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Quickly and Quietly | ||||
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Category: The Duel Challenge (2006-5) Characters:None Genres: General Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 8 Summary: Harry challenges Draco to a duel, but his real adversaries are the teachers who are trying to stop it. Hitcount: Story Total: 4361 Disclaimer: Rowling, not me. Author's Notes: This is a sixth-year fic which does not follow HBP canon completely. Indeed, it takes place right after my challenge fic from a year ago, "Curses in October." |
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Quickly and Quietly Fourth week of October 1996 The sun was setting, and it was dinnertime at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But it was eerily silent in the Great Hall. The students ate in silence, as did the teachers. No one wanted to talk about anything, especially not the terrible incident that had occurred earlier in the day. It was supposed to be a Hogsmeade weekend, a time of fun and pleasure for all. But it was cut short when a group of Death Eaters attacked the village. Although no students had been harmed, it was definitely a terrifying experience. The threat ended when Harry Potter used the Levicorpus spell against Malfoy, who had been attacking his fellow Gryffindors Dean Thomas and Ginny Weasley, both of whom suffered minor injuries and were now in the hospital wing. But Harry was still upset about the whole ordeal. For some reason, he felt that this time, the Slytherin had gone too far. He thought that he’d let Malfoy off a little too easily with the Levicorpus spell. If it hadn’t been for the arrival of Aurors, Harry might have fought Malfoy. As he stared across to the Slytherin table, he was wondering how he could settle the matter once and for all. It was a few months into Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts. He knew the routine of the evening meal and waited for the right moment. As soon as the headmaster pushed his pudding away, Harry stood up. “Mr. Potter?” Dumbledore acknowledged the young man's tall presence in a sea of sitting students. Harry stood up on his seat, raised his voice, and said, “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. After this afternoon’s incident, this ends now. I challenge you to a duel 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. “Then the open courtyard in Hogsmeade. What say you, Ferret Face?” Harry continued, staring at Malfoy. “No way!” the Slytherin protested. “Why not?” Harry asked angrily. “You’re not a coward, are you? I remember the time you challenged me to a duel,” he said, referring to an incident nearly five years earlier, “and you didn’t even bother to show up.” “I’m no coward,” Malfoy retorted. “Fine then. See you on Saturday.” “Five points from Gryffindor and Slytherin,” Dumbledore intervened. “And, believe me, you will lose many more points, a much worse punishment for anyone who is caught dueling or leaving the grounds. Now, as the hour is rather late, I suggest that you all return to your dormitories at this time.” And so Harry, Malfoy, and the other students followed suit, most of them now murmuring to each other about the upcoming duel. Once they reached the Gryffindor common room, his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had their own opinions of Harry’s bravado. “Way to go!” Ron congratulated Harry. “First you use Levicorpus against Malfoy, and now you’re going to duel him for good.” “That was a stupid idea, Harry trying to duel Malfoy,” Hermione scolded him. “Didn’t you see what he did to my sister and Dean?” Ron asked her. “He deserves it.” “So?” Hermione replied. “You heard what Dumbledore said. Dueling is forbidden.” Ron shook his head at Harry. “Could she be more pessimistic? I mean what are the odds that Dumbledore will actually catch us dueling?” Harry sighed. He knew that Ron and Hermione were beginning yet another of their infamous rows, and he still hadn’t recovered from their last argument, which lasted for weeks. “Don’t go!” Hermione urged Harry. “He has to go,” Ron insisted. “Harry told Malfoy to show up or everyone will think that he’s a coward. So if Harry doesn’t go, everyone will think that Harry’s the coward.” “But not only did Dumbledore hear the exact day, time, and location of the proposed duel,” Hermione pointed out, “but so did every single teacher in this school. Don’t you think that some teacher will guard the open courtyard in Hogsmeade at noon on Saturday in order to make sure the duel doesn’t take place? What if Professor Snape is there?” “I guess you’re right,” Harry conceded. “But we can’t just let Malfoy go Scot-free.” “I know,” Hermione nodded. “Let me sleep on it. I’ll think of something.” “You’d better,” said