Chapter 15.5- Doom Days

She stumbled backwards from the force of that one and took a stinging hex to the midsection for her inattention. She bent over, nearly retching and I ended things with a disarmer to spare her even more pain. I wanted to say something, but I could see the tears building at her eyes so I just tossed her wand back to her before I waved my wand at her stomach and muttered one of the pain relief spells I’d seen Pomphrey use on Cedric back when he’d returned from getting the scores.

“I’m sorry” She said, when she’d wiped the tears.

“Nothing to apologise for. That was my fault, more like. A stinging hex was the wrong spell to use in that situation. I should have just disarmed you and let that be that. I just saw you lose focus, and the spell came almost instinctively” I explained as I twirled my wand and used another spell to reduce the inflammation. I’d come across this one in one of Flitwick’s memories using the pensieve the room provided. Ali Patil had been one hell of a duelist, I’d thought, on watching her take multiple spells and heal the damage almost instantaneously with waves of her wand. She was also a famous parselmouth so a lot of the spells she used in her healing were only possible because of that talent. One didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what Flitwick wanted me to learn from those memories.

“Can we go again?” She asked instead of replying. I just lifted an eyebrow at the request. Was she insane?

“No. That should have been more than enough data for you to see what you need to improve” I replied instantly.

“It wasn’t. That was over in seconds.”

“Do you expect to last longer this time?” I asked, perhaps unkindly but I did not want to hurt her.

“Just take your stance, Harry’ she said again, echoing her words from the first time around.

I just shrugged and stepped back from where she laid slumped against the wall. She pushed against it to rise and walked forwards as well. This time, I was the one to start things off. Her shield came in time to block my first disarming charm, but this time instead of using a shield breaker, I decided to break her shield the old fashioned way. It would not do for me to get used to using shield breakers since they only tended to work against Protego shields and would fail to achieve anything against any of the other shield charms out there because of their unique arithmantic structures.

I silently chained three stunners with four stinging hexes and smiled when I saw Hermione begin to be forced backwards for the magical backlash after the fourth spell hit. The next spell I used was a blasting charm- bombarda- not to be mistaken with the darker explosion curse, Confringo. The spell hit her shield and shattered it in one swoop, sending her flying backwards. I flicked my wand to summon hers as she had lose her grip on it when she was sent flying backwards.

X-

“Have you found a date to the Yule ball, yet?” Hermione asked.

“You, Flitwick and Mcgonagall are the only people I talk to in this castle, Hermione. I assure you I don’t swing that way, so Flitwick is out, and Mcgonagall had some concerns about the age gap that I couldn’t adequately handle so she’s out as well. Since we both know you have a date, who exactly do you expect me to be going with?” I asked her with a smile.

“Oh hush you. You could have asked me earlier to go as friends and I would have said yes.” She said.

“But then who would poor Neville have taken? You guys are going to have a fantastic time together” I said with a smirk. She nodded at my words but I could still see that glint in her eyes. Of course it was still there. In hindsight, I should have seen this coming. Hermione’s crush on Ron had only built in their final two years when he began to grow up and take more responsibility. It only made sense that since I was in the body of her other best friend and showing some modicum of maturity that she would gain some feelings from it.

“So you’re not going to go with anyone?” She asked.

“Nope. I am working on a plan even now” I replied.

“There’s only a week till the ball. Who are you even going to ask at this last minute, and how are you so certain they haven’t been taken?” She asked.

“She’s rejected everyone who has asked so far, so I have no worries about that. I just have to impress her enough and she’ll say yes” I said.

“You can’t be serious. You want to ask Fleur Delacour?” She asked.

“Fluer Delacour? Of course not. She tried to steal my kill, why would I ever ask her?”

“Then who?”

“Mathilda Mckinnon. She’s a Seventh year Ravenclaw” Hermione’s eyebrow went up instantly.

“I didn’t know you liked them older, Harry”

“Was my crush on Pomphrey not an obvious enough sign? I mean you can’t really believe that I just accidentally happen to get injured that often” I said, enjoying the way she flushed and looked like she was about to throw up. Served her right. Mathilda Mckinnon was a beautiful young woman with ink black hair and an arse you could bounce a galleon off of, but I would have asked her even if she had been some plain doe. Her father was Britain’s representative in the Wizengamot. Her twin elder brothers were powerful wizards with one serving as an Auror, and the other serving as an ICW Hitwizard. That was the kind of family that I would not mind tying myself to when it came to my plans for the future.