Chapter 17: Back Into the Fray
"M-Mr. Black. I am glad you did not delay your visit, particularly since I spoke with Professor Flitwick during lunch, and he has agreed to assist in assessing your knowledge of my subject."
I gave Flitwick a respectful nod. He was indeed in the office.
"Yes. My colleague suggested we examine your abilities through a short duel, particularly since, if Bellatrix truly taught you..."
I gave a confirming nod to Flitwick's unfinished question.
"Excellent. Then you ought to know something."
"Something, yes..."
I agreed with an amiable nod.
"Very good. We shall go through to the adjoining classroom, and you will attack me first, then defend against my spells."
We walked into the next room, which I had never seen before. In place of a teacher's desk, there was an open space with a proper dueling platform.
"Do you prefer a formal duel or simply a free exchange?"
I shrugged.
"No strong preference either way."
"A duel it is, then."
Flitwick smiled with quiet satisfaction. This half-goblin, who hid so much behind an unassuming manner, was a multiple European dueling champion. An examination of this kind suited him perfectly, and he already had a fair sense of my abilities.
Naturally, I could not afford to waste the opportunity. Bella had drilled me in combat and dueling magic extensively, and at full effort I could credibly pass for a seventh-year, though pushing that far risked a stay in the hospital wing, which I wanted to avoid. Sustained, I could hold a solid fourth-year level.
I stepped onto the platform opposite Flitwick and gave a proper, formal bow. The professor returned a more economical, distinctly professional one.
"I-I shall be referee. I understand that Professor Flitwick is generously allowing you, Mr. Black, to strike first. The duel begins on the count of three... One... Two... Three!"
With that, I cast a Disarming Spell. I was keeping my magic to around third-year level, since Bella and I had mapped out what I should be showing and when. I followed with a Binding Jinx, then a Stunner, another Binding Jinx, and between spells I sent a splash of water at Flitwick. Rather than raising a shield, he vanished it with a single smooth, almost languid movement of his wand.
For roughly five minutes I pelted the professor with an assortment of charms from the first-, second-, and third-year curricula, primarily D.A.D.A. material, though with Charms and spellwork mixed in. I was not showing everything I had, but I had shown more than enough. When Flitwick finally sent his first spell back at me, I understood it was time to defend.
It was not that I had no interest in countering him; the trouble was that he had begun chaining his spells. He was not hurrying; he moved slowly, almost casually, but he gave me absolutely no opening for a counterattack.
When one of his Disarming Spells broke through my defenses, I recognized it was time to start moving. I rolled sideways across the platform and fired a Disarming Spell back towards him as I came up.
The corner of his mouth barely twitched. He caught my spell on the tip of his wand, amplified it, and sent it straight back, then followed it with a rapid series of curses, one of which found its mark.
"That will d-do!"
Quirrell called an end to the duel, and a moment later I was hit by a counter-spell that lifted the Full Body Bind, which had taken me out.
"You demonstrated a very strong command of second- and third-year spellwork. The written test remains, but somehow I do not think it will present you with any difficulties. Shall we return to my office?"
"One moment, colleague..."
Flitwick stopped Quirrell.
"...having seen Mr. Black's capabilities, I would like to propose that he join me for additional dueling sessions."
"I would consider it an honor."
I gave Flitwick a brief bow, and he received my words with evident pleasure.
"Excellent. We shall discuss the details once you have taken all your remaining examinations. If I am not mistaken, you still have the D.A.D.A. theory, Potions, Astronomy, and History of Magic?"
"Precisely, Professor."
"Oh yes, and Flying! You will need to meet certain standards for Professor Hooch, but I am confident you will manage. Ah, and who will be examining you in History of Magic?"
"I shall..."
Flitwick allowed himself an open smile.
"...I am half-goblin, after all, and I know goblin rebellion history rather well; the topic Binns is so very fond of revisiting lesson after lesson."
We all laughed at that, after which Quirrell led me back to his main classroom for the theory examination. It was considerably more straightforward than anything Flitwick had put me through, and within half an hour I emerged from his office in good spirits. I'd passed.
Penny was waiting for me outside.
"Hello. I... I wanted to say thank you again. For standing up for me."
"Penny, I rather thought you had already thanked me. The kiss was more than sufficient."
"I... thank you."
After that we made our way to the common room, where I spent the rest of the day studying. The looks I received had shifted, a mixture of apprehension and respect, and the first-years had begun to regard me as something of an unquestionable authority.
"Penny..."
I looked up at the girl, who had just returned from her last lesson.
"Mm?"
"Could you do me a small favor?"
"Of course. What do you need?"
"Take Potter by the ear..."
"Oi!"
Hermione sat up sharply from her armchair; she had been sitting next to Harry, and clearly did not like where that sentence was going.
"...and take him to the hospital wing. He promised me he would go, but apparently he never asked you or Robert for directions."
"All right..."
Penny got up and walked over to Harry, studying him with a measured look.
"...so, do I need to drag you to Madam Pomfrey by the ear, or will you come along on your own?"
"On my own..."
Harry dropped his head and shot me a guilty glance. I had already lost interest in him the moment he got to his feet.
"Draco, don't you think you're sticking your nose into things that are none of your business?"
