Hey people. Glad you guys are reviewing- I love you! Now, to reviewers:
Mashimaromadness: Glad you're excited! The training starts now, so I hope you enjoy it.
Daimen Darkstar: Hmm... I'd love to use your work, and I congratulate you on creating such a work for the rest of us here on , but I must decline. Sadly, many of my "spells" have meaning beyond themselves, and I cannot use another's work for fear of ruining certain... 'effects' I require. Still, I thank you most humbly for your offer of support, and hope you continue reading.
Regina: Thanks for the congratulations. I'm really glad you liked my views of the elements. A small dissertion here... (every reader groans aloud as Silverlocke980 launches into one of his fabulous, forty-foot long speeches):
I always thought that the traditional views of the elements, though useful in their own way, were rather wrong. Or, even if not wrong, they bored me- I mean, really, I can only hear about the "evil Fire" for so long before I begin dreaming of a world in which Fire is good. And I can only hear about "Mother Earth" for so long before getting the idea in my head that Mother Earth may be one mean bitch. Also, Darkness and Light never stuck out in my heads as properly portrayed, and so I created the poem at the end of the story for the purpose of illustrating those two elements. Make a mental note, children; those two elements will play a massive role in the lives of the characters. Suffice it to say that whenever the two elements are mentioned- especially together- you should begin playing very close attention.
Take notes. It might help.
And, one last clue. I have the entirety of this story (mostly...) plotted out, and so I've planted a few "clues" here and there about the future of my story. In fact, I planted a major one in the last installment, one that plays a big role in Dr- (shuts himself up). Ahem. Anyway, you won't find it, but I will grant one hint- find what is not there.
And (yes, I know I said last clue, but this isn't important to the storyline anyway) look for a reference to my other Harry Potter story in this tale. It's easy to spot. I was stuck for a line, and then it occurred to me that it would be most... fitting, considering other things, to put that in there. To me, it's funnier than hell.
'Course, I'm the guy who invented the entire "Dark Harry" universe, so my sense of humor probably should not be trusted...
CastusAlbusCor: Hope you had a Merry Christmas, my friend. No, I'm not an artist (the reverse, actually; my drawings tend to look like someone gave a five year old cocaine and let them have at it with a pen), but I'm glad you think of me that way.
Well, that about wraps it up. So, without further ado, it's...
"SHOWTIME!"
CHAPTER NINE
PART 1
Fist and Claw
Training Room, on the ship Excelsior, first day of the journey, 1:10 p.m.
Lupin smiled and clapped his hands. " All right, ladies and gentlemen," he said, winking at Parvati, who decided to play along and merely lifted her nose up in the air preppily and said "hmph", " we will now begin actual training. Now, all of you have chosen to wield different weapons. That makes this slightly harder than it would be if you all had chosen the same weapon, or slightly similar versions of the same weapon..." Lupin trailed off, and shook his head. " But, I have a way to work around that. I have a spell that lets me duplicate myself-"
" Duplicate yourself?" Ron said, mouth gaping. " You can do that?"
" Duplicate myself," Lupin repeated, not put out in the least, " and create copies of myself that would do exactly what I would do in any given situation. They have full access to the entire store of my memories, and so will act as I would in any situation- or, here, train you, as I would, without any noticeable differences between the two. They are not, of course, exactly like me- in fact, these "shadows", as they are called, are often used in Divination studies to prove that the future is not set in stone, as two shadows, in the same situation, with the same memories, can sometimes do entirely different things- but they are close enough to work, and will be able to train you as well as I would have." Lupin stood up and spoke a few words of magic. The still-floating diagram of Light and Darkness- of a star in the weak black- disappeared, and Lupin spoke again, this time a spell he was using to multiply himself. And then the entire world swam around Lupin.
