Hey everybody! It's the next chapter of Even a Serpent! This chapter, we not only see how Ernie is doing with his axe lessons, and get a glimpse of whether Parvati has figured out how to whip effectively or not yet, but also get our first glimpse at what that lovely fellow we call Snape is doing to his students, with two short pieces on Ron the Swordsman and Cho the Archer! So (with an apology to Ron for making him train with Mr. Snape) let's get on with it!

REVIEWS:

CastusAlbusCor: Thank you for reviewing, and being so kind in describing me as an artist!

Crrot: Man oh man, I think you have just hit the absolute jackpot. You may have struck upon what may be the heart of my story- not the Spirits that bind them, or the destiny that guides them, but the changes that will result when the heroes of Hogwarts gather together again. Expect that some chapters from now. But ten points for viewing a story scene before it happens!

Flight of the Wild: Thanks for reviewing! And the dream thing is… creepy! (And this is from the guy who thinks that a murdering Harry Potter is cool…)

Kordolin: Oh, beware, my friend, beware… I've got one more chapter after this devoted to the training, so you may wish to skip! Little is important (if I do say so myself), but it is interesting…

Well, that's all of 'em. Just one more note: All of the training happens at pretty much the same time- each "vignette" will merely focus on a separate person in the same time period (first day of training). Harry had his own vignette devoted to him, partly because he's the main character (slash most famous guy, most familiar guy, book hero, and all that, though by the time I'm done with this, all nine- and I do mean all nine- characters will be heroes in everyone's heart) but also because martial arts is a passion of mine, and I do love it so. Hell, I like things to do with all weapons, so I'm really enjoying this chance to show my stuff and prove how wonderful all these weapons really were. So, with that done, it's...

"SHOWTIME!"

Chapter 9

The First Day of Training

Part 2:

Sword and Axe and Rapier and Whip

Training Room, on the ship Excelsior, first day of the journey, 1:18 p.m.

Ernie walked off with his version of Lupin while listening to the end of Snape's "not using magic where I myself can be of assistance" speech and snorted aloud. His version of Lupin heard it and smiled.

" Rather arrogant old fellow, isn't he?" Shadow-Lupin said, smiling. " Snape always was the kind to try and one-up his fellow man. I, of course, " Lupin continued, raising his head and assuming a "saintly" expression, " am above all that."

Ernie chuckled.

" Absolutely," he said, rolling his eyes and hefting his executioner's axe. " Alright, so where do we start? I know the basics-"

" Show me, " Lupin said.

" What I know?" Ernie said, ever quick on the uptake. " Sure, just let me try this out a bit..."

Ernie stepped back and began rolling his muscles (what few he had; he was a bulky man, and though given nature's bounty to the heavy- sheer durability due to weight- he wasn't all that strong, and it had been some time since he'd hefted an axe for anything other than manual labor) and then bent down and touched his toes. Being somewhat fat, he couldn't quite do it- but as his grandfather (his combat teacher) had explained, that actually didn't mean one wasn't nimble. A fat man had an actual physical obstruction to touching his toes. He might be as limber as a willow tree, but if his gut was in the way, he simply couldn't touch his toes. Not discomfited in the least by his failure to touch his toes, Ernie merely spread his legs and continued warming up. He never had liked warming up, but he did like the fact that he could now move his muscles without creaks or cracks of protest echoing throughout him whenever he moved. Contrary to what he'd read in books, his muscles never felt "limber" or "loose"; instead, they merely felt normal, but slightly... relaxed. Yeah, that was it. Relaxed.

Relaxed. Nice word. Kinda made him sleepy. He congratulated himself for finding a way to describe how warming up made him feel and then proceeded to pat his arms down one last time, massaging newly awakened muscles. Thoroughly refreshed by his light warm-up, Ernie said, " So what do you wish me to do? I can run through stances and all, or I can simply go through a practice kata..."

" Kata?" Lupin asked, bemused. The shadow raised an eyebrow. " I didn't think you would even know that term, much less use it in a sentence."

" Ah, " Ernie said. " As I mentioned to my classmates earlier, my family is a line of lumberjacks. However, we have always been very intelligent people, if you'll forgive me a few high class airs here." Ernie smiled a little self-deprecatingly at this. " My great grandmother, in particular, loved words, and always wanted to find the best word to describe something she could find. For years, she has called the color red roja because she believes that the Spanish word for that color, in the feminine form, somehow fits that color better than the English word "red". Likewise, she met a passing Korean martial artist who taught her the word "kata". She fell in love with the word and began using it immediately, describing all our combat training with the word "kata". She even looked up the various ways it can be used." Ernie smirked again. " She really did love that word. " In fact, Ernie's great grandmother's love for the word had resulted in Ernie's ability to read kata-kana, a language designed to translate more traditional, image-based Japanese written characters into letters that could be more readily translated into other, phonetic based languages... but that was a story for another time.

