13 Chapter Twelve: Duelling the Dark Lord

"I presume you know how to duel"

It took Cordelia a moment to recover from her initial shock of the situation, a hand raising up to defensively rest against her wand nestled within the green Slytherin robes.

"Really Riddle, a duel? Are you that desperate to prove yourself?"

As always, the honey-eyed brunette boy sent her a glare akin to that of Satin's, a smirk following right after as he dropped down into the black armchair behind him, opening a book and skimming through the contents.

"Scared, Black?" (A/N: if you get the Draco reference then I love you cuz we think alike.)

Cordelia hadn't expected the taunt, her mind contemplating more dangerous waters yet receiving a shallow pool. However, she couldn't tell whether or not she was more comfortable with their usual banters, after all, uncharted waters were the most dangerous.

"If I were scared, I would've hexed you and left for the common room the instant you reached for my arm."

It was true, the Black-McMillan heir had wished to use a simple stinging jinx on Riddle and vacant the premises several times, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her and led Cordelia into a situation she couldn't quite decipher. Tom Marvolo Riddle wasn't one for direct threats and fights, so why would he propose a duel to settle their little banter when Cordelia knew he enjoyed their game as much as she did?

What are you playing at Riddle?

"Well, at least I know you aren't weak enough to crumble when faced with a threat."

As Tom spoke, his right palm slammed the book shut, the noise prompting the aspiring Dark Lord to rise out of his armchair and once again take up the vacant position right in front of the back wall. Just as Cordelia went to reply, his eyes shut for a brief second and transformed that part of the room into a slightly raised platform to properly allow them to duel.

"Come along, Black, I promise not to hurt you too much."

Against her better judgement, the blue-eyed brunette abandoned her robes and tightened her high pony, her yew-wood and dragon heartstring wand slipping into her right palm as she walked towards the other end of the platform.

The traditional Slytherin smirk graced her lips as the brunette stepped forward, her fingers fiddling with the tip of her wand as she mulled over various curses and hexes. One thing was for certain, neither of the snakes was keen on holding back as each of them compiled a list of their favourite curses and hexes, their minds reeling a mile a minute.

"Aren't you going to bow, Riddle?"

Rather than sending her a sneer or the usual insult, Tom merely walked forward towards the centre, prompting Cordelia to follow after until their backs touched. Each wielded their wands in their right hands and mentally counted to three before turning and firing their spells.

"Crucio!"

"Locomotor Mortis"

While Cordelia started off with a harsher curse, Tom chose one that was calculative and assured several injuries. That is, of course, if the spell would've hit Cordelia had she not ducked away. The young Black's 'Crucio', however, successfully landed on its mark causing Riddle to fall over and groan out in pain.

Unbeknownst to his opponent, Tom had a high spell tolerance due to his experiments on his Knights, which in turn allowed him to battle the Crucio enough to send a hex her way.

"Stupefy."

If the Black heir was lucky before, this time her luck and reflexes had failed her as the hex hit Cordelia right in the stomach, sending the witch tumbling back. Thankfully, she found purchase and ground her knees into the carpeted stage, allowing her to remain on the elevated platform and not fall off.

Mind reeling, heart racing and limbs wildly holding onto the stage, Cordelia quickly grabbed her wand and retaliated while Tom uttered his spell.

"Protego!"

The witch's defences held in place as she rose and walked a little ways away from the edge, making Tom even more frustrated than before.

"Expeliamus!"

Cordelia's cry echoed around the library as she summoned Tom's wand, making the wizard tighten his hold on the stick yet fail as the phoenix-feathered wand flew halfway across the stage.

"Inferio."

Unfortunately for the blue-eyed vixen, Riddle knew enough verbal magic to send the burning charm her way and form a round burn the size of a galleon right onto her left arm.

"Fuck."

Cordelia's swear was muted as she quickly hissed out 'Aguamenti,' easing her pain and dulling the sting of the burn long enough for her to send a familiar hex his way.

"Stupefy!"

Riddle wasn't ready for the hex, and thus didn't see it coming while he summoned his wand with a wandless 'Accio'. The brunette boy flew to the edge of the stage, his right arm and leg going as far as to hang off of the carpeted wooden platform. Alas, Cordelia was too busy healing her burn to take advantage of the situation, and thus flipped her gaze back towards Tom just as he recovered and stood up.

A bat bogey jinx was sent towards Tom, making the male retaliate with a 'Rictumsemtra' followed by a 'Dispelo' that Cordelia blocked, making the blue-eyed witch burst out in giggles as she attempted to gather enough breath to mutter the counter curse.

