CHAPTER TWELVE: TRAINING
~~~~~3rd October, 1996. Grimmauld Place.~~~~~
Albus Dumbledore walked into the sitting room at Grimmauld Place to find all he'd asked to arrive there. Mad-Eye, Lupin and Brodsky were congregated next to the fire, while McGonagall, Molly Weasley, Tonks and Snape were sitting on the couches.
He smiled at them all and took a seat next to McGonagall. "First off, Byron, how is Harrys training proceeding?"
"Very well, Headmaster. He has mastered non-verbal spells and we are moving onto enchantments. He is adequate with a sword and improves with each lesson. The wandless magic is taking a bit more time, but he has the potential to master it. And as for occlumency," Brodsky said with a pointed look at Snape, "He is progressing very well and it shouldn't be too long before he can close his mind from attack without a thought."
"Good, good." Dumbledore said, not missing the eye-contact exchange between Brodsky and Snape. "Alright, what we are here to discuss is whether or not we should begin training the others as well."
"What others, Headmaster?" Snape asked.
"The other five that went with Harry to the Ministry."
There was a bit of mumbling around the room until Mad-Eye spoke. "I don't know if they're all ready yet, Dumbledore. The youngest Weasley, Longbottom, and Lovegood, I think need alot more time. Young Ron could do with a bit more too. Grangers ready, though."
Tonks agreed, "Hermiones definitely ready. Actually I think she should have been started when Harry was."
"I think that we should start them all up." Lupin put in. "If they're not ready then the training will make them ready. I do suggest they train in different fields though, more suited to their abilities."
Mrs Weasley huffed, "I don't see why we need to be training them, anyway. They're too young! They shouldn't be preparing for war at their age."
McGonagall shook her head at Mrs Weasley. "Molly, they need to be prepared. You-Know-Who won't wait until they're ready to attack. Potter has a part in this war, the biggest out of all of us, I'd say, and the rest, especially your son and Miss Granger, will be by his side whether we like it or not. Best we get them ready so we don't have another repeat of the Department Of Mysteries incident."
"Very well." Dumbledore interrupted before Molly started off again. "We will start them on advanced magic and other weapons."
"What do you mean by other weapons, Headmaster?"
"As Harry works with a hand-and-a-half sword, we must find what the others are most suited to, as a back-up when they don't have their wands. Perhaps some physical training would be good for them too."
"I agree." Brodsky said. "But we should have them all on different routines, since they are all different."
"I don't like the idea of them working with weapons." Molly said.
"With that, I agree." McGonagall put in. "They are two young to be fighting with weapons that kill so much easier than magic and so much more violently."
"They may not always have their wands." Snape replied.
Dumbledore turned to Mrs Weasley, "Molly, we won't do this without your blessing. But you must know that it is not me or any of us that will end this war, it will be them, for it is their destiny. They will be in the final battle no matter what we say, it is now our choice whether we get them ready for that confrontation or they go in with only the knowledge they are taught in class."
With tears in her eyes, Molly Weasley thought over it long and hard. The battle in her mind was waging between her common sense and the need to protect her children and those she loved as hers. Finally and reluctantly she nodded her agreement.
~~~~~October 7th, 1996. Hogwarts~~~~~
"What do you think he wants us for?" Ron asked.
He, Harry, Hermione and Neville were sitting around desks in the DADA room waiting for Professor Brodsky to return from his office.
"I think he made a mistake in asking me to stay behind." Neville said quietly, a bit of his old worries leaking through.
"Don't be ridiculous Neville." Hermione scolded, "He wouldn't of said your name if he didn't want you to stay behind with us, now would he?"
Neville was still unsure but nodded his head slowly anyway. The door to the room opened and Luna and Ginny walked in.
"What's going on?" Ginny asked as she perched up on a desk next to her brother.
"We don't know." Harry told them.
Professor Brodsky walked out of his office and gave a tight smile as he made his way towards them, "Good, you are all here."
With a flick of his wand he locked the door and put a silencing charm around the room. The six looked at each other oddly, not one of them missing the fact that they were the exact group that went to the Ministry.
"Are you all aware that Harry has been taking extra training with me?" They all nodded. "Good, now I am asking you all if the rest of you would like extra training."
They all looked at him curiously for a minute or so until Harry stood up. "No! I know what you're training me for, and I refuse to let you train them for that too."
Brodsky didn't miss Hermiones eye roll and almost smiled again, but turned to Harry instead. "Harry, do you honestly think that they won't be by your side when you face Voldemort?"
"I won't let them."
Hermione stood up. "You don't have a choice!" She told him with anger.
Harry spun on her and their friends all instinctively moved away from the pair, knowing that things could get very messy with the two of them arguing.
