The Duelling Club
Harriet found out the next day that Professor Snape had lifted her onto a stretcher and magicked her up to the hospital wing, followed closely by Ron, Hermione and the entire Gryffindor team; and that it was most amusing to see Snape kick Lockhart to the ground and trample over him to get her to Madam Pomfrey. Even the twins were in shock as they never expected Snape to be the saviour of their seeker and Harriet wistfully thought that she would’ve loved to see Lockhart get smothered in the mud. She was positive if he had been left to attend to her, she would’ve lost her arm permanently.
After spending time amongst the rest of the Gryffindors, receiving praises and cheers for her success with the match, they finally left the common room to enjoy a walk during a rare spell of sunshine outside. It was at this time that Harriet told them about Collin. Ron’s face was white as a ghost and Hermione fell into a troubled silence.
“That’s absolutely mad…what kind of nutter would do that to a first year?” Ron asked, his face a mix of disbelief and shock.
Harriet nodded her head, just as distraught as the other two with her.
“Whoever it is… Really can’t be someone of sound mind,” Hermione finally said, “To attack a student under Dumbledore’s watch is madness.”
“This is why I’ve been training…I had my doubts about it reaching this far, but Collin has been attacked and there was no one there to help him. We can’t remain defenceless,” Harriet said, determination written all over her face.
“Have you gone mad? We can’t fight against a monster! Can’t we just leave it to the teachers?” Ron said.
“Ronald! How dare you be such a coward? Are we supposed to remain afraid and just wait until it happens to us?” Hermione snapped. “Besides no one is saying to fight it, we just need to be prepared in case of the worst.”
As they crossed a quiet corridor near the Transfiguration classroom, Harriet lagged behind a little, distracted by her thoughts. A large, ornate statue stood in the middle of the corridor—a stone knight in full armour, one of the many ancient relics scattered throughout the castle. Harriet had passed it hundreds of times before without a second thought, but today, as she glanced at it, a strange feeling washed over her. She felt as if she was being watched.
Just as she was about to shrug it off, the statue moved.
With a grinding sound of stone scraping against stone, the knight’s arm raised its heavy stone sword high into the air. Harriet barely had time to register what was happening before the massive sword came crashing down toward her.
She cried out as the blade missed her by inches, striking the stone floor with a deafening crack. But before she could react, the knight swung again, its movements faster and more fluid than any ordinary charm should allow.
Harriet’s instincts kicked in, and she dove out of the way, her body hitting the floor hard. Pain shot through her side, and her wand slipped from her fingers. She scrambled to get up, but the statue was relentless. Its stone arm lashed out, catching her across the chest with brutal force. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and she was thrown backward, her head slamming into the cold stone wall.
The world spun, and Harriet gasped for breath, clutching her ribs where the blow had landed. She could feel something wasn’t right—sharp, burning pain radiated from her chest, and breathing became agonizing. She felt something running down her forehead and her vision blurred, but she could still see the statue looming over her, raising its sword once more.
“HARRIET!” Hermione’s voice rang out in panic as she and Ron finally turned to see what was happening. The last thing she heard was screaming.
“So the bludger was enchanted by house elf magic it seems.”
Severus glared at the brown bludger that was now contained and strapped down in a box, rattling on the table.
Minerva looked taken aback as Dumbledore paced up and down in her office.
“But Headmaster, what is the meaning of this? Was it a Hogwarts house elf that tampered with it?”
Dumbledore glanced at Severus who determinedly avoided eye contact with him, leaving him to address her completely.
The Headmaster sighed before continuing, “No my dear Professor, it is of our belief that it was done by an elf, not native to Hogwarts.”
“Our belief? Do you mean to say that Severus knew about this too?” she said, disbelief crossing her face. “I should be informed about my students first Albus!”
“I fully agree with you Minerva, but we didn’t want to act rashly. I came to understand that a particular elf has been visiting Miss Potter and warning her of certain dangers that would be present at Hogwarts this year,” Dumbledore said, “However we-”
His voice was cut off with a loud noise outside of the room; there was a grinding sound then a loud crash followed by a blood curdling scream.
Wasting no time, the teachers bolted out into the hallway with Snape, who was closest to the door, taking the lead. What he saw caused his heart to jolt in horror; a huge statue of a knight, towering over the girl who was lying motionless on the floor.
Severus felt his mind go blank.
Minerva cried out and rushed towards the girl, her arms held outwards trying to shield her.
Before the sword could come down again, the Headmaster’s voice boomed across the corridor: “Finite Incantatem!”
