Learning steps
Chapter 23:
One late evening saw Harry and Murtagh in muggle London. It was dark and most places were closed. The streets were fairly empty this time of night, but they still donned a camouflage spell, just in case.
They soon found their destination in no time and, using some magic, disabled the security cameras. Once they were done, they would fix the cameras and hopefully the muggles would think the missing hour of footage was merely due to a fault in the technology.
Harry stared down at the large pool before him.
"Remind me again why we are sneaking around in muggle swimming pools?" He asked.
"Because, while it may be simpler to form a body of water in the forest, surely even that would be noticed." Murtagh replied calmly.
Harry nodded. They had been lucky the dragons had not been noticed yet. Making a body of water big enough for him to learn to swim properly would most likely be pushing it.
"Why couldn't we just use the Lake?" He continued.
"It's already starting to freeze over." Murtagh replied. "And I highly doubt you would wish to go swimming in late November."
"I don't fancy going swimming in February either." Harry muttered. "But unfortunately, the tournament is run by a bunch of nutters."
Murtagh chuckled.
"Alright, are you ready?"
Harry nodded, eying the water nervously.
They both began to take off their clothes, leaving only the full-piece bathing suits they had recently bought from muggle London. Harry sucked in a breath and sat on the edge of the pool. His father sat beside him and they both dangled their legs in the water.
It was pleasantly warm, and the water was still except for the ripples the two red riders made.
Murtagh was the first to slip in. The water came up just below his chest. He turned to face Harry.
"Are you coming in?" He asked.
"Yeah, yeah." Harry replied nervously.
He stared at the water. It was the shallow end of the pool, but he was still sadly shorter than average for his age. He was afraid the water level may be too high for him.
"Don't worry." Murtagh said, clearly seeing his expression. "If it looks like you are struggling, I am here to help you."
Mustering up his courage, Harry slipped into the water. After the sudden shock of being submerged in the warm liquid, he felt suddenly uncomfortable at the water level. While he was not completely submerged, the water still came up to about his neck, which was not a pleasant feeling. By instinct, he grabbed onto the wall and reflexively kicked his legs, trying to stay above the water.
"What you are doing there is good." Murtagh began. "But you need to not be so forceful when treading water. Think of it as like running. You need to be steady and not too forceful, otherwise you will use too much of your energy."
Harry nodded and calmed down his frantic movements. Soon, his legs were beating at a steady rhythm in the water.
"Good, now slowly let go of the wall." Murtagh urged.
After taking a deep breath, Harry let go of the wall with one hand, then the other. Eventually, he was treading water, with nothing but his constantly moving legs preventing him from slipping beneath the surface.
"Are you alright?" Murtagh asked.
Harry nodded.
"Good." Murtagh continued. "Now, before we begin properly, I want you to keep something in mind."
Harry looked up curiously.
"It is very important to not fight the water, or be too forceful." His father continued. "As I said before, if you are too forceful you will use too much of your energy. And if you try to fight the water, then you will also be wasting your energy. Think of water as being like your magic, as long as you work with it and not against it, you will achieve the desired outcome."
Harry nodded again.
"Now then." Murtagh went on. "For some basic manoeuvres."
For the next hour or so, Murtagh taught Harry the basics of swimming. After Harry got over his nervousness, he took rather well to it. He found that moving in the water was much like moving in the air, only without a broom and in a much more tangible substance. Once he made that association, it was only a matter of time before Colaen was helping him by comparing the swimming strokes to her aerial manoeuvres. This made learning much easier, and more entertaining. However, he would still have to work hard on improving his muscle memory, and making it so he was at least proficient enough to swim while defending himself, seeing as there was no telling what sort of creatures lurked in those murky depths.
When they were eventually finished for the night, they sat on one of the benches wrapped in towels and really appreciating the heaters.
"You did well." Murtagh began.
"Thanks." Harry replied. "I feel like I'm not as nervous about jumping into a lake in the middle of bloody February. But..." He sniffed himself. "I also stink like, really badly."
