A/N: 06/20/12. I feel like I'm timing myself these days to see how quick I can get a new chapter up XP.
Special Thanks to HalloweenWitch/ xXMizz Alec VolturiXx/ Nicky-Maree for their awesome reviews! Now on with the chapter!
The evening had turned out marvelously well for Blaise and Karessa.
As they had thought, Professor Slughorn had made it back from his trip just in time for his little get together of potentials, and although the pair had come fashionably late it didn't put a hitch in how many of their fellow classmates were there. There were at least three other chairs left empty for late arrivals once they got there, and dinner had already been served, to their good fortune since it wasn't likely they'd be able to last all three courses of the meal Slughorn had planned.
It was no surprise to the two to see both Harry and Hermione present, but it was a shock to the two to see that neither Draco nor Theo had been invited, especially Malfoy since his father was once one of Slughorn's favorite students and an active participant in the Slug Club. Of course, Karessa hadn't any prior knowledge to that bit of information until Blaise had mentioned it in passing as they made their way to Slughorn's office; but if she remembered correctly about what Dumbledore told her about Horace Slughorn, it was that he indulged in being surrounded by people of power and success.
A man who took a back seat in control – so it didn't make much sense to her as to why he wouldn't take on Draco as he had once his father, who she heard was a very influential wizard.
Neville had been there as well, and he had been quite the gentleman when Daniels went about sitting beside him, he stood from his chair and pulled hers out for him. He was a bashful thing, still growing into his self-confidence, but she knew with a bit of support and a little encouragement he'd turn out to be something great. She smiled at the thought; all he needed was a push in the right direction, so she prompted him into talking with her most of the night, and she found him to be quite knowledgeable in the botanist department since he became most animate when talking about different types of plants in Herbology.
As conversation picked up and desert was well under way the youngest Weasley, Ginny was the name she heard Slughorn announce upon her entry, had claimed the last empty seat at the table. She had been two spaces away from Daniels and was in Harry's immediate line of vision for him to stare rather affectionately towards her, a way that in which was obvious enough for Hermione and Karessa to share a rather knowing and amused glance at one another. The redhead had proved to be quite an exuberant firecracker, the way she would rapidly fire question after question at Karessa without so much as hearing a proper answer, all the while maintaining a plastered smile across her face.
It was only at the point where her questions began to get very personal and a lot more hostile that both Harry and Blaise had stepped in. Looking back at the incident she still couldn't fathom why the girl disliked her so, since that was the official day she'd been introduced to the young red in the first place, and there was no mistaking that she was indeed hostile that night.
That had been about a week and a half ago, but it seemed anytime Daniels was around with Harry and/ or with any of the other Gryffindors who were talking to her, Ginny would always keep her mouth clamped shut and a steady glare reserved only for those short encounters. It seemed sometime that night ago or to their current third week of school, that possibly Harry, Blaise, Hermione, or a combination of all three had talked to Ginny about her bad attitude towards her and it seemed to have reined in some of the contempt for whenever Karessa made an appearance in their little group.
Luckily they never really clashed heads with one another, especially with Ginny being a whole other grade than the rest of the gang, so Daniels didn't see much of her, but still she wondered why the girl was so put out by her. It had only clicked in her mind when she realized the brunt of Ginny's anger and nastiness was only shown whenever Harry was involved, whether it be indirect or not; she could have slapped herself for her blindness at the situation. Ginny had shown her many times of her jealousy in conversations that the group presented as well as possessiveness and an accusing manner whenever Karessa would make an offhanded comment.
For some reason Ginny felt threatened by her.
The very thought made her laugh, she didn't have anything to worry about with her, although she understood the young girl's insecurity; Harry was a wonderful guy. He was handsome, kind, loyal, and had a very strong hero-complex, that it was hard for any other girl to not want to play the damsel in distress if only for him to come and save them – which he undoubtedly would. Though she could admit his attractiveness like most other boys of her year, Karessa could see the deep love he obviously held for Ginny and would never do something to break them apart, but Ginny was too blinded by her insecurity to see that clearly.
To see that she didn't need to try so hard to keep his attentions on her; she was doing that plenty fine without even trying.
Well now that she knew the cause for Ginny's contempt, she'd been looking for an opportunity to talk with her alone, but Ginny had made it near impossible for the muggle teen to catch her before she'd enter a class or retreat to some other place in the castle where she wouldn't be. Of course, she'd try again whenever she had the chance, but for the time being Karessa couldn't worry herself about another girl's self-doubting when she had troubles of her own to think about, as cruel as it sounded.
They were in their third week of school, on the Thursday of her first Self-Defense meeting to be exact, and the students were due to be excused from class shortly to make their way down into the borrowed classroom she had prepared for their first lesson. Beside this new class she had started Daniels had the spy within Hogwarts to think about as well as Blaise's training, and for some reason she couldn't concentrate much on either task when her thoughts were swimming around a certain grey-eyed dragon who had failed to be around much lately. Blaise had abated most of her questions as to where Draco may be, but she knew there was more to it, because even though Blaise didn't want her getting involved with what had occupied the blonde's time she could see the worry that lined Blaise's face anytime they talked about the young Malfoy.
She broke out of her troublesome thoughts as she heard the large doors clank open and the first few students who had signed up entered the medium sized room, each of them wearing the bright orange wrist bands their teachers gave them right before they were excused from class. Karessa smiled at the students as they made their way in, she had encourage earlier that morning for everyone attending to change into more comfortable clothes that they weren't afraid of getting ruined during the session, and they hadn't disappointed. Although there were a few people who didn't come prepared there were others who had heeded her words, mostly those who grew up in a muggle fashion, and wore old or baggy shirts where the girls wore something to tie up their hair and there was a multitude of shorts and sweatpants scattered among the crowd.
