50 Chapter 50
"I am getting to that, you see, with people leaving at the end of every year, we need new people to replace them. This is why when Albus heard I was in contact with you, who has quite the background in DADA with all of your books and adventures, he requested me to help you out. And I have, in the hopes that I might request you to be a teacher for a single year if we can not find anyone else sometime in the future." So he says, practically ringing the death knell on my nice relaxed life. And I thought that I had prevented this, but apparently not.
"Well, I can't exactly say no to that now, can I? Especially not after all the help you have given me and will continue to give me, I hope. Professor, huh? I wouldn't mind passing on some knowledge to the next generation." I say with a bright smile, my teeth shining, even though on the inside, all I want to do is scream and pick this tiny man up and shove him into a bin. And yet, I keep the smile up and act like this is an opportunity for me.
Now that I have already taken Flitwick's help, I am pretty much already opted into volunteering as the DADA professor for a year. Especially now that Dumbledore knows because if I refuse, I will look suspicious. Maybe, I don't know, but I know that I can't risk it. If Dumbledore decides to follow up, he might find out about the fraud. I mean, he knew Slughorn was lying, and that was with the man altering his own memories. So I can't risk Dumbledore having any reason to doubt me, even if that means I have to teach at Hogwarts for a year.
"Gilderoy, of course, I will continue to teach you. I am invested now. Plus, if you were to rise to become a master duelist, I can take pride in the fact I was your teacher. And it is good that you are looking forward to being a professor since although the current professor has not quit, he has proved to be unqualified for the role even though the Headmaster gave him a chance, so he will not be the DADA teacher next year, and we have yet to decide on next year's DADA professor. So it might be you." Flitwick says, only making me more of a nervous wreck though I still manage to laugh in response.
I suppose, now that I am locked in, I could just teach the following year like the original Gilderoy was supposed to. Is this the universe exerting its own will? I guess there are some pros to doing it in Harry's second year instead of any of the other ones. The only threats are Tom Riddle's Diary and the Basilisk... I can't believe I just quantified a massive fuck off snake with the word only. Still, as long as I keep away from the diary, wear some glasses as a fashion statement or something and never travel the hallways at night or alone, I should be fine.
Perhaps it would be better to get this out of the way and do it now instead of being called in on another year when there are dementors, death eaters, death games, assassinations and Headmaster Snape. Just do it and get it out of the way now, when the threats in Hogwarts can be easily avoided. Yes, if they ask, I will accept. Wait, no... I will just ignore it till it comes up again, and when it does, I will reevaluate and make a decision.
"Well, let's not focus on the future right now and try to turn our gaze to the present. Now, let me talk you through your upcoming duel. First of all, you are going to want to always keep an eye on your opponent, but don't look at them. Be aware of the entire stage, but keep your focus on your opponent. Also, make sure that you..." He continues to jabber, and I just try to absorb as much of it as I can. Even if it doesn't quite compute right now, it might become more apparent in the future.
I continually nod my head as he talks, showing my understanding of what he is saying. Well, not understanding since I don't know how to keep my eyes on my opponent without looking at them, but I am, at the very least, listening. This is a learning experience. I am here to get beaten and, in doing so, cover my flaws and eventually become unbeatable.
"So, did you understand all of that?" Flitwick asks, finally stopping his rambling for a moment.
"Uh, can you just go through that one more time?"
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"And now, our first contestant this evening. Brandishing a wand, nine inches made of cherry with a dragon heartstring core. A formidable wand is often thought to be purely aesthetic, but such a wand is very powerful, only to be wielded with exceptional control and strength of mind. Edward. N. Stick," The announcer or referee says, prompting me to walk out and onto the stage and move to join him at the centre.
"And his opponent today is..." I don't pay attention to what he is saying as I am more focused on trying not to laugh right now. Since I changed my face, a change in name was also required, and since I can always use a different person for a Polyjuice Potion, I decided to have some fun with it. The full name I chose was Edward Norma Stick. Hehe, if you only use the initial of the first name and say the rest of it, hehe. I might be a prominent magician now with a big business and participating in duels, but part of me is still a sixteen-year-old kid, and this shit is funny.
"Alright, begin." I perk up and snap back to reality when the referee speaks, and I realised he has moved off of the stage and in front of me is a middle-aged man, his face littered with scars and was very much ugly. And once I realise this is my opponent, my hand moves and holds my wand in front of my chest as he does the same, and then I bow my head a little bit as he does a slight nod with a nasty grin on his face, which seriously pisses me off. There is etiquette to this shit, and this guy basically just pissed all over me.
