Somewhere Safe - Chapter 49

Katie was in the Healing Ward for the night just to be safe. She was indeed annoyed that she missed the third game. Harry was rather surprised that she wasn't mad at the Beauxbatons team. She just shrugged and said there would always be rough games. Plus, she thought the replay looked awesome.

The next day was the first round of the races. Harry had never seen them before and found they were more entertaining than he had expected. There were two viewing options for the audience. One was to be in the stands and watch something similar to Quidditch. The second option was an array of paintings linked to a series of omnioculars that broadcast the race that made him think of Live TV. Apparently, it was a new technique that required access to a titanic amount of power. It drew on nexus points of Ley Lines that Harry had to nod and smile to pretend he understood. Unfortunately, it could only broadcast to a local area and needed roughly seven days to recharge relegating it to a novelty than something that could change the world. There was an open competition between various companies to be the first to get the setup to work on a broader scale.

None of the coven were in the races, but they were still fun to watch.

The week leading up to the first round of dueling passed by in a blur. Students from the other schools had the option of sitting in Hogwarts classes. It was a great idea in thought, but in practice it didn't lead to much actual learning. The courses turned into impromptu exhibitions of the student and instructors' skills rather than lesson plans. Harry was glad that it wasn't his OWL or NEWT year. If anything, the deviation in classwork helped him catch up more than he had expected. There were dozens of little things that were slightly different between the two worlds that he had missed in the daily shuffle. Simple variations of wand movements in Charms, a different pronunciation in Transfiguration, and new preparations for Potion ingredients. Hermione cornered the more academically inclined members of the coven and begged them to go over the coursework from First Year to current. Harry had stopped holding back on his studies since he had arrived and found himself being drawn in on the discussion as well. It was insane how a small twist of the wrist altered a spell or how slicing instead of grating changed a potion.

~

All too soon, and not nearly fast enough, it was time for the first round of dueling. Similar to racing, the competitors there weren't technically school teams. Duelists were scored on an individual basis, and the tournament was arranged as a round robin where everyone would face each other. Each match was set to run three two-minute rounds that were scored, and the points were totaled at the end. There was a total of ten points per round with a maximum of thirty per duel if it went to completion. Winning a duel via knock-out or yield would award full points of the remaining rounds. So, a victory in round one would award all thirty points to the winner, while a victory in the second would give twenty plus the score in the first round. It was rare for anything outside of a professional duel to go the full three rounds.

This time, there were chaperones from each school in the waiting area. Each duelist had two matches per day which meant all of the competitors were in the same backstage room. Which led to the current situation of Harry and a couple members of his coven twiddling their thumbs as they waited their turns. The combined waiting area was supposed to encourage interaction between the schools. A translation spell had been placed on the room to help facilitate things as well.

At the moment, Harry, Lavender, Delphi, and a few other Hogwarts duelists had subconsciously formed a group. Even though they didn't all get along the addition of the other schools made it easier to deal with each other.

It struck Harry again how disproportionate the population was with the addition of the two schools. Durmstrang had two wizards in their group while Beauxbatons only had one. He couldn't help but smile as the witches formed a protective detail around them. It kind of hurt to see that Fleur was separate from the rest of her schoolmates. Though her constant glaring did help temper his empathy.

"Why is Frenchie over there staring at you like you kicked her dog?" Aureum Malfoy asked.

The group subtly glanced at Fleur. Subtly, as in turning completely around to get a look at her and making it obvious.

"Was she the one you wanted to talk to the other day?" Lavender asked.

Harry nodded.

"Why?" Lavender asked.

"She reminded me of someone in the other world," Harry replied. "I wanted to see if she was the same person."

"Were you friends there?" Aureum pressed.

"Not really," Harry replied shaking his head. "I think maybe we could have been. Back there we had a few things in common."

"Like what?" Delphi asked finally joining the conversation.

"It doesn't matter," Harry answered. "They are different people."

"Wait," Lavender narrowed her eyes as she studied Fleur.

Harry held his breath. Things would get messy if she connected the dots about a possible Veela among the French students and Fleur.

"I know her," Lavender turned back to the group. "That's Fleur Delacour."

"Yeah," Aureum rolled her eyes. "They told us that at the opening ceremony."

"No," Lavender flicked the younger girl on the tip of the nose.

"Hey!" Aureum squeaked.

"She's aiming to start the international circuit too," Lavender ignored the outburst. "We've been in a few of the same tournaments to get enough experience." She paused. "We'll probably be seeing a lot of each other once the new season starts." Another pause. "I'm going to go talk to her."

