Chapter 32

Training and Tips

Note from the authors: Sorry for the delay, this week has been hectic, so I've been delayed. We hope you enjoy this chapter.

Lily and Hermione woke up a little later than the others, exhausted from the night before, especially with the nightmares Lily had suffered of being eaten by a dragon, and having to face the Horntail, which Charlie had said was the worst of the four dragons.

After managing a light breakfast, Lily and Hermione headed to the Room of Requirement, where everyone was already waiting for them.

"You both look exhausted," Sirius commented. Lily nodded as she collapsed in a chair.

"Yesterday, Hagrid asked me to meet him as his cabin at midnight. I went there with Hermione, and… well, the short story is… we have to get past dragons," Lily said. Sirius nodded, a stern look on his face.

"We know, Fleur warned us as soon as she got here," Sirius said. "Madam Maxime told her last night. Was she there?"

"Hagrid took her to see the dragons; I think it was a date of sorts," Lily commented.

"Madam Maxime seemed especially happy this morning, despite ze situation," Fleur commented.

"You're in luck, Lily. Dealing with Dragons is a lot easier than you'd think. The spell is a little tricky to learn to begin with, but you'll get it in no time. It's called the Conjunctivitis Curse. It causes the targets eyes to swell up and remain closed, so the dragon won't be able to see you," Sirius said.

"On top of that, there's another spell so the dragon won't be able to smell you, Odoratus Obculto," Remus added. "Together, the dragon won't be able to see or smell you."

"Sounds like a good plan," Cedric commented.

"What about hearing? Maybe a distraction of some kind?" Hermione asked. "Maybe transfigure a rock into a creature, or create a horn or something?"

"That makes sense," Sirius agreed. "First, we'll start with the Conjunctivitis curse; that'll be the most important one."

"So, the spell is just a flick of the wand, and the words Oculus Obscuro, but you need a bit of power behind it," Remus said, indicating the training dummies ahead of them. Lily watched as Fleur went first and cast the spell. The first time she cast it, a small light shot out from her wand, striking the dummy, but nothing happened.

"Give it a sharper flick, Miss Delacour, and put some power in your voice," Sirius told her. Fleur nodded and cast the spell again. This time, a bright, yellow light shot out and struck the dummy, the eyes on it swelling up.

"Excellent," Remus complimented. Lily had to admit, together Sirius and Remus made a perfect teaching pair. They worked so perfectly in sync with one another.

"Mr. Diggory, your turn," Sirius said. Lily watched as the group had their turns, with Ginny taking the longest to get the spell right, but she managed it, which, according to Sirius and Remus, was no small feat.

As Lily practised, she did feel worried, but with her friends all around her, she felt enough confidence to finally get the spell down, but she kept working on it for the whole morning.

"Excellent, all of you. For all of you to get this so quickly, it's amazing. Honestly, I'll be very disappointed if you get less than an O on your OWLS and NEWTS," Sirius said, favouring Fred and George with a look. Both twins looked at one another, with a small smirk, as Sirius turned his attention to the group.

"Alright, go and get some lunch, and we'll meet back here at two," Sirius said. As the group left the room, Ginny grabbed Lily's hand.

"Walk with me?" Ginny asked. Lily nodded, with the two of them heading out of the castle, walking side by side.

"Is everything okay, Ginny?" Lily asked. Ginny looked at her.

"I just… I wanted to ask you something," Ginny said softly. "I just… I'm not sure how to talk about this."

"Is it what we talked about before term?" Lily asked. Ginny nodded. "You're not having trouble with the Occlumency lessons, are you?"

"No, I… I'm getting the hang of them, according to Remus. No, it's just, I've been having more nightmares lately, and one of them… one of them was the same as what you told us about before the world cup," Ginny said, before describing her dream, involving Voldemort, Pettigrew, another wizard, and an old man who was killed by Voldemort.

"Wait, you… you saw the same thing?" Lily asked, taking a deep breath to calm herself as she felt her mouth going dry. "I… I don't know…"

"Neither do I, and I've been scared to say something. Could… could he have done something to me… you know, in my first year?" Ginny asked, biting her lower lip.

