Playing for tips

"Wow thanks!" Danny said with a warm grin. He grabbed the plate and felt how heavy the burger was. HE nearly dropped it yet he got it under control. He set the cola next to him and then toke a bite of the hamburger. It practically melted in his mouth with flavor. After swallowing, he looked back at Khaat. "So you ever think about playing the guitar?" he asked calmly

"Yeah. Sure, "She smiled, "There used to be a little band in the pub back home and on the weekends they would play old rock mixed with some pretty hard core blues. Their lead guitar player had a really sweet looking Fender. Don't know much about them, but this guitar was really sleek and had a great sound. " She conjured a bench and sat down beside him, leaving him plenty of room if he wanted to join her, and then she conjured her own can of cola. "So what house are you in? I was a Gryffindor, myself, but then that sort of comes with being a Lupin, I suppose."

Danny toke another bite of the burger and said after swallowing his food "I'm in Gryffindor. Bites because this is my last year here" he said quite calmly

"Oh, how I understand that," Khaat smiled, "Well, being a Gryffindor is more than just your house at Hogwarts. It's a spirit that you carry inside your soul not only when you're a student, but for the rest of your life. You won't ever stop being a Gryffindor. I'm betting you and I are both dedicated deep inside to fighting for the right thing. And, funny thing is, us Gryffindors are okay with taking risks as long as we're standing up for the right thing. You're gonna be okay, you know. You'll find other Gryffindors that will stand right with you not just now, but for good. And you know something else, I bet we're gonna find we're both fighting on the same side, ready to kick some Voldemort butt."

"Well that's the thing," he said almost straining himself "Voldemorts dead. I wanted to kill that mother myself." He remembered what he did to him. He had thrown Danny around like a rag doll with no end whatsoever. It haunted him that he could be so weak.

"I know how that feels too. He was responsible for my uncle's death, even though a death eater actually did the deed, but you know what? He has a lot of tentacles of his operation still out there, and that's what brought me back. I was 16 when my uncle was killed, and at the time, I didn't think I was going to survive without him. He paid more attention to me than my parents did. And I think it was because he and I were more alike than my folks and me.

Believe me, there is a lot of work to be done to clean up the mess Voldemort made. I want this world to be safe for you and your children and your grandchildren, and I am absolutely positive that's what my uncle wanted too. I know all about what it's like to want revenge. I've been there too. The best way for you to do that is to work with people like me who are seriously interested in cleaning things up so that no one ever gets that much power again. You know, if there is anything I can do to help you along the way, I'd like to do that. I know what it was like to have my uncle be my mentor. Maybe its my turn to pass on what he told me to another young fighter--like you. You interested?"

"Yeah," he said taking another bite then swallowing "I just dont get it though. He could've killed me. I had hit him with more than a few Crucios and yet he didn't kill me. I dont get it."

"He sometimes was hard to figure, that's for sure. My best guess is that he thought you were going to be more frightened of him than angry and that you would continue to spread his legend about how terrible he was. Maybe he didn't figure you would be more interested in fighting than in cowering in fear. That's to your credit, that's for certain. So--how much dueling practice have you had?"

"Many," he said almost proud of himself "I've started dueling since my first year. It was pretty tough too. And I highly doubt that he would only use me as some sort of prophet of his name. Maybe it was because my friend had talked him out of it while I was bleeding out. Oh well, guess I'll never find out. So uh you duel a lot?"

"I was a part of the original battle with Voldemort--the one Harry Potter made so famous. Unforturnately I wasn't with my uncle to have played any part in saving him, though I surely wish I had been. There were many,mnay duels in those days. I don't think I could ever forget a one. I haven't done much dueling since then, but I am quite sure I could hold my own. My uncle was very wise. He used dueling as a sort of a game when I was a kid. We played with just sticks off a tree until I got old enough to wield a wand. He thought the most important thing for me to learn was how to defend myself against any sort of dark art. I'm going to make you a suggestion. Wny don't you come--bring any friend you have that might be interested in learning whatever I can informally teach you, and come to my place tomorrow. I'll make some sort of dinner. Might even do it muggle style for a change. Then maybe we can hone up our dueling skills."