" Anyway, " Ernie said, shrugging slightly, " what exactly do you want to see?"

Lupin thought for a moment, then smiled. " I wish to see nothing, " he said. " I want you to teach me."

" Hmm?" Ernie said, raising an eyebrow and looking at his teacher with an intrigued look on his face.

" Teach me how to fight with an axe, " Lupin said. " I think it would be interesting. And it would be an excellent chance to see how well you fight with the weapon."

Ernie nodded. " I think that would be excellent, too, " he said, before drawing up his axe and tapping it to the floor. " Okay, then, " he said, " I'll start the way my grandfather always started- with basics. The stances. "

Lupin nodded and merely watched.

" There are three that I know of, " Ernie said. " One is intended for attack. One is intended for longer battles. The last is a defensive position. The first, the attack position, is this one. It's called the High Stance or, as my grandfather always called it, the Killer's Stance." Though Lupin's face didn't change, Ernie knew that he'd probably raised a few eyebrows in there. " Don't worry. My grandfather always had a fancy way with words."

Ernie shifted to the position he'd shown Neville in Godric's Hope yesterday, on that fateful afternoon that had changed all their lives- axe slung over shoulder, feet slightly apart, weak foot leading. His body was slightly bladed towards Lupin, though not very much- the stance was not intended to keep the wielder alive. It was intended to murder

It was intended to kill.

" This stance, " Ernie said, " is designed to allow a warrior's strength to be completely focused on the axe and free the body to put all of its force into the swing. This way, the body is freed from having to support odd or awkward muscle structures because the entire body is relaxed, and until the swing is begun, there is no force moving on anything inside the body- the hands are light, grip relaxed, muscles lightly tensed. This makes a blow delivered from this stance to be far more powerful than blows from any other stance would be. There is a weakness, however."

" And that is?" Lupin asked, mildly pleased with his student for his expert conduct in describing his stance.

" Because there are no muscles in the body that are committed to anything else, the body is not prepared to dodge an enemy attack, " Ernie said. " Likewise, the body is poorly positioned to dodge an attack, because it is neither well-bladed nor is it made in such a way that an attack can be easily leaped, side-stepped, or otherwise dodged. Axes are not blocking tools, and the main defense of an axeman is a dodge; henceforth, the lack of an ability to dodge while in the Killer's Stance greatly weakens its power. Now," Ernie said, swinging his axe lightly, " the other main downfall is that there is but one way to strike while in the Killer's Stance: a straight-forward, down-swinging chop." Ernie finished and tapped the floor with the butt of his axe, returning to a normal standing position. " Any questions?"

" If you were attacked while in the Killer's Stance, what would you do?" Lupin asked. From the expression on his face, Lupin was quite impressed with Ernie's ability.

Ernie thought for a moment, bringing his free hand to his chin and scratching it, then saying, " I guess I'd do the only thing I could do: I'd fall."

" Fall?" Lupin said, raising an eyebrow.

" Fall, " Ernie affirmed. He demonstrated by putting his axe back on his shoulder and suddenly stumbling backwards, violently. His feet twisted and pivoted, and it was quite clear that he had no grace in what he was doing. Recovering (barely) from his ill-timed backwards leap, Ernie stood up and put his axe back, butt-first, to the ground. " The only thing I can think of to do is launch myself backwards, away from the attack, and hopefully get missed by accident when I leap. It would probably knock me down, and might even get me killed if I don't hurry along and get up, but it's the only thing I can think of at this time."

Lupin nodded. " We always called it the "Forward" stance at our school, but yes, otherwise, this is an accurate description of the stance. Even the backwards dodge has been described, though I think my teachers would have taken offense at your terming it a "fall"."

Ernie smiled. " Well, then, guess it's a good thing that they're not here, isn't it?"

Lupin smiled. " Of course. Now, the next stance?"

Ernie nodded. " The next stance is the main stance that I use in combat- or would use, I guess, considering I've never been in a fight with a weapon like this before. It's called the Fighting Stance, or, again as my grandfather called it, the Halberdier's Stance." Ernie shifted position so that his weak foot was aimed at Lupin and crooked his arms, gripping his axe close to him. His knees were slightly apart, and his body was turned towards Lupin. His hands were set on the middle of the axe, slightly apart, favoring neither end.

Ernie began instructing. " This stance is the most well-balanced of the three and does not favor either offense or defense. It can attack with both the bladed end of the axe for slashing and the blunt tip for poking. With but a simple move of my hands, " Ernie demonstrated, sliding his left hand up towards the right one, lengthening the staff towards the end, " I can focus more on striking with the blunt tip, and with another simple move of my hands, " he shifted his hands again, this time his right sliding down towards his left until both were farther down the staff, " I can focus on cutting with the sharp edge. With my hands in the middle, " and with this his hands returned to their former positions, " I can slash or strike with equal ease, though both will be slightly hampered. The stance does not have the raw power of the Killer's Stance, nor does it have the defensive ability of the Warrior's Stance."

