Chapter 15 – The Training Room

Harry lied in his bed, replaying Ginny's words over and over in his mind: Who said I did? Her voice echoed in his head as her brown eyes swam in front of him teasingly. She couldn't have been serious, Harry told himself, she's dating Dean. She can play a joke as well as Fred and George. She was joking. She had to be.

Harry had fallen asleep with this thought in his mind. When he woke the next morning, he felt confident that Ginny had indeed been joking, and was reassured shortly thereafter upon seeing Dean and Ginny walk hand-in-hand into the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry smiled a good morning to them both and mentally acknowledged Ginny for a joke well played.

Harry was sitting at the long Gryffindor table across from Ron and Hermione. A voice startled him from his thoughts.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter."

Harry turned around and saw Professor Pandoran standing behind him.

"Morning, Professor."

"If you are able, I would like to meet with you tonight. Are you free?" Professor Pandoran asked.

Harry nodded. "Yes. Mr. Brooks told me last night that you wanted to see me."

Professor Pandoran inclined her head. "Excellent. Can you meet me at seven o'clock?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Good. Meet me in my office, and we'll move to the training room from there," Professor Pandoran replied.

Harry stared at the retreating back of Professor Pandoran, wondering what kind of work they'd be doing that night.

Hermione leaned forward, her eyebrows arched. "There's a training room, Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. Pandoran hasn't really talked to me about the actual training yet. So far, I'm as much in the dark as you."

Harry pulled on his trainers and glanced at the clock beside his bed. 6:55 P.M.. He stuffed his wand in his pocket and ran down the stairs two at a time.

He waved hastily in the direction he knew Ron and Hermione to be, and crossed the common room quickly. He was a few feet away from the portrait hole when he heard someone call his name. He spun around and saw Parvati walking towards him.

Harry smiled. "Hi, Parvati."

"Hi," she said, her eyes twinkling. "Where are you rushing off to?"

"I have to meet Professor Pandoran."

Parvati's forehead wrinkled as her eyebrows came together. "Why?"

Harry shifted on his feet. In all of the conversations he had had with Parvati that week, he had not told her of his work with their professor. He didn't think now was the time either. He shrugged his shoulders. "She's asked for my help with something."

Parvati raised an eyebrow. "Being mysterious, are you?" she said grinning. "Oh well. I was just going to ask you if you wanted to work together on that Potions homework, but I guess you're busy."

Harry looked at Parvati and saw her disappointment. He frowned. "Yeah, sorry." He shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling extremely awkward. He cleared his throat. "We could get together this weekend to work on it. It's not due until Monday."

Parvati's face brightened and a smile spread across her face. "Okay," she said shyly.

Harry grinned as he looked into her upturned face. "So, I'll see you tomorrow in class?"

Parvati nodded. "Tomorrow."

Harry planted a kiss on Parvati's cheek, then turned and went through the portrait hole, leaving a very rosy-cheeked Parvati behind.

Professor Pandoran was waiting for Harry outside of her office when Harry arrived. She smiled at Harry. "Follow me, Mr. Potter."

Harry followed Professor Pandoran in silence. She, however, talked non-stop as they walked.

"We'll be breaking in the training room tonight. We've been working on it for quite some time. Dumbledore had all of the professors contributing their time and skills. Even had them give up some of their summer holidays. I expect a few of them may show up tonight to see their hard work in action. I don't know if I've seen anyone as excited as Professor Flitwick. He's quite mad, actually. I imagine McGonagall and Snape will make an appearance as well. Ah yes, look. There they are waiting for us."

Harry and Professor Pandoran arrived at the end of a long corridor on the main floor. They had passed the classroom that was transformed last year to accommodate Firenze, a centaur, who had taken over the post of Divination teacher. They had continued past Firenze's classroom, to the very end of the corridor. Harry saw Professors Flitwick, McGonagall, Snape and Dumbledore standing outside of a dark, tall, oak door.

"Good evening," Professor Dumbledore said, bowing his head to Harry and Professor Pandoran. "As you can see, we're a little anxious."

Professor Pandoran bowed her head to the four professors. "I was just telling Mr. Potter that we might expect you. Shall we go in?"

Professor Dumbledore held his hand out and stepped aside, allowing Professor Pandoran to approach the door. She took out her wand, whispered a quick succession of incantations under her breath, and then tapped the door lightly with her wand. The door clicked open, and the group of professors and Harry stepped inside. The door swung closed behind them with a soft click.