Ron. “Saturday’s only six days away.” But the next few days passed, and Hermione had yet to come up with any ideas as how Harry could avoid being caught by the teachers and still save face. The continued whispers among the other students about the duel was a bit annoying to Harry. He could already imagine what his fellow Gryffindors would say if Harry failed to show up to the duel, but then again, he could imagine what they’d say if he cost Gryffindor a hundred or more points. Wednesday arrived, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed for Transfiguration. Like most sixth year classes, Professor McGonagall’s class consisted of all students who passed the Transfiguration O.W.L. with a grade of “E” or better, regardless of house. This meant that some of the Slytherins, including Malfoy, were present. As the students were working on conjuring birds, Hermione had an announcement to make. “Harry, Malfoy,” she said. “Meet me in the Room of Requirement tonight at seven o’clock. I’ll discuss the terms there.” “The Room of Requirement?” asked Malfoy unknowingly. “What the heck is that?” “A certain room on the seventh floor opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy,” Hermione explained. “I know you know where that is, since you caught us having D.A. meetings there six months ago.” “Oh yeah,” Malfoy sniggered, obviously finding pleasure in his success as a member of the Inquisitorial Squad the previous school term. “This had better not be some sort of trick, Mudblood.” “You are not discussing a duel or anything of the sort, are you?” asked Professor McGonagall suddenly. “No, professor,” Ron lied. “I sincerely hope not,” McGonagall continued. “Meet me there!” Hermione mouthed silently before returning to their Transfiguration work. Harry was glad that his friend had finally come up with an idea. And so, after the evening meal, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived at the Room of Requirement, where they met up with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. This time, the Room of Requirement appeared as an empty room save a round table and six chairs. The three Gryffindors sat on one side with the three Slytherins seated on the other. “Speak, mudblood,” Draco addressed Hermione. “Tell us how we can work the duel around the Headmaster’s disapproval.” “Well, it should be obvious, even to a pureblood,” she emphasized the last word sarcastically, “that since all the teachers will be watching in the day, the best time to have the duel is at night.” “A midnight duel!” Malfoy’s eyes lit up. “Everyone will be asleep, so both Potter and I can easily sneak about the castle and --” Hermione frowned. “You won’t be able to sneak out the castle because of midnight Astronomy class. So you’ll have to have it a little later than midnight.” “Guess again, mudblood. There’s no midnight Astronomy on Saturdays.” “There will be midnight Astronomy this Saturday,” Hermione pointed out. “This Saturday is the full moon, and you know how Professor Sinistra has a special viewing party every time there happens to be a full moon on the weekend.” “Fine then,” Ron said hurriedly. “The duel will be at one o’clock in the morning. Now let’s go on to the good stuff, such as what spells Harry and Malfoy will be allowed to use.” “First both parties must agree on the location,” Hermione continued. “I already proposed the open courtyard at Hogsmeade,” Harry reminded her. “But it will be nighttime,” Hermione told him. “Do you really want to fight outside in the middle of the night, Harry? It’s usually freezing at night this time of year.” “How about the trophy room?” asked Malfoy, referring to the same place he’d proposed for the duel five years earlier. “That’s always unlocked.” “Good,” Harry agreed. “Now what spells will Malfoy and I be allowed to use? I reckon that anything I taught in the D.A. is fair game.” “I say anything goes,” Malfoy proposed. “No way!” Ron protested. “No Unforgivables or anything like that.” “Fine, wimps,” said Malfoy. “But besides Unforgivables, anything goes, you hear me?” “Okay,” Harry agreed reluctantly, but figuring that he could defend against any spell his opponent would throw at him. Hermione conjured a quill and parchmen and began to write down the terms and the cause of the duel. “Whereas Draco Malfoy has pretended to be a dementor in order to try to make Harry Potter fall from his broom, whereas Malfoy has has created the 'Potter Stinks" badges in fourth year in order to discedit him, whereas Malfoy has once joined the Inquisitorial Squad in order to have him punished unfairly, and whereas Malfoy has attempted to murder two of his friends, there will be a duel in order for Harry Potter in his friends to settle the score. The dueling will commence in the trophy room, on the third floor of Hogwarts