I glanced briefly at Hermione, who had come over and was now standing in front of me, looking at me with a frown. Daphne sat beside me. I said nothing in response. Hermione had, as it happened, just finished reading the book about house-elves. I had been expecting a string of questions, but after finishing it yesterday, she had not said a word on the subject today.
"Draco?"
"Granger, what are you sticking your nose into?"
Tracy, apparently noticing that I had no intention of answering and that Daphne was equally content to ignore the increasingly agitated Hermione, decided to weigh in.
"If Potter didn't want to go, he would have said no."
"They were going to drag him there by the ear!"
Hermione stamped her foot, which was considerably more amusing than she intended. She was a tiny, furious, curly-head. If we had been a few years older, I might have entertained certain thoughts. Then again, if we had been older, it would not have looked half so endearing. Only a small child can manage to be so thoroughly appealing when sulking, and a child, by the same token, cannot evoke anything beyond mild affection.
"Look, Penny would never actually do that. She might have tried to persuade him, but if he'd been genuinely against it..."
Tracy shook her head.
"He was just scared!"
I sighed and closed my book.
"Hermione, the way you're carrying on, one would think they were going to turn him into a girl in the hospital wing. Nothing is going to happen to your Potter."
"He is not my Potter!"
"Yes, yes..."
Tracy picked up the thread with relish.
"...which is why you never leave his side and hiss at anyone who comes near him. You even started snapping at Draco just now."
"I was not snapping!"
"Your front teeth might disagree."
That landed somewhere it should not have. Hermione flinched as though struck, and her eyes filled with tears.
"Yes, I have big teeth, so what?! Go on then! Call me a beaver!"
Tracy took a couple of steps back, genuinely thrown by the force of Hermione's reaction.
"Well? Nothing to say?"
I gave Daphne a look and a nod towards Hermione. Daphne rose, handed me her book, and slipped her arms around Hermione from behind. Hermione had turned away from us when she fixed her glare on Tracy, which helped.
Hermione, my friend, did not mean to hurt you. The comment about your teeth was only a figure of speech, a way of saying that you were ready to quarrel even with my lord, who has done nothing to you, simply because she thinks he is trying to get close to Harry. But that's not what's happening. My lord finds Penny far more interesting to spend time with. If you simply think back over the past few days and remember who he has actually talked to, you will see that he has spent most of his time with her, and has exchanged barely a handful of words with Harry, most of them at the welcome feast.
"And if your teeth bother you so much that Tracy's words could hit you like that, you can go to Madam Pomfrey about it as well. Correcting your bite takes about two minutes with magic, and adjusting the size of your teeth takes even less. But believe me, your teeth have no effect whatsoever on how we feel about you."
"How do you feel about me? You ignore me..."
Hermione looked lost.
"We are not ignoring you. We are giving you time to adjust. You heard what our Head of House said?"
"Yes... but what does that have to do with..."
"You need time to get used to a world without electricity, where things are done by touching runes, time to start noticing the runes yourself, or to learn the spells and begin using them. You remember that, alongside the book about house-elves, you were given a book of everyday household charms?"
"Yes..."
She gave a slightly dazed nod.
"Well then. We have all been waiting for you to work through it and start putting it into practice. Did you think we hadn't noticed your difficulties? We have. But if we rush in to help every step of the way, you will never truly find your footing here. You will always be a Muggle with a wand."
"What?"
Hermione pulled free of Daphne's arms and turned to face her.
"But you never spoke to me."
"No. It was you who never spoke to us. Or rather, every time you did, the topic was schoolwork..."
"But that's important!"
"It is, but you're missing the fact that what is new and exciting to you is entirely ordinary to us, and to me it has been familiar for years. We simply have no interest in discussing it, which is why we kept our answers short and tried to close the subject as quickly as possible."
Hermione sniffled.
"I thought... you despised me..."
Hermione, if you think about it for a moment, you will realize that Daphne and I both knew about your background on the train, and it made no difference to how we spoke to you...
I shook my head, shaking it at how nonsensical that idea seemed.
And yes, alongside your studying, I would suggest you start reading the wizarding fashion magazines and newspapers, and perhaps pick up Lockhart's book series. Entertaining magical fiction...
The older students who had been watching from various corners of the common room broke into good-humored murmurs of agreement. He was not a bad writer, all things considered. A pity about the relentless self-promotion, but on the whole the spells he described were functional. It was another matter entirely whether the methods he employed would actually work for anyone other than himself.
"I... will you actually talk to me?"
"We will, as long as you start developing yourself more broadly, rather than living entirely for your lessons."
I shook my head gently.
"For instance, you could start coming to training sessions with Daphne, though you would need Professor Flitwick's permission for that first. It would give the two of you some common ground. Though training is not the only option..."
"What else?"
"Board games are popular in the Muggle world, aren't they?"
Hermione nodded, and I continued.
"Well, in your next letter home, ask your parents to send a couple. I would even cover the cost, and then you and the girls can sit together and play."
"And you?"
She looked at me with a wordless plea.
"I'll join you sometimes, though not often, since I am not especially fond of games. But for good company I can make an exception now and then."
"All right..."
Hermione gave a small nod, and I could see the tension beginning to ease from her shoulders.
//=================//
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