Harry Potter, Sovereign - Chapter 36

One of his goal was to be able to, by the end of the school year, cast spell without both incantation and wand movement. It was a skill called point cast, that was only taugh to NEWT DADA students, or acquired beyond school.

He got fairly confident in being able to achieve that goal. He noticed that channeling magic for spell casting had become easier compared to a few days prior. He guessed it was due to his trance. He was also more in control of his body when performing wand movements, seamless and precise. Finally, he used slightly less magic for the same effect, meaning he had become more efficient in magic expenditure.

These improvements put him in a fairly good mood, and trained with much more vigor. At lunch, the girls could tell that he was more spirited than usual after training. While intrigued, they didn’t ask for details. Another reason they didn’t ask anything was that he had worked an appetite, and was too concentrated on the food.

His afternoon with Xuanzang started with a jog to the waterfall. The best part of afternoon, as she ran ahead of him to set the pace. She wore yoga pants with a thong, and Harry shamelessly admired her bouncing round apple b.u.t.t.

Once there, he related his meditation experience to her. As she listened to him, her eyes widened in surprise and wonder.

“So” Harry said as he finished his tale. “What can you tell me about what happened?”

“Harry, in the buddhist teachings, our goal is to achieve enlightment, inner peace and wisdom.” She paused, putting more weight on her following sentence. “You have made the first step toward that goal, by getting in tune with yourself. Body, mind and magic in harmony” she finished with a hint of awe.

“It’s also a state martial artists seek to achieve, with spirit instead of magic. It usually take years to reach that level” she added wryly. “Only the most prodigious of people can do that in less than a year. And you did it with less than a month of training” she finished with the most serious and penetrative gaze he had ever seen on her face.

He blinked and slightly backed away, a little unerved by her intense gaze.

“While you have some talent, I certainly wouldn’t call you a genius or prodigy. I believe the Dream Cycle, and our link to you, had a part in that” she said, her gaze turning curious and contemplating, then she closed her eyes and slowly shook her head.”So, don’t let what I told you give you a big head. You still have a long way to go.”

“Don’t worry, I expected that” he replied with a small smile.

“But it doesn’t change the fact that it really is good news” she added with a big smile.

“Good. So, what now?”

“Now? I can advance your training” she happily answered. “You have reached a stage where you no longer need my oversight to meditate and breath. So we can move to physical training.”

“Do I really need this physical training?”

“What do trolls, basilisks and dragons have in common?”

“… They are magic resistant” he replied after a bit of hesitation.

“Good. There are magic resistant beasts in the world that are strong, agile, and when they get near you, you usually don’t survive. You were lucky with the troll in your 1st year, the basilisk in your 2nd year, and mr Lupin in your 3rd year. You used your skills in the tournament against the dragon, but you were also on the fastest broom in the world.”

Harry nodded grimly at that. He was aware that he had escaped death by little. The dead troll found in the obstacle course was bigger and more muscular than the one encountered in the girls bathroom. The basilisk had been blinded by Fawkes, and Sirius had entercepted Remus.

“And you have yet to face vampires. Your Dark Lord had giants and werewolves allied with him during the first war. It’s known that he had tried to recruit vampires, and there is no doubts in our mind that he will try again. And this time he may very well succeed. Both vampires and werewolves are strong, fast and tough. The physical training you’re going to receive will allow you to keep up with them if you end up having to deal with one or more of them at close range.”

Harry suppressed a grimace at the mental image. He could see himself be mangled to death by someone like Greyback, who was still at large. He was a sobering example of how deadly it could be to face a werewolf in battle.

“Scathach has recently taugh you the reinforcement skill, right?” Harry nodded. “Once your basic physical training is done, I will teach you how to use it in battle to be stronger and faster. With how little time is left until September, you will have to improve on your own while you’re at Hogwarts. So, for the next week, I’ll put you through some intensive training” she finished with a bigger smile while Harry paled.

“Don’t worry, we can easily buy or brew the necessary potions to help you properlly recover from each sessions” she added while patting his head. “I will go easy on you today, but from tomorrow onward…”

Harry lowered his head with a groan. The training she inflicted on him for the following hour was worse than anything his former quidditch captain had given to the team. And that was her going easy on him. Furthermore, she stated that she had to make up for the limited amount of time they had together. At the end of the session, he just wanted to lie on the ground and forget the world.

“Dobby” the beautiful asian magus called.

“Yes miss Zangy? Yikes!! What happened to Harry Potter?”

“He’s fine, Dobby. Just tired from the training. Can you bring us a bottle of energy tonic and a pot of bazan cream please?”

“Y-yes! Dobby will be quick!”

“Don’t worry, Harry. You’ll get better soon enough.”

A grunt was the reply she received, and she stiffled a laugh.

The tonic and the cream were made for athletes. The first one worked similary to a pepper-up potion, but instead of giving a temporary burst of energy, it helped with recovery. The cream soothed muscle aches, and prevented cramps. When Dobby came back, she had him drink the foul tasting potion, then gave him a full body massage with the cream.

Soon after she started working on his battered body, he couldn’t help but m.o.a.n in relief as he fully relaxed. A few minutes later, he was napping. Xuanzang continued to gently work on his body with a small content smile on her face. Once done, she had Dobby pop him back to his bed. Just this once, she would spare him the walk back to the estate in a tired state.