| “ | My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk.
— Harry Dresden
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” |
Harry Dresden is a wizard who works as a private investigator of sorts in Chicago (he's in the phone book, the only listing under "Wizards"), dealing with paranormal crimes and consulting for the Chicago Police Department. He is named after three different stage magicians — Harry Houdini, Harry Blackstone, Sr., and David Copperfield. This name was given to him by his father, Malcolm Dresden, a stage magician himself, who raised Harry while still performing his magic show all across the country. The stories are told from Harry's point of view in a hardboiled style.
Harry is considered a magical "thug," lacking fine control of his power, but is one of the strongest living wizards in terms of pure magical strength, as well as factors surrounding the timing of his birth. He originally favoured fire and wind spells in battle, but has since evolved towards fire and kinetic force, and has recently started using earth (It's My Birthday Too and Turn Coat), Lightning (Small Favour and Turn Coat), and has used water at least once (Turn Coat). He is also an expert at tracking spells (which he uses in his investigations) along with summoning and entrapment spells to speak to faeries and other supernatural sources of information. Due to his lack of finer control, Harry often must rely on magical items to help focus and channel his magical energy, such as his staff, blasting rod, shield bracelet, and force rings. In Changes, we see the first instances of Harry using wide area war magic, fire and ice combinations, and pure ice magic. He's also gotten much better at using Veils and tighter control of his fire spells because of teaching his apprentice Molly Carpenter. Harry has also been known to carry around many firearms such as a .38 revolver, a .357 and most recently a .44 revolver and a sawed-off shotgun for those times when 'magic just doesn't cut it'.
Battle vs. John Constantine (by Marcus Forelli)[]
Harry Dresden has just arrived at the streets of midnight London, England. It was a horrible ride to get there by plane, and got worse with the cockney cabbies driving him. Arriving at Cannon Street, Harry had heard that the mysterious London Stone contains a demonic entity that powers magic that must be destroyed. He is tasked by Ebenezar McCoy to destroy the demon, who has recently made a bloddy rampage across London. Though knowing nothing about it or how to destroy it, Harry's only objective is to get it over with and get back home. Staring at the stone, Harry is ready to do what he's best at.
"New at the place eh' mate?" A passing blonde man in a trench coat with a cigar in his hand said.
Harry ignored the vagrant. Raising his staff, he fired a fireball at the stone. Destroying it and releasing a demon inside. The man, whose name is John Constantine was furious. "What the bloody hell are you doing?! Who are you?!" John said at the impending danger Harry just did.
"My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure it at your own risk."
"You think you could just come in here and wreck stuffs up you soddin git. Who the hell do you think you are?" John said before punching Dresden in the face, sending him a few feet away.
Harry retaliated by trying to punch John, but John summoned a ghoul who pins Harry to the floor. "More of you bloody yankin' sorcerers. This is tate club territory. This is my town." John said at the pinned Harry.
Harry blasted the ghoul with a lightning spell. He summoned a fireball and fired it at John. John on the other hand, had protection magic on the floor he's standing, blocking of Harry's attack. Harry fired more, but had no effect. Both combatants stared at each other thinking on how to beat the other. John steps up, with hands raised for a surrender.
"Nice game you got there pal. Too bad I was too much for you huh?" Dresden boasted.
John draws a line with his foot on the street's pavement. "Cross, this line and you get transported to Hell", John said. He later grabs his lighter and blasted Harry with flame spewed magically before running away to the opposite direction. Harry, with a few facial burns, gives chase. As soon as he crosses the line, the earth opens and engulfs him to a bottomless abbyss.
"Oh shit," Harry said after making himself a safe land below. He was at the gates of hell, with fires and souls begging him to save them. Unfazed, he sees a huge house floating behind him, with John inside.
"Now I don't want any fight alright. Just go on and stay away from London," John yelled.
"You think this is my first time here, come on you sissy, and I'll show you what real Hell is," Harry said before charging at the floating house.
"Stubborn frig..." John said trying to pull the house away. Too late as Dresden crashed into the window and whips John with his cane. John stands up and grabs a huge sword lying in a cabinet near him. John makes a wild blow, but Dresden parries. John makes a slash, and Dresden wooden staff withered in his hand. Dresden furious, disarms John and seriously wounds him on the shin with his cane sword.
"Oh shite!" John yells clutching his shin. The house arrived back at the dark London night.
"Ready to die punk," Harry said with his cane sword at John's neck.