Harry stared at Lupin's shadow, amazed at what he was seeing occur there. Lupin's shadow seemed to move and twist about, and as Lupin continued chanting, the shadow grew and grew and grew. Finally, Lupin uttered a short, almost imperative command, and the shadow (which had ceased looking anything like Lupin and had turned into a massive, shapeless blob) suddenly straightened up and split into five perfectly formed Lupin's. The shadows, which were still without color and dark as night's velvet breast, stood at perfect attention, looking nothing like the slightly slouched, softly chanting Lupin, who stood still as his chant went on. The shadows, which stood up straight, were still connected to him at his feet, and they radiated outwards from him, like spokes on a wheel. The entire effect was eerie, and delighted Harry. It reminded him of a scene he'd witnessed in a Muggle movie once, one about a great big evil wizard who had assumed command of an army made entirely out of creatures of shadow (the Dursleys had not taken Harry to see it, of course; in his broken, beaten-down lifestyle, a movie was entirely out of the question. He'd seen it on the telly late one night when all the Dursleys were asleep; he'd crawled down out of his room to watch it in the living room). The scene had been almost exactly like this one, and Harry had always thought it had been ominous and kind of impressive looking. Realizing that being reminded of an evil wizard and being delighted about it was probably not a good thing, Harry refocused his attention on Lupin and quelled the rebellious surge of his heart, the black tide that thought the shadows were wondrous things.
Lupin uttered a second command, and the shadows turned away from him (one of the weirdest things Harry had ever seen; his eyes didn't want to see them turn around, because it apparently went against everything he'd ever known about shadows, but they saw them do it anyway, and the report from his eyes to his brain was making his head swim) and walked away, forming a semi-circle seven feet behind Lupin, turning (again, an event that gave Harry a headache) and facing forward when they reached their pre-ordained spots. Lupin interrupted his chanting with another fierce command, and the shadows suddenly stood up.
Harry had never really considered the implications of dimension before. Not dimension in the big, capital D Dimension sense, as Lupin had just talked to them about; no, he had never really thought about dimension in the little d, we live in 3 dimensions sense of the word. According to mathematicians, matter had several dimensions it could take place in (height, width, depth, even time), but to Harry, that had always meant less than a childhood fairytale to him. Now, however, he saw, horrifically, that the damn mathematicians were right. There really were multiple dimensions.
And somehow, the dimensions were not meant to collide.
The two-dimensional shadows stood up, and when they did, Harry thought his eyes would burst. The shadows were completely flat, totally two-dimensional... which mean that they had no depth. His eyes kept expecting to see form there, shape there, something to indicate a certain... roundness that he'd always seen that he never knew existed until he saw a being without it. When his eyes couldn't find depth, they then tried to look through the shadows- past them- beyond them into the wall that he just knew was there. And yet, his eyes couldn't see through them either; they were too solid, too real, too much there to see through. So his eyes went back to trying to see the roundness again. And this time when they failed, they simply went haywire. His eyes felt like they were running everywhere at once, like some mad chameleon given a dose of speed or poison that drove it temporarily insane and caused its eyes to scroll around madly, everywhere, all at once, seeing everything and nothing in an eyeblink. The sensation was giving him a splitting headache.
Yet, at the same time he shut his eyes to block out the horrid pain of seeing something in the 3-D world that was 2-D, he thought that, somehow, it was still one of the most enticing things he'd ever seen. Shadows. Moving, living, breathing shadows.
Fascinating.
Harry had shut his eyes for a few moments, then he heard Lupin utter a third harsh command, and when this order was barked, Harry opened his eyes. His eyes immediately went to one of the shadows, and began its third try to see whether he could see them or through them- and this time, his eyes reported back triumphantly that they could see them, and not through them. The shadows were beginning to round out, to fill in all the right places and expand into the normal three dimensions. Within the first moment of filling (and that was the only way Harry could think of it; filling, like a speed-film of a child growing into its father's clothes- they are loose and baggy at first, but gently coalesce and push and grow until the skin is once more baggy and the child has to grow to fit them again, over and over again, until finally each shadow resembled Lupin, perfect replicas in black), Harry could stand to look at them without feeling as if he was going mad. The sensation was quite pleasurable, compared to the (literal) eyesore that the shadows had been before.
Lupin uttered one last command, and the shadows suddenly gained perfect, startling color. Unlike all the other actions, which had been slow and somewhat tedious for the shadows to perform, this was sudden, quick, and instantaneous. One instant the shadows were black, the next they were colored exactly like Lupin, the clothes white as white, the skin creamy pink. The oddest part, though, was the fact that each had actual eyebrows.
