Early Arrival

Hadrian had left the school very early in the morning. His friends were already aware that he would be participating in the International Tournament, so they said their goodbyes.

Well...In Daphne's case, it was more of a strangling hug and making him promise to come back with all his limbs attached.

The third-year Duelling Apprentices, and Hadrian, made their way over to the submarine. Professor Anderson was the one to drive them away from school grounds, not Headmistress Rosewood, which made them slightly worried.

Professor Anderson was a very...wild character - Hadrian had seen a couple of clips of him in the Duelling Circuit, and suffice to say, the man was not one for tact.

He would often barrage his opponent with powerful spell chains and he hardly used the protego charm, opting to either dodge or get hit trying.

Hadrian...did not want to duel like that. That wasn't a slight at Professor Anderson's skills as a duelist, Hadrian saw first hand how talented the man was. He would have to be, he was a handful of those that could say they were once a Duelling Champion.

Hadrian and his peers all sat in one compartment. They were the two former third years from last year and the current third years.

Hadrian had become acquainted with all of them already, through the Duelling Apprentice club, of course.

The only one who he could say he was on friendly terms with, was Demetri.

Although Demetri had acted quite foul towards Hadrian, he had slowly come around. Hadrian had asked his partner, the female Duelling Apprentice, Angelica Bay - if he had done something to warrant such behavior.

She responded by saying, "He's jealous. Demetri desperately wanted to be Professor Andy's Apprentice, yet you - who's a year younger than Demetri, took the position."

Hadrian then understood.

Demetri had always been vying for Professor Andy's recognition, that was probably why he was always seen latched to the man's side.

Hadrian then went over to Demetri, not to apologize, but to encourage the boy. He told Demetri that if he performed extremely well in the tournament, then Professor Andy would have no choice but to take him as an apprentice.

This did good for the boy's confidence, it motivated him to train harder.

The budding duelists waited anxiously in silence.

They were to dock at one of the closest ports and take an international portkey to the Duelling Arena.

The journey was not long at all.

Very soon, the Aunriton Duelists reached the docks, not too long after that did they portkey over to the Duelling Arena in Japan.

The Arena looked massive. It was extremely large, it looked as though it could house 50,000 people.

The building was made in the same style as ancient Japanese feudal palaces, finished off with its signature jade roofs.

The entrance was a traditional Japanese gate called a Torii. The Torii stood at 60ft tall, It was huge.

A Torii gate was often used to signify the transition from a mundane area to a sacred area.

Hadrian walked through the red gate, appreciating the beautiful Sakura trees that bordered the long pathway that followed the gate.

The cherry blossoms fell onto the path, decorating the walkway with pink petals.

Hadrian looked around and saw students slightly older than him walking in packs. The most notable ones being the Mahoutokoro students and the Ilvermorny students. Hadrian had read up on these two schools because they were the favorites to win.

Ilvermorny even had a house dedicated to battling, House Wampus. The former champion of the Tournament was a student from Ilvermorny, with a student from Mahoutokoro being the champion before that.

Hadrian knew that he wouldn't be duelling former champions, but it was better to be prepared than going in blindly - it was a duelling tournament and his Teacher and School's reputation and prestige were on the line.

He was most worried about the students from Mahoutokoro, they were the most disciplined wizards in the world.

They accepted students at 7 years old, but only allowed them to board at the school at 11 years old.

There was also their school uniforms, satin yukata robes. The robes displayed the level of learning the wearer was currently at. They begin at a faint pink, and once the student has achieved top grades in all subjects, the robes will transform into a golden color.

There was also their strict dark arts ban, which wasn't uncommon. If one were to use the dark arts, then the robes turn white and the student in question is expelled immediately from Mahoutokoro. They would then have to go on trial at the Japanese Ministry Of Magic.

White robes were the epitome of disgrace in the Japanese wizarding community, you would be disowned from your family - even if you had a plausible excuse for illegal practices.

Hadrian and his friends followed Professor Andy to the door of the Duelling Arena.

Professor Andy conversed with the man, he used a translation spell and explained to the guard that we were here for the Tournament. He pulled out the documents showing that they had signed the necessary documents and that they were who they said they were.

Hadrian entered through the door - the door revealed a large tunnel which widened at the end to display the huge stage they would be duelling on.

"Here it is. This is where you will make your debut tomorrow.", Andy said, gesturing towards the stage.

"And win...", Hadrian trailed off.

"Yes, Hadrian. And win.", Andy said, chuckling at the boy's confidence. He wasn't incredulous about the boy's skill but it was quite amusing to hear that a 9-year-old sound so confident when talking about fighting 11-year-olds in front of 50,000 people.

"I'll be the one to win.", Demetri declared.

This then started an argument between all of the Duelling Apprentices.

"Enough! It's not about winning, the experience you will get from this tournament is rewarding enough.", Andy hissed as he saw that his students were bringing attention to themselves.