Harry scanned the room and raised his eyebrows. The room was rather … unremarkable. It was nearly empty, except for a stretch of cabinets along one wall. The marble floors and walls were gleaming brightly, reflecting the lights from the torches on the wall. Harry stared at the room, wondering why it took a collection of professors hours of their time to prepare, as far as Harry could tell, a completely empty room. The only remarkable thing about the room was its size; it was at least five times the size of the Great Hall.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I'll need to explain a few things to you," Professor Pandoran said. She turned to Dumbledore, "I hope you don't mind waiting a few moments longer?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Not at all."

Professor Pandoran smiled. "Very well. Shall I make it a bit more comfortable? I prefer the outdoors myself."

Professor Pandoran flicked her wand and said, "Grounds, number four."

Harry blinked his eyes hard, sure that he had to be imagining things. He suddenly found himself in the Hogwarts grounds, near the beech tree beside the lake. He felt a warm breeze on his face as he stared at the orange sun setting behind the mountains. Harry whipped his head around in all directions. Was he suddenly outside? But he couldn't be. The warmth of the setting sun was more indicative of a summer evening. Harry knew that September evenings were much cooler, and the sun should be much lower on the horizon, if not completely set.

Professor Flitwick startled Harry from his confusion by clapping his hands excitedly. Professor Flitwick was bouncing on his feet. "Excellent! Simply marvelous! Perfect!"

"Ah, this is one of my favourites, Medusa," Professor Dumbledore replied, sighing. He turned to Snape, McGonagall, and Flitwick. "Let's give Medusa and Harry some time. The shade of that beech tree is calling me."

Professor Dumbledore winked at the stunned Harry, and then led Snape, Flitwick and McGonagall toward the beech tree. Harry watched as Dumbledore conjured four reclining lawn chairs under the tree.

Harry turned to Professor Pandoran, his mouth hanging open. He had so many questions that he did not know where to begin.

Pandoran smiled at Harry. She conjured two chairs and indicated for Harry to have a seat. Harry moved robotically to the chair, still too confused to speak.

"Welcome to the training room, Mr. Potter," Professor Pandoran said smiling.

Harry raised his eyebrows and cleared his throat. "So … we are still in the castle?"

Pandoran nodded and glanced around. "Yes. I think I'll start my explanation from the very beginning."

Harry stared at Professor Pandoran, waiting.

"When the idea was first put forward about a battle training course at Hogwarts, there were quite a few people opposed to it. However, the Ministry was adamant. Their fear of what our future holds had them believing that everyone will be involved in this war. As a result, the Ministry decided that the wizarding world must prepare its youth for the struggles they will face in the not too distant future."

"Professor Dumbledore insisted that if there were to be a training course in his school, it had to be realistic. He wanted the students to have an authentic experience that would prepare them for real battle. That is how this room came to be."

Harry looked around, thinking that this peaceful setting was the last thing that made him think of battle training.

Harry returned his gaze to Professor Pandoran and realized she had been watching him. She smiled at him sadly.

"It is not very often that we know when and where an attack is going to occur. It could happen anywhere, any time. Even on a warm summer evening. Because of this, we are going to provide the students with a multitude of experiences, so they may be prepared for an attack under any conditions."

"We've developed a variety of settings for the training room, Mr. Potter. This setting is but one among dozens."

Harry stared at Professor Pandoran, trying to absorb everything she was saying.

She surveyed Harry. "Perhaps it would be best to show you." She turned and called to the four professors lounging under the beech tree. "May I interrupt you? I'd like to illustrate to Mr. Potter the wonders of this room."

Professor Flitwick squeaked and jumped out of his chair. Dumbledore and McGonagall rose and smiled at Flitwick. Snape scowled.

"By all means, Medusa," Professor Dumbledore said, his eyes sparkling.

Professor Pandoran and Harry rose from their chairs. Professor Pandoran flicked her wand, causing the two chairs to disappear. She then turned to Harry. "I'll just go through several of the settings so you can get an idea of our options. Are you ready?"

Harry nodded, still quite unsure what to expect.

Professor Pandoran flicked her wand as she said, "Hogsmeade, number one."

In a blink of an eye, Harry found himself in front of the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. He stared, open-mouthed at the accuracy of every light post, storefront, window, tree and crack in the sidewalk.

"Classroom, one," Professor Pandoran said flicking her wand. Harry was now in Professor McGonagall's classroom.

Flick. Professor Pandoran's classroom.

Flick. The Great Hall.

Flick. Greenhouse Three.

Flick. Diagon Alley.

Flick. The Leaky Cauldron.

Flick. The Forbidden Forest.

Flick. The empty classroom.

Harry gaped as his surroundings were repeatedly changed. It was truly unbelievable.

"Each week, we'll use a different setting for training," Professor Pandoran explained, leaving the empty classroom around them. "We will train the students through obstacles and teach them to not only use their magical skills, but to learn how to use their surroundings as protection as well."

