Chapter Five:
It wasn't like anything he'd ever done. The movements utilized muscles he hadn't been aware he'd possessed, even with all the hours he'd put in training for, and playing, Quidditch. His experience with the most noble of sports did, however, serve him in good stead insofar as his balance and agility were concerned. Still, the first week or two had found him on the floor more often than not. Such failure was not acceptable for a Malfoy, even considering how completely foreign the mere concept of physical combat happened to be. He'd held his own on the pitch, after all, and Quidditch was a very physical sport, especially when one is involved in a Slytherin/Gryffindor match.
With such a view, and a large amount of stubborn Malfoy pride, Draco soon developed an impressive aptitude for Muggle martial arts. And somewhere during the long painful hours of practice and training, he'd discovered he rather enjoyed it. He enjoyed it so much, and was so pleased with his progress, in fact, that he expanded beyond Aikido. He chose to move on to Tae Kwon Do because of its emphasis on stand-up fighting. He quickly immersed himself in the exchange of punches and blocks, the increasingly complicated footwork and kicks.
He was praised more than once on the speed with which he picked up the techniques and the dedication he showed to his studies, but more than anything, the thing that made him keep going was the raw rush he got when he fought, hand to hand and face to face. It was so much more intimate and intense than dueling, so much more satisfying when you sent the other person to the floor with your own strength, felt the other person's flesh against your fist.
In the months he had been taking Muggle martial arts classes, he'd found a new sense of pride in his own abilities and strength that he doubted even the House Cup would have given him. Watching the majority of the game from above and only getting to actually play for the duration of the chase to the Snitch just didn't compare to taking, blocking, and giving every punch and kick that could be pulled from screaming muscles. At least that's what he would think to himself after a sparing session; he didn't think much at all beyond the next blow, the next block, when he was fighting.
Draco Malfoy spared none of his senses for anything besides his opponent as he ducked to evade a well-aimed kick, and raised an arm to keep a large fist from connecting with his face, then jabbed with his own hand, struck out with his own foot and felt the shots connect solidly with their targets.
"All right, well done, gentlemen."
The young wizard pulled the fist he'd been prepared to send towards the other man's face, straightened and helped his opponent to his feet before stepping back and bowing, then turning to face the older man that had just called a stop to the practice bout.
"Wonderful work today. Draco, your footwork is coming along superbly. We'll go over those new steps tomorrow."
The blond nodded respectfully, keeping his face carefully composed while he said goodbye and headed towards the showers to clean up. By the time he had reached his destination, he was having trouble holding on to the solemnity though; an expression of pure enjoyment stealing over his features as he stepped up to his locker and reached for his clean clothes.
"Having fun, eh?"
He turned at the question, raising a single blond brow at the grinning brunette behind him. The gesture seemed to cause the stranger a great deal of amusement. The as-yet unknown young man let out a loud laugh and looked behind him at a sandy-blond haired teenager that looked about their age.
"Hey, Blake, he does the snobby brow-thing even better than you."
The individual in question, the sandy-blond, smirked at the Slytherin as though he were a snake himself. Draco smirked back in similar, though perhaps cockier, fashion, locking eyes with the semi-blond as a third stranger made his way into the locker room.
"Bloody hell, there's two of 'em," he exclaimed upon catching sight of the two, drawing the others' attention to him.
The ice-blond broke eye contact and glanced over, brow once more rising in question as he watched the three.
"They do have a certain quality in common, don't they?" the brunette asked, gesturing between blonds.
"Yeah," the third one stated, running a hand absently over what little there was of his hair. "They both look like arrogant snobs."
Rather than appear offended by the description, the young wizard gave an elegant shrug in agreement and leaned back against his locker. The action brought another round of laughter from the brunette. The other two soon joined in, eventually pulling an amused smirk from their silent audience. Noticing his reaction, the three teenagers exchanged looks for a moment before the brunette took a step forward and held out his hand.
"I'm Aaron," he stated as he shook Draco's hand, then waved with friendly dismal at the two standing behind him. "The blond's Blake, and the other one's Karen."
The last introduction earned Aaron a glare from his friend with the severe crew cut. "It's Carren, Car-ren. Arse." The dark-haired teen rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
"I'm Draco," he said before taking Blake's hand.
"Nice ta meet cha, Draco," Aaron responded. He waited a beat for Carren to shake his hand, then gestured at the standard white uniform that the blond had been about to change out of when they had come in. "How long ya been doin' Tae Kwon Do?"
