To Fight a Dummy

There was only two days before the weekend, but Harry wondered if he would be able to endure them. Thanks to Helga Hufflepuff, he had been able to get almost a full night of sleep but that wasn't enough. Besides, he was supposed to hand his Charm essay over today and he hadn't finished it. He scribbled in haste a few ideas on a parchment during breakfast under the stern look of Hermione. When he gave it to Flitwick, he couldn't look the teacher in the eye. It was the first of his life at Hogwarts that he hadn't done his homework, and he was ashamed of it. He would get a poor grade and it would be deserved.

Right?

The thing is that between his detentions and his secret training, Harry had close to no time for his studies. Besides, there were too many questions in his mind for him to focus enough on his homework.

What was this power he was supposed to have which would help him defeat Voldemort?

Was Salazar Slytherin aware that Tom Riddle was his Heir? And the other Founders, did they know about it?

They had said that he was linked to Voldemort, were they talking about his scar?

Sirius had told him that they didn't think it was anything to worry about. Harry thought otherwise. It was different. They could say whatever they wanted, he was the one feeling the pain. Indeed, it had hurt in the past, before Voldemort's return, but not like this and never so often.

There was also another question he had never dared to think about too long. Maybe because he wasn't sure he wanted to answer it. Maybe because he didn't want to care.

What might have become of Tom Riddle if he had not turned to the Dark Arts?

Harry shook his head to chase the thought away. Tom Riddle had murdered his parents and had tried to kill him. He was inherently evil, and his only goal was to establish a reign of terror. Period!

'Are you OK Harry?' Asked Hermione a bit concerned by her friend. 'You look pale, maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey.'

'I am fine Hermione,' quickly replied Harry. 'I am sorry I just feel bad for forgetting Flitwick's paper.'

'It's because of this horrible woman,' muttered Ron while looking suspiciously around. 'Seriously, all those detention mate, she can't do that! She doesn't have the right!'

'Yes, she does,' replied Harry a bit annoyed.

'But she can't make them that long!' Exclaimed Hermione. 'I still believe you should talk to McGonagall about this.'

They were still believing that if Harry was coming late at night, it was because of his detentions.

'You know I can't do that,' retorted Harry. 'This is what she wants! I would lose to her if I complained about it.'

'Lose?' Repeated Hermione. 'This isn't a game, Harry!'

Harry sighed and glanced at his friend. He had rarely seen her so outraged. He tamed his rising anger and took a deep breath.

'Look, she's just making me copy lines, it's not the end of the World. Besides, it will be over by the end of the week,' he said with an encouraging tone. 'After that I will have the time to catch up with my work.'

'You promise?' She pouted.

'I promise you, Hermione,' replied Harry with a pinch in his heart. It wasn't a lie but wasn't the truth either. He would stop going in detention, but he would still need to go on with his training.

They separated on the stairs and Harry took the direction of Umbridge's office. He had decided to use this detention to practice Salazar's breathing exercise. On one hand it could help him cope with the pain, on the other hand, doing exactly what Umbridge feared during his punishment felt like a sweet revenge. He completely ignored her while sitting at the desk on which she had arranged the parchment and the quill. He took it with a casual look on his face and started to write.

'I must not tell lies.'

He felt his skin tear as soon as the quill touched the paper. He didn't blink and focused on his breathing. In and out. In and out. He had to let go of the storm of violent emotions that was seizing his mind.

'I must to tell lies.'

After several nights of having his hand being sliced open, it couldn't heal as fast as during the first detention. The blood started to stain the wood. Harry's eye briefly deviated on the cut and, for a moment, he pictured Umbridge's face covered with similar cuts. He took the deepest and most silent breath he could manage and continued his lines.

During the whole detention he fought his anger and, by the end of it, if he couldn't say he had succeeded in controlling it, he could at least congratulate himself for not breaking down in front of her. She took his bruised hand between her pudgy fingers and smiled contentedly.

'That will do for tonight Mr. Potter,' she said with her usual unctuous voice. 'I'll see you tomorrow and, in the meantime, I wish you a pleasant night.'

A thousand of insults crossed Harry's mind but he managed to stay polite. He had to summon his self-control to not flee the room. He reluctantly climbed the stairs up to the seventh floor and he took the time to catch his breath before approaching the Room of Requirements. When he was thinking about it, he couldn't stop himself from finding it ironic that the encounter he dreaded the most was the one with Godric. Not that he disliked the man, but he hadn't felt the connection he would have expected as the true Gryffindor he was supposed to be. If anything, he had found the man… overwhelming.

He straightened up, opened the door, and entered.

