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I heard three set of footsteps enter through the portrait a few minutes later, but Harry and I were too busy to greet our friends. It was around one in the morning when we finally fell asleep in each other's arms.
Welcome back to Hogwarts, indeed.
Chapter Ten
The next morning, before I even opened my eyes, I felt a sense of familiar contentment. The morning sun pleasantly heated my bare skin, and Harry's scent surrounded me, just as his arms did around my torso. I enjoyed the feel of his firm chest against my bare back, and after opening my eyes, I sighed happily at the sight of our room in East Tower. Using a silent Tempus, I dispelled our alarm a minute before it would have sounded, and rolled over so that I was facing Harry. To my surprise, Harry's innocent emerald eyes were already open and staring lovingly into mine.
"Good morning, love." I whispered, unwilling to break the morning's peace.
"Morning, Gia," Harry whispered, closing the small distance between us and sending a sudden jolt through my body as our lips met.
The second that jolt reached my core, enveloping my inner wolf, I felt something spread throughout my body, and looking at my reflection in Harry's eyes, I saw that my pupils had grown exponentially, nearly completely blocking out the amber irises. Suddenly, I was on top of Harry, straddling him. With desperate need, I captured his lips again and slipped my tongue in his mouth. Though confused and caught off guard, Harry's hands automatically went to my hips, trailing up and down my back. The blazing hot trail his fingers left on my skin excited my inner wolf, and I felt another surge of energy and hunger. My mouth moved from Harry's lips to his neck, kissing and nipping all of his sensitive spots. I was quickly rewarded with something hard poking my stomach. I moved down to his bare chest and deliberately placed an oddly hot kiss directly over his core.
Harry gasped, whether through pain or pleasure I didn't know, because as I removed my lips from his stomach, I saw that they had left a sort of brand on his skin. The mark wasn't in the shape of my lips; however, it was the exact same mark as the tattoo on my back. It burned bright red and then faded to black. The sight of the mark sent me over the edge and I threw my head back, a loud wolfish howl ripping from my throat. As my howl died out, Harry's mouth attacked my throat, and I pushed him on his back. Leaning forward with anticipation, I saw Harry's eyes, completely clouded over with lust, completely out of his control, with an almost primal hunger.
Finally, the utter wrongness of the situation, the lack of control, registered and my mind cleared.
Harry sat up, coming toward me with his intentions clearly written on his face. In a rare moment of panic, I reared back my hand and slapped Harry hard across his face. The shock quickly cleared his eyes and his hand flew to his check. "Dammit Gia, what was that for?" Harry hissed. I rubbed his cheek apologetically.
"You don't know what just happened?" I asked slowly.
"Err— we were kissing, and then you slapped me…right?" Harry said uncertainly.
I stared at him, almost disbelieving, before nodding. "Um right… Come on, we need to get ready for class."
After two quick, separate showers, Harry and I entered our huge walk-in closet, our things already put away. I turned away from Harry as I pulled on my uniform. "What the hell is this thing?" Harry exclaimed.
I spun around, my heart hammering in my chest, and sure enough, he was examining the mark on his stomach. "I – I don't know, it just – appeared, when we were, err kissing." I stuttered.
He came closer and wrapped his arms around me. "Love, you're shaking, what's wrong?" he murmured, stroking my hair. I shook my head and pushed him away.
"It's nothing, I'll explain later." I said shortly.
After fixing my hair with a scarlet and gold headband, I automatically turned and fixed Harry's collar and tie, running my fingers through his silky messy hair. I rested my hand on his chest and looked up at him. He looked down and gave me an easy, adoring smile. With a slight tingle of uneasy, I reached up on my tiptoes and gave him a quick peck. I peered closely at his bright emerald eyes, but they were as clear and sparkling as ever.
I smiled, more from relief than anything, and we exited out closet, grabbing our bag and wands as we went. We left our bedroom holding hands to see Ron and Hermione waiting for us by the portrait hole. "Morning," Harry and I said in unison.
"Morning," Ron said with a yawn.
"What took you two so long?" Hermione asked. I opened my mouth, unsure of what I was about to say, when she cut me off. "Actually, I don't think I want to know."
"Oh hush," I said, summoning a grin.
As we left East tower, I checked the wards and nodded, sensing that they were all perfectly intact and at full strength. As we passed by Gryffindor Tower, we were joined by Dean, Seamus, and Neville. "Hey guys," I said to the three.
