Sorry to keep you waiting guys!! I've been really backed up with work :)
Al settled down in the library late Sunday afternoon following her most recent Voldemort lesson with Dumbledore. She had no less than six history books about Hogwarts in front of her, and she was determined to find out what the last horcrux could be. So far there was the ring, Slytherin's locket, the diary, Harry, and now Hufflepuff's cup. It was most likely something to do with Ravenclaw. Al thought back to what she could remember from the first memory he had showed her.
Hepzibah Smith had had it, and Voldemort had gone to her house representing Borgin and Burke's to buy some goblin made armour. He had seen the locket and the cup, been told not to tell anyone, and then killed her and made away with both of them. Undoubtedly they were both horcruxes now.
But then the other memory - when Riddle had come to ask for a teaching post. It had been clear to Al that Dumbledore had never had any intention of hiring him, but why, then, did he come to the castle? Had he been searching for the Ravenclaw item?
Al read all about the different founders, all the different myths and legends she could find, but still, nothing. She briefly wondered whether there might be anything in Regulus's notes, and argued with herself on whether or not to head down to her dorm and rifle through her trunk, when her stomach gurgled and several people looked over. Al checked her watch - seven o'clock already? She only had half an hour to get dinner!
Al hastily put all the books back before grabbing her bag and the notes she'd made and hurrying down to the Great Hall. If she was quick she could be there and back in time to finish her Transfiguration essay.
*****
The Easter holidays soon came along, with only the quidditch teams, OWL and NEWT students, and a few other random people staying in the castle. To most, this would mean hours of peaceful bliss, but to Al it meant hours holed up in the library, revising for her Alchemy NEWT. She thought she'd worked hard this year, and she didn't particularly struggle on any of the theory, but for a year long course there was a lot of it, and now she was starting to panic.
Hermione would always come and study with her, sometimes bringing Harry and Ron. And they all spent plenty of time in the stairway alcove. The Duelling Club stopped through the holidays, which gave Al plenty of time to plan the tournament for the first weekend back and select the students from the different houses.
For Slytherin, she had to compete, but she wasn't sure who else would. She consulted the list of people who had signed up for it, and saw Theo had put his name down, but Daphne's was nowhere to be seen. Tracey Davis from her dorm was there, and although she hadn't much spoken to her before, Al recalled she was particularly adept at Charms, so that could be interesting. Yes, she'd put Tracey down. After a lot of deliberation, Al also decided on a girl in the year above called Amanda Rowle, who had been in the advanced group since she signed up at the start of the year.
Gryffindor was next, and Al automatically wrote down Harry and Ginny, as they were the best duellists in the whole club, rivalling even herself. She noticed Ron and Hermione had signed up, but she wasn't sure if they were quite up to the same standards. Fierce opponents, yes, but only when they needed to be. The both of them lacked a little in confidence, which caused them to delay in a duel and get caught out. Al saw Neville's name on there too, and was surprised to see it. Like Ron and Hermione, he lacked confidence, but it must have taken a fair amount of guts to even write his name down in the first place. Hesitantly, she wrote his name down. She also saw Seamus Finnegan's name and wrote that down - his use of pyrotechnics would certainly make things interesting.
Al glanced at the Hufflepuff list, and wrote down the both the Macmillans. Anne and Ernie had both been in the DA, and worked very hard this year. Hannah Abbot had put herself down too, and Al scribbled her name down. Her Ma had been killed earlier in the year, and although she was a bit out of sorts at first, she had come back with one hell of a bang. Finally, Al decided on Zacharias Smith, purely because she knew that a fair few people would want to hex him, and it was bound to have an interesting duel.
Finally, the Ravenclaws. Michael Corner seemed like a good first choice. Poor aim, but very creative spells. Then Padma Patil, who was as brutal as her Gryffindor counterpart, but had a wider range of spells available to her. Marlene Bennet, Anne's friend was next, as she'd been a long-standing member of the Duelling Club. And finally, Al aw Luna Lovegood, and wrote her name down with a chuckle, excited to see what she might do.
Al wrote the notice up in full, and took one last look at it, before sticking it up over a S.P.E.W leaflet from two years ago.
DUELLING TOURNAMENT
The Duelling Tournament of 1997 will be held on Saturday 12th of April at 2 o'clock in the Great Hall. All are welcome to come and watch. The following entrants were successful in their application to compete:
GRYFFINDOR: Seamus Finnegan (6th), Neville Longbottom (6th), Harry Potter (6th), Ginny Weasley (5th), Substitute: Hermione Granger (6th)
HUFFLEPUFF: Hannah Abbott (6th), Anne Macmillan (4th), Ernie Macmillan (6th), Zacharias Smith (6th), Substitute: Susan Bones (6th)
RAVENCLAW: Marlene Bennet (5th), Michael Corner (6th), Luna Lovegood (5th), Padma Patil (6th), Substitute: Terry Boot (6th)
SLYTHERIN: Tracey Davis (6th), Al Dursley (6th), Theodore Nott (6th), Amanda Rowle (7th) Substitute: Blaise Zabini (6th)
ALL DECISIONS ARE FINAL. PLEASE SEE AL DURSLEY OR PROFESSOR FLITWICK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS
Al sighed and headed into the Great Hall, reading her Alchemy textbook over a lunch of pumpkin pasties. This year's tournament was going to be a good one.