castle, at one o’clock the night of Sat -- actually, that would be early Sunday morning, the twenty-seventh of October. No Unforgivable Curses will be used by either party in the duel. And to keep this safe from teacher interference, I’ll write down a clause that only the two duelers, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, are permitted to enter the trophy room at the time.” “What about the seconds?” asked Ron. “I’m Harry’s second, of course.” “Fine,” Hermione continued to scribble on the parchment. “In addition to the two aforementioned combatants, their respective seconds Ronald Weasley and --” She paused for a moment. “I need to know the name of your second, Malfoy.” “Crabbe,” Malfoy spoke at once. “What about me?” Goyle begged, the first time either of Malfoy’s henchmen had spoken. “Why can’t I be your second?” “Because of the way you fought last weekend,” Malfoy replied, referring to an earlier duel between Ron and Goyle that had occurred at the same time as Malfoy’s attack on the pair of Gryffindor victims. Ron was the victor of the duel as Goyle had run away in fear. “It’s settled. Crabbe’s my second. Now let me sign the parchment so I can go out of here. “Before you sign anything,” Hermione held the Slytherin up, “let me put a hex on the parchment.” “Good idea,” Harry told her. He stared at Malfoy as he added, “That way, if someone happens to be a coward and not show up for the duel, that person will be hexed, a sort of incentive to make sure that both people show up.” “No point in doing that,” Malfoy spat out, “unless you plan on not showing up, Potter. Besides, what good would hexing the parchment do, anyway?” “Remember Marietta Edgecombe?” asked Hermione, referring an the incident the previous spring. Even now, six months after the fact, the word “sneak” was still imprinted on the Ravenclaw’s face. “That was you?” asked Malfoy incredulously. “That was a terrific --” he suddenly coughed -- “terrible thing to do to poor Edgecombe.” “Do the same thing,” Harry suggested, “except change ‘sneak’ to ‘coward.’” “But make it worse,” Ron added. “Have their hair fall out and have bats fly out of their nose.” “I can’t do that,” Hermione admitted. “I can’t hex the parchment unless I know the spell directly, and no one in this room knows how to perform the Bat-Bogey Hex.” “Then make their hair fall out --” Ron went on. “No, make hair grow all over their body. Make them look as hairy as a -- ferret, since Harry and I definitely plan on showing up.” Malfoy grimaced, but Hermione pointed her wand at the parchment and did a nonverbal spell. “Done!” Hermione smiled. “It is set so that any of you four who fail to show up at the prescribed time will wake up to find themselves resembling a ferret. Now, both parties may sign the parchment.” Crabbe did so first, followed by Malfoy, Harry, and Ron. “We’ll see once and for all who the real cowards are and who will show up,” Malfoy taunted one last time. “Let’s go now,” Hermione glanced at her watch. “Ron and I both have prefect duties tonight, so bye Harry.” “And I’ll be seeing you Saturday night, Malfoy -- or not,” said Harry. “Whatever,” Malfoy shook his head. The six students departed from the Room of Requirement. The trio of Slytherins headed downstairs towards their common room while Ron and Hermione walked down to the first floor, where they were assigned for prefect duties. Harry started towards the Gryffindor common room, but suddenly changed his mind and decided to go downstairs as well. At first he would go to the trophy room and prepare for the duel, trying to visualize his opponent’s position so that he could plan his own attack. But instead, he stopped at the hospital wing on the third floor. He realized that he had foolishly failed to stop by to visit his housemates. “Hurry up,” Madam Pomfrey said sternly. “Visiting hours are almost up.” Both victims were unconscious. Harry stopped by Dean’s bed first. He wasn’t sure what spell had hit him, but there was a huge gash on Dean’s forehead. “You’re bleedin’ nicked, mate,” Harry spoke quietly to his sleeping roommate. Ginny, on the other hand, had obviously re-injured the ankle that she’d hurt during their visit to the Department of Mysteries four months earlier. Whatever spell Malfoy had used against her, it had caused her to fall on her face because there was a bruise on her forehead. Still, Harry realized, the injuries had had no effect on how pretty she was. Harry suddenly slapped himself in the face. He suddenly realized, at that moment as he stood there looking at Dean and Ginny in the hospital wing, that he fancied his best friend’s sister. It was as if a great terrifying monster had suddenly awakened inside of him, and there was no way to control it. But there was nothing he could do about it now, since Ginny had