman simply hadn't been around enough in recent years for them to form any kind of connection.

Bellatrix Black was a workaholic, dedicated to her craft to the detriment of everything else. It's what led to her being the four time British dueling champion, two time European Cup winner and, just a couple of years prior, finally reaching the zenith and becoming World Champion. After losing out in the quarterfinals back in '82, her second try proved true as the woman won the most prestigious dueling competition in the world. All of this, and she was only thirty-nine, well within her prime.

Lily knew all of this because her son was obsessed with the woman. Harry had Bellatrix posters, he studied her duels, he'd even bought her book when he'd been only ten.

Harry had developed a love for dueling, ever since that day when he was five and he caught a western film on the tv during one of those painful visits to Petunia's. The boy had been mesmerized by the duel at high noon, and it was a quick jump from that to asking his Uncle Padfoot and his Uncle Moony about dueling with wands. His toy broomstick and snitch were tossed aside and never picked up again.

Lily sighed. She knew she shouldn't feel jealous. But as she looked at her handsome boy, who at fourteen looked more and more like a man every day, she wished he showed as much enthusiasm for her as he did for this other woman.

She knew she was being unfair. Harry showed a lot of interest in her work, and he had always been a model son. But she couldn't help the ugly feeling that welled up inside her every time he gushed about Bellatrix.

Still, she would swallow her insecurities and support her son in his interests.

...

The event had been entertaining enough, for someone not invested in the sport like herself.

First they'd held the under-nineteen finals. Since sixteen was the minimum age for the dueling circuit, it meant the pool of contestants was rather small for national-level competitions. Marcus Flint emerged victorious. He was an uncreative dueler with a rather limited repertoire of spells, but he had raw power and a brutal mindset to paper over any faults. Harry had sat grumbling about the weak pool of contestants in the junior class, though he'd begrudgingly given the other boy credit when he shattered his opponent's shield with a single blasting curse.

Next was the Open Doubles final. Lily actually found this more intriguing, since the pairs had to work as teams and it led to very creative uses of magic.

On one side, Edgar and Bethany Bones, two old friends of her's, were a husband and wife duo. They worked in sync with each other, both seeming to have similar affinities, ending with either one being able to pick up on the other's work.

On the other side, Rodolphus LeStrange and William Weasley were complete opposites. Rodolphus was pure, raw power. He was an adult Flint but at a much greater magnitude and with much more control and precision. The man's mastery of fire and dark curses were devastating. His partner Weasley was all defense and finesse. He weaved protections through shields and water magic while also sneaking in creative little jynxes here and there.

The difference in talent between them and the under-nineteens was gargantuan. And according to Harry, they were all mediocre to mid-level duelists in the singles format. Though Lily suspected Harry's obsession with singles blinded him to the intricacies of doubles. In the end, the Bones eked out a victory by the skin of their teeth.

Afterwards, a ceremony was held celebrating great duelists of the past. Lily smiled as she saw her old Professor Flitwick among the honorees.

"Hey mum, isn't that your old charms Professor?" Harry asked. At her nod, he sighed wistfully. "Wish he was still teaching. Not that McKinnon is bad or nothing. But she's dreadfully boring,"

Lily gave her son a mock glare while Sirius gave him a cheeky grin. Inside, Lily was laughing. Harry still didn't know. McKinnon was retiring, and she had accepted the Charms post. She'd done the mental calculus, and decided she could afford to run her business out of Hogwarts at a reduced capacity. Teaching would allow her to remain close to her son, who Lily had missed dearly every single year he'd been gone. She wasn't co-dependent or anything… she just loved her Harry.

"Who's the portrait?" Sirius asked, pointing at a portrait that was propped up on a chair, also receiving honors.

"That was Tom Riddle. He was the greatest duelist of all time!" Harry said, looking appalled that Sirius didn't recognize him. "At least, that's what the old timers say. I bet Bellatrix would wipe the floor with him! Anyways, he died right after winning the finals in '72. Magical exhaustion I think it was."

