Minerva and Mars

Durmstrang Library, February 28 th

"You're late, Potter," Calypso said impatiently. "I've been waiting for ten minutes."

"Sorry. Viktor had a question about revealing charms, and since we might actually have a quiz tomorrow, he wanted to make sure he understood everything."

Calypso suddenly stood up and grabbed her bag. "Let's go."

"What?" Harry asked, following the girl up from her table and out of the library. "Why can't we study in the library?"

"Did you really think we were going to work in the library? I just wanted to meet you there."

"Yes, I thought we were going to study in the library. Where else would we study?"

"Potter, I said we were going to practice, not study, and while Lady Doktor seems to like you, do you really think she'll let us cast spells around her precious books?"

"No," Harry said slowly, "but –"

"No buts," Calypso said, stopping outside a very familiar door.

"You can't be serious," Harry said in horror. "We can't practice here."

Calypso simply ignored him and pushed the door open. When she saw that Harry wasn't following her, she turned around and glared at him. "What is your problem?"

"Calypso, Grausam already hates me! If he finds out that I'm using his classroom without his permission, he'll make me duel three students instead of two."

"What a wonderful idea, Potter, but let's make it five. A little humility could do you some good." Stepping into view, the Durmstrang Dark Arts instructor sent an irritated glance at Harry before turning to glare at Calypso. "If you damage anything, not even your father will get you out of trouble. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

While Harry thought Calypso sounded nothing but respectful, something in her tone must have bothered Grausam as Harry distinctly saw the man's hand twitch towards where he kept his wand. Grausam quickly restrained himself, and, after a final look of disgust at Harry, he left the room.

"So...we can actually use the Defense room?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Yes, my father cleared it with the Highmaster."

"Wow...umm, you don't think Grausam was serious about making me duel five people, right?"

"Hard to tell," Calypso said honestly. "He was rather annoyed, and he really doesn't like you."

"Stupid blood purists," Harry muttered angrily.

"Grausam? A purist?" Calypso laughed, causing Harry to look at her in confusion. "Potter, Grausam is the only half-blood on staff. It's one of the reasons he's not very well respected."

"I don't understand then," Harry said in frustration. "Why does he hate me?"

"Is it so uncommon for someone to just not like you, Potter?"

"But he seemed to really dislike me from the moment I arrived here," Harry argued. "It doesn't make sense."

"Potter, can you honestly not think of a reason why Grausam wouldn't like you?"

When Harry just stared at her in confusion, Calypso threw her hands into the air. "Fine. Let me explain it to you, Potter. You claim that Grausam didn't like you from the moment you got to Durmstrang, right?"

"Yes, he was really rude and standoffish when I arriv–"

"Did you ever consider," Calypso interrupted, "that the reason for that wasn't because of you, but because he had to go and collect you?"

"What?"

"Potter, would the Highmaster really send one of his more favored teachers to collect a first year, who would be arriving in the middle of January? In case you haven't noticed, warming charms only work so well outside this time of year, and Grausam would have had to walk all the way from the castle because of the anti-Apparition wards. He then had to wait for you to arrive, and then walk you back to the castle through the snow. By giving Grausam that job, Karkaroff was telling him that he was the most expendable person on the staff. Hades, the Highmaster could have sent the caretaker, but he chose Grausam. How demeaning do you think it was for Grausam to be told that the Highmaster thought less of him than everyone else on staff?"

Harry couldn't help but think back to Hogwarts. Sure enough, it was Hagrid who collected the students from the train, not a professor. While Harry thought Hagrid was certainly nice, he was by no means a very high ranking member of Hogwarts' staff. From what he knew about Durmstrang, Harry had no doubts that Calypso was probably right, and the Highmaster would send someone he had little respect for to go and bring a new student to the school.

"And since everyone knows your German was crap when you first got here," Calypso continued, "you probably had to talk to Grausam in English, which isn't a language he is rumored to be very strong in. Are you still surprised that he was rude and standoffish?"

"Alright, that explains why Grausem didn't like me when he picked me up, but what's his excuse now?" Harry challenged. "He treats me like dirt in class, and I have to duel two people at a time!"

Calypso looked at Harry like he was a complete idiot. "Potter," she said, speaking the words very slowly, "you have to duel two people at a time to be challenged, and you are breezing through his class."

"So?" Harry asked. "Shouldn't he be happy that I'm doing well?"

"You shouldn't be in the first year class! You're showing up everyone else. I don't know why you aren't in your second year defense class, but you obviously should be. Grausam is probably pissed that you didn't test into a higher Dark Arts class, since you are basically wasting his time by taking the first year class."

"So, he's just trying to challenge me?" Harry asked in surprise. "He wants me to move up to a more advanced class?"

"No," Calypso said succinctly. "No, I'm pretty sure that you burned that bridge after the first few classes. He probably just resents and dislikes you now."

"What?" Harry asked in horror. "What if I–"

"Potter, I really don't want to spend the entire night discussing your problems, fascinating as they may be. We're losing time, and I'd really like to get some work done."