"We're going to rest in the accommodations for participants, it's upstairs.", he continued as he lead them to their rooms.

Hadrian ran into his room and quickly slammed the door. Hadrian had read up on the venue and it was mentioned that the rooms for the participants were soundproofed.

Hadrian took out his trunk from his pocket and placed it on the floor.

He stabbed at the trunk with his wand, causing it to grow to its original size.

Hadrian then opened the trunk and brought out the portrait of Merlin.

"I...do not want to go back in there.", Merlin grumbled.

"I'm afraid you'll have no choice. You'll have to be in there when we're not in this room and when the journey back to school.

Merlin started his usual rouse of complaining, to which Hadrian skillfully ignored. Instead of listening to Merlin's tirade, Hadrian sat down on the floor and willed the red grimoire to appear in his lap.

The clicking sound the book made as Hadrian opened the golden strap that locked the book brought Merlin out of his musings.

"Thinking about using one of my spells?", Merlin asked, an eyebrow raised in amusement. Hadrian had unlocked the Artifact a few days before his departure, he'd only looked through the basics of the first spell.

The first spell also happened to be the only spell Hadrian had access to at the moment. The Ancient Artifacts relied on the user's growth and training to work properly. Only after mastering the spell to the extent that the book deems good enough are you able to proceed with the next.

"Yes. The only spell I can use at the moment is 'Extienis'. I was looking forward to learning Dragonlord spells, but this will have to do.", Hadrian replied dutifully.

"It is a powerful spell, It will give you an advantage in the duels."

"I haven't had a lot of practice with it...", Hadrian stated.

Extienis is the first spell in Merlin's Grimoire. The spell allowed the user to 'catch' the opponent's spell and send it back. The user could also pour more magic into the spell that they had 'caught', making it stronger than what it was originally.

Hadrian had tried this spell but didn't practice it as much as his other spells because he wanted to brush up on his technique and casting speed of spells he already knew.

"It doesn't matter, you're more than capable enough to hold your own in this tournament.", Merlin encouraged, looking at the apprehensive visage of the boy.

Hadrian nodded and put the Grimoire away. He had learned enough.

During the week before he left for the Tournament, Hadrian suddenly became aware of the advantages that he holds over other people.

He had a family that supported and encouraged his growth, Teachers who helped him in his endeavor to become a proficient wizard, and a handful of tools that put him ahead of others.

There was also his Potter-Black rings. The Black Heir Ring allowed him to increase his affinity for all types of magic thereby allowing him to learn spells easier. The Potter ring allowed for an increased capability and affinity for Transfiguration and Runes.

He already had talents in those two branches of magic, due to his heritage - but had found it too easy to use.

Although, the tournament had forbidden the use of rune stones...nor could Hadrian use Transfiguration well enough to use it in battle.

Hadrian was brought out of his deep thoughts when he heard knocking on the door.

He opened the door slightly and found Professor Andy standing there with a box in his hands.

"These are for you," he said as he handed the box to Hadrian, "...A brand new duelling outfit and some gear. Some of it is required, some of it was just because we wanted to gift our cute little students something that will give them an edge."

"I am not cute.", Hadrian hissed.

"Whatever you say...Pretty Dragon.", he retorted as he turned and ran back to his room to get more boxes for his 'cute students'.

Hadrian slammed the door and let out a sigh.

His eyes zoned onto the inside of the box, which he quickly began tearing open.

Inside laid Hadrian's new gear, plopped on top of his duelling outfit.

He picked up two wand holsters, they were both black.

Merlin chuckled, "I doubt you'll be using that when you've got something better."

Hadrian smiled back and focused on his forearms. The runes appeared and glowed brightly before Hadrian willed his wand to appear in his right hand.

"It's better that I wear them anyways, It would look odd if I didn't."

Hadrian then took out the remaining gear, it was armor.

There was a pair of black, steel mesh gloves. They were very tight.

Underneath that was a steel mesh chest plate, shin pads, and arm braces.

They were red.

All that was left were a pair of shoes and the 'aesthetic' part of his outfit - the part that only served to look good and didn't have any protective qualities.

It was a dark red undershirt and capris. Hadrian would have to wear that underneath his armor.

Above the undershirt and armor, Hadrian had to wear a black yukata - which is traditional clothing worn in Japan.

The yukata served as a jacket, it was lacking the 'skirt' part of it and looked as if it was manufactured for battle, not drinking with geishas.

Hadrian picked up the yukata and noticed that a red dragon had been stitched on the right-hand side of the yukata.

Hadrian ran his fingers through the stitching in appreciation, before placing it down and picking up the boots.

The boots were made of leather and looked stylish as well as appropriate for duelling.

Hadrian thought that the outfit looked cool, this further drove home the point that this tournament was very important.

'There's probably going to be a lot of reporters and journalists tomorrow...' Hadrian thought as he looked out the window of his dorm and watched the sakura trees billow in the wind.