"I bloody well do have a choice! This is my fight, my war, and if I don't want you all there then I won't let you be there!"
"You need to get over yourself Harry Potter!" Everyone was shocked by her choice of words, even Harry, but she continued, "It may always be you versus Voldemort but that doesn't make it your war! It's not just your way of life on the line, it's not just the people you love who are in danger, this involves everyone in the wizarding world, everyone in the world if you want to look at it that way! And let's face it Harry, you're good, but you aren't good enough to take on his entire army of death eaters and then him on your own, not even Dumbledore would be able to do that!"
"I won't risk anyone else that I care about!" Harry yelled back.
Hermione rolled her eyes again. "Then we might as well give up right now! You need help Harry, we're going to help you, and like I said before, you don't have a bloody choice!"
Harry was about to retaliate when a calming voice spoke from the still-locked door. "She is right, Harry." Dumbledore strode in until he was standing in between Harry and Hermione in an attempt to stop anything from exploding.
Dumbledore turned to Harry with a small smile, "I told you after your birthday that you needed those you cared for more than ever, and that held the double meaning of you don't only need them for your power, but also to fight with you. And I very much doubt anyone in this room, and many outside of it, would let you go into this alone, because you would die, Harry."
"Anyway, Harry, I wasn't asking you if you would allow them to have extra training, for that is not your decision to make, I was asking them if they'd like extra training." Brodsky broke in.
"Then yes, Professor, I for one would appreciate extra training." Hermione said, still not removing her glare from Harrys.
"Me too." Ron told him, then turned to Harry, "I know you don't want it mate, but Herms is right."
"I'm in as well. This isn't just your war, Harry, you need to remember that you aren't the only one who lost someone to Vol-Voldemort and his death eaters." Neville said, saying the Dark Lords name for the first time.
Ginny jumped off her desk, "Well if they're all doing it, so am I."
Everyones eyes, except Hermiones who was still staring determinedly at Harry and Harrys who were staring right back at her, moved to Luna who was twirling a strand of her hair. "Oh, yes, me too." She said dreamily.
"Fine, get yourselves killed, I don't care!" Harry yelled his eyes drilling into Hermione, who still didn't back down.
She brushed past Dumbledore and moved closer to Harry, "The whole purpose of the extra training is to help us survive."
"You'd survive if you just stayed out of it! What's it matter now anyway?! You've all made your decision, so I don't give a damn! You'll all die and I won't give a damn, because I told you to stay out of it. It's My! Bloody! Fight!"
That was it for Hermione, Harrys stubbornness was pushing her too close to the edge. She tried to calm herself while he was speaking by closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, but she just couldn't.
Hermione, driven only by her determination to make Harry understand, opened her eyes to give him a look that would have made anyone else in the world back off, in fact even Dumbledore took a step away from her worried for his own well-being. Harry, however didn't notice the look as he was consumed by his own anger and neither had noticed small objects shaking, glass rattling, or the paper on Brodskys desk swirling. So the moment Harry finished his tirade, Hermione swung.
Crack! Hermiones fist connected with Harrys jaw hard enough to send him flying into the desk behind him and slide to the floor.
Harry looked up at her in disbelief as she stood over him and whispered harshly with more fury and emotion than anyone had ever heard used before, "We can't risk you either and that's why we'll be there, whether you like it or not."
Hermione turned on her heel and stormed out of the classroom. A moment of shock silenced everyone else until Ginny snapped out of it, grabbed Lunas wrist and the two ran after her. Ron moved and helped Harry off the ground. The magic that had been crackling throughout the room dissipated slowly and Brodsky started picking up his parchment.
"Well, mate, can't say you didn't deserve that." Ron said once Harry was standing again.
"I know." Harry groaned as he rubbed his aching jaw, thankful he could still talk. "I'm being an idiot."
Dumbledore was barely holding back a smile. "Well, I can't say much about Miss Grangers methods, but I am glad that she has made you see things differently Harry."
When Harry didn't say anything, nor make any kind of movement towards the door and instead stood there rubbing his sore jaw, Dumbledore prompted, "Perhaps you should go and apologize, Harry."
"What if she hits me again?"
Brodsky actually laughed, "Then you'll be helping her get her own anger out, son, and you should just take it. But I bet anything she's calmed down by now, enough to keep her fists by her side anyway."
Harry nodded and he and Ron left the DADA room. In the entrance hall they met up with Luna and Ginny.
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, where's Hermione?"
"We couldn't find her, perhaps she's been eaten by - -"
Harry didn't stay around to hear what non-existant creature of Lunas may have eaten Hermione. They might not know where she went, but Harry had an idea. He left the other three bewildered in the entrance hall as he ran full pelt in the direction of the lake.
