Dueling Hearts Ch. 23 (Patreon)

Tuesday arrived, and Harry was very excited. Today, he was about to participate in his first ever sanctioned duel, in front of hundreds of his peers.

The dueling tournament had a very simple setup. It was a round-robin, with each duelist facing off against the four opponents from the other schools until everyone had faced everyone. It was one duel per date, and the four tournament dates were spread out so that the final round of duels would occur around mid-march. There was a points system, with three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. At the end, the person with the most points would be crowned the winner, while the school with the most cumulative points would win the overall event.

Harry didn't know what would happen if two people tied on points. He assumed there'd be a final duel to settle things, but nothing was certain. The points system itself had been hastily explained to them by Percy Weasley the night before, and Harry got the distinct feeling that there was a lot of 'making it up as you go along' going on with this tournament.

With all the events, really. Just yesterday, Bagman had announced that quidditch players had to conform to their assigned position and any deviation would be punished. They also barred anyone but the seeker from catching the snitch, meaning that the twin-seeker strategy had been nipped in the bud. Though it also opened up a whole other can of worms. Would Seekers be able to run interference with Chasers? Or Chasers try to distract or redirect seekers or beaters? Those were both firmly established tactics that now seemed to have been swept away in this blind crusade to get rid of the second seeker.

"Are you nervous, Potter? This isn't a little schoolyard brawl." Michael Corner asked as he passed by the Gryffindor table.

Harry snorted, raising an eyebrow as he looked directly at Michael. "Don't worry, Corner, if I lose, I promise I'll take my frustrations out on you."

Michael gave him the two-finger salute. "Fuck you, Potter. Can't wait for you to get what's coming to you."

Harry returned the gesture as the boy walked off.

"He's still mad that you kicked his ass last year?" Daphne asked.

Harry had embarrassed Michael after the other boy had arrogantly challenged him to a duel. Well, he'd challenged Ron to a duel after accusing him of cheating at chess, Ron had tapped Harry and Harry had wiped the floor with Michael. To make matters worse, he'd beaten Michael in front of Padma Patil, his crush, leaving a bitter Ravenclaw that hated Harry with everything he had.

"Hey, Neville, where have you been?" Hermione asked as the pudgy boy approached the Gryffindor table.

"Haven't seen you since… since Hogsmeade." Blaise added as the friend group all turned to him.

Harry noticed that instead of robes, Neville was wearing a gray jumpsuit with a white shirt underneath.

"Hey guys, I err… wanted to tell you before everyone else found out."

"What happened, Neville. Did you get caught sneaking out to Diagon Alley?" Ginny asked.

He shook his head. "I went to Ollivanders, like you guys suggested, but none of his wands would work for me."

"Oooh, did he have to make a super special secret wand for you?" Tracey asked excitedly.

"Did you know the ministry places surveillance spells on all our wands?" Luna said conspiratorially.

Hermione glared at her girlfriend. "We all know that Luna, it's called the trace."

"Actually, Ollivander did a full check-up on me and Uncle Aggie's wand." Neville said with a sad smile. "Apparently, I'm a squib."

The group gasped. "But you can do magic!" Exclaimed Daphne.

Hermione took over before Neville could explain. "Being a squib is like being legally blind, Daph. While most of them have no magic, there are some that have miniscule amounts, enough to let out sparks from a wand and stuff like that."

Neville nodded along. "Apparently, Uncle Aggie's wand was working extra hard to squeeze as much magic as it could out of me. But Ollivander said it was on the verge of burning itself out."

Harry whistled. "So what happens now?"

Neville's smile became even more strained. "Professor Dumbledore said I could stay at Hogwarts, but the only class I'll be taking is Herbology. The rest of the time, I'll be Mr. Filch's assistant."

"Oh." The group cringed at the news. As if on cue, Filch stalked over to them, fixing Neville with a cruel smile. "Come on, assistant, stop dilly dallying! I've gotta show you the ropes! The ropes I use to hang students by their ankles, whenever the Headmaster finally allows me to!"

Neville gulped, waving at the group once more before he walked off with the caretaker.

