Bab 87: The-Duel-They-Fought
Tonks peaked through the flaps of the tent to check if this was the right tent or not, but as soon as she found her mum and dad sitting with Harry and a few others at the center, she knew that this was the right tent. "Wotcher, guys!!" Dora exclaimed loudly as she entered the tent by moving the flaps aside.
"Nymphadora, it's bad manners to peek inside someone's tent" Andi chastised her daughter.
Tonks felt her temper flare while a blush crept on her face due to the embarrassment. "Don't call me that!" She snapped, purely on instinct.
"I don't understand why you hate your name. It's such a beautiful name" Andi huffed as she scowled at her daughter's antics. "What do you think, Harry?" Andi asked as she turned toward Harry.
Tonks, who was about to come up with a snarky retort, tripped on the mat and fell flat on her face, earning some chuckles from the occupants and a disappointed sigh from her mum. Her face burned in embarrassment as she slowly pushed herself off the floor. This was so not cool… She brushed her robes while trying to avoid everyone's gaze.
"Please don't drag me into this, Andi" Harry decided that it would be best if he didn't get himself involved in this argument even though he was with Tonks on this.
Tonks finally arrived at the table while staring down at her feet and plopped down beside her dad with a grumpy look on her face… "By the way, Tonks are you alright?" Harry asked with a look of concern.
"Everything besides my dignity is alright" Tonks mumbled unhappily as she started to pout childishly.
"Here, why don't you have some cola?" Harry offered as he flicked his Wand while mumbling 'Accio' under his breath to summon a cola bottle from the ice box.
"Thanks, Harry!" Tonks beamed at him as she grabbed the bottle from the air. "At least there is someone who cares about me" Tonks muttered petulantly as she glanced at her parents from the corner of her eyes.
"When are you going to grow up, Nymphadora" Andi sighed in defeat while shaking her head.
"Bah! He only gave her cola and she is already putting him before us!" Ted exclaimed in exasperation, but he couldn't hide the amusement in his voice. "Should I be worried, Dora?" Ted asked, making Tonks sputter as she knocked over the cola bottle, but surprisingly, the liquid didn't spill out of the bottle. It looked like an invisible barrier was stopping the liquid from coming out.
"How did you do that?" Andi asked Harry with a gasp.
"It's a Spell I found in a childcare book" Harry answered with a smile and Tonks picked up her cola bottle with a fascinated look on her face.
"Why the hell were you even reading a childcare book in the first place?" Jacklyn asked in a bewildered tone.
"I was looking for a Spell that could soften any surface" Harry answered with a shrug.
"Harry, you gotta teach me this Spell. This Spell will be so handy!" Tonks practically begged as she used her powers to make her eyes look a bit bigger for greater effect.
"If only I knew this Spell then my life would have been so easier" Andi muttered with a scowl as she also decided to learn the Spell.
"By the way, Tonks, these two are my best friends. This is Jacklyn Harper, and this is Brittany Lawrence" Harry introduced his friends to Tonks.
"Wotcher, guys!" Tonks waved at the two of them with a smile on her face. "By the way, I am Tonks" Tonks said with a hard look on her face.
"No problem, Tonks" Jacklyn smiled back at Tonks. "Harry told me that you are a trainee Auror, care for a duel?" Jacklyn asked with a challenging grin on her face.
Tonks slammed her fist on the table and grinned back at Jacklyn. "You are on!" Tonks exclaimed as she started to stand up, but her dad grabbed her hand and pulled her down. "What's wrong, dad?" Tonks asked with a whine.
"I don't think the management will appreciate it if all of a sudden, Spells started to fly true" Ted explained a bit warily.
"Let them be…" Andi waved her hand dismissively.
Unlike her husband, who didn't like fighting at all, she liked watching Wizarding duels… The Blacks during her time may not have been involved in the dueling circuits, but they dueled amongst themselves quite regularly. She had heard from Harry that the girl had claimed the third position in the Under Seventeen Tournament, so she wanted to see how the girl was going to fare against her own daughter, who was training under Alastor Mad-eye Moody.
"I don't think anyone is going to complain if they fight in here. As long as they don't use any flame Spells, it would be alright" Andi explained with a shrug.
