Ch. 126 Viktor and Fleur

It was a pleasant November morning, with the fresh air, the dew covered grass and rising sun.

And on this morning, a small group of young men and women were running around the Black Lake. This group was obviously myself, Christian, Viktor and my little successors.

Christian was actually quite happy to have the chance to exchange tips with Viktor about Quidditch. Although they played different positions, they were both incredibly talented flyers and appreciated each other's insights into the sport. Krum was both surprised and disappointed that Christian had rejected quite a few offers to join professional teams, and that he wouldn't be able to compete against my friend on the highest levels of the game. They did promise to organize some friendly plays during his stay here however.

Ron was still fanboying over the guy and was very excited to hear that he would come and train at the club during his stay. The kid also felt justified that Fleur was actually part Veela, but i strictly told him at least try to keep focused around her since she hates when people lust after her.

Although I couldn't personally duel against this new friend of mine, it would cause too much of a stir if a champion straight up bested another, Christian was quite happy to do it. Hence why I was acting as the referee, it being well within my rights as the president of the club to do so. The impromptu event gathered many students wishing to see how Viktor Krum would hold up against the Beast of Ravenclaw.

The duel would be held on our combat arena. So instead of basically dueling on a fencing platform, which is how we teach etiquette and basic skills, this is more of a tennis court. It is about twice the size of a normal court, without any lines obviously. This gives room for both duelers to move and properly use more advanced spells, while simulating a more realistic fight environment.

"This will be an exhibition between the two of you. There will be no permanent damage done on either side. This means no Dark Arts, no explosions and no severing. The match will end when I declare it or when both of you have decided who should be the winner." I announce before the two separate and head to their respective positions.

I move away from the inside of the ring, to the referees position. I then take a deep breath and focus some magic into my eyes and brain, letting me basically speed up my processing speed and eyesight to ridiculous levels. This will allow me to know exactly what is going on during the duel.

"BEGIN!"

Immediately after I yelled, Christian burst into action. He shot a standard combination of Stun, Disarm and Stun, which had been practiced so much it had nearly become one move for three spells.

The trio rushed towards Krum as if my friend was aiming to end the match right there. Knowing that blocking such a combo wouldn't end well, Krum dove out of the way and combat rolled back on his feat a bit unstably but well enough to begin his own attack. His volley involved mixing slight transfiguration into his spellwork, starting with a Jelly-leg, Vision dimming, then forming ankle height walls in Christian's path as he was about to cast another series of spells.

Unfortunately, my friend is called the Best for a reason.

Christian instantly knew he would be in trouble if he continued moving in his set direction, so he hit the breaks, tilted his body backwards to dodge the first attack, then continued his momentum as he did a backwards handspring to head in the opposite direction of the trap. What was even more impressive was that he managed to shoot a quick Stunner during the handspring, using only one hand to flip himself upright, effectively stopping Viktor's continued assault.

This time I could see an excited grin on Christian's face as he looked at his opponent. Since Krum decided to mix transfiguration into his spells, he decided to do the same.

The spell chain for his attack was interesting. He started with Tarantallegra, shot a spell behind where Krum was dodging towards, shot a Jelly-Brain Jinx which hit him head on, then did a quick s motion with his wand, causing the area he had shot a spell on before to sprout snaking vines and making them grab onto Krum's left leg.

This was a very effective combination since he slowed down Viktor's reaction time just enough to lock him down.

Without enough time to free himself, Krum did the only thing he could at the moment: attack.

Avis was his opener, using the conjured birds to blind Christian and block spells momentarily. He then started to spam the Deprimo charm, forming holes around my friend in the hopes of limiting his options, followed by a slew of Stunner and Disarming charms.

But this only excited Christian. And it looked like the duel would end soon since his feral smile appeared.

(Chibi Me Time)

'Just to give a quick explanation. Each one of my friends has adapted a part of my own dueling skills and methods into themselves, turning it into a complete style, unique to themselves.

James has obviously internalized my defensive abilities.

Victoria has followed my flexibility and power.

While Christian harnessed my dynamic and physical aspects.

He now focuses on dodging and strong, targeted attacks against his opponents. And he honed his skills and instincts while fighting three very powerful duelers, sometimes running dodging drills with two of us targeting him. That is to say, his dodging alone is nearing the limits of what a human is supposed to reach.

Then I taught him how to empower his body and speed up his mind using magic.

That is how he really earned the title of Beast amongst us.'

(Chibi end)

I could see a dull blue glow in his eyes as he enhanced his reflexes and body. And just when the spells were about to hit, his body moved barely enough to let it slip past him. One after another, the spells continued to slip past Christian as he only moved the minimal amount to make it seem like it would hit. It was like a magic show amidst true magic.

This display left Viktor feeling truly stunned, even forgetting about shooting more spells as he stared at my friend.

Seeing this, I decided to call the match.

"I think we can end it on this note. You both showed great skill and restrained yourselves properly." I say with a happy smile as I remove the vines binding Viktor's leg, fix the holes in the ground and remove any signs of transfiguration on the dueling ring.

Cheers erupted from outside the ring as students broke out of their looks of reverence. They had seen the skills of a Durmstrang student against one of the best, and it was very satisfying to watch. It was also an inspiring and valuable experience for many young duelers to see such a display of skill.

