14 Chapter 14

Harry dodged another spell. The Duelling room in Potter Castle was littered with paint. But Harry didn't care as he dodged every paintball that came his way. Finally, after an hour of dodging spells, he took a break and sat down on the bench. "How did I do?" he asked.

Toby looked at his notes and said "It was better this time Master Hadrian. Only two hits in the last hour, better than last time. But Toby thinks you need practice until you can dodge without getting hit even once."

Harry exhaled and nodded. He hadn't told anyone except Daphne that he going to take part in the Under-13 International Duelling Championship in Paris this summer. He wanted it to be a surprise to them, as everyone thought they were going to Paris for a vacation and nothing more. Harry was more than well trained in casting spells, so he spent all his time in perfecting his accuracy and dodging spells.

It had been two weeks since he had come back from Hogwarts. In those two weeks, aside from training, he was hopping from Sirius to the Greengrasses. He had found out from Sirius that he had not cut off all contact from Remus Lupin, but they had decided on a tentative friendship and see how things work out. Sirius also mentioned that they didn't discuss Harry; the less the werewolf knew about Harry's activities, the less he could tell Dumbledore. Harry was compelled to tell his godfather about Lupin showing Dumbledore the memory of the meeting but later decided against it. As long as Lupin didn't know what Harry was up to, it didn't matter. Besides, it's not like he confided in Sirius anyway, so his godfather could not accidently reveal information to the werewolf.

Finally, on July 27th, Harry, Sirius, Amelia and the four Greengrasses found themselves at the International Floo Terminal. The group entered the large fireplace and waited. After several seconds, there was an emerald fire and soon they found themselves in the Magical Customs office in Paris. Once they were all cleared, they took a portkey to the Greengrass home in the city.

Astoria was really excited so they went to the Magical Shopping district of Paris. Witches and Wizards didn't have a problem with languages as there were translation spells for reading and potions for speaking. Unfortunately, they didn't last too long, so people who travelled all the time on business or for education had to keep taking the potion. They all bought some souvenirs and ate at the best restaurants in the city.

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"Really?" asked Harry in wonder. "There are no magical hotels at all, anywhere in the world?"

"No, not really. People usually are content with spending their night in the local wizarding inn and carry on. There are restaurants of course, but not hotels like the ones you are talking about" said Cyrus.

Harry's mind was calculating at a furious pace. If he could start acquiring some properties in a few countries and start an International Wizarding Hotel with luxury amenities, a new industry could be created. He would definitely talk to Lord Rangok about this along with the other mirror business he had mentioned months ago.

The birthday party for Harry was a blast. Everyone had given gifts based on the boy's interests; Harry had gotten books and a state of the art duelling dummy. He looked at Daphne with wide eyes. She just whispered that she hadn't told anyone about it, but she had told her parents that Harry enjoyed duelling. It was Sirius's gift that had surprised him again.

"Padfoot? How in Merlin's name did you know about this?" he asked in disbelief. In front of him was a box with seven luxury watches in them; one for every day of the week. Harry had been drooling over them ever since he saw them from outside the window of a shop in Muggle London. He found himself strangely obsessed with the number seven but didn't give it much thought.

"I have my ways. I've charmed them to be feather-light, unbreakable and there is a serious anti-theft charm on it too. What do you think?" he asked grinning.

Harry went over and hugged his godfather. "I love it, thank you" he said.

When Harry went to bed that night, he felt his heart hammering in his chest. He knew he was mentioned in modern history books all over the world for being the only known survivor of the killing curse, so quite a few people were bound to recognise his name. Tomorrow was the championship, and he hoped that he wouldn't make a fool of himself.

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Harry got up early on the first of August to meditate. He spent the next several hours on his Occlumency so that he could remember all the spells and techniques he had practiced. Daphne had convinced everyone that she wanted to see the Duelling championship. Amelia and Sirius were immediately game, as both of them had been Aurors and the rest agreed. Harry was mostly quiet that morning, and they all went to the championship stadium in Paris. Daphne hugged him, wished him luck and told him that she would manage the gang. Taking a deep breath, Harry entered the counter for the participants.

The person in charge asked, "Name and country?"

"Hadrian James Potter, Magical Britain" he said in a calm voice.

"Potter. Potter. Ah, here we are. You're already registered, good. Just sign here, please. Here's your tag, submit your wand for inspection in the booth inside. Good luck. Next!"