“I-It was one of the stone knights that lined the hall, when w-we heard the noise, we thought it had fallen over and Harriet had dodged but then it moved again and a-attacked her,” Weasley stammered, looking pale and ill as he stared at the curtains that hid his friend.
Miss Granger was hysterical and crying so much Pomfrey and Minerva had to take her out of the ward and force-feed her a calming draught. When she returned her eyes were glassy and streaked with tears.
“She’s been badly injured,” Minerva whispered to Dumbledore, her voice trembling slightly, as they watched Pomfrey work her magic to set the bones and heal the cuts on her.
They were standing behind the curtains, out of earshot of the children.
Snape was shaking. He hadn’t left her side and he was afraid that if he said something, he would curse every living being around him. The sight of the girl, broken and bleeding on the floor, unresponsive, was seared into his mind.
Dumbledore, hearing the sniffles from Weasley and Granger, pulled the curtains open when Pomfrey was finally done siphoning the blood off the bed, and called over to the children.
“Harriet will be just fine, she’s a very strong girl,” He said, kindness posted all over his face and voice.
“You heard that Mione? Harri will be okay,” Weasley said, a forced smile crossing his face as he looked at the girl.
“She’ll be okay…” Miss Granger repeated, in a distant voice, eyes still glassy and unfocused.
“Yes, in a few days she will be all well again and ready to talk to you both,” said Dumbledore, gently smiling down at them. They seemed to think the reassurance of the Headmaster was enough, so it was with minimal sniffles Weasley took Miss Granger’s hand and led her out of the ward. She cast one glassy look backwards towards Miss Potter before exiting with him.
“How is she now Poppy?” Asked Minerva had remained quiet, clutching her chest. Her face was lined with worry.
“I’ve managed to deal with the worst so I would say she’s now in stable condition,” the medi-witch said to them, the glow of her spells reflecting on the walls around them, “She’s sustained multiple broken ribs and severe trauma to the head Albus, if you had gotten there even a second later, it would’ve been too late.”
Severus’s insides felt hollow.
“Would her injuries affect her in the long term?” Dumbledore asked in a low voice.
“It should not. For the most part, the worst has been dealt with. But for now I’ve put her in a magic-induced sleep. Neurological injuries are very serious and her mind can only be completely fixed by her own magic. The sleep will help her body recover itself in that way.”
“Thank you for your thorough diagnosis and immediate care Poppy,” Dumbledore said, a small, genuine smile finally crossing his face. “Minerva and I would be taking our leave now as I have much to continue in our discussion. I hope you don’t mind Severus remaining with Miss Potter.”
“If you insist Headmaster, she would be sleeping through most of the night, so there wouldn’t be much to see,” the matron said sternly, bustling away.
Severus scoffed. He would stay even if she told him not too. This was clearly a second attempt on the girl’s life, the house elf’s stunt being the first. He’d leave solving the mystery of the stone knight to the Headmaster. As much as he would love to figure out who tried to attack her, and murder them, he wasn’t going to leave the girl’s side today.
Realistically the Headmaster would’ve been the better choice for protecting the girl, be it from a magical beast or a Wizard, however no matter how much Dumbledore cared about her, he didn’t have a debt to repay, nor did the girl mean the same thing to him as she did to Severus. Protecting Lily’s daughter was the only form of redemption Severus had left in his life and if she died then that means Lily’s sacrifice would’ve been in vain.
When she awoke hours later in the Hospital Wing, her body was wrapped in bandages, her chest tight with magical bindings to help heal the broken ribs. She blinked into the darkness, flinching slightly from the sore feeling in her head. When she looked to her side, she saw Professor Snape, sitting quietly, observing her, much to her surprise.
“…How do you feel?” He asked grimly, sitting upright when he saw her move upwards.
“Like I’ve been run over by the train,” she said sleepily, trying to shake the soreness off her arms.
The sides of his mouth quirked upwards, but it was quickly erased when she winced in pain after stretching her arms.
“You should rest more Miss Potter,” He said, “It would not do your…friends well should they return in the morning and find you incapacitated and unmoving.”
“Why are you here Sir?” She asked suddenly, her green eyes looking at him curiously.
“…”
“Is it so that no one kills me this time?” She asked, looking at him strangely.
“….”
“I’ll take that as a yes Sir,” She said, “It’s always me isn’t it?”
“…”
“…There are many unknown factors at work currently at Hogwarts,” He said finally, “Whatever it is, students are in danger and seeing as you’ve been warned prior to being attacked so viciously, it’s safe to say whatever there is out there considers you a threat.”
