CHAPTER IX
Following Snape, Harry was led back to the training area. At first it looked like a regular room. There was only one difference; the walls, floor and ceiling were all spelled soft. That way if you were thrown back into the wall, it would not hurt you. The two went to stand in the middle of the room.
"Okay, now what is the last spell that you learned?" Snape asked.
"The summoning spell Accio" Harry stated.
"Okay you have much to learn. You have mastered a sixth year spell but you do not know anything from fifth. "So," (with the flick of a wand and mumble of words Snape handed Harry a book). "Fifth year defense." Snape said.
"Oh wow, great." Harry said.
"Yes, yes, I want you to read as much of that as you can before training tomorrow. There is a library upstairs if you need help. If that does not help, I will be in my lab. Now get going." He growled.
Harry headed back to his room. Perhaps it would not be so bad, living here that is. Out of school when he is not pressured to act like a complete ass for the Slytherin kids, (deatheater) Snape was not such a bad person, a little moody, but then again, so am I these days.
Harry thought entering his room. He slouch on the bed while opening the fifth year defense book. A simple shielding spell was first. Reading the contents of the description paragraph for the shield Harry mimicked the wand movements and murmured the words. After several minutes he stood up to try. A swish and flick and a protectum later, there was a shield of pearly luminescence surrounding his body.
The shield however would only protect against simple spells. Even a jelly legs jinx would break this shield. Siting down Harry flipped the page, next was an intermediate level shield, the most commonly used. Again studying and mimicking the movements Harry tried the second, levos. This spell would protect spells up to the Crucio and Imperius curses.
The rest of the day continued in the same manor until lunch. Getting to the dining area was difficult enough, eating and having polite conversation with your most dreaded professor (except perhaps Trelawny) were another thing. Harry sat at the opposite of Snape, taking a sandwich of ham and cheese onto his plat. A question had been gnawing its way into his head as he had walked down here.
"Um, professor, can I ask something?" Harry asked timidly. The newness of the situation had passed some time this morning and Harry felt as if he were in school again.
Almost as if Snape had read his mind, he answered. "Listen, we aren't in school right no, so technically I'm not your teacher, you may speak when you wish." Snape replied without ever looking up from the sandwich he was working on.
"Well, the book you gave me started out with shields, and it got me to thinking."
"Your brain actually produced a thought? I am thoroughly shocked." Snape replied. His sarcasm and good nature in the statement had indeed shocked Harry.
"Uh, well, I know there are shields that are more advanced than the levos spell, ones that will hold up longer under an attack. But I also know that the extent to which it protects is limited to the Crucio and Imperius. But if I survived them there must be a stronger spell, one that will hold up against the killing curse, right?" Harry said.
"Because I didn't have my wand when he tried to do me in the first time, I must have unconsciously tapped into the stored power and erected a shield. Not a strong one since I did not know what I was doing, obviously, but enough to stop the curse. So if I can tap into those powers and learn how to use them after my birthday, then I may be able to invent a shield powerful enough to rebound the killing curse. So, do you think it would work?" Harry asked.
"Well the problem with that is that when you were attacked you didn't erect a shield of any sort. A child's body cannot hold the amount of power that you have, so you were constantly giving off raw energy. The only reason that the curse backfired was because it could not get through the raw energy that surrounded you. And even if you were able to come up with a shield powerful enough to stop the Avada Kedavra curse, you and Dumbeldore are perhaps the only ones powerful enough to use it." Snape explained.
"In theory it would work, but until you have come into your power, we won't know. Now, how far into the book have you gotten?" Snape asked.
"Most of it is complete rubbish if I may say so. Hardly any of the spells in there would be helpful in a battle. The shields are useful but I do not believe that knowing how to defend oneself from unfriendly pixies will help me defeat Voldemort."
"You are correct, I wanted you to read over the different shields. The point is that you will get nowhere with a defensive outlook. You must go in on the offensive to take him down, the longer you must defend yourself, the more worn out you will become, with a less likely chance of surviving." Snape explained.
