Chapter 13: Duels and Designs

September 27th, 1943

Monday Afternoon

Harry watched as Abraxas paired up with a Gryffindor named Striker - the brief bit of information he had on the boy was that the Potters took him in some number of years ago and in return for the kindness shown, he tended to keep an eye out for the younger boy.

He continued to watch them walking a set number of steps from one another before they turned in sync and got into duelling positions. Harry was eager to see the first round of duels since his second year and he could do just that - Professor Merrythought had told the class to duel as many times as they wanted or to do so once, the choice was up to the class and Harry had more than enough time to duel a peer.

"Five galleons on Abraxas," Aster said as he sat on the desk beside Harry, showing no care for the belongings of others that he'd knocked over in doing so.

"You're on," Harry replied, ignoring the books on the ground in favour of watching what would hopefully turn out to be Malfoy getting his arse kicked in front of the entire class.

Only it didn't.

Striker had opened strong at the start of the duel and cast expelliarmus after expelliarmus - Harry was amazed at the quickness in which the other boy could cast, but what impressed Harry far more was the ability in which Abraxas' shield took hit after hit without breaking. He wasn't sure if that was a testament to the strength of Abraxas or the weakness of Striker.

Unfortunately, as the seconds ticked by and Striker began showing signs of running out of stamina, Abraxas struck. He'd raised his wand and cast a shield breaker, followed by the jelly legs jinx and an expelliarmus of his own. Striker could only watch as his shield burst before he was struck with the spell that destroyed his balance, preventing him from casting the shield charm to avoid expelliarmus.

Abraxas had won and an incessant poking from his side alerted Harry that Aster was waiting for his galleons.

Harry almost gave in before seeing another walk up to Abraxas, this time it was a boy in Ravenclaw blue. He looked to Aster who'd continued tapping him and spoke while slapping away his, "Knock it off," Aster stopped and Harry continued, "Double or nothing on the Ravenclaw bloke."

Aster narrowed his eyes, turned to see who Harry was speaking about and turned back to him with a wide smile; Harry knew at that moment he'd made a mistake.

"Deal Pev old boy," Aster responded as he slung an arm around Harry's shoulder, likely doing so as a means to avoid Harry running off when his newest champion lost.

Harry watched as the boy in blue, Miles Spindle as he was later told, stepped away from Abraxas and made his way over to the same area Striker had started in. Miles, now in position, then got into the same duelling position as Striker had adopted. It was at this point that Harry was told by Aster that this position was the most common of them all.

Soon after, Abraxas took his duelling stance and the duel began.

Immediately, any spectators watching could tell it wouldn't be similar to the shoot out that had happened when the Gryffindor boy had been involved. Abraxas and Miles both were defensively focused, starting off with shields and in the latter's case, the moving of furnishings in front of himself to act as a physical shield on behalf of his lower body.

Abraxas, seeing that the other boy was focused on going as defensive as possible, began launching probing attacks, testing the angles and response by Miles. In every instance, the Ravenclaw would move an object in front of the incoming spell and only if he missed would his shield be hit. Harry was initially confused by the extreme usage of the surrounds and only realized after seeing how the shield shimmered when two curses struck it in a short amount of time that the boy's shield charm was far from mastered.

Upon seeing that, he turned to Aster, the boy had already been looking over at him with a look of expectancy. "Want to make it triple or nothing next?"

Harry shook his head, "No, I'll bet something better."

"Be my guest," Aster said, leaning back further against the desk while motioning for Harry to say his offer.

"I'll duel Malfoy, and when I win, I don't owe you anything."

Aster shook his head, "Why would I say yes to that? If you win, I lose and if you lose, I lose."

"What?" Harry asked, being unable to connect the many dots that Aster was undoubtedly doing.

"If you win, I don't get any galleons," Aster said slowly, Harry following along without a problem, it was at the second point where Aster lost him, "If you lose, I still get the galleons, yeah - but my mate got beaten by Abraxas Malfoy after challenging him."

Harry stood up straight and looked over to where Miles was picking himself up off the ground; in that short amount of time spent looking over at Aster, Abraxas had won the duel. That was an incredible feat on Miles' behalf.

"Malfoy!" He called out while Aster watched.

Abraxas turned towards the pair of them and made his way over in a slow manner, Harry was convinced it was done so for no other reason than to make them wait.

"Yes? What is it you need?"

"Your next match," Harry replied confidently. He'd seen Abraxas beat two others and while most would be nervous of becoming his third, Harry was confident that he could've beat Striker and Miles just as easily if not more so.

"Is that so?" Malfoy asked, clearly amused.

"Unless you bail, it is," Harry smirked when he saw the amusement slide off the boy's face and get replaced with a more resolute expression.

"Worry not of that, but more for your overconfidence."

Harry looked in the direction of Abraxas, the Malfoy brat looked incredibly smug with his most recent words; Harry would fix that.

"We'll see," Harry glanced a look beside him, seeing that Aster was confused he amended his words, "Let's head to the floor Malfoy ; Aster could you make sure to pick up those books of mine you'd knocked over too?"

