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Author: pottervader Story: Harry Potter and the Prophesied Six Rating: Teens Setting: AU Status: WIP Reviews: 19 Words: 374,905
A/N: Happy Easter, everyone! Here’s the next chapter. The first part is taken mostly from the fifth book since it’s about the O.W.L.s and I wanted to follow canon as closely as possible for that. I hope you like the rest. Please read and review. Disclaimer: This story was made without any intention of profiting from it. Only the original characters and the plot are mine. The rest of it belongs to JKR. Rose’s vision about her father’s announcing the Dueling tournament came true exactly as she had foreseen. However, one thing she did not notice when she had her vision was the presence of Draco and Cho Chang at dinner. Both Seekers had apparently been declared well enough by Madam Pomfrey to join their school mates for the evening meal. In fact, they were as enthusiastic about the tournament as any other student above third year. At breakfast the following day, Professor Potter clarified that the tournament would begin on the Monday after the end of all exams and would last five days, allowing the students an extra day to relax before taking the Hogwarts Express back to London. Because it meant that the students had a weekend to prepare for the tournament, he asked the students to concentrate first on their exams which drew a collective groan from the students. James just smirked as he sat down, probably remembering how it was when he was a student and final exams were near. The remaining two weeks before end of term exams, O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s passed quickly. Luckily, the fifth- and seventh-years no longer had any homework to do. Their professors spent their class time reviewing the things they had learned over the past five or seven years. It was during one such class in Transfiguration that Harry and his class received their examination schedule and the details of the procedure for N.E.W.T.s which would be spread over a two week period. 1st week: Monday 9:30 am - Charms Theory 2:00 pm - Charms Practical Tuesday 9:30 am - Transfiguration Theory 2:00 pm - Transfiguration Practical Wednesday 9”30 am - Herbology Theory 2:00 pm - Herbology Practical Thursday 9:30 am - DADA Theory 2:00 pm - DADA Practical Friday 9:30 am - Ancient Runes 2:00 pm - Muggle Studies 2nd week: Monday 9:30 am - Potions Theory 2:00 pm - Potions Practical Tuesday 9:30 am - Care of Magical Creatures Theory 2:00 pm - Care of Magical Creatures Practical Wednesday 9:30 am - Astronomy Theory 2:00pm - Arithmancy/Divination Midnight - Astronomy Practical Thursday 2:00pm - History of Magic McGonagall also gave them a stern lecture on cheating and informed them of the measures the Ministry’s Wizarding Examinations Authority (WEA) took to prevent it. At dinner on Sunday, the day before the start of exams, the fifth-years and the seventh-years watched in apprehension as the officials from the Ministry who were to administer the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s came into the Great Hall and sat at the greatly extended Head table. All of examiners from the WEA were ancient looking. The witch next to Dumbledore was tiny and stooped, even when seated, with a face that was so lined that it looked like it was draped with cobwebs. She was talking animatedly to Dumbledore, even though she appeared to be holding what appeared to be a small megaphone to one ear. “That’s Griselda Marchbanks,” Fred said to Harry, “She’s the head of the WEA. She comes here every year to lead the group supervising O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, not that you lot would remember.” It was true, much to Harry’s embarrassment. He and the others vaguely remembered her and the other elderly wizards and witches coming to Hogwarts every June but didn’t pay much attention to them since they weren’t talking those dreaded exams at the time. Well, they were taking their O.W.L.s this time, starting the next day, which definitely meant they better be aware of the examiners. That night, the fifth- and seventh-years struggled to cram everything they could into their heads. Many fell asleep hunched over their books in the respective common rooms. Harry managed to crawl up to his bed but was unable to sleep for a long time. He finally drifted off to sleep at three in the morning and hoped to sleep in a little to make up for it. Unfortunately, someone he had a mind link with had other ideas. “Harry, get your arse down to the common room right now!” Harry grumbled as he sat up. He looked at the clock on his bedside table. “Half-past five? I’m surprised you’re awake, Gin. You’re not usually up this early.” “Well, blame the git girlfriend of my git brother,” she replied, her tone definitely angry, “Hermione shook me awake ten minutes ago to wake you up so you could wake Ron. She wants to go over some Charms spells before the exam.” Harry groaned as he flopped back