" Warrior's Stance?" Lupin asked, eyebrow raised.

Ernie smiled. " The last stance, " Ernie said, " is based entirely on defense. It is the Defense Stance, or the Warrior's Stance, as my grandfather called it." Ernie shifted position and assumed the stance. His hands moved higher up the axe, which had been inverted, blade pointing towards the floor, which meant that his hands moved closer to the tip than they did to the edge. His feet became ramrod straight, angled out slightly, supporting him and putting his face and arms back slightly from any possible harm. His body was bladed almost violently towards Lupin, with little of his bulk showing.

" This stance, " Ernie instructed, " is designed to force attackers to watch where they are going, for it is a very quick, offensive stance designed for hard, sharp blows."

" If it is so offensive, " Lupin said, " then why is it used as a defensive stance?"

" Because the best defense is a good offense, " Ernie replied back. " An axeman is not fast, nor is he subtle. He can be both, but it is not what his weapon is designed for, and not what he is best at. An axe is a big, strong, loud, angry weapon. Henceforth, in defense, it is best to reverse the usual trick of weaponry- instead of being calm and subtle, as most weapons are when used for defense, axes are best used to roar and bash at an enemy, shoving them back with sheer might and using fear to push an enemy back. Most defense tactics for weaponry work simply on scaring your opponent into staying out of your reach and hoping that their fear will make them do something rash you can exploit. Axes aren't subtle weapons- but they are powerful ones." Ernie finished his display and bowed to Lupin. " Impressed?" Ernie had something of a self-conceited but somehow not arrogant smile on his face, like that which a friendly man would wear after winning a major contest- one that says "Yeah, I'm great, but I'm cool with it too" and lets you realize that this person is both exceedingly proud and rather humble at the same time.

" Most sincerely," Lupin said, and smiled. " Now, let's just go through basic exercises, and then I think we'll be done here..."

Across the room. That same day.

Snape said nothing as the party crossed the gym. As they went forth, Ron and Cho looked at each other a few times, but said nothing. Draco merely kept his hand on his rapier and waited.

" Mr. Snape, sir?" Cho finally said. " Where are we-"

" Ms. Chang, I would be most pleased if you would wait until we got there before saying anything."

Cho shut up.

Eventually, the quartet reached the far wall. Standing at the end of the dojo (which had suddenly gotten bigger; Ron freaked out when he noticed, but said nothing about the fact that Harry and the others had apparently become small dots seemingly miles away), Snape finally turned and addressed the group.

" We cannot," he said, voice as dry as always, " allow such illusions to delude our minds. Those with minds like Mr. Lupin," and here he gestured to the many shadows on the opposite end of the room, " do not realize the complications that arise when training does not involve a real partner, of flesh and blood." Turning to Ron, he said, "Mr. Weasley."

" Yes, Mr. Snape?" Ron fairly squeaked.

" What little you know of combat has been with wands. What have you learned in your time of combat?"

" Uh…" Ron started. " Umm... dodge incoming fire?" And this was true; whatever else could be said of Ron, he was an excellent dodger. Ducking had played a large role in his combat at the Ministry, for all the good it had done him in the end. All that had really happened had happened somewhere he had not even been, the Room of the Veil, where Bellatrix Lestrange had shown Sirius what lay beyond the veil. Sirius was dead, now; one could say he was just "behind the veil", but even such a euphemism, even when used by someone like Ron, who was always using little code-words for things that worried him or scared him, were just a way of dodging the truth, and all three friends had silently agreed to say that "He is dead" instead of "gone" or "behind the veil". Such directness made things easier; rougher, less coherent, and somewhat more brutal, it nevertheless became the binding glue that stored them up together. Sirius' memories were holy now, somehow, and we're made more so by speaking freely of his death.

The death of a good man was always a sad thing, but it at least made a few things noble. That was the good part about death to Ron, anyway.

Snape, who merely glanced at Ron dully from his heavy-set eyes, merely said, " It is apparent that Mr. Weasley requires extensive training on the concept that foreknowledge of combat is the key to victory. Mr. Malfoy, would you kindly explain to Mr. Weasley exactly what, if any, are the requirements for having thorough foreknowledge of battle before actually entering it?"

