Darkness Within||Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Flying colours

I stared at him with a growing sense of frozen horror. He couldn't be serious, right? But then again, when did Lord Voldemort ever joke?

"Are you -are you quite sure?" I asked uncertainly, hoping he'd say no.

"Of course I am. You've successfully defeated both Bellatrix and Antonin. I want to see just how powerful you are." Voldemort looked at me. "Or are you afraid?"

"Of course not," I raised my head defiantly.

"Well then, that settles it, hmm?" Draco was staring at me with a paralysed look of terror. I could practically hear him screaming at me to stop, telling me to back out before I got myself killed or worse. But I couldn't back down. I had to do this.

"Yes, I'll duel you," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. Draco's' face drained of colour completely as my father and I took up positions.

"Right. Begin." called Bellatrix. Father and I didn't even bother with the simple, verbal spells. We dove straight into the complex, nonverbal ones. And I was glad I did, because he wasn't like Bellatrix and Dolohov. No, he was somebody who had experience and power, someone was strong, quick and deadly. Within the first five minutes, I was already sweating from the strain of keeping up.

"Don't be afraid to lash out with all your power," growled Father as he shot curse after curse at me, "You're only wasting time with holding back." I slammed my power right at him, causing him to stumble back a bit.

"Expulso!" I yelled, causing a boom to resonate as Voldemort side-stepped and the curse smashed into the wall. I felt the protective enchantments on it tremble slightly, but at least they held enough to not splinter the wall into pieces.

"Confringo!" Voldemort yelled back, and I retaliated instantly with,

"Incendio!" Well, people talk about fire and water not mixing well, but what happens when you put fire with fire? The two rolling masses of fire collided with one another with a force that broke through all of the enchantments, but only the enchantments, so the walls still held. The flames split and circled round the two of us as the air tensed and crackled. I pushed forwards with all of my strength, my fists clenching. Both of our eyes were blood-red as we strained our power. My legs shook from the effort. I was determined to not let him win, but it was proving difficult. I shoved all of that ability of mine into it, adding to my power. He took a step backwards, and a flicker of triumph flamed within me. 

It quickly died down, however, when he lashed back, causing me to stumble a step backwards. A strong wind whipped around us, causing my hair to fly around me. The bystanders, Bellatrix and Dolohov included, were staring at us with wide, almost-frightened eyes. Voldemort and I were match-to-match for our strength and power. Maybe it was Harry Potter and Voldemort who were the constant enemies, but the only reason Potter was still alive was because of sheer luck. I, however, matched Voldemort for power. And I could tell he knew it.

There was a hiss as Cybele sprang to life, slithering onto the floor, her purple eyes fixed on Nagini, who had also slithered forwards. I prayed that the two snakes wouldn't start attacking one another. They weren't exactly friends nor enemies. Just...acquaintances, I guess you could call it. At the very least they respected one another, which was good. Then there was a loud bang and the windows shattered, sending fragments of glass raining down in a tinkling shower onto the floor. Voldemort and I were blasted backwards, and my back slammed rather painfully into the wall. My ears were still ringing as I stirred, blinking to adjust my eyes. The world was spinning. There were hazy figures, and distant voices. Then I saw Cybele's purple eyes blinking up at me. Strangely, they seemed to revive me, and I took gulping breaths, closing my fingers tightly around my wand as I stood up, adjusting my stance. Voldemort too had straightened, and we stared at one another.