Snapping my wand back to my side, I spin around, and I can hear him do the same behind me, and then I start walking over to my end of the stage. All the while, I think about how much I am going to hurt this man for the slight he has done upon me. Wizarding society is a lot about etiquette and respect, which is why status is so important and why muggle-borns find it hard to fit in and end up discriminated against.
Right now, in a duel, how much you bow your head is how much respect you are showing your opponent. It is customary to just bow your head slightly, it is like the minimum you can do, but this fucker only nods his head showing me disrespect. He is looking down and laughing at me, expecting me to be weak and easy to beat, probably because my name makes me seem like a muggle-born, and he feels no need to show me the customary courtesy. I am going to fucking humiliate this man.
Reaching the end, I spin around and take my duelling position. My right leg forward, my left leg behind, ready to spring in any which direction. My torso is to the side, leaving me less exposed to attacks, and my right hand holds my wand in front of my chest, close so as to minimise the area I am exposing and my left arm is tucked behind my back since it is useless right now, though if I need it while dodging, it will come out.
"One. Two. Three!" Immediately I lashed out with a stupefy, sending the red-coloured spell straight towards my opponent because as much as I wanted to hurt him, I must remember my goal. Plus, getting rid of him with ease will make him look like a fool, especially after he acted so big in front of the crowd.
"Expeliarmurs!" Unfortunately, my opponent, while an arsehole, is still a skilled duelist going by the scars on his face, and he just sidesteps my spell with ease before retaliating with his own spell. However, having practised a bit with Flitwick, I also don't panic and calmly move to the side, already readying for the next attack I will shoot at him.
I duck, narrowly missing the sickly yellow spell that passes over my head, which had hidden its trajectory behind the expelliarmus and allowed must hit me directly in the face. But, unfortunately, it seems I was taking things too lightly, and I only practised with Flitwick once in a blue moon, so I don't have much experience, which is clearly my biggest problem.
"Ossio Dispersimus, "I whisper after sending out another stunner, taking a leaf out of my opponent's books and hiding it behind the stunner. Instead of worrying about my almost fatal mistake, I ignore it and carry on, properly getting into the groove of my duelling style. All-out assault.
Rather than wait to see how he responds to my spells that have yet to reach him, I carry on, shooting a bombarda at the middle of the stage, which my spells had just passed, making a lot of rubble spray up into the air. Then, swishing my wand at the rubble, it transforms into a flock of birds which immediately shoots forward, covering the entire stage and also providing cover for me, giving me time for my next plan.
My opponent had just sidestepped both my spells, including the bone vanishment spell and had just turned to deal with the flock when I quickly set my next plan into action. Using some conjuration, I conjure a bunch of arrows and swish to shoot them forward, right behind the flock of birds which my opponent had just burned to a crisp.
My opponent, at the sight of all these arrows, panics, knowing that if he tried to deflect them with a wide area spell, then the chance of getting hurt increases, so instead, he decides to clear out a small section and make it through that, like he is playing a hole in the wall. But I expected this. In fact, I wanted him to do this.
"Sagitta Puctum." I intone, shooting a single arrow out of the tip of my wand that was aimed in his direction. This arrow was not like the rest, as it shot out of my wand like a bullet, surpassing the speed of the other arrows and reaching my opponent just after he had cleared his section, piercing his thigh. Even though he is hit, he shows his experience as he doesn't let that stop him. Still, unfortunately for him, I had already followed up straight after I shot that arrow. He hits the ground after a stupefy and an expelliarmus, sending his wand flying into the air.
The crowd cheers as I take pleasure in my win and showing that ugly fucker up. And I also find it funny that the arrow spell that I used was not even intended to be used as an offensive spell but rather as a cheer. This spell was used by Quidditch fans, specifically the Appleby Arrows supports, to show their support, and they would shoot a bunch of arrows out of the tip of their wand as they cheered. It was obviously banned when an arrow pierced the nose of a referee by the name of Nugent Potts in 1894. Still, it was a little nifty thing that I picked up on.
I left that stage surrounded by sheers ad shouts, feeling on top of the world like I couldn't be stopped.
I lost my next match.
Apparently, the beginning matches are always about feeling your opponent out and conserving your magic for the later rounds. This is why my opponent did not expect me to go all out and use a bunch of flashy magic to take him down. However, in my next match, my opponent took me out quickly, utilising my lack of experience, which I showcased in my first match, and also, my magic was drained, so I lost pretty quickly.
But that is what this was all about, learning. And I have learnt that I need to be more conservative in my all-out offensive approach... somehow.
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