Godric Gryffindor was waiting for him standing in the middle of the room. He smiled warmly at Harry when he saw him and invited the boy to join him. Harry let his schoolbag near the entrance and approached the impressive wizard.

'Good evening young man!' Greeted Godric with a strong voice.

'Good evening… Sir,' replied Harry with a brief hesitation on the last word.

'Sir? Ha! You may call me Godric, young man,' replied the tall wizard with a laugh. '"Sir" sounds way too formal for my taste. You can keep it for Salazar.'

'What shall we do tonight then?' Asked Harry while drawing his wand.

'Straight to the point, I like that!' Said Gryffindor. He waived towards the left side of the room, which was still in the dark, and a row of various training dummies.

'When it comes to teaching,' started Godric while contemplating the dummies, 'I believe in a more practical approach, if you see what I mean.'

Harry couldn't refrain a smile. He perfectly understood the wizard and he had the feeling he would enjoy his training session tonight.

'Are you going to teach me how to duel?' Asked eagerly Harry.

'Better than that,' answered Godric. 'I am going to teach you how to think and move on a battlefield.'

He glanced toward Harry and was pleased to notice the spark that had ignited in his eyes.

'I want to emphasize on the fact that you must not expect me to teach you about new spells or ways to use your magic,' he said while looking straight at Harry. 'This is something you'll have to take care of whether it is on your own or with the help of Helga, Rowena, or Salazar."

Harry withheld his gaze and nodded. Message received loud and clear.

'Good,' said Gryffindor while clapping his hands. 'As I always say, the best form of defence is a good offence. Let's see what you can make of this one.'

The Founder snapped his fingers and one of the dummies positioned itself at the center of the room. It had a wooden frame and the erratic movements of its arms made Harry believe it was more mechanical than magical.

'What do you want me to do with it?' Asked Harry a bit puzzled.

'As you can see the dummy is holding a stick. All I want from you is simply to disarm it.'

'Easy enough,' thought Harry who was starting to relax.

He walked to face the dummy and raised his wand.

'Expelliarmus!' He shouted.

But as soon as he finished his spell, the dummy released a wave of energy that threw Harry against the wall. Luckily for him, it had been thoughtfully covered with a padded mat which absorbed most of the impact.

'Again,' said calmly Godric.

Harry stumbled to face the dummy again and raised his wand. His spell was triggering a reaction from the dummy. The force that had projected him had been strong but maybe there was a way to dodge it.

'Stupefy!'

As soon as he casted his spell, he threw himself on the side, feeling the wave of energy brushed past him, and faced the dummy again after he had recovered his balance to cast his Disarming Spell. But the dummy had followed his movement and was already facing him, ready to retaliate.

'Not fast enough,' thought Harry.

He tried to cast the spell while dodging the blast, but he quickly found out that trying to pronounce "Expelliarmus" while rolling over was close to impossible. He stood up back on his feet for the fifth time of the night. His muscles were starting to be sore, and he was panting but, strangely, he was happy to be here. He hadn't made any progress and many people could have started to feel discouraged but to Harry, it was thrilling.

He deployed a shield before casting the Disarming Spell, which helped a bit, but he never managed to invoke a shield strong enough to absorb the whole impact. For a whole hour he tried different tactics that, unfortunately, all failed.

'All right that's enough for tonight,' finally said Godric.

'But I haven't disarmed it yet!' Protested Harry.

'Though I admire your fighting spirit,' replied Gryffindor, 'one must know how to pace their effort. If I let you go on, you'll exhaust yourself and be no use tomorrow evening.'

Harry nodded, a disappointed look on his face. He was sweating profusely, and his breath was frantic. Godric had a point.

'I'm sorry,' he muttered while putting his wand back in his pocket.

'For what?' Asked Godric surprised.

'Well… I failed,' replied Harry with a grumpy voice. 'I know I am not a great wizard, but I expected more from me.'

'Ah, it was quite a show to see you jump around like you did,' laughed Godric. 'But I disagree with you, you didn't fail.'

Harry glanced at the Founder with an interrogative look.

'I have seen a lot of wizards and witches fail in my life,' explained Godric with a soft voice. 'You know what they all had in common? They all gave up at some point. You didn't. If you are still standing your ground, ready to put up a fight, you can't say you have failed. Just that you still haven't tried everything.'

It took Harry some time before being able to speak again. Gryffindor's reputation might have been based on his boldness and bravery, but Harry would need to remember he was also one of the most brilliant wizards of all time. Something he could clearly see now.

'I'll do better next time,' he finally said.

'This is what I want to hear!' Exclaimed Godric with a smile. 'I'll see you in four days!'