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Chapter Text

The Official Rules of the Multi-Wizard Death Tournament

1. Ten matches, each consisting of two opposing teams, will fight to the death.

2. Twins may fight on the same team, but must fight against another team of twins.

3. The Tournament is for Students only. No Teachers are allowed to participate.

4. Any spell, with the exception of the Unforgivable Curses, can be used.

5. The participants may only bring their wand into the arena, but can use the wand to summon or create items once the battle begins.

6. The use of potions prior to the match is prohibited. You will be checked before entering the arena.

7. The Winners will not be charged with murder and arrested once the Tournament is over. What happens in the arena stays in the arena.

8. Students under the age of twelve may not participate in the Tournament.

9. Do not think that breaking one of these rules means you are simply disqualified. Failure to obey to these rules results in a forfeit, and termination of life.

10. The match will only end once a team is killed. There is no mercy. There is no time-limit on duels. There is no surrender. Only one team will walk out of the tournament alive.

Matches:

Viktor Krum vs. Cedric Diggory

Hermione Granger vs. Pansy Parkinson

Justin Finch-Fletchley vs. Seamus Finnigan

Gregory Goyle vs. Ronald Weasley

Fred & George Weasley vs. Padma and Parvati Patil

Angelina Johnson vs. Katie Bell

Ginny Weasley vs. Cho Chang

Lavender Brown vs. Blaise Zabini

Neville Longbottom vs. Luna Lovegood

Draco Malfoy vs. Harry Potter

Commentators:

Ludovic Bagman, Rita Skeeter, Lee Jordan

Location:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Quidditch Stadium

Chapter Text

"Hello everyone!" Ludo Bagman's voice boomed from his megaphone in the Quidditch commentator podium. "And welcome to the the Multi-Wizard Death Tournament!"

Applause and cheers filled the Quidditch stadium. The stands were full to the brim. Students, teachers, and even wizards who had no affiliation to Hogwarts had gathered in the Quidditch stadium to see this monumental event take place. 

"And let me introduce to all of you, two friends of mine, who will be joining me in commentating this marvellous event. On my left, we have the witch behind some of the most iconic articles the Daily Bugle has ever seen. A critic who travels the world to answer the questions that nobody asked! Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together, for Rita Skeeter!" 

Less applause, but applause still, filled the Quidditch stadium. Rita rose from her bench and bowed to the crowd.

"Thanks for having me here, Ludo." Rita said in her own megaphone. "I am thrilled to be here and to watch such charming young men and women battle it out on this-"

"Rita, we actually don't have time for a huge speech right now." Ludo interrupted. "The banter comes during and after the duels."

"Right, of course." Rita said. "Simply providing context for the crowd."

"And on my right," Ludo's voice boomed again. "We have a young student from this very school. He commentates the legendary matches that take place at this school! He reminds me of a younger me. Witches and Warlocks, put your hands together, for Lee Jordan!"

Huge applause and cheers came from every Hogwarts student and teacher, while the rest of the crowd simply looked confused as to who the heck that was.

"Thank you, Ludo!" Lee Jordan's voice boomed. "It's great to be here!"

"See, Rita." Ludo said. "Nice and short. That's what we like to hear."

"The banter comes after, Ludo." Rita said, looking annoyed.

"Yes, well, I'm in charge." Ludo said. "But anyway, let the event officially begin!"

Applause and cheers filled the stadium once more, as the gates on each side of the stadium opened.

"Our first contestant, the only non-Hogwarts competitor in the roster!" Ludo announced. "Representing Bulgaria, both his home and his popular Quidditch team, it's Viktor Krum!"

Viktor Krum walked through the right gateway and onto the Quidditch field. He sent red sparks into the air from his wand, and yelled something. His voice however, was drowned out by the immense cheering from the crowd, as well as a few boos from Hufflepuff students. 

"Fighting against him, is another Quidditch player!" Ludo boomed. "Representing Helga Hufflepuff's legacy, as a student of the Hufflepuff house, it's Cedric Diggory!"

More cheers from the crowd, specifically from the Hufflepuff house, as Cedric waled onto the Quidditch field. Less non-Hogwarts wizards seemed to be impressed. It seemed Krum was the popular choice.

"Two outstanding wizards, fighting to the death for our entertainment." Ludo laughed. "Let's hope they put on a good show."

"Oh, they will." Lee announced. "I've seen they way they both duke it out in Quidditch. Krum's got the brains and the brawn on his side. But Diggory ain't no piece of cake either. Don't overlook him just because he can't beat Krum in a game of Quidditch. He's a master at hexes and jinxes. He also passed Charms class with the highest marks in his year."

"He certainly seems good at 'charm'ing all the ladies." Rita joked. 

"Shut up, Rita." was Ludo Bagman's reply.

The two duelists met at the centre of the stadium, ten feet away from each other with wands at their side.