"Hey," Dean said. "Good holiday?"
Harry smiled down at me. "Pretty good, actually. You?"
"Yeah, it was okay," Dean chuckled as we passed a corridor lined with portraits of old witches and wizards. "Better than Seamus's anyway, he was just telling me."
"Why, what happened, Seamus?" Ron asked, absently flicking a strand of Hermione's hair.
Seamus didn't answer immediately; he was determinedly shuffling around things in the school bag he held in his hands. Then he said, without looking up, "Me mum didn't want me to come back."
"What?" the trio, Neville, and I said, all stunned.
Seamus closed his bad and slung it over his shoulder, now pointedly fixing his robes. "She didn't want to come back to Hogwarts."
From what I knew, Seamus's mother was a witch, and so I couldn't understand why she wouldn't want him to be here at Hogwarts, perhaps the best place for him what with the rising danger.
"But—why?" Harry asked, astonished.
Seamus didn't answer until he'd unbuttoned and re-buttoned most of his shirt. "Well," he said in a measured voice, "I suppose…because of you."
"Wait, what?" I asked quickly. "What does Harry have to do with your mum not wanting you to come back?" Now, we were going down a flight of stairs, the trio and I staring at the back of Seamus's head.
"Well," Seamus said again, not looking at us, "she…err…well, it's not just Harry, it's Dumbledore too…"
Finally, I understood, as did the others.
"She believes the Daily Prophet?" Harry asked, and I heard the slightest hint of anger creeping slowly into his voice. "She thinks I'm a liar and Dumbledore's an old fool?"
Seamus looked back at Harry. "Yeah, something like that."
I felt my own aggravation spark, and saw Harry wince in the corner of my eyes, his hand going to his stomach. As Seamus turned back around and we continued down the stairs, Harry's facial expression went cold rapidly. I could sense his anger building up, and I gave Hermione a look. Taking the hint, she pulled Ron and Neville so that they were behind us, out of the possible line of fire. On the bottom step, Seamus turned back around. "Look…what did happen that night when…you know when…with Cedric Diggory and all?"
I felt a sharp spasm of pain in my chest, and I nearly missed the next step. I would've fallen if not for Ron grabbing my shoulders from behind and steadying me. Harry tightened his hold on my hand, and the hand that hovered over his stomach clenched his robes, as we stepped off of the stairs.
"What are you asking me for?" Harry retorted coldly. "Just read the Daily Prophet like your stupid mother, why don't you? It'll tell you everything you need to know!"
"Harry!" Hermione and I exclaimed.
"Don't you dare talk about my mother, Potter!" Seamus snapped.
"I'll have a go at anyone who calls me a liar!" Harry growled.
"Don't talk to me like that!" Seamus said, grabbing his wand. Harry's was already at his throat.
"I'll talk to you how I want!" Harry stated darkly. Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Dean were watching the scene, too stunned to do anything. I stepped between the boys, pushing Harry's wand arm down, and putting a hand on both of their chests. "If you've got a problem being in the same House as me, go and ask McGonagall if you can be moved, stop your mummy worrying—"
"Leave my mother out of this, Potter!" Seamus shouted, both boys raised their wands again.
"Stop!" I yelled loudly.
Susan and her two close friends Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan arrived in the corridor. They looked at the four other Gryffindors, to Harry and Seamus with their wands pointed at each other above my head, and to me, standing between them.
"He's having a go at my mother!" Seamus yelled.
"What?" Ernie said. "Harry wouldn't do that— I've seen you talk to Seamus's mum on the platform, you looked like you got along…"
"That's before she started believing every word that damned Daily Prophet writes about me!" Harry said at the top of his lungs.
"Oh," the three Hufflepuffs said, comprehension dawning across their faces. "Oh…right."
"You know what?" Seamus said heatedly, casting Harry a venomous look, "I'm glad he doesn't stay in our dormitory. I wouldn't be safe in there with him, he's a madman!"
I rounded angrily. "That's bang out of order, Seamus!" I growled, aware that Harry hissed and gripped his stomach tighter. But my anger was mounting, out of my control as my inner wolf began pacing. The fact that the next full moon was exactly a week away must've contributed to my anger.
"Out of order, am I?" Seamus shouted, paling. "You all believe the rubbish he's come out with about You-Know-Who, do you, you reckon he's telling the truth?"