Harry entered the tent and looked around. There were witches and wizards from all over the world, and they all looked, frankly terrified. Harry could understand. They were basically kids of the age of thirteen and below, without their parents, in a foreign land and were going to be in front of a thousand people soon. He put on his name tag and went to submit his wand.

A French wand maker was inspecting the wands. When Harry reached her, he gave his wand to her. Because of the translation potion he didn't have a problem communicating with her. "Hm, I feel like I've seen this wand before. British, oui? Then it surely must be the work of Mr Ollivander. 14 inches and rigid; Made of Yew; containing; dear me! This is the famous Nundu heartstring wand! You're definitely one to watch out for. Good luck Mr-" Her eyebrows rose when she saw his nametag. "Well, it looks like the media hasn't caught up yet. Good luck Mr Potter" she said.

Harry accepted his wand and muttered his thanks to her. He did not want the media to find out about this. He took deep breaths to calm himself. He looked at the list of duels and his heart skipped a beat. It looked like he was up first!

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Daphne was outside, convincing everyone that Harry would be back soon. They were all seated and they could see the duelling platform clearly.

"Where's Harry? It's going to start soon!" said Astoria anxiously.

Before anyone could say more, the lights dimmed and the host stepped onto the podium. "Ladies and Gentlemen" he began in French, but the group could all understand what he was saying. "Welcome to the Under-13 International Duelling Championship for the year 1992! We're going to have our preliminary rounds today, and those who qualify will be eligible for tomorrow's tournament. Those who qualify for the Quarter Finals in the morning will take part in the Simi Finals that afternoon. The winners of the Semi-Finals will take part in the Finals that night. So shall we begin?" he asked and the crowd roared. The adults were worried that Harry still hadn't shown up.

"Our first match is between Mr Adonis of Greece and Mr Hadrian Potter of Britain. Let's give them a big round of applause" he said.

When Harry entered the arena, the entire group except Daphne had their jaws on the floor. This was something they had never expected. Sirius was so shocked he couldn't from words. Before they could react, Harry and his opponent greeted each other and took their positions.

Harry stood before his opponent. He extended his left leg forward, his left arm raised for balance, his wand was pointed 60 degrees away from his opponent and his face was expressionless and back straight. This was a stance he had worked on. It provided as a means of both defence and offence, depending on his move. Harry's opponent took an offensive position. The boy was going to strike the second he was ready. His wand was pointed at Harry, so he would use a spell that didn't require any elaborate wand movements. The best bet was either the Disarming or Stunning spell, mused Harry.

"The rules are simple. No lethal spells can be used, and unforgivable curses are banned. The duel ends when the other party is incapacitated or yields. Get ready. BEGIN!"

As Harry had predicted, the Greek boy shouted "Expelliarmus!"

A red jet of light headed towards Harry, but he neatly dodged it. "Langlock; Expelliarmus; Stupefy"

The three silent spells hit the mark. His opponent's tongue got stuck to the roof of his mouth, his wand flew out of his hand and the stunner hit him in the chest. The boy dropped to the ground unconscious. The stadium was quiet. No one had ever expected or seen a twelve-year-old boy perform non-verbal magic.

The host recovered quickly and said, "Amazing! That was an impressive display of non-verbal magic! The winner is Mr Hadrian Potter of Britain". The crowd roared and clapped for who many recognised now as the Boy Who Lived. Harry bowed to them and exited the arena.

Amelia Bones was the fastest to recover. "That was brilliant! It was the simplest spell chain one could use. It makes sure that unless you can cast spells non-verbally, you can't defend yourself against the Disarming and Stunning spells after you have been hit by the tongue locking jinx. Very simple, but efficient" she said smiling.

Sirius started laughing. "I can't believe he got one over us all! I mean, he must have been practicing for months and we never realised this. This was the reason he wanted to come to Paris. Impressive kiddo" he said.

"You knew, didn't you? That's why you kept telling us not to worry about him" said Elizabeth looking at her daughter.

Everyone turned to look at Daphne who nodded. "He told me about five months ago. He didn't want to tell anyone because he wanted to surprise you all. Looks like he did!" she said grinning.

They all watched as the rest of Round One was finished in quick succession, but so far no one else could do non-verbal casting. Once the last duel was over, "There are twenty four duellists who have qualified for round two. This round will be held this evening. Thank you" said the host.

Harry came over to them, grinning from ear to ear. "So, were you surprised?" he asked cheekily.

"Damn Harry where on Earth did you learn silent casting?" asked Sirius.

"That's something I've been doing from the beginning actually. Tracy and Daphne have seen me do that since our first train ride to Hogwarts. So, what do you think?" asked Harry.