Daniels had worn black stretch fabric pants with a bright pink stripe down the outer part of her legs, a pink muggle tank top, and black running shoes, while she had worn black and pink fingerless training gloves, and there were at least four ribbons in the same color braided into her hair tied in a high ponytail. She had two bags sitting at her feet as she stood atop the platform moved to the opposite end of the classroom from the door as she surveyed the room. She had planned this lesson out thoroughly and the room was accustomed nicely to fit her needs, where she had thick foam mats placed over in three long sections from the stage to the door, and to the opposite sides of the walls were various…'training' objects spaced out like stations for the exercises she had placed there.
As more students piled in, some familiar faces started appearing as well. Although it was a given there would be an out winning amount of girls taking her program, there was still an impressionable amount of boys within the group. She gave a small smile when she noticed Neville slink his way into the class as discreetly as possible with Hannah Abbott, only to blush quite rosily with a bashful smile when she caught his eye and waved at him. Her favorite little 1st years Natalie and Kaity had showed up with at least seven new friends they had made tailing behind them, as well as a few shockers such as Lavender Brown, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Marcus Belby, Anthony Goldstein, Harper, and Tracey Davis. She wasn't so surprised to see, Theodore, Pansy, Millicent and Daphne slide into the class along with Blaise since they had told her they were coming last weekend when they went to Hogsmead together, but she had to do a double take when she saw Ginny saunter on in with Harry, Hermione, and Ron minutes before they would start.
Although she didn't think Ginny was completely genuine with her reasons for signing up for the club, she wouldn't draw attention to the girl unless she tried to disrupt the class.
Just as she finished the thought she observed Blaise make his way over to her side up on stage as he gave her a wide smirk. "So, what exactly is your plan, or are you just winging this as you go along?" he asked, giving her a side long glance.
She snorted as she gave him a look. "You really think I set this program up with no direction to follow?" she lifted one of the bags in her hand and smiled. "Please, I've got quite the lesson panned out for today."
He eyed the bag curiously as she dropped it back on the ground. "What exactly did you have in mind?"
She almost laughed at the disdainful look he was casting at the bag she held. Blaise was no doubt speaking from experience in his own training they had started only a few days ago, and although he was a fast learner, he still found himself flat on his arse or back every time she neutralized him in their sparring matches. But more often than not, she always found a new tool to bring out to teach him new maneuvers and hone – though he'd probably use words more like 'small torture' – onto his acquired skills.
And they were always coming from that bag.
"Now if I told you, it would ruin the fun." She said in a sing song voice and he laughed as she sat down on the edge of the stage, and watched as the main doors began to close.
That is until someone slipped in at the very last second before they slammed shut.
She couldn't believe it; after thinking about him for some time now and wondering where he'd ran off too, there he was brushing off his clothes of the invisible dirt and dust as he swaggered on up to stand beside Theodore and Harper in the horde.
Now what in the bloody hell was Draco Malfoy doing in her Self-Defense program?
He really didn't want to be there right now.
Draco had spent the last week seriously thinking over Daniels deal to trade secrets, so to speak, and had taken the extra care to think on the matter alone without any disruptions and more importantly without her probing gaze set upon him. He'd gone through all the ups and downs and weighed his options on both sides and saw that this was a once and a life time offer she wasn't likely to give him again should he decline the first time, but he knew she wouldn't give this offer to anyone else, because for some odd reason he couldn't quite understand:
She wanted to get to know him.
That was a dangerous feat on its own and he wasn't sure how he felt about some muggle looking to get under his skin – too late – and uncover him for what he really was; he didn't know what she'd do with that type of information, but he'd already took a look at the risks and made his decision.
He was going to play her game.
The only immediate downside to this decision was the thought of having to stay in Daniels' high graces and use every opportunity there was to make sure he made as much an impression on her as other people would try to do. It was a rat race for almost every 7th year present in the classroom but it didn't matter since he had an advantage; and that was the curiosity she held for him.
He smirked to himself as he could feel her staring at him. It must have really surprised her to see him there standing in the gathering crowd around the stage, but his smirk slowly slid into a frown as he watched from the corner of his eye Nott make his way up on stage to stand by her side like Blaise had.
What is that little bugger up to now? He thought frowning to himself as he watched Nott practically rape the girl's body with his eyes. Though grudgingly he'd have to admit she did look rather salacious with the amount of skin-tight fabric on her body.
"How disgusting." A feminine voice sneered from behind him.
"Do you mean the muggle?" He drawled as Pansy saddled up beside him. "I will agree that the outfit is quite the eye-catcher, but it's still rather tasteful." He said dragging his eyes across Daniels' form suggestively. Pansy scoffed.
"Oh, I don't give a fig for what she's wearing, I'm talking about Theo." She said frowning distastefully.
Draco snorted.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What's so funny about that?"
"Nothing," he said with a lazy smile. "I just didn't know you cared."
"I don't!" She yelled a little too loud, gathering the attention to her.
Karessa gave her a puzzled look and Theo raised an eyebrow. Draco snickered silently as Pansy flushed in embarrassment and elbowed him in the gut.
Karessa stared at her for a moment before shaking her head in dismissal. "Alright then," she clapped her hands once. "So why don't we get started, and we should be out of here with enough time to change and make it to dinner."
