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Shifting the Balance | ||||
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Category: The Duel Challenge (2006-5) Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley Genres: General Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 9 Summary: Harry had been dealing with Draco Malfoys attacks for years, they were never really anything more than an annoyance anyway. However, all that changed when Malfoy went after his family. Now, Harry finds himself on the verge of breaking the Malfoy family once and for all. If only he can out duel his tormenter... Hitcount: Story Total: 5166 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. Author's Notes: This is the first author's challenge I've ever written. I've had the idea for this in my head for a while now but I never took the time to write it out. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Many, many thanks to Keri (who agreed to beta for me) and Jenn (who always betas for me). I've taken to not letting my fiance read my stories before I finish them so she didn't beta for me, but as always I love you Kate. |
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Tuesday August 13, 1996 The double-decker bus pulled to the curb and opened its doors. A young man with raven black hair got off and pulled the hood of his oversized sweatshirt over his head to block out the heavy rain. He removed a piece of paper from his pocket and compared it to the building address. Nodding his head once, he walked into the lobby and to the elevator. He ignored the strange looks he was getting from the men and women dressed in expensive suits as he patiently waited for the doors to open. Three floors later, the young man had reached his destination. The hallway had the slightly sterile smell that he had come to associate with hospitals and doctors’ offices. It made him shudder slightly in spite of himself. Walking down the hall, he quickly came to the office he needed. He took a deep breathe and opened the door. A middle aged receptionist sat behind a glass partition and typed on a keyboard. “Excuse me, are the Doctors Granger in?” Harry Potter asked politely. He smiled at her as she looked up at him. She tried to hide her shock at his appearance but was only partly successful. Harry stifled a sigh at her reaction. The woman blinked once and tried to school her face in a neutral expression. “Do you have an appointment?” “Er… no.” Harry mumbled. Why didn’t I think to call and make an appointment? ”Then I’m sorry.” She smiled condescendingly at him. “They won’t be able to see you; the Doctors are very busy people.” With that she pulled the glass wall closed with a quick motion. “I think I’ve been dismissed.” Harry muttered to himself before he knocked on the glass again. The woman pulled the glass open and it hit off of the stopper with a bang. “May I help you?” She asked slightly irritably. “Would you please tell the Doctors that Harry Potter is here to see them? I’m a friend of their daughter’s.” He smiled as she quickly left to track down the Grangers. Five minutes later, Harry was standing in front of the Grangers silently ringing his hands as they continued to stare at them. “Harry, what is it that you wanted to see us about?” Mrs. Granger asked nicely. She didn’t know much about this young man other than he was one of her daughter’s two best friends. He seems so nervous, it’s almost as if he’s… her thoughts trailed off and she started smiling as he began. “Mr. and Mrs. Granger, I want you to know that I care for Hermione very deeply. That’s why I’m here to talk with you today. I need to ask you something…” Harry started staring at his hands. He glanced up and noticed that Mrs. Granger was smiling slightly with a knowing look in her eye. Mr. Granger on-the-other-hand, looked like he might want to kill him. Oh boy, I think they are getting the wrong idea. He needed to straighten this out before they got the completely wrong idea. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to salvage the situation before it got out of control. “Adoption!” He suddenly shouted stunning both of the Grangers. “I want to adopt Hermione.” If he wasn’t so embarrassed at his outburst, the expressions on Hermione’s parents' faces would have caused him to laugh hysterically. “I think you better start explaining yourself, Harry.” Mr. Granger said slowly. Harry sighed; this is not how I wanted this to go. “I bet Hermione told you that I am an orphan.” they nodded. “Well, recently something happened that caused me to reach majority in the wizarding world making me the head of the Potter family.” “I am not sure if Hermione explained to you how dated the wizarding world is.” He could tell by their reactions that she hadn’t really explained it. This is going to be more difficult than I thought. “Ok, well basically, we have never progressed into modern times. If I had to guess, I would say that we are equivalent to early Victorian times, especially in the realm of family importance. What that means is, as head of the Potter family, I am roughly equivalent to a Lord.” He saw that this was a big surprise to them. “I don’t understand what this has to do with you adopting our daughter.” Mrs. Granger said after the shock wore off. Harry reached into the pouch of his sweatshirt and pulled out a book. He opened it to the middle and slid it to the Grangers. “What is