A/N: Still tweaking :D

Chapter 11

Perfection

Darkness. It was something that he was quite used to. Even as a little child he was not afraid of it, considering he used to spend half of his days in the cupboard under the stairs. But somehow, he felt uneasy. It was like a dementor's kiss had zapped him.

Disappoint… You… Me… Disappoint… Disappoint… Disappoint…

HARRY!

Hermione's voice rattled him. He slowly opened his eyes. He was still lying on his belly, head turned sideways, directed at the little corridor of light from the seventh floor. As his senses returned, so did the pain in the back of his neck. The blood had stopped flowing, leaving a dark red channel through one half of his neck.

HARRY!

Harry pushed his arms on the ground, slowly sat up, his head and back resting on the walls, which felt like canvas rather than stone. He could see Hermione also sitting in a similar pose, resting on the opposite wall. There were cut marks on her left cheek and her entire left sleeve had been shredded, leaving long cuts all over her forearm till the elbow. Harry opened his mouth but no voice came out. But thankfully, he didn't have to speak.

What the bloody hell happened?

It's the spell, Harry. Its way more powerful than we ever imagined.

Like the frames in a movie, all of it suddenly burst into Harry's mind. The pull on his arm, the air leaving his chest, the ventus jinx being repelled and heading towards Hermione… HEADING TOWARDS HERMIONE!

Don't Worry, Harry. Thankfully, you didn't have enough control for a direct hit with the repelled jinx. It flew past me and struck the wall there.

Hermione turned her head slowly towards the left. Following her sight, Harry's sight landed upon a very deep gash in the wall.

Oh My! So this is what he meant by magnifying the jinx.

This is a serious spell, Harry. I mean, I was able to dodge the repelled jinx easily. But still, it had enough power to cut my entire left side.

Harry looked at her arm again. The cuts on her arm accentuated her words.

Well, sorry about that.

The movie in his head was still rolling, reaching its climax.

"Disappoint… Disappoint…"

WHERE'S SNAPE?"

I don't know, Harry. He wasn't around when I came to.

Why would he just leave like that?

No idea. May be he felt he wasn't needed anymore.

He isn't needed? Mione, we almost killed ourselves practicing this. We need him more than ever!

Harry, did I just hear you think that you need Prof Snape?

She forced a smile, but immediately pulled her lips back. The cuts in her cheeks must be bothering her.

Um, yeah… I guess we do… hmm… need him.

Maybe we don't… Harry! Just look around you.

Harry did not understand. He scanned the room again. It was just the way it was when they first entered. Ragged stone flooring and ivy covered stone walls.

Ok…. So, what am I looking for?

We're in the room of requirement, Harry.

I know that. Harry felt silly.

The wall, Harry. Does it feel hard like stone?

No, it feels softer, more like… a canvas.

He leaned a little more on the wall. It felt comfortable, Almost like lying on a mattress!

Yeah! Now look to my left, on the wall.

Harry did as he was instructed. His sight fell on a smooth patch of ivy covered – stone like – wall. At first, it seemed unclear. But as he stared, he understood. The gash in the wall, caused by the earlier repelled jinx, was gone. His emerald eyes widened. What Hermione meant, he had figured it out now.

Ah! The room of requirement! He too forced a smile. Hermione was glad.

It is always equipped with the seeker's needs! Prof Snape taught us the spell. Now it's up to us to practice and perfect it. For that, the room of requirement is the only thing that we require!

Ok, so how do we start?

Hmm… Getting up would be a good start!

Hermione tried to force a smile again, but she succumbed to the pain for the second time. Slowly but steadily, they stood up. The effort that one took was clearly apparent to the other. As soon as they stood up, two wooden statues materialized, apparently from the walls and moved towards them. They exchanged looks.

Told ya!

Now why am I not surprised?

The statues stopped about fifteen feet in front of them. Both carried wands in their hands. They raised their wand-carrying hands, as if they were about to cast a spell, and then they froze. Harry and Hermione had already drawn their wands, but were unsure of what to expect. They became even more confused when the statues froze.

What do we do now, Mione?

Let me think. These statues are obviously provided for us to practice the Protego Maxima Spell. But it's a defensive spell. So, in order to practice it….

