A few days later Harry and Sirius had finally managed to clear everything out of the basement so that it was usable as an practice space. For Harry the nearly three weeks spent without any substantial training had quickly gone from annoying to almost unbearable. His body had gotten so used to him depleting his magical reserves on a constant basis that he physically felt odd when he had not. Finally though Harry was free to return to his normal schedule, and he was loving it. The best part of the day, however, was that Daphne had been able to come over to 12 Grimmauld place and join him.
"Do you really know what you're doing there, Harry?" Sirius asked as he and Daphne watched Harry cast the protective spells around the room that would prevent anything from getting too damaged.
"I think so." Harry answered. "But I've never tried these spells before so I guess we'll just have to see." Daphne laughed at the response and turned towards Sirius, letting Harry continue to work.
"Don't worry, he'll get it right." she assured Sirius. "It's amazing how much he's improved in the past year, and knowing how much he's been looking forward to this I bet he's read how to do those spells a hundred times already."
"From what I hear, you aren't far behind him." Sirius commented.
"I don't know about that." Daphne answered somewhat modestly. "I may have improved in terms of skill, but not in power like Harry has. Of course he has a built in advantage when it comes to that, so I guess I shouldn't be too upset."
"You did the right thing in Diagon Alley." Sirius said. "I just thought you ought to know that. You kept your head down and helped out as much as you could without endangering yourself. You and Neville landed a few good hits, too."
"I wish I could have done more." Daphne replied. "I'm sorry about your friend. Professor Lupin was one of the only good Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers we ever had."
"I appreciate it." Sirius said. "But don't underestimate how valuable your help was. The Death Eaters never enter a battle in which they are at a disadvantage. They expected to face two adults and three children, and underestimating you three was their first mistake. That would have been a ten versus five fight, but we got lucky. Tonks and the other Auror was there which evened things out a bit. The Weasleys, unfortunately, did little to help. Molly was too worried about protecting her kids, Ron and Ginny panicked, and the twins weren't able to do anything more than annoy the Death Eaters. You and Neville though stayed calm and became an asset, not a liability. I'm proud of you both for that."
"Thank you." Daphne said. She was grateful for the praise, but was still sad that one of their own had died despite their best efforts. She might not have been as close to Remus as Harry was, but the next time something like that happened it could easily be someone she was close to like her father or Harry. It could even be her, she knew.
"It's ready!" Harry announced as he walked over to where Sirius and Daphne were standing. "Who wants to test it?"
"Why don't you, Harry." Sirius replied with a grin. "It is, after all, your work." Harry looked towards Daphne to see if she wanted to try it, but she simply laughed at his eagerness.
"Go on." she told him. Harry smiled as he walked back towards the center of the large room. The spells he had cast had been powerful and quite draining, but if he had done it correctly he would not have to recast them for several weeks. Taking a deep breath and steadily raising his wand, Harry started trying to decide which spell to use. Anything with fire was out because the last thing he needed to do was start a house fire if the protective spells had been cast improperly. Finally deciding on one Harry began the wand movement and concentrated on the incantation but did not say it aloud. The bright light of Harry's Diffindo charm raced towards the wall Harry had been aiming at, but a split second before it would have hit the wall and ripped a gash into it the spell seemed to hit a magical wall of orange light that rippled like water as it absorbed the impact of Harry's spell. The wall soon faded though, leaving everything looking exactly as it had before.
"Bravo!" Sirius called as he began clapping. Daphne soon after joined him.
"Guess it works then, huh?" Harry said in response. "You don't have to clap, it wasn't that complex of a spell."
"Oh fine, spoil my fun." Sirius replied. "Now, I've heard all about what you've been learning this last year. Why don't you show me."
Harry smiled at the request and for the next hour he demonstrated the different spells he had learned. Daphne, bored of just watching, eventually joined in to show that she too could cast almost all of them although perhaps not as powerfully as Harry. Sirius was amazed at how advanced Harry was, but in retrospect he decided that he should have expected it. His mother was an absolute genius when it came to charms and was quite skilled at potions as well. James, when he wasn't chasing Lily or playing Quidditch, was better at Transfiguration than everyone else in their year. They both seemed to have passed on a little of their natural talents to their son.
Eventually they decided that they were too hungry to continue and went back upstairs for a late lunch. The Weasley's had returned to continue helping out, which Harry did not expect. Sirius assumed Molly was probably feeling bad about what had happened to Remus and was doing housework for him as a way to make him feel better. When Harry and the others reached the kitchen Molly was cleaning up the mess she had made making lunch and Ron was blissfully attacking a large bowl of soup.
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