"Damn, wouldn't it be better to just live as a muggle at that point?" Tracey said as they continued to watch Neville's defeated form.

…

The Great Hall had been transformed. The tables had been cleared out and stands had been placed around the walls. In the center, there was a professional looking dueling pit, the protective barriers glinting and warbling with magic.

All three schools were here, along with the usual Ministry officials.

"I hope this can show those idiots that dueling is the superior sport." Bella said under her breath as she stood behind Harry and Angelina.

"As opposed to Quidditch?" Angelina asked.

"Exactly that." Bella grinned, not picking up on Angelina's sarcasm.

"Welcome! To the opening round of the inter-school dueling tournament!" Ludo said jovially.

"That man has no right to be presenting dueling." Bella hissed.

"Names have been drawn at random, and the duels are set up, but before we commence, I would like to announce a few changes to the rules that the organizers hope will make the proceedings all the more exciting!"

"What?" Bella shrieked, looking like she might actually run off and start bludgeoning Bagman with a conjured beater's bat. "Why were we not informed?!"

A glimpse at Snape and Madame Maxine's faces let Harry know that whatever this rules change was, they were fully aware.

Ludo cleared his throat, ignoring Bellatrix as he soldiered on. "The list of banned substances and items will be stricken completely. All restrictions on exogenous or unnatural magics have been lifted."

Harry and Angelina shared worried looks. Their opponents certainly did not appear surprised by the news, leaving them at a rather steep disadvantage.

Harry was aware of banned substances in dueling. Every few years, some low level duelist was banned after being caught taking a Wiggenweld potion. Though for some reason, pre-match Pepper-ups were allowed and had almost become a requirement. To be honest, Harry wasn't really sure how he felt about the whole thing. On the one hand, he despised anyone who held an unfair advantage over their opponent. On the other, a small part of him told him that it was a much broader issue than what he thought.

What he was certain of was that this was bullshit. It was clear the other schools had known, and he shot Fleur a betrayed look. He'd given her Daphne's panties just yesterday, and he'd eaten her ass and pussy for quite a while. The fact that she decided not to tell him in all that time hurt.

A glance at her showed she was equally as surprised as him. Harry would have thought it an act, but the questioning glances she kept shooting Snape and Krum convinced Harry that she had genuinely not been informed.

It made sense, Fleur's advantage didn't need any prior preparation, and Snape either knew or suspected she would tell Harry if she found out.

"Now, when I call your name, please step down onto the pit!" Ludo said hastily as he pulled out a slip of paper. "Harry Potter!"

Harry smiled back at Bella, who looked like she was feeling all the nerves for him as she squeezed his shoulders and gave him a nod of encouragement. Angelina looked much more assured, sending him off with a winning smile and a sharp slap on the butt.

"Samir Nasri!" The Beauxbatons teen with the thick beard stepped up, swaggering confidently as he made his way down to the pit.

The two teens walked down both sides of a long aisle as they were surrounded by the massive crowd of their peers. Harry saw his group and waved. Lily and Daphne were holding up a banner that read 'TEAM POTTER' while Luna, Tracey, Ginny, Hermione and Blaise led a cheer for him. The rest of Hogwarts began to join in on it gradually, with only Malfoy's gang sitting on their hands defiantly.

Harry grinned as everyone chanted his name. It was his first time experiencing the roar of a crowd, and he couldn't help but bask in it. He could see himself becoming addicted to adulation rather quickly.

Right before they stepped down onto the pit, his opponent Nasri shot him an arrogant smirk. The french teen reached into his robe and pulled out three small, stoppered vials.

Harry stared, refusing to let any emotion show on his face as his opponent popped the cork on the first bottle and began to chug the potion contained within.

"Now, for full transparency as well as to ensure the safety of all participants, they have been required to disclose any and all outside enhancements. Mr. Nasri from Beauxbatons is consuming an Edurus potion. He will also consume Focus and Wiggenweld potions prior to the duel."

Harry looked on impassively as a thin, rocky film formed over his opponent's skin. He chugged the next two, and Harry could visibly see their effects take hold as his opponent began to hop around, a gleeful look on his face.