a boyfriend, and both of them were unconscious -- nothing, that it, save beat the one who had attacked them in the duel that weekend. Harry returned to Gryffindor Tower, confused by his unexpected feelings for Ginny. He decided to push this to the back of his mind and concentrate on the upcoming duel with Malfoy. The next day was Thursday. After class, Harry and Ron returned to the Room of Requirement to practice their defensive spells for the upcoming duel. Harry could see that his best friend was starting to become nervous, just as he often was before Quidditch matches. “I’m not sure I can go through with this,” Ron muttered. “Sure you can,” Harry replied. “You held your own against Goyle back in Hogsmeade.” “That was Goyle,” Ron reminded him. “This is Malfoy.” “I’m the one who’ll actually be dueling Malfoy, remember?” Harry pointed out. “Just make sure you can do a decent Shield Charm. We practiced them all during the D.A. last year. As long as you can do the Shield Charm very well, nothing will happen to you. Stupefy!” “Protego!” Ron raised his wand alertly. “You’ve done it well,” Harry grinned. Friday came and went. Harry was afraid, not of Malfoy, but of the teachers. He knew that the duel needed to remain secret in order to prevent Dumbledore or the teachers from interfering, but he was also aware how quickly rumors spread around the castle. If anyone let slip that there would be a duel Saturday night, he would be in loads of trouble. On Saturday morning, Harry and Ron both woke up late, as he usually did on Saturdays. Indeed, it was almost noon by the time they stumbled out of bed. Ron was pointing outside at the window. “It’s a good thing we didn’t have the duel in Hogsmeade at noon today as you originally planned.” Harry stared in the direction that Ron was pointing. It was sleeting outside, and he knew that the temperature must have been near the freezing point. “You and Malfoy wouldn’t have needed to use ‘Petrificus Totalus’ to freeze each other in this weather.” “And not only that,” Harry noted, “but that is very obviously Hagrid out there, over by the open courtyard. I bet you Dumbledore sent him there to guard it and make sure that no duel takes place over there.” Harry and Ron headed for the Great Hall for brunch. The meal was totally unlike the previous Sunday evening’s affair. This time, students chatted away as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. Harry looked over towards the Slytherin table, where Malfoy was speaking to his fellow Slytherins, about what exactly he couldn’t tell from that distance. They all seemed to be laughing at something. "Do you smell something fishy?" asked Hermione. "Yes, I do," Ron replied matter-of-factly. "I smell this fish and chips on my plate in front of me." "That's not what I mean," Hermione stifled a giggle. "I mean the Slytherins. They're laughing at something. Do you think Malfoy has told anyone else about the duel?" "As long as the teachers don't find out, it shouldn't matter if the Slytherins know," Ron pointed out. They spent the rest of the evening sitting in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione had already finished her homework for the weekend. Harry and Ron knew that they ought to be working on theirs, but Ron was much too nervous about the fight to be able to concentrate on his schoolwork, and Harry had to admit that he was a little worried as well. Although Malfoy had agreed not to use any Unforgivables, he knew that the Slytherin was not one to fight fairly. It was well after midnight when a group of third-year students entered Gryffindor tower. Harry knew that they must have been with Professor Sinistra. “Hiya, Harry,” Dennis Creevey greeted him. “We saw the full moon today.” “That’s nice,” Harry replied sarcastically. Once all of the third years reached their dormitory, Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew that it was nearly time for the duel to begin. “Good luck,” Hermione told Harry and Ron. “Watch out for teachers, and stay in one piece.” “We will,” Harry reassured her. He and Ron set off to leave Gryffindor Tower. But they didn’t go very far. As soon as they climbed through the portrait hole, they suddenly found themselves face to face with none other than the headmaster himself. “Going somewhere, Harry?” Dumbledore asked. “We were just going, uh, uh, to the Astronomy Tower to see the full moon, right Harry?” Ron nudged his friend in the elbow. “Yeah, that’s right,” Harry lied. “I know exactly where you two were planning on going,” Dumbledore smiled halfheartedly. “And by the way, Professor Snape is standing guard at the trophy room. I suggest that you two immediately return to your common room and go to bed.” “Uh, yes, professor,” said Harry. So he and Ron obeyed and returned to the common room. “That was