Note: Please look to prologue for disclaimer and additional notes about the story.

A Dance With Fate

Canopus Carina

Chapter 9 of 20

It had taken them much longer than they had thought. Hermione attacked the code with a zealous that even surprised him though he had lived with her so long. By breaking the code by hand, they were loosing valuable time, but it had to be done. Whenever he entered Hermione's quarters, she was surrounded by books stacked taller than she, muttering in a mixture of Latin, English, and another language he didn't even think was real. In an attempt to save one, they were slowly loosing another.

He took it on himself to assure that she was not pushed past her limitations, as she was not looking closely at them for herself. She was slowly loosing her love, her one and only sweetheart, and would not stop before he was back to her again. If they failed, he knew she would surely slip in the void like Ron. He didn't think he could bear loosing both of them.

And time was running out.

Monday: 3 October 1977

The Marauders were excited to start the second month of extra lessons that Harry provided. He had mentioned in the last lesson that for those who continued to this point would be in for actual spells that those who were faced with a Death Eater have used to survive. The other adults usually grazed over this subject, in the hope that their students or children wouldn't need such skills. An unfounded hope among the desperation of the impeding war.

Their master plan of getting to the class early so that they could get a good seat was foiled as they realized half of those who participated were already in the Great Hall. It seemed as if almost everyone had realized that if they were near the front, Harry would generally choose them to participate in his display.

Harry walked in and his expression immediately turned to one of surprise. "You would think that after last month's lesson s you wouldn't want to show up anymore."

"We want to duel!" a third year Ravenclaw called out.

"Ah, I remember now," Harry joked as he continued his way to the front of the Great Hall. "But if we are going to do that, we are going to go through some spells first. Now some of these you may already have seen. I don't know the charms curriculum so for those who have already learned this, bear with me as some of these really need to be taught before we get into some of the more potent spells. If you could, I would appreciate it if you would help those who aren't getting it if you already know it. But I will figure some harder ones for you soon. Now, who has done a Jelly Legs Jinx?"

The class progressed to go over the jinx in detail: how to move the wand, which syllables to accentuate, what could be used to block it. "Who would like to help me in this demonstration?"

Remus was awfully tempted to volunteer himself just to show off his skill at jinxes, hexes, and curses. But something in the way that Harry said it made him second guess volunteering. Sirius was picked instead.

"How do you want it done?" Sirius asked while sauntering up to Harry. But even before he was able to pull out his wand, he was hit by Harry's jinx in full force. The hall erupted in laughter as Sirius flopped to the ground.

"Who would like to tell me what Sirius did wrong here?"

"But I wasn't ready!" Sirius argued, moodily casting the counter-jinx so that he could stand.

"Exactly," Harry answered. "In an official duel no one starts until each one is ready, but in a real battle your opponent will not care. It is an advantage for them, one that they will take no matter who you are. I hope that you have learned your lesson? I picked you because you were the only one that volunteered that didn't already have their wand out. Everyone else, you should have it ready to cast spells, not just on the table or loosely in your hand. You could go back to your seat, Sirius."

Sirius followed the instructions with a put out look. Several chuckles were let loose at the reaction.

"I would like to separate everyone into groups based on your ability to do the spell. Those who have never done this before: could you please go to the back of the hall? Now those who still have some trouble with it, but have already learned it please go to my right. Everyone else, and I hope that you are able to do this spot on and be able to block it, go to my left." He waited until everyone was in their appropriate spots before he moved again. With a flick of his wand and a few well chosen words, several dummies appeared in the back and right sides of the hall, enough for each student in those areas to use. "Now for those who know this, partner up. You will now be practicing against each other. Just like in your usual classes, one will be casting and the other will be blocking. Start now."

As Remus was in that group, he turned to look for a partner. Sirius and James were also in that group, while Peter opted to go in the 'struggling' group, but they were going to partner up together leaving Remus out. But surpringly, Sirius tapped him on the shoulder. Turning to James, he noticed that the other boy was trying to get Lily to be his partner. Either Harry's other lessons were working or James was using the I-don't-have-a-partner excuse because Lily actually decided to be his partner.

Harry instructed the students who hadn't seen the jinx before until they were the same level as the 'struggling' group or the 'excelling' group and were respectfully re-divided.

Remus shot the curse again at Sirius when he was watching the young students move to the other groups, therefore bypassing his shield and Sirius fell to the ground. He only laughed as Sirius shot a dirty look at him. "You should have learned what Harry told you," he teased.

As Sirius struggled to get his wand that had somehow fallen just a foot out of reach and didn't have mobility of his feet, Remus looked over to what Harry was doing. The older boy had just stopped his rounds of the 'struggling' group next to one of the students who had kicked his dummy after not being able to cast the spell correctly again.

"Just relax, it will come to you." Harry instructed calmly.

"Why even bother? I'm never going to get this right."

"Don't you dare," Harry forced out, one syllable at a time. "Don't you ever dare say that. Your life is at stake, your very future is being risked as you throw your life away by not learning this. But if you don't get out of your crazy attitude, get out, I will not be the reason for your death. So get busy." Harry stared down the moody Hufflepuff waiting for him to get back to work, but the kid refused to budge. Harry developed a crazed haze as he approached the rebel. "I once knew a boy that you remind me of, the pride of his house, who died right in front of me in battle just because he was simply there. If they are anything like those in my country's war, the Death Eaters don't care about what you decided to learn at school. Just pray you have a quick death as they enjoy torturing little kids just to hear them scream. These are sick people planning our deaths and slavery. And you think you will survive by the way you are going?"

"And you think you are ready, Potter?"

Harry, faster than seen, clasped down on the boy's shoulders and shook. "I have seen things you couldn't even dream up of done to innocents. Praise whatever god you believe in that it has not happened to you. Little kids, four, five year old crying out as their parent's souls are ripped out of them by a Dementor's Kiss and no one answers. Sometimes they send a painless Killing Curse at them but most times they send multiple spells to cut the skin off their very bones, to burn their organs until they turn to dust, curdle their blood into gelatinous goo. All the while laughing!

"Could you see your parent going through that? See a sibling or a best friend go through such torture that you wish to kill them yourself because you couldn't bear the sight before your very eyes which would haunt your very life until judgment day?" No one quite knew when their teacher stopped shaking the petrified boy; they were hanging on his very word. He knew what happened outside the castle walls, the facts parents refused to speak in hopes to save the pain from their child's eyes even just a year longer. It was a revelation to those who had not been directly affected by the war around them. "I have seen things which would drive most people insane in a few minutes. You think you will survive by the way you're going? Then keep going- I won't stop you- just do it your own way. But your blood won't stain my hands. I have done all I can do for you."

Harry backed away from the boy and went back to work with someone else as if nothing had happened. They could not believe someone so small and fragile looking could create such a heart-felt outburst, but he did. The Marauders knew otherwise however that Harry was more than he seemed as they lived with him for that summer month. But even the way he looked when he first arrived out of nowhere could not touch on the horrors he must have faced.

Everyone got back to work slowly but surely with a new motivation. They would not allow what Harry had spoken of happen to them. They would fight, fight to the bitter end. But one man fought even harder than the rest. One Amos Diggory refused to allow his setback affect him. He would fight.

End of Chapter 9 – 1,550 of words

Posted: 8 June 2007