Chapter 36: Grand Finale

It was finally the day of the grand finale. There was an expectant hush as Professor Dean called the sixth years to order. Sixth years from all four houses were present, their whole class minus the very few who were not taking DADA or had no interest in watching the tournament (which consisted of a Ravenclaw and two Hufflepuffs).

"Welcome to the finals of the Slytherin versus Gryffindor dueling competition," Professor Dean began. "Our combatants are Mr. Severus Snape—" There was a loud "boo" from the Gryffindor supporters— "and Mr. Sirius Black." All the Gryffindor supporters cheered loudly. Harry winced as James practically screamed in his ear. Peter was nearly as loud. Remus joined Harry in wincing, even grimacing at the volume. Harry gave him a sympathetic look; the full moon was tomorrow. And the screaming was hardly going to end anytime soon.

Severus and Sirius faced each other at Professor Dean's instruction, a nasty glare on each of their faces. Professor Dean reviewed the most important rules (probably because he could sense the bad blood between them), then stepped back to referee. He then raised the barrier and called, "Begin!"

Instantly the arena was filled with spellfire. Though they couldn't hear what they were saying, it was clear they were hurling insults with just as much fluency as their spells. They were a fairly even match. Severus had cunning on his side, but Sirius had raw power and creativity. For the first few minutes, neither had the clear upper hand. It was a very intense duel as well, and despite himself Harry was drawn in, sitting on the edge of his seats, his fists clenched with the tension, unsure who to root for. Either would be a terribly sore loser, and Harry was certain there would be some kind of retaliation from the loser. A part of him was hoping that they both lost, so neither could claim supremacy over the other.

Soon, however, Harry's mind had no more room for pondering, because the duel kept getting more and more intense. As he watched, Severus hit Sirius with a spell that sent him flying back nearly ten feet, to land hard on his back. But Sirius was up in an instant, already retaliating with a flurry of multicolored spells. One of them made contact and Severus sprouted feathers around his face, obscuring his vision.

Severus dived to the side to avoid the onslaught, reversed the spell, then sent a hail of pebbles flying toward Sirius, forcing him to dodge constantly, or else throw up a barrier. Then Sirius took them all by surprise and swung his wand like a baseball bat (or a beater's bat), sending the same pebbles raining down on Severus with startling accuracy. One of them sliced by his cheek; another impacted his arm, and another, a particularly large one, hit him in the stomach.

Severus grunted and cast a variation shield charm that reduced the pebbles to harmless grains of sand as they passed through. Then he started back on the attack, his face twisted into a vicious sneer. Sirius met each of his attacks head-on, or else turned them against him. Their spells grew steadily more dangerous as the duel wore on, each becoming angrier and more determined to win. Twice, Professor Dean almost stopped the duel for the spells being too dangerous, but thought better of getting between the two feuding students.

At the ten-minute mark, the entire crowd was growing antsy and impatient. And so were the participants. Their duel was as much verbal as it was spells, and Harry knew it would eventually come down to who could rein in their temper the longest. As sad as it was, Harry was betting Sirius would lose his cool first.

Three minutes later, Harry was proved right. He didn't know what Severus had said, but Sirius's face turned red and he started casting furiously, his wand movements becoming wide and sharp. From the colors, Harry could tell he was casting the same three or four spells over and over again, advancing as he did. He also appeared to be shouting. Severus's face was set in grim determination, because furious or not, Sirius still had deadly accuracy and far more power than Severus himself.

Three more minutes later, the duel seemed to be decided. Sirius advanced as Severus gave ground, his spells growing less frequent as he dodged or shielded more often under Sirius's onslaught. Finally, Severus was literally backed into a corner, and Sirius was already grinning in triumph as he raised his wand for the finishing blow.

Then several things happened at once.

There was a series of bangs and an explosion of dust and debris obscured the arena. Multicolored light flashed in the dust cloud like eerie lighting. Professor Dean rushed into the arena, his wand raised.

Then, everything was still.

As the dust settled, it became clear who the victor was. Bruised, bloodied, and panting with exertion, a single figure remained standing, his wand arm raised in triumph.

"And Severus Snape is the winner!" came the announcement.

The arena erupted with furious shouts.

"He cheated!" James was shouting over and over again. "There's no way he beat Sirius fair and square!"

