Chapter 64
CASSIUS BLACK
"Protego Diabolica!" Cassius whispered, and the fire around him morphed into a giant skeleton. It roared as Tom, standing in front of him, whispered the same spell name. For Cassius, however, it was darkness that coiled around him, taking the form of a giant snake that rushed towards him.
BOOOOM!
The darkness clashed against the fire of his skeleton as Cassius, met Tom's gaze and realised that this was it.
"Consider me impressed," Tom's whisper reached his ears, as he held onto his ground, as their magics both dissipated as they began to throw another barrage of spells at each other, and their wands moved in unison as the space between them cracked and croaked.
THUNG! BANG!
Spells, visible and invisible, crashed into one another, as both of them hollowed out their reserves, and he could feel the drain from the fight settle in, but the drain was much greater and significant for Tom.
"You are getting slower," Cassius taunted, and saw those lips thin, as slowly but surely he began to gain an advantage.
His spells began to slip through His defence, and whipped past him, as Cassius made one final push and saw those red orbs gleam.
"How!" he raged, and the answer was obvious, for while he may have much of Tom's skills and mastery over magic, he was using an incompatible wand, in a wholly untrained body.
"Because you are nothing more than a parasite!" and with that, Cassius used his speek to cast a quick stunner, but he did not just cast one stunner, he twisted his wand in quick succession, as he launched three more, one behind another.
"Protego!" Tom whispered, and the golden shield gleamed into existence as one stunner after another crashed into the golden shield.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
And the three spells hit the shield, as Cassius baited him into attacking, and Tom angry as he was too the bait, and launched a quick bombarda at him, and just as the spell was about to hit him, Cassius vanished with a crack as he apparated right above him much to his surprise, and aimed his wand at him.
"Sectumsempra!" and the spell whipped through the air, and since the spell rendered all shields useless, he moved to the side, but he saw his spell cut his shoulder but the Dark Lord sent another purple orb towards him, as Cassius twisted his wand once more, preparing to throw another offensive spell.
CRACK!
And just before the spell could hit him, he vanished once more and this time appeared behind Tom, and launched a spell at Tom.
And again and again, Cassius apparated and launched a spell and apparated again. It was an old technique, one that had become rather obsolete in modern duelling era but one that he had found himself leaning towards as he slowly but surely whittled down Tom until he appeared in front of him, and just as he was about to launch his spell at him.
"ENOUGH!" Tom raged, and magic rushed out of him in a wave, as Cassius found himself pushed back, darkness pushed out of him and just as he faltered for a second, that was all Tom needed.
"Avada..." and his wand was aimed at him, gleaming the ominous green, and just as Cassius prepared himself to teleport once more, he saw Tom's body grow rigid for a second, and those red eyes flashed a hint of green, as the man fell to his knees, and Cassius moved quickly.
"Stupefy..."
"You dare defy me!" he thundered, and the hint of green vanished as he jumped to the side to avoid his spell, and rolled on the ground, as Cassius took a deep breath, and moved his wand in a semicircle, as he whispered the name of the spell taught to him by Salazar himself.
"Expecto Patronum!" and this time magic rushed off of him, and blasted away the darkness as a unicorn rushed out of his wand and headed straight towards Tom, and he could see the split, as the color of his eyes began to shift, and he began to writhe on the ground.
"NO!" he heard a visceral and gut-wrenching scream come out of that throat, as the unicorn passed right through him, and for the first time in some time, he heard Harry's nasal scream.
"Get out!" and he could see the struggle, as Harry's wand fell away from his hand, and Dean announced the end of the duel.
"NOO!" but Cassius had not been quiet in that time, for while he had hoped that a powerful patronus could split the souls, Salazar had taught him the ultimate form of the spell as well.
"Per lumen Solis, tenebras vincam," he whispered, as the Patronus began to glow and take the shape of an orb of light as he felt the wand in his hand begin to heat up.
"PATRONUM SOLIS!" and the light was deafening, and he watched as Tom's shadow was pushed out of Harry, as a visceral scream tore through the arena.
"NOOOOOO!!!!" and as the blinding light faded, Cassius fell to his knees. The adrenaline rush fuelling him in the last seconds began to fade, as Dean's voice began to register to his ears once more.
"AND IT IS OVER! IT IS FINALLY OVER!" Dean shouted, and he looked to the side, and saw the Headmaster descend to the arena as he walked up to the unconscious form of Harry.
"AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I HAVE JUST WITNESSED HERE! BUT I KNOW ENOUGH THAT THIS WAS HISTORY! HISTORY I SAY!" and indeed it was, as Cassius slowly rose back up as the crowd roared in full, making the ground shake.
"AND WINNER IS THE BOY WHO CHOSE HIMSELF! THE UNCHOSEN ONE!"
"CASSIUS BLACK!"
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The duel was brutal, and in the end, he had to be taken to the Hospital Wing, where the matron whispered quite the curses as she saw his and Harry's condition, but in the end, while he needed to rest for a few hours, Harry had yet to wake from his slumber.