"When I give the word, the duelling may begin." Ludo announced, pausing for suspense. "...and...BEGIN!" Both duelists raised their wands and cast different spells.

"Diffindo!" Cedric cried.

"Reducto!" Krum yelled.

The two spells hit each other mid air, and exploded mid-air. Krum dashed at Cedric, who immediately went on defence. Krum cast "Reducto!" again, but it missed as Cedric ducked out of the way. The spell hit the ground and chunks of grass and dirt went flying. 

"Wow! What a start!" Ludo said through his megaphone. "Viktor Krum appears to be going on the offensive, while Cedric seems to be narrowly dodging his attacks! What action!"

"Calm down, Ludo, the fight has just begun." Rita said. "It looks like Krum's strategy is to end the fight early. He's not holding back!"

"Indeed!" Ludo laughed, as Krum shot another fiery hex at Cedric, who only just got out of the way in time. While Cedric avoided getting hit, his cape was not as lucky and was struck by the spell. Cedric quickly removed the cape, and tossed it to the ground. "What's your opinion on the fight, Mr. Jordan?"

"Just call me Lee, Ludo." Lee Jordan said. "Mr. Jordan is my father's name, and he happens to be in the audience! Hi, Dad!" Out in the audience, Mr. Jordan blushed in embarrassment, while his friends who sat around him laughed at his expense. "But as for my opinion," Lee Jordan continued. "Cedric better start attacking if he wants to win."

This time, it was Krum who cast "Diffindo!", and the spell made contact with Cedric's arm. Blood gashed from the wound, and Cedric winced in pain. Some of the audience gasped as Cedric's blood dripped down his robes. Amos Diggory was the most hysterical among the crowd, ripping his bowler hat in half in worry.

"Oh!" Lee Jordan exclaimed. "The first blood has been drawn! Krum got Cedric right in the arm!"

Krum cast a hex that shot a purple beam at Cedric, but Cedric blocked it with "Protego!"

"Come at me!" Krum laughed, as he bounced up and down in place. Cedric ignored the taunt, and instead cast "Ferula!" on his arm, which stopped the bleeding and tied his arm in a bandage. Cedric grinned at Krum.

Krum scoffed at Cedric's spell, and cast "Reducto!" at Cedric's feet. Cedric didn't have time to reply as the spell hit the ground just below his feet and sent him flying backwards along with more chunks of grass and dirt. 

"What a play!" Lee Jordan boomed. "Casting a spell while Cedric couldn't respond! Krum definitely seems to have the upper hand here!"

"Do these boys know any spells other than 'Diffindo' and 'Reducto'? Rita asked. "It doesn't seem so!"

Just as she said that however, Cedric picked up a chunk of soil that had landed beside him and threw it at Krum. While the chunk was still mid-air, Cedric cast a spell that transformed the soil into multiple tiny wasps, which flew towards Krum.

"Amazing!" Ludo exclaimed as the wasps began to sting Krum. "Cedric used a Transfiguration hex to turn the dirt into insects!"

Cedric took the opportunity, while Krum was busy killing the wasps to cast "Diffindo!" again. This time, the spell hit Krum right in the chest, slicing his robes and chest, and he staggered backwards in pain. As the spell hit him, all the tiny wasps turned back into dirt and fell to the ground. 

"The diversion was successful!" Ludo yelled. "Cedric has stunned Viktor!"

Krum didn't stay stunned for long though. He looked down at his chest, quickly inspected the wound, and applied pressure to it using his hand. Using his other hand, he aimed his wand at Cedric, who had begun charging at Krum, and cast "Flipendo!" Cedric was sent backwards again, and fell on his back. He dropped his wand as his back made contact with the ground. Krum staggered towards Cedric, and raised his wand again. Before he could preform any wand movements though, Cedric quickly rolled over to his wand and yelled "Diffindo!" with his wand aimed at Krum's neck. The red burst of light hit Krum square in the jaw, and he fell backwards. Krum dropped his wand as his body hit the ground. Cedric quickly got back to his feet, and shot another severing charm at Krum's discarded wand, which snapped in two. He then moved his wand and aimed it at Krum's body. He awaited Krum's next move, but he didn't make one. Krum remained on his back, eyes open, neck and chest bleeding. Viktor Krum was dead.

The audience erupted with cheers, sobs, cries, and applause. Cedric, who still wasn't convinced of his victory, cast Diffindo twice more at Krum's body to ensure that he was dead. Two more gashes appeared in Krum's chest. Cedric, finally accepting his victory, lowered his wand. 

"There you have it, folks!" Ludo announced, his voice barely audible over the crowd's reaction. "The winner of round one, is Cedric Diggory!"

Chapter Text

"Welcome back, everyone, to the Multi-Wizard Death Tournament!" Ludo Bagman announced to the cheering audience. "It has been a week since the first fight, where Cedric Diggory won against Viktor Krum!"