He paused before continuing, “The Headmaster and myself, have agreed that it would be best for you to be guarded tonight, especially given the current crisis.”
At that, she settled back down as if finally receiving an answer she was comfortable with.
“I suppose it’s nice…In a messed up kinda way…” She said sleepily, pulling her sheets back up, “I’ve never had someone be worried about me before…” she said, staring at the ceiling, eyes drooping. Severus remained silent, and after a few moments, she closed her eyes and dozed off to sleep, chest heaving gently.
Once he was sure she was asleep he exhaled a breath of air he didn’t realize he was holding and slumped back into his chair. She had taken him by surprise, waking up so suddenly. He was studying her, thinking how unfair life could be.
She was supposed to be safe and protected but instead, life had failed her. Harriet Potter had endured all her life, and was still enduring to this day. When he heard Lily was having Potter’s child, he expected her to grow up and be spoilt, entitled and disgustingly Gryffindor, a carbon copy of Potter. But no, she was hardworking, more hardworking than anyone her age and she saw the good in others, like her mother. Even though she was defiant and brave, he couldn’t fault her. With her experiences in Hogwarts alone, the girl had to be brave. Not much people could endure a battle with a fully grown wizard being possessed by the Dark Lord, and also emerge victorious in the end. Deep down, he hoped that the odds would be in her favour once more this year since the threats against her seemed more severe and dangerous than the last.
The next afternoon Harriet awoke, finding Hermione sitting beside her bed, pale and deep in thought, while Ron paced nearby. Her first thought was the pain was much better, almost non-existent and her second thought was wondering where Snape was.
“Harriet, you’re awake!” Hermione said when she stirred, tears welling up in her eyes.
Ron turned in surprise and came over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“You alright mate?” he said, anxiety etched across his features.
“Much better, Madam Pomfrey really knows her stuff,” she said lightly, trying to ease her friends’ mood.
“They found the charm,” Hermione whispered shakily when Harriet sat up. “Someone—someone enchanted the statue to attack. But they don’t know who.”
At that the trio fell into a troubled silence, which was eventually broken by Ron.
“Harri….I been thinking and you were right,” he said, “About fighting back, you were right. We need to be prepared to fight this heir or whatever it is.”
“And Malfoy has been absolutely relentless with his taunts since you’ve been in here,” Hermione followed, her face grim. “He seems to know more than he’s letting on. But since you’ve been here I’ve been thinking...”
Harriet looked at her curiously after hearing the guilty edge in her friend’s voice.
Hermione took a deep breath before continuing. “We need to infiltrate the Slytherin common room and question Malfoy to find out what’s happening at Hogwarts,” She said, looking around to make sure they were alone.
Harriet felt her eyes widen. “Wait, what?” She asked, feeling herself grin at her friend.
Hermione turned red, “I’ve already thought through it, and Ronald has kindly assisted me in finding a potion in the library today. The Polyjuice potion,” she said, her tone now serious.
“It turns you into any person you want it to!” Ron piped up excitedly.
“Correct, once you have a bit of hair to add to it, it should do the trick,” nodded Hermione, “It’s very advanced but it seems simple enough to make….the only downside is... it requires very complicated ingredients and it takes about month to brew.”
“A month?’ Harriet said feeling dejected, “Slytherin’s monster could attack so much people by then!”
“I know,” Hermione said looking grim, “But it’s all we’ve got.”
When Harriet was discharged from the hospital wing, she opted out of attending dinner because she really didn’t feel like being bombarded by the multitude of questions and comments from other students. She returned to the Gryffindor common room, she was instantly ambushed by two red heads who grabbed her by the arms and sat her down on a plush red arm chair.
“Harriet ole girl,” said George, or was it Fred? “You know we care about you a lot, and a wee little birdie told us…”
“…That our favourite seeker in the world was being targeted by something scary,” continued Fred.
George reached into his pockets and pulled out a tiny, colourful box and thrust it into her hands. She looked at it curiously, turning it over in her palms.
“This is one of our little inventions we’ve been working on recently,” said Fred, “And we like to call it, the Bellow Box!” they finished in unison.
“If you ever find yourself in a bit of a pickle, just toss it down to the ground and it should be enough to help you sort yourself out mate,” George explained.
Harriet looked up at the grinning twins and couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face.
“Thanks guys, I feel a lot better having something from you guys in my arsenal,” she said, slipping it into her robe pockets.
“Not a problem mate, always glad to be of service to the chosen one,” said Fred, bowing down to her, much to her amusement. She snorted and smacked his arm and the pair burst into laughter. At the same time Ron and Hermione entered the common room, their arms filled with plates covered with napkins.
