Chapter 4 – Torturing Harry
Harry Potter and the Valeru
By Lady Urquentha
PG – 13
Disclaimer: All characters belong to J. K Rowling, the exception being any OC characters that might wander in. The plot is my own, and even that may have been influenced by stories I have read in the past. Any resemblance to real events or places is entirely accidental. (E/N: In other words, anything that is in this story is made up by my dear friend Lady Urquentha. So if you think that she stole one of your ideas, take a hike cause she didn't. Ok that's all I wanted to say. Enjoy that story. It rocks!)
Tara
The answers to your questions are, yes, 9 and no. That means, yes he'll age about 9 years in total (between here and the other place I'm sending him. He'll age physically, but his internal organs won't be affected by those 9 years, meaning he won't have 9 years chopped off his life span. They might notice, they might not, depending what I do. I hope this answers all your questions. Actually, the spy gear idea comes from watching Spy Kids too many times with my brother.
YamiRose:DarkElementalGoddess
Thanks, I like the take on a bit of humor, it livens up reading the reviews. I love the name by the way.
Gohan00
Here you go.
Itty bitty evil ringy of doom
Interesting description. grin
Lady of Masbolle
Thanks, I'm glad you like the chapter. Emrys isn't exactly uncommon in fics, in fact it's used an awful lot, I'm told. So you don't need my permission. People use it all the time, although I only found that out a couple of days ago, when I read some stories with it. Anyway, you're free to use it as you like. Tell me when your story is up, and I'll read it.
Padfootlover719
There are two chapters of training, including this one. The next one is somewhere else, anyway. After that, it's back to the Dursleys and then to Hogwarts!! I plan to do flash-backs anyway. As for the pairings, well, you'll find out soon.
Annoymous - Concerned
No-one is stupid, it's just that Harry wasn't really paying attention in school. I know that Ron didn't either, but he would have had the benefit of being around magic all year round, and living with a wizarding family, so he'd pick up more stuff. Harry doesn't have anyone to give him examples, and he wasn't at his best during his OWLs was he? 'Sides, I like Ron.
Snuffles007
It wasn't meant to move the plot along that much, and it does kind of become essential to the story. I just moved some stuff from the fourth chapter to the third, and so it becomes a chapter in it's own right. I'm glad you like the dragon, I liked it too.
cute-kittycat-in-love
I'm glad you like the story, here's the fourth chapter.
Chapter 4
A year later...
Harry sat bolt upright in his bed, screaming. He was drenched from head to toe in ice-cold water, a smirking Carmen standing beside his bed. He stood up and glared at the girl.
"What was that for?" he demanded in mock anger.
"Well, you wouldn't wake up the normal way, so..." she grinned at him.
"We'll see how you like waking up, completely wet," he muttered spitefully. Carmen smirked again and waggled her finger,
"You've said that for the last twelve months, ever since the first bucket of ice water on you," she teased him, "and not once have I been woken up in the same way." Harry muttered a few curses under his breath, and Carmen laughed softly.
"I'll see you outside in five minutes, Aunt Ingrid's waiting for us," she told him, before hurrying outside.
Still scowling, Harry twirled his wand. Carmen had spent several days teaching him basic cleaning spells such as the one he used now, to clean himself without going into the shower. He followed this up with a spell to make the bed, and then went to change.
Exactly five minutes after Carmen left, Harry stepped out of his room, dressed in a pair of white slacks and a matching white top with gold embroidery on the high collar. He'd soon learnt how to conjure good clothes, and his walk-in wardrobe was now filled with robes and muggle clothes of all descriptions. He wasn't required to wear his uniform normally, only when it was required that others see what he was. He had worn his newer wand-sheath on the inside of his right forearm though, with his wand loaded and ready. His sword, daggers, war-hammer, staff and other weapons were all strapped on his waist and back.
He found Carmen, Ingrid, Gregorio and about fourteen other men and woman in the common room.
