Chapter 27 – Dead Air

Harry knows he’s too far away, but it doesn’t stop him from trying to cast his Shield Spell to protect Holly. Snape’s beside her, and even he doesn’t see it quickly enough.

“Protego Maxima!” Several voices ring out.

He pushes through the crowd to get to her, heart pounding.

Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.

It’s his only mantra as he desperately tries to reach her. When he finally gets to her, she is huddled in a ball, Snape crouching beside her.

“Holly,” he croaks, falling to the ground next to her.

She uncurls, pushes Snape aside and launches herself into his arms, pale and shaking. Her heart pounding as hard and fast as his.

“Give her to me, Potter,” Snape orders, looking coldly at Harry.

Harry looks Snape straight in the eyes.

“You were standing right beside her,” he hisses fiercely. “You didn’t even see it coming.”

Snape flinches at the accusation.

“Are you hurt, Holly?” McGonagall asks, coming up to them.

Still with her face buried in Harry’s shoulder, she shakes her head.

“Perhaps you’d better step out for a few minutes,” McGonagall suggests. Then turning to the Hall, “Twenty points each to everyone who executed an excellent Shield Charm.”

“Come on,” Harry says, pulling away so they can walk out. Holly reluctantly moves away and follows, sticking close. Everyone moves out of their way as they head towards the door.

He’s aware of Snape dithering behind him before McGonagall encourages him to follow Harry and Holly out. They don’t speak until they are out of the Great Hall. Harry sits on the floor, pulling his sister with him.

“Talk to me,” he says gently.

“That was scary,” she whispers. “What was that spell?”

“A Cutting Curse, I think,” he answers softly.

“It was scary,” she repeats.

ooOoo

Severus is torn between checking on Holly, following her out with Potter and wanting to strip Yaxley into pieces. He’d turned his attention away, and those few seconds almost cost his daughter. He’ll be having words with Lucius. He said he’d set up safeguards against stray spells. He and Holly had been in the safe zone, and still, this happened.

Now, she’s clinging to Potter as if he is her lifeline. The boy who more or less accused him of neglect. The boy who hadn’t even been able to save her himself.

“Letting you attend was a mistake,” Severus interrupts, his voice harsher than he’d meant. She’d only come for Potter.

Before Potter or Holly can say anything further, Draco comes behind them.

“Yaxley says it was an accident,” his godson informs them. “McGonagall and Father are discussing whether they should let him continue with his duel. They’re looking at the Safety wards again.”

“Your dad’s right,” Potter says, startling Severus with his words. “You don’t need to be here. Come on. We’ll go back to the Common room. Or wherever you want until lunchtime.”

“You’re not going to stay for the Duelling club?” Draco asks in surprise.

“It’s just a club,” Potter shrugs, sparing the Slytherins a brief glance before turning back to Holly. “Come on, Holly.”

Severus has to admit that Potter’s easy acceptance of exiting the club in the middle of the second round sounds impressively genuine. Then again, he might have passed round one, but given the collective lack of experience, it’s not unfeasible that his own win had been anything but a fluke.

The second round would be more challenging to win, and perhaps Potter is only using Holly’s fright as an excuse to leave and still save his pride in front of his friends and for Holly.

“You’re not going to finish? You could win,” Holly insists, pulling on Potter’s arm to keep him in place.  

“It’s just a club,” Potter repeats, moving to stand again. “It’s not worth you getting hurt by stupid accidents like that.”

“It wasn’t an accident,” Holly asserts, suddenly angry.

“Holly,” Severus begins sceptically, exasperated that she’s inflating Potter’s already colossal ego. She admits to being scared and suddenly wants to return because she thinks Potter will win. He is right. Potter will only lead his daughter into danger. Yaxley might be someone to watch out for, but he’s not stupid enough to try to hurt his daughter with so many witnesses. The simple explanation is that the Safety wards somehow failed. “Of course it was an acci-”

“It wasn’t an accident,” she raises her voice, looking at him defiantly, still holding onto Potter’s arm. Looking back at Potter, she continues, “He looked right at me. He smiled at me like Creepy Carl and pointed his wand at me.”

Who’s Creepy Carl? Severus thinks, observing them both. Potter stiffens at the mention of him.

“You believe me, right?” she implores, looking desperately at Potter. “He did it on purpose. You believe me?”

Potter stares intently at Holly before quietly agreeing, “I believe you.”

Exasperated, Severus intervenes once again- or tries to.

“I don’t want to be scared,” she says in a small voice, looking at Potter plaintively.

“You’re not going back inside,” Potter tells her.

“You’re in no position to tell my daughter what to do,” Severus snaps, even though he himself wants Holly to be elsewhere.

“I go where you go,” Holly insists stubbornly, ignoring Severus completely.

Potter clenches his jaw in frustration. “Then I don’t go back inside either.”

Draco scoffs, “Scared, Potter?”

“You wish!” Holly growls, directly addressing Draco after several weeks of the silent treatment. “Harry’s a lot braver than you.” Turning back to Potter, she begs, “Please, Harry. I need to see you do it.”

