Chapter 15 Boring Saturdays.
In the morning Shadow was awakened by Dumbledore and told that the headmaster would be escorting him to The Room of Requirements for the day. "Please dress in loose clothing under your robes that you will be comfortable being active in my boy." He was told before Dumbledore left his bedroom.
Shadow smiled as the thought of the way the headmaster had instructed him to dress. Loose comfortable clothing under robes. Like robes could ever be comfortable. Shadow dressed in a pair of sweats and some trainers and left the room sans robe. Dumbledore glanced at his dress and raised an eyebrow but didn't send him back for the robe. A small victory but a victory none the less.
Shadow entered the room of requirements and looked around with interest. It was almost like being outside. There was a grass covered track that looked to be about 1/8 mile around and an obstacle course set up in the middle of the track.
The room was occupied by a tall slender black man with an earring in his left ear. Well, so much for the 'preselected students as companions' that were supposed to be here. Maybe he got lucky and they all slept in today.
The man came over to greet Shadow "Harry, my name is Kingsley Shacklebolt and I've been asked to teach you self defense and martial arts of a muggle kind. To someone not use to this kind of training the disciplines necessary may seem strange and unusual. You will need to do physical exercise to build up your stamina and endurance so we will begin as soon as the others arrive by running. Because this is your first day we will only run one mile." With a quick smile Shacklebolt asked him if he had any questions. "Now will be the time to ask them if you do."
Shadow waged an internal debate with himself. Should he tell the man that he had some training or just let him find out the hard way? As tempting as it was to just wait and wipe the floor up with the man he decided to explain that his father had been training him in martial arts and weapon fighting for several years. After all, the man might be skilled enough to wipe the floor up with him instead of the other way around.
"Mr. Shacklebolt, my father…" The door flew open and twelve kids came trooping in, some of them complaining about the early hour two of them still had wet hair, four of them had red hair and four were two sets of twins. One of the sets of twins was red headed boys and the other two were dark skinned girls, the twin girls looked like they were from India. Shadow wondered idly if the redheads were all related. He studied the kids that Dumbles had selected to be his friends. At least two of them were stupid gits. Didn't they know that taking a shower before working out was a waste of time? He turned his attention back to Shacklebolt and listened to what the man was saying as he started doing some stretching exercises.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" Shacklebolt said. "As I was just explaining to Mr. Potter, in order to excel at martial arts and unarmed fighting you have to be physically fit. That means an exercise program must be instated and followed everyday. Today we will set up an exercise program designed specifically for each of you and I expect you to follow them without moaning, groaning or complaining. You were all selected by your Headmaster to participate in this program because he believes that each of you have the fortitude to finish what you start. We will begin with running for one mile then I will work with each of you individually to assess your physical fitness and where you need to put the most work at. Do you all understand?"
Everyone gave some sort of acknowledgement before they were told to make 8 complete laps on the track. All thirteen students and their instructor started running. By the end of the mile the only ones not huffing and puffing for air was Shadow and Shacklebolt. The kids threw themselves to the ground to rest except Shadow who wandered over to look over the obstacle course. It didn't look like it would cause him any problems because it was very similar to the one that he was use to at home. It was a little smaller but he guessed that allowances had to be made for the fact that this whole set up was inside.
Shacklebolt came over to him and asked him if he had run at home. "You seem like your in fairly good physical shape and you knew the stretching exercise I plan on teaching the rest of the children."
Shadow just nodded at the question and waved his hand to indicate the course. "That too. I was trying to tell you before the others showed up. I've done this for years. My father wanted to make sure that all of his kids could defend themselves. This looks like the one back home but it's smaller."
Shacklebolt smiled and said. "It's patterned after the one used in Auror training."
"That explains it then. My dad was an Auror a long time ago." Shadow said.
"Yes I know. I am surprised that you knew that though. Who told you? The Headmaster?" Shacklebolt asked.
Shadow looked puzzled for a moment then his face cleared. "My adopted father."
Shacklebolt nodded, "I understand now. What's his name? I know almost all the Auror's past and present."
"You wouldn't know him. We live in America so the two of you wouldn't have served together. Well, unless you lived in America too that is." Shadow said.