down on his bed. “Tell her you couldn’t wake me up.” “Yeah, right, as if she’d believe that. You’re forgetting Hermione was the one who researched about our bond. So she knows just what we are capable, which means that she knows you can’t ignore me when I insist on talking to you. Now get up, and get that bloody brother of mine up as well.” “Yes, Mother,” Harry replied. Lucky for him, Ginny didn’t reply to his last comment for which he was thankful. He grabbed his pillow as he got out of his bed and threw it at Ron in the next bed. “Hey!” Ron said, groggily. “What the bloody hell was that for?” “Time to wake up, Ron,” Harry said, as he began looking in his trunk for something to wear. “Hermione wants us in the common room to revise some more.” Ron groaned and flopped back down. “Mental that one is. The sun’s just rising.” “I know, I know,” Harry replied. “But she does have a point. It’s the first day of O.W.L.s and we need to be ready and there is nothing like a good breakfast to charge up the brain cells.” Ron’s face lit up at the thought of food. “Do you think the tables in the Great Hall are ready this early?” “Maybe,” Harry said as he walked over to the bathroom, “At any rate, you’ll have to wake up to find out.” Twenty minutes later, both of them were walking down the stairs to the common room. “Finally,” Hermione said as soon as she saw them. “I was about to make Ginny call you two again.” The mentioned red-haired girl was slumped over on a couch near the fireplace, apparently trying to get some more sleep. “Will you ease up, Hermione?” Ron asked. “We still have a few hours before they start the tests.” “Ron, that’s barely enough time to go over all five years of Charms,” Hermione said. “Enough already, Hermione,” Harry said, his voice dropping to a low volume. “It’s a good thing the common room is empty, otherwise, people will wonder why you need to get Ginny to call the two of us when you could always march up to our dorm yourself.” “Oh,” Hermione said, turning pink. “Sorry, Harry. I guess I’m too nervous about the exams to think straight.” Ron rolled his eyes before saying, “It’s all right, Hermione. We’re all nervous. Come on. Maybe some breakfast will calm you down.” He dragged her through the portrait hole as she feebly protested that she wasn’t hungry and needed to read The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five one more time. Harry shook his head at his two best friends as he closed the distance to his girlfriend. He leaned over her and kissed the top of her head. Ginny turned her head toward him which gave Harry the opportunity to capture her lips with his. In response, Ginny grabbed both sides of his head while she deepened the kiss. A minute later, she opened her eyes and pulled away. “Good morning,” Harry said, grinning at her. “You’re so mean,” Ginny said, “Forcing a girl to wake up that way.” “Well, I thought you were enjoying it,” Harry said. “I’ll stop it if you feel that way.” “Wait a minute,” Ginny said, “I didn’t say I wasn’t enjoying it. I just meant that it was a pity I had to wake up to enjoy it.” She pulled him down to take her place on the couch and sat on his lap. Then she wrapped her arms around him and proceeded to kiss him in the same manner. After a few minutes, they had to pull back so they could breathe. “We’d better catch up to those two before Hermione sends me a Howler,” Harry said. Ginny reluctantly nodded and they headed out to get to the Great Hall. There were only a few students there aside from Ron and Hermione when they arrived: Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot from Ravenclaw; Hannah Abbott, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones from Hufflepuff and Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini from Slytherin, all of whom Harry knew from the DC. They waved to each other before concentrating on their meals. By the time seven o’ clock came, most of the fifth- and seventh-years had already finished eating and were furiously doing some last-minute revising. Then, once breakfast was over, the students all trooped outside the Hall. The fifth- and seventh-years milled around the Entrance Hall while the other students headed to class. The latter still had another week of regular classes before taking their own end of term exams. “Good luck, Harry,” Ginny said as she gave Harry a quick kiss on the lips before joining Rose for the trip to their DADA class. Rose had also wished the others luck on the exam though Harry thought she took an inordinate amount of time doing that to Neville. At half-past nine, the doors of the Great Hall opened up and they were called inside class by class. Harry saw it had been greatly altered. The four House tables were gone and in their place, were dozens of tables for one, all facing the other end of the Hall where the staff table was still present. A long piece of parchment was on each small table, turned upside down. Professor McGonagall was the only teacher present. She arranged them