Good Omens

Chapter Ten

It was nearing 40 degrees celsius and it was only nine am. The sun bore heavily down on the back of Hermione's neck like a furnace and sweat trickled down the length of her spine underneath her now sticky tank top as she power-walked towards the entry to the Ministry of Magic. She was running late for training; she and Draco hadn't gotten back to the city until almost ten o'clock the night before and she was so completely exhausted after being awake for nearly 40 hours that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow and then slept straight through her early alarm. She had swung past the apothecary as quickly as she could for a draught of Wide-eye Potion to try and combat her lingering fatigue. When she finally got into the training rooms and dropped her bag off to her locker, all the other candidates were in the gym and halfway through warming up.

She tightened the shoelaces on her sneakers and stretched her limbs before heading into a light jog around the arena. She flashed a friendly smile to Trevor, who waved cheerfully back. Ben was casually strolling, being overtaken by almost everyone. The red-headed girl, Amelia, who Hermione felt was her biggest competitor, had broken into a flat out run, gaining a solid lead on the rest of the group. Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes at her. Luckily, they had done most of their training in separate, smaller groups, so Hermione hadn't seen much of her over the past six weeks. She was curious as to why all of them were in the gym today.

After thoroughly warming up and stretching all her limbs for a second time, Hermione felt ready for the session. She looked around, normally Draco would have called them into order by now, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Looking for your boyfriend?" Amelia sneered at her. Hermione raised an eyebrow at her and decided not to answer.

"You're just jealous, Amelia." Another girl, Jess, butted in. Jess had a friendly, open face, which was currently beet red from the warmup. It made her head look a bit like a tomato, and Hermione felt a twinge of guilt at the less-than-nice thought, as she was grateful for the interjection. "You just wish Damo would even glance your way."

"Shut up," Amelia snapped back, pulling a face.

They were interrupted by a loud growl of a noise that echoed throughout the gymnasium; a deep guttural vibration filled the air with its continuous drone. It was a haunting, resonating sound and Hermione could feel the rumble in her bones. The noises suddenly jumped in pitch and the laughter of a Kookaburra boomed, causing a small smile to sneak across Hermione's face. At once, she knew what the sound was. Dave, their personal trainer and boxing extraordinaire, walked slowly towards them from the entrance way. He was stripped bare, only donned in a traditional ochre-stained breechcloth. His dark skin was smeared with gritty white paint, handprints left on his legs and chest. His face was decorated with finely done dots, across the bridge of his nose and encircling his eyes. He was carrying a long length of circular hollowed out eucalyptus wood, his mouth pressed against the upper opening, his cheeks expanded as he breathed in more air to push through and make the throaty sound. The sound cut off abruptly and he stood there, staring at them through his dark eyes. He spoke in a low tone, his voice barely audible, but melodic all the same. Hermione couldn't understand what he was saying as he was speaking in his native tongue, Woiwurrung. She felt moved by his words, even without being able to know what he was saying. It felt powerful, and she could feel the magic flow through her veins more actively with every beat of her heart. All of a sudden, the remainder of her fatigue disappeared, and she felt invigorated, ready to take on anything.

"Good morning Candidates," Dave finally greeted in English. "Welcome to the last phase of your training. If you thought training had been hard so far, the next two weeks will be worse. We're moving from physical training to incorporate your magical training. I have invoked the ancient protection of my ancestors who will guide us through this next stage of the journey. Are you ready?"

He waited for the apprehensive, yet affirmative murmur to go through the group and then motioned to a door at the back of the gym. "Then please, go through that door to await your next instruction."

The fifteen candidates moved as one, Hermione at the back of the group, and Dave took a step forward as she passed him to place a hand on her arm and stop her. She glanced up at him, curious.