Sirius was satisfied with the answer and they watched the rest of the ceremony.

Near the end, a banner was raised that read:

In loving memory of Augustus Rookwood: 1954-1994

"He was a top ten duelist. Died just last month, it was all over the papers Sirius!" Harry insisted.

Sirius shrugged. "I remember the guy, right prick he was."

...

Back in the present, the duelists had arrived.

The stadium and arena reminded Lily very much of Wimbledon, with it being a much more intimate space than the gigantic Quidditch stadiums. The Dueling pit was a circle, sunk in slightly and surrounded by both physical and magical barriers. On opposite ends of the pit, there were a set of stairs, leading up to the darkened entryways to each locker room. At the top of the steps, there was a thin sheet of cascading water. The Thief's Downfall, borrowed from the bowels of Gringotts. It was a new measure, being implemented for the first time at this event. It would wash away any enchantments, potions or hidden devices either duelist might have thought to sneak in.

First to emerge from the south end of the court was Alecto Carrow. She was a wiry, rail thin woman with dark hair collected in a stiff bun. Accompanying her were her brother, Amycus, and a short, stocky older man with a thin head of graying hair.

"That's Guissepe Garibaldi," Harry pointed out, "Definitely top five for Italian duelists. Made it to the quarters in '72 and was the only person all tournament to land a hit on Riddle. His prize fighting record was 42-7, not bad considering he kinda stayed on past his prime,"

Sirius leaned in close and tapped Harry on the forehead. "Where do you store all that crap?"

"Hey!" Harry swatted at him, cheeks flushed red, while Lily giggled from his other side.

Carrow's group stopped in front of the waterfall. Garibaldi and her brother gave her firm nods before they walked into a side pen right above the pit. Alecto took a deep breath and passed through the cascade, the water washing over her and leaving her soaked. With every step she took afterwards, she became drier and drier, until it looked as if she'd never even been wet by the time her feet touched the pit.

There was silence as Carrow stood alone inside the arena. Harry's eyes had already flown over to the other side, glued to the northern entryway in giddy anticipation.

A lone figure walked out. She did not have a coach or a family member or a mentor by her side, Bellatrix Black walked alone. Where Carrow was stiff and collected, Bellatrix was loose. Her long, dark curls fanned loosely down to her back. Her chin was held high, full, pouty red lips locked in an arrogant sneer. She wore a tight black bodice that showed off her quite impressive curves.

Bellatrix Black was all presence. Even in this mostly-empty stadium, it was like a million eyes were drawn towards her. And she reveled in it, commanding attention.

"Wow," Harry whispered, his eyes like saucers. Sirius had on a mischievous smile. He would tease Harry about this for months.

Lily frowned as she looked at her son. He was smitten with this woman. This admittedly very attractive woman. Her Harry should be thinking about girls his age, not some older harlot that would take advantage of her poor boy.

As Bellatrix passed under the waterfall, Lily couldn't help but compare herself to her. Bellatrix had a fuller figure, in that she couldn't compete. Lily was proud of her own body, but she had a slimmer frame compared to Bellatrix's bombast. Lily's pert breasts and subtle hips couldn't compare to Bellatrix's assets, which sashayed with each step. At least in the looks department, she felt confident in putting her elvish features up against the other woman's dark beauty. It was the battle of an angel against a succubus.

Lily shook her head. Why was she doing this?

Not daring to delve into those thoughts, she forced herself to focus on the arena.

Carrow was looking at Bellatrix with disdain, but the other woman seemed not to care one bit.

A disembodied voice began speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our main event for the evening! The finals of the British Dueling Championship! Tonight, we have first time finalist, Lady Alecto Carrow, accompanied by her trainer Guissepe Garibaldi and her manager Amycus Carrow."

There was a pause left for applause, which would have been decent in a full house but ended up being very sparse here.

"Opposite her, we have the winner in the last four iterations of this tournament, as well as the two time European Champion and now holding the title of reigning World Champion, The Black Widow, Lady Bellatrix Black!"

The applause was louder this time, though again not becoming of the situation. There was a subtle twitch of Bellatrix's eye.

"I think my cousin's pissed that no one's here," Sirius chuckled, looking over at Lily. Lily smiled, a spiteful part of her glad that so few had shown up.

An old man walked in, accompanied by a pair of house elves, each carrying a pillow.

The man nodded toward each woman, "your wands."

The elves held out the pillows and they each snatched their wands. This was another new measure. Wands were now turned in to be inspected, and the governing body kept them until the duel began.

The man and the elves left. Bellatrix and Alecto twirled their wands, staring dead at each other.

"You may bow,"

They both bowed deeply, neither taking their eyes off the other.

A blast sounded. The duel was on.

Carrow made the first move. With a wave of her wand a silver cage began to emerge from the ground around Bellatrix. Bellatrix flicked her wand and the cage was blasted apart before it could fully form, shards and beams of silver flying in all directions. Carrow moved her wand in a wide arc and the debris was caught in a whirlwind, a tornado of jagged metal that she banished at Bellatrix.

A dark red piercing curse shot from Bellatrix's wand and Carrow just barely managed to dodge it. For a split second, the woman seemed shaken up by the speed and power of Bellatrix's attack, but she regained her composure.

Bellatrix held her wand out and a burst of deep, red fire met the oncoming tornado. The fire melted the silver debris and Bellatrix took control of Carrow's spell, with another flick of her wand the tornado exploded outward, a splash of molten metal shooting off toward her opponent.

Carrow created a stone wall in front of her to absorb the scalding hot metal. Bellatrix shot off another piercing hex at her wall, punching a hole clear through it and throwing the other woman back.

Alecto stumbled to her feet and growled in frustration. She shot off a few bludgeoning curses just to get Bellatrix to move, but Bellatrix had moved a long time ago. On the opposite end of where she had been, Bellatrix lifted her arms up with a bit of effort.

From the floor rose a giant earthen snake. A large serpent made of stone, earth and dirt. This was a transfiguration Bellatrix had brought out regularly over the years.

The snake, measuring fifty feet at the very least, lunged at Carrow. But Carrow seemed prepared for this. A jet of dark blue liquid shot from her wand and into the snake's maw. What at a first glance seemed like a blast of water, seemed to short circuit Bellatrix's animation. The snake golem twitched as sparks sprung from fissures along its body.

The snake's eyes went from a deep crimson to a sickly yellow. Suddenly, the behemoth turned on its master.

Carrow bared her teeth, grinning triumphantly as she successfully reversed one of Bellatrix's famous maneuvers.

Bellatrix, boxed in by a pair of quick cutting curses to either side of her, looked like a sitting duck. She would not be able to conjure a shield strong enough to withstand the behemoth's assault.

But Lily knew there was something else going on. Bellatrix had cast something immediately after creating her golem. It had been something subtle, barely noticeable when all attention was drawn to the giant stone snake. But Lily held a mastery in Charms, Wards and Enchantments, and she knew something was going on beyond what her eyes were showing her. There was a shimmer in the dueling pit, an imperceptible mist.

The snake lunged at Bellatrix, jaws wide open; baring large, jagged fangs. A split second before it made contact, Alecto Carrow felt the approaching heat, the shock to her nerves, the sense that she was about to be attacked.

She dived to the side but had not dodged in time, the snake's jaw grazed her, and the impact was brutal. She felt a sickening crunch as the bones in her left arm and foot cracked, waves of pain instantly shooting up her limbs.

A flash of red light struck her head on and her wand was ripped from her, flying halfway across the pit and landing softly in Bellatrix's outstretched hand.