alphabetically. Once they were all seated, she bade them to begin as she turned over an enormous hour glass. Harry took a deep breath and turned his parchment over. He looked at the first question. a) Give the incantation, and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly… His mind flew back to an image of a club floating upward before coming down on a troll’s head. Smiling slightly at the memory, he began writing his answer. Two hours later, Hermione was badgering them about their answers to some of the questions. Ron sternly asked her to stop then lessened the hurt that caused her with a soft kiss to her lips. After eating lunch with the other students, the fifth-years entered the small chamber beside the Great Hall to wait being called in for the practical part of the examination. They were called in groups of four. The finished groups did not return so no one could find out what was going on. Hermione went first among the New Marauders, in a group including Anthony Goldstein, Goyle and Daphne Greengrass. Ten minutes later, Harry was called in together with Pansy Parkinson and the Patil twins. Professor Flitwick directed Harry to a free examiner, Professor Tofty. He looked to be the oldest and baldest of the examiners. Nearby was Professor Marchbanks who was testing Draco. The Slytherin glanced at him which caused the wineglass he was levitating to quiver for a moment, almost falling to the ground. Harry gave him a nod as he turned his attention to Professor Tofty. The man looked at his notes for a moment, “Potter, is it? The son of James Potter? Yes, it is. I tested your father in Transfiguration and DADA, you know. One of the best I’ve ever examined in those subjects. Well, no need to be nervous. I’m sure you’re just as brilliant as your father. Now, if I could ask you to take this eggcup and make it do some cartwheels for me….” Overall, Harry felt he did well in his practical. His Levitation Charm was steadier than Malfoy’s. He mixed up a Color Charm with an Enlargement Charm when he attempted to turn a rat orange but quickly corrected his mistake before the rat could grow to the size of a Doberman. Ron, on the other hand, had changed a dinner plate to a large mushroom and claimed he had no idea how that had happened. The Transfiguration theory exam had some tough questions but Harry managed to get most of them. In the practical, he was able to do transfigure a parrot into an iguana while Dean’s attempt failed to change the wings into legs. Harry had little trouble in Herbology other than almost being bitten by a Venomous Venus Flytrap. Neville was beaming when they saw him that evening, having received praise from Professor Marchbanks. DADA was by far the easiest for Harry. He breezed through the written exam. For the practical, he was again tested by Professor Tofty who gave him extra points for producing a corporeal Patronus. Ron and Neville had a free day on Friday while Harry and Hermione did their Ancient Runes theory exam. Afterwards, Harry had to cast a Calming Charm on Hermione when she discovered that she might have mistranslated one of her runes which would completely change the message she was translating from a cautious offer of trade to an outright declaration of war. The weekend was spent by the fifth-years studying for Potions. They were worried about it. Harry needed to get into Potions N.E.W.T.s to get into the Auror Academy. The greasy-haired professor had been a bit more vindictive and intimidating to the Gryffindors over the past year, probably due to the presence in Hogwarts of his old school rival, James Potter. Harry was much better at controlling his temper than in the past and refused to react to any veiled verbal barbs the Potions Master threw his way. When the exams came on Monday, Harry found it easier without Snape hovering over them during the practical part. His potion looked almost perfect, something he never achieved with the dour Potions Master in charge. Harry tried his best during the Care of Magical Creatures exam to prove that Hagrid was as good a teacher as anyone in the school. He didn’t do as well in Astronomy and Divination, not that he cared to continue in those classes next year. On Thursday, after their History of Magic, Harry, Neville, Ron and Hermione walked out of the castle to enjoy the warm June weather and let off some steam. Harry looked back at the castle with longing since Ginny was still inside having another exam. They hadn’t had time together since that morning before taking his Charms O.W.L.s. “Come on, mate,” Ron said, “You can’t be thinking of Ginny again. We’ve just finished our O.W.L.s. Relax a little. You’ll see her tonight.” “Yeah, I know,” Harry answered half-heartedly as he continued to stare back at the castle. He could almost sense where exactly in the castle she was through their bond. “But she still has another day of tests tomorrow. She’ll want to study tonight.” “Well, in that case,” Neville said, “why not do something that can distract you for a