Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't written a new chapter last month, I was so focused on finishing my donation fic for a cause – Babies at the Border Fiction Compilation. I wrote a Gin 'n' Tonic Victorian era AU which I'm really excited to share with you all soon. Plus, I've been busy with RL stuff coz I'm moving to the UK this week and I'm pretty pumped (nervous) about that.

But of course, thank you to those who followed/favorited the story and shout-outs to last chapter's reviews: jlove34 (thank you for the helpful insight, the formatting is fixed now), kmplease, guests, Infernalbooks, and quillstrike.

Much love to my awesome beta, Sunset-Whispers!

Also, I'd really like to thank the wonderful person/s who voted for me as 'Favorite New Author' and Tabula Rasa as 'Favorite Hogwarts Era' fic at the Beyond the Book Fanfiction Nook Summer Awards. It's my first time to be nominated for anything so thank you! It really means a lot to me.

If you love me and this story please vote for me. You can also check out the other stories from other amazing authors!

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This chapter is important because I wanted to emphasize the characters undergoing training in the story and it's not something I only want to write in passing. Muggle fighting will not be the focus of this story - there will be other key points. In addition, I specifically chose Ron to teach Muggle defense because in my opinion he is the best candidate for me - not Harry or anyone else. You can agree or disagree but this is what I want to happen in the story. Old martial arts books contain illustrations (fighting styles etc) and have exaggerated descriptions (ex: The 'death punch'- a punch that can stop a heart from beating) which I think Ron - a strategist, and his brothers would be intrigued by. Hence, their attraction to the book.

At times during war, retreating from conflict would be considered brave rather than foolish cowardice. For there was a large difference from being brave and being ignorant. It was when one knew how to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of action versus inaction, as fortitude was essential in order to withdraw from an attack – to allow the enemy to gain the upper hand until another way to obtain victory had been found.

This was something Ron understood well. War was similar to Wizard's Chess. A good chess player should keep his king out of the opponent's range, while provoking his opponent to make a move that would later be the cause of their defeat.

He might not be called 'The Brightest Witch of Her Age' like Hermione, nor was he hailed as 'The Boy Who Lived' like Harry. He wasn't the son whose parents would always shower him with praise, nor was he the ideal brother whose siblings would look up to him in admiration.

He might be strong enough to fight and brave enough to stand up for his beliefs, though, he felt it was never enough. His flaws were always visible and there were faults in everything he did. But he was not without his merits. For if there was one thing Ron Weasley had above the rest, his actions were driven by his heart. He transformed his weakness into his strength and in this, he found his purpose.

"Defense is offense," Ron was saying to the DA members inside the Room of Requirement after they had transfigured their clothes into more suitable attire that did not hinder their movements and cut off their circulation. "In a real fight, there are no rules and time works against you. If someone is trying to kill you, you don't grant them the luxury of striking you first. You might miss – they might not."

"But before discussing any strategies or techniques, breathing comes first." The red-headed male began demonstrating how he inhaled through his nose and exhaled through his mouth in regular intervals. "Breathing gives power to all movements and each breathing pattern depends on the attack you will execute. Slow and deep strikes will need slow and deep breaths. Fast and bursting strikes will need fast breaths."

"Oh, we're practicing meditation. Daddy tells me meditating wards off the Blibbering Humdingers," Luna announced cheerfully and immediately sat on the floor with her legs crossed, eyes shut in concentration and palms cupping her knees. She did this in one swift motion, that Hermione didn't have time to inform the eccentric girl that those creatures did not exist.

Harry knew his bushy-haired friend would not let it slide. So, before she could open her mouth to explain that Luna's statements offered little to no support for the plausibility of the creature's existence, he interjected, "We should follow Luna's example. I think having a sound mind is as important as having a sound body."

Ron was quick to agree. Though, Harry's comment was met with a glare from Hermione, before she sighed and followed as the rest of the group sat down on the floor to meditate.

~~O~~

"Timing and accuracy are skills needed when you throw a punch. It increases your efficiency and effectiveness in a fight. Perfect timing lets you hit harder while using less energy so you won't get tired easily," Ron spoke and took out his wand, conjuring six sets of heavy bags, speed bags and double-end bags for every one of them.

"You won't be able to deliver a punch if you can't make a proper fist. Be sure your fingers are clenched tightly together and that your thumb is securely wrapped around your second and third knuckles." Ron showed his clenched fists to make sure that the DA members were doing it correctly. He inspected each fist and fixed any errors before conjuring a pair of boxing gloves for himself.