Abraxas dipped his head as he responded, "Very good," and then made his way towards one of the open portions of class upon seeing that his former one was now occupied by Marcus and Veronica.

Before Harry followed after him, Aster seized his arm. "All jokes aside, Abraxas is pretty talented, Pev. You sure you know what you've gotten yourself into?"

"So long as he plays by the rules, which he will since the Professor is watching, I'm confident I can handle him," Harry responded.

Why wouldn't he be sure he could win? His reflexes won him a lot of points, his affinity for DADA helped too and if that wasn't enough, he'd duelled Death Eaters before and had come out on top.

Aster looked less than confident and nodded a few times, "I'll stun him from behind if he wallops you after winning."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Aster." Harry rolled his eyes and began walking towards the waiting Malfoy.

Before he was out of ear range of Aster, the boy got in one last sentence with only the tail end of it going unheard, "I'd do the same if he'd lost too, could always go for stunning the bas-"

Harry shook his head as he chuckled, Aster was lucky the room was so chaotically loud from the practice duels, otherwise, Abraxas would be switching partners without saying anything. Speaking of the ponce, Harry stopped only a few feet from him.

"I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind, Peverell."

"Don't worry, I won't be doing that." Harry wouldn't miss the opportunity to put Abraxas in his place. All too often did the boy act like he was better than everybody else even if it weren't true.

Abraxas came off far more competent and cunning than Lucius or Draco, but that wasn't saying all that much. In fact, Harry was more afraid of Aster as his friend than Abraxas as his enemy.

"Needed encouragement from Rosier then? Perhaps I should call for Lestrange too if that's the case." Abraxas said it all with a smile, his features not at all betraying the way in which the words came from his mouth.

Harry rolled his neck to the right, cracking it; such a thing brought him a degree of stress relief rather than giving in to the impulse of outright cursing the ever so smug Abraxas.

"I wasn't sure you could duel me without permission, maybe you've already gotten it," Harry saw a twitch in the boy's face and pressed on, "Does seem like something Elaine would do, with her being so interested in me and all. If that's the case, let's get this over with already."

Oh yes, he'd definitely hit a nerve when he'd said Riddle's name in the same manner she said his more often than not.

Maybe Malfoy liked Riddle, or maybe he liked the power in his position as number four that he had and didn't want to risk it getting taken. Whatever it was, Harry would be sure to further exploit it when the boy annoyed him.

"When you're ready," Abraxas replied as he calmly slid into a duelling position Harry hadn't yet encountered during his time in the wizarding world.

Harry mimicked the boy as he went to the position he'd been most comfortable with, the one he'd used when duelling Draco Malfoy in third year all those years in the future.

"Ready," Harry spoke up.

Abraxas nodded his head and smirked, "Begin."

Similar to the way Abraxas and Miles duel had gone, both boys started with a shield charm, Harry's confidence grew when he saw that his was visibly stronger. That confidence diminished almost as soon as it'd come when Abraxas sent far more than the probing attack he'd started with in almost the same scenario he'd just fought.

"Stupefy, Obscuro, Impedimenta, Stupefy."

Four spells came racing at Harry and he had only a moment to step aside two of them while the other two crashed into his shield, it shimmered only slightly at the attempted intrusion.

Harry kept on his best guard in watching for more spells, but Malfoy hadn't bothered. Instead, Abraxas was watching him intently while slowly walking clockwise to Harry - the same thing he'd done to Miles who had held up just as well at initial contact.

"You're stronger than I imagined, I was certain you'd have been incompetent, squib like perhaps," Abraxas said it all with no expression present on his face, it had the effect of initially infuriating Harry, but Aster's words cut through to him.

"Don't listen, mate! Trying to rile you up, get you angry so you don't think straight!"

An annoyed glance from Malfoy to Aster confirmed the truth of the latter boy's words.

"Stupefy," Harry said quietly (and as close as he'd yet come to silent casting), hoping to catch Abraxas off his guard as the boy chanced a look at Aster.

For a moment, it looked almost as if Harry had accomplished that, but Abraxas fell backwards to avoid the spell; seizing the moment, Harry pressed onwards with more spellfire, yelling them now that secrecy was no longer needed, "Stupefy, Stupefy, Expelliarmus!"

Abraxas rolled across the floor, dodging the first two, his last move was diving behind the nearest desk which safely handled the impact of Harry's last spell in the chain he'd sent out. Noticing that Harry was no longer attempting to overwhelm his defences, Abraxas stood up from behind the desk and looked as smug as ever.

"Was that your all?" Malfoy must have hoped he'd respond and when he didn't, nodded to himself, "I see, allow me to end this promptly then."

Harry wouldn't give him the chance, he interrupted whatever the other boy had begun to say with his offensive, "Expelliarmus! Stupefy, stupefy!"

Abraxas could be heard yelling a Protego as he took off to Harry's left, throwing spells while running.