The crowd had many different reactions to this. Majority of people were not happy that such a famous Seeker had been killed so early in Quidditch season. The Hogwarts side of the arena, however, was ecstatic. Cheers and joyful cries filled the bleachers. Everyone on the Hogwarts side of the arena began clapping towards the Hufflepuff stands, where the man of the hour, Cedric Diggory, was seated with an arm around his girlfriend Cho Chang. Cho's face was drenched with tears of happiness, as she continuously hugged Cedric. She had told him after the match that she was so scared he was going to lose, and that she was never going to let go of him again. This made her the only Ravenclaw seated in the Hufflepuff area, not that anyone minded. The Hufflepuff area cooed as Cedric gave Cho a kiss on the forehead.

"Congratulations, Cedric!" Lee said into his megaphone.

"Let's not be too biased, Lee." Rita said. "You are a judge, after all."

"Shut up, Rita." was Lee's response.

"And now," Ludo boomed. "It's time for Round Number Two!" Ludo cleared his throat and began the introductions. "On your left side, we have the smartest student in her year. Top marks in every class! If you go to Hogwarts, she needs no introduction! It's the one, the only, Hermione Granger!"

The left gate opened, and the muggle born witch walked out onto the field. She smiled, and waved to the Gryffindor area, specifically to Harry and Ron. Both waved back. 

"Do you reckon she knows what she is doing?" Ron asked Harry.

"Sure she does." Harry said confidently, waving back to Hermione. "She's done nothing but practice and study wand techniques in the library for the past week. Of course she will win."

"Bloody hell." Ron said, his voice shaking. "Why do we gotta do this stupid tournament? I didn't even want to sign up, but-"

"Shut up, Ron, the match is going to begin soon!" Harry said quickly.

"And on your right," Ludo continued, as the right gates opened. "A lady of class! The daughter of the famous Parkinson family, known for it's record of high-danger monster kills! Did daughter inherited some of the gifts from her father? We'll soon find out! Ladies and gentlemen, gentlemen and ladies, it's Pansy Parkinson!"

The Slytherin stepped onto the field, and was immediately greeted with the cheers of many, many Slytherins. She grinned and bowed to the Slytherins. Lucius Malfoy sat beside his son, Draco, and his wife, Narcissa. The Malfoy family clapped as Pansy turned back and began walking toward the centre of the stadium.

"Are you certain she'll win?" Lucius asked his son. Draco nodded. 

"I've been training her myself with Cr-I mean Professor Moody." Draco nodded. "She'll win."

"Good." Lucius grinned. 

"'Scuse me, pardon me, coming through, man with an eyepatch here!" Professor Alastor Moody, who was actually Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise, blurted as he pushed through the crowd to reach an empty seat beside Lucius. 

"There you are, 'Alastor'." Lucius grinned. "We were worried you would miss the second round."

"Ha!" Barty Crouch Jr. laughed. "Fat chance of that." He then added in a whispered voice so only Lucius could hear. "I want to watch my handiwork in action."

"This plan better be worth it." Lucius said in a hushed tone. "Do you know how much it cost me to get Ludo to arrange the roster in our favour? A fortune! He made me pay off his debt, and leave him enough money to retire in a comfy little hole."

"Yeah, yeah." Crouch said, waving his hand. "These small sacrifices will be paid back tenfold when we bring back the Dark Lord. Just don't forget the plan, Lucius."

"Don't you worry about me." Lucius scoffed. "Worry about the rat. He'll probably find a way to screw everything up." Crouch was about to reply, but Ludo's booming voice silenced them all.

"Are you all ready?" Ludo cried from his balcony. "I sure am! So, on my mark, the match will begin!"

Both Pansy and Hermione raised their wands. 

"...BEGIN!"

Pansy started things off by shooting a dark purple hex at Hermione. Hermione expertly blocked it with a shield charm, then attacked with a blue hex of her own. Pansy wasn't fast enough to block it, and was hit in the face by it. 

Lucius turned to face Draco. "'She'll win.' he says." Lucius muttered. Draco turned slightly pink.

The hex, luckily for Pansy, was not lethal. Instead, the effects were quite humorous. Pansy's eyelashes grew to almost two feet in length, making it harder for her to see what she was doing.

"What a move!" Ludo boomed. "In an expert move, Hermione has blinded her opponent!"

"Why doesn't she just use a regular blinding charm?" Rita chuckled. "Why must she be so extravagant."

"Do you know nothing of spells, Rita?" Ludo shook his head. "The 'Tricky Eyelash' hex, as it is called, takes less time to cast than the regular blinding charm, Obscuro. It's not a matter of fame, it's about tactics."

"Plus, she probably wants to humiliate her opponent a little first." Lee joked.

