Hey all, me again. Thanks for the awesome reviews; they've kept me going for the past few days! This might be kind of short and uninspired, but I'm running on black tea and chocolate, so you know….
I'm going to continue from where we left off last time, but I'm not going to do anything actually in the Vale, because I'm just too tired to bother with any of that crap. I'll do more of it later if you all want me to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last time:
That night, Harry dreamt about his time in the Vale. He really did miss everyone there…..
"Harry Potter," one of them began. "You have been brought here for a very special reason. You are one of the very few non-elves that have ever been within the Vale. You have been brought here because you have been chosen by fate to fight the rising forces of evil in this world. Do you understand of whom I speak?"
"Y—" Harry cleared his throat and began again. "Yes, sir. Voldemort and his Dark forces."
"Not Dark, Harry, never Dark. There is a vast difference between Dark and evil," one of the other elves said. "That is part of what you will be learning if you choose to accept the offer we will give you. We can train you in all different forms of magic, and you would be able to defeat even Voldemort by the time you are done training."
~~~~~~~~~~
Harry woke up with a smile on his lips, remembering his experiences in the Vale and how wonderful it had been there. He sighed as he sat up, rubbing his eyes and heaving himself out of bed. He looked over his schedule and saw that he had DADA first that morning, and he grinned. They were supposed to start practical classes this week. They had covered a lot of curses and Dark creatures, though they only studied creatures for a few days. In third year, they had covered most of the creatures that they would run into.
He stood and stretched like a cat, feeling his bones pop and his muscles slowly ease out of their tenseness. He quickly dressed, and donned all of his weapons, before casting another powerful invisibility charm on himself and walking out to the Quidditch pitch.
After a long and exhausting workout, he stowed his weapons and ran back to the tower, catching his breath before entering the room. He didn't want to wake any of the other boys.
He slipped inside and shed his weapons and workout clothes, keeping his one hidden dagger at the back of his neck just in case. He didn't feel comfortable going anyplace without it.
He finished dressing in his school robes just as Seamus and Neville began to stir, and soon all five of them were awake. They went down to breakfast together, talking excitedly about their first practical DADA lesson.
"What do you think she'll make us do?" Ron asked excitedly.
"Maybe she'll make us fight and give points to the winner," Dean said. Harry could tell that he was thinking of Muggle wrestling, and fought to keep from laughing.
"I think we'll probably just work on basics today," Hermione said thoughtfully, sitting down between Ron and Harry. "She wouldn't make us do anything beyond our skill, would she?"
"Well, I've wrestled with my brothers a bit," said Ron. "That could count for
something."
"I took boxing in fifth grade," Dean offered, holding his hands up with imaginary gloves and jabbing the air.
"I've never done anything," said Neville, sounding scared.
"Neither have I," Seamus said, but he didn't look worried. "Harry? What about you?"
"I—er, trained a lot, when I was with the wizard in the mountains," he said. "I know a lot of stuff that you probably won't learn in the basics classes."
The boys all looked impressed, and Hermione stared at him for a moment before looking away.
Breakfast was over before they knew it, and they were soon on their way to DADA. Harry felt a slight thrill of anticipation, not knowing what Adara was going to teach them.
~~~~~~~~~
They were all seated when Adara strode in, and she set down a number of weapons on her desk. Harry recognized them at once; nunkachu, longswords, broadswords, daggers, staff, blowgun, and club. He smiled as everyone's eyes grew wide, and a few of the people began to look uncertain as Adara picked up the broadsword and hefted it expertly in her hands.
"This, people," she began with no fanfare, "Is a sword. To state the obvious. And, I just want to be telling you that you will not, under any circumstances—" She looked fiercely around at the class. "—be touching it without strict supervision. In fact, you will not be touching any weapons at all for at least a month."
Soft groans echoed throughout the classroom, and Adara looked at them sharply.
Slowly, she reached down and rolled up her right sleeve until her upper arm was exposed. Harry winced, knowing what was coming.
A deep, jagged scar ran from Adara's outer bicep and down her arm to the inside of her elbow. The class stared, and Lavender gasped.
"This is what can happen if you try to play with toys you aren't big enough for yet," Adara said quietly, and the class was silent. They had gotten the point.
Adara paced the classroom, pretending to be thinking abut who to choose as a victim. Really, she was speaking to Harry.
:How are you feeling? Are you up to a demonstration?: she asked. Harry nodded imperceptibly, and she smiled slightly. :Don't worry. I won't give anything away.:
She stopped pacing and stood before the class.
"Today, class, we will have a little demonstration. It will be—" :Grappling or striking?: she asked quickly. Harry replied with an enthusiastic :Striking!: and she resumed her speech smoothly. "—striking. This means mostly punches and kicks; no throws, armbars, headlocks, or the like. The person with whom I will be sparring has had a few years of intensive training, and is by no means as good as I am, but is adequate enough."
"Hey!" Harry said, standing up when Adara winked at him. "No fair. You've been training for nearly your whole life!"
Adara smiled and motioned for him to come up while the class gaped at him.
She drew a magical ring that shone like fire on the bare floor at the front of the room, and Harry nodded and bowed. Adara did the same, and moved into a guard stance.
Harry immediately launched an attack, delivering a powerful side kick to Adara's shoulder as she tried to dance out of the way. She caught him with a jab to the ribs, but he was able to deflect most of it. He aimed a crescent kick at her head, but missed as she ducked and rolled, coming up to grab his foot and twist. He too hit the floor and rolled, but he had to quickly reverse direction and leap to his feet as his teacher's foot came down barely half a foot from his head.
They circled warily, and Harry smiled slightly. This was just like back at the Vale.
He took a sliding step inside her guard and feinted a roundhouse kick to her left side, but at the last moment reversed it and struck her in the ribs instead on her other side. She grabbed her side and the class collectively gasped.
Harry dodged her swing and tried to throw a punch of his own, but was painfully blocked. The bone-on-bone contact jarred his arm for a moment, and he slid back, shaking it out. Adara tried to come in with a kick to his head, but he ducked under it and swept her other leg, landing her on the ground. She let out her breath in a whoosh and held up her hand for him to stop. He offered his own to help her up, and she took it.
They turned back to the students, who were staring openmouthed at their classmate who had just defeated their teacher. They'd had no idea that he could do that much!
Harry took a grinning bow and sat back down, slightly out of breath. Ron clapped him on the back, and Hermione frowned slightly, as though she thought it wasn't right to beat a teacher. Adara dusted herself off and turned to the class.
"Well done, Harry. Fifteen points to Gryffindor. I see your mentor taught you well."
Harry grinned, and winked at Adara, who sent him a brief mental caress before continuing.
"None of you will reach that level of skill this year, but we can at least teach you some of the simpler blocks and strikes. Now, will everyone kindly evacuate their seats and come stand up here?"
The students all did so, and Adara cleared away the desks with a wave of her wand. She paired them all off and taught them the basic blocks that they would need, and then strikes, so they could practice together. Harry walked through the class in almost a trance, having taught some of the younger, less experienced elves back at the Vale.
~~~~~~~~~~
After class was out, Harry took a shortcut to Divination, so that he would have some extra time to gather his books and his thoughts.
He turned the corner into a deserted corridor, when a voice rang out and stopped him in his tracks.
"So, Potter, I heard you bested the teacher," came Malfoy's cold drawl. Harry turned and looked at Malfoy calmly.
"You heard correct, Malfoy. Come to congratulate me?"
Malfoy smirked. "Hardly. I just think you're getting full of yourself."
"That's nice, Malfoy. I don't have time for this. I have to get to class."
Malfoy reached out an arm to grab his shoulder, stopping him.
"Don't touch me, Malfoy," Harry said quietly, turning to face the blonde boy.
Malfoy smirked and squeezed painfully. Harry reached over and grabbed Malfoy's pinkie, peeling his hand off of his shoulder and slowly forcing him to the ground in a pain-compliance hold. He smirked as Malfoy paled, and then released him, turning to go.
"I told you not to touch me, Malfoy," he called back over his shoulder. "And that's not even a hint of what I can do to you. So don't try it again."
His sharp ears caught a muttered curse, and he hit the floor just as a curse shot over his head, rolling and coming up on his feet.
"You really don't want to duel me, Malfoy," Harry warned, trying to keep his patience. Malfoy snarled and raised his wand. Harry sighed. He would have to do this the hard way, after all.
Malfoy shot another hex at him, and Harry easily dodged it, before sending one of his own back at Malfoy. The other boy's face instantly turned a violent shade of purple, and his skin began to grow yellow fur. Harry laughed as Malfoy tried to peel it off, and ended up howling in pain.
Harry heard Crabbe and Goyle coming up behind him, and whirled around. He quickly turned their hair bright, neon pink and blinding orange in turn, and ducked between them to hurry up the hallway. He rounded a corner and cast the invisibility spell on himself, sticking his head back around to watch.
