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Chapter 18
Dueling Class
Disclaimer: *whining very loudly* Do I even have to say it?!?! *pouts* Well, I'm not, so there...!
AN: Here's where everybody gets a sneak peek (just a little one at that) at just how powerful Harry and Draco have become. Up until now, they've accepted that they have trained hard, but no one has quite grasped just *how* much. Of course, a little talent never hurt.
******
Snape and Dumbledore watched the four step through the door that led to their bedroom. From everything he had seen, Snape knew that the potion was an initial success. At least in that it allowed a space to open up between the present and the shadow world. However, it didn't last long enough for more than one person to enter it. Then, when the next person poured the potion on the exact same spot as the first, the portal opened in a completely different spot.
That would make it more difficult than they had originally thought. All four would have to be going in by twos, with Aeryn entering the shadow world in the way she normally did to meet up with the other half of the pair.
Snape resigned himself to continuing working on the potion in his spare time, since he had been found lacking in a few areas – which he wasn't pleased at all to hear. However, as Dumbledore had reminded him, he had to go through with the class just like the rest of the school. The only thing that made it bearable was that the four that were now on the other side of the door had actually found something that the headmaster didn't know. So it was a couple of muggle techniques that the Death Eaters wouldn't know about, but it did help calm Snape down. A little. Not much.
Only the two of them had been tested so far – in the middle of the potion test, which didn't make Snape happy at all that they would do something like that – the rest of the school would be tested after the demonstration requested by the board, who would be viewing it as well. Luckily he was not required to greet them, and instead made his way to the dungeons.
Once there, he crossed to his desk where he had stacked several books that he had taken from the Founders' library. There were several potions and antidotes that would prove to be useful in the battle that Dumbledore sensed would be coming soon. He would leave the work on the Silmaron until tomorrow, when he wasn't so frustrated at its half-failures. Potions was not an art to be done while angry at something – students were one thing, yourself was a completely different issue.
Dropping into his seat, Snape grabbed the first book and started reading, never noticing the hours pass.
******
Harry stood in one corner of the Great Hall watching as the students filed in, each of them seeming to stare curiously at the board as they sat at a table set up in the very back of the room. He had been feeling nervous all day, well, since they woke up after the disappointing trial of the Silmaron potion. As the time came closer for his first class, the worse the feeling had become. A part of him was suddenly in awe of all the teachers he'd ever had – that they had the courage to stand in front of children and teach them. It was quite humbling and made him feel slightly guilty for goofing off so much. Well, not a whole lot guilty. At least not when it came to Divination.
He admitted to himself that he would be even more nervous if he still wasn't puzzled by the appearance of Crabbe's body in the castle. The four of them had searched a great deal of Hogwarts before realizing that whoever had planted him and the mysterious charm there was long gone. Draco had suggested that it may have been another student, since he wasn't quite sure that any of the seventh year Slytherins left had been initiated as Death Eaters or not. If they hadn't, they had probably been instructed to follow specific directions. The only thing that was puzzling was the charm that they had found. It had recorded the last moments of Crabbe, but didn't have any other sounds on it. There was no clue as to who did that to him, or when it had been done.
Aeryn had reminded them that something from the shadow world had been in that room, which had ruled out anyone but a Death Eater. If Voldemort had developed something along the lines of the Silmaron Potion, but with a spell since he no longer had a Potions Master, then it would make it doubly hard for them to try and find the culprit.
The mystery, though, would have to wait, at least until after this class was over with. For now he would just have to deal with speaking in front of the whole school. And friends. And.... He wasn't going to think about it.
Standing in the half-shadows as he was, he went unnoticed by even his friends. Hermione and Ron were talking quietly between themselves, obviously in their own little world. A grin spread across Harry's face as he watched. Maybe they would try again to be together, since he had thought it a shame that they had broken their relationship off just when it had seemed to finally stabilize.
