41 Chapter 40: Gryffindor pov

Hi, my dear readers...

This isn't exactly a chapter as it's just the Gryffindor pov I mentioned before.

It's not very good since I didn't have that much time to do it and I'm more focused on the next chapter of the story...

But it's something.

Thanks for your support and in a few hours, the next chapter which is actually the continuation will be posted.

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"Hmm, well, now for one last duel. Let's see how the Prince family does again," said the professor suddenly as he read out a sheet of paper with the names of the students.

"Draco Prince and Severus Prince!"

When Professor Harvey said these two names, Draco, Hermione and Lily couldn't believe it.

Hermione and Draco had already had a rather awkward time in the morning having to explain their history as Severus' distant cousins to Lily and her friends along with their boyfriends.

It was shitty of Severus to do that to them, but they both knew it could be worse, like now that the professor was making their lives more difficult...

"Snivellus is a Prince?" asked James in surprise.

"Wait, so... He's your cousin?" asked Sirius.

Hermione and Draco sighed, it was going to be a hassle explaining everything to the marauders.

But they weren't the only ones, few Gryffindors knew that Severus and they were cousins, so everyone had questions to ask them.

Hermione was the one who had the hardest time as Draco quickly went to the dueling platform in order to avoid having to explain himself.

Yes, he left her with all the work...

Again.

At least Lily and her friends helped her explain the whole situation to the others...

Yeah, now Hermione was really grateful to Severus.

If Severus hadn't made that comment this morning, the situation would have been even more awkward and complex now.

Hermione even went so far as to think that maybe Severus did all that on purpose, knowing that something like this could happen if they didn't tell to the others quickly.

Lily on the other hand was surprised to hear the professor say "Severus Prince", that was just a confirmation of everything Hermione and Draco had told her earlier today.

Things Lily couldn't believe...

She never imagined that they were cousins of her ex-best friend, it was extremely awkward to talk about it with them, but it was a relief to know that her relationship with them wouldn't be affected by Severus.

Luckily she wasn't the only one surprised, as her friends were just as surprised as she was.

Of course, her friends thought it was his heritage as a Prince that changed Severus so much, but Lily doubted it was just that, but it was only a momentary doubt.

James and Sirius were the most surprised by this news.

Never in their wildest dreams did it occur to them that Severus was a Prince.

Certainly not that their two cousins were Gryffindors, it was like turning the world upside down.

They both wanted to complain to Hermione and Draco for not telling them that sooner, but considering they had only met Severus two months ago, there wasn't much to tell them.

Sirius and James couldn't really blame Hermione and Draco for the family they got.

Black understood them better than anyone.

Besides they couldn't know the whole situation at Hogwarts regarding Lily, them, and Severus.

And they all knew Severus well enough to know that he wouldn't tell them anything.

Although it also came as a surprise to Potter and Black to learn that Lily and her friends already knew, but they were reassured to find that they had found out this morning.

"Someone who duels like Hermione is definitely a Gryffindor," commented Sirius who couldn't help but take advantage of the situation to charm Hermione.

Of course, Black was also very impressed with the skills she showed in her duel, not even they who had been having classes with different members of the Order had reached that level yet.

Everyone in Gryffindor was delighted to have someone so skilled in their house.

Sadly no one had much time to continue talking or asking Hermione questions as the duel between Draco and Severus was about to begin, and Gryffindor couldn't let Slytherin's cheers be louder than their own.

So soon everyone began to support Draco Prince, hoping that he would be as good at using magic as his sister.

When the Duel finally began everyone in Gryffindor was happy to see that the first to react and attack was Draco with a "Flippendo!"

But everyone was silenced when Severus turned and deflected Draco's blast with a simple wave of his hand causing the explosion to end up in another part of the hall.

In Gryffindor, they couldn't believe how easily Severus did that.

'When did he learn to do that?' was a question that crossed everyone's mind.

'Maybe it was just luck' thought some others as it was usual in a dangerous situation for wizards to do some accidental magic.

But that thought didn't last long as moments later Severus deflected several other spells with ease.

It wasn't long before Severus grabbed his wand and went on the offensive against Draco.

The marauders and Lily who knew Severus very well could not believe the speed with which he cast each spell, even they had not improved that much with the Order helping them train.

Hermione wasn't really surprised as she had practiced magic with him and knew how skilled Severus was, though she didn't really know his dueling abilities.

To make matters worse, Severus managed to knock Draco down by casting several spells in a non-verbal manner.

But the Gryffindors were relieved to see that Draco didn't leave the platform, so he hadn't lost yet.

When Hermione saw Draco stand up in annoyance, she knew that he would now want to beat Severus by any means possible.

It was amusing for her to see him look at her for her permission to do something like that.

'I'm not your mother Draco' Hermione thought when he looked at her, but she held the thought back and just nodded at Draco as if she accepted her son's request to go out and play.

It was then that Draco focused only on Severus and the duel they had all been watching turned into complete madness.

If it had already been a surprise to most to see such skills in both of them, then when they both began to cast all sorts of spells with a skill of the highest level...

Well, needless to say, this left them with their mouths wide open.

Even the marauders were trying to figure out what the hell was going on in front of their eyes.

An illusion perhaps...

A dream...

Even a nightmare was more likely than what they saw in front of them.

Everyone in Gryffindor was equally confused, they didn't know Draco, so they didn't know his abilities and of course, it was surprising to see his prowess, but more surprising to them was to see Severus who until just recently used to constantly lose to James and Sirius.

Lily was no better than anyone else, she knew Severus and she knew he was very skilled, skilled enough to go one on one against any Gryffindor.

Of course, after her classes with the Order of the Phoenix she thought things would be a little different, but here was Severus showing a similar level to the Prewett twins.