"Students will be grouped according to year. Fifth years will train on Tuesday evenings, sixth years – Wednesdays, and seventh years – Thursdays. Mr. Potter, your individual training will be on Mondays."

Harry nodded.

"The training will be two hours long. The first thirty minutes will be a classroom session in which students will review and learn a variety of jinxes, hexes and spells. The next half-hour will be physical training. A battle will require more than wits and magical ability, therefore a physically fit body is necessary. After all, the difference between failure and success may simply be outrunning the opponent."

"The final hour will see this room put to the test. Students will be randomly divided into two groups at the beginning of each session. The two groups will battle each other in one of these settings. You, Mr. Potter, will lead one of the groups, and I will lead the other.

"Now, obviously, we can't have students being injured in this process. As a result, Professor Snape has developed a potion that will act as an invisible shield. The spells will still hit the students, but the shield will absorb the spell leaving the student fallen, but unharmed."

Harry swallowed and glanced at Professor Snape. Memories of Harry's first Potions class this year made Harry very hesitant to drink any more potions from Snape.

"Shall we demonstrate, Professor Snape?" Professor Pandoran asked.

Snape nodded curtly and strode to the stretch of cabinets along the wall. He reached in and grabbed a tray of flasks from the cupboard. Professor Pandoran reached for one of the flasks and drained the cherry-red liquid. Harry had to bite the insides of his cheeks to prevent himself from screaming for her not to drink it. Professor Pandoran shivered slightly, and then turned to face Snape.

"All right, Severus. What are you going to hit me with?" Professor Pandoran asked.

Harry wanted to protest. Not only was he uncomfortable with Snape jinxing anyone, but it seemed so wrong for this frail, elderly professor to place herself at the mercy of Snape. Furthermore, Harry could see no evidence of any kind of protective shield.

Snape eyed Professor Pandoran, then flicked his wand, "Stupefy!"

Horrified, Harry watched Professor Pandoran fall to the floor. He ran forward to the crumpled figure. Professor Pandoran was lying on her side with her eyes closed.

Professor Snape stepped next to Harry, pointed his wand at Professor Pandoran, and said, "Ennervate."

Professor Pandoran's eyes fluttered open. She smiled as her eyes focused on Harry, who was still leaning over her. "What an unusual sensation," she mused, as Harry helped her to her feet.

"You're okay, then?" Harry asked, looking worriedly at Professor Pandoran.

She smiled and patted Harry's cheek with her hand. "You worry too much, Mr. Potter. To ease your mind, why don't you give it a try?"

Harry looked hesitantly at the tray of flasks.

"Go on, Harry," Professor Dumbledore said.

Harry eyed the group of professors around him. Other than Snape, who was sneering, his professors were smiling at him encouragingly.

Harry picked up one of the flasks and downed the liquid. He felt a brief numbing sensation, and then felt … nothing. He turned to face Professor Pandoran, but was unexpectedly hit by a spell. He felt his body go rigid. Harry was sure he had been hit with a body-binding spell, but he thought he should feel different than this. Harry saw, rather than felt, his body falling backwards. His eyes, frozen open, watched as the wall met the ceiling, and then saw nothing but ceiling. He lay flat on his back, unable to move or speak. He felt as though he was floating in water, or that he was on a pillow of clouds, enveloped in a bubble that blocked out all sound. He watched as his professors leaned over him with amused looks on their faces. He then saw Dumbledore say the counter spell. Harry's body seemed to melt onto the ground as he regained his senses. He pushed himself up and grinned.

"That was really strange," he replied.

"Sorry I hit you when you weren't expecting it, Harry," Professor Dumbledore said smiling. "I wanted it to be realistic."

Harry grinned and nodded.

"Well then, professors. Shall we have a trial run?" Professor Pandoran asked.

Harry's eyebrows rose as he watched his professors nod enthusiastically.

"Very well," Professor Pandoran said. "Professor Dumbledore, I'll ask you to lead one team this evening, and I'll lead the other." She walked over to the cabinets and pulled out a small trunk. She tapped the lid with her wand and said, "Two."

The lid sprang open, revealing two badges: one red, one green. She picked up the green badge and pinned it to her robes. Instantly, her robes transformed into a set of jet-black robes with a green stripe down both sides. She tossed the red badge to Dumbledore, who pinned it on his robe, and grinned as he watched his blue robes turn black and a red stripe race down the sides.

Professor Pandoran closed the trunk. "All right, Snape, Flitwick, McGonagall and Potter. Come get your badges."

One by one, they opened the trunk and pulled out a badge. The trunk split them evenly between the two colours, transforming their robes and thus creating the two opposing teams. Dumbledore had Harry and Flitwick on his team, while Pandoran had Snape and McGonagall.