"I don't see how, I mean, we destroyed the diary, didn't we?" Lily asked. Ginny let out a soft snort.

"You destroyed it, and I was dumb enough to just let him in," Ginny said. Lily took her hand and gazed into her eyes.

"Ginny, don't you dare think that. Voldemort's tricked many witches and wizards, seduced them so they'd do whatever he wanted them to do. You felt alone, which I blame myself for, and you needed a friend, and he was that friend," Lily said.

"It wasn't your fault, Lily. You didn't know how I was feeling; I should have said something," Ginny countered. Lily smiled softly at her.

"I should have been a better friend, but I was so focused on dealing with the Dobby situation, and the voices I was hearing, that I didn't think of anyone else, and I should have known something was wrong," Lily told her, leading Ginny to a bench, and sitting down, with Ginny sitting next to her.

"Ginny, you've been putting too much pressure on yourself. I've noticed it when we've been training; you're pushing yourself, maybe a little too hard. You keep trying the new spells, and I know you spend time in the Room of Requirement most evenings, pushing yourself even more. You feel like you failed, and you want to make up for it, don't you?" Lily asked kindly. Ginny blushed and nodded as she looked at the ground.

"I did fail, Lily. I… I should have fought him. I should have told someone when the diary began to write back to me, or when I started having blackout moments," Ginny said. "I know what you're going to say, that I couldn't have done anything, but I know you're wrong. If it had been you, then you'd have known better. Merlin, if it had been Ron, or even Fred and George, they'd have been better off, but because I felt alone, I let him in."

"To be honest, I completely get it. I could say so many things, but that's not what you need to hear or know," Lily replied, looking at her. "Do you want to know the hardest part of not having come out as transgender before last year?"

"What?" Ginny tilted her head sideways as she looked up at Lily.

"The fact that I felt I had to keep everything inside. I had all these emotions, but there's sort of an expectation that boys weren't allowed to express their emotions, because a lot of the time, others will claim it's a sign of weakness or lack of strength. Now I'm taking the Femininus Draught, I can feel the emotions more clearly, the difference being night and day," Lily told her, taking a deep breath. "I've been… well, I've been trying to cope with them, and I'm struggling. Some nights, I sit up alone until everyone's gone to bed, and I cry because I feel so weak, and silly, for feeling the way I do. I feel… the weight of everything that's happened so intensely."

"Why… why haven't you told anyone?" Ginny asked. Lily smiled softly.

"I'm still trying to get used to them, to all the emotions running through my body. It's… complicated," Lily replied. "Emotions can be really difficult."

"I know, but how… what if You-Know-Who did something to me? Or worse, there's… well…" Ginny's voice trailed off.

"Or if there's a connection, like what I have?" Lily asked. Ginny nodded softly. "I don't know Ginny, I really don't. You should talk to Professor Dumbledore; he might know more about this. I don't even understand the connection."

"I… I'm scared, Lily. He can't… You-Know-Who can't hurt me, can he?" Ginny asked. Lily shook her head.

"If he could, he'd have hurt me a long time ago," Lily pointed out. "Go and see Dumbledore, tell him what you told me. I'll go with you, if you like," Lily offered. Ginny smiled.

"I'd like that," Ginny said. The two girls stood up and headed into the castle, making a beeline for Dumbledore's office. It didn't take them long to get there, although they were surprised to see Professor Moody there already.

After asking for Moody to stay, Ginny began to outline everything she had told Lily, and went into a little more detail of how long she'd been having the thoughts and feelings, and why she was feeling so anxious. Ginny said how she'd been learning Occlumency as well, in order to try and stop the nightmares.

"Aye, not a bad idea lass, although you might struggle a little. Still, after what you've described, I'd have to say you were right; there does seem to be a connection of a sort," Moody said, his grizzled face looking thoughtful.

