Song Of The Guardians

Becoming Legendary

The Guardians were running out of time. The vampire attacks were becoming more frequent, each more gruesome than the last. They needed a bit more training to be battle ready, but some were a bit resistant to the unorthodox methods of the Harbingers.

"I don't see why we have to dance around like idiots," Seamus grumbled.

The Guardians fell silent. Seamus had been complaining a lot that evening, and his comments were becoming more and more offensive. The Sirens had attended the training session, remaining mostly silent and watching how the newly dubbed Harbingers would handle things. But, eventually Sam got tired of just watching.

Before her sisters could stop her, Sam stood up and approached Seamus. He eyed her warily. She leaned in close, never breaking eye contact. "Shut up," she said slowly and clearly.

Seamus glared at her. "I have the right to express my opinion," he retorted. "And dancing is stupid and a waste of valuable training time."

Sam rolled her eyes. "If you don't knock it off, I'll have to hurt you," she warned him.

"You think you can?" Seamus demanded, standing up straighter.

In the next moment, Seamus landed on his back. Sam had sidestepped and then kicked her leg out to sweep his legs out from under him. She had moved so quickly that it took his breath away. He got back on his feet in a hurry, a stream of obscenities flowing from his mouth. In a flash he lifted his wand to retaliate. A hand darted out from behind him and gripped his wand arm firmly. At the same moment, Harry, Andy, and Severus had run forward to stand between Sam and Seamus. Seamus turned his head and was shocked to see that Lucius Malfoy was the one grasping his wand arm.

"Stand down," Severus growled at Seamus.

"She started it," Seamus objected, angrily pointing at Sam.

"Only because you were being a twat while we're trying to train you," Andy snapped. He whirled around to glare at Sam. "Stop being a bully," he commanded angrily. Sam responded by rolling her eyes, but she returned to her chair without another word. Andy turned back to Seamus. "Never again," Andy said coldly. "Either you are part of the team, or you're not. This training has a purpose. You are the only one wasting time here. And let me just say, that had you been able to cast a spell just now, it would be nothing compared to what would happen to you. You do not anger a Siren and try to challenge her one on one. Especially that Siren," he added, jerking his thumb to where Sam was sitting.

"Okay, let's cool it," David said, moving closer. He rested one hand on Andy's shoulder. David had known Andy for many years and he recognized that though Andy was angry, he was also quite shaken by the exchange. Being the only Guardian for quite some time had taken it's toll on Andy, and the stress of the coming battle was getting to him. David gave Andy's shoulder a slight squeeze. "It's fine," David said quietly. "The girls are safe. This won't happen again, I'll make sure of it." He frowned slightly when Andy wouldn't quite meet his gaze, but chose not to comment since he did at least get a nod of acknowledgement.

David looked around until he met Hermione's gaze. He nodded pointedly to Andy, smiling when she seemed to understand. She hurried to stand at Andy's side. He responded by smiling slightly and hugging her to himself.

David turned back to the Guardians, noting that they looked wary. "Let's try to get past this," he said kindly. "We're all under a lot of stress. And I realize that what we do is very strange," he added, nodding slightly at Seamus. "To be honest, you don't necessarily have to dance. But I would highly recommend it." He clasped his hands behind his back and looked around at everyone to see that he had their attention. "It is not easy to channel your magic through music. Dancing helps to pull your whole body into it. You need your voice, your mind and your body engaged. Your friends here," he said, gesturing behind himself to the other Harbingers, "have this down. They know their stuff and you'd be amazed by what they can do without even using a wand."