Harry Potter and the Crystalline Darkness

Chapter 29

Three days later the magical residue was still lingering and Harry was still unable to use his Oversight. With the rest of the students arriving back in a week, he was starting to get very nervous about this. He'd kept quiet about his misgivings so far because the Headmaster had said that the residue was fading, just not fast enough for Harry's peace of mind. Master Nhean had taken the opportunity to run Harry through the very first exercises he'd been taught and Harry had realised just how much he'd come to rely on his Oversight. While it was nowhere near having normal eyesight, it did allow him to live a relatively normal life. Now, without it, he had to remember back to those first days after he'd been blinded and recall how he'd moved around.

Master Nhean had decided that today would be a good day to try working with his Battle Guard without Oversight. He'd been working with Jun'ko and Tien the last couple of days and had found it was far more difficult training without Oversight. He couldn't 'see' what they were doing as he normally could and had earned more than a few bruises until Jun'ko had sat him down an explained what he should do. She'd explained that he was getting panicked. That they were simply running through the normal patterns; he knew them and he knew how to counter them. She told him to listen hard, that the other senses compensate when one is lost. He should be able to hear her breathing, the sound of her footsteps, even the whistle of her sword moving through the air. Once he'd taken a few deep breaths he'd tried her suggestions and found that she was right. It was far more difficult than usual but once he got the hang of listening he was able to do much better.

But today would be a different kettle of fish. Today he would have to work with his friends. Master Nhean had spoken to them all the previous night and had explained what the differences would be. Harry would not only have to listen hard to his surroundings but he would have to listen to his friends. They would be the ones to warn him of where the enemy was coming from and he would in many ways have to rely on them. Jun'ko and Tien would acting as the enemy for the first exercise and if all went well Sirius and Tonks would join in. If that went well then Fred and George would complete the enemy attack.

Harry and his Battle Guard were now standing in the middle of the training room as Master Nhean told them the final details of what would be happening. Their swords were drawn and warded to ensure any blows would cause only bruises and they looked serious and sober.

"Jun'ko and Tien have orders to attack and capture Harry," he explained. "It's the job of the Battle Guard to not allow that to happen. You must protect Harry and it must be done in two ways. Obivously you must do your best to keep Jun'ko and Tien away from him but you must also remember that Harry cannot see what is going on. You must keep him aware so that he is not subjected to a surprise attack. You are used to Harry having no problems during your training. Well, now he will. It is your responsibility as his Battle Guard to see that he is not endangered." The Battle Guard nodded grimly as Harry looked rather uncomfortable. "The first exercise will last for fifteen minutes," Nhean continued. "If you succeed in that, we will add Sirius and Tonks to the next exercise. Again it will last fifteen minutes. If you succeed there, we will add Fred and George. Does everyone understand?"

There were nods and affirmative noises from everyone in the room. Jun'ko and Tien were standing on opposite sides of the room ready to start the exercise. Sirius, Tonks, Fred and George were standing in one corner behind a protective ward and Nhean walked over and joined them. Also standing behind the ward were Snape and Remus both of whom had professed an interest in seeing this.

"Very well," Nhean said once he was behind the ward. "Begin."

Tien and Jun'ko began a slow circling of the Battle Guard, trying to work out the strengths and weaknesses of the group. Hermione began a low voiced commentary to Harry as they watched the two Night Warriors warily. Harry's head dropped slightly and began to weave from side to side fractionally as he concentrated on listening not only to Hermione but also for the noises from Jun'ko and Tien.

The two Night Warriors leapt forward at the same instant and there was a clash of swords as they met with resistance from Ron and Luna on one side and Ginny and Hermione on the other. Neville had grabbed Harry's free arm and dragged him out of the way of the fighting, shoving him rather unceremoniously behind him and taking up Hermione's commentary.

The two pairs of students separated out so that they were attacking the Night Warriors from two different sides, making their defence as difficult as possible. Tien was the first to overcome his opposition. With a quick shove he pushed Luna halfway across the room then he bound Ron's sword with his own and sent it flying. As he turned towards Neville and Harry, Ron sprinted across to where his sword had come to rest.

"Luna! Help Neville and Harry!" he yelled as he ran.

