The Awakening Power

* * *

Harry glanced over at Ginny, exchanging a small smile with her. They had taken to eating meals together, which Harry enjoyed very much. As he sat at the Gryffindor table eating his breakfast, he reflected that life was actually going pretty well, for once.

After receiving an owl from her mother, Ginny had assured him that Mrs. Weasley was ecstatic about their new relationship, which made Harry feel a bit more secure about the whole thing. Of course, Fred and George had felt the need to send them both a book, "What to know on your wedding night," causing him and Ginny great embarrassment. It also didn't help that they had sent it in care of Ron, who gleefully read excerpts to them.

Things had been particularly peaceful the last week and a half or so; Malfoy was suspended from school for ten days for the Quidditch incident. There were rumors that he'd been close to expulsion, but Narcissa Malfoy and her lawyers appealed to the Governors of Hogwarts, and they had negotiated the ten-day suspension.

Of course, he had been back for two days now and was as annoying as ever. He was greeted like a returning hero by the other Slytherins. Things were noticeably quieter while he was away; even the rest of the Slytherins seemed more pleasant with him gone, including Crabbe and Goyle, who only appeared to wander the hallways looking lost and confused.

As Harry sat chatting with his friends, he vaguely noticed a strange mumbling descending over the Great Hall. Turning around, he saw Dumbledore walking from his table. It was rare for Dumbledore to come toward the student tables, so everyone was watching curiously, wondering what was going on. Harry was rather curious as well, until he noticed Dumbledore gazing at him, at which point he felt a sudden chill.

"Why is Dumbledore looking at you?" Ron whispered. "Are you in trouble?"

Harry shrugged helplessly. He had no idea what was going on. He went down a list of reasons in his head of why Dumbledore might come to talk to him rather than just send him a note to see him in his office, but nothing was coming to mind. He looked over at Ginny, who was glancing between Dumbledore and himself, her eyes wide. Hermione just seemed stunned that a teacher would do something out of the ordinary. Even the other Professors appeared surprised at Dumbledore.

Finally he arrived, sauntering up calmly. Harry was relieved to notice that he had a small smile on his face, which reassured him that it probably wasn't bad news. Everyone in the Great Hall had their eyes locked on Dumbledore.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. You are well, I trust?" Dumbledore said, as if he had just stopped by to say hello.

"Erm, fine, thank you. And you?" Harry said, feeling as though those words were an utterly stupid thing to say.

"Splendid, splendid. Trying the sausage this morning, I see. I, myself, found my omelet to be excellent," Dumbledore said affably, not appearing to notice that the entire hall was listening to him discuss breakfast.

"Yeah, excellent," Harry said, wanting to shake Dumbledore and find out what he was doing.

"I believe tonight is a meeting of your club, is it not?" Dumbledore said, eyebrows raised.

"Er, yes, sir," Harry said, confused.

"I had a thought," Dumbledore said. A long pause ensued after this statement.

"A thought - erm, sir?" Harry said finally, wishing he would get to the point before his heart gave out. The entire hall was dead silent, Dumbledore's voice carrying over the tables.

"Yes. Mr. Potter, may I request the honor of a friendly duel between the two of us, in lieu of tonight's meeting?"

Harry's jaw dropped as he stared in stunned disbelief, Dumbledore's statement washing over him like a tidal wave. It didn't seem to actually register in his mind; it only echoed in his skull. Harry could hear sharp intakes of breath around the hall as the silence slowly transformed into a low murmur, before falling silent again. He felt every eye on him as the seconds ticked away.

He blinked and realized he hadn't yet said anything to Dumbledore. Harry willed his voice to work again, hoping that it didn't squeak. "A-a duel? Between me - and you?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Yes, Mr. Potter. Shall we say eight-thirty tonight, here in the Great Hall? Of course, for this occasion I think we could open it up to anyone who would care to witness the proceedings. Well then, I look forward to our match tonight. Good day, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore strode off, seeming to leave a vacuum in his wake.

Harry glanced desperately between Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny simply appeared shocked, and Ron had an expression of abject horror on his face. Hermione looked nervous, but thoughtful, and Harry thought he could almost see the wheels turning in her head, oddly giving him some comfort. He stared down at his abruptly inedible-looking breakfast, his gut feeling that nothing good could come from this.

Harry glanced at Ron, who looked absolutely awful. "What?" Harry asked.

"You... you've never seen a dueling tournament at the high levels, have you?" Ron asked, biting his fist.

"No..." Harry responded slowly.

Ron looked very reluctant. "Er, well, I mean... I'm not trying to scare you, mate..." He stopped.

Goose pimples rose on Harry's arms.

"At the level that Dumbledore duels... the very highest levels..." Ron started, but then couldn't continue.

"Just tell me," Harry said with gritted teeth.

"All right," Ron said, glancing at Harry, apparently deciding to say it straight out. "Um, losing wizards are usually carried out on stretchers at the end of a match. I mean, think about the spells you have to use in a high level duel, between the most powerful wizards in the world. Stupefy spells aren't going to cut it. Very strong spells are used."

Harry ran his fingers through his hair, feeling utterly out of his league in the whole thing.

"But... they usually try and make certain that no one dies," Ron said, evidently believing that would improve Harry's outlook.

Ginny put her hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "Dumbledore has his reasons for asking you. Have confidence in yourself. You'll be great." Harry looked at her and smiled weakly. Ginny gave him an optimistic smile back.

"You're going to have to choose a second," Ron said, still looking very nervous.