"Shut up, Gryffindors!" Avery shouted from across the arena. "You're just sore because a slimy snake finally bested you at something!"

"Rematch!" came a general cry from the other spectators.

"SILENCE!" Professor Dean shouted, the crack of a firecracker hanging in the air from his raised wand.

Silence fell immediately.

"I have evaluated the situation, and while Mr. Snape did use a rather unorthodox method, he was within the rules to use it. Therefore, he is the winner. As promised, Mr. Snape has won 75 points for Slytherin House and receives a free pass on his practical exam. Congratulations, Mr. Snape."

"Thank you, sir," Severus said with a nod. Then he returned to his seat. Professor Dean then revived Sirius, who was laying prone on the ground a good ten feet from where he'd been before the explosions.

"Mr. Black, congratulations on placing second in the Gryffindor-Slytherin dueling tournament. As promised, you will receive 50 points for Gryffindor and a free pass on your practical exam."

Sirius scoffed and stormed out of the arena, limping, completely ignoring the bloody cut on his forehead.

"He's going to be a nightmare for weeks," Peter lamented as Sirius stormed out of the classroom as well. The entire group cringed when he slammed the door shut behind him.

"I'm staying out of his way," Harry declared, "or else I'll be the one hexing him senseless."

"That's probably a good idea," Remus said mildly as Professor Dean dismissed the class.

"Oy! Aren't any of you upset that he lost? Snape clearly cheated!" James complained.

"It was a very good duel; it could have gone either way from the beginning," Tonks chimed in, coming up behind them. "Frankly, Severus did almost the same thing to him that Sirius did to me, so it's really just giving him a taste of his own medicine."

"But Snape can't be better than us!" James declared. "He's a Slytherin."

Harry gave James a very sharp look at the same time Lily huffed behind him.

"Oh, so just because he's a Slytherin automatically means he's inferior to you? Isn't that the same mindset that death eaters have toward muggleborns?" Lily snapped. James gaped at her, but she wasn't done. "I may have no love for Slytherin house or Snape, but the color of their robes does not make them inferior or evil."

With that, Lily got to her feet and marched out of the classroom. Alice and Mary followed, while Marlene and Tonks hung back.

"She does have a point," Marlene said mildly. "I don't particularly like the Slytherins in our year either, but Davis and Greengrass are decent," she added, referring to two of the Slytherin chasers. Harry nodded his agreement.

"And the first and second years are just kids," he said pointedly. "Anything else I have to say on the subject I've already said. I shouldn't have to repeat it," he added, giving James a warning look.

James looked suitably chastised.

"Hopefully Sirius doesn't try anything stupid in order to get revenge," Remus said, glancing in the directly Sirius had gone.

Harry suddenly had a very bad feeling.

Sirius was oddly quiet the rest of that day and the next day. He alternated between ugly glares at the Slytherins, particularly Severus, during class and contemplative looks that were very uncharacteristic. It made Harry very uneasy. As much as he wanted to say something, though, he could only imagine Sirius's reaction. He'd be ignored at best, and hexed or yelled at otherwise. Neither option looked good, so Harry tried to keep an eye on him in hopes he could intervene before things escalated.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like Sirius was planning anything. So Harry couldn't act. But Sirius's behavior made even James uneasy, and James was all for revenge. Only, his brand of revenge involved petty, mildly humiliating pranks. Sirius's revenge could be anything from pranks to intimidation to physical harm.

Two days after the dueling tournament finale was the full moon. Remus was in reasonably good health, all things considered, and managed to make it to all his classes, only falling asleep in one of them. It wasn't until just before dinner that he started to feel really bad, and the others convinced him to wait in the hospital wing until it was time to go down to the Whomping Willow.

After dinner, though, there was no sign of Sirius. He'd been with them all the way up through the end, then he left just a little before them, saying he had to take care of something and he'd meet them in the hospital wing to take Remus down to the Willow later.

Harry, Peter, and James had gone to wait in the common room until it was time, to try and get some homework done. But as the time drew nearer, James went to look for Sirius. When James didn't return for a little while, Harry left to find the both of them.

Harry had barely gone five paces down the corridor when James came flying around a corner, pounding toward him. Harry staggered back against the wall, barely avoiding being bowled over.

