Power, Freedom and a French Flower

Dueling and end of summer

AN: Welcome to another Chapter guys! As always, let me know what you think and if you have any feedback for me!

Enjoy!

The recognizable sections belong to JKR

July 31st, 1992

Harry woke up later than usual on his birthday. The Flamels allowed him to sleep in a bit since Harry literally got his ass kicked in last night's dueling practice. Sure, he had improved quite a lot within the last month at the Flamels', but it would still take a couple of years before Nick would even take him seriously. Nevertheless, Harry was grateful for the lessons.

His time with the Flamels has been the most enjoyable summer he had spent so far. Even better than spending summer on his own in Diagon Alley, as he did last year. Nick and Penny were incredibly kind-hearted people and loved to share their wisdom whenever Harry asked.

Harry quickly started treating them perhaps not as a fatherly or motherly figure, but definitely like a mix between aunt/grandma and uncle/grandpa. Today for his Birthday the couple had a surprise planned for him.

Harry took a shower put on some of his nicer robes and made his way downstairs. The Flamels and house-elves were already present in the kitchen and greeted Harry with a loud Happy-Birthday, followed up by a choir of the elves singing him a birthday song and some bone-breaking hugs from Nick and Penny. Those two were definitely stronger than they looked.

"What, what do you have planned as a surprise for me?" Harry asked while helping himself to some warm croissants.

"Today we will take you Paris, or specifically to the quarter-finals of the French Dueling Championship. We will be leaving in about 30 minutes, so you better eat quickly and get ready afterward."

Now that was a surprise... Ever since Harry let it slip, that he would love to see some professional dueling at some point, Nick and Penny had a smug look on their face, whenever Harry would talk about the topic again. This must have been the reason for it. Quickly finishing his breakfast and a piece of cake, he raced back upstairs to get ready for the day.

Penny apparated to the Dueling-Arena while Nick side-longed Harry. The feeling was even worse than using a Portkey, but Nick promised one would get used to it and it would be more enjoyable when apparating on your own.

The arena looked like a muggle football stadium. Four dueling pits sat next to one another. Currently, there was only some practice taking place. It was 10.30 and the event would start at 11:00 am. So, Harry followed Nick and Penny around as they talked to various famous people in the French wizarding society.

This was another lesson they had planned for Harry, and he thought that he did quite well given the circumstances. He politely greeted the men he was introduced to, by firmly shaking their hands and holding eye contact.

The women and girls he greeted by bracing their knuckles with a slight kiss, earning him some serious blushing from a couple of girls his age and slightly older.

Finally, they took their respective seats and waited for the first duel to start. After his month of intensive practice of the French language, Harry was able to pick up most of what's going on around him. Still, Nick and Penny had to help him out quite a lot.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 1982 French Dueling Championship!" The announcer roared, much to the appreciation of the crowd.

"We have seen some fiery dueling over the last week, however now each competitor will have to step up their game for the beginning of the quarter-finals!"

"From now on, we continue via straight K.O. That means if you lose you are out of the tournament! Please welcome our competitors for the first match!"

"On platform one, Gustave Auch will face Dominique Alarie!"