"Much like Lily's connection, but only weaker," Dumbledore agreed, looking at Ginny with his disarming smile. "I don't believe you have anything to worry about, Miss Weasley. This connection isn't powerful enough for Voldemort to be able to do anything, although you may have the same kind of dreams as the one you experienced. Clearly, the delay between your dream and Lily's dream shows that whilst the connection does exist, your subconscious is able to keep it subdued for the most part."

"Professor, the connection isn't going to be able to get stronger, is it?" Lily asked, holding Ginny's hand.

"I shouldn't think so, no," Dumbledore replied, still smiling, although Lily could see a hint of concern in his eyes. "For any connection to be able to get stronger, Voldemort will need to pour more of himself into you, and that isn't possible. Both of you, the connection you share with him, it was created quite by accident. Voldemort left a part of himself in you, Lily, when he tried to kill you, and likewise, his diary left a mark on you Miss Weasley, but those were exceptional circumstances."

"Aye, and I doubt You-Know-Who would want to risk sharing minds with both of you, especially if it means his plans wouldn't be safe from you, and by extension, Albus," Moody added thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "Still, I'd suggest practicing your Occlumency a little more."

"I will make arrangements for you both to study Occlumency more. I know you study with your friends, so all of them will be invited to learn it," Dumbledore said. Ginny let out an audible sigh of relief, with Lily smiling at her. "Now, I think you both have places to be, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Right, with Uncle Sirius," Lily agreed, as she and Ginny stood up. "Thank you, Professors," Lily added, smiling.

The two of them left the office, but before they could go anywhere, Moody followed them. "Just a minute Potter, need a word with you, in private," he said. Lily looked at Ginny.

"Go on ahead, I'll be along shortly," Lily said. Ginny nodded and headed off, with Moody leading Lily into a nearby empty classroom.

"So, Lass, with the task coming up, have you got a plan to get past your dragon yet?" Moody asked. Lily's eyes widened, and Moody laughed. "Lass, I was on patrol last night when you and Granger tried sneaking into the castle. Doesn't take a genius to know that Hagrid showed you the Dragon. If I know you, I'm guessing you told Diggory and Delacour about them?" Moody asked. Lily nodded, earning herself a grin from Moody.

"Damned noble of you, Lass. Albus was right, you're definitely an outstanding Witch," Moody complimented. "So, what's your plan?"

Lily went over the brief strokes of the plan, with Moody nodding a couple of times.

"Aye, it sounds like you've got a decent plan, but you might want an alternative, to stop people like Karkaroff or Bagman from shouting foul if everyone does the same thing," Moody commented. Lily froze; she hadn't thought of that, and she knew Bagman didn't really like her.

"I… well, I guess you're right," Lily agreed. "You… do you have an idea?"

"I don't play favourites, me. I don't give plans, but I do give advice. The first piece is to play to your strengths," Moody said. Lily thought for a moment.

"But my only real strength is Quidditch," Lily said. Moody nodded.

"Aye, you're a damned decent flyer, from what Albus tells me," Moody confirmed. He smirked at her.

"But… I can only have my wand," Lily pointed out.

"My second piece of advice is to plan simple, and use your mind to Get What You Need," Moody spoke a little firmer with the last four words. It took Lily a moment, but she realised what Moody was getting at. She rewarded the man with a smile.

"That sounds like excellent advice, thank you Professor," Lily said. Moody nodded, patting her on the shoulder.

"You'll do fine, Potter. Whoever put your name into this thing won't have their plans succeed, whatever they are," Moody told her, before taking a drink from his hip flask. "Go, you've got training to be at."

Lily left the room and raced back to the Room of Requirement. As she got in, she looked at the gathered group.

"I just got given some advice, including for us all to use different methods, at least, slightly different methods, to stop Karkaroff and Bagman, among others, from crying foul," Lily said. "I know we shouldn't worry, but I don't want anyone to claim that we're cheating or something."

"That advice wouldn't have come from someone who has a tendency to limp, would it?" Sirius asked. "Because he gave me the same advice yesterday."

"Well, I've got a plan, but I need your help," Lily said, looking at everyone. "I need to learn to perform a summoning charm!"