" Well...," Lupin said, running his hand over his own hairless forehead, " I kinda wanted to make them perfect, but then I thought that would be confusing, and then I thought that I might as well give into to my inner fantasies, and so I gave them eyebrows. These beautiful hairy lads will train Parvati," and here, with a suddennes that was shocking, a metal whip appeared in one shadow-Lupin's hand, " Neville," a massive hammer appeared in the fist of another Lupin, " Ernie," an axe, " Seamus," a spear, " and, finally, Hermione." A staff popped up in the hand of the last Shadow-Lupin. " Now, Hermione will train over there by the doorway to the hall, Seamus will train over there, in the middle of the far right wall, Neville will train over in the far right corner from the hall, Ernie will practice in the near right corner from the hallway, and Parvati will train in the middle of the room. Now, I leave you to your training."
Throughout it all the shadows had not moved an inch. Now, as if suddenly coming to life, each leaned back and raised its face to the sky. Stretching themselves, each shadow audibly yawned and popped its back, then lowered its head, and turned to its assigned "student". Heading forward, the shadows walked towards their pupils and began talking to them, leading them off to their various positions. Turning his head to watch them leave, Lupin looked back at his remaining pupils and opened his mouth. Before he could speak, Snape broke in.
" I," he said, his voice dry and brittle, " will be taking Mrs. Weasley and Malfoy, and Ms. Chang, to the far left corner, where we will begin training. Because I don't believe in using magic to teach where I myself can be of assistance, we will train without benefit of shadows. Come with me, students." Walking off, a somewhat creepy figure in white ("Can you be a creepy figure in white? I mean, isn't that against the rules or something?" Harry's mind inquired), Draco, Ron, and Cho followed him. Ron left with a look on his face that said, " Please, stab me now and end it. I'll give you the sword myself, just end it", while both Cho and Malfoy had remarkably calm expressions. Draco, in particular, was looking smug with himself. Harry thought he looked as if someone had just told him he was the king. Snorting and shaking his head in derision at Malfoy's antics, Harry turned to Lupin.
" So I guess I'm training with you?" Harry asked. Lupin nodded his head.
" Yeah. Alright, stand up. We'll start now. I assume, of course, that you still intend to use nothing but your fists and feet?"
Harry nodded. " Yeah. Still do."
Lupin smiled. " Good. Okay, first things first. A little lecture here... all my shadows should be giving different versions of this, but don't worry, it's short. All weapons are about one thing. That one thing is changing magic. A weapon is not so much worthwhile in its materials- assuming, of course, that they don't affect the magic in any way- they are about the way they change the magic the user is controlling through them. Whenever a mage wields a weapon, he isn't wielding a sword or an axe; he's wielding his own magic. The weapon acts as a funnel, a guide, a means of controlling and changing the magic in a way that the user themself can not."
Harry nodded, then realized what this implicated. " Then... what are martial arts about? There are no weapons in the martial arts..."
Lupin shook his head. " Correction. You are the weapon in martial arts. That's why they take so long to learn, and why they are so devastating when learned correctly. Because you are the weapon, a martial artist's magic actually grows stronger as they learn their techniques- instead of simply learning proper responses to enemy attack and becoming more "powerful" by becoming more and more skilled with your weapon, a martial artist actually becomes stronger in all respects- skill, physical power, magical might, everything. Some martial artists actually live to be hundreds of years old, simply because they have grown so mighty from their art that they simply will not die. One random note- powerful people tend to live longer. The magic flowing in their veins preserves them, so to speak, and the natural decay of Time doesn't affect them like it does the rest of us. Also, powerful people are obviously harder to kill through more "direct" means, too, so they tend to live a while. Anyway, here's what you should know: as a martial artist, you have no limits on the kinds of skills and maneuvers you can perform. Your magic is wide-ranging and varied- there is much you can do with it, given time and practice enough. But, there is one balancer."
" What?" Harry asked.
