"Alastor Moody." The man said, writing his name on the whiteboard.
The quartet sat in the small room, staring at their new professor. Since Professor Lupin had quit his job last year, they had to have a new person teaching them Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Ex-Auror, Ministry Malcontent... and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." He continued introducing himself.
"I am here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions?" He spat.
They all sat there in silence, watching him. Hermione grabbed Y/N's hand under the table, giving it a light squeeze without taking her eyes off of their new professor.
"When it comes to the Dark Arts... I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?" He asked, raising his voice at the end.
Though Y/N couldn't see Harry and Ron, due to him and Hermione sitting closer to the front of the class, he knew Ron must have a frightened expression on his face at this moment.
"Three, sir." Hermione answered, her voice a little shaky.
Y/N gripped Hermione's hand tighter, giving her a soft kiss on the cheek to calm her while Moody's back was turned.
"And they are so named?" He asked once again, writing something on the board.
"Because they are unforgivable." Hermione said, taking a deep breath.
"The use of any one of them will-"
"Earn you a one-way ticket to Az-Ka-Ban, correct." He growled, turning around to face the scared students once more.
"Now the Ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different! You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared!" He yelled, turning his back once more.
"You need to find another place to put your chewing gum besides the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnigan!" He shouted, causing the students to turned their heads, looking at Seamus.
"No way. The old codger can see out the back of his head." Seamus whispered.
Moody whipped his head towards him before throwing a piece of chalk, hitting Seamus on the head.
"And hear across classrooms!" Moody yelled.
The students hastily turned their heads back towards the professor, their faces now filled with terror. Even Y/N who usually wore an expressionless mask, now had a worried look on his