章節 21: An Exceptional Making Exceptions

7 Advanced chapters on Patreon: Fiction Haven

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In the last week, various students were coming to Hogwarts. Some of them were to participate in the duelling tournament while the others were there to watch. The duelling tournament would be held in three days. The tournament would decide the participating schools' two best students from each year. Hogwarts was packed due to the amount of attention it received.

"And here I am taking care of these obnoxious dunderheads," Severus drawled as he manned the registration table. He couldn't believe Dumbledore assigned him such a mundane task. However, he couldn't refuse it as he was also on the lookout for Death Eaters. "So much for the greater good," he scoffed.

The student standing before the register table flinched, but Severus ignored him. He acquiesced he shouldn't have grumbled in front of the students, but he didn't care. He wouldn't have been in Hogwarts if he cared about what people thought about him. Dumbledore also allowed him to be himself given that the few who complained about him were ignored.

"Here to register for the duelling," a silky voice caused Severus to look up.

"Potter," Severus drawled subduedly. Unlike Charlus who was the exact copy of James, Harry Potter was James if he was blessed with supermodel qualities. On the one hand, Severus didn't see James in Harry, but on the other hand, knowing Harry was that twit James' spawn displeased him slightly. So, he decided to treat Harry neutrally. "Here to compete as a group or an individual?"

"No shite, Sherlock. I am alone," Harry quipped.

"I didn't expect you to have friends either, Potter. But even snails could fly when the weather is right," Severus countered.

The two looked at each other silently. This was the longest they had interacted and they came to the same conclusion.

"You are amusing to be around, Snivellus," Harry extended his hand.

"Your presence is tolerable, Potter," Severus shook Harry's hand.

Severus couldn't tell why the students were gawking at him but paid them no mind. Unknown to him, instead of a sneer, a genuine smile adorned his face. Even he would gawk if he looked himself in the mirror. And so, three days passed. Aside from Lucius, he didn't spot any Death Eaters. The only entertaining moment he had was his barb joust with Harry.

Charlus found himself uncharacteristically nervous. The weight of expectation burdened his shoulders. Although his parents had squashed ridiculous stories about him, people still expected a lot from him. He was the Boy Who Lived, the only one to have survived the Killing Curse. In moments like this, he didn't think his privileges were worth the expectation.

"Are you nervous, Champ?" His father asked with a hand on his shoulder. The busy Minister had cleared his schedule to watch his son compete.

"Yeah. I'm afraid I would disappoint a lot of people," He admitted bitterly.

"Meh, fuck all of them—don't tell your mother I said that. Just do your best and hold your head high," his father grinned. "You have always been confident. What happened to you?"

Harry happened, but Charlus didn't say that. Lily had kept quiet about Charlus' attempt on Harry's life, so James didn't know about the ordeal. Although aware of Harry's competence, James also didn't know how it affected Charlus. The boy had always been way better than everyone thanks to his training, but Harry's otherworldly skills made him look like a brat.

Harry was also participating in the event. Even though a lot of people were looking forward to his match, more people came to see Harry's domination. Charlus was afraid to be compared to Harry. Given his status, his performance would surely leave many people underwhelmed.

"Where is your mum, anyway?" James asked, pulling Charlus out of his mind.

"Must be with Harry," Charlus answered surely. "The two are the sweet couple of Hogwarts. Even Harry's girlfriend doesn't spend as much time with him."

"The brat has a girlfriend?" James exclaimed with a grin. "I bet he is using your mother as an excuse to go with other girls. Sirius hadn't even taught him anything yet, but he grew up to be like him."

Harry was flirty, Charlus admitted, but not a skirt chaser. Girls had always been the ones chasing after him. Harry might be playing behind his girlfriend's back, but Charlus doubted Harry was using his mother as an excuse. With a shudder, he cast the silly thought of Harry going with his mother instead. It couldn't be, could it?

"Speaking of the devil, there is Harry," James pointed out.

Charlus looked in the pointed direction and found Harry flanked by his mother and the alluring French witch, Fleur Delacour, his girlfriend. As confident and domineering as ever, Harry became the centre of attention. Everyone instinctively went quiet as he walked past them.

"Pleasant afternoon, Charlus," Harry greeted Charlus as he was in front of him.

