Prophecy

Preparations

James and Rose jumped, spinning to face the large man in the corner of the room, before the voice registered. They relaxed, and Rose was the first to speak. "Why the scare tactics Uncle Alexander?" Uncle Alexander was a near copy of his younger brother Robert, but he had the muscles of a man that did hard physical activity for a living, and the ramrod straight posture that said military to anyone that knew. As the oldest brother, Alexander would be the head of the Evans Clan, but Alexander was a squib. Born without any magical talent at all, he had gone on to an exemplary career in the American muggle's army, and had long advocated closer ties between the two worlds. After his retirement from the army a couple of years back, he had opened a bookstore in Billings Montana that catered to both worlds.

"Robert has brought me up to date. That means that in a few years, you two are going to be front line troops in a war. Learning a little simple caution won't hurt you a bit." He grinned suddenly. "Or at least not much." Alexander swept the two into a hug. "I assume your father has gone over the prophecy with you, but I am going to lay a different view on it on you." Alexander smiled again. "I love Robert, but once he gets an idea in his head, it take a large stick to dislodge it. For example, he thinks we have 8-9 years before the war begins, and I disagree. I think we have less." James and Rose stared at him.

"How much less, and why?" asked James.

"Four or five years less. I think the Peace era began when we started pushing Voldemort back, and he was no longer attacking. After all, that is when most people 'Saw nothing frightening'." Recognizing the quote from the prophecy, James and Rose pulled their copies out and began looking at them again.

As they were sitting down, James made a small protest. "Wait a minute, if the war is going to start that soon, where are the Eight?"

"Read it again. It says they rise in the darkest hour, after the Patient Child strikes the first blow." As they began going over the Prophecy again, their Uncle took a minute to look around the room.

The large fireplace was the focal point of the room with a large sectional and several easy chairs angled so that everyone could see each other and the fireplace. A number of lamps and lanterns were scattered around, and the room could be made ready to entertain muggles or wizards in a very few minutes. Alexander moved over with the twins, and once again they went over the prophecy line by line, but this time, their uncle offered them all the different ways to interpret it. Long into the night, they spoke, with Uncle Alexander giving them advice, and telling them where they were going from here.

The next morning he began showing them exercises to strengthen both mind and body. Books by authors from both worlds on strategy and tactics came out and he advised them to read them carefully. "Two things are more useful than anything else when you're preparing to fight. The first is discipline. I can't make you do the exercise, and I can't make you study those books, you have to do it on your own. That is called self-discipline, and it is the first step to victory. Proper preparation is the next most important thing. Know your equipment, know yourself, and what you can do with what you have, and the battle is half over before it starts." Alexander paused and looked at James. "You are going to have to control that temper too." James started to say something, and his uncle just stared at him. "I was at the Junior Quidditch finals remember? I know very well that you inherited the Pendragon temper from your mother, and you cannot lose that temper in a fight. In fact, you cannot even lose that temper after you've been training for any amount of time. I am going to teach you to fight with your hands, a discipline called Aikido. If you use that on somebody you can kill them." James and Rose looked at him wide-eyed. He raised an eyebrow, and spoke gently. "I know you're young to hear that, but if this war goes down the worst case path, and I think it will, lots of people are going to die. I am going to show you how to make sure it's not you."

The summer passed quickly with the new training. Rose was also reading the Evans Sight book, and trying to refine her sight. It was still too vague to be of much use, but the book suggested that that would not always be the case. Between the martial arts classes and the gymnastics, the twins were beginning to build firm graceful bodies, and the mental exercises their Uncle had them do were shaping their awareness of the world around them. Memorization was one of the key exercises. Alexander would lay out a number of items on a sheet, and have them look at them for a minute. Later that day, or the next day, he would ask them to write down what had been there and where it was in relation to everything else. Something their Uncle called 'situational awareness' was also heavily trained. Uncle Alexander would have them walk through an area, and then quiz them on what had been in that area. Reaction drills, tactical drills and a host of other training techniques culled from a long career as a muggle soldier insured that the twins were very busy over the summer. This set the pattern for the summer, until the middle of august, when Robert announced that they were taking a week off for a trip. They would be leaving the next day, and he warned them to pack formal robes as well as daily robes. When the twins asked him where they were going, all he said was that patience was a virtue.

Early the next morning, the twins sent off the last of the pranks they had licensed to the Weasleys, and waited impatiently for their parents to be ready to go. The twins had packed the night before, and about 8:00 am, Robert portkeyed them to the east coast, and then pulled a second Portkey out. A few seconds later, the family appeared in a small wizard village, and Robert smiled. "Welcome to Hogsmeade."