Exhibition is a Right: Chapter 21 Early Release (Patreon)

"It's time to Duel!"

Saturday arrived with a rainstorm lighting up the Great Hall's ceiling with occasional lightning strikes and an obvious deluge of rain.

Harry was sitting eating breakfast with his fellow Gryffindors, the hall bustling with people despite the lack of classes later. This was likely due to the interest in the trials happening shortly.

“Glad we didn't have the Quidditch trials this weekend…” Ginny muttered, looking up at the depiction of the weather outside.

“Right? At least the duelling trials are being held inside” Harry agreed, before looking next to him, and frowning. Ron sat, staring into his cooling porridge with a pensive look on his face.

“Ron mate, you gotta eat. Remember all those times you made me eat something before a Quidditch match? Now it's my turn” he said, before pushing a plate of bacon and eggs towards him.

Ron gave a half hearted shrug, but did smile before picking up his knife and fork. “Cheers mate. Just nervous…hope my plan works.”

“I'm sure it will. At least you don't have to compete with higher years, right?” Ron nodded, tucking into his breakfast.

Both the duelling and the academic side of the tournament had been divided so that there were two teams from each school. One team from year 4 and below, and the other year 5 and over. This was to make it somewhat fairer to the younger students who wanted to compete.

Hermione looked around the table, before looking back at Ron. “Where's Fay? I would have thought she would be here supporting you” she said with a hint of disappointment.

Ron blushed slightly, then swallowed. “She did say good luck to me this morning. Also said she'd be at the trial with a “surprise”. Not sure I want to know what that will be, but the goodbye she gave me was well worth it”

Ron got some good natured ribbing from Dean and Seamus as his face started to match his hair, the embarrassed boy simply telling them to “sod off” half heartedly.

Harry chuckled, and turned back towards the others. “Didn't want to try your hand too then?” He asked.

He got a shake of the head from both Ginny and Hermione, while Neville chuckled nervously. “Don't think I'm built for that mate…I'll stick to herbology…”

“Hey now, you'd do great if you tried Neville! Though, your wand really isn't helping you out there…when are you getting one that suits you?” Hermione huffed, to which Neville just shrugged and drank from his teacup, effectively ending the questioning. 

Hermione rolled her eyes, used to him avoiding the question. “I'm going for the academic side, obviously. The test for that will be tomorrow afternoon. I'll let you know if I make it in the team.”

Harry nodded, fully confident that she would make the team. “Who else is trying for that?”

“Not sure…but at least Daphne and Padma are from our year. As the team is only five strong, that could mean competition is tough.” Hermione shrugged, before biting into her slice of toast.

“Luna's gonna try too, I believe.” Ginny piped up, looking over towards the blonde on the Ravenclaw table who was currently reading a copy of the Daily Prophet.

“Really? Huh…well, she certainly has brains, though I'm unsure if the questions will be her kinda thing…” Hermione pondered.

Harry just shrugged and ate his own breakfast. He honestly didn't mind who made the team. Though, he would be sure to support any of his friends that did.

As breakfast ended, the students were ushered out of the hall and the doors closed in order to prepare for the trials. An hour later, the doors were opened to allow them back inside.

Gone were the four large house tables, replaced instead by a large raised duelling platform, similar to the one used briefly during Harry's second year, as well as several benches either side to allow spectators to sit.

Unlike that time, there was an additional table at the far end, currently seating a pair of wizards with several stacks of parchment in front of them.

They were wearing some official looking robes, though nothing that Harry recognised. They had an insignia of crossed wands and a circle of  feathers emblazoned on their chest.

To the side of them, Professor Flitwick stood upon the stage, allowing him to be at the same level as a further two individuals, a man and a woman. This pair were wearing similar colours to the officials, along with the same insignia upon their chest. 

But instead of long robes, they wore more form fitting clothing. The red-haired woman especially had a tight fitting catsuit-like outfit, covering her completely while leaving none of her slender figure to the imagination. The male was roguish, with a mane of blonde hair and an open jacket with numerous straps. Harry had the distinct impression he recognised the man, but couldn't for the life of him place where from.

As more students spilled inside and began to mill near the end of the platform, Flitwick ended his conversation and stepped nearer to the group.

“Welcome all! If you are here to sign up and participate, please form a line at the front desk, where your equipment will be inspected and parchment work will be filled out. If you are just here to spectate, please head over to the seats”

Their group wished Ron luck as he headed over towards the desk with grim determination. As they reached their seats, Fay arrived slightly breathless.