As the duel continued, no one in Gryffindor said anything, everyone was too focused on watching everything that was going on.

Now Hermione was really surprised, not at Severus' skill, she wasn't stupid and she had seen what he was capable of in his magical practices.

She saw better than anyone his progress and the speed at which he was learning.

Not even Harry had shown himself to be as skilled as he was, which made her think that Severus, with some motivation, could become as great as Dumbledore in the future.

No... she was surprised to notice that Severus was playing with Draco, perhaps his face didn't show any obvious emotion, but Hermione knew he was enjoying the duel.

Although Severus held the upper hand throughout and had many chances to win, he made sure that the duel did not end any time soon.

He was forcing Draco to give it his all and at the same time to improve.

Of course, Hermione doubted it was to help Draco.

No...

She knew that if Severus did something like that it was because he wanted to keep enjoying the duel otherwise he would end it quickly and without a second thought, he was a very direct person that when he got bored he would move on to something else.

And he wouldn't prolong the duel just so Draco could improve his skills, that was just Draco's luck.

Hermione knew this because Severus was like that when they practised magic together.

After a few moments, something happened that no one expected.

They all watched as Severus threw Draco through the air.

It was extremely fast, but they watched as Draco went flying and hit the wall at the end of the dueling platform really hard.

They then watched as he fell unconscious after the blow, which was a clear indication of how badly he was hit.

The Gryffindors couldn't believe what had happened as the duel had been so close until just now and suddenly this happened.

Of course, Hermione knew it wasn't close at all, but she was also surprised as she hadn't expected Severus to do that.

Though no one could blame him as things like that always happened in a magical duel, though there were always going to be some who thought it was on purpose.

Like the marauders...

Hermione along with Lily and most of the Gryffindors quickly went to check on Draco's condition, they were all worried as they watched him faint.

The professor was one of the first to arrive to heal Draco's broken bones.

It was a relief to everyone to know that he was fine and that it was the pressure of the duel and the heavy blow that caused him to faint, but nothing really serious.

Of course, there was no lack of Slytherins who came over to see what happened and to mock them in the process.

'Yeah, Slytherins will always be Slytherins' thought, Hermione.

'Although it would be funny to see their expressions if they knew that Draco was in fact a Slytherin like them' Hermione smiled faintly, until she and the others heard a commotion at the other end of the dueling platform, near where the exit was.

No one in Gryffindor knew what was going on as the dueling platform and the Slytherin were blocking the view.

But Lily seemed to guess something as she was the first to run in that direction worriedly.

It was then that Hermione noticed that neither Sirius nor James were in the vicinity.

'Damn' thought Hermione running quickly after Lily, she didn't want to leave Draco alone, but with the professor and the rest of the Gryffindors, there would be no problem.

And Hermione was now more worried about what the marauders might have done, she knew that as much as Severus had changed, he wouldn't tolerate being bullied and she didn't want to imagine how violent he might be if that happened.

As Lily, Hermione, Remus, and a few other Gryffindors who followed them were reaching the classroom door, the first thing they saw was Sirius on the floor.

He wasn't passed out like Draco, but he did look sore and dizzy.

Once they helped him up, Lily and Hermione left him with Remus and some Gryffindor and went to see where James was.

It was difficult to get through as some Slytherin were surrounding the door, but when they finally arrived they saw Potter on the floor passed out and pale.

"Which one of you did this?" asked Lily furiously to the Slytherins in the surrounding area.

Hermione also looked at them all angrily for answers as she helped James along with Lily.

The two of them looked around for Severus but were slightly relieved to see that he wasn't present so it was more likely that he wasn't involved this time.

The Slytherins only gave them mocking looks, though Hermione was sure she saw some fear and surprise in them initially.

"Huh, we didn't do anything."

" Oh, that... Potter and Black just got what they deserved for playing with their own magic."

"Yeah, they shouldn't do such reckless things."

Joked the Slytherins.

Lily and Hermione were very mad now.

Hermione took her wand and pointed it at the neck of one of them.

"Who was it?" asked Hermione with a serious look on her face as she pointed her wand at one of the Slytherins.

All the others Slytherins present just laughed at her actions.

"Come on try it!"

"Yeah, I want to see a Gryffindor do that"

"Do it, Prince!"

Several Slytherins began to say, while the boy Hermione was pointing at was pale and mute with fear.

Hermione frowned, she wasn't planning on doing anything, but she knew that to deal with the Slytherins you had to show that you are serious.

She didn't think they cared so little for her partner.

Lily looked at Hermione shaking her head, she understood Hermione's intention and hoped it would work but saw that it wouldn't.

Just as Hermione was thinking about stopping pointing her wand at the Slytherin and giving up she heard a female voice say: "Leave it!"

Hermione turned her head to look at the person who said this and saw that it was a Slytherin.

"Tell me who it was and I'll do it" Hermione repeated seriously as she looked at the Slytherin who spoke.

Both Lily and Hermione waited for her to tell them.

"It's not my problem who it was, you just need to know that those two idiots were the first to attack not once, but twice by surprise and these are the consequences of their own actions," said the Slytherin witch.

"Now leave it or we're going to have a problem," she added.

Hermione frowned but understood a little of what she meant.

Lily was able to draw her conclusions as well.

Nodding and seeing that it was the best she was going to get Hermione left the Slytherin.

Then she and Lily led James away along with Remus and the other Gryffindors.

They had both noticed that Severus was no longer in the classroom so they didn't think he was the one who had been responsible for Sirius and James in such a short time.

But after listening to that Slytherin witch, they knew it must have something to do with them attacking Severus, and then that's why they both ended up in that state.