A/N: Hello again! I wanted to welcome some of you back, and some of you for the first time, and let you know that I have been doing a fair amount of work on the Recurring Nytdmare lately. Real life has been intruding less, and there are already 8 or nine more chapters being tweaked at present. I figured we all need some other way to get our HP fix now that Book Seven is finished, eh?
Hope you enjoy!
The After Breakfast Body Bind
After breakfast, (as odd as it had been) Harry found himself looking at the clock in the Gryffindor common room, and realized he had a lot of time left to kill before Ron and Hermione would arrive on the Hogwarts Express. He couldn't wait to see them. He wanted to tell Ron all about the Shadowing spell, (he had decided it was probably best to avoid telling Hermione about it if he didn't want a very long lecture about invasion of privacy) and he had to tell them about the fact that he'd actually had breakfast with Malfoy.
Merlin! Was Ron ever going to have difficulty understanding that he and Malfoy had actually gotten through an entire meal without hexing each other into next week. Harry suspected that even Hermione, as open minded as she could be, was probably going to assume that Draco was up to something.
Was he?
A few weeks ago Harry would have assumed that the only reason Malfoy would have considered a conversation with him would have been to try to insult him and harass him as much as possible. It was a rare thing over the past 5 years that a confrontation between Harry and Draco hadn't ended up with a lot of threats and socially unacceptable vocabulary being flung up and down the hall. So what happened this morning?
Harry had heard enough about Draco's actions at the end of last term on Harris Island to hope that he had actually turned away from his corrupt family. Maybe he actually was on their side now.
Harry screwed up his face at the thought for a moment. "Ack.!" The thought of sharing the same opinions on anything with Malfoy gave Harry's stomach a momentary turn. He was sure that Malfoy was probably somewhere in the castle having similar feelings about him.
It made his head hurt to consider the possibility, but could it be that Draco had turned? From snatches of conversation Harry had overheard between Sirius and Remus, it seemed as though the headmaster was fairly convinced.
Harry sighed. It was just as well. They would need all the help they could get against Voldemort, especially if the rumors of him now courting werewolves and vampires was true. He had only ever seen Remus transformed that one time at the end of third year, but it was enough that he knew he never wanted to go up against a werewolf if he could help it.
Harry smiled to himself wryly. If Malfoy was on their side it was more than fine with Harry if he handled the werewolves. Not that he wanted anything bad to happen to the younger Malfoy (ok so he wouldn't mind seeing Draco belching up slugs or hit with the ceaseless sneezes hex) but it would serve him right after all the snide comments about Lupin over the years.
Speaking of snide comments about Lupin……Harry figured that if someone like Snape could be offered a second chance, then certainly Draco had a chance of redemption.
Yup, as much as it was going to pain Ron and Hermione to do so, they were going to have to accept the fact that Malfoy was now on their side.
Harry glanced at his watch. He'd managed to kill a little time but it was hours before his best friends would arrive at Hogwarts.
Bored, he aimlessly shuffled through the halls, running into no one except Filch, who looked very much like he would like to accuse Harry of doing something out of bounds, but had to settle for shooting Harry a menacing scowl as he hurried off down the hallway followed by Mrs. Norris. He obviously was preparing for the onslaught of first years that was about to arrive that evening, and begin breaking rules like all the other first years had ever done.
"Damn hooligan rule breakers," Harry muttered out loud for his own amusement, and he chuckled.
"Rule breakers? At Hogwarts?" An amused female voice startled Harry a little and he turned to see Lorien coming up the hall from the medical wing towards him.
"Ben ilyan – good morning, Harry," she said, smiling affectionately. "I bet you'll be glad to see all your classmates this evening."
"Definitely. I can't wait to see them all again," he replied.
"You seem a little down," she commented.
"Just anxious to see Ron and Hermione, I guess," Harry admitted.
Lorien stood there biting her lip for a minute and then spoke again. "Care to kill an hour in a wandless lesson? Or have you had enough over the summer?"
"That would be great!" Harry brightened and then sobered a little. "Don't you have a lot to do before everyone arrives, though?"
Lorien shook her head. "I think we're as ready as we're going to be Harry. As a matter of fact, Madame Pomfrey was just suggesting that we check our supplies over for the third time." Her voice held a trace of amusement.
"I suggested that it would also be a good idea to go to the dungeon to check on the controlled substances there, and naturally she decided that it was best if I checked them." Lorien winked at Harry.
"Well, I don't want to keep you from checking……."
Lorien waved him off. "Not a big deal, Harry. It was just my excuse to escape from counting the doses of Pepper-Up potion a third time. Professor Snape, I am sure, has everything under control in the dungeon. Shall we?" She indicated the direction of the empty classroom that they'd used in the past.
"Alohomora." Lorien passed her hand over the lock and the door swung open. "After you," she said, indicating Harry should go first.
Harry took a step towards the door and raised his wand. "Lum….." He hesitated mid-spell when he heard Lorien clear her throat pointedly behind him. He turned and looked at where she held out her palm to him. Smiling sheepishly, he placed his wand in her hand, and turned back toward the still-dark room.
