It was the Saturday after meeting with Sirius and Remus. Inside the Room of Requirement were the fifth through seventh years of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Luna, despite being a fourth year, was also there by personal invitation of Zack and Aerith. Ginny was there too, because she refused to be the only Weasley child to not get taught properly and she proved herself to Zack with her skills. Only a few Slytherins were there as they had realized that Dumbledore and Umbridge were up to no good. One such Slytherin, named Onyx Lewis, looked at Zack when Remus and Sirius hadn't shown up yet.
"So. When are they going to get here? They're rather late," Onyx inquires, arching a dark brown eyebrow at Zack.
"Patience, Onyx. They have to make sure they don't get caught by the Inquisitorial Squad that just started up," Zack says. Not that Zack would ever admit it, but he was a bit nervous that the two Marauders hadn't shown up yet. But that fear went away when the doors opened and in came Sirius and Remus, both grinning.
"Well! This is quite the sizable army, dontcha think Moony?" Sirius says, grinning even more at Remus.
"It is. I'm sure you all know who we are?" Remus asks, getting a murmur of acknowledgement. "Great! Now, as I assume Zack and Aerith have explained, you are here to learn how to properly defend yourselves since that toad isn't teaching you how. In addition, we'll teach you some basics of pranking."
"That's wicked. We get some tips from the pros themselves George!" Fred says excitedly. George bobs his head in agreement.
"Right! So first lesson of the Marauders In Training - The Disarming Charm! It's quite the handy spell when in a duel, or even fighting for your life. As the name implies, it makes your opponent release whatever they are holding - be it a book, wand, etc - hence disarming them. Moony, demonstrate on me, would you?" Sirius explains before turning to the werewolf.
"Expelliarmus!" Remus incants, performing the wand movement as well. A scarlet light shoots from Remus's wand and hits Sirius, causing Sirius's wand to go flying.
"We'll have you split off into pairs to practice on each other. Be on the look out for flying wands so you don't lose an eye!" Sirius grins as he retrieves his wand from the ground.
"Remember, the pronunciation is ex-PELL-ee-ARE-muss," Remus says as he divvies up the students into pair. Of course he pairs Zack and Aerith up, knowing there was no sense in trying to split the two until they started the dueling session. Sirius and Remus watch as the students find a space to practice and face each other. Jets of scarlet fly across the room and blurs of various wand woods go flying around. Sirius has to duck a few times as a wand goes flying past his rather gorgeous, well in his opinion, face. The two Marauders walk around, giving feedback to the students.
"You're doing wonderful Aer! Just a few more times!" Zack beams, as he was disarmed by Aerith for the fifth time.
"Are you sure? I feel bad for making you retrieve your wand all the time," Aerith says.
"I don't mind at all! You know I can't stand still for too long," Zack grins as he retrieves his wand. "Two more times!"
"Expelliarmus!" Aerith speaks, the scarlet light shooting out and hitting Zack, his blackthorn wand flying and accidentally hitting Ron in the face, causing Ginny to snicker at him. Zack covered his mouth as he retrieved his wand from the younger Weasleys.
"Well done Aerith. You've got the spell down pat," Remus praises, causing Aerith to smile widely. "Now Zack, let's see you perform it."
"Oki doki Uncle Moony! Prepare yourself flower girl!" Zack says. Once Aerith was ready, Zack casts the spell, the scarlet light hitting Aerith and her rowan wand going flying - and far. Sirius barely catches it in time.
"I think you put a bit too much oomph there Puppy!" Sirius chuckles as he walks over, handing Aerith her wand back.
"Oops? I guess I got too excited," Zack says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Well, as long as you can keep that oomph up in a duel, you'll have the upper hand," Sirius grins, ruffling Zack's raven spikes.
"Hey! My hair's crazy enough as it is!" Zack whines, swatting Sirius's hands away. This cause some laughter from the nearby students. Remus and Sirius smile as they hear the laughter. Laughter was good. Laughter would be their weapon against the regime of the ugly pink toad. After another ten minutes of practicing the Disarming Charm, Remus and Sirius call the practice to a halt. It was time for part two of the lesson.
"Now that you are all familiar with the Disarming Charm, we're going to move onto a more complicated but very useful spell - the Shield Charm. Hopefully by the end of this lesson, you will be able to block one spell with the Shield Charm. The ideal goal is to be able to have it withstand multiple spells before shattering. While practicing, whomever is on the offensive will use the Disarming Charm. Padfoot, attack me please," Remus says, facing his friend.
"Expelliarmus!" Sirius casts, the scarlet light leaving his wand.
