Little Phoenix (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

60. Escape

The next month passed in a blur of training. Nic had fallen into a kind of routine schedule. She did spells with Moody, Dumbledore, McGonagall, or Occlumency with Snape. After lunch, she would study and have to write an essay relating to what she had studied that day. The first change in this came the first Saturday of the term. Nic had just come back from Quidditch, which she still didn't understand why she was still doing, when she was met by a man she didn't recognize.

"Who are you?" Nic snapped, crossing her arms.

"Calm yourself, doll," the man replied with a small chuckle. "Moody's an old friend of mine. He asked me to come by. Said you needed training."

"What kind?" she asked.

"I used to be a trainer for the Ministry," he explained. "I teach the defense course for aurors. We make them take coursed on how to fight, without wands."

"Oh boy," Nic sighed. "Okay, let's go."

"Easy, we need to build some muscle on you first," he replied. "I'm Romulus."

"Nic," she replied, shaking his hand. "So this is why I'm still doing Quidditch."

"What position you play?" Romulus asked.

"Chaser," she explained.

"So, let's start," Romulus began, clapping his hands together. "I'm giving you some stuff to do daily. I'll be back next Saturday. So let's go through these." An hour later, Nic knew everything she was to do. It was hard, but her desire to fight Voldemort was getting her through. Two days later, Nic was working out when Moody stepped into the room.

"You need to see this," he growled.

"What is it?" Nic asked, setting aside the weights she'd been using and sitting up. He handed her a newspaper.

"They escaped last night," Moody explained. "Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, and some others...including Bellatrix Lestrange."

"You're kidding," Nic snapped, looking at the moving picture. Scoffing, she shoved the paper back in Moody's hands and continued working out, anger now driving her actions. When she dueled Moody a little later, she didn't think, she merely flung spell after spell at him, most of them nonverbal spells. The news of the breakout added a new fuel to her work so that she improved at at least twice the rate she had before, apart from Occlumency. Her emotions made it harder, as Snape constantly reminded her.

It was an exciting evening when she finally managed it. She threw off Snape and he didn't even see a thing. They kept at it the rest of the day until she did so effortlessly. "I dare say, Potter," Snape drawled, "if only your brother could improve so much. A few more lessons and I should expect you won't have any trouble fending off anyone. No essay for today, I think.

Nic was training with Romulus in sparing when Moody called, "Someone here to see you."

"Send them in!" she called back, not letting up on him.

"So this is what you've been up to?" Harry asked. Nic was momentarily distracted, giving Romulus the opportunity to aim a punch to her jaw.

"Awh!" she cried, clutching her jaw gently. "Bloody hell, Romulus." Wipping her forehead with a towel, Nic asked, "What's up, Harry?"

"McGonagall said I could come and see you," Harry replied. "What are you doing?"

Glancing cautiously at Romulus, Nic replied, "Stuff."

"Nic, I have another appointment in an hour and we need to get this down," Romulus said.

With a sigh, Nic asked, "Harry, would you mind waiting? I promise I'll be able to talk after that. It's my lunch break."

"Actually, I have Quidditch practice," Harry replied stiffly. "I'll come by another time." Nic sighed as he left before turning back to face Romulus.

"Let's go," Nic said, raising her hands.

"So," Romulus said as he blocked a punch from Nic. "I've watched the way you fight. Something is driving you in a way I've only seen with a few people. What is it?"

"What do you care?" Nic retorted, dodging a kick.

"I like to understand those I work with," Romulus explained gruffly.

"The woman who tried to kill me when I was a child just escaped from Azkaban," Nic snapped, jumping into the air with a jump kick.

"Vengeance?" Romulus retorted, catching her wrist as a block. "I wouldn't have thought you the type."

"You don't know me," Nic hissed, ripping her wrist away from his grip.

"You're right, I don't," Romulus retorted as they kept sparing. "But I can guess. You're always talking about training and research and essays. You're clearly getting ready for something. Moody is tight with Dumbledore and Dumbledore's the one who keeps saying You-Know-Who's back. So you're getting ready to fight him." Nic faltered and was hit back, panting.

"What?" she panted, trying to hide the truth.

"Don't bother hiding it," Romulus replied, stepping towards her. "No fifth year goes this far with their learning. No one. Look, I can help you more if I know exactly what I'm trying to train you for."

He reached a hand out to help her up as she retorted, "You can already tell that this is secret. I can't tell you anything."

"Your Moody is showing," Romulus chuckled, pulling her up. "Look, I'm going to shift your training a little bit. I've been training you on the basics, a little less than I do for the wannabe aurors, but I'm going to train you so that you could fight off a wizard without a wand, with some luck."

"Okay," Nic replied. "I'll take that."

"So that means I'm upping everything," Romulus added.

"Good," Nic replied. "Well, you should probably go for your appointment thing."

"Right," he said. "See you next week, Nic." February blended into March and Nic began to see a noticeable change. She began to look quite built and her spell casting was getting better and better each time. Moody and the others began having to actually duel her when they fought. Romulus had said she improved tremendously and she quickly became the best player on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.