Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Trust of the Elements	By : Dracona63 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 31020 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to the Harry Potter franchise and obtain no money from these stories. The rights are strictly that of J.K. Rowling and I am simply writing these stories for fun only.

Chapter List
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The halls of Hogwarts were dimly lit as the young blond chased after his father, firing curses of all kinds to try and slow him down. He was yelling at him, calling him a liar and various other things, before finally shooting a final hex just as the man reached the stairs, which sent him falling down them.
“How could you do it?! How could you kill mother?!” Draco yelled from the top of the stairs.
“She got what she deserved Draco. She knew not to oppose me. This wasn't the first time she'd done it. You were supposed to join the Dark Lord before you're sixth year and she pleaded with him to wait until you finished your schooling” Lucius stated, firing a spell that hit the stairs above sending chunks of rock down upon his son.
Draco jumped down a few steps to avoid the rocks, and fired a curse at Lucius again to distract him. The elder Malfoy glared at his son before standing and firing a Crucio at him. Draco fell to his knees and bit back the pain of the spell. He would refuse to scream in front of his father. His father lifted the spell and turned to head down a hall as he struggled to catch his breath and stand up again. Once up Draco braced himself and started going after his father.
“You're nothing but a coward Lucius!” He called to him, causing the man to stop and turn to look at him.
“What would you know about being a coward Draco. You haven't done anything honorable or courageous in your life!”
“I would never have killed my mother like you did. Today you will pay for that” Draco growled, raising his wand, “Today you will join her! Sectumsempra!”

Hermione jolted and her eyes opened to see all five of the people around her were looking at her. Harry looked at her like he was worried, and she noticed Ron even was scared too.
“What happened?” she asked, looking around.
“You all of the sudden went rigid and we couldn't get you to wake 'Mione” Ron stated.
“What?”
“I believe what happened Ms. Granger was that you had your first vision as a seer. It is obvious you inherited Amelia's abilities” Alex stated, before leaning forward, “Ms. Granger, what did you see? It is better that we know beforehand.”
“It was a fight between Malfoy and his father. He was chasing after him, yelling that he was a coward, and asking why he killed Narcissa. Lucius cast Crucio on him, and ran again, but Malfoy caught up to him, and said he was going to pay, was going to join her. Then he cast a spell but I didn't see what happened beyond that.”
“Can you remember the words to it?”
“Sectumsempra” she stated shaking slightly, noticing both of the women across from her shared a look, before she turned to Harry, “Wait, isn't that the spell from the-.”
“Ms. Granger take this” Khira stated cutting her off, reaching into a bag she brought with her and pulling out a blue vial, handing it to her, “That is a calming drought. You're visibly shaken by the vision you had and your breathing is slightly elevated.”
“Draco, you remember the spell don't you?” Alex asked and he nodded, “Sectumsempra or the 'cutting' hex is a spell intended to cause severe lacerations and essentially make the person bleed out from all the cuts. It was originally made by Severus Snape.”
“Why would Snape have made a curse like that?” Hermione asked.
“For my dad,” Harry replied, but Alex shook her head. “It was in the potions book last year. It said it was for your enemies.”
“That is not the kind of person Snape is. He wouldn't have done that. He made that curse to use on his own father.”
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Harry got up to answer it. He opened the door and smiled, letting the older woman in. She was a much older looking version of Hermione, with her hair cut to go to her shoulders and it was gray instead of brown. She smiled at all of them and stepped forward, before Hermione walked over to her, hugging her.
“Gran I missed you so much” Hermione stated, pulling back a bit.
“Hermione dear you have grown so much since I last saw you. I really do hate that you go to Hogwarts and so far away. I miss spending time with you so much” Amelia replied, before turning to look at all of the other people in the room, “Alexandria I was not expecting you and Khira to be here.”
“Amelia you know you can't fool us. You knew we probably would be here today at some point” Alex stated with a smirk.
“Yes, well, that is neither here nor there” she replied with a wave of her hand, before looking beyond them, “Ah, Draco my dear boy! How have you been?”
