Chapter 112: Training and News
So, Draco...
Remus stood across from me, with Flitwick standing a little off to the side, ready to intervene in the upcoming duel at a moment's notice.
...are you ready?
"If we were in the USSR, I'd say, 'Always ready,' but since we're not, I'll just say: ready."
"Well then..."
Remus nodded to Flitwick, and Flitwick tossed the silver coin he'd been holding. At first, it spun as it flew upward...
I immediately began accelerating my perception and my body. The fingers holding my wand trembled almost imperceptibly from the strain, but I waited.
Meanwhile, the coin reached its highest point, froze there, and, still spinning, began falling just as slowly toward the floor.
One second... two... three...
Time stretched almost into hours, and when the coin touched the floor on its edge, I sent a Knockback Jinx at the werewolf. After that, I intended to cast an ice spell on the floor, which would have kept him from closing the distance easily, but...
Remus twisted and leapt toward me, letting the spell pass millimeters from his face, and then he was already right up against me, delivering a quick blow to my solar plexus with no backswing.
I turned slightly and caught the blow on my forearm, then with my other hand, the one holding my wand, tried to cast another Knockback Jinx at my opponent. But since I didn't really think I'd land it, I swept my leg out at the same time to knock him off his feet.
Only the werewolf twisted again and let the spell pass by, while my leg hit something solid as rock, and in the next instant, I was on the floor with a wand pressed to my throat. Up until then, Remus hadn't used it even once.
"Well... respectable..."
He removed the wand and helped me up.
"...though I shouldn't have expected any less from one of the professor's students..."
He nodded respectfully to Flitwick.
"...but it's immediately obvious that before this, you trained with people. Trained people, yes, but still people. Werewolves haven't been your opponents, and we prefer close-quarters combat. No, I can use a wand too..."
The wand appeared in his hand, and he twirled it deftly.
"...but most werewolves will act exactly the way I just did, except at the end, instead of a wand, they'll sink their claws or fangs into your throat."
I nodded in understanding.
"It was also foolish to try to sweep my legs out from under me. No, an adult, trained man who'd enhanced himself with magic the way you did might have been able to knock me down, but not a thirteen-year-old boy."
I grimaced slightly, but nodded, accepting Remus's criticism.
"Again?"
"Of course."
I nodded and took a fighting stance. Remus stepped away from me and took a stance as well, while Flitwick summoned the coin with magic and tossed it again.
Once again, the torturous minutes of waiting began to drag on.
This time, I didn't stand still, and the moment the coin touched the floor, I shot to the side, throwing three spells at the werewolf at once: one at his feet, intended to create ice on the floor, and the second and third directly at him.
The first spell worked as intended, but it didn't help much. Remus did lose his balance, but he didn't try to recover and simply fell, allowing both spells that should have hit him to pass over him. His wand appeared in his hand and cast several spells at me, which I successfully dodged, then cast a few more spells at him...
I opened my eyes.
"What even happened?"
"You missed a spell that was hidden by another one. So..."
Remus looked at me with a smirk.
"...next time, pay closer attention."
I nodded.
"Again?"
I asked as I studied the werewolf, realizing that for now, it was still too early for me to fight opponents like this. On the other hand, fighting Remus would help me improve far faster than facing an equal opponent or someone I already knew well.
*** Several hours later. ***
"Draco, how are you?"
Remus appeared above me again, but I couldn't answer. I could only lie on the floor and grin.
"Draco?"
"I got you..."
After getting my breathing under control, I managed to force out those words.
"Yes, that was good..."
He nodded in agreement.
"...but you still lost."
"I lost, but I got you. I got you!"
"I see this small success has inspired you?"
"Yes..."
I began getting up from the floor with difficulty.
"...and now, excuse me, I want a bath."
I hobbled to my room, which had a bathroom, where I undressed, literally collapsed into the water, and floated with my back above the surface.
When I began to run out of air, I turned over in the bath with difficulty, settled against the edge of the tub, and closed my eyes.
"Hello, darling..."
Fleur and Penny entered the bathroom, and judging by the splash of water, they climbed in.
"Yeah... how was your day?"
"Normal. Professor Lupin really roughed you up, didn't he?"
"Yeah... he's a damn beast. Of course, someone like Flitwick would handle him easily, but I'm not Flitwick, so he wiped the floor with me. The one comfort is that I still managed to get him once..."
"Only once?"
Penny's voice was full of bewilderment.
"Maybe as a wizard, he isn't much stronger than me, but his animal instincts, reaction speed, movement speed, all of that, combined with his magic, makes him an extremely inconvenient opponent for me."
"I see. How about a massage?"
"I'd be grateful."
I smiled, and the girls, with four hands between them, helped me finish washing. After that, they led me over to the table, laid me down, and still using four hands, began giving me a massage. No matter what anyone says, I'd found myself some excellent girls. Intelligent, understanding, affectionate...