"Ah, Harry," Gregorio said, "these are your teachers." Harry nodded, scanning the group intently. The first one, standing near Ingrid, was a well built man of about thirty, with dark brown hair and black eyes. Harry guessed this was the fencing teacher, due to his proximity to Ingrid, his fierce glare at Harry, and Carmen's faces at his back. The reactions of the other teachers ranged from awe and excitement, through indifference, to active dislike, though not to the same level as Donmensic.
"This is Donald Donmensic, who will be teaching you fencing and the art of using a sword," Gregorio confirmed Harry's guess, "and next to him is his wife, Isabella Donmensic, who will be teaching you Occulmancy, Leglimancy and any magic of the mind that you might have." A short, plump blonde woman smiled at him, warmly. Harry guessed that this was a case of opposites attract, as he couldn't think of two people more different.
"Joan Samuelson will be teaching you Archery, while Harold Samuelson will be teaching you knife-throwing," Gregorio continued, gesturing to a couple standing nearby, "hand-to-hand knife combat will be taught by Serenity Church." A tall brunette tossed her dark hair and gave him a broad smile.
"Staff fighting and unarmed combat will be taught by Georgia and Greorge Fresk, respectively," Ingrid continued, "you'll learn Dueling from Devin Roliem, and Transfiguration from his wife, Amalie. You'll learn both magical and muggle Healing from Sandrilene Toren, and Charms from Briar Toren. Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taught by Andrew Church as well. Herbology and Potions are Arabella and Daemon Sebastien's responsibility, while we will be teaching you wandless magic, appearance changing and elemental magic." Harry nodded to each of the teachers in turn.
"Most of your classes will be solo classes, Carmen will join you only for wandless magic, appearance changing, elemental magic, Occulmancy and Leglimancy classes. All the others will be separately," Gregorio informed him, "at least until you catch up with her in the other classes." Harry nodded, although he didn't relish being in a class with Donmensic by himself, there was no saying how much he'd be tortured in there.
"Classes will start today and now. Harry, you're going to fencing first, and Carmen, you're doing archery," Ingrid informed them. Harry gulped, but nodded his acceptance. Donmensic glared at him, and then turned on his heel to storm off towards the training grounds. Harry hurried after him, mentally preparing himself for his first lesson.
Harry was led into the dueling room, and then Donmensic turned to face him.
"Right, Potter, lets see what you can do," he barked. Harry fumbled to draw his sword, as his teacher's sword appeared in his hand like lightning. At last Harry managed to get the blade up, although his arms were already screaming from the effort. This blade was awkward, although not all that heavy, he assumed it was enchanted to match his strength. Donmensic lunged at him, thrusting directly at his heart. Harry swung the sword clumsily, trying to knock it aside. A flick of his teacher's wrists dodged the awkward sword, and it arrived directly in front of his heart. The man sneered,
"You can't even hold a sword properly," he drawled, "you're worthless and weak!" Harry felt his temper rising, how was he supposed to defend himself when he'd never held a sword other then in his second year against the baslisk? With a titan effort, he kept his temper and didn't respond to the jibe. Donmensic looked almost disappointed, before he withdraw his sword.
Donmensic lunged at him again trying to stab Harry in the shoulder. Prepared this time and a bit wiser to his strengths and weakensses, Harry rolled aside. He may not be good at fencing but evasion was his best quality in battle, as he'd always known. Donmensic's next slash was stronger, and Harry dropped to the floor, his blade slipping from his hand as he went. He scrambled to his feet only to have to dodge again as Donmensic bore unbendingly down on him. Each time Donmensic's blade flashed, he avoided it. Even when he was exhausted and ready to drop after only ten minutes of constant dodging, he kept on evading.
Wearying, Harry dropped to the floor as the blade passed over his head. As he returned to his feet, he noticed the sword nearby. On his next dodge, he rolled in that direction and picked it up, thinking that now that Donmensic had seen his dodging skills, he could at least try to fight back. He wasn't about to let himself be intimidated.