bit? Like a fly around the pitch.” Harry grinned. If there was something he loved almost as much as Ginny, it was flying. “Yeah, Nev,” he said, “Come on, you and Ron can join me.” He turned to Hermione, “Um, care to join us, Hermione?” Hermione smiled and shook her head. “No thanks, Harry. You know I’ve never been comfortable on a broom. I’ll just watch you guys from the stands.” So the three Gryffindors spent the remaining hour before dinner flying. Harry entered the Great Hall feeling a lot better and sat down beside Ginny who smiled at him. “I’m glad you were able to relax a little, Harry,” she said to him. “Yeah, me too, Gin,” Harry replied, smiling back at her. They held hands while eating. After dinner, they walked back to Gryffindor Tower, still holding hands. Harry gave Ginny’s hand a light squeeze. “I wish you didn’t have any exams tomorrow. I bet the couch by the fireplace would be comfortable tonight.” Ginny sighed before replying, “As tempting as that would be, I really need to finish studying. It’s Potions in the morning and Herbology in the afternoon.” Harry sighed. “All right, I’ll just ask Ron for a couple of games of Wizarding chess and try to withstand the humiliation of being utterly thrashed.” Ginny giggled and patted his cheek. “Poor Harry, don’t worry, luv. Just one more day then we can snuggle up in that couch.” By then, they were by the Portrait Hole. Once inside the common room, Ginny kissed his cheek and joined Rose, Melinda and Colin at a table in one corner of the room. Harry walked over to Ron and they had a couple of games of Wizarding chess before turning in. The next day, Harry posted a notice in the Great Hall to let the members of the Dueling Club know that there was going to be one last meeting that night. He, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Fred and George then went to the Room of Requirement to practice for the tournament. They had mock duels against each other until lunch. After lunch, the four fifth-years decided to relax and went down to the lake. The sun was low in the sky when Harry suddenly stood up and faced the castle. “What is it, mate?” Ron asked, fingering his wand. “Is something wrong?” Instead of answering him, Harry started running forward. Concerned, Ron, Hermione and Neville stood up, drawing their wands. Just as they were about to run after Harry, they saw Ginny hurrying down from the castle with Rose following more sedately behind her. Harry and Ginny almost slammed into each other as they embraced and started kissing passionately. Ron turned away and sighed, “Do they have to do that in front of me?” “Well, they can’t help it, Ron,” Hermione said quietly. “They’re in love and the Bond amplifies their feelings. They haven’t had much time together lately. Come on, let’s leave them alone. We can do with some alone time ourselves.” Ron grinned and eagerly allowed her to lead him toward the trees. They soon disappeared from view. Harry and Ginny kissed for a few minutes, lost in each other. Then they walked over to the large tree by the lake where they had spent their first date together two years ago. They sat down under its shade, with Harry leaning against the tree and Ginny leaning against his chest in between his legs. Rose walked on down to the shore of the lake and sat down beside Neville on a large rock. She watched her brother and best friend for several minutes. They looked like they had fallen asleep. “They look so peaceful, don’t they?” Neville said softly. Rose sighed as she turned to face him, feeling that familiar butterfly sensation in her stomach and flutter in her chest whenever she looked at him. “They deserve it, Neville. They’ve both been touched by the most evil guy in the world. I’m afraid it wouldn’t last. The War was already going on outside. It’s already touched Hogwarts and it will again.” “Are you getting visions again, Rose?” Neville asked. She shook her head before replying, “No, but I have this feeling something bad will happen soon. I don’t know when but it’ll be bad.” Neville placed a hand gently on her shoulder, causing a feeling of goose bumps that she struggled to control. “Well,” Neville said, “whatever it is, I think we’ll be ready. The Dueling Club’s been practicing hard. This tournament should show us just how well.” “I’m sure it will,” Rose said as she turned back to watch Harry and Ginny peacefully sleeping. She sighed after a few minutes. “I hope I can have something like that someday.” Neville whispered, “I’m sure you will, Rose. Someone as beautiful and smart as you is sure to.” Rose looked back at him and their eyes met. His eyes were shining with an intensity that quickened the pace of her heart. After an unknown amount of time staring at each other, he leaned forward so that their lips were mere millimeters apart. “Oi! It’s time for dinner,” Ron’s voice startled them and Neville drew back. They turned in the direction of his voice. Ron and Hermione were walking toward Harry and Ginny from the edge of the