Richard sat in the dining hall, waiting for Amber to arrive. He was interested to see what the girl had learned. She still had time until they were to meet, and he found himself anxious for the opportunity that had landed in his road. He had lived through more upheaval than most, and after years of living his life he finally had come upon a group that could feasibly and realistically carry his dream on.

He picked up the prophet and began to read. It wouldn’t do to be anything less than completely composed when the girl came in for her lessons.

Amber had finished a light lunch and retired to her room to prepare for her first lesson. First thing she did was braid her hair, making sure it would stay out of her face. Next, she changed into some practice clothes. Nothing so formal as dueling robes, just shorts and a t-shirt.

The Kantals had introduced her to muggle clothing, and she'd found it much easier to move around in. The muggle clothes were much lighter than robes and less likely to trip her.

Making sure she was as ready as she possibly could be, she put her holster on her right forearm and slid her wand into it. She left the room and headed to the dining hall, where she'd been asked to meet Richard.

She cleared her throat politely as she entered, not wanting to startle him or anything. As he noticed her, she shot him a bright grin that was only belied by the seriousness in her eyes. She was ready to learn.

Richard lowered his paper and took in Amber’s appearance before giving her a short nod, satisfied. “I am pleased that you came prepared.” He stood and laid the paper on the table to finish later.

“We’ll be heading out to the practice hall. After today you may meet me out there for our lessons.” He waited for an acknowledgement from her before he led her out onto the grounds, and down through the gardens to one of the out buildings.

He pushed open the door and said, “Welcome to our Practice Hall.” He made his way across the room where he removed his robe and hung it on a hook on the wall. He was also dressed in muggle clothes, a pair of black slacks and a green silk shirt. He turned and pulled his wand.

“Would you prefer to start with dueling lessons, or would you like to begin with Occlumency? I intend to work on both with you while you are here but I don’t particularly care about the order.”

Amber nodded. "Of course, Mr. Morrigan," she murmured. "Being unprepared is unacceptable. If I'd disprespected you as such, I wouldn't expect you to still offer lessons." Or even finish out the visit, her mind finished.

If she'd ever gone to class at Durmstrang unprepared, she would have not only earned a detention, but an extremely degrading punishment. That could be anything from cleaning the Dining Hall, by hand, during dinner, with no magic or protection to not being allowed back in class for that lesson. If not in class, without an honorable excuse (such as being in the hospital wing) meant that a student had to catch up on their own, with no help. Skipping class or being unprepared was zero tolerance.

She followed Richard to the practice hall. Looking around, she saw that the space was more than adequate. She gave her agreement to make her way there.

"Shall I assume that the walls are reinforced and unaffected by stray spells? Or will spells riccochet off them?"

This may have seemed like a silly question, but when dueling, it was difficult enough to focus on one opponent, without spells being able to fly from every direction.

She gave a small smile. "I've been lazy so far today, so I'd enjoy being able to move around, if that's all right."

She couldn't help but stare at the floor as she gave her answer. She wasn't used to an instructor asking for her opinion, much less actually listening to it.

She looked up at him unsurely, wondering what would happen next.

Richard moved away from the wall and into the center of the hall.

“The wards on the wall will absorb and dissipate any spell energy that impacts them. There will be no ricocheting spells during this session Ms. Elison.”

He stretched out the muscles in his right arm and flexed his wrist. “I have been doing this fairly significantly longer than you have child. I will be testing your knowledge today. I would like you to attack me. When we are in this chamber there are no spells that will be detected by the ministry. I would like you to show me everything you know. Show me what they are teaching at Durmstrang now. I do not believe you will be able to hurt me, but I will not hold it against you should you some how manage to do so.”

He fell into a dueling stance, and bowed his head to his opponent. “I will defend only. Whenever you are ready Ms. Elison.”

Amber nodded in relief that the walls didn't act as a mirror in the sun with the spells.

She gave a respectful bow back and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to clear her mind and focus on the here and now. Her facial expression was blank and her eyes were cold. She was definitely in a fighting mindset, even though she wasn't actually fighting. She'd decided to start out with small spells and work her way up to more complicated ones.

She started by sending a bruising spell, followed by a hair-pulling jinx.

She'd noticed that when dueling someone new, those spells generally gave her opponent a false sense of security and made that person think she couldn't do much else.

