Disclaimer : I do not own anything of the Harry Potter universe, it all belongs to JK Rowling, I just love writing about the fantastic universe she presented us.
If there are still grammer or spelling mistakes, please let me know. English isn't my native language (plus I have dyslexia), so it is possible that there are still a few mistakes in my stories even though I edit them before I post them. I hope you'll enjoy the story.
Taking control - chapter 1
The next morning, after going on a run, they put on some comfortable, but still presentable clothes and started their search for their personal instructors for mundane fighting.
The first gym they had found, was the closest to their home, but the moment they stepped inside, they already didn't think that it would be what they were searching for. The first sight they had, was a large room, which had padded floors. However on those floors were almost solely women that were bending in strange positions. They were also clothed in very form fitting clothing that left nothing for their imagination.
Without speaking to anyone, they turned around and crossed out the name on the paper. The list they had was a list Dobby had compiled for them, with all the gyms in the neighborhood.
They walked towards the next gym on their list. Once they arrived and had entered, they immediately saw a lot of equipment and machines. From what Harry could see, it looked more like a fitness gym than a real gym. However, they decided they'd at least ask for more information. For all they knew, there was more to the building that they could see at that point.
"Excuse me. We were wondering if you also had some classes around here and if so, what kind" Tonks inquired towards the lady that was sitting behind a desk.
"We have the option to hire a personal trainer, who helps you reach your goal here. They mostly explain the exercises you have to do. Aside from that, we also organize a boxing class every Friday evening" the woman explained and also gave them a brochure.
Harry accepted the brochure. "Thank you for your information" and with a nod, they merely left, both knowing that they wouldn't find what they were looking for there.
The next gym was a little bit further, so they decided to flag down a cab to take them there. Finding a free cab was actually already an adventure, one that made them realize even more that they'd really need their driver's license if they wanted to get around in a non-magical way. Mentally putting it on their to do list, they prepared themselves to enter the next gym on the list.
Walking hand in hand, they entered the next building. What they saw was an open room, that had some equipment at the sides, apart from that, there wasn't actually that much to see in the room. It actually looked a bit dreary.
They had just wanted to turn around, when they saw someone walking towards them.
"Good morning, can I help you?" she asked them.
Harry and Tonks looked at each other before they looked back at the woman in front of them. "We were wondering what kind of classes you offer" Tonks eventually said.
"If you would follow me to my office, then I can explain the classes we offer. Or if you'd prefer a tour first? We are actually renovating this part of the building, so our regulars actually use the other entrance" the woman suggested.
"How about the explanation first" Harry decided and the squeeze he got in his hand from Tonks told him she was fine by that.
"Of course, follow me please" and Harry and Tonks followed the woman towards her office. While they did so, they already passed some other parts of the building and it did look a lot better than the room they had entered.
Once they were seated, the woman started explaining. "First of all, we have classes that we offer, practically every moment of the day, even during the nights. We have a wide offer of martial arts styles that you can follow. Aside from that, we also have some instructors who give private classes or who do community classes"
"We are mostly interested in the private instructors, for each one, and we actually want to get instruction almost every day" Tonks told her, which immediately caused the woman's eyes widen a little bit, but the reaction was quickly controlled.
Opening up her computer, the woman started looking at it. "Of course, any time of the day you'd prefer or a martial arts style?"
"We were hoping for everyday from seven till nine in the morning and we aren't so familiar with that much martial arts styles, so if they have a few to teach, that would of course be the best" Tonks answered, hoping they'd actually find what they were looking for.
"I have three pairs of instructors that I can find that sometimes work together. The first are two brothers who have been teaching for almost thirty years. The second two are married and have been teaching for about five years. The last option are a man and a woman who have experience teaching together and also offer private instruction, with seventeen and fifteen years of experience in teaching" the woman told them after looking at her computer for a while.
They pondered about it for a while, before Harry answered, knowing that Tonks probably felt the same. "Would it be possible to meet with the couple first. To see if they agree to teach us and we are agreeable as well"
"Of course, if you want, Adrian is finishing a class in about fifteen minutes, while Maggie should be done a few minutes later"
Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting in a little meeting room, waiting for Adrian and Maggie to show up, so they could get to know each other and tell them what they expected or wanted.
They had been waiting for about ten minutes when the door opened and a young man stepped inside. He clearly had a fit body, his hair was sand brown and he had moss green eyes. Harry and Tonks couldn't help but feel at easy almost immediately, because of the easy going attitude he showed. "Good morning, apparently you two are interested in private classes with me and my wife" the man, Adrian, greeted them.
"We are" Harry merely said, but he got up to shake Adrian's hand, followed by Tonks.
"My wife should be here any minute, her class this morning finish five minutes after mine" Adrian explained, motioning for them to sit down again.