"Born and raised in England. All right, so you've done some of this before. Ever use a weapon?"
"I own a Katana and Wakizashi sword set. My father gave them to me on my 12th birthday. I started with dulled practice swords when I was 6 years old." Shadow explained. I've been doing martial arts since I was 4 years old."
"What type do you practice?" Shaclkebolt had never expected the kid to know anything. This had possibilities.
"Mostly Tang Soo and Hapkido but I also study Aikido and Kendo fighting." Shadow said.
"I'll be teaching you Kung Fu and Jujitsu. Our weapon style fighting is the same though. What belts do you hold?" This was getting good. If the kid had any real skill then he wouldn't have to hold back to much.
"Black in all the disciplines I study." Was the unexpected answer.
Nodding his head Shacklebolt held his hand out to be shook. "I misjudged you it seems. Let's start over if you don't mind. Hi, my name's Kingsley Shacklebolt and I'd like to spar with you."
Shadow laughed as he shook the offered hand. "My friends and family call me Shadow, short for Shadow Walker and I would love to spar with you provided you don't expect me to go easy on you"
The two had collected an audience as they talked. Kingsley told the other kids to back up so they wouldn't get hurt and when they had cleared a large enough area the two faced each other and bowed before dropping in a fighting stance. The other children formed a loose circle around the two and watched the action unfold. Kingsley tried an axe kick which Shadow caught and holding the foot that had tried to hit his collar bone he aimed a roundhouse kick to the side which connected with a dull thud sound. Kingsley lost his balance when the kick connected and fell to the side but before he could hit the ground he was hit with a sweep from the swiftly moving boy. Shadow finished the movement by bringing his other foot up and stomping down on Kingsley's neck. If Shadow would not have pulled back at the last second Kingsley would have been seriously injured or even killed. The whole thing had taken less than 30 seconds. Shadow held his hand down to help the man back to his feet.
Kingsley grabbed the hand and Shadow pulled when Kingsley was back on his feet he pulled the boy into a quick hug. "That was great. I don't know what your headmaster thinks I can teach you though. Do you do Chi exercises?'
"I know some. I also know how to dance." Shadow shrugged his shoulders "The two kinda go together don't they?"
With a quick nod Kingsley said. "Right, they do. If the rest of you people are finished gossiping about what you just saw then we can get to work. Shadow, will you take half of them and I'll take the other half and we'll see if we can't start whipping them into shape." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. After unfolding it he scanned it. "Right then. George, Blaise, Ginny, Dean, Padma and Ron with Shadow. The rest of you with me."
Shadow walked a short distance away from Shacklebolt with six of the kids following him. Three of the red haired and one of the girl twins, a black haired boy and a sandy haired boy.
The tallest of the red heads held out his hand to be shook, Shadow ignored the hand as he studied the others. He knew that the tall red head was called Ron and that he and the boy Dean were in Gryffindor. The boy Blaise was Slytherin and the twin Padma was in Ravenclaw but the male twin and the red headed girl he did not know. He guessed they were George and Ginny.
"Right then, I'm called Shadow Walker and Mr. Shacklebolt wants me to assess you to see where you need to work to get into shape. Running builds leg muscles and lung capacity, pushups work on the arms and chest muscles, sit ups work on the thighs and lower back. Stretching exercises loosen up your muscle groups so you don't hurt yourself when you work out. I'll be teaching you stretching exercises first and then I want to see each of you do 10 pushups and 25 sit-ups. If you can do those then I'll know where to start and if you can't… well, that will be your first goal." He walked the small group through the warm up exercises and then watched them struggle with the pushups and sit-ups. None of them could complete the exercise although the twin George came close. He at least finished the sit-ups. After they were finished he led them through the obstacle course then showed them some simple sparing exercises.
When the class was over house elves popped in and set the newly created table for breakfast. Shadow asked Kingsley to step aside with him and as the other children attacked their breakfast the two talked about the results of their morning.
"They need to work out everyday. None of them are in shape. Do you think you can convince Dumbledore to let us meet at 05:00 every morning to work out? We could set up a track outside if he lets us or even here if that's what he wants." Shadow said.