"Haven't you heard mate, got meself demon blood," John said. John raises his hands, and all doors of the house opens. A swarm of flies attacked Dresden and pushes him away outside the house. Harry kills the swarm with a fire spell. John stands up, his wound healed, and with a signal, two demonic golems appears from the house and attacks Harry.
Harry was getting beaten up by the golems. He gets kicked in the stomach that launches him a few feet in mid air. Harry, furious, spits some blood, and summons a zombie t-rex. He hops into it back and attacks the golem. The golems jabbed at the rex, but the rex bites off one of the golem's head. The golem grabs the rex's head and rips it away. Harry jumps away as the rex's dead body falls unto the golem, killing it. Using a combination of Earth and Water magic, Harry charges a powerful ball of magic and destroys the house, smashing it into a million pieces. But to his supries John wasn't there.
"Good show mate, maybe you can show me more," John said.
"Sure pal," Harry said before launching a ball of energy into John. John has a magic circle and sigils that protected him that deflected the attack. John retialtes by summoning a soul storm unto Harry. Harry is blasted by the whip of the storm, wounded in his shoulder by the attack. Furious and angry, Harry had enough of the alterations he's having. He clasp noth his hands together, and chants a powerful spell. Combing both foci, lightning spell, and soulfire, his right hand glowed with magical energy. He charges and John, who is still in the protection of his circle. Harry punches his hand into John. The ground they were at was blasted and cracked with the energy it felt. John was blown several feet away before crashing back first into a lamp post. Harry, though tired, stood triumphantly.
But then John shakingly stood up and fixed his coat and tie. "Alright you bastard, you had your fun. Its time to finish this," John said before throwing his trench coat unto Harry. The trenchcoat wraps itself unto Harry, covering his head and neck, trying to choke him. Harry manages to take it off of him just in time, and throws the stinky trench coat unto the pavement. It flew back to John, who was right behind of Harry the whole time.
Putting his hand unto Harry's head, John chants, "Its a pity about Harry's hands getting numb, Belshazzar. Baphomet, its a pity about Harry's legs, falling asleep. It's a pity Bellal, about Harry blacking out."
Panicking, Harry grabs his revolver and shot John in his gut. "The hell are you doing," Harry said with John laying on the floor cursing in English.
John, laying on the floor with his hands on his bleeding stomach, said, "Don't waste your time trying to get the curse off... you can't reverse high magic, even with your defences and all."
"You...bastard," Harry said before his hands getting numb, his feet going to sleep, and finally losing consciuosness.
"Night mate, sleep tight,"
Winner: John Constantine
Epilogue
"Huh!, what... Oh crap..." Harry said after waking up in a bench somewhere in Hyde Park. It was morning, and the last thing he remembers was he was fighting this British prick, and destroying a stone or something. His head ache as he tries to remember , and he looks around trying to know what happened.
"Late for your breakfast? Sunshine," John said who was sitting right next beside him patching his gun shot wound.
"Heh," Harry said snarking. "Hurts getting shot huh. More than that god damn spell you put into me."
"To che mate," John said finishing his stitches. "With a little bit of sychronicity you can make your own luck and turn a battle to your favor. Even though the sods turn off, the gits been bitter, and the death pisses at you with bollocks. "
"I don't think I speak no cockney there pal, can't understand your shitload wisecracks,"
"Good heavens no mate, I speak perfect English. Its you who has the funny accent."
Harry notices the blazing building in front of him, with the firemen and the firetrucks packed like tuna on the street.
"What's happening there? Another soccer riot gone bad," Harry Dresden asks.
"Its football mate, not soccer. And by the way, the fire was caused by the demon you inadvertedly released." John answered. Upon hearing this, Harry kept quite.
John throws away the left over bandages and stood up. With his trench coat ready he said, "The best you should do is to help me with this demon problem you've caused."
Harry stood up with eyes focused, "Yeah sure. But we do this my way. I don't take prisoners, I'll destroy what caused this."
Expert's Opinion[]
Although Harry Dresden has the superior offensive magic that let him dish out powerful attacks during the battle. John Constantine's more superior defensive magic protected him from these attacks. John's House of Mystery negates and blocks any magical powers Dresden has, and makes Dresden a slave. John also has the better melee weapon and firearms in his arsenal. Because of better weapons, x-factors, arcane knowledge and experience, John Constantine emerged victorious as the Deadliest Warrior!