crossroads ✿ jily

Chapter Ten - Testing the Limits

Lily slowly opened her eyes, feeling like she was on fire. Sitting up, she gingerly brought her hand up to wipe the blood from her mouth just as Dumbledore's voice broke through the ringing in her ears.

"Excellent, Potter. In a desperate situation, that curse would buy you the time you'd need to look for an escape route...or at least position yourself better for a duel. Are you alright, Miss Evans?"

Lily nodded, the corners of her mouth turning slightly upward as she caught James' eye. "Yes...I'm fine. It was a good hit."

"Now, Miss Evans," Dumbledore continued above the din being caused by the rest of the class as they practiced their dueling skills, "I must congratulate you on keeping hold of your wand...in an intense duel that could mean the difference between life and death. What could you have done to prevent that hit?"

As he asked the question, he reached a hand down to help her to her feet. Standing and brushing herself off, a bit impressed herself at the fact that her wand was still gripped tightly in her hand, she replied, "I got distracted...Tim had just bumped into me and I turned my head."

"Exactly," he replied, then raised his voice so that the whole group could hear him, "When involved in a situation where you are fighting for your life, it requires total concentration. In that moment, the only things whose existence you care about are yourself and your opponent...oh, and both of your wands, as well."

A ripple of laughter went through the class, and Dumbledore continued, "While we're on the subject, I want to say a few things about wands. As you all well know if you happened to purchase your wands from Mr. Ollivander, the wand chooses the wizard...or witch. This is no small bit of information...it means that your wand is not merely a tool or a weapon. It isyour tool, your weapon...and also your most trusted ally in dangerous circumstances. You and your wand together possess strength is certain areas, and are not as formidable in others. It is your responsibility to know these strengths and weaknesses, and in battle, how well you know the capabilities of your wand as it is used by you – it's wizard – can save your life."

There was a silence after Dumbledore was finished speaking as everyone pondered what he had said to them. Lily absently swiped the last bit of blood from her lip as she stood there contemplating, and after a moment Dumbledore looked at the old clock on his desk.

"Oh, my...it's already past eleven o'clock. You are all dismissed, and get a good night's rest...you have your lessons tomorrow."

Tim gave him an incredulous look and asked, "Professor, couldn't we have a pass? At least for the first lesson of the day?"

Dumbledore winked at him and turned to leave, calling, "Aurors do not receive passes, Mr. Connelly. Consider it part of your training."

A few people laughed and there were some sighs as everyone collected their things. Lily calculated it in her head...if she were to head straight back to the dorms and go straight to bed, she'd get about six and a half hours of sleep. A voice broke through her thoughts as she hoisted her unusually large pile of books onto her hip.

"What are all those?"

She glanced up at James, who was slinging his bag over his shoulder and nodding at her books. She smiled a bit sheepishly and replied, "Yeah, well...perhaps I did go overboard a bit. I realized today that I haven't been to the library in almost a month."

James frowned. "What are you talking about? We have the meeting there every week."

"No, I mean I haven't really been there...to take out books or anything. The meetings don't count...in fact, they make it worse, because I can't even say I didn't have time to go."