“Sorry I'm late, I was making last minute adjustments with Lavender's help” she huffed, adjusting the full coat she currently wore. 

“Dare I ask what's under that?” Ginny asked, eyeing the coat curiously. Fay winked, “you'll find out at the same time as everyone else. Now, where is Ron?”

“Over by the sign up. In fact, I think he's next” Harry said, gesturing towards the desk with his head. Looking over, they could see that he was currently standing in front of the pair of officials.

Ron had already filled out his parchmentwork, and was now showing them something that he had retrieved from the holster on his belt. The officials were looking over it curiously, seeming to debate with each other while searching through what looked like a series of cards. They also asked Ron the occasional question while gesturing to specific cards.

“Are those exploding snap cards?”

“Not anymore. Ron's been working hard on them for a while now” Fay said with a proud smile.

“And he's allowed to use them in the duel? I would have thought that they would only allow them to use their wand.” Harry mused. 

“In most duels, that's the case. But in the European duelling league, they have a bracket that allows the use of tools and weapons, so long as they were made by the competitor in question and pass an inspection by a panel first. They have chosen this style for the Triwizard tournament, as they thought it might be more entertaining.” Hermione recited, rolling her eyes at the thought of weapons being considered “entertaining”.

Fay breathed a sigh of relief as Ron was passed his deck of cards, the officials gesturing him towards the other duellists who had already been processed. “Good. We were worried they wouldn't think he'd managed to make them himself. Clearly, he was able to answer any questions they asked him”.

The group quietened as Flitwick took the stage again, this time joined by the two he had been conversing with prior.

“Well, we're nearly finished with the sign ups, so allow me to explain how this will work. As you can see behind me, we have some special guests visiting. Please allow me to introduce Alex Scrimgeour, the UK’s number one Duelist who placed third in last year's European tournament”

Here, he gestured to the male with the mane of wild blonde hair, who waved with a good natured smile. “Ah. Scrimgeour….that explains where I saw that hair before. He does look like a younger Rufus, after all”.

“And to my right is Clair Nightingale, current number two in the UK, who placed in eighth overall” The lady in the catsuit also smiled, winking as someone in the audience whistled loudly.

The audience clapped for the pair. “She seems popular,” Harry said, as he leaned towards Ginny to be heard. She smirked and leaned back. “Probably because she's also done some Prophet page 3 modelling, especially during the time of the tournament.” Yes, Harry could see how that might make her popular.

Flitwick gestured for calm, before continuing. “Each person will step up and face one of these two duellists. They will have five minutes to showcase the best they can offer, before they will then be allowed  to return fire. The longer you last, the better your chance of making it to the team. The officials and the three of us will then decide the final team of five that will represent us for the tournament. Any questions?”

Here Theodore Nott raised his hand. “Any banned spells?” Flitwick nodded. “No spells listed under the restricted magic act may be used. This includes blood boiling curses, entrails expelling and, of course, the unforgivables. I would expect all competitors to have read this in advance.” Nott nodded, though his sour look suggested he wasn't happy with the answer.

Flitwick clapped. “Good, then in that case, may the first competitor step forwards” He and Clair then left the stage, leaving Alex to face the first tryout.

As Susan Bones stepped up onto the stage looking nervous but determined, Alex's face lit up in recognition. “By jove. Little Susie! Haven't seen you since you were a sprog. How's ol’ Amelia doing now she's minister?”

“She's stressed, but otherwise well. Thanks for asking” Susan replied. Alex barked a laugh. “Not surprised. It's why you wouldn't catch me dead following me fathers footsteps. So…has Amy taught you a few tricks?”

Susan raised her wand, taking a duellists stance with her body sideways to minimise her profile as much as possible. “Perhaps.”

Alex grinned fiercely, and took his own stance. Flitwick. Acting as adjudicator, raised his wand. “Ready?” At their nods, he flashed his wand, signalling the start.

Susan began with a flurry of stunners, each staggered and cast silently. Alex sidestepped several before having to start blocking and redirecting as the later spells started to box him into the side of the stage.

“Not bad! Could be stronger, but you've just started learning to cast them silently, huh?” At Susan's strained nod, he chuckled, before casting a shield around himself that the stunners simply fizzled out on.