"Finite Incatatem."

Just as the Black-McMillan heir got rid of her opponent's hex, she muttered a hex Riddle hadn't seen coming as he tended to the slashes on his knee.

"Avis!"

A flock of fluffy yellow birds darted towards the underage wizard in record time, three of them hitting him square in the chest before he yelled out the counter curse.

It was quite a sight, really, Tom Riddle covered in yellow feathers and tiny scratches as his hair formed a dishevelled mess. Brown eyes furrowed deeply as Cordelia giggled, the tinker of laughter infuriating the male beyond measure as he fired a curse towards the female.

"Sectumsempra."

"Protego Maxima!"

Luckily, Cordelia knew her laughter would anger the brunette boy thus she was quick enough to ricochet his curse towards a bookshelf, numerous volumes falling apart as their spines were ripped by huge gashes.

"Diffindo."

Too busy focusing on the books, the witch wasn't quick enough to dodge Tom's curse, and thus had to receive a horrible gash on her right leg.

"Confundo."

Cordelia's spell hit him straight in the head, making Riddle stumble back and flay out his arms to find some purchase. The witch, on the other hand, briefly directed her attention away from her opponent for enough time to whisper out an 'Episky' before turning back to Tom, a smile on her face as he recovered enough to send her a glare.

"Confringo!"

Fool me once and shame on you, fool me twice and shame on me. This phrase seemed to apply to Riddle as he briefly slid towards the side, his mind solely directed on avoiding her spell and maintaining his reputation. When he had avoided her curse, a sneer came over his face as Tom finally stopped playing, and instead seriously cast a curse at her.

"Crucio."

Cordelia's mind had weirdly drawn a blank, her mouth muttering a 'Protego' even when she was aware it wouldn't save her from the wretched red sparks hurling her way. The witch wasn't quick enough to physically dodge Tom's curse and thus had to relive her experience from the common room.

Blood rushed through her ears as Cordelia prepared her body for the impact, clenching her teeth and digging her nails into her palms to prevent any screams. Unfortunately for her, Tom seemed to hate this tactic and thus sent another 'Crucio' her way that made the pureblood witch sing.

The scream that followed was one that echoed around the room and would have drawn the attention of passer-bys had Tom forgotten to sound-proof the room, however, that wasn't the case and thus her torture continued.

Blue eyes shut as a tear threatened to slip out, making the witch internally growl and dig her nails farther into her palms, the action drawing a thin trail of blood from her right palm.

I will not lose to this egoistical prat who happens to be very good at curses. Cordelia Lucretia Black isn't a loser, I'd rather die a hundred times than be belittled by Riddle!

The thought seemed to stem some newfound courage in Lia, making her right arm shakily reach for her wand as blue pools pealed back to glance at the wizard before her. A growl escaped her lips as she noticed he was ignorant enough to presume he had won, making Tom walk away from her writhing body and instead towards one of the bookshelves.

"Pe-" she took in a deep breath before continuing, using all her strength to mutter the spell.

"Perfitilus Totalus."

A yelp bounced around the room as Tom fell off of the stage, his arms reaching forward to break his fall. The sudden switch of his attention was enough to make Cordelia launch upwards, her body groaning in protest.

She was smart enough to know their duel would never end willingly unless one of them would kill the other, which is why the Black-McMillan heir sought out the other end to a duel, a smirk forming on her lips as she formulated a plan.

If no one is killed and neither yields, then a duel can always be won by a spell that would send the opponent to sleep, whether it be for a few moments or longer.

Tom had attempted to do the same thing, his mind choosing to make Cordelia faint from pain rather than using a sleeping spell on her, but Lia wasn't cruel enough to use that tactic, and instead decided to head towards her assailant's petrified form.

"Go to sleep, Riddle."

Brown eyes widened with hate, anger and an alarming amount of agitation. For a moment, a mere second, Cordelia contemplated releasing her spell and continuing the duel. But alas the pureblood witch was no Gryffindor, and thus her wand waved in a circle as she muttered a sleeping spell and caused Tom to fall into a deep slumber, her wand then moving to float his body onto the only couch in the room.

"How did you even get these wounds?"

Theodore Nott once again queried his friend as he sighed and reached for the cloth on the other end of the bed, tearing away a strip and dipping it in the liquid solution before returning to Cordelia's seated form to clean her the blood near her burn.

"I was duelling with Riddle."