Mimicking him, Harry did the same and took off parallel to Malfoy, both boys trading spells as they raced along the edge of the room while waiting to see who would be the lucky winner.

Stupefy, Expelliarmus, Protego, Impedimenta were thrown around, as well as other spells Harry couldn't identify coming from Abraxas - even an Engorgio had been cast, Harry using it in hopes of causing Abraxas to run into an enlarged desk!

Eventually, both boys tired of the chase and stood firm, trading blows that ended up being far more accurate than the spells cast on the run and as a result, Malfoy took to using the cover of objects within the room rather than trusting his shield. It was a smart thing too, a singular spell of Harry's had caused his to shimmer while the opposite was far from happening, at least three or four spells had to impact Harry's for the same results to be visible.

Harry would dodge to and fro while avoiding spellfire. When Harry saw that Malfoy would refuse to budge from behind a pillar, he took to using his natural talent as a seeker to outmanoeuvre and outflank Malfoy.

Finally, when he'd put Malfoy into a corner, one that had only a singular desk pushed against the wall - that being Yaxleys, a familiar spell that he'd not expected in the duel was said.

"Serpensortia!"

Almost happening the same as it had in the future, a long, dangerous-looking snake appeared and began slithering towards Harry, bent on attacking him. Harry hadn't the time to debate with himself on how he would subdue it when he saw a half dozen birds also begin diving towards him. Worst of all, Malfoy had seized the initiative and began casting at him while his conjured helpers closed the distance.

Thinking on his feet and trusting his instincts, Harry cast "Fumos," allowing a large cover of smoke to engulf him. While it hindered his vision, it did the same to Malfoy and the birds coming in for him, allowing Harry the time he needed to desperately try a foolish plan before he was on the end of a lost battle.

"Engorgio," Harry cast that thrice towards the desk that'd been behind Malfoy in hopes that one of them would strike true, but before he could follow up with his plan, a bright pink spell struck him in the chest. Initially thinking it to be something minor, Harry continued trying to say the spell he'd been before but realized he couldn't understand any of the noise now around him. Whatever had struck him took away his sense to discern words from white noise with the added effect of making him feel wobbly. Yet, with tremendous willpower, Harry forced himself onwards, he'd not lose to any Malfoy!

Harry, after having a few seconds pass, followed his early enlarging spell up with "Accio Yaxley's desk!"

Harry ducked towards the ground immediately after saying it and a split-second later, he heard Malfoy yell out in pain as the desk slammed into him, sending him once more to the floor before continuing towards Harry. Once it was right in front of him, Harry jumped on top of the now-empty desk and spotted his target; he could just make out the figure of Abraxas laying stunned on the floor barely a yard ahead.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry watched in satisfaction as Malfoy's wand was torn from his grasp and sent flying towards his own.

It was over, Harry held Abraxas' wand in hand and the realization that he'd won the duel came after staring at it for some number of seconds - whatever that last spell had been took more than just his ability to understand those speaking.

His heart was beating so fast and his breathing was so deep that he scarcely heard the applause from all those in the classroom, it didn't matter all that much though, as whatever they'd end up saying would have to be repeated upon Abraxas' cancellation of the spell he'd hit Harry with.

Aster came up to him from the crowd and started yelling back towards them. To Harry, it was garbled together and incoherent, but whatever he'd said had resonated as the cheering grew in appearance.

Professor Merrythought came through the group of students and waved her wand a few times, shaking her head with a glare towards Abraxas after performing an elaborate wand motion. Harry instantly realized whatever it was that she'd done had restored fully the sense of hearing he had as all the noise in the room was distinguishable again.

Students from all four houses were cheering him, others were jeering at Malfoy who'd since gotten up and dusted himself off.

Harry switched his attention from Aster and the crowd to examine the boy more in-depth after having been beaten. Malfoy probably suspected he'd be an easy target and had hoped to show him up. Maybe he'd have gotten prestige or renown if he'd been victorious, Riddle could have ordered it done as an assessment of Harry's skills too, whatever reason, it hadn't been worth it.

Harry snorted and suppressed the urge to laugh while standing only a few feet away from the losing party.

Interestingly enough, that losing party hadn't demanded his wand back immediately after having lost it. He couldn't understand why Malfoy hadn't, for Harry that would be what he'd immediately do after losing, but Abraxas didn't look concerned in the slightest. It was as if the thought of some harm happening to his wand was the furthest one from his mind.

At most, it could only be a tertiary thought in Malfoy's head, that was Harry's guess when he'd taken in just how contemplative the other boy looked; that being the likely candidate for his lack of action after having lost. Harry couldn't begin to guess what was happening in Abraxas' head, but it had to be something important. As for the first time in a long time, smugness, arrogance or any sense of superiority wasn't the key feature on Abraxas' face.

Aster shook him from his overthinking, quite literally too.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant, Pev!"

Reinhard had gotten up close too, the boy wanting to offer his congratulations in the form of a bear hug with meaty slaps on his back. Thankfully only a couple were given by the time Reinhard had let him go.

