Chapter 12 - The Way of the Warrior
'No, No, Neville" Professor Bond said to the crumbled mess of arms and legs on the Dojo mat. "You have got to flow through the movements. Let them come naturally one after another."
Teaching Neville Longbottom martial arts was going to take every bit of skill Professor Bond possessed. Harry Potter, on the other hand, had picked it up so quickly over the summer, he was already approaching black belt level with less than two months intensive training. His classmates had sat in awe along the edge of the mat at the start of the class, watching Harry go through the kata, a series of fighting movements, with both grace and power. In fact, if Harry had a drawback, it was the fact that waves of magic tended to leak out a bit during his stronger moves. The air around him crackled with energy like a fireworks display lighting up the old dojo and glinting off the weapons displayed on its walls. For the students and their Professor where in a hall in the Hogwart's castle that none had known existed except Dumbledore. This was the Hall of Arms, the castle's armour and weapons training area, long unused in the peaceful years before Voldemort's rise to power. Branching off the main hall were many side rooms devoted to various aspects of the fighting arts. Harry and his friends where in the martial arts dojo. Here, under Professor Bond's expert guidance, they were being trained in a number of martial arts. Aikido, Karate, Kung fu, jujitsu, judo, and even boxing where all on the list of techniques to be studied, as well as, weapons training: knife, swords, staffs, spears, archery and even muggle firearms. Magic was not forgotten either. Professor Bond had enlisted the help of his fellow members of staff to teach the students various magical defence and offence skills and weapons.
Professor Bond's intent was simple. At the end of this course of study, his students would be able to defend themselves with anything at hand if they had too. His own training in these techniques had allowed him to survive many times. But before all this could be done, he had to start at the basics and Neville Longbottom was finding even this an insurmountable problem. He completely lacked the ability to maintain his focus on the task at hand.
"I'm sorry, Professor" Neville was almost a weeping point with the frustration at not being able to even do the most simple of moves without falling over his own two feet. "I'm really sorry. I am just no good at anything. I'm hopeless. I shouldn't be wasting your time."
"Neville, you are not wasting my time. Now pick yourself up off the floor." Professor Bond told Neville. Harry was taking Ron and Hermione through the first series of movements they had to learn at the far end of the large mat. Professor Bond was giving Neville some much-needed individual attention. "Sit on the mat over here, Neville. Now, see if you can fold your legs like this" Professor Bond said, demonstrating a basic lotus position. "Now I want you to relax while I tell you a story." Neville had a bit of trouble getting his legs like the Professors. He felt like a pretzel.
Professor Bond began his story, "Once there was a young boy. He had lost his parents and he was all alone in the world. His parents had worked for an organisation that had a great need of warriors and the boy found himself in their care. They tried to train him but he was hopeless, utterly hopeless. He couldn't do anything right." Professor Bond paused and held up his hand to stop Neville from interrupting, "No, I assure you, he was much, much worse than you. Then one day, a wise old sensa, that's a kind of teacher, took the boy aside and began to teach him something called Zen. To that young, confused, scared boy Zen mediation brought an inner peace to him even when he was surrounded by complete chaos and he began to do better, much, much better."
"You were that boy, weren't you Professor?" Neville replied.
"Yes, I was. Now I am going to teach you how to mediate, which is about relaxing and clearing your mind of all the fears and uncertainties. I think it could bring you the focus you need, as it did for me. Do you trust me to do this? Be honest, for it will not be easy." Professor Bond asked.
Neville searched himself. The more he got to know Professor Bond, the more he trusted him and he had a deep desire to be as self assured and confident as the Professor was, though he doubted such a thing was possible. "I do trust you Professor. I will try whatever you suggest."
"Good lets begin. Now Neville, I want you to close your eyes" Professor Bond said with a slow and relaxed voice. Neville closed his eyes and began to listen as the Professor continued, "Clear your mind. Put all thoughts out of it. Picture water in your mind's eye. Broad, slow flowing, crystal clear water; picture it peacefully flowing through your body. Let your shoulders relax. Let your arms grow heavy. Let the body relax naturally. Breath in, Breath out." Professor Bonds voice continued for some time, slow, calm, deep, relaxing. Soon Neville had reached a feeling of calm he had never known in his life.
"Stand up" Professor Bond said to the relaxed boy and Neville stood. "Now you know the movements, the kata. You don't need to think about them, just let the body act. Begin!"
Neville opened his eyes and began again the kata, the flowing movements of grace and power he had seen Harry perform. His friends stopped their practice and watched stunned as Neville Longbottom performed the movements flawlessly. Twisting, punching, high kicks, blocks. One movement flowed into the next. Finally Neville ended the kata by resuming the starting positions. His friends applauding brought the boy back to full realisation of what he had just done. Professor Bond stood there smiling.
"Did I just do that?" Neville asked him.
"Yes you did, and you did it perfectly." Professor Bond replied. "You still have a lot to learn but as you practice mediation you will develop your chi, your inner focus and that will serve you better than all the martial arts combined."
"Ummm… Can I try that kata again?" Neville asked keen to repeat the experience.
"OK but this time try to find the focus yourself. Just repeat the process. Relax, clear your mind, and then ACT!" Professor Bond said.
Neville took up the starting position again. He didn't care that his three friends were watching him intently. Something that even just a few minutes ago, would have greatly disturbed his concentration. No, now he hungered for the clarity that he had experienced for the first time in his life. He, at first, found it difficult to calm himself. He remembered Professor Bond's words from the last time and hearing them again within his own mind, he began to relax and then he was there. His body began the kata as if by itself. Move after move flowed together.
"Wow" remarked Ron. "Look at him go! He's almost as good as you are Harry."
"I think he's better actually. Neville is much more balanced in those high kicks. I always feel like I'm about to fall on my arse." Harry replied without any jealousy of his friend's newfound abilities.
All too soon for Neville Longbottom the lesson was over and the four students had changed back into their uniforms and left the Hall of Arms. Neville Longbottom was the last to leave and he looked back into the hall at the last second and a smile began to spread across his face that stayed there the rest of the day. Few of his fellow students had even seen Neville smile even briefly. The smile made him look like a whole different person. And little did anyone know that in fact was exactly true, for it was a very different Neville Longbottom that now walked the halls of Howarts.
"Longbottom! What have you got to smile about?" Professor Snape's deathly quiet but commanding voice hissed as the four students walked down a crowded hall, towards their next lesson.
"Everything, Professor, everything" a still smiling Neville Longbottom told his old nemesis.
Snape's eyebrows shot up so high in puzzlement, they threatened to jump off the top of his head. //This can't be Longbottom, the boy I cower with just a look?// Snape thought to himself.
Neville began to walk on, not waiting for the confounded Snape to reply but then he turned back and said, "Oh, and sorry about the soup!" and taking no heed of his three friends and all the other students in the hall, jaws hanging wide open in disbelief, Neville Longbottom turned and walked on to his next lesson in how to be a true warrior.
//I think it's going well for a first day.// Neville thought to himself happily.