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Not long afterwards, they saw Mr. Lazard walk up onto the dueling platform. They were about to begin.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Mr. Lazard announced to the crowd. "Today begins the next round! To start it off right, we'll begin with the match you've all been waiting for! Although a newcomer to the dueling circuits, the next duelist is one we all know and love. He is the heir of not one, but two ancient houses! The Most Ancient and Noble House Black and The Most Ancient and Noble House Potter! Let's give a round of applause for the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry James Potter!"
The crowd, which was now packed with witches and wizards from Magical Britain, went wild with cheers and thunderous applause. 'Merlin, that's loud,' Harry thought.
Harry stood up from his seat and walked onto the stage. Just as his first match, he unclasped his dueling cape and tossed it back towards Sirius, with it folding mid air. The audience now held a lot more British magicals, who went wild seeing Harry do wandless magic. What could he say? Cagliostro wasn't the only one that liked to put on a bit of a show.
Harry got to his starting mark and gave Mr. Lazard a respectful nod.
"And his opponent," Mr. Lazard said, sweeping an arm out dramatically towards the opposite side of the stage, "Another newcomer, but heir to a family name that rings across Italy with adventure and exploration! Just yesterday, he wow'ed us with his display of outside-the-box thinking! Let's give a warm welcome to Allesandro Cagliostro!"
The young Italian boy came onto the stage, cheerfully waving to the crowd.
The two contestants came to the center and bowed.
"Good luck," Harry said smoothly.
"Good luck," Cagliostro grinned confidently, though Harry could still feel the anxiousness and fear beneath his excitement.
They returned to their starting positions, and Mr. Lazard hopped off the stage and joined the judges. "Let the match begin!" He called.
Cagliostro immediately went on the offensive.
"Azullious!" The blue sparks shot out his wand towards Harry, who smoothly sidestepped out of the way.
However, Cagliostro didn't wait to see if the spell would land before casting the next spell. "Flipendo! Locomotor Mortis!"
This time Harry chose to block it with a shield. The two spells slammed into his shield one after another.
"It seems like Mr. Potter is taking it slower for his opponent, he's staying on the defensive for now. Is he just waiting for an opening?" Canards explained what was happening for the audience listening on the radio.
"A good thing too, we didn't quite get to see Cagliostro's skills during his first match, his opponent had kept him on the back foot the entire time," Judge Arjun added.
"Yes, Monsieur Cagliostro has some good spell chaining for a first year!" Mr. Robards commented from the side.
"He seems limited to only the first year spells, but he's actually got some measure of skill in casting. I would say he's around what we would expect in our second years." Madam Fahmy said.
"Meanwhile, Monsieur Potter seems to be entirely comfortable up on the stage!" Canards commented.
Harry blocked another spell with a quick Protego. As Harry blocked and dodged more and more of Cagliostro's spells, he could feel him grow more and more desperate. 'Come on! Just one hit! I just got to land one hit!' Cagliostro's thoughts were practically screaming.
'Should I let him get a hit in?' Harry thought briefly but then dismissed it. Cagliostro may be an alright chap, but they weren't friends or anything. There wasn't a need to do him any favors.
Snapping out his wand, he cast a silent Expeliarmus. Cagliostro was quick on his feet though and dove to the side. Harry anticipated it, and quickly fired another one. This time, he was too late to react and the spell hit.
Cagliostro's wand spun out of his hand high into the air and into Harry's awaiting hand.
The crowd cheered.
"Disarmed! Match goes to Potter!" Mr. Lazard announced.
"Ooohhh!" Canards shouted, "And Potter strikes back with a quick casting of Expelliarmus! Cagliostro was quickly overwhelmed! And wait just a second, was that silent casting? That's only taught in the sixth-year!"
Harry walked over to Cagliostro and handed him his wand back. He could feel him swallow his frustration and put on a smile. "Thanks, Potter."
"You were pretty good," Harry said in Italian.
He gave a bitter chuckle before summoning up his determination. "I'll be even better next year! I won't lose again! From this point on, you're my rival!" He declared dramatically.