"He has your next class today. We can tell him that they need the workout everyday or they will never get into shape." Shacklebolt laughed, "Did you see what was served for breakfast?"
"That's something else we need to talk about. Greasy bacon and sausage too much butter and jam on toast. Not enough fruits, dairy and grains. I eat lunch with the school and I know that's not any better. The diet here really sucks." Shadow grouched.
"I'll set something up with the Headmaster. Don't worry, we'll work it all out Shadow." He smiled at the boy. "Go on and eat. You have a long day ahead of you and will need to keep your energy levels up."
Shacklebolt left the room and Shadow went to the table and picked over the foods offered till he had a healthy and appealing selection. Sitting down next to Ron he started to eat. Ron was stuffing himself with toast that had half an inch of jam spread on top. With his mouth full the red head said. "Tho, fraggl who y wike va hol?" Shadow was revolted and apparently he wasn't the only one. The bushy haired Granger snorted then turned her head away. "Chew, swallow then talk Weasley." She said. The boy swallowed then said, "Sorry, What I said was how you do like the school Shadow?"
Shadow sighed. This was Dumbles idea of a friend. "I'm called Shadow Walker. Only friends and family call me Shadow. You're not my family and I don't know you well enough to call you friend. As for your question… I don't. "
Several of the kids turned their attention to the two after Shadow gave that answer. Seamus Finnigan looked confused. "Why don't you like the school? Other than the greasy git we have for potions it's great."
Shadow looked around at the other students. All of them shared a confused look like they couldn't understand what wasn't to love about Hogwarts. "I was learning what I need to know at home. I didn't need to come here for that. I miss my family." Shadow had lost his appetite so he left the table and walked out of the room to wait for the next class to start.
When Dumbles showed up he found Shadow sitting with his back against the wall in the hall. "Harry, what are you doing out here? Is something wrong my boy?"
Shadow shook his head no. "Just a little homesick. Nothing major."
Dumbledore nodded "I understand. I talked to Kingsley and I am opening this room for your group every morning from 05:30 to 06:30 for you to all work out in. I was told that if you don't have time and a place to work in everyday then I might as well cancel that class. Kingsley said you were competent to lead morning exercises for the group on a daily basis. I am also going to talk to the school nurse about setting up a diet for your group. He informed me in no uncertain terms that what was served this morning was unacceptable for students involved in physical training." Albus smiled at the boy. "Now is there anything else you require to make this venture work?"
Shadow climbed to his feet. "Just hard work on the kids part."
With that the two of them went back into the room where Shadow sat through a long boring lecture on stuff he had learned when he was eight years old. After the lecture was over the Headmaster assigned a 12 inch essay on the differences between dark, gray and light magic. He then told them to take the next hour to get to know each other before lunch. "Oh, Professor Black and Nymphadora Tonks will be working with you all on magical dueling this afternoon." With that he left the room.
As soon as the headmaster left Shadow dashed out of the room and ran downstairs to Snapes office. He hoped the man was there cause he wasn't sure where else to look but he really needed to talk to him today. Luck was on his side as he knocked on the door and heard Snape yell, "Its open." Shadow opened the door and walked in expecting Snape to be alone but there was a younger red headed man sitting in the easy chair that Shadow had used last Tuesday when the two had talked.
"Umm, sorry professor, I didn't know you had company. I can try to come back later." Shadow said. He turned toward the door to leave feeling disappointed that his plan had not worked out when Snape stopped him.
"Actually Shadow your timing is very good. How much time do you have before you have to return?" Snape asked.
"This is scheduled free time then comes lunch so I don't have my next class till 12:30" Shadow said.
The redhead spoke for the first time. "I take it that this is the boy?" At Snapes nod he said. "Good, can we go to your private quarters? I want him to lie down and relax. It will make my work a little bit easier." He smiled at the boy. "My name is Bill Weasley and Severus wants me to look you over to try and identify some rather obscure magic that's been used on you."
Shadow glanced over to Snape who nodded. "Bill is the top curse breaker for Gringotts. He is also discreet and will not disclose what we learn here today to anyone without our permission. You can trust him Shadow."