Harry had often wondered what it would be like to be in Hermione's head, how she figured out problems, how she felt when she became the centre of attention for shouting the answers out at a moment's notice, how she handled tricky situations… He hadn't really noticed it, but he was experiencing it now.

…We need a spell cast at us. But the statues are just standing there. This means, they activate on motion, incantation or something else… Hmm…

Hermione raised her head to find Harry staring at her, an oh-I-get-it-now smile adorning his lips.

Yeah, that's how it works, Harry.

So, what do we do? Move towards it?

Yes, it would be worth a try.

They took a step forward, tentatively. No reaction. Another step. Still no reaction.

Clearly this isn't working…

What should we try next? Keywords? Spells?

Well, seeing as they are equipped with wands, we should try some spells.

Ok, then. I'll go first.

Harry aimed his wand at the statue on the right. "Stupefy!" He shouted as a jet of red light burst out of his wand. Immediately, the statue moved its wand-carrying hand, which was too quick for Harry to judge, causing the red jet to reflect back towards Harry, who managed to dodge it. Harry turned his head round again to see the statue standing there, motionless.

So that's what they do! Harry, they reflect the spells! We have to cast the spells ourselves, which they will reflect, and we have to practice Protego Maxima on those reflected spells!

Harry's raised his eyebrows at Hermione.

I noticed, Mione. Gosh you are so bossy!

Fine then, whenever you're ready.

Hold on. I don't think it's a good idea for us to be standing together and using the deflection charm together. We'll cast from opposite sides and that too, sequentially, not simultaneously.

Now who's bossy? Hermione smirked. She immediately started walking towards the opposite side; she knew it was a better plan. As she walked, the left statue also turned, facing her.

Well then, who's first?

I think I'll go first, Harry, since you've already tried it once.

Go ahead, Mione.

"Stupefy!" She shouted. Moments later, she found the spell coming back at her.

Here we go! You can do this, Granger! You can do this!

"Protego..." She flicked her wand up "…Maxima!"

Harry saw her being pushed back with some force. The denser jet of red light struck the ceiling, missing the target statue by a large margin…

Harry walked toward Hermione, concern apparent on his face; she was lying spread-eagled on the floor. "Mione?" Harry was surprised to see that she was still conscious, her eyes staring at him. Her expression resembled that of a child who has been through a roller coaster for the first time. Harry offered his hand.

I'm surprised that you're still conscious; you did better than me I suppose.

Yeah, right. I didn't concentrate that hard I suppose. Look how far off the spell struck!

Don't be hard on yourself! I think all that "You can do this, Granger" stuff worked! Is that how you psych yourself up all the time?

Harry smiled, his hand still outstretched. Hermione tried to smile, but just couldn't. She then took his hand, and slowly got up.

Wow, Harry. Your hand… What's with your hand?

Hm? What? What's wrong with my hand?

I don't know, it was like, the moment I touched it, the pain in my left arm eased. It's not gone, but I can tell, it's definitely reduced.

This time, a gleaming smile adorned Hermione's lips. The pain had definitely eased. However, Harry was clearly surprised. And his face vividly gave that away. He did not do anything! He was certain of it. But, how can this be?

Maybe… Maybe it's my Hufflepuff lineage? You know, power of healing and all. It must be manifesting somehow. But, I have no control whatsoever on this. I wish I had though.

Don't worry, that's what training's for!

Guess so. All right then! Now, it's my turn, isn't it? Hermione nodded.

Harry's try wasn't any better. So wasn't Hermione's next one. Yet they tried again, and again, and again. But no matter how hard they tried, no matter how many times they got up, they were always knocked back down. The motions were almost robotic. But they kept getting up again, and again, and again.

The sun had reached its peak. It was noon. But they were highly oblivious to this fact, as the glow lighting the room of requirement never waxed or waned, it was as it was. The monotonous light reflected off Harry's spectacles as he got up for the umpteenth time. Every bone in his body was aching, every muscle sore, and every tendon tense.

Damn! What am I doing wrong? I feel like I am no better than when I started. What do I have to do? If only I knew… Well, I'll just have to keep at it until I figure this out!