When Harry reached the clearing he knew she could sense him there by the way she ever so slightly tilted her head in his direction. Crookshanks was there too, rubbing around her leg, looking for a scratch, obviously coming after sensing his Mistress in distress. Hermione didn't say anything as she absently rubbed the cat behind the ear, waiting for Harry to speak first. He didn't go and sit by her, opting to stand a little behind her instead.
"I'm sorry, Mione." He told her.
"Don't bullshit me, Harry. You may be able to fool other people, but I know you. I know you think that you're completely in the right about this. But you need to realize you're being a self-centred ass, and until you do I don't want to be near you."
Harrys anger rose again, "Self-centred? I don't like this because I care for all of you!"
Hermione stood and turned to him. "Because you care or because of your own self-pity that you go and drown yourself in every time something happens to one of us?"
"Stop it, Mione! We've had this argument before. I can't lose you, you bloody well know that! If I lost the others it would hurt like all hell but I'd be alright eventually, but if I lost you....well you know what would happen."
"And you think I'd be any better if I lost you?"
"You've got more ahead of you, Mione."
Hermione sighed and smiled a little as she moved closer to him, "And I wouldn't want to do it without you, it just wouldn't be worth it. Harry, you try and protect us because you're scared we'll get hurt, don't you think we're just doing the same thing? We don't want to lose you either, Harry, we love you too much to let you face it alone. Whether you like it or not, we'll be there with you."
"Well, I don't like it. But I'm well aware that you'll do this anyway."
They smiled at each other so Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulder and began to lead her back up to the castle. A mangy orange cat behind them.
"I'm sorry I hit you." Hermione told him softly. "You just made me so angry."
"I know, Mione and I'm sure I deserved it. Everyone else thinks I deserved it anyway, you think I deserved it, and who am I to argue with the smartest witch in the world."
"I'm not the smartest witch in the world."
"Are too, and don't even try to argue because I'll just block my ears."
~~~~~October 11th, 1996. Hogwarts.~~~~~
Harry and Hermione walked to the Room of Requirement together. They'd been paired up as training partners since they had the similar builds, besides the obvious, and were around the same height, Hermione only a little bit shorter. Luna and Ginny had been paired up, as had Neville and Ron.
The three groups would all be doing training at different times, and Tonks and Mad-Eye had been recruited as 'part-time Professors'. Tonks would take the girls, Mad-Eye would take the boys while Brodsky kept with Harry and Hermione.
Harry and Hermione would be the only ones learning wandless magic, since Brodsky believed they would be the only two with the ability to master it and Dumbledore agreed. But the others would still be doing advanced magic, non-verbal magic, physical training and they'd learn the art of a weapon that suited them.
The room was the same as it always was when they were doing physical training, a large paddock with hills and a few trees. Harry still marveled at just how magical this room was.
Brodsky was, as usual, already there. He was sitting under a tree in his normal training outfit, stretching. He smiled up at them when they approached and patted the ground beside him.
"Good morning, Harry, Miss Granger."
"Morning, Professor." Harry and Hermione greeted simultaneously.
Harry knew Hermione was still uncomfortable around the oldest wizard in the room and until everything came out he was going to do everything possible to make sure she was alright.
She kept up easily as they ran the wild hill behind Brodsky. She had told Harry she was in great shape, but he really had no idea. It had taken him weeks of running up this hill to be able to do it without almost dying, but looking over at her now, she was having no trouble at all.
Harry almost tripped after watching her and not where he was going, Hermione had just looked back at him with a cheeky smile. Not even the silky night gowns she had worn when they'd shared a bed, which had set his imagination wild, could compare to seeing her now. She had a tight, grey tank top on, with a short pair of black shorts.
His throat constricted as he trailed a little behind her. He couldn't think of anything sexier than seeing just how strong her muscles were as they worked, and the sweat glistening off her skin in the rooms unnatural sunlight.
When they stopped at the top of the hill so he could get his breath back he had to force himself to concentrate on anything but Hermione as she put her hands on her head and stretched. Harry had no idea how he was going to keep training with her if this was how he reacted.
"Right there, Harry?" Brodsky asked, hitting him on the back since he was leaned over with his hands on his knees. "You should stand up straight, son, you'll breathe easier."
Harry had to think of Snape dancing in a bikini for a full minute before he could stand straight and not have his reaction to Hermiones body show.
"Right then, back down." Brodsky announced and began his descent.
Harry and Hermione both paused at the top of the track. When Harry saw her knowing grin he moved in close and whispered, "Why do I get the feeling you know what you do to me?"
Hermione just smiled that 'I'm the smartest witch in the world and I know everything,wasn't that obvious?' smile and headed down the hill behind Brodsky, still keeping her distance from the professor though. Harry stood in shock for a moment with a stupid grin on his face, then laughed and shook his head, following them down the track.
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