Authors Note: Well, here is chapter nine! Sorry it took so long to get posted, my teachers love to assign new projects. Anywho, here's the new chappy. I hope to have 35 reviews before I post chapter ten. I would also like to say that this story will have somewhere between 12-15 chapters in it, so the end is drawing near. Well, R&R!

Secret Rose

Chapter Nine

Hogwarts Goes Buff

Nobody could deny that Harry Potter had faced the Dark Lord several times. They also couldn't deny that he was the best at Defense Against the Dark Arts and couldn't brew a potion to save his life. What everyone could deny was that he didn't stand a chance in a fight that relied solely on his strength, or his ability to throw a decent punch.

That problem was what led up to today. Everyone (except the Slytherins) had accepted Saya and Haji. They had also come to accept Lewis, David, Kai, Riku, and Julia living in the castle. Now everyone, including the previously mentioned, was seated in the Great Hall waiting for Professor McGonagall to speak. After what seemed like an eternity, the headmistress stepped up to the podium and began her speech.

"Students, please quiet down. Thank you. Now as you all are aware of, there are monsters in this world that our magic does almost nothing against. We know these monsters as chiropterans," she paused for a second while whispers broke out and people stared at Haji and Saya. "Settle down please. Now because our magic doesn't work very well on these creatures, I have decided to begin a practical defense class. This class will teach you combat without wands." A few protests from the Slytherin table erupted.

"Now enough. The teachers for this class will be Saya Otonashi, Haji Hayashi, Kai Miyagusuku, Mr. David, and Mr. Lewis. Ms. Julia Silverstein and Riku Miyagusuku will be supervising but will not be taking an active roll in the instruction. Every year will go one day after the next. First years will be instructed first, followed by second and then third years and so on. Classes will take place at 5:00 PM in front of the Forbidden Forest in front of Hagrid's hut. That is all."

As soon as she was finished, the hall broke out into excited chatter. "Are you really going to be teaching?" Hermione asked Haji and Saya, both of whom nodded in response. Taking that as encouragement, she continued, "That's great! You two will be wonderful teachers, everyone knows it. After seeing you two at the ball, everyone will be excited to see what the class is like."

"I suppose they will. Just remember, this is going to be a lot harder than wand training. If you're not in very good shape, this will probably be the hardest class you've taken yet." Saya said.

"What?" Ron asked wide eyed, clearly worried.

"You're going to be pushed to your limit, Ron. You'll have to work really hard at this." Hermione said.

"Harry, are you hearing this? Do you believe what they're saying?" Ron exclaimed.

"Actually, I think it's a pretty good idea." Harry said, not taking his eyes off his eggs which were currently getting pushed around his plate.

"Who are you and what have you done with the Harry I know and sometimes love?" Ron yelled, shaking Harry by the shoulders and causing bits of egg to fly everywhere and hit unsuspecting bystanders.

It had been six days since the new class announcement. First through six years had gone through a class of practical defense, each year commenting on how tough it was. Most of the seventh years didn't take their complaints to heart… much to the amusement of the instructors.

The entire seventh year formed a massive blob outside of Hagrid's hut, staring eagerly at their instructors. Kai, David, Saya, Haji, and Lewis were facing them directly while Julia and Riku stood off to the side next to the Forbidden Forest watching.

David stepped before the hushed crowd of students and began to speak. "Welcome to your first practical defense class. The instructors will be Lewis, Kai, Saya, Haji, and myself. Julia and Riku are on standby should any accidents occur," he paused and let his eyes sweep across the crowd. "Now I imagine that everyone here has heard complaints of this class being difficult. These claims are, in fact, true. This will probably be the hardest class you have ever and will ever face."

"Wizards have become too dependent on their wands. If you ever lose them or drop them, you are completely vulnerable. You will have absolutely no way to defend yourself," Kai continued.

"That is why this class has been established," Lewis said, picking up where Kai left off.

"Now today we're going to do some basic training. There won't be any actual sparring today." Saya said.

"What's sparring?" someone in the crowd asked.

"It's basically like a muggle duel, where you substitute your own body for your wand, using it to defend and attack." Haji said.

"Today you're going to be doing a bit of running so that we can assess what level you all are at and build on from there. First you will do some stretching on your own so not to warrant any kind of injuries." Julia said.

"Okay, listen up. You all are going to do two laps around the lake," David said after stretches were over, his declaration earning cries of protest and many groans. "That's nothing. Saya, Haji, Kai, and myself could easily do ten. We want you to be at easily doing five laps in the next three weeks."

"Everyone line up next to the lake and when I say go, start running," Saya yelled, and after they were lined up continued, "Okay. On your mark. Get set. Go!"

As soon as she yelled "Go", they all took off. All in all, they weren't nearly as bad as the fourth years. For two laps around the lake, it took an average of about forty-five minutes. However, some were way above that time and some were way below it.

"You all can catch your breath while I explain what you are going to do next," Kai said, earning himself several looks of hate. "I want you all to find a low tree branch that you can reach."

They all found a tree branch and he continued, "You're going to be doing some pull-ups."

"What are pull-ups?" a blonde Ravenclaw girl asked.

"And here I thought Ravenclaws were supposed to be smart," a snotty Slytherin boy said.

"Oh, if you know, then please do go ahead and explain it to everyone," Kai said to the Slytherin and when greeted with silence he continued, "What you will do is you will grab the branch with both hands and try to pull yourself up so that your chin goes up higher than the branch."

Understanding seemed to dawn on a majority of the group. However, this understanding was soon replaced with bitterness and anger towards their instructors. "How about you show us how to do one, if you're just so great," a Slytherin remarked.

"Alright," Kai, Saya, and Haji said at once. They each grabbed a branch and pulled their chins over it with extreme ease. They did about ten each and then let go.

"Weirdos…" some Hufflepuff kid mumbled.

"Alright! Now get to work!" Lewis yelled enthusiastically.

"So dear Saya has become a teacher, has she?" a petite woman with long black hair and blue eyes asked to no one in particular.

"It seems." Answered a dark-skinned man.

"Is it almost time?" the young woman asked.

"Yes. The awaited day draws very near." a tall man with shoulder-length brown hair replied.

A small smile played on the woman's lips. "I see. It's about time for a reunion isn't it sister dear?"

Authors Note: Ooh, and so the suspense builds!