“As good as can be expected Amelia. Thank you for asking” he stated, standing and bowing his head lightly.
“Hermione dear, what's wrong?” she asked, seeing her granddaughter's face.
“I think I had my first vision. At least that is what Alex suggested it was” she replied quietly.
“Did this vision involve Lucius and Draco and them dueling at Hogwarts?” she asked and they all looked over before Hermione nodded, “That is why I am here actually. I needed to discuss with all of you that specific vision and some other things I have seen. Let us all sit down and I'll explain.”
“I'll summon our house elf to get us some refreshments. I do not know about any of you, but we have not had time to eat yet ” Alex stated, before summoning the elf, who popped in instantly, “Gippy please bring us a tea service and some small sandwiches to eat.”

They all moved to sit in their respective places. Draco sat back in the chair he was in, Alex and Khira sitting on the loveseat they had conjured. Hermione sat on the couch with Harry on her right and Ron on her left, while Amelia took the lounge chair on Ron's other side. Gippy had served them their tea, and they each grabbed a couple sandwiches. Once done, Amelia cleared her throat and everyone looked at her.
“Hermione I want you and the boys to start training with Alexandria alongside Draco. The vision you had is of the worst outcome possible” she said slowly, looking at all of them.
“What do you mean Gran?”
“If Draco kills his father before You-Know-Who is defeated, then the light side will fall. You-Know-Who will use Lucius' death as a way to gather more followers, and in doing so, he will learn of a forbidden power, lost long ago, that only the Russian Ministry of Magic had knowledge of. Alexandria knows of this power, and can help you all harness it to use it for yourselves, but you must work together. You are capable of doing it. Draco, I know you wish to kill him, but you must refrain from it. What you have been taught is not the right path for you. I want Alexandria to teach you and show you the right way. I am not blind to the fact that Alexandria is neutral. She supports neither side, not because of beliefs of her own, but because both sides manipulate those who are a part of them. You-Know-Who promises things that he will never give, while Dumbledore offers protection that has cost the lives of many great witches and wizards. Mr. Potter's parents are a perfect example,” as she stated this they all looked around at each other, “Hermione I am worried that if you continue untrained, if all of you do, then you will all fail. I do not wish to see that happen.”
“What is this power?” Harry asked, turning towards Alex.
“It was said long ago that there was a dark evil that passed over the Russian Republic back in the early 1800's. This evil was in fact, a wizard who had harnessed the power of the four elements to use against the world. Three wizards and a witch learned how to harness each of their elements themselves, and in doing so, combined them to fight he wizard. When the wizard was defeated, they found four amulets on him. One amulet for each element, which they took and used for selfish reasons. The four were feared by many because the amulets changed their abilities. The amulets made them corrupt. On the day that they all died, which was at the exact same time on the same day, the amulets were stolen.”
“What happened to the amulets?” Ron asked and they all looked at him, shocked to see he was intrigued.
“They were stolen by a group of thieves that thought they could sell them and make a huge profit. However, as the amulets kept being passed from one corrupt person to another, they started to believe them cursed, and gave them over to the Russian Ministry. About fifty years ago, they wanted rid of the amulets, and the Ministry decided to auction them off, to help pay for the debts during World War II. The necklaces were bought by my grandfather, Andrei Kruss and have stayed in the family since then. My grandfather told me to keep them, for the day when four new owners would claim them and use them to get rid of a new evil.”
“You think we're the ones that are supposed to use these amulets to rid the world of the Dark Lord?” Draco asked, receiving a nod from Amelia, “You're bloody mental!”
“Draco, tell them how you truly feel about You-Know-Who” Alex said quietly.
“What?”
“Tell them” she urged, and he glared at her, sighing after a few moments before turning to the other three.
“I used to believe that it was an honor to be proud of my blood heritage. Over the years though, I've started to question it. Granger, somehow you're able to beat me every year in classes, Potter, you always beat me in Quidditch. If a muggleborn and a halfblood are able to do that so easily, than how is it that us purebloods are so powerful. For Merlin's sake, the Dark Lord IS a halfblood. My father follows him like he's a god, but he's not. He's an abomination, something that needs to be wiped out and destroyed. My mother used to always tell me that she got along with Lily and James Potter in school. That the only reason she stopped talking to them was because of her marriage to Lucius” he said quietly, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill at the thought of his mother.
