Chapter 114. Harry's Training Routine
With the crack of Apparition, Adrian Wesson returned to his shop in the Muggle world.
The shop looked just the same as before: the tables were wiped spotless, and the flowers and greenery on the shelves were thriving just as they had been when he'd left.
It seemed Remus Lupin had been taking excellent care of the place.
Bringing Lupin in as a helper had indeed been the right choice.
Aside from a few furry little quirks, Adrian couldn't find anything to fault.
Ah—right, he wondered if Lupin had eaten the golden apple he'd given him earlier.
Adrian swept his eyes over the shop's interior, sat back down in the high-backed chair behind the till,
and as he leaned there to rest, his thoughts went back to the woman he had seen in Nicolas's crystal ball.
Who was she, really…
Never mind. No use fretting.
Once this stretch of time had passed and the moment was ripe, he would head to the Black Forest in Albania to investigate.
When that time came, everything would come to light.
Although Adrian had told Harry he would be away for a few days, on the morning of the third day the shop bell chimed crisply.
Adrian was at that moment carefully adjusting the angle of a pot of moonlight flower on the shelf so it could catch the moonbeams; this rare magical plant unfurled silver-blue blossoms under the full moon.
"Professor!" Harry's excited voice came from behind him. "You're back so early?"
"Harry?" Adrian turned and, seeing him, said in surprise, "I did come back ahead of schedule, but I'm fairly sure I told you I wouldn't be home these few days."
Harry sheepishly raked a hand through his now-fluffed black hair. "Dudley brought his gang of layabout friends to bully me again. I really couldn't stand it."
"Did you use magic?" Adrian asked.
"Of course not. I even took a punch to the head," Harry said quickly, shaking his head. "The Professors warned me—no magic outside school. If I really have to use it, I need to stay near an adult wizard…"
"I don't recall telling you that last bit," Adrian narrowed his eyes. "Who told you?"
"Fred—and George," Harry blurted out the names of the Weasley twins without hesitation. "They use magic at home on the sly and don't get in trouble."
Adrian sighed and reminded him, "Even if you can't use magic, you still have Gulu, don't you?"
But Harry only shook his head. "As much as I'd like Gulu to bite Dudley's backside, Gulu's too dangerous for ordinary people. I don't want to cause trouble."
Harry really was a well-behaved child.
Adrian ruffled his hair. "Take out your wand, Harry. You can use magic here. Or head into the plantation—the Ministry of Magic doesn't reach there."
Because Harry had come to him ahead of time, Adrian moved up the summer training plan he'd prepared for him.
Second year already—it was time to learn spells truly meant for combat.
In battle, the ones wizards used most often were the offensive "Expelliarmus" and the defensive "Protego."
Basically, every skilled duellist excelled at those two spells.
Ironically, at Hogwarts many witches and wizards still couldn't produce a decent Shield Charm even by graduation.
In times of peace, that hardly mattered, but in an age when Dark wizards ran rampant, the importance of the Shield Charm went without saying.
The tenth day of the summer holidays.
On the open ground before the Whomping Willow in the plantation.
Harry was tangled up in the tendrils of Devil's Snare.
With an agile sideways roll he dodged a lashing vine; the sweat beading on his forehead flashed in the sunlight.
"Protego!" Harry shouted, thrusting his wand forward.
A semi-transparent silver barrier sprang up before him. The Devil's Snare's vine struck the barrier and sent ripples through it.
But the silver shield conjured by the Shield Charm soon shattered.
Adrian stood to one side, a silver timer in hand. "Not bad, Harry. That Shield Charm held for two seconds. Your wrist is still too stiff."
Harry nodded between breaths and adjusted his wand grip.
Just then, a tendril of Devil's Snare burst from underground and snared Harry's ankle.
Harry had seen it, but the vine had already coiled round his left ankle and hoisted him upside down.
"You never told me it can come up from underground!" Harry, hanging there, shouted to Adrian.
"In a real fight, your enemy won't announce their line of attack in advance." Adrian lounged against the Whomping Willow's trunk, twirling his wand. "Now—think about how to get free."
Harry swung in mid-air, his face flushed with blood.
He strained to raise his upper body, pointed his wand at the vine around his ankle, and said, "Incendio."
A spark shot from the wand tip, and the Devil's Snare instantly released his ankle.
Flailing to right himself, Harry managed an inelegant landing on the grass.
"Good use of the Fire-Making Spell," Adrian said, walking over and pulling him up. "But as for that landing, I can only give you one point."
Harry slapped the grass off his clothes, panting hard.
He had already been drilling the Shield Charm for quite a while today.
"Go rest, Harry."
Adrian nodded in satisfaction; Harry was far more diligent than he'd expected.
In just a few days, Harry had got his Shield Charm into decent shape.
He truly had outstanding talent in this area.
Moreover, Adrian wasn't only training Harry's spellwork—he was also working on his stamina and reactions.
That was to give Harry some ability to strike back when facing Dudley.
At that moment, Remus Lupin came up beside Adrian.
He had just watched the entire process of Adrian training Harry.
Lupin frowned and asked in a low voice, "Adrian, don't you think this is… a bit much for Harry? He's only twelve."
Adrian gave Lupin a quick glance, then said, "It's not early at all. I'd already learned Protego and Expelliarmus in my first year."
Lupin froze.
Who learns the Shield Charm and the Disarming Charm in first year!
Yet looking at Adrian's entirely serious expression,
he really… didn't seem to be lying.
It was absurd.
When had he himself learned those two spells?
Third year? Or fourth?
"There's one more thing," Adrian said off-handedly. "You-Know-Who will be back soon."
At that, Lupin was stunned.
"Wh-… who did you say is coming back?" he asked, uncertain.
"You-Know-Who." Adrian's tone was as calm as if discussing the weather. "That's also why I want Harry to be exposed to this magic sooner."
Hearing this clearly, Lupin's eyes widened at once, horror on his face. "Wait—where did you get that information?"
Adrian spread his hands. "Trust me—helping Harry grow sooner is the right move."
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium