Chapter 526 - Sore Muscles (1/2)
If anything else in the following days after the kidnapping of Damocles Belby, Reginald Prince had upped their training regime. (And rightly so, the wizarding world had not protested the increased daily policing patrols in Diagon Alley even the purebloods. It was a fantastic victory for the Ministry of Magic even if the illegal vendors of Knockturn Alley took a severe hit.)
And thusly so, Rowan and Severus were constantly, incredibly sore despite all the potion's they were taking to deal with the pain, and the warm baths they took both in the morning and in the evening to loosen their aching bodies. Stiff and sore, the two of them would return to the labs to work knowing full well that after lunch day, they would be forced to return to the training room all over again.
With a gloomy expression, Rowan and Severus ate a light meal, before heading to their bedroom to dress in proper clothing, before returning to the bare stone training room. Waiting inside is the stark figure of their grandfather, Reginald.
Reginald's dark eyes flash as he coolly says, ”After some sincere pondering during the course last night, I came to the solemn conclusion that the two of you are lacking very real blood thirst. In our world, it is a benefit that is often quite needed in order to be cold-hearted. Neither of you require the sense of calm nor intelligence, but rather a certain callous nature that the two of you seem to be lacking.”
Rowan eyes fill with a wary light as Severus narrows his eyes pointedly at their grandfather. ”Exactly, what are you proposing, grandfather?” Rowan sharply inquired.
”The both of you will sincerely duel against me,” Reginald matter-of-factly stated. ”And I will not be holding back any longer except for the usage of any forbidden curses that is all.”
”You're serious, grandfather?” Severus said in disbelief.
”Very much so,” Reginald replied with a certain icy cold chill in his voice. ”I will not hesitate to attack, and I suggest that both of you do the same.”
Instantly retreating, Severus glances at Rowan to suddenly hear, ”Everte Statum!” Severus suddenly feels his body airborne flying several feet back to only land on the stone floor. Letting out a painful groan, he rolls to his side trying to breathe, but keeping a firm grip on his wand.
The merciless figure of his grandfather marching towards him with his wand held high fills Severus with dread. All of a sudden, he hears, ”Fumos!” As a cloud of thick smoke or a fog fills the area before him.
”Move!” Rowan hisses into Severus's ear as she all but hauls him to his feet and drags him back. It would appear that their grandfather had truly been going easy on them both in their prior practiced dueling sessions. And that was a most terrible thing to learn, because that could only mean that dueling was going to get worse from here on out.
”Well thought out, Rowan,” Reginald commented in approval through the fog. ”However, the downside to this spell is that you can't see me either. Not only that, but I can be quite silent when I wish to be.”
Indeed, Rowan whirled here head this way and that craning her ears to the limit, but she cannot even hear the rustle of clothing nor muffled footsteps. ”Well, bugger,” Rowan thought to herself as she still held onto Severus keeping him close.
Red sparks from their left side cause Rowan to fall onto her knees to dodge as Severus does the same. Scrambling to their feet, they both fired back in the direction of the red sparks to only see the sparks emitted from their wands vanish through the fog, and the crisp sound of their hexes hitting the ground.
”Impedimenta!” A sharp voice said behind them.
However, to Rowan and Severus's dismay, they find that they cannot move. The spell cast by their grandfather had slowed down their movement to an almost freezing like state. They were sitting ducks and they knew it.
”And now the both of you are dead,” Reginald calmly explained as he placed his wand at their backs.” With a flicker of his wand, he vanishes the fog away with a blast of wind, before turning to them again. ”What did the two of you do wrong?”