Realising that stunners would no longer work, she started to mix in blasting curses, at full power due to verbally casting them, attempting to break his shield. Unfortunately, it held firm.

 Alex simply crossed his arms, maintaining the shield. “You'll have to do better than…that…” his eyes widened slightly as Susan conjured several small pebbles in front of her, floating them before banishing them at great speed towards him.

Each one hit with a sharp crack, their small size making the impact more concentrated than her blasting curses had been. After several hits, Alex's shield noticeably cracked!

“Five minutes!” Flitwick called, and Alex laughed loudly. “Nice Susan! But now, it's my turn!” He dropped the shield, before casting several small, accurate stunners that travelled far faster than most stunners. Susan desperately dived to the side to avoid them, but the time it took for her to regain her footing was all Alex needed to cast a larger, widespread spell.

Susan tried to turn her body to avoid it…but unfortunately, her impressive bust was still in the spell's path. As it made contact, she gasped, before dropping to the floor as her legs lost their mobility. Alex then finished the fight with a quick disarm.

“That was a good effort, Susie. You need to work a bit more on dodging though lass…your anatomy isn't really built for it.” He chuckled as he cancelled the curse on her and passed her back her wand.

“Doesn't feel like it…can't believe I got beaten by a jelly-legs jinx…” Susan sighed, standing up and smoothing her skirt down.

“Don't be silly. You nearly got through my shield, and that's impressive! Good thinking with the pebbles.” Alex chuckled, clapping her shoulder in a friendly manner.

Susan smiled and nodded, before leaving the stage to allow the next competitor, Terry Boot, to take his place opposite Alex.

“Well…I knew Susan likely got some training,  given who her aunt is. But that was still a good show…” Harry muttered. Ginny nodded. “Definitely…she might have even been able to fight back better, if she wasn't so well stacked.” She grasped her own chest, looking down almost grumpily at her own, much smaller assets. “That's not a problem I'm likely to have…”

Harry rolled his eyes, before wrapping an arm around her waist and hugging her sideways. “Stop that, Gin. Just because they're smaller, doesn't make them any less pleasant to look at.”

Ginny grinned, before wriggling closer into his hug. “Just look at?” She then took his hand and placed it over her breast, letting him cop a feel through her shirt. “Yep, definitely not wearing a bra…”

Hermione just rolled her eyes with an affectionate smile. “I know I like watching, but Flitwick might have something to say if you get too frisky.” Ginny stuck her tongue out, before returning her attention to the stage. She made no move to remove Harry's hand from her chest, however.

The next couple of try outs were nowhere near as exciting as Susan's had been. Terry had spent the entire first five minutes freezing the floor around Alex, who didn't bother to stop him and just watched curiously. 

When the five minute mark struck, he attempted to push Alex off the stage with a blast of wind, but he simply added a sticking charm to his own soles before casting a strong “Incendio” in Terry’s direction.

Not only did this melt all the ice, but it also clipped his robe and set it alight. In his panic, Terry got too near to the edge of the stage, where a blast of air from Alex knocked him out of bounds, using his own tactic to do so no less.

Millicent Bulstrode went next, and seemed determined to simply brute force her way through Alex's defences. To be fair, after several minutes of constant casting of bludgeoners and cutters, his shield had had to be replaced a couple of times.

However, the effort had clearly drained her, so when Alex began to return fire, her own shield was too weak to stop his spell from smashing through and taking her out of the fight.

Next up was Colin Creevy, the first who was younger than fourth year to attempt so. “Wait…seriously? He still has his camera on him, even in a duel? Won't he break it?” Hermione frowned. Indeed, Colin's infamous camera, often the bane of Harry's life in the previous world, could be seen in a holster on his belt.

“Does that mean he made the camera himself? That's…kind of impressive, to be honest.”

The first five minutes were similar to Susan's run, trying to use stunners (verbally cast, however) to catch Alex off guard.

Things changed pace, however, when Alex began to cast back. Rather than retreat or shield, Colin chose instead to run forwards. Using his smaller stature and the surprise this move caused to his advantage, Colin managed to slide under a wave of spells before standing much closer.

Before Alex could change his strategy, Colin lifted his camera up, and fired the shutter. The large flash this emitted shocked Alex, and he cursed as he found himself trying to blink away spots in his vision.

“Dammit! Dick move, kid” he snarled, but the grin he sported showed he wasn't truly upset. 