Seeing how invigorated the group had become, Harry searched out the rest of Riddle's group - he wanted to see what their reactions would be to his beating of Abraxas. Aster had made it out like the blonde had been one of the best duelists in the group - Harry almost believed him too after witnessing a few victories, but after a semi-challenging fight (maybe more so without Harry's personal bias), Harry had won.

Harry traced his eyes across the entirety of the half-circle that'd formed and came up empty, causing him to look over at Aster who was playing up Harry's victory with Reinhard while the rest of the class had decided on picking up their items to leave the class after having been dismissed. He couldn't blame them, the class had been finished a few minutes ago and they'd stayed to watch the duel until it finished.

"Aster, where are the others?"

Aster didn't stop talking with Reiner, the only signal he'd even heard what Harry had said was an awkward flail of his arms towards the far back of the class. Harry figured that was as good an answer as he'd get and looked in the direction pointed, finding the Slytherin students who were all involved heavily with Riddle.

They had left the mass of students sometime before the fight, they'd had to have done so to avoid Harry's notice of them. Regardless of how they'd gotten to where they were, he took notice enough to see all of them were engaged in conversations. It was obvious to a degree what they were about, but Harry had to think there was a little more on the line than he'd realized with Corene being blatant enough that she'd gestured between Harry and Malfoy.

He could ask Corene what it had been about later, their friendship had increased to some degree after the giving of the gifts that he figured it was worth a shot at the least. Now however, he would be headed with the others to supper in the great hall, followed by a long, hot shower once they made it back to Slytherin dorms.

"To Harry!" Aster led a toast of firewhiskey.

"To Harry," Reinhard and Yaxley answered, raising their glasses.

Harry didn't say anything and raised his glass to theirs.

"You have to say it too," Reinhard said to Harry, causing the others to pause in their drinking and look at the latter boy.

"That'll sound weird," Harry complained.

"Bad luck if you don't, everybody knows that," Aster said in agreement with Reinhard, piling on some old adage or myth.

"Is it? That hardly seems p-" Yaxley had tried coming to his defence but was warded off as Aster poured more alcohol into the boy's cup.

His only ally distracted, Harry quickly caved into the looks given and raised his glass a second time, "To Harry."

Aster and Reinhard cheered, downing their glasses alongside Harry and Yaxley, the lattermost one being two ahead of the rest of the group with it starting to show in his mannerisms.

"Another, another!" Yaxley called out.

Reinhard seconded the cheer and Harry found himself shaking his head, about to explain to them why they couldn't do that. Before he could, however, Aster did.

"We can't be doing that, we're going downstairs to speak with the rest of the group or at least a majority of it."

Harry pinched himself and rubbed his eyes, doubting he wasn't dreaming after witnessing Aster Rosier act as a voice of reason. When the pinch hurt and his eyes focused enough to see Aster putting away the firewhiskey, Harry knew he'd seen one of the rare moments in which his friend would be responsible. Begrudgingly Harry had to admit that Riddle had picked excellent followers in her time at Hogwarts.

"But we di-"

"One more ma-"-

Harry laughed at the complaints lodged from the other two, Aster seemed to find them funny too, letting them complain for a bit of time before finally deciding to placate them.

"We can polish it off when we return for the night, maybe I'll bust out another too, yeah?"

Reinhard stood up and thumped his chest once before extending his arms out for a hug with Aster - Harry had noticed the large boy was a fond type, free in his affection with friends.

Aster, knowing how tight those hugs could be first hand, ran off out of the room with the larger boy in tow, both of them laughing while doing so. That left only Harry and Yaxley in the room. Harry guessed he may need to help the other boy to the common room based on how much alcohol/liquor he'd consumed.

"You know what you've gotten yourself into, right?"

Cliff's words were so quiet and blunt Harry half thought he'd made it up due to the liquor he'd drunk. That idea was washed away when Yaxley looked at him while searching for an answer.

Harry's been warned by Yaxley before, the boy had tried to help him and Harry wouldn't forget it. But did that warrant a serious reply? Would Yaxley remember it anyway?

Making his choice, Harry offered out a hand as support, which Yaxley took hold of. When they'd gotten Yaxley firmly on his feet, Harry nodded a couple of times.

"I believe I have."

Saying it as vaguely as he had, Harry hoped nothing could be revealed if after all this time Yaxley had been testing him - not that he thought Yaxley was, that was simply his paranoia.

A searching look and incoherent mumbling were all Harry got in response as he walked with the boy down to the common room, only leaving his side once he was firmly seated in a large chair towards the corner of the room where he'd be less likely to get approached while sobering up.

When that was finished, Harry spotted Aster waving over to him and on the way to his friend, was intercepted by Daphne.

"Corene relayed to us your defeat of Abraxas."

He shrugged, the acceptance from the group and the feeling of victory did much to alleviate the cautious attitude he'd been giving them for the duration of their knowing one another. Firewhiskey may have also played a role in the more casual attitude he was having with Riddle's second on this particular evening - he understood finally what the phrase liquid courage meant.