" You," Lupin said simply. " Many martial artists spend years preparing themselves before undergoing any major change in their routine or before learning a new, more powerful skill. The reason is simple: in the martial arts, you have access to near unlimited power... and that power can rend you apart. A martial artist must be very careful not to use moves that channel more energy than their bodies can handle- some have literally blown themselves apart from using moves that required to much force for them to handle. That is why Wizard martial artists tend to have such exceptionally strong bodies- not just because of the physical requirements of their art, but because they require all that muscle and bulk just to contain the force of their power. It is a rather dangerous art to learn, Harry, but it is rewarding enough in its own right, in the end. Now," he said, breaking into a smile, " show me a stance."
" A what?" Harry said.
" A stance," Lupin said. " You know, like this." Lupin stepped into the classic kickboxer's pose. Harry nodded and assumed the pose he'd seen Dudley in, from time to time, as Dudley trained to be a boxer- hands high, held in fists, defending the face, feet spread apart.
" That is a good stance," Lupin said, nodding his head, " but there are weaknesses in it. First off, what if I kick you in the knee? How would you defend that?"
Harry shrugged. " I guess I'd move my knee."
Lupin nodded. " Good- one of the most common types of defenses is, simply, the dodge. Dodging is both good and bad, as it allows a blow to miss you entirely and is actually more tiring to the opponent then you blocking their blows would be. Nothing is quite so exhausting as having your punches hit empty air. It's also very infuriating- but more on that later. However... what if..."
Lupin suddenly moved. Harry tried to dodge, but felt Lupin's flat palm smack into his stomach. The blow was merely a light tap, and left a slight impression in Harry's training clothes.
" See?" Lupin said. " Most of the time, dodges are simply too slow to work. If a blow is aimed at a limb- your arms or your legs- or especially if it is aimed at your head, then you can usually dodge it, because it's easy to move those body parts out of the way. However, it is very hard to move the entirety of your body out of the way of an attack, and so dodges are best reserved for attacks that are not aiming for the vital organs. Now," he said, " let me tell you about stances. The boxing stance you are in is a stance developed in Europe. That is important for one reason- Europeans have never been fond of low attacks. Probably because the nobility and middle class were the ones most directly involved in the "art" of war, most European fighting martial arts are based around the head and upper body. Europeans are very fond of bashing your face in, and European martial arts- though generally not as quick as their Oriental and Middle Eastern counterparts- are heavily strength-based. Most people tend to mock European styles, but an important point to remember is simply that Europeans used a much wider variety of weapons at a much greater rate than Oriental peoples did. Also, European nobility had a somewhat skewed sense of honor that said what one could and could not do in combat, as compared to Eastern arts, which were developed by commoners who understood that in a fight, anything goes. So, let's see the good and bad points of the boxing stance."
Lupin drew out of his stance and walked around Harry. Harry, who wasn't for sure how to act, simply stayed where he was, somewhat nervously eyeing Lupin as he walked around him. He wondered briefly if Lupin was going to show him the weaknesses in the stance by whapping him on the head. When Lupin merely began talking about the weaknesses, Harry breathed a (inaudible) sigh of relief.
" The main good points of this stance," Lupin began, " are the way it allows you to defend your face and the positioning of your hands. That is also the main bad point of this stance. Boxing stances are not geared for blows to the stomach, they are not geared for kick attacks, and they are most certainly not prepared for grabs or throws. There are three basic types of martial art attack, though there are millions of combinations and variations- punches, kicks, and grabs/throws. Grabs and throws get lumped together because to even use a throw you must grab your opponent in the first place. Boxing takes only one of the three- punches- and trains exclusively in it, to the detriment of the other two. That is never a good thing! To be an effective fighter, you must train in all three types. It is all right if you favor one over the others- we all have personal preferences and abilities- but you must be at least decent in all of them to be a half effective fighter. Someone who can punch, kick, and grab somewhat well is far more dangerous than someone who can kick perfectly but punches and grabs horribly. The reason is all about options. In combat, you must know your options, pick between them, and utilize the most effective of them in a very short amount of time. That's what training is all about: learning your options and picking between them."
" Now," Lupin said, completing a circuit about Harry and again standing in front of him, " watch me." He slipped into a pose that put his left foot slightly out, his right foot back, and made his arms for two sides of a square, with his left pointing horizontally right at his stomach, palm down, while his right hand pointed upwards, palm towards his face.
