When the first day of the Dueling Tournament arrived, it became a school-wide attraction. To not interfere with lessons, it was decided that it would be hosted on Saturday, so I had to slog through Professor Binns's lesson and then have an exhausting one at the greenhouses on Friday and to top it all off, an Astronomy class in the cold, December weather in the dead of night! I thought all this was a ploy to make me mentally and physically tired before the whole thing started.

"How are you feeling?" Quincy asked as we were heading to the Great Hall from our common room to have breakfast.

"Fine." I replied with a smile, "I'm not really afraid, no matter who I am going to face in the first round. I just don't know why are they stretching it out?" I yawned, not even trying to hide it. "First rounds now, seconds at the next Saturday, and then finals before the Christmas break… tsk. We could do this all in one go!"

"Confident, aren't you?" I heard Draco walking into the common room, passing us, but we ignored him without taking note of his presence.

"Hey!" Pansy Parkinson shouted, but the door was already closed behind us.

"So-" I continued, forcing another yawn to end earlier than it wished to do so, "My plan is to blast the poor sod who comes up against me with a strong spell, win quickly, and get back to sleep! I'm tired!"

"I told you I would let you copy my notes!" She chuckled, glancing down at my hand, and I could see she was thinking of holding it, so I acted before she could change her mind, interlocking my fingers with hers. "You could have slept the lesson through…" She continued, blushing, but didn't pull away.

"It's fine! Astronomy is a kind of interesting and unique subject, although I find no practical use for it. I thought it would be just as obsolete and banned as divination."

"Some spells do use the stars and their powers, so… maybe it has more of a ground in magic?"

"Eh, maybe! Let's eat, and we can discuss the secrets of the stars while doing so!" I chuckled, but my smile was frozen to my face.

I very quickly realized why Draco was coming back in the morning… and not leaving. The Great Hall was already altered, the future dueling stage was being set up, and I saw the notice on the door. Breakfast time was changed to very early morning, and we ran out of time already. Somehow, we were not notified of this, and I don't remember reading anything related to this on our noticeboard either!

"Scammed…" I groaned, along with my stomach, letting out a protesting rumble.

"Tsk! Those bastards!" Quincy clicked her tongue, her grip tightening around my fingers.

"The competition starts two hours later... at 10… so this was made deliberately…" I looked around, and it was futile to stand here like two idiots, so we left for the North Tower, where we did have some snacks hidden.

…

….

……

Chocolate frogs and jelly beans are not ideal for breakfast, but… I won't say it was the worst one I have ever had, either. What I will say is that the place was jammed with students before the whole thing kicked off. We arrived early to get Quincy a prime spot while I sat down where the participants ought to wait for their turn. I ignored most gazes as I was one of the youngest present. It was something I expected. I think a student from year three was the closest; the rest were from year four and up. Not that it mattered much.

While waiting, I read through the instructions manual we all received from Lucius himself. It stated the rules of etiquette, the bow, waiting for the referee, Lucius's countdown before firing an attack, and last but not least, all the spells that were forbidden, which was only the killing curse. I made sure to read it slowly, from back to front, and even used the revelio charm to see if there were any hidden secrets, obscured from me specifically… but no. Or I was simply too weak to notice it. So I randomly swapped with someone who looked at me weirdly, but oh well. Hufflepuffs are not that bright, anyway!

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"Nothing…"

After going through the same gimmicks, I concluded the rules were indeed that simple, which meant injuries were bound to happen. There are more ways to kill than using the signature spell of HIS. A well-aimed confringo can do the same or worse. It would result in a more painful death, for sure. Thinking about it, I was honestly baffled… why was it banned in the past? I get that its sole purpose; the only usage of that spell was to kill someone. But wasn't it more humane? So, to speak… then set someone on fire and watch him burn to death?

"Conrad Anguine!"

It was Lucius's voice that knocked me out of my thoughts, ending my daydreams. I didn't even notice when the contest kicked off, and now it was my turn. Looking at the stage, a 6th-year student from Gryffindor was already there, waiting impatiently, wand in his hands.

