Irresistible Fate

Duelling Club

Harry wandered slowly the long way around the Black Lake to get to Hagrid's Hut. It was overcast and grey. The air was heavy and smelled like snow but winter hadn't come to this part of the Highlands yet. When he reached the pumpkin patch, Hagrid pulled him into a huge enveloping hug and Harry was greeted with what seemed to be becoming a constant comment: 'Harry, yer look terr'ble.' But Harry was happy, he missed Hagrid and his few weeks at Hogwarts always helped him catch up on those empty gaps without him in his life. As Harry sat in his hut, drinking over-stewed tea from a giant-sized cup, he more than appreciated Hagrid was one of the few people who had unconditionally believed in him throughout his school years.

Come dinner time, the two of them walked into the Great Hall together, oblivious to the stir they created as they walked through the Great Hall, happily chatting about Norbetta, who, Charlie had just informed the rather happy Hagrid, had just laid another brood of eggs. Hagrid admitted he was hoping to visit Romania to see his 'lil' baba's babas'. Harry grinned at Hagrid's hopeless optimism about his dragons.

At the top table, there was a space for him between Narcissa and McGonagall. Harry's eyes swept the table, he nodded to Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick. There were some new faces too, including a very attractive young male professor with light-brown baby curls around his rather chiselled features. Harry noticed he was staring openly so Harry smiled at him. The man flushed but broke into a wide, winning grin. He wondered if the man was vaguely familiar, but his contemplations were interrupted by McGonagall as she leaned across to him.

'Two things, Mr Potter. The Minister has been in contact, and all is agreed that you should stay for three weeks. I would, however, like to convince you to stay for the fourth, which leads into the second thing: in four Saturday's time, we will be holding our annual staff versus students Quidditch match. As a temporary member of staff, I would like you to join my team as seeker, but you will need to stay for the fourth week to make it seem a bit fairer on the students.' She grinned wickedly, and Harry smirked at how competitive she was.

'So, who's on the team?'

'Lyle Lovett and Rolanda Hooch will be the beaters. Myself, Thaddeus Rankleton, and Filius Flitwick will be the chasers.' She grimaced slightly at the mention of Filius. 'And the new divination master, Thomius Trelawney, plays keeper.' She nodded at the handsome young man Harry had been eying earlier. Trelawney, so that's why he looked familiar. He assumed Sybil wasn't his mother. 'I'm not sure how good he is, but he can't be worse than Filius. It's not that Filius's bad when he concentrates, but he gets over excited and then distracted, forgetting he's not playing every position on the pitch. At least you'll give us a fighting chance.' Her eyes were gleaming at the prospect.

Harry also felt the excitement at the possibility, he hadn't played Quidditch since his sixth year and he missed it. He would have to go to London to pick up his kit and buy a new broom, but as he had to go to St Mungo's the following Friday, it was agreed that he would stay overnight for the shopping trip, so long as he was back by 9.00am on the Saturday morning for training. Harry turned the conversation to the idea a Duelling Club. There was a raised eyebrow: she didn't want a repeat of the last disaster under Lockhart. But he ran through his carefully laid out plans, and he thought it might be beneficial, depending on attendance, if there was some additional staff support, though he had already discussed some ideas with Neville which related back to their DA days, including a very limited set of duelling spells that he wished the students to learn thoroughly. He thought he should start the club as early as this Sunday evening and run it three times a week.

At the close of the meal a rather excited Headmistress stood up and Great Hall's occupants fell silent.

'Good evening everyone, I hope you have enjoyed our evening's fine fare which we thank the house elves for preparing so excellently. It would appear that everyone is in high spirits and ready for the weekend tomorrow. A reminder that anyone hoping to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow needs to have a signed permission slip from a parent or guardian which must be handed into Mr Filch before leaving the school premises. Now, there are a couple of additional items that I need to run through. First of all, you will have noticed that Mr Potter has returned to us for a fourth year running for a few weeks of teaching and extra-curricular training.'