Harry Potter Oneshots

seventy one-hermione&tonks

requested: heather5000

ship: hermione&tonks

prompt: "You've suffered enough, it's about time you won."

setting: Grimmauld Place, 1995

category(?): I don't know, it's not sad, but it's not fluffy either

warning/tags: boxing, wartime, fighting, very informational, sisterly!tonks, sister friendship

notes: so I actually used to fight, like taekwondo, and now I box! All information is accurate.

words: 694

date: 20th December, 2018 (Happy Christmas if you celebrate!)

Tonks watched Hermione sit in her bed, a pile of books surrounding her.

She watched from the door as quietly as she could, and sneezed, banging her elbow on the wall. "OUCH!"

Hermione jumped, looking up. "Oh, it's just you, Tonks."

"What are you, um, reading?"

"Oh, just some light reading, you know," If seven books was 'light' Tonks didn't want to know what heavy was.

Tonks sat on the bed, scanning a few if the titles. 'The Secrets of War' ''The Art of War' 'The Best Way to Stay Alive During War' and a book from the last war, 'Voldemort and The Potters: Why Is It Important?'

"Hermione," Tonks said, "Why are you reading all of this?"

Hermione stared at her as if she was an idiot.
"Well, there's a war going on. I'm not letting any of us die! I need to know how to protect Harry, and Ron, and everyone."

Tonks raised a pink eyebrow, blue patting one of the books with her hand. "Books won't help you here. But I can!"

Hermione stared wt her, chewing her lip.
"None of the adults here want us knowing anything, how are going to help?"

Tonks pulled out her wand. "I learned two very important things in my twenty-two years of life. One, being able to take someone down with just your fist is a wonderful skill to learn. Two, most of the Death Eaters won't know how to fight without their wand."

When Hermione continued to stare, Tonks continued, "I'm going to bet you never learned how to properly box. Is this correct?"

Hermione nodded. "But Harry says I have a wonderful right hook."

"Does he now?

"Yeah, back in third year I punched Malfoy, and Harry wouldn't stop telling me how good it was."

Tonks was so startled she fell, laughing, off Hermione's bed.
"I'll have to ask him about that sometime. For now, however, we need to teach you to fight. I'm sure Sirius has got an empty room around here somewhere... I'll come get you when I find one."

Hermione nodded, all ready wondering if Hogwarts' library would have any books about boxing.

---

  "No, see, you need your hands to rest in front of your face. . . Gotta protect the money maker, right? Besides, it's easier to punch from this stance."

Hermione took a swing, testing it out.

  "Like that?"

Tonks studied her for a minute. "No, not quite. That's okay! Look at your fists. You see your thumbs?"

Hermione nodded, looking at the thumbs tucked beneath her clenched fingers.

  "You want those on top of your fingers. If they're under you're likely to break your thumb when you punch."

Once Hermione had fixed it, Tonks continued, "And when you're punching, your feet need to be less planted. Watch mine."

Tonks began bouncing on her toes, swaying a bit. "You need as much movement as you can, if you want to take someone out. If you're light on your feet, you can jump away from any hits, and it's easier on the body."

Next, Tonks taught her how beneficial pivoting was. This resulted on Tonks with a bruised knee, from falling. "That' s not supposed to happen, I'm a special case."

  "I thought so."

  "Yeah, all right, Miss-I-Have-Proper-Balance. Now, your fists can be pretty loose. When you punch, tighten 'em like this -- yeah, that's good! And exhale as you punch, it helps give you better impact. Try to put as much  of your body weight behind the punch as you can. Without getting off balance, of course. That's where I have trouble. It's not the punches fault, of course . . . ."

A few very w]sweaty minutes later, Tonks nodded in satisfaction. "Much better than my first day! Just remember when you jab, don't pivot and turn -- on punches do pivot and turn. Jabbing is a quick movement, they should feel it but not see it, that's what Mad-Eye says."

Hermione sighed, wiping sweat from her face with her shirt. "Thanks, Tonks."

Tonks nodded, clapping her on the shoulder. "No problem, kiddo. You've suffered enough, it's about time you won."

Hermione blinked as it hit her: They had suffered, and it was about time they won.