Welcome to the ninth chapter of our ongoing series, which answers the question: In Harry Potter, what if instead of magic, it’s Dota 2?

Previous Chapters:

Oct 27 2014: 01 The Wardmaster

Jan 02 2015: 02 The Fogwards Express

Jan 09 2015: 03 The Shuffling

Jan 22 2015: 04 The First Blood

Jan 30 2015: 05 The Juking Lesson

Feb 25 2015: 06 The Mirror of Atod

Mar 25 2015: 07 The International

Jun 25 2015: 08 The Bottle of Fire

July 07 2015: 09 The Head of House

——————-

Ravencleu House

When Harry woke up on Sunday morning, it took him a moment to remember why he felt so angry and determined. Then the memory of the previous day’s events rolled over him. He sat up and ripped back the curtains of his own four-poster, intending to talk to Ron, to force Ron to believe him – only to find that Ron’s bed was empty. Ron had gone down to breakfast without waking him like he usually did.

Harry dressed and walked into the Ravencleu common room, finding himself himself face-to-face with Hermione, with Jacky nervously standing behind her.

“Where’s Ron?” Harry said, fearing the answer.

“He’s off by himself, he hasn’t taken your selection well,” Hermione said, slowly. “Or your choice of support, though Jacky seems up to the task, aren’t you Jacky?”

“We’re going to get first place!” said Jacky Mao. “Or we’re going to lose terribly and die.”

“The Ravencleu head of house wishes to speak to you,” she said. “She’s perfectly nice, don’t worry. I’ll wait for you here.”

Harry and his support Jacky Mao ascended the steps toward the head of house’s chambers. As they approached the door, it opened. Gustav and Henrik, the other Ravencleu representatives to TI, walked out.

Gustav gave them a sympathetic smile as he walked past, but Henrik stopped to speak.

“I don’t know how you tricked the Bottle, but we’re the real reps for Ravencleu. My donger has a better chance in this competition than you two kappa.” Henrik glared at Jacky.

Harry had no idea what kappa meant or what a donger was, but If this was Bulldog’s reaction, Harry’s selection could not have won him many fans in Ravencleu. A strange confidence filled Harry. For some unknown reason Harry knew that he and Jacky would beat S4 and Bulldog, he just did. But he couldn’t say that to Henrik now, he had to pretend to be a scared second year.

“We’re going to win!” screamed Jacky. “Right after talking to our head of house.”

“You stay away from her!” said Henrik, bristling. “Or I’ll kill you both.”

He made to punch Jacky, but S4 held him back.

“OK that’s a little extreme,” Harry said. “What the fuck, dude?”

—

Chambers of the Head of Ravencleu House

Ravencleu’s head of house was a tall, angular woman who addressed them formally.

“Please come in — I’m Jorien, but my house calls me Sheever,” she stared at Harry’s forehead Dota scar. “You must be the famous Harry Potter.”

“I am.”

“I’d like to speak to you about the upcoming competition,” she said. “Your selection has caused quite a bit of drama among the other heads of house. Now normally, they love drama, but this time they feel that Ravencleu having double the representation is a bit unfair. SlitheriNA’s head, Charlie, has even petitioned the Ministry of Dota.”

“What would you have us do?” Harry asked.

“Well, I can’t directly help you as my house’s official representatives are S4 and…” she sighed, rolling her eyes, “Bulldog.”

She continued, “But in order to appease the other heads of house we had to take on a reporter to cover you and Jacky. The other house teams did not want to deal with him, so here we are. He’ll interview you periodically throughout the competition. He’s in the common room waiting for you now.”

Harry and Jacky looked at each other. “Is that all?”

“One last thing, you have to wear these uniforms,” she handed them two extra large t-shirts. “They have our sponsors on them.”

“Our sponsors?” Jacky looked confused.

“Yes, we are sponsored by a very special place, one that is a unique place for gamers. It’s the only place to bet on eSports events.”

“Uh, do we have to go there?” Harry asked.

“If you know your way around a competitive gaming scene and are willing to take a risk.”

I am willing to do those things, especially the risk part, Harry thought. “What would we do there?”

“You’d watch regular broadcasts and earn real money!”

“What characteristics would we need to succeed in such a place?” Jacky asked. “Maybe if you could just give us an arbitrary number, let’s say three, character traits.”

“Foresight, passion, and calculation,” Sheever responded without hesitation.

—

Ravencleu Common Room

Harry and Jacky returned to the common room. Hermione was waiting.

“This gentleman has been waiting for you the whole time, he insists on speaking to you…” Hermione said, exasperated.

“Oh, that’s the reporter Sheever said was assigned to us.”

Hermione leaned in, whispering, “At first I found him kind of intriguing, but after a while… good luck.”

She quickly exited the room.

“Hi guys, I’m SirActionSlacks or Slacks for short. How are you guys doing today? Good?”

Before Harry and Jacky could answer, Slacks continued. “Good. Anyhoo, I need to ask you a few questions about THIS tournament, The International. Is now a good time? GOOD! My report on you guys is going to be the BEST report ever.”

It was evening before Slacks finally left. Hermione had not returned. Harry had planned on studying in the library with Jacky, but he was asleep on the common room couch. He had lost the entire day, and the competition would begin the day after tomorrow.

Harry made his way to the library alone under cover of darkness.

What can I do against older students with superior skills and non-Jacky supports? Harry thought. I must find a way to win.

Harry stared down the hallway, toward the “Restricted” section filled with old forbidden spells.

He took a step forward.