As usual, there’s something he’s missing when it comes to the dynamics between his daughter and Potter, which frustrates Severus to no end. He’s torn between bundling her off to the dungeons and going back inside and tearing Yaxley apart.

“You’ll protect her,” Potter demands, turning his attention to Severus. “Holly says he- whoever he is – did it on purpose, and I believe her. If we go back inside, I need to know you can protect her.”

Furious, though he’s struggling to understand precisely what’s furious at, he bares his teeth at the impudent brat.

“I can protect my daughter,” he hisses.

“Then show me,” Potter challenges, as if he has some sort of authority over the Potions Master.

“You dare-”

“You need to show me you can protect Holly,” Potter yells at him.

“Uncle Severus can protect Holly a lot better than you can,” Draco defends him furiously.

Before matters escalate further, they are interrupted by a pointed throat clearing.

“Mr Potter, do you wish to proceed with the next round?” Minerva asks, taking in the heated scene before her.

Potter looks to Holly.

“Sometimes you have to show them, Harry. He’s more than just a bully,” Holly says softly.

Potter sighs and pulls her into a gentle hug.

“I’m continuing, Professor,” the boy informs his Head of House.

“Very well,” she nods brusquely. “You’re up against George Weasley.”

Severus reaches for Holly’s shoulder, intending to stick close and guide her, but she shrugs him off.

“Holly,” Potter says, his tone almost admonishing. “Let him protect you.”

He gives her a significant look, and she grudgingly acquiesces, coming to stand beside him and, this time, allowing him to place her hand on her shoulder. He’s left with simmering resentment that he’s only bestowed this act courtesy of Potter.

Clenching his jaw, he has no choice but to let it go. Though he should follow his instinct to pick her up and head towards his private quarters. For a second, he almost gives in. Lucius still has Aurora, Minerva and Filius to help him. That’s more than Lockhart had three years ago.

Potter walks by Holly’s other side, his presence apparently more comforting than Severus’s. The Weasley in question is already on the platform; the Hall is curiously silent as they all enter together.

Potter breaks off to climb onto the platform, and Lucius sidles up to him. In a voice low enough that Holly can’t hear, Lucius says in graves tones, “The Safety ward did not fail.”

Severus looks his foster brother in the eyes. The Safety ward is a basic one, intending to catch stray spells that ricochet on the platform and harmlessly absorb them. Filius, having been a Champion in his youth, is an expert in setting up such wards. Holly said she’d seen Yaxley cast a spell aimed at her on purpose, but Severus hadn’t wanted to believe it. Not because he thought Yaxley wasn’t capable of such cruelty but because he’d be stupid to think he’d get away with it.

Scanning the room, he looks for the boy in question. He spots him on the far side of the room, near platform 1. Seeming to sense his Housemaster’s eyes on him, Yaxley breaks off his conversation with Burke and smiles unpleasantly in Severus’s direction. He’s overcome with rage, his fingers tightening on Holly’s shoulder hard enough to make her wince.

“You’re hurting me,” she complains, and he loosens his grip.

His initial plans had been to leave Holly with Narcissa and Regulus behind the safety of the Fidelius of Regulus’s home. He’s scrapped those plans because he’d been driven by the greed of wanting a better relationship with his child. Only to discover she’d been manipulating him to stay at Hogwarts to be with Potter. He transfers his glare to Potter. He’d done this. He’d exposed Severus’s daughter to this danger.

“Can you prove it?” Severus asks.

“Nothing admissible,” Lucius admits regretfully.

Severus nods understandingly. Yaxley, and Potter, would regret this.

“Gentlemen, are you ready?” Filius asks sombrely, the earlier atmosphere of excitement having drained away.

Both opponents nod and bow when Filius begins the duel.

“Expecto Patronum!” Potter casts immediately.

Gasps erupt as a bright, silver stag emerges from Potter’s wand.

“Go,” Potter instructs, not taking his eyes off Weasley.

The stag charges, not towards Potter’s opponent, but towards Severus and Holly. It comes to a standstill before Holly, who looks at it in awe as it bows its head, its antlers almost touching the floor. Then it turns around and shields her protectively.

“Oompa loompa doompety doo

I’ve got a perfect puzzle for you

Oompa loompa doompety dee

If you are wise, you’ll listen to me...”

“Why is he singing?” Holly asks in a low voice, looking at George Weasley as if he’s lost his mind.

His twin choruses the same verse. The look of confusion on Potter’s face is mirrored on the faces of many around the Hall. Curiously, he sees Filius and Minerva exchange looks of amusement. He exchanges his own look of bewilderment with Lucius.

“I forfeit,” George Weasley declares, dropping his wand arm down.

The mutterings increase. Mystified, Lucius calls up the next pair after declaring Potter the winner.

Potter goes straight up to the Weasley boys.

“What was that about?”

“You’ll see,” they say mysteriously. Then, even more inexplicably, they turn their hair green and faces orange.

“I don’t understand,” Potter says slowly, looking befuddled at their transformation.

“You will,” they chorus, and they look towards where Holly is standing with Severus and the Malfoys.

Potter looks across to Holly, still protected by the stag Patronus. Some sort of understanding dawns.