Harry immediately turned to Hermione and asked pleadingly, "You'll be my second, won't you?"

"Of course I will, Harry," Hermione appeared to be recovering from the shock.

Harry realized that he might have been rude. He glanced nervously between Ron and Ginny. "Um, Ginny, Ron..."

Ron waved him off. "Don't even think it, Harry. There is no way I want anyone else other than Hermione next to you." Hermione flushed at the praise.

"It's not even a question," Ginny said firmly. "Ron and I will be there, of course, but we all know that Hermione knows more than all of us put together."

Harry looked at them both thankfully, grateful that they understood.

"Well, then, we had better get started," Hermione said.

"Started? Doing what?" Harry said, feeling overwhelmed.

"Studying, of course. We need to prepare for the duel tonight. We have some time before our next class. We need to go to the library."

Ron swore. "Study?" he asked in disbelief. "How the bloody hell do you study for a duel with Dumbledore?"

"Ron, watch your language!" Hermione said disapprovingly. "We should review spells that are useful for dueling. Just because it's Dumbledore doesn't mean we can't prepare ourselves as best we can."

Harry seemed to be only half-hearing Hermione. He silently agreed with Ron. He didn't think he would find a formula for dueling Dumbledore in some long-forgotten book.

But Hermione's mind appeared to be made up. She got up from the table, glaring at Ron, and gave Harry an expectant look.

"Go, Harry. I'll check in on you later, after my classes," Ginny said, smiling supportively.

Harry didn't know what else to do anyway, so he allowed Hermione to lead him out of the hall, Ron trailing behind them. Anyway, he didn't have any better ideas, and at least he would be away from all the eyes that seemed to be filled with dread for him. At least most of them; the Slytherins appeared to be relishing the idea of his inevitable defeat.

As he was leaving, he glanced back at Ginny. She was watching him and then she raised her hand and gave him a thumbs-up. He wasn't certain why, but he felt a little better.

* * *

Harry was used to getting a lot of looks from his classmates that year for various reasons, but the latest expressions somehow were the worst. Everyone seemed to glance at him with dread, as if he had come down some deadly disease and had only days to live. And maybe that isn't far from the truth, he thought morosely as he entered Advanced Charms class after lunch.

"Ah, Potter. I have some information you may be interested in," Malfoy said, walking up to him with a smirk. He handed Harry a piece of parchment with a list of names. "I looked up Dumbledore's record of dueling opponents. They all had an average stay in the hospital of around a week. I'm confident you'll beat that; I'm counting on a few months, myself."

Harry tried not to give Malfoy the satisfaction of reading the list, but he couldn't help it. Name after name was listed with the date, outcome, and the last column had the victor, with "DUMBLEDORE" on every line. Apparently Dumbledore had never lost a match.

Harry willed himself to keep his face straight as he handed the list back to Malfoy with a shrug, but the list had badly unnerved him. Malfoy walked away, laughing loudly.

Somehow, Harry managed to get through the day, the time passing far too quickly. Hermione insisted on visits to both the standard library and Dumbledore's library as they tried to cram as much research in as possible. McGonagall had sent a small note with the rules for the match. It was to be played using standard tournament regulations, which disallowed attacking a wizard while on the ground or launching multiple complex attack spells. Harry didn't quite understand the latter, until Hermione explained it.

"I looked up the details in the regulations," she said. "For example, when I did the bubble on Malfoy's head, I would have to give him a fair chance to get rid of it before launching another attack. The intent is to make the matches last longer and be more exciting. Otherwise, the first wizard that gets something past the other wizard would almost always win. You can do as many fast attacks as you want, though, like stunning spells or bludgeoning spells."

That evening, he picked at his meal as the clock inexorably crept towards the appointed time. He couldn't help sneaking a glance toward the teacher's table, where Dumbledore was eating his dinner and chatting with the other Professors as usual.

"Come on, Harry, eat something," Ginny said. "You need to keep your energy up."

Harry sighed and forced himself to take a bite of his spaghetti, mostly to please her, also causing Hermione to give him an expression of approval as well. Ron appeared quite nervous, but it didn't seem to be affecting his appetite as he packed away his usual huge dinner.

At seven o'clock, everyone was ushered out of the Great Hall so that the room could be prepared. There was a small army of house-elves at the ready, supervised by Professor Flitwick. The students were told they could return after eight o'clock.

They waited in the common room, Harry staring into the fire, trying to mentally review what he and Hermione had read that day, but finding it very difficult to concentrate. Ginny was sitting next to him, reading a textbook, and Ron and Hermione were playing chess. He could tell they weren't really concentrating on what they were doing, but he was grateful for the brief time of low-key silence.

At around a quarter until eight, Ginny glanced up from her book. "Harry, maybe you should go up and change."

"Change what?" Harry said blankly.

"Your robe! You don't want to duel with Dumbledore in that. It has a hole in the knees, and food stains on it! Surely you have a nicer one?" she said with a frown.

"Ginny's right, Harry," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Come on, I'll go up with you," Ginny said, rising to her feet.

Harry sighed and trudged up the stairs with her, feeling as if the whole thing was getting far too complicated. They entered Harry's dormitory, which was empty of his roommates, since everyone was in the common room waiting to go down to the duel. Harry nervously realized that this was the first time that he had been alone with Ginny in his room, especially since they had started going out...

"Where are your robes?" Ginny asked.