A hush fell over the Great Hall as his schoolmates began to doubt Harry's chances. Only his friends continued chanting their support, and Harry was filled with a new emotion.

Indignation.

They seriously believed some french fuck hopped up on potions could beat him?

Harry felt an all-encompassing drive to prove them wrong. To show them he was on a completely different level from this buffoon. He'd spent months getting his ass handed to him by Bellatrix. He'd defeated Fleur. Some Beauxbatons student high off stimulants shouldn't be in the same arena as him.

Harry was going to show them all. He saw Rita Skeeter amongst the spectators, and he sent her a glare before he stepped down onto the arena.

He had something to prove.

They stood on opposite ends and were instructed to bow. Harry was staring at his opponent, who was trying to intimidate him, but Harry was looking right through him. He had already dismantled him before the first bell had sounded.

The timer above their heads ran down, a deep gong sounded and they sprung into action.

Nasri went on the immediate offensive, shooting off three powerful blasting curses in succession. They flew faster and looked denser than a normal spell, and many cringed instinctively, knowing that if they struck true, Harry would be spending a lot of time in the infirmary.

Harry dodged out of the way of two of them and conjured a stone slab to block the third. The slab exploded upon impact, and Harry vanished the resulting pebbles at his opponent.

Nasri snorted, not even bothering to evade as he let the little bits of stone crash harmlessly against his magically reinforced skin. He conjured a spike and sent it spiraling towards Harry, who instead of diving away just leaned his head slightly to the right, allowing it to crash harmlessly against the barrier behind him.

"Oooh! What a risky move from Mr. Potter! But it's worked out for him!" Ludo yelled on commentary.

Bellatrix tisked. "Nothing risky about it, you fucking idiot."

Angelina tended to disagree, but she wouldn't tell Bella that. Bellatrix was biting her nails as she watched the duel progress.

Harry shot a spout of flame towards Nasri, who immediately responded with a blast of water that snuffed out the flames, resulting in a rush of steam that instantly filled the arena.

"Not so fast, Eeengleshman." Nasri said as he conjured a gust of wind that quickly blew through the steam.

The moment he caught a glimpse of Harry standing slightly to the right of where he'd been before, he fired off a piercing hex with a bludgeoning curse hot on its tail.

The English boy had made a mistake by creating that steam. At the speeds those spells traveled, they'd be halfway to him by the time the mist cleared enough for him to see them coming. By then, he would not have enough time to dodge, only to shield. The piercing hex would break through his shield, and then the bludgeoning curse would slide in unopposed.

He was right about one thing, Harry only saw the spells coming when they were already halfway to him. But he didn't need to see the spells, he'd known exactly what his opponent was going to do the moment that steam was formed.

Harry shot his own wooden spike from his wand, which collided with the piercing hex and exploded on impact. The bludgeoning curse sailed onward, and Nasri looked triumphant as the spell was much too close for Harry to evade it.

And then suddenly, Harry wasn't there. In his place stood a mirror.

"AMAZING! It seems that Mr. Potter has used some sort of… spell to switch places with a mirror that he must have conjured when he was shrouded in steam!"

"It's called a switching spell, you fucking buffoon!" Lily shouted angrily from the stands, receiving surprised looks from everyone nearby and a proud smile from Bellatrix, who'd managed to hear it all the way on the opposite end of the hall.

Nasri's eyes widened in shock as his own spell bounced off the mirror, returning to him with its speed doubled.

Time slowed down, but he knew that even with his enhancements, he would not be able to dodge this.

The focus potion helped him think things through logically, though. With his reinforced skin, he would be able to withstand the blast. He would be messed up, but if he just braced for impact, he'd be able to stay upright long enough to fire off a return volley. He just needed to cast a quick flurry, enough for him to get back off the floor before his opponent could capitalize.

"Accio!"

Nasri's eyes darted to the side of the arena, where the english boy had cast a summoning charm at him.

How stupid could he be? Summoning charms didn't work on other magicals, everyone knew that. And dueling robes were charmed against such a thing.

He felt a tug on his chest all the same. Panic flooded through him as he looked down. One of the pebbles the other boy had vanished, the ones he hadn't even bothered to dodge, had become lodged in one of the junctures where the plates of his armour connected.

