The Love Of A Wizard

CHAPTER 19
Training Day

Claudia was laughing out loud at Severus\'s latest letter. She thought she really had to meet Harry, because he was the only one who ever ticked Severus off so badly. Severus wrote an entire page on how incapable and idiotic he thought Harry was. Still laughing, Claudia put the letter away and sat down to draft a reply. Just when she was deciding on how to start this letter, she heard a familiar voice call from downstairs.
\"Oui, Claudia! Are you home?\" Tonks yelled.
\"Yeah, come on up.\" Claudia decided to finish the letter later and tucked it away. Tonks came into the room and plopped herself on the bed. Claudia smiled, Tonks was so dramatic.
\"What\'s up Tonks?\" Claudia asked.
\"Nothing.\" She said. Claudia rolled her eyes.
\"Right. The can you start folding that laundry for me?\" Claudia turned back to her letter but Tonks sat up.
\"We kissed.\" Tonks said.
\"We did?\" Claudia joked. It was Tonks\'s turn to roll her eyes. Claudia laughed and moved over to sit with her on the bed. \"OK, sorry, couldn\'t help it. Spill it.\"
\"The other night, I had just gotten off work and Remus came to deliver a message from Dumbledore. We talked for a bit and he offered to see me home. So we decided to walk a ways and while we walked we talked about everything. Family, friends and the war. Well, anyways, when we got to my house I just couldn\'t help it. I asked him why he didn\'t have a girlfriend.\"
\"You did? I bet he turned ten shades of red.\"
\"Yes! He was so surprised and looked at me so sadly. I just decided to do it right then and there. I kissed him.\" Tonks put her hands over her face and squealed. \"He smells so good Claudia. Well, after I kissed him he didn\'t scream and run away so I kissed him agian. And he kissed me back!\" Tonks was bouncing up and down on the bed and Claudia laughed.
\"He did kiss you back? Wow Tonks, that is a major step for him. Just be patient, ok?\"
\"Yeah, no kidding. What\'s that?\" She pointed to Claudia\'s amulet around her neck.
\"Oh, it\'s just a present I got for my birthday. Pretty huh?\" Claudia tried to sound casual about it. Tonks eyed the amulet closely.
\"It is pretty.\" Her thoughts were cut off by voices downstairs. The girls went down the stairs and saw Dumbledore and Mad-Eye talking with Nick, Antonio and Chester.
\"Oh Ms. Moore, just the person I need. I have requested a meeting, if that is alright with you?\" Claudia nodded.
A few minutes later, they were all sitting around the living room and listening to Dumbledore talk.
\"I am sure now that Fudge is the intended target by the muggles Voldemort has employed. I believe he intends them to murder Cornelius and then turn on the muggles who did it in order to create discord between our two worlds. How else to gain support for his hate of muggles, than having muggle openly murder a prominent wizard?\" It made sense to Claudia. It appeared it did to everyone else too. So this Dark Lord wants wizards to turn on muggles by hiring muggles to kill a wizard. Madness.

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Spring came and bloomed new life into the country side. Severus and Claudia were in full swing and enjoying every minute of it. She was surprised at how well suited they were for each other. Of course, it helped he was gone a lot. He even began staying at the house on school breaks and had a few dinners with the guys. The guys in turn, really took to him and welcomed him into the fold. Claudia\'s heart soared every time she saw Severus smile. She knew, from what he told her, he didn\'t have much to smile about these days.
Remus would stop in every so often. Mostly to check on Claudia and to talk to Zulu. They had become strangely close over the past few months. Strange how some people can find a connection when on the outside, it would seem they didn\'t or couldn\'t have one at all. Well, Claudia thought, I suppose people will say that about me and Severus once it comes out. Claudia was even able to pry some information from Remus one day about Tonks.
\"So...anything interesting happening?\" Claudia asked. She knew full well Remus and Tonks had been meeting in secret and had exchanged kisses and sweet words.
\"No not really.\" He said.
\"Oh no? Hmmm.\" Claudia watched his profile turn red and he busied himself with something on his shoe. So, I guess he is not ready to make anything official, Claudia thought to herself. That makes two of us.
Late spring brought even more changes for the group. In a meeting they had one evening, it was suggested they began training with wizards in order to know how to handle any possible confrontations. Since the sighting of Hernandez, they had been able to keep tabs on him and watch his every move. The also had word that he was not to move yet on his target. So all they could do was wait.
\"I think trainin\' is jus\' what we need dog.\" Bones said.