"Erm, in there," Harry said, pointing at the top drawer of his dresser. Ginny opened the drawer, causing Harry to feel very embarrassed as he realized that he kept his underwear in the same drawer. Ginny noticed his expression and giggled.

"Oh, honestly, Harry. With six brothers, you think I've never seen boys' underwear before?"

Harry said nothing. Maybe she had seen boys' underwear before, but that was entirely different from seeing his underwear. Ginny quickly shuffled through Harry's black robes, finally pulling one from the bottom of the pile.

"Great Merlin, Harry. Do you always pull the same one off the top? This one looks like it's never been worn, as if you never worked your way that far down the stack. Boys!" she said, rolling her eyes. She unfolded the robe, holding it up critically. "Well, I suppose it's fortunate in this case. Let me use a quick anti-wrinkle spell, and you'll be fine."

She waved her wand on it, casting a spell. The wrinkles vanished out of the robe, making it look very black and pressed. "All right, put it on."

Harry pulled off his old robe, revealing his normal T-shirt and trousers that he wore under his robes. He pulled over the new robe. "Better?" he asked, amused at all the attention.

Ginny smiled at him. "Much better," she said in a low voice, as she moved up and adjusted his collar. "You're going to be brilliant tonight." She gazed up into his eyes, making Harry all the more aware that they were alone in the room.

She slowly wrapped her arms around him. "This worked for luck last time," she whispered.

"I may need a lot of luck this time," Harry replied, with a small, shy smile.

* * *

As Harry and Ginny came back down the stairs, he saw Hermione glancing at the clock impatiently. "It's after eight, Harry! We should go down and get settled!"

Harry sighed, figuring there was no use getting there at the last second. "Yeah, all right."

Many of the other Gryffindors in the room had begun filing out the portrait hole as well. As Hermione got up from her chair, Harry noticed that she was carrying a bag. He was curious about what she was bringing, but didn't really feel like asking questions.

They headed out the portrait hall, traveling down the corridors. Many of students wished him good luck as he walked down. Ginny had momentarily distracted him from his task, but all the well-wishing seemed to have an undercurrent that he really needed the well wishes, making him grow more nervous.

As Harry entered the Great Hall, he stopped abruptly, looking around in wonderment. It had been transformed into a large dueling arena, with tall grandstands surrounding a cleared-out center area.

"Wow, Dumbledore really went all out," Ron said appreciatively. "This is way better than the setup for the Dueling Club in second year."

Harry had to admit it was impressive. The center of the arena had a long, red rectangle placed on the stone floor, apparently the dueling area itself. Peering at the stands, he could see students filing in, looking very excited as they climbed into their seats. Harry walked up to the arena itself and stopped as he saw an odd shimmer. He put out his hand and it stopped against some sort of shield.

"That's a Spectator Shield," Hermione said knowledgeably. "It's so the people in the stands won't get hurt by stray powerful spells."

What about people inside the shield? Harry thought grimly, but figured he should try and maintain a confident exterior.

It appeared as if every student in the school was showing up as the stands filled up with more and more people. Harry could also see many of the teachers filing in; Professor Melanadray caught his eye and waved to him from a seat about half-way up.

"Harry!" said a familiar voice.

"Mrs. Weasley!?" Harry said incredulously as she gave him a huge hug. She was being followed by Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie, who all pumped his hand enthusiastically. Ginny hugged everyone, and Ron shook hands all around as well. He tried to avoid a hug from his mother in front of everyone, but Mrs. Weasley grabbed him despite his best attempt to dodge.

"Hello, dear," said Mrs. Weasley to Harry.

"What are all of you doing here?" Harry asked, blinking his eyes, looking between them all.

"Are you kidding, Harry?" said Fred, with a huge grin.

"You don't think Dumbledore having a duel with Harry Potter isn't big news?" said George with an equally huge grin.

"The word spread like wildfire. The only reason this place isn't crawling with Daily Prophet reporters is that Dumbledore kicked them out," said Fred.

"No way we were going to miss this," said George. "And, of course, we had to let Bill and Charlie know."

"I Apparated as soon as I heard," said Charlie. "It's not every day that Dumbledore has a dueling exhibition match, especially with our sister's boyfriend." He grinned at that last, but the smile fell under a glare from Mrs. Weasley. Harry suspected that she had told them to go easy on him about that, to Harry's great relief.

"Fortunately, I was already in town for Gringotts," Bill said, looking cool as usual as he smirked a little at Charlie's comment. "With my luck, I might've been stuck in a tomb."

"And, of course, we wanted to be here to support you, dear," said Mrs. Weasley with a smile.

"Minister Fudge is going to be here, too," said Mr. Weasley, looking very excited. "He had some sort of dinner meeting with a European delegation, but they decided to cancel their dinner plans and watch the duel instead."

Just then, a very official-looking group of men and women came into the Hall, talking animatedly, and Harry recognized Fudge, the Minister of Magic among them. Harry groaned.

"Who is coming to this?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said enthusiastically, walking up and appearing very excited. "Wow! A duel with Dumbledore. That's quite an honor." Harry also saw Blackhorn, Page and MacGregor milling about, with some other strangers that Harry assumed were probably Aurors.

"Yeah, honor," Harry said weakly. "How many Aurors came?"

"Blimey, I don't know," Tonks said, grinning. "When word came, it was like a bomb had hit the place. Everyone was trying to get permission to come onto the Hogwarts grounds to watch. I know the heads of all the Auror divisions are here. In fact, I'm pretty certain I saw the Headmaster of the Auror Academy floating about, so you'll want to try and impress him." She laughed, but Harry found it very difficult to find any of this funny. "Mad-Eye and Remus are around somewhere as well. Mad-eye is probably dragging him around, checking for any traps." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, we'd better get a seat. Good luck, Harry," Mr. Weasley said. The rest of the Weasleys wished him luck as well as Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. They headed up into the stands.

