Training and Confrontations

DrT

Story Summary:
A sprawling tale set in many places and dimensions, as Harry finds himself, finds his abilities grow, and trains for that final confrontation with Voldemort. A H/L/Hr tale, with N/G, R/T, and a paternal Ron.

Chapter 18

Chapter Summary:
A sprawling tale set in many places and dimensions, as Harry finds himself, finds his abilities growing, and trains for that final confrontation with Voldemort. A H/L/Hr tale, with N/G, Remus/T, and a paternal Ron. Part II continues on a different world.
Posted:
01/15/2005
Hits:
5,415
Author's Note:
Ron and Harry have a talk; the final round of combat; Harry talks to the group.



Chapter XVIII
June 18, Day 49

"I really wish you'd cheer up a little," Harry said yet again. "You were there to draw fire. You drew the fire. This is just a game, it's not real combat."

"I know," Ron agreed. "Still, it sort of hit me last night."

"What did?"

"That if this were a real combat situation -- and yes, I know, we'd have a wider range of magic to work with, but we'd also have to defend against it, too -- I would have been dead." He looked at Harry with a bit of despair in his eyes. "I don't want to be dead, Harry. I don't want any of us dead, at least not for another century or so."

Ron held up a hand to prevent Harry from interjecting. "I know. If you don't fight him, he'll just come after you anyhow. I'm not going to pull either a Percy and desert you or a Scabbers and, well, rat out on you. It . . . it was just so overwhelming when I realized it."

"It is," Harry agreed. "It was always bouncing around in the back of my head, but one night when we were alone last July I woke up. Luna was all snuggled close, and I was so happy for a moment. Then, it sort of hit me like a hammer, so hard for a moment I thought Voldemort had to have planted the thought. I might not get to enjoy that feeling again after the summer. That Voldemort will attack me again and again, until one of us is dead."

"That's that prophecy, right?" Harry just nodded. "I figured," Ron said. "It doesn't seem fair, does it."

Harry's mouth quirked. "I know, I know," Ron said, "life isn't fair."

"Not that I've seen," Harry agreed. "I mean, there are some bloody wonderful parts of life, but they don't totally make up for the bad."

"Like dying," Ron said. "If I didn't know Nick, and know there was something . . . after, well, I think this would drive me crazier than it is."

"I know. Still, remember what Alton told us."

"'Now is the time to make mistakes in combat, because it won't be fatal'," Ron repeated with a sigh.

The two teens sat back in their chairs. They were in Ron's room, waiting for Astor to send someone to tell them it was time to head off to their waiting area in the amphitheater.

After a few moments of silence, Harry said, "How's Rora?"

Ron shrugged. "We're still getting along fine. It's just too bad she feels she can't mix with us at all."



The day of the Final Combat was becoming overcast. The Markons came into the arena looking very nervous, and to a slightly greater ovation than the Dumbledores. Considering that the students had been told several times that the Markons were the least popular local family in the region, that said quite a bit about how the locals felt about the strangers who were dominating their tournament.

The Markons merely waited for the Dumbledores to set themselves. Since the Dumbledores were the obvious favorites by this point, they could hardly step back from the implied challenge under the local code of conduct.

Harry and Ron exchanged looks, and Ron nodded. Harry faded back a few steps, while Ron stepped forward, Ginny slightly behind him and to his right, near the arena wall. Neville and Hermione were behind Ron's left side, with Harry behind them and Luna behind Harry.

Tonks frowned. "What are they playing at?"

Astor shrugged, while Remus said, "You know Ron likes being out front. He knows that if he fought like this for real, he could be killed, and is afraid of it. This is his way of dealing with it."

"Seems silly to me," Tonks said.

"Boys are only slightly sillier than men," Alicia retorted. Astor and Remus both grimaced.

The Markons smiled, and they lined up to try an opening salvo. Ron and Ginny paled, but stood their ground. Ron glanced back at Harry, and the rest of them did as well. Harry flashed a set of signals, and they all nodded, Ron rather unhappily.

When the sparks went off, Ron hit the dirt while Ginny, Neville, and Harry set up their strongest general shields ahead of Ron. The opening salvo was therefore deflected.