"Yes, we do," the Hufflepuffs said, accented with nods from Ron, Hermione, and Neville. Dean wisely stayed neutral; Seamus was, after all, his best friend.
"Then you're all mad too," Seamus said in disgust.
"Yeah?" Hannah said dangerously. "Well, unfortunately for you, four of us are prefects, and if you don't watch your mouth, you'll find yourself in detention."
Many eyebrows, including my own, raised as the normally placid Hufflepuff girl had a go at Seamus, challenging him. Seamus looked for a few seconds as though detention would be a reasonable price to pay to say what was going through his mind; but with a noise of contempt, he stepped away from me.
"Anyone else's parents got a problem with Harry?" I said aggressively.
"Not my parents," Dean said. "They don't know nothing about no deaths at Hogwarts, because I'm not stupid enough to them."
I heard Hermione shift uneasily just behind me on my right side, and made a note to talk to her later.
"You don't know my mother, she'd weasel anything out of anyone!" Seamus snapped at him. "Anyway your parents don't get the Daily Prophet. They don't know our Headmaster's been sacked from the Wizengamot and the International Confederation of Wizards because he's losing his marble—"
"It's the Daily prophet's that's going downhill, not Dumbledore." Neville said steadily. "My gran and I believe Harry and Gia. My gran's always said You-Know-Who would come back one day, so you want to have a go at her too?" he asked icily. Seamus shot us all glares and stormed off towards the Great Hall.
"Hannah, Ernie, can you two make sure Seamus gets to the Great Hall without another conflict?" Susan said. "I'll stay to make sure everything's alright with this lot."
"No problem, Sue." Hannah agreed.
"See you in the Great Hall," Ernie said, taking Hannah's hand, and the two started after Seamus.
"Err," Dean scratched his head awkwardly.
Harry finally re-holstered his wand and clapped Neville on the shoulder. "Thanks mate," he said, calming down.
"Just stating the truth, Harry." Neville said seriously.
I sighed. "The truth is probably the one thing we need to hold onto most right now, Nev."
We finally started back down the corridor, Harry holding my left hand, Susan walking on my right. "Have you finished the list, Susan?" I asked.
"Yeah," she said slowly, "but I still want an explanation first, before I hand it over."
I hummed. "Can this wait until after we get our timetables? I want to see if we have a common free period, so that we can sit down and talk. Also, I have a lot that I need to work around and figure out for the coming year."
"Sure, that's sounds fine." Susan agreed. "I need to catch up with my friends. Talk to you later!" she called over her shoulder as she took off running ahead.
"Neville! Wait up!"
We turned around to see Ginny flying towards us, her robes rumpled and her hair half-brushed. She came to a stop and gave Neville a quick morning kiss.
"You need some help, Gin?" I asked carefully.
"Oh Merlin, yes!" she moaned. "I overslept!"
As we walked, I took the brush from her hand and charmed it to her brush her hair on its own, and then I used a spell to smooth out her uniform and robes. "Anyway, what's up with you lot?" Ginny asked, as she and Neville happily linked hands. "You look angry about something."
"Seamus reckons Harry's lying about Voldemort." Ron said.
Ginny sighed. "Yeah, Lavender does too. But who cares what that airhead thinks?"
Hermione huffed. "This is precisely what Gia and the Sorting Hat was warning us about."
"Right," I said. "We can't be arguing and fighting with each other. This school seriously needs some inter-House unity."
We reached the foot of the marble staircase. A line of fourth year Ravenclaws was crossing the entrance hall; they caught sight of us and hurried to form a tight group, as though frightened we might attack stragglers.
"Yeah, we really ought to make friends with people like that," Harry said sarcastically. I gave him a dead-pan look and he sighed and kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry, love," he said, "I don't mean to jump down your throat. I'm just under a lot of stress."
"Harry, we all are, but we have to stay calm and keep our heads. You can't go dueling every idiot that taunts you." I said softly. He snorted.
"Where were you my first year at Hogwarts?" he said, shaking his head.
We followed the Ravenclaws into the Great Hall, instinctively looking at the staff table as we entered. Professor Grubbly-Plank was chatting with Professor Sinistra, the astronomy teacher. Hagrid's absence was still painfully obvious, and the enchanted ceiling matched the mood of the day, a depressing rain-cloud grey. Before we even got to the table, we were approached by Angelina.