Although Christian was a bit pouty about having his fun cut short, he knew that when he got serious the fight would end quickly. This isn't overconfidence, it's simply a fact. Outside of our group, only a few extremely skilled master Duelers could stop my friend once he goes full throttle.

Professor Flitwick being the only confirmed person capable of doing this so far, but Christian has been closing the gap fast. I have no doubt Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape would also give him quite the fight/beating.

Viktor however, was already going to lose,. Christian just wanted to go all out because of his excitement. He had already limited his power output, didn't use any modded spells, and only used a little bit of his favorite plant magics. This would have just reduced the guys chances of winning to absolute zero.

The two met up in the center and gave each other a firm handshake in acknowledgment of their skills, then they began their own bromance. (Armstrong would be proud TvT)

I then felt a little bug leave, making me smile a little more.

This was our interesting event on Viktor's side, now to Fleur.

Fleur was a lot more interested in the Exchange than in the club. She found the concept to be quite progressive. A student run help center, designed to help others and foster positive growth in character and ability.

Needless to say she showed a great deal of interest. But it was unfortunate her presence was basically kryptonite for the nerdy types, the slower types, and the nice guy types. It made them all short-circuit.

So we set up a kind of special class for those able to resist her passive aura, in the hopes of making actual friends. It was only a few people, but it was better than nothing.

I also started the training I had thought of before our crowning as champions.

"Like you've most likely realized from my appearance and my little scolding of Gabrielle, I possess creature blood within me." I began the lesson with, speaking in French since it's just myself, Fleur and Gabrielle at the moment.

"What is it? It has to be strong for it to be such a powerful aura." Excitedly asked Gabrielle as her curiosity got the better of her.

"Gabrielle! That is not a proper thing to ask." Her sister scolded, making the little girls head drop down.

"That's quite alright. Honestly speaking I was planing to reveal a few things after my graduation, one of them being related to your question Gabrielle." I reply with a little chuckle.

Which is true. Dumbledore already knows, so does Ollivander, Moody, Mother, Tilly, Susan, Harry, my friends, and a few trusted Goblins, so making it public wont really affect me much. I have more than enough strength to protect myself and my family now. And I believe that after proving myself a few times, many will cease to have any thoughts regarding Sol. So I had planned to really take charge of everything with a bang and revealing my unique girl.

"So what is it?" Asked the sparkly-eyed little girl with great expectations.

"When I was little, I suffered a wound which should have killed me. But I was saved by a young Phoenix after she shared her blood with me. This caused many changes within me, such as the aura you experienced and a gift for fire related spells." I explained in a very watered down version of events.

It is not a lie, just an omittance of facts. There was no need nor reason for me to tell these two girls everything.

"Oh my god!" Fleur gasped," You have a phoenix?"

"Yes I do, but that is still mostly a secret. For now I want to focus on a few things for you two: you aura, fire and illusions. To that end, I asked my friend to come and help out. He's the best charm's caster besides our Professor and myself, but his knowledge on them might surpass us." I say with a confident smile.

"One of your friends is it? Certainly not the one they call the Beast. So either the one called the Queen or the Saint then." Fleur said as she wondered aloud. "Oh well, it matters not as long as they are not swayed by me."

"Do not worry about that. All three of their minds are far too well defended for you to affect them. I made sure of that." I reply with a little pride in my voice.

"Oh? Sounds like a challenge monsieur Raven." She said with mischief in her eyes.

"You can go ahead and try, but you'll be quite disappointed. He'll be helping me when teaching about illusions, charming techniques and the mind arts. The aura and fire will be all me since I have both of these through my bloodline as well." I explained rather simply.

"If you're better than why are you asking for his help?" Gabrielle curiously asked.

"Although I am a better caster, my friend has a deep passion for charms and enchantments. He is very likely to know many spells I have simply overlooked since I spend much of my time improving upon what I learn." I answered the little one.

"That is a surprise. I've heard that you are the best in everything." Commented Fleur this time.

"That is a difficult title to claim. If you mean in a practical sense, then the only thing I am not the best at would be flying. But my friends each have an area of expertise they go beyond me in. Christian lives Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures, James devours anything that has to do with making magic, and Victoria is the most dedicated healer I've ever heard of." I reply sincerely.

"Then I look forward to working with him. From what I have heard, he his a true gentleman." The young woman said with a nod.

"That he is."

James arrived shortly after that, letting us start our first lesson.

I tried to explain that since they are part Veela, this should mean that there is a representation of that within themselves. This piece is what gives them their inborn gifts. And the first step to controlling it properly lies in truly becoming one with it. They have to accept it before they can learn to use it. Can't learn how to wield a wand if you don't pick it up.

Once they can achieve this, controlling their auras, flame and illusions will be a lot easier.

Since this was the first time we've met up, the progress wasn't explosive. Most of the practical improvements were in the field of charms and illusions, but it still helped. When it came to that, I was in charge of coaching Gabrielle due to my experience with Susan, while James worked with Fleur.

The private lesson went well overall. Fleur is a very driven young woman, capable of earnestly accepting criticism and striving to improve herself. Gabrielle is just very excited to be able to learn actual magic ahead of her peers, since her young age makes people force her to focus on less fun things. Although it was very basic magic, I basically set it up so it would train her core properly, setting a solid foundation for her future.

As we all said our goodbyes and set our next session, I once again felt a little bug leave the room.

'I hope she's getting enough dirt because I'm going to ruin her thoroughly.' I thought with a devilish grin on my face.