"Protego!" Remus counters, the scarlet light exploding over the shield. Remus drops the shield, his wand still in hand. "Most of you will only be able to take one hit before it shatters. If you can withstand one it, let your partner continuously fire spells on you until it shatters."
"Same partners! Remember, the pronunciation is pro-TAY-goh," Sirius says, dismissing the students. Once more, Sirius and Remus wander between the pairs of students as they practiced. Most, as they suspected, were only able to hold their shields up for one spell before shattering. Sirius taps Remus on the shoulder when they pass and gesture to Zack and Aerith. Remus looks over and notices that Zack had the shielding charm down easily. Zack had an easy time with it as it was similar to his reflect MATERIA. Aerith was struggling a bit.
"C'mon Aer! I know you can do it! Just imagine a large shield around you," Zack encourages. Aerith takes a deep breath to steady herself.
"Alright, I'm ready," Aerith says, this time steeling herself, determination shining her lovely green eyes.
"Expelliarmus!" Zack incants.
"Protego!" Aerith casts. Unlike her previous attempts, Aerith's Shield Charm was successful... A little too successful as it sent Zack flying into the nearby wall. Aerith immediately drops her spell and runs over to the SOLDIER. Sirius and Remus follow.
"Nice one.. Flower Girl," Zack says with a slightly dazed grin.
"Oh Lifestream, are you alright Zack?" Aerith asks, worry strewn across her face.
"Yeah, just a bit dazed I think. Nothing major," Zack says.
"Well Aerith, you've definitely mastered the Shield Charm. And Zack will be fine since he can form full sentences," Remus says, relieved that Zack didn't seem to have a concussion.
"Keep in mind that in a real duel, you're going to want that shield to be that strong. Don't hold back in a real duel," Sirius says to the brunette.
"Right," Aerith says. She still felt bad about sending Zack flying. Zack shakes his head a few times to get rid of the haze in his mind from his impact against the wall. The SOLDIER steals a quick, chaste kiss from Aerith. He then stands up with Aerith.
"I assume we're done for the night?" Zack asks. Remus glances at the clock that the RoR had provided.
"I believe so!" Remus says. He whistles to get everyone's attention, which makes Sirius wince a bit. "This is where we'll leave it off for today! Next week, we'll start off with practicing these two spells before moving on. Now, scurry off before you can get caught!" the werewolf announces. Remus, Sirius, Aerith and Zack all watch as everyone heads out of the RoR at different intervals as to not draw too much attention to their location. Once it was just those four, the Marauders turn to the couple.
"So, have you two been meditating? Or are you going to do the leaf stuck to the roof of your mouth for a month?" Sirius asks.
"We've been meditating! No way am I putting a leaf in my mouth for a month!" Zack says, sticking his tongue out.
"Also, the leaf would be more suspicious and that horrid excuse of a woman would probably suspect something," Aerith says, scowling towards the end.
"Now, how clear are your forms?" Remus asks.
"Almost got it! I'll definitely be ready by next meeting!" Zack says. Aerith nods in agreement.
"Impressive. However, I want you two to meditate and try to transform. Don't worry - Moony and I can undo any partial transformations if you aren't successful," Sirius says. Zack and Aerith look at each other for a moment before nodding and sitting down comfortably. Their eyes close and the two slow their breath as they enter the meditative state. Sirius and Remus watch carefully as the younger two meditate. Zack was the first to morph. His form shifts from a man to that of a dog. After finishing his transformation, there was a large, fluffy black and white dog sitting where Zack once sat. Aerith, on the other hand, had no luck this time around. After the usual amount that the two meditated for, MAKO blue eyes and emerald green eyes open.
"OHMYGOODNESS!" Aerith squealed excitedly upon seeing Zack. She immediately hugs Zack and showers him in affection. Zack, now in dog form, blinked before realizing that he had succeeded. He barks happily, his big fluffy tail swishing in excitement. Sirius and Remus laugh at the sight, both patting Zack on the head.
"Well done Puppy! You're now an illegal animagus! Just like me!" Sirius grins. Zack barks in affirmation.
"Aerith dear, I think you should release Zack so he can try to transform back," Remus says with a chuckle. Aerith pouted before letting go of Zack. Zack focuses again and he morphs back into his human form.
"That was so weird! But so cool!" Zack says, grinning at the other three. He turns to Aerith. "I bet you're going to be even cuter when you transform, Aer!"
"Alright you two, we all need to leave before we get caught. We'll see you again next week," Sirius says. Zack and Aerith stand and hug the two Marauders goodbye. Sirius transforms and Remus follows Sirius out of the Room of Requirement. Zack and Aerith hurriedly exit after them and quickly run along the corridor back to their own room before the Slytherin Prefects or anyone of the Inquisitorial Squad could catch them out of bed.