Before Hermione could cast another spell, Pansy pointed her wand upwards in front of her face, and cast 'Diffindo!'. A red light shot out and sliced the eyelashes that blocked her view. Hermione shot another spell at Pansy, but she dropped to the ground to avoid it. While on the ground, she aimed her wand up at Hermione and cast a pinkish hex. Once again, Hermione dodged it and aimed her wand at Pansy again. While dropping to the ground helped Pansy avoid one hex, it left her vulnerable to attack easily. Hermione shot two quick red stars at Pansy, the first of which she rolled out of the way for, but got struck in the ear for the second. Like a sharp blade, it cut directly through her ear like butter. Pansy screamed and quickly clasped her hand to the side of her head. Hermione took this diversion to her advantage, and shot a gold charm at Pansy's face. Pansy's face started to morph and shift into a furry blur. When the blur stopped, Pansy's head resembled that of a dog.

Hermione laughed. "You really are pug faced now!" she cackled. Hermione then prepared one final spell, and shot it right at Pansy's heart. Before Pansy could even have time to react, her torso exploded into many bloody pieces. 

The crowd gasped.

"Is it really over already!?" Ludo voice boomed. "I guess it is! The winner of round two is Hermione Granger!"

The Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff areas all cheered, along with many other witches and wizards. Everyone in the Slytherin area meanwhile, had a much different reaction.

"Damn it." Crouch muttered.

"That was embarrassing." Lucius drawled. "Make sure you train your next apprentice better, 'Mad-Eye'."

"Shut it, Malfoy." Crouch snarled.

"She killed her." Draco said, who went from pink to white at record speeds. "She lost."

Lucius grabbed ahold of Draco's hair. "Do not disappoint me again, boy." Lucius warned. 

"Let him go, Lucius!" Narcissa cried. She appeared to be just as shaken up by the events of the battle as Draco.

Lucius shot his wife a glare for a moment, before letting go of Draco's hair. "Neither of you understand the importance of this event." he said. "We cannot afford to lose again."

Meanwhile, over on the Gryffindor side, Harry and Ron were celebrating their friend's victory. 

"Bloody hell!" Ron chuckled. "She didn't even get hit once!"

"You better have her train you for your match." Harry laughed.

Ron groaned. "Don't remind me! At least I'm going up against Goyle. That should hopefully be easy.

"Hey, guys!" Seamus Finnigan bumped into Harry and Ron. "Fred and George are throwing a party in the Gryffindor common room for Hermione's victory! Come on!"

"We should probably go congratulate Hermione on her quick win." Ron said, as he followed Seamus. Harry agreed.

It wasn't long after that before the Quidditch stadium was empty, apart from a few custodians who were cleaning Pansy's blood off the grass.

Chapter Text

"Aaaaaaaand welcome back everyone, to Round Three of the Multi-Wizard Death Tournament!" Ludo's voice boomed across the stadium. The stadium filled with cheers.

"That name really is a mouthful." Rita commented. "Are you sure we can't shorten it to just 'The Tournament'?" 

"Surprisingly, I'm gonna agree with Rita on this one." Lee said. "What about 'DT'?"

"Dee-Tee?" Ludo questioned. "What is that, a disease or something?"

"It stands for Death Tournament." Lee rolled his eyes. "It's easier to say than the 'Quadruple-Warlock Contest of Perishing'."

"That's not the name, Lee." Ludo sighed. "It's just called the Multi-Wizard Dea...Ah, fuck it. Fine. We can call it 'DT'. Happy?"

"Very much so." Lee laughed. 

"So my idea was just ignored, then?" Rita scoffed. 

"Yes." Ludo and Lee nodded. Rita rolled her eyes.

"Why did you even invite me to host this?" Rita questioned. "You both clearly don't enjoy my presence."

"Oh, believe me, we didn't want to have you on the show." Ludo laughed. "I wanted it to just be me and Lee. But the Daily Prophet is one of the sponsors for this event, so your company was forced upon us."

"Yeah, hosting this would be eighty times more fun if you weren't here." Lee said. "Actually, why don't you join the DT? Maybe then you can finally provide some entertainment for your fans!" Lee and Ludo burst out laughing.

"Maybe I will." Rita scowled. "Maybe I'll challenge you to a fight once all the rounds are up, as a bonus round?"

"Only if you want to end up six feet under." Lee scoffed.

"As entertaining as this is, we do actually have to begin the third round now." Ludo said as his laughter died down. "Ok, where's my script? Ah, here it is! Ok, listen up! On your left, we have a muggle-born wizard. He's gone toe-to-toe with a Basilisk before, and survived! The second Hufflepuff representing Hogwarts! Ladies and gentleman, put your hands together, for Justin Finch-Fletchley!"

The stadium burst into applause as the left side gates opened, and Justin strode onto the field, wand in hand. From the Hufflepuff side, Cedric Diggory was watching in the front row, Cho at his side. 

