Draco the weakling

Harry and Draco stood at opposite ends of the dueling platform, staring at each other. Neither rushed to cast a spell. Mostly, that was because these two rookies barely knew any offensive magic.

Harry had memorized more than half the spells in his elementary Charms textbook and mastered a little under half of them. But the first-year textbook only contained a handful of spells to begin with, and not a single one was meant for actual combat.

Harry himself only knew the most basic Disarming Charm and a Stunning Spell. Everything else was everyday magic. Draco, however, came from a wizarding family, and Harry was a little worried that he might have some nasty trick up his sleeve.

What Harry did not know was that Draco was just as nervous as he was.

Did Draco know offensive magic? Yes. How many spells did he know? In truth, only two!

One was the same basic Disarming Charm Harry knew. The other was something Snape had taught him a few days earlier, while giving a handful of Slytherin students private lessons in dueling magic...

"Levicorpus!" Draco was the first to lose his nerve. Unable to spot an opening-even though he did not actually know what an opening looked like-he simply hurled a spell at Harry. A streak of red light shot toward him.

Why was he opening with a spell I've never even heard of?

Harry was utterly baffled. Although he had not mastered many spells, he knew of quite a few. Since starting school, he had leafed through plenty of hefty books and biographies, coming across all sorts of spell names and incantations.

Of course, an incantation alone was not enough to cast a spell. It also required the right wrist movements, the proper channeling of magic, and the correct rhythm and intonation. In the early stages, before a wizard became familiar enough with a spell, even the slightest mistake could stop it from working.

So while Harry could not cast many spells, he knew of plenty. Yet he had never heard of Levicorpus at all.

Despite his confusion, Harry reacted quickly, thanks to all the sports he had played over the years. As Draco's spell came flying toward him, he swung his wand almost simultaneously and cast "Stupefy!"

The two spells collided in midair and canceled each other out.

Harry's magic was stronger, but his command of the spell was a little worse, leaving the two evenly matched.

Professor McGonagall frowned slightly at Draco's spell, then glanced at Snape beside her. He kept his eyes lowered, looking for all the world as though he were saying, "Don't look at me. This has nothing to do with me."

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips, though she did so discreetly. Who are you trying to fool? Others might not know, but how could a veteran professor who had taught at Hogwarts for decades not recognize it? Levicorpus was one of Snape's signature spells.

He had even invented it himself.

Many years ago, when professors were still allowed to punish students with harmless spells, Snape had used it often. But Hogwarts had since banned all magical punishment of students, so she had rarely seen it in recent years.

Still, however long it had been, Professor McGonagall's excellent memory would never let her forget it.

While Harry was surprised by Draco's unfamiliar, unconventional spell, Draco was just as surprised.

He had never expected Harry to know any offensive magic. It might only have been Stupefy, but that spell certainly was not part of the first-year curriculum.

Draco had already been a little unsure of himself. Now he felt even less confident.

The duel had taken an unexpected turn for both of them right from the start, and Harry and Draco immediately grew more cautious.

Both held their wands pointed at each other, watching with wide, unblinking eyes. They knew that if their own spell missed, they would almost certainly be hit by their opponent's.

The long, narrow platform used for wizard duels offered very little room to dodge.

The sensible move would have been to cast Protego or Protego Totalum. Unfortunately, neither of these two little weaklings knew any defensive magic.

As the pair remained locked in a standoff, the young witches and wizards below began to lose patience. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students, who had no real stake in the match, were already booing.

Harry's mind raced as he tried to think of a way to turn things around quickly. He actually knew quite a few little spells Neil had taught him, any of which could have helped. But with Professor McGonagall and Snape standing right there, he did not dare use them.

While he wrestled with his options, Draco keenly spotted a momentary lapse in Harry's attention.

This had to be what the Head of House meant by an opening!

Almost at once, Draco swung his wand. This time, he used the Disarming Charm.

Draco shouted the incantation, waved his wand, and then... nothing happened.

In truth, Draco was far from proficient with either Levicorpus or the Disarming Charm. But casting Levicorpus successfully on his first try had given him an enormous boost of confidence, so he was nowhere near as careful or cautious when he tried Expelliarmus.

And so...

The spell failed...

Draco stood stunned, while Harry nearly laughed aloud. He had thought Draco must be pretty formidable to know such an unconventional spell.

And this was all he had?

What a weakling!

Though he mocked Draco inwardly, Harry was meticulous with his own spell. He moved his wand in the precise rhythm and cast the same incantation: "Expelliarmus!"

A streak of red light burst from the tip of his wand and struck Draco's wand squarely as he stood there in a daze, still holding it out in front of him. Draco's wand flew from his hand and landed far below the platform. Draco himself staggered back two or three steps and nearly fell.