American Royalty

Part 19: We finally convince the wizards

Thalia and Annabeth stood in the training arena, waiting for Harry to arrive. He was late, again. Over the past 5 weeks the Demigods had taken turns training Harry with different skills. Today was no different, only Harry needed to show up for them to actually train him.

When Harry finally arrived, he looked a little nervous but determined. Thalia and Annabeth greeted him and began the training session.

"Today, we're going to focus on two important skills," Annabeth explained. "Hand-to-hand combat and Occlumency. Both are crucial for any wizard and esspecially for you seeing as you have a massive target painted on your back."

Thalia stepped forward. "Let's start with hand-to-hand combat. The key is to be quick and agile. You want to anticipate your opponent's moves and react accordingly. Watch."

Thalia demonstrated a series of quick, fluid movements, dodging imaginary attacks and delivering swift counterstrikes. Harry watched intently, trying to memorize her every move.

"Now you try," Thalia said, stepping back to give him room.

Harry took a deep breath and started to mimic Thalia's movements. At first, he was a little clumsy, but with practice, he began to improve. Thalia and Annabeth offered tips and encouragement, helping him refine his technique.

After a while, they moved on to Occlumency. Annabeth explained the basics of shielding your mind from intrusion, focusing on clearing your thoughts and emotions while creating an imaginary barrier to ward off intrusion.

"It's not easy," Annabeth warned. "But with practice, you can learn to control what others see and hear in your mind."

She guided Harry through a series of exercises, helping him strengthen his mental defenses. Harry found it challenging, but he was determined to master the skill.

As the training session drew to a close, Thalia and Annabeth congratulated Harry for his hard work and dedication.

"You're making great progress," Thalia said, clapping him on the back. "Just keep practicing, and you'll get even better."

Harry thanked them both, feeling grateful for their guidance. He knew that with Thalia and Annabeth's help, he would become a skilled wizard, even defeat Voldemort.

As they left the training arena, Harry felt a newfound sense of confidence. He knew that he still had a lot to learn, but with the Royals by his side, he was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead, a war brewing, that he needed to be ready for.

"How'd it go?" Hermione asked as Harry entered through the portrait hole.

"Better, I guess," Harry said sitting next to Ron.

"What do they teach you exactly?" Ron asked in a quite snarky tone

"All sorts really, stuff I'm not learning thanks to Umbridge," Harry replied taking out his homework. 

Ron grunted in response. He was still kinda put out that they weren't going to fight alongside us in the upcoming war.

"Look Ron, I don't trust them fully, I don't understand why they're so secretive, but we can't make an enemy out of them, have you sensed anything when you stand next to any of the princes or princesses?" Hermione asked shutting her book

Harry nodded, and after some thought so did Ron. Whenever they were around any of the princes or princesses, they felt power, pure power radiating off them. Whenever Harry dared look any of them dead in the eye there was always something hidden, a cold hardness that Harry couldn't fully understand. A hardness that came from witnessing death and possibly, far more. There was something rough around the edges of the Royals, something you didnt want to get caught on. 

"Look I don't completely trust them, but we can't keep making an enemy out of them," Hermione said looking at Ron.

She was right of course, ever since the Royals had arrived, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been nothing but rude. They needed a change of attitude. 

"Look I was just thinking..." Hermione trailed off looking at someone behind Harry. 

Harry turned to see Jamie and Thalia walking through the door that Harry assumed led to their living area, both were talking in hushed tones and walking at quite a brisk pace. They disappeared through the door and Harry turned back to Ron and Hermione. 

"What do you think that was about?" Harry asked

"No idea, but look- they haven't shut the door properly," Hermione said standing up, homework forgotten, Harry and Ron followed. 

Slowly the door creaked open and the three wizards found themselves in a short corridor. They could hear voices coming from the door up ahead so they were careful not to make any noise. Edging forward, Harry pressed his ear to the door trying to hear what they were saying. 

"How'd it happen?" Jamie asked, she sounded incredibly concerned. 

Another voice responded that Harry recognized as Valeries, "Umbridge, she kept going on about mud- well you know, she triggered it, right in the middle of class as well," 

"Is he going to be ok?" Jamie's voice asked, 

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad, he should wake up in the next hour or so," Will's voice responded. 

"Don't say anything else," Another voice Harry recognized as Katherine. 

There were footsteps and before any of them could respond the door swung open to reveal Clarrise. She scowled disapprovingly before hauling us all to our feet and dragging us into the room. 

"You know it's not polite to spy," Annabeth spoke up from a couch, Perseus sat next to her, arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder. 

"Sorry-" Harry managed to stutter out. The amount of glares that were being sent their way was scary. Only now was Harry able to look around the room properly. Katherine stood leaning against a door frame that led to what looked like a bedroom. Harry wasn't a hundred percent sure but he thought he saw an asleep Nico on the king bed in the room behind her. It was slightly odd to Harry though, it was only 7 pm, dinner hadn't even finished yet. Will appeared behind Katherine, whispered in her ear, and shut the door and the two joined the others on the couches. 

"We were just curious," Hermione began to talk but was  cut off by Jason. 

"We know you're curious, that doesn't mean you get to come snoop,"

The three looked at the ground, no one wanted to make eye contact.

Will let out a sigh, "How much did you hear,"

"The what happened and the is he going to be ok part," Ron muttered

Silence, neither groups spoke, tension was thick. No one spoke for a good 2 minutes.

Eventually, Reyna stood up, "Right, lets set somethings straight, you need to quite snooping, it's rude and an invasion of our privacy, secondly-"

She was cut off by Harry, "We trust you,"

All heads snapped in their direction, a few eyebrows were raised.

"We trust you," Harry repeated, he wasn't a hundred percent sure why he said it, but he knew deep down that these weren't bad people.

Annabeth spoke up, "We've been through our fair share of battles and betrayals," she says softly. "But if you're willing to trust us, we're willing to do the same." Harry nodded, a sense of relief washing over him. From that moment on, a new alliance is formed, one that will prove to be crucial in the challenges that lie ahead.