The blonde Ravenclaw shook her head to clear it and pushed herself to her knees. She then leapt forward and briefly caught the back to Tien's foot as he ran towards Harry and Neville. Her grip swiftly slipped but it had been enough to cause Tien to fall heavily to the floor though he had the presence of mid to retain hold of his sword. Luna took the opportunity to run over and join Neville and Harry. Neville had quickly manoeuvred himself and Harry away from the two Night Warriors when Tien fell and Luna and then Ron joined up and formed a triangle around Harry with Neville. Harry could hear the clash of swords from where Ginny and Hermione had been and Neville quickly confirmed that the two girls were still holding their own against Jun'ko.

Tien was on them again at this point and Ron and Luna confidently stepped forward to take on the Night Warrior again. They'd both independently worked out where they had gone wrong last time; they'd allowed Tien to close in on them. He was a muscular man even though he barely topped five feet ten inches. He was stronger then them and they had to take that into account. So this time they used the kind of in and out attacks they used to take out larger and more powerful opponents. They also did their best to work Tien away from Harry. They had a touch more success on the former than the latter but when the fifteen minutes were up, they were still fighting and had kept the older man away from Harry.

"Time!" Nhean called and the fighters all stepped away from each other and lowered their swords.

The Night Master surveyed the scene in front of him. Neville had Harry behind him and they were over near one of the walls. Perhaps a little too close to the wall for comfort but they had enough room to manoeuvre if necessary. About six feet away were Ron, Luna and Tien. The two students had managed to hold their own against the Night Warrior after their initial defeat. Hermione and Ginny were halfway across the room from Neville and Harry and Jun'ko was looking at the two very determined girls with a hint of admiration. While Hermione and Ginny hadn't been able to defeat her, they had been able to keep the fight at a stalemate.

"Well done," Nhean said approvingly. "Everyone sit down and get some rest."

The students and the two Night Warriors dropped to the floor where they were standing as Sirius and Tonks came out from behind the wards and handed everyone a drink.

"Hermione, Ginny, very well done," Nhean said approvingly. "You managed to keep Jun'ko at bay. What do you think you could have done to defeat her?"

The two girls were silent for a moment as they exchanged glances. "I suppose we could have pressed the attack a bit more," Hermione admitted. "I think maybe we got a little too caught up in the fact it was an exercise and not actual combat."

Ginny grimaced. "Maybe," she said dubiously. "But I think we'd have put ourselves in danger if we'd tried attacking too much harder. We would have had to sacrifice out defence a bit to do that and Jun'ko's very quick."

Hermione considered that for a moment. "Yes, you could be right there."

"We could have tried pushing Jun'ko in the way of Tien and then grabbing Harry and just getting the hell out of here," Ginny suggested with a smile.

"Excellent, Ginny," Nhean congratulated. "That is exactly what you should have done. Remember our lessons last year. Sometimes the best solution to a problem is to run."

The students nodded as Nhean turned his attention to Ron and Luna. "Now, where did you two go wrong initially?" he asked.

"We let Tien close with us," Ron said promptly. "That was a mistake. He's very strong and he used that strength against us. I wasn't quite expecting him to be that strong. He doesn't look like he should be."

Tien grinned. "Why, thank you, Ron."

Nhean chuckled. "Let that be an important lesson for all of you. Never underestimate an opponent and never judge by appearances." He then turned to Neville and Harry. "Excellent work in protecting your leader, Neville. You took strong decisive action when it was needed. You might want to be careful about getting too close to the walls next time. You had enough room to manoeuvre in this situation but be aware of that."

Neville nodded as Nhean gave Harry a sharp look. The blind boy had slid his sword back into its sheath and was clutching the sword-cane with both hands and ostensibly staring down at the floor, his face taut and unreadable.

"Well, Harry?" Nhean asked.

Harry was silent for a long moment. "That was hard and I didn't like it," he replied flatly.

"Why not?" Nhean asked.

"I felt like I didn't have any control," Harry elaborated. "I was fairly sure I knew where everybody was and I think I could have handled anything but Neville wouldn't let me anywhere near the fighting." The last bit was said in a frustrated tone.