Surprisingly, it may have been for the best that he had gone missing. Without his presence, the two had been able to see each other for what they really are. Harry's grin grew wider as he watched Ron lean closer to Hermione, never noticing that he was seriously invading her personal space. Hermione certainly didn't seem to mind.
Hiding the chuckle that wanted out, Harry turned his attention to his fellow teachers. Draco was worse off, more so than himself. The blond man was pacing back and forth while Marty tapped her foot impatiently. Only Aeryn was composed, but Harry knew that it was only because she had four years' teaching behind her. He had sat in on her classes today when she substituted for Professor Steele, and knew that she was one of the more relaxed teachers. It was the same style that Remus had used when he taught DADA, making him the most fondly remembered teacher among the top three years. Harry hoped he did just as well when they split everybody up into the groups they had planned.
Finally, the doors shut and Dumbledore stood at his normal place at the teacher's table. It was the only table in the room as students milled about. He tossed a reassuring smile to Harry before sending one to Draco and Marty. Aeryn was right next to him, saying something briefly before she headed in Harry's direction.
"You can stop hiding, now," she said with a smile.
Harry laughed low. "I think my courage was hiding, and the rest of me just followed."
She shook her head in exasperation. "I think you've been listening to Draco complain too long. You're starting to sound like him."
He raised an eyebrow as they headed back to the front of the room. "Or is it he's acting more like me?"
Aeryn just looked at him but didn't say anything as Dumbledore raised his hands to gain the students' attention.
"Welcome to the first class of Dueling lessons. I'd like to remind everyone that this is a required class. However, it won't be graded." He paused as several students whooped in joy. Dumbledore smiled as the noise tapered off as he raised his hand again. "I will let these four explain the rules, and remember that some of the things you learn here will help later on in life."
Dumbledore stepped back as Aeryn went forward. The other three had decided to let her speak first, even though she had complained about the task.
"There are only three rules that you need to know and follow.
"Rule number one: the only time spells are to be used in class are when we are practicing or in an actual duel set up by one of the four of us.
"Rule number two: use only spells that you are familiar with. If you don't know what the spell does, don't use it.
"Rule number three: make sure that you stay within the dueling spaces at all times, to help reduce the chance that another student won't get hit by a miscast spell.
"Any student who does not follow the rules will get detention. The first time it happens it is worth two nights' detention. The second is worth a weeks' detention. The third is worth a month. If you break any of the rules a fourth time, it is up to the board of governors to decide your fate. This class is to help you defend yourself, not to be used in petty school fights. Don't use this class to take revenge on a schoolmate just because they mistreated you."
Harry had watched the students as Aeryn listed the rules. By the time she was finished, almost all of them had realized how grave this class really was, and how important it would be once school finished in a couple of months. For many of the seventh years, it would be a matter of them surviving the summer or not.
Harry stepped up. "First we are going to give a demonstration of what we expect you to learn from this class, even if you never reach past a certain level. Once that is finished, you will be evaluated so that you can be divided up into year and ability. Assigned classes will be handed out in the morning. Don't think that just because you are in a different class from somebody you think is better than they really are. This is so that we can see where you need improvement, and that goes for everybody."
"Even teachers," Marty piped up. The two words startled the teachers as they lined the Great Hall and made the student body laugh at their reaction.
Draco nodded. "Besides the lessons for the students, the board of governors asked us to give refresher courses to all the teachers. This is in case there is another attack like the one in January by the Dementors."
By the time he had finished speaking, the Great Hall was silent. Most of the students and teachers were remembering the cold, silent castle that had greeted them that first day back from the winter holiday. It was the day two of their number had gone missing, now back to teach them in this new class.
Harry nodded to the other three. They had decided that it would work best if they split three against one. He would be fighting the other three for the demonstration. A nod to Dumbledore signaled his readiness for their fight to begin.
"Tarantulla!" Draco's jelly legs jinx was first, but Harry sidestepped it neatly, throwing one right back at him. The blond man ducked as Marty tossed a fire hex and Aeryn threw three rapid-fire curses at Harry, starting a long and drawn out battle, lasting almost a full hour.
