A Father’s Worry

{Harry James Potter}

"Professor, do you think I can win?"

She took no part in duels, or so she said. But she did, she came to me right after I went to professor Dumbledore.

Sadly, he said he couldn't help me and said he would find someone for me to learn from. Professor Flitwick said that he would only teach the basics of duels and its etiquettes, beyond that would be unfair.

So, when I was worried about finding a professor to help me, professor McGonagall came to help me. And she is a Gryffindor, so I knew she would support me. 

I do wonder though if Snape is helping Draco. Of course he would, why wouldn't he?

"As I said, do not focus on just harming your opponent. Focus on dodging, figuring out patterns, slowing them and binding them and you will win." She assured me. "Draco may have lived with his wizarding family since he was born, but he is not skilled with spells as you have noticed. So, you do not have to worry about being worse than him."

She was right, Draco was not good with spells.

She would teach me enough and of course Hermione would be able to help figure out what Draco lacked. She would definitely know how to make him make mistakes.

"Now, we should get started." She said, "We will start with defenses." 

"Why defense professor?" Using a good spell to strike him first would be better wouldn't it? "Shouldn't I learn offensive spells first?"

"You can always tire out a wizard by stopping his attacks and making him waste more energy than you. So, a great defense is the best place to start."

Oh, that did make quite some sense.

I can win this.

"I will do my best, professor."

I will win.

…

…

{Lucius Abraxas Malfoy}

Draco had messed up. He doesn't know but the Potter boy has the backing of more people than he thinks.

Darn it.

Most don't matter, but I am no fool to know that Dumbledore favors Potter more than the rest. He always had a bond with the Potters, first James and his darned wife Lily and now their son too.

Who does my son have?

None. 

Snape probably, but he doesn't move a muscle to help when it comes to such events.

Other Slytherin professors? They wouldn't dare. No one is blind except the young ones. None would help him when Dumbledore was moving the strings.

I have to go.

Now more than ever.

"DOBBY!"

Where was the bloody elf!

"GET ME MY BELT!"

I am going to Hogwarts, no other choice.

…

…

{Draco Lucius Malfoy}

"Professor Safar?"

Why did professor Snape refuse to help me? I am a Slytherin, then why? 

Harry is being helped by all the Gryffindor faculty then why not me?

Even professor Sinistra said that she does not specialize in duels so she cannot help me.

Why do the Slytherin professors not want to help me?

"How might I help you today, Draco?" The man asked, flipping the pages of a certain coverless book. 

He was difficult to find, he was not in his office. None of the Hufflepuff students knew where he was and so it took more than half an hour to spot him.

And I have never seen professors sitting and reading in the library before. I thought that's what only the students do.

"Can you…" I felt a small sense of nervousness. "Will you help me with my spell casting?"

He looked at me, smiled and went back to the book. 

Of course he wouldn't, why would he?

He is a Hufflepuff professor. He would not help a Slytherin student. I was just stupid to have come here.

"What about professor Snape?" He asked, lowering my hope further.

"He said he does not want to get involved in duels."

I hoped that he would help. My confidence earlier was with the belief that the Slytherin professors would at least take my side.

"Professor Sinistra does not do duels." He said, surprising me that he knew about her dislikes. "So you came to me, is that correct?"

I could only nod. He was my only hope, otherwise I would have to go through each and every book in here and that wouldn't be enough. Even if I ask the seniors, they would never match the level of the professors who are helping Potter.

"I am not that well versed in the magic of duels that is used here, Draco." His eyes were still fixated on the pages of the book. "My magic is completely different and might not be suitable for you. And my dueling spells are not what you can learn in a day or two. The only spells and charms that are similar are for what I teach here."

Like an idiot, I could not control my tongue and blabbered out. 

"I want you to teach me your dark—"

His eyes immediately fell on me, frowning, almost petrifying me on the spot.

"A noble born must always keep his promise, Draco." He said, "We decided to never talk on this topic." 

"But…" Why? Why did everyone only love Potter? "This is unfair…"

"What is?"

Everything.

But I couldn't say that.

"Everyone helps Potter, but no one helps me."

The man finally closed his book after hearing me and took a deep breath. 

"Tell me, how is helping him unfair?"

"Because no one does the same for me." I could barely hide the hurt in my voice. "He is an orphan so everyone treats him like he is their son. Everyone says he defeated you-know-who as a child but it is not my fault I wasn't born with what he had. I am better than him, I am smarter than him and I have learnt to act much more noble than him."

I looked at him, curious. "Then why? Why do I not get the same love and help that he gets?"

"World of the wizard is never fair, Draco." He said, the book hanging loosely in his hand. "And it is good that you are learning of it sooner than most. You will be stronger in the future."

But what about now?

He placed the book in its position on the shelf and started to stride towards the doorway.

"Draco." He said, not looking back. "I cannot teach you the magic that Harry would be using and Dark Magic is frowned upon. Besides, both you and I would be punished if they notice anything remotely similar to it."

I know he would not teach me. 

No one would.

"So come." He said, "The first thing we will learn will be about the concept of masking magic. How one magic can be masked as another."

