Chapter Number: 12
Chapter Name: The Dueling Lessons & another Nightmare
Harry went into the room, and quickly discarded his clothes before running into the adjoining shower facility. After the shower, lasting just over half an hour, it must have had been the longest one he had ever had, he stepped out of the running hot water and wrapped a towel around his waist. He opened the door to his room and turned to the mirror over the wardrobe. His vision was blurry without his glasses, but he knew where the glasses were and quickly put them on. He wore his navy blue T-shirt and the sweater from Mrs. Weasley with his best pair of black shorts. Harry hurried out of his room so fast he collided straight into Hermione. She lost her balance and was about to fall when Harry caught her. He apologized to her and together they went into the kitchen.
After breakfast Mr. Pasha took them to an adjoining room. It was noting special except for the fact that the floor was bare. Harry and Hermione could feel the cushioning charm on the floor since it felt a bit soft for something that was supposed to be a hard wooden floor. They both assumed that this was where they would receive their Dueling lesson.
" err...OKAY...The Septanic dueling technique is excellent when it come to dealing with a more powerful wizard, though it has its fall backs." Mr. Pasha turned to Hermione and asked. " What's one of them?"
" mmm. I guess it can be tiring against a more powerful wizard. The technique is only good when the opponent is very close."
" Good. You're right. The dueling is very much the same as normal. Except when you get striking range of the opponent, when you have to choose where to hit and what spell to cast with your body in that type of position. Sometimes you have to think a few blows ahead. Now-" he turned to Harry and said, " -you told me you were practicing moves before the nightmare incident, I want to see how you two fight."
" Well -It wasn't really practicing." Harry said shuffling his feet. " Hermione was throwing me around like a stick. "
This comment got Harry a broad smile from Hermione. " Is it true?" asked Ali Pasha, a little disturbed by the fact that Hermione who was several inches shorter that Harry was beating him up. Though it really wasn't supposed to matter, but Hermione was both a girl and a few inches shorter than Harry was. But more than that he had thought Harry should have shown a lot more prowess, considering what he had learned and heard from Professor Dippet.
"Yes" answered Hermione as if it was normal for Harry Potter to be beaten up by little old her.
" Okay... I want see it, anyway." said Mr. Pasha before he snapped his fingers and both of their clothes were replaced with more easy-to-move-in clothes.
Hermione had three years of experience in martial arts, so combined with the magic she knew she was almost ready to battle for real - well she thought so. While on the other hand Harry had already fought the most powerful dark wizard and lived to talk about it when many older wizards simply would not have fought him at all, but that didn't mean that he was any good at Dueling. Though both Hermione and Harry knew it wasn't an even match they started to fight. Harry took the early lead by disarming her with magic, but they were supposed to play until only one of them was unconscious or yelled, Mercy. The disarming didn't stop Hermione, if anything it made her loose all inhibition about hitting and/or hurting Harry. She jumped up and kicked him in the chest, hard. The "playing nice stage" was well and truly over and they went at it full force.
Mr. Pasha stopped the pair often, and told them moves that they should have had done or how to do the move properly to maximize the effect.
By the time that Mr. Pasha left at 10 at night, both were covered in hexes and curses, Harry was the one who was worse off out of the pair. Mr. Pasha spent ten minutes un-hexing the pair. Their physical cuts and bruises had to heal on their own. He told them to go to sleep early as it will heal their cuts and bruises quicker, though the comment was actually directed at Hermione since Harry's ones had already started to repair themselves.
Once Mr. Pasha left the two friends sat on the floor and discussed some of the more difficult things they had been taught today, but in the middle of the conversation Harry lost consciousness.
A man shrouded in a cloak, approached a man on a large serpent throne. Lord Voldemort, Harry assumed...
Then there was a sniggering voice that thought sounded a lot like Draco...It was Lucious Malfoy. He said, " Master, the beast Wormtail released will be up on the city by night fall in three or four days time. Not enough time for them to get ready... It'll be our greatest day when the Mudblood city falls."
Then a cold and eerie voice said, " Excellent job. You planned to do what Shozar my most trusted and obedient servant couldn't. As your reward I want you to co-ordinate the attack. Has he talked yet?..." asked Lord Voldemort.
" No...my lord" Lucius Malfoy was going to say something but before he could, a Cruciatus curse rang through his body.........
Harry woke up from the nightmare clutching to his scar, thanking GOD that Hermione hadn't been in Astral Projection with him. The pain was worse than it had been before... Much worse and he wasn't sure whether Hermione could have had lived through it. When the pain subsided he told Mr. Pasha what happened in the dream.
(A/N: In this story we are led to believe that Morocco, is the place on earth where most of the wizards are half muggles. Shozar Sebastian a death eater was given the task of starting war between half-muggle wizards, so that they might be wiped off the face of the planet.)
" Don't worry. I'll send a message to the ministry, and they'll take care of the beast."
" But I don't know what the beast is. How will they fight it?"
" They'll dispatch all the available wizards to cast a protection spell over the city. It'll stop anything that has been declared as a beast.... Now get some rest!" said Mr. Pasha before he left the room.
Harry paced up and down next to his bed, trying to think of any details about the beast that might help the ministry to better prepare for the attack.
Harry was so deep in his thought that he didn't hear Hermione ask him several times to stop pacing so she could bandage him. Finally when she had enough she took out her wand and yelled, " Impedimenta". This was a big surprise to Harry who had been too busy to listen to her. He didn't say anything when the jinx wore off too quickly, partly because Harry had grown slightly strong over the summer holidays, but it was mostly because Hermione had not tried the curse at full force.
He let her push him onto the bed and bandage his leaking scar, when he saw the frustration on her face. Hermione was a little too enthusiastic about the task. She wrapped the bandages in a way that made it look like he had his skull fractured in several places.
When she was finished she noticed that Harry had fallen asleep in her lap as she was bandaging him. Satisfied that she had done a good job (one that Madam Pomfrey would have had been proud of), she gently put his head down on the soft pillow and covered him with the blanket.
Hermione walked slowly to the door, gave a small lingering look at his sleeping form and then went back to her room. Hoping like hell, no more nightmares for her friend.
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END OF CHAPTER
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