Murtagh laughed.
"That would be the chlorine." He replied. "They use it to clean the pools. I remember the first time your mother took me to a public pool. I almost fainted from the stench."
"You did?" Harry asked, chuckling.
His father nodded.
"And afterwards, the two of us spent almost an hour in the shower trying to wash it off."
Harry laughed and sniffed himself again.
"Yeah I'm definitely going to have a shower as soon as we get back."
He ran his fingers through his hair.
"And I'm probably going to use about half a bottle of shampoo."
They both laughed. Harry smiled. Though this little adventure may be due to his pending swim in the middle of a Scottish February, he was at least happy he was having fun while preparing.
Harry had gone through many surprises throughout the past few years. He was surprised to find out that he was a wizard, that he was some kind of celebrity, that his parents had been killed by magic Hitler. He had been surprised when he made friends for the first time, when he experienced his first real Christmas, when he found his first real home. He had especially been surprised to discover the secrets of his parentage.
And right now, the most recent surprise to be added to the ever growing list, was that out of all of his friends and family, the one to have the most experience in formal dancing was Sirius.
It just seemed so strange. Sirius had to be one of the least formal people he had met. And yet, he was now standing in the clearing, trying to awkwardly learn how to dance, with Sirius barking instructions and telling him how to correct his movements. It didn't help that he was very close to Hermione, who he was practicing with, and everyone else was gathered around them giving encouragements or just watching the show.
"Be more careful with your footwork, Hermione, you almost stepped on his toes." Sirius said over the music that was coming from the magical wireless radio. "And don't lean in so close Harry. You look like you're about to snog her, and I highly doubt Minnie would approve of that."
Harry and Hermione blushed.
"Do you think you could, I don't know, be a little more tactful when shouting your critiques?" Harry retorted.
"Hey, just be thankful you're not learning from my dear old mother." Sirius yelled back. "Every time I made a single mistake, she would..."
"Let me guess, crucio you?" Harry asked dryly.
Just then, he accidentally stepped on Hermione's foot.
"Sorry." He muttered.
"It's okay." Hermione replied, smiling.
"Less talking, more practicing." Sirius ordered.
Harry sighed and got back to work.
He sucked in a deep breath. Just focus. Don't listen to Sirius' commentary, just focus on what you are doing. Think of it like another training session.
Yes, dancing required grace, accuracy and fluidity, just like sword-fighting. After all, what was sword-play but just a very deadly dance?
He concentrated on his feet and the music, trying to keep in time with the tempo. All other noises faded into the background. All that existed was himself, Hermione and the music.
One step, then another. One two three, one two three, one two three...
He and Hermione were soon coordinated with one another, somehow managing to avoid each other's feet. For just this moment, they were one.
But eventually, the music stopped, and the trance was over. He opened his eyes and exchanged an astonished smile with Hermione.
"Well that was..." He began.
"Amazing." Hermione finished breathless.
"That was good, but you may want to ease up on the glowing." Sirius commented.
"Huh?" Harry asked, exchanging a confused look with Hermione.
"Both your magics were visibly combining while you were dancing." Murtagh explained.
Harry and Hermione frowned.
"Did you notice?" He asked her.
"No, I was trying to focus, and I may have accidentally closed my eyes." Hermione replied.
"Really? Me too." Harry responded. "Maybe that would explain..."
"Why it felt like we were one." Hermione finished.
"They are finishing each other's sentences. Is this normal for wizarding courtships?" Brinla hissed to Remus and Sirius.
"Nope." Sirius replied. "They're just that close. But it is kind of creepy."
Remus snorted.
"You've never met the Weasley twins." He retorted. "Last year when I taught them, they would always answer questions together. Even when I only asked one of them."
"Yes, well, they're magical twins." Sirius argued.
"Does this have any significance?" Eragon asked, jumping into the conversation with a curious expression which made Murtagh roll his eyes.
