Somewhere Safe - Chapter 37

Harry held his hand out to Delphi. She smiled brightly at him as she took it. Her fingers wiggled between hers, then she cozied closer as they walked. He found that little moments like these were a nice way to connect with each of the witches in the coven.

Delphi seemed distracted. She kept turning her head a couple of times as they made their way through the halls.

"Are you looking for something?" Harry asked. "Or someone?"

"No." Delphi sighed. "Just trying to decide if I want to lose my virginity in a broom closet."

Harry stumbled at her words. Delphi giggled at him but held firm. Thanks to her efforts he didn't wind up face-first on the floor.

"Where did that come from?" He asked once he regained his stride.

"I'm feeling left out." She pouted. "Even our time sleeping together has someone else there."

Harry squeezed her hand.

"Yeah." He smiled at her. "We'll do something special tonight. Just the two of us."

Delphi smiled brightly at him.

"You do realize this will start a chain reaction of date nights with all of the ladies, right?" Harry asked.

"Doesn't matter." Delphi shrugged. "I just want some time with you."

"We'll make some plans after the duels." Harry stated. "Deal?"

"Deal." Delphi's smile turned feral.

Harry realized a moment too late that he had given her plenty of motivation to power through her duels. He pitied whoever was placed as her opponent.

"Do you know how this will work?" Harry asked, hoping to distract her.

"That depends." Delphi switched to an analytical tone. "Considering the number of duelists, they will probably start with a tournament until they narrow down the field. After they hit a certain goal, then they should move to challenge-based dueling."

She shrugged.

"Would you like to join me to watch the Quidditch matches after lunch?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Delphi replied eagerly. "All of them?"

"I didn't see who was playing." Harry answered. "I want to be there to watch Iris and any other girls in the coven."

"Today is Hufflepuff versus Hogwarts." Delphi informed him. "Each House will have a day to play the School team. The first match will be Cubs, then Mid, and Top goes last."

"Will there be enough time for all three games?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." Delphi raised her eyebrows at the question. "Why wouldn't they?"

"The games can last for a while." Harry sounded just as confused as she was.

"I'll have Iris or one of the other Quafflenuts to explain it to you." Delphi shook her head. "Quidditch was never my thing."

"Quafflenuts?" Harry snorted.

"Broomheads, Quafflenuts, you know, Quidditch fans." Delphi shrugged. "Come on, let's hurry."

Delphi put on a faux-annoyed look as Luna and Luna joined them. She couldn't stop the little smile that crossed her face when both of them decided to cozy up to her rather than Harry. The 'twins' were practically impossible to tell apart. Not only did they make no effort to make it easier for people. In fact, they had started changing clothes randomly. Most of the time it wasn't even the full outfit.

The duo drew Delphi into a conversation. All the while, she kept her grip on his hand. Harry didn't make any effort to slip from her grasp. He understood the urge to hold on to something precious, doubly so for people. It was pretty obvious that before he got here, and before the coven formed, Delphi was alone. The feeling of being isolated was fresh.

"Are you going to do any dueling today, Luna?" Harry asked.

"Nope." Both said in unison.

"I want to watch." One of them said.

"Are you settling in alright?" Harry asked.

"Yes." One said.
"Thank you for letting us sleep with you." The other said.
"It helps." The first added.
"We'll cuddle with Rose tonight." The second offered.

"Thank you." Delphi gave each give a squeeze.

"I was being selfish." One of the Lunas admitted.
"Especially since I promised daddy no sex until next year." The other finished.

Harry missed a step. Delphi flashed him a teasing smile as he righted himself.

"So." Harry cleared his throat. "To the duels?"

"Yes." Luna pulled Delphi along faster.

The other Luna hung back.

"Thank you for coming here." Luna pulled him into a hug. "Thank you for bringing me here."

Her voice didn't sound like it usually did. The dreamy tone had a hint of sorrow to it.

"You're welcome." Harry gave her a gentle squeeze.

He let out a little yelp when he felt her hand cup his relaxed member.

"Luna!" Harry gawked at her.

"I promised 'no sex' that doesn't mean 'no anything'." Luna sounded like herself again.

She turned and skipped after Delphi and Luna. Harry stood there watching the witches walk away. The view was nice, but it didn't help ease his rousing erection. Harry closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. He tried to think of anything else other than sex.

Of course, that meant it was the first thing on his mind. Instead of fighting it he decided to shift the approach to an analytical one. His experience with girls before he came here was miniscule. He had spent so much time in the chaos of surviving that romance wasn't an option. Looking back, it was hard to miss the connection he had with Hermione.

Now, he probably had more experience than most wizards in his year. In the other world, at least. He wasn't so sure about how things worked. If covens were normal then it would make sense that people would be more experienced. Everyone did seem a bit freer with displays of affection.

Harry found the train of thought had distracted the blood rushing below. He caught up with Delphi and Luna a couple of moments later. The trio were among a small group gathered around a large chalkboard.

At first glance the board appeared to display a standard tournament bracket. On closer inspection he saw that it was actually something of a round-robin arrangement. For the next three days the Hogwarts dueling team would be facing all challengers. A closer look told him that it wasn't the entire team that were present in the rotation.