She moved on to a spell that caused broken fingers, one that made the victim react as though they had a stomach virus, and a few more of that calibre.

The next level she sent included a general bone-breaker and a couple of different kinds of other pain spells.

For the final set, she showed the whip spell, her favorite burning hex, and a blood-boiling curse. Then, just because she could, she sent a spell that, like a boggart, would show the victim their worst fear, and the compulsion charm she recently mastered.

The entire time, she moved as if he was dueling her back. This was to show quickness, flexibility, and how well she aimed.

Once done, she took a few seconds to get her breath, since it wasn't a full workout like she was used to, and recovered quickly.

She stood, her back straight with perfect posture, and waited for any criticism, constructive or not, that he had to offer.

Richard batted aside the first two spells without a second thought. They were average spells for a teenager to know, even if Ms. Elison did know them a bit early. He was a little more impressed with the finger breaking spell and her second round of casting. This was more in line with what he had expected from a Durmstrang student, and he wasn’t disappointed.

Her third round of spells pleased and surprised him. Pain spells were universally considered dark, and bad form. They were useful as a distraction in a duel, but not as a duel ender, so they were not often taught. Generally it required a great deal of research and personal dedication to find spells of this nature.

His train of thought was completely derailed as he found himself spinning out of position to avoid the whip she sent his direction and it was only through his years of practice that his shock at the Blood Boiling Curse didn’t show on his face. These were spells he knew and used, but hadn’t really gained proficiency with until his sixth year. The Compulsion Charm and Nightmare Hex, were also impressive, but not to the level that he needed to worry about them.

Richard stood, and contemplated the girl as she caught her breath and regained her composure. She was skilled, there was no question. Her knowledge of spells was also better than he had expected it to be. He was intrigued at what could have caused the girl to seek out and learn the blood-boiling curse, and the contingent of pain spells. Had it been anger? Pain?

After a moment he spoke, “You have done well. You have learned much. I am particularly pleased that you move when you fight. Too many wizards remain stationary and rely upon their magic to protect them. I have fought with and beside many impressive duelers, and I have no doubt that with sufficient practice you could stand among them.”

He walked closer, “That said, you move a lot. Generally, when you find yourself in a duel there is little need for a great deal of movement. No need to roll away and fling yourself to the ground and back when a small step to the left can accomplish the same goal. We will work on that later. Your knowledge of offensive spells is sound for Durmstrang, so I do not really foresee a problem with that. Had you been at Hogwarts I would begin teaching you some less Dark attack spells.”

“I have a much better idea of what I would like to teach you now. Today will be a short lesson; tomorrow will be much more intensive for you. However, I suspect that today will be one of the more stressful days, as the next step is for me to test your Occlumency. Have you been practicing on your own? Or have you found someone who can test your skills?”

Although her face remained impassive, her eyes glittered with pride at the compliment that she'd done well.

"Thank you, sir."

Keeping the proper posture and her eyes forward, she waited for the criticism to start.

She wasn't disappointed. There was some, but she was hard-pressed to keep her jaw from dropping. His major complaint was that she moved too much? As he didn't ask for an explanation, she didn't offer one, but the main reason she moved so much had to do with the question she'd asked earlier.

During class duels, the shield around the platform almost always ricocheted spells back, but the directions were unsure, depending on the angles at which they'd hit. She was used to spells coming from every which way. This was to makes the students practice as if they were alone fighting a group of enemies.

As she didn't offer her explanation, as it could be considered extremely rude, she just nodded.

"I'll remember that. I promise that I will not be a waste of your time."

She had trouble keeping her face expressionless. Today would be one of the more stressful ones? Compared to the stress she felt at school, especially directly after transferring, this was a walk in the park.

"I've mostly been practicing on my own. I started with a book on meditation and progressed from there."

She bit her lip for a moment. "The most I can really do is blank my mind suddenly, but I can't do it for very long. Of course, Durmstrang's Mind Healer hated that I could do that much. Korskii kept telling me there was a reason it wasn't taught below seventh year." Her tone said she didn't really care what Korskii thought about it.

"The DAaTD professor couldn't instruct me in any way because of school rules, but he'd test me every so often, but always as a surprise. He'd just tell me if I needed to practice more or if I did well. The other day when he tested me during class, he said I was proficient for my age and being self-taught."

She gave a slight shrug, as if not sure she agreed with the professor. She certainly hoped it was true. There were things in her mind and memory she had no wish to share with anyone.