He was not ready to give up, the fabled determination of his forefather guiding him. But when he looked over, his eyes were greeted with the sight of Hermione sitting, legs stretched, and her upper body resting on the wall.

What's wrong? He widened his eyes.

What's wrong? Seriously? Harry! THIS! THIS is so wrong! We are getting nowhere and it's been like… FOREVER! Each and every inch of my body is literally screaming out in agony and I don't think I have it in me to stand up, let alone cast a spell… This is too much, Harry… Let's rest for a while…

Hermione looked down. Was it pain or embarrassment? Either the case, she just couldn't meet Harry's surprised gaze.

Hermione Jean Granger! Hermione jolted her face up, clearly surprised. It was the first time that Harry had called her by her full name. It was usually Hermione, Mione or Mia. This was a first…

You are NOT giving up! Not while I'm around… For goodness sake, you are the heir of Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin! It was you who saved us from the devil's snare in our first year, and it was you who figured out about the basilisk in the second, you were the first to bring up the idea of private defense against the dark arts last year, you founded the SPEW in our fourth… YEAH! Did you give up on the SPEW? You pretty much did everything on your own for it, didn't you? So, you are damn well not gonna give up now… Best get up, Mione, before I drag you up… Harry made the last sentence sound a little more like a threat. Hermione was still sitting wide-eyed, and eventually snapping out of it, she got up very slowly and carefully.

Ok, got any bright ideas, Mr. I'm-not-gonna-give-up? and its S.P.E.W not SPEW.

There's got to be something that we're doing wrong… This spell doesn't feel right when you cast it. Don't you feel a strong pull on your arm when it's cast?

Yeah… But that's just the risk that comes with the spell, right?

No, Hermione. A Perfectly cast spell wouldn't have any effect on the caster. We're definitely doing something wrong here…

But how do we figure this out then?

Well, you are the sharp one, you know!

Hermione cocked her head to one side, and a smile dawned on her lips.

Ok, let me try to figure this out then…So! The pressure on the hand… Could it be that we need to exert more forward thrust to counteract it? No, no… If that was the case, then all our practice would have yielded some results… Then what? Perhaps the amount of concentration? No, that's not it either…

Harry couldn't help but smile. This was his second experience of Hermione's problem solving technique. It was as if she was arguing with herself. It must be very successful, given Hermione's track record. His own thoughts were interrupted by Hermione's sudden LOUD thoughts.

… HAND MOVEMENT! That must be it! Harry… I think I got it! I know what's wrong!

Harry face was beaming at her, as if he was saying I knew you could do it! Harry walked up to Hermione.

So…? What is it that we're doing wrong?

Hand movement, Harry! What are the two key steps in casting a spell? The incantation and hand movement! It's so basic… But we completely ignored it!

But Hermione, I did flick my wand up every time that I cast the spell… That IS the hand movement for the shield charm!

Harry's eyes widened as soon as he finished the sentence. He knew what Hermione was getting at… Of course! How could I not notice?

You get it now, don't you, Harry? We've been using the hand movement of Protego all this while! This is a completely different spell! Remember how the hand movement for Lumos and Lumos Maxima are completely different? It's the same here too…

You're right! He could feel his joy building up. But, now how do we figure out the right hand movement for this? His joy vanished as soon as it came.

Don't worry, Harry. It's all in the pressure. Rather than resist it, we should try to go with it! It'll probably give us the right movement.

But, the wand feels so heavy when the spell is cast, Mione.

Hm, I think it's a clear indication that we should move the wand down rather than up first. But, given that it is still a shield charm, we would probably have to flick it up at the end.

So, I imagine it's more like the letter 'J' then? That would add more power to the spell too… Makes perfect sense!

Ready to give it a try then, Harry?

Yeah… Let's end this soon. I can't wait to get out of this room. The RoR never seemed so stuffy.

They quickly got into position. Hope gleaming in his emerald eyes, Harry aimed his wand at the statue on his side. "Stupefy!" He yelled. The familiar red flash of light streamed out of his wand. Moments later, the red jet was coming right back at him.

This is it, then!

"Protego…" He felt the now-familiar pull on his wand. This time he did not resist, and moved his wand down, then flicked his wand up at the last moment, his wand inscribing a perfect 'J' in the air.

"…MAXIMA!"