The Dragonmaster

~ You need to talk about it to someone! ~

~ Alright ~

~ Well, it's time for our little session, if you want to know. ~

~ Maybe I would if your soon-to-be partner wasn't here. ~

~ He's standing behind you. ~

In a few seconds, Harry was on his feet, facing a confused Teneb who was currently leaning on his horse.

"Are you alright?" he heard the elf ask him.

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Teneb woke up early, like he had been doing ever since he had found about the human, nearly two weeks ago. He quickly dressed and went to the stables. In a pattern practiced over time, he readied his horse, petting it lovingly before mounting him and headed for the hill. His stallion had been a gift from his friend, Prince Celen. He had called him Myst, because of its gray coat and deep black mane, tail and stockings on each leg. The horse also had a small, white, star shaped mark on its forehead. He was of the same breed as Shadow, and looked a bit like the great black stallion, only slightly shorter and more slender.

He directed his mount where he knew he would meet the human. He was halfway there when Myst stopped abruptly.

Startled, he looked around him to see what had made his horse stop like this. He frowned, there was nothing strange. Then he looked down and his eyes widened in surprise.

Harry was sitting in the grass, looking completely dazed. But what caught Teneb's attention was the human's forehead. He could see dry blood around his scar. He saw him frown, wince and tense. Then he opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, knowing the moment the words left his lips that it was a stupid question....

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Harry sighed. He was probably doing that on purpose. "Do I look alright?"

"Not really.... Why do you have dry blood on your forehead?"

"What?"

"Why do you have...?"

"I understood that part, thank you!"

He raised his hand and touched his scar lightly, wincing a bit when his hand came in contact with it. Great! And Teneb had to show up at this precise moment.

"Care to explain?" asked the young elf, dismounting his stallion.

"Not really, it has nothing to do with you," replied Harry, "Just with my past," he added in a whisper.

Apparently the elf heard him, as he raised his eyebrows, but for once, and Harry was grateful for it, he didn't press him to explain.

Harry stood up and looked around. "Be ready to go," he said to Teneb.

He put a hand in one of his trousers' pockets and pulled out a small whistle, carved in wood. Seconds later two sharp whistles could be heard, and minutes later Shadow arrived. He didn't stop and Harry jumped on his back as he passed near him.

They galloped towards the hill, Teneb on their tail, as it had taken the young elf a few seconds to register what had just happened.

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They arrived at their usual spot a few minutes later. Once there, they silently climbed off of their horses and Teneb took off his stallion's equipment.

Before he could try to contact his guardian, Harry spoke up.

"My guardian wants me to talk to you about something. In fact, I think he already talked with your guardian about it."

Teneb looked at him, a bit surprised. Generally, Harry barely acknowledged him, much less spoke to him. "Yes, and...?"

"To sum things up, he thinks that I should practice against a real opponent, meaning you."

This time, Teneb was shocked; but he immediately started to weigh the pros and the cons.

"You're not obliged to accept," added Harry.

Teneb was still thinking. Training with Harry could only help him to improve; he had to admit that the human was great and could teach him a lot. Moreover a few well chosen words from his guardian convinced him.

"Alright."

Harry looked up at him, a bit surprised by his quick agreement.

"You sure?"

"When do we begin?"

Harry smirked, alright, if he wants to have it this way..."Now!"

He summoned his sword and other weapons, making them appear near him. He then picked up his blade, raised it, and bowed to his opponent; Teneb imitated his actions.

They faced each other for a few minutes and then Teneb lunged at Harry, who parried his blow easily, retaliating immediately.

After half an hour, Teneb found himself more often on his back than standing.

Out of the blue, Harry stopped and sheathed his sword. "Alright, this isn't going anywhere."

"What's the problem?"

"Just some advice, if you have to fight one day, don't use your sword. You'd be killed within moments..."

"Why?" asked Teneb a bit curtly. He was proud of his fighting skills and was often praised about them.

"Well, you know how to fight, the stance, the tricks, the ways, but you have a little fault that could mean your death in a fight... You're too readable, too predictable. I know your move at least five seconds before you do it."

"How is that possible?" Teneb was stunned by this. His teachers never said anything about that...

"Easy. Before attacking, you fix the spot where you'll put your attack. If you're going to attack on your right, you put all your weight on your left side, just before delivering your blow and the opposite if you attack on the left. You furrow your eyebrows before attacking too. Moreover you're doing unnecessary moves, like jumps and turns...you'll only tire yourself."

"And you're an expert?" said Teneb sarcastically.

Harry shrugged, "It's only advice, but that's what my guardian taught me: always keep your opponent in doubt. And when you fight, you seem to broadcast your intentions. But you can do whatever you want..."

At this, Teneb was torn between his wounded pride (he didn't like the tone Harry took while talking to him) and his desire to improve his abilities. He sighed, "alright, but you have to realize that I was taught to fight that way!"