And now it was under a powerful summoning charm, and he felt immense pain as the weak point in his rocky skin was exploited.

The pebble finally tore out of it's prison, taking a thin layer of stone plating along with it as it ripped a hole through his clavicle, exposing bruised and sensitive flesh.

Nasri didn't even look up as the bludgeoning curse hit him dead on, sending him flying into the barrier, where he crashed lifelessly.

There was a moment of absolute silence before an immense cheer went off in the Great Hall.

Harry grinned from ear to ear as Madam Pompfrey, along with two other healers, ran in to check on the Beauxbatons boy.

Harry could hear Pompfrey curse up a storm, talking about 'barbaric sports' and the like, but mostly he was just basking in the adulation. He had his arms raised up high. Everyone was clapping and shouting his name. Harry gave a bow before he made his way out of the dueling pit.

He found his girls in the crowd and smiled happily at them. Lily and Daphne were hugging, with Tracey and Ginny dancing giddily as they held up his banner.

He hadn't expected this type of reaction, but he had won in spectacular fashion against very bad odds.

Angelina ruffled his hair when he returned to them. "That was fucking brilliant!" She said as she pulled him into a hug.

When she let him go, he stepped up to Bellatrix, and he instantly recognized the look in her eyes. He knew that was holding back from jumping his bones in front of the entire Great Hall.

She pulled him in for a hug, with only an awareness of Rita Skeeter's presence keeping her from squeezing his ass.

Harry squeezed her back hard. Over her shoulder, he caught a glimpse of Fleur, who seemed to be fighting back a smile of her own.

"Don't get too cocky on me. This is just the beginning." Bella whispered into his ear.

Harry grinned. "I can't promise I won't get a little cocky."

He could feel Bella's smile grow. "I'll have to tug on that leash."

The commotion finally died down, and Bagman cleared his throat to announce the next duel.

"Next duel will begin now! First, we have Fleur Delacour!"

Fleur stepped up, and the room instantly quieted down as her anti-allure was in full effect, forcing people to look away. Murmurs of conversation even began as people became disinterested in the duel, though Harry did see Daphne glaring hatefully down at her, which made him cringe a little bit. He still hadn't been able to divine a way to get Daphne and Fleur on the same page. If he wanted to make the coven whole, he'd really need to come up with something solid.

Thinking about the coven after basking in the glory of his first official win as a duelist brought up a question that he'd been pondering over these past few days. How was he supposed to become a professional duelist if he took part in a ritual that would most certainly greatly enhance his performance?

He glanced at Bella, but she looked so happy beside him, he didn't want to ruin the moment. So he decided he'd just ask after the duels were over.

"Her opponent, Marie Devereux!"

The Beauxbatons girl stepped up as well.

The duel was an interesting one. For one, Fleur refused to use her tattoos at all. Harry could see that her Headmaster did not approve, as Snape continued to shoot her sour looks and sneers as the duel stretched on and she didn't use her advantage.

Devereux was… competent. She didn't chug down a cocktail of potions like her male counterpart had, but she was wily and resourceful.

Fleur surprised Harry, though. She was much improved from their own duel. It seemed that she'd taken her loss to heart and focused on improving her fundamentals. She showed a strategic and creative mind that hadn't been there in their fight, making Harry wonder whether she'd improved that much in such a short amount of time or if her state of mind had blinded her last time.

Fleur dominated and eventually won her duel after catching Devereux in a body-bind. She stepped out of the pit satisfied, even as no one cheered for her and her own Headmaster was left fuming.

"Wish me luck." Angelina said as it was her turn. She was facing Krum, the other Durmstrang duelist and a complete enigma to Harry. He knew he was a professional Quidditch player, the best seeker in the world according to many, but Harry had no clue where the boy stood skill-wise.

Krum pulled a vial out from his cloak. He glanced over at Snape, who's eyes narrowed as Krum shook his head, letting the vial fall to the floor.

The Durmstrang Headmaster was apoplectic, and he seemed to pin all the blame on Fleur, who ignored his hateful looks. Harry had a newfound respect for Krum, who refused to gain an unfair advantage over his opponent.