The wet cloth suddenly dropped into her left palm, making the witch hiss as the herbal juice dripped onto the crescent cuts inside her palm.

"You what?!"

A light blush coated Cordelia's cheeks as she looked away, lifting the cloth and handing it to Theo before sighing and speaking.

"He asked me to duel."

A smack echoed around the room as Theodore whacked her on the back of her head, making the girl groan as she sent him a glare before looking away as he finished tending to her burn and instead switched to the slash on her right leg.

The gash was thankfully not deep enough to require any major healing spells which was why Cordelia took enough time to walk seven floors down and one floor up just to reach Theodore's dorm room, her body resting against the door and right hand clutching her right calf as the curly-haired brunette boy yanked open the door and muttered a few curse words before pulling her into the thankfully empty room.

"Where is everybody?"

Theodore hummed at her question, pushing his reading glasses up as he fetched his oak wood wand to mutter several healing spells.

"Aldrich and Rodolphus went to Quidditch practice, and Ignatius and Aurora sneaked out of Hogwarts for a bit."

It was Cordelia's turn to hum as her blue eyes turned towards her leg, oceanic pools analyzing the gash.

"Do you think I'll be able to properly walk tomorrow?"

A concerned look was sent her way as Theo muttered an 'Evanesco' vanishing the gauze and bowl of herbal liquids. The boy busied himself with a bit of clean-up before he finally turned towards her, a frown on his lips as hickory eyes dilated in concern and empathy.

"Lia, the gash is too deep, if you try walking in the next twelve hours then my spells won't work and I'll have to use Dittany to heal the cut. And-"

She raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.

"And then you'll have to go to Madame Pomfrey, which will require a reason. You know as well as I do that they won't be very happy with the Tom argument, not to mention my lo- ahem -Riddle wouldn't be pleased."

Cordelia chose to ignore his blunder, instead adjusting her skirt and vanishing her ripped stockings before raising both of her eyebrows and glancing towards Theodore.

"And how do you suppose we go to my room? After all, I can't walk so you'll have to carry me. But I don't think you'll appreciate that."

The girl knew more than others how Theodore actually felt for his betrothed, Isadora Yaxley, which was why Cordelia didn't want to put him through the trials of rumours and series of dirty looks bound to be sent his way by Isa. Thus, she smiled fondly when he winced and sat down beside her with a groan.

"You could sleep on my bed, I'll take the extra bunk above."

Just as Lia opened her mouth to protest, Theodore sent her a look that clearly said 'are you seriously trying to use pleasantries right now' which caused her to laugh shuffle around until she clutched her wand.

"What will the others say?"

The Nott heir snorted at her question, walking away to fetch his sleeping clothes before he looked at her over his shoulder and spoke.

"This isn't the first time you've been in our room, you, Philly and Ella come here all the time."

Cordelia nodded at his words, aware of how Phyllis and Druella weren't shy like most of their female peers and thus had no problem sneaking into the boys' rooms to set up pranks or simply suggest a game night.

"Night Theo."

"Goodnight Cordelia."

Just as the brunette boy reached for the knob of the bathroom door, the female Black heir sighed and called out to him, a smile on her face.

"Oh and Theo, do you mind not telling Orion what happened? I don't want him to worry."

The brunette boy merely nodded, recollecting how this wasn't the first time Cordelia had requested a certain amount of secrecy when such situations occurred.

"Just as long as you give Riddle hell from us."

A giggle burst forth from the injured witch as she replied with a smile. "It's a deal."

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As the snakes slumbered and the emerald pit dulled to a black mirroring the lake surrounding it, two serpents silently lay awake in their beds. One was contemplating her injuries and the boy who afflicted them onto her, while the other was contemplating his chamber and his plans for a certain bespectacled Ravenclaw.

While the female wondered about the other's lineage, the male pondered how he could get rid of the filth that tainted their school.

Both of the snakes held similar views regarding their blood status and purity, but while one scoffed at the thought of his father, the other whimpered as she contemplated what her father would say if he had witnessed her little duel.

One was so sure of his position as the Dark Lord of the Wizarding World, while the other wondered if her place was right, and whether or not a pureblood's reputation and expectations were worth the constant mental torture she underwent and various masks she had to put on.

How could two serpents be so different yet the same?

How could one be so sure of his place and stand tall while he wore fraudulent skin whereas the other, one considered to be of the purest lineage, mulled over her true position and the secrets she constantly hid.

Most importantly, what would happen if one snake happened to uncover the other's secrets?

END OF PART ONE: A SNAKE'S SONG.

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