Hello all, me again. Firstly, thanks to all who are not only reviewing this story, but the other one I have been posting as well, it means alot to me to get feedback from those who read them. This chapter doesn't have much action, sorry, but it's a little bit of plot movement. I'm just trying to keep the plot ball rolling. At the moment actually, I'm just putting the finishing touches on this story and beginning the ... *gasp* sequal. That's of course if you're not all too bored with my tale by then. I don't know how long it will be before each post though and I'm currently in the process of talkings with a beta to go over it all and make sure I'll keep you interested.
Oh and keep an eye out for the next chapter there'll be a bit more Brodsky curiousity, more questions will be asked then answered though. Sorry. Once again thanks for all the brilliant reviews, keep them coming guys, they're the reason I keep plodding along with this story.
Thanks, Roman.
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: BREAKOUT
~~~~~October 16th, 1996. Hogwarts.~~~~~
Hermione was in awe of the weaponry held in Brodskys trunk. She knew the eras and empires most of them came from and was absolutely fascinated at how he had acquired them, but she didn't ask.
The two were still keeping their distance from eachother so much in fact that she wouldn't of had a clue even what colour his eyes were. In the dreams she never saw them, in the nightmares it was too dark, and since he'd been teaching she'd barely glanced at his face, she knew it well enough anyway.
She, Harry, Ron, Luna, Ginny, Neville as well as Brodsky, Mad-Eye and Tonks were now all in his trunk, and the room was so big it wasn't crowded. It was Hermiones first weaponry lesson, yet the others were all here as well so their teachers could decide what weapon suited them.
While the students browsed the weaponry, careful not to touch anything, Brodsky, Mad-Eye and Tonks stood in a corner talking.
"The girls wouldn't be much with a sword." Mad-Eye said. "Except maybe Granger, she may just have the finesse for one."
"She does." Was all Brodsky said as he kept a watchful eye on the younger witches and wizards whom were standing far too close to his prized possessions for his liking.
"I don't know about Hermione, but I doubt Luna and Gin would be much good with them." Tonks put-in.
"Well, what are their strengths?"
"They both have very good aim. We were working with a bit of target practice the other day and I picked up that Ginny has a good eye, and Luna, she may seem dreamy at all times, but she barely has to aim when she fires off a spell and it always hits the target." Tonks explained.
Brodsky thought for a short while, turning his full attention back to his peers. "Bows. They would do well with bows and arrows. They're also light, so they don't need much strength.
"What about the guns?" Tonks looked at him.
"No, I want to teach them the guns, but I want to wait until they are of age, they are far too dangerous to carry around at the moment. The rest of the weapons can be safely carried under a cloak, so we'll keep with them. What about Weasley and Longbottom?"
Mad-Eye turned to look at his students before speaking. "Both big guys. Strong, especially in the upper arms, I had 'em bench-pressing yesterday." He laughed a bit.
"Wait, how do you know?" Tonks asked Brodsky, "I mean, how is it that you can tell what kind of weapon suits them best?"
Brodsky thought for a moment, "I am a weapons expert. I've seen each in use and know what kind of person one needs to be to handle each. I don't know if that's enough explanation, but I can just tell. I geuss you could say I have an eye for these things."
"Fair enough." Tonks shrugged.
Nodding, Brodsky went on, "Now the boys. Strong in the upper arms, you say?" Mad-Eye nodded so Brodsky thought out loud, "Swords, then. Or maybe....." He trailed off as his eyes scanned over his collection.
Quickly he crossed the room to where his axes and spears were. He looked them all over for a long while. Then called, "Longbottom, come here."
Neville turned from where he was looking at the guns and made his way over to Brodsky. Brodsky just looked him up and down, grabbed his shoulders and gave his biceps a good squeeze. Then turned back to the shelf.
Very gently he picked up a short, double sided axe. He thrust it out in front of Neville who very carefully took it.
"Well, give it a swing boy." Brodsky instructed then stepped out of the weapons range.
Neville brought it down slowly and then back up again, side to side. He held it in one hand and both, feeling it and flipping it. It seemed good enough.
"How does it feel? Is it too heavy?" Brodsky asked.
"No, Sir. It feels fine."
"Good. Longbottom on the axe." Brodsky announced and then moved over to Ron. "Another big strong young man. You're a keeper, aren't you?"
Ron nodded and so Brodsky moved towards his blades. He muttered to himself as he ran a hand over each blade, looking back and forth between Ron and the swords. Finally he picked one up and handed it to Ron.
The swords was short, only about sixty centremeters long and double-edged with a v-shaped tip. Ron only swung it once before Brodsky took it back off him and placed it back on its stand. The next one he picked up was only single-edged with a heavy forward curving blade.
Ron swung a cleaving strike then turned back to look at Brodsky. "It doesn't feel right. What is it?"
"It's a kopis. And no, it doesn't seem like the right one for you, Mr. Weasley." Brodsky said, replacing the weapon in its spot.
A small smile appeared on the older wizards face as he moved a little to the left. He picked up the sword that had his eye and passed it to Ron.
"I believe this one will suit you perfectly."
Ron took it and turned it over in his hands. It was pretty heavy and the hilt had space for two hands, but Ron figured he could probably handle it with one hand. It was double-edged with a v-shaped tip, like the first one, but it was longer.