“We’ve got your back, Harry,” one of the twins says.

Curiously, many students seem to forfeit their duels. However, some students selected to go against each other withdrew their names. Severus can’t discern any pattern for the students dropping out of the duels.

His Slytherins break into their own groups. Yaxley and his cohorts observe the proceedings. Only one thing seems to be prevalent. Several students are conspiring to have Potter and Yaxley duel in the final round. Severus shakes his head in incredulity. How does Potter have so many people’s faith? It’s unwarranted.

Last year, the students had been divided across the school, half believing he’d entered the tournament, the other half believing when he didn’t. Potter’s own friend had abandoned the boy, causing much doubt on his assertions that he’d not entered himself.

This year, there’d been mutterings of disbelief over Potter’s claims that the Dark Lord was back. Fudge didn’t want to believe, and the Daily Prophet’s stories have been dying out, refusing to speculate any further given the Dark Lord’s silence. However, Potter’s focus hasn’t been on getting people to believe him; it’s been on taking Severus’s daughter from him.

“Why the hell do they keep singing that song?” Draco grumbles.

Nott and Zabini approach them.

“It’s from Holly’s book. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Nott informs him. “Though, I don’t know why they’re changing their hair and faces. The Oompa Loompas don’t have green hair and orange faces in the book.”

“What?” Draco looks at them in shock.

“Holly’s book? The one she showed us during the summer before you put your foot in it,” Zabini explains somewhat derisively.

“When did you read that?” Draco demands, looking between his friends and Holly.

“A few weeks ago,” Nott answers.

“We asked to borrow it,” Zabini continues, smiling brightly at Holly. “Theo and I have been working our way through the box set.”

“You didn’t tell me this,” Draco frowns, unable to hide the hurt.

“You never seemed interested,” Nott says, unconcerned. “I’ve had Holly’s books on my nightstand for weeks. You’ve even seen them.”

Draco opens his mouth to argue but snaps it shut when Holly ignores him in favour of Potter’s stag.

Seeing Holly’s attention on the Patronus, Zabini studies it too, “How is he maintaining this?”

Nott, too, looks at the stag, “He learned that in third year. Remember when he knocked you over with it?”

“It didn’t knock me over,” Draco protests, darting a guilty look at Holly at having another transgression revealed.

“No, the bright light scared you so much that you fell,” Zabini goads.

Draco flushes. Holly’s fascinated by the Patronus, which still looks around suspiciously.

“It looks solid,” Holly comments, stroking it. Her hand sinks through the light. “It’s warm.”

“Potter won’t be able to maintain that forever,” Draco scoffs.

“I’d love to be able to cast one,” Nott says enviously. To Draco, “Think your father will teach us if we ask?”

Severus doubts it. Lucius and Narcissa have never been able to cast the Patronus Charm. Severus can but has never shown anyone what his protector looks like for several reasons. Mainly because it’s private, and he thinks about Lily every time he casts it. Also, it wouldn’t do his reputation any good if someone sees something as feminine as a doe. Only Albus had seen it, and Severus hadn’t liked seeing pity in the older wizard’s eyes when he had.

“Potter won’t win against Yaxley,” Draco exclaims. “I don’t know what he’s playing at. I’ve been duelling with Father for weeks. I hope I get a chance against Potter. I’ll show him.”

“You came to two sessions with your father,” Greengrass derides, approaching them with her sister. The stag sniffs at them warily. “The rest you begged off to spend time with Pansy. The rest of us have a better chance against Potter than you.”

Stung at the criticism, Draco mumbles, “Bet you couldn’t beat Yaxley.”

Yaxley is a good dueller. He has good reflexes and is powerful with a veritable repertoire of spells. However, he’s also very cocky. And king of underhanded tactics. Draco wouldn’t be a challenge against his Upperclassman.

“Potter doesn’t look like he’s affected at all,” Astoria comments, looking across to the Boy-Who-Lived.

“Harry’s very powerful,” Holly says idly, still pseudo-stroking the stag. “He knows when I’m in trouble.”

Probably because he’s the one who’s caused it, Severus thinks uncharitably.

“Attention, everyone,” Lucius calls out. “Due to the number of people forfeiting their duels, rather than going through the randomly selected pairs, I’m going to ask if anyone wishes to withdraw, then do so now. Anyone wanting to continue with their duel and move onto the next round, move toward the Main platform.

Draco immediately moves towards the Main platform, a determined look on his face. His friends exchange glances before stepping away from the group, a furious discussion taking place in whispers. Draco pauses when he realises he’s alone; seeing the decision on their faces, he glares at them but then continues towards his destination.

“Why are you holding yourselves back?” Severus questions as he casts a non-verbal Shield at the same time.

“Potter wants a chance to go up against Yaxley,” Nott says, the shrug audible in his voice. “Draco wants a chance against Potter. We know which side we’re on, so getting stuck in the middle is foolish.”

The four in front of him aren’t on Yaxley’s side. He also feels that they’re not going to support Draco either.

“What do you see in Potter?” he asks stiffly. How’s Potter winning over his Slytherins? They’re not even on speaking terms, as far as Severus can tell.