"That was the whole point," Neville said in a slightly exasperated tone before Nhean could say anything. "The goal of the exercise was to protect you and not let Jun'ko or Tien get hold of you. The best way to do that is not to let them near you."

Harry shifted slightly. "I know," he said shortly. "I just..." He paused and tensed, his knuckles going white so tightly was he holding his cane. His jaw clenched and his eyes blazed. "I don't like this," he ground out through clenched teeth.

Nhean walked over, understanding on his face but it didn't leach over into his voice. "You don't like what?"

Harry flinched slightly. "Not being able to see. Not having my Oversight," he said flatly. "I feel...helpless."

"But you are not," Nhean said firmly as he shot a quick warning glance in Sirius' direction. The animagus had made a move to go to Harry but stopped at the Night Master's look. "You know that. Neville did the right thing. You know that too. Harry, there are times you must simply allow others to do their jobs, no matter how that makes you feel. You know what you are capable of. Oversight or not, you are a capable Warrior. Remember that and remember to trust your Battle Guard."

Harry was absolutely still as he thought that through then he nodded slightly. "Yes, sir," he said quietly.

Nhean eyed his student for a moment then nodded. He didn't think Harry was entirely convinced but it was enough for now.

"Alright, you can have a few more minutes rest then we'll move on to the second exercise," Nhean said as he moved back into the centre of the room. "Same goal for the Battle Guard. Protect your leader. This time with the addition of Sirius and Tonks to the attackers. That increases the magnitude of the task for the Battle Guard but it does give you an advantage. What is it?"

There was silence for a moment then Hermione's hand crept into the air.

"Yes?" Nhean said.

"It's more difficult for them as well," she ventured. "They could get in each other's way as easily as work together."

"Very good," Nhean said. "While Jun'ko and Tien has some training in working together and they have been training Sirius and Tonks, your opponents do not have the same kind of experience in team work as the six of you do. That is your advantage. They are older and most are more experienced in combat than you. That is their advantage. It will be interesting to see which advantage is the key one."

The Battle Guard groaned as Sirius and Tonks went over to the warded area to fetch their weapons.

"Harry?" Neville said quietly. "Are you okay?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, Neville. I'm fine. It's just harder than I thought to really be blind. I guess I've just gotten too used to having my Oversight."

"Did the descriptions Hermione and I were giving you help or should we just shut up?" Neville asked a little anxiously.

"No, they were fine," Harry said hastily. "They helped me get a good picture in my head of where everybody was."

Neville reply was interrupted by Master Nhean clapping his hands and ordering them up and into their positions. Harry and his Battle Guard took up their normal position in the middle of the room while Jun'ko, Tien, Sirius and Tonks spread out around the room.

Ron glanced at the four adults. "We'd better not let ourselves get split up again," he muttered to his friends. "What's the bet they'll try that."

"Head for Sirius straight off," Harry said quietly. "He's the one most likely to hesitate before he attacks us in general and me in particular. If we can neutralise him then that reduces the odds against us."

"That's mean," Ginny said with a quick grin. "Picking on your own godfather like that."

Harry gave a soft huff of laughter. "Master Nhean's always telling me to take advantage of my opponent's weaknesses, no matter what."

Soft chuckles flowed around the group briefly then they sobered and drew their swords. Master Nhean walked over behind the wards.

"Begin," he said calmly.

Harry and his Battle Guard did not wait to be attacked this time. They instead headed straight for Sirius. Neville, Harry and Ron launched an attack at the surprised man while Hermione, Ginny and Luna acted as a rear guard against the three remaining attackers. Their attack against Sirius was successful and the animagus was rather shortly, and much to his surprise, down on the ground.

"Successful strike," Nhean called out from his position behind the wards. "Sirius, you're dead. Return to the safe area."

Harry and his Battle Guard immediately turned to face the remaining three attackers who had loitered a safe distance away to watch what the Battle Guard were doing. Sirius pushed himself to his feet and walked around the wall towards the warded area, a confused and slightly disgruntled look on his face. The whole time Neville and Hermione continued their low-voiced commentary to Harry.

Jun'ko's eyes narrowed and she glanced to her left and right. "Tonks, take the left. Tien, take the right. Spread 'em out."

