The Founder's Secret Garden
Chapter 9: To Learn to Fight
The garden was as stunning as Harry thought it was the first time that he had seen it. Although, the large table that had been in the centre was now gone, banished to a room in the Founder's apartments for the duration of this visit. There was, however, a smaller table, a lot like the round one which they had all sat around on that fateful night not too long ago. Dark metal, intricately decorated with metal flowers and vines. And on that table were daggers.
The daggers were varying in design. All the blades were made of silver, however they were of varying thicknesses, some thin, some thick. The handles were all different. Some also made of metal, of varying shades, intricately carved, some looking like three pieces of metal braided together and ending in either a crystal or a sphere of metal or petrified wood. Some handles had dried flowers preserved in resin. The flowers vary, some having only one kind of flower in it and others having a mixture. Some even had little chips of crystal in them, or a small crystal sphere on the end.
All in all, they were all very stunning little things, and it seemed that everyone else thought so also as they perused the assortment on the table.
"So, erm, why are we looking at all these really cool daggers?" Fred asked the Founders, whose ghosts were standing next to them, watching them peruse.
"Well, young Fred," Godric began, somehow clearing his ghostly throat, "We told you we'd be teaching you to fight, preparing you all for what is to come. Dumbledore wants a war, and he will have it. Unfortunately. Unless, by some miracle, we, or someone else, is able to stop it. We figured that we would split up the history, magic, and whatever lessons with fighting sessions. And we also thought that daggers were a good place to start. Particularly throwing them," he said with a grin.
"Throwing them?" George asked, an eyebrow raised as he grinned excitedly.
"Indeed," Salazar said with a grin of his own, "Precision is key in spell casting, dagger throwing will help you with that, because precision is key in that also. Plus, it is always a good idea to surprise your enemy. Especially if you were to, for example, lose your wand, having another weapon on hand is very good. If you can throw this at your target it will, hopefully buy you some time. We will, of course, build our way up to the more spectacular fighting styles, but for now, this is where we shall begin. Severus, I do believe you have some experience with the art of dagger throwing, so you will be able to help us correct their stances and such, won't you?"
"Of course," Severus said with a nod.
"Wonderful," Helga said brightly, "Each of these daggers is protected against thievery, and detection, so you will be able to hide them in a holder on your wrist or your leg very easily. They may also have a few added bonuses also," she winked, "But first, you will need to pick the one that calls to you. The one that feels right with your magic, and it shall bind to you, meaning that, should someone grab hold of it after you have used it against them, for example, then they won't be able to use it against you. So, go ahead, find your dagger,"
Harry's eyes; and he thought, perhaps, his magic; were immediately drawn to a dagger whose blade started out quite wide, but triangled into a nice, thin point. A dagger whose handle was flowers encased in resin with a small black obsidian sphere on the end. The flowers were white lilies, some cornflowers, and a few sprigs of dill also. It was gorgeous. And the shine of the obsidian reminded him, almost, of Severus' eyes. It felt right in his hands as he felt it joining, intertwining with his magic. An anchor of safety and warmth.
He looked at his soulmate to find the man holding a dagger also. His was one with a wooden handle that also ended in a crystal, though his crystal was green aventurine. The wooden handle was made up of three types, braided together; oak, ebony and tigerwood. It was so smoothly polished that it looked almost like the woods were blending together, somehow.
"Splendid," Rowena said, a smirking smile on her face, "And now we can begin," she gestured to the targets at the other end of the garden, "I would like each of you to stand in front of a target, and Severus, dear, I would like you to demonstrate the stance I shall describe, and how to throw a few times before we get the youngsters to begin practising, if that is okay with you?"
"Okay," Severus said with a nod, tossing his dagger up and catching it effortlessly by the handle as it completed a spin a couple of times before making his way to his spot in front of a target, behind the golden, magical line that had been marked for them to stand behind.
Rowena described how to stand and Severus moved into position, breathing deeply, purposely, his eyes narrowing on the target, zoning in, focusing. Breathing.
It all happened so fast, but as Rowena finished describing how to aim and throw the dagger Severus did it. He threw the dagger, and within not much more than a second the knife was in the centre of the target. Bullseye.
Harry's breath stuttered upon seeing the dagger in the target. His breath knocked from him at seeing the effortless movements of his soulmate, the man who had already spent years protecting him, and would do so for the rest of his life.
And Harry wanted to be able to protect the man, too. Because the man would need it, right, if they were to fight a war. He had enemies, too.
So he needed to learn, he needed to learn as much as he could so that this man who was always working so hard to protect him, and others, would be safe also.
They watched as Severus threw his dagger a few more times, the Founders taking their time in describing his stance, and how it helps in the throw. At least while they were learning anyway. They may not always have the chance to get in stance, but once they were comfortable, and exceptional at throwing daggers, they could adapt it to their situation, and do it however they needed to. And do it well.
With time, with practise, came hope. And with hope came will, strength, power. And with that came success, protection, and so much else.
They could do this.
He could do this.
They stood behind the line, facing their own targets, getting into the stance as Severus moved around and gently corrected them, telling them softly to breathe. To focus.
To aim.
And then they were all throwing daggers at their targets. Again and again.
Breathing.
Practising.
Focusing.
And getting better.
Slowly.
But they were getting better.
And the better they got, the more hope they had that maybe, no matter what may come, their family would get through this.
He hoped that they would all get through this.
He really did.
For the first time in, well, ever really, Harry had hope. True hope, that he would be okay. That there could, one day, be a happy ending for him. He just had to get through the hard bits first. He just had to get through the battle.
And he would do whatever he could to ensure that he did. For Severus. For his family.
For himself.
For everything he had ever hoped and dreamed secretly for.
For life.
Hiya, how are you all today?
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on everything that has happened so far and where you think the story is going, etc. or for things you might like to see as the story progresses. Even if it is just something small.
Also, I have Tumblr now. My username is marauderingpaige if you want to go and give me a follow over there. I also have one more focussed on personal life and writing, username is paigemakepeacewrites. And I have a Discord server, too, a new one! If you would like the link then feel free to drop me an email (my address can be found on my profile) or message me on social media, or join my Facebook group, and I will happily share it with you.
I have also now started writing a fanfiction for House M.D. It is an omega verse fic with House as the omega and Wilson as the alpha. If you love the show as much as I do then feel free to go and check it out. It is called Lights Will Guide You Home.
Also, I am working on some Spotify playlists for my fanfics, so if you can think of any songs you think work with the stories as they are so far, or where you think they are going, or songs that give you the vibes you get from the stories, then please do let me know and I will give them a listen, then potentially add them to the playlists. If you would like to go and give them a listen as they are now then you can find me on Spotify under the name Maraudering_Paige. They aren't that long at the moment, but we are making progress and I will continue adding to them the more music I listen to and when I have the time to do so. But still, if you can think of any relevant songs then do let me know.
I have a Facebook group called Maraudering_Paige which you are all welcome to join if you would like to and are able to. It is where we can talk about Harry Potter, fanfics, life, share memes and more. It is also where I have somewhat of an update schedule for my fics and will be keeping you up to date on what I am working on, in regards to fanfics, original works, and more things. So if you are interested in joining then I am more than happy to accept you all.
I also now have a TikTok and an Instagram for my fanfic writing escapades. The username is maraudering_paige on both of them so feel free to follow me, and we shall see how often and what kinds of content I can post when I can. But it is another way for me to keep you all up to date if you don't have Facebook and such, and for me to spread the word about other things I am working on and things I want to do and such. So yeah, feel free to join me on those if you are able.
I hope you are having an amazing day!
Kind regards,
Paige xx