this?” Mr. Granger asked. “Please just read.” Harry replied, pointing to the section entitled Adoption. As they were reading, Harry continued to speak. “As far as I can tell, the laws pertaining to old families are very archaic. This law,” he said pointing to a spot on the page three quarters of the way down, “seems very familiar to a Roman law and it allows me to offer Hermione the protection afforded to the ‘noble’ and ‘pure-blood’ families. If you agree to this, she will never again have to worry about being discriminated against.” “And why is that?” Mr. Granger was trying to remain calm but it wasn’t really working. “Because, if you agree to this, she will have the Potter name; and, more importantly, the influence that goes along with it.” He said seriously. Mrs. Granger looked slightly ill and Mr. Granger still looked very angry. “Here I thought that you wanted to ask us for permission to date her, not make her your ‘daughter’.” Harry laughed out loud at that. “You’ve got the wrong best friend. Ron and Hermione have been dancing around each other for years.” He smiled as the Grangers’ faces turned pale at the thought of their daughter and her best friend being alone at a boarding school for nine months at a time. “Although, I did just have to talk to Ginny’s parents about courting her recently.” He shuddered as he remembered that particular conversation. He really hoped this conversation proved to be less nerve-racking. A half an hour later, a very satisfied Harry Potter stood in the bright sunshine waiting to board the bus. He just prayed that his girlfriend kept everyone distracted enough to miss his disappearance. If Ginny pulled this off, I'll have to do something very special to thank her. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~ Sunday October 13, 1996 Harry was surprised how difficult the NEWT level classes he was taking were. He couldn’t believe that the school year was already more than a month old. He had been working almost non-stop and yet he felt like he was never on top of it. Thankfully, he was able to create enough free time to keep Ginny happy. Although, she was just as busy as he was. Currently, Ginny was at a transfiguration study group meeting so Harry was trying to finish his Charms assignment. He couldn’t find the information he needed for his current essay so Harry found himself walking to the tiny Charms professor’s office in hopes of a little guidance. He hoped that the professor was in his office. Harry reached the office door and knocked. Ten minutes later, Harry was on his way back to Gryffindor common room. Professor Flitwick gave Harry a book that he found very enlightening. Harry started to leaf through the book as he walked and found himself agreeing with the tiny professor. Very quickly he became absorbed in the text and was not paying attention to his surroundings. Suddenly, Harry heard a soft murmuring off to his side and felt a sharp pain in his right forearm. One of the suits of armor swung the halberd it was holding and buried it into his arm. Thankfully, the weapon was dull enough that it didn’t cut cleanly through and it was quickly withdrawn. But, it had been able to bury itself deeply enough it was necessary to go to the hospital wing. Harry could not figure out why the armor attacked him, a movement caught his eye. The armor was attacking again! Quickly, Harry drew his wand and hit the suit of armor with a bludgeoning curse. The spell was powerful enough to collapse the magic holding the armor together and it fell to the floor. Harry lowered his wand and tried to figure out what had just happened. “You should be careful where you are walking, Potter. It appears that the statues don’t like half-bloods.” A familiar voice rang from down the hall. Draco Malfoy waved his wand casually and the armor reassembled itself. Harry kept an eye on the armor as it raised its weapon to attack again. As the armor reached back with both hands on the halberd, Harry cast a nullifying charm. The suit immediately snapped back into position and was no longer a threat. “Attacking people from the shadows, Malfoy. I guess I should expect as much from a snake.” Harry replied casually. “How dare you!” Malfoy screamed. “I’ll get you…” “Don’t even bother finishing that Ferret boy. You won’t ever get me.” Harry replied confidently. “Voldemort hasn’t been able to kill me, what makes you think you can?” “Some day soon, Potter you’ll regret meddling with me. I’ll get you one way or another.” Malfoy declared hotly as he spun on his heal and stomped away. Harry watched Malfoy walk away, his wand at the ready until Draco had disappeared. He winced as he put his wand away and headed to the hospital wing. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Monday October 14, 1996 Harry, Ron and Hermione stood outside of the potions dungeon waiting for class to begin. It had been a very stressful few days because Snape assigned six rolls of parchment on ingredients that reacted explosively with each other. No one understood why the assignment had been given, but Harry had a feeling he would find out first hand. The doors opened and the students entered. A few minutes later, Snape’s desk looked like a library from a medieval monastery. Scrolls were piled three feet high on the surface, and some were even stacked on his chair. The sour look on the potion master’s face indicated that he hadn’t really thought the assignment through very well. “Today you will be making the potion on the board.” He said without any pleasantries. “If there are any screw-ups, that student will receive a ‘zero’ on the assignment and serve a detention with me!” Snape said looking directly at Harry. “Begin now!” The potion was one that even Hermione had never heard of before but it was supposed to be a very powerful stain remover. It was so strong that it was important not to allow the potion to contact skin because it left very painful burns. The instructions were really complicated and it would take the entire class to make correctly. Harry looked at Ron and sighed, they both knew they were going to receive detention today. Glancing at Hermione, they could tell she was starting to panic a bit. “Ground polar bear liver… venom from a queen bee… ok have that” she mumbled quietly to herself, “one finely chopped midnight-blooming bog flower blossom…” She franticly searched her potions kit. “I don’t have any left!” “Hermione, you need to settle down…” Ron started calmly. “But where are we going to get one at this hour?! They only appear at midnight!” She practically screamed. “Here, I have an extra one.” Ron handed her the blossom. “Oh, ok then.” She took the bloom and started chopping it. “Thanks Ron.” She smiled at him. Somehow Harry was actually able to complete the potion and get credit for it. He was stunned that the greasy bastard hadn’t sabotaged his potion. He was gathering his kit together and cleaning up at the end of class when Malfoy bumped into his right shoulder spilling the potion all over Harry’s chest. “Professor, Potter spilled my potion!” Draco whined. Instead of replying, Snape looked at Harry’s chest and smirked as it started to smoke and sizzle. “Twenty points from Gryffindor for your clumsiness Potter.” He paused a minute as Harry started to fidget. “Draco receives full credit. It’s clear that the potion was made correctly.” Harry grit his teeth in pain and frustration that Snape was allowing this to happen. He watched Draco hit him for goodness sakes! “May I go to the hospital wing?” “Class ends in five minutes, you can go then.” Snape replied, daring Harry to challenge him. Harry sat straight up in his chair with his hands folded for the next five minutes. He stared directly ahead and didn’t make a sound. He wouldn’t give Snape the satisfaction of handing out a detention today. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Tuesday October 15, 1996 Harry sat at a table in the library with Ron, Hermione and Ginny, his potion burns all but forgotten. He smiled as Ginny leaned her head onto his shoulder. Courting isn’t too bad at all. He thought to himself. In fact, after he got past the initial awkwardness of the conversation it had been a very pleasant experience. Ginny sighed softly as he took her hand. A very pleasant experience indeed. Hermione sat with a book on Ancient Runes opened in front of her and she was furiously scribbling notes for the upcoming assignment. Ron was pretending to read his Defense against the Dark Arts book, but he kept glancing at Hermione when he thought no one was looking. Suddenly, Hermione glanced at her watch and shot out of her seat causing it to fall over with a crash. “Oh no! I have to get to class.” She closed the book and rolled up her scroll. Walking briskly, she went to check the book out and then left the library. Harry and Ginny turned to watch her leave. “Mental, that one.” Ron commented as he stared at Hermione’s retreating back, and then he picked up the chair. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ No one noticed that Draco Malfoy standing near the check out desk. As soon as Madame Pince returned to shelving books, he reached over the desk and quickly copied the last page of the check-out book. I knew it! He thought victoriously as he read the page. I’ve got you this time Potter! Quickly he ran after Hermione. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~ Ten minutes later, the door to the library swung open and slammed against the wall. Ginny, who had fallen asleep on Harry’s shoulder, awoke with a startled yelp. “Hermione, what are you doing here. Don’t you have class?” Ron asked confusion evident in his voice. Ignoring the question, Hermione stalked over to Harry. She was shaking with rage and clutching a balled-up piece of parchment in her right hand. “Harry,” she growled. “What’s the meaning of this?” She thrust the crumpled paper at him and bounced it off of his forehead. Oh boy, I’m in big trouble. Harry thought absently. He had never gotten around to telling her that he had adopted her into his family. “Hermione, I can explain…” He started but she cut him off. “Oh yes, please explain to me why this… this… record…” she shook with frustration as she couldn’t even come up with the words to describe that it was. “Hermione, please, calm down.” He tried to calm her. “Why has my name changed?” She shouted at him. Harry noticed that everyone was looking at them. No one was moving to interrupt, not even Madame Pince was demanding they be quiet. In fact, she seemed more eager to hear the explanation than the students were. He resigned himself to the fact that today was not going to go well. “I… um… you see… well… it’s kind of like…” “Out with it, Potter. Or I’ll do something that you will regret.” She growled at him. “Iadoptedyou!” He quickly said. “I adopted you into my family. You’re a Potter now.” Suddenly his face started to sting. She had slapped him, hard! “How could you do this to me?” She demanded as she started to cry. “And I had to find out from Draco Malfoy! I’m so mad at you, I could just scream!” Then she turned and ran out of the library with tears in her eyes. As he watched her go, he noticed that Malfoy was smirking at him before he turned and walked out the door. That boy is really starting to try my patience. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~ Ginny followed after Hermione and caught her at the base of the stairway leading to the Ancient Runes corridor. “Hermione, we need to talk before you go to class. I know you are mad at Harry but there are some things that you need to know about what he did.” “Ginny, I know you two are dating now, and you want to help him. Right now, I’m so angry with your boyfriend…” She turned to walk up the stairs. “And to find out from Draco Malfoy… I’m just so hurt that he would do this to me. How can he ruin my life like this? I thought we were friends…” Could she be more pessimistic- I mean really he was helping her not ruining her life! It’s like she doesn’t understand our world at all. “We aren’t dating, we’re courting.” Ginny clarified somewhat irritably. “Whatever, it’s all the same.” Hermione waved her hands dismissively as the walked up the stairs together. “No, it’s not.” Ginny responded with a bit of edge in her voice. “You don’t understand some of the laws we have governing things. This world isn’t like the muggle one. Before Sirius died, he was teaching Harry what it means to be the head of the Potter family. Some of our customs are very old and the powers that the ‘old’ families can wield are enormous.” She paused briefly as she tried to figure out how to explain it to the girl. “Just do me a favor, and take a look at some of the law books in the library when you have the chance.” “I’ve already read them all.” Hermione said, unsure of where Ginny was going with this. “Just look at them again; you may even learn something new.” With that, Ginny turned and walked away leaving a confused Hermione in the hallway. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~ Ginny was walking briskly down the corridor on her way back to the library. She wanted to talk to Harry before he became too withdrawn over Hermione’s outburst. She was very proud of him over the way that he had responded to the challenge of managing the Potter affairs. He has really taken to his role as head of the household very well. Ginny thought proudly. Who would have thought he would throw himself into it fully and it would help him deal with losing Sirius. She was also really excited that they were courting each other. On his first night at the Burrow, he had approached her about her relationship with Dean. When she explained that she had made the whole thing up, he was visually relieved. She tried to press him about why he asked, but he refused to tell her why he was asking. All that he would say was he would tell her on her birthday. There was a soft knock on her door five minutes after midnight on her birthday. She had noticed Harry had been watching her most of the day before and was cautious but hopeful as to what it meant. She opened the door and was unsurprised to find Harry on the other side. “Hey Gin, I didn’t wake you did I?” He asked worriedly. “No, Harry. What’s up?” She asked curiously. “I have something very important to ask you.” “What’s that Harry?” He’s going to ask me out! He’s going to ask me out! This is the best birthday ever! She kept thinking. “I was wondering if you would consent to me asking your parents if I could begin courting you.” He asked in a formal tone. What!?! Does he even know what that means? “Harry… do… do you even know what you are asking me? You realize that we would be promised to each other, engaged to be married?” She wanted to make sure he understood what it meant. They spent the next few hours discussing exactly what Harry was asking; and, more importantly why he was asking. “I’m sure I want to do this, in fact I’m surer of this than anything else I’ve ever done. But, I didn’t want to ask your parents without speaking to you first.” Please say yes he added silently. “In that case…” She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn’t really notice that Malfoy was hiding in the shadows beside a suit of armor at the top of the stairs. As she walked past him, he cast a tripping jinx on her legs. The last thought she had before she blacked out was: Harry’s going to kill that ferret when he finds out about this. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~ Harry Potter was in a towering rage as he stormed towards the Gryffindor common room. He was on a mission, and needed the Marauder’s Map to complete it. I’m going to kill him! He’s interfered with my business for the last time! No one bothered to get in Harry’s way so he was making good progress until he heard his name being called. “Potter! Stop for a minute.” A female voice called from behind him. Without turning around, he ground out. “Greengrass, I’m not in the mood. What do you want?” “Listen, I know you’re angry with Malfoy and you have every right to be. But, you can’t kill him right now.” She stated firmly. “Watch me.” He started walking again. Her next words stopped him in his tracts. “Why just kill him, when you can humiliate him and make him become what he hates more than anything: a muggle?” “I’m listening…” Daphne reached into her bag and produced a small book. She offered it to him and he took it cautiously. Harry read the title and smiled. “Read this before dinner and I’m sure you’ll know what to do. Once you do your part, I’ll goad him into accepting the challenge.” “Why are you helping me?” He asked curiously. “Because not everyone wants to follow a madman. And you are the only one in the school who stands up to him. It’s time to bring Draco Malfoy low and teach him that some things can’t be taken by force.” Harry wisely chose to let it go. “Alright, I’ll see you at dinner. I’ve got to get back to the hospital wing.” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Harry had calmed himself enough to flip through the book that Daphne Greengrass had given him during his walk to the hospital wing. He found the section that she had been hinting about (it was hard not to, it was surrounded by a giant circle) I guess she thought Gryffindors don’t understand subtle. He thought wryly. However, as he read more and more it became clear that Greengrass had handed him a golden opportunity to eliminate Malfoy completely. Harry walked through the doors and quickly spotted Ginny who was talking to Ron while Hermione sat quietly reading a book. She’s in my bed. Madam Pomfrey has a twisted sense of humor. But, I bet she’d never let us be there together. He snorted at that thought because he really liked that idea. She looked up at him and smiled. “How are you doing, Gin?” the concern was evident in his voice. “I’m fine. Just waiting for the potion to finish healing my ankle.” She had broken it during the fall, but there was no other damage. Ron looked at his best friend, “Where were you, Harry? Dumbledore left to find you twenty minutes ago.” Dumbledore had stopped in to see Ginny and find out what happened. She explained in great detail how she saw Draco and heard him cast the jinx. Unfortunately, jinxes do not leave impressions in wands and there were no witnesses so he couldn’t discipline Draco. “I ran into someone.” Harry replied evasively. The tone in his voice indicated that they should drop the subject. Turning his attention back to Ginny, he asked anxiously. “Are you going to be able to come to dinner?” “Yeah, I’ll be free soon. Madam Pomfrey said my ankle will be good as new in about fifteen minutes.” It was clear that the potion wasn’t quite finished working as she winced a little. Harry cupped her chin and leaned in for a quick kiss. Neither Harry nor Ginny paid any attention to Ron gagging. Then he pulled a chair close to the bed and took her hand. “Harry, you shouldn’t have gone after Malfoy…” Hermione started. Without even looking at her, Harry replied. “I haven’t done anything to Malfoy.” Yet he added silently. “Why the bloody hell not?” Ron yelled. Hermione smacked him on the back of the head. “Ronald Weasley, watch your language!” She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him from the room. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ When they were in the hallway Hermione growled in frustration. “Grrgh! I don’t know what’s going on with that boy.” She ran her hands through her hair. “What’d you mean, Hermione?” Ron asked. “He keeps lying to us, Ron.” She turned on him quickly. “He says he didn’t do anything to Malfoy but we both know he wouldn’t let him harm Ginny without retaliating.” “Maybe he hasn’t done anything to Malfoy. I mean, Dumbledore did go to get him. Harry won’t attack the ferret with the headmaster is around. He isn’t that reckless.” Ron suggested reasonably. “Ron, of course he got revenge on Malfoy…” She started. “Unless…” suddenly Hermione’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Of course! How could I’ve been so stupid!?” Ron waited for her to continue. “Ron, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” She asked apprehensively. “Not bloody likely.” Ron murmured under his breath and waited for her to tell him what she was going on about. “He said he hasn’t done anything to Malfoy, not that he wasn’t going to do anything to Malfoy. I bet that’s why he was anxious to see if Ginny was going to be free in time for dinner.” She explained. “Well, then we better make sure we get a good seat. I hope he gets Malfoy good for what he did to my sister.” Ron said excitedly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation of the joint prospect of Harry getting retribution on Draco Malfoy and getting to eat again. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ When Harry and Ginny arrived in the Great Hall he caught Daphne’s eye and winked briefly at her. Then he went to sit down next to Ron and Hermione. Ron was already occupied with eating his food and it seemed like he already put away a few plates. Hermione was still not willing to talk so Harry decided he might as well enjoy dinner. About fifteen minutes later, Harry had finished his food and was just taking in the hum of the conversation going on around him. He glanced up and noticed that Malfoy was smirking at him. Smirk all you want, ferret boy. You’ll get yours soon. Harry smiled in return and Draco suddenly looked concerned. Draco’s change in expression caused Harry to laugh out loud. “What’s so funny, Harry?” Hermione demanded. Harry ignored her and looked up to the head table. He noticed that Professor Dumbledore seemed to be finished eating his desert. It’s time, Harry thought