There were ten duelists listed. Each round had five matches and there was a total of nine rounds. Aureum Malfoy, Padma, Delphi, and Elphaba West were prominent among the matches. As was Harry. His first match was against Ziyi Chang, Cho Chang's possible sister. Aureum had faced her in the qualifying round. He still had no idea if there was a version of her in the other world. The longer he stayed, the less it mattered.

Harry couldn't help but shake his head when he saw his second opponent: Draco Malfoy. He was going to enjoy that one. Each duel needed his focus, he couldn't discount Ziyi Chang just because he wanted to trounce this world's version of Draco. She deserved his attention. He was at a disadvantage; she had seen him duel while he had no idea what her style was.

Somehow, he had ended up as the first duel in each round. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. It should give him plenty of time to recover. Each round had a time limit of ten minutes which meant at most he would have forty minutes between duels. Aureum, Padma, and Delphi were his last three opponents. It made sense considering he had already dueled with them.

"Mister Potter, Miss Chang." Professor Flitwick called. "You're up first. Please approach the platform."

Harry didn't stop to scan the crowd. Having that many people so close made him nervous and he preferred to keep focus.

Ziyi Chang was a slender Asian girl that was about his height. She was attractive but appeared to be less than impressed with him. He hadn't asked if she was older, or younger than Cho. It was a curiosity rather than a pressing piece of information. Harry inclined his head in greeting as they stepped onto the platform. She returned the gesture with one of her own. At least she was polite.

"Dueling on Red, Harry Potter." Professor Riddle announced.

The crowd cheered louder than he expected. He blushed and waved at the audience. Harry had made more friends in the last couple of weeks since his arrival than he had in the years elsewhere. Plus, his coven did their best to let him know they were there to cheer for him.

"Dueling on Blue, Ziyi Chang." Professor Riddle continued.

Another pause for cheers.

"This is a Class Two Duel." Professor Riddle explained. "Victory through disarming, knocking your opponent off the platform, or yielding."

"Bow to your opponent." Professor Riddle instructed.

They did.

"Ready? Begin!" Professor Riddle yelled.

Ziyi was fast. She was probably the fastest duelist he had faced yet. Her opening salvo was a mixture of stunners, disarming charms, and leg-lock hexes with the occasional illusion tossed in to keep things interesting. She put him on the defensive from the very first moment. To further complicate matters, she switched between languages for her incantations.

Harry had to try to recognize the spell as it rushed toward him. Her use of illusionary magic made that incredibly difficult. She would alter the color of the spell a moment after it left her wand, giving him the briefest of windows to get a look at the real spell. Each one was repainted to a standard blue rather than the true hue.

He tried to keep his movements small to conserve energy. A quick turn of his shoulders to slip a spell and a step to the side rather than rolling around or blocking them all with his shield. He was already impressed by the fact that she hadn't let up yet. The only weakness in her approach he could see was the fact that she didn't move her feet. Her wand-arm was a blur, but she hadn't moved at all below her waist.

Harry stayed on the defensive but sent a pulse of magic into the ground. A small twang of static to get a different angle on the duel. He could feel the roots of her magic anchored in ground beneath her feet. She was using the connection to draw power from the world around her to supplement her own. That was how she was able to keep her barrage. The only reaction she gave from the static was a slight twitch of free hand.

A skeleton of a plan began to form in his mind. It was the one he had used against Bellatrix, with some modifications.

He summoned a flock of birds. They were larger than the standard spell. Each bird had a multi-colored pattern that did not exist in the natural world.

Ziyi didn't even blink. She banished the flock as it neared. Each bird exploded into a cluster of brightly colored dragonflies. They zipped toward her and burst into clouds of chalk as they got closer. A moment later she was covered from head to toe in splotches of multi-colored dust. She felt the chalk around her forearm and hand that held her wand solidify.

She held her arm up for inspection. The shell covered from the tip of her wand to just before her elbow. It appeared to be made out of stone. This wouldn't have stopped Bellatrix, but it was enough to break Ziyi's assault. She broke the shell with a burst of magic from her wand. The distraction bought him enough time hit her with a Jelly Leg Jinx.

Ziyi wobbled. She stumbled toward the edge of the platform as she tried to stay on her feet. The witch recovered faster than he expected, but his plan was already in motion. Ziyi straightened up and made to plant her feet again. Only to scream in shock as her foot came down on a sewing needle. She yanked her foot away on instinct, putting her standing on one leg.

She shot a glare up at him just in time to see the stunner rocketing toward her.

"Winner, Harry Potter!" Professor Riddle announced.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Harry strode over to the unconscious witch. He woke her up and offered her a hand. She took it without a word. Once she was on her feet she examined the sole of her shoe to see the needle sticking out a bit. Ziyi pulled it free and held it up for closer inspection.

"No blood." Ziyi stated.

She held it out to him. The needle vanished as Harry dispelled the magic. Ziyi stepped off the platform without another word. He didn't think they would be hanging out anytime soon. If ever.

Harry headed back to the waiting area. He found Aureum, Padma, and Delphi easy enough. Harry was happy to see that Delphi and Padma seemed to be getting along now. At least it looked like Delphi wasn't going to curse Padma for breathing near Harry anymore.

"You were right." Harry took a seat near them. "She was a beast."