“Nothing yet,” Zabini says mildly. “We simply want to see what Professor Malfoy sees.”

Severus shakes his head and looks towards the platform where the would-be Duellers are gathered. Severus counts eleven. Severus was there that night when the Dark Lord was resurrected. Lucius must have been there for maybe twenty minutes before Severus arrived with Regulus. He couldn’t have seen much more than Severus to be impressed by the boy. The blond is simply delusional. Prophecy or not, there’s nothing special about Potter. Perhaps tonight, the boy could finally disillusion the whole audience.

However, going up against Yaxley is folly. There might be enough chaperones in the Hall, and Yaxley has already tried to harm his child, but even in a duel, with all eyes on him, Yaxley can still do a lot of damage. With his inflated ego, Potter would keep pushing, and Yaxley would hurt him. Badly. As for Draco, his godson is trying desperately to prove himself, as he always has been. To his father and godfather, his friends, Holly, and even himself.

He hopes someone eliminates Draco before he has to face Yaxley. As capable as he thinks Draco is of holding his own, he believes Draco needs so much more training before he’s ready to face the likes of John Yaxley.

“Luna, over here,” Holly yells suddenly, waving her hand over her head to get the Ravenclaw’s attention.

“Hello again, Holly,” Lovegood ambles over sedately as if she’s out for a nighttime stroll. During Halloween. For she’s also sporting the bizarre green hair and orange face look like a significant portion of the other students are.

“Do you know why everyone looks like an Oompa Loompa?”

“They’re actually Oompa Loompas?” Nott asks before Lovegood can answer. “How? In the books they’re described as having rosy white skin and golden brown hair.”

“The films,” Holly explains patiently. “They’re moving pictures. Like if someone recorded a live performance but could see it later.”

“Like the Omnioculars,” Severus elaborates. Lucius had recorded Holly’s first broom ride for him. Thankfully, he’d kept the recording device on his daughter as much as possible.

Nott nods in comprehension.

“There was a film,” Holly continues, “and they changed the Oompa Loompas to look like they had orange skin and green hair, and they all wore the white dungarees for a uniform.”

Nott nods again.

“I don’t know why everyone seems to be changing to this, but it looks lovely, doesn’t it?” Lovegood pulls a strand of her previously dirty blonde hair dyed a garish green to examine with fascination. “Would you like yours to change too?”

“No, she would not,” Severus firmly answers before Holly accepts the silly offer.

Holly giggles, one hand still inside the stag’s head, the other covering her mouth to hide her amusement.

“What are dungarees?” Nott asks, interrupting once more.

Muggle fashion might have become popular over the last few years, but there’s so much to keep up with. Severus doesn’t know what a dungaree is. He listens with reluctant amusement as Holly describes the garment to the clueless purebloods as a onesie with no arms. However, then she has to explain what a onesie is.

Catching Lovegood’s eyes, he tilts his head to the side, silently asking to step away from the group. They only take a few steps, and Severus frequently glances back at his daughter, his head on swivel from danger.

“Have you had any trouble with other students recently?” he asks in a low voice, looking down at his student, ignoring her get-up.

Lovegood studies him before answering, “The nargles still try to take my things. I’ve learned not to be careless with my belongings, and I’ve had help with extra help with my trunk to make sure no creatures try to take anything.”

“Any injuries?” he asks after a moment.

“I have help taking care of them now,” she says, answering his question in a roundabout way.

“And have you reported them to your Housemaster?”

Severus has spoken to Filius several times about the bullying issues Lovegood is facing; however, without proof or Lovegood coming forward with names, though both have their suspicions, there’s very little they can do. However, Severus knows from bitter experience that bullies don’t stop when caught by authority; they only get sneakier.

Severus never felt he could trust the teachers to help, and he was repeatedly proven right. Though he might hate his job during his tenure as a teacher, he has tried to be someone his students can rely on.

“Miss Lovegood,” he begins, formulating his next words cautiously, “your recent association with Potter. Is that wise?”

Lovegood and his daughter seem to be on good terms, which Severus has no issue with. Despite her flakiness, Lovegood is intelligent and compassionate. He respects the former and doesn’t understand how she retains the latter, given her experiences. Before her association with Potter, Lovegood spent most of her time in isolation, occasionally venturing forth with Ginevra Weasley. Lovegood can barely protect herself; having a high-profile boyfriend like Potter would expose her to further ridicule. Severus knows the girl’s ambitions lie in the direction of her father’s ridiculous magazine and chasing imaginary creatures, even though he believes she is capable of achieving much more than that.

“I appreciate your concern, Professor Snape, but you’re still plagued by wrackspurts of your own,” Lovegood says, pinning him with her stare, “so you’re not able to see clearly yet. Harry’s protective of those he considers his. That includes Holly and me. But I understand how hard it is to get rid of stubborn wrackspurts. They’re only persistent if you let them be. I think they’re about to start the next round of duelling.”

She walks away, back by Holly’s side. The stag is still bright and positions itself protectively in front of his daughter and the girl who lives with her head in the clouds. Severus is left with a headache from Lovegood’s words, trying and failing to understand her meaning.

