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Lately, Augustus had been busier than ever. Besides spending hours each day devouring books in the library and helping Slytherin students who came to him with all sorts of complicated questions, his duties as the Secret Prefect had officially started too.
To be honest, the job wasn't all that intense—mainly just settling disputes between Slytherin students—but with Christmas just around the corner, all the new students were getting restless. That meant both Augustus and Lillian had their hands full as Secret Prefects.
Sitting in the Great Hall, Malfoy stared at Harry—who was calmly eating at the Gryffindor table—with a look of total disbelief.
He had assumed that, after being dragged away by Professor McGonagall the day before, Harry would be on his way back to the Muggle world by now.
"This Potter kid—he thinks he can get away with anything just 'cause the teachers like him," Malfoy muttered bitterly. "He messed up big time and still got off scot-free. If I told my dad about this and he wrote a letter to the school board, I bet Potter would be shipped back to his Muggle dump in no time."
"Draco, you're not a kid anymore," Augustus said with a half-smile. "You can't rely on your dad for everything. If you've got that much of a problem with Harry, why don't you handle it yourself?"
"Handle it myself?" Malfoy repeated, sounding a bit lost. Then suddenly, like a lightbulb went off, he smacked the table.
"That's it! I'll challenge him to a duel—a real wizard duel!" He was clearly fired up, probably picturing the intense duels he'd seen Augustus take part in.
Before Augustus could say anything, Malfoy jumped to his feet and headed straight for Harry.
Augustus rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. He couldn't believe one offhand comment had led Malfoy to this. Talking to that guy could really be a challenge sometimes.
Not long after, Malfoy came back looking thrilled. "Harry agreed! Midnight tonight, in the Trophy Room! We're gonna have a real wizard duel. Can you be the witness? Trust me, this'll be over fast!"
Looking at Malfoy's excited face, Augustus hesitated for a second, then nodded. He figured the duel would probably be pretty lame, but since he'd accidentally started the whole thing, he might as well be there to make sure nothing went wrong.
By 11:30 that night, Augustus checked the time and left his dorm early. When he got to the Slytherin common room, he noticed two sneaky-looking shadows behind a chair—Malfoy and Crabbe, obviously scheming something. They stopped whispering as soon as they saw Augustus.
"Let's go," Augustus said coolly.
Malfoy nodded, and the three of them left the cold, dark underground common room beneath the Black Lake, heading up the floating staircases.
They moved quickly and quietly through the corridors, moonlight pouring through the tall windows and casting long beams of light across the floor.
Every time they turned a corner, Malfoy flinched, half-expecting to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris. Luckily, their luck held.
They climbed the stairs and slipped silently down the third-floor hallway, heading for the Trophy Room. The glass display cases gleamed in the moonlight, filled with trophies, shields, medals, and statues shining in silver and gold.
Coming from the opposite direction, tiptoeing into the room, were Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville.
"I thought we agreed—just one assistant each, and Augustus as the witness. Why are there four of you?" Malfoy snapped when he saw Hermione and Neville.
"We ran into them on the way. They insisted on coming. Ron and I couldn't stop them," Harry shrugged helplessly.
"Alright, you two, get started already—it's late," Augustus interrupted before Malfoy could keep arguing. Honestly, sneaking out in the middle of the night to watch two kids duel was ridiculous enough. If they kept bickering, he wasn't sure how long his patience would last.
Under Augustus's direction, Harry and Malfoy stepped onto a clear spot in the Trophy Room. Augustus drew a fiery red circle on the ground with his wand, enclosing them inside.
As Ron counted down, both Harry and Malfoy raised their wands.
"Three, two, one... go!"
"Tarantallegra!" Malfoy struck first. After a few of Augustus's unofficial duel lessons, he understood how important it was to make the first move. His plan was simple: hit Harry's legs to stop him from dodging, then follow up with a more powerful spell that took longer to cast. It was a basic combination of spells—a concept Augustus had drilled into him. Malfoy now understood the value of following up one spell with another.
Harry, clearly in his first real duel, didn't even react in time. Malfoy's spell hit him straight on, and his legs started flailing wildly in a ridiculous dance. Struggling to aim while dancing, Harry managed to lift his wand and shouted, "Avis!"
A flock of cawing black birds burst from Harry's wand and flew straight at Malfoy, blocking his view.
The swarm of birds totally messed up Malfoy's line of sight and broke his rhythm. He cursed under his breath—turns out Harry had decent instincts, using a distraction to deal with the situation.
"Silencio!" Malfoy aimed blindly, firing off another spell at where he remembered Harry had been standing. This was the second part of his spell chain, and it worked. Since Harry was still stuck dancing in place, he got hit again. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out—he couldn't cast anymore.
Malfoy was just about to launch the third and final spell in his combo—the finisher that would end the duel—when Augustus suddenly stepped in. A flash of silvery light, like a Finite Incantatem amplified, shot between Harry and Malfoy, wiping away all the magical effects in an instant.. The boys stared at each other, confused.
"Filch is coming. He's on the second floor," Augustus said calmly.
Nobody asked how Augustus knew that—both Harry and Malfoy just accepted it without question.
"So... does that mean Malfoy won?" Hermione asked as they all began retreating to the far end of the hall. "His last spell hit Harry, and Harry couldn't fight back after that."
"Yeah, that's right," Augustus said with a nod. Honestly, he was a bit impressed with how Malfoy had put the lessons to use so effectively.
Malfoy shot Harry a smug look. Harry didn't say a word.
They had only taken a few steps when they suddenly heard a doorknob rattle. Something shot out of a nearby classroom—it was Peeves.
The poltergeist caught sight of them and squealed with glee.
"Students out of bed!" Peeves shouted gleefully. "Students out of bed in the Charms corridor!"
Augustus raised his wand and fired a jet of black light at Peeves. Whatever that spell was, it scared the poltergeist senseless—he screamed and bolted in the opposite direction.
But clearly, Peeves' shout had been enough to guide Filch like a beacon. The sound of footsteps on the stairs got louder and louder.
"This way!" Augustus whispered, pointing down the hallway.
Without hesitation, they all took off running.
"....."