Harry was taken aback. "Uh… Well then, I look forward to seeing your progress next year."
Cagliostro grinned. "You can count on it!"
They shook hands, and left the stage.
Mr. Lazard took to the stage again, "Well there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! What a match! Let's give them another round of applause!"
Harry rejoined Sirius and Flitwick at their seats. They greeted him with slaps on the back.
"Well done, Harry! Well done!" Flitwick preened.
"I knew you wouldn't have any trouble, Harry!" Sirius said proudly.
"Thank you. It seems I've gained a self-proclaimed rival. Cagliostro seems pretty intent on defeating me next year," Harry said, running a hand through his hair.
Flitwick chuckled, "Well, I'm glad he wasn't so discouraged at the loss at least. It would be a shame if such a talent lost his will to improve."
Sirius laughed. "Hah! But defeating Harry is just a pipe dream! As if you're not going to be improving as well!"
Back in his seat, Harry's eyes wandered over to where Fleur was. She was scowling at him. 'What did I do?' Harry was surprised. When they made eye contact, she huffed and got up to leave.
Sirius nudged him. "Don't worry about it, pup. Women like that take some time to warm up to you."
He didn't dignify that with a response.
With all of the matches so far being disappointing, they would have left after his match had he not promised to give another interview. As the next matches began, Mr. Lazard came to find him.
"Monsieur Potter," he said, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "The reporters are ready for you. This way!"
They made their way out of the stadium and to a side room, where a small audience of reporters were waiting. As soon as they entered, cameras began flashing. The interview itself rehashed a lot of the same questions as before, but there were some new questions. Questions like "We see Professor Flitwick here with you. Was he your trainer as you prepared for the tournament?" This one was actually from a French reporter, who had been here for the last interview.
"Yes. Although I have had some practice with my godfather, Sirius Black, and Lord Arcturus Black, throughout my first year at Hogwarts I've been training with Professor Flitwick. He's been good enough to agree to be my trainer for the tournament," Harry answered.
A Brazilian reporter asked, "We've noticed your use of wandless magic. Does this mean you've been learning other cultures' practices as well?"
"Wandless magic has always been something I've been interested in. It's how I first started learning magic when I discovered I could do magic years before I got a wand. But you are correct, I have also been looking into other magical practices. Right now I'm studying what books I can get my hands on from Uagadou to learn more about wandless magic, and I'm particularly fascinated by their books on divination and dreams. When I'm done learning what I can from Uagadou's teachings, I plan to learn what I can from other sources as well," Harry explained.
"But what about your studies at Hogwarts? How do you have the time to learn all of this?" A British witch asked.
"I've already read through all of the curriculum for all 7 years for several of the main classes, and I'm already several years ahead in the rest." Harry tapped his temple. "I have perfect memory, so I can read through entire books in moments. You don't need to worry about my grades at Hogwarts."
"Does this mean you'll be graduating early?"
"No. Attending Hogwarts is more than just getting grades. I intend to spend the full 7 years at Hogwarts to connect with my peers as well as enjoy having access to the Hogwarts library," Harry said.
Another question, this one from The Daily Prophet, cut in with a sly voice. "You've mentioned Fleur Delacour by name once before. Now that you've seen her match yesterday, and felt her influence, what do you think of her now?"
Harry met the reporter's gaze evenly. "She's strong, focused, and doesn't let the rampant prejudice against her affect her. Having seen her first match, I only have respect for her and I look forward to facing her in the finals. I will be taking no further questions."
With the interview over, Harry had no more reason to stay. They returned to their hotel.
Harry flopped onto his bed and scrubbed his face. What a change. In his first life, he was a nobody. Just another 9-5 worker, with only a small group of friends. Now, people crossed oceans just to see him duel. It was all a bit overwhelming.
Still, he couldn't deny it would be helpful when he entered the Wizangamot.
Harry sighed. No need to moan about it.
He sat up and pulled out his recently acquired book from Nostradamus. Let's see what the ancient seer had to say.