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Author: Muggle Witch Story: Storybook Love Rating: Teens Setting: AU Status: Completed Reviews: 5 Words: 12,245
A/N- Harry belongs to Ms. Rowling, Princess Bride to Mr. Goldman. Thank you Gerry and Laree! You two are fantastic! ~~~~~~~~~~~ Neville watched as Snape and Hagrid left with the Princess. As soon as they were out of sight, he walked over to the cliff and looked over the side. The man in black was still struggling to reach the top, but it looked like he had used some sort of sticking charm to keep himself from falling. "Slow going?" Neville asked. "You could say that," was the dry reply. "I don't suppose you could, um, speed things up?" "Look," said the man in black a little irritated, "I don't mean to be rude, but if you are in such a hurry you could lower a rope, or a tree branch, or something. Otherwise, please be quiet so I can concentrate." Neville thought for a moment, and looked at the man saying, "I could send down this rope I have up here, but I do not think you will want my help as I am only waiting to kill you." "That does put a damper on things," the man in black agreed. "What if I give you my word as a wizard that you will reach the top alive?" "No good," the man replied, "I've known too many dark wizards in my time. How do I know if you're any different?" "I swear on my parents' honour that you will reach the top alive." Neville had such a look of honesty and determination on his face that the man in black felt he had no choice but to believe him. Within two minutes, Neville had thrown him the rope, and the man in black had indeed reached the top alive. The man in black started to pull out his wand when Neville stopped him, "We can wait until you are rested." "Thank you," the man replied with a nod. While the man in black rested, Neville looked around at the terrain. It was the perfect place for a duel. Neville thought back to his parents, who had been tortured to death by a crazed, dark-haired witch when he was a baby. He had vowed, when he got older, to hunt her down, and get revenge for his lost parents. He had dedicated his life to training, and was, if he did say so himself, a master at duelling. It had been a while since he had duelled anyone that really tested his skills, and he hoped this man would test him. 'Please let him be able to duel,' he thought desperately, 'really duel.' "Thank you for allowing me to rest," the man in black said, bringing Neville out of his thoughts. "I'm ready." "You seem a decent fellow," Neville said, getting into position, "I hate to kill you." "You seem a decent fellow," the man in black replied, "I hate to die." Then the duel began. First, as in all duels, they bowed to each other. (Must observe the niceties after all.) It was obvious that they were both masters, but they both had a secret that the other did not know about. They raged all over, shouting spells and neither really getting the better of the other. Neville shouted 'Expelliarmus!', but before he could get the words out of his mouth, the man in black had a shield in place and shouted 'Stupefy!.' This was how it went, until suddenly-- Neville smiled like the cat that ate the canary. "You are better than I am," he admitted. "Then what's so funny?" the man in black asked. "I am not left handed," Neville replied. (Everyone knows that you cast a stronger spell with your dominant hand.) He switched hands and shouted a Severing Charm. The man in black did not react fast enough, and was caught on the wrist, that was now starting to bleed. "Perverto," the man in black countered, as Neville came running after him, causing him to trip. Then with a smile, he tossed his wand in his right hand, and said, "I'm not left handed either." The battle raged on for about ten more minutes, until the man in black cast a Stinging Hex at Neville's right hand, causing him to drop his wand. Then he shouted, "Petrificus Totalus," catching his opponent in a full body bind. The man in black knelt down beside Neville and said, "Don't worry, I would as soon destroy an enchanted glass, then harm an artist like yourself; but since I can't have you following me either…" The last thing Neville remembered was a rush of red light as the stunner hit him. * * * The man in black quickly caught up with Hagrid, who was waiting on him. SMASH! He twirled around and saw a rock smashed to dust beside him. He knew the giant could have hit him and that the rock was a warning. "I think we should face each other as it was me'nt ter be," said Hagrid. "You mean, I put down my wand, and you put down your rock, and we try to kill each other like civilized wizards?" asked the man in black. "Yep. Skill ag'inst skill alone." "Somehow, I think the odds are slightly in your favour at hand fighting," the man in black muttered, and lunged at Hagrid, grabbing him around his waist. 'This is getting me nowhere,' he thought. He ducked as Hagrid swung a punch at him, and getting behind him, jumped on his back. Hagrid struggled to get him off, but the man in black held fast, refusing to budge. The more he struggled, the harder it was to breathe, Hagrid realized. Then he started to fall over. Hagrid fell over unconscious. The man in black went over to him, and rolled the giant over. "I do not envy you the headache you will have when you awaken, but in the meantime rest well, and dream of large women." He then stood up and ran after the last man and his captive. * * * Coming over a hill he saw them. Ginny was blindfolded, and Snape had her at wand point. "One more step, and I will kill her," Snape sneered. The man in black froze, thinking fast. "Then how about we have a battle of wits for her?" he said. "What do you propose?" Pulling out a vial from inside his robes with powder in it, the man in black handed it to Snape, and said, "Smell this, but do not touch. It is Instonix powder, the deadliest poison to wizard kind." Snape took the vial, smelled it, and handed it back to the man in black. Being an expert alchemist, he figured he would have no trouble winning this battle. He motioned the man in black towards a table, where he conjured two glasses of butterbeer. The man in black took the glasses, turned his back slightly from Snape and poured the contents of the vial into a glass. Turning back around he sat both glasses on the table, and said, "The battle of wits has begun. It ends when you decide, we both drink, and we find out who is right, and who is dead." Snape looked at both glasses and pondered. What did he know of this man? He had beaten Neville, the best dueller in wizarding world, and he had beaten Hagrid, a strong half-giant. From that he deduced that the man in black was strong and well-learnt…maybe he was hoping this would save him. 'The question remained which glass to choose.' he thought with his intellect. Slowly a planned formed and he knew what to do. "It's so simple," said Snape. "All I have to do is deduce what I know of you. Are you the kind of man that would put the poison in his own glass or his enemy's?" "You're stalling," the man in black replied. "Now, only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I clearly am not a great fool, so I cannot reach for your butterbeer. You would have known that, so I can not reach for mine either," continued Snape, as if he had not heard the man in black. "Truly, you have a dizzying intellect," the man in black said, rolling his eyes. "Wait until I get going. You've beaten my half-giant, which means you are extremely strong, and you might have put the poison in your own glass, hoping your strength would save you; thus I can not choose the glass in front of you. You also bested my dueller, which means you have studied, and in studying you would have realized that man is mortal; so I can not choose the glass in front of me." "You're trying to trick me into giving away something, it won't work," said the man in black. "It already has, you've given away everything," said Snape. Then, looking over the man in black's shoulder, he gasped and said, "Is that a wild Hippogriff over there?" The man in black turned around, knowing what Snape was doing, and said, "Where? I don't see anything." "Must have been my imagination. Very well, let us drink. I will drink from my glass, you from yours." Both men drank the contents of their glasses, then the man in black said, "You chose wrong." "You only think I chose wrong," Snape said. "I swapped them when your back was turned. You thi…." And Snape fell over dead.
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