Cassius himself woke up late into the night, bound to a bed in the Hospital Wing as Harry lay beside him, and a part of him wondered if the spell had worked or not.
He had to know, and so he reached for the stone in his pocket, and thankfully it was still there, and as he gazed at the closed doors, he turned it thrice in his palm as he closed his eyes and whispered a name, long forgotten by the world.
"Tom Riddle," and as he opened his eyes once more, a young boy stood in front of him, his face pale and pearly white, and even the silver and grey could do little to hide the red, menacing gaze of his.
And he saw those lips snarl as they gazed at him, as relief filled his heart, and just before he could begin screaming, he twisted his hand once more, and Tom Riddle vanished as he should have years ago, as Cassius felt the burden of destiny and fate lift off his shoulder.
Ever since he had taken his first breath in this world, the specter of Tom Riddle had hung over his head, menacing him, threatening him with death and destruction of all that he held dear.
And now he was gone.
The world was finally rid of the monster that was Voldemort. The door to the Hospital Wing creaked, and he turned and saw the Headmaster walk in, his steps quiet and cautious as he strode into the room.
"Poppy mentioned that you would be awake by now," and she had, just before she had kicked everyone out of the room, including the Headmaster.
"He is dead," Cassius couldn't help but whisper in some relief. In some joy, and even the Headmaster stilled at his words, before asking again.
"Are you certain?" he asked, and Cassius nodded, showing him the stone in his palm.
"I just confirmed it myself," and those blue eyes dimmed slightly, as Cassius heard him sigh in relief.
"Thank you," the Headmaster whispered as he stepped forward, and gazed at the slumbering form of Harry Potter, as he gazed at the boy who had suffered the most because of his failures.
"You have done me a great favor. One which I could hardly ever hope to pay back," and in the end, he just shrugged.
"I am just relieved that it is over," and he was, for the doubt and fear that had lingered in his heart for decades now was all gone.
"Yes, now I can die in peace with the knowledge that the fate of the Wizarding World is in safe hands," and that made him stop.
"But I thought you had a year," and the man nodded.
"I did, but that was before I agreed to train you," and Cassius had not considered that, as those blue eyes dimmed.
"Now, but I have half that time. Still, it is time enough for a man such as me, especially since I no longer have to worry so much about the future," he whispered with a smile as he walked towards him.
"The duel? There will be questions about it," Cassius reminded, and the man nodded.
"I know, and we will have the answers. But you have greater things to worry about," and indeed, for tomorrow, he was set to face off against the Headmaster again, for the Final Stage of the Tournament.
"Rest, you deserve it," and with that, the Headmaster left, leaving him alone in the room once more, as he stared out the window at the clear skies and wondered what he was going to do tomorrow.
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And so the Last Stage of the Triwizard tournament began, and each of the contestants was set to face a selected Headmaster, or Scrimegour in the case of Cedric. His was the last match, and he could sense the whole arena waiting for the final bout with baited breath, excited to see more from him given his showing yesterday.
"Do you really think you can do this?" Daphne asked him worriedly, and he shrugged.
"Of course, it was but one duel," one duel which had left him drained, and the blonde's lips thinned.
"Plus, you need not worry," he whispered as he stood up from the table and gave her a wink.
"I have a name to live up to," and she frowned for a second, until the realization finally dawned on her as she shook her head.
"You cannot be serious," she questioned, and he was.
He had given much thought to the Headmaster's offer, and had realised that he had fought quite hard to gain this freedom, and that he was not quite ready to give it all up just yet.
"So, hold on, I will be coming right back," he told her, and walked onto the stage, amidst a loud cheer as Dean's voice rang loud.
"AND HERE WE HAVE OUR LAST CONTESTANT! CASSIUS BLACK! AND WHAT MIRACLE WILL HE SHOW US TODAY AFTER HIS STELLAR VICTORY YESTERDAY!" and the Headmaster stood in his place, waiting for him as he slowly took to the stage.
"WILL WE SEE ANOTHER DUEL FOR THE AGES AS HE CLASHES AGAINST OUR VERY OWN HEADMASTER! WILL THIS BE THE DUEL FOR THE CHANGING OF THE ERAS!" and it was supposed to be, but Cassius had spent all these years with the constant specter of Voldemort hanging over his head.
So, for the next four years he was agoing to enjoy his life.
"I know that you want me to succeed you, Headmaster," Cassius began, as he took out his wand got into his stance rather lazily, as the blue eyed man did the same.
"But, I am afraid I am not quite ready yet," and the man frowned at his words, as the countdown began.
"I want to live a little before I get hobbled down by the future," and just as the canon was fired Cassius stood tall, as once more as he raised his wand arm, for the entire arena to see and opened his palm.
"I see," the Headmaster nodded, as the wood hit the floor as Cassius whispered to the entire crowd.
"I forfeit..."
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~THE UNCHOSEN ONE STRIKES AGAIN!~