The Exam

Dark Arts Classroom, May 22th

"Expecto Patronum!"

Harry felt his wand pulse with energy before a massive spectral figure leaped out of it. The four legged creature raced around the walls of the classroom, snarling and searching for a Dementor to attack. When it found none, it came to stand next to Harry. Its silver, misty, eyes glowing with a profound sense of power.

"Impressive," Romulus said, sounding bored. "What animal is it?"

"A doberman," Harry responded, smiling at his patronus before it slowly faded away to nothing.

Romulus said nothing. "I see. Well, is that it?"

"There is something," Harry said honestly, "but I wasn't able to get it ready in time."

"We've spoken about this before, Mr. Potter," Romulus said, observing his student curiously, "You will not earn the top spot with just the Patronus charm. Perhaps you should show me what you're working on?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but it's just not ready. I don't have anything else to show you." When Professor Rosier remained silent, Harry stood up and made to leave the room.

"Stop."

Harry stopped.

"Professor Rosemburg mentioned that you wish to go back to Hogwarts and compete in the Triwizard Tournament." It was a statement so Harry stayed silent, knowing his professor wasn't finished. "Do you honestly believe that you are good enough to be named the Durmstrang champion Potter?"

"I would represent Durmstrang to the best of my ability," Harry replied confidently.

Romulus looked down at Harry in mild disapproval. "I have no doubt that you will be given one of the spots. Rosemburg has been telling the staff all about your impressive control of conjuring, and Kosarev will not stop raving about your illusion charms. My question is do you simply wish to go to Hogwarts, Mr. Potter, or do you want to become the Durmstrang champion?"

"I don't want to become the Durmstrang champion sir, I want to win the tournament," Harry said emphatically, dropping all pretense of humility.

Silently, Romulus went to his desk and retrieved a piece of parchment from a drawer. "Then you must improve your ability to cast the Dark Arts. You've made noticeable improvements over the last several weeks, but you need to do better. In previous tournaments, the champions have been pitted against creatures of incredible power. Dragons, Chimeras, Manticores, Cockatrices, and Quintapeds have all appeared in the tournament. There was even a discussion once about bringing a Nundu in for a tournament in the 15th century; however, the organizers couldn't quite figure out how to set up a task that would prevent the creature from killing everyone in attendance. Now, do you think you will be able to transfigure or charm creatures such as this? Do you think subtle magic will be enough?"

Personally, Harry thought that Transfiguration and Charms would likely be very useful against such foes, but that wasn't the answer his professor wanted. Instead he shook his head, and did his best not to think of actually having to fight a Nundu one on one. That was a death sentence, not a challenge.

"You will need to use powerful curses to kill or hold off such creatures, Mr. Potter, and I am, of course, forgetting the most dangerous challenge in the tournament, the other contestants. Regardless of what history might say, this tournament does not foster good will between our schools. It is a competition, a means to show the world what school is the best. Don't think for a second that your competitors won't do whatever it takes to win." Romulus extended a piece of parchment to Harry, but did not release it when Harry tried to take it. "This parchment contains dark magic, Mr. Potter. I do not expect you to come back next year fully proficient with all the spells here, but if you truly want to be the Durmstrang champion, you will need to be familiar with at least some of them. You have been hesitant to learn the dark arts in the past, so, I will ask you again, do you want to be the Durmstrang Champion?"

Grim determination ran through Harry's veins. He wanted everyone at Hogwarts to see just how much stronger, smarter, and talented he had become. So, ignoring the slight feeling of discontent at the back of his head, Harry took the list from his professor. "Like I said, sir, I don't want to be the Durmstrang champion, I want to win."

Romulus watched as his student left the room, a pleased expression on his face.