excitedly. As soon as the headmaster pushed his pudding away, Harry stood up. “Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore acknowledged the young man's tall presence curiously. Harry doesn’t normally like attention. I wonder what the boy is up to… oh boy. The aged professor was not sure exactly sure what young Mr. Potter was doing but a feeling of dread washed over him as he watched the boy. Harry stood up on his seat, raised his voice, and said, “Draco Malfoy, you have taunted me since we both started school here at Hogwarts: you have cursed me, sabotaged my schoolwork, tried to kidnap me for your master, Voldemort, and even tried to kill me on more than one occasion. But, after this afternoon’s incident, I’m not going to take it any more; my family isn’t going to take it anymore. So this ends now. I challenge you to Duel pro Prosapia Veneratio to take place at noon, this coming Saturday, on neutral Hogwarts grounds by the lake.” “Students dueling on school grounds is forbidden.” Headmaster Dumbledore said starting to raise his voice above the startled students in the Great Hall. He couldn’t stop the duel if Mr. Malfoy accepted, but he could give the boy the opportunity to escape the duel without being dishonored. “Then the open courtyard in Hogsmeade. What say you, Ferret Face?” Harry continued, staring at Malfoy. Now that the venue had been changed, the ferret could not back out without suffering the consequences. Harry smirked at the noticeably pale Malfoy heir. “I grow tired of waiting, do you accept or not?” Pansy Parkinson shouted from her seat. “You can’t challenge him to Prosapia Veneratio! You aren’t anything but a lowly half-blood!” Draco looked relieved that he didn’t have to deal with the challenge. All that changed when Harry responded. “Wrong Pansy. I’m the head of the Potter family, I have EVERY right to challenge the little snake.” “Draco,” Daphne leaned over to him, “you can’t let Potter get away with this. As head of the Malfoy family you have to accept his challenge. If you don’t, you’ll lose half of the Malfoy fortune. You have to stand up for Pure-bloods everywhere and show that uppity Half-blood that he can’t bully us.” Yeah, I lose half of my family fortune but if he beats me, I lose it all. Daphne seemed to sense his thoughts because she leaned in and said, “He can’t beat you in a duel. You’ve been using magic your entire life.” She said confidently. “I accept, Potter.” His voice squeaked noticeably as he responded. The entire Great Hall, save the Slytherins and the Potion Master, laughed at the boy. Daphne hid a grin. “Say it like you mean it, Draco. There’s no reason to be afraid of Potter.” Her voice carried across the entire room and every body laughed again. “I accept, Potter.” Draco said with much more conviction than he felt. There was nothing left to be said as the Prosapia Veneratio Duel had very strict protocols that activated when Draco accepted the challenged. Ancient magics swirled around the two duelists binding them to the duel. Harry returned to his seat and focused his attention on his attended. “That’s why you wanted to make sure I was out of the hospital wing?” Ginny asked incredulously. “No Gin, I wanted to know if you were alright. I figured if you needed to stay I could bring you food when I snuck back after dinner. But I admit, I thought you wouldn’t forgive me if you weren’t around for this. And since we are going to be together for a long time, it didn’t seem wise to anger you.” “Damn straight.” She said firmly. “Did you see his face? Oh, I hope Colin got a picture.” Ginny added laughing hysterically. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~ Hermione watched Daphne talk Draco into accepting the challenge and something felt off to her. Daphne had been pretty convincing in her arguments and it seemed like she was genuinely affronted that Harry would consider himself equal to a pure-blood. But, her tirade seemed too well argued. It was almost like she had rehearsed it beforehand. “Ron, do you smell something fishy?” She asked distractedly as her thoughts were rapidly flowing. “Hermione, what are you talking about? We had lamb for dinner, not fish.” Ron responded as he worked on his third piece of pie. “That’s not what I meant!” She yelled hotly. “Lamb for dinner, honestly! Pay attention!” The resulting argument lasted for around thirty minutes. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~ Albus Dumbledore sat at the head table deep in thought. He was trying to come up with any way possible to stop the upcoming duel between Harry and Mr. Malfoy. The only problem was, Harry had invoked the ancient duel of family honor. There was no way that he was aware of to stop the duel after the challenge had been accepted. He couldn’t even cancel the Hogsmeade weekend. The magic involving the duel was very powerful and would transport the participants to the specified area. The duel ended when one participant was incapacitated or surrendered, but until that happened neither person was able to leave the designated dueling ground. To make matters worse, the only magic prohibited in the dueling circle was the use of the Unforgivables. So it was conceivable that the duelists could die in the duel. How did Harry even find out about the Prosapia Veneratio Duel? Dumbledore wondered to himself. I removed all of the books pertaining to formalized dueling and family honor rights precisely so this couldn’t happen! He was lost in thought until well after the last student left the dining hall. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Friday October 18, 1996 Harry and Ginny entered the Gryffindor common room after a successful visit to the kitchens. They were talking softly and just enjoying each other’s company without all of the external distractions that been taking up so much of their time recently. “Harry, if I knew beforehand you dueling Malfoy could get us out of homework, I’d of had you duel him every weekend.” Ginny said merrily. The teachers had not assigned any homework over the weekend due to the unique magical display that they would witness tomorrow. “Tell me about it,” Harry replied. “Not even Snape assigned anything.” In fact, the potions master seemed to be looking forward to the duel more than anyone. Probably thinks that ferret can beat me and I’ll be left penniless. Neither of them noticed that Hermione was sitting by the fireplace watching Harry closely. “Harry…” she called softly. “I need to speak with you.” Harry resigned himself to the inevitable and started to walk over to the couch. “I’ll leave you two alone.” Ginny said and started to walk to the staircase. Hermione stopped her. “Ginny, you need to hear this as well. Especially since you’ll be my ‘mum’.” She said with a bit of edge in her voice. Turning her attention to Harry, she asked one question. “Why, Harry?” The pain was still evident in her voice, three days after she was told and it caused Harry to wince. “Hermione, you are a brilliant witch, probably one of the smartest witches ever to go to Hogwarts; but you would have never been more than a low-level employee in the wizarding world.” He glanced up to the ceiling. “The laws that are in place are archaic and would have prevented you from going anywhere because you are a muggle-born. You are so much better than this world would have let you be; and you want so much more out of life than the wizarding world had to offer a muggle-born.” He paused for a minute then looked her in the eye. “I love you like a sister, Hermione. And I can’t stand to see you unhappy. I know you hate what I did; but you have to believe me, I did it for you.” Hermione was moved by his pleading tone, but she wasn’t going to let it go just yet. “Harry,” she started, her voice thick with emotion. “I know you meant well, but what I can’t understand is why you hid it from me. I had to find out from Malfoy that I can’t get married or take a job or move or buy a house or any other of those kinds of decisions without your consent. Why didn’t you just tell me?” “Hermione, I would never stop you from doing whatever makes you happy. I hate that I have to give you permission to do anything, but since it now opens the whole world to you, I would do it again. As for telling you, your parents asked to be the ones to tell you about it. Didn’t you read that letter they sent?” He asked curiously. Hermione suddenly felt very sheepish. She had forgotten all about the letter! She blushed at her mistake, but Harry had the good sense enough not to laugh. “I’m still not ready to forgive you for letting me find out from Malfoy. But I understand why you did it. I’ll leave you two alone now. Good luck tomorrow.” She got up and walked to the stairs. “Hermione, wait…” Harry called out before she could leave the room. He walked over to her and asked, “Are we ok?” The worry in his voice was evident. She looked at him for a moment before she replied. “No, but we will be.” That wasn’t what he wanted to hear, and she knew it. In an offer of peace she added. “Dad.” Harry jerked at that a little. “I was hoping for brother.” “Hmm, brother huh? I guess I can live with that.” She hugged him and he started to smile. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Saturday October 19, 2006 The open courtyard had been transformed into a dueling arena complete with amphitheater seating over the course of the past three days. The arena itself was nothing more than a large circular area marked by a white outline and which was split into four quadrants. The outer part of the circle formed a barrier that remained in place until one of the duelists lost the duel. Movement was allowed throughout the circle, but the duelists could not occupy the same quadrant for more than 30 seconds. This was to reduce the use of weapons such as knives or swords. The Prosapia Veneratio was established in a time where men carried swords and other bladed weapons as a way to settle insults without killing the participants. Hundreds of people from all over the British Isles had arrived in Hogsmeade the previous evening, eager for the show. A Prosapia Veneratio duel hadn’t occurred in over five hundred years and the public was noticeably excited. The Minister himself was said to have commandeered the entire first row of seats for visiting dignitaries to witness the spectacle. Harry was just waiting for it to be noon so he could be finished with the duel. Once the duel began, he would be able to calm down. He wasn’t worried per se, just nervous. His nerves always seemed to act up before big events and this was no different. He had felt the pull of the ancient magic for the past hour and was currently walking towards the dueling arena with Ginny beside him. “You’ll beat the pants off of him, Harry.” Ginny said with confidence. “This is an honor duel and we both know he