Chapter 100, baby – we've got ourselves a magical number! How cool is that? What do you guys think?
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A small swimming pool had appeared in the Room of Requirement today. I had a strong suspicion that Agnes was the one who had opened our training room, as its design reminded me of the pools from promotional ads for Alpine hotels. Either way, we trained hard regardless.
"Chest all the way to the floor, Draco." I flashed him a smirk, lowered myself until my chest touched the floor, and watched him from the top position.
Draco replicated my push-up perfectly. His chest touched the cold floor, and he pushed back up to the top position.
My left arm was locked out, and I extended my right arm out in front of me, clenching it into a fist.
Draco trembled slightly, but maintained his balance. We bumped fists and went straight into the next repetition together. Chest to the floor, followed by a fist bump, this time with the opposite hand. And again.
After a few reps he was trembling heavily, but he had no intention of giving up. My motivational smirk helped, along with my words, of course.
"Don't be a pussy, Draco, put in the work!"
A girl's giggle and the guys' laughter echoed a short distance away from us. I doubted Draco even heard them, though, because he was breathing heavily like a draft horse. His whole face was red from exertion, his hands were shaking, and he was biting his lower lip. But he kept going.
He did another push-up, we bumped fists, and went again.
I was genuinely surprised by his performance. While I was aided by ritualistic regeneration, he was powered by sheer fucking willpower. Of course, I had been doing physical training considerably longer than he had... but still. The guy was a beast.
Agnes had her own girls' workout session. Even though she could handle full push-ups, she did fewer reps, so I figured it would be better for her to do more controlled knee push-ups with an emphasis on technique. On top of that, she threw in planks and squats. Besides us, she was the only one going all out with the training.
Augustus was enjoying his Dark Arts practice on dummies that were quite luxurious—regenerating after every hit. However, he had absolutely no desire for physical conditioning.
Ever since our duel, Alexander had been working on his Transfiguration with serious determination. He sped up his singular Transfiguration while also working quite successfully on new plural Transfigurations. It seemed he had taken my feedback to heart.
Tobias, naturally, was chilling in an armchair with a book. Physical training and running were definitely not his thing. Maybe if I promised him some fancy sausages, but I preferred not to even try. Everyone knew how rare healers were in a party or raid, so I didn't push it. If needed, he'd be in the back patching us up anyway.
And then there was Theodore. He joined every morning run, but avoided strength training like the plague. As a result, he was long as a week before payday and a bit scrawny. But I didn't really care.
He'd be the one in trouble if he ever got into a physical confrontation without the ability to use magic. Though I didn't blame him. Physical training was pretty painful.
"Time for squats, Draco," I announced to my collapsed cousin on the floor right in front of me.
He moved his blonde head to signal he heard me, and slowly, shakily began rising to his feet. We were giving our nervous systems a real beating.
Practiced by now, we stood opposite each other with arms extended forward so we could high-five without getting in each other's way. This wasn't our first time doing this.
"Ready?" I asked with a smile.
Both of us were dripping with sweat. Draco returned the smile and nodded.
"Ass to the grass, Patrik," he gritted out with a grin and immediately squatted down.
With a smirk, I followed. We paused in the deep squat for a fraction of a second and stood up together with a nod.
We high-fived with our right hands and went right back down, ass to the floor.
My cousin absorbed everything I taught him like a sponge. His squat technique was great. Feet shoulder-width apart, feet planted firmly on the ground, toes slightly pointed outward, and back straight. He didn't bounce off the bottom, but paused, exactly as I had taught him. His breathing was right, too.
The first time I taught him to squat, he had major issues with balance and tight tendons. But now?
Like a pro.
I was proud.
Since we were young, strong, and light, we did only 300 bodyweight squats with breaks between sets, which was practically nothing considering someone like Mike Tyson used to do 2,000 bodyweight squats a day.
However, we did them fast and dynamically, exaggerating each squat to engage the muscles better.
"Sparring?" Draco cleared his throat and took a deep gulp of water immediately after.
"Yeah. Warm up your shoulders and elbows a bit more," I nodded.
Even though we were already warmed up from the workout and our joints and tendons were engaged, it was better to play it safe than risk an unnecessary injury during sparring.
He started circling his arms forward and backward. I diligently counted the seconds through my inhalations and exhalations, then swung my elbows.
With a quick Verto, I turned the coins from the table into two sets of gloves. Mine, of course, were black, while I transfigured white ones for Draco.
"Weight feels right," I told Draco as I hefted both pairs of gloves. They felt like 16 oz, just right for training.
Transfiguration changed an object's exterior, but its interior remained "hollow." So I had to make them heavier with magic, delicately enough so both pairs weighed the same.
That was the interesting thing about Transfiguration. It wasn't as simple as turning a matchstick into an elephant. If someone did that without filling the entire volume with magic to increase its mass, the result would basically be a floating, featherlight elephant.
And naturally, the more weight you had to fill, the higher the magical demand. That's why it was easier to conjure a pack of wolves in a duel than, say, a few multi-ton dinosaurs. Without sufficient weight, they simply lacked the power to be useful.
