Birthday of Narcissa II

"Lady Narcissa, my sincerest wishes on this extraordinary occasion. Allow me to present you with this gift," James said with impeccable courtesy and without changing his expression.

"Thank you, James. Aegnor, take the present and put it with everyone else," Narcissa said, and her house elf took the gift from James' hands.

"May I introduce you to my parents," said Narcissa, introducing her parents, she also introduced her sister Bellatrix and her husband, who were there.

"A pleasure," James said in a monotone without changing his expression. That was all the conversation between James and Narcissa's family, as he was about to leave someone called out to him.

"Potter. I didn't know you were coming today," said a tall blond boy with long hair. It was Lucius Malfoy wearing an elegant dark green robe and his expression with a barely concealed arrogance.

At Lucius' side were two boys following him like his bodyguards. Unlike Crabbe and Goyle these boys did have neat, high-society appearances.

"I didn't know either. Narcissa invited me at the last minute," James said with a barely susceptible smile. He knew this boy was after Narcissa. He could tease him a little.

He knew the Malfoy boy from the Slughorn Club. He didn't like him, or dislike him. He was a typical supremacist, though perhaps not as extreme as the Blacks, Lestrange, or Nott.

'Narcissa invited him?' thought Lucius with a frown, and a new feeling was growing inside him: jealousy.

Narcissa also frowned slightly. Those words could come to be misinterpreted.

"He's a member of the Dragon Club, so I invited him," Narcissa said, justifying herself.

"That's logical. It would be strange for you to invite a traitor without a reason," said one of the boys following Lucius.

Narcissa, her parents, and even Bellatrix and her husband frowned slightly. Although they disagree with James' family ideals this is a birthday, and James is a guest. It is very rude to make such a comment.

James looked at the short brown-haired boy with small eyes and freckles. His right hand trembled slightly. He wanted to raise it and point it at the freckled boy. Aim at his neck and close his grip little by little... Until he heard the dull crack that indicated the bone had broken.

[Do it, Edward. The Rothschilds show no mercy to people who don't know their place. Use the teachings, and don't let them disrespect you again]

A soft voice barely audible rang in James' ear. He recognized the cold, emotionless tone. It was his former mother.

'Easy...' thought James, shaking his head. It was just a voice created by his head. He had realized that his magic without a wand had great potential especially if you have strong feelings like anger and hatred. Intention made his magic that much more powerful.

While this could be good for increasing his power, it was dangerous if he did not control his emotions well. He was always good at controlling himself, but his weak point was being teased by his family and friends.

"Your name?" asked James in a calm tone without letting his true intentions come out. He had practiced Occlumency so much for a reason.

"What?" asked the boy. He expected James to get angry or lose his temper, but here he asked him his name in a casual tone.

"I was wondering what your name is and that of your distinguished family," repeated James calmly and with no change in his expression.

"Mark Selwyn..." replied the boy.

"Oh, the respected Selwyn family..." said James with a slightly surprised expression that was acted.

"Yes..." said the boy puzzled by James' acting.

"I've heard they're very good at dueling... I wonder if it's true," commented James in a calm tone, not showing hostility, just simple curiosity.

"Huh? Yeah... we are," said Mark, not knowing what else to say.

"Oh, that's good... I'd like to have a duel against you to learn, but since we're at a distinguished House Black event I'll wait. Hogwarts starts in a few days," said James.

"I look forward to it," added James with an icy stare at Mark, who for the first time felt a chill run down his spine.

"Wait," Bellatrix said as James was about to leave and go back to Sirius and Regulus.

"You can have that duel now. We have a dueling room ready," Bellatrix added with a slight smile. She was curious to see James' abilities, as she heard many rumors about him. Besides, she would rather watch a duel than be at this boring birthday.

"Sister..." said Narcissa quietly not agreeing with this.

"I don't think it befits the situation, Bellatrix," Druella said.

"Come now, Mother. It's just a simple entertainment for Narcissa's big party," Bellatrix said acting a bit over the top.

"I'll referee. Nothing will happen," she added without backing down.

"Your sister is right, Narcissa. It will only be a formal sparring session. It's classic in our culture. Mark agrees," Lucius said with a faint smile. 'It's the perfect opportunity for them to teach Potter humility.

'I agree?' thought Mark.

"Lucius is right. It will be practice. I want to learn from my Slytherin elders," James said with a slight smile.

"Good... It will be a good event," Narcissa said with no other choice seeing that everyone agreed.

Bellatrix led the way to the manor's dueling hall, which had a large size and bleachers to watch the battle.

All the guests upon hearing of the sudden duel made their way to the hall to witness the combat.

"Your friend just needs five minutes to make trouble..." said Walburga Sirius' mother.

"It'll just be a friendly duel. It will make the birthday more interesting," said Arcturus Sirius' grandfather with a faint smile. He had met James at Lord Potter's conference. He had liked the boy very much. Henry had a perfect successor.