With those brief instructions the three adults leapt at the battle guard. That was when both Harry and Neville realised they'd gotten themselves caught too close to the wall.

"Push forward," Harry yelled. "Then break left."

The Battle Guard suddenly shifted with the Rear Guard moving up and the whole group attacking fiercely. The sudden move pushed the three attackers back and when they had enough room, Harry and Neville broke to left while the rest of the Battle Guard covered their retreat.

Once Harry and Neville worked their way free, Neville yelled, "We're clear! Fall back."

The Battle Guard staged an immediate retreat and placed themselves between Harry and the three attackers. Again Neville placed himself between Harry and the attackers and as he did this Jun'ko, Tien and Tonks again launched themselves at the group.

The attack had the desired effect. Ron and Luna got tied up in fighting off Tien while Hermione and Ginny got waylaid by Tonks. This left Harry and Neville open to the attack from Jun'ko. And attack she did. Her flurry of blows had two immediate effects; firstly it drove the two boys back away from the rest of the Battle Guard and secondly Neville became so wrapped up in countering Jun'ko's moves that he was unable to keep up his commentary.

Harry stumbled back as Neville kept pushing him between defensive moves and tried desperately to work out what was happening. He could hear the sounds of battle from in front of him and to either side but he could get no other details. A thump from directly in front of him coupled with Neville's desperate cry of "Harry!" and the sudden sound of a sword whistling through the air had him raising his own weapon. A second later he both heard and felt the impact of Jun'ko's sword on his own. He took an instinctive step backwards and twisted his sword to pull Jun'ko's sword away from him. He then danced backwards a few more steps and listened hard. A couple of light footsteps and a whistling sound had him hastily raising his sword and again rather clumsily countering the older woman's blow. Then he heard a sudden oath and a grunt from Jun'ko.

"Successful strike," Nhean called out. "Jun'ko, my dear, you are dead. Very careless of you to forget Mr Longbottom. Come and join us here."

Neville immediately came over and joined Harry as Jun'ko jogged over to the warded area.

"Well done, Neville," Harry said with a smile. "How are the others doing?"

"Thanks, Harry," Neville replied, sounding pleased with himself. "They're holding their own."

"Work them together!" Harry yelled to his friends.

Ron and the others suddenly grinned and the two pairs launched sudden offensives to drive Tonks and Tien into each other's paths. Tien was a bit better prepared for this and managed to resist Ron and Luna's attempts to manoeuvre him but Ginny and Hermione had greater success with Tonks. In a few minutes they had driven Tonks into the back of Tien, causing both to trip over each other. The four students immediately broke off their attacks and ran over to form up around Harry again. The six students watched warily as Tien and Tonks sorted themselves out and got to their feet.

They were just starting to slowly back away when they heard Master Nhean say, "Time!"

Everyone relaxed and sheathed their swords. Master Nhean walked out from the warded area with Sirius and Jun'ko.

"Well done, everyone," Nhean said approvingly. "Sit down and rest."

Everyone dropped where they were standing and this time it was Fred and George who brought drinks out to everyone.

"Well, that was much better," Nhean said to the Battle Guard. "Your tactic against Sirius was excellent. Why did you do it that way?"

"That was my idea," Harry said a little nervously. "I knew Sirius wouldn't really want to hurt any of us and he'd be more likely than the others to hesitate before attacking any of us. Particularly me. If we attacked him hard and fast he probably wouldn't react in time."

Harry fell silent as he waited for Sirius' reaction and he inwardly cursed his inability to see as now he couldn't get any idea of how Sirius felt about his admittedly dirty tactic.

He heard a low chuckle come from the warded area at the side of the room. "He's got you there, Padfoot," Remus said with amusement.

"That's it. Use an old man's weaknesses against him," Sirius replied in a voice rippling with laughter and Harry imperceptibly relaxed.

Nhean also chuckled. "I think we can set that aside then. It is highly unlikely you will ever face Harry or his friends in a combat situation. I just ask that you try and put those feelings aside in the last exercise."

"Okay," Sirius said good-naturedly.

"Jun'ko, I think you already know the mistake you made," Nhean continued.

