Story: Moira
Chapter Three: Testing Power

As the ship rose above the water, clashing with the tides, a loud rumble was heard awakening the students and the staff of another magnificent castle called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Students flocked to the grounds to take a view of the mighty ship which housed a few selected fifth and sixth years and the complete lot of seventh years. It neatly aligned itself to the Black Lake's bank and a stairwell popped out of the small door. The selected students were the first ones to get out, leaving the seventh years to the last.

Excited chatter filled the atmosphere as the sound of flapping wings was heard. Beautiful pastel blue carriages neatly lined up on the other side of the grounds – the Beauxbatons had arrived.

An aged woman led the entire energy-filled group inside the castle. It took a good ten minutes for everyone to pass through the entrance into the Great Hall. Harry's eyes looked forward. He was not concentrating on anything else. Unlike him, Ron and Draco were gasping in awe although the very same duo were commentating about Durmstrang's greatness over Hogwarts.

Once everyone was seated, the newly arrived at different house tables of Hogwarts, an old man took the podium and muttered the voice amplifying charm. "A very warm welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! I hope your stay here will be pleasant," the man said. He was seemingly the Headmaster of the school, but Harry knew better by the amount of power radiating off of him. He was the one who played with the strings and sent the letter containing the old newspaper articles about Voldemort to Harry. "I don't want to keep the guests hungry. The talk is for later, so I only have two words to say. Tuck in."

Several aromatic dishes appeared on the long tables. Ron's mood instantly changed from praising Durmstrang to hungrily savouring the dishes as if he hadn't eaten in years. Harry rolled his eyes at his beast-like table manners but a small smug smile was hidden underneath his emotionless face. Draco, on the other hand, was interacting with the students of Hogwarts, asking them about the extra-curricular activities they did.

Harry started his meal, slowly eating the food which he wanted. His eyes were as observant as ever, darting from person to person in the huge hall and judging them.

"Stay observant. Look at the things that usually are not alive. You can easily spot the alive ones without getting distracted."

Although the lessons he learnt from his Master were very valuable, he just could not forget them for the sake of turning good. He mentally shook his head and started to focus again. If he were to enter the tournament as wished by Ron and Draco, he had to get to know who he would be facing as opponents.

He did not spot many people who looked tough. For one, he spotted a boy with blonde hair who was flashing photos, using a muggle instrument, of the eating pupils. Harry's only reaction to that was rolling his dark emerald eyes.

A girl told off the photo boy to throw the 'damned can out and eat' and Harry could not help but smirk at the ignorance of the girl about muggle objects. Little does she know that the camera and a can are two different and unrelated objects. Another girl corrected the previous one. Judging by her looks and the way she was reading while eating, Harry assumed her to be a muggle born. Muggle-born witches and wizards always carried a book so as to not be thrown out of the magical community for lack of knowledge of the unique world. It was just a feared superstition by them.

However, what fascinated Harry, to some extent, was the previous girl. She had long red hair and she seemed oddly familiar. Harry could sense a small aura of power emanating from her; something that he only sensed when around his Master or the aged Headmaster, Dumbledore. This girl seemed to be casually chatting with the muggle-born bushy-haired girl. It did not even look as if she was observing anyone like he was doing, but when their eyes met, even from a far distance, the contact remained for a split second before she turned away to listen to the muggle born's ramblings.

"Who's got your eyes in a twist, mate?" Ron teased. Harry snorted in response.

"You know he doesn't even chance a glance at anyone besides 'observing' them," Draco answered instead, air quoting the word observing. "That doll seems pretty. Perfect for you if you so wish."

"No. I sense her power," Harry whispered.

"You want her power? She isn't wearing glasses, is she?" Ron asked, looking confused. Harry rolled his eyes as Draco burst out laughing.

"I sense her power," Harry repeated clearly. Ron mumbled an incoherent 'oh' and resumed eating, assuming it was none of his business, but Draco continued laughing. Harry waved his hand discreetly and Draco's mouth shut itself. He started protesting with inaudible sounds but Harry paid no heed, only lifting the spell after he quieted down.

To make it seem less suspicious, Harry slowly drank his soup. Then, very cautiously, he looked over at the table where the girl was sitting, only to find it empty. His senses kicked in and immediately his wand was pointing behind his back.

"Whoa! Calm down Mister!" a small voice exclaimed. Ron and Draco looked up from their plates to see the girl slip into a seat beside a cheated-looking Harry. "Well, hello there."

"Maculo!" Ron replied in gibberish, his mouth filled with food. The girl laughed out loud.

"Hey there, pretty beauty," Draco teased. The girl winked, then looked at the silent Harry.

"Mister. I hope you aren't deaf." Harry chose not to reply. "I saw this creepy boy looking at Hermione and myself. So, what do you want?"

"A duel." The reply was whispered so lowly that Ron and Draco exchanged confused looks. However, the girl heard his answer.

"I agree to your challenge. Tonight, at the astronomy tower."

The girl left after a quick bye to an overstuffed Ron and a dreamy-looking Draco.

"You know? If you don't grab her, I will," Draco joked. Harry shrugged. The duel was the only thing on his mind. He would confirm his suspicions if she were to prove herself that very night.

______________________

The night found the two teens standing opposing each other. Harry's friends were hiding behind a pillar in the dark. He also sensed the muggle born from before hiding on the opposite side of his friends.

"Formal duel."

Harry nodded, then the two took three steps forward, withdrew their wands and bowed to each other out of respect.

"Let the best magic wielder win," was all she said before she cast a simple but powerful stunner. Harry easily sidestepped it and let her cast more spells.

He dodged many but had to erect a shield when she started firing in succession, knowing that her opponent would be tough to take down.

To observe her style, Harry cast a low-powered banishing charm at her shoulder. She dodged successfully by falling onto her knees. Harry smiled beneath his concentrated expression. He had found her weak point.

Stunner after stunner, the duel started becoming lively with colours of spells flying around. She was pretty nimble as she dodged his power-loaded spells with ease. It looked as if she was dancing among the colourful spells.

Harry shook his head and tried to concentrate harder. He decided to let his temptations take control and fired the reductor curse at the wall beside her. She protected the wall and let her guard down for Harry to disarm her. Her wand in his hand, she sighed with frustration, then put on a smile as if nothing had happened.

"That was pretty impressive, Mister. You don't talk much, do you?"

"Good going," Harry replied for the sake of it. She had partly impressed him with the sheer power of her normal stunners and her agility, but she was nowhere near his strength. They bowed again and Harry handed her her wand. Yew and non flexible. It resembled talent and had the wood of his master.

"I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley. Are you going to introduce yourself or should I just call you Mister No-Name?" Ginny asked, a merry twinkle in her brown eyes. Harry smirked lightly.

"Harry," he replied and turned to leave, but she stopped him.

"Is it just Harry?"

"Just Harry."

There ends the third chapter of Moira. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x