Walburga said no more. If the head of House Black accepted James Potter she could do nothing. For that very reason, she let her two sons go to Potter Manor for the vacations.

She could not deny that the talent shown by James also made her opinion of him rise. It was like watching the growth of a future Dumbledore. Who wouldn't want their son to be friends with a wizard who could reach that caliber?

Everyone knew that Dumbledore was in favor of Muggles, half-bloods, and Muggle-born. However, no extremist wizard dared to show displeasure with him or challenge him. He is the most powerful wizard and is held in great respect for his power alone.

James approached the center of the room. In front of him was Mark with his wand and Bellatrix in the middle of them both with a slightly lazy and slightly interested expression.

"Right... You know the rules get into your positions and say hi," Bellatrix said, playing with her wavy hair.

James and Mark bowed slightly. Then, they each brandished their wands like fencing swords.

"One... Two... Three!" exclaimed Bellatrix.

'Petrificus Totalus!' thought Mark, waving his wand as fast as he could. A yellow flash shot out of his wand at James.

'Take that... Non-verbal magic,' thought Mark with a slightly confident smile. He had studied over the vacations to learn non-verbal magic, and here were its fruits.

James was not surprised by Mark's nonverbal magic. He had already mastered that type of magic in several spells. Petrificus Totalus was not a difficult spell. It was even one of the easiest spells to switch from verbal to nonverbal magic.

'Protego,' thought James, flicking his wand. A translucent barrier protected him. The yellow flash hit the barrier which barely moved. A perfect defense.

'What!?' thought Mark in surprise. He never thought he would see Protego used non-verbally on a boy starting his third year at Hogwarts. All the other guests watching the duel also had surprised faces.

James looked at Mark with disdain. Why was this idiot so surprised? If you studied hard enough you could learn Protego relatively quickly. Sirius, Lupin, Peter, and Toby learned it. You just needed to have self-discipline and study on your own. As for the non-verbal form, it is more difficult, but also not something so surprising.

Hogwarts during these years had different professors with different curricula and some worse professors than others like Eustace. This caused the quality of defensive spells to drop by a large margin. A simple Protego spell had become advanced at Hogwarts.

"Expecto Patronum!" exclaimed James, waving his wand precisely and quickly. He took advantage of Mark's surprise to make his move.

James was to defeat Mark majestically. That it would be etched in the minds of all people watching. He must not humiliate him aggressively as he did Rabastan. The situation does not warrant it. He must show him his place in a sophisticated way.

From his wand emerged a silver, ethereal dragon, majestic and fearsome. The dragon lunged at Mark with a speed and ferocity that seemed palpable.

Mark at the mere sight of an imposing dragon pouncing on him raised his arms in a gesture of protection. It was an instinctive reaction.

Those seconds were all James needed. As the dragon Patronus harmlessly pierced Mark, vanishing in a shower of silver sparks, James took advantage of the distraction.

With a quick and precise movement, he cast a simple: "Expelliarmus" nonverbally.

The red beam of light flew through the air, hitting Mark, who was unable to defend himself. His wand flew out of his hand towards James, who grabbed it in his right hand.

Mark just fell on his butt. James did not send him flying. He controlled the force of his Expelliarmus. This is what is known as class.

The place went silent, as everyone took in everything that just happened in just a few seconds.

"Nice wand," James said, breaking the silence as he looked at Mark's wand which he was still processing the way he lost.

"You should know that a Patronus is harmless... Read a book or two about Patronus and learn something," added James, tossing the wand to Mark and turning around.

'That Patronus was magnificent...' thought Bellatrix who was enchanted by the sight of the huge dragon. She knew it was harmless, but the dragon had an imposing aura. She didn't learn that spell. Why did she want a defensive spell that was only good for defending against stupid dark creatures? She never thought someone would use it to win a fight memorably.

Most of these high society wizards had not seen James' majestic Patronus. Now they saw it, and they wouldn't forget it.

'There you go for wanting to insult him,' Rabastan thought with a faint smile. It was good that someone else there had suffered at James' hands, and he had been humiliated most extraordinarily.

Mark grabbed the wand as he picked himself up off the floor. His cheeks began to heat up, and a red flush appeared. He had never been humiliated in such an extraordinary way.

At the sight of James' unprotected back, a feeling of hatred washed over him. He started to wave his wand, but before he could do anything he felt a punch hit him in the chest and sent him flying into the wall and out of consciousness.

"Tsch, you coward. Attacking from behind," Bellatrix commented with wand in hand. She only needed a second to knock this idiot out.

"Hey, Lucius! You better teach that scum some honor," Bellatrix said, looking at Lucius, who had an ugly expression on his face. They all watched as Mark wanted to attack James, who didn't even turn around and kept walking towards Sirius.