"This is better." Ron said with a grin.
Brodsky smiled back. "Indeed. That there is a spadone. It was used by knights during medieval times."
"Awesome." Ron whispered.
"Now, we have already decided that the girls would work with bows and arrows, except that is Miss Granger."
Harry instinctively moved closer to Hermione as she seemed to get uncomfortable. Brodsky didn't notice since he was moving to a different section of the swords. Gently he picked up a blade that Harry could only describe as beautiful.
He recognized the make from movies he'd been able to catch a glimpse of while at the Dursleys as the same sword that samurai used, a katana. It was curved with a single-edge and a chisel-like tip. The light seemed to reflect off the blade as Brodsky held it out. The gaurd was only a thin circle and the grip was made of a dark wood, intricate patterns, much like snowflakes, carved into it. Harry thought it beautiful.
"I believe you have enough grace, speed and finesse to use the Japanese katana. And if you'd like to learn how to handle a wakizashi as well, then I'd be happy to teach you. It is the short blade that usually goes with a katana, it's more for stabbing." Brodsky explained.
Hermione too thought the katana to be beautiful, so much in fact she was mesmerized by it. All she could do was stare at it while she took it out of Brodskys hands.
There was a long silence in the room until Tonks thankfully broke it. "Well, now that we know what weapons you'll all be using, we should probably get out of here, some of you have class."
This seemed to wake everyone up. Brodsky turned and looked at her, "Yes. You will only be using training weapons for now, so put them all back."
~~~~~October 19th, 1996. Hogwarts.~~~~~
Since it was a Saturday Harry, Ron and Hermione were pretty late getting to breakfast. Harry looked over at Hermione where she was next to him and noticed she barely touched her food, and hadn't even opened her Daily Prophet.
He moved in close and said quietly, "What's up?"
She seemed startled as she looked at him, then snapped out of it, took a deep breath and shook her head. "Nothing, I just drifted off for a moment."
"You've been like this for a while now Hermione. It's about that katana, isn't it?"
Hermione looked deep in thought for a moment before answering, "Yes. There was just something about it. When I saw it, I couldn't take my eyes off it, and the moment that it touched my hands it just felt.....right."
"We'll figure this all out in time, Mione. Don't worry about it now, okay." He told her with a smile.
She relaxed and smiled back. "Thanks, Harry. You always know how to make me feel better."
"Don't thank me, it's my job." He grinned.
She laughed a bit then reached over for the Prophet while Harry filled her glass. But her relaxation didn't last long. As soon as she unfolded the paper her face fell and all the blood drained out of it. Harry immediately knew something was wrong without even looking at her.
"My God." She whispered so softly that he wasn't sure if he heard it.
"What?" He turned to her worriedly.
She looked at him blankly and slowly handed him the paper. Harry took it out of her hands and scanned the front page, seeing instantly what had upset her.
'Death Eaters Escape' was the headline. Underneath was a picture of Lucius Malfoy, Antonin Dolohov and a few others.
'Ministry officials reported late last night that there was a mass breakout at Azkaban. All those who seemed to have escaped the prison were known Death Eaters, followers of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Officials say they still don't know exactly how the convicts managed to get out.'
The article went on for the rest of the page, but Harry didn't need to read it. He'd figured they'd all get out sometime and that didn't worry him half as much as the effect this would have on Hermione did.
He absently passed the paper over to Ron who was looking at them with a question in his eyes and turned to Hermione. He grabbed her hand and was concerned at how cold it was.
"Mione?"
She turned to him, tears brimming on her eyes. "I'd hadn't been thinking about him much, Harry. I was too focused on Brodsky that I'd almost stopped having the nightmares about Dolohov."
Hermione was about to burst into tears so Harry stood her up saying, "Come on, we'll go to our special place for a while. Ron, I'm just gonna' take Hermione to calm down a bit."
Ron just nodded although he was still confused, he too had been expecting them to breakout of Azkaban. He was about to go with Harry and Hermione when Lavander just slided up into the seat next to him. So instead he turned away from his departing friends and smiled at her.
Down at their spot by the lake, Hermione didn't say a word as Harry sat her down and sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her back to lean on him. Her eyes were unfocused and staring off over the lake.
"It'll be alright, Mione." Harry whispered in her ear. "I won't let him hurt you, I won't let anyone hurt you ever."
That relaxed her somewhat and she leaned further into his chest and closed her eyes. When she opened them they were focused again and a tear slid down her cheek.
"I don't even know why this is upsetting me so much." She said softly. "I knew that Azkaban wouldn't hold them for long. It's just....oh, I don't know."
"Mione, he nearly killed you. It's okay to be upset that the bastard is back on the streets. Just don't forget that he's a bad guy and the bad guys always end up worse off. We'll get him, Mione, and next time he won't be sent to a prison, he'll be sent to a morgue."
She smiled a little, "You're pretty good at that job of yours."
"Yeah, just call me Doctor Feel-Better." He laughed.
They were both silent for a long time until Hermione spoke. "The nightmares about him will be back now. I'll have to see it everynight again."
"You know you can come and sleep with me. We can once again chase away eachothers bad dreams."
"Thanks, Harry."
She closed her eyes again and competely relaxed in his arms until she fell asleep against him. Harry just smiled and enjoyed the moment holding her tight against him.
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