His next attempt at blocking achieved it's purpose in knocking aside the attacking blade, although it was as far away from elegant and smooth as was possible. But his arms were already exhausted, he'd never had much upper-body strength, and the training he'd done over the past year had increased his speed and stamina, not his upper-body strength.
Donmensic growled low in his throat, angrily. He hadn't thought that Harry would hold up so well against him. Two more strikes were blocked, but then Harry failed. His sword fell from weak fingers, and Harry dived aside as another blow came, one that would have cut his head off if he hadn't dodged.
He struggled weakly to his feet, determined not to show any weakness to Donmensic. He looked up into his teacher's face, which showed only fury, anger and determination. Harry gulped, this did not bode well for his prospective life-span. The next thrust hit it's target, Harry's shoulder. Harry gasped as the cold metal bit deeply into the muscle and flesh, and then the pain started as blood poured freely from the wound.
Donmensic whipped his sword back and cut down at him again. This time, it slashed through the skin and muscles on his lower forearm of the other arm. Harry was starting to feel faint from blood loss, but Donmensic showed no signs that he was even aware that Harry was injured. Determined not to show weakness by telling him, Harry gritted his teeth and bore the pain silently, endeavoring to dodge and avoid each blow.
Many of the passes went wide, but a number managed to land. Within five minutes, Harry had lost the use of one arm completely, and his other arm was weaker. His upper-body was lacerated with bloody cuts, and he was growing slower and slower, weaker and weaker with each passing second. Harry's eyes widened in fear as the sword descended in an arc towards him. He threw himself to the side, but not quick enough. The blade cut deeply through the side of his leg, revealing the bone inside. As fresh blood poured from it, Harry was overcome by the pain, and collapsed to the floor.
Through blurred vision, Harry saw Donmensic drop his sword, and kneel at his side. He heard his gasp of horror, and then dropped away into darkness.
CHANGE OF POV
"Carmen!" Joan Samuelson exclaimed, as Carmen swayed on her feet. She felt faint and weak, although she didn't remember getting hurt. She sat down with a thump on the floor, feeling ill.
"Are you alright?" Joan exclaimed.
"I feel weak," Carmen murmured, "and dizzy." She felt expert hands check her for injury,
"you're not injured. Come on, I'll take you to the hospital wing." As her eyes shut, she felt a wave of nausea wash over her. She valiantly held it in, as she was levitated into the air. She fought to stay conscious, unaware of her surroundings and what was happening.
Suddenly, coolness penetrated her skin and body, spreading outwards from her head. She found the dizziness vanishing, soon followed by the nausea and weakness. She opened her eyes to find herself lying on a bed and looking up into her Aunt's worried eyes. It was her hand that was on her forehead, and she could feel the healing and coolness emanating from her.
"What happened?" Ingrid asked. Carmen shrugged,
"I don't know. I just suddenly felt ill and weak, like I was losing blood quickly," she answered honestly, before it suddenly dawned on her, "Harry!" She leaped from the bed, Ingrid's hand falling away. She stood still for a moment, fighting back the nausea and weakness that swept over her without Ingrid's hand there. Ingrid gasped, realizing what Carmen meant.
"What?" Joan asked.
"Harry," Carmen answered, as she hurried off unsteadily, "he's the reason I feel so weak." Ingrid ran out of the Wing, hurrying towards the Dueling Room.
Carmen was the first to burst into the Dueling Room, and spot Harry lying on the floor, covered in blood. Donmensic was kneeling at his side, trying to heal him. Carmen gasped, feeling green, and the contents of her stomach were soon on the floor. Ingrid was only seconds behind her. The moment she entered, she saw the boy lying on the floor, and was at his side in a flash.
Carmen was feeling slightly better now, and could concentrate on what was happening in front of her.
"...could you be so careless, Donmensic!" Ingrid was shouting. Carmen winced, her aunt only used last names when she was angry or upset.
"There's no way you didn't notice what you did to the boy," Ingrid spat.
"Um...Aunt Ingrid, shouldn't be get Harry to the Hospital Wing before you yell at him?" Carmen asked, tentatively. Interrupting Ingrid Cortez was never a good idea. Ingrid spared her only a glance, before nodding, and casting a couple of basic healing charms to stop the blood flow. She gently levitated the boy, and guided his prone body out of the room.
Carmen hurried along behind them, shooting glares at Donmensic in between fits of retching. The smell of blood combined with the nausea made her continually throw up. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and then the nausea went away again. Turning around, she found her uncle standing beside her, protecting her from the illness. She knew he'd used Occulmancy to protect her mind against recognizing the illness as a real illness.
The nurse was bustling around Harry by the time Carmen got to the Wing. Ingrid had brought Donmensic out into the corridor, and was shouting.
"You nearly killed the boy, Donmensic," she snarled, "if Carmen hadn't felt his pain, we might not have known until it was too late." Donmensic opened his mouth, but was cut off by Gregorio,
"if nothing else, you should have gotten help or called for one of us," he said quietly, his voice laced with disappointment and sadness, "that's why we have the connections, so that we can aid each other."
"The amount of blood he lost could have been fatal," Ingrid continued, "you could have killed a sixteen-year-old boy out of hatred of his fame." Carmen stepped away from Gregorio, as Harry was healed. She no longer felt ill, the healing done on Harry was enough to prevent it from leaking over.
"If you can not keep your personal thoughts and feelings to yourself and no let them influence your teaching, however wrong they may be, then you are not fit to be a teacher," Gregorio turned and walked into the wing. Ingrid looked at him with deep disappointment,
"I didn't know that you would go as far as to attack a boy on his first fencing lesson." Donmensic opened his mouth, but was silenced by Ingrid,
"I don't want to hear it. We'll talk about further arrangements later. You may leave." She turned and walked into the wing. Carmen watched Donmensic's shoulders droop, and then he left the ward. That last part had hurt him the most no doubt, hearing that from the woman that he fancied.
Carmen entered the wing again, and watched. Harry looked so pale and weak, lying there. He was sleeping, his wounds healed and his leg bandaged. Ingrid was seated at Harry's bedside, watching him. Gregorio stood behind his wife, his hands on her shoulders. Carmen slowly approached the bed, and perched on the edge of it. She looked down at the pale face, and felt worry constrict her heart. She was somewhat startled at that revelation of her emotions. She was fond of Harry, very fond, she now knew. Before, she'd been his friend, and she'd liked him as a friend. Now, she wasn't quite sure. She was his friend, yes, but there was something more as well. Something close to the affection she felt for her aunt and uncle. Her gaze traveled up to her family. Ingrid had worry and sadness creased into every line of her forehead and young face, and Carmen could see the tears clouding her eyes. Carmen was somewhat surprised that her aunt, the one that could normally control her emotions, felt such deep affection for the boy, and that she would let it show. Gregorio's face also displayed worry, but also confidence that Harry would pull through it. Carmen smiled wryly as she brought her attention back to the boy on the bed. Without her meaning to, her hand drifted to settle lightly on his leg.
"Come, Ingrid, we need to go," Gregorio murmured softly. Ingrid nodded, and paused. She leant over and pressed her lips lightly to his forehead, before standing and quickly leaving the wing. Carmen stared after her normally calm and unruffled aunt, mouth open slightly in amazement. Gregorio took one last look at Harry, before turning and walking out of the wing, after his wife.
After a few moments, Carmen took the seat beside Harry's bed. She saw the empty goblet beside his bed, and realized he'd been given a sleeping potion to help his body recuperate from the shock. She looked down at him for a moment, a wry smile on her face. He seemed to have the worst experiences possible, between Voldemort and his teachers. She'd learnt all about his first five years at Hogwarts, each year with more then one experience he'd have preferred not to have.
