Dueling and Durmstrang

Fond of challenges?

John finally understood. No wonder he had risked his neck touching a dragon's backside. He really did have a knack for getting to the bottom of things.

Once the three had introduced themselves, John also learned where he was.

Scandinavia. Durmstrang was located here, too.

"Edgar, could you take us out of here?"

John asked the question aloud. Heinrich watched him. His features were rather delicate, and his pale cheeks reminded John of that Malfoy kid.

Heinrich suddenly startled him with a compliment. "You're strong."

"Uh... thanks for the compliment," John replied modestly.

But that was not what Heinrich meant. Keeping his eyes fixed on John, he removed his right glove and threw it at John's feet. "I challenge you to a duel."

A duel?!

John froze. Pheobe said angrily, "We saved you!"

"I know. You're a speaker of dragon language, just like Merlin." Heinrich stared at John and said, emphasizing every word, "Defeat me, and I'll tell you how to get back."

Pheobe leaned close to John and whispered in his ear, "Looks like he's set his sights on you."

Perhaps he was imagining it, but John could not shake the feeling that there was a hint of glee in her words.

Pheobe smiled. That settled the score for those sour berries.

Of course, she was not worried that John would lose. His performance against the dragon had already shown how strong he was.

Being targeted by an Edgar was no good thing. They were utterly fanatical madmen.

If John refused, Heinrich might actually leave them to keep wandering around out here.

Wanting to get back as soon as possible, John reluctantly agreed.

A duel.

He thought of Professor Flitwick. Despite his diminutive stature, the professor was a Dueling Tournament champion.

John and Heinrich stood back-to-back, then walked away from each other with their wands in hand.

They counted aloud as they walked. When they reached ten, both attacked at once.

John was faster. With his rapid attack blessing, he opened with a blast of Reducto.

Heinrich reacted quickly, raising a Shield Charm before swiftly counterattacking.

The two traded attacks, looking nothing like students and far more like seasoned fencers.

Their wands were their swords, sending flashes of light flying.

John dodged a minor jinx and raised his hand to cast his highest-level spell.

At the same time, Heinrich unleashed the attack he excelled at most.

"Incendio!" ×2

Two jets of flame erupted and collided, turning into a sea of fire.

John's level-four Fire-Making Spell had met its match, but that was fine. He still had the upper hand.

Orange-yellow flames overwhelmed the opposing blaze. Just before they engulfed Heinrich, John lowered his Smashing Charm to its weakest power and struck him.

"You lost."

John did not attack again. He lowered his left hand and held his right behind his waist.

Heinrich rose in silence. After picking up his wand, he said, "You really are powerful. I lost."

He admitted defeat without hesitation. John smiled faintly. Now he could take them out of here, right?

"I can tell you how to leave. Go to Durmstrang. There's a Floo Network connection you can use."

John considered it and accepted the suggestion. Still, he remembered that Durmstrang was not friendly toward Mudbloods. Would he get beaten up by a mob if he went there?

"Probably not. If I don't say anything, who would know?"

John and Pheobe headed for Durmstrang. With Heinrich leading them, they finally had a way out.

They left Breathless Valley and followed the mountain road.

Unlike John, who had taken the wrong ride, Heinrich had a carriage waiting outside when he emerged from the valley.

"Young Master Heinrich, who are these two?"

The brisk, white-haired butler narrowed his eyes dangerously as he sized up John and Pheobe.

"You don't need to ask so many questions, Rick."

Heinrich disdained giving any further explanation, leaving the old butler Rick no choice but to shut his mouth.

"He actually isn't a house-elf."

John was surprised to see the elderly butler Rick. Almost every pure-blood wizard household had a house-elf.

Compared with hiring someone, a house-elf provided free labor and saved a considerable amount of money.

The Malfoy family, for example, had a house-elf.

Once they boarded, the carriage set off toward Durmstrang.

For some reason, John felt as though Heinrich's eyes never left him.

He discreetly shifted to the left, and Heinrich's gaze moved with him.

He shifted to the right, and Heinrich's eyes followed again.

"Pheobe, what was it you said?"

Pheobe was struggling to hold back her laughter. "Edgar, the strong one's right-hand man."

John felt a headache coming on. Was this Edgar going to latch onto him?

Since when did I qualify as someone strong?

Ugh. How exhausting.

It was supposed to be a holiday. Being forced to keep studying was bad enough. He had only wanted to relax by watching a tournament, yet he had ended up dumped in Breathless Valley and chased by a dragon.

John felt as though his first-year holiday had gone completely down the drain.

The carriage arrived before a castle. This was Durmstrang Castle.

It lacked Beauxbatons' splendor and Hogwarts' sense of history.

It was simply a four-story castle, surrounded by vast grounds and magnificent scenery.

Behind Durmstrang Castle lay a mountain lake, where some students staying at school would strip off and jump in to bathe.

This was an Unplottable location, concealed by magic.

Pheobe had never thought much of the rude Heinrich. Even with his handsome face, he was simply too difficult to like.

After they entered the school, the students remaining at Durmstrang seemed to share her opinion.

They regarded Heinrich with dislike and avoided him at all costs, not even wanting to spare the two outsiders any attention.

His situation was rather similar to Pheobe's, which softened her dislike of him a little.

They came to a fireplace, and Heinrich said, "John. You can get to Crooked Hat Square from here."

"Thank you, Heinrich. If you ever have time to visit Hogwarts, I'll be sure to show you around."

They could finally go back, and John was in excellent spirits.

To his surprise, Heinrich nodded firmly at his words and replied in a low, slightly hoarse voice, "I'll come."

His reaction seemed a little too enthusiastic. For some reason, John felt that they might really have a chance to meet again.

He shook Heinrich's hand in farewell. Then he and Pheobe stepped into the fireplace one after the other and vanished in green flames.

After traveling from Durmstrang to Crooked Hat Square, they found a Portkey. Several transfers later, John and Pheobe finally returned to Beauxbatons.

By the end of the ordeal, both were exhausted in body and mind.

Still, the experience had also brought them closer.

Over the following days, John stayed in the alchemy room, and Pheobe occasionally made cookies and brought them to him.

Eating them left John feeling refreshed and happy. He wondered whether she had added some Veela magic.

One day, John emerged from the alchemy room and stretched, his stiff body cracking.

"At this rate, my body will give out before I finish making the sword."

John decided to go for a morning run before catching up on sleep. When he returned to his room afterward, he found a letter waiting there.

He opened it. It was from Dumbledore.

"Dear John, I hope you are enjoying your holiday. I'm sorry to interrupt it, but I have a small request that I hope you can fulfill."

"Go to Montmorency Street?"

John put down the letter. It seemed this would be his fourth stop.

After getting some sleep, John used Floo Powder to travel to Paris.

Montmorency Street was one of the oldest streets in Paris.

As John walked along it, he sensed something wrong.

Someone seemed to be watching him.

That feeling was not unfounded.

John discreetly used the reflection in a nearby window to spot a man following him.

Perhaps the man thought a little wizard posed no great threat, because he was being remarkably casual.

John sneered. Did he really think I'd be that easy to handle?

He quietly quickened his pace and headed toward a street corner.

The man followed.

"He's gone?"

When the man rounded the corner and found John had vanished, he was startled.

"Stupefy!"

Before he could react, a spell struck him in the chest.

John canceled his Disillusionment Charm and appeared. Looking down at the unconscious man, he used a Levitation Charm to drag him away.