\"Hey Moore, you gone soft yet? You look like you could use a lil\' training? Or has that tall drink of water been giving yous private lessons?\" They all laughed at Rod\'s little joke.
\"Ha ha ha. You\'re so funny. As a matter of fact. I think a training day is just what we need. How about this weekend we set aside a day to play a little war games?\" Hi-fives all around and Claudia went to send a letter to Dumbledore requesting seven wizards come to the house to help train the group in wizard warfare.
Saturday arrived and with it came Remus, Tonks, Mundungus, Shackelbot, Arthur, Molly, Bill And Emmeline Vance.
\"Morning!\" Claudia yelled to the visitors. They formed a circle around Claudia and she immediately began the games.
\"First, thank you for coming. I think this will help all of us in the long run. OK, I think it would be helpful for one or two of you, \" she gestured towards the wizard side. \"to cast a few harmless spells on some of us so we have an idea as to what you can do first.\" Bill and Arthur stepped forward and in turn Nick and Antonio did too. Bill aimed his wand at Antonio and said, \"Stupefy\". Antonio was thrown back onto his rear end a few feet away. He got up rubbing it and cursing in Italian. Arthur aimed his wand at Nick and smiled.
\"Forgive me please Nick my boy.\" Nick nodded and steadied himself. Arthur said, \"Impedimentia!\". Nick was thrown farther than Antonio was and landed flat on his back. He lay there for a few minutes and then got up. He returned to the group and everyone was waiting for his reaction.
\'That hurt Arthur.\" Was all he said. Laughter.
\"It is important to know they have such things called...unforgivables. Is that right?\" The wizards nodded. \"Those are the worst of the spells and can and will be used against you when fighting Death Eaters. So for the purposes of this exercise, wizards, if you find your opponent at your mercy, just say unforgivable. That way we can assume you have either killed or are controlling the person.\" Everyone nodded in agreement. Everyone seemed anxious to start. \"Wait, we have more to go over before you go. You wizards have to understand what you\'re up against too. The thing you need to know is that you need to keep us as far away from you as possible. If we can touch you, we can kill you. We are operating under the assumption that we are not carrying guns by the way so you can\'t shoot them.\" Here Rod had a few choice words to say in protest.
\"So what will you say when you \'ave captured or killed one of us?\" Mundungus asked.
\"What makes you so sure we wish to capture at all? My desired enemy is a dead one.\" Nick said.
\"Relax there killer. We will just say, \'You\'re dead\'. Wizards, you will know you have been beaten if you hear that, ok?\" Nods all around. \"Well, let\'s get started. We will move into the woods now. You can all come in after five minutes and we will see who is left. If you are \'killed\' please come and meet Molly. Questions?\" No questions. \"Off we go.\"
Claudia and company humped into the woods and spread out. Each finding their desired position hidden within trees, plants and underbrush. Claudia found a nice spot beneath a fallen tree. Actually, the same tree she first saw Sirius under. Don\'t think about that right now, she told herself. Focus. From her spot, she could see quite a bit all around her. The first sign someone was coming was cracking of twigs. It was Remus. Claudia saw Rod creeping alongside him in the underbrush. All of a sudden Remus turned to his left and fired a \"Stupefy!\" into the brush and Claudia saw Rod fall. But before he could go after him, Bones jumped from a tree and tackled Remus from behind. Holding a rubber knife to his throat he whispered, \"Yous dead sucka.\" He helped Remus to his feet and clapped him on the back as he headed back up to the house. 7-6 Muggles.
Bones helped Rod to his feet and they took off into the brush. Claudia sat back and waited. She caught sight of Zulu standing behind a tree now and he gave a slight nod. Somewhere in the woods they heard a cry out. It was Chester and she was sure he was gone too. 6-6 tied up game.
Claudia waited more and sure enough, Emmeline Vance was walking slowly with her wand pointed in front of her. Oh this is too easy, Claudia thought. Oh well, sorry lady. Claudia moved from her spot and crept up behind Emmeline. Emmeline was tense and looking straight ahead. Claudia could have reached out and touched her. She pulled a rubber knife from her waist and touched the tip to Emmeline\'s neck. \"You\'re dead.\" She said. Emmeline turned around at these words and nearly cried out. Claudia clapped her hand over her mouth. \"Shhhhh.\" Claudia pointed to the direction she had to go and she swiftly left. 6-5 muggles.