"Ok, lets go then." Shadow started toward the door.
The other two men followed the youth out the door and Snape led them to his private apartments. Once inside he pointed to his bedroom. "Beds in there Bill. Do you need anything else? Can I help at all or do you just want me to stay out of the way?"
"Just wait here. Hopefully it won't take to long then we can eat lunch and I'll tell you two what I found." Bill had Shadow lie down on the bed and cast a spell on him to help him to relax then started to chant softly with his wand moving slowly over top of Shadows body. Shadow tried to stay awake but the spell and the soft chanting lured him into sleep.
When Shadow woke up he smelled food. Hungry he got up and followed his nose to the other room where a large lunch was laid out on a small table. "Good, you're up. I was just about to wake you. Are you hungry?" Snape asked him.
"Starved. I didn't eat much breakfast this morning. So what did you learn Mr. Weasley?" Shadow asked as he dished himself up a plate of food. He went to the couch and sat down to eat. Bill was seated on the love seat opposite him already eating a generous portion of food.
Bill swallowed his mouth full before he answered. You have a blood ward on you that forces you to do whatever the caster tells you to do. It's not set up in the usual way because it allows you to do what you want unless key words are used when you are given instructions. That's to make you think you are not being controlled. I would imagine the caster uses it sparingly to keep it a secret. The next one is even more devious and in some ways dangerous. It's a memory charm that slowly over a period of time will cause you to forget whatever memories the caster incorporated into the charm. There is no way I can tell you what memories you were told to forget but to give you an example… If I cast the charm on Professor Snape and told him to forget potions over a period of about two months he would forget everything he knows about potions and he would be unable to learn again because every time he learned something about potions he would forget. Once the memory is gone it cannot be restored with a counter spell. The last one we need to worry about is the blocks on your magical core. You have the magic available to you that most 14 to 15 year olds have. I can tell that your core is much bigger than that so you must feel kind of like you don't have any magic at all but you do. Its just not what you are use to." Bill chuckled, one last thing I found. "Your wand is jinxed so that it takes on a random basis anywhere from two to ten tried before the spell you are trying to do will work. I guess that is to make you think your doing the spell wrong or something."
Shadow sat there stunned with his fork raised half way to his mouth. Snape went pale at Bills words. "Can you remove them? He's had the memory charm on for a week now and it needs to go before it does permanent harm to him. Bill, can you remove that one at least?" Snape almost begged the younger man.
"Yeah I can. I need some stuff to do it but I can. It'll take about an hour though. Do we have the time today?" Snape looked at his watch and shook his head no. "Ok, how about tomorrow. Can you set up a time and place for me to work tomorrow Severus?"
Snape nodded. "Here in my rooms. I'll find an excuse to bring him here after he is finished with his play time outside. Your on guard for that aren't you Bill?"
"My father is but I can switch with him. What I'm going to do about the charm is switch the memories it is erasing. That way if Dumbledore checks the charm will still be in place. You two think up some things you don't mind forgetting for tomorrow. Oh…something like the price of tea in china would be a good example." Bill rubbed his eyes. "its going to be a long night tonight. I need to do some research and find out if I can switch the blood wards too. I don't want to do anything that will alert the headmaster to what we've done."
Bill smiled at Shadow and motioned for him to eat. With a start Shadow dropped the forkful of food he had been holding in his lap. Looking down at the mess his face got red with embarrassment. Shadow quickly put his hand down and scooped up the food and deposited it on the side of his plate. Looking up at the two men who sported identical grins at the embarrassed boy he muttered "Sorry." Then went back to eating his lunch.
The three finished their lunches talking about their interests till it was time for Shadow to leave for his next class. When Bill and Snape were alone once again Bill set aside his plate and said. "Severus, last Saturday I was called into the director of security's office for a meeting between myself Amelia Bones and Mr. Raveark. He has the two of us doing some checking on some things that involve Dumbledore. We're supposed to meet again next Saturday. I think you should come to that meeting." Severus leaned back on the couch and looked at the man. "I was the one that set up the meetings in the first place Bill."