But twenty to thirty kilograms for a singular Transfiguration? A walk in the park.
"Ready for this?" I asked Draco, who was bouncing lightly on his toes in his stance.
He nodded determinedly, bumped his gloves together, and stepped toward me.
He opened straight with a lead jab, followed immediately by a right low kick. I didn't need to do anything against the punch—it was out of range—so I calmly stepped forward and drew my left leg back slightly, dodging the low kick.
"Don't be afraid, Draco, you need to get closer," I said calmly. "You can't reach me from that far."
I closed the distance myself and threw a quick jab that lightly bumped against his guard. He was determined, but his guard was stiff and rigid. Still keeping his hands by his forehead, he threw a short, quick kick, which I easily checked with my shin.
Draco hissed in pain as our shins collided.
While I had long been accustomed to the pain, he still wasn't, and that was holding him back. Whether darting in, throwing a kick, or throwing a combination... he was simply afraid of pain, so he executed every combination half-heartedly.
And I, like a proper cousin, was enjoying every second of it.
A light lead jab into his guard, a hard right to the body that made him exhale sharply, and a crisp, fast left low kick to his lead leg. It was pretty funny how he hissed like a snake with every hit.
I spared his face, but worked his body and legs thoroughly. All in good fun, of course. I could knock him out whenever I wanted. And pain is the best teacher.
On the next strike to the body, frustration got the better of him and he dropped his guard. He threw another left jab, stepped to the side, and threw a right roundhouse kick. I caught it with my left arm, pulled him close, and with a smirk, swept his left leg out.
He hit the ground with a slap. Naturally, the floor was enchanted and soft. I was a good cousin, after all.
"Get up, Draco," I smirked.
"You're a real bastard, Patrik," he gasped out, starting to pull himself up.
"Hard in training, easy in battle," I replied with a chuckle, waving my gloved hand at him. "We're not done yet."
So we continued sparring. By the end, he had almost completely stopped blinking before punches, threw more combinations, set them up better, attempted angle attacks more frequently, and telegraphed his movements much less. It was fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I was grateful for Draco. At least he wasn't a slacker.
While Draco and I were finishing up our session, the others were already in the newly added pool. They were chatting calmly, laughing, watching us with smiles, and enjoying the relaxed vibe. When Agnes noticed me looking, she spoke up.
"Come join us, the water is great!" she called out to us with a smile.
The other guys in the pool burst out laughing at her words.
"We're coming," I nodded, turning to Draco. "Pool or keep going?"
Instead of an answer, he ripped off his gloves, grabbed his wand from the table, and instantly cleansed the sweat and dirt off himself. In a flash, he transfigured his clothes into swim trunks and sprinted toward the pool, diving in with a yell.
"Great answer..." I muttered under my breath, shrugged, grabbed my wand from the table, and cleaned myself up as well.
"Verto!"
My clothes turned into modern athletic swim trunks, and I headed over to them.
I dipped my left toe in to check the temperature. I expected pleasantly warm water, but it was absolutely ice-cold.
I yanked my foot back instantly and shook my head. Ice-cold water was not for me.
"I'd rather wait in an armchair," I told the others, who were smirking up at me from the water.
Now I knew why the guys had laughed when Agnes said the water was great.
"Aw, Patrik... don't tell me you're scared of the water?" Augustus chimed in.
"Looks like it," Draco added with a wide grin.
"I am utterly shocked!" Theodore laughed.
Agnes faked a cough.
"Patrik is a pussy."
The guys burst into laughter, and I sighed.
"I just don't like ice-cold water... Why couldn't it be warm?!" I smiled ruefully, my shoulders slumping.
Agnes coughed again.
"Pussy."
I sighed once more, stepped back from the pool, and at Agnes's next cough, threw myself into the water.
The water was fucking freezing. The moment I hit it, my whole body shuddered as if electricity had shot through me. I felt thousands of tiny needles on my skin, and my heart started beating wildly.
Kicking my legs hard, I surged up to the surface.
And then I let out an euphoric laugh.
I felt fucking great.
"Not a pussy," I smirked at the others as soon as I stopped laughing.
Agnes gave me a pleased smile, the others smirked, and we all chilled in the icy pool.
"...great ass," Alexander whispered to Augustus.
"Who has a great ass?" I asked curiously.
"Gemma," he replied calmly.
"Farley?"
"She really does," Theo chimed in. "Too bad she usually wears robes."
"A terrible shame," I agreed with a smirk.
Agnes snorted. I looked at her, amused, but she frowned at me, shrugged her shoulders, and asked:
"What did that Ravenclaw girl want from you in the library, anyway?"
"Sally-Anne Perks?"
Agnes nodded.
"We just said hello. Nothing interesting."
"Didn't look like nothing interesting," she retorted, raising an eyebrow.
I decided to change the subject.
"Looking forward to the tournament?"
"Of course. I'm going to wipe that arrogant smile off your face, Patrik," Augustus declared with a smirk.
"Patrik doesn't have an arrogant smile," Agnes objected, frowning at him.
We all looked at her. Even me. Every single one of us had our eyebrows raised suspiciously high.