Bellatrix had a smug, self-satisfied smile as Carrow fell to the floor. Her golem crumbled to dust as the medi-wizard rushed in to attend to Carrow. Carrow's group were stomping their feet and waving their arms wildly in frustration.

Bellatrix dropped her opponent's wand to the floor and kicked it to the middle of the arena. She folded her arms together as she impatiently waited for them to drag Carrow out of her damn pit.

…..

It had been a slaughter.

The betting odds had been heavily in favor of Bellatrix. But even still, the duel had barely lasted five minutes. It was quite clear that the rest of the field was not up to The Black Widow's level, at least not locally.

She had cast an inversion charm. A new, experimental charm that had inverted the orientation of the dueling arena. Up was down and left was right. When Carrow directed the snake to attack where she saw Bellatrix in front of her, she was inadvertently directing it to attack her.

Lily had instantly understood all of this. She'd invented the charm, after all. Very few knew of its existence, and no one besides her knew how to cast it.

Up until a few months ago.

She'd sold it to an anonymous buyer. It was part of her line of work. As a spell researcher, she would sometimes package spells she had invented and sell them off to the highest bidder.

The thing was, her original inversion spell had a relatively small area of effect. It would only work in an area the size of a typical bedroom, and it required there to be four walls and minimal sunlight or open sky.

Bellatrix had taken her spell and massively expanded it.

The following ceremony was quick. Bellatrix was handed a trophy and she posed for pictures with some higher ups. The arena was now fully empty, with even Mr. Whitby bidding them a hasty goodbye just a few minutes after the duel ended.

But they were still here, and Lily dreaded this next part.

They were walking up to the pit, where a bored Bellatrix was surrounded by stuffy old men. As Sirius entered her field of vision, a bit of fire returned to her eyes.

"I'm genuinely surprised. I made you at the Quidditch Final, jumping off a railing trying to fall onto some Veela,"

"It's good to see you too, cousin," Sirius responded. "Andi and Narcissa send their regards. Say they'd like for you to visit more often."

Bellatrix dismissed his words with a wave. "I'm sure they would. Now, introduce me to your guests, dear cousin."

Ignoring her sarcasm, Sirius stepped aside and presented Lily and Harry.

"This is my friend, Lily Potter, and my godson, Harry Potter."

A flash of recognition crossed Bellatrix's face. "Ah yes, the famous charms mistress." Bellatrix mentioned nothing of her using Lily's own spell in the duel.

Lily gave her what she hoped wasn't a forced smile. "A pleasure," she received a nod from the curly haired woman.

"But really, the reason we're here is my little nephew Harry here. Kid won't shut up about you." Sirius didn't have to turn his head to know Harry was glaring a hole through his head.

Lily saw as Bellatrix's lazy gaze shifted to her teenage son. She saw the instant where the woman's uninterested eyes morphed. She saw her breath hitch, how her violet eyes widened and seemed to darken. She saw how her posture changed, how she brought a hand to her hip in an attempt to seem casual.

She saw it all, and she didn't like it one bit.

"H-Hi Miss…Lady Black. My name's Harry Potter and I'm a big fan," Harry stumbled through his words, his face red as he finally saw the woman he idolized in the flesh.

"Please, you can call me Bella," she smiled.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at that, but returned to his first priority of embarrassing Harry. "Harry's underselling it. I think he's seen every single duel you've had at least four times! Spends all day in the pensieve watching them. If you add in all the posters of you he has in his room, he's probably seen you more than you've seen yourself!"

"That's enough, Sirius." This came not from Harry but Lily, who was speaking through gritted teeth.

Sirius thought he was embarrassing Harry and creating an awkward situation. But with every word, she could see Bellatrix's eyes shine brighter, her gaze turning more and more predatory.

Harry was wishing the earth would open up and swallow him whole. Bellatrix, for her part, was now completely focused on him. "Tell me…Harry, are you a duelist yourself?"

