The group of students standing around them watched with varying degrees of shock and admiration. Never before had they seen anything like this. For five whole minutes Harry continued to maneuver within the circle avoiding Blaise's spells. Eventually he called for Blaise to stop. Panting slightly from effort, Harry took a moment to collect his breath before addressing the class.
He wiped off the sweat dripping down his face and spoke up. "That is how you dodge spells. You'll find that it is much easier to cast a stinging hex in rapid succession than it would be to cast a stronger curse or hex, so if you can get to a level where you are able to dodge a series of stinging hexes, then you shouldn't have any trouble dodging any Unforgivables should the need arise.
"I don't expect you all to be able to dodge every single hex that comes your way today, but I do expect you all to put in some effort in doing so. And I expect you all to make your partners work as well. This isn't some game. This is war and must be taken seriously. I'm here to help you survive this thing. Now everyone get back to your circles and let's try this again."
Harry wasn't completely satisfied with this next round, but they were getting better. Each partner continued alternating between casting and dodging for the rest of the class. The results were less than spectacular, and he still suspected many people of holding back, but he was content with the progress they had made for now. Before long, their time was up, and he called a halt to the proceedings.
"You're getting better, but you still need a lot of work. We will spend a little bit of time during each lesson working on this, so I expect you all to come prepared for a little action. Next week we will work mostly on dueling tactics. Before I begin introducing new spells, I want you all capable of dueling competently; otherwise, the spells won't do you any good. You're all dismissed."
The students began drifting out of the room, many muttering to each other grumpily. His five best friends, those that accompanied him to the DoM last June, all remained behind. Thankfully, Cho did not linger to speak with him this time. It wasn't that he disliked Cho, but she made him a little uncomfortable. Not only was she his first real crush last year, but their relationship, if you can call it that, had failed spectacularly. He felt nothing for her now, but she seemed to still want to flirt with him. And she had a new boyfriend already, too. She shouldn't be flirting with Harry when she has a boyfriend, and Harry just didn't know how to respond to it all.
His five friends were all huddled together speaking amongst themselves. Ginny and Neville were a little flushed but looked pleased. Luna looked as dreamy as always. Hermione looked tired but otherwise unreadable, and Ron appeared to still be grumpy, probably still itching to argue with Hermione about Krum. He never did know when to quit.
Harry approached the group as the last of the students was leaving and asked, "So what did you think?"
"You were amazing," Ginny piped up.
"Yeah, I don't know where you learned to move like that, but you've definitely given us something to think about. Did Blaise even hit you at all?" Neville asked.
"No, I don't believe he did. You have to remember that I've been doing daily physical training since the beginning of summer: running, working out, and working on agility. It takes a lot of time and effort to get to this point," Harry explained.
"Well all your training definitely shows," Hermione contributed. She blushed as she realized the double meaning to her statement.
Harry laughed at her discomfort, as did Neville and Ginny. Harry wasn't sure if Luna was even paying attention, and Ron was trying to ignore Hermione at the moment. "Well, thank you Hermione.
They began drifting toward the door at that point. Luna parted ways with the group, and they continued on to Gryffindor Tower. The rest of the day was spent around games of exploding snap and wizard's chess, sitting in front of the fire chatting, and finishing up some last minute assignments as another week of classes approached.
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