"An individual step in character training is to put responsibility on the individual."
~Robert Baden-Powell
Behind the door lay an arena, the floor was soft, as if cushioning charms had been placed on the stone tiles. The walls were grey made of old bricks and upon inspection Harry discovered that these too had the cushioning charms. There were no windows and the chamber was lit up with candles floating close to the ceiling casting shadows in the corners making the room appear smaller than it actually was. Tom was standing in the centre of the room. His stance was feline as he surveyed his prey, looking at the victim Harry realised with a shock that it was Blaise Zabini. Just as he recognised him, Blaise ran forward, almost in slow motion, his legs pumping and his muscles rippling as he took flight. He rushed through the air, almost as if he was swimming before tackling Tom. Tom however, instead of moving, grabbed Blaise's outstretched hand and twisted. The resounding crack was heard throughout the chamber and Harry winced as he saw Blaise's arm hang limply at his side. Feeling eyes on him he turned to see Lysander studying his face, almost waiting for a shocked reaction out of him. Schooling his features he approached Tom, standing to the side a bit as he talked to Blaise.
"Now you need to be quicker, anyone who knows your abilities can easily anticipate that attack, you need to use it as a surprise not a full on assault, now go and see Miranda and I'll see you the same time tomorrow" said Tom sharply. Seeing he was dismissed Blaise nodded at Harry as he walked past them, his eyes were tight as if he was trying to hide his pain but Harry could still hear his ragged breathing.
"Ah Harry, thank you Lysander go and attend to Blaise, I'm sure you know how to help him regain his pride" said Tom, smirking at Lysander's blush.
Now alone with Tom, Harry felt wary. He had just watched him break one of his schoolmates arms and he was going to train him? Fate really must be pissed off with him.
"We need to warm up first so you don't pull your muscles" said Tom indifferently.
Standing opposite each other Tom bent his right leg and pressed all his weight on it whilst stretching his left leg out and sliding his left arm down it until it reached his foot. Copying him Harry found that he couldn't get past his ankle and seeing Tom chuckle he looked up.
"We're going to have to work on your flexibility but doing exercises like these once a day should help that."
Glaring at him, Harry straightened himself up. For the next the exercise Tom held Harry up against one of the walls, lifting one leg at a time so that it stretched as far as it could - right now Harry could stretch his legs about forty-five degrees away from his head. That done they spun their arms like wind mills, loosening the muscles in their shoulders. When Tom had deemed that he had warmed up enough they went back into the middle of the arena.
"Now Harry, we are going to start with some simple moves and then I want you to fight me so I can gauge your strengths more accurately in order to write up a program" said Tom, his tone suggesting he had used this speech a lot in the past.
"Repeat after me."
Tom's feet were spread apart and in line with his shoulders offering more balance. Lifting up one knee he flicked out his foot in a kick. The move was sharp and precise and would, if the force behind it was great, severely wound an unprepared enemy. Mirroring the move Harry was thankful that his Quidditch training had given him excellent balance.
"You need to keep your back straight" said Tom, roughly seizing Harry's shoulders and pulled them back. Kicking again Harry saw Tom appraise him before his mentor stood opposite him.
"Kick me" ordered Tom.
A little apprehensive, images of Blaise's accident in his mind, he tried to strike Tom but as quick as a snake Tom's arm lowered, effectively blocking Harry's kick from reaching his stomach.
"Good I could feel you put a lot of momentum behind that, now how about this one?"
Tom resumed his previous stance, raising his leg he turned his hips making the result kick a side one. If Harry had been close enough it would have hit him in the head. Tom however never lost his balance and flicked his leg back before placing his foot back on the ground. Trying it Harry found that as soon as he flicked his leg out he would lose his balance and wobble before ultimately losing his fight with gravity and end up on the floor. After the fifth time this happened he was incredibly thankful that the floor was charmed. Once again Tom stood before him and ordered him to kick him. Before his foot made contact Tom raised his arm, presenting his forearm to the attacking limb. Bouncing off Tom's arm Harry stumbled but for the first time remained upright.
"The last kick we'll try today is definitely the hardest, once you get the fundamentals down however you will be able to do it easily."