"Little over a month is all, I was doing Aikido for about as long before I started here."
"A month? Damn, you must learn quick."
Draco smirked at the compliment, but didn't bother to respond. "What about you?"
"Oh, we've been taking different classes on and off since we were kids. We just usually stick with kickboxing and karate, so we haven't been here in a while. Thought we'd come by and check it out, see if we wanted to give it another go."
"Made a decision yet?"
Aaron shrugged, exchanged a look with the others. "We're considering it. What do you think of it? Is it worth it?"
Draco thought back to the first question the other teen had asked him when he'd come in to change. "It's fun." He thought about how it felt to face off with an opponent, exchange blows, come out on top. "A bit of a rush if you're fighting someone good enough."
"Like getting a rush, then?"
He shrugged, not quite knowing exactly where the other teen was headed. "Yeah."
The three Muggles flashed each other rather devious grins. "In that case, I think we're all going to get along just fine."
The two dark-haired teens nodded in agreement, then grinned even wider as Blake went on. "But if you want a real rush, we've got just the thing."
"Really?" His natural suspicion crept into his voice as he watched them smirk at each other again. "And what would that be?"
"Well, you ever been rock climbing?" asked Aaron.
"Or sky diving?" questioned Blake.
Draco shook his head, turned to face Carren as he spoke. "What about base jumping?"
"No, can't say that I have. Why?"
"Want to get a real rush?"
Grey eyes narrowed as they swept over the three faces, noting the almost devious expressions, and the all out excitement gleaming from their eyes. The blond thought about all the things they'd mentioned, tried to remember if he'd ever read or seen anything about any of them. Then a picture burst to life in his mind, an image of someone leaping from a plane and rushing towards the earth, falling faster and faster until the person pulled their parachute. "Hell yeah."
The three others grinned ever wider. "Then you've come to the right people."
Draco grinned back, having the suspicion that Blake was spot on with that assessment. He knew for a fact that he was right fifteen minutes later when he climbed in the back of Aaron's brand new sports car and listened to the three rich, snobby adrenaline junkies discuss their next adventure. Yes, he'd ran into just exactly the right people: his kind of people.
End Chapter Five
It wasn't like anything he'd ever done. The movements utilized muscles he hadn't been aware he'd possessed, even with all the hours he'd put in training for, and playing, Quidditch. His experience with the most noble of sports did, however, serve him in good stead insofar as his balance and agility were concerned. Still, the first week or two had found him on the floor more often than not. Such failure was not acceptable for a Malfoy, even considering how completely foreign the mere concept of physical combat happened to be. He'd held his own on the pitch, after all, and Quidditch was a very physical sport, especially when one is involved in a Slytherin/Gryffindor match.
With such a view, and a large amount of stubborn Malfoy pride, Draco soon developed an impressive aptitude for Muggle martial arts. And somewhere during the long painful hours of practice and training, he'd discovered he rather enjoyed it. He enjoyed it so much, and was so pleased with his progress, in fact, that he expanded beyond Aikido. He chose to move on to Tae Kwon Do because of its emphasis on stand-up fighting. He quickly immersed himself in the exchange of punches and blocks, the increasingly complicated footwork and kicks.
He was praised more than once on the speed with which he picked up the techniques and the dedication he showed to his studies, but more than anything, the thing that made him keep going was the raw rush he got when he fought, hand to hand and face to face. It was so much more intimate and intense than dueling, so much more satisfying when you sent the other person to the floor with your own strength, felt the other person's flesh against your fist.
In the months he had been taking Muggle martial arts classes, he'd found a new sense of pride in his own abilities and strength that he doubted even the House Cup would have given him. Watching the majority of the game from above and only getting to actually play for the duration of the chase to the Snitch just didn't compare to taking, blocking, and giving every punch and kick that could be pulled from screaming muscles. At least that's what he would think to himself after a sparing session; he didn't think much at all beyond the next blow, the next block, when he was fighting.
Draco Malfoy spared none of his senses for anything besides his opponent as he ducked to evade a well-aimed kick, and raised an arm to keep a large fist from connecting with his face, then jabbed with his own hand, struck out with his own foot and felt the shots connect solidly with their targets.
"All right, well done, gentlemen."
The young wizard pulled the fist he'd been prepared to send towards the other man's face, straightened and helped his opponent to his feet before stepping back and bowing, then turning to face the older man that had just called a stop to the practice bout.