He didn’t even notice until he felt Hermione's hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and as both their eyes locked, he felt a wave of calm rush over him. She felt it as well and squeezed his shoulder lightly before letting go.
“You're not your father, Malfoy and you never have been. You are stronger than him and you have more courage. You're not some man who has all the answers, knows what needs to be done, and will do it to save yourself. You're just a kid, scared and wishing you could live your own life. All four of us are, and we shouldn't fight with each other, no matter how much we want to. We should be working together and show the rest of the school and the world that it is not better to judge by blood status, but instead by who the person truly is deep down.”
“Most people in our world would disagree, but you're right, as always” he replied, quietly and there was a round of chuckling between them all.
“Amelia, I'll train them, but I want Dumbledore left out of it as much as possible. I don't want to risk him manipulating this into another disaster. I don't want him knowing ANYTHING” Alex stated and they all nodded, “I know you all support him, but I cannot. Not after seeing two of my friends from school get killed because he didn't help them the way he should have.”
“What do you mean?” Harry asked.
“Harry, most would tell you that your parents were betrayed by Peter Pettigrew, and yes they were, but Lily and James were both offered protection and another place to stay other than Godric's Hallow,” She replied, and he urged her on. “The Russian Minister of Magic stepped in and suggested about three months before they died that they instead be transferred to somewhere in Romania. The Russian Ministry was trying to aid the British one as much as we could to save lives. Dumbledore said it would not be wise moving them and you to another country. They were told no, and after their deaths, many of the Russian officials regarded Dumbledore as a fool.”
“I don't believe that.”
“I'm not saying Dumbledore meant for their deaths to happen, I'm merely saying that he made a wrong decision and it could have been prevented, had he listened to them.”
“This coming from someone who housed Bellatrix Lestrange” He replied and she scowled at him.
“I had no knowledge of that bitch being wanted. Had I known, she'd have been turned over to the Aurors immediately. She arrived at my doorstep one night, claiming she was needing a place to stay, and would be gone by morning. The ONLY reason I gave her it was because of the fact she was Narcissa's sister” she said and looked at Draco before continuing, “I'd have done anything for Narcissa. It wasn't my fault that the Aurors showed up a few hours later and dragged me off to jail, and I was locked up for a year. It was my willingness to do anything for that woman that made me promise to watch over her son for her in case anything happened to her.”
They heard a gasp and looked at Hermione before she smiled knowingly. Alex nodded and she nodded back before sitting down. They just hoped the others wouldn't catch onto her secret. Alex had loved Narcissa at one time. She was named Draco's Godmother, unofficially of course due to Lucius not agreeing to it, after he was born. She'd promised then to protect the young boy as a sign she still loved the woman as a friend. It was a mutual understanding between the two friends.
Amelia started speaking with Alex in fluent Russian. Khira rolled her eyes at some of the comments before standing up and walking around the living room. You could tell by the look on her face that she was disgusted with the décor. She started looking at the books on the bookshelf before pulling one down suddenly.
“Alex come here!” she suddenly said and her wife rushed over, “Look at the title.”
“A Life in the Dark by Lily Potter” she read, before grabbing it from Khira and flipping through it, “It can't be!”
“What is that?” Harry asked walking over.
“Lily stated once at a Ministry get together she was attending with James that she felt left in the dark and was writing about it. I think this was what she wrote.”
“I was never told this existed” he said, staring at the book.
“Do you mind if I look at it a bit. There might be a few things hidden in it that she left behind as clues” she asked and he shrugged.
“I want to read it when you're finished with it.”