Harry numbly followed Calypso into the Dark Arts room, his mind a whirl of thoughts. Calypso's explanation certainly explained Grausam's attitude towards him, and Harry couldn't help but find the situation with Grausam somewhat ironic. He came to Durmstrang to be in advanced classes, and Grausam didn't like him because he was too far ahead of the rest of his class. Maybe he could talk to Grausam about moving up? No, that would be pointless, considering that he was already trying to skip his second year class now. Still, he might be able to ask Grausam…

"Potter!" Calypso snapped, jarring Harry from his thoughts. "Are we going to work or not?"

"Right, sorry. What do you want to do first, Charms or Transfiguration?"

"Charms. I'm almost done with the first year spell list."

"Aright, the important thing to remember is that it's not just the wand movement and incantation, but also your imagination and emotional intent behind the spell. That means if I ask you charm–"

"Potter, I'm not Krum, you don't need to explain basic magical theory to me." Calypso went over to her bag, took out a piece of parchment, and handed it to Harry. "Just pick out some of the spells on this list and help me learn them. I can take care of the magical theory on my own time."

"Alright," Harry said, somewhat pleased that he wouldn't have to walk Calypso through the basic theory. However, as he read over the list of first year spells, Harry grew more and more confused. Most of the spells were ridiculously simple: turn an object a different color, levitate an object, and make an object fly. Harry was actually surprised at how easy the last few spells on the list were. "This is...really simple stuff. Is this the entire list?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't make any sense. My brother just asked me a question in his latest letter about inanimate animation charms, but that is the most advanced spell on this entire list. I thought Durmstrang was supposed to be...more advanced? Why does the Hogwarts curriculum move faster?"

"It's actually really obvious when you think about it, Potter," Calypso replied.

Harry just looked at her expectantly. When it didn't appear that Calypso was going to elaborate and was more interested in trying to get multiple objects to levitate at once, he said, "Well, why is Hogwarts further ahead than Durmstrang? My Charms class covers a lot of material, but it looks like your class only learns a new spell once every two weeks."

"Potter, how many students do you have in your Charms class?"

"I don't know, 30 or so."

"I have 40 people in my class, Potter. That means at some point between the end of first year and the start of third year, 10 students in each Charms class didn't pass. First year classes tend to be very basic and slow, second year is more intense, third year more than second year, and so on and so forth. The reason your class can move at a faster pace and learn new spells more often is that the professors have already removed the stupider students after first and second year."

"Okay, I understand what you're saying, but why doesn't Durmstrang just set the same level requirement as Hogwarts? That way they could cut more people?"

"Because Durmstrang isn't Hogwarts, Potter." Calypso said in exasperation. "Hogwarts has its standards, and we have ours. If you don't like how things are run at Durmstrang, then go back to Hogwarts."

"That's not what I meant, I was just curious," Harry said defensively.

"And I don't really care. Can we please just get back to practicing? It is the reason why we are here."

"Alright. Do you have a pineapple?"

"No, but I brought some apples." Calypso went back over to her bag and took out the fruit. "Will this work?"

"It's fine," Harry replied. "Put one on the table and make it dance."

Calypso frowned. "That's not on the spell list."

"No, but my brother said that is something the Charms professor at Hogwarts mentioned might be on their exam. You can learn this simple stuff on your own time. If you have problems, ask me, but if you really want to skip your second year of Charms, you're going to have to work hard to get ahead. Since my brother is just now starting to learn this, and it's not on your first year list, that means it'll probably be one of the first few spells you have to learn in second year."

"Do you know the incantation and wand movements?"

Harry quickly took out his wand and demonstrated the spell a few times for Calypso. He then watched her struggle to perform the spell, interjecting a few pointers when she appeared to be really stuck. After nearly half an hour, in which Calypso both accidentally and intentionally melted her apple, she finally got the fruit to waddle across the table.

"Finally," she said, just as the apple stopped moving. Calypso tried to get the apple to move again, but when it remained still, she angrily prodded it with her wand, causing it to explode. "Stupid fruit!"

"I-I think that's enough Charms for tonight." Harry couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice, and Calypso turned to glare at him.

"It's not funny, Potter."

Harry grinned. "I certainly think it is."

"Then let's see how funny you think it is after we duel." Calypso drew her wand and walked onto the dueling platform. "Come on, Potter."

"I thought we'd work on Transfigurati–"

"Nope. Fair is fair, Potter. You helped me with Charms, so now I should help you with the Dark Arts before we start Transfiguration." A surprised look suddenly appeared on Calypso's face. "That is, unless you're scared to duel me. I'm sure Krum and his girlfriend have told you just how talented I am."

Indeed, Viktor had mentioned that Calypso was supposedly some kind of dueling prodigy. 'Annoyingly fucking intuitive' was the phrase Kira had used to describe Calypso's ability to Viktor, who had then forwarded the message to Harry. Apparently, while Calypso didn't use shields, she was incredible at avoiding harmful spells, and her curses packed a punch. Still, Harry couldn't help but be somewhat confident. He had spent most of his first year at Hogwarts dueling with an adult, and Calypso, no matter how talented, just couldn't be better than Professor Quirrell.