Following Snape, Harry was led back to the training area. At first it looked like a regular room. There was only one difference; the walls, floor and ceiling were all spelled soft. That way if you were thrown back into the wall, it would not hurt you. The two went to stand in the middle of the room.
"Okay, now what is the last spell that you learned?" Snape asked.
"The summoning spell Accio" Harry stated.
"Okay you have much to learn. You have mastered a sixth year spell but you do not know anything from fifth. "So," (with the flick of a wand and mumble of words Snape handed Harry a book). "Fifth year defense." Snape said.
"Oh wow, great." Harry said.
"Yes, yes, I want you to read as much of that as you can before training tomorrow. There is a library upstairs if you need help. If that does not help, I will be in my lab. Now get going." He growled.
Harry headed back to his room. Perhaps it would not be so bad, living here that is. Out of school when he is not pressured to act like a complete ass for the Slytherin kids, (deatheater) Snape was not such a bad person, a little moody, but then again, so am I these days.
Harry thought entering his room. He slouch on the bed while opening the fifth year defense book. A simple shielding spell was first. Reading the contents of the description paragraph for the shield Harry mimicked the wand movements and murmured the words. After several minutes he stood up to try. A swish and flick and a protectum later, there was a shield of pearly luminescence surrounding his body.
The shield however would only protect against simple spells. Even a jelly legs jinx would break this shield. Siting down Harry flipped the page, next was an intermediate level shield, the most commonly used. Again studying and mimicking the movements Harry tried the second, levos. This spell would protect spells up to the Crucio and Imperius curses.
The rest of the day continued in the same manor until lunch. Getting to the dining area was difficult enough, eating and having polite conversation with your most dreaded professor (except perhaps Trelawny) were another thing. Harry sat at the opposite of Snape, taking a sandwich of ham and cheese onto his plat. A question had been gnawing its way into his head as he had walked down here.
"Um, professor, can I ask something?" Harry asked timidly. The newness of the situation had passed some time this morning and Harry felt as if he were in school again.
Almost as if Snape had read his mind, he answered. "Listen, we aren't in school right no, so technically I'm not your teacher, you may speak when you wish." Snape replied without ever looking up from the sandwich he was working on.
"Well, the book you gave me started out with shields, and it got me to thinking."
"Your brain actually produced a thought? I am thoroughly shocked." Snape replied. His sarcasm and good nature in the statement had indeed shocked Harry.
"Uh, well, I know there are shields that are more advanced than the levos spell, ones that will hold up longer under an attack. But I also know that the extent to which it protects is limited to the Crucio and Imperius. But if I survived them there must be a stronger spell, one that will hold up against the killing curse, right?" Harry said.
"Because I didn't have my wand when he tried to do me in the first time, I must have unconsciously tapped into the stored power and erected a shield. Not a strong one since I did not know what I was doing, obviously, but enough to stop the curse. So if I can tap into those powers and learn how to use them after my birthday, then I may be able to invent a shield powerful enough to rebound the killing curse. So, do you think it would work?" Harry asked.
"Well the problem with that is that when you were attacked you didn't erect a shield of any sort. A child's body cannot hold the amount of power that you have, so you were constantly giving off raw energy. The only reason that the curse backfired was because it could not get through the raw energy that surrounded you. And even if you were able to come up with a shield powerful enough to stop the Avada Kedavra curse, you and Dumbeldore are perhaps the only ones powerful enough to use it." Snape explained.
"In theory it would work, but until you have come into your power, we won't know. Now, how far into the book have you gotten?" Snape asked.
"Most of it is complete rubbish if I may say so. Hardly any of the spells in there would be helpful in a battle. The shields are useful but I do not believe that knowing how to defend oneself from unfriendly pixies will help me defeat Voldemort."
"You are correct, I wanted you to read over the different shields. The point is that you will get nowhere with a defensive outlook. You must go in on the offensive to take him down, the longer you must defend yourself, the more worn out you will become, with a less likely chance of surviving." Snape explained.