"What the hell, James?"

"Find a teacher," James panted, "and bring them to the Entrance Hall. Sirius did something so completely idiotic that I now have to fix."

"What—"

"I'll explain later. Just trust me!" James called. He turned and sprinted back the way he had come, leaving Harry cluelessly in the dust.

After a moment, Harry registered what James had said. His eyes widened and he sprinted after James, heading for McGonagall's office.

"Mr. Carter! No running in the corridor! And don't you know it's nearly curfew?"

"Professor!" Harry skidded to a stop. "It's urgent. I don't know what, but something happened and James wants us to meet him in the Entrance Hall."

McGonagall immediately started walking at a clipped pace that Harry could barely keep up with without breaking into a run again.

"And what on earth could possibly be so 'urgent' as you put it that requires students out of their common rooms so close to curfew?"

"I don't know," Harry said breathlessly. "He was in a big hurry and didn't explain. But he looked really worried."

McGonagall huffed. "I certainly hope there is a very good reason for this nonsense."

Harry didn't answer, but he was starting to get a very bad feeling. That feeling only increased when James was not in the Entrance Hall like he'd said. Then Harry spotted the full moon just rising overhead, and his eyes went wide.

"No…No, he didn't."

"Didn't what, Mr. Carter?"

"I hope I'm wrong—Godric, I hope I'm wrong. But I think—" Harry shook his head. "Just follow me."

Harry broke into a jog, heading straight for the Whomping Willow. Professor McGonagall kept pace with him, her lips in a thin line and her eyebrows drawn together.

Moments later, Harry spotted two silhouettes on the lawn just past the reach of the Whomping Willow's thrashing branches.

"Good heavens!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed. James was on his knees, gasping, his face white, and Severus was panting, covered in scratches.

"Potter—Black—prank—kill—werewolf," Severus gasped. Then he caught his breath and went into a full-on rant. But Harry was more worried about James. He went immediately to his side.

"What happen—" Harry's eyes went wide. James's leg was torn and bloodied and clearly causing him a lot of pain. "Merlin," Harry breathed. Immediately he drew his wand and cast a spell to stop the blood flow and conjured bandages over the gash.

"Sirius…sent Snape down…the passage to the Shack. I tried to stop him, and Moony…chased us out," James answered breathlessly. He squeezed his eyes shut. "We barely escaped."

Harry bit his lip and helped James to his feet. "Where's Moony now?"

"In the tunnel, unconscious. But probably not for much longer." James glanced apprehensively at the ominously swaying tree.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked quietly, gesturing to James's leg.

"I'll be fine," he said dismissively, forcing a smile. Then he glanced back at the Whomping Willow, this time with his brow creased in concern. "Take care of Moony tonight?"

Harry glanced at McGonagall, who was too busy yelling at Severus to notice them. He nodded determinedly. "Take care of yourself, too," Harry added. "That's a nasty cut."

James nodded and shooed Harry away. He slipped off as McGonagall finally demanded the both of them accompany her to the headmaster's office.

Inside the tunnel, Harry immediately transformed. His wolf form was far better equipped to deal with an enraged werewolf. Not far from the entrance, he found the tawny wolf still lying in a heap. Without hesitation, Russet started pushing Moony back down the tunnel, determined to get him as far from the entrance as possible before he woke up. But Russet only managed to move him a few meters down the tunnel before he began to stir. Russet backed away, hackles raised.

Moony woke growling and tense. Russet could still smell James's and Severus's passage, not to mention blood from James's wound. Moony's eyes darkened as he caught the same scents, and like a shark he readied himself for a frenzy. Russet gave a low warning growl, placing himself between Moony and the end of the tunnel.

Moony lunged, jaws snapping. Russet tackled him back to the ground, and Moony swiped him across the muzzle. Russet whined and growled again. Moony lunged, Russet blocked, and the conflict turned into a vicious fight.

Gradually, Russet managed to herd Moony back down the passage and hold him there. But Moony did not give in without a fight. Russet was bleeding in a dozen different places when they reached the end of the passage. Russet forced Moony back into the Shrieking Shack, and there he held the werewolf the rest of the night, guarding the ruined trapdoor and forcing Moony back every time he tried to get past.