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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 233: Be Prepared
"Too slow," James said as his spell hit Bella in the ribs, pushing her across the yard.
"Urg!" The girl landed roughly and rolled on the ground.
"Ouch… that was a bit rough, James," Andromeda commented from the comfort of her garden chair while sipping on some lemonade.
"I don't think I am. The danger is far from over, and you would do well to be prepared." He had taken a day off work to train with Bella because he wanted to be sure she could handle herself.
He pointed at the girl as she was standing up and fired another jinx.
Bella raised her wand and hurried to form a shield, but this one could not protect her completely and sent her tumbling down again.
"At least you could let her get ready…" Andromeda clearly disapproved of his harsh teaching methods.
Normally, James would agree, and if it wasn't so likely for them to become targets in the future, he would have no problem taking it easier in their training. However, that was not the case.
James pointed at Bella again. "I gave her all the tools she needs to avoid these kinds of spells. She just needs to use them."
"Just need a moment…" Bella huffed.
"What if Malfoy comes for you next? You think he's going to give you time to recover?" James asked.
This earned a reaction from both sisters, just as he expected.
The Malfoy family was a sore topic for them, and the fact that Lucius Malfoy was still alive made things all the worse.
"Malfoy…" Bella gritted her teeth with rage.
"James! How can you bring that up?" Andromeda frowned.
James had been completely sure that Lord Pollux was going to kill Lucius when he left the house that day.
But it turned out that Malfoy still had a card to play. The corpse of Narcissa was in his family's possession, and the only way they could get it back was to trade it for Lucius's life.
Lord Pollux made a hard choice so he could bury his granddaughter and let her rest in peace.
"I'm going to kill that bastard," Bella muttered.
"Not with that attitude." James fired another jinx at her.
This time, Bella deflected the spell instead of trying to block it. She then used the enhancement magic that James had taught her to increase the speed in her legs.
This pushed the body's muscles past their limits and caused a tremendous amount of pain. It was only thanks to his potions that this could be used without permanent damage.
Bella gritted her teeth and rushed at him, moving several times faster than an Olympic-level runner.
James sent a barrage of spells her way, and Bella was able to avoid them all while closing the gap at the same time.
A couple of seconds later, she was right in front of him.
"Magna Depulso!"
This variant of the Banishing Charm created a shockwave that pushed everything away with tremendous force.
Used from this short distance, it was nearly impossible to avoid.
Now it was James's turn to be sent tumbling down. His body was protected by a thin layer of magic, so he didn't suffer any damage.
As he was recovering his balance, Bella was already on him.
She had conjured several large blades and sent them his way, so James had to make use of his own superior speed to avoid them.
"Not bad… most wizards would have died from that one." James saw the blades piercing the ground where he had been standing a second ago.
"I'm not done!" Bella exclaimed.
'Looks like mentioning Malfoy was a bit too effective in making her angry…' James thought.
Not that it took much to make Bellatrix Black angry to begin with.
"Fulgura!" A single bolt of lightning emerged from her wand. This was a highly lethal elemental spell.
James had taught her that one at the start of the summer and was honestly surprised she had mastered it already, as it was complex magic to control, but then he remembered who this girl was.
"Custodia!" He placed a powerful barrier in the way and blocked the lightning before moving away as it began to discharge smaller arcs of electricity everywhere.
"Okay… I think we can stop here for now," James suggested.
"What's wrong? Getting tired?" Bella asked in a mocking tone.
The smirk on her face was giving James some not-too-pleasant flashbacks.
He shook his head to send them away from his mind.
"It's not me who needs a rest." James pointed at her. "Your legs are trembling… your muscles are reaching their limit."
Bella gritted her teeth. "I-I… f-fine…" But just as she said this, her legs finally gave up, and she lost her balance, falling on her butt.
"Bella!" Andromeda said with concern.
James appeared at her side and handed her a potion. "Have her drink this and get some rest."
"Where are you going?" Andromeda took the potion and noted that James was walking in the direction of the house.
"I have something to discuss with Lord Pollux before I leave," said James.
"Wait… you're leaving already?" The anger on Bella's face had completely vanished now, and she was staring up at him with an unusual but adorable pout.
"I'm not leaving just yet. Just have something to discuss with your grandfather."
James had no doubt that as soon as Voldemort was done with his ritual, he would come directly for him, because for as long as James was alive, he would remain a threat to the Dark Lord's plans.
Just as Dumbledore had been during his previous life.
The House of Black was another thorn in his side and would surely become the target of a Death Eater raid.
James had an idea on how to keep both their families safe during the upcoming attack, but he would need the cooperation of several people to make it work — and one of them was Pollux Black.
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