“I have to ask,” she said, handing the book to Khira before putting her hands in her pockets, “Would you both be able to go to Kruss Estate, Weasley and Granger? I can understand if you need to ask your mother Weasley, but I am just curious. Potter, I know that Dumbledore would probably allow it, as you're almost seventeen and they need you out of this house soon anyway. I don't trust the wards in this house and Malfoy Manor is compromised so we need to train you somewhere safe. My estate is warded completely and the only people who can enter it is those I permit. It's tied to my blood and as such I can shift the wards just by mere thought.”
“If it means I never have to see the Dursley's again I'm all for it!” Harry replied.
“Well obviously Mr. Potter, that is the case. I need to simply know if the two of them are as willing to go as you are. I will need to contact Dumbledore, but I have no doubt he will allow it. Especially if I allow a weekly visit from Snape” she stated.
“Can we request McGonagall instead?” Ron asked.
“You could, but I highly doubt that Dumbledore would allow it. At the very least, we could have Draco meet with Snape, and you three meet with McGonagall.”
“Ask Dumbledore to send them to make a weekly report on their progress, and to ensure that nothing has happened and he will allow it. You must also prove to him that you know what needs to be taught. He must see the difference between what Draco and Hermione know and do not know. You know what to ask her, so ask it when he is here. Draco will be able to answer it easily” Amelia stated and Alex nodded, walking over to the floo and throwing some powder she pulled from her pocket into it.
“Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts” she yelled, sticking her head in.
“My dear Mrs. Kruss, it is a surprise to see you. How may I help you?” the Headmaster's voice trailed back to all of the students.
“Headmaster, I would like to have a word with you, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall if I may at Harry Potter's residence” she stated and they could hear him talking in the background to someone.
“Yes, we will be there in a few moments” he stated and she nodded, pulling her head out of the fire.
“Draco I suggest you move into the kitchen and sit at the table with Potter, Weasley, and Granger. It's very likely that he will try to persuade you otherwise. With you being a legal adult he cannot force you to go anywhere, so remember that” she said and he nodded, standing up and moving into the kitchen with the others, sitting down at the table.
“Harry, I think we should all tell him we want to go” Hermione said and the other two nodded just as the fireplace rumbled.
Dumbledore came through first, and dusted himself off, before looking up with that insane twinkle in his eyes. Khira grimaced upon seeing his purple robes with the silver and gold stars before sighing and moving into the kitchen to look out the window behind Draco. McGonagall came through next and was quickly followed by Snape who looked around, his eyes briefly meeting Draco's before turning to look at the girl who summoned them.
“Well well, this is a rather sudden change of events Alexandria” the potions master stated grimly.
“Kruss, why did you call us here? Potter is fine and we really see no reason for being called” McGonagall stated, looking around.
“I asked you to come here to make an arrangement for Potter, Weasley, and Malfoy, along with Ms. Granger” she stated and motioned for them to sit down, which they did.
“What kind of arrangement, Alex?” Dumbledore asked, not looking her in the eye.
“I wish to train all of them at the estate during the summer and provide protection for them there.”
“Train?” Snape questioned.
“Yes, train them. Teach them offensive and defensive spells so that they will be ready for this war, as well as teaching Mr. Potter Occlumency in an environment where he does NOT feel intimidated.” she replied, looking at Snape on the last part.
"Why would we ever agree to allowing this?" the potions master asked.
"My estate is the most secure place for them all right now and they are all wanted by Voldemort for obvious reasons. Draco already is going with me there anyway, and Potter needs moved out before the wards fall on his birthday. Weasley and Granger going would just ensure they are safe until the start of the school year."
"That is a very good point Alex" Dumbledore stated, thinking it over.
"You can't be considering this Albus!" Minerva sat there stunned as she watched him.
“Minerva, we already planned to move them to headquarters, but this is something Voldemort will not expect. Also, a bit of training spells is never a bad thing during a summer break."
"They do not need to learn anything else Albus! They learn everything they need to learn at Hogwarts" she said, looking at the four students who all started arguing about wanting to go.
“Is that so? Forgive me Minerva, but I know that is not true since I learned most of the stuff I know outside of Hogwarts and there are some things I know they need to learn that is not taught there” she stated turning to the teens and they all quieted down, “Ms. Granger, this is a Durmstrang O.W.L. Level question and I would like you to answer it as simply as you can, alright?”