"Good luck, Harry," said Tonks, giving him a friendly punch on the arm. "You know the Aurors will be rooting for you."

"Thanks," Harry said, wanting to run away and hide.

A buzz of excitement ran through the room as it filled to capacity. Harry had no idea how many people were there; the grandstands appeared to magically expand as needed.

Harry saw Madam Pomfrey enter the Hall, lugging a very large trunk with "Portable Healing Kit" on the side. She was looking very grim, which lasted until she glanced at Harry, at which time her face fell into an expression of downright dread. Harry felt himself grow short of breath.

Professor Trelawney floated into the room, looking very ethereal with an enormous number of beads around her neck. Harry was surprised to see her; she hardly ever came out of her tower.

"Mr. Potter!" she said, coming up to him. "You must let me take a reading!" She placed her hand firmly on his head and looked off into the distance, as Harry squirmed.

"Oh... Oh... OH!" she said, her eyes growing wide with shock as she put her hand over her mouth. Her face fell into an expression between sympathy and horror. "My poor, poor boy. I see... I see... pain. Terrible, terrible pain. And... snapping sounds, like dry branches under the feet of a giant. I have to stop... I can't bear to See any more!"

Trelawney ran away in grief. Harry noticed that her reluctance to see more didn't stop her from climbing into the stands and finding a good seat.

Harry moved away from the door to avoid any more surprises. He stood against a wall with Ginny, Ron and Hermione, trying to keep himself calm. Ginny was massaging his shoulders, which normally might have felt good but right now he felt so much tension that her fingers seemed to be barely denting the taught muscles.

Some time later, he noticed Madam Pomfrey rolling in what appeared to be a large operating table, piled high with more medical gear. He blinked at it, wondering if she was planning on setting up a new infirmary in the Great Hall. His tension ratcheted up several notches.

McGonagall approached him, appearing about as anxious as Harry had ever seen her. "How are you, Potter?" she asked.

"Erm, fine," he lied.

She nodded, looking as if she didn't hear a word of Harry's response. "Good, good. Now, don't worry about anything. I'll be refereeing the match. I'll be there in case anything gets... out of hand," she said.

"Uh... out of hand?" Harry asked uneasily, but she was already walking away distractedly. Harry didn't feel comforted in the least by her assurances.

"Well, it's almost time, Harry," Ginny said, glancing at Ron. "We'd better head on up."

Ron was wearing a very bleak expression. "Yeah. Seamus was supposed to save us some good seats," he said in a low voice, the way one might speak to a dying person.

"Ron! Stop looking at Harry as if he's on his death bed," Hermione said, annoyed. Ron forced a horrible-looking smile to his face, showing far too many teeth.

"Forget it, Ron," Harry said, grimacing. "I'll take the grim look over whatever that expression is."

Ron's face immediately fell. "Good luck, mate," he said, clapping his hand on Harry's shoulder.

Ginny came up and whispered in his ear. "You're going to do wonderfully," she said, and kissed his cheek. Harry gave her a feeble smile in return. She squeezed his hand and left with Ron toward the stands. Harry could see Seamus close to the front next to two empty seats.

Harry glanced at Hermione, who looked a little nervous, but appeared much more confident than Harry felt. She smiled at him encouragingly. "Oh, Harry, don't worry. What's the worst that can happen? Dumbledore wins. There's no shame in that. And he would never hurt you."

"Yeah, I guess so," Harry said. She was right about that; there was no shame in losing to Dumbledore, but he couldn't help feeling like a complete fraud who didn't belong within miles of the same arena as Dumbledore. And, as Ron said, accidents could easily happen in this sort of thing.

Several minutes later, the clock hit eight-thirty exactly, and Dumbledore entered the room, wearing a magnificent dueling robe of a dark blue with dark purple trim, monogrammed with various magical symbols. Harry peered down at his own plain black robe, which fortunately was clean, pressed and hole-free. He was extremely grateful that Ginny and Hermione had insisted that he change into something else.

Snape followed Dumbledore through the door soon after. He paused, surveying the room, and then locked eyes with Harry. He stared for several seconds, then curled his lip into a sneer, before turning away and following Dumbledore into the arena.

"Snape is going to be his second?" Harry asked, surprised. He wasn't certain what he expected, but somehow seeing Snape involved in any way pushed his anxiety level another few degrees.

"Apparently so, Harry. Well, we'd best go in," Hermione said. After a pause, she gave Harry a little push when he seemed to be frozen to his spot.

They moved through the Spectator Shield where they had seen Dumbledore and Snape enter. Harry and Hermione walked to the end opposite Dumbledore, Harry glancing around nervously. From the center of the room, the crowd appeared even larger.

McGonagall went to the center of the room and the crowd noise died down, waiting for her to speak. Her voice projected very loud throughout the hall, apparently using an amplification spell.

"Ahem. Thank you all for coming," she said. "Today's exhibition match pits Professor Albus Dumbledore versus Harry Potter. The format shall be Flewelling of Staffingham rules, best of three rounds, five minutes per round, with a five minute break in-between each round. A ring of the bell begins each round. The round will continue until the bell rings again, one wizard is incapacitated, or one wizard capitulates. Loss of wand does not end the round. No instantly lethal spells."

