Chapter 122: A Fight to the Death
*Shield... Shield... Shield... Shield...*
I hooked the battle-axe with my foot to shield myself from the next spell, reinforcing it with aura, but it was useless. More precisely, I used less magic, but I was still dragged across the ground, leaving furrows in the earth behind my feet.
"You're fairly strong... for your age. I'd even say you're nearly a master of battle magic, but in battle magic, knowing spells isn't enough. You also need to put enough magic into them. And you don't have that yet... perhaps in three or four years..."
My opponent shook his head.
"...however, much to your regret, you won't have that time. I was hired for this operation, and per the contract, I must kill all the defenders of the train."
I heard faint mockery in the sentient's voice. It was clear he didn't feel a shred of pity. He was enjoying what was happening, but if he thought...
"You are probably counting on Dumbledore?"
Now it was a mocking question.
"Don't wait for him. Hogwarts is currently being attacked by a large force. Of course, they won't be able to overcome its defenses, but in such a situation, the Headmaster simply won't be able to leave the castle. So he won't help you."
Several more extremely powerful spells, and I was thrown back toward the entrance to the carriage.
"Doesn't it disgust you to work for people who want to kidnap children and threaten their parents' lives?"
"You're wasting your breath..."
My opponent shook his head.
"...I knew what I was getting into, especially since no one here is exactly clean. We were chosen according to one principle: you must be willing to do anything for gold."
I winced slightly, reaching out discreetly to activate the beacon that Bella and her squad were supposed to transport.
It wasn't that I wanted to hide behind my mother's skirts, but I understood this opponent was not in my weight class.
"Well, have you talked enough?"
I don't know how I blocked the next three spells, nor do I know how I managed to attack.
I simply acted...
*Block, block, deflect a spell with the axe blade, and use my wand to send the first spell that came to mind at the opponent. And he easily deflected it. Step aside... duck, attack...*
*Roll, attack...*
*Shield, shield, roll, attack...*
"Stop running like a rat!"
My opponent was losing his temper, while I, on the contrary, calmed down. Emotions and thoughts receded into the background. I had the sensation that I was suspended inside my own body, watching the fight rather than taking part in it.
*Hmm... right now, a fire arrow would be good...*
As if reacting to my thoughts, my body moved as though in slow motion, creating a fire arrow that, to my great surprise, pierced the opponent's defense. Meanwhile, the opponent's body started showing different colors to me... it was barely noticeable. But... almost all of him was red, his left arm was green, and his right foot was yellow.
*Air needles into the left arm...*
To my surprise, I hit. The opponent was forced to retreat and change position slightly, causing almost his entire body to turn red with no green at all. But yellow spots appeared.
Watching the spell fly at me, I suddenly realized that I didn't need to cast a counterspell at all. It was enough to cast the simplest spell at a specific point...
The air needle hit the right place, and the enemy's spell detonated as I attacked again. This time, it was not only needles, but also fireballs, quicksand, lightning, and a dozen other spells, though they were very primitive.
"Bitch!"
To my surprise, some of the spells hit my opponent, and now he stood there, very displeased, slightly singed, bleeding... and I was... who?
I blinked in surprise, jerking left, and watched in bewilderment as my right ear and arm, along with my shoulder, separated from me and began falling to the ground.
"The games are over. Now you..."
At that moment, a loud pop rang out, and a large combat group appeared beside the train, with Bella at its head.
"Dispose of the attackers!"
Bella shouted the order and rushed at my opponent. At the same time, I noticed that the moment she appeared, her gaze had locked onto me for a fraction of a second.
"B-bitch..."
I took a couple of steps back, watching as Bella dealt with the opponent in mere moments, though for some reason she left him alive.
In those moments, I only managed to frantically stop the bleeding, since transferring the wand to my left hand and casting several spells was fairly simple. I also placed stasis charms on the severed ear and arm, and only after that did I allow myself to relax.
Just relax. I kept monitoring the area until the situation was under control.
"Draco!"
Bella ran up to me, looking alarmed.
"Calm down... calm down..."
"How can I possibly calm down?! That bastard cut off your arm!"
"It happens..."
I shrugged my intact shoulder, wincing a little at the pain.
"...Mother Cissy will heal everything. I cast stasis on the arm and ear, so..."
"You need to be taken to Cissy immediately!"
She grabbed me by my intact shoulder, barked out quick commands to the fighters, and Apparated with me.
"Oof..."
I swayed a bit to one side.
"Is it just me, or has Apparition become somewhat different?"
"Yes, it's gotten a bit harder. Needs a little more concentration, but overall..."
She shrugged.
"I see..."
After that, we didn't stay put and headed toward our local hospital, where they immediately took over my care...
*** Evening of the Same Day. ***
"Draco, how are you?!"
Penny and Fleur ran into my room, and they looked very worried.
"Fine..."
I raised my hand with some difficulty. My arm had already been reattached, so aside from the bandages tightly wrapped around my shoulder and my head, covering my ear, nothing suggested that I had very recently been so badly carved up.