"Hello, Harry, Mum, and Fleur too," Charlus returned awkwardly.

"Hi, sweetheart," Lily greeted softly with a smile, soothing Charlus' nervousness. James' encouragement had nothing compared to it.

"Pleasant afternoon, Charlus," Fleur smiled coyly, causing Charlus to go red.

"Don't tease the brat, Fleur. He has an upcoming match," Harry warned with amusement in his tone.

"Am I an old cupboard? Why is nobody greeting me?" James quipped.

"Didn't see you there, James. I thought you were cooped up in your office," Lily said innocently, causing a wince to appear on James' face.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr Potter," Harry and Fleur greeted the Minister.

James winced once again. "For Merlin's sake, you are a Potter too. And I am your father."

"Is that so?" Harry's palpable apathy discouraged James from saying anything.

As the arena was filled with people, the group fell into an amiable conversation. At least, that was the case for Lily, James and Charlus. Harry and Fleur opted to look around, observing the other participants. James tried to rope Harry into their conversation but only a series of 'hm' and 'yeah.' Charlus cringed when his father didn't give up.

When the match began, they stopped their idle conversation and watched duels. The arena had twenty platforms, so they could watch twenty duels at once. Only the older students provided them with some entertainment.

When Charlus was called, everyone wished him luck. Even Harry slapped his back. He calmed himself and stepped onto the platform. His opponent was a fourth-year Durmstrang student. When the referee began the match, they immediately traded spells. It took Charlus three minutes to finally knock his opponent out of the platform.

"Most impressive, Mr Potter."

"Most impressive, Mr Kharakoff."

Charlus bowed respectfully at his opponent. A pleasant bloke his opponent was.

"Woohoo! That's my boy!"

Charlus cringed and pretended he didn't hear his father as he stepped down the platform. Their family had a lot of attention given his father's status and his father's loud mouth earned them more. They watched the match in silence, occasionally commenting on the noteworthy ones. When Harry was called, they watched him step onto the platform silently in anticipation.

"Please, go easy on me, Harry."

"Of course, I will, Watkins."

Harry's opponent was a seventh-year Hogwarts student, one of the members of the duelling club. Harry's stay at the club was short, but it was impactful. They had only needed a week to accept Harry was unbeatable. As such, Watkins was a bit pensive. His chance to shine turned to ashes when he was pitted against Harry.

As soon as the match began, Watkins performed his trusted Spell chain at Harry. The speed at which he cast the Spells even earned an appreciative hum from James and Lily. Harry merely put up a shield and waited for a moment of recess. When the moment came, Harry cast Incarcerous at Watkins, binding him with a tight. He tried to struggle, but a swift Stupefy took him out.

The match lasted for fifteen seconds. The crowd only clapped their hands when Harry stepped down. While the method Harry had used to take his opponent down was simple, the speed and fluidity with which he did that was stunning. James and Lily noted that even Aurors would have a hard time replicating Harry's feat.

Charlus smiled wryly. Unlike his fight, Harry's didn't show many Spell exchanges. Despite so, it still managed to captivate the audience. He had thought his performance was stellar, but Harry's performance made him realise his performance was underwhelming.

A few minutes later, Charlus was called again. This time, he was determined to take down his opponent as soon as he could instead of showcasing his Spell repertoire. Exploiting his opponent's weakness, Charlus took him down slightly over a minute. James cheered loudly and Charlus allowed a smile this time.

A few minutes later, Harry was called onto the platform. His opponent was a Durmstrang student who looked like he ate people daily. When the match began, Harry took the initiative. A swift Expelliarmus knocked his opponent out of the platform. The match ended in three seconds, a long time for some.

That was Charlus' cue to accept his performance would forever be lacklustre compared to Harry's. He watched the next matches silently until a particular match caught his attention.

"Wait, those two were Harry's opponents, weren't they?" Charlus exclaimed in surprise.

"Of course," Lily answered as if it only made sense.

"What?" Charlus asked, befuddled.

"Anyone who faced Harry is given another chance to compete against another participant who loses to Harry. The school knows Harry would dominate everyone," Lily explained.

The tournament was Harry's playground, to begin with, Charlus resignedly noted.