Does that mean slowly lethal is okay!? Harry thought anxiously, a bit of panic starting to seep in.

"Wizards and seconds, please join me," McGonagall said.

Harry glanced at Hermione and began slowly walking out to the center, meeting Dumbledore and Snape, who had moved over as well.

"Wizards bow to each other," McGonagall said.

Harry bowed, feeling extremely awkward compared to Dumbledore's graceful bow.

"Wizards bow to seconds."

Harry bowed to Snape, as Hermione bowed to Dumbledore. Harry was a bit surprised at how well Hermione did it; she did a very formal bow. It occurred to Harry that she probably looked in a book for the proper bow for this occasion. McGonagall then asked that seconds bow to seconds.

"Wizards take your places, seconds move to the safe zone during combat," McGonagall said.

Harry glanced around and saw three blue squares with chairs. One blue square was behind the end of the rectangular area, containing two chairs. A matching blue area was at the opposite end, and a third area was off the middle, apparently for McGonagall. The McGonagall area had a bell hovering in the air with a hammer suspended above it. Hermione went and sat down on her chair, placing her bag to the side, as Snape moved to his own area.

"Assume your stance," McGonagall said. Harry and Dumbledore moved to a dueling stance, wands held out in front of them.

McGonagall moved to her safety area, looking between the two of them. The crowd noise increased noticeably as the excitement grew. The ball rang.

Harry decided to begin with some stunner variations, still feeling somewhat nervous with the whole thing. Dumbledore easily blocked them, barely moving his wand.

Dumbledore gave a long sweep of his arm, and a powerful spell surged from his wand. Harry tried to block the spell, but he nervously got his shield up far too late and it got through his defenses. He felt it slam into him, and he flew ten feet through the air and landed on his back with a dull thud. A huge roar went up from the crowd, a combination of cheers and groans.

He rolled over in pain and peered back at Dumbledore. He had returned to a defensive posture, waiting for Harry to get up again. He had a slight smile on his face. As Harry watched, the corner of one side of his mouth crept up. Is he smirking at me!? Harry thought incredulously. He felt a cold anger rising up in him. Right then. If that's the way he wants to play, I know a few spells, too.

Harry slowly climbed to his feet, his eyes locked on Dumbledore. The crowd, still buzzing loudly, seemed to fall away as his concentration focused solely on the arena. Suddenly Dumbledore had ceased to be his Professor and teacher, and was now a competitor, his opponent. It was just like a Quidditch match. Plan your strategy. Play the game. He might not win, but he was not going to go down without a fight.

Harry daringly launched some very powerful spells, ones that he normally wouldn't have considered using in a friendly duel. Dumbledore blocked them, nodding his head slightly.

Dumbledore launched a very powerful curse; one Harry didn't quite recognize, but his shield spell blocked it anyway, a swirl of violent color surrounding him. A chill went down Harry's spine; whatever the spell was, it had been powerful and Dumbledore clearly wasn't messing about.

Harry dodged another spell, immediately launching a return spell. His aim was a bit low, and he was surprised to see Dumbledore use some sort of magically-enhanced jumping spell to leap over the spell.

A wonderful feeling of freedom ran through Harry as he used spells of greater and greater power... ones that he had only ever used in the testing area of Dumbledore's Library... he could see Dumbledore concentrating, having a bit more trouble completely blocking them...

Harry launched a freezing spell; Dumbledore cast a spell that caused it to disburse, but Harry saw some frost on Dumbledore's robe... some of the spell had penetrated, giving him a bit more confidence...

Suddenly the bell rang, ending the round. Harry and Dumbledore immediately ceased and walked back to their corners. The gallery roared a loud applause as they sat down on their chairs.

"Harry, that was fantastic!" Hermione said enthusiastically. "You had a bit of a rough start, but toward the end, you were holding your own!"

Harry blew out a slow breath. The first round was over and he had survived. He looked up to Ginny and Ron, who were clapping and cheering as Hermione passed him a bottle of water that she had pulled out of her bag. He glanced at the bottle, thankful that Hermione was thinking about these sort of things. He hadn't thought about bringing anything to drink.

McGonagall walked out to the middle to announce the results of the first round. She held up her hand with a stern expression, and the crowd grew quiet.

"First round to Dumbledore," she said in a businesslike voice. The crowd began applauding again as McGonagall moved back to her waiting spot.

The break time seemed to pass much too quickly as McGonagall came back out and gestured to Harry and Professor Dumbledore.

"Contestants, take your places," McGonagall announced. Harry walked back out, feeling a bit less nervous now that he had a round under his belt. The crowd cheered again as they took their positions.

"Assume your stance." Harry and Dumbledore turned to each other, raising their wands.

The bell rang, beginning the second round.

Harry felt himself getting into a rhythm of launching spells. His wand seemed to almost move of its own accord, as he and Dumbledore traded various spells and counter-spells. The were both launching very powerful spells, but both had difficulty gaining a clear advantage. Harry was feeling much more confident about his ability to defend, but he wasn't making much headway in getting an attack past Dumbledore's defense.

Toward the end of the round, Harry launched a hex a bit low, and Dumbledore again did a jump over the spell, and shot one back at him. Harry easily blocked it.

A thought germinated in the back of Harry's mind and moved to the forefront. He was sensing a pattern to Dumbledore's movements. Without any further thought, he shot a bludgeoning spell at Dumbledore's knees, waited a split second, then rapidly shot a barrage of perfectly aimed bludgeoning spells in an arc over Dumbledore's head. Dumbledore leaped up to dodge the knee spell.

