Dumbledore's Apprentice

Chapter 4

Splash!

Harry awoke suddenly, his face and clothes entirely soaked with water. Confused and extremely annoyed, he sat up quickly and pointed his wand at a figure standing beside the bed.

"Morning, Potter. It's about time you got up. We've got lots to do," growled the figure next to him.

Harry rubbed the water out of his eyes. Next to the bed stood Alastor Moody with a sick grin on his face.

"Ugh," Harry moaned. He turned and looked out the window. "It's still dark out," he complained. "What time is it?"

"Time to start your training," Moody said. "Albus told me to not cut you any slack. I am more than happy to oblige."

Harry groaned again and fell back into his bed. No sooner had his head hit the pillow than he was once again blasted by a stream of water.

Jumping out of bed, he saw Moody had his wand extended. drops of water still dripping from it. Shaking his head in annoyance, he stood up and looked at Moody.

"What do you want me to do, sir?" he growled.

"Put on some athletic shorts, a shirt, and some running shoes, then meet me in the common room. You have 2 minutes!" he ordered.

Hurriedly, Harry ran to his trunk and put on his clothes and hustled down to the common room.

"You made it by 2 seconds," Moody said when he arrived. "Very close. You don't want to know what happens when you're late," he said menacingly. "Follow me."

Without any explanation, he turned and walked out of the common room. Shaking his head in exasperation, Harry followed him. They descended Gryffindor Tower and walked through the main courtyard until they were standing in front of the Black Lake.

"I want two laps around the lake, as fast as you can. And I will know if you're giving less than 100%," Moody said suddenly. "Go!"

Harry hesitated, not wanting to run such a long distance. Suddenly, he jumped in pain as he was hit in the butt by a stinging hex. Needing no more encouragement, he took off at a fast jog.

As he circled the lake for the first time, he felt pretty well. He was breathing steadily but was maintaining a relatively fast pace. However, as he finished the first lap, he began to cramp up. Consequently, he began to slow down. As he passed Moody, however, he was hit with several more stinging hexes.

"No slowing down!" shouted Moody. With a grimace, Harry sped back up to his previous pace. The next several minutes were very painful for Harry, as he struggled to make it around the lake for a second time. Finally, he reached the end of the run. He collapsed to his knees near Moody, struggling for breath.

"Too slow!" exclaimed Moody. "How do you expect to defeat Voldemort if you can barely run around the lake twice?" he taunted. Harry did not take the bait though. He was too exhausted.

"On your hands and knees," shouted Moody once more. He reminded Harry of a drill sergeant in a Muggle military.

Groaning, Harry got on his hands and knees.

"Start doing pushups!" Moody ordered.

"How many?" Harry asked.

"Until you can't do any more," said Moody simply.

Groaning, Harry began his set of pushups. Even with his Quidditch training, it was difficult. After about 30 pushups, his arms began to shake. Several pushups later, his arms gave out, and he fell to the ground. He just lay there, too tired to get up.