HP: The Other Potter! Ch.10

Chapter 10

LILY POTTER

Dueling, an art that had always held Lily in its thrall, was what led her to the impromptu study group initiated by Alden Potter. The dwindling presence of this sport in Great Britain, due to the lack of Ministerial oversight, was a disappointment she couldn't ignore.

She had seen a few practice duels over the year and had been pretty excited by them, and so when Professor Flitwick announced that Hogwarts would be holding a duelling competition this year and more than that, they would get to experience a full-fledged duel between Alden and Cadence Shacklebolt.

Alden’s duelling prowess was famed across the school, the dirty blonde had supposedly been a regular participant in duelling competition in Europe and had evidently reached even the finals the last year.

It was a shame that she could not attend such events, for she was a muggle-born and did not have the resources or the time during the summer to follow such events.

Yet today, they would get a glimpse of them, and if the Professor’s words were anything to go by, they just might become a regular at school here.

“That’s the Headgirl,” Marlene added as they gathered around the platform raised by the charms professor. The duellists took to the stage, with the professor standing in between them.

“Now, given the lack of space, we will be using the closed rules. This means that the duel will follow D and D rules, which means victory by Dis-armament and Displacement,” the professor explained before he began to cast a spell as a shiny shield-like material began to cover the platform.

“I have erected a shield around the platform. Kindly settle down a few steps behind it,” he added complimentarily as the students backed away.

“You know he reached the dueling finals last year at the world tournament in the summer, and many believed that he would win. His opponent was the oldest competitor in the tournament and is known as quite a prodigy,” Marlene added as she turned toward her friend.

“You attended?” she asked, and the brown-haired girl shook her head.

“No, my cousin did. He came to visit and did not shut up about it. I have the whole last duel memorized because of him,” she explained as she rolled her eyes, and a pang of regret passed through her before she turned towards the platform once again.

“Now, as per tradition, the two duellists must give each other a bow,” the Professor explained, facing the first and second years, the newer students giving them more attention than the rest, trying to rouse their interest.

“And now we begin,” the professor said as he let out red sparks.

And with a slight nod, Cadence Shacklebolt began the duel, sending out a red slash at Alden.

“Relashio,” and Alden Potter brought down his wand.

“Protego,” and a golden shield shimmered in front of him, the red orb collided with the golden shield and was sent back toward the witch, who was forced to jump to avoid her own spell.

And she frowned as the two began to exchange spells with each other, each showcasing a wide variety of spells, though she did not miss how most of these were elementary spells, spells they had learned during their initial years.

“Now, many of you would think that dueling would involve complicated spells, but that could not be further from the truth,” the Professor and she realized that they had been holding back, after all this was an exhibition match.

“And though many duelists use many complicated spells, as a duelling champion, I can rightfully say that a fast and well-mastered spell is much more dangerous than a complicated and slow spell,” he began. He saw both Alden and Cadence halt for a moment before suddenly she felt Alden’s posture shift.

“This is it,” Marlene whispered. She saw Alden just jab slightly as three purple orbs burst out of his wand and reached toward the Headgirl, who quickly cast a shield. Even she did not miss how she had been surprised by the speed of those spells.

“Doing a spell without a chant and movements is a very difficult skill to master, but the increased speed and the confusion caused by it can disorient even the most skilled of duellists,” the Professor added as commentary as many of them watched in awe as the spells were exchanged between the two of the contestants and the whole platform was filled with sparks and screams as spells raced across them.

Her eyes were glued to the platform as she watched them throw spells towards one another at such speed. She had seen Alden duel in practice before, yet this was nothing of the sort; the pace at which the spells were being fired was nearly inhumane and exhilarating.

“Both of them are still students at this school and have been holding back for our sake, and now I believe I must excuse them so they may continue as they would,” and with that the spells stopped, as both of them looked into each other’s eye.

Suddenly, she saw Alden raise his wand as he sidestepped to avoid the barrage of spells sent his way, as fire erupted around him.

“Ohh shit,” Marlene muttered beside her as the fire rose and began to coil around him.

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CADENCE SHACKLEBOLT

Being Headgirl of Hogwarts was an honor and would open many paths for her, and having her eyes set on the future and stacking the odds in her favor was rather Slytherin of her, especially when she already had her heart set on a rather specific and demanding profession.