"Afraid? Then why did you sign up?" Lucius mocked me, but I just yawned, standing up, fixing my robe, and walking up to the stage.

"Sorry, I was totally spaced out because it was really boring so far!" I replied, and I gleefully enjoyed the sudden change in his eyes. As to what the others thought? Who cares! Father is right; sometimes, you must make a ruckus so people won't believe they can walk over you so easily.

"Pretty big mouth, kid!" My opponent sneered, getting offended by it, which was precisely why I did it. Angry enemies are easier to predict or lead into traps.

"Not as big as yours; I bet you can fit plenty of di-"

"Enough!" Lucius interrupted us, getting so angry his face was turning pink. This was his tournament, and glancing around, watching the other teachers' stoic looks, they were here to observe him. Not us, no… they were watching Lucius and probably Draco, wanting to see this for themselves. As to why? I couldn't guess. Interesting. Then I should make it so that Lucius's competition blows up in his face? Let him be humiliated?

"I will wipe that smirk off your face… kid…" The Gryffindor student said through gritted teeth, redrawing my attention to him as we walked to our starting points.

"I will try the same, but with your giant mouth, I will need to cast the cleaning spell twice."

"Bow!" Lucius ignored my voice, commanding us to continue to perform the required etiquette in our duel.

I had already tuned out everything by then. What my ears were hearing was my opponent's heartbeat, the sound of his muscles flexing in his arms, the twitch of his eyes, his fingers… the feeling of mana surging in and around his body. It was as if time slowed down to a crawl, and I could react to anything way before any average human could. I felt relaxed, fresh… calm. My heart was beating normally without speeding up even a little. I saw him start raising his hand, perceiving his throat's movement as the air was coming up from his lungs, strumming his vocal cords, and his mouth beginning to form words. It was confringo, the blasting curse. I never learned it yet, but somehow I recognized it… and then I realized where. It was in Umbridge's office. I was there once in detention, and she had a book laid out on her desk, and it was in it. I remember glancing at the pages, skimming it through… Why do I remember all this so clearly now? Is this the effect of the basilisk's blood…? Must be.

"Oh…"

My thoughts then sped up a little, remembering I was in a duel. My opponent was already in the middle of his incantation, starting to point his wand at me. I quickly focused on my peripheral sight and noticed that people thought I froze. Heh… then it is time to make my move, too, no?

"Frigus Ignis."

My words came out as a blur, speaking them lightning fast but clearly. My hand movement was quick and precise, and before my opponent could utter the last syllables, he was bathed in a sea of blue fire. I could only hear cries before I made a swish, ending the spell and looking at the shouting Lucius.

I wasn't hearing what he said; my mind was tuning his words out. I could only see the anger in his eyes, the vein popping on his neck, and his tongue flipping around in his mouth, throwing saliva everywhere. I thought about killing him there and then. He was so vulnerable. Just a quick jab, right into his throat, and…

"Ugh!"

I couldn't help but flinch and hold against my head as an intense headache assaulted me, just like that night in the infirmary. It wasn't as bad, but the sharp, needle-like piercing feeling in my brain did hurt the same way. I turned away from Lucius, watching my opponent, who was unconscious and badly burnt. Other teachers were already there, bringing him away while I finally caught some of Lucius's words, asking what I was thinking?

"It wasn't against the rules," I replied through gritted teeth as my headache was snowballing the more I listened to him. Or, more precisely, as I heard his voice, I couldn't really focus on anything but the feeling I wanted to see him dead.

"You think-" He started over but was interrupted by Snape.

"I read it. It wasn't against the rules." And with that, he nodded at me and then at Lucius to drop it.

I bowed to the Headmaster before returning to my place, sitting down, and closing my eyes. The pain wasn't subsiding; it was taking form, making me hear the same hissing voice that I hadn't heard for a year.

"Just kill him already. It's the quickest way to get rid of an annoying problem…"

Even though it was speaking with the mix of my own and Herpo's voice, I recognized it… It was the same snake I had been running in my nightmares many times… and now I had a dreadful premonition about it.