"What exactly are you going to teach us?" one of Kaity and Natalie's friends asked out.
"Yeah, I wasn't really paying attention the first time you briefed us about this idea." Marcus Belby admitted, a few people muttered their agreement.
"Well basically I'll be teaching you all Self-Defense, and before anyone says anything, I will remind you that this is nothing quite like your Defense Against the Dark Arts class." The few hands up instantly went down. "In fact, you won't even really be using your wands in this program," she smiled as there were a few gasps as people began muttering to one another. "The only tools you'll need are your arms and legs."
"Well now that's just bloody ridiculous." Everyone turned to the owner of the condescending tone, and sure enough the voice belonged to the ever amused Malfoy.
He made his way closer to the stage as the crowd parted for him. "What exactly is the use of teaching us defense without our wands when that is our greatest weapon?"
She stepped closer to the edge of the stage and smiled down at him. "Are you challenging my program, Mr. Malfoy?"
He chuckled amusedly as he stopped to stand in the center of the crowd, not quite in reach of the stage. "I'm merely challenging the need for it as someone who wouldn't need it, because there are those who have better knowledge in the dueling department and with the exponential spells out there at their fingertips, so they'd never have to sully their hands of a physical fight." He said pompously, some of the more skeptic people agreed to this point.
"Oh that is a load of –!"
"Truth, Hermione." Karessa said gently as she gave the enraged Gryffindor a calming smile. She directed her words to the dumbstruck group now. "What Mr. Malfoy says is true; any wizard with exceptional dueling skills and knowledge of helpful spells should never have to – no, never have a need to bring themselves down to the level of a physical fight." A few people gave their wholehearted agreement while others looked among each other in confusion.
Draco gave her a scrutinizing look, but all else seemed amused with a smirk plastered on his face. An odd smile came upon Daniels' face as she planted her feet firmly in place, with every muscle in her body tensed and she stared down at him. Pansy, Blaise and Daphne were the only ones aware of what was to come.
Pansy put her hand over her eyes.
She shook her head at Draco in a hopeless fashion. "Idiot." She muttered, he gave her a confused look and she looked up at him, her expression one of pity for what he could not understand. "Now you've done it."
Now the students were looking at the pair curiously. Draco frowned at her.
"And exactly what have I done?" he asked arrogantly.
"You've offered to demonstrate how good your dueling abilities are." Karessa said as she planted her hands on her hip. She hadn't taken her eyes off him through the exchange and that smile she had widened. "So go on; hit me with your best offensive spell."
There was a multitude of shocked faces on the students as they all looked at her with something akin to horror – excluding Pansy, Daphne and Blaise, the later tensing beside her as he clenched his jaw shut trying not to undercut her proposal or get in the way of her point. He knew where this was going, and even if he didn't like the possibilities he trusted her enough to go forth with her idea, and he sent that message to Harry as he was fixing to also say something against her decision.
For that she was grateful, but she'd have to tell him later because she was still waiting on Draco.
However he was still dumbstruck from the request.
"Ex-excuse me?" he said incredulously as he stared up at her with his brow scrunched down. "Are you bloody mad, or are you looking for some ammunition to give to the Headmaster, I'm not going to just attack you." He said firmly.
"This has nothing to do with the Headmaster's ruling of how you are to treat me within the school for being unarmed, this is my program, there are no teachers, and the room has been spelled to keep any of you from talking about the extent in which or what we practice in here." She said back. "So tell me why else you refuse to attack me."
"You are unarmed." He gritted through his teeth.
"If you mean that I do not carry a wand it would be very useless in this factor, seeing as I am unable to use one to begin with, and you don't honestly expect me to believe that you," she then drew her gaze to the whole of the public, "that any of you would or have drawn your wand on someone who didn't already have there's out prior?" No one confirmed her accusations nor denied them.
"But that is different in comparison to you, you're –" Draco began to defend.
"A muggle, so we've established; but that only brings question as to why you are hesitating now, then." She looked down at Malfoy again. "I have no doubts you've been raised properly to be a gentleman, but as I've heard and seen that only extends to those not of muggle background." She lifted her hand quickly to halt Blaise from intervening as she knew he'd try once the people started getting anxious with this new line of discussion.
"Who are you to judge me?!" Malfoy barked with a menacing look in his eye. "You don't know me –"
"And yet I could say the very same thing to you and you'd still use the same logic to demean me as a lesser being because of what someone told you." She stated calmly. "As such you shouldn't even think about hesitating to attack, when you should want nothing more than to kill me."
"You've got some galls to talk to me like that." He said viciously.
"But tell me I'm wrong." She dared.
The crowd went hushed and Draco seethed quietly to himself as he stared at her hatefully. Blaise was tensed for anything now as Karessa continued to stare down at him.
"However, should it be because I am also a woman that makes you pause, let me remind you that it won't matter what sex your opponent is in a real fight." Her tone lightened now. "They will attack if given the opportunity should good manners be what hold you back."
"I am well aware of that." He bit out.
"Then don't try me with anymore excuses, I've given you an invitation so I implore you to take it." She stood her ground. "So I'll tell you one more time; hit me with your best shot."
Then unlike the first time, his reaction was immediate as he spoke out fiercely.
"Everte Statum!"
A few people screamed as the spell zoomed past them to make a hit for its aimed target, it was sure to be a direct hit.
…Only it missed its mark.
Daniels had already been anticipating the attack and reacted as such before Malfoy even had the time to finish the spell she sprung up and forward into the air, flipping to get more distance, then sliding into a standing position at his side. The spell had hit the stage when Draco turned shocked eyes to her person, but before he could change his stance to face her she struck her hand out quickly, shooting his wand up in the air. Next she grabbed that arm and twisted it painfully up once she spun behind his back and jerked him closer, and finally ending the position with her right knee pressing sharply into his lower back to bend him forward as his right hand was vertically pinned between them, and her left arm had his fully extended back as she trapped it in the crook of her elbow.
In her hand she pointed his wand into the back of his neck.
It took a moment for everyone to wrap their heads around what they had just witnessed and the tension in the room had slightly increased as some of the skeptics saw exactly how serious she was about this program as Malfoy grunted in frustration and discomfort.
"Tell me, Mr. Malfoy, you consider yourself a good wizard with exceptional dueling skills, yet somehow without a wand, how is it I've still managed to disarm you." Karessa whispered close to his ear.
Despite the humiliating position she'd put him in he could feel his body reacting to the heat of her own pressing up against him. As her breath cascaded across his skin, and her lips caressed the shell of his ear in a deceivingly intimate gesture he despised her for causing a reaction out of him in front of so many witnesses. But he despised himself more for being so distracted by her closeness that he couldn't properly recognize that she'd spoken to him just then.
It was only when she brushed her lips unnecessarily down the side of his neck – where no one would think any less than it was an accident that she touched him anymore than she meant – as she moved her head away from him and he shuddered at the contact that he realized she was toying with him now.
His only acknowledgement that he'd heard her speak was a small grunt.
She addressed the other participants in a calm and clear manner. "Now, you see, that way of thinking is exactly why I'll be teaching you these things." She drafted a rather cold look that had everyone shrinking away from it or shifting their weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other.
She jerked Draco up into a standing position as she moved her knee from his back before adding a little force to make him move forward as she walked him slowly to the stage, the crowd parted for her now.
"You see you all rely so heavily on your wands that once you are without them, you are left helpless." She said, the look on her face matched the new tone she was using, and it was such a startling contrast to her outer demeanor that it held every person's attention in the room.
She stopped at the foot of the stage and sharply turned to face the mass of listeners she had enthralled. She tapped Malfoy's wand on his shoulder as she scanned the people. "A weapon; some of you may say your wand is this, but let me clarify with you now while you're all still young enough to perceive the message – it's not."
Then without warning she pushed Malfoy away from her roughly, but he caught his footing in time before he'd make a complete arse out of himself and turned to give her a scathing glare.
Many of the boys began snickering and she shot down their laughter immediately with a disdainful glance. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you, 'cause your turn is sure to come; and it could be worse." She said.
She looked back at him, staring him head on and matched his in intensity with how calm and calculative she was being now.
After all she still held his wand.
"You think your wand is a weapon but its not." she repeated strongly as she stared into Draco's eyes, but directed her speech to everyone. "Your greatest weapon is your body and your best defense is your mind. Your wands are only an extension of that – a tool is all they really are, because let's face facts..." she walked up to the cold blonde staring her down and preened at seeing him tense when she stood before him.
It meant he was learning.
"They would never have allowed children to brandish such a thing or attend a school where such a tool was permitted on the premises." She outstretched the hand with his wand in it.
He gave her one final glare before snatching the offer from her grasp, in case she'd change her mind, so he told himself.
All was silent. No one said anything or made a sound as they all slowly digested her words in their own way, some got it while others lacked in pace, but it was clear on all their faces that she was getting through to them in some bit.
A start…she thought, hiding a smile to herself. That's all I really needed.
Saving the hopeful thinking for a later date she clapped her hands again to get their attention as she turned back to the stage, Theo and Blaise gripping her hands and hauling her back onto the platform where she turned back to face the others.
"Now listen up everybody, because I'm only going to say this once." Karessa cast her eyes around the room at the several occupants. She placed her hands on her hips.
Her eyes lingered a little longer on Draco.
"I am in no way delusional to think that all of you came here with the actual intent of learning from me." She raised her hand to halt anyone's attempt to deny her claim. "It does not bother me in the least, I know many of you were just curious to see what this was all about, and I am well aware of those who actually had every interest in doing this program because they wanted to." She smiled down at Natalie and Kaity.
She addressed them all again. "You came out of curiosity and I will do what I can to please it." She walked the length of the stage and back again. "My program, as I've said before is about learning how to defend yourselves, even when an enemy would see you as defenseless. But it is a lot more than that."
That statement had peaked a lot of people's interest, she smiled.
"This isn't just a defense course; because I'll not only be teaching you defense, but offense – how to strike back and take down an enemy, and all with the use of your body." She said so passionately that it drew the crowd in. "You've been trained how to memorize and actively use spells on command, but I'm going to show you that – as a tool – your wands aren't the only things you could use as an objective 'weapon'." She said turning away from them.
While what she said confused them, it only worsened once she bent over to pick up one of the bags she carried with her, and turned it upside down to let all its contents slip out onto the ground. They were regular household objects like keys, quills & ink wells, bags of candy, belts, silverware, wooden plates, and even a few joke shop items.
They all looked to Daniels for guidance.
"Without your wands you'd be left without an immediate weapon which means you'd have to use whatever was at your disposal to protect yourselves, and I will teach you the best way to go about using them." She said with a smirk on her face.
"So you're teaching us how not to use our wands? Well there goes seven years down the drain." Ginny stated spitefully bold. Harry nudged her elbow and she gave him a dark look.