Cadence had grown up looking up to her elder brother and had long ago decided to follow in his footsteps to become an Auror, a way for them to pay homage to their father.

And though the House of Slytherin was filled with many people who could help her in this journey, the best person to aid her in this was in the Ravenclaw. Alden Potter, son to a celebrated Auror trainer and war veteran, the Potter son was in a prime position to help her as he had her brother.

The dirty blonde boy was said to be a savant with a wand, his prowess rivaling those of well-trained trainees, even as a student. His dueling abilities are second to none among his generation.

A fact that she was experiencing first hand, as the professor gave them the freedom to continue the duel as they wished to.

And immediately, she could feel the difference in his casting as he avoided his spells and sent a roaring fire dragon towards her, her own spells rolling off the beast as she felt herself sweat.

“Protego Duce,” she chanted as she swished her hand as two golden shields formed up infront of her, the fiery beast was not one spell but a manifestation of advanced transfiguration and projection magic.

She pushed her magic into the shields, hoping that they would be able to take the attack; it was taken aback when suddenly the dragon roared and shifted its direction, taking to the skies and going upwards rather than striking into the shields.

And then, before she could react, she saw one of her shields break and looked down and found Alden right in front of them. She aimed at her shield as it gleamed with an ominous red gleam.

ROARRR.

And from above, the dragon came down at her, being attacked from both front and above she jumped back, yet was taken aback when she felt her back hit a wall.

“AUGH!” she grunted in pain as she felt her escape blocked. She was taken aback by his quick thinking and strategy, yet she did not have enough time to admire this effort.

And so, in sheer desperation, she transfigured the ground beneath her as it came out and formed a wall infront of her.

“Bombarda!” she heard him shout.

BOOOM!

An explosion rocked her as she felt the dragon crash into her earthen wall, which she continued to shore up even as she began to sweat profusely.

Yet suddenly, she felt a spell race towards her and was too late to locate it. She turned to the side and saw Alden standing there, and an expelliarmus rushed towards her.

She was too late to cast a shield, and the spell hit her, and her wand flew from her hand. And immediately, the fire vanished as she raised her hand in defeat.

“Cadence Shacklebolt is not able to continue because of disarmament. Alden Potter wins,” and a massive round of applause greeted her as she saw Alden walk up to her with a smile, as she handed her back her wand.

“That was a good duel,” he congratulated her, and she scoffed.

“I lost within seconds,” she chided herself. She had truly believed that she would have lasted longer, yet once he had begun his onslaught, she could not react to his pace and strategies, which she believed were part of his tournament routines.

“Half the people at the tournament fell even faster than that,” he replied, and her guess was proven right that this was indeed a routine he had prepared for the tournament last Summer.

“That doesn’t comfort me nearly as much as you think it does,” she replied, though it did fill her with reassurance that she had chosen the right mentor. The difference in their skill meant that there was much more for her to gain from their little tutoring sessions.

“Now that I have made my payment, I believe it is time for you to hold up your end of the bargain,” and his tone was much colder and quieter than his earlier encouragements.

“Now, a big round of applause for our two contestants. Those of you willing to join the club must submit your names to me by the end of the week, and those interested in becoming the Vice president need to hand in their applications to our President,” the Professor added as many students cheered.

“Do you have any idea of what you are getting involved in?” she asked.

He looked into her gaze, with his grey eyes, and she was reminded that there was a side hidden to Alden Potter that few ever paid attention to, a ruthless and cunning side that had made him someone that even the most proudest and powerful Slytherin dared not cross.

Yet even so, she was not blind to the seepage of a certain person’s influence into their House. Whispers of his name could be heard in the late-night group discussions in their dorm.

“You need not worry about me,” he assured her. The Professor began to disperse the students, and she nodded.

“Meet me near the library tonight,” and he nodded.

“I will be there.”

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And then, with the intel on how the Malfoy and his ilk were planning an outing this very night, he found himself following him and their group and watched them from the distance as they made their way through the school grounds and into the Forbidden Forest, before suddenly the Malfoy took out an obscure object from his pocket.

CRACK.

And then they vanished, much to his surprise, the wards of Hogwarts circumvented in a way he had never seen.

And just as he was about to walk towards the place they had vanished from to get a measure of the magic used, he was startled when a very familiar voice cut in from behind.

“I knew you would be here.”

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