quick,” Hermione remarked. “Dumbledore knew everything,” Ron explained. “He was just standing outside the common room, just waiting for us to try to go to the duel.” “And he knew that we were planning to have the duel in the trophy room,” Harry added, “but at least he saved us from Snape. That was an unexpected source of help, but still, none of us blabbed about the duel.” Hermione slapped herself on the forehead. “We’d never blab, but I bet Malfoy must have. He was probably boasting, and Snape overheard.” “Now what?” asked Harry. “There’s nothing you can do,” Hermione told him. “You’d be punished, maybe even expelled, if Professor Snape catches you trying to duel in the trophy room.” “But then Malfoy and everyone else will think that we’re cowards for not appearing at the duel,” Ron complained loudly. “We’d be the laughingstocks of the entire school.” “Yeah,” Harry agreed, “especially since you hexed that parchment to make us grow ferret fur if we don’t show up for the duel. I didn’t enter the trophy room, and neither did Ron.” “I’m so sorry,” Hermione apologized. “But wait a minute. I can’t change what the parchment says, but maybe I can find a loophole so that you won’t transform.” She took out the parchment and began to read what she’d written closely. “It says that you have to be at the trophy room at one o’clock --” “And it’s past one,” Ron reminded her. “-- or you’ll wake up to find yourselves covered in ferret hair.” Then her face lit up. “That’s it! All you have to do is never go to sleep and you won’t transform.” "All we need now is a cup of coffee, but where are we going to get one at this hour?" asked Harry. “We can’t stay awake forever, Hermione,” Ron added. Nonetheless, none of the three of them were able to sleep knowing what would happen the next morning, so they all continued to sit in the common room. Nearly an hour later, Hermione came up with another idea. “There’s a way you two can avoid the hex. Just go to the trophy room right now.” “What good would that do?” asked Harry. “It’s almost two o’clock.” “Actually, it’s almost one o’clock,” Hermione replied “But you don’t have that Time Turner anymore, do you?” asked Ron. “Though if you did, we can go back an hour and go to the trophy room under Harry’s invisibility cloak.” “We probably should’ve taken the cloak in the first place,” Harry added. “I don’t mean the Time Turner,” said Hermione. “Don’t you see? This is the night that we revert from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time. Spring forward, autumn back! We set the clock back from two to one o’clock. In other words, I just found another loophole, you two.” “Then let’s go!” Ron stood up. “Our reputations -- and our appearance -- is at stake.” “But I’m taking the invisibility cloak this time as a precaution,” Harry insisted. In a matter of moments, Harry and Ron arrived at the trophy room downstairs. It was completely dark save a tiny bit of moonlight that shone through a window. “I think I hear someone,” Ron whispered. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Ron?” asked Harry. “Yes,” Ron nodded. “Malfoy must be here.” Harry suspected that Malfoy knew about the time change. He saw a tall shadow creep around one of the trophy cases. In a single motion he removed the cloak and quickly drew his wand. “Petrificus Totalus!” The other person fell to the ground immediately. “Lumos!” Ron called out. But as it turned out, the victim of Harry’s curse turned out to be not Malfoy, but to his utter disbelief, Snape. Indeed, Malfoy wasn’t present in the trophy room, nor did he ever appear. “Let’s go out of here,” Ron suggested, “before some other teacher catches us out here.” And so he and Ron returned to Gryffindor tower and headed directly to bed. The next morning at brunch, there were two big ferrets at the Slytherin table. Apparently neither Malfoy nor Crabbe ever tried to show up for the duel, some teacher probably having dissuaded them. Every single member of a house other Slytherin was pointing and laughing at the two spectacles. "Look, it's Ferret Face and his ferret lackey," said Harry. "Come on, say it like you mean it, Harry," Ron urged. "It's Ferret Face and his ferret lackey!" Harry repeated with gusto. “Misters Malfoy and Crabbe must be taken to St. Mungo’s immediately,” Dumbledore announced to the mirthful crowd. “This magic is much too advanced for Madam Pomfrey to undo. And although I suspect that this has something to do with a duel proposed a week ago in the Great Hall, my suspicions are only circumstantial evidence. None of the teachers ever saw a duel and so we cannot prove that a duel occurred." And thus ended the duel and its aftermath, a solid victory for Harry even without his having to lift his wand. |
| Reviews 8 |
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