He felt nervous for Angelina, but she'd trained with them all the same, and he knew she was more than capable.

What proceeded was the most even duel so far. Krum and Angelina were both the same type of duelists: powerhouses with a serious amount of energy and output, though lacking in finesse.

Bellatrix had trained Angelina up to lean into those strengths, and they shone through as her spells shook the entire arena whenever they splashed against the shields. Angie's agility helped her evade Krums' onslaught, while the bulgarian boy practically stood in place, alternating curses and a constant stream of conjured stone to block Angelina's attacks.

"That's really unorthodox." Harry commented on Krum's approach. He'd never seen someone take conjured shielding to this extreme.

"It will come back to bite him." Bellatrix said. "He can't keep that pace up, plus he's giving Angelina material to work with."

And indeed, after firing off a blasting curse, Angelina waved her wand in a circle, kicking up a dust storm with all the debris Krum had created.

Krum was not bothered by it, he let off a powerful discharge from his wand that short-circuited Angelina's storm, sending all of the debris flying in every direction.

Angie had to dodge debris and curses as Krum fired on her, and her cat-like reflexes where on full display. She managed to sneak in curses here and there, which Krum was able to side step, until he wasn't.

An expelliarmus sent Krum's wand flying from his grip towards Angelina.

But at the same time, one of Krum's spells had clipped Angelina on the shoulder. The girl had yelped in pain as her body twisted onto the path of Krum's own expelliarmus, which hit her dead on and sent her wand the opposite way.

"It's a tie! Both Mr. Krum and Ms. Johnson have disarmed the other!"

People didn't know how to react, but Harry immediately began to cheer for Angie. She'd done very well, especially for someone who'd only been dueling since September.

Angelina walked back looking frustrated, but Harry and Bella both wrapped her up in a hug.

"By your next duel, you'll be mopping the floor with the likes of him." Bellatrix assured her. And she wasn't just saying that. While Harry was a blue chipper, Angelina had the makings of a top ten duelist herself, if she could just wean the girl off the damn Quidditch.

The stands began to empty as everyone left the Great Hall. Harry and Angelina's friends were making their way over. Harry shared a secret smile with Fleur as she made to leave.

Harry caught sight of Snape, who glowered at him. Harry didn't let his smile waver at all has he stared back at the greasy haired man.

Bellatrix caught the exchange as well, and she couldn't help herself. "It must hurt, Snivellus, knowing not even your students can bear to be around you."

Everyone around them quieted down at that. Harry's friends had arrived, and many of the people that had been heading out of the Great Hall stopped to listen in.

Snape's glare snapped over to Bellatrix, who smiled smugly back at him. Lily, who had been holding Daphne's hand, squeezed it subconsciously as she backed up from the incoming confrontation.

"I wonder if that brat would want to be around you, Black," Snape spat with a vicious glint in his dark, beady eyes. "If he knew the truth."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Harry growled, tired of the man's shit and not caring one bit about decorum at the moment.

Harry didn't see Bellatrix's face pale, but he did see Snape's sneer turn even more malicious.

"You truly are as clueless as your idiot father." Snape said. This inflamed Lily, who's rage slowly began building.

Snape continued on. "Why do you think we're getting these rule changes? Why do you think your precious mentor is even here at Hogwarts at all when she despises teaching worthless brats?" Snape seemed to relish in Harry's confused expression. "Your mentor got caught out, Potter. She was dirty, and she's serving out her suspension in this nursery."

You could hear a pin drop as everyone's eyes turned to Bellatrix, who stood rooted to the spot. The usually supremely self-assured witch looked shaken to her core as she looked fearfully at Harry.

Harry took one look at Bella's face, and no words needed to be exchanged. Harry turned heel and left immediately amongst the stunned silence. For the first time in her life, Bellatrix Black felt devastated.

Severus Snape's triumph was short-lived. A fist collided with his nose and he fell to the floor as Lily Potter stood over him, a look of righteous anger on her face.

Snape's fall sprung everyone into action, as people rushed to pull Lily away and a pair of Durmstrang boys helped a bleeding Snape back onto his feet.