Chapter 10

It had been a week since Snape's rescue, and that day, he was back to teaching again. As it was Monday, Harry had double Potions with him. Snape stormed in the classroom, his robes billowing after him, his back staight and chin raised in a dignified way. He was walking with a slight limp and his right hand was in his pocket to cover the bandages. The scars were no longer visible on his face, and his snarl was on his face again.

"Today, you'll be working on an Invigoration Draught. It is a potion used to energise the drinker," he tapped the black board with his left hand, and the ingredients appeared, "Get to work!" He snarled, and everyone went to collect the ingredients.

Harry was watching him for a few minutes and found that, though Snape was healed, he was still not the same. He was sitting most of the time and he kept his right hand in his pocket. After the bell rang, he stood up and said,

"Fill the vials with you concotions, and leave them on my desk."

Harry's potion was nearly perfect and he was satisfied with it. However, Ron's was a bright shade of blue instead of dark green.

"Weasley, can you not read? Can't you see that you should have stirred it five times counterclockwise?" Snape said and Ron's ears were red with anger and his jaw was set, "Get out, everyone. The break had already started."

Harry grabbed Ron's arm and they went to the Great Hall for lunch.

"I can't believe the git," said Ron, "My potion wasn't that far from good."

Harry nodded approvingly, but inside his head he was thinking on something else. He would be having training that day with Snape. He didn't know if Snape was well enough to duel.

-----

It was half past six when Harry left the Common Room. Snape was not in the Room of Requirements yet, so Harry thought he would limber up before dueling.

He took his robes off so that he was in a shirt and pants. He put his wand down and walked over to the middle of the big room. The floor grumbled beneath him and stone statues appeared around him in a circle.

The one in front of him raised it's arm high, and when it dropped, the others ran towards Harry. Seemed like it was a sign for them to fight him. Well, the Room of Requirements always had surprises.

They almost reached Harry, so he held up his hand and started to cast spells.

"Impedimenta!" A statue stopped.

"Expluso!" Another exploded.

"Alerte Ascendre!" This one shot high into the air and landed with a crack.

"Reducto!" Harry's new target became nothing more than ash in the blinking of the eye.

He continued this for a while because he had half an hour till Snape would come there. He didn't notice how fast time seemed to fly.

-----

Severus reached the seventh floor two minutes after seven. It wasn't like him, but his leg still hasn't healed fully and he was limping.

When he got in the room, he stopped in his tracks, because Potter was in the middle of a fight with at least two dozen sculptures running toward him, and almost thirty other statues were lying on the floor; headless, bound, or in flames. Potter was casting the spells non-stop, and Severus noticed that he wasn't using a wand. And neither was he saying the incantations.

Severus was watching him the whole time, and after twenty minutes, all statues were on the floor and Potter was panting heavily. He turned and came to a halt when he saw Severus.

"Potter," Severus greeted him.

"Professor. I'm sorry, I was early so I just thought I would -"

"Don't apologize, Potter, I expect to see you to do equally good when duelling me."

Potter stared at him and nodded.

"Can we start?" Severus asked him.

"Of course, sir," he waved his hand and the ashes and bits of the stone sculptures vanished. Severus was satisfied that he had developed so much, but of course he didn't mention it.

"Neither of us will have our wands with us today. And you may do the same you just did. Wandless and non-verbal magic at the same time, I mean."

They duelled for more than two hours and Severus's leg was aching so bad he told Potter their training was over. After he exited the room, it changed and Severus slumped in a newly conjured armchair. A bottle of Firewhiskey with a glass and a potion appeared next to him. He stayed for ten more minutes before returning to his chambers.