"Hey Angelina," the four of us greeted.
"Hi," she said briskly, "Good summer?" and without waiting for an answer, said, "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor quidditch captain."
"Congrats," I said, grinning at her.
"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now that Oliver's left, and a third Chaser—Alicia's mum wouldn't let her come back this year. Tryouts are on Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, alright? Then we can see how the new people will fit in. Gia, I want you out there, trying out, got it?"
I mock-saluted her. "Got it, Captain." I said. She smiled and departed.
"I'd forgotten Oliver had left." Hermione said as we sat in our usual seats. "I suppose that'll make quite a difference to the team?"
"I s'pose," Harry said, as we grabbed plates. "He was a great Keeper…"
"Still, it won't hurt to have some fresh blood, right?" Ron asked uncertainly.
I grinned. "Like a certain red-haired boy we know?" I teased, causing Ron to flush.
As we piled our plates, I remembered our daily morning greeting from the previous year. I considered forgetting about it, until I caught sight of some younger years looking eagerly at Harry and me. I nudged Harry and discreetly tilted my heads toward them.
"Really Gia, I'm not—"
"Oh come on Harry, it's just two words. Besides, the younger ones still look up to you, and the second years are bound to have told the first years about it." I said persuaded.
With a dramatic long-suffering sigh, Harry agreed. Taking a deep breath, we both called, "Good morning Lions!"
Almost immediately, the entire table, minus Seamus and a few others, called back brightly, "Morning!"
Miraculously, the simple greeting seemed to cheer up a lot of people, particularly the first through third years. With a whoosh and a clatter, hundreds of owls came soaring in through the upper windows. They descended all over the Hall, and Harry and I automatically scanned the flock. A smiled graced my lips as Ario and Hedwig swooped gracefully down to us and landed on our shoulders. Hedwig had a letter with a note stuck to the outside, while Ario simply had a letter. Harry gently took the letter from Hedwig's beak and read the note to Ron, Hermione, and me.
Ario's letter is for Draco, I hope you don't mind Gia.
-Sirius
I stroked Ario's feathers and sure enough, the name on the envelope read Draco B. "Go ahead Ario, go to Draco." I said. With an affectionate hoot, Ario flew from my shoulder, circled the hall, and then swooped down to Draco. Without looking up, I quickly moved Hermione's glass of orange juice, and less than a second later, the spot was taken by a large damp, barn owl with a sodden Daily Prophet in its beak.
"How'd you—"
"Why are you still getting that rubbish?" Harry asked.
"It's best to know what the enemy is saying," Hermione said, unfurling the paper and disappearing behind it.
"Ron, you're trying out for Keeper, right?" Harry asked as Hermione read quietly.
Ron shrugged. "I dunno— I mean, d'you think I have a chance?"
I snorted. "Ron, I've seen you play tons over the winter hols last year, and during the summer. You're amazing once you focus. I think you should go for it."
"Gia's right, as usual." Harry agreed. "And she's bound to make Chaser. With the three of us on the team, we'll be unstoppable."
"Nothing," Hermione said suddenly, rolling up the paper and laying it down by her plate, "Nothing about you or Dumbledore or anything."
"I'm not sure if that puts me at ease or makes me more uneasy," I said slowly. I held up my hand just as McGonagall prepared to tap my shoulder. Somewhat startled, she handed us our schedules and moved on.
"Look at today," Ron groaned. "History of Magic, Double Potions, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts…Binns, Snape, and that Umbridge woman all in one day!"
I hummed thoughtfully. "I'll set up a Dicta Quill in History of Magic, which will give me time to think about training. You have to admit that Potions wasn't too bad last year, and at least we have a break before Umbitch." I said.
"Gia!" Hermione warned.
"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "I won't call the bitch a bitch."
Ron and Harry chuckled as Hermione now rolled her eyes. After a rather interesting conversation with the twins, the bell rang to signal the first lesson of the day. The school stood up and everyone made for the doors to the main corridor.
"Have you lot given anymore thought to what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Harry asked slowly.
"The Harpies will be scouting me in 7th year, so I suppose I'll be in rookie training after graduation." I said.
Hermione bit her lip as we left the Hall and headed for the History of Magic classroom. "I don't know, I've always wanted to help people, so maybe a Healer or…I don't know, maybe I could try to undo the damage people like Umbridge are doing to magical creatures and beings."