"Well, as much as I want to yell at you for not informing us, I can't. I really hope you win Harry" said Amelia.

Harry smiled. He was not alone. He had people who cared about him. He took Daphne's hand and the group left for lunch.

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Harry blasted through Round Two as well. Since it was Under-13, the duels took very little time. But he had to admit, the competitor he faced was good for her age, but Harry was a lot better. Harry hit her with a few jinxes to which the girl shielded against, but was eventually defeated when Harry cast the Auguamenti charm, soaking her to the bone, and stunning her to end the duel.

The Quarter Finals had 12 participants. Here Harry decided to dodge rather than fire. His opponent was quickly getting tired after firing so many spells, and he took advantage of that and fired a stunner when the opponent had just stopped firing spells, ending the duel.

The Semi Finals were much better in Harry's opinion. There were six duellists. If Harry won this round, he would be automatically qualified for the finals because of his record of wins. The other five would have to fight in another round and the winner would join him in the Finals.

His opponent in the Semi Finals was a boy from Brazil. The boy was cautious as he knew Harry was a fierce opponent. He dodged spells as well, and instead of the usual spells, used a mixture of different charms in his arsenal. It definitely worked, as Harry got hit once when he least expected it, but managed to overcome his opponent, by using his advanced knowledge of charms against him.

The Finals were between Harry and a girl from Japan. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the finals of the Under-13 International Duelling Championship! We have today our two finalists-Akeno Hana from Japan and Hadrian Potter from Britain! Both have proved that they are way ahead of their peers in terms of magical knowledge. We will now see who will win. Take your places. Get ready. BEGIN!"

But to the crowd's surprise, neither party fired any spells. Harry had observed this girl. She, like him, was a powerful observer. While Harry used non-verbal casting and advanced knowledge to win, she used her knowledge to set a trap. And he wasn't going to fall for it. They were circling each other like a pair of tigers.

After several seconds, Harry decided to lay a trap of his own. He took his wand behind his back and started shifting it between his hands. The girl didn't know that he was ambidextrous. He could use that to his advantage. She would probably shift her focus to the hand where he was holding his wand. If he could fool her and attack with the other, she would be thrown off guard. The crowd watched in confusion as Harry shifted his wand from one hand to the other, the entire time keeping it away from his opponent's eyes.

Amelia's eyes narrowed in calculation. This wasn't a technique she had seen before. Just then Harry suddenly attacked. The girl had expected for him to fire with his right hand as she had seen it twitch, and that was where she had aimed her spell. But she figured out too late that Harry was using his left hand. She dodged but was caught. Painful boils erupted on her upper arm. He was toying with her, she thought furiously.

Harry smirked as he dodged another spell coming his way. She sent a barricade of spells his way, but he switched to transfiguration, one of his favourites in a duel. He conjured a huge bunch of leaves with sticky sap and banished them towards her. The girl set the leaves on fire and banished them back at Harry. Harry expected this and used the Auguamenti charm to put off the fire and create a ball of water, a very impressive feat of magic. He pushed it above the ground where it was rotating at a fast rate using a smart array of quick runes.

He then cast a barricade of spells that the girl dodged. The girl wanted to end it and deal with the water bubble, so she said something in Japanese and a white beam of light shot out of her wand. Harry cast a stunning spell and both spells connected. Flashes of light could be seen as white and red clashed against each other. After a few seconds, Harry let go of the spell, dodged, looked at the ball of water suspended above, and slashed his wand in the air. The water fell directly on top of the girl below. Harry immediately took his chance and fired the spell chain he had used in the first duel. His opponent lay unconscious on the floor.

The audience was stunned. "What a spectacular display of the various branches of magic and sheer brilliance for one so young! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE WINNER OF THE UNDER-13 INTERNATIONAL DUELLING CHAMPIONSHIP OF 1992 IS MR HADRIAN JAMES POTTER OF BRITAN! Congratulations Mr Potter! And congratulations to our runner-up Miss Hana of Japan!" said the host.

The arena was cleared and the Minister of Magic of France came up to them to give them the cash prizes and trophies. A smaller trophy was given to the runner up and Harry was given the larger one. The crowd roared and several people took pictures as he hoisted his cup in the air, and Harry Potter couldn't control his tears. He wasn't a worthless freak; he wasn't a waste of space. He had achieved something in life. He had risen from the small boy crying in a cupboard to the U-13 International Duelling Champion of 1992. He looked at the proud faces of his friends and family. Family he thought with a smile as he looked at Daphne. He was happy, very happy indeed.

