Marauder's Daughter (Eventual Tom Riddle X OC)

Chapter 33: Training Harry and Fighting Fears

Dad was very lonely now at home with me and Remus both gone. He was sending nearly daily owls to me or to Remy, and poor Bruce was getting tired and irritable at the constant trips. I started to trade between Delta and Hedwig, just to give my poor bat a break. 

I was glad there wasn't any real mission planned for this year since I really didn't have any time with my OWL's. I made sure to still get in three training sessions a week though, and eventually I made Harry join me.

"Harry, I'm going to show you something that I'm going to ask you not to tell anyone, even Ron and Hermione, at least not yet." I say to my godbrother after about a month of school. I found him lazing around the common room playing exploding snap with Ron and Seamus while Dean watched, their homework laid forgetting to the side. Hermione was scowling at them from the next table over, a mountain of books surrounding her. Crookshanks was happily curled on her lap though, enjoying the warm fire nearby her. I loved that cat, he was a total sweetheart, especially since there was no 'Scabbers' around for him to terrorize.

"Alright." Harry says excitedly in reply as we walk out of the portrait hole. "Where are going?"

"A secret room that I've been using the last four years here for training, and now you're going to join me." I tell him quietly as we enter the seventh floor. "Now, along this wall is the door to the Room of Requirement, a secret that very few at Hogwarts know about. Not even Fred and George know about this, so I must stress that you don't tell anyone."

"I won't, I promise." He vows sincerely. I walk him back and forth the three times until the door appears, and I open it to reveal the gym the room usually makes for me. "Woah." He breaths out in shock. "I love magic."

"Me too, Harry, me too." I reply honestly. "Now, you've probably noticed I'm far more skilled than my peers in both athletics and in magic?"

"Yeah, but you never said how or why. You play quidditch better than anyone on the team, yet you're not on the team. The twins both say you're the best at learning new spells, and last year you were the top student in the dueling club." He recites off to me with a proud but curious look on his face.

"Yeah, and a lot of that is thanks to my time in here. And I've noticed... that you are a little behind where you should be, Harry." I say delicately yet firmly, and his face drops. "Not that having fun with your friends is a bad thing, but you need to be prepared, and I feel I may have inadvertently robbed you of your chances to learn, so I'm going to correct that now."

"How did you rob me? You taught me loads of things last year." He asks in confusion.

"I taught you spells, but you have no reflexes on when to use them." I say plainly, brushing off his previous comment about robbing him. "Now, and this is very important, when I fought off Voldemort two years ago, it let me know he's still out there, and unfortunately, that could likely mean he will come for you at some point." I tell him honestly.

"Why would he come for me?" He asks cautiously.

"Because you're his greatest failure, you're a blot on his record." I reply with a half truth. "So, with that in mind, I'm going to train you. Besides, it can never hurt to be the best in dueling, this training will be quite rewarding for you." I say with a smug grin. "But I'm not just going to train you in magic, I'm going to teach you to physically fight, too."

"Why? I'll have my wand, won't I?" He asks, holding up his wand. I reach forward at lightning fast speed and snatch it out of his hand as he complains.

"Ok, now what will you do?" I toss his wand in my hand casually. He tries to snag it back, but I hold it up high, then kick his legs out from under him and make him fall on his back. "See how easy that was? And I could do a whole lot more with my wand if I had bothered to use it. But the truth is, wands can get taken away, and you need to learn how to fight without it. And better yet, how to force your opponent to fight without one by disarming them. When we train with sparring, you'll become more aware of your surroundings, and you'll become better in a wizard duel because of that. I'm going to make you great, Harry, but it will take a lot of effort. Are you prepared for that?" I ask challengingly, still twirling his wand around.