Firm Hands

A right palm struck the left arm of the wooden dummy. One. She cycled her left palm to the right. Two. Her wrist turned to flat hand the three followed by a simultaneous drive of right to left and left palm to the main pole. Another loud clack and the silent four. Each strike was fluid and powerful, with enough force to cause a resounding clack in the dorm room. She was focused on making minimal but deadly movements. Alana switched hand positions for five and dropped her right hand to the wooden arm for six. A final strike signalled seven. Rinse and repeat. She slowly but surely picked up speed until the sound of flesh hitting wood became a steady beat. Regular martial arts training had proven effective in keeping the growth and control of Alana's magic at a stable rate where most experienced fluctuations and random growth spurts throughout their youth.

Wing Chun was an internal based martial art much like the ki based Aikido, Bagua and, of course, Tai Chi. Mr Matthews had experienced a few forms of martial arts and learnt Kung Fu and the basics of Wing Chun before finally choosing to pursue Karate as his preferred style. Alana had found Wing Chun to come easier to her as the more technical form relied on bone alignment rather than sheer muscular strength. It aimed to intercept a strike so an opening could be created for her own as she pressed forward. It was a shame she had no sparring partner to trade blows with as solo training was not as effective.

Chinese internal martial arts focused on internal energy as opposed to external ones that emphasized physical strength and agility. Internal energy or 'life energy' had been referred to in many of the more ancient scrolls Alana had salvaged from Romania and Azrael. It was the spiritual fluid which flowed through the body's meridians or organs. It was magic. Alana's mind had been blown at the revelation at the time. Squibs were limited to internal energy which flowed slowly while a wizard's magic core allowed them to control the energy leaving their body and thus allowed spells to be cast. The Chinese Ministry of Magic had been the first to discover the presence of squibs with the highest population in the magical world. Although most were kept ignorant of their lineage for security reasons, it made sense that they had the most records of related studies as a result. China was the source of internal martial arts.

Alana was soaked in sweat by the time she finished her morning exercise, so she took a quick shower before heading into the commons. Leoen was in the same seat as the day before with a barely masked look of expectation on his face. She plonked her booty across from him and savoured the way it bounced on the couch. Thus began their first official chess game. She lost very quickly. This was followed by two more swift blows to her pride before he decided to show mercy on her and suggest they head to the Great Hall. He looked slightly nauseous as he said the words. She would have been touched if she hadn't been imagining a giant wizarding chess piece lopping off his head. He must have taken her smile as an affirmative.

She truly wondered how there appeared to be more people staring at the pair as they ate. Leoen had come off to her as a chill kind of guy though she had known him for barely a day. He had spent the day before showing her around the castle so she wouldn't die a horrible death in some forbidden corridor. It had been pleasant, and she had met his owl Zayla who had a mean streak a mile wide. She shuddered at the thought of what monster Auxilium and Zayla would spawn should they ever procreate. There was an unspoken agreement to keep the birds as far apart as possible. Charlotte and Lola had joined them again for lunch before the four of them left for the library. The latter two had come to some sort of an agreement to adopt a 'wait and see' policy towards Leoen. Such mature kids she had found. Alana had been expecting the worst with ages thirteen to fourteen, but they were fine. She probably would have found an education gap with the first year muggle-borns, but by third year, the Ravenclaws had closed that gap already.

The library was stunning. Not on the same level as Gaia's but much more interesting with mile-high shelves of magic tomes. She had shown admirable restraint in front of her new allies and not thrown herself on the nearest shelf in joy. Today was her first day of classes, and she had already received several warnings from her classmates on her teachers. She had an unusually large number of classes as she had selected an extra elective and had to take broom flying lesson. She was dreading the later as instant death wasn't on her to-do list. She would have to learn the spell Dawlish had used on her.

Core Subjects:

Transfiguration - Minerva McGonagall

Astronomy - Aurora Sinistra

Charms - Filius Flitwick

Defence against the Dark Arts - Karis Curio

Herbology - Ponoma Sprout

History of Magic - Cuthbert Binns

Potions - Severus Snape

Electives:

Flying - Rolanda Hooch

Ancient Runes - Bathsheda Babbling

Care of Magical Creatures - Silvanus Kettleburn

Arithmancy - Septima Vector

First on her timetable was double potions with the Slytherins. She died a little inside when she read that. It was the equivalent of having Calculus every Monday morning. Lola left the group with a final farewell to her childhood friend, and they headed to the dungeons.

Alana had decided she liked the dungeons the seconds the well-lit corridors gave way to darker, twistier ones. She was told by Leoen that the passages became more maze-like the deeper one went. The thought of countless hidden passages had excitement bubbling in her chest. She would have to investigate the likelihood of any Slytherins cursing her for encroaching on their territory before she mapped the place out. She switched places with Leoen's previous partner who had the audacity to hug her with a grateful smile before he joined another student. She discreetly cast a cleaning charm on herself, catching the eye of a Slytherin in the process. He gave her an approving nod. Dear Merlin. She realised a second after that the boy to hug her had probably not been a pureblood. At least no one was spouting off blood supremacy propaganda in class.

Severus Snape, on the other hand, was an asshole. Her pity died when he dropped some verbal abuse on one of the Ravenclaws. There wasn't any particular reason either. His insults were pretty good though… She hadn't thought it possible to throw so much shade with one sentence. The tall man's hair was well ruined by potion fumes, and his mouth was set into a permanent scowl below his hooked nose. His clothes were his only minutely redeeming feature, tidy black robes that swished as he made his way down the role call.

"Ah, Miss Vincent. Let's hope your parents taught you more than those of your classmates."