" This stance, which I took off of hapkido and changed to suit my own purposes, is a much better and far more balanced stance to fight from," Lupin said. " It provides excellent blocking protection, and good movement. It also allows for a variety of attacks. Remember: a stance determines exactly what you can do at any given moment. You have no more options than your current stance allows! Remember that!"
Harry nodded. Lupin said, " Now, let's look at some weapons of the hand. The old battle of punches vs. kicks has been waged for a long time, but the truth is, neither is the obvious master, and both should be utilized by the true martial artist. Kicks are more powerful, since the leg mucles are bigger and stronger than the arm muscles are. However... the foot is not as malleable as the hand is. Truth is, there is only so much you can do with the foot, and most of it breaks down into effectively bashing your opponent into submission. Also, kicks are slower, and even the fastest kickers are not quick as quick as a good puncher. Punches are considerably weaker, and it is harder to aim low with them- sometimes, you actually have to drop to your knees to punch, and that's never a good thing- but the good point is that not only are they much quicker, the hands can be made to do many things, and so hand attacks are more varied and harder to counter than kick attacks. Each has its strength and weaknesses, and you must learn which one to use depending upon the situation and your opponent."
" Now, on to basics. The simplest of all hand positions is the fist, so we'll work on fist based attacks first. Here is a simple punch." Lupin let loose with a blistering fast punch, stopping when it was fully outstretched, using his left hand. " That is a jab. Jabs are weaker punches that are used to distract the enemy, set them up for bigger attacks, "test" them for weak spots, and to infuriate your opponent. Jabs are best used with your weak hand, as they are not meant to be strong, merely fast, and they require the most reach. In most stances, your weak hand is the forward hand, the one closest to your opponent, and that gives you reach. Reach is important- if you can't get to your opponent, you can't hurt him. It's also one thing that is slightly dangerous in the martial arts. You are always literally within arm's reach of your enemy- you can't use a long weapon to tell your foe "back off" simply because you are the weapon. Remember the range limitations of your style- try to get as close as you can as quickly as you can. Now, a stronger punch." Lupin's right hand swung out, and though Harry couldn't really see a difference between the two punches, he thought this one was a little slower. " This is simply a normal punch. Delivered with your strong hand, they are used to cause actual pain to an enemy, as opposed to jabs, which, while quick and annoying, generally do little actual damage unless aimed correctly. Punches are good for picking at higher targets, like the face and chest. A particularly good target is the neck, assuming you can get in under the chin- you can sometimes crush the enemy's throat that way. One note: do not aim for the mouth- the teeth will cut you and it is very painful."
" This," Lupin said, drawing his fist way back and letting loose with a massive, curving punch, " is what is known in the Americas as a "haymaker". They are slow, ridiculously unwieldy to use, and not generally seen in combat. However, they do have one thing to make you consider them: they are powerful attacks, and come in at an odd angle, making them perfect sneak attacks. If assaulting someone from behind, a haymaker is curved to the point where you can pound your enemy's temples and make them pass out from one blow. Haymakers should not be used in normal combat, as they are too slow, but in special situations, they can be useful. Smaller, faster versions, known as "hook" punches, can be used, and are good for angled attacks against the face, and for knocking an enemy's guard down. Since most punching blocks are designed for use against straight punches, the curving blows can often knock the block down or away from your intended target, and you can use a normal punch to finish them off."
Lupin's right hand changed to a flat, palm out design. " The palm of your hand," Lupin said, " is actually one of the most effective weapons you posess. A flat, quick blow with this weapon can knock opponent's backwards, shove them off their feet, or kill them. The best target is the nose. Shoving up and back into the enemy's nose will cause their nosebone to be shoved up into their brain, and this will kill them instantly."
They spent the entire day studying hand attacks. Lupin, recognizing in Harry a naturally fiery spirit, had decided that blocks and counter-attacks (which make up about half of all martial arts) would have to wait until tomorrow to be learned. At the moment, Harry was content to learn how to use his hands as lethal weapons.
When Harry went to bed that night, he promptly went to sleep after spending a few minutes massaging his aching biceps, and woke up the next morning entirely refreshed.
-Hope you liked this! Next chapter: Sword and Axe!