Hermione was impressed, he was actually a very good teacher for Muggle defense training. She then conjured gloves for the others because Luna and Neville had never seen that type of Muggle clothing before, unlike Ron and Ginny who had a Muggle enthusiast for a father.

"Never let your guard down and get the stance right." Ron demonstrated the position and continued, "Keep your hands up, your elbows down, and put it close to your body. If you're right-handed like me, your left shoulder should always face your opponent. Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and bend your knees slightly. Then, turn your left foot pointing towards your opponent. Put your chin down and eyes up at all times."

Then, he swung his fist on a heavy set bag. His gloved hand connected with the material with brute force. The bag quivered slightly as the power behind his strike was only concentrated on the center of the bag. It left a glove-shaped dent behind which was how Hermione knew that Ron could throw a proper punch.

"That was great, Ron!" Neville cheered and Harry smiled in agreement.

"It's nothing," Ron replied casually but inside he was preening.

"You're surprisingly good at this." Ginny looked at her brother suspiciously. "Why are you good at this?"

"Do you remember after Charlie graduated from Hogwarts, he wanted to work with dragons and Mum almost fainted on the dinner table that day?" Ginny narrowed her eyes at him and nodded slowly, before he continued, "This was when Dad heard stories about Muggles and dragons coexisting even without the use of magic."

Hermione immediately validated Ron's statement. "According to legend, the ancient Chinese people used to believe that they were the descendants of dragons who were said to control thunder, floods, and rain. Although, there is a vast difference between Western and Eastern beliefs about dragons, one thing remains the same – up to this day, Muggles still classify dragons as mythical creatures because they have never been sighted by them."

"Yeah. So imagine Dad's surprise when he entered an old bookshop in Muggle London to buy a tome on human and dragon interactions, and the closest thing they had on the subject was a style on dragons," Ron explained in amusement.

"A style on dragons?" Hermione's brows raised questioningly and Luna tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah, dra-gon style," Ron emphasized the word and added, "It's a kind of 'marshall hearts' move. I don't think Dad still knows he got Charlie a book on fighting 'coz Mum would've thrown a fit." He chuckled as he recalled the skeptical look on Charlie's face when Arthur first handed him the book.

"You mean martial arts, Ron," she quickly corrected him.

"That's what I said, Hermione," the ginger-haired boy said, frowning at Hermione when she rolled her eyes at him, then, he went back to the topic. "The book was filled with different fighting styles, so every time Bill and Charlie went home for Christmas, we'd sneak inside their room and try out all those moves without Mum and Dad finding out. It was bloody wicked! Bill has a killer right hook while Charlie has a mean uppercut. Fred's a born fighter and George can really… BAM, knock one right in the kisser!"

"What about Percy?" Ginny asked then exclaimed in exasperation. "I can't believe not one of my brothers told me any of this!"

Ron shrugged his shoulders. "You were too young–"

"You're only a year older than me!" Ginny shouted at him.

He paid her no mind and made a face. "And Percy's a shrew."

~~O~~

"A good kick is like a good punch – both can wear your opponent down. In order for a kick to be effective, remember these things: how accurate you are in landing a kick, how you position your legs when you throw a kick, how much power you put into your kick, and the speed of the kick," Ron enumerated each key component and went into a fighting stance. He motioned for them to do the same and once they fell into place, he carefully observed the position each member was in before speaking again, "If you plan to use your legs as weapons, there has to be power behind them."

To stress his point, he executed a front kick by extending his foot and pulling his toes back. Then, he bent his knees before he lifted his leg high and snapped it hard by hitting the heavy set bag with the ball of his foot. He did this while moving his hips forward as his upper body leaned back. The bag rattled loudly from the sheer strength in his kick.

"You could've decked Malfoy a long time ago with these moves," Neville muttered wryly.

"Using magic is a force of habit," Ron admitted and scanned the group. "Now, why don't each one of you guys try it?"

** They practiced on the punching bags until their knuckles bled raw and their legs throbbed in pain and were decorated in bruises, as perspiration soaked through their clothes. Hermione could feel the sweat roll down her skin and sting the wounds on her hands from the thick, salty beads.

She had never done anything like this before. She wasn't an athlete like Harry, Ginny, or Ron. Her body held no athletic prowess whatsoever, and the first time she participated in any form of physical activity ended in disaster when she tried to summon her broom in Madam Hooch's class.

Today was a first for her. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. Her heart was beating so fast and she was breathing rapidly from all their training, but it felt so rewarding. She knew they still had a long way to go, but progress was progress even a bit.