“Can we get closer?” Holly asks, but Severus denies this request, not wanting her exposed to stray or surprise spells.

Yaxley is matched against sixth-year MacLaggen. The only other Gryffindor with a more enormous ego than Potter, if that’s possible. To his credit, MacLaggen manages to hold his own for a whole minute, but the boy is easily rattled and lets his anger get the best of him.

Next up is Potter against Zacharias Smith. He suppresses a sigh. If there’s ever a collection of egos. Potter, Smith, MacLaggen, Yaxley. All entitled students with enough arrogance to suffocate a fire.

Smith smirks at Potter. Potter just looks at the Hufflepuff seriously. Smith aims a Disarming Spell at the Boy Who Lived, who doesn’t even have to step away or raise a Shield to avoid it.

“How did he get past his first duel if he can’t even aim?” Greengrass mutters behind him.

Smith doesn’t lose his smirk and raises a poorly cast Shield when Potter sends his own Disarming Spell, well-aimed and strong enough to not only send Smith’s wand flying, but Smith goes flying also, arse over teakettle from the stage. Severus last experienced that two years ago when the Golden Trio knocked him out cold.

“Potter’s win,” Lucius announces and calls over the next pair. Draco versus Tony Hill, a fourth-year Slytherin. Hill is decent but has slow reaction times. Draco easily wins his duel. His godson looks pleased.

A few more students are eliminated, and then they begin the next round. The morning feels like it’s dragged on forever. It’ll be lunchtime before long. Breakfast feels like days ago. The only win he had this morning was when Holly accepted the breakfast sandwich he’d made.

Making inroads with his child takes more planning than a game of chess.

“Seriously, how is he still maintaining that Patronus?” Zabini asks.

Severus glances toward the stag once more, reluctantly impressed, though he believes Potter is unnecessarily wasting energy that he could be conserving for the duels. When Potter loses, he’ll have no one to blame but himself.

“Merlin, it’s Yaxley against Granger,” Greengrass groans. “He’s definitely going to kill her.”

Holly and Lovegood exchange concerned looks. Severus begins to feel some misgivings about this duel. He doesn’t particularly like Granger. For someone of her considerable intellect, she can also be remarkably obtuse of her own abilities. She might be able to master spells quicker than most of her peers, but despite her adventures with Potter of the years, she still needs to work on using them in a scenario such as this.

If Granger feels worried about going up against an older, experienced student such as Yaxley, she doesn’t show it. Her confidence is misplaced. The girl has a chip on her shoulder about being muggle-born – and though she’s not wrong that she’ll have to work harder to overcome that, it’s her attitude that only she knows best that will hold her back.

It’s probably that aspect of her personality that makes her a good fit for being Potter’s friend. The boy’s father also collected a crew who thought they knew best and ruled the school.  

Granger attacks first with a Stunning Spell, which Yaxley easily defects. Granger holds back as if waiting for Yaxley to make a move, which is folly. She’s waiting for him to take a turn, but reality doesn’t work like that. There are no turns when it comes to duelling. She should continue sending spells at the Slytherin and keep him on the defensive. Yaxley still doesn’t do anything, simply staring at Granger, looking bored.

Knowing Granger as he does, this is probably the best way to get a reaction from the overachieving girl. Granger has an overwhelming need to prove herself for whatever reason, and Yaxley, a Pureblood who looks down on Muggle-borns like the one in front of him, is basically signalling that she’s not even worth his time.

The impatience building on Granger’s face is easy to see. She might have won her earlier duel, but this wouldn’t be easy. Her eyes drift to the countdown clock, her time slowly ticking away as Yaxley doesn’t move to raise his wand.

Granger, finally impatient, begins to shoot spell after spell. However, the mistake she’s making is pausing after each one to see where it will land, showing her hesitation and inexperience. Yaxley doesn’t take long to take advantage of that, and between the pauses, he sends his Disarmer towards Granger, who doesn’t expect it and loses her wand.

Lucius declares Yaxley as the winner, and the boy negligently tosses the girl’s wand at his feet. He sneers as she bends to pick up, leaning down to whisper something no doubt derogatory towards her.

His suspicions are correct from the furious look on the know-it-all’s face. Lucius, who seems to have heard the comment, tells Yaxley off with an apathetic look on his face. Granger flounces off the platform, and Yaxley saunters away with a smirk. Severus observes the boy join his cohorts, watching them chortle at his triumph.

Granger joins Potter, clearly holding back tears. The muggle-born has undoubtedly had an eventful morning; between her failed complaint against Lucius and her equally failed attempt to prove herself against a pureblood like Yaxley.

Potter leans close to Granger, putting her arm around her shoulders comfortingly, undoubtedly reassuring her in some way. He narrows his eyes at the duo, feeling they are closer than they have a right to be, given the boy has a girlfriend. He sneaks a peek at Lovegood, who’s busy with Holly and the stag. She certainly doesn’t seem concerned that Potter is close to another girl.