"Are you sure?" Ted asked, still looking somewhat concerned.
"Come on, dad. Don't be a stick in the mud. It will be alright… We will be careful" Tonks promised, making Ted give her a skeptical look. It was simply impossible for his daughter and 'careful' to go hand in hand and Tonks looked almost offended at the look her dad was giving her. "By the way, where is Sirius, I don't see him anywhere" Tonks mumbled while looking around.
If Sirius gave them permission to duel, then her dad won't be able to protest anymore and from what she knew about Sirius, he would happily give them his blessings… "He went out to get some food and we decided to have some takeout today" Andi answered before anyone else could say anything. The man obviously didn't want to go, but he didn't have much choice in the matter.
"Weren't we planning to cook here?" Tonks asked as she inclined her head in confusion.
"Yes, but he said that we should simply relax and have some rest tonight" Andi chuckled softly, making Tonks look even more confused as Sirius was the one who seemed to be the most excited about cooking food. Tonks opened her mouth to say something, but the words got caught in her mouth when a look of realization finally dawned on her face.
"Does this have something to do with the fact that our tent is near the tent of the Bulgarian Veela mascots?" Tonks asked unsurely, but instead of answering Andi simply smiled at her daughter proudly. Tonks turned toward her dad for an answer, but he simply coughed in his hand and decided to avoid her gaze, but Tonks already had her answer. "Well, that's just like Sirius" Tonks stated with an obvious look on her face.
"Oh… I forgot to ask, are you alright, Harry?" Tonks asked in a concerned tone.
"Even here I can feel their allure, but I can handle it" Harry answered with a proud smile on his face.
"That's great, kiddo" Tonks cheered and raised her hand in the air as she leaned toward Harry. It took Harry a moment to realize what she wanted and when he did, he also raised his hand in the air and high-fived her.
"Now she is more worried about a kid she met a few days ago than her own father" Ted sighed with a look of mock horror on his face, making Tonks roll her eyes at him.
"Mum will take care of you if you end up stepping out of line" Tonks retorted with an amused grin on her face. Ted shivered a bit when Andi placed her hand over his arm and smiled sweetly at him.
"Well, I guess we can have the duel when Sirius finally returns" Jacklyn muttered as she nodded her head…
<Line Break>
"Hah!! Guys, I am finally back!" Sirius exclaimed tiredly as he finally entered the tent. He found everyone including Tonks sitting at the center table. "Tonksy, I am glad you are finally here. Your mum has been bullying poor Padfoot, save me from her tyranny!" Sirius exclaimed dramatically as he made his way toward the table.
"I don't want to get bullied too, so you are on your own, old dog" Tonks said coldly as she decided to throw him to the wolves.
"You traitor!!" Sirius exclaimed in mock outrage. He finally arrived in front of the table and slumped down beside Harry as he placed the food on the table. "So, what's up, guys, did you miss me?" Sirius asked as he looked around.
"Not much" Harry muttered unhappily and Sirius gasped as he placed his hands over his heart, looking hurt. "By the way, Jacklyn and Tonks want to have a duel, do you think it will be alright if they do it in here?" Harry asked in a hopeful tone as he wanted Sirius to agree or he would have to wait longer for the duel.
Sirius seemed to think for a bit before he finally nodded his head. "It is fine if they have a duel in here, but no fire Spells, and we will also need to clear the space a bit" Sirius said thoughtfully.
"Alright, I will help" Harry said as he stood up and pulled out his Wand.
"I will help too" Brittany also stood up following Harry's example.
"There will be no need for that, Harry, Brittany. The two of you just sit here, we will take care of it" Andi said as she gestured the two of them to sit down. Harry and Brittany glanced at each other before they shrugged and decided to follow Andi's suggestion.
It only took Sirius, Ted, and Andi a couple of minutes to clear the space for the duel… "That should do it" Sirius said while looking around as he dusted off his hands. "What do you guys think?" He turned toward the stars of the show and asked.
"It's a bit small, but it will do" Tonks said while nodding her head. Mad-eye had trained her to fight in cramped spaces, but fighting and dueling are quite different from each other even though they might sound the same.