Ron set up his own barrage in response from his prose position. The Markons suffered one slight injury, but they adjusted quickly, two defending against Ron while four kept up the general attack. Two were trying to break down the shields around Ron, while the remaining two tested the shields protecting the rest of the Dumbledores.

Despite the unconventional (for them) formation, the Dumbledore team had practiced all the variations they could think of. The group's trainers were quite certain that Harry alone could protect the group against any likely six opponents head-on, provided Voldemort was not one of the six.

After some four long minutes of this exchange, both Ron and the Markons slowed their attacks. Ron was getting tired, and the Markons also wanted to make certain they didn't exhaust themselves. They stepped back their attacks, and waited to see what the Dumbledores might try next. If Harry dropped some of his shielding and tried something like the whirlwind again, it was pretty obvious that the Markons could lay out a heavy attack on the others.

"Ready?" Harry called out, keeping his strongest shields in front of the others.

The rest of the team got ready to attack, and the Markons started to shift into a full defensive posture. Ginny instantly began an attack, which Ron picked up. Hermione, on the other hand, started transfiguring the ground around the Markons, while Harry, Luna, and Neville provided cover and shielding.

A group of engorged grass and weed roots shot up and enveloped two of the Markons. As a third was distracted by the startled screams of his team mates, he was stung by Ginny and disarmed by Ron. The growing roots grabbed his wand arm.

Meanwhile, Neville saw an opening on the other extreme of the Markon line. Inspired by Hermione's transfiguration, he sent off an engorgement hex. Had it struck true, it would have enlarged that witch's wand arm to the point that she couldn't have moved it.

Instead, the witch reflected the hex back towards the Dumbledores. Harry captured the hex in mid-flight and tossed back in a spiral that hit the startled original target on her wand hand.

Unfortunately, Neville was equally startled by Harry's newly-demonstrated power -- Harry had never tried to do that with this type of hex before. Neville managed to partially deflect one stunner, but he was hit by a second one. Luna just managed to stop a deflected hex right in front of her face, which blinded her for a few seconds.

The witch with the enlarged hand managed to deflate it, and then partially disarmed Luna right before Ginny disarmed her in return. Ron, meanwhile, had forced the other two remaining Markons back to defending themselves.

Seeing that one of the Markons entangled with the roots had lost his boot, Hermione transfigured it into a small but very loud terrier. It instantly latched onto the ankle of the nearest Markon. Trying to dislodge the dog distracted the young wizard enough for Ron to disarm him.

This left one remaining Markon wizard standing up against four fully ready Dumbledores, plus Luna (who was still seeing some spots before her eyes and barely had control of her wand).

Ron strode towards the Markon, who nodded. The pair squared off and began a straight duel. While that was going on, Harry sent Hermione over to disarm the entangled Markons, and to make certain the others had been ruled 'out'. He sent Ginny off to take on the remaining Markon, should he get past Ron while Harry made certain Luna was alright.

Ron, meanwhile, had managed to force his opponent to his knees, and with a final flourish disarmed him.

While the crowd didn't roar with approval, the Dumbledores did receive more than polite applause.



"We're not going over the fights again, are we?" Neville asked as he took a seat in the small parlor between Harry and Luna's room.

"No," Harry promised. "This morning, when Ron and I were talking, waiting to leave for combat, I remembered something. I've hinted around, but I've never actually told any of you the full Prophecy."

"Really?" Ginny. "Not even Luna?" she asked, glancing at her friend.

"I know the Prophecy in general," Luna put in, "but I don't know the details."

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Harry?" Remus asked.

"No," Harry admitted. "Still, I think everyone now has a good enough grasp on Occlumency not to lose the details accidentally. Anyway, Trelawney made the Prophecy to Dumbledore a month or two before I was born, when she was applying for the position of Divination."

"That must have been some interview," Ron said.

"Dumbledore wanted to sort of brush her off. He knew she wasn't terribly talented. . . ."

"There are many levels of the gift," Luna said. "Professor Trelawney possesses some Sight, and apparently has some gift of Prophecy as well, and she really does know the theory. She just isn't as gifted as she likes to imagine herself, and isn't a very good teacher in some ways." Hermione rolled her eyes.