“Yes.”
“The three unforgivable curses were made by whom, during what years, and in what year were all three of the spells classified as unforgivable and considered illegal to use by the British Ministry of Magic?”
“The only part of that which I know was that they were classified and illegal to use after 1717” she stated, feeling bad for not knowing the full answer.
“Draco would you like to elaborate on her answer?”
“Certainly” he stated, “The unforgivable curses were first made by the same wizard, Artemis Karthius of Greece who was later jailed for using the curses on muggles. The Imperius curse was made in 1622, the Crutiatus curse in 1628, and the Killing curse in 1655. They were all deemed unforgivable as Granger stated in 1717, by a vote of 42 to 9 of the Wizengamot.”
“Correct!” she stated and turned to Hermione, “Ms Granger, one more question, and then we are done. Of all of the types of magic, what is considered to be the most powerful form of magic?”
“I honestly do not know. We were never taught that in school. Why would we need to know that?” she asked and Alex smirked.
“Draco?”
“Chaos magic is considered the most powerful because it is uncontrollable. It is the magic that happens when we lose control of our cores and lash out. If we are able to control our magical cores, we are able to use spells easier and not use up so much of our magic when doing so. We will not feel as drained from doing it” he stated and Alex turned to Dumbledore.
“These may be questions that are asked by Durmstrang exams, but they are not asked by ours. They do not have any reason to need to learn it” he stated, standing up.
“Headmaster, Alex has helped me to keep my magic under control more than I ever needed to. In just two months she can teach Potter, Weasley, and Granger how to control their magic, and thus how to use spells that would normally take them years to learn. As she said, Potter cannot seem to learn Occlumency. She can teach him and him learn it much faster because there wont be any hatred between them” Draco said, stepping forward, “If you must, you may send both Professors McGonagall and Snape to check in on us weekly.”
“Albus, they obviously want to go, and you know that Potter's blood protections will not work once he turns seventeen. We could easily send him there and be comforted in knowing that he'd never be found” Snape stated quietly and he nodded.
“I will let them go with you, if their parents agree with it. However, I will be sending Severus and Minerva to check on them weekly” he stated and Alex nodded, before he stood up and walked away through the floo, McGonagall behind him.
"I don't know what game you're playing at Alex, but you better watch yourself" Snape replied, eyeing her suspiciously.
"Same goes for you as well Severus. Best not let your Lord discover your true allegiance" she smirked at him and he sneered before going through the floo.
“Weasley, please floo call your mother and inform her of the situation. Then when he is finished, you do the same Granger. I suggest all of you get your stuff packed. We're going to floo there, of course, so be sure to shrink your luggage. Potter, if you wish to bring Hedwig by floo again you can” She said, waiting for Ron to finish flooing his mother, before, pulling back and nodding at her approving him going with them. Once he nodded she told them to hurry and they all walked out of the room, before she turned to Amelia, “You didn't want to say something. Tell me Amelia.”
“I keep seeing Hermione and Draco...together. Something is going to happen that is going to change him...something to do with the elemental training.”
“You think because they're opposite elements they might work better?”
“Oddly enough, I do” she stated with a sigh.
“I have an idea of how to train them. I will have Hermione write to you weekly to let you know how things are going. I had another question though, Amelia. Have we ever met Hermione?” she said and Amelia shook her head and told her that it was for another time, as the three Gryffindors came back downstairs, and Draco came in through the kitchen, “Ready? Alright, let's get there before it gets any later and we will get you all unpacked and give you a tour of the estate. Now, to get there you speak clearly Kruss Estate, Lesnoy Russia. I'll go first to ensure you all get there and adjust the wards to you all. Wait a full minute before coming through and you'll all be added.”
Alex went first and called out the estate, before being whisked away. After her, Hermione, Draco, Ron and Harry followed one at a time, with Khira behind them. Upon reaching the estate she allowed them all to look around a little before having their bags taken up to their rooms, and giving them the tour. They were going to start training the next morning, and as they headed to dinner they all knew in the back of their heads, that the rivalry they once had may very well be over by the end of the summer.