"It's adequate" Jacklyn mumbled as she nodded her head. "Now, we will need someone to officiate the duel" Jacklyn said as she looked around.
"I will do it" Sirius blurted out excitedly as he stepped forward.
"Are you sure?" Andi asked with a hint of concern in her voice, but Sirius simply dismissed her concerns with a grin. He may have been incarcerated in prison for more than a decade, but some things were so deeply ingrained in his mind that he could never forget them.
"Alright! The two of you take a corner" Sirius said as he pointed at the two corners. Jacklyn took one while Tonks took the other side.
"Flames Spells have been barred. If you use them once, you get a warning and if you do it again, you will be disqualified. This isn't a formal duel, but we will still follow some of the basic rules. No lethal Spells and the victor will be decided when the opponent is disarmed, incapacitated, or knocked out… Do you understand?" Sirius asked as he intently stared at Jacklyn and Tonks.
When the two of them finally nodded their heads in understanding, Sirius decided to continue. "First, you bow!" Sirius said and Jacklyn bowed with practiced ease, but Tonks bowed clumsily as she didn't have any experience with formal duels. The only thing she knew was fighting. "Alright then. Start!" Sirius exclaimed as he brought down his hand in a downward motion and that was the signal the duo were waiting for.
Both of them fired their first Spell at the same time. The Spells clashed in mid-air and a few sparks flew before the Spells disappeared, but neither Jacklyn nor Tonks were paying attention to that as the two of them were busy flinging Spells at each other. Both of them were moving with extreme finesse, but it was clear that Tonks was not a duelist.
Jacklyn's assault was much more focused and concentrated while Tonks' assault was brutal and efficient. It seemed like Jacklyn was performing a well-rehearsed dance while Tonks seemed to be much rougher, though Harry could clearly see that Tonks was the most dangerous one between the two. Her movements might look wide-drawn, but she was trained in such a manner to take on multiple opponents.
Harry could clearly see the brutality and ruthlessness in her moves… If this wasn't a duel, then Harry was sure that Tonks would have been either fighting to maim or kill. There was this dangerous glint in her eyes… The gaze of a predator. Even though Tonks was being pushed back, her posture didn't falter, instead, her techniques started to become more brutal. She unconsciously started to aim for Jacklyn's head and neck.
Sirius gulped nervously when he noticed the change, but he decided not to interrupt as Jacklyn didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest by the Spells Tonks was casting at her… "I admit, you are good, if this was a fight then I would have been having a much harder time" Jacklyn said with a grin as continued to push back Tonks.
"You talk too much!" Tonks snarled as she cast 'Accio' on Jacklyn's shoes, but she was taken aback when nothing happened. She looked down to see her hand, only to find that her Wand was missing. Her head whipped toward Jacklyn, who was holding her Wand with a playful grin on her face.
"I baited you. I knew you would try to attack me as soon as I finished talking and I knew that there would be a small window for me to disarm you just before you attack me. I simply used that window to disarm you" Jacklyn said with a grin, and Tonks growled unhappily, but her shoulders slumped down in defeat. "No need to feel bad. I was the best Under Seventeen duelist in my country and as I said before, if this was a fight then I would have been having a much harder fight" Jacklyn comforted Tonks.
"I don't think I need to declare the victor, but just for the sake of formalities, here goes… The victor is Jacklyn Harper!" Sirius exclaimed with a conflicted look on his face as he was cheering for Tonks.
"Thanks" Tonks mumbled as she accepted her Wand from Jacklyn who held it out for her.
"It was an amazing duel, Nymphadora. I am quite proud of you… I pity whoever stands on the opposite side of your Wand" Andi praised her daughter as she pulled the girl into her arms in a comforting manner.
"From now on, I will be careful to not get on your bad side" Ted mumbled as he stared at Tonks warily.
"Yeah… Tell me about it. If I knew that she was this dangerous with a Wand then I would have never made fun of her" Sirius mumbled fearfully.
"Yes, you better be afraid of me, you old dog" Tonks huffed haughtily as she flicked her purple hair behind her shoulder. "Though I think you guys are praising me too much. She is the one who won" Tonks sighed as she jerked her thumb toward Jacklyn, who was talking with Harry and Brittany with a grin on her face…
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