My imaginary lawyers at the imaginary company told me that I make no money nor do i own the official characters and worlds of Harry Potter and Eragon.
Chapter 20 – Training and relationships
It was two days later before they saw Maddie again for their physical training. So far they had just been using staffs and practising with them. Maddie had been impressed with them about how fast they had picked up the staff training, telling them that they would be moving on to the swords soon. They were surprised, considering that all it felt like so far was that she was whacking them with the staffs.
Harry collapsed on the side of the field, his arms and legs feeling like jelly. He heard a chuckle and saw Edran standing at the side. "Having fun on the ground there?" Harry just made a rude hang gesture that made him laugh even harder, and Harry sat up and turned towards where Hermione and Maddie were sparing.
Hermione was dressed in leggings and a tank top. Her bare shoulders were tanned from years on the run, and her hair was even more spiky than normal. Maddie was wearing a tank top and shorts as well. Unlike Hermione, who was wearing trainers, Maddie had no shoes on. The sparring continued for a short time before Maddie smacked the stick out of Hermione's hand. "You're focusing too much on the stick – you need to pay attention to my body, so that you can guess what I'll do next."
Edran moved closer to the field "Hey Maddie – why don't you and I have a spar, so they can see what we're like in action?" Maddie smirked and nodded, throwing the staff to the side and summoning her sword. The sword was a rich blue colour, thin but long. Edran summoned his sword and moved into the field. They bowed to each other before getting into more defensive positions. Neither moved before Edran sprang forward.
Maddie didn't even block, twisting to the side and flicking her sword up. Edran anticipated this and blocked it, taking a step back. Maddie matched him, taking a step forward and swiping across, bringing it down to follow Edran when he ducked. Edran followed with a couple of short swipes that Maddie ducked and rolled under, pulling herself up a couple of feet away. They circled each other before Maddie flung her left hand out throwing a dagger, rushing him after throwing.
Edran threw his sword up and blocked the dagger, but was unable to block Maddie's kick that sent him staggering. He was quickly on the defensive as Maddie rained blow after blow on him. While he was clearly good, it became quickly apparent that Maddie was a lot better. If Edran managed to take a swing at her, she evaded it with speed and grace. Eventually Edran managed to trap Maddies sword with his. He flashed her a grin which she returned, followed by her dropping her sword. Edran was so surprised that he stumbled. Maddie took the opportunity to smack his sword arm with her hand before kicking him in the knee causing him to fall. Before he could recover she had his sword in her hand and jammed under his jaw.
They stood there, before Maddie moved back and held her hand out to him. Edran graciously allowed her to pull him up, taking his sword back and giving her's back. They took a few steps apart. They bowed to each other before walked over to where Harry and Hermione were watching.
"That was incredible!" Maddie beamed as she sat down, legs crossed under her. "That was just a friendly spar. I didn't want to go for too long." Edran scoffed "Well then, lets actually show them what you are capable of." He lifted his hands up and spread them outwards, producing what looked like screens of light. A few seconds passed before Zhrehan and Jamar appeared. "Hey – Challenge for you both from Maddie. Get down here and help me beat her in a fight." Simultaneously they both protested, but their protests fell on deaf ears.
Ten minutes passed before they both arrived. Edran only pointed at the field before the four got into position. Edran, Zhrehan and Jamar formed a rough triangle around Maddie, who held her sword behind her as she crouched down. No one moved for a second before the three rushed her.
Maddie waited until they got close before launching herself forwards, rolling under the blades before twisting and deflecting Zhrehan and Jamar's blade. Edran swung and Maddie turned, smacking the blunt side on his hand causing him to drop the sword, which she kicked away. She rolled forward to avoid Jamar and blocked Zhrehan's sword with her arm that was covered in scales. She lifted her leg and pushed Zhrehan away, and slid her hand across her sword, forming a sword made of white light which she used to deflect Edran who had picked up his sword.
The four traded blows for a few moments, with none of the men even getting that close to Maddie. It was clear to Harry and Hermione that she was in control of the fight. It wasn't long before she decided to end it. Trapping Edran's blade with hers, Maddie kicked back into a portal that had just appeared, knocking Zhrehan down onto the ground. Jamar came from Maddie's left, who widened the portal and dropped into it, causing Jamar to hit Edran instead. Before they could recover, Maddie appeared and knocked Jamar's sword out of his hand before kicking him into Edran. She sheathed her sword and reached down to help them up before the four walked over.
"What is that portal you created? You used it to get us here" Hermione asked as the four ate.
"It's a unique spell that was created millennia ago. Using sorcery, you envision where it is you want to go and push your magical energy into your hands to create a 'doorway' between where you are and where you want to go" Edran explained, creating a small portal in his hands. "What makes it unique is that while you are doing that, you also have to think of who you want to be able to pass through. Therefore, you can use it to escape from a nasty situation or to just travel from country to country and not have to worry about being followed."