Harry's eyes slowly opened, and then they snapped shut again as the light hit them. He groaned, as he carefully opened them again, and sat up. He was in the Hospital wing of the Time Wing. He sent his thoughts back through time, trying to remember why he was in there. The memories hit him in a flash, the fencing lesson...Donald Donmensic...the pain. Harry shuddered at the memory, and looked down, to find himself completely healed. The nurse was by his sides moments after he awoke,
"Well, Lord Gryffindor, you certainly landed yourself in danger this time," she remarked, "you were out for four hours. Lady Cortez asked me to inform you that you have the rest of the day off from lessons to recover fully." Harry smiled up at her,
"I'm fine, can I go?" The nurse frowned at him,
"Let me check you once more." She waved her wand, and a white light scanned his body.
"You're fine, you can go," she looked at him sternly, "but if you feel any pain, stiffness or aches, you come straight back here!"
"Yes, ma'am," Harry agreed, eager to get out. The moment she stood back, he hopped out of the bed and rushed out of the wing.
He hurried back into his room, determined to read up on the different weapons. He wasn't going to let anyone catch him off guard again. As he thought about what had happened, he felt anger surge within him. Even Snape had never gone as far as to hurt him that badly. The worst he'd gotten from Snape was a detention and loss of house points, neither of which were as bad as being cut to ribbons. As he told the bookcase what he wanted, he suddenly realized how strange and unlike him this was. He was starting to rely on the bookcase as much as Hermione had, he'd never gone straight from the Hospital Wing to reading. But this time he had a reason, it'd prevent him from being ripped to shreds again. Harry picked up the first book, 'A Guide to Fencing; For Beginners'. He settled down on the couch to read.
Harry looked up, grinning, as the door opened and Carmen stepped in. She smiled at him,
"Hi, Harry."
"Hi," he returned, setting the book aside.
"I'm sorry about Donmensic, I'd have said something if I thought he'd do that," she burst out, unable to keep it in anymore. Harry blinked at her,
"It wasn't your fault," he reminded her, "you did warn me that he wasn't very nice, and I already knew he didn't like me."
"How?" Carmen demanded.
"When I awoke the first day, it was to Ingrid arguing with him about whether I should be there or not," Harry explained, "besides, I'm fine now. Can we drop the subject, please." Carmen sat down beside him on the couch,
"Okay. So, what are you reading?" Harry showed her the title.
"A fencing book?" she asked him, "you can't learn fencing from a book, you know."
"I know, but it could give me a few pointers to keep me from embarrassing myself like that again," he told her. She nodded slowly,
"true. But you'd need practice more then anything else," she pointed out, "and, none of the other teachers will be this bad. Most of them will be easy on you, for the moment at any rate." Harry smiled,
"I've got seven years to master everything I can," he told her, "I'll need all the help I can get."
"Well, if you get your sword, I'll show you a few basic stances," Carmen offered, "not more then that, because you should take it easy today, but it'll get you started. You don't have him for another two days, so if we practice hard at night, you might be able to hold the sword properly by the next class." Harry nodded eagerly,
"there are potions we can take that will effectively give us a full nights rest in one hour, right? We can use those."
"They're addictive and dangerous," Carmen protested.
"It's only until I can survive a class without being killed," Harry told her.
"It takes only two months of use each night before we're addicted," Carmen reminded him, "it'll take more then two months before you can survive against Donmensic." Harry shrugged,
"so we do five weeks of use, one week of no use. We'll be fine. If I need to, I'll do it by myself," he threatened.
"Alright, alright," Carmen grumbled, "I'll do it. But you're taking the responsibility."
"Sure," Harry agreed eagerly, "I'll get started on the potion tonight."
A/N: There, Chapter 4 is finished. I hope you like this, and please, please review! I think the bit at the end was a nice twist, that'll come in handy later. My Editor doesn't like this part, but I over-ruled her. evil grin (E/N: Ok I just think that Harry would be more responsible after everything that he's been through. But the writer is does write the story so I can have and opinion but she might not do it (pouts it's not faaaaiiiirr! sobbing and pounding the floor coughs ignore everything I just did sheapish laughter and the story will be good either way.)