Richard shook his head, "I have absolutely no doubt that you will not be a waste of my time. You have already proven yourself to be more than devoted to your studies, and have shown a remarkable affinity for some of the darker spells that our society has created. I must admit a certain fascination with just how far that could be taken."

He listened to her description of her training in Occlumency, "That is more than almost all students at your age and level of training will be able to do. I'm afraid that this will be why today is so stressful. I am going to test your ability to keep me out and blank your mind. I am going to dig until you can no longer prevent me from gaining a foothold, and then I will hold and continue to dig for two minutes or until you throw me out."

He held his wand out in front of him, "If it will make you feel better, I will swear an oath that anything I find in these tests will remain in this room and between you and me."

"I would let you pull any memories from your mind that you do not want me to see, but I have discovered in my years of teaching this, that it tends to be a motivator for students of your particular bent to prevent me from seeing particularly embarrassing memories. Just this once, I will give you a moment to prepare since I am testing for endurance not speed."

Richard waited until she seemed to be settled before pointing his wand at her and without an incantation his probe hammered into her defenses.

"It can go as far as my magic allows," was Amber's answer to his wonder. She may have limitations now, because of her age and other factors, but she couldn't predict how many of those limitations would fade as she grew and trained.

She nodded her understanding to his explanation of being tested, even though she suddenly had a sick feeling in her stomach. She had no idea what he'd see, and didn't want to find out.

As he offered an oath, her eyes widened in surprise. Who would have guessed that anyone in his position would do that for one such as her? That in itself proved that he was trust-worthy, but past experiences had taught her to take extra care. She nodded.

"An oath from you would make me more comfortable, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Just by the offer, you seem to have proven that you can be trusted."

She couldn't help but feel wary as she said that, and the emotion was reflected in her eyes.

She couldn't help but be confused about what he said the motivation was. Her particular bent? She gave him a narrow-eyed stare, wondering what he knew, or thought he knew, but agreed nonetheless. Sadly, she knew and understood that this was her best chance of learning to hone the skill and prevent more untrustworthy people from seeing things in the long run.

As he said, he gave her a moment, and she fell into her focus. She focused on letting everything go, just floating along mentally on a sea of nothingness.

It worked for no more than three minutes before memories began flashing through her mind.

She was three, being taken care of by Mimsey after a nightmare.

She was six, being told by her parents how worthless she was.

She was eight, kneeling next to the lifeless body of the one she called Grandmother Ma'am.

She was eleven, watching as her parents AKed Mimsey.

She was twelve, being moved to a new school after being adopted by a friend’s parents, people she had never even met.

There were a few harsh punishments when she unknowingly broke a school rule at Durmstrang.

There were numerous visits to the hospital wing.

There was The Incident, her biggest secret. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t push him out, until almost the end. That was when she got desperate.

“No!” she screamed, pulling her knees to her chest and rocking back and forth. Tears were streaming down her face. “That didn’t happen. I’m fine. That didn’t happen. I’m fine.” She kept mumbling the same two sentences over and over.

She wasn’t in denial. She wasn’t saying the actual memory didn’t happen. She just knew that worse things could have, and that’s what didn’t happen. Sometimes, if the memory slapped her, and she repeated those sentences, she could head off a panic attack. This time, knowing that someone else had seen the memory as well, the normal routine didn’t work and she was finding it hard to breathe.

Richard stood in silence as the girl in front of him fought to keep herself under control. He could feel rage burning through his body and only long years of keeping himself wrapped tight prevented him from blasting a hole through the nearby wall and going off in search of those who had so wronged her.

After he was sure that he wouldn't be running off to do anything foolish, Richard knelt down next to the girl being sure not to touch her. It wouldn't do to cause any more trauma to her after what he had forced her to relive. He waited until she had seemed to have caught her breath, and had stopped mumbling to herself and said, "You are better than those animals who did that to you. They are not fit to clean the mud from your shoes. Neither set, the animals who you encountered at your school, nor the traitorous monsters that call themselves your parents."

He waited to see if he got any response to that. Then continued, "You are a gift. A wonderful student and a gifted Witch, and they tossed you aside as if you were nothing. Give me the word, and they will disappear, never to be heard from again. Or, if you wish it, I can teach you the skills to take your revenge for yourself. You are already on the correct road but you still have a distance to travel before you can hope to succeed without it coming back to roost at your steps."

