Chapter 41: The Final
"So then?"
Fleur and I were sitting in a small restaurant. Unfortunately, my schoolmates had been forced to return to Hogwarts since classes had started. Everyone had desperately wanted to stay and watch the final, but Flitwick hadn't been able to arrange it, so I was stuck here with my mother and Flitwick. Sirius had also disappeared the moment his godson left for Hogwarts, leaving just the two of us at breakfast.
"What?"
I looked at her questioningly.
"Well, you wanted to arrange a big celebration, and now..."
I shrugged.
"As it turned out, they all had decent enough marks, so I'd been counting on the school giving them a couple of days for an occasion like this. Flitwick thought it was perfectly feasible, but the Deputy Headmistress and the Headmaster disagreed."
"I see. So today we celebrate just the two of us?"
"Yes."
I gave a nod.
"And I hope you won't take it personally when I challenge you after your win."
"It's tradition, so no, I won't. I will take it personally if you hold back."
"Message received."
I smiled at her, and we continued breakfast, talking about nothing in particular. Afterward we made our way to the venue for the finals, where even more people had shown up than at the semi-finals. It was a little unsettling.
"Hey. What is it?"
Fleur had apparently noticed my expression and slid her arm around my shoulders.
"Nothing really. Just way more people than I'm used to. It's making me a little nervous."
"Hmm? It seems normal to me. Finals always draw a big crowd, so I don't see anything surprising about the numbers."
"Well..."
I shrugged.
"...I am simply not accustomed to it."
"I hope it does not stop you from coming out to face me."
"It will not."
I shook my head, and we took our places beside the platform where the final would be held.
"Ahem."
I did not react.
"Ahem. Young man, might you spare me a few minutes before you are called to the platform?"
I half-turned and looked the man over carefully.
"Mm?"
He gestured meaningfully, clearly implying that he needed to speak with me privately, but Flitwick appeared at my side immediately.
"What do you want with my apprentice, Kushmin?"
"Oh, nothing at all, Flitwick. I simply wished to have a word with him..."
He smiled.
"...or is this young man so dependent on you that he cannot conduct a conversation on his own?"
He shot me a brief glance as he finished the sentence, and I caught something in it that looked very much like mockery. He apparently believed that a cheap provocation like that would work on me. But I had already figured out who he was the moment I heard his name. This was the instructor of my opponent, and I had absolutely no intention of going anywhere alone with him.
"Think what you like..."
I shrugged.
"...but if you have something to say, you may say it here and now, because I will not be going anywhere with you. It would be rather strange to wander off with the instructor of my upcoming opponent."
"You are afraid of me, then?"
There was that smile again, the one designed to provoke a denial. Fortunately, I was mentally old enough not to be baited by schoolyard taunts of that sort.
"Afraid? Of you? Certainly. You are a grown wizard, and if you have applied yourself at all to self-improvement..."
Get a load of this, you fascist. Look at that twitch.
"It's because his apprentice is nothing to write home about. A fraction above average for our age group, perhaps, but measured against the participants at this dueling tournament..."
"...then you are undoubtedly stronger than I am. So if you have something to say, say it now."
"Tch. Stop playing games with me, boy. We need to talk. The lives of certain people close to you may depend on it."
I laughed.
"You're laughing?"
"Quite. Because you've just given me an excellent reason to place a contract with the Mercenaries' Guild."
I shook my head.
"Tch. You will regret this."
"Perhaps..."
I gave a slow nod.
"...perhaps I will. But that is not for you to decide."
The man turned and walked away from us at a brisk pace. Only then did I allow myself to focus on the upcoming bout. What that man had said had made me genuinely angry. It was threatening the people close to me...
I shook my head and took out the same small notebook, jotting down a quick reminder to consider placing a contract on this particular individual through the Guild. For now, the decision would rest with Mother Bella and Mother Cissy.
"That man cannot simply be left to go about his business..."
Flitwick shook his head.
"I agree entirely, but unfortunately the decision of whether to act, and how, rests with my mothers."
Flitwick gave an understanding nod. Fleur was standing there with a slight frown on her face.
"Fleur, why the frown?"
"It's just unpleasant. Father warned me something like this might happen, but I didn't really think he was being serious."
I shrugged.
"Do not worry. Everything is fine."
"Mm..."
"Would the apprentice of Filius Flitwick's apprentice, Draco Black of Great Britain, please take the platform! Our young celebrity, the boy who defeated the tournament favorite! The boy who stepped just slightly outside his self-imposed limit of three spells by deploying a perfectly ordinary Lumos in the semi-final! An unexpected and supremely elegant choice!"
The spectators erupted.
"And taking the platform opposite him, the apprentice of David Kushmin, Adré Sali, representing Cuba! His bouts have been... rather entertaining. He has applied his spells with... care and deliberation, and... I invite you both to take the platform!"