Colin lowered his camera and went to capitalise on his advantage, but before he could Alex banished his camera off to the side. “Urk!” As it swas still attached to him by a sturdy strap, it pulled Colin off with it, taking him out of bounds.

“Match!” Flitwick called.

Alex continued to blink rapidly. “Christ, what was in that flash? I've never seen one so bright, even at interviews. Interesting trick…hey Clair! You're up early, I can't see shit”.

Clair sighed, before sashaying her way onto the stage. “Fine, but you can take the last one instead. I'm assuming you'll recover, right?’ She said, looking over towards where Colin was being helped up by his brother.

“Oh…yeah! He'll be fine in a few minutes, it's just an enchantment on the flash, acts like a flash bang” Colin replied, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

“There you go, no harm done! Now…where's the stairs?” Alex muttered, nearly walking off the stage before Flitwick helped guide him to the stairs.

Clair took her place opposite Dennis, who had now climbed up to take his turn once he was sure Colin was ok.

Dennis was certainly enthusiastic, but lacked the power to force Clair to drop her shield, nor the spell knowledge to work around it. When Clair cast back, she rapidly had him tied up in an “Incarcerous” curse.

Clair sighed. “I do hope the rest of you will be a bit more of a challenge. I swear, this is why I didn't want to bother with the younger students” she snarked, cocking her hip to the side. 

Dennis, who had been smiling good naturedly despite his defeat, wilted slightly at the comment. Colin frowned as he helped his freed brother to hop off the stage, before giving him words of encouragement as they went to sit with the crowd.

“Well, isn't she pleasant?” Harry huffed sarcastically. “Guess her good looks are only skin deep.” Hermione nodded, “Hopefully one of the try outs will give her a run for her money”.

Seamus took the stage next, and though he cast an appreciative eye over her figure and tight outfit, the frown on his face showed that he hadn't missed the comment she had made either.

“Do ya talk to ye fans like that?” he called out, getting into a loose stance with his wand ready. Clair rolled her eyes. “I don't talk to fans unless I have to. Pesky sponsorships. If I never do another Witch Weekly interview, it'll be too soon.”

“Yet you'll happily get starkers for the prophet, huh?” Clearly, her attitude was getting under his skin a little. Clair just smirked. “Of course. With a body like mine…well, it would be a waste not to.” She ran her hands over her form briefly. “The pay is not bad either, of course.”

Flitwick lit his wand to start the match, and Seamus immediately began with large scale, wide fire spells. Most Clair calmly doused with water from her own wand, ignoring any that went wide.

Seamus began to mix in bludgeoners, before surprising her with a blast of air. Once this hit the remains of a previous fire spell that was still smouldering off to her side, it ignited in a small explosion that tore a rent in the stage and flung Clair off her feet.

Before she could be pushed off the stage, however, she conjured a chain that dug into the stage and halted her momentum. As she looked down at herself, she saw the slight burn on her hip where the blast had broken through her catsuit.

“...this suit cost more than your tuition, boy” she scowled at him, her eyes flashing dangerously. Seamus smirked, glad that he managed to get a good hit in. Then, the five minute mark was called, and his smirk was replaced with shock as the conjured chain flew towards him.

Though he tried to dodge, the chain was animated and swiftly turned to wind around his leg. Seamus attempted to break it with a blasting curse, but he barely affected it before the chain was whipped around to throw him bodily from the stage to land with a heavy thump. “Ouch…” he muttered from his place on the ground.

Flitwick gave Clair an unimpressed look, but she ignored it in favour of repairing her outfit. Rolling his eyes, he checked to make sure Seamus was uninjured (“only me pride, Professor!”).

Turning his attention to the stage, he sighed upon seeing the damage upon it. He pointed his wand to his throat, placing a “Sonorous” on himself. “We'll be taking a brief break while I repair the stage. Please bear with me.”

Harry chuckled. “Trust Seamus to find a way to blow something up. At least it was intentional this time.” Ginny looked over to where Clair and Alex stood off to the side. Alex was clearly still recovering his sight, but had heard enough to be giving her an earful. Not that she seemed to care in the slightest.

“Guess it's true you shouldn't meet your heroes. Who knew Clair Nightingale was such a cow. Still….killer body on her.”

Harry nodded, watching as Flitwick finished repairing the damage. With around half the tryouts still remaining, he was sure there would be more interesting matches to come.