The next morning Hermione awoke at around 7A.M. and stood up, walking out onto the balcony to look over the gardens of the estate. Alex had shown them the gardens the previous evening, but stated they wouldn't see the full view until the next day since it was already getting dark. She had been right as the gardens were a beautiful sight to see, full of flowers of all colors, along with a grand fountain in the center. As she looked around she noticed a few house elves were walking around trimming dead flowers and pulling weeds. She still felt bad for house elves, but Alex treated all of hers kindly. She told them the night before, that she refused to punish them, or let them punish themselves, because they had a different way of thinking about things unlike wizards and witches. All of the house elves she currently owned were in fact all family, having been in the service of the Kruss estate for many generations. Just then she saw Alex and Khira walking the grounds and Khira picked random flowers and put them into a basket. Hermione decided then to go back inside and get dressed, leaving the two some privacy.

Once dressed Hermione went down the hall and down the grand staircase. The room was a fabulous cream color for the walls, with a dark forest green marble flooring and black columns that had gold engravings on them, some of which she recognized to be runes for protection. As she walked down the stairs the fireplace on the other side of the room lit itself, having had a detection charm placed on it to light upon having someone enter the room. Once at the bottom of the stairs she walked over to the dining room and noticed Draco was already there eating.
“Morning” she stated. He nodded, not replying, as she sat down across from him and grabbing a couple pieces of toast and spreading some marmalade on it, “Why are you up so early? Couldn't sleep?”
“I am used to getting up this early” he stated and she simply nodded, noticing the sadness in his voice. She figured he was thinking about his mother.
“I saw Alex and Khira in the gardens.”
“They're coming up with a plan to train us. Alex is able to control earth spells while Khira can control water. I already know what elements each of us are getting anyway” he said and she raised her eyebrow, before he continued, “It goes by our zodiac signs. Potter is a Leo so his is fire, Weasley is a Pisces so his is water, mine is Gemini so I'm air, so that leaves you with earth since you're a Virgo.”
“How did you know all of our zodiac signs?” she asked, taking a sip of the tea she'd just poured herself.
“Know thy enemy” he stated, “My father made me learn specific details about all of you.”
“Ah I see you two are awake” they turned to see Alex walking in with Khira in her arms, smiling at both of them as they sat down at the table.
“Good morning Alex, Khira” she stated and Draco nodded to them, before going back to his meal.
“I just caught the end of that conversation but yes, Draco is correct on the elements. I do have to ask though” she turned to Hermione, “Have Ron or Harry finished their summer essays?”
“Harry has about half of his done, and Ron hasn't even started on it” she said rolling her eyes.
“Well, since both of you have yours done I'm assuming,” they nodded and she continued, “Your elements are both medium grade elements, so it will not be hard for you to get started on them, let alone master them. Unlike Potter, you both will have this pretty easily mastered since you both are of age, and are more intellectual on these sort of things. Earth spells are best done with sand, or gravel, I personally prefer sand. As for air, it should be obvious what is best for that. Using the wind around you, or even your own breath as you breath out can be effective. Weasley is going to learn healing spells first, since water is mostly used in healing. Fire however is uncontrollable, and Potter is going to need lots of training in control.”
“Harry is a loose cannon. This is going to be hard for him to learn” she stated and Alex nodded
“I know that from past conversations with both Draco and Severus. Once I teach him Occlumency, then I will begin with the elemental training. He needs Occlumency more than anything. Besides, with the way the laws are for the Ministry, Potter cannot start learning spells until after his birthday.”
“I agree. His nightmares, he tries to hide that he has them, but we all know they exist” Hermione said quietly, looking down at her plate.
“Alex here is the best Occlumens in the Russian Ministry. If anyone can teach Potter...it's her” Khira stated with a smirk.
“Oh hush! Stop bragging about how great your wife is...” Alex said, kissing the other woman's hand before looking near the stairs, “Mr. Potter, I didn't expect you up so early.”
“I'm used to waking up early because of my aunt's house” he stated, sitting next to Hermione.
“Did you hear any of our conversation?” she asked and he shook his head, “Well, I was just informing Hermione and Draco that first thing I will teach you will be Occlumency. Once you've gotten that down, we'll move on to mastering your element. When we start the element phase, you will be doing meditation for an hour a day.”
“Why meditation?” he asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes.
“It strengthens your magical core, and helps you get better control of it Harry. Have you never meditated before?” she asked and he shook his head.
“I'm guessing you have Ms. Granger?” Hermione nodded to Alex, “Well, then I think you of all of them will master your element first if Draco here doesn't beat you to it.”
“I haven't meditated in a long time. I'm a bit rusty. As usual Granger is going to be at the top of the class so to speak.”
“It's not my fault you all never want to learn anything.”
“Oh we love learning, we just don't spend our entire lives stuck in a book” Harry stated.
“Hermione, I have to ask since you're so addicted to the books. If you did not have a book that told you how to do something we taught you, would you still be able to learn it as easily if you had a book or would you be a bit slower?” Khira asked.
“I guess you could say that I'd be a bit slower without a book. Why do you ask?”
“You just gave away a weakness Granger” she looked over at Malfoy who was smirking.
“What?”
“Learning just from a book, while neglecting the practical way of learning, is a weakness, because you are so dependent on what you learn in those books, you never learn the ways to shift and control things outside of it unless its stated in that book. You don't experiment with it to see if maybe the book is wrong. You just believe it to be true because it is in that book” Khira answered, before looking at Alex who nodded, “Let me show you an example.”
Khira waved her hand over her goblet and suddenly the water inside it started to bubble. She waved it again and the bubbling stopped, but in its place, the water froze slightly, raising out of the glass, and over to her hand. She moved her fingers slightly and the ice started cracking and forming a new shape, before finally forming into a small dolphin that jumped around and looked to make small splashes. She slowly moved the dolphin back over to the goblet before letting the water melt to its original form.
“Wow! That's amazing!” Hermione stated and she smiled, “How did you do that?”
“While water is a free moving entity, it is flexible. Most books would have you believe that ice is solid, and cannot be transformed, but in actuality, if you transform the water that makes up the ice itself, you can do anything to it. You cannot limit yourself to just the form before you, you must go beyond that and see the entire structure of the item or entity you are manipulating.”
“The same can be said for Potter's fire element. Essentially, fire is just what?” she asked looking at all of them.
“Heat or energy” they all turned, hearing Harry and he noticed Alex was smirking, “It's heat or energy. While fire needs air to survive, it also needs energy to sustain it. The heat from the fire is caused by energy-”
“You're correct on the first part, but I am going to stop you on the second one. Have any of you ever seen how wizards in China manipulate fire?” they all shook their head and Khira continued, “The Chinese wizarding community is able to stand there and handle fire without being burnt, simply by having the control over it to make the flame not emit heat. Instead the flame is just for show. Mr. Potter we are hoping to teach you the same thing, so if you are put against someone who throws fire at you, you can absorb the heat from it, and come out safe and sound. It will not burn you, because you will have control enough to make it not burn you from the start.”
“Makes sense. How long will I be training Occlumency though?”
“I asked Hermione and Draco if all of you had finished your summer essays and they stated you and Ronald had not, so you will work on the essays in the morning hours, and then in the evening we will do Occlumency just until dinner. After dinner it will just be a time to relax. We can't start doing advanced spells with you until you are seventeen so for now this will be all that you do.” Alex stated and they all nodded, before hearing a crash from upstairs, “Gippy!”
“Yes Mistress?” the elf asked, popping in next to her.
“What was that noise?”
“That noise be Mr. Weasley madam. He be woken by the kneazle Ms. Granger brought with her” the tiny elf stated as Hermione and Harry started snickering.
“I take it your pet likes to annoy him?” Khira asked, before grunting and glaring at Alex, “I'm only asking.”
“It is none of your business Khira” Alex stated, and they all could see the unspoken words between the two, as it was bluntly obvious that Alex was very dominate.