Harry shrugged. "In any event, Dumbledore met her at the Hog's Head. He was very surprised to have her issue what seemed to him to be a genuine and important prophecy concerning Voldemort's fall. He was aware that someone was listening in, but he, or someone, somehow managed to get rid of that person before the whole prophecy was spoken."

"Which is how Voldemort found out about the Prophecy in general," Tonks said.

"Exactly," Harry agreed. "That's why Dumbledore hired Trelawney, just in case she came up with more prophecies, and to keep an eye on her."

"Keep an eye on her?" Ginny asked.

"The seer doesn't really remember these types of prophecies," Luna said, "but there are supposed to be ways, very Dark ways, to make them relive them."

"That makes some sense," Hermione agreed.

"So, let me think . . . 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. . . . Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies . . . and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not . . .and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. . . . The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies'."

"Seventh month?" Neville asked nervously.

"It could have been either of us," Harry acknowledged. "Voldemort chose, and marked, me."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Ginny said. "Voldemort knew enough to mark you. I would think knowing you're his equal wouldn't mean as much as 'the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord' would."

"More likely, it's having the 'power the Dark Lord knows not'," Hermione said. "If Voldemort doesn't think now in terms of a new power, at least to him, then he'll think primarily in terms of what he knows and what he can do."

"That does seem more likely," Remus agreed. He turned to Harry. "You have a higher degree of wandless magic, but that doesn't seem the best bet for this 'power'."

"Come on," Tonks said. "We've all seen how powerful Harry is."

"But raw power doesn't seem to be what the Prophecy is talking about," Hermione pointed out. "The raw power and the wandless magic may just be off-shots of whatever this power might be."

"The power is the power of love," Luna said simply. "Not so much his ability to love, but his ability to inspire love of all kinds. The love his mother had for him, the love Sirius had for him, the love we all have for him, and Harry's ability to use that love to channel his magic."

"How the devil do I do that?" Harry asked. "Go around, thinking about love all day?"

"There are worse things for you to think about," Luna said simply. Neither Harry nor Neville thought much about that statement, but only Ron rolled his eyes at it.

"Possibly," Remus agreed, "but I don't think that would actually help Harry access this power. If it's the power to inspire, then he should be learning to somehow use your affection and powers to augment his own. I haven't seen much of that. Have any of you?"

There was a long pause. "Not exactly," Luna finally said. "However, Harry learned the Patronus very early under your guidance. You were the first adult to really try and teach Harry as an individual, and I'm sure your affection for Harry bled through, even if you were under orders to keep a very professional relationship with him. Harry was so nervous before the First Task that his magic hit a blank wall. Hermione finally broke through that, again with personal tuition, again also coupled with affection."

"Now," she went on before Remus and Hermione could interrupt, "you might say that most students respond well under those circumstances. Yet I saw Harry's wandless magic just plain blossom as we worked on it together. I certainly wasn't teaching him, as I had little skill before then. I think it was that we were working together in an affectionate setting. We saw his powers increase last year during the DA, and it really expanded this summer, again, I would suggest, because of the affectionate nature of the instruction and the personal interactions between the eight of us."

"Or at least three of us," Ron muttered.

Harry glared at Ron, who flushed. "I'm sorry," Ron said. "It's none of my business."

"But if it's true that love helps Harry's powers . . . somehow," Ginny said, "then it's really not surprising that it's increased since we've been here."

"What. . . ?" Harry started.

"Harry," Neville said, "I think all of us have a rough idea of who is sleeping where every night." Ron glared at Neville.

"I love your sister, Ron," Neville said quietly.

"And I love Neville," Ginny stated. "If you bother us, I'll. . . ."

"You'll all behave," Tonks said firmly.

"Harry," Luna said in part to distract everyone else, "I love you. Hermione, I love you." She leaned forward and kissed them both lightly.

"I love the two of you," Hermione said very quietly.

"Actually," Harry said, "I love all of you." That got everyone's attention for a moment. Harry turned back to the two girls. "But I'm in love with both of you."

Hermione and Luna joined hands with each other and with Harry, smiling. Harry glared at Remus. "Well?"

Remus flushed. "I . . . I think we should go back on topic. Where were we?" Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Why Harry needs love to learn," Ginny teased.