Potter better not be playing with Lovegood’s feelings. It would be just like that boy to use and discard someone vulnerable like Luna Lovegood.

“Oh, look, Harry’s going to be duelling Draco next,” Holly points towards the platform, breaking Severus out of his thoughts.

Severus sees both boys ascend the platform and take their places. His mind flashes back again to the last time Draco and Potter faced each other in a duel. Potter had been completely unskilled, and in an effort to embarrass him as he had with Lockhart, he’d suggested to Draco to use the conjuration spell specifically for snakes. Outing Potter as a Parselmouth had been an unintended effect. No one had been prepared for that. However, he couldn’t deny the satisfaction of seeing half the school turn against the Boy Who Lived. Draco will best Potter once again, he thinks silently. Lucius has been training Draco personally for weeks. He forgets Greengrass’s earlier words that Draco only attended two sessions.

Not bothering to ask for permission, Holly moves forward.

“Holly, get back here,” Severus hisses, reaching out to grab her but misses as she darts forward, the stag following protectively along. Lovegood looks behind briefly in what could possibly be an apologetic expression but skips to follow his daughter, ensuring his Shield is moving with them.

“Scared, Potter?” he hears for the second time from Draco’s lip as he moves closer.

Potter doesn’t deign to answer, giving Draco the same disinterested look Yaxley gave Granger.

“Holly,” Severus hisses furiously, “this is too close to the stage. We’re stepping back now.”

Holly ignores him once more, looking up at Potter with a disgusting amount of awe. He’s about to simply pick her up and walk out of the Hall when Minerva comes closer.

“You should listen to your father,” she admonishes gently.

“He was standing right next to me last time, and he didn’t see the spell,” she derides, her eyes firmly on Potter.

“You-”

“Shush!” she hushes him, still not looking at him.

“Protego,” Minerva incants calmly, casting the Shield around them all, adding to Severus’s already active spell.

“Begin,” Lucius calls out.

The duel is over in a blink. Before Draco can even raise his wand, Potter casts two spells; one to conjure birds aimed at Draco, and the second while his godson is distracted, a Banishing Charm that propels him off the stage.

Lucius clenches his fist as he declares Potter the winner before striding off the platform to check on his son. Draco scrambles to his feet, red-faced and humiliated. Severus shakes his head. Potter only won because Draco didn’t take the duel seriously. Draco pushes his father’s hand away, and Lucius steps back after ensuring his son isn’t hurt.

“Looks like it’s Potter against Yaxley,” Zabini says neutrally, having followed the group to the front.

Draco, still humiliated, stomps over to Severus, refusing to look anyone in the eye.

“Perhaps you should have attended more duelling sessions with your father instead of snogging sessions with Pansy,” Greengrass needles.

“Bet Potter didn’t spend as much snogging his girlfriend as he did learning to duel,” Zabini scoffs, forgetting Lovegood is there.

“Oh no, Harry and I do plenty of snogging of our own,” Lovegood pipes up with her characteristic candidness. “With how busy he is with everything else, he always makes sure we spend time together. We don’t always talk about snorkacks, but he has warm lips, and we enjoy kissing very much.”

Severus pinches the bridge of his nose. That is much more information than he ever wanted to know.

There’s an awkward silence; Draco looks apoplectic; perhaps he believes he’s being made fun of. His friends look bemused, Minerva is too amused, and Holly is thankfully oblivious.

“Miss Lovegood,” he says in a strangled voice, “ten points from Ravenclaw for – for – for this inappropriate conversation.”

“Do you think Harry will beat that other boy as fast as he beat Draco?” his daughter asks, craning for a look towards the Boy Who Lived.

“Now, for the final duel of the afternoon,” Lucius announces, sparing anyone from answering her question, “John Yaxley versus Harry Potter.”

He notices how Holly slips her hand into Lovegood’s, how they lean into each other. The way they both reach for the silver stag, despite not actually being able to touch it.

He looks at Potter critically. Last time he’d cast the Patronus for maybe ten minutes and driven away hundreds of Dementors... supposedly. Severus had been unconscious at that time, courtesy of the golden trio, so he couldn’t verify the claim of the three miscreants, but the effort, according to Granger, had knocked Potter out cold. All teens continue to mature magically until they hit their majority at seventeen. Sometimes, their magic peaks at that age, but occasionally, for the magically powerful, it will continue to grow. Even Potter would have grown stronger magically in the intervening years, and currently, there are no Dementors to fend off. Still, Potter should be showing signs of exhaustion.

The boy isn’t that powerful.

The silly Oompa Loompa song starts again. Lovegood hums along to the tune. Potter looks towards Holly, seeming to resolve himself.

“Minerva,” Severus begins, getting her attention, “Potter is no match for Yaxley. Why are you letting this foolishness happen?”

“Why, Severus, I wasn’t aware you cared about Mr Potter so much,” Minerva says coolly.

“I don’t care about the boy,” he bites out, unaware the hardening expression of his daughter, who’s not as oblivious as she acts. “But you do, and I don’t understand why you’re allowing this.”

“Harry held his own against older competitors last year,” Minerva tells him with a remarkable lack of concern.

Severus doesn’t believe that for a second.