"They're dead, sir." Silence. Sweet and blissful silence. She savoured it while the others shifted awkwardly. Yessssss, feel the discomfort, my children. Professor Snape cleared his throat before going to the next name. Alana gave the curious Leoen an innocent smile and mouthed 'later'. She had assumed he'd heard her telling Charlotte and Lola her tragic story on the train, but it appeared he had not.

Potions class was a breeze for Alana. She had been studying it for some time and memorised the properties and interactions of most ingredients, so it wasn't particularly surprising. The Ravenclaws as a whole performed well in the subject, but Professor Snape was known to be as biased as he was lacking in hair products.

Potions was followed by a lunch break and then Charms with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Flitwick was his usual energetic self. You really wouldn't guess the man to be any part goblin based on his demeanour. Charms was Charlotte's favourite subject, and it soon became evident why. The witch performed every spell flawlessly and with an amazing breadth of control. Alana followed her achievements closely as she adjusted to using less magic in her spells. She was careful not to cause the object to explode rather than inflate. It was interesting to note the spells they were being taught required a lot less intent and control than more complex ones. She thought it was particularly negligent of the school as those were the features of a spell that made the difference between failure and success in more difficult casting. It was one thing to control the output of magic, but another thing entirely to manipulate one's magic outside of the body. Leoen seemed to find the last bit difficult, so she suggested for him to try detaching Lumos from his wand some time. It was more challenging to do than the levitating charm and quickly pointed out the faults in your technique and concentration.

The final class was Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA), and it was with the Gryffindors. The subject made her want to jump out the window in all honesty. So. Much. Propaganda. Professor Karis Curio reminded her of when people try to make a caveman impression. 'Dark bad. Light good. Wizard be good, not bad.' You get the point. It was with excruciating pain and the voluntary death of a few hundred brain cells that she crawled out of the class alive. The worst thing was that most of the students found the subject interesting. She felt sick hearing Charlotte's praises and wept quietly. Leoen was the only sane wizard around it seemed. He looked just as disgruntled as she was by the new teacher.

"A load of rubbish," He mumbled, and she nodded in agreement.

"A person's physical aura has nothing to do with their magical aura," She hissed back.

"I'll say. My mother's magic is light as daylight, and her physical aura looks like hell incarnate," He whispered back.

"Even if it made sense for wizards and witches, vampires have physical auras as well without a magical core. It's just stupidity. Where in Merlin's name did this idiot get his credentials."

The two complained in hushed voices as they made their way down the corridors towards the black lake. There was a clique of Slytherins there, but the good relations between the houses meant they'd likely just ignore each other.

"I hope the curse on his position gets him soon. I don't think I can take another session of having propaganda shoved down my throat." Alana said a little louder as she stretched. The lake was a lovely sight after such a depressing hour and a half. Leoen smirked good-naturedly at her words as he found a tree to lounge under.

"Just have Defense, did you? I had Curio third period, and all he could talk about was how great Britain is. I hear he's from Brazil." The voice was from a Slytherin. Alana flicked lazy gold eyes to the boy and noted his familiarity. The blonde boy from Potions. He was rather unusual for a snake to be giving away such information so easily as well as initiating a conversation with a member of another house. Then again, maybe he was just that annoyed. "Lucian Bole," The boy introduced once Alana had looked at him. Leoen was watching the exchange carefully.

"Alana Vincent. Well met, Bole." She vaguely remembered the correct pureblood manners for newly acquainted witches and wizards. You rarely saw the greeting at Hogwarts as every pureblood already knew each other before school.

"Well met, Vincent." The blonde smiled before turning to Volkov a bit stiffly. It would be a faux pas to not greet Volkov after greeting his friend. "Well met, Volkov."

"Well met, Bole. Leoen is fine." Alana resisted the urge to chuckle as Bole stared.

One must know that Leoen held little regard for such practices unless it was amongst adults. The offered intimacy of his first name was mostly to avoid confusion with his older brother, who was in Slytherin. He had mentioned his brother in passing, but she sensed they were distant as far as siblings went.

"Then I must insist you call me Lucian as well. Both of you." Lucian was about to cry. He only wanted to talk to a like-minded pureblood, and now the younger Volkov permitted him to use his first name. Surely, this was a sign of his impending death. His mother had told him to never reach too far above his station in life, and now he was greeting renowned killers. 'I'm sorry, mother.' The boy prayed in his heart to live another day. Meanwhile, Alana's mind was on more interesting things.

"I suppose the content of his class makes perfect sense then if he is from Brazil." Her comment was met with black stares from all present. This included another Slytherin witch in their year and two older looking ones who appeared to be related. They quickly tried to mask their ignorance, but it was little use under her sharp eyes. She gave them an indulgent smile.

"There was a coup in Brazil a few decades back that left it under the military rule. Rapid economic growth led to a lot of inflation issues, and they tried to halt it by reducing the power of their governing body but failed. Unsurprisingly, the increase in political freedoms let the anti-dark magic movement, which had previously been a minority, gain traction. The leader they elected last year has been pushing for some radical magical reforms to stop the movement. The whole issue has resulted in civil conflict, especially with the indigenous clans refusing to change any of their sacred rituals regardless of their friendliness. The immigration issues it's caused have been such a pain."

Alana rubbed her head at the memory of Raoul's letters which were rife with complaints. She felt a migraine coming on. The situation had some similarities with Britain, which had mass emigration during the second wizarding world. It was just as well she was lost in thought because if she had looked up, she would have seen some disturbing looks on the Slytherin's faces. They were calculating the benefits of an alliance with this new source of information. It also hadn't slipped by them how her reaction suggested familiarity with the issue. Two of them were already planning to write letters to their parents to get information on the Vincent family. Leoen was glaring at the Slytherins heatedly, but they hardly noticed. He was not the least bit amused by their plotting.