"Yeah, I don't think we'll be partnering again."

Daphne scoffed, "No?"

Harry shook his head, "Why would he want to? He'd pulled out everything that he could and still lost - used some nearly deafening spell too. Professor Merrythought hadn't been too happy when he did that."

"I hadn't heard about that detail… what else happened in your victory?" Daphne stepped in closer to him, holding eye contact while plastering a fake smile on her face; he knew it was fake as he'd seen ones with sincerity from the girl before and this didn't match it.

He took a half-step back and brought his arm between them, yawning into it while also using it as means of putting a bit of distance between them.

"Nothing other than what Corene has already told you; we fought, I won." Harry had gone into the fight thinking himself to be far superior in the category of DADA, as he'd been against Draco as Hogwarts progressed. That hadn't been further from the truth based on the fight Draco's grandpa put up, but Harry had still managed to overpower and defeat the boy.

"And Abraxas attempted to cheat," Daphne added.

"I still won so it's a moot point, now excuse me please, Aster's been motioning to me the entire time we've been speaking." With that, Harry attempted to walk past her and Daphne in turn shuffled slightly to the side to prevent him from doing so.

"We weren't finished speaking."

Harry snorted, "We can finish later, in the meantime, you can go tell Elaine I'll speak with her towards the end of the evening," Harry stepped around the tensed Head Girl and began on his path towards Aster, as an afterthought, he added in one more remark to Daphne, "Thanks if it was you that had him duel me too, I know he wouldn't have without permission."

She said nothing to him and made her way directly to Elaine; Harry shrugged to himself in seeing that. So what if the girl was going over to Riddle? He'd said nothing wrong, if anything, he called them on some machinations of theirs where others probably let them get away with it. Not tonight, and not with him - he was filled with confidence from his defeat of a Malfoy and the alcohol in which he'd consumed with his friends.

"Man of the hour finally joins us!" Aster's voice rang out loudly as Harry stepped into the group.

"Congratulations, Peverell."

"Well fought."

For a moment, Harry didn't recognize the two boys standing with Aster and Reinhard, but then it clicked in his head. They were Cade Avery and Thyme Nott, two more of Riddle's followers that had been at Malfoy manor - sixth years if he remembered correctly.

Harry dipped his head, "Thank you."

"Fancy a duel with me sometime?" Avery asked nonchalantly to which Harry almost replied yes without a second thought. Almost being the keyword, as he'd seen from the corner of his eyes how Aster shook his head animatedly enough that he'd held a hand to his mouth a moment after doing so.

"Budge off Avery, you know what'll happen if you do that," Nott said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

It was enough of an action to make Harry curious, "What would happen if he did that?"

Avery and Nott looked at one another before chuckling, the former boy being closer gave him a singular pat on the back before speaking, "You said that so seriously that you had us for a moment, have a peculiar sense of humour don't you?"

Aster recognized that he hadn't been joking and said as much, along with other less helpful words, "You think Pev here is brilliant enough to come up with that good a delivery? Believe me, I've seen his joke game, and it's not that strong."

Harry seized the initiative after his friend finished, and before Reinhard could begin, "I know some of what would happen and the reasons behind it, why not tell me the rest? Not like she'll care anyhow."

All the boys knew who he'd referenced and half had been stupid enough to look at her in sync. Harry knew the moment they'd done so that when he spoke with Elaine later in the evening, it'd be brought up.

"We can't be doing that, you know as much too," Nott answered, only he and Avery hadn't been the ones to look over at Riddle.

Harry nodded in response, he had figured they wouldn't tell him what that meant, but it had been worth a try.

"Could always ask her, the two of you do seem close," Avery remarked while watching Harry.

Harry knew that Avery's words were fishing for information on the relationship Harry had with the leader of their group, it made sense too. He'd be just as interested in somebody if Hermione or Ron had shown up for a new year of Hogwarts while spending so much time with that person.

"I will," Harry responded, only debating giving a more elusive answer for a moment before deciding for a multitude of reasons that it wasn't necessary. Chief amongst those reasons; the boys would see him with Riddle later on in the evening in a more than likely private discussion. Another fine reason he'd thought of while in the moment was that it could make him seem as if he had more influence than he truly did.

Upon hearing Harry's answer, Avery dipped his head once and a brief silence fell over the group - when it broke, it was Nott who'd spoken up. "While that's quite interesting, why don't we speak of your victory on the very night it was had? No doubt you'll look back at this moment and rejoice if Abraxas ends up half as pompous as his father."

"Hear, hear," Aster said in a posh accent, raising an imaginary glass in a toast.

Harry couldn't help but laugh alongside the others at Aster's moment of levity, the brief bout of tenseness evaporating as the boys shared yet another moment at the expense of the Malfoy family.

When the laughing stopped, Nott asked Harry for the look on Abraxas' face when he'd finally lost, imagining that it had to be quite comedic - before Harry could respond that it'd been nothing of the sort, Aster cut him off.