Too late, Dumbledore realized he had just jumped into the other spells. He twisted in the air, sweeping his wand to make a shield to block the spells. Most of the spells were blocked, but one slipped through, smashing into his arm, causing him to spin in the air and crash to the ground.

Harry immediately stopped and assumed a defensive pose. He looked at Dumbledore's left non-wand arm, which was bent at almost a right angle. It was badly broken.

With a speed Harry found amazing, Dumbledore reached over and tapped his wand on his broken arm. Dumbledore grimaced as the arm immediately straightened. He then tapped his arm again, and lifted it off the ground, apparently healed. Harry couldn't help but be awed at the demonstration of instant self-healing. Dumbledore flew to his feet, and drew his wand back, preparing his response.

The bell rang, ending the round. A loud cheer rose from the crowd, then immediately grew quieter as McGonagall walked out to announce the results. She looked at Dumbledore, and then looked at Harry, seemingly unable to speak. Finally she pulled herself together and briskly announced, "Mr. Potter wins round two."

The crowd launched themselves to their feet and made a deafening roar of applause and cheering. The Gryffindors in particular were almost rioting. Harry moved back to Hermione and sat down on his stool.

"That was incredible, Harry! You won the round!" Hermione said, out of breath, red marks on her face where her fingers had been clutched to her face.

Harry peered over at Dumbledore. He saw a look in Dumbledore's eyes he had never seen before... a competitive look, a fire in his eyes. He and Snape were whispering to each other seriously, apparently discussing strategy.

Hermione began speaking spells in his ear, as fast as she could, over the din of the crowd. Harry nodded when he heard various ideas that sounded workable. The crowd was still loudly talking; a feeling of electricity filled the air. He glanced up at Ginny, who was tightly hugging her legs, folded under her chin. Ron was next to her with his hands to the side of his head, looking as if he wouldn't be able to take much more.

"Contestants, take your places." McGonagall announced. Harry and Dumbledore rose and went to their spots.

"The third and final round to decide the match. Assume your stance." Harry and Dumbledore again raised their wands. Harry felt a thrill of fear and elation.

The bell rang. The two combatants immediately started launching spells, Harry throwing himself to the side as he cast his spell; he suspected that Dumbledore would try something strong to take him out, and he was proven correct as he could feel the spell tingling his skin as it passed by him. It hit the Spectator Shield, which made a loud warbling sound with a bright flash.

A suggestion that Hermione had whispered to him came to mind. Feeling a bit bold, he waved his wand and shouted, "Immensus Serpensortia!"

A huge serpent began uncoiling from his wand, seeming to grow in breadth as it landed on the ground. When it finally finished, Harry couldn't help but back up a step. It was at least thirty feet long, and a good foot thick. The head was particularly imposing. It was at least two feet wide, with long, vicious fangs. He heard the crowd scream in reaction. It wasn't the basilisk, but it was frightening nonetheless.

The snake reared up nine feet in the air, hissing menacingly. Harry pointed his wand at Dumbledore and commanded "Attack!" in Parseltongue. It immediately started toward Dumbledore, with what seemed to be a very hungry expression on its face.

Dumbledore, for his part, appeared a bit taken aback at the sudden appearance of the enormous snake. He recovered quickly, and tried a few standard vanishing spells. Nothing happened. Apparently realizing he would have to fight it, he launched some powerful spells at the snake, which absorbed the impact impressively. It only made the snake angrier and more determined.

It lunged at Dumbledore, who immediately used an impediment charm to push it back. The snake hissed in rage as Dumbledore backed away, launching another spell. A glowing spear flew out of his wand, stabbing the serpent. Blood began pouring out the wound as the snake thrashed about. Dumbledore sent a few more spears, one stabbing it through the neck. The snack whipped its tail around, just barely missing Dumbledore's head as he ducked in the nick of time.

Unfortunately, Dumbledore was distracted long enough for the serpent to strike. One of its fangs caught Dumbledore in the shoulder, ripping his beautiful robe and opening a ragged wound.

He launched a few more spear spells, causing the snake to finally fall to the ground, finished. The crowd noisily applauded the defeat of the snake as it seemed to melt into the floor, vanishing. Harry could see Dumbledore breath out a bit of relief, and then glared at him, his eyes narrowing. Harry felt the hairs on his arms stand up and involuntarily took a step backward. Dumbledore had a look on his face that he hoped he would never see again directed at him - Dumbledore was angry.

Now it's time for some payback, Harry thought tensely. He took a defensive posture, and prepared himself. Dumbledore mumbled a complicated incantation and made an enormous sweep of his arm. A cloud of yellow smoke emitted from his wand, and then twisted and turned in the air. It began to coalesce into a large number of small objects. Harry peered closer, and noticed they seemed to be flying insects. Then he saw what they were - a swarm of bees. An angry buzzing emanated from the swarm, a terrifying sound. The mass of insects pulsed and throbbed as Dumbledore pointed his wand at Harry and commanded them to strike. The crowd gave another loud scream.

Harry thought frantically... what do you do with bees? Then an odd thought came to him... of all things, a Muggle documentary came into his head. Killer bees... what did they do to them... they burned them...

Harry swept his arm and gave a powerful inferno charm. A wall of fire erupted from his wand, just in time to form a barrier between himself and the bees. The swarm surged forward toward Harry, recklessly heading into the flames. They burst through the blaze, most but not all of the bees catching fire and dropping toward the ground in burning arcs.

