The wood whistled through the air before three of the thicker pieces embedded themselves into the man with sickening thuds.
Again, Harry was very surprised that the man could absorb such trauma as he continued firing curses, though he had slowed down noticeably in his efforts. He was now however firing only Blasting Curses, and most were completely off target as the began disintegrating the building they were stood in.
Harry knew there was little he could do as the curses were not just being aimed at himself anymore and the building was now on the brink of collapse.
Sighing, he did the only thing he could in the moment and braced himself as he cast a purple shield around the man.
Dolohov paid no attention to the shield as he fired off another Blasting curse, which simply rebounded off the inside of the shield and smashed into him causing one final almighty explosion as the man was reduced to nothing more than a red mist with a few random body parts left in it's wake.
This was not the only effect, much to Harry's dismay.
The shield also exploded under the strain of the rebounded curse and sent Harry himself flying through the air and through one of the already weakened walls to the outside, covering him in the remains of his opponent in mid flight.
Harry groaned as he laid on the floor and attempted to take stock of himself to ensure that he was not seriously injured.
He was aware of the deep cut and broken shoulder he had suffered and noticed he had a very large slither of wood protruding from the smashed appendage now, but other than that he was mostly unharmed. He grimaced as he sat up and saw that the barn was now nothing more than a pile of destroyed wood, fit for nothing but burning.
He sighed and gritted his teeth as he got up to his feet and noticed a pile of glass vials a short distance away with large chains next to them.
He gave his limp and useless arm a distasteful look as he made his way over, conjuring a bandage and wrapping the limb as best he could, knowing he needed to get it looked at as soon as possible. But first he needed to know what Dolohov had been given prior to their fight.
He knew he had been very mislead and uninformed. He had expected a battle with a purposeful and calculative duelist who would pick his spells carefully and movements he made controlled and graceful.
He had however fought someone of the opposite to what he had anticipated. The man was feral, erratic and had no semblance of control or decorum in his approach. He was completely intent on murdering Harry and did not even consider defending himself, something that Harry had not prepared for.
"Always expect anything" he scolded himself for his certainty as he picked up the first vial and sniffed the inside warily.
"Draught of Rage" he surmised knowingly.
Out of the six containers he managed to identify two more of the solutions; A Strengthening Solution and an Endurance Elixir.
"That's why the bastard didn't tire" he growled.
He knew that the potions were illegal in sanctioned duels, but this hadn't been. He chided himself once more for not thinking of it in the first place and ensuring the man would be advantage free from any type of influence that would give him an edge. 'They must have kept him bound' he concluded as he looked upon the thick iron manacles that had been left behind.
He winced as his shoulder throbbed once more, reminding him that he need to get some medical attention. He was tempted to remove the splinter himself and heal the wounds but he was already feeling dizzy and did not want to risk passing out here and possibly bleeding to death.
He spared one final glance at what remained of the barn in which the duo had fought in before disapparating away, back to the gates of Hogwarts.
(BREAK)
James and the rest of the Marauders had spent the morning waiting in the Great Hall for Harry to return, all of them refusing to attend their lessons until they knew that he was ok. Dumbledore had permitted them to do so, knowing that none of the boys would be able to concentrate in their lessons.
The group had been joined by both Charlus and Dorea shortly after breakfast had finished and they all sat mostly in silence waiting for some news on the outcome of the duel.
As lunch time arrived the nervousness they felt grew to an unbearable level as they watched the rest of the students and staff arrive to eat their next meal of the day.
"Shouldn't it be over by now?" Sirius questioned impatiently, his nerves getting the better of him.
Charlus shook his head worriedly.
"Duels can last for hours and with two really skilled wizards like Harry and Dolohov, we could be here a while" he explained.
It was only a few moments later that the attention of the room was focused on the door as Harry Potter entered, cradling his arm and covered in an obscene amount of blood. "Harry" Dorea yelped and immediately made her way over to the boy.
"I'm ok" Harry assured the distraught woman, holding his hand up to prevent her from hugging him. "Just not the fight I was expecting" he sighed.
The school matron rushed over to him and began running diagnostics as the students and staff of the school looked on in horror at the appearance of the boy.
"What happened Son?" Charlus asked.
Harry shook his head and dragged his hand through his matted hair.
"He was dosed" he answered simply.
"With what?" Charlus demanded angrily. "There were six vials I found after the fight, I only recognised three of them" Harry explained. "Draught of Rage, Strengthening Solution and Endurance Elixir" he listed.
"Bastards" Charlus hissed. "I'll have those shits for this" he vowed.
"Mr. Potter, I need you to come with me immediately, the wounds are not serious at present, but they are rapidly getting worse and you are risking a very severe infection" the matron cut in gravely.
Harry nodded and allowed himself to be led from the room by the woman with Charlus, Dorea and the Marauders in tow, the group shortly being joined by Lily with Bellatrix trailing slowly behind them, a deep look of worry marring her features.
"I'm sorry Miss Evans, but you will have to wait outside for now, I don't want too many people crowding him" the matron explained as they reached the hospital wing. "And you four had better keep your distance also" she warned the Marauders.
"I'm not leaving" James retorted hotly.
.
.
.
👓☕️Consider supporting me and enhance your reading experience with the ready-to-read PDFs I have on my Ko-fi.☕️👓
🎯https://ko-fi.com/cmrowling🎯