"Malfoy looked stunned, git couldn't believe that old Pev here beat him!"

Avery and Nott chuckled, the latter responding, "If only I were a year behind to see it in the flesh."

"If only I were a year behind to have been the one to face down Heir Peverell, I'm sure we could've given a spectacular showing," Avery said that with such confidence and excitement, it made him think back on Aster's earlier emphatic shaking of his head.

Was Avery that good? Harry thought back to Aster's warning against Malfoy too, he'd made Abraxas sound incredibly skilled and in truth, he was good; it would be a fight that he'd remember. But only good could be used to describe the blonde boy, great or prodigal would be off the mark.

"Maybe we can duel sometime before the end of the year then? I admit I don't know overmuch about the castle as to pick somewhere without interruption." Harry was hoping they'd supply the location should they accept - if they did, he'd get people to practice with and another quiet enclave within Hogwarts walls.

"Harry, you do kno-"

"I know somewhere that'll suit our needs, tell me a few days in advance and I'll set it up."

Aster had stepped to his side and tried warning him away from this, Avery intervened and interrupted to get across his response.

"It's settled then," Nott said as he clapped his hands once and stood up from the chair, "and now that Avery has what he wanted, I feel inclined to tell you that Riddle and Daphne have been looking over at you for quite some time."

Harry turned his head towards the mentioned girls out of reflex and once he'd made eye contact with Riddle, she'd motioned him over visibly enough for all to see; she loved doing that. He knew that if he declined, she could have her followers avoid him for a few days to ensure he'd felt the social squeeze - he didn't doubt that Aster and Reinhard would go along with it either, the two firmly sided with her after all. At least for the time being.

His inebriated mind couldn't come up with other potential fallout if he avoided Riddle and Daphne while in the presence of a majority of Riddle's followers, but what it had come up with thus far had been enough to make him walk over until he was standing in front of them. That didn't mean he wouldn't try getting away from the two as fast as possible.

"What?" He winced slightly at the abrasiveness in his tone. He hadn't meant for it to come out quite as hostile as it did, but he had wanted to show that he was getting short with her always calling him over whenever the thought hit her.

Daphne looked from him to Riddle, the latter girl's eyebrows went up as she tilted her head.

"Is something bothering you, Harry ?" Riddle had said his name with an emphasis as she stood up from her seat, Daphne following after her.

He cursed inwardly at the effect it had on him and cursed a second time at the effect of the firewhiskey. Harry had drunk enough to give him back a large part of his confidence (the most he's had since being in this new world) and because of that, he was feeling like he should confront the girl on her ever-shifting personality.

He knew better, it was a close thing, but Harry held in the impulse to question Riddle with as many people in the room as there were.

"No, feeling brilliant actually, beating Malfoy has to be a highlight of my time at Hogwarts thus far," Harry thought he'd put that misplaced confidence to good use and see how Elaine liked being toyed with. He took a step closer, took a hold of her hand and brushed his lips against it before saying, "Our time at Hogsmeade is above it, without a doubt. I appreciate all the help you've given me, Elaine."

Riddle smiled at him and stepped closer, putting the hand he kissed on his face.

"You drank, didn't you?" She cooed.

Harry almost scratched his head in thought at her words… why would she ask if he's drunk anything after what he'd just said? Shouldn't she be on her back foot, or at least somewhat surprised?

He looked at her closely and saw the faintest hints of a smirk - it was then that it hit him. She'd known what he was trying to do and almost effortlessly put it back on him. Rather than respond to her question, he stood his ground and asked in deadpan, "Did you two need something?"

"Yes, Daphne was supposed to bring you over to me as soon as you'd come down," Riddle looked over her shoulder at the older girl, Harry took notice of how Daphne had dropped her gaze to the floor and apologized. Good, he thought to himself, maybe now she'd be knocked down a peg. Riddle turned her attention back to him, "Imagine my surprise when she tells me that you'd refused her and instead headed over to Aster."

"I had come down to enjoy my night after defeating Abraxas, apparently it's a big enough deal and more than a few people were glad that I'd done it. We talk almost daily, I figured waiting for an evening wouldn't cause any problems." Harry knew he wasn't in the wrong; Riddle just wasn't used to people not bending under her will.

Thinking back on the number of times that he'd followed after her or answered her when called, he could see how that would slowly become problematic. At the time, however, it had been the safer move, as caution was undeniably needed when dealing with the variable that Riddle presented. Besides, he couldn't have done too bad a job if she was more interested in befriending him than ending him.

Now a month and some change in, Harry knew enough about the group and its leader to act a little more unrestrained.

"That very well may be the case, but suppose for a moment that what I needed to tell you was vital - what could the repercussions be if you'd shrugged it off with?" Riddle was trying to show him how he was wrong, that he should've answered immediately.

"Daphne wouldn't have been the one to get me, not when you or Corene could have gone in her place." Harry was closer with Corene and begrudgingly the same could be said for Elaine. Daphne on the other hand had been antagonistic or belittling in a few of their conversations, it was as if he wasn't worth her dealing with.