woods. Rose turned back to Neville but he was already standing up. “Neville?” Rose asked. He looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry, Rose. I don’t know what came over me.” He walked rapidly away from her toward the castle before she could say anything. Rose took a deep breath to slow her racing heart. Neville had almost kissed her, then practically ran away from her. Why? “Rose?” Rose looked around. Harry and Ginny were standing a few feet from her. “Rose?” Harry asked, “Why’d Neville leave so fast?” Rose shrugged. “Maybe he was hungry.” Harry stared back at her, clearly puzzled. Rose turned her eyes to Ginny, pleading with her to let it alone. Ginny looked back for a second before nodding slightly. “Come on, Harry,” Ginny said. “I’m hungry, too.” Harry grinned as he placed his arm around her. “That’s no surprise, love. After all, you’re a Weasley.” Ginny slapped him on the arm but let it remain draped around her as they walked off toward the castle. Rose took another deep breath before following them, her mind still awhirl with what had almost happened. The Dueling Club meeting that night was focused that night on practicing the spells learned the past year for an hour and a half then the members were allowed to practice dueling by pairs for a half hour. Neville avoided Rose that night, pairing up with Ti for dueling, much to the surprise of the younger boy. Rose kept looking at him, which allowed Maggie to get the better of her in their duel practice. Later, in their dormitory room, Ginny cornered Rose in her bed. Rose told her about what had almost happened between her and Neville. Ginny advised her to give Neville some time to work things out, then talk to him. Rose decided to accept Ginny’s advice and concentrated on preparing for the tournament. She had no more lessons with Martha though her Canadian mentor said that she would contact her during the summer through Dumbledore. At the end of dinner on Sunday night, James explained that the first two days would be spent for the first round, considering the number of duels that had to take place, a little more than a hundred. Though only a dozen or less students each from first to third year had signed up, almost everyone from fourth to seventh year were taking part. The first day would have the first- to fourth-year duels while the second day would have the fifth-, the sixth- and seventh-years. He then explained that Professor Dumbledore would be the one to pair them off by random lot for the duels, just before each year level would begin their first round, starting with the first-year participants after breakfast. The Headmaster would also pair them off the same way before every round. Due to the large number of duels to occur, the judges would now be Professors Flitwick, Dumbledore and Potter. After a few minutes to allow the information to sink in, the student body was dismissed. Few of the students taking part in the tournament slept that night, including Harry and his friends. At breakfast the next day, the tension and excitement could be felt in the Great Hall. When everyone seemed to be done eating, James stood up and asked the students to wait in the Entrance Hall while the Great Hall was prepared for the event. After twenty minutes of milling about nervously in the Entrance Hall, the students were called back in. When they entered the Great Hall, they saw that the four tables were no longer present. In their place were several dozen long benches lined up along three sides of the Hall while in the center was a square platform about twenty feet to each side and two feet off the ground with a set of stairs set on two sides leading up to it. The teachers were sitting on another long bench on the fourth side, just below the raised platform where the staff table was located. Madam Pomfrey was among the teachers, obviously there to provide magical healing if it was needed. The Headmaster stood up and told the students to sit anywhere they wanted. When all the students were seated, Dumbledore waved his wand and a table appeared in front of him. On the table were seven glass bowls with pieces of paper in them. “The names of each student participating in this tournament are written in the pieces of parchment in each bowl,” Dumbledore said. “Each bowl corresponds to a year level. We will begin with the first-years. Professor Potter will be the judge for this part of the tournament. For the first- and second-years, it will be enough for the student to force his opponent to drop his wand to win the match.” He then drew the first pair of names for the first year tournament. Harry and his friends settled back to watch. Two of the Gryffindor first-years Harry had escorted to the common room that first day of term were taking part, Euan Abercrombie and John Yeats. There were also three Slytherin, three Ravenclaw and two Hufflepuff first-years taking part, all boys. An hour and a half later, the first round for the first-years was over. Euan had managed to use a Tickling