Harry's head shot up and he nodded firmly, trying not to seem too overeager. "I practice all the time! There's no dueling club at Hogwarts right now, but I've had a few duels here and there-"

"What?" Lily asked, scandalized as her son had just unwittingly admitted to fighting unsanctioned duels at school.

"Oh!…errr..." Harry rubbed the back of his head as he realized what he'd just said.

"Go on, Harry," Bellatrix encouraged him, "I'm sure your mother won't punish you for a few schoolyard scraps,"

Lily made to correct her. She would indeed punish her son for participating in illegal duels at school. She would have said as much, but Harry spoke first.

"Well, actually," Harry looked over at his mother sheepishly, "People at school sorta…pick me as their second and then have me duel for them. I've been making Hogsmeade money off it."

Lily was horrified. Her son was a teenaged soldier of fortune!

Sirius looked as if Christmas had come early.

"How incredible. And how have you fared in these duels?" Bellatrix asked.

"I havent lost yet!" Harry told her proudly. "And last year I dueled a few sixth years!"

"Harry James Potter!" Lily admonished loudly, drawing looks from the few officials still milling about. Sirius slapped his godson on the back proudly.

"How old are you, Harry?"

"I just turned fourteen," he answered.

The dark haired woman looked contemplative. "So you've got two more years before you're on the circuit-"

"That's not certain!" Lily interjected, not liking where this was going. "He's still young, he might decide he wants to pursue something other than dueling,"

"Oh come off it Lils," Sirius barked. "This one will be first in line to register himself when he turns sixteen,"

Lily glared at Sirius once again. She really, really wanted to hurt the man right now.

Bellatrix smiled at Harry, her violet orbs locked onto his green ones. "I would love to train you. I could be your mentor."

Harry's head might as well have exploded. "Seriously?!" He asked her with unbridled glee.

Lily felt as if she was in a nightmare. Her tongue felt heavy, trying to find the words to stop this freight train.

"Wow!" Sirius exclaimed. "Did Carrow hit you with a confundus there Bella? Since when have you ever wanted to help anyone but yourself?"

Bellatrix gave her cousin a saccharine smile. Before she could speak, Lily found her voice.

"Well, I'm afraid Harry will be very busy this year at school!" She rushed out. "It's his pre-owl year, after all. I'll make sure to write you next summer, see if our schedules can align."

Bellatrix met Lily's eyes, and in that instant both women understood each other. A gauntlet had been thrown, even if Lily didn't fully understand it yet. Bella's eyes narrowed slightly, but she simply smiled back at Lily. "That will not be a problem, in fact. I've taken up the Defense Against the Dark Arts post at Hogwarts."

No!

Lily felt her world crumbling. The thought of this harpy, alone in a classroom with her son… It drove her mad.

"Woah, woah, what is going on here? You want to mentor Harry and you're going to be teaching at Hogwarts? Are you under the Imperious?" Sirius seemed genuinely concerned for his cousin.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "As if anyone could keep me under their power." She turned back to Harry, who was grinning more broadly than ever. "So, what do you say, Harry?"

"I'd love to! It'd be the most brilliant thing ever!"

Bellatrix giggled. "Now of course, that means no more duels in the hallways. You'll be under my tutelage, I expect you to behave as the handsome young scion you are,"

Harry's cheeks reddened at Bellatrix's praise.

"I'll be teaching as well," Lily interjected. "I've been hired on as the new Charms Professor."

Sirius and Harry reacted with surprise. They congratulated her, with Harry telling her she was going to be way better than McKinnon.

But Lily wasn't paying attention to them. Her eyes were locked on Bellatrix. The two women were sending each other the most murderous looks they could muster while still maintaining a neutral expression. Lily had fired a warning shot.

Ill be watching over him. You bitch. Her eyes said.

Bellatrix's mouth curled up into an evil smirk. She looked back down at the boy who she had become so instantly smitten with. Maybe going to Hogwarts wouldn't be so bad after all.