HP: The Unchosen One-(Malfoy SI)

Chapter 52

CASSIUS BLACK

His body moved on instinct, as Cassius jumped to the side as the mighty dragon came barrelling towards him.

He scrapped his knees and elbows as he rolled on the ground, as the dragon struck the ward surrounding the arena, protecting the students, as pandemonium broke out in the stands.

A part of him had hoped that the beast would turn its attention towards the people in the stands, yet as if to pay him back for the perceived disrespect, it attacked him once more, as it spat out a storm of fire towards him.

Cassius tried to reach for his wand, yet as he reached for his holster, he found it gone, as the fire threatened to swallow him whole.

"Protego!" he shouted, channeling years upon years of practise, and much to his relief a golden shield appeared in front of him, allowing him to escape as he summoned his wand.

"Accio," he whispered, and as the dragon aimed towards him, his wand flew towards him, and just as the fire was about to hit, hit his wand was once more in his wand. Its familiar warmth filled him with power, relief, and rage as he spun the wand and the fire twisted around him in a circle before he whipped it back towards the dragon, as he scanned the surroundings in hope of the dragonkeepers or any other help.

And when he saw no one coming to his aide, he knew that he was on his own.

"ROAR!" and the Hungarian Horntail spun its tail towards him, forcing him to give up on the attack, as he transfigured the rocks to shield himself, as he ducked down, as the tail rolled over the slope he had built to protect himself.

And as the dragon tried to attack him again, he knew that he needed to buy some time to compose himself, and so he whipped out a few spells towards it, aiming them at its scales.

"BOMBARDA!" and as the giant orb crashed into its body, the giant beast was pushed back, as Cassius began to transfigure the ground underneath, trying to pin it down, but a dragon's strength was enormous, and as he tried to hold it down with chains and rocks, it roared, and spat out fire towards him once more, forcing him on the backfoot.

"Aquario!" and it was a modified version of the Aquamenti spell, and water gushed out of his wand, like a jet as it doused the magical flames, yet these few seconds were enough for the Hungarian Horntail to free itself from its bindings, as it flapped its wings and took to the skies.

Dragons for all their might were quite intelligent creatures and realising that it was at a disadvantage while being on the ground, it had decided to take to the skies and as it flew above him, it slapped its tail towards him once again as Cassius was forced to jump to the side again to avoid being hit.

A Horntail's tail was a damned good weapon and it tore through stone, as the dragon began its barrage of attacks from the skies above. It used fire, its tail, and even boulders to attack him, as Cassius could do little but protect himself as he went on the defensive.

His own counterattacks kept missing, as it became a headache to target a moving target, and as he glanced at the stands and the judges' table, he realised that they would not be coming to help him.

Now, he had only two options. He could try to hold on for five more minutes, hoping that the allotted time would run out and the Dragonkeepers would come in to subdue the dragon, or he could stand here and fight.

Now, a part of him believed that the chain breaking could be a coincidence, but Cassius did not believe in coincidences. Someone had just tried to kill him, and though he could not imagine the reason why they would try and do so, he had an idea just who it might be.

"Well, I guess its time to let loose," and so he had to make a bit of a statement. He had little interest in the Tri-Wizard tournament, but if you were going to come after my life, you better come prepared.

"Tempest!" he screamed, suddenly bringing down his wand, as a lightning bolt rushed down from the skies and hit the Horntail's back, forcing it to screech and scream in pain as it spewed fire towards him once more.

And if a dragon was a magical creature, then its fire was a magical entity as well and if spells could be cut, and soi he pushed raw magic into his wand's tip, as he slashed his wand wildly, belief in his power and theory pushing him on and watched as the fire was cut into two, as he smiled wildly.

"TEMPEST!" he shouted again, this time letting the spell gather enough power, and now as the lightning struck down, it was not one strike, it was a dozen strikes, all of whim crashed into the Hungarian Horntail's back pushing it onto the ground.

It still roared, as it tried to push itself back up and blitz toward him, but Cassius had it right where he wanted it, and then he used one of Sirius's tricks. He had read up on the summoning charm trick, and realsied that it was quite a common duelling move, and now he was going to use it.

"Accio Versus!" and he could feel the exhaustion kick in, but the spell began, as rocks, big and large, all flew towards the might dragon, and began to pile up on it, they hit fhim from the sides, from the front and from the back, giving it no respite, as Cassius continued to hold the spell, until the dragon was covered halfway in rocks.

And as it spewed fire towards him in desperation he smiled, and once more spun in the air, yet this time he redirected the spell towards the pile of rocks keeping it in place, adding in his own magic.

"Incendio Solus!"

And the dragon roared, but the fire burnt through the rocks, melting them, as they imprisoned the lower half of the dragon, and as they became fixed Cassius ended the spell, drenched in sweat as he looked the dragon in the eye.

It was stuck, and now all he needed to do was to transfigure bindings out of the earth, as he wrapped it up in steel chain, and subdued the mighty beast.

He glanced around, and the arena was silent as he stood there triumphantly until a cheer broke out, as the students began to chant his name.

"Cassius!" "CASSIUS!" "CASSIUS!"

And it began with a single shout, and soon the rest of the students present joined in as Cassius looked towards a singular person in the stands, eyeing him innocently as Ron and Hermione shouted his name, and the rest of the Gryffindor house roared around him.

Of the entire house, only he was quiet, and he felt their eyes met, and while looking at him, Cassius aimed his wand towards the Golden egg in the corner of the arena, and whispered.