The remaining muggles practiced criss crossing positions in order to clear an area of wizards. It left searching for them an easy task if you can rule out a large portion. Claudia was pacing Zulu and every once in awhile she caught sight of Bones who was army crawling on the ground. On her left, Claudia saw Bill and Arthur together standing side by side. They had to be talking, because they didn\'t notice Antonio slipping up beside them. Antonio came slowly behind Bill and whispered something into his ear. Bill laughed but Arthur turned and pointed his wand at Antonio and said \"Unforgivable.\" Split second later he was saying it agian to Rod who had moved into his vision. Then Arthur pulled a major trick and disapparated. 4-4 tied up game.
Bones came up behind Claudia and said, \"Took out Tonks.\" 4-3 Muggles
Somewhere Claudia heard very loud yelling and she knew it was Nick. The she heard another man\'s voice and was sure it was Mundangus. She heard grunts and yells and saw sparks fly from somewhere to her right. Then all was quiet. Claudia back tracked to that area and ran into Nick on the way. His shirt was torn and he was fired up. \"Stupid man. Thought he could wrestle me!\" He shook his head and ran off. 4-2 Muggles.
Claudia kept moving and caught sight of Shackelbot and Zulu in a fantastic fight. Shackelbot was already sporting a black eye for his efforts. But Zulu proved too slow this time and Shackelbot was able to aim his \'Unforgivable\' at him. Bones came out of nowhere and jumped Shackelbot. Claudia was moving to help when she heard Shackelbot say once agian, \'Unforgiavable\', while pointing his wand at Bones who held him in a head lock. Bones was crestfallen. But he left the game too. 2-2 tied up game.
Nick came around to Claudia and he motioned for her to follow him. He silently told her with his hands that he saw two wizards left. Claudia agreed and pointed towards the approaching figure of Shackelbot whom Claudia was now eagerly wanting to take out. This was going to take some finesse, she thought. Reading each others thoughts, Claudia and Nick moved together to flank Shackelbot. Nick picked up a rock and threw it. It landed directly in front of Shackelbot, in the bushes. He walked forward, all the while Claudia and Nick moved swiftly behind him and Claudia grabbed his wand arm and Nick held his rubber knife and moved in quick movements swiping and slicing at his body with the rubber blade. Shackelbot was quite afraid and looked relieved when they both said, \"You\'re dead.\". Shackelbot walked away and Claudia knew it was now 2-1 Muggles.
From what she could figure, it was Arthur they were looking for. The moved silently and swiftly under the trees. There came a clearing and they decided to wait. Sure enough Arthur arrived on the opposite side and stopped. They saw him thinking and muttering to himself. Claudia decided to show herself and make Arthur follow her. So she did and he did follow, right into the trees on their right. Claudia ran a few yards and then stopped. She found a tree to hide behind as she heard him approaching, panting loudly. She heard him stop and listen for sounds. Arthur was pretty good at this, she thought. She also knew Nick was flanking Arthur and would wait to give Claudia room to fight if she chose. When Claudia heard Arthur creep way too close to the tree, she pivoted around it and was met with a wand in her face. He yelled, \"Stupefy!\". Red light flashed and Claudia thought it was weird that the light bounced off of her and hit the tree. Arthur stood stunned. He frowned but was pushed from behind by Nick. Arthur threw a spell over his shoulders that Nick was able to just dodge. Claudia stood watching but not believing how that spell bounced right off of her. But she thought she had an idea how it did. Claudia focused back onto a magnificent battle going on in front of her. Nick was putting up a great fight dodging spells and staying out of Arthur’s range. Arthur in turn was dodging blows and kicks Nick was sending his way. At one point, Nick was able to knock Arthur\'s wand from his hand and throw Arthur to the ground, but Arthur was really good. He jumped to his feet and moved far enough away he could call his wand back to him. It was a fantastic fight that climaxed to where both men, locked in battle, were yelling;
\"UNFORGIVABLE!\"
\"YOU\'RE DEAD!\" Both at the same time. Claudia stepped in then and called a draw. \"That\'s it boys. Looks like we are a tie.\"
\"No Claudia, I was unable to kill you.\" Arthur was panting, but looking her dead in the face. Claudia approached him and helped him stand straight.
\"No Arthur, you would have gotten me.\"
\"But I didn\'t. How is it that-\" Claudia waved her hand dismissing the question.
\"Please don\'t ask me right now. Just know it was something given to me. I had no idea it could do this, block spells and all. Let\'s keep this between us, shall we?\" Arthur nodded and they walked to the house trailing Nick, who was limping.

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A/N: Please review