Draco strutted up to the platform to the approving murmurs of the commentators. Harry wondered if Malfoy Sr. owned the Wizarding Wireless or if these two were simply natural suck-ups. Roger came out determined to make up for the near run he'd had in his first fight. Harry thought he looked ready to rip Malfoy a new arsehole. Harry grinned. This could be fun.
The fight was everything Harry could have wanted. Malfoy started out well but the spells were somewhat… questionable in nature. This seemed to infuriate Roger. The Ravenclaw Seventh year then seemed to give the Slytherin boy a lesson in duelling etiquette. Harry felt like clapping at the display.
"Roger just performed an excellent riverso manoeuvre that almost allowed him to perform a manual seizure of Malfoy's wand," Harry commented absently. "Roger has Malfoy's measure now but he should end it quickly before Malfoy does something out of desperation that only a tyro would try." The pair of commentators stopped watching the match to stare at Harry is surprise.
"That was rather insightful, Mr Potter," William said in a surprised tone.
"Professor Flitwick was kind enough to give me a bit of training on magical duelling since this event was announced," Harry admitted in a humble tone. He didn't mention the practical training with his insane 'uncles'.
"One of the great Duelists of our time," Shelia said with a smile. "It seems our Boy-Who-Lived has made something of a duelling expert out of himself. Maybe one day you could be duelling out there." Harry resisted rolling his eyes at her. Why did magicals seem to expect so much out of the Boy-Who-Lived and then treated him as a complete toe-rag?
Malfoy lost when he lost his temper and was called out on a foul by Professor Groer. Predictably the commentators decried this as a great injustice. They still didn't shut up about it an hour later when Cedric almost launched the git into orbit with a modified Blasting Curse that was 'cushioned' to prevent real injury. The commentators still tried to make it sound like a near run thing but couldn't be too harsh as Cedric came from a Pureblooded, Ministry-connected family also.
The final round came down to Krum, Fleur, and Cedric. It quickly became apparent that the Hogwarts champion was outclassed on the duelling platform. Fleur, who managed to scrape a win against Alfonse to Harry's disappointment, made poor Cedric look as bad as Malfoy. Victor Krum was actually somewhat merciful and ended it quickly without injuring his fellow Seeker.
The final duel between Fleur and Krum was a thing of beauty to Harry.
Fleur Delacour may have been a witch with a B, but she was quick witted, fast with her wand, and incredibly skilled. Harry was impressed with the variety of spells the French witch was able to call on in an instant. She was as graceful as a dancer but moved like a martial artist, dodging more spells then she blocked. Hitting her with a spell while stopping her onslaught would be a challenge for any wizard. And more the fool they if they were also distracted by her obvious feminine charms.
Victor Krum was a Viking warrior out of old. He fought with a brutal passion. He shrugged off many of the annoying hexes and curses Fleur sent his way while sending the same over-powered spells towards the Veela witch that he sent in his first rounds. Harry was impressed with the Bulgarian's ability to keep up that level of magical output.
In the end, Fleur's grace was not sufficient to bring down Victor in the duel. In a true fight without the spell restrictions of a formal duel, maybe Fleur would have prevailed since she managed to land a surprising number of her spells on Krum. Of course in a true fight Victor would have been freed of those same restrictions.
....
"Well, that was certainly an excellent display of duelling prowess," Dumbledore said with a smile as he stood facing the stands of students and spectators who'd watched the duelling. "Well done to Mr Krum on his victory and, indeed, to all of our champions on their courage, skill, and determination." The Headmaster led the audience in applauding the champions.
When the applause died down, Dumbledore continued. "Next month we shall again see our champion in action. This time it will be a challenge that they will have to face the unknown; a true test of courage, skill, and wits.
"But first, we shall have the traditional Yule Ball led by our champions, sponsored by the British Ministry of Magic and hosted by our very own Boy-Who-Lived, Mr Harry Potter. Students of Fourth year and above are welcome to attend. Third years may only attend as the date of an older student. Now, I wish you good day." The old wizard walked of smiling as though he hadn't a care in the world.
"Barmy old coot," Shelia said in an aside to her partner. The two commentators left without a word to Harry although he saw them stop to wish their best to the Malfoys.
Harry had other concerns. As much as Padma and Hermione worried about his forced inclusion in the Tournament, even as a 'host', there was no way either of them were going to be willing to let him skip the Yule Ball.
That meant he was going to have to dance.
Bugger!
"Don't call me 'Shirley'" = Airplane! (1980) The late great Leslie Nielsen
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