I smiled. "I'd put my support behind you, Mione."
Once inside the History of Magic classroom, we found four seats in the back and I casually set up a Dicta Quill. Today, Hermione seemed too distracted to even take notes and said she'd make copies of mine to study from, like the boys did. During class, I stared into space, pondering all that I wanted—needed to teach the trio, and quite a few things I wanted to accomplish myself. Pulling a notepad and muggle pen from my bag, I found myself creating a list to keep track of it all. Being distracted, time passed quickly and five minutes before the bell rang, I made three copies of my notes and gave them to the trio. I took pity on Neville, who'd fallen asleep, and made him a copy as well.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Hermione said as she led the way out into the damp courtyard.
A fine mist was falling, so that the people standing in huddles around the edges of the yard looked almost blurred. We picked a secluded corner under a heavily dripping balcony, using warming charms to keep away the September chilly air.
"Oh, lighten up, Mione," Harry grinned, "they're just notes. It's not like you've copied Gia's test or something."
The conversation turned to Snape and our upcoming Potions class until the bell rang. We chatted amicably on our way down into the dungeons. Even the sound of Snape's dungeon door creaking open didn't dampen our sudden high spirits. We filed into the classroom and found four seats in the back, Harry and me on the right, Ron and Hermione on our left.
"Settle down," Snape said coldly, shutting the door behind him.
There was no real need to call for order, the moment we heard the door close, all noise and movement stopped. "Before we being today's lesson," Snape said, sweeping over to his desk and staring at us all, "I think it appropriate to remind you that next June, you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly is, I expect you to scrape an Acceptable in your OWL, with the exception of one fine student."
I showed no emotion as all eyes flicked to me before returning to Snape.
"After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me," Snape went on. "I take only the best into my NEWTs Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying good-bye." His eyes rested on Harry, who glared back, and I sighed softly, inwardly vowing to get both Harry and Neville into NEWTs Potions next year.
"But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell," Snape said softly, "so whether you are intending to attempt NEWT or not, I advise you all to concentrate your effort upon maintaining the high-pass level I have come to expect from my OWL students."
"Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and sooth agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing."
Hermione straightened up, her expression one of utmost determination, but I, on the other hand, relaxed.
"The ingredients and method," –Snape flicked his wand, "are on the blackboard and in the store cupboard you will find everything you need. You have an hour and a half…start."
We all quietly and immediately began working, all of our concentration focused on the potion. The ingredients had to be added to the cauldron in precisely the right order and quantities; the mixture had to be stirred exactly the right number of times, in both clockwise and counter-clockwise, etc. As we worked, I calmly followed the instructions, adjusting a few things where I knew my way would produce better results. However, every few minutes or seconds, without looking up, I'd reach out and stop Ron, Hermione, Neville, and even Hermione from doing something wrong. It was almost as though I had an odd knowing feeling and reacted instantly.
"A light silver vapor should now be rising from your potion," Snape called with ten minutes to go.
My potion's vapor was practically dancing swirls with its silver vapor. I looked over at Harry, who was sweating profusely, his cauldron, while not as perfect, was pretty good, as were the other three. Snape swept our way as he inspected everyone's potion, while he chose not to comment on the others, he peered at mine, almost surprised.
"Bottle it for the Hospital Wing, Miss Grey." He said, which was practically the highest praise he could give; over his shoulder, Draco nodded at me, and my lip twitched in a small smile.
"Those with acceptable potions, fill one flagon with a sample, label it clearly with your name, and bring it up to my desk for testing." Snape instructed. "Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making, to be handed in on Thursday." He paused. "Miss Grey, your assignment is to brew a series of healing potions, which I will detail, for the Hospital Wing."
After filling two flagons, one for the Hospital Wing, and one for grading, I walked up to Snape's desk and retrieved a small list of different healing potions. "I have no doubt that they'll all be perfectly adequate, Miss Grey. Tell me, have you ever considered training for a Potions Mastery?" he inquired quietly.
I shook my head. "I've never thought about it sir, but it sounds interesting."
Snape nodded thoughtfully. "Very well, I will send you, via owl, a book on the subject, and if you decide it is something you would like to pursue, I would advise you to inform me as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir. And…thank you for the – err – belief in my abilities." I said, nodding my head.