Standing at the other side of the room Tom stood with one foot in front of the other before running down the room. When he was close to Harry he jumped, kicking off with his right foot before flicking out his left on in a manner most similar to the first kick. Landing in a crouch Tom up righted himself and walked over to Harry. Taking that as his cue Harry walked to where Tom had started. Running along the length of the room was strange, it was like running over a trampoline. Hitting the mark he pushed off the ground and flicked out his foot, exhilarated with his success he forgot to land in a crouch and twisted his ankle. Grimacing in pain Tom swooped down on him, pulling his wand out of the holster trapped on his thigh. Waving it over his ankle Tom muttered "episkey" and immediately Harry felt relief spread through him as the pain was removed. Offering him his hand Harry took it and was pulled into a standing position.
"I'm going to teach you simple blocks now" said Tom before launching into it.
Harry watched as Tom raised his arm in the same way he had blocked Harry's roundhouse kick. Moving fluidly his arm snaked down, crossing from his collarbone and down in front of his groin protecting it from low kicks. Pulling his arm back up he positioned it in front of his torso as though to deflect a punch to the chest.
Once Tom was satisfied with Harry's progress in these he motioned for him to stop. Harry watched as Tom paced in front of him and was taken aback when the man lunged at him, coiling his arm back before propelling it forward, his hand in a fist. Reacting on instinct Harry blocked and Tom's arm swung away from him. Using the moment of weakness to his advantage he did a roundhouse kick and would have made contact if Tom hadn't ducked and rolled, flicking his leg out to sweep his feet out from under him. Taken by surprise Harry fell clumsily to the floor and moments after his fall he felt Tom's wand press against his throat. Seconds after registering this he was pulled to his feet and they began again, each time the spar lasted longer and Harry felt he had a better grasp of the man's fighting style.
Taking a break for a few moments, Harry slide down the wall, shivering as the cool stone brushed against his skin. Landing heavily he tucked his knees under his chin before resting his face on them. Tom truly was a good teacher. The way he taught it was either learn this or die, he was right, thinking ones life was on the line was a great motivation and he felt he could grasp many of the concepts taught to him better than he could have hoped.
Feeling Tom slide down next to him he turned his attention to the dark haired man. Tom, despite the exertion, was still pale, he had removed his waistcoat and his white shirt was open at the neck displaying some of his pallid chest. His spidery fingers combed through his hair as he pressed the back of his head to the wall showing off his delectable neck. Harry watched in fascination as he swallowed, his fingers tingled wanting to touch the bobbing Adam's apple. Rolling his eyes at such absurd thoughts Harry was startled as there was a knock on the door. He was still trying to get used to his enhanced hearing and as Lysander's face popped around the door.
"Come in" called Tom coldly.
Harry watched as Lysander moved towards them. Standing in front of Tom, Lysander grinned at his mentor. Looking at Tom's expression the man just looked as cold as ever but perhaps once he got to know him more he could read him better. Right now he could only guess what was going on behind the cold, arrogant mask.
"What is it Lysander?" asked Tom, his tone seemingly bored.
"Alderan wants Harry to meet everyone basically he doesn't want you holding him prisoner in this room all day" said Lysander, apparently unperturbed by Tom's frosty demeanour.
"Very well you may leave but I expect you back here at tomorrow at three and you are to practice the kicks and blocks tonight" said Tom to Harry.
Standing up he left Tom there before following Lysander out. The corridor seemed homey compared to the chilly arena. The candles seemed to wink merrily at him as they walked past. Passing through a wall they came into a room that was filled with an assortment of furniture. Two large, black couches faced each other with a table in between. Armchairs lined the walls ready to be dragged out at the first sign of need. However it appeared that this was rarely rendered necessary as only a few teenagers were perched on the couches and one on an armchair. The carpet was a cream colour contrasting with the furniture and next to the couches was a large fire, tendrils of flame snaking in the hearth and making the room feel cosy.
Taking a place on one of the couches Lysander went over to the other and sat next to Blaise, wrapping and arm around the tanned boy's shoulders. Seeing Blaise lean into the touch Harry surmised that they were together and immediately Tom's remark earlier took on a new meaning. Trying not to blush he looked at the other occupants. Sitting next to him was Hannah Abbott and on her right was Zacharias Smith. Next to Lysander and Blaise was a surly looking boy, his face was pale and his dark curly hair seemed to spill over his forehead and brushed his eyes. Sitting on an armchair at the head of the coffee table was Luna.
"I think you already know Luna, Hannah and Zach, this however is Sergei Abramovich" said Lysander.