"Wonderful work today. Draco, your footwork is coming along superbly. We'll go over those new steps tomorrow."
The blond nodded respectfully, keeping his face carefully composed while he said goodbye and headed towards the showers to clean up. By the time he had reached his destination, he was having trouble holding on to the solemnity though; an expression of pure enjoyment stealing over his features as he stepped up to his locker and reached for his clean clothes.
"Having fun, eh?"
He turned at the question, raising a single blond brow at the grinning brunette behind him. The gesture seemed to cause the stranger a great deal of amusement. The as-yet unknown young man let out a loud laugh and looked behind him at a sandy-blond haired teenager that looked about their age.
"Hey, Blake, he does the snobby brow-thing even better than you."
The individual in question, the sandy-blond, smirked at the Slytherin as though he were a snake himself. Draco smirked back in similar, though perhaps cockier, fashion, locking eyes with the semi-blond as a third stranger made his way into the locker room.
"Bloody hell, there's two of 'em," he exclaimed upon catching sight of the two, drawing the others' attention to him.
The ice-blond broke eye contact and glanced over, brow once more rising in question as he watched the three.
"They do have a certain quality in common, don't they?" the brunette asked, gesturing between blonds.
"Yeah," the third one stated, running a hand absently over what little there was of his hair. "They both look like arrogant snobs."
Rather than appear offended by the description, the young wizard gave an elegant shrug in agreement and leaned back against his locker. The action brought another round of laughter from the brunette. The other two soon joined in, eventually pulling an amused smirk from their silent audience. Noticing his reaction, the three teenagers exchanged looks for a moment before the brunette took a step forward and held out his hand.
"I'm Aaron," he stated as he shook Draco's hand, then waved with friendly dismal at the two standing behind him. "The blond's Blake, and the other one's Karen."
The last introduction earned Aaron a glare from his friend with the severe crew cut. "It's Carren, Car-ren. Arse." The dark-haired teen rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
"I'm Draco," he said before taking Blake's hand.
"Nice ta meet cha, Draco," Aaron responded. He waited a beat for Carren to shake his hand, then gestured at the standard white uniform that the blond had been about to change out of when they had come in. "How long ya been doin' Tae Kwon Do?"
"Little over a month is all, I was doing Aikido for about as long before I started here."
"A month? Damn, you must learn quick."
Draco smirked at the compliment, but didn't bother to respond. "What about you?"
"Oh, we've been taking different classes on and off since we were kids. We just usually stick with kickboxing and karate, so we haven't been here in a while. Thought we'd come by and check it out, see if we wanted to give it another go."
"Made a decision yet?"
Aaron shrugged, exchanged a look with the others. "We're considering it. What do you think of it? Is it worth it?"
Draco thought back to the first question the other teen had asked him when he'd come in to change. "It's fun." He thought about how it felt to face off with an opponent, exchange blows, come out on top. "A bit of a rush if you're fighting someone good enough."
"Like getting a rush, then?"
He shrugged, not quite knowing exactly where the other teen was headed. "Yeah."
The three Muggles flashed each other rather devious grins. "In that case, I think we're all going to get along just fine."
The two dark-haired teens nodded in agreement, then grinned even wider as Blake went on. "But if you want a real rush, we've got just the thing."
"Really?" His natural suspicion crept into his voice as he watched them smirk at each other again. "And what would that be?"
"Well, you ever been rock climbing?" asked Aaron.
"Or sky diving?" questioned Blake.
Draco shook his head, turned to face Carren as he spoke. "What about base jumping?"
"No, can't say that I have. Why?"
"Want to get a real rush?"
Grey eyes narrowed as they swept over the three faces, noting the almost devious expressions, and the all out excitement gleaming from their eyes. The blond thought about all the things they'd mentioned, tried to remember if he'd ever read or seen anything about any of them. Then a picture burst to life in his mind, an image of someone leaping from a plane and rushing towards the earth, falling faster and faster until the person pulled their parachute. "Hell yeah."
The three others grinned ever wider. "Then you've come to the right people."
Draco grinned back, having the suspicion that Blake was spot on with that assessment. He knew for a fact that he was right fifteen minutes later when he climbed in the back of Aaron's brand new sports car and listened to the three rich, snobby adrenaline junkies discuss their next adventure. Yes, he'd ran into just exactly the right people: his kind of people.
End Chapter Five
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