Chapter 92 — Hard Training
Chapter 92: Hard Training
The next several months, right up to examinations, were extraordinarily full: teaching my own lessons, attending the lessons given to me, and working on the castle's enchantments.
In short, all very interesting. And, somewhat to my surprise, the bracelet Candida had given me genuinely allowed me to rest properly and no longer snap at my mentors. With rest built in, lessons became considerably more productive.
At some point I simply realized that I genuinely enjoyed working at this pace. The Founders noticed it, and gradually raised the workload.
An outside perspective.
"I think it's too soon."
Candida shook her head, looking at the images of her companions.
"Candida..."
"Don't 'Candida' me. I want even the ghost of a body just as much as you do, and perhaps a real one, even a homunculus body, eventually. But trusting him with those rituals is too soon. He would perform them, but without the real knowledge and practical foundation, it would be entirely meaningless for his development as a wizard. At the very start of next year, performing those rituals will genuinely benefit him. Now it would not."
"But during that time we..."
"We could do nothing in any case."
Candida shook her head.
"And besides, we cannot bring Hogwarts out from under Ministry control before the start of next year. That means we cannot teach children what we consider truly correct until then."
"Very well."
Salazar was forced to concede with a sigh.
"Then we must increase the student's workload. We need to accomplish everything possible before the new school year begins."
"I think we can raise it a little, but it would be better to consult with Flitwick. He is alive, and unlike us, he can notice things in the student's behavior that tell us the load should not be increased further."
"Agreed."
Godric nodded.
End of aside.
"Now then, my dear students."
I surveyed the students gathered in the dueling hall.
"I can tell you that I'm proud of what you've achieved. Your Defense teacher has also spoken highly of your progress, and I want you to know that you've all done well."
I looked up at the ceiling, considering.
"As you all know, we're approaching the end of another school year. For some of you, it's just another year; for others, your very first. And as always with my lessons, there is a reward for whoever demonstrates the best results in dueling and in Charms and Enchantments."
A happy murmur went around the students. Everyone wanted recognition from me, though on several faces I could see the quiet sadness of those who knew nothing was coming their way. That was their own doing. My standards were the same for everyone, and if they had put in less work than others, or had the talent but decided the minimum would be enough, the consequences were theirs to accept.
"Let's begin the tournament, then, for which two prizes will be awarded. I'd first like to invite Hermione Granger and Harry Potter to the platform."
Tch.
Hermione stepped up, clearly not thrilled, but there was nothing I could do about it; the draw was random. She wasn't in the best position. Harry was very well prepared for dueling, and for Defense in general. He knew fewer spells than Hermione, but he executed them significantly better.
"The rules are known to you all, but a brief reminder. Second-years have a circle five paces in diameter within which they may dodge their opponent's spells. Pure elemental spells are prohibited, so if you've learned any, I'd advise you not to use them for the duration of the duel."
I looked at Hermione with a particular expression that said: I know you love to learn everything you can, but let's not demonstrate the full extent of that here.
"Unforgivables are also prohibited. Now, bow."
They bowed to each other.
"Begin in three, two, one, fight!"
I flicked my wand to release a brief spark. Harry immediately sent his signature Disarming Charm at Hermione, but she knew it well enough; she literally dropped to the floor, letting it pass over her. At the same time she threw a Repelling Jinx at him, and, crucially, without saying the incantation. Harry plainly hadn't expected that. He managed to raise a Shield, but his opponent seized the moment and kept casting spell after spell at him.
A solid plan, if Harry had been slightly weaker. As it was, however...
Hm.
When Harry sent another Disarming Charm at Hermione, she neither defended nor dodged. Instead she did something unexpected: she caught the spell on the tip of her wand, added a touch of her own magic, and sent it back at its sender. Harry was not prepared for that.
The Disarming Charm punched through his already-weakened Shield and struck him in the chest. His wand flew from his hand in a smooth arc, landing at Hermione's feet.
"Unexpected."
I shook my head.
"The winner is Hermione Granger. She demonstrated some rather impressive technique and a sound tactical mind."
The applause that broke out made Hermione lower her eyes to the floor, a faint blush spreading across her face.
"Hermione, please return to the spectators. I now invite Tracey Davis and her opponent Pansy Parkinson to the platform."
The girls stepped up; I gave the starting signal, and the bout began.
Several days later.
Well, well. The final turned out to be a surprise. Evidently the girls had been putting in serious work. They'd each learned a trick or two that no one expected of them. Even I hadn't expected it, and I was the one who'd taught them and had seen them progressing well. But not quite like this.
"The final bout! Daphne versus Hermione Granger! Competitors, to the platform."
I nodded to the girls, who stepped up with their heads held high and faced each other across the platform. Once again it fell to me to run through the rules, which I did while casting my eye around the Great Hall.
Yes, the Great Hall. The semi-finals, the third-place bout, and the final had all been moved here. The entire school had turned out to watch, from the youngest first-year to the eldest seventh-year.
"Begin in three, two, one, fight!"
At my signal the girls launched into a swift exchange of spells, not quite full speed, but close. Notably, neither of them was using Shield Charms, preferring counter-spells, and when those weren't an option, simply stepping out of the way.
Their duel looked more like a dance.