"You got this, man." he whispered to himself. It was no surprise to anyone that Cedric would obviously be cheering for the Hufflepuff to win, but Cedric was also rooting for Justin as a friend. Justin had been the first person to wish Cedric luck on the first round, before even Cho. Cedric had been helping Justin train in the past week, and he hoped it would pay off.

Cho turned to look at her boyfriend, and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "He'll win, don't worry." Cho assured. "He got training from a Deathmatch winner."

Cedric practiced some deep breaths. "I hope you're right."

"And on the right side, we have a Half-Blood wizard! An eager wizard, with a knack for explosions! Is that his specialty? We'll find out tonight! Males, females, whatever you are, put your hands together, for Seamus Finnigan!"

The crowd burst into more applause as the second gate opened, and the Gryffindor student strolled out. Unlike Justin, Seamus preformed tricks with his wand as he made his way to the centre of the stadium. Sparks of blue and green, ribbons of ruby and gold.

"He's certainly confident." Hermione yelled, so her voice could be heard by Harry and Ron over the crowd's cheering.

"He asked me to train him after your victory party." Harry said. "Me! I'm rubbish at duelling! The only duelling spell I actually know all that well is Expelliarmus! And even that I'm only half-decent at!"

"Nonsense!" Hermione said. "You've practically mastered the disarming charm at a NEWT level. Besides, he didn't ask you because he thought you knew much on spells. He asked you because you 'defeated the Dark Lord' all those years ago."

"Well, I don't think that's gonna save him all that much right now." Harry winced.

"What do you think, Ron?" Hermione asked. "You're never this quiet. You must have something on your mind."

Ron, who was doing his best to hide from Hermione's view beside Harry, gave a few short nods. "Yeah, yeah. Noot level, totally agree."

"Are you ok?" Hermione asked with a concerned tone. "You look rather pale."

"He's scared of you." Harry laughed. "He's been having nightmares about how you blasted Pansy to kingdom come."

"Harry!" Ron gasped. "I told you that in confidence! Not that it's true!" he shot to Hermione, who was doing her best not to laugh.

"Aww, are you scared, Ronald?" Hermione teased. "Scared that the Muggle-Born witch will sneak up on you at night, and blast you to bloody pieces?" 

"It's not funny!" Ron snapped. "Did you see how much blood there was?"

"Yes, I did Ron." Hermione joked. "I was not only there, I was also the cause of it. My robes are stained red from all of her blood."

"You have a messed up sense of humour." Ron shivered. "It's really not funny!"

While the trio of friends were chatting in the stands, a separate conversation was happening on the field.

"Scared?" Seamus quipped, as he reached the centre.

"Not in the slightest." Justin scoffed.

"Well, you should be." Seamus chuckled. "I've been training. With Harry Potter. Yeah, that's right! The man who killed He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named!"

"You're delusional." Justin laughed. "Best of luck to you."

"And to you as well." Seamus grinned. "You are going to need it."

"Alrighty then!" Ludo boomed. "Now that everyone is ready, let us begin the match!"

"You got this Seamus!" Lee Jordan clapped from the commentary booth. 

"Lee, we've been over this, you can't be biased!" Ludo sighed. 

"I'm not being biased!" Lee defended. "Watch this. Hey, Justin! Good luck to you, mate. See? Not biased."

Ludo sighed. "Ok then, on my go, Round Three of DT will begin." He paused for a moment and turned to Lee. "Damn, that does roll off the tongue quite nicely."

"I know, right?" Lee nodded with a grin. 

"Guys, we have a match to begin." Rita whispered.

"Oh, right." Ludo cleared his voice. "And begin!" 

Both Justin and Seamus shot a spell at each other. The spells collided mid-air and shot off to different sides. 

"Incendio!" Seamus yelled, as he aimed his want at Justin. A fireball shot out of his wand, but Justin dived out of the way and shot a magenta spell at his opponent. Seamus blocked it with the shield spell. "Incendio! Incendio! Incendio!" Seamus shot three more fireballs at Justin, of which the first two he dodged, and reflected the third one back at Seamus. Seamus used Aguamenti to put it out before it reached him.

"Wow! What an amazing start!" Ludo yelled. "It appears we called it, boys and girls; Seamus does indeed have a specialty for fire!"

"You said he had a specialty for explosions, not fire." Rita rolled her eyes.

"You're about to be fired if you interrupt me again while I'm speaking, Rita." Ludo yelled. He rolled his eyes and turned to Lee. "Honestly, this would be so much more enjoyable if you simply weren't here."

"I've had enough of your big talk, Mr. 'Oh I'm so good at Quidditch'. How about you and I settle this one in a match? "

"Delightful." Ludo grinned. "But why wait until the matches are over? I would rather you not be tainting my beautiful commentary. How about we settle this as a bonus round, right after this match?" 

