“Stupefy!” Harry shouted, waving his makeshift wand.

“Protego.” Sirius replied, conjuring a shield that would have reflected his attack, had he sent any.

“Accio.” Harry tried, pointing his “wand” towards a stone. He then pointed at Sirius. “Flipendo!”

“Protego Duo.” Sirius replied.

Harry lowered his fake wand, gritting his teeth as he sat on the grass. “No fair, whenever I cast a spell you use a shield charm, and whenever I throw something you use a double shield charm. How am I even supposed to hurt you?” He asked.

“Break it.” Sirius said, as if that were so simple.

“How?” Harry asked.

“Be stronger.” Sirius replied.

Harry shook his head. “Is that all there is to dueling? Two wizards waving a wand and seeing who throws their spells harder? What’s the difference between that and muggle dueling then? Why would a stronger wizard ever lose?” Harry asked.

Sirius frowned. “I think I explained it poorly. It’s possible to counter spells in ways without blocking them, and the same is true for any shield charm. Wizard duels never last long, and the charm is broken too easily to be reliable.” He explained.

“Why are you using it then?” Harry asked.

“Because I don’t need to use anything else.” Sirius replied.

Harry flopped onto the soft dirt to stare at the blue sky above. “Without a wand I can’t attack you, and without a wand you can’t defend. Why can’t I get one?” He asked. But even as he said it he already knew the answer.

“You know you can’t get a wand until you are eleven Harry. No wandmaker will sell one.” Sirius said. Harry pounded his fist on the grass.

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“Can’t you just get any random one? Say it’s for yourself?” He asked.

Sulking won’t help, Harry.

“It’s not so simple, Harry. The wand chooses the wizard. If I did, it may be a poor match, and unless it isn’t the wand is as useful as a piece of wood! You’ll have to wait, Harry, sorry.” Sirius said.

I’m not sulking! Harry spat at him. He heard a laugh in his head.

“Can you show me how to win a duel in your situation then? I’ll cast the spell when mom visits.” Harry suggested.

Not a bad idea.

Sirius nodded. “I suppose that could work. Watch.” He said, pointing his wand at a tree. “Bombarda Maxima!” He shouted. The tree exploded, and Harry covered his face to avoid the rain of dirt and mud that flied towards him. Tree bark dug into his arms, leaving small scrapes.

“The explosion spell can break shields, and if you were to say, aim at the ground under a wizard-”

“They would explode.” Harry realized.

“Yes, very good.” Sirius said.

“Now, it’s not the only spell you could use. I would say you should avoid it if you can, Harry. There are easier ways. The petrification and disarming spells are both rather useful in a duel. Expelliarmus!” He shouted.

Harry’s stick flew out of his hand. “Petrificus Totalus.” Sirius added, and Harry felt his hands and feet snap together.

“As for the more damaging spells, Diffindo!” Sirius said. Harry felt his hair sheared off his head as an invisible blade cut through. He struggled, but found that he could not move. “Fulemta!” Lightning struck the ground a few feet away from Harry’s face.

“Stop, stop, I get it.” Harry protested.

Sirius chuckled. “I must say, you have some nerve for a child your age, Harry. Most would have broken down crying already.”

Without pressure, there are no diamonds. Good skills come at a price, be it harsh training or something else.

Harry voiced it to Sirius, earning a laugh.

“You hardly sound like a 3 year old child, Harry, has anyone told you that?” Sirius asked.

“Mom says that I’m talented.” Harry said. Talent doesn’t explain half of it, Magnus scoffed.

“Your mother was not wrong, Harry. Now, there are countercurses for every curse, but all are different. I’ll leave you to figure those out yourself. Until you read up on them, maybe try using a silencing charm. That should do the trick most of the time. There’s not much else I can teach you about dueling, so I think we will need to wait for your mother if we want to practice.” Sirius said.

Harry frowned. “That’s it? What about real duels? Will I ever get to see one? Dumbledore didn’t just stand there and cast spells when he fought Gridenwald did he?” He asked.

Sirius gave him a sideways look. “Strange choice of tales for a mother to tell her son, but no, he didn’t.” He said.

“How did he win then? How did the duel go? Tell me, Sirius! Do you know anyone who saw it?” Harry asked, tugging on his teacher’s sleeves.

“Well, I suppose I could tell you. Be warned, this story has been told by thousands of witnesses more times than I can care to remember, and the truth is probably lost somewhere in between. I won’t say I know much about it myself, it happened before I was born. I can repeat what the others have told me, if you like.”