Taking his place opposite her on the dueling platform, Harry said, "I'm not scared of you, Calypso."

As was standard at the beginning of the duels, Harry and Calypso locked eyes and gave each other a small bow. They then both fell into their dueling stances. Harry turned his body sidewise towards Calypso, to limit the area she could hit, and held his wand loosely in his front hand, ready to cast a quick shield charm. Looking at Calypso, Harry couldn't help but notice how different their styles really were.

While he was prepared to dodge, defend, and counter quickly, a lesson he learned through trial and error with Quirrell, Calypso's style screamed attack. She stood with her wand arm cocked back behind her, poised to make the quick forward thrusting motion necessary for most curses. As a result of her aggressive stance, her body was exposed to an opening curse, and Harry strongly considered sending the first spell to take advantage of her stance.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yes, on three?"

"Agreed. One..."

"Two..."

"Three."

Flicking his wand up, Harry sent a stunner directly at Calypso's body, but she was already moving to her left and easily avoided it.

Harry immediately found himself dodging a return stunner from Calypso, and he dropped to one knee, allowing it to sail easily over his head. With a swish of his wand, Harry snapped out, "Flagrate," sending a thin streak of fire at Calypso's legs.

Calypso lept backwards, but not before the flame managed to hit her left ankle, eliciting a shriek from her. Snapping her head up, she shot Harry a poisonous glare before viciously slashing her wand across her body and whispering an incantation. A burst of twisting yellow light erupted from her wand and Harry immediately screamed, "Protego," to protect himself from the unfamiliar curse.

While his shield held, Harry was knocked backwards several feet, and he knew his shield wouldn't stand up against another spell. Canceling the shield charm, Harry tried to return fire against Calypso, but he found himself facing a barrage of spells. He twisted out of the way of a knee-inverter hex, and he narrowly avoided a nasty spell known as the Jelly-Brain curse. Spotting an opening, Harry stepped forward and sent a Leg-Locker and full body-bind spell at Calypso.

Somehow, Calypso seemed to anticipate the attack and she quickly spun to the left, causing the spells to just narrowly miss her shoulder. Unfortunately for Harry, she hadn't been idle while spinning to avoid his spells. When Calypso completed her rotation back towards him, she had already finished the wand movement for her next spell. With a knowing grin on her face, Calypso hissed, "Bombarda."

Harry tried to cast a shield, but in his attempt to press his advantage against Calypso, he had moved too close to her. Her curse quickly crossed the distance between them, sending Harry flying across the dueling platform, and into the back wall, knocking the wind from his lungs. Gasping for air, Harry struggled to his knees. Lifting his head, he was able to look up just in time to see a red light smash directly into his face.

"Ennervate."

"Owww," Harry groaned, rubbing the back of his head. "What was that last spell? There is no way you can do a banishment charm yet."

"The spell I used is called the Bombardment Hex. From what I know about the banishment charm, the caster has some semblance of control over where the object you banish goes. This spell just sends things in the opposite direction of the duelist who cast it at a high rate of speed. That was a surprisingly good duel, Potter. You even got me with that fire spell." Calypso knelt down and rubbed her ankle where a blistering red welt had appeared.

"That looks like it really hurts. Are you okay?" Harry asked in concern.

"I've got some burn salve in my room, so don't worry about it. How are you? You hit that wall pretty hard."

"Yeah, thankfully my head didn't hit the wall, just my back. I'll be alright, but I don't think we should duel anymore unless we want to end up in the hospital wing with Lady Shluga."

"Agreed. I don't suppose you've asked Grausam for the second year spell list so you can prepare to test out of the class?"

"Uh, no, I haven't," Harry said hesitantly.

"You should do that pretty soon. I don't know what spells they learned during second year, so I can't really help you until I see what you need to know."

"Wait," Harry said suddenly. "There isn't a dueling component to the end of the year exams?"

"Of course not. You can't have people in the hospital wing and miss their scheduled time to present their final project."

"So...what was the point of dueling then?"

Calypso grinned. "I just wanted to see how good you were, and I'm impressed, Potter. Typically when I start sending spells at people they just hide behind a shield, but you actually dropped your shield to counter me."

"Well it's not like I had a choice." Harry replied hotly.

"What do you mean?"

"The shield never would have stopped another spell, and those spells you were sending would have hit me. I had to do something, and I didn't think being cursed senseless was a good option."

"That...makes sense." Calypso sent a curious look at Harry before letting a small smile appear on her face. "We should duel again. It was a fun challenge."

"Maybe," Harry said evasively. "If we can't work on my Dark Arts stuff until I get the second year spell list, do you want to work on Transfiguration?"

"Well, we could work on your first year list if you'd like." When Calypso saw Harry roll his eyes slightly, she hid a smirk. Apparently, Harry Potter thought he could already do most of the first year Dark Arts spells. That raised some interesting questions. "If you don't want to though, we can move on to Transfiguration. I'm a little ahead in the course, and I think I can already do almost all of the first year spells, but I am having a problem turning a mouse into a snuff box, so..."