"You're on, chubs!" Rita mocked. 

"Oh this will be fun." Ludo smirked.

"Guys, we have a match to commentate on!" Lee shouted. During Rita and Ludo's dispute, Seamus and Justin had both landed their first hit on each other. Seamus finally hit Justin with a fire ball in the leg. Justin collapsed to his knees in pain, and cast Aguamenti to put the fire out. He managed to put the fire out, but his right pantleg was burned off and his leg had a mild burn. In response, Justin got Seamus between the eyes with a pink hex, and suddenly Seamus' head grew double in size. 

"Ooh, the piñata hex!" Ludo beamed. "I haven't seen that one in a while! What fun?"

"A piñata? Like the whack-able toys full of candy for children?" Rita questioned. 

"Yes!" Ludo nodded. "Your head begins to swell, and if you get hit with enough force within a certain time period candy will fly out your nose, ears, and mouth."

"Gross." Lee shivered. 

"True, but it's always a joy to observe." Ludo sighed. "Oh, how that brings me back to my school days."

"We get it, you're old." Rita rolled her eyes.

"It looks like both competitors are at a disadvantage!" Ludo announced. "Justin won't be able to dodge any more spells with that leg, but it looks like Seamus might not be able to move much either without falling over!" Just as Ludo said, rather than completing the piñata hex, Justin chose to leave Seamus with a big head, which was throwing Seamus off balance. Justin was using this time to try and mend his leg. Unfortunately, Justin didn't know any spells that healed burns, so instead tried a numbing spell to take the pain away.

"Aguamenti!" Seamus cried while Justin was mid-spell. Justin quickly turned, worried the spell was going to hit him, but was instead surprised to see that Seamus had the wand pointed at himself. The big head was throwing Seamus so off-balance, Seamus decided to try and removed the effects as quickly as possible while Justin was distracted with his leg. This worked, and as the jet stream of water hit Seamus in the face, he deactivated the hex and his head returned to normal. Of course, as per the rules of the hex, candy started to pour from Seamus' ears, nose, and mouth. 

While this was inconvenient, without the swelling head and dizziness Seamus could now see properly, and aimed his wand at Justin, who was still currently mid-spell. Justin quickly cancelled his spell so that he could aim his wand at Seamus, but the pain from to his leg then returned and seared through his body. Justin winced, and accidentally shot his spell right past Seamus' head.

"No!" Cedric yelled. He and all the other Hufflepuffs (+ Cho) were all screaming at Justin to get up.

Seamus began to cast his spell, but choked. With the candy from the piñata hex still flowing from his mouth, he couldn't properly say any spell incantation, and his voice only mumbled. Realizing he had his opportunity, Justin quickly readjusted his wand so it faced Seamus and fired his spell. The spell hit Seamus in the arm, slicing it off. In what Justin saw as a fitting way to end the fight, he used Seamus' favourite spell against him, and cast Incendio. The fireball hit Seamus in the face and exploded. Seamus' flaming corpse fell to the ground.

"I think we have our Round Three winner!" Ludo announced. "Everyone, we have a winner! The winner of round three, is Justin Finch-Fletchley!"

Cedric, along with all the Hufflepuffs and Cho, leaped up in celebration. "Great job, Justin!" Cedric yelled down to the stadium. Justin couldn't hear him, but waved to all his fellow Hufflepuffs. The Gryffindor side, however, was not as pleased. 

"Seamus lost!" Ron said, his face very pale. "He lost!"

"Yeah, that is a shame." Harry sighed.

"That must have been a tactical strategy Justin used." Hermione said. "He must have realized that if Seamus tried to fix his hex, he wouldn't be able to cast any spells."

"Pretty smart move." Harry nodded.

"Blimey, I'm next." Ron gasped, as he remembered the list. "I'm done for! I'll be gutted like a fish!"

"Oh, hush up Ron." Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'll teach you some defences to help you out."

As the stadium began to clear out, the commentators, their megaphone's turned off, shared some dialogue among the three of them.

"You guys aren't actually gonna fight to the death, are you?" Lee questioned as he got up from his chair and stretched.

"Of course we are!" Ludo chuckled. "I'm a man of my word. Unless Rita is too much of a coward to follow through?"

"Don't bet on that, old man." Rita sneered. "We'll show those kids what real duelling combat looks like."

"You two are crazy." Lee laughed as he shook his head. "Bat crazy."

Chapter Text

"Ok, welcome back everyone, to the DT!" Lee's voice boomed from the commentator booth. "And yeah, you might have noticed that something is a little different. That's right! I'm fucking alone up here! That's because our two other hosts are about to battle their emotions out." The crowd clapped and cheered.

"I didn't think they would actually follow through with their battle." Harry said, as he finished clapping. "They must really hate each other."