Charm to force his opponent, one of the Slytherins, to drop his wand. John, however, lost hold of his wand when he tripped after being hit with a Jelly-Legs Curse by his Ravenclaw opponent. One Slytherin, another Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff were also advancing. After about ten minutes, Dumbledore began the first round for the second-years. For the third duel among the second-years, Maggie Longbottom’s name was called. She was paired with a male Slytherin. Maggie stood up and glanced nervously at Neville. Neville gave his sister an encouraging smile. The twelve-year-old nodded back and walked onto the platform to face her opponent. She need not have worried. It took her only three minutes of graceful dodging to beat her opponent using a Full Body-Bind spell to force him to drop his wand. She returned to her friends and accepted their congratulations with a smile. Harry noticed her glance at Ti for a moment before turning to watch the next duel. It was another hour before the second-year duels were done. Of the twelve second-years competing, the victorious six were three Gryffindors (including Maggie and Dennis Creevey), two Ravenclaws and one Hufflepuff. After that round, Dumbledore called for a break for lunch. The dueling platform was removed for the moment and the House tables returned. After an hour-long lunch, the platform was again in the center of the Great Hall, ready for the third-years. ******* Ti became nervous as he heard his name called first for the third-year duels. Then he heard his opponent’s name, Paul. He groaned and looked at his friend who was seated right beside him. Paul gave him a small smile and shrugged. Sighing, Ti got up and walked up onto the platform. Paul went up on the other stairs. They faced each other with Professor Potter between them. “Sorry, boys,” James said. “I know this may be hard but just try your best.” They both nodded and drew their wands. At James’ signal, they began casting spells at each other. Ti threw a tickling charm as he dodged a Jelly-Legs Jinx. Ti cast a Body-Bind spell that flew by Paul. Luckily, there were wards around the platform that absorbed missed spells. Paul managed to hit Ti with a Leg-Locker Curse but Ti was able to keep hold of his wand as he fell forward. Ti cast a Finite Incantatum to release his legs then managed to push himself to his feet, avoiding a Stupefy spell. He dodged another Body-Bind spell and cast an Expelliarmus that caught Paul, disarming him. Ti blew out a breath. He went up to Paul and bent down to help him up. Paul allowed himself to be pulled up and accepted his wand back. They smiled at each other as Paul extended his hand to shake Ti’s. “Great work, mate,” Paul said. “I thought I got you when I hit you with the leg lock.” “Yeah,” Ti replied, “I just managed to keep from dropping my wand. I just got lucky with that last Disarming Spell.” Paul shrugged as he draped his arm around Ti’s shoulder. “Come on, winner. They’ll want to start the next duel.” They went down the platform back to the other Gryffindor third-years who congratulated Ti. Harry and the other New Marauders came up to Ti to give their own congratulations. Ti grinned as he accepted their congratulations. He looked around the Hall but couldn’t see Draco. He was a bit disappointed that Draco had not seen him win his first duel. He also wondered where his brother was. ******* The third-year duels took another hour to be done. Ti and Paul had been the only Gryffindors in that year to take part. The others were three Slytherins, four Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff. Of these, all three Slytherins and one Ravenclaw advanced into the next round. When Professor Flitwick went up on the platform to announce the start of the fourth-year duels with him as the judge, Ginny felt excitement course through her. She felt ready to face anyone in her year. It was almost an hour before Ginny’s name was called. Her opponent was a female Slytherin. Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek for good luck. “Good luck, love,” he told her, “You can do this.” “Thanks, Harry,” she replied. Ginny walked up to the platform. She faced her foe with her usual determination. The moment Professor Flitwick gave the signal to start the duel, Ginny let loose with a barrage of three Stupefy spells. The first one crashed into the shield the Slytherin hastily threw up. The second completely destroyed the shield, allowing the third to hit the other girl and knocking her out. The Gryffindors in the Hall broke out in cheers and applause. Ginny ran down the stairs and straight into Harry’s arms. They embraced. “That was great, Gin,” Harry said. “Congratulations. I told you that you could do it.” “Thanks, Harry,” Ginny said before kissing him. ******* Rose watched Harry and Ginny kiss after Ginny’s victory. She then went up to her best friend to congratulate her, along with the other New Marauders and several of their fellow Gryffindors. Then she waited