Minerva looks at him as if she’s about to say more, but in the end, decides not to.

“Begin,” Lucius calls out.

Potter stares Yaxley down. The Slytherin is much more attentive to Potter than he was to Granger. He’s tense and ready to defend himself but still doesn’t make the first move. Neither does Potter. Severus realises he’s never seen Potter so still, he’s practically a statue as his wand is pointed downwards. The whole Hall is watching this grudge match with a ridiculous amount of eagerness.

Severus strengthens his Shield, partially assessing the rest of the Hall. He won’t be caught off guard again.

“Are they just going to stand there?” Draco questions resentfully.

Severus watches them keenly. The boys on the platform seem to be in some sort of staring contest, each waiting for the other to flinch first. The countdown ticks away, but neither appears to be in a rush. Then, in some sort of unspoken signal, both raise their wands.

What happens next is a fast and furious exchange of spells, almost as impressive as Lucius and Filius’s demonstration duel.

The students closest to the front of the platform gasp and take a collective step back in a feeble attempt to distance themselves from the light show. Yaxley’s skills are expected, given his father’s tuition and the boy’s own affinity for Defence and the Dark Arts. He’d also heard of Potter’s skill in Defence against the Dark Arts and his consistent performance in the class and end-of-year exams. However, seeing it happening in front of him is entirely different. A shimmering catches his peripheral vision, and he turns to see the stag glowing. However, it’s not fading as Severus expected it to. If anything, it seems to be getting brighter. Almost solid. Holly seems to be pressing herself closer to it.

Whispers break out as the students follow the ferocious duel.

Yaxley aims a Stinging Hex towards Potter, who deliberately steps into its path, not even flinching as it hits his thigh.

“Serpensortia!” Potter yells while Yaxley sends another silent spell to his opponent.
Severus recognises the movement as his own creation, Levicorpus. It was an often used spell during his school days and popular amongst Death Eaters. It’s not surprising that Yaxley knows the spell, given who his father is. Potter deflects it straight back to Yaxley without effort, surprising Severus with the move. Caught off guard, Yaxley lets out a startled yelp as he’s hoisted upside down by one ankle and surrounded by not one but three conjured anacondas by Potter.

Potter hisses something furious sounding in parseltongue, and the snakes rear up to snap threatening at Yaxley.

“See, Finch-Fletchley?” one of the Weasley boys yells. “That’s what it looks like when a snake gets egged on.”

Pale and shaking, Yaxley still tries to cast something at Potter.

“Do Slytherins not like snakes?” someone yells, and the non-Slytherins burst into mocking laughter.

Severus clenches his fists in anger. He’d like to see the other Houses confronted by their mascots. Even though he has the upper hand, Potter relentlessly batters his opponent with spells, from which Yaxley cannot defend himself.

Yaxley tried to hurt Holly, he tells himself firmly as he resists the urge to step in to stop a Potter from hurting his Slytherin student. He looks at Holly and keeps his expression impassive. Yaxley had aimed a Cutting Curse at his daughter and then gave him an utterly unrepentant look. He’s just so used to defending his Slytherins against others trying to hurt them that it’s almost instinct to step in. Potter somehow managed to get the upper hand in his duel against Yaxley, a complete fluke, but Yaxley is not a student most students would mess with under any other circumstances.

Potter’s barrage of spells are relentless, and he continues remorselessly with a cold look on his face.

“Stop, Harry!” Holly yells with the simultaneous signal, ending the duel as the countdown clock runs out of time.

Potter freezes instantly, slowly lowering his wand, his last spell incomplete. Exhaustion seems to seep in as he steps back.

Lucius Vanishes the conjured snakes, which had continued to snap at Yaxleys’s face, and slowly lowers the trembling boy to the ground.

“Why didn’t Yaxley drop his wand?” he hears Zabini asks behind him.

More mutterings break out amongst the students. Technically, Potter should have won this duel. Yaxley, who’d been hoisted in the air by his ankle and had snakes aiming for his face, should have done the sensible thing and dropped his wand to end the duel. Potter would have recalled his snakes and backed off. Yet, Yaxley stubbornly resisted ending the duel. Out of pride, perhaps? If a Slytherin knows anything, they know when to retreat.

“Did Potter win?” he hears someone ask in confusion.

“We’ll call this a draw as Yaxley still retained his wand at the end of the two minutes,” Lucius announces, giving Potter a considering look. “Well done, both of you. Mr Yaxley, do make your way to the Hospital Wing.”

Yaxley certainly doesn’t look like he’d done well. His face is bruised and swollen, and he hasn’t taken his eyes off Potter the whole time. Potter steps closer to Yaxley and offers his hand, a bizarre show of sportsmanship Severus didn’t expect from the boy. Yaxley looks at the hand in terror and scrambles to his feet, wand still clutched tightly in his hand. Potter leans in and whispers something to the older boy. Lucius’s lips twist in what Severus would consider something close to satisfaction.

Potter nods at Lucius.

“Good show, Yaxley. Perhaps next time I might be able to actually beat you,” Potter says louder.