They waited in comfortable silence until Adrian's wife, Maggie could join them. Five minutes later, a woman with an oval face and black hair entered the room. Harry and Tonks were already starting to stand up again to greet her. "Don't bother" she waved them off. "I'm Maggie and I'm assuming my husband introduced himself already"
A small smirk appeared on Harry's face hearing that. "Actually he didn't, but we're assuming or rather hoping that he's Adrian. Nice to meet you. I'm Harry and this is Tonks" Harry replied.
By Maggie's unamused face towards Adrian, it was clear that she wasn't that happy with her husband that he had forgotten common courtesies. "Nice to meet you two. I would apologize for Adrian, but I think he should"
"Alright, alright. Sorry for not introducing myself, I just thought we'd do the introduction together" Adrian good-naturedly said, still a smile on his face. It was clear that such banter between the two of them was common.
"Sorry for trailing off, but Sara told me that you two were interested in following private classes" Maggie put the conversation back on track.
"We are. We are looking for one-on-one classes. This would preferably be most days of the week in the mornings. And if it's even remotely possible, from seven till nine" Tonks explained.
"We have open slots for most days, apart from Saturdays and Sundays. On Saturday we have a class we teach from seven till nine and we don't work on Sundays.
Both Harry and Tonks nodded, but it was Harry that replied. "We wouldn't mind joining a class or two, we'd just prefer that most of or classes were private"
"In that case I'd suggest that we give you private training from Monday till Friday and that you join our class on Saturday. It's actually a mixed martial arts class for intermediate levels. However, if you have private training with us that often, you should quickly reach the baseline level for that class, so we wouldn't mind you joining" Adrian told them.
"And on Sunday you could follow a class in Capoeira, which is a mix between fighting and dancing to explain it simply. It helps with the fluidity of your movements" Maggie filled in.
Harry and Tonks shared a look, but it told them enough. "We think that's a good idea" Harry said for the both of them. "When can we start?"
"I could start training you tomorrow, however I know that Maggie still has some classes she has to finish in August, so she would be able to join us in a few days" Adrian told them.
"That's fine for us. I'm assuming that we'd pay at Sara's office? How much in advance do we pay?" Tonks inquired, already thinking about the practical stuff.
"And how much would the classes be. Not that money is a problem, just so we can make an estimate" Harry added, his mind now also on the more practical side of their classes.
Now Adrian and Maggie looked at each other, clearly not knowing who should tell them. Eventually it was Maggie who did so. "Private classes are seventy-five dollars per instructor per hour. Classes are three hundred dollar for four months per class you follow"
"And how much in advance should we pay" Harry replies without batting an eye at the prices, since they were nothing compared to the inheritance he had gotten.
It was clear that both Adrian and Maggie hadn't expected that the prices wouldn't be a problem, as they sat there, looking at Tonks and Harry in surprise. It was eventually Maggie who recovered first. "Normal classes are paid in the beginning of the four months, while private instruction is usually paid for a month up front"
"And I'm guessing that we should pay that with Sara?" Tonks asked and seeing their nods, she continued. "We'll make sure that we do that before we leave then"
Harry and Tonks could see that their new instructors were curious to how they had so much money, while they were still obviously very young, but refrained from asking. Instead, they said their goodbyes and made their way to their next class.
After that, they first went to pay with Sara for the classes they would take, which was almost eight thousand dollars for the two classes they'd take and the private instruction for the first month. They were just glad that they could pay with their card instead of having to hand over cash, which would have raised even more eyebrows.
Once that was over, they got their tour around the building. Sara had been right that the room they had entered in really didn't to the building right. There was a large room where a ring had been installed like Harry had seen once on a boxing game while Dudley had been watching. Then there were multiple smaller rooms, even though they were almost as big. They were completely padded for safety. There were at least twenty such rooms. Then there was also a fitness part of the building.
"You can use the fitness for free since you joined one of classes" Sara told them when they passed it.
Both Harry and Tonks didn't really see the purpose for it, but they guessed it was mostly since they didn't understand what most of the machines or equipment were for. Plus they would probably already have enough training otherwise, with their training in the afternoon and their running in the mornings.
After that, she merely showed them the changing rooms and gave them the information they'd need the next morning so they'd know where to go for their first training with Adrian.
Happy with the place they had found, they walked back to their home, wanting to know how far it was, since they still didn't have any transportation options apart from going by foot or taking a cab. In the end, they had to walk for about twenty-five minutes before they got home.
"Do you know how to ride a bike?" Harry asked when they had entered the house.
Tonks looked at him in surprise, but did nod. "My father taught me when I was younger, especially since that was something I could do on my own"
Harry nodded. "I'm not great at riding a bike, but my primary school gave classes to learn how to ride a bike. So we could buy a couple bicycles for the moment. That will cut our time to go to the gym, since it will probably take some time to get our driver's license and we shouldn't use magic to go there"
"Sure, why not, let's look into that this evening, since I really want to train some this afternoon" Tonks pointed out and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.