Chapter 22 - A normal day?

After Arya and Harry separated and made their way towards their respective common rooms a person stepped out from behind a statue. This was none other than Daphne who had been concerned when she saw Arya's face. Considering how long she has known her she knew instantly something was wrong the moment she saw her. Daphne gritted her teeth as she clenched her knuckles and thought ' That senile old goat, how dare he try to read the mind of any student let alone her Arya. I wont let this stand I am glad Arya was able to confide in Harry but it hurts my heart she couldn't talk to me. I have seen everything there is to see in her since we met and I know she always try's to look strong in front of me, but she should come to me about these kind of things. Regardless I will get in touch with father and ask for his help I wont let anyone ever use my little dove for their own agendas, not as long as I stand by her. I truly thought she could escape this once she left for Hogwarts.'

Daphne sighed softly and departed making her way towards the Gryffindor common room as plans started to come to mind to ensure Aryas safety. As she was walking she saw Ronald Weasley boasting to his friends that he would wipe the floor with the two prodigies. " Who knows, the Rosier family is powerful and Arya is a beauty in the making if her mothers appearance is anything to go by, maybe after I crush her I will offer her the chance to be my wife her talents will only grow in the future I could do with a strong pawn by my side." Ron casually bragged to his friends who chuckled at his words. Daphne instantly saw red and sent a knockback jinx at Ron who wasn't expecting it and was sent flying into the wall. " You dare say such words about a child of a Most Ancient and Noble House Weasley? You filthy blood traitor you don't deserve the right to kiss her boots let alone have her by your side. Just wait Weasley, one week and you and that pitiful ego of yours will be crushed and I for one can't wait for the day to come" said Daphne as she walked away further aggravated by the Weasels words ' No one shall think of my little dove as a pawn ' thought Daphne.

The next day arrived and Arya awoke to a tiny grey fur-ball resting on her chest. She smiled as she ran her fingers through its soft fur eliciting a purr of satisfaction from the baby kneazle " Morning shadow " she said. Shadow stretched her tiny limbs before jumping off of Arya onto the windowsill that was being hit with the warm rays of the sun. Arya smiled as she thought 'Another day here in Hogwarts, I can't wait I only hope its not as eventful as yesterday' while massaging her forehead. Arya made her way outside to perform her morning training. The training consisted of yoga poses to increase her flexibility before some calisthenics training to increase her strength and then a run around the training courtyard. As she finished her run she met Draco who was also doing his morning training. They grinned at each other before launching into a spar. Once finished Arya grinned at Draco and said " that is my win this time Draco makes us 40 - 25". Draco was panting as he replied " How on earth am I suppose to be the Dueling Dynamo if you start beating me more consistently Arya?" with a grimace on his face. Arya merely laughed and they made their way back to Hogwarts in a companionable silence.

(A/N I don't want to wear out the fighting scenes so I wasn't planning to show this but I find these scenes fun and easy to write so let me know if you want more. I will show her training with Flitwick and future duels but this will be a morning ritual for the two so I figured people don't want to see something as basic as a morning spar. Let me know if I am wrong but I promise plenty of scenes in the future.)

Arya made her way to wash up before dressing and heading down to the great hall for breakfast. She was greeted at the table with a warm smile from Hermione who was already waiting for her " Where were you? You were gone when I woke up?" asked Hermione. " I was doing my morning training its a habit I fell into when I realized the benefits for a healthy and fit body for magic. Your more than welcome to join me each morning" offered Arya with a sadistic smile on her face. Hermione not noticing the smile was thinking and asked " what benefits come with physical training?" Arya smiled at her friends inquisitiveness and explained " Generally fitter bodies allow wizards and witches to flow magic through their bodies easier and its a massive part of becoming a duelist. While transfiguration is my passion nothing gets my blood flowing like a duel, its how Draco and I became friends. Growing up I was not really close to him but one day when I was visiting Daphne I saw Draco practicing against dummies. Curious I asked Daphne what he was doing and she explained that his favorite thing in the world was dueling and I was intrigued so I asked could I join him. Considering we were never close Draco was surprised but welcomed me to join him and I fell in live with dueling, from that day on I plagued him to teach me how to duel and quickly saw how good Transfiguration was in dueling so I got even more involved with him. I found out that his father was a massive prat and dueling was his escape, I related to him because of my grandparents and we grew close."

Arya let out a laugh and said " Daphne wasn't too pleased as it took away from our girl time but she conceded when she saw how happy I was and she would always watch us train with a smile on her face". Hermione smiled at the sight of her friends happiness and nodded that she could see the benefits to training and would join her in the future, for now she wanted to settle down in Hogwarts and get more comfortable in her surroundings. The duo finished their breakfast and made their way to their classes. Thankfully today was nothing like her previous one and Arya happily worked through her classes knowing she would be joining Professor Flitwick and Draco in training that afternoon. Her blood boiled at the thought of improving her strength again and Hermione shuddered at her friends bloodthirsty grin.

When classes were over and they finished their dinner Draco and Arya met up and made their way towards Professor Flitwicks classroom with nervous energy running through their body at the thought of the impending training session.