has none of that.” Harry started to laugh. “I have to go take care of this. Ron said he would save you a seat.” He snuck a kiss for good luck and then walked to the dueling circle. He was mentally preparing himself as he stood at one end of the circle. Professor Dumbledore approached him from behind. “Harry, I’m disappointed in you that you let it come to this.” Without looking at the man, Harry responded. “Sir, you let it come to this. Had you even once taken action against Malfoy this would not be necessary. However you let him run wild in your school, and for what? To ‘redeem’ him? Some people can’t be redeemed, Sir.” Harry declared derisively. “He has tried to sabotage me, curse me and even kill me for six years. SIX YEARS. And yet you have done nothing.” “Why do you choose to fight him now? After all this time, why now?” The headmaster asked curiously. “Because he went after my family this time. I’m willing to put up with a lot of things, but no one is going to take my family away from me. I’ve already lost one family. I’ll not let anyone take this one from me!” His eyes glowed with an intensity that the headmaster had never seen before from the boy. “Some times you have to fight.” Albus Dumbledore had the answers he sought. Harry was willing to battle and possibly lose everything he had to protect his family. He still didn’t approve of the method that Harry had chosen to deal with young Mr. Malfoy; but, there was nothing he could do to stop it. He felt a little better now that he knew Harry’s reasons; nevertheless he believed the boy was wrong. Harry never noticed that the headmaster had left him; he was busy calming himself and pulling his magic. At the other end of the circle Draco appeared with a ‘pop.’ He seemed genuinely surprised that he was there. There’s no escaping the magic, ferret boy. Harry thought silently. Professor Flitwick stood in the middle of the ring and magically enhanced his voice. “Now that both duelists are here, we can start.” A cheer rose throughout the crowd. Flitwick turned to each of the two boys. “Gentlemen, the Prosapia Veneratio duel is not like other duels. This is a duel to protect family honor and as such must be fought honorably you have both been previously informed as to what that means. The loser of the duel will forfeit his family’s assets to the winner. Gringotts Wizarding Bank representatives are in attendance to carry out the asset transactions. Do you both swear on your magic to accept these terms?” “I swear on my magic to abide by the outcome of the duel.” Harry stated firmly and his magic flared around him in acceptance of his vow. Draco seemed reluctant to swear to anything; but if he didn’t he would forfeit the duel and lose the Malfoy fortune anyway. “I swear on my magic.” Draco’s magic also flared, but much less brightly than Harry’s. “The duelists have sworn to abide by the rules and customs of Duel pro Prosapia Veneratio. The duel will commence as soon as I clear the arena.” The crowd went wild at the tiny professor’s declaration. “You ready for this, Malfoy?” Harry shouted across the field. ‘You…you’ll get yours Scarhead.” Malfoy shouted back. We shall see. Harry thought as he watched the professor clear the dueling circle. As soon as the man was clear, Harry launched his attack. Ultimately, Draco didn’t stand a chance against Harry’s relentless barrage of spells. After five minutes Draco was suspended upside down and Harry was holding the boys wand. Harry calmly walked up to the immobile boy and placed his wand to Draco’s temple. “Do you yield?” Draco Malfoy, head of the Malfoy family and the controller of its vast fortune had been reduced to nothing. He had no choice to surrender and he knew it. He looked at Harry Potter, his nemesis, with hate smoldering in his grey eyes. “I yield.” He ground out through clenched teeth. With that, the spells ended and the barrier collapsed back into the ground. Harry stepped away from Draco and tossed the boy his wand. He then turned towards the stands and was tackled by a redheaded blur. “I knew you could do it, Harry!” Ginny said then kissed him hard. When the broke the kiss, he turned to walk over to the Gringotts goblins. Unfortunately, no one was paying attention to Draco Malfoy who still hadn’t moved. Suddenly, his wand arm flew up and pointed at Harry. “I hate you, Potter. I’ll see you dead! AVADA KEDAVRA!” Everyone screamed as Draco used an unforgivable curse in front of hundreds of witnesses. Harry pushed Ginny out of the way and turned to stare at the sickly green light flying towards him. Suddenly the four quadrants of the dueling ring flared and the light was drawn to the center point. “YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE DUELING RULES!” A disembodied voice boomed across the town of Hogsmeade. “YOU HAVE BROKEN YOUR OATH TO DUEL HONORABLY.” The wand in Draco’s hand started to smolder as a bright light shot out of the tip and into the air. “YOUR MAGIC IS FORFEIT!” The audience members stared in awe as the light continued to pour out of the wand. Draco was screaming in agony as his magic separated itself from his body. Slowly the light started to fade as the last of the boy’s magic was removed. Draco Malfoy shuddered one last time and then collapsed to the ground. The Malfoy family line, one of the oldest and purest wizarding bloodlines, was no more. |
| Reviews 9 |
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