Returning to my station, I helped my friends clean up and finally, the bell rang, and the trio and I, along with Neville, were off to lunch. It seemed that the prospect of getting back into training was exciting because as soon as we got to the Great Hall, we ended up grabbing a bunch of sandwiches and leaving. With greatly practiced stealth, we made our way up to the Room of Requirement. Before eating lunch, we all ran our laps, and I couldn't believe how invigorating it was to be training again, to know that I was doing something productive.
After we finished running and sat down, I laid out a vague plan. "Alright, we already knew that this year was going to be even busier than the last, but now, more so than before," I started, taking a bite of my sandwich. "First, I want to see your animal Transfigurations, and then we'll quickly go over as many spells as possible, aim practice and such, Also," I paused, "I want to know if any of you are interested in fighting hand-to-hand. But most importantly, I absolutely must teach you all Occlumency."
"Occlumency?" Hermione asked quickly.
"It's a mind magic, of sorts. It is the only known way to protect against its opposite, Legillimency, which is something like what muggles perceive as mind-reading." I started, noticing the immense interest the trio showed as we ravenously finished up lunch.
"Legillimency doesn't allow one to read a mind as if it was a book, but with its two forms, passive and direct, one could shift and view another's surface thoughts and memories. Occlumency creates a sort of mental barrier that protects your mind." I explained.
"Why haven't we heard about this before?" Hermione asked.
"I'm not surprised you haven't. Centuries ago, the Ministry labeled both as Dark skills, and so it fell out of practice. It's even rarer than Animagi, and much, much harder to master. It takes years and years of practice and discipline to master both Occlumency and Legillimency, but as Snape, Dumbledore, and Voldemort are all masters at both arts, we don't have years, we have months. I already know where I stand in the coming conflict, for my own personal reasons and, of course, to protect the people I've grown to love and care for, but I know that the three of you plan to be in the thicket of the war. Though I don't like the prospect of you three being so close to the danger, I won't try to stop you, and so it is very important that you're all prepared to protect your minds." I stated gravely, trying to convey the utmost seriousness of the situation.
"Occlumency can protect you from more than just its opposite, though," I continued, having stood up and began pacing slowly. "It can also help enormously in resisting the Imperius curse, almost all other mind-controlling techniques, mind, compulsion, and love potions, etc., but I'll get more into that as we go along." I shrugged.
"When do we start?" Ron asked.
"Today, or rather, tonight, as of now, I want to demonstrate something." I said. Humming thoughtfully, I nodded. "I don't think either of you boys would be comfortable trying to hit me and I don't want to hurt Hermione..."
I had the Room provide a sparring dummy and we both stood in the space in the middle of the room. With a loud bell sound, the dummy burst into action. Right punch, left punch, jump kick. Just as feast, I leaned to the right, then to the left, and then ducked low. The dummy came at me and I threw a punch, connecting with his plastic face and busting a fist-sized hole in it. I grinned as I saw the trio wince in my peripheral, and I felt a bit of excitement rise up in me. Leaning back, I avoided another punch and jumped high as it swept low with its leg. In the air, I spun completely horizontal, and jabbed the joint where its shoulder and arm connected. It instantly went limp, and the dummy fell off balance for a moment.
I jumped and kicked at its head, knocking it back. Landing in a crouch, I rolled backwards as its foot came crashing down, going straight through the floor where my head had been barely a second ago. Rolling up onto my hands, I came out of a hand stand and gave a series of rapid jabs and punches, shutting down both his arms. Tapping into a bit more wolf strength, I executed a quick back-flip. Mid-flip, my foot connected with the dummy's chin and his head popped off and soared through the air, disappearing as the headless body did.
As I stood on my own two feet, I blew out a satisfied breath and gave a dramatic curtsy to my stunned friends and boyfriend.
"Damn…" Harry whistled. "Remind me to keep arguments to a minimum, Gia."
"Where did you learn how to do that" Hermione asked. "Shut down his arms like that?"
"It's all about knowing certain pressure points, hitting them with the right amount of force. Hermione, you're small and fast, so you'd be good at my sort of dodge, duck, flip, jab, technique. Ron and Harry, however, would be more suited to the dummy's head-on, force technique." I said. "We can start incorporating fighting into our training, but for now, line up at the target stations and have at it. This spell practice is more about spell variety, rather than aim."