"Lumos." Harry gestured at the lamps on the walls and they both stepped into the lighted room.
"Better." Lorien nodded approvingly. "Now, I was thinking that we might work on a wandless body bind curse. What do you think?"
"That's cool. Am I supposed to hex you?" Harry asked, grinning.
"Well, yes. There's no one else available right now," Lorien replied.
Harry smirked and jerked his head toward the door a little. "I just saw Filch go by."
"Mr. Filch, Harry, and let's not even go there."
Harry thought he could detect faint amusement in Lorien's voice as she turned and gestured at a few of the desks, causing them to slide to the edges of the room and clearing a space large enough for them to work in.
"Now," Lorien began, leaning against one of the desks as she addressed Harry. "There is one very important thing about this lesson and the full body bind. What do you think that might be?"
Harry smiled as he answered. "I imagine the most important thing at for this lesson is that I know the counter curse."
"Absolutely," Lorien said emphatically. "As much as I don't mind volunteering to be your guinea pig, the thought of laying in some dark classroom immobilized until Professor McGonagall arrives to teach her first class tomorrow does not appeal to me."
Harry grinned as he placed his hand over his heart in a gesture of mock alarm. "Sylvani atora, I would never leave you lying in a dark classroom until tomorrow. I'm sure that if I left the door cracked open a little Mrs. Norris would wander in at some point well before midnight."
Lorien knew the young wizard was joking, but shuddered anyway. "Yes, eh, well all the same Harry, are you familiar with the counter curse?" The thought of Mrs. Norris sniffing around her while she couldn't do anything about it did not appeal to her. There was something downright creepy about that little cat.
Not to mention Filch.
Ew.
Lorien shuddered once more and looked back at Harry expectantly.
"Enervate works for the full body bind as well as a stunning spell, right?" Harry asked.
"Yes, that's right, Harry," Lorien nodded. "Good. Now…." Lorien handed Harry back his wand. "Let's try it once to be sure you've got it, and then I'll show you how to it's done Nemorosi style."
She stood in front of Harry and braced herself slightly. "Ready?"
Harry nodded and raised his wand.
Lorien nodded at him. "Go ahead."
Harry swung his wand to bear on the witch in front of him and hexed her. "Petrificus totalus!"
Lorien suddenly looked concerned and started toward him the same exact moment the flash of light left his wand. "Harry wait…." It was as much as Lorien could get out before the spell hit her.
Harry would have stopped the spell if he could have, but it was just a second too late. He realized at the same moment what Lorien must have as he watched her go rigid, arms by her side and start to fall over backwards.
She was going to hit the floor hard, and they hadn't done anything to cushion her fall. Harry reacted quickly, springing forward to try to reach the toppling woman before she fell over. He missed her arm and frantically grabbed a handful of the front of her robes and yanked just as his foot caught on a nearby chair.
Lorien stopped falling backward, but Harry couldn't keep his footing as he tripped, and as Lorien's momentum swung toward him he let go of her and flung out his arms to catch himself. He fell to his hands and knees on the floor, thankful that he had broken his fall. A second later Lorien's rigid form crashed down onto him, sending him sprawling into the floor face first.
Harry lay there for a moment scowling to himself. What a klutz! He groaned a little and pointed his wand over his shoulder at the petrified witch. "Enervate," he gasped, out of breathe from the impact with the floor and his mentor.
Lorien blinked a few times and shook her head to get rid of the dazed feeling. She looked around from where she had landed on the floor and saw Harry was gone. There was no sign of the teenager as she looked left and then right.
"Harry?"
"Right here," he answered quietly from behind her.
Lorien started a bit and then realized what had happened as she climbed a little awkwardly back to her feet. She smiled as she turned to offer her hand down to the boy on the floor. "All right there, Harry?"
Harry reached up to grasp Lorien's offered hand and let her help pull him off the floor and onto his feet. He nodded as he straightened his robes and then tapped himself with his wand between the eyes when he realized his vision was skewed. "Reparo." The crooked frame of his glasses snapped back into place.
Lorien clapped her hands together in front of her, causing several chair cushions to fly across the room onto the spot on the floor that she and Harry had just occupied. "Yes, well then, now that we've established that you know the counter curse…..shall we try it sans wands?" She smiled at Harry.
"Yeah," Harry said, turning and placing his wand on a nearby desk. "I'm ready."
"Good," Lorien said, nodding. She raised both of her hands in front of her, palms toward her, and clenched them into fists. "This requires strength, rigidity, firmness……"
"An earth spell, right?" Harry ventured, mimicking Lorien's gesture.
'Yes, Harry," she replied, smiling, "and what would the counter spell be?"
Harry looked thought full for a moment as he pondered her question. Water would wash away the earth if you used a water spell to counter the binding curse. He repeated his thoughts to Lorien.
"Yes, that would work," she said, and then hesitated as Harry looked like he wanted to say something else. "Something else, Harry?"