"Do you not believe that Elaine would trust me with such a task, Heir Peverell?" Daphne's use of his full title threw him off and he knew it had to be the alcohol that was the culprit. He hadn't drunk enough to make him inebriated; only confident, relaxed and slightly mind fogging.

"No, she probably does," Harry knew Daphne to be second in the group if Corene wasn't, "The probably would be that I don't."

"Ah, that may be a fault of mine then," Riddle spoke up as she stepped between the two, dragging Harry into her side and putting a hand out that signalled for Daphne to quiet down. Her actions quelled any potential problems before they rose, her words would continue to do so, "I hadn't wanted everybody to bug you with how fresh you were to our culture, Hogwarts too. Because of that, I'd told Daphne, as well as Avery and a great deal of the others to allow you time in settling in before they attempted to include you in anything."

Harry jumped at an opening while Riddle was taking a breath in to continue, "What about Aster and Reinhard then? Corene too."

Riddle squeezed him to her, the pressure and coolness from her felt weirdly good.

"Had you let me continue you'd have found out quicker," She'd said it in a condescending tone, it annoyed him to be talked to in such a manner but he decided to ignore it and let the girl get to speaking what he cared to hear.

"Abraxas, Aster, Cliff, Corene, Emilene and Reinhard had my encouragement. You'd taken to Aster and Corene easily enough, and with personal relationships with all those who call themselves my friends, I picked who I thought might resemble the other two in personalities and hobbies," Riddle paused to enjoy how he gazed at her in waiting for more, after a few seconds of enjoying it, she smiled, "You can ask questions now."

"They all spent the time with me that they had because you told them to?" Harry wasn't sure if the alcohol had upset his stomach finally, or if it was the conclusion he'd come to.

Daphne scoffed while Elaine shook her head, "Had I done that, do you not think you'd have interacted more with Abraxas, Cliff and Emilene? From all accounts, you rarely spend time outside the company of Aster, Corene, Reinhard or that oldest Goldhorn girl."

"How do you know I've not spent more time with them?" Harry felt put out with the ease in which Riddle showed in nailing down information regarding him. Obviously, the three from Slytherin that he hung around with would tell the girl if anything overly important happened, to a degree he counted on that - but who would be following him to the library or other places where he'd hung around with Sarah?

Riddle cocked her head at him in the infuriatingly beautiful manner that she'd done so often. "Your conversations with Cliff and Emilene wouldn't have been so introductory. As for Abraxas, the loathing you have for him is mutual for whatever reason. I'm still unaware as to why the two of you seem to have such malice with one another as nothing between you has happened; until today."

She was right and they both knew as much, Harry quite visibly spent all his time with but four people in Hogwarts other than her and the study group; the latter had barely any chance for casual conversations either.

"Well, be that as it is, what if they'd chosen not to speak to me that much even if told to?" Harry was grasping at straws, the three seemed to genuinely enjoy his company, at least he thought they did. He'd gotten a bit paranoid when Riddle had spoken about permission to speak with him, though it did shine a light on why many of her group seemed to defer to her so much.

"Daphne or Avery would have spoken with them," Riddle answered simply, causing Harry to look directly at Daphne who was smiling and tapping a pattern on the chair she was seated in.

He hadn't thought much of Daphne other than her being a sort of secretary or advisor to Riddle. When he took in the relaxed manner she was showing and the way Riddle eluded to other activities she'd undersee, it made him rethink the generalization he'd given her.

After Riddle had said that, he tried to pull away from her grip and found for whatever reason that it was stronger than it had any right to be. Had she cast something on him or was the alcohol having that strong an effect on his body while only minorly impairing his mind?

"You wouldn't have anything you'd like to tell me, would you Harry?" Her words were soft and reassuring, "I like to think that we're friends, closer even. Surely you'd know that you could come to me should anything be troublesome for you."

His throat constricted at her words; thankfully the girl stood beside him still, leaving her to the best of his knowledge, unable to read his thoughts. That didn't stop the panic that'd raced through his mind, far from it actually - without her looking into his eyes he had the freedom to think about far too much.

Did she know about the room? Maybe the book from Walburga's friend? Another possibility was the rumour of the marriage contract with Walburga had made her nervous, maybe territorial - he'd known from Dumbledore that Voldemort had always been incredibly possessive.

"I think you've caused a meltdown in his mind," Daphne commented from her seat. She didn't laugh, snicker, or do anything else but watch him - somehow that was far more unnerving.

Riddle moved from his side to stand in front of him, using one hand to grasp his shoulder and the other to steer his chin until he was looking at her; Harry in return only had one choice, at least that's what he'd thought at the time. Perhaps in hindsight, it hadn't been the wisest decision.

Before the girl could look into his eyes and unravel the many secrets lurking just below the surface, he jolted forward, breaking from the grip. His movement was awkward and his mind was still undecided, but it didn't stop him from kissing Riddle on the cheek.