“What did we miss?” asked Ron, curiously looking between them.
“It’s a secret little brother,” Fred said winking at him, “Andddd that’s our cue to leave,” said George, ruffling Ron’s hair and they sauntered away.
“…Weird,” Ron said, settling on the armchair across from Harriet. He unfolded a napkin from one of the plates and handed it out to her, “Nicked you some sandwiches mate, figured you’d get hungry.”
Harriet felt gratitude towards her friend in that moment and gladly accepted a slice.
“So there’s been an announcement at dinner,” began Hermione, “Professor Lockhart has brilliantly decided to start a duelling club in a few weeks for the student body to become familiar with spells and duelling.”
“I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for us to get some practice in since he’s very much qualified and I’m sure; very equipped with a plethora of offensive spells,” she gushed enthusiastically.
Harriet snorted and Ron rolled his eyes.
“Really Mione, you’re too enthusiastic. You know that git can’t teach us anything,” he scoffed, flicking pie crust off of his sweater.
Hermione turned red, “Well, there’s other teachers who will be there as well you know, Professor Dumbledore did say that Professor Snape would be joining for the first lesson,” she said sounding a bit miffed.
Harriet’s ears perked up at that. Snape would be teaching them to duel? She thought back to that night in the classroom when he showed her how to properly cast her spell. She smiled, this could be good after all, at least Snape had experience.
Severus was mildly irritated. The students around him were chattering excitedly, no doubt eager at the prospect of being allowed to hex each other freely in a controlled environment. Why did he agree to this in the first place? The whole idea was dull and he didn’t care to entertain the little pustules any longer than necessary. Potions class was more than enough time with them and he had things to do. He could’ve spent this time looking for the little rat that had been stealing boomslang skin and other ingredients from his stores, but he couldn’t resist giving into the temptation of just one lesson. The thought of being able to curse Lockhart freely with no repercussions just seemed too good to give up…
Dumbledore let Lockhart think that the idea of the duelling club was his of course. The Headmaster had a way of subtly slipping ideas into conversations for idiots like him to pounce upon, so it was no surprise when Lockhart proudly announced to the staff room his idea of a duelling club to increase student morale in these ‘trying times’. The fucking twit.
“Welcome everyone,” Lockhart’s enthusiastic voice boomed out as the whispers fell to a hush around them, “To the first duelling club of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” he said, flashing a gleaming smile at a group of fourth year girls who blushed and squealed.
Severus almost rolled his eyes at the man’s antics. His eyes scanned the crowd and he found the girl next to a mass of bushy brown hair. She’d been avoiding him since she left the hospital wing two weeks ago and he wanted to know why. He’d caught her once coming out of an abandoned bathroom in the second floor one evening and she’d just rattled off some awkward excuse before bolting away to the great hall before he could question her further. That was odd. She usually was bold with her questions towards him and stood her ground. Without a doubt she was up to something. He checked the bathroom and was about to enter the last stall before the annoying student ghost popped up and started howling at him, deterring him from his task.
He abandoned the bathroom search but his suspicions were further cemented when he entered the great hall and found both Granger and Weasley missing. His eyes scanned the room suspiciously and the two only arrived a few moments after he took his seat. The girl looked as though she was expecting them and they had spent the rest of the meal huddling together and speaking in low, hushed voices, indistinguishable over the chatter of the hall. But he decided to ignore it. They were idiotic teenagers and they all had their secrets. Once the girl was safe that was all he cared about.
At the sound of applause, he snapped back to the scene in front of him and he saw that she currently had a look of disgust smeared across her face as she stared at Lockhart who had ended his speech, and he felt an odd feeling of satisfaction within him. He brushed it off and focused on the blonde idiot who was flashing smiles and bowing before him. It was time.
As soon as Lockhart raised his head, he flicked his wrist and shouted.
“Expelliarmus!”
A flash of red shot forward and Lockhart went flying backward, his wand falling out of his hand. The hall erupted into noise, with cheers coming from the Slytherins.
“Ah yes,” said Lockhart, slightly wheezing as he stood, “The disarming spell, I could’ve easily deflected it of course but I wouldn’t want to hurt your precious potions master!” He said beaming around at the students as he straightened his robes.
“But perhaps I should give you all a chance to get a taste of battle,” he said, casting a shifty look at Severus, who held his wand tightly.
Severus scoffed softly but remained silent as Lockhart scanned the crowd.