Lavender got up and headed over to Fleur. Delphi moved to take the now open spot next to Harry only to be beaten by Padma. The Indian witch moved faster than any of them had expected. Her mad scramble resulted in her ending up on his lap rather than beside him.

"Nice one," Delphi grumbled.

The group of witches around them erupted in laughter. Lavender stayed over by Fleur until she was called to her first duel. The solo French Witch seemed even more alone with the random conversation ending abruptly.

"This is painful," Aureum muttered.

The blonde witch stood and practically stormed over to Fleur, who looked like she was readying herself for an impromptu duel right here. They couldn't hear what was said. The intent was clear as Aureum practically dragged Fleur over to join the Hogwarts group. For her part, Fleur looked completely baffled at the turn of events.

"Ladies," Aureum said. "Gentleman. This is Fleur. I've decided that she is joining us for the day."

"Hello," Fleur whispered and gave a small wave.

"This is Harry, Padma, and Delphi," Aureum introduced. "They are in a coven so they're a little weird to be around. Lavender, the girl you spoke to before, is part of it too."

"Hey!" Padma scoffed.

"These are," Aureum waved to the other witches gathered then introduced them.

(AN: They are background characters or one-off references to other stories. I don't have plans to expand on them any further)

"Why are you sitting off by yourself?" Padma asked.

"The last time I saw Miss Riddle here, she was alone," Fleur motioned to Delphi.

"Then I met Harry," Delphi snuggled against him. "He won my heart."

"He beat you?" Fleur asked looking at Harry once more.

"Twice," Delphi answered with a sigh. "The second time it was two against one and he still won."

"That is an interesting tale," Fleur said evenly. "Is it true he is from another world?"

"You've heard that already?" Aureum laughed. "Yes, it's true."

"Hm," Fleur fell silent.

"No," Aureum clicked her tongue. "We are getting to know each other. Tell us about yourself. Do you have any siblings?"

"One," Fleur replied with a wistful smile crossing her face. "A little sister. She is absolutely adorable and knows it. She has our papa wrapped around her finger."

"I have an older brother," Aureum said.

"Mister Potter," one of the Dueling Staff called. "To the platform please."

Harry excused himself and followed the Ministry Employee out of the waiting area. His first match was against a witch from Beauxbatons. He knew absolutely nothing about her. Since these weren't ranked matches the spells available didn't have any regulations aside from the usual. Nothing that is solely for the intent to maim, injure, or kill. Even a tickling jinx could be overpowered enough to hurt someone, but it wasn't easy.

They bowed to each other and waited for the signal to start. Unlike his previous duels, this one kept him on his toes. The French witch was adept at Transfiguration as well as Illusion. She would alter his perception of her spells, the dueling platform, and their positions. Harry was certain that the first round went to her. The second however, he was able to adjust. He was able to obscure her vision with a meandering wall of multi-colored stone that caught the light at odd angles. The shifting glare and random beams of light disrupted her Illusions. He disarmed her in the second round to win the match. As he expected, she had won the first round, meaning she scored ten points while he came away with twenty. It wasn't the worst showing, but it certainly was sobering.

Delphi was up next. She stole a quick kiss as she passed.

When Harry returned to the group it looked like Fleur had relaxed a bit. She chimed in on the conversation every now and then. He even saw her laughing a couple of times. All of that progress vanished when it was her time to duel. She locked back into her Loner mode. Once the duel was over she returned to her seat over by the French witches. He didn't know if she won or lost, and she wasn't saying. The witches let her be. She knew the invitation to join them was still open. If she needed some time to herself they weren't going to push.

Lavender decided to join Fleur after her duel, but they didn't come back over to the group. Delphi returned with a satisfied smile on her face while Padma came back rather stoic. She wouldn't say what happened, but her duel was the longest of the group yet. It made him think that she went all three rounds meaning that it came down to points to determine the winner.

Harry's second duel of the day was against the sole wizard from Durmstrang. It was a lot easier. The wizard stuck to Charms with a few curses and a small bit of Transfiguration. While skilled, it was the standard stuff that Harry had come to recognize. A creative application of ice, a focused gust of wind, and some fireworks as a distraction knocked the wizard off the platform. Harry walked away from that duel with a full thirty points. At the end of the day, he came away with a total of fifty, which put him in a good spot going forward.

Fleur and Padma faced off in their second duel. They both came back looking rather exhausted. However, the pair also rejoined the group. Harry was happy to see the Fleur's spirits lifted. The way Padma nibbled on his neck after her return helped as well.

"Be good Padma," Lavender teased the Indian Witch. "I don't want to get disqualified because you got all hot and bothered."

Padma blushed and eased back on the physical affection.

"Besides," Lavender leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Katie has been waiting for you."

Harry gulped.