"Well, if I want someone to practice with, we'll definitely have to correct this fault of yours..."

"I understand that, but what about the other forms of combat?"

Harry smirked at him.

"We're going to find out how much you have to learn..."

An hour and a half later, Teneb fell on the ground, completely worn out. "I'm dead..."

"Why are you still talking then?"

Teneb glared at Harry, "That was a figure of speech."

"Really?"

Teneb only glared more, "You're loving this."

"What?"

"Annoying me!"

"Me? How could you think me capable of doing such a thing?" replied Harry, batting his eyelashes, faking innocence, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Besides, annoying you is so easy that it would be a crime to miss the opportunity," he added.

Teneb's voice returned the sarcasm, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Well, I'm done with you for today. I've seen what you have to work on. We'll begin tomorrow."

Teneb looked up at him, "What about archery?"

"I think you should rest. Classes start in an hour," said Harry.

Teneb raised an eyebrow.

"Why do I have the feeling that you're eluding my question?"

Harry looked at him coldly, "Think whatever you want."

With that, he approached Shadow and jumped on the stallion's back, and sped toward the headquarters.

Teneb watched him galloping away, making an assessment of today's session.

Pros: he'd trained with the human, something which could only make him improve since the human was, even if it disturbed him to say it, better than most of his teachers.

Cons: He still didn't have answers to any of his questions: Why was his scar bleeding? How did he get this scar? How could he be that powerful? How did he get his necklace? How did he manage to find his guardian without anybody's help? What form did his guardian have? What was this necklace he was always wearing; and now, why didn't he want to practice archery? He shook his head before mounting Myst.

He hurried to prepare for his first class. After Harry's outburst in Effilin's class and his absence from all his lessons the day before it promised to be interesting...Unbeknownst to him, Harry was thinking exactly the same thing.

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He wasn't disappointed.

Harry sighed mentally.

Now I'm sure they're making a contest: one point per insult, reprimands, snide comments, five points per punishment or any possible sanction...

Effilin's class had been more horrible than usual, and that was something. Apparently the elf hadn't appreciated in the slightest Harry openly disobeying him.

After having him run around the room for half the class, seeing it wasn't tiring him, he used him as his 'assistant', meaning his punching-ball and lackey for the rest of the class.

To his disappointment, Harry hadn't complained or showed any pain at this treatment, and he couldn't really do anything worse than that.

Edevia's lessons were always miserable. There had been a reason behind Harry's refusal to practice archery with Teneb. It was simple, he knew that the elf was better than he was. Archery was one of his weakest points. He wasn't really bad, just average.

Sword-fighting came naturally to him. When he was holding his sword, he was in tune with it, seeing it as an expansion of his arm. Hand-to-hand combat was easy for him too. He had developed his own style, one adapted to his skills: agility and speed. He was quite good with knives as well.

He hadn't had a lot of problems with magic either. The copying he had been forced to do in Nerthor's and Sarwin's class came in handy.

Dueling was his strong point. He could do it with or without his wand. He continued to practice with both, knowing that his wandless abilities would have to remain secret once he went back to Hogwarts.

He was good at manipulating his element too. Mind magic had been difficult for him to learn, but with training he had reached an acceptable level. He had very strong mental defenses, could read minds or dreams if he entered a trance, had a fairly weak empathy and telepathy, and could do some telekinesis; but the last one was particularly draining.

Healing magic wasn't his forte. He could heal minor wounds like bruises, mild cuts, dislocated joints and simple fractures, but any serious injuries were beyond his ability.

His animagus training was progressing quite well, even if he still didn't know his form. He had been practicing self transfiguration: changing the length, shape, colour of his body parts... he was getting more or less successful but at least his guardian got a few good laughs at the results of some of his attempts...

But archery...he could use a bow if necessary, but in a battle he would avoid it at all costs. It felt weird to use this weapon, and he would never hit near the center. For him, archery would always be a necessary bother. Though he had to admit that the bow he got from the dwarfs made it easier for him.

Anyway if he wanted to hit a distant target, he would throw a fireball, and his aim would be more accurate.

So, in Edevia's lesson, he didn't have to fake his uneasiness. And this time, she had decided to put him through hell.

Once the lesson was over, he dragged himself to the common room for his

lunch.

But apparently the teachers had had other plans for him.

As he seated himself, he saw his favorite teachers heading towards him.

Effilin, Edevia, Sarwin, Nerthor and Lienhior approached him, with satisfied gleams in their eyes.

~ I wonder what they've come up with. ~

~ No, just curiosity. ~

~ Took you long enough to notice it. ~

"Human, we met to deal with your behavior yesterday and came up with a suitable punishment," said Sarwin.

Effilin threw him a piece of garment. "You're expected in the kitchen. Now!" he barked.

Nerthor smirked, "You'll work there for three days, and Istyan has been warned about you."

Harry was starring at the masters in shock.