When he pulled back and saw the expression on Riddle's face joined with Daphne's stillness, he thought he'd made a horrible mistake - one that just may cost him his spot in the circle she'd included him in. But those worries were put to rest when he saw the widest smile yet given by Elaine followed by the amused look from Daphne, the former closed in on him again and copied his action.

"Always so full of surprises," Riddle said in his ear, her voice emphasizing the start and end of the word, causing him to feel the hot air coming from her.

"That he is." Daphne agreed.

Riddle turned to look at the girl and dropped all contact with him, "What do you think? Should we let Harry go and enjoy his time with the group?"

Daphne appraised him for a few seconds before answering, "Hmm, he did beat Abraxas, one of the best in their year," Harry puffed out his chest a bit at hearing those words, though it deflated when Daphne decided to poke holes in his victory, "Though that's in a classroom setting with a very large restriction on spell usage. Still, I suppose Harry could have earned himself a night to engage with the others who push off their work."

Riddle tutted at Daphne, "Avery doesn't put off his work, as I recall he almost bested you only a month ago almost to the day," Harry watched as Daphne coloured a bit and looked away, Riddle smiled at that before looking at Harry again, "Go on then Harry, enjoy your time with the others, the rest of what I have for you can wait for the morning - it's minute anyhow."

Ahah! He'd known it! Riddle hadn't had anything important to speak with him about and only with luck did he learn about her order (as he'd hence force be calling it) to keep others away from him.

Harry smirked and offered up his farewells to the two girls, "Good evening Daphne," Harry would have said her last name and title as she'd done to him earlier, but he couldn't remember it, "Good evening, Elaine." He knew Riddle preferred to hear him say her first name rather than last.

"Enjoy yourself, Harry," Riddle then waved him away, Harry hearing the start of her next topic of conversation with Daphne, "Perhaps now that others can speak with him on account of his comfortability rising, I can get Aster and Reinhard back to productivity. Salazar himself only knows what those two have been doing without our supervision."

That comment made Harry believe that at the least, Aster and Reinhard hadn't been ordered to spend time with him. It still did nothing to alleviate that very same fear about Corene; the evening when the Carrow girl came to him less than a day after his talking about her absence with Riddle was one instance that he knew of to be manufactured. Harry simply wasn't sure if it were truly because Riddle kept Carrow extremely busy or if the girl wasn't fond of him, meaning that her invite and gestures had all been fake. That second possibility did little to ease the sickness in his stomach.

"Done with the three Queens mate?" Reinhard asked loudly upon Harry's return to the circle of Wizards.

"Shut up you great buffoon! Do you want them to hear that?" Aster slapped the larger boy upside the head, "Besides - only two of them were even over there!" that earned another slap for the huge boy.

Harry laughed, joining with Avery, Nott and Yaxley; the lattermost boy somehow having ended up rejoining the group in a more coherent form.

After they'd all finished their laughing, with Aster and Reinhard finishing the minor scuffle they'd broken into all the while, Harry asked about the nicknames. As usual, it was Aster that explained them.

"Call 'em the three Queens because that's how they act, you've seen it too," Aster added in upon the doubtful look Harry cast, continuing to dissuade it, "Riddle as you probably already came to the conclusion of is the leader of our little group of like-minded individuals. Her personality and the general air about her make it generally impossible for any to dislike her, barring Potter and his lot. Add into that how she carries herself, something in which is shared with the other two girls and you've found out why they're called the three Queens among us in this circle."

"Daphne is the second, but who's the third?" Harry asked that as he sat himself down in the sole chair left available, between Aster and Reinhard.

Reinhard snorted, "Come off it."

Harry raised his hands. "I'm not taking the mick."

Aster rolled his eyes, "For someone so talented in classes, well, other than Arithmancy and Runes, you're daft," Harry began reaching for his wand and Aster hurried along, "Wait wait - It's Corene!"

Harry stopped reaching for his wand and thought about that - it could make sense, Corene had the personality that others would find mysterious to some degree and with how she carried herself, most others would come up short.

"Looking to add a Rosier to that list of defeats, Pev?" Avery laughed before looking over his shoulder, "There's Druella, that's the one that actually can defend herself adequately of the pair."

Aster chucked a pillow from his seat at the older boy and Harry watched in minor awe at how quickly Avery's wand had come out to stop the pillow mid-flight and send it back to the sender. When it collided with Aster's face it made a thudding sound as feathers exploded around the room and once more the boys were up in laughter.

During his time laughing, Harry noted why Aster had shaken his head so animatedly upon Avery's request for a duel. It was clear with the speed in which he'd grabbed his wand and the silence he cast the spell with that Harry wasn't an equal to the boy before him - at least not yet.

According to Salazar Slytherin himself, all he'd need to do to fix that would be entering his name into that blasted book on the desk in that hidden study.

Harry had hardly been faced with more temptation at this point, the only time that came close was when he'd placed that kiss on Riddle's cheek and realized begrudgingly how much he had begun to enjoy it.