"...tomorrow I'll start gradually working on the arm. Mom Cissy told me that by the tournament, the mobility will be restored and I'll be able to take part..."
"Idiot!"
I was smacked on the head with the flat of her palm.
"We were worried!"
Penny stood a little behind, but from her voice and expression, she clearly agreed with everything her friend said and did.
Everything is fine, though...
I shrugged.
"We still..."
The girls hugged me and didn't try to explain anything. They simply spent the next three hours in my room, trying not to move too far from me.
"Enough, both of you..."
Finally unable to bear it, I spoke to my girls, who seemed set on making sure I did absolutely nothing on my own.
"I'm not sick, I'm not dying, and nothing terrible happened. I didn't lose the arm..."
I shrugged, though I had to admit that at that moment I had been badly shaken. Only many, many training sessions and practiced responses to all kinds of situations, including critical ones, had kept me from screaming in pain and allowed me to act in time so that I still had my arm.
"Draco..."
Penny looked at me sternly.
"...don't you understand?"
"Penny, I understand that you were worried. I understand that all this wasn't easy for you, but... I couldn't run away. I couldn't surrender. I had no choice but to fight."
"We understand..."
Fleur nodded, standing beside her friend.
"...but you understand too. When we learned that you had lost an arm and an ear, we felt utterly useless. We couldn't help you in any way, and..."
"Shh-h-h-h-h..."
I embraced both girls, who clung to me and even began to sob quietly, though they quickly pulled themselves together.
"...everything is fine. I am whole. And with time, you will stand beside me and be able to cover my back..."
I looked at Fleur.
"...or patch me up if I am wounded."
I looked at Penny, as if telling her that I knew she had approached Cissy about taking her as a student.
"You just need to wait a little."
"Uh-huh..."
They nodded...
*** The Next Morning. ***
"Hello, everyone..."
I came through the fireplace into the Headmaster's office and saw all the teachers turn toward me, looking confused.
"What?"
"Draco, isn't it too early for you? ... not so long ago, you lost an arm..."
"Well, an arm isn't a life. It can be reattached. Especially since I did everything correctly, and stitching it back on was simple. Yes, for now I won't cast with the same speed and dexterity as before the injury, but by New Year, I'll be fully recovered. But that's only if I practice magic. If I don't, I won't recover even by the tournament."
"And you still plan to participate?!"
McGonagall looked at me with shock and disbelief.
"Well, yes..."
I nodded.
"...it is my duty to show that we Britons are made of such material that even injuries like these do not break us. So I will participate, and I will win."
"Very well..."
Dumbledore nodded.
"...here are the runic chains..."
A small scroll was handed to me, though 'small' was relative. Judging by its thickness, it was about three meters long.
"You need to place these runic chains into diamonds. You also need to create the diamonds yourself. We'll be protecting the Quidditch pitch from outside interference so that not a single creature can penetrate it. And naturally, we'll also secure the grounds of Hogwarts. After all, the Founders created the barriers at a time when certain nasty things hadn't been invented yet. So..."
"Yes..."
I nodded.
"...so this is what our respected Founders have been busy with all this time? And here I thought you were developing a ritual that would allow you to acquire material bodies."
"We thought about that, but... even if we obtain bodies, we won't be able to leave Hogwarts or cast magic..."
"What if we do this?"
I took a small notebook from my inner pocket and sent it to the ghosts with a spell. With some difficulty, they concentrated their essence into their fingers, opened it, and read carefully.
"This is..."
"Yes... this is a system that will not only allow you to cast magic, but also make the castle safer and future graduates stronger."
"Hmm... but we won't be able to do this during the holidays. Only in the summer... and... these are just reflections and some calculations that still need practical testing and recalculation. But overall..."
Satisfied smiles appeared on the Founders' faces, while Dumbledore, who had peeked at my notes, was thoughtful and somewhat bewildered.
"Well now... live and learn..."
He shook his head.
"All right, since I've been given a task, I need to go to the Quarter..."
"Why?"
"To buy coal. That's what I'll be turning into diamonds. I think it'll be easier than turning wood into diamonds..."
"No, no, no..."
Flitwick shook his head.
"...we don't need it to be easier. We need you not only to complete the assignment, but to surpass yourself, and that can only be done by stepping beyond your limits again and again. So you are going into the Forbidden Forest, cutting down trees there, and transforming their trunks into diamonds."
"Understood?"
"Yes, Mentor..."
I nodded slowly, understanding that simplifying the work wasn't in the cards for me. Still, perhaps Flitwick was right. I'd become too accustomed to optimizing work, simplifying it, and that had allowed me to reach the rank of master very quickly in terms of knowledge, but as the recent battle had shown, I hadn't turned out to be the best combat mage...
"...I understand you, and I'm going to work..."
------------------------------------------
Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 392
2.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 407
3.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 208
support me on Patreon for instant access to the 120+ advance chapters: patreon.com/redofic