"It's a pleasure to meet you" said Harry, holding out his hand.
"Likewise" said Sergei, his Russian accent permeating his words.
"I never knew you were a vampyre" said Harry to Hannah. He had always seen her as a nice girl from Hufflepuff, he couldn't picture her as a lethal Dark creature.
"Oh I'm not, I'm part banshee and Zach is part veela. Bellatrix is training me to become the next oracle" answered Hannah with pride.
"I wondered when you would join us Harry" interjected Luna dreamily.
"So you knew?"
"Oh yes, I'm part elf, my great great Grandmother was the an advisor of the Elvin council. I can see auras and yours was always tinged with darkness."
"Er that's good to know" said Harry awkwardly.
"Don't worry only those with Elvin blood can sense auras, no one has ever been able to explain why and the only other one here that can sense them is Hyperion" said Lysander. Harry almost sighed in relief, Dumbledore wouldn't know he had changed. For a moment he felt a touch of shame pierce his heart as he thought about lying to his old mentor, he knew that it was in his best interest but the man had always been a grandfatherly figure to him. However he couldn't ignore the fact that the man had ruined his life and so hardening his heart he came back to the present.
"Urgh Miranda managed to patch my arm up but it still hurts like hell" groaned Blaise, flexing his left hand.
"I'm so glad I have Bella, she lets me use dummies to learn how to fight before I go against her" said Hannah.
"Hyperion lets me do what I want, I too use dummies but the wrackspurts help me with the magical side of things."
"Wait they actually exist?" asked Harry, he wished he could tell Hermione this she would probably have a fit.
"Of course they do" replied Luna a little offended.
"Sorry its just a little hard to comprehend, what are they exactly?"
"The wrackspurts are the spirits of the ancient Elvin mages that guide younglings to hone their abilities. They help me with my magical abilities and Hyperion trains me to fight."
"How long have you been coming here?"
"I've came every summer since I was five, my mother told me of my heritage before she died and used to accompany me here to train me. When she passed away Hyperion took over my training."
"I'm sorry" said Harry, unsure what to say at such a confession.
"Its quite alright, it was a long time ago and she is with my ancestors now."
The fire faded as they talked and Harry found that he quite liked Sergei - once you got away from his rough demeanour he was actually quite pleasant - and Hannah as always was lovely. Luna mainly stared into space ('probably talking with the wrackspurts' thought Harry still trying to wrap his head around the concept) and Lysander and Blaise kept themselves to themselves. Zach was still as arrogant as ever but Harry found him to be witty and he could easily see a friendship forming between them. It was startling to see how many misconceptions he had had before his change and how his perceptions had been shaped by Dumbledore.
The group's biggest bond seemed to be their shared abnormalities, according to Lysander they were the only teenagers in the complex as the rest were either in the Realm of the Light or destroyed after their abilities were manifested. Certainly in areas were education was lacking there were many purges of those with creature blood in fear that they were demons and the propaganda the Light was spreading certainly never helped. Slowly Harry found his heart was being poisoned against his old mentor but couldn't really bring himself to care anymore. How could people such as these be evil and deserve to die because of idiotic views!
Clenching his fingers to form a fist Harry vowed he would have his revenge, even though he knew Dumbledore in his own twisted way meant well it did not condone his actions.
"Tom you are doing well with him, I can feel his ideals change slowly and soon he shall be ready" said Alderan pacing in front of his throne.
"Why thank you Alderan" replied Tom, bowing slightly.
"I need him to be ready for the start of term and I entrust you with this task, should you fail our kingdom shall fall."
"I understand" said Tom, turning around and leaving the ancient vampyre alone.
A small part of him felt bad for uprooting all the beliefs the boy had held in one go, however as much as it pained him it was necessary. It had been foretold and so it shall come to pass one way or another. Failure was not an option, he hadn't helped build this empire to see it crumble under the Light. Steeling his resolve he retired to his chambers, his heart heavy but his mind sharp, already planning the next moves of his favourite pieces.
A/N: Thanks for the feedback and I hate to sound ungrateful but I would appreciate a few more reviews. I don't know how many people are actually enjoying this and if I'm just wasting my time I would like to know.
The training scene was what I remembered from my karate lessons, if I am mistaken in any of it please tell me as it has been a few years since I have performed the moves myself when actually sparring.
Have a good Christmas!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
I apologise for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes contained within this chapter.