Potionary Confinement

Duels in the Dungeons

CHAPTER NINE

Wednesday evening was there before Harry knew it, and Ron and Hermione kept repeating themselves over and over again.

"I bet you'll learn loads from him," Hermione said for the hundredth time. "As talented as he is at Potions, everyone knows the Dark Arts is where he's at."

"What if it's all a bluff..." Ron said fearfully. "What if he's trying to get you alone so he can poison you?"

"Oh, come off it, Ron! Snape saved Harry!" Hermione said defensively. "He would never — !"

"Guys, be quiet! He's coming," Harry whispered harshly.

They quickly went quiet when Snape slowly strolled  over by them.

Snape dropped a small piece of parchment next to Harry's pumpkin juice. It was sneaky and subtle, and he walked away back to his seat.

Harry unfolded it and it read:

7:00. Wormwood. Don't be late.

Harry crumbled it. "It's just the password. I reckon we'll be in his private quarters."

"Private quarters?" Ron asked incredulously. "Harry, you promise you'll tell us if he kills you, right?"

Harry shushed him and snorted. "I can't tell you if I'm dead. Trust me, Ron. He had every opportunity to kill me in his private stores, but he didn't. He risked starving to death for me. So I highly doubt he'll try and kill me. He's doing this to protect me from Voldemort."

So after dinner, Harry went off to the dungeons.
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When Harry stepped in front of Snape's office, he noticed the door was open just a little.

He just walked in, quite nervously because he didn't want to get yelled at for not knocking. But Snape wasn't in there. He walked around the dark room until he spotted a door with a painting above.

Harry stood in front of it, looking at the sleeping, bearded man above him and said, "Wormwood."

The man shot awake and growled, "Correct!"

And the door swung open, revealing a room quite like Snape's office, but more cozier and homely.

"Professor Snape?" Harry asked timidly.

But he wasn't in there either. He was starting to get worried because it was almost five past seven, and this indeed was the place he wanted him to be.

Then he heard a door slam shut and a growl. "Wormwood."

Harry stood back, and watched the man come in.

"S-Sir?" Harry stuttered.

"I apologize for the delay. I had to break up a fight," Snape snorted. "First year Hufflepuffs."

Harry grinned and repeated familiar words. "Hysterical, accident-prone creatures?"

Snape skimmed through stuff in drawers. "I'm ecstatic to hear that I've at last made some impact on you. You are very correct. First years — especially Hufflepuffs — are hysterical and temperamental little beasts that I have no patience for."

Harry laughed "I thought you died for a moment."

Snape turned around so fast, Harry jumped. "I don't plan on dying for a very long time, Mr. Potter. Right now, I wish to teach you how to Disillusion yourself completely and entirely.

"I know you have an Invisibility Cloak, and a good one. But there very well may come a time where you need to be Disillusioned, and you won't have it. This is for precaution."

Harry nodded and listened carefully to the incantation.

Snape showed him what it should look like by Disillusioning himself perfectly.

"Woah," Harry said and tried it himself.

He did it partially, but Snape said it would improve with practice.

"We will also cover dueling," Snape said. "I'm sure you've learned quite a lot already in Charms, but I'll be teaching you how to block hexes and curses."

Harry smiled. Some of these things would definitely come in handy... Not only for the Triwizard Tournament, but against Voldemort as well. He'll even be one step ahead for his O.W.L.s the following year.

He was finally going to learn how to duel for real...

"I know you are quite the Disarmer," Snape said with a smirk. "So we will only cover that very briefly."

He remembered quite well when he Disarmed Snape so hard, he knocked him out cold.

"That should be enough for now. You are dismissed," Snape said.
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So by the end of Easter Break, Harry had mastered not only the Disillusionment Charm, but also Stunning Spells and some wandless and non-verbal magic, some even invented by Snape himself.

And with Ron's and Hermione's help, he reckoned he'll be well prepared for the Third Task.

Sometimes during their lessons, usually during the beginning or end, Snape would strike a random jinx at him for him to block.

It usually would lead to intense duels like these.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Impedimenta!"

Harry blocked all of Snape's jinxes.

Harry shot a Stunning Spell at him, and watched as Snape crumbled to the floor.

Harry laughed and pointed his wand at him "Rennervate."

As Snape woke back up, Harry snatched his wand on the floor, smirking.

"Haha! I stunned you," Harry said cheekily.

Snape stood up woozily. "Where's my wand?"

Harry giggled and showed him his wand.

And Harry suddenly felt a playfulness come out of him, which he usually never had, and darted out of Snape's office.

He heard Snape chasing him and threatening to take points, but he kept running, laughing.

But before he could even step one foot on the staircase, he felt his body fling into the air by his ankles.

Harry was grinning so much, it hurt, and it never died off his face.

Snape walked up to him, ignoring all the scramblers heading to their common rooms, and smirked.

"And I'll take that," Snape said and grabbed his wand back before muttering the counter-curse.

He then conjured a large cushion to soften Harry's fall, and strolled away, his black robes billowing behind him.
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