Wait!

"You mean…"

"And in this case, you know exactly what magic I am talking about."

…

…

[A Night Following — Grounds of Hogwarts]

Draco wasn't the brightest kid and definitely not a natural talent. He was crash, very untrained and was rather slow at picking concepts than most.

I had seen his grades, they are not what I would have expected from him either.

But that doesn't matter. What he lacks, he makes us with his determination.

And his determination sprouts from envy and anger that he feels towards Harry. 

Which works in this case. 

"You are doing good, Draco." I assured the boy. "The magic that you are wielding is stronger than most, so you do not have to try to make it stronger. Instead focus on hiding it under a sheath, under layers —mask it."

We were in the darker side of the flying grounds, no one came here and with Hagrid on the bed, it was just me and Draco. 

Draco had a knack for dark magic.

I know that I cannot teach 'My' dark magic. I cannot teach him what I know as a result of what I inherited.

That is neither teachable nor usable by others.

"W-Will this work professor?" Draco asked, hiding a painful curse inside what appeared to be a decently made orb of fire. 

"The dark can be lowered, do not focus on making it potent. It is potent in nature, so try to suppress it using the fire as much as you can.*

Of course, when he goes to have the duel, I will have to be actively involved. No matter how well he hides it, he is just a kid and anyone like Dumbledore would catch onto the magic easily.

Especially when the dark magic was from the books in the library.

Told you I cannot teach him the magic I knew, so I had to make do with what was available.

Draco nodded, and tried to suppress the magic as best as he could. Needless to say, he failed many-a-times but he did not give up. 

There was not that much time before the face off. So, he had to be ready tonight.

I would be able to hide the magic from being sensed by Dumbledore. Because I did not just cast magic, I manipulated it.

Like I was doing now. Manipulating the aura around it to not attract unwanted attention.

But it was up to him if he could at least not make the magic so obvious. 

"There are quite a lot of mistakes, Draco." I said. "But you are doing good. Keep it up and we will be able to learn the few magic spells that I promised you."

More than one, yes.

Some for his victory, one for mine.

…

…

[Evening of Saturday, Moments Prior the Duel — Hogwarts]

{Lucius Abraxas Malfoy}

"What do you mean I cannot talk to my son, Headmaster Dumbledore?" 

My son was facing the Potter boy in these unfortunate situations and they wanted me to not worry about him?

"Calm down, Mr. Malfoy." The old man said, "The duel will be held under our supervision and we will make sure that Draco is not harmed."

This was not about harm, this was about publicly humiliating my son by them.

Oh, how I wish Dippet was the headmaster now instead of him. A Ravenclaw better than a Gryffindor at the seat of the headmaster. 

"The duel will start in a moment, Mr. Lucius." He said, "It would only make Draco more nervous if you meet him now. I would like to request you to not have to meet him till the end of the duel."

This man…

"Then how about letting him watch the match at least?" A voice, unknown to me, came from the side. "This is the first duel that will solve an issue in a long time. An exhibition match we can make it to be."

"Might you elaborate on it a little, Professor Safar?" Dumbledore said, letting it known that the man was a professor of Hogwarts.

"What I mean is that, the children will know more about duels and if they see how difficult duels are, they might stop fighting so often as the new rules now suggest a duel instead of long complaints." He smiled as he walked forward, "Most would think twice before fighting and even without that, it could act as a guidance that they can get. Each time we do not have to teach the etiquettes and ways to every student, they will figure it out on their own."

"So you are suggesting that we let all the students watch the match?"

I had the same curiosity as Dumbledore. I knew that the man before me was a professor, but I had never heard of him before.

"Not all, most senior students have formal dueling classes. I suggest it only for those classes they have not been introduced to dueling." He looked at both of us, "That would help teach at a large scale while also increasing awareness."

"That is actually a good idea." Dumbledore agreed, not so surprisingly. The man did sound convincing.

"And we can let Mr. Malfoy watch his son's match. Every father worries about their son's safety and we can at least respect a father's love."

Just who was this man?

"I suppose you are correct." Dumbledore thought about it. "I still think it would not be possible to let you meet your son before the match, Lord Malfoy. But you can at least watch the match."

This man was something. He changed the mind of the headmaster with just a few words. I doubt anyone can do that with Dumbledore.

"I… can agree to that." 

I could not deny the one chance that I had gotten, at least to watch Draco and bring any unfairness that I might notice to light.

"Anyhow, I am Darius Safar." The man walked closer, "Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, of Hufflepuff and also the one who had been helping your son with the art of dueling." He extended his hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Malfoy."

So, he was the man that was helping my son?

At least, there was one man that was willing to help Draco over Harry. 

At least one.

____________________________________________________________________________

[[A/N: Read 150+ Advanced Chapters on Patreon (including all stories).

Read 25+ Chapters Ahead of Webnovel for this story on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Greedyfrog

Join Discord for queries, pictures and general discussions etc: https://discord.com/invite/yanXvStx7p

P.S. Out on a trip, so for the next 6-7 days, expect max 3 chapters. Will be back to the usual 6 chapters/Week after that.

]]