“Ah you, Miss Potter, how about you come up here,” said Lockhart, smiling down at her.
“Now who shall I pair you with? Should it be Mr. Weasley?” He asked, studying her intently.
Severus was silent for a while and after a moment he spoke.
“Mr Weasley’s wand is currently not up to par for a duel at the moment. Perhaps a student from my own house, Professor, should suffice in this instant?” he said softly.
“Ah, an excellent suggestion Professor, who do you recommend?” the Idiot asked, white teeth flashing at him.”
“Mr Malfoy will do.”
Draco smirked and made his way onto the platform, eyes flashing dangerously at Potter. She stood there, unimpressed and held her wand at the ready. After they both bowed, the duel began.
“Vespertilio!” shouted Draco, and a colony of bats burst forth from his wand, their sharp teeth and claws aimed directly for the girl.
“Protego!” she cried out, and a white sphere shimmered around her, deflecting the bats.
“Immobulus,” she said, flicking her wand. The bats froze and crashed to the ground, disappearing with a poof.
Lockhart applauded and the students around them cheered for the girl, who looked uncomfortable and reserved.
Draco’s face twisted in anger and he lashed out, throwing a stinging hex at her which she ducked and rolled away from. He flung out another hex, and she instantly sprung to her feet, dodging, and thrust her wand forward.
“Expelliarmus!” she cried, the red light flashing brightly, before hitting Draco squarely on the chest and knocking him down.
The room erupted into cheers once more and Lockhart made a move to take the stage. But before he could do that, Draco jumped to his feet and grabbed his wand, pointing it at the girl.
“Serpensortia,” he growled out, and from the end of his wand shot out a long brown snake, fangs bared.
Lockhart froze and Severus cursed internally before pulling out his wand. The creature hissed, its pointed tongue flicking out, tasting the fear in the air. Just as Severus was about to vanish it, the snake turned to the crowd, where at the front stood a young Ginerva Weasley who was pale faced and frozen. Its languid body coiled and it raised its head, as if to strike, when all of a sudden Miss Potter ran up to the reptile. Severus was caught off guard by her sudden movement and he could only look on in surprise as she ran forward. With determination written all over her face, the girl opened up her mouth and shook her finger at it, as if to scold thefucking python, and let out a stream of broken, hissing sounds.
Severus felt his blood run cold and the rest of the hall fell silent. The snake turned at watched her almost curiously, before falling back from the young Weasley, its head resting on the floor like a docile puppy.
Severus pointed his wand at the snake. “Evanesco,” he whispered, and it disappeared.
At the silence, the girl looked around curiously, stares following her as she walked down the stairs.
“…Well now, that’s not something you see every day is it,” came Lockhart’s nervous voice, “But that’ll be all for today students, we shall resume next week.”
He saw the girl looking confused at the hushed whispers and stares around her and he almost sang with relief when a white faced Weasley and Granger grabbed and fled the hall.
He felt a headache brewing. There was a lot to unpack here. Turning on his feet, he decided he’d unpack in the Headmaster’s office.
“Parseltongue?” Dumbledore repeated, eyeing Severus as he paced his office.
“Yes, she spoke fucking parseltongue, of all the bloody things she could have done,” he snapped, feeling irate.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that ran through his mind once more, hearing the inhumane language. The thought of it sent fear straight to his heart. He was sure the other students, by no doubt would be just as fearful, but they didn’t know the true extend of this fear as he would. The girl spoke the language of the Dark Lord and judging by the look on her face as her friends hauled her out of the room, she didn’t realize what she had done.
Dumbledore was quiet, deep in contemplation. His silence was alarming to Severus.
“Parseltongue is an extremely rare trait… and it was said to be passed on from Slytherin himself,” he said eventually.
“Yes but James Potter was not a Parselmouth, was he Dumbledore?” he grit out, willing himself to be calm.
“Neither was Lily,” Dumbledore said quietly.
“Then how could she possibly be a bloody Parselmouth? Something like that can’t just happen out of the blue.”
Dumbledore fell silent once more after that. He was clearly thinking deeply about something that had his mind far from the conversation. The silence unnerved Severus.
Then the Headmaster smiled gently, “I know you’re worried my boy, but I don’t think there’s anything we need to fear for,” he said, “It would do you well to not dwell on it and let it trouble you.”
Severus looked at him in disbelief but decided to end it and leave. He was smart enough to know when Dumbledore was deflecting a conversation, and whatever was going on was clearly troubling him just as much as it was bothering Severus. But it didn’t matter. All secrets had a way of revealing themselves in the end.