Draco actually was quite shocked at what Snape had just said; it was the exact wording that his father had used, long ago, to describe exactly what purpose training was supposed to fulfill. Shaking his head mildly at this odd re-occurence of one of his father's strangest phrases ever, Draco said, " Foreknowledge of combat is key to battle, because so much of it is instinct and reflex. Any combat involving any degree of danger is more likely to wound someone who is not competent in the ways of their weapon already through training then someone who has no actual training with a weapon. This is especially true for those who wield swords, such as myself and Snape." Ron noticed the pointed exclusion of him from this group of Draco and Snape. " Without it, we are no better off than if we had a club. Swords are the weapons of nobility, and require great training and forethought to use."

Ron blinked, thinking that if swords were the weapons of nobility, then he wished he hadn't picked up one. Then he wondered (on an odd note that had occured to him before and would occur to him again; it was the same wondering that often occured when he looked at a chess board, and it would only grow stronger as he traveled with his eight companions, the last of the nine on whom the world would so depend) why Snape had such a sword, or why he did not say something like, " But anyone can use a sword, Mr. Malfoy," with a faint tinge of disapproval in his voice.

" That, Mr. Weasley," Snape said dryly, " remains to be seen."

Ron gulped as Snape drew out his sword.

Parvati may have had the hardest time training, simply because the whip was a weapon that was so opposite in style to anything she had ever tried before. The whip would not obey her commands: she would try to lash it out and back, and it would go flailing around; she would try to make it flail around and it would lash out. Once or twice she almost received a very painful smack on the head when the whip was snapping back; only Shadow Lupin's quick grabs kept her from being hit with her own whip.

" Parvati," Lupin said, after grabbing the whip out of midair before it could smack her on her left cheek (Parvati never saw Lupin move; it was simply like his arm had become in midair a second before the whip did, and so was simply there to stop it, instead of actually having gone out of its way to grab the chain before impact), " this is no way to treat a whip."

Parvati sighed. " I know," she said. " But how can I actually use it instead of just flailing it about?"

Lupin smiled. " Actually, " he said, as she took the other end of her whip (her bedamned whip, she thought sullenly), " flailing it about isn't so bad after all. In fact, I think we'll start there, and see how it goes."

" Huh?" Parvati said. " I thought flailing it about was a bad thing. I always wanted to..." She moved her hands ineffectively, slightly drawing out a circle with them. " You know... snap it. Crack it."

" Like this? " Lupin said, smiling.

Lupin's whip went sailing through the air with a massive crack that seemed to boom in the massive training area. As his whip came back with fluid grace, Parvati sighed.

" Exactly, " she said. " I want to do that. "

Lupin smiled; his eyes lit up with jocularity, and she could tell he was near dancing on his feet. " Oh, " he said, eyes twinkling at her, " there's much more to it than that. "

He turned and lashed again, but this time he began spinning the whip on the end; he twisted it, turned it, and whirled it, and the end result made the whip seem almost alive, a snake of metal and steel, twisting and writhing almost as if it were possessed of its own knowledge. Parvati's jaw dropped as she admired the sheer dextrous beauty of the thing. It shone in the light; it seemed to be beyond contemporary limits of time and space. It was everywhere at once, and nowhere. Parvati found herself admiring it without any reservations.

Her former feeling for her whip (which had begun to become dislike) evaporated and became true joy.

" How did you do that? " she asked Lupin, stars in her eyes. He smiled.

" Simple, " he said. " It's all in the wrist. "

As if to prove his point, he cracked his whip one more time.

" Now, " he said, " your turn!"

Ernie spent the night in a comfortable doze, his muscles busy re-acclimitizing his body to the rigors of axe work. He had only a few tangled, if pleasant, dreams- his usual sort.

Draco spent the entire night grinning his head off, thinking he had done some very impressive things in his "training" session with Ron. Ron had spent most of the session with his eyes bugged out of his head, just staring at Draco's proficiency with the sword. He fell asleep with a smile on, and dreamed nice dreams of power.

Ron used his first night to ponder over all the new information he'd gained, and wondering if he could ever match up to such skill. He practiced a few of the simpler maneuvers in his room in private, but he did it more to record them in his memory rather than actually practice more. He fell asleep soon and dreamed no dreams.

Parvati spent the rest of her day training like mad, and discovered that the reason she'd had such trouble was simply because the whip was not meant for brute force or using the bigger muscles of the body; it was meant to be a lazy weapon, almost, using the rolling of smaller muscles and the movements of slight twitches in the body to give it guidance. By the end of the day, she could flail fairly well, and actually could crack it extremely well- though that last was a little harder to do, since it involved both wrist flicks and bigger bicep/tricep movements- and she was reasonably happy about her progress. Lupin had wanted her to mix feet movements into her attacks, but she didn't want to move her body; it would have felt like sacrilege, to change her stance and let herself enter the combat, instead of letting the whip do all the fighting for her. She fell asleep quite happy, whip clenched in her fist.

She did that the second night too, which helped when the door got kicked in that night- but not much.

R and R please!