Luna said thoughtfully, "That would explain why Professor Snape totally failed in his Occlumency tuition, I would say. He must have lacked the affection needed to bring forth Harry's powers."

After a moment's silence, Neville said, "Well, I don't think anyone could argue with that idea, anyway." The students all smiled.

"Well," Remus said to Luna, still a bit doubtful, "you might be right. It certainly can't hurt to keep it in mind for the next stage of training."

"And that will be?" Ron asked before anyone else could.

"I thought we knew, but Lord Dumbledore said after the combat today that he might have some new ideas."

"Would that have anything to do with the wizard in the multi-colored robes that was talking to him after the match?" Hermione asked.

"Probably," Remus admitted. "He'll be at dinner tonight."

"Which brings us to dinner tonight," Tonks said, picking up the theme. "There will be a full feast."

"Which means?" Ginny asked.

"Which means we have to be on our best behavior," Hermione said severely, mostly in Ron's direction. Ron scowled. "Don't you give me that look, Ron Weasley!"

"We are being judged, Ron, by one of the highest authorities on this planet," Remus stated. "What each of us does reflects on the others, and on our own wizarding culture as well."

"And if that's not important enough to get through that thick head of yours," Ginny nearly snarled, "just remember that other little course of action you've undertaken."

"What?"

"WHAT? WHAT? Screwing that . . . that pneumatic serving wench, you idiot! Remember, if you get her preggers, you won't be here to help any magical child. Whatever reputation you earn here will affect that child. Think about that when you're thinking about stuffing your face like a starving refugee."

"I haven't acted like that since we first got here! Why is it every mistake is thrown back in my face?"

"Because you're still stuffing it!" Ginny responded. "It just hasn't been as egg . . . ex . . . what's the word?" she asked, turning to Hermione.

"Egregious?"

Ginny nodded, "That's it."

Ron's scowl went even darker, and he began to color. It was clear there was an explosion coming. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Remus, and Tonks all started to make that intake of breath signaling an argument. Each of them, and Ron, had a definite, if angry, opinion they wanted to express.

"Quiet!" Harry ordered. Everyone looked at him, surprised. "I won't have it!" Harry exclaimed, almost hyperventilating. Tonks and Hermione exchanged looks, realizing that Harry's breathing had been irregular for a few moments before that.

"Won't have what?" Tonks asked placatingly.

"Calm down, Harry," Hermione urged, worriedly.

"No," Harry managed to say while trying to control his breathing. "Important."

Remus conjured a paper bag, and the group got Harry calmed down. When he had caught his breath, Harry managed to say, "That was . . . odd."

"Was it really?" Luna asked.

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.

"If Harry is drawing power from our affection for him, or is forming any sort of connection based on that affection, then it's possible our being angry with each other would affect him as well."

That made everyone stop and think. Finally, Harry asked, in a small voice, "Is that really possible?"

"It's possible," Remus acknowledged, "although I wouldn't go further than that."

"I suppose," Hermione said slowly, "that if Harry was more closely connected to us right now, emotionally as well as magically, because of the combat this afternoon, negative emotions could hit him harder now, too."

Remus nodded. "In any case, we all need to calm down. Let's get dressed for dinner."



This night, there were nearly 100 people crowded into the reception hall for dinner. The six students were all on their best behavior, although Ron enjoyed teasing Hermione and Ginny in little ways that made them think he was about to embarrass himself, and therefore them and their hosts. Ginny caught on fairly quickly, but Hermione didn't until quite late in the game.

One thing that caught both Remus' and then Harry's eyes were three wizards in the distinctive purple, red, and blue robes which Remus had pointed out in the tournament. Remus wasn't totally certain what they represented, but knew that they represented power.

Harry didn't pay a lot of attention to them at first, until he realized that while everyone in the hall was looking at the group of teen warriors, those three were looking the most intently at Harry.

Two of them were in their late middle-age. The third, who had been the one present at the tournament two days before, looked to be just a bit older than Remus. When the dinner broke up, the three men disappeared with Lord Dumbledore and the Sibyl quite quickly.

Harry wasn't terribly surprised to be asked to join them shortly thereafter.




Author notes: Of course, if you would like to read an excellent story where Harry DOES go around thinking about love all day, try the two Schnoogle stories by Semprini.