"This is not about learning how to neglect your wands; it is about knowing that once you've been backed up into a corner without your wand to aid you, there are always other options." Karessa stated, walking the stage again. "I know even after this explanation some of you will still doubt me, so just so we're clear, none of you are required to stay here once you've signed up; I won't stop you from leaving, but should you choose to stay I need you all to know that this won't be particularly easy." She stopped pacing and gave them all a considerate look and she smiled.
"You're going to be tossed to the ground – a lot." She finished.
The doors opened up once more and the people waited. At least fifteen people walked out a short second after, out of the group two of Kaity and Natalie's friends, Justin and Lavender, and as expected Ginny, who left rather haughtily at that. From her position on the stage Karessa could see Neville struggling with himself on whether he was going to leave or not as he kept fidgeting on the spot, but eventually something in him won out because he had a sudden look of determination came upon his face and he held his ground.
She couldn't help but feel a little proud for him.
She gave them all another chance to leave. Her eyes connected with cold silver. "Anyone else want to leave, they are welcome, but should anyone change their mind they are always welcome back." She said calling out to those who had walked out the door.
The doors closed once again and Daniels smiled at the ones who stayed, her normal Brightside demeanor back in place.
"Now that I've given you an overall introduction to this course," she picked up the second bag and dumped out its contents, "Why don't we get started?"
Karessa had everyone introduce themselves officially to her so she could remember their names, then under her order, they were to hand their wands over to Blaise – which was seen with a little resistance – to keep people from being tempted in using them or getting them damaged in the seeable future. Next they were directed to certain stations around the room depending on size, weight, and a judge of their physical strength measured by Theodore. No one understood why Theo was being so helpful to the muggle teen but none of them cared enough to question it.
Well, except for maybe Draco.
The young Malfoy heir had been brooding at first about the whole getting-beat-down-by-a-muggle-girl thing, but in truth he had gotten over the small spectacle a while in the girl's speech about what they'd actually be doing in the class. If he had to be honest he found what she had planned for the lot of them to be a subject of interest with him, something he didn't feel at first upon entering the premises, but now this class looked to prove as a great new outlet for his anger and stress that had been building since before the school year began. As he made his way to his designated station he caught Nott gazing over at Daniels as he unabashedly undressed her with his eyes like Pansy had noticed from the beginning.
It'd be better if I could have a few goes at punching that look off the git's face. Draco sneered openly at the other male. No fucking shame the bloody oaf has there.
He scoffed derisively and caught Nott's attention. The other boy had the nerve to smirk at him before diverting his attention back onto the subject of his appraising gaze when she walked up to talk to him shortly. Draco watched Blaise sidle up to the two and gave Theo a wary look, which made him think that Blaise knew something of what the tall brunette's intentions were to the muggle girl.
How curious…Draco thought.
Before he could deliberate anymore on his thoughts Daniels had announced that she'd make her way along with Blaise around to the groups and explain what their stations were made for. At first it was confusing to see one of the dueling club's old dummies standing before them with a target board behind it and a box of quills by their feet, but when she found her way to his group she had explained to them their task and it all became clear. They were to use the dummy as target practice, but they were mostly working on their aim, and to do that they had the quills; however, the trick was not to aim for the dummy itself, but the shirt someone had pulled over it.
"I want you to concentrate on pinning the dummy to the wall behind it, not hitting it." She had said. "This is to put both your agility and the strength within your arms to use since you need enough force to push the dummy back, and the precision to pin the body in place."
She had pointed out the certain sections of the body that mattered most for pinning like the forearms and thighs, and as they got started she gave them all a devious smile before they lined up for turns. "As your precision grows more defined you'll all have real and moving targets to look forward to practicing on next." She'd said getting everyone more excited once she'd left them to their own devices for a while.
Time flew by quite fast for the eager students, and reluctantly students began putting away their intended props for their exercise stations, picked up their wands, and were making their way to the door as they opened up again once the school bell rang to indicate the end of classes.
"Just a moment everyone," Karessa halted their retreat. "I've got one last thing to show you before you all head down to dinner." She smiled gleefully as they gathered before her standing on the middle mat lain out on the floor.
"Now what's this all about, prof?" Anthony said amusedly.
"This is about a demonstration, Mr. Goldstein." She quipped back. "But first, I'll need a volunteer from each exercise station to come up and pick a card from my hand." She waved a palm-sized stack of cards in her hand, before spreading them out face down from the students so they could only see an empty back design on it.
"What are those for?" Daphne asked just as confused as the others as she went up as a representative and picked a card.
"Well you've all worked so hard today, and since I've only introduced you to practice dummies I thought it would be a nice treat to see what your ending results could look like with a demonstration." Daniels smiled as her eyes twinkled like the stars they were shaped out to be. "But in order to choose which group exercise I'll demonstrate, we're going to do it based on these cards."
"So how does this work." Harper asked as he was the last one to pick a card.
Daniels shuffled the deck back into order before pointing to one of the stations. "You see there are 13 exercise stations drafted around the room. For your warm ups, you'll each get a turn in trying out other stations, but keep in mind you'll maintain the consistency of being grouped with the same people based on your size, strength, and weight." She held up the deck for everyone to see. "These here are regular muggle playing cards, so there is no enchantment on them in case someone thinks of cheating." She gave them all a stern look before continuing with her explanation. "Now turn your cards over."
All thirteen representatives flipped their cards to see either a number or a letter with a different suit on the face of the card.