He could still feel the power of his hatred ripping through his veins and he knew that he would take a great deal of pleasure in the act if he were turned loose upon the cretins he had seen. But a larger part of him desperately hoped that the girl would take his teachings and gain her retribution on her own.

Amber felt, more than saw, Richard's presence as he moved closer to her. His nearness shocked her into remembering her breathing excercises and she forced herself to calm down.

As he started talking to her, she just looked at him doubtfully. She had no idea why he'd be trying to comfort her and wasn't sure exactly how that made her feel. It was nice that he acted as if he cared about her, but why should he? He didn't really know her. He'd only just met her really.

That whole thing was too much to contemplate right then, so she decided to put it away for the time being and concentrate on what else he was saying.

She couldn't help but shake her head in denial at be called, not only a gift, but gifted and wonderful, no matter the context. She was none of those things. She just was.

"No," she whispered, as he offered to make her problems disappear.

Her eyes widened and surprise and hope battled to be dominant emotions. "You'd do that? You'd teach me that?"

That was better than anything she could have ever imagined. She could be given the right training in order to act, not just react, as she'd been doing. Even with Kat, she'd only reacted to being the more experienced cousin when it came to things and making sure the other girl hadn't been caught.

She couldn't help herself. She launched herself at him.

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you."

Suddenly, she realized what she had done, and her eyes were fearful as she backed away.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Once a sufficient distance away, she dropped to her knees and bowed her head.

"Please, forgive me. Such displays of emotion, as now and before, are unacceptable and unbecoming in a young lady."

By the way she worded her apology and spoke it aloud made it clear she'd had to do this numerous times. It wasn't very surprising that she'd learned it in an extremely strict, male-dominated school. (Damn that Transfiguration professor!) Nor would it be a surprise that she'd stay in that kneeling position until her apology was acknowledged either favorably or disfavorably.

Richard chuckled at her reaction. "Think nothing of it child. To this day I am still sometimes overcome by emotion and act without thinking. It would be an honor to teach you how to take your place in the world."

With more effort than he would have liked, Richard pushed himself back to his feet and winced at the pain in his back. As he looked down at the young girl before him it was just one more reminder of his age. "I am sorry that you had to relive those memories, and yet at the same time I am not. To be able to suppress your emotions is important. To ignore them is folly. As painful as it is, we must face the horrible things that happen to us. When we don't they become weaknesses. If I had been an opponent who managed to penetrate your mental defenses in combat, this would have reduced you to a non-threat. I wish that I could have you with me for the entire year, but I know that is not to be. If you are amenable, I would like you to return her at the beginning of next summer, as there are a handful of spells that I need to teach you that I will not have time to do now. And then you and I will go and see about settling some of the debts that those muggle animals have incurred upon what passes as their souls."

"For now, rise. Take the rest of the day to visit with your friends, and play with your dog. We will meet here again tomorrow and we will continue with your training."

Amber gasped as Richard didn't berate her. Even more, he actually understood and said he had trouble too?

"No sir," she whispered. "The honor would be mine to learn from you."

She stared at the floor under her knees. "I know, sir."

She silently debated with herself for a bit and carefully put her thoughts into words. "I have accepted everything in my past, good and bad. Most things no longer bother me. I am able to no only supress my emotions for the most part, but also to mask them. Mind Healer Korskii has assured me that I'm doing very well with dealing with everything. He says I just need time for the last bit."

As he offered a visit for the beginning of the next summer, she felt stunned. "Are you sure? I mean, it would be no problem since the Kantals transferred me back to Hogwarts. But, um, why would you do that?"

She felt extremely unsure about this offer, but had no clear feeling why that was. Now that she'd asked the question, she didn't want the answer. Of course, she'd jump at the chance.

"Please don't answer that."

She nodded in agreement of his ideas for free time, and nodding to him respectfully, left the practice hall. She didn't actually follow his instructions though. What she wanted was a long shower and some relaxation.

*end day*

Richard moved about the dueling hall, waiting for his pupil to arrive. He had several ideas today, and he would start off with instructing her in the use of a new spell. It wouldn't be as offensive as much of what she had shown him the other day, but it would definitely be useful to her in a fight. Especially in Hogwarts.

The room was as ready as he could see to make it. Now all he had to do was wait.