I slipped into a doze and only came to when someone smacked me on the backside.
"Wake up already. We'll sleep in bed, not on the massage table."
"Uh-huh..."
Showing slight displeasure at being woken, I climbed down from the table and, once I reached the bed, passed out again.
*** Several days later. ***
"Draco..."
Cissy came to me. More precisely, she had asked the Headmaster for a meeting with me about a very important matter. And when I arrived, she looked very, very grim.
"What happened?"
"Well... We went to storm the Crabbe and Goyle manors, and there..."
She grimaced slightly.
In short, Bella lost her right hand.
I froze in shock and disbelief.
"She what?"
"Lost her right hand..."
"Who did it?"
"The Lord."
Dumbledore, who was present at the conversation, choked on his tea.
"All right..."
I closed my eyes.
"...or rather, not all right, but to be honest, I don't quite understand what the exact problem is. Losing a hand is unpleasant, of course, but what, have we run out of criminals? Just buy a couple more witches from Azkaban and attach someone else's hand to her."
"It's not that simple. The Lord used some strange spell. If I'm being completely honest, I already tried simply attaching someone else's hand to her, but there's a curse lingering on the stump, and any hand we try to graft on starts to rot."
I closed my eyes.
"Prepare about ten lambs for me, as well as the ritual hall. What do the Healers say?"
"I say there is no threat to her life. Most likely, the Lord did it exactly this way on purpose. He deprived her of her dominant hand and made it impossible to restore it. And now Bella has lost about twenty percent of her speed. Her left hand is still somewhat less developed."
"My girl, has the Lord returned?"
"Not exactly..."
Cissy shook her head.
"...as I understand it, the Lord temporarily possessed Gregory's body, and only because Bella wasn't expecting it was he able to inflict such a wound. I consulted with professionals. Possession of that kind cannot last long, unless, of course, the Lord wants the boy to die."
"Mum, I doubt he cares about anyone's life..."
I sighed.
"...as I understand it, they escaped?"
"Yes."
"The manors?"
We've searched them. The entire library has been requisitioned, and Bella is going through it now, gradually sorting through the truly dangerous knowledge, while we transfer the basic books to our school.
I smirked in satisfaction.
"That's the right thing to do. Headmaster, may I be excused for this evening?"
"You want to speak with Bella?"
"I want to remove the curse from her. The sooner that's done, the sooner they can reattach her hand, and the sooner she'll return to the ranks. And against an opponent like the Lord, we'll need every fighter..."
"I agree..."
Dumbledore sighed.
"...all right, you may leave today. If necessary, I'll cover for you tomorrow as well, but the day after tomorrow, you must be at Hogwarts."
"Thank you."
I nodded to the Headmaster, and soon Cissy and I went through the fireplace and arrived at our house.
"All right, I'll go to the ritual hall and prepare. You handle the calves, and only after that will we inform Bella that I'm here and ready to see what the Lord has done to her. Agreed?"
"Yes."
Cissy nodded, and the two of us went our separate ways to handle our tasks.
My ritual hall was clean. It held a large number of ingredients and auxiliary items I might need, all in their proper places. But first and foremost, I would need a diagnostic seal. A gift was all well and good, of course, but diagnostic methods were not something to neglect...
*** Several hours later. ***
"So Cissy dragged you out of school after all?"
I flinched almost imperceptibly, so I had to correct the line by erasing the small wave I had drawn in surprise.
"Bella, were you never taught not to interfere while preparing a ritual? Especially one being prepared for you."
"If you think I'll participate in it, you're mistaken. The Lord is no schoolboy. His curses aren't removed just like that..."
"Excuse me?"
I half-turned toward her.
"Did I imagine it, or did you just say I don't understand anything about curse-breaking?"
I... I know you're capable of a great deal, but the Lord isn't the kind of opponent you should be pushing back against like this.
"That's not your decision to make."
I looked at her with a grim expression.
"As I recall, both you and Mother Cissy once told me that even though I'm formally listed as the heir, and even though you'll have to handle the House's affairs until I come of age, my orders are to be treated as equivalent to those of the Lord of the House..."
"Son..."
"You will step into the ritual circle and let me examine what kind of curse is on your arm. I'm not promising I can remove it, but at the very least, I owe it to you to check. Do you understand me?"
"Yes..."
A single tear rolled down Bella's cheek.
"And why the sudden tears?"
"I'm not bawling..."
She wiped the tear away, but after my question, more tears began streaming down her cheeks, tears she could no longer hold back.
"You are, you are..."
Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to step away from preparing the ritual, but I wanted nothing more than to go over and hold her right then.
"Enough, enough..."
Cissy's voice sounded in the hall, and when I turned my head slightly, I saw her embracing her sister.
"Did you buy everything?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'll be ready in an hour."
"In an hour?"
"Bella's right. The Lord isn't some schoolboy. I'm sure there are traps woven into his curse, so taking extra safety precautions won't hurt."
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