Warning: This is AD/MM, if the mere idea of those two squicks you, do the Rockford-turn…NOW!!!
Disclaimer: If I'd own them, I wouldn't be writing fanfic, so no, I don't
The duelling contest or This is bothOh, how had she gotten herself into this predicament? Dodging the "Expelliarmus" spell thrown at her by her adversary, Minerva McGonagall pondered how she had gotten so lucky. She meant 'Lucky' with a huge piece of sarcasm . Damn Albus Dumbledore! It was all his fault, anyway.
What had possessed him to include a duelling contest in the festivities at Hogwarts to celebrate the final defeat of Lord Voldemort? In honor of the occasion, the school had turned into a week-long fair with lots of parties, activities, dances and feasts to celebrate peace and freedom. At one point, Albus had suggested including this duelling contest, in which students and teachers alike could enter. Of course, the students had been most happy to get such a chance.
She herself had flat out refused such a display. Severus too, for that matter. But Albus had chosen to ignore their refusal and entered their names anyway. The piece of her mind he had received for this stunt should have left his ears ringing even weeks later. Rumor had it that her yelling could have been heard, even at the top of the North Tower.
Nevertheless, Minerva had not found a way to get herself out of the contest and then finally decided that since she was stuck in it, she could just as well win. Dodging another spell thrown at her and casting two of her own in short succession, she reflected on her way into the final. Too bad she didn't have the chance to duel with Snape. That would have put the man into his place for good. Though it had been a nice touch to see young Mr. Malfoy practically crying for mercy when she was done with him. Served him right, to have that arrogant sneer wiped off his face. After all, he was not duelling with second-year Harry Potter in his first duel, but Minerva McGonagall herself. He hadn't known what hit him, when first Expelliarmus was thrown at him, sending him flying, then Impedimenta and finally, when he was on the floor, with her boot on his chest and wand pointed at him, she couldn't resist hitting him with Rictusempra. The uncontrollable giggling had sure embarrassed him.
Her other adversaries hadn't been that noteworthy. Neither of them had caused her any exertion. Except…well, except Mr. Longbottom. The boy had been a surprise. It seemed that 'Dumbledore's Army' had turned him into a brilliant duellist. Fighting him in the semi-final, was the only time she came close to defeat. However, she had won and now, in the final round faced her only true competitor: None other then Albus Dumbledore himself.
And she still owed him a payback for the aforementioned stunt.
Seeing an Expelliarmus coming her way, she bellowed: "Contego!" to shield herself and turn it against the caster. But Albus was a master in the art and easily ducked the blast.
"Expelliarmus!"
"Deflecto!"
"Inflo!"
"Conjunktivo!"
"Contego!"
The spells were thrown back and forth, much like a muggle tennis match.
"Confundo!"
"Protego!"
"They have been doing that for 20 bloody minutes already and they don't look like they're going to stop soon."
"Hush Ron, I want to catch the spells."
"At the pace they are going you need a down-slower (yeah, well, I know it's lame, but I can't come with something better) for noises."
"Ssshhh Harry, I want to hear."
"Yeah, whatever…."
"Who do you think is going to win, Neville?"
"I don't know, Parvati. I mean, Dumbledore is probably the best fighter of the century, but McGonagall isn't bad either. During our match, I was scared for my life sometimes."
"She's good, isn't she?"
"Definitely."
"Expelliarmus"
"Defendo!"
"Attingo!"
"Protego!"
Damn that crackpot old fool, didn't he ever show signs of exhaustion? Every spell she had tried, every trick, he had easily dodged or turned against her. Good thing she knew her way around defense-spells. This was exhausting and honestly a little boring too. Minerva knew, she could win. It was just a matter of tactics.
"Offensio!"
"Expelliarmus!"
"Contego!"
"Nuto!"
But still, he seemed to enjoy himself. The merry twinkle never left his eyes and he didn't even seem a bit out of breath after 30 minutes of constant duelling.