An attack; a sidestep and a small forward lean to let a spell pass by; another attack and something resembling a curtsey to duck under one aimed at her head. Two spells, a step back, another step to the side, then several more spells in sequence.
They were using spell chains, simple ones for now, but effective.
"Stop!"
A shield appeared between them.
"Daphne, your foot crossed the boundary of the permitted zone. That is a warning. A second violation will result in a loss."
Daphne gave a composed nod. Hermione allowed herself a small smile, for which she paid dearly just two minutes later, when Daphne frosted the floor and, retreating to one side, Hermione stepped onto the ice, her foot sliding farther than intended.
"Stop!"
The shield appeared again. Hermione stepped back to the center of the circle, then made an elaborate, performative bow at Daphne, as if to say, "One all." Daphne didn't pretend to be above it and returned the bow with equal ceremony.
"Granger, your foot crossed the boundary of the circle. That is a warning. One more and a loss will be recorded. One warning each. Three, two, one, fight!"
The shield dropped and the girls resumed their exchange.
"Beautiful, truly."
But as beautiful as it was, I could see that if the fight continued at this pace, Daphne would win. She was magically stronger by birth, born into an ancient line where centuries of selection had ensured it.
Hermione's expression showed she understood this too, and the prospect did not appeal to her. Nor, it seemed, did it appeal to Daphne, because at one point both girls simply stopped.
"No dodging?"
It was Daphne who spoke.
"Agreed. Only magic. Let the cleverest one win."
Hermione smiled at her friend's words, and raising her wand to show she was ready, echoed:
"Let the cleverest one win."
Daphne mirrored the gesture, and I understood what they wanted from me. A second later, to everyone's surprise, green sparks shot from my wand, the signal for the new phase of their duel. Neither girl moved from her spot now. Spells were either met with counter-spells or caught on the tips of their wands and sent back.
There was Hermione with a modified Binding Spell, and there was Daphne conjuring a length of rope in its path, which obligingly tied itself into a neat bow. An elegant solution: the spell used existing rope rather than conjuring its own. Then Daphne sent a Jelly-Legs Jinx, which Hermione deflected with the Dancing Feet Spell.
But the duel couldn't go on forever. Someone had to make a mistake, and one was made. Hermione moved her wand in too wide an arc, giving Daphne the opening she needed for a more complex Sleeping Jinx, which left her wand's tip the moment she released it. Then, in the same motion, she caught Hermione's Petrificus Totalus on the tip of her wand, amplified it, and sent it back.
I canceled the spell on Hermione, and she rose slowly from the platform. Both girls walked to the center and shook hands. The Great Hall applauded, and we still had the third-year duels ahead of us, followed by the older years for whom Flitwick was acting as referee.
The third-years, as I had privately anticipated, turned out to be rather dull. The two who had reached the final had simply ground their way through their opponents with raw power. I don't particularly approve of the approach, but I acknowledge it has its place.
"The winner, among second-years, is Daphne! In second place, Hermione Granger! In third place, Pansy Parkinson! An entirely female podium! Let's applaud these three girls, who have shown us precisely how a duel should be fought, how it should be prepared for, and that brute force does not solve everything!"
The applause made the girls color, and once it had died down, I called the third-years to the platform. They were a Gryffindor and a Slytherin; incidentally, the inter-house rivalry had quieted somewhat since the portraits had gone up. Watching the Founders converse calmly with each other, calling one another brother and sister and roundly insulting anyone who tried to start something, had apparently given the students pause. Which was a welcome development.
As I'd said, this bout was nothing remarkable, two strong wizards grinding at each other with raw power. I gave an inward sigh of relief when the Slytherin representative won. Not because I was favoring anyone, but because this particular spectacle was at last over.
When my part of the judging was done, I stepped down from the platform and moved to where the other professors were standing, leaving Flitwick to take my place.
"You didn't seem very inspired by the third-years' final."
"Only the final."
I answered the Defense teacher's question with no particular outward expression.
"The bout for third place was reasonably interesting."
"But you do understand that a real fight—it doesn't tolerate elegance."
"Well..."
I very nearly waved the comment off.
"In a real fight, the first thing I used was Fiendfyre to hold back an oncoming horde of Grimm. In a real fight, there are obstacles, there are comrades covering your back, and yes, brute-force pressure absolutely has a place."
I gave the faintest shrug.
"But you ought to understand that if either of those two powerful opponents had also been clever, the fight would have been over two or three times sooner."
"Fair enough."
The teacher nodded.
"Come now."
Dumbledore chose to join the conversation.
"They are children."
He paused here, seeming to realize mid-sentence that I was also not quite an adult, and stroked his beard, looking slightly flustered.
"And they haven't been dueling long."
Another pause, slightly at a loss. After all, I had only taken up dueling in my first year.
"And they haven't been studying magic for long."
That, at least, was true, and an argument I could accept. I'd had significantly more time to study magic than they had. Even so, I had something to say.
"Daphne hasn't been studying magic much longer, either. In terms of practical application, I would argue she's had less time with it than either of the boys we were just discussing. And yet, personally speaking, her duel was considerably more enjoyable."
"I cannot disagree."
McGonagall joined the conversation as well.
"Both Miss Granger and Daphne were genuinely impressive. They used varied types of magic, making for something far more cohesive."
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