for her own turn, which came twenty minutes later. Her opponent was an old nemesis, Margaret Tunnelbee, who had tormented her since first year. Tunnelbee sneered at her as they faced each other on the platform. When Flitwick signaled them to start, the Slytherin immediately cast a Stunning Spell that Rose dodged. Rose then sent a Furunculus hex at her, causing boils to break out on the Slytherin’s face. Tunnelbee screamed and cast a Confringo curse at Rose, which she barely dodged. There was a loud Clang as the missed curse was absorbed by the wards around the platform. “Oh my!” Professor Flitwick said. “Miss Tunnelbee, we don’t use Blasting Curses on people!” The Slytherin girl didn’t seem to hear him as she cast two more such spells at Rose. The first missed and hit the wards around the platform again. The second hit the floor in front of Rose, knocking her several feet back near the edge of the platform. Rose groaned as she lay there on her back. Her whole body hurt from being tossed about. Luckily, she still had hold of her wand. She groggily opened her eyes. Her opponent was walking toward her, grinning maniacally. Rose quickly raised her wand and said, “Incarcerous!” Tunnelbee looked surprised as ropes bound her up. She fell to the floor, losing hold of her wand. Rose lay back down with another groan. She was relieved to have won but needed someone to help her up. She vaguely heard Professor Flitwick declare her the winner, followed by footsteps running along the platform toward her. Someone gently lifted her head and upper body from the floor of the platform. She opened her eyes and saw her father looking at her. “Hey, sweetheart,” James said. “How are you feeling?” “Like a herd of hippogriffs just ran over me,” Rose said. “Did anyone get the license plate of that lorry?” James smiled. “I think I caught a glimpse of it.” Madam Pomfrey’s face came into view. “Well, young lady, let’s see the extent of the damage.” She ran her wand over Rose. “Hmm, no broken bones, no serious damage, just a few pulled muscles. You’re going to be sore for a few hours. I think you need to spend a night in the hospital wing just to be safe.” Rose groaned. “Dad! Do I have to?” “Yes, Rose,” James said, “I agree with Madam Pomfrey. You should do as she says. Otherwise, you better drop out of the tournament.” Rose sighed. “Oh, all right. I’ll go to the hospital wing. Can I walk there on my own?” James looked at Madam Pomfrey who looked uncertain. The school matron waved her wand several times more over Rose who felt the aches and pain she was feeling greatly lessen. “All right, Ms. Potter,” Madam Pomfrey said, “I’ll let you go to the hospital wing on your own power. I think there are only a couple more duels left. Then I’ll walk with you there. Meanwhile, you can sit down near me.” James helped Rose stand. She felt dizzy for a moment but it passed. She slowly walked to the stairs closest to the staff table. She saw Harry, Ginny and the rest of the New Marauders gathered at the foot of the stairs. “Hey, sis,” Harry said, “I’m glad you’re all right.” “Oh yeah,” Rose said, “but Madam Pomfrey still wants me to spend the night in the hospital wing.” “Well,” Harry said, “I guess a Potter has to spend some time in the hospital wing this year. Better you than me.” “Yeah, right,” Rose said. “You still have your own duels, Harry, so you may still end up spending time in the hospital wing.” Harry wisely didn’t answer that but shrugged and let her pass to sit beside Madam Pomfrey. He and the others went back to their previous seats to continue watching the duels. Strangely, the last duel was between Colin Creevey and Luna Lovegood. Luna gracefully dodged or threw a shield to deflect every spell Colin threw at her without firing a spell back, the dreamy expression on her face never faltering. Colin looked bewildered by it all. Suddenly, Luna threw a Disarming Spell that knocked him off his feet. Luna calmly caught his wand. Professor Flitwick proudly declared her the winner. The Hall was silent for a few moments before the silence was broken by loud applause and cheers from Harry and his friends. Luna walked up to Colin, reached down for his hand and helped him up. Then she serenely walked away and down the platform, leaving the young Gryffindor staring after her in awe. After a few moments, Colin remembered where he was and hurriedly went down the stairs back to join his house mates. Dennis patted his arm in sympathy over his loss but Colin just shrugged his shoulders. Dumbledore then stood up. “That ends the first round for the first- to fourth- years. Congratulations to the winners. Now, it is time for dinner. Please step outside so the Hall may be restored to its usual state.” The students noisily exited the Great Hall. Outside, Harry and his friends promised Rose that they’d visit her in the hospital wing after dinner. Madam Pomfrey came up to them and she and Rose walked off toward the hospital wing.
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