After fifteen minutes of non-stop spell casting, I stopped the trio and paced back and forth before them again. "We'll try something different now, something a bit…deadlier." I began. The room provided a dummy identical to Lucius Malfoy, sneer and all. I felt a surge of hate at just the sight of his face, and had no problem casting the next spell, causing a sizable hole to open up in his chest. Very realistic blood and a heart fell to the floor and disappeared.
"The Alveusio spell," I said coolly, noting the grim expressions on the faces of the trio, "causes a sizable hole to appear in an object, including a human body. Quick, effective—"
"Messy," Harry grimaced.
"I suppose," I shrugged, "but it's high time that you three learn something very important, before the real fighting even begins." My eyes became as hard as diamonds, and my voice was somewhat cold. I wasn't their friend in that moment, I was someone teaching them how to survive. "Stunners and disarming charms won't save your lives. They won't keep a Death Eater down and out of the fight, and that means they'll be on your ass. A Death Eater that's not dead, is a Death Eater that's still a danger." I stated. "That's our new motto, so get use to it."
The room was deathly silent, and I think for, perhaps the first time, the trio was truly starting to understand what war entailed. "War means death," I said, my voice still hard, "and in the midst of battle, you have to keep one thing in the back of your mind. It's either them or us and our loved ones." As that sunk in, I clapped and the room became bare. "Alright, animal transfigurations, now!'
After a moment, three animals appeared: a pure black wolf with emerald green eyes, a large tawny lion with blue eyes, and a clearly feminine tiger with cinnamon brown eyes. I walked around each animal, telling them to move a certain body part or perform an action. When I was finally satisfied, the three returned to normal. "Good, good…" I complimented approvingly. I taught the trio the Animum Quiesee curse, which slows down or stops a heartbeat; the Areus spell, which shots arrows from the wand; and the condolesco curse, which causes the victim to experience a splitting migraine. They practiced until they had the spells down pat, and then we moved on.
Casting a tempus, I saw that we still had about thirty minutes left. "There's not enough time to really get you going on Occlumency and we have a full day tomorrow, so I suppose I could start Wednesday…" I pondered. "Actually, we can start with the basics."
The room changed into a dim, cozy sitting room with a gentle breeze blowing around us. All four of us settled into chairs and I sighed. "Before you can even start building your mental barriers, you have to mold your mindscape and sort through every single one of your memories. It creates less clutter in your mind, allowing you to think clearer, faster, and calmer. Also, it allowed you to become more in tune with your magic and spell casting." I began calmly.
"How do you create your mindscape?" Hermione asked.
"What is a mindscape?" Ron added.
"A mindscape," I said, my voice soft and gentle, "is your representation of your mind. It can be anything you want, which is a big reason why Occlumency is so effective: everyone's mind is completely different, and no two mindscapes are ever exactly the same. As for how, well, that's up to you. Your mindscape could be a house, or a jungle, or a potions lab, even a combination of all three. I'd be as creative and wild as possible because in your mind, you can do anything."
"And sorting our memories?" Harry prompted.
I shrugged. "Everyone has a unique system."
Hermione smiled for the first time in about an hour, this time with anticipation and excitement. "So, how do we start?"
"Close your eyes," I instructed serenely, "relax…breathe deeply…feel yourself sink into your mind…breathe…" I whispered.
I watched Ron, Harry, and Hermione practically became one with their chairs, and the pure peacefulness on their faces, I knew they were in their mindscapes. Since I automatically tweaked, updated, and maintained my mind and mental barriers, I had the room provide a book on my shadow powers, and I read for the next twenty-five minutes.
Five minutes before it was time to go to double Defense, I gently eased the three into full consciousness. They all looked so calm and content, I pitied the fact that in five minutes we'd be in class with Umbridge. "Well, how was it?" I asked as we gathered our things and fixed our appearances.
"I feel…lighter." Ron said, wonder coloring his voice.
"Yeah, I know how you feel mate." Harry said. "I don't feel nearly as stressed as usual. It feels like I shed a few pounds off my shoulders."
"My mind…" Hermione breathed, "it's so expansive and nothing like expected."
"Listen," I said seriously, "your mind is perhaps the most personal and private thing in your life. I would advise highly against talking to anyone about your mindscape, even to each other. But if you can grab onto that almost semi-unconscious feeling, you'll be able to control your emotions and facial expressions better."
"Understood," Harry, Ron, and Hermione said in unison.