"Bombarda!"

0000

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

Not many wizards could boast about facing a dragon and subduing it single-handedly. Yet Cassius Black had done just that while reminding the Ministry and all of them about the dangers of the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

What had transpired in the arena during the first task was an anomaly, and despite the exemplary show of prowess from the young Black family heir, Cassius Black had refused to complete the task.

In the end, they had deliberated for hours to reach upon a conclusion on how to deal with him. The fact that Cassius Black's name had come out of the Goblet of Fire meant that he had no choice but to participate in the tournament.

"I must say you have caused us all quite a bit of trouble," and ever since he had learned that the boy in front of him knew of his own jaded past, he had been hesitant to meet him, for he knew that he might find himself searching for judgment in those eyes.

But a part of him also knew that he could not turn away from the reality for much longer. He would have to face him again, if not for himself, then for the world.

"I could say the same thing for all of you," Cassius Black answered as he sat in his office, and the boy seemed somewhat unaffected by the fame and reverence that he had gained because of his masterful duel.

"Well, regardless, the judges have finally made their decision, and I have been tasked with giving you the rundown," Albus began.

"Despite the fact that you did not complete the first task, it cannot be denied that you showed great courage and daring, and for that, the judges have chosen to award you a total of thirty-five points," and the boy seemed frustrated by their decision.

"They do know that I intend to continue my protest, right?" And indeed, they knew that once a name had come out of the Goblet, the person in question had no choice but to participate.

"Yes, but unlike the other champions, you will lack the clue to guide you in the second task, that should be your penalty for not completing the task," and he seemed unbothered by that.

"I don't care, though I do want to know how the chain broke?" and he wanted to know as well, but despite a proper investigation, the matter remained a mystery to everyone.

"We are not sure yet," he answered, and the boy was clearly unimpressed by his answer.

"Still, now that we are done with that, there is something that I need to give you," and Albus opened the drawer, took out a small stone, and placed it on the table.

The Ravenclaw boy glanced at the stone, and his eyes widened as he recognised it.

"Is that?" he gasped and Albus nodded.

"Yes, that is one of the Hallows," and there was a time that he had dreamt about possessing the three Hallows, and yet despite his youth, power, influence, and desperate search, the mythical items had continued to escape him.

But now, when he desired them no more, they lay close to him such that he could gather all three of them in one single night he wished.

The Irony of the situation was not lost to him. And neither would it be lost upon the boy in front of him. The Three Hallows represented his greatest failure and weakness, and despite having the chance of uniting them, Albus did not trust himself with the power, despite having fallen prey to their power.

"The Hallows are a mystery. Objects that hold unspeakable power, and while once I had dreamt of uniting them, I now know better that of all the people in this world, I am the least deserving of that honor and power," and that seemed to surprise the Ravenclaw, who began after a few seconds.

"I know of your hesitance when it comes to wielding such power, but if it is indeed Voldemort acting through Harry's body, then you need to stop him," and how was he to do that? Just as he had let him rise to power in these very Halls?

No. In the end, that opportunity was lost to him. Both then, and now.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that he himself shared much of the blame for Harry's current condition, that his own actions had led the young boy into his current state.

With all that baggage and the doubt about Harry's current condition, he wondered if he would even be able to make the right choice, or more importantly, do what was necessary.

"There is no doubt in my mind by now that the person currently inhabiting Harry's body is indeed Tom." his words made the boy's eyes widen.

"Though I still remain confused and conflicted about what became of Harry himself. Is he alive? Is he dead? Does his soul still reside in his body, or have I failed the Potters once more?" and there were so many questions.

"So, we need answers. You can search for them," and he shook his head.

"No, I am afraid the guilt of my actions clouds my judgment. Sadly, I believe myself incapable of carrying this burden," and so he reached out and put forward a memory vial on the table as well.

"I believe through this memory, and this stone, you should be able to obtain those answers, and what you decide to do afterwards is your choice," and the boy frowned.

"You want me to make that decision?" Albus nodded, remembering Perenelle's words.

"Yes, because if you are who you claim to be, my boy, then this will be the first of many burdens that you must carry," and the Ravenclaw boy was confused by his words.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I believe I am not the best person to ask that question. There is someone who can guide you and help you in your decisions, someone who was both blessed and cursed with the same gift as you," and that caught him surprise.

"Are you telling me that there has been someone else like me?" and he nodded.

"Yes."

"Who?" he asked, and Albus looked him in the eye.

"I doubt that you have heard of her, but she was a witch born six hundred years ago and helped in the creation of a magical marvel that remains a mystery to this day..."

"Pernelle Flamel," and he was surprised by the boy's words, though he was a Ravenclaw.

"How did you know?" he asked, genuinely surprised by his accuracy.

"I always felt that there was more to the Flamels, but if she was indeed like me, then it makes more sense," and he wondered if the boy suspected their treachery as well, suspected about what they had done to create that magical marvel.

"Yes, she is quite eager to meet you," he said, and the boy nodded.

"So, you are leaving this matter in my hands," and he nodded sadly.

"Yes."

.

.

.

And just as he was about to leave, he asked him another question.

"Did you use it?" he asked, and Albus smiled as he told the boy a half-truth.

"No," he answered, but not because of a lack of trying, and as the door closed behind him, Albus raised his hand into the light; the subtle disillusionment that he had cast on it vanished, revealing a blackened hand, as his lips thinned.

"It seems like I remain as poor a student as always..."

0000

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