Agnes only realized it a second later.
"Just... a little bit," she muttered, her cheeks suddenly flushing red.
I smirked while the others burst out laughing.
Augustus just shook his head in disbelief.
"Rosier is arrogance personified," he declared.
"Whoa there, Augustus. I'm actually a modest guy..." I shook my head with a smile. "That arrogance is pragmatically calculated."
Rookwood raised an eyebrow, so I continued.
"Seriously." I nodded. "You take my arrogance to mean that I think I'm the most powerful, invincible, smartest, and a thousand other superlatives."
I shook my head.
"The truth is, I realize I'm not the most powerful person in the world. Nor the smartest. Nor any of those other superlatives. But when I enter a duel, I enter knowing that I could lose. And that loss is acceptable to me."
I paused for a moment.
"That's why I have this arrogant smile. Because even if I lose, I practically win... unless I die, of course."
"Of course," Augustus noted dryly, his eyebrow still raised high.
"Seriously. If I lose, I gain experience. If I win, I gain experience. And even if I were to die... everyone dies eventually." I shrugged. "I understand the consequences, and even the negative ones are acceptable to me. So my arrogance is pragmatically calculated."
And that was especially true when it only concerned me.
Even if I had to fight Dumbledore, Voldemort, or anyone else right now, as long as Vespera was safe, the absolute worst-case scenario would be my death.
And that was acceptable.
Of course, I didn't want to die. Nor did I plan to.
"You're a weird fucking bastard, Patrik," he shook his head, though with a smile.
I returned his smile. This time, however, I stretched it out unnaturally just for fun.
When a flicker of worry appeared in his eyes, I struck.
While smiling, I pushed my magic into the pool's water. Using it, I pulled him under by his legs with ease.
The only thing he managed to do was yell out.
I didn't hold him under for long. By the time he surfaced, sputtering water, the rest of us were just finishing up laughing.
"I'm no bastard, Augustus," I smirked, then glanced around at the others.
"If you pull me under and get my hair wet, I'm burning off your eyebrows, Patrik," Agnes growled at me threateningly, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Pull her under, Patrik," Draco laughed.
I was pretty sure he wanted to see me eyebrow-less, so with a smirk, I leaned back against the pool wall instead.
With my eyes closed, of course.
I flexed my willpower, and after a moment, Draco started sputtering water too, while Agnes joined in laughing with the rest.
"Did you all enter the mixed tournament?" Alexander asked with a smile.
Alexander Mulciber was genuinely a good guy. He was kind, friendly, wished everyone well, and never seemed to have a bad word to say about anyone. It was strange, considering how dark his family was.
"Not me," Tobias chimed in.
Draco, Agnes, Theo, Augustus, and I nodded. We were more interested in fighting and gaining experience, though I'd had to coax Draco a bit. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight; he was just a bit self-conscious. And knowing he didn't stand much of a chance against the rest of us, he originally hadn't planned to sign up.
"I heard Potter signed up too," Draco smirked.
"So did your Granger," Theo shot back with a smirk.
"What do you mean, my Granger?" Draco protested.
Theo just shrugged and didn't answer.
"What do you mean, MY Granger?!" Draco blurted out again.
We smirked in amusement while a blushing Draco sputtered nervously.
After a moment, things settled down, and Alexander spoke.
"Firewhisky would go great with water like this."
"Mhm, it'd warm us right up," Augustus agreed.
"I've never had Firewhisky before," Agnes chimed in.
"And you won't for a long time," I declared seriously. "Don't corrupt my classmates, guys... but if you do bring whisky, I'll take a beer."
"And you're allowed to?" Agnes protested.
"Of course," I replied with a smirk.
Agnes was already opening her mouth, something sharp primed on her tongue, so with a laugh, I yanked her under the water.
"You're losing those eyebrows," Draco laughed, and the others joined in.
When Agnes surfaced with fire in her eyes, sputtering water, I just shrugged.
It was totally worth it.
***
Author's note:
And that's how our gang trains in the Room of Requirement! How did you guys like it? "Ass to grass" and "train hard, fight easy."
That's so me... People have called me arrogant since I was young. I guess that's what happens when you write a self-insert.
Our Agnes is picking up only the bad habits. Did you guys expect her to call our MC a pussy?
I had a blast writing this chapter! Which part did you enjoy the most?
Fun fact: Yesterday, my girlfriend and I were doing squats in the garden and high-fiving after every single rep, just like our MC and Draco.
***
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The shadows are shifting, and the story goes much deeper... If you can't wait for the next update, Advanced Chapters are already waiting for you.
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Upcoming Chapters – Already Written(15):
100. Calculated Arrogance
101. GW: A Cunning Kind of Courage
102. GW2: My Best Friend
103. Pride Before the Haircut
104. Fire and Thunder
105. Better to Be Feared
106. A Serial Killer Under the Bed
107. The Legacy of Rookwood Castle
108. Worse Than Horcruxes
109. Cleansed by Fire
110. Running Dead
111. I'm Dying
112. AM: Everything We Had Left
113. Still Breathing
114. The Headmaster Is Expecting You
115. The Silver Hand
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