Harry ran backwards, giving himself some room to work. He used a slightly different spell to cause flames to shoot out of his wand, but that only seemed to make the remaining bees angrier as they dodged the flames and started attacking him.

He started desperately launching stunning spells at the remains of the swarm. He couldn't get them all as the bees aggressively flew at him. Harry quickly pulled his hood over his face, but felt a bit of panic as he could feel the bees swarming him, stinging his arms. He ran farther backwards, and cast a bubblehead charm underneath his hood. He pulled his hood back, allowing him to see and also kept the bees away from his face.

He alternated Impediment spells with stunning spells to hold them back and slowly reduce their numbers. Despite his best efforts, a large number insects got through his defenses and stung his neck, as well as flew up his robes to further sting his arms.

At last the number of bees was reduced to a manageable level, and Harry was able to pick off the last few. He vaguely heard the crowd cheering him for defeating the bees. His arms and neck were puffy, and the skin burned from all the stings. He noticed a fair number of stingers in the skin of his arms and chest, and the pain from them was intense. An idea occurred to him, and he decided to give it a shot.

He held up his wand in front of him and cast, "Accio stingers! Accio venom!" Small bits of insect matter flew up out of his skin, and fluttered to the ground. He didn't feel completely back to normal, but it felt a lot better.

The inferno charm had worn off in the meantime as Harry looked back over at his opponent. Dumbledore wore a stern expression as he watched Harry deal with the bees.

Harry wasn't certain how much time was left, but the round felt close. It was now or never to win it. He started launching spells as fast as he could, anything he could think of. Dumbledore seemed to sense the same as they both went for an all-out assault, forgetting any subtle or complex spells. It was a lot like his Golem practice as he blocked spells and launched hexes. The crowd excitement was reaching an insane crescendo.

Dumbledore appeared to primarily depend on magic to block spells; whereas Harry used a mix of magical defense and physical dodging. Harry kept moving, trying to keep Dumbledore from getting a fix on him. The offensive styles were different as well - Harry was launching spells much faster than the Professor, but Dumbledore's spells were more varied, more targeted; a battle of youth and speed versus age and knowledge.

The power surging through Harry's body was incredible. He could feel it welling up through his body and down his wand arm. The spells coming from his and Dumbledore's wands were almost blinding in their intensity. Their shields gave deep gonging sounds as they absorbed the magical energy.

As they traded spells, Harry vaguely noticed the floor beneath their feet glowing slightly, giving off a strange red shimmering... The floor seemed to have a smoky quality...

The final bell rang. Harry and Dumbledore immediately ceased, and bowed to each other as the red shimmer faded away. Harry felt drenched in sweat, and glancing over, he could see that Dumbledore looked awfully drained as well. The crowd leapt to their feet, wildly cheering and applauding the round.

McGonagall gestured for silence, and the crowd grew quiet in anxious anticipation. She beckoned Harry and Dumbledore over to her side, along with Hermione and Snape. Each team stood on either side of her as she prepared to make her announcement.

She appeared rather shaken. "I must say, in all my years I have never seen a duel like that. Before I announce the outcome, I think a round of applause is in order."

The crowd gave an enthusiastic round of applause and cheering. Harry could see that even the teachers were animated in their clapping.

The audience finally quieted, and McGonagall continued. "Both contestants fought with distinction. I hereby declare the final round, Dumbledore versus Potter, a draw. Therefore, the match ends in a draw."

The crowd erupted in a raucous standing ovation. Harry's view of the crowd was suddenly obscured by a mass of bushy brown hair as Hermione embraced him excitedly. She broke away, and Harry found Ron and Ginny in the crowd, clapping for all they were worth. Grinning widely, he turned and Dumbledore gave him an unmistakable look of pride. He nodded at Harry and walked over and put his arm around him. They both bowed to the crowd, as the noise grew deafening.

They bowed a few more times, and Harry shot a glance at Snape. His face was expressionless. Harry looked him in the eye defiantly. To Harry's surprise, Snape finally gave him the barest nod and turned away.

"Congratulations, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, appearing very drained from the whole thing. "That was... frankly, unbelievable."

"Thank you, Professor," said Harry.

"There's something you should know," she said, peering at him over her glasses.

"All right," Harry said uncertainly.

"No one has ever won a dueling round against Professor Dumbledore. He has not only never lost a match, but never even a round. You're the first. Let me also tell you that in that final round, the Professor wanted to win very badly. He takes his magic very seriously and did not give you anything."

Harry nodded silently, not certain what to say to that, as Ginny and Ron came into the dueling arena. Ginny suddenly broke into a run and threw herself into his arms, hugging him excitedly. "Oh, Harry, you were absolutely amazing... I'm so proud of you..."

She backed up and looked at him carefully. "How do you feel?"

Harry felt that was an extremely good question. Now that she mentioned it, he felt like he had bruises all over his body, and the skin on his arms and neck still burned and felt very puffy. "Physically speaking, dreadful," he said, grinning.

"Well, you go see Madam Pomfrey right now," Ginny said sternly, pointing over to the Madam with her huge pile of medical supplies. Dumbledore was already seated next to her.

Harry sighed, nodding compliantly. He started to move over, then hesitated. "Do you mind if I speak to Professor Dumbledore alone?" Harry asked.