"Well, Rita says that she knows lots of secrets on Ludo." Hermione shrugged. "They must have history from before this event."

"Why couldn't they just replaced me and Goyle as round four?" Ron groaned. "I don't wanna fight in this stupid thing!"

"Stop worrying, Ron." Hermione said. "Me and Harry will be helping you train until your match. Right, Harry?"

"Of course we will." Harry nodded. "By the way, Hermione, wanna make a bet on who will win? I put a three galleons on Ludo winning."

"I'm not making any bets, Harry." Hermione rolled her eyes. 

"Couldn't help but overhear you were placing bets." Fred notified as he and George appeared behind Harry. "And we would love to make a bet. Eight sickles on Rita winning."

"I'll match. I'll put eight sickles on Ludo winning instead." Harry and Fred shook hands. Harry was hoping to bet more than just eight sickles, but he took what he could get.

"Ok!" Lee boomed. "On your left, we have the man who's a quidditch legend! He works for the Ministry of Magic as the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports Quidditch! It's Ludo Bagman, everyone!" 

The audience clapped as the left gate opened and Ludo Bagman strolled out. He grinned and waved to the audience as arrived to the centre of the field.

 "Ok, now on the right, it's Rita Skeeter!" Lee boomed. The right gate opened, and Rita Skeeter quickly rushed out. She was yelling something about how Lee forgot her intro, but the sound of the audience clapping drowned her out. She rolled her eyes, and made her way to the centre of the stadium.

"Ok!" Lee said into his megaphone. "So, the rules have been changed slightly by Professor Dumbledore. He said that murdering your opponent is not necessary for this round, since this round is not part of our actual schedule. I have a feeling that's not going to affect how our two competitors are going to play. It is also worth noting that the protection rules for the regular tournament still stand for this bonus round, meaning that as long as you don't cast any of the unforgivable curses, you shall not be thrown in Azkaban for your crimes. With that in mind, let the games...wait for it...wait for it...BEGIN!"

Both Ludo and Rita cast spells at the same time, ricocheting off each other. Ludo cast two quick spells at Rita's legs, which she deflected with a charm and sent back at Ludo. Ludo responded to this action by using his wand to send the spells in two different directions behind him. Rita then cast a spell that lifted a chunk of soil from the ground and hurled itself at Ludo. Ludo counterattacked with "Reducto" and turned the soil into dirt chunks. 

"They aren't dodging any of these spells." Hermione noted from the stands, as Ludo shot an explosive curse at Rita, who sent it into the sky with a flick of her wand. "They are only using counterattacks to defend themselves."

"Of course they are." George shrugged. "They both are far more experienced than any of us."

"Rita's gotta up her game." Fred hissed, as Rita sent another one of Ludo's spells into the air. "She needs to send the spells at Ludo, not to space!"

"It's hard to aim larger enchantments back at the caster." Hermione informed. "Rita can deflect the quick and small spells back at Mr. Bagman with ease, but she doesn't have as much control with the more powerful curses."

A minute or two passed of Rita and Ludo just sending spells back and forth, quickly commented on by Lee Jordan. This match lasted longer than the previous matches. 

"Ludo fires another spell at Rita, and she deflects it again!" Lee announced. "Now Rita fires it at Ludo, and he deflects! Ludo sends another curse at Rita, and she defle- Oh, no she doesn't! Rita has been hit!"

The crowd observed and cheered as the first blood was drawn in the match. Rita's left leg was hit with a charm that wrapped it in thorny vines, jabbing the thorns into Rita's skin.

"Let's go!" Harry cheered. George rolled his eyes.

"Calm down, mate." he said. "The match isn't over yet."

Rita cast a spell at Ludo that was aimed at his heart, but Ludo blocked the attack. Ludo sent another vine spell at Rita's wand arm, but this time Rita was prepared and cast a fire spell that burned the vine. Through the fire, Rita cast another spell that stuck Ludo in the chest. Everyone gasped in anticipation as Ludo stumbled backwards. The spell, however, was not a lethal one. The spell appeared to be a type of stunning spell, but the fire seemed to null the effects of it. Ludo grinned and shot a spell at Rita, which she deflected and shot back at Ludo. Ludo made a violent swinging gesture with his wand and swung it like a baseball bat, sending the spell back at Rita. This time, however, the spell started to grow in size.

"An impact reflection spell!" Hermione grinned, as the spell continued to grow as Rita sent it back at Ludo. "The more impact the spell receives, the larger it and its effect grow."

"It's like tennis." Harry noted.

"Ain't that an explosion spell?" Ron said as he squinted his eyes to try and see the spell better. "If the effects get stronger overtime, then whoever isn't quick enough to deflect it loses, right?"

"Probably." Hermione smiled. "That's gonna get messy."