There was genuine uncertainty in the announcer's voice when he spoke of my opponent, and a noticeable lack of conviction. He clearly understood perfectly well that the boy's place in this stage of the tournament had not been earned through skill, which was in fact well below average.
"Artifact check!"
A different examiner this time, and again no artifacts were found. We took our positions, and the countdown began.
"Three, two, one, begin!"
"Expelliarmus!"
My opponent had no time to react. He was literally thrown off the platform, and his wand flew straight into my hand. Ordinarily, the spell does not produce quite that effect, but if you channel enough magic into it, the results can be rather dramatic.
"Winner, Draco Black! Great Britain! Congratulations to our champion in the youngest age group!"
Silence.
That was the audience's response to my rather swift victory.
"I protest!"
The boy picked himself up from where he had landed and ran over to the referee.
"He clearly used some sort of artifact!"
The referee looked at my opponent and let out a heavy sigh.
"The losing party has lodged a protest. I call upon the members of the judicial committee to take the platform and examine the competitor."
The judges came over and began running their wands over me, some silently and others with incantations, all of them looking mildly irritated. Five minutes later they delivered their verdicts.
"Clear."
"Clear."
All three examiners spoke in turn.
"Protest dismissed. The panel has found the competitor clear. Winner: Draco Black."
Then the crowd simply exploded with applause. They were loud and genuinely delighted with the outcome. I even caught, somewhere at the edge of my hearing, a girl shouting that she would wait for me to grow up before having children with me. I pretended I hadn't heard a thing.
I returned to Fleur, who gave me an approving nod.
"Ahem. Your attention, please! The final for the next age group has been postponed due to illness of the German competitor. Therefore..."
The final for the group above Fleur's was announced instead, and we found ourselves staying at the venue. That bout was genuinely interesting. The spells both competitors used were broadly familiar to me, and I could probably have produced something similar myself, but I was no longer confident at all that I could beat the champion of this age group.
Fleur was eventually called for her duel, and she came out visibly tense. And to my considerable regret, she lost. It came down entirely to her overwhelming focus on fire magic. Her opponent had known that, and had prepared for it specifically.
When Fleur came over to me afterwards, all I could do was put my arm around her waist and draw her gently against me.
"Second place is no small thing. I promise I will avenge you."
"Mm..."
She gave a slow nod.
"...I know my opponent was strong and had prepared specifically against me. But it still stings."
She sighed.
"Come now, chin up. You are young and lovely, and you have friends around you. There is no need to be so hard on yourself."
"Yes, yes..."
She nodded, and not long after that, following several more finals, the awards ceremony began.
"Now let us present our champions!"
The audience applauded.
"In the youngest age group, victory went to a Briton, Draco Black, who required only four spells throughout the tournament and handled the final using just one!"
I walked forward to the presentation area and received a certificate and a prize of one thousand Galleons.
"Thank you."
I gave a brief nod to the official who shook my hand.
"Champion of the next age group, a German! Marie Becker! She demonstrated extraordinary versatility throughout the tournament, and in the final showed masterful command of water magic, which she used to defeat her opponent."
The girl received her certificate and a prize of two thousand Galleons.
Then came a champion from Russia, Alexei Gorny, and another from Russia, Pyotr Gorshkov.
"And now, do any of our champions have a word to say?"
"Yes..."
I gave a nod, and the official, aware of the tradition, moved toward me, but I had already amplified my voice with a spell.
"In accordance with tradition, I, Draco Black, champion of Great Britain, issue a challenge to the champion of the next age group, Marie Becker!"
"There it is! The post-final bouts! The champions' duel!"
The official was visibly excited about the upcoming contest, and the crowd was equally delighted, anticipating something well worth watching.
"Splendid! Miss Becker, do you accept the challenge?"
"Yes."
She gave a short nod and threw me a mildly curious glance.
"Splendid! Your duel will take place tomorrow morning! At that time it will also be announced whether any further post-final challenges will follow, or whether this is to be the last contest of the championship!"
After those words, we went our separate ways, and I set off to celebrate with Fleur. Though she was disappointed at having fallen short of first place, she had decided that my gold medal was absolutely worth celebrating.
She wasn't the only one celebrating, either. Her family joined us, as did Flitwick and my mothers, and I took the opportunity to tell both of them about the outrageous conduct of my opponent's instructor.
Bella promised to give the matter some thought, and then teach the man a lesson so thorough he'd never again consider threatening a member of the House of Black or anyone close to us.
But of course, things couldn't simply go smoothly. Before long, the Cuban boy himself appeared beside our table, his scowling instructor at his side, and several heavyset men behind them.
"You were supposed to let me win."
I looked the boy over with mild boredom. I was fairly confident that Mother Bella, Master Flitwick, and Fleur's father could handle any unpleasantness, while I could raise a shield strong enough to absorb the opening volley and cover Cissy, Fleur, her mother, and Gabrielle.
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