The next day
Harry stood clutching his knees, pain shooting down the side of his chest where a stitch was forming. Hermione was collapsed on the ground, staring up at the sky, her chest heaving. Master Brenna was sat on the chair. He was tall and thin, with golden brown skin. His hair was a bright green and his eyes was the colour of obsidian. He had gotten them to try and push their magic into making fire, the starting point of Elemental magic. While both had managed to create fireballs, they hadn't been able to hold it longer than a minute before they fluttered out.
"You know, you've done damn well" Brenna chuckled. "What do you mean? We barely created anything" Harry hissed, his ribs still aching. "Magic requires energy. That energy has to come from you. Like anything in your body, when you first exercise it you don't last as long – you don't have the stamina. You guys practised wandlore for seven years – wandlore doesn't require much energy from you, as the wand acts more of a conduct than you. Mind magic takes more but doesn't strain you unless you use it for a long time."
"Sorcery requires quite a bit of energy" Brenna continued "You probably noticed a strain on your energy levels. Elemental magic is very powerful in that sense. It takes a lot of energy to both create and control the magic. Not only that, everyone has an affinity to an element. While Elementals can manipulate all elements, they find it easier to control and use a particular one. Fire is one of the easiest to picture which is why you start with it when training. As we progress, you'll be able to find which element you are close to."
Brenna then proceeded to create a fireball. As they watched, the fire changed colour before changing into water, then earth and finally air. He then made it into various metals before turning it back into fire. "As we progress, you'll be able to change elements and create constructs from these elements. For now, try again"
They managed to last longer, but didn't progress beyond fireballs in their hands.
Later that day
Hermione watched the clouds fly overhead while laid on the back of Polonius. Even though he rocked up and down with every beat of his wing, she found it extremely soothing and relaxing to be laid on his back. Ever since their first flight, they had spent an hour or so every night flying together. In that time, Hermione had gotten over her fear of heights and had since discovered that she really enjoyed flying and even together had started performing some aerobatics. Sometimes Harry and Ophelia joined them, but mostly it was them. However, she wasn't thinking about that – she was thinking about Maddie.
[#What is it? #] Polonius asked. He had been peripherally listening to her thoughts as they were flying, and could tell she was disturbed. [I love Harry. I still do. I want to spend the rest of my life with him, and by the sounds of it that life is going to be very long] Hermione stated. Polonius said nothing, allowing her to get her thoughts out. [But, ever since I met Maddie, there's been ... I think I like her. I want to be with her as well. And that makes me feel weird. That's cheating on Harry. I don't know what to do]
[#Have you tried asking him? #] Polonius asked. He could sense surprise from Hermione for asking that and mentally chuckled. [#He is your partner, yes? The two of you have spent years together and have fought together. Secrets, no matter how trivial, can cause problems between the two of you – and that can make the difference between life and death. #] Hermione remained silent, contemplating what Polonius said. [#Besides, he's been thinking of her that way and has been wondering how to approach you as well#] Polonius added, laughing (which sounded more like a rolling growl than a laugh) when Hermione jerked upright. [How do you know that?]
{#I do talk to Ophelia you know#] Hermione did, at least, have the sense to feel chastised at that. [#I think you need to talk to Harry about this, and then talk to Maddie about it#] With that, Polonius turned around and headed back to Rider island.
It wasn't long before Hermione walked into their room, finding Harry sat at the desk reading a book on Elemental magic. He turned around when he heard her walk in, but before he said anything she walked over and covered his mouth. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out the room.
They said nothing as they walked along the corridors, Harry getting more confused and Hermione determined. It wasn't long before they reached their destination. "Hermione, what are we doing here?" Hermione turned towards him. "Hopefully, we get some answers." She reached towards the door when it opened, Maddie stood in the doorway. Nobody said anything, but she moved to the side so that they could come in. Stepping inside, they heard her shut the door. Turning around, they saw her stood there just watching them.
While it was occurring to Hermione that they needed to make the first move, Harry had already started moving straight towards Maddie where he grabbed the back of Maddie's head and pulled her into a kiss. Maddie didn't resist, almost sinking into Harry's body as she returned the kiss just as enthusiastically. They pulled apart, and when Maddie turned her eyes towards Hermione, she didn't think or say anything. She simply moved forward and did the exact same as Harry had. Together, Harry and Hermione grabbed her hands and pulled her towards the bed.
Harry pulled her into another kiss as Hermione moved behind and started kissing the back and side of her neck. Maddie gave a small moan as Hermione's hands moved around her body and started to massage her breasts. Harry pulled her top off her, still continuing to kiss her. They fell onto the bed, pulling clothing off and throwing it with abandon. Harry got on top of Maddie while Hermione moved to kiss Maddie. As Harry entered her, Maddie's hand moved up to Hermione and slid inside her. Hermione gasped through the kiss but didn't move, instead pushing her hips towards Maddie's hand.
It didn't take long for the trio to reach climax, with all three collapsing from the orgasms. They spent the night together, swapping positions and exploring each other before finally falling asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.