Malfoy was still scratching at his face, and blundering into walls, as the fur had now grown down past his eyes. Crabbe and Goyle were staring at each other in confusion, and finally got the incentive to go hold on to Malfoy so that he wouldn't hurt himself any more. Harry overheard something about going to the hospital wing, and laughed softly to himself. Pomfrey wouldn't be able to do anything but shave Malfoy's face off, but his skin would still be purple. The color charms would wear off in a month or so.
~~~~~~~~~
Harry basically slept through Divination, and was walking the halls towards lunch when he found himself caught by the shoulders and slammed into a wall. He instinctively brought his hands up and had his attacker in a joint lock before he saw who it was and let go at once.
"Potter," Snape gasped, face red with fury. "What—did—you—DO!"
Harry looked up at the Potions master, momentarily caught by the other man's sheer force of emotion.
"Sir, I—"
"Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, Potter! What did you do to them?"
Harry remembered and fought to keep a smile off of his face.
"I—I just hit them with hexes, sir. They attacked me in the corridor."
"WHAT hexes, Potter?"
"Er—"
Harry froze. He couldn't tell Snape what they were—they weren't any curses that could be found in Hogwarts, not even in the Restricted section. Malfoy's was a curse that was used by many juvenile elves—juvenile of course meaning anywhere between the ages of 20 and 100. Crabbe's and Goyle's were dyeing jinxes mainly used by elves to mark territory and animals, such as pets. There were many pets that looked exactly the same in the Vale, and could be distinguished only by the distinctive markings that their owners had put on them. It could not be removed, and would not wear off for several weeks.
"My office, Potter." Snape snarled, and Harry sighed and followed, still trying to think of something to tell Snape.
They got to the dark, gloomy office, and Snape motioned for him to sit down, glaring fiercely at him.
"Explain. Where did you learn those curses?"
"Er—I learned them from—from my mentor, sir. He knew a lot of—a lot of curses that were not known to most wizards."
"I don't believe you, Potter," Snape said, leaning forward and sneering, black eyes glittering dangerously. "You have been hiding many things, I can sense it, and I will find out, whether you are willing or not. Tell me, Potter. Where were you during your fifth and sixth years?"
"With my mentor," Harry answered, and Snape sighed, leaning back and rubbing his temples. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then conjured up two cups and a teapot. He poured two cups, and took one for himself, drinking it down in one swallow. He glared at Harry until he, too, took a cup, and sipped it hesitantly.
Snape smiled dangerously, and set down his now-empty mug. He steepled his fingers and narrowed his eyes.
"Tell me, Potter, who was this mentor of yours, and where did you stay?"
"I can't tell you, sir," Harry said calmly.
Snape stared at Harry for a moment, and Harry frowned, puzzled. Then suddenly, he felt a nagging tug at the back of his head, and he realized with a jolt of horror that Snape had put Veritaserum in his cup. And he had just completely blown his cover by refusing to answer the question.
"What is this, Potter?" Snape hissed, pale and wide eyed. "How can this happen?"
"I—I—"
Snape stood up and stalked over to Harry, before snatching up the cup and examining it minutely.
"Yes, it's in there," he muttered, before slamming it down on his desk and turning his attention back to Harry.
"You will tell me, boy, what strange magic is at work here, or I will take you before the Headmaster, and tell him all of what has just occurred."
Harry closed his eyes in defeat as he realized that he had no choice. He knew that he had to tell his teacher, but he had to ensure that Snape would not reveal any of his secrets first.
"All right, Snape, I will tell you, but on one condition. You cannot speak of this to anyone else. Lives are at stake, and a whole civilization could come to ruin if you let any of this slip. Do you understand?"
Snape looked for a moment like he was going to say something, but then he closed his mouth and nodded gravely.
"Do continue," he said silkily. Harry sighed and closed his eyes, and settled back to begin the story of his time in the Vale.
~~~~~~~~~
A/n: That's all for now folks! I'll be posting replies to reviews soon, and again thankyou thankyou thankyou!!! You guys keep me going….I read my own story when I'm not signed in, on FF.n, because it's easier to catch mistakes like that, and I looked up and was like, wow!!!! I have 83 reviews! That is so awesome! Thank you guys, and I'm so sorry on the slowness of these chapters, but I'm starting school soon, and I'm in the International Baccalaureates program, and it's soooo hard……so the chapters might be a little slow, but they're still coming!! I love you guys!!!
P.S. – I hope the fight scene wasn't too much…..but I just love doing them, and I've found over the past few years that they are SO much easier to write when you actually take a martial art…..you know all the footing and striking techniques and stuff……but anyways, enough of my rambling! On to the next chapter! (which technically isn't a chapter, since it's review replies, but hey it makes me happy!)