"I forgot Neville in my eagerness to attack Harry," Jun'ko said ruefully. "And I've got a very nice bruise on my ribs to remind me of that fact for the next few days."

"Yes, well done, Neville," Nhean said mildly. "Harry, how did you feel when Jun'ko attacked you?"

"Lost," Harry replied shortly. "Uncomfortable. It was hard to determine where the blows were coming from. I could hear the sound of her sword coming through the air but it was hard to work out which direction it was coming from."

"I know," Nhean said soothingly. "And I also know that we haven't worked on how to fight without your Oversight yet."

"You're throwing me into the deep end to see how well I can swim," Harry said, unsure of how he felt about that.

"You've handled it well so far in my teaching of you," Nhean said with a hint of humour.

Harry gave a soft laugh. "Yeah, I guess."

"Don't get too concerned," Nhean said. "This is as much for me to determine how much I need to teach you as for you to discover the differences between fighting with and without Oversight."

Harry nodded and sighed. Nhean eyed him for a moment longer then turned to Tien and Tonks.

"Tien, well done," Nhean congratulated. "Tonks, you also did well until you allowed Ginny and Hermione to manoeuvre you around into Tien like that."

"Those two are stronger than they look," Tonks said with chagrin. "And quick. I had to back off to try and work out a way of beating them. I just didn't see that they were manoeuvring me in a specific direction. Sorry about that, Tien."

Tien waved an idle hand. "Not to worry, Tonks. I should have been paying more attention to my surroundings. Particularly after Harry's order to his Guard."

"Right then," Nhean said with a clap of his hands. "Everyone up. We shall start the final challenge. Even numbers. Harry and his Battle Guard versus Tien, Jun'ko, Tonks, Sirius, Fred and George. Everyone into your places."

Harry and his Battle Guard moved into the centre of the room again though Harry was very reluctant this time. He couldn't see how they were going to get out of this one. The six attackers ranged out around the room and readied their swords.

"How do you want to handle this?" Neville asked Harry. "I don't think attacking Sirius again is going to work."

"Stay together," Ron said abruptly. "If we get split up, we're dead. Or rather Harry's dead since he's the target here."

"Stay here or put our backs to a wall?" Hermione asked briskly.

"Backs to a wall," Harry muttered. "We don't want to let them manoeuvre us around and it'll protect one side."

"Corner," Ron said firmly. "We'll back Harry into a corner. That way he gets more protection and we don't have to spread ourselves out so far."

"Which one?" Neville asked as he eyed Master Nhean warily, waiting for the signal to start.

"The one near Fred and George," Ron replied then he grinned. "I've got an idea."

"Four words that are always frightening to hear from a Weasley or Harry," Hermione said lightly.

Chuckles came from the others and even Harry managed a weak grin.

"Begin," Master Nhean said as he stepped back into the warded area to join Remus and Severus.

The chuckles ended and, with Hermione murmuring soft commentary to Harry, the Battle Guard made a determined move towards the corner that lay between Fred and George. Humour and challenge glinted in the twins' eyes as they raised their swords but before they could do anymore, Ron dug into a pocket and drew out a small, round, black ball.

He threw it to the ground at the twins' feet and said quietly but intently, "Close your eyes!"

The Guard obeyed immediately but Fred and George, surprised by their brother's actions, looked down at the small ball. Just as they did this, it exploded with a bright flare and a cloud of white smoke. The twins gave identical yells of surprise and then chagrin as Neville and Ron leapt forward to place their swords at their throats.

"Fred, George, I believe you are both dead," Nhean said with high amusement. "Do feel your way over here."

Harry's Battle Guard did not pay any attention to this. Instead Hermione and Ginny hustled Harry over to the corner and gave him a small shove, sending him into the wall with a soft thump. Luna immediately took up a position directly in front of him but with enough room for both of them to fight if it became necessary. Hermione and Ginny, along with Neville and Ron, spaced themselves into front of these two and waited for the remaining four attackers to arrive.

"Did you have to shove me into the wall?" Harry said softly though irritation traced through his words.

"Sorry, Harry," Hermione said briskly. "But we're about to be a little busy."