Harry frowned a little as he spoke. "Couldn't you also use an air spell?"
"An air spell? Explain why you think so, Harry," Lorien said, sounding intrigued.
Harry paused for a moment, trying to follow his own thoughts to conclusion before he spoke.
"Well," he began slowly, "it's as if I could picture a wall of stone turning to dust and blowing away in the wind."
Lorien looked thoughtful for a moment. "Interesting, Harry. Why don't you try it?"
"Are you sure? What if it doesn't work?" Harry asked.
Lorien smiled and placed herself in front of Harry again, arms by her sides. "Harry, I'm assuming that you'll grab your wand if all else fails. I'd really rather not wait for that ……cat."
Harry felt the same way about creepy little Mrs. Norris and wrinkled his nose up as he nodded in agreement.
"All right. I'm ready," he said, stepping one foot forward to steady himself and holding his fists up in front of him like a prizefighter.
"Ok. On the count of three. One……..two……..three!" Lorien shouted.
Harry slammed his fists together, sealing the earth spell, and Lorien toppled backwards onto the cushions. He leaned over to observe that she was completely unmoving and that the spell had worked well.
Cool.
Harry closed his eyes in concentration and saw the wall crumbling before him, he made a sideways pass in the air with his right hand and visualized the wall of dust just blowing away. He opened his eye to see Lorien blinking and shaking her head as she started to sit up. It had worked.
Very cool.
Lorien glanced at the grinning teenager and reached up to take the hand he had offered her to help her up. She let him pull her to her feet and then smoothed her robes back into place.
"That was incredible, Harry. Did you and Perth work on that over the summer by any chance?"
Harry shook his head.
"Well," Lorien went on, shaking her head still in amazement. "You've obviously done some work. I must say I'm extremely pleased and more than a little impressed."
Harry was still grinning. "That was kinda cool, wasn't it."
"Very."
Harry suddenly looked thoughtful again and it was if Lorien read his mind. She spoke just ahead of him. "Let's try it once more, but with the water reversal."
"Can we?" Harry was already stepping back into place with his hands raised in front of him.
Lorien made sure the cushions were in place and nodded. "Ready. On three, then, Harry. One…..two……thr……."
Harry slammed his fists together. "Petrificus totalus!"
Harry watched as Lorien's body stiffened immediately and slammed into the pillows as his slightly overzealous binding spell hit her.
"Oops. I guess I got carried away," Harry said sheepishly. "Thank goodness for those cushions, eh?"
Of course, Lorien, under the influence of the full body bind, said nothing.
Harry concentrated and quickly washed away the bind with a gesture. He watched as Lorien shook her head and once again helped her to her feet.
"Sorry," he offered, looking a little embarrassed. Lorien was on her feet but looking a bit tired after that last go.
"Not a problem, Harry," she said, smiling, "but I think that will be enough for this morning."
Harry watched her move a little stiffly across the room.
"If you would be so good as to straighten up a bit?" Lorien gestured vaguely at the classroom around them as she made it to the door.
"Are you….?" Harry started, looking concerned.
"Fine," she assured him somewhat unconvincingly from the door. "I'm just going to have a bit of a lie down."
Lorien left Harry to straighten up McGonagall's classroom and walked tiredly back toward the medical ward, intent on finding herself a dose of Freloux's elixer. She was extremely pleased with the progress Harry had made over the summer with Perth, but that last body bind he'd cast had been like someone hit her with a brick, or more like several bricks.
Damn if his spells weren't packing more punch.
Poppy glanced up from where she was storing doses of analgesic potions in one of the cabinets. "Ah, there you are, love. Wondered where you'd gotten to."
Lorien pointed at the vial in Poppy's hand. "Would you mind handing me that?"
Poppy smiled at her and waived her off. "Don't worry about it. I'm just about finished – just this last batch of Freloux's and we'll be all ready for the students to arrive…." She stopped as she realized Lorien was shaking her head.
"No, Poppy. It's for me." She held out her hand for the vial being held by the older witch.
Poppy handed the vial to Lorien and raised her eyebrows as the younger medical witch popped the stopper and tossed her head back, downing the contents of the small bottle. She waited while Lorien stood there with her eyes closed for a moment until the potion's effects kicked in.
Lorien finally sighed and handed back the empty vial. "Thanks, Poppy. "
"You alright, dear?" Poppy asked concernedly. "You look a little ragged considering the students haven't even arrived yet."
"Yes….thanks." Lorien saw the look Poppy was giving her. "I was giving a lesson to Harry and got hit with a full body bind hex three times. If we're all set I'm going to go lie down for a little while so I'll be ready for the welcoming feast."
Poppy winced and then began bustling about again. "Yes, well I'll see you at the sorting then, dear."
Lorien nodded and walked back to her room. She let herself in and decided that nap or not, she was definitely ready for the students to return.
She was going to need other guinea pigs for Harry's lessons, and had decided that Ron and Hermione could arrive none too soon.