"Attingo!"
"Impedimenta!"
"Expelliarmus!"
The twinkle gave her an idea. She knew how to win. He had one weakness in this and if she played that alright, the victory would be hers. He would make his mistake and she would be there to turn it mercilessly against him.
"Contego!"
"Inflo!"
"Confundo!"
"Attingo!"
Aaarrrggghhh! Damn, that had hurt. She had let her defense down for the crack of a second and he had hit her right then. When was he going to make his mistake, for Merlin's sake? There, it came…
"Stupefy!"
Yelling "Declino!" to deflect the spell and somersaulting over to Albus' side was one. Her move caught him completely off guard and he backed away to avoid her jumping right at him. In the process he lowered his defenses. That was a mistake.
Minerva easily found her footing and cast "Impedimenta" at him. The spell hit him right in the center of his chest. He stood about a meter away from the backwall of the arena, completely frozen. But that would only last so long. It was time for the physical approach.
The woman closed the distance between them with two long, quick strides, grabbed the man by the front of his robes and pulled him close. The terrified look in his eyes was priceless to her, but she had no time to bask in the fact that she had made the great Albus Dumbledore completely and utterly afraid of what was coming next. She was much too focused on the fact that he would overcome the Impedimenta-spell shortly. She was ready for the kill. The man had no idea what he had coming.
With that thought she closed the distance between them and kissed him passionately on the mouth.
"OH MY GOD!" Hermione Granger shrieked.
"Eeeeewwww!" A group of third-years exclaimed in disgust.
Harry Potter stood there with his mouth hanging wide open. Next to him, Ron Weasley exclaimed "Bloody Hell!"
Severus Snape stared at the couple wide-eyed. Next to him Madam Hooch whistled and elbowing him muttered smugly. "Wow, so that was the new tactical move she was talking about. Got to give it to her, it's certainly working." Snape only glared at her.
Whoops and gasps and shouts of shock were heard throughout the Great Hall, while the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress were engaged in a heady kiss that became more passionate by the second. Dumbledore had apparently finally gathered his wits again and was putting his hands up to Minerva's shoulders.
At this precise moment, when everybody thought there couldn't be a greater shock, Minerva suddenly raised her arms and pushed Albus away with a mighty shove. How her wand came into her hand, nobody ever knew.
"Expelliarmus!" He was thrown backwards, his wand flying away and landing with a clatter on the ground.
"Stupefy!", followed immediately.
He lay on his back, stunned, and knew he had lost the duel. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Minerva coming close with her wand poised in her hand. She put a boot-clad foot on his chest. He quickly considered pulling this leg in order for her to lose balance, but before he could ponder that idea, a very familiar voice drawled: "Don't even think about it."
Looking up, he saw Minerva smiling triumphantly down at him.
"And the winner of the Hogwarts' duelling contest is: Minerva McGonagall!" Prof. Flitwick, who had played the referee, announced.
Minerva bowed to the clapping audience. Most of the students and staff didn't know if they were applauding for her victory or for the kissing display earlier, but it didn't matter. Certainly not to Minerva.
She extended her hand to Albus to help him up. When he was on his feet again, he didn't let go of her hand.
"Give a big round of applause to both of the finalists." Flitwick yelled and the ovations became almost deafening.
Bowing to the audience, Albus whispered, squeezing the woman's hand. "This was hardly a fair move, my dear."
She gave him a smug smile. "All is fair in love and war, my love. And this was both. Besides, you asked for it."
His eyes twinkled merrily. "I tend to disagree on that, dear."
"But I don't. You were asking for it when you entered me into this contest. I promised you a payback and you got it."
The twinkle became even stronger. "Does that mean you are done with me, my love?"
Her grin was mischievous, with the hint of something more. "Not by a long shot, love. Not by a long shot."
***
A/N2: The spells are mostly variations of the word "Attack!", I have found that there are basically not a lot of duelling curses/spells given in the HP-universe.
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