With that she broke off and Harry heard the sounds of swords clanging against each other. Luna swiftly took up the commentary and Harry had to bite his lip several times at her eccentric words.

"Well, Ronald seems to be handling Tonks rather well though I daresay Hermione won't like me saying that," Luna said blandly, causing Harry to snicker then she gasped. "Oh dear!"

That comment was explained when Nhean called out, "Ginny, you're unconscious or dead. Come and join us over here."

Ginny growled and Harry heard his girlfriend stomp off in the direction of the warded area. Luna took up her commentary again, describing the swift reorganisation of the Guard as they continued to fight.

"Luna, we need you up here," Ron called suddenly, sounding strained.

"Oops, must dash," the odd Ravenclaw said to Harry then she stepped forward into the fight.

Harry gritted his teeth as he lost his description of what was going on then he took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and calmed himself as best as he could under the circumstances. He then just listened. At first he couldn't really sort out what was happening then as he pictured the room and remembered all of the training he and the others had done, he began to piece together a mental picture of what was going on. He had to make mental extrapolations for the sounds he heard, based on what he remembered from the training.

Ron was battling Tonks to his far right. He could hear his best friend's laboured breathing and realised that the constant battles today were starting to take their toll. But he could also hear Tonks' quiet grunts every time Ron scored a hit on her sword. Ron's strength was starting to come in to play over Tonks' agility as the fight wore on.

Next to Ron, Luna had taken up the fight against Sirius. Harry could hear that Sirius was having to work hard. Luna had always been a bit of a surprise packet for the Guard. She didn't look like she was here enough to fight well but once the battle started, her concentration became a credit to her House and she was very adept. But Harry could hear that like Tonks, Luna was starting to suffer from Sirius' superior strength.

Hermione was battling...he paused to listen for a moment...battling Jun'ko and from what he could hear, the two women were fairly evenly matched. The sound was almost like one of their training sessions and Harry confidently predicted that this was one fight that would last out the time limit.

The last fight, the one on his far left, was between Neville and Tien and again from the sounds he could hear it seemed to be a fairly even match. In this case, Harry predicted that Tien would get the better of his friend. Tien was deceptively devious. Harry had not won a single bout with the older man. Tien was well trained in more than one style of fighting and had no compunctions about suddenly shifting mid-fight from a style that wasn't working to one that might. That thought suddenly became prophetic when Harry heard Neville grunt and fall.

"Neville, come and join us," Nhean called out.

That was all the warning Harry got before he heard Tien's sword whistling towards his head. He opened his eyes, useless though the gesture was, and raised his sword, bracing himself for the impact. Tien's sword clanged into his and he grunted at the impact. He then pushed at the other man using their joined swords and heard Tien give way fractionally.

Their swords separated and Harry brought his back into a ready position as he listened as carefully as he could, his head weaving back and forth slightly. It was difficult differentiating between the sounds of the fights going on around him and the sounds of Tien moving. This was made even more difficult by the fact that Tien was very light on his feet.

Again it was only the sound of the sword whistling through the air that alert Harry to Tien's next attack; this one towards his side. He angled around to counter it and made a rather satisfied chuffing sound when Tien's sword clanged against his own again. Tien pulled away immediately and Harry hissed as he heard the sound of the sword whistling towards him again. He brought his sword around to try and counter it but this time his lack of any kind of vision told against him. He was slow in his reaction time; not his fault, he couldn't see what was going on after all, only hear it. And this slowed down his reactions.

He grunted with pain as Tien's sword slammed into his side, the warding spells ensuring it did nothing more than bruise, and he fell back against the wall and slid to the ground, his sword clattering to the ground as he clutched at his now aching ribs.

"Time!" Nhean called out and the sounds of battle ceased.

He heard someone rush over and kneel next to him. "Harry! Are you alright?" Sirius said urgently.

Harry nodded with a grimace. "Yeah," he grunted. "But Madam Pomfrey's going to get mad at me."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Tien said, concern lacing his voice. "I didn't mean to hit that hard."

A gentle hand against one side of his face told Harry that Ginny was kneeling on his other side. "Yep," she said with gentle amusement. "Madam Pomfrey definitely going to yell at you."