There was a large party thrown for Harry that night. Cyrus got them all several plates of French food and a bottle of non-alcoholic wine for the kids. After a few hours, they decided to go to bed.

Harry and Daphne stood at the door of their rooms as the adults went to their rooms. She hugged him tightly. "I'm so proud of you" she whispered in his ear.

"I'm proud of myself too. I'm not worthless anymore" he said.

Daphne pulled back and cupped his cheek. "You never were worthless Harry. Don't ever say something like that. You're a special boy, and I'm proud to even know you let alone be betrothed to you. I told you before, you're never alone. I'm always here by your side" she said softly.

Harry smiled slightly as he hugged Daphne to his chest. "Good night" he whispered. Daphne leaned up and kissed his cheek and said, "Sweet dreams" and went to her room which she shared with Astoria. Harry touched his cheek, stunned and blushed. He went to the room and lay down on the bed.

The next morning after having breakfast, the group headed to the International Floo Terminal to return to Britain. Once back the group said their goodbyes to each other and Harry portkeyed to Potter Castle.

He proudly kept the large trophy in his study. The portrait of his great-grandfather was grinning from ear to ear, saying that there was another Duelling champion in the Potter family. Harry smiled and went to his room to get some more sleep.

Two days later, the news broke out. Harry's face was grinning from the front page of the Daily Prophet as he held the trophy. The picture was clearly taken just after he had been given the cash prize and trophy.

BOY WHO LIVED WINS UNDER-13 INTERNATIONAL DUELLING CHAMPIONSHIP

It had surprisingly detailed information, not to mention truthful for once, which Harry was grateful for. It described his ability at silent casting, about how he used a wide variety of spells, charms and transfiguration to win the duels. They had also mentioned his ball of water which he had used runes to make it spin and float. He was surprised to read that Professor Flitwick had been present to watch the Semi-Finals and the Finals. He had said that Harry was a very gifted child and that he was confident he would one day win the rest of Duelling Championships as well.

He idly wondered what Albus Dumbledore's reaction would be that his pawn was training to defend himself. He chuckled to himself as he indulged in the image of old Albus destroying his office in anger. Harry didn't know that his mark was a bull's eye.

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Albus Dumbledore stood as he looked at his destroyed office. The Sorting Hat sat amused as it watched the spectacle before him. Harry Potter had promised him entertainment and it looked like he had delivered. The hat wondered, not for the first time if he should have sorted the boy in Slytherin.

Albus sat down in his chair and fumed. How dare his pawn do this? He was now an International Duelling Champion? Remus had never told him anything about this. He knew that Harry was going to Paris of course, and he had tried to talk to Sirius to convince him not to leave Britain for Harry's safety. But alas! Sirius had not listened to him.

He needed to do something to get his weapon back under his thumb. He needed Harry to realise that he could turn into the public's enemy as well. What to do? His informants had informed him that Lucius Malfoy was making a move because of Arthur Weasley's Muggle Protection Act. Maybe he would wait for a few months to see what the man could come up with. If it didn't affect Harry, Albus himself would have to come up with something. Damn that brat for putting Severus in Azkaban. Things would have been much easier with him around.

What had also not gone his way was the unexpected betrothal contract between Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass. He had been caught so completely out of the blue. He had plans of Harry marrying Ginny Weasley so that he could access the various books and artefacts of the Potter family. He didn't care much for gold, he didn't need it, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to not take so much gold when it was available. But knowledge and secrets of a family as immensely old as the Potters was something he could not pass up; he could even get the third Deathly Hallow as well. When he had inspected it, he found that it didn't work properly for him. He had come to the conclusion that while the blood of Ignotus Peverell still flows, the invisibility cloak would not work for him. So after Tom kills Harry, he could become the owner of the third Hallow and become the Master of Death. But it looked like those plans were not going to bear fruit as he could not control the next of kin in case of the Greengrasses or worse Sirius Black. He hadn't been able to take money from Harry's vault either – James Potter might have been a Gryffindor, but he had definitely been a cunning bastard worthy of being a Slytherin. Then again, he was raised by Dorea Potter who was a former Slytherin herself and a Black to boot.

He had also finally retrieved the Philosopher's stone from its hiding place. He had told the Flamels that it had been destroyed in Quirrell's attempt to steal it. They had surprisingly agreed with him and said it was for the best. It was only after trying to make lead to gold did he realise that he had been tricked. The stone was a fake, and the next day he had received a letter from his former mentors telling him to never contact them again. What a mess!

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