"Of course not, Harry. I'll wait over here with Ron and Hermione," she said with a smile. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Harry moved over and took a seat next to Dumbledore, whose shoulder appeared as if Pomfrey had already healed it. Dumbledore grimaced a bit as Madam Pomfrey examined his arm, making a clucking sound.

"Professor! Far be it for me to tell you how to duel, but I must say that you know that's not an accepted method of bone repair," she said disapprovingly. "I thought I had brought everything I'd need, but I didn't think I'd be re-breaking bones. Wait here; I'll return shortly."

Harry looked at Dumbledore incredulously as Pomfrey walked off. "Erm, Professor, what did she mean by that?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "That was a marvelous tactic you used, Harry. I've always had a bit of a weakness for that leaping spell, and you caught on almost instinctively. I deserved what I got; old habits die hard. As for your question, emergency bone repairs like the one I performed are very temporary. The bone must be re-broken and set for several days, I'm afraid."

Harry stared at him. "Why did you do it, then?"

"I haven't had this much fun in decades. I wasn't about to let a mere broken arm get in the way of our finishing the duel," Dumbledore said with a smile, his blue eyes twinkling.

Harry smiled back. "Could you teach me that spell? I don't think I've ever seen it in a book anywhere..."

"Of course, Harry. I will send you the details once I get back to my office. Not everyone can do the spell, of course, but it's highly useful in emergency situations. One caveat... it's extremely painful, which is why it's hardly even mentioned anywhere. It's not a particularly subtle spell, particularly the first phase where you straighten the bone," Dumbledore said.

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, feeling guilty.

"Not at all. You won that round fairly," Dumbledore said.

He paused and looked at Harry with an odd expression, a combination of curiosity and almost a shrewd, sly look. "Harry, tell me something. How did you feel - toward the end?"

Harry thought he knew what he meant, but for some reason didn't want to admit it. "Erm, feel? How do you mean?" he said, glancing away a little.

Dumbledore gave him a tolerant, knowing smile. "It's all right, Harry. You can tell me."

"It felt..." Harry swallowed. "It felt - really, really good. Like - I was opening myself up and really letting it go for the first time."

Dumbledore nodded. "You begin to understand the other side of temptation. It's - exhilarating to let it go like this. The only thing I've ever been able to compare it to, when trying to explain it to - others - is that it's similar to riding on a fast broom, that feeling of power in your hands."

"Yeah..." Harry said, nodding and thinking about it. "but this is different... I mean..." He couldn't put it into words.

"I understand, Harry. I've been trying to find the right words for over a hundred years and powerful wizards through history have tried and failed as well. But it's important to know that it's there. It can be - addictive, that feeling of control and power, especially in the context of wizard to wizard combat.

"All human beings, even Muggles, feel it to some degree. A Muggle can feel it holding a weapon, or in Muggle sports. But wizards like us feel it to a different extent. Our power emanates from our bodies in the most intimate way; it feels as if we can manipulate nature itself, simply by commanding it.

"Frankly, that is why many wizards seek out the Dark Arts. Dark spells can make you more powerful, but they nearly always extract a terrible price. But many wizards throughout history have sought out that power, willing to pay the price with their bodies, their minds, even their souls. That feeling of power can be very corrupting."

Harry recalled the letter he and Ginny had seen in the Chamber, from Tom to his mother. As he thought about it, he understood a little better what Tom was talking about. It had been thrilling to use his power like this, letting it go, feeling it welling up from within him. But he couldn't imagine... changing himself to get more.

"I think... what I have is enough," Harry said.

Dumbledore nodded, smiling. "Yes, for both of us. And fortunately, for most people, that is the case. But not for everyone."

Harry noticed Madam Pomfrey standing some distance away, waiting for them to finish their conversation. Dumbledore rose from his seat.

"Well, Harry, I think it's time to start the party," he said, smiling.

"Party?" Harry said, blinking.

Dumbledore amplified his voice and announced to the crowd. "Your attention. Please finish exiting the stands," he said. There were still a few stragglers in the stands, though most everyone had exited and were milling about the room. They quickly left the stands.

He waved his wand, the grandstands suddenly flying up toward the ceiling, spinning around and then vanishing. The regular tables slowly rolled away from the walls, the crowd quickly making room for them. Dumbledore finally clapped his hands, and party food of every sort appeared on the tables, including an amazing assortment of desserts.

Now that the whole thing was done, Harry found himself ravenous. People were moving hungrily toward the tables, and he felt a powerful pull himself. He started to get up from his chair...

"Hold it right there, Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said threateningly. "You just sit back down so I can fix you up."

"But... I don't feel that bad... hungry..." Harry said urgently.

"Sit!" she ordered.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Best do what she says, Mr. Potter. Madam Pomfrey can be quite insistent about these things." Dumbledore eyed the tables, appearing a bit peckish himself. He clapped Harry on the shoulder and began moving toward the food.

"And where do you think you're going, Professor?" said Pomfrey, her eyebrows raised.

Harry fought down a laugh as Dumbledore almost looked like a schoolboy caught sneaking out of the dormitory.

"Ah, Madam Pomfrey," Dumbledore said, putting a charming smile on his face with a twinkle in his eye. "Surely this can wait until... later?"

"Now, Professor, don't try that twinkling eye with me," she said brusquely. "You decided to do that bone repair. Now I have to undo it. The longer we wait, the longer it will take to heal, especially at your age. Sit!"

Dumbledore sat down resignedly. He glanced at Harry as Harry glanced at him, and they both let out simultaneous sighs, as they turned back and eyed the crowd enthusiastically eating the mountain of food, enjoying the party.