"Thank you," Harry said dryly as he pushed himself to his feet with Sirius and Ginny's help. He heard someone picking up his sword and sliding it into its sheath then it was being pressed into his hand.

"There you go, mate," Ron said and Harry gave him a quick, slightly pained grin.

"I think it might be best if you all sat down," Nhean said calmly. "Well, make this as quick as possible then I think everyone who has been hit should go and take their berating from Madam Pomfrey."

There were quiet chuckles as everyone sat down where they were standing. Ginny wiggled over a bit closer to Harry and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders in response.

"Now, Ron, that was an interesting move you made there at the start," Nhean said as Remus and Severus walked over to join the group. Both men had winced when Harry had been hit.

"You didn't say we couldn't use something like that," Ron said hesitantly.

Nhean chuckled. "You're not in trouble, Ron. I thought it was rather clever and certainly neither Fred nor George expected it."

"Very tricky, little brother," Fred said archly.

"Using our own products against us," George completed, his expression one of amusement and a hint of pride.

Ron grinned and eyed his brothers with a superior expression that had everyone except Harry laughing.

"Ron, smugness is not an attractive quality," Hermione said dryly, catching Harry's irritated expression out of the corner of her eye. The comment seemed to be enough and Harry grinned as well.

"Yes, well done, Ron," Nhean said. "Always use whatever advantages you can lay your hands on, no matter how unusual they are. There were no set rules for these bouts, Ron. You did well."

Ron beamed then blushed as Hermione pressed a kiss on his cheek.

"Ginny, what happened?" Nhean asked.

"Sirius was too strong and tall for me," she grumbled. "I was tired and he was able to bully me around until I got caught up too close to Ron. I tried to move back out of the way but Sirius had moved in too close and he got me."

"And how could you combat that?" Nhean asked.

"More room to manoeuvre would have helped but under the circumstances..." Ginny's voice trailed off in frustration.

Nhean nodded. "Exactly. You were hamstrung by the situation you were in. The decision to put Harry in a corner like that was a good one but it did put some limits on you. Can you think of any way you could have overcome this?"

Ginny thought for a moment. "I...could have pushed him out further into the room where I could move around and use my advantage. The fact that I would be able to keep attacking him would keep him from going after Harry."

"Very good," Nhean said with an approving nod. "Now Neville, what happened?"

"Tien switched styles and I wasn't expecting it," Neville said sheepishly.

"You should have," Nhean chided. "You know that's Tien's favourite trick."

"Fair's fair, Nhean," Tien said easily. "Neville hasn't fought against me all that often. It's one thing to be told about a tactic, it's another to actually experience it."

"Well, that is true," Nhean conceded. "But you were aware of this tactic, Neville, and should have been guarding against it."

"Yes, sir," Neville said with chagrin.

"Now, Harry, what happened with you?" Nhean asked.

"Tien hit me with his sword," Harry said with a wry grin.

"Before that." Amusement coloured Nhean's voice and Harry heard snorts from some of the others.

"I could hear what was going on reasonably well and I was able to get a pretty good picture in my mind from the sounds." He shrugged. "But I could only hear Tien's sword when it got close. My reactions weren't as fast as normal."

"Do you think that would change if it had been just you and Tien fighting and the others hadn't been there?" Nhean asked.

Harry shrugged then winced as that movement jostled his new and impressive bruise. "Maybe. I don't know. But all Tien would have to do is make noise and I'd be equally handicapped."

"True but there are ways of countering that," Nhean said. "We'll work on those."

"Good," Harry muttered. "Because that was not fun."

Nhean stepped back and eyed his students with benign approval. "Well done, everyone. That was an excellent test of your abilities. Now those who have been hurt, get yourselves to the hospital wing. You especially, Harry. I'll be checking in with Madam Pomfrey later so don't disappointment me."

Harry groaned as he let himself be pulled to his feet by Sirius and Ginny then the red-haired girl leaned up and whispered something in his ear. Harry blushed then grinned at her.

"Well, in that case, I'll be good," he said. "But you better keep that promise."

Ginny blushed as well then dragged Harry out of the room as the others watched curiously, wondering what had been said.