"Well, magical twins, as opposed to non-magical ones, are connected on a magical level." Remus explained. "Each set varies. But in very rare cases, it's said they can connect to each other's minds."
"So would you say it is akin to the connection between a dragon and his Rider?" Eragon continued.
Murtagh sighed, his expression both amused and frustrated.
"This may take a while." He said to Harry and Hermione. "It may be best if we take a break for the evening."
Harry nodded.
"Yeah, we should go meet up with Ron." He replied.
Ron had not joined them for the dancing lessons. He said that he had some homework to catch up on, and that there wasn't much point in him learning how to dance, seeing as he didn't have a date. Harry and Hermione had been trying to encourage him to think positively and reach out more to some of the girls, but Ron was, of course, still an awkward teenaged boy. But Harry was sure that Ron could find someone.
When they came to the Great Hall and met Ron for dinner, the redhead looked nervous.
"Ron, what's wrong?" Harry asked in concern.
Ron shuffled sheepishly.
"Well, the good news is, I think I have a date for the Yule Ball." He began.
"That's great, I knew you could find someone." Hermione began.
Harry smiled. He was happy for his friend.
"But well, there's something else." Ron continued. "She errr... Somehow managed to see my connection with Vedic."
"What?" Harry and Hermione asked in shock.
Harry was confused. How was that even possible?
"What do you mean by, she saw your connection?" Harry asked.
"I don't know." Ron replied defensively. "She just said something about pretty lights and how it looked just like my dragon's scales and..."
Ron sucked in a breath.
"She's always been well... Strange, but..."
"Wait, do you know her?" Hermione asked.
Ron nodded. "Yeah, she's in Ravenclaw in Ginny's year. She and her dad live on top of a hill near The Burrow. Mum would always invite her over so Ginny could have more "girl time"."
"Well, who is she?" Harry asked. He wished to ensure this girl could be trusted, and to find out how much she knew.
Ron gestured to the Ravenclaw table, where a small blond girl was sitting alone. It seemed the others in her house were trying to distance themselves from her for some reason.
"Her name's Luna Lovegood." Ron added.
Harry nodded.
"I'll go talk to her." He said, before turning to walk to the girl.
As soon as he got close to her, the girl, Luna, looked up and smiled.
"Hello Harry Potter." She said in a dreamy voice. "I must say, you are looking much better since you had those wrackspurts cleared."
"Huh?" Harry said, before shaking his head. He had to focus on why he was there. "Errr, can we go talk somewhere a little more private?" He asked.
Smiling, Luna got to her feet. He led her out of the hall and into an empty classroom. When he closed the door and threw up several privacy wards, he turned to her and cleared his throat.
"Well, Ron's just told me about how you errrr... Saw his connection with his dragon."
Luna nodded.
"It is very pretty. And I can see that yours is quite strong and gorgeous. You must have a very powerful connection with Colaen."
Harry gaped.
"How...?" He stammered.
Luna shrugged.
"I can see things other people can't." She replied. "People think I'm strange for it, but that doesn't bother me."
"Well, errr..." Harry continued. "I hope you understand that this has to remain top secret."
Luna nodded.
"Of course. Do not worry, I am willing to take whatever vow you give me. But on one condition."
"What?" Harry asked warily.
Luna's smile widened.
"Tell me more about these dragons." She replied. "Where do they come from? Are there any other creatures in their homeland?"
Harry raised a hand.
"I have to discuss this with errr... Other people. But as long as you swear to keep the secret, I'll be happy to help with your curiosity."
Luna smiled brightly.
"That's great." She said. "I hope Ron lets me meet his dragon during the ball. He looked so adorable from what I could see in the connection."
"Is that why you asked him to be your date?" Harry asked.
Luna shrugged.
"That, and Ginny wanted me to help her brother." She replied.
Harry could not help the amused chuckle that escaped him as the girl skipped out of the room. He would have to discuss how to approach the Luna situation with his father and the rest of the riders. Honestly, Ron was always going on about his strange luck, and yet the redhead was the one who grew up just down the road from a probable seer.