chapter 9:The Dueling Hall

"…And here we are." Flitwick smiled as he pushed open the door, revealing a large, approximately square room. In the middle of the room was a long stage, raised almost two feet off the ground and with steps leading up to it from each end. The sides looked almost scalloped with heavily-inscribed stones set in place in regular intervals, each stone set into a silver mounting.

Either side of the stage, the floor was flat but then it lifted up in tiers with inset steps to allow people to ascend and descend. On the far side of the stage, a dais was integrated into the standing area, raised in order to allow the person standing on it the best view of what was happening on the stage.

"I had the House Elves dust and clean it, but I still need to check the wards and so on. Of course, the best way to do that is to have someone firing low-powered spells while on the dueling platform… any volunteers?"

Several hands (and a couple of lit wands) shot up and Flitwick chuckled.

"Very well. Mr's Weasley and Weasley, if you would be so kind to step to the middle of the stage and when I give the signal, start firing spells to the ends and sides."

Fred and George, grinning widely, almost bounded to the steps at either end of the platform and proceeded to give each other incredibly complicated and dramatic bows while Filius made his way round the stage and up onto the dais where he placed his wand on the angle-topped marble pillar. The ambient light in the room brightened and Harry glanced up to see that inset into the ceiling above the dueling stage was a long glowing rectangular crystal, one which seemed to be exactly the same size as the stage below it.

"If everyone can make their way onto the viewing steps, please?" Flitwick called out and Harry allowed himself to be carried along by the others as they made their way up the stairs before turning to watch. "Now, if you look up, you will see the Warding Crystal that secures the protective shields around the Stage. The shields will stop almost any spell and most physical objects, but will not support combatants. Should you try to lean on them or fall against them, you will fall off the stage and thus lose the duel. Mr's Weasley, if you would be so kind as to meet in the middle and go back-to-back?"

The twins ceased their bowing competition and walked towards each other. Turning to stand as Flitwick directed, they pulled out their wands with identical flourishes.

"You might notice that there are no viewing steps at either end." Flitwick continued. "While the ends are shielded as well, the chance of a spell making its way through the shields is quite a bit higher. That is also why the walls at the end are engraved with runes allowing them to withstand most spells and, should they actually be damaged, be easy to repair. Now, if you would be so kind?"

Fred and George let loose with a series of spells, firing blasts of light and sound at the shields surrounding the stage until Flitwick raised his hand in a signal to stop.

"Thank you, I have now deactivated the wards. Now, as you saw, the wards dissipated every spell that hit them, meaning that trying to bounce a spell around your opponent's guard simply will not work while the stage is wide enough that you can dodge most spells should you need to, assuming you do not simply choose to deflect them. Mr Longbottom, Miss Granger, if you will take to the stage instead? Now, many of you might have heard of the Duelist's Shield which these two will demonstrate with the aid of a stinging hex and then on my command, they will proceed to demonstrate the Muggleborn Magesaber which Miss Granger developed and graciously allowed me to learn. Wards are up and… begin!"

Hermione fired a stinging hex at Neville and even as it flashed along the stage, she coated her wand in magic. Neville parried the spell, sending it back at Hermione, who blocked it with ease, returning it once again. For almost half a minute, they volleyed the spell between them at varying speeds, then Flitwick spoke.

"Now!"

The magical auras surrounding Neville's and Hermione's wands lengthened to the accompaniment of gasps from those who hadn't seen the magesaber technique before. Once again, the pair continued to bounce the stinger between them until finally, Flitwick intervened.

"…aaaaand TIME!"

Neville bounced the spell into one of the side wards before bowing to Hermione, who returned it.

"Well done, both of you." Flitwick smiled as he dropped the dueling wards again. "Now, you should learn several new spells in your Defence classes, so on Saturday afternoons, I will run the dueling club so that you can practice some of them. I am certain that I can persuade another teacher to help out and a couple of the seventh-years have expressed an interest in becoming Referees, so they will almost certainly wish to gain experience."

Harry looked round as he heard Ginny whispering.

"Merlin! Hermione's awesome!"

"Now, anyone else wish to try some spell-deflection?" Flitwick asked and Harry raised his hand.

"Very good. Mr Potter, Mr Malfoy, please step onto the stage."

Harry blinked and looked round, quickly spotting the platinum-haired Slytherin. Shaking off his shock, he stepped down and made his way to the stage.

"Heir Malfoy." he said with a slight bow, one just deep enough to be polite without indicating inferiority on his part.

"Lord Potter." Malfoy returned with a slightly deeper bow, acknowledging their different social status. "Shall I fire the Hex, or do you wish to?"

"You can." Harry shrugged and Malfoy nodded, then drew himself into a slightly side-on stance, his free hand extended out and up behind him. Harry slid one foot forwards and held his wand at waist level, his other hand clenched into a fist by his hip.

"Begin!"

Draco's wand snapped out, firing a stinging hex, then it shimmered slightly as Draco encased it in a Duelist's Shield. Harry parried the spell, sending it back towards Draco and the two boys grinned tightly as they started to compete.

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"I heard that you're starting a Dueling club." Lockhart almost chirped as Flitwick entered the staff room. "Perhaps I could offer my assistance?"

"I think not." Flitwick shot down the newest teacher ruthlessly. "Unless you've learned how to not throw your wand away in the last ten years. I still remember you as the boy who needed new trousers when you first encountered one of Hagrid's beasts."

Lockhart looked hurt at the comment. "I've learned a great deal since back then, I have improved!"

"Then duel me tonight and I'll see how good you are." Flitwick shot back. "Or is the Golden Raven still just a peacock?"

Lockhart sniffed and stalked out. As he slammed the door behind him, a dark chuckle issued from the corner of the room.

"And people think that I am the one without mercy." Snape chuckled, the slight smile on his face something that would have caused most students to run away screaming that the dour Potions Master had been replaced with an impostor. "You really have returned to your earlier self."

"Discovering that my house was descending into bullying and factionalism was quite a wake-up call." Flitwick admitted, moving to the refreshments area to procure a tumbler and some Firewhiskey. "I saw that Draco has been receiving some tuition over the summer, he is quite proficient with the Duelist's Shield."

Snape raised a quizzical eyebrow, then slowly nodded. "Ah, this Dueling Club that you are setting up."

"The Dueling Hall is ready for use and the first lesson will be on Sunday." Filius shrugged. "The practice room next to it has been cleaned up as well… care to join in and show that potions aren't the only thing you are good at?"

"It might cause those dunderheads to pay closer attention in Potions if I demonstrate that I can last more than ten seconds against you." Snape mused and Filius chuckled.

"Severus, we both know that had potions not been your first love…"

"…second…" Snape half-whispered wistfully.

"…then you could have become a championship duelist." Filius finished, carefully ignoring Snape's correction."Besides, it's not as if you could be worse than Lockhart was when he finally graduated. How could he have done everything that he claimed? If not for his ego, he would have made quite a good Obliviator."

"That comment brings up several quite worrying possibilities." Snape stated, rising from his chair and closing his book with a loud snap. "I think I will have my Snakes take a very close look at his self-proclaimed accomplishments."

"My Ravens already are." Filius responded soberly. "I'll have them write up their findings…"

"And I will have my Snakes do the same so that we can compare them." Snape agreed as he swept towards the door. "For now though, I need to prepare myself. Tomorrow morning, I have to deal with an entirely new year of dunderheads."

Flitwick chuckled as the door closed behind Snape.

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Harry looked at the thing rising from his trunk, as did Neville.

"Harry?" The Pureblood asked, his tone indicating that he was one wrong word away from panic.

"It's okay, Nev." Harry said reassuringly as the thing turned slightly to face him. "It's one of my… two family golems. It took a while to get them fully activated. This one is… is… which one are you?"

"Kelex, Lord Potter." The hovering robot replied in a metallic yet melodious voice. "Jor-El tasked this unit with delivering the micro-probes required to ensure adequate surveillance."

"Makes sense." Harry nodded. "Next time, please make sure either that I'm alone when you deliver something or that no-one's here, in which case leave it on my bed."

"Your orders have been logged and will be obeyed, Lord Potter." Kelex responded, tentacles unfolding from its ventral surface to offer a crystalline box to Harry. "The micro-probes are designed to be powered by ambient energy and Jor-El is currently relaying through the shuttle while he constructs a permanent relay for installation."

"So, they'll give him full oversight of Hogwarts." Harry mused, opening the package and watching as the first thumbnail-sized shield-shaped probe rose out, followed by a small swarm that flooded out of the window while the original one rose to the ceiling and settled into a corner, changing its coloration until it was indistinguishable from the rest of the wall. "Cool. Oh, I have a message for Jor-El, I'll need some special things made once you've mapped out Hogwarts. Wrist-band projectors that can project a map of Hogwarts, showing the locations of people in it. Sort of like my dad and his friends did."

"Jor-El confirms receipt of the instructions and has commenced construction of the requested interactive projectors, tentative designation Marauders Map 2.0." Kelex relayed. "Query, do you wish comm systems to be incorporated also?"

"Yes." Harry said, then he frowned slightly. "For now, I just need three. Me, Nev and Hermione."

"Confirmed." Kelex responded as it began to sink back down into Harry's trunk. "Relay from Jor-El. Warning, due to non-euclidean geometry of Hogwarts, projected map will be only 87% accurate at any given time."

"Understood." Harry said as he dropped the now-empty container into the trunk, where one of Kelex's metallic tentacles snagged it, then pulled the trunk closed.

"You have some weird servants." Neville finally stated. "What's wrong with having a House Elf?"

"The Ministry grabbed both of them." Harry growled. "I'm still trying to find a way to reclaim them without getting the Minister angry with me. I don't want to go public with it as it'll cause problems further down the line, but they're Potter elves, dammit. How can I make sure they're being treated alright if I don't even know where they are?"

"Maybe Gran can help." Neville pounced on the conversational change. "She has quite a few contacts in the Ministry who may be able to track down all the things that the Ministry seized and get them returned to you… without getting them all riled up."

"If anyone can do that, your gran can." Harry agreed as he locked his trunk, noting with amusement how Neville relaxed as the latch clicked into place. "For now, though, let's get some sleep. Tomorrow, we start learning once again."

"Indeed we can." Neville said as he picked up his wand and settled into his bed, pausing only to give Harry's trunk one more suspicious look before dousing the lights. Harry managed not to laugh as he rolled into his own bed, but it was a close thing.

"Night, Nev."

"Goodnight."