Bizarrely, Lucius turns away to hide his amusement.

Yaxley looks at his wand as if it betrayed him.

Potter’s surrounded by his adoring fans the second he descends from the platform, but he makes a beeline straight for Holly.

Close up, Severus can see the exhaustion on the boy’s face. The toll of keeping his Patronus active is now apparent. Holly wraps her arms around Potter, uncaring of her father still staring at them, and then they both turn to the stag.

“Thank you,” Potter tells the silver form as if sentient. The stag nods back and slowly dissipates.

“Congratulations on the duel, Mr Potter,” Minerva smiles at her student.

“I didn’t win, Professor,” Potter says, an odd expression on his face.

Holly giggles and hugs the boy as Minerva smiles at the boy and walks away from them.

Yaxley also descends from the platform, making his way to his acquaintances who surround him. From the platform, Lucius thanks everyone for their participation and announces the first session to be concluded and will take place at the same time the following Saturday.

“Lunch will be served in ten minutes. Everyone step outside so we can change the Great Hall back to its original setting,” he continues. Filius steps up to whisper something to Lucius, who straightens once more and adds, “The other teachers and I will ask that anyone sporting green hair and orange face also revert back to your original state.”

“Bet you think you’re clever, don’t you, Potter?” Draco scowls at Potter.

“Good duel, Malfoy,” Potter says blankly, uncaring of how red Draco’s face turns at the taunt.

“Draco,” Severus says, giving his godson a look of warning.

Draco flushes and reluctantly allows himself to be pulled from the Hall by his friends. Severus has no choice but to let his child follow Potter out of the Hall.

It’s only for a few minutes, he assures himself, reluctant to let her out of sight. Potter doesn’t even look at Severus for permission. One hand is held out for Holly, and the other he offers to Lovegood, who accepts with a pleased smile.

“That was a very constructive duel,” Lovegood is saying as they walk away, joined by the rest of Potter’s friends.

Severus slowly makes his way to the platform to join the others.

Aurora and Minerva seem to be watching Yaxley slink away with his classmates, keeping his distance from Potter and his group. Any smugness is absent from the usually cocky Slytherin as he no doubt follows Lucius’s instructions to get himself patched up from the Infirmary.

“I don’t understand,” Aurora is saying to Minerva as he approaches, “why Yaxley didn’t drop his wand? I mean, I could see he tried to cast a few spells, but Potter was ruthless with his chain of spells. Yaxley should have dropped his wand and ended the duel.”

“He couldn’t,” Lucius says, and again Severus detects the satisfaction in the blond’s voice. “Potter used a Sticking Charm to ensure Yaxley’s wand stayed in his hand.”

They all look at Lucius in surprise.

“Gracious,” Aurora gasps, covering her mouth with her hand. “And then he continued to bombard the boy until he ran out of time.”

Even Minerva looks startled at that bit of savagery from her student. Severus shouldn’t be surprised. The boy is as brutal as his father. As a father, he believes Yaxley deserves what he got, though he wishes he’d been the one to teach his student a lesson. Instead, Potter took revenge for something he’s not even entitled to. Because Holly wanted him to.

He’s beginning to see more and more why Lucius and the others believe how much Holly is like him. She’s certainly as vindictive as he is.

ooOoo

When Lucius returns to his room after lunch, it’s with a contented smile. It had been a good day for him. Granger’s silly little complaint about how he marked her work was thrown out, which had been satisfying in and of itself. That girl needed bringing down a peg. His time is too precious to be marking extra homework because the little mudblood believed herself above the restrictions he (and the other teachers) placed on the assignments they set.

He’d even got the others to see from his point of view, and they, too, would cap the way they marked the girl’s work.

The Duelling club was a resounding success. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Yaxley exploiting that loophole in the Safety wards was … well, let’s just say that the boy would continue to regret that transgression. Potter’s punishment has been brutal, but Lucius would ensure that no one else tried anything like that again. And he’s sure that Severus would mete out his own punishment also.

He smiles widely as he remembers Potter’s performance. He’d had his misgivings about pitting Potter against the older Slytherin boy. Yaxley is usually cleverer than he demonstrated today. He’d not expected Potter to be as subtle and fierce as he was today. He’d not even realised that Potter had used the Sticking Charm until he’d whispered to Yaxley to have it removed at the end of the duel.

Their private lessons certainly paid dividends. They also showed that Potter was still holding back on him.

He only wished Draco had proven himself too. Potter had beaten his son in two spells. Unfortunately, he believes that Potter could have done it in one if he’d put his mind to it. Draco’s performance had been a letdown. Due to Yaxley’s gaffe and the subsequent withdrawal of the other students to allow Potter to duel Yaxley, only four students actually completed Round Two. Draco performed better than Hill, but the fourth-year Slytherin hadn’t been much of a challenge. Draco should have performed better when duelling with Potter. Potter had been on a mission today, determined to duel Yaxley.

He’d always known that Potter and Holly are exceedingly protective of each other. There was never a question about that. However, he’d unquestionably learned one more important fact concerning Potter and Holly’s relationship. That Holly has as much power over Potter as Potter does over Holly.