"Now if you would look again at any one of the stations you will see either a number or a letter above where each station was placed." She said, pointing to one station where it had the number "6" printed overtop of it on the wall. "These represent the cards in the deck, as there are thirteen posts as well as thirteen different cards to choose from in the deck. For those of you who don't know, there are 52 cards in the deck with 4 suits – hearts, clovers, spades, and diamonds – and like I said, 13 families starting with Ace, King, Queen, and Jack, then working its way from 10 – 2." She said playing with the cards in her hands.
"So with 52 cards to choose from, we're going to go about voting based on which card comes up the most?" Pansy guessed.
"That's right." Karessa smiled. "For since there are four suits, each family will only have four cards, so depending on which card has the majority will decide whose group gets their demo." She looked over everyone's cards. "It looks like section 9 won out today." She smiled and the people handed back their cards.
They then moved to circle around Karessa as she glanced over section 9.
"Alright, so what I had in that exercise dealt with ribbons, bands, and necklace chains." Many of the boys gave her a skeptical look; they weren't too enthused with what won out. She laughed at some of their disgruntled faces. "Don't worry boys, I didn't particularly thought you'd need this – it was more for the girls in this case, but basically I had the group work on tying fast and strong knots as well as different chokeholds – something I won't be putting in the demonstration." She said quickly before people got ideas. If only to prove her theory many of the boys groaned. She laughed.
"Well then what could these accessories possibly be used for if you're not going to show us how to choke someone?" Harper asked exasperatedly.
"Well, I did have them practice choke-backs with the chains and bands," she started as she began undoing one of the ribbons in her hair without completely pulling it out. "But foremost the ribbons were meant to practice agility in tying a knot." She said.
Harper looked confused. "In case of tying someone up you mean?" he asked.
"Precisely," she smiled. "And I'm going to show you how to use it effectively when you need to be quick on your feet." She looked through the crowd. "But first I'm going to need you all to back up to either side of me instead of a circle, if you please."
They moved quickly and quietly as they watched her stretch her arms out and flex her shoulders back before gesturing to the crowd. "Now who better to help me present the fascination with a quick knot, than Nott himself?" She smiled a cat's grin to the young man as he sauntered on in between the surrounding occupants to stand a small distance away from Karessa and faced her with an opposing grin as he spun his wand between his nimble fingers.
The group was baffled.
"Watch carefully now, everyone." She called out to them as she took a stance. "Count it down from 3 someone."
"Hope you're ready for this, love." Theo grinned.
"Oh, I don't think you should be worrying too tough about me; I'll be fine." She smirked. Theo readied his wand.
Someone yelled out 'GO!' and the two went at each other without hesitation.
Theo had started with a series of spells that would try and stun her back, or stick her in place, but Karessa was moving so fast, as she darted in and out of his range and pushed forward until she caught him by the hand and twisted his wand out of the firm grip he supposedly had. Next she used the distraction of his pain to pull her ribbon from her hair and quickly looped it around the wrist she held, then yanking the ribbon back she pulled his arm out forward along with the top half of his body as he planted his feet, trying to resist her. She wouldn't stand for that so she took advantage of his vulnerable position when he tried to grab her with his other arm and kneed him in the gut.
As he doubled over she spun to stand behind him with the captured wrist so it pulled back, but before he could recover Karessa kicked her right foot out to buckle his right knee, and he bent down on one knee to the ground. Nott attempted to take her by surprise and used some of his strength to pull his captive arm forward, while at the same time bring his other back in hopes of catching her by the waist to throw her over his shoulder.
But Daniels compensated for this maneuver.
Expecting him to try to break out of her hold she brought the heel of her right foot up again and pressed down hard onto his spine as she tugged back on his arm again. That tripped him up enough to miss his shot at grabbing her blindly from her placement, and for her to bring her foot up again and cross it over to slam hard over his left wrist, pinning it to the floor as she felt him trying to get back to his feet. With her right foot crossed over to pin his other hand, the crowd watched her use that foot to pivot her body around in a full 360, bringing her left leg over Theo's head before landing it on the ground to stand at his left flank.
She then went about crippling the left knee so Nott was down on both knees now.
Letting loose the other end of the ribbon to fall to the floor she temporarily stepped off his hand so she could use her foot to wind the ribbon end around his wrist, then she curled it around her ankle and pulled her foot back. Both wrists restrained back, she picked the ribbon up from off her ankle as Nott tried once again to stand and pressed the heel of her foot down hard on the back of his neck to keep him bowed over.
He hissed in pain and the others watching sympathized with him.
"You see this, everyone, is a good way to hold your opponent down, by pushing down on the most vulnerable place of their body – which doesn't necessarily mean the neck, it could also be an injured part to the body, just so long as the pain distracts them." She said pulling on the ribbons again to pull Theo's arms back as his head pressed forward and he groaned in pain again. "However keep in mind that this works a lot better if your opponent matches or is at least close to your own weight, if not lighter so you won't have to deal with a hard struggle." She said as they watched Nott wrestle with his restraints.
She looked up at the class. "In the case that they outmatch you in strength, your safest bet is to tie them down instead." She wrapped the ribbon she held in her left around her forearm so her hand was free to assist the right in tying Nott's right hand in a knot, then slid her left foot between his legs to kick out his left, causing him to topple over on his right side. With him now on the floor she could move quick enough to tie the shortened end of the ribbon to his left ankle, and then she stood and moved away from him to watch with the crowd as Theo tried getting up.
Only to not be able to stand so long as the ribbon prohibited him from standing to full height with the short movement space she gave him from the ribbon.
"That there is the flamingo." She presented to her awestruck audience. She smiled down at Theodore as he struggled. "It's most effective with the arm tied back, as is with the opposite leg to restrict movement on a short line; they won't be able to untie themselves with the awkward position."
Some people moved in closer to get a better look at the tie while others stood back just to get a good laugh as Nott continued his struggles a little while longer. Moments later he gave up with a disgruntled huff.
"So, you'll teach us how to move like that?" Little Kaity asked eagerly.
Karessa looked down at the motionless Theo and gave Kaity a bewildered look. "Well I could, but I'm sure Theodore could teach you how to move like that a lot better than I could." She gave the girl a teasing smile and the students laughed.
"No, I meant what you did." Kaity giggled. "You moved so fast and you didn't even think about it." She said excitedly.
"Well, actually, I did think about it. It is one of the most important things you need to do before ever making a move against an opponent." Karessa said. "But like learning new spells, you need to remember what you've been taught so that you are ready to use it when you need it most – it'll all come naturally."
"So you'll teach us?"
"It'll take some practice, but in time, I will."
"You've been doing this for a long time." The room was silent when everyone turned to Draco Malfoy, leaning off of the open door, as he stared Daniels down. He'd stated it as a fact, not a question, which many of the older participants took note of.
"Since I was a child; maybe about six or eight." She responded.
"You've used these methods in real situations." Another statement, yet she felt she had to confirm it.
"Yes."
He pushed off to stand properly as he gave her a meaningful look; he'd been building up to this point after watching her demonstration, and just from watching her, he knew. He'd heard it in her voice during the first time, but he was on the receiving end of her silent fury so he couldn't be sure when her face was out of his view, but this time with Theo…Draco could see it in her eyes.
So this time, he asked her as a question. "How many times?" he asked.
The students all turned to her expectantly.
Her eyes darkened as if lost in memory and she gave him a waned smile. "More than I'd wish to remember." Karessa answered solemnly.
Her ghostly reply had unsettled the older students as they looked to one another for answers on where to go with the little information they'd just been given. Draco left shortly after hearing her reply, whatever his thoughts were on what she said kept with himself on his departure. Blaise touched her shoulder as she just stared blankly at the empty doorway, breaking her out of her sad reflections.
"That'll be all for today, everyone." She said distractedly as she bent and untied Nott from his binds, and helped him to his feet. "We'll pick up where we left off on Saturday, after lunch around noon." She gave Theo back his wand, and after some short goodbyes everyone filed out of the classroom to go down for their dinner, some talking animatedly about how interesting the first meeting turned out to be.
The doors closed and all was silent in the empty classroom.
"You can go without me, Blaise, I'll be fine." He walked around to stand in front of her.
"I can also stay if you need me." He said firmly.
She smiled. "This isn't about me trying to be strong right now; I just want to gather my thoughts a moment." She said picking up the fallen ribbon and wrapping it around one of her fists.
He waved his wand and all their equipment flew back into the two bags she'd brought, while everything else stayed where it was placed; they'd either be put away later or be left as was for when the next meeting would take place everything would already be set up.
Blaise gave her a concerned look. "Are you sure?" she surprised him when she brought her hand up to his cheek. It was moments like these when they both questioned what the other was to them; whether they were just friends or was it something more…
"You can't protect me from my own demons, Blaise." Her smile was one of adoration as she took her hand off his cheek. "Though I know you'd try."
They shared a chuckle, and it did wonders to lighten the mood again.
Blaise picked up both bags for her. "Then I'll meet you down for dinner, and I'll drop these off in your room before I go." He said as he walked off.
"Alright, I'll meet you down in a bit." She said waving him off.
Looking around the room once she checked to make sure nothing important had been left behind either by Blaise or any of the other students. Satisfied with finding nothing she walked to the doors as they opened once again so she could take her leave, shutting the lights off she walked out the doors as they began closing a final time…then promptly got slammed into the wall just next to the doors, knocking the wind from her lungs.
Dark silver swam into her view as a figure loomed over her.
She held still as his hands gripped her arms roughly. "I figured you'd be waiting for me." She gasped out, staring up at him.
"You didn't fight me that time." He accused, frustrated for a reason she didn't know.
"I knew it was you." He shook her harshly. "I also knew you'd want a little gratification in getting back at me." He moved over to her ear and she shuddered lightly at the hot breath ghosting over her skin.
"That was a nasty stunt you pulled." He hissed lowly to her.
"I don't know what you mean." He brought a hand up to her neck and added slight pressure to her windpipes in warning. She stared at him blankly as he moved back from her. "Does it help if I apologize?"
"Oh, we'll see how cheeky you feel once I've reported you to the Ministry." He said heatedly as he squeezed her throat more forcefully. "They'll send your precious Grandfather to Azkaban to have his soul sucked out by a dementor, and they'll probably use you for lab experiments, what with those strange eyes of yours I wouldn't put it past them to cut you open and take a long look inside." He gave her a nasty grin. "That is if you're lucky of course."
She stayed oddly calm as she gave him an unnerving calculative look. "You wouldn't do it." She stated.
"Of course I would." He growled. How dare the bint question his motives like that?
She shook her head, an amused look in her eye. "If that were the case you would have done so a while ago instead of telling me." She leaned conspiratorially towards him as she whispered. "Besides, we both know you're only mad at the fact that I'm a muggle and you're a pureblood, and I beat you down without breaking a sweat."
"You insolent little wench!" he grit through his teeth.
"Am I wrong?" she challenged.
Of course she was right in a sense. He was only mad at her for embarrassing him in front of so many people, not for the act itself.
He was actually quite impressed.
It took a lot of galls for anyone to oppose him, either due to his influence or based on his father and the power his name held, people found him naturally intimidating. The only ones who could really stand up to him was the Great bloody Golden Trio, and they were really nothing to him, but here was this slip of a girl who was supposed to mean even less than nothing to him, yet she'd somehow found a permanent home under his skin.
He didn't respond. He didn't move, he didn't do anything but stand there staring at her like she was the 7th wonder of the world. The only part of him that showed any sign of movement was his eyes, shift every so often about her face, no doubt pulling her apart with his eyes to see if he could find what makes her tick. Maybe then he'd know how to deal with her, if he knew what she was about he could cast her off like any of the other people he'd come into contact with once he found a category to put her under. But he'd deny himself the thought that no matter what he'd discover of her, there was no cataloguing her into a group. She was simply different; something that couldn't be categorized in any other way but its own.
She was special, and he'd loath to ever admit it.
As Draco moved his hand away from Karessa's throat he started focusing his attention to just looking at her now. She really was beautiful; he could credit her that despite her blood, with sparkling exotic eyes, strong regal features, and generously plump lips. It was when he caught himself staring that he realized how close they really were. Between slamming her into the wall and invading her personal space, Draco found himself almost completely pressed against her. They were so close to one another that he had her practically straddling the leg he pressed between her thighs.
He could feel her.
He could feel the heat seeping from her body and into his larger form that it warmed the blood in his veins and made him feel he needed to be closer. He could smell the sweet scent of her perfume and the tang of sweat on her skin, but there was another faint scent upon her and it shocked him to realize the smell was his cologne. It was intoxicating; like he was marking her as his possession, and the thought strangely comforted him.
But among everything else, he could feel the most when she breathed.
Feeling her body trapped between his gave Draco a little thrill despite knowing now she could break free should she need to. He liked the thought of being able to control her; liked the thought of keeping her pinned to him, feeling her breasts push against his chest each time she took a breath, as the air rushed in and out of her parted lips – those deliciously inviting lips.
Staring at her lips he had the sudden urge to kiss her, and was moving in before he could properly comprehend what he was thinking. He was dead set in doing so too until the point he was a hair's breath away from his desire when a loud crash sounded from down the hall. He snapped his head back while pulling out his wand, ready to Obliviate the dense sap who interrupted them, only to see Mrs. Norris trotting down the hall they were in as she left a fallen suit of armor in her wake. He watched the cat a moment longer with a sneer on his face before turning back to see Daniels just staring at him as blankly as she had before. The thought of what he was doing, and who he was with washed over him like a bucket of ice water being thrown on him in the cold of winter, and he backed off of her, but without really leaving her personal space.
She continued to stare at him and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Why do you do that?" he asked.
"Do what?" she asked, scrunching her brow.
"Don't play with me muggle." He sneered. "I've seen it now; that little puzzle piece that you won't show anyone else. I want to know why you didn't break my hold of you when you bloody well could have whenever you wanted to."
She was silent a moment as she studied his features. He was about to ask her again when she finally answered him with a question of her own. "Is it so hard to believe that maybe I'm putting some of my trust in you?"
He was shocked at her words, though he didn't show it. "Then that makes you an idiot for trusting me."
"Why?"
Oh how a simple question can be given so many answers. "I could deceive you at every turn, I could use you in the worst way and laugh as I tear you apart," he took a threatening step towards her. "But most of all because your breed disgusts me. I could kill you and feel only regret at not making you suffer for desecrating the land with your filth."
Strangely she began to laugh. "I never said I trusted you." She smiled up at him. "I was merely asking whether it was such a hard feat for me, or anyone, to trust you." She tilted her head at him. "I don't even think you trust yourself."
He didn't know how to respond to that so he didn't.
"So you've chosen to take my deal."
"I never said I did." He said.
"Never said you didn't." she brushed past him then. "But keep in mind you wouldn't be here if you didn't." She looked back at him with a bold smirk on her face. "So don't waste my time; I've got more important things to do than switch useless dialogue with you all night." Then with her parting word she left him standing in the empty hall alone with his thoughts.
He thought about the deal, he thought about his plan, but more pressingly he thought about that kiss they almost shared. What was he thinking, and it wasn't even like she baited him – he'd pressed her against the wall. He initiated everything and all he could fault her for was…was…
Responding… Was the response his brain filled in for him.
She reacted to every little thing he did and she never made a move to stop him. She had wanted him to kiss her as much as he did in that moment, and who knows where it could have gone from there. He licked his lips at the thought and then he remembered her parting words and his eyes narrowed.
He frowned. Did she just tell me I was a waste of time? Instead of getting upset at the implication Draco just chuckled to himself as he stared off into the direction she had disappeared in. He shook his head bewilderedly.
So there's a backbone beneath all that soft skin…he mused to himself. He smirked. A whole other side to that one and she's been hiding it all behind a smile… He strolled off with a self-serving smile on his face, a change in his original plan already rolling in his mind. He was going to have her if it was the last thing he did.
Then he was going to break her.
"Looks like things are about to get a lot more interesting." He said to himself, finishing his prior thought.
A/N: Damn, I missed my mark by like an hour, bloody Fanfiction being down for construction on me XS. Ah well! Still got this up in good time, now onto the next! :D