The spell grew and grew as it was tossed between the two opponents. It was now the size of Ludo's head. As Rita swung the spell back at Ludo again, Ludo messed up and cast his deflection spell too early. Before the spell hit him, he squealed like a pig and dropped to the ground. The spell rushed past him and struck a wooden pillar of bleachers behind him. The people in that booth screamed as the bottom half of the bleachers got annihilated into splinters, knocking that set of bleachers backwards to the ground.

"Oh, Merlin's beard!" Hermione gasped as the wooden tower collided with the ground. "Are those people ok?" 

As the crowd became focussed on the fallen bleachers, Ludo took his chance and ran towards Rita (who was also momentarily distracted by the fallen set of bleachers), and smacked her wand out of her hand. Ludo held his wand up right to her face and cast Diffindo, making a giant slice in Rita's head. 

"Oh, look, now she has a scar like you." Fred joked to Harry, who wasn't paying attention to the match anymore.

"Boom! Let's go!" Lee cheered from the commentator booth. "The winner of this bonus round, is Ludo Bagman!"

The members of the audience who were still paying attention cheered, while majority of the crowd were leaving their seats to check on the collapsed wooden bleachers.

"What happened to the stadium?!" Lee's voice cracked as he was taken aback by the fallen bleachers. It seemed he was too focused on the match to notice what had happened.

"Hello, this is Albus Dumbledore." Albus' voice said through the static of a radio. "I bear good news. None of the people who were in the audience today suffered any form of serious injury. The one's who did suffer from injuries, such as a broken bone, are being tended to as we speak. Do not worry, all is well. Oh, and congratulations to Ludo Bagman for his victory today. That's all, and take care."

Chapter Text

"Welcome back everyone to Round Four of the DT!" Ludo announced. "We've had a little bit of reconstruction done, after my duel last time broke part of the stadium, but now the arena is as secure as ever. No need to worry about future property damage."

"And we have a great match up for tonight!" Lee said into his megaphone. "Tonight, we have-"

"Shhh, Lee." Ludo shushed. "Give me a moment. Do you hear that?"

"The sound of a cheering audience? I sure do!"

"No. I mean the lack of bullshit commentary." Ludo said. "That's because Rita isn't here with her opinion anymore!"

"Oh, yeah, that too." Lee nodded. "Ludo, I get that you're happy about your victory, but we need to begin the match now."

"Oh, right, right." Ludo mumbled, snapping back to reality. "Let's get it started! On your left, we have the son of a former Death Eater! A pure-blooded wizard who has his eye on the prize! Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Gregory Goyle!"

The left gate opened and Goyle confidentially strolled out onto the field. The crowd of Slytherins clapped and cheered, barely audible over the sound of booing from the other three houses. Many non-Hogwarts wizards seemed to be cheering for Goyle as well.

"Ok, this time, the Slytherin will win, father." Draco said as he clapped. Lucius nodded.

"Yes, I have more faith in your friend here than that Parkinson girl." Lucius said. "I just talked to his father the other day. Gregory has been training very well for the past couple weeks."

"Under my guidance, of course." Barty Crouch Jr. sneered, still disguised as Mad-Eye.

"Your guidance has been underwhelming thus far, "Mad-Eye"." Lucius drawled. Crouch rolled his fake magical eye.

"And on your right, ladies and gentlemen, we have another fabulous contestant!" Ludo boomed. "Part of the large family tree of the Weasleys, and son of a ministry member! Flaming hair to match his flaming soul! Everyone, it's Ronald Weasley!"

Loud cheers from the Gryffindor stands filled the stadium, along with applause from the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. 

"What do you reckon, Hermione?" Harry asked his friend. "Do you think Ron will win?"

"If he listened to my advice he will." Hermione responded. "Though I doubt he did."

"Wanna bet? I'll put a galleon on him winning." Harry said eagerly.

"What? I'm not going to bet against Ron, Harry." Hermione said looking scandalized.

"Worth a shot." Harry shrugged.

"Wands at the ready, boys." Ludo said as Goyle and Ron raised their wands. Goyle held a fierce stance, while Ron held a fearful one.

"...Begin!" Ludo declared.

As Ron aimed his wand to shoot a spell, Goyle quickly shouted "Expelliarmus!" and Ron's wand flew out of his hand. Before anyone in the stand could react, Goyle shot two more quick spells out of his wand and Ron was hit in both legs. Ron collapsed, and Goyle dealt the finishing blow aimed at Ron's head.

"Scelestus!" Goyle yelled, and a bright blue flash shot at Ron's head. Ron collapsed to the ground and didn't move again.

"Damn it!" Hermione yelled aloud. Harry slammed his hand down on the wooden banister of his booth. Lucius grinned and Draco cheered. Barty Crouch Jr laughed.

"That has to have been the fastest duel in history!" Ludo yelled over the crowd of cheering Slytherins. "Over before it even began! It seems that the winner of Round Four, is Gregory Goyle!"