Chapter 195. Training and the Journey.
In the same place where the duel between Severus and Bella had taken place just the day before, Severus sat calmly at a table drinking tea, while Bellatrix, five meters away, attempted to shape dark magic, a gray energy, without a wand or spoken words.
For convenience, he had cleaned and dried the ground inside the barrier and raised the temperature. He had chosen this spot out of sheer laziness: finding another would have taken effort, and the view here was particularly beautiful in the evening and at night.
For now, Severus simply watched in silence as Bellatrix worked to control her magic without a wand. The exercise she was performing was designed to improve her control and concentration, and gradually strengthen her core through magic that moved continuously through her body and accumulated within it.
"Come on, squirrel, I believe in you: you can absolutely do this! That's already a decent-looking one!" he called out with a smile, watching the gray magic in her hand, which, if one was being generous, resembled the digit he had named, though it was already far better than at the start of the day.
"Would you please be quiet! Let me concentrate! Stop distracting me!" She shot him a look that could have drawn blood.
"Think of it as part of the training, too. What you're doing now is only the beginning, and my voice shouldn't distract you at all." He rose from the table and walked toward her. "By the end of our training, you should be able to do this without a second thought. And once you've learned to shape your magic from one to ten in this state, the next stage will involve me throwing water balls at you as well. On top of everything else we've covered, that will improve your reaction time."
"Water balls?" Bellatrix looked at him, puzzled.
"What did you expect? That your opponents would just stand there and wait patiently while you concentrate and cast a spell?" He gave her a sardonic look. "I'm hardly going to throw fireballs at you. Though if you'd prefer, I can arrange that. I was trained that way myself, specifically to improve fire control alongside everything else. You don't have any talent for that element, and you'll need a real reason to dodge."
"The first option, please," she answered, somewhat embarrassed. The idea of feeling that particular heat didn't appeal to her.
"Good."
"And after that?" Bellatrix asked with mild curiosity, still maintaining the shape of the "1" in her magic.
"On the move. Then on the move while dodging the balls." He drew his palm gently along her cheek and added, "Once you can finally cast nonverbally at a decent level, we'll move on to the next stage."
"The next stage?"
"That's a secret." He cut her off and tapped her on the nose. "Finish the first part of the training and then we'll talk about the second. And don't bother drilling me with those eyes. I won't say a word."
"I couldn't tell my Lord anything anyway because of the oath."
"I just don't want to spoil the surprise." He tilted his chin up and let out a small, satisfied sound, and she simply rolled her eyes and returned to her work.
A few seconds later, she looked up at him again.
"Tell me, how long did it take you?"
That was a long time ago. About three months, I think." But as he recalled what he had actually gone through, his smile faltered. He had come close to dying more than a few times during that period, and there was simply no comparison between that and how he was training her now. That was why, when most people spent a year or more on this, he had finished in three months: he had been extremely motivated to stay alive. "Right, let's wrap up. I need to get ready today for tomorrow's trip." He watched the sun sink slowly below the horizon, the clouds gradually catching a pale rose tint as it went, shadows beginning to settle across the clearing. He let out a faint, reluctant exhale. "In summer the sunset here is truly something. Even now it's quite good."
"I can't disagree." Bellatrix gave a soft nod, just as absorbed in the sight. When she felt a pair of arms close around her waist, she didn't say anything. Pulling free was pointless, and she'd long since accepted that she probably couldn't run from him anyway. So she didn't resist; she let herself settle into that warm, quiet feeling that was such a rare thing in her life, and laid her hands over his, and closed her eyes.
For the next ten minutes they stood like that, until the sun finally sank below the horizon and the sky began to darken quickly, and the first stars appeared.
"Then, I'll go." Bellatrix came back to her senses, a faint color rising to her face, and tapped his hand.
"Can't I at least get a goodbye kiss? We won't see each other until January ninth."
"You'll reach me through the mirror anyway." She looked at him through narrowed eyes, but then thought: He'd do it anyway. She turned, rose on her toes, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips to his. If it's him. Hey! She felt a pair of hands settle on her backside. She bit his lip gently and moved his hands back to her waist. Maybe it's not such a bad choice after all. That's enough now! Once again, she had to push his hands up firmly and bite a little harder.
Severus had decided to make his own way to China rather than draw the attention of the CWG, the Chinese Wizarding Government, the counterpart to the British Ministry of Magic. He had no doubt there were Black Star spies within their ranks, and word of his arrival in the country would spread quickly enough without any help.
Crossing more than eight thousand kilometers in a single jump was nearly impossible even at his current strength, but three jumps using the local equivalent of Apparition were entirely feasible, so that was his plan. He planned to stop in Volgograd and Karaganda along the way, both in the USSR, the largest power on the continent.
He felt the pull to visit Durmstrang, one of the finest wizarding schools in the country, which competed annually in the worldwide Potions Championship and consistently ranked among the top. He was also curious to see how the local wizards played Quidditch on wooden brooms. But he decided to set that aside for now and focus on the matter that had brought him here.
He made a note in his notebook to visit the country at some point.
There was no luggage to pack: he nearly always had everything he needed with him. So the following morning, after finishing his instructions to the house-elves and laying out the training schedule for the others, they left the country.
He had offered to bring Eileen with them, but she declined and stayed behind to look after the house. She also had her own unfinished business: she had only recently completed absorbing death energy and had finally managed to raise her core to the middle rank. Right now, she was simply adjusting to her new strength, and traveling to foreign countries was not something she could focus on.
USSR. Volgograd.
Before the jump, Severus cast Notice-Me-Not Charms on himself, along with Chameleon Charms, to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
The moment they arrived, a heavy blizzard greeted them. Through it, the outlines of low buildings were barely visible, and beyond them, people bundled in fur coats and fur hats moved through the streets in large numbers. Even cars and buses were still making their way along the roads.
Nagini felt the cold brush against her scales and quickly retreated beneath his cloak, which was enchanted with temperature-regulating charms.
"It's no wonder they call the USSR the coldest country in the world." Severus surveyed the city with interest: thanks to the spell, which functioned like Moody's Eye, he could see clearly even through the storm. "Hm." His gaze fixed on an enormous statue in the distance: a figure of a woman striding forward, sword raised in one hand, her other arm extended backward as if calling others to follow.
The Archmage hadn't paid much attention to Muggle history lately, but Severus had attended a Muggle school until the age of eleven, so he had a basic foundation and knew something of the war that had swept the continent. He had seen this statue in one of his history textbooks; he simply couldn't remember what it was called or what it had been built to commemorate, because back then the boy had mostly been chasing after Lily and listening to the Muggle history teacher with only half an ear. The magical world had interested him far more.
He added another entry to his notebook: study Muggle history in more detail at some point. There might be a surprising number of interesting things buried in it.
He did not linger in the city. Several magical signatures appeared nearby and began moving directly toward him, which was reason enough to leave.
========================================
------------------------------------------
Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 374
2.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 389
3.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 195
support me on Patreon for instant access to the 120+ advance chapters: patreon.com/redofic