"Any requests for setting, Dumbledore?" Professor Pandoran asked.

Professor Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "How about my office?"

Pandoran smiled. "That gives you quite the advantage, but I think we're up to the challenge." She waved her wand and said, "Headmaster, one."

Dumbledore's office materialized in front of them. Harry noticed that Professor Pandoran and her team were not in the room. Dumbledore gathered Flitwick and Harry to his side. "All right team. Use whatever you need to avoid them. The space is small, but there are tables and chairs that can be used as barriers. If they can't see you, they can't hit you. Only take a shot when it's clear to. Wait … I think I hear them coming."

Harry heard a noise on the other side of Professor Dumbledore's office door. The door suddenly burst open, shattering into pieces. Harry briefly saw Snape, McGonagall and Pandoran before he dove behind Dumbledore's desk as a shower of spells fell around him.

Harry felt panic rising inside of him. The last time he was dodging spells was in the Department of Mysteries. The memories of watching his friends being hurt rushed through his mind. It was as though he were back there again: the taunting laugh of Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to echo around him, and the red slits that were Voldemort's eyes flashed in front of him. Then suddenly, all he could see was Sirius falling into the black veil. Harry could not move. He could not break his mind from his memories. Dumbledore's office was being destroyed around him, but Harry did not even notice. As far as he knew, he was in the depths of the Department of Mysteries, seeing Sirius for the last time. Sirius, who had come to help Harry, was falling over and over again. Harry squeezed his eyes shut. It was Voldemort's fault, not mine. If it wasn't for the prophecy …

Harry's eyes flew open as the words of the prophecy played in his mind. He had not allowed himself to think about the prophecy for some time now. But the reality of it now rained over him. He had to face Voldemort on his own. If he were going to succeed, he would have to be prepared. He could not let his memories get the better of him. That's what this room was for, not only to train the students, but to train the only one who could vanquish the Dark Lord. This room was for him, the Boy Who Lived.

Harry was not going to let it go to waste.

"Tell me again, Harry," Ron exclaimed gleefully. "Tell me how you took Snape down!"

Harry had hurried back to the Gryffindor common room exhilarated after his training session. He and his professors had battled hard. Harry's determination had paid off. After twenty minutes of battling, Harry had succeeded in taking down his first victim: none other than Professor Snape. Harry had recounted his evening to Ron, Ginny and Hermione, who had been pouring over their homework at a table in the common room.

"Honestly, Ron!" Hermione scolded. "Harry's told you three times already!"

Ron laughed. "I just can't believe it! What did Snape say after?"

Harry shrugged, still smiling. "He didn't' say anything. When he was revived, he just stood up and left the room without a word to anyone."

Ginny narrowed her eyes. "I can't believe him! Snape can't even acknowledge that you got him fair and square, Harry. He just can't stand to have his poor ego squashed. How pathetic."

"Ginny!" Hermione scolded. "You shouldn't talk about your professor that way!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, and then mumbled, "Sorry, Hermione."

Hermione was appeased. She turned to Harry, intrigued, "That room sounds fascinating, though. I can't even imagine the spells they would have done to create it. It must have taken ages.

Harry nodded. "It's really amazing."

"What was Professor Pandoran like in battle?" Ginny asked.

Harry smiled. "I didn't see her much, but from what I could tell, she is really talented. I would never have guessed that she could move that quickly. She and Dumbledore were quite a match. I was watching them when McGonagall got me."

Ron shook his head in disbelief. "It's so strange. You've been in battle against three of our professors, Harry. You could actually jinx them and not get in trouble for it. Ah, I can only dream …" Ron said, placing his hand over his heart.

"Ronald!" Hermione hissed.

Ron grinned at Hermione. "Oh, come on Hermione. You have to admit there's been times when you would have loved to hex Snape."

Hermione frowned at Ron and crossed her arms.

Ron leaned over and nudged her. "Come on, admit it. With your brains, I'm sure you've at least imagined trying out some brilliant spell you've read about."

Hermione blushed as a smile tugged at her lips. She turned to Ron, "Well, there is a spell or two I've thought of using on you."

Ron grinned as Harry and Ginny laughed. Harry caught Ron's eye and raised an eyebrow. Ron blushed and returned to his textbook in front of him.

Ginny examined the roll of parchment in front of her. "I'm willing to admit that after this essay McGonagall gave us, I've imagined trying my bat-bogey hex on her."

Ron and Hermione nodded sympathetically. Harry stared at his three best friends. He knew that they had been working for at least two hours and they didn't look to be anywhere near finished. He sighed and rose to get his school bag from his room. He was going to have a late night.