Khira lowered her eyes and nodded before starting to eat her breakfast. After they all finished, which took a while since Ron had come down and was glaring at Hermione because of Crookshanks waking him, they decided to retire to the library. Upon entering Hermione's jaw dropped and she instantly got a swell of happiness. Draco noticed it and rolled his eyes, muttering 'ever the bookworm' under his breath.
“Ron and Harry I would like you both to retrieve your summer essays, bring them here and then work on finishing them. Meanwhile I will be showing Draco and Hermione some basic techniques” Alex stated and they all nodded, before Alex motioned for the two to follow her, “We will be going across the hall. It is a training room for wizard dueling and I would like to test you both on how much you know so far.”
“Alex, I noticed the other night my wand seemed to feel a bit weird. Like it wasn't in sync with me anymore” Draco said behind her, and she paused in the doorway.
“You need a new wand. When you inherited your veela and elf blood your magic shifted, and you need a new one. For now it should be fine, but we'll call a wand maker to get you a new one,” she stated, noticing Hermione staring at her own wand, “Yours has been doing the same since you turned seventeen hasn't it?”
“Yes, it made school work last year a bit of a hassle” she stated.
“I'll summon Ollivander tomorrow and have him bring along some wands. Hopefully he can find you each one that works for you. Personally I prefer him over Gregorovitch any day” she stated and they walked into the room.
Hermione looked around and notice the room was a light blue color, a roaring fireplace on the far wall, and multiple practice dummies set up. There was also numerous wooden benches sitting around the sides of the room. She walked over towards the fireplace and noticed there was carvings on it like ones in the entry hall on the columns.
“So what are you going to have us do?” Draco asked and she turned towards the two.
“I want you both to stand on opposite ends of the room and you are going to duel,” Alex said, sitting on a bench, “This is not a formal duel, so I do not expect you to bow and all of that junk. I just want to see how advanced your spell work is for you both.”
“Fine with me. I've been wanting a duel with Granger for a while now” Draco stated, twiddling his wand between his fingers.
“Likewise, especially after how you were in fifth year” Hermione stated, pulling her own wand from her back pocket.
“Very well. Take your places” Alex stated, noticing Khira at the door and waiting for her to join her before putting a shield up and looking back at them, “Begin!”
Instantly both of them fired stunning spells and they collided in the center of the room with a flash. Draco took the opportunity to send a quick stinging hex, followed by another stunner, but noticed neither of them hit. As the flash faded he noticed that Hermione had erected a shield around her and held it. Alex smirked at this, before noticing that Hermione was mumbling to herself, but she heard the words clear as day and her smirk grew. They both continued firing spells at each other, Hermione keeping her shield up at all times, before Draco growled in agitation and fired a powerful stunner at Hermione which ricocheted off her shield and hit the wall about 6 feet from Alex and Khira. Draco noticed that the shield Hermione had up was glowing brighter than the one before and caught on instantly.
“Nice power absorption spell Granger. Only problem is that I know you'll need to take it down soon. You are not supposed to sustain it for more than five minutes.”
Hermione smirked and shot a stunner at him, followed by three consecutive curses. He dodged the first 3, but the last one hit him in the leg and he groaned, feeling the sting. He lifted his hand and saw there was blood on it, just as he heard Hermione fire a stunning spell again, which he dodged, before seeing a light soaring towards him. He tried to jump out of the way but the spell smashed into him and sent him flying towards the wall with a solid thud, knocking the wind out of him. As he looked up he noticed Alex call for them to stop, as she rushed over to him.
“Draco are you alright?” she asked, kneeling next to him.
“Huh? What the hell happened?” he said quietly, looking up to see Granger standing behind her.
“I used a propulsion spell to send the shield and the energy back at you. Something I learned during the summer last year” she said quietly, but he saw she had a small smile on her face.
“Can you stand Draco?” Alex asked, and he nodded trying to do so, but fell back down.
“I think I need to lay down for a bit” he slurred, before his head fell forward and the world turned black.
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Trust of the Elements