None of the four realized that their audience had long been on the edge of their seats. Ron sat next to Hermione, flinching every time he saw something head towards his best friend, and sighing in relief when he saw Harry counter it or get missed completely. Finally it was down to just Harry and Aeryn, Marty having been taken out by a misthrown curse of Draco's, and Draco not reacting quickly enough to a confounding charm that bounced off a shield of Harry's.
Ron winced as he saw that Harry had thrown a boil hex at Aeryn, remembering getting hit by it in fifth year when Neville didn't aim right at the dummies set up for that purpose.
"The Redux shield," Hermione whispered next to him when the hex didn't reach its target.
He turned to his friend. "What?"
Hermione looked at him. "She's been using the shield charm just as much as Harry. That's why she's still up there. But both of them are getting tired from using it so much."
Ron looked up again at the two left fighting and found that she was right. Harry and Aeryn were quickly becoming exhausted. The two of them were down to using some of the more basic curses and hexes - most of what they had learned in first and second year. Earlier all four of them had been using complex curses, mostly used by Aurors and Death Eaters. In fact, the curse that had knocked out Marty was one that had recently been discovered by the Ministry – it being a powerful pain curse. It was much like the Cruciatus curse, but it hadn't been declared illegal by the Ministry – at least not yet.
Harry and Aeryn shot the same curse at the same time, which met in the center of the demonstration circle and exploded in a series of sparks. Both nodded to each other and tucked away their wands.
Ron watched as Harry wiped the sweat off his brow as he turned towards the students and teachers, who had remained silent.
"The four of us," he nodded at the other three as Aeryn revived Draco and Marty, "wanted to give you a good idea of what could happen out there." Harry pointed out one of the windows of the Great Hall. "Sometimes it might be a little more even, but chances are you will never meet up with someone with the same skill as you. Your opponent might be better, or may be worse. We just want to give you the opportunity to make sure that you can handle the situation if it comes up."
Dumbledore clapped his hands a couple of times while nodding. Walking to the center of the circle, he looked out over the Great Hall. "I would like to encourage all of you to do your best in these classes. Times have grown darker in the past year, and while I hope that none of you will ever get to the point where you will need this information, it is better for all of you to learn how to defend yourself.
"The board of governors are the ones that put down the rules, and I would like to repeat that this class is not to be used to get revenge on a classmate that you think has done you wrong. Please make sure that you come prepared to your appointed class. New timetables will be handed out in the morning." Dumbledore dismissed the students and turned to the four that stood behind him. "Thank you for the demonstration," he said quietly as noise returned to the hall.
Harry smiled tiredly and shook his head, as he watched the students leave the Great Hall two hours later. "No problem. Although I think we're all going to sleep hard tonight."
Marty laughed as Draco mock-pouted. "Some of us more than others," she stared pointedly at Harry and Aeryn. "Since some of us won't be moaning over our mistakes."
Dumbledore chuckled as well. "There is a trick to that," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Turn it around so that it did go right and your opponent was in the wrong."
Harry frowned as Aeryn snorted. "No advice for us?"
The headmaster gave them a steady look. "Work harder."
Marty and Draco laughed as the other two's faces grew dark.
"Looks like you won't be sleeping as good as you thought," the blond man joked.
A scowl formed on Harry's face before it lightened into a smile. "Ok, Mister-I-Don't-Know-What-Hit-Me."
Dumbledore shook his head, exasperated, as the four young people continued to banter even as he left them alone in the Great Hall.
******
"Wow!"
Seamus' exclamation rang through the Gryffindor common room, still filled with most of the house. Several younger students nodded their heads in agreement, even as Ginny and Dean, as prefects, herded them up the stairs to their dorms.
Soon, only the seventh years were left in the large room. They were seated comfortably around the fireplace as they let everything they had seen in the demonstration digest for a little bit.
"Wow." Seamus' face was a shocked as his whisper. "I didn't know Harry could do that!"
Parvati and Lavender just looked at each other as Ron watched the others. Finally he turned to Hermione, who was sitting next to him on one of the long couches.
"What was that shield you were talking about when they were fighting?"
Hermione looked startled when she found everybody's attention on her. A faint blush crept across the bridge of her nose before she went into what Ron thought her 'teacher mode.'
"The Redux shield is one of the most powerful wandless charms a wizard or witch can use to protect themselves from most curses."
"Wandless?" Neville's question asked what the others were thinking.
Hermione nodded. "Yes. Wandless."
"When did Harry get to be so good at wandless magic?" Dean asked.
"Since fifth year," Ron answered. He hadn't liked the idea that Harry would learn something he would never master, but had realized that it would be for the best. At least, it was better for Harry to know it, especially if he had to go up against Voldemort when they had brother wands. "Most of the teachers have been teaching Harry wandless magic, since his wand and You-Know-Who's wands are brothers."
There was a look of astonishment on the other seventh years' faces, and it grew as Hermione continued with their original topic.
"The Redux shield was invented by Albus Dumbledore in the war against Grindelwald. It is primarily a combination of a number of counter-curses, mixed with the person's own energy. That is why both of them tired quickly after using it. Only about 1 person in a thousand can produce the shield."
Ron looked at her. "So, would that mean that Aeryn is as powerful as Harry?"
Hermione lifted an eyebrow. "Ron, all four of them used the shield during their duel. All four of them are as powerful as Professor Dumbledore."
"Whoa..." Neville's voice broke the silence.
Parvati made an odd sound and the others looked at her to find her trying to hold back laughter. "Yes, but can he dance?"
All of them broke out into laughter, each remembering Harry's poor attempts at dancing. Ron hoped that was still the same, because he really didn't want to see everything was changed about Harry. It wasn't very Gryffindor of him, but he was scared that he would lose his friend just because of what had happened. He may have been jealous (and definitely mad at him sometimes) for having everything good about magic swirl around him, but he had also always been afraid that Harry would die.
It all came down to the fact that he didn't want to lose his friend. Seven years had bonded them closer than he was to his brothers. They *were* brothers. And Ron was determined that *that* fact wouldn't change.
******
"Ready?"
Draco glared at Harry. "Since when did you vote yourself leader of our little group?"
Harry smirked at him. "Since I kicked your butt earlier tonight."
A chuckle erupted next to Draco, and he turned and glared at Marty. "See if I talk to you anymore!"
She just laughed a little more and winked suggestively at him. "You sure?"
Harry was the one to laugh this time as the blond man's cheek grew pink. He watched the two in front of him for a moment before noticing that Aeryn was next to him.
"Aeryn?"
"Coming!" Her voice came out from behind the door to the potions lab, half muffled by the almost closed door. "I wanted to make sure that this stuff wouldn't blow up," she continued saying as she entered the room. "I don't really want a replay of the other day. That stuff's awful to try to get out of your hair."
Draco smirked. "Must be why Snape's hair is so greasy."
Harry stifled his laughter when he found Aeryn didn't think it was funny. "What?" he asked her.
Aeryn didn't answer, but sent a glare at Draco. "And your hair wouldn't be like that if you spent all day around potions fumes? If the man would actually use a different potion...."
The other three hid their choked laughs as they turned. All four of them had decided this would be a good time to do some exploring, since most of the students wouldn't think of leaving their dorms on a Sunday night. Only a few, besides the prefects who were on duty, would be roaming the hallways and weren't enough to really be bothered with.
"Are you coming or not?" Aeryn asked from the other side of the door.
Harry looked up and smirked. "Our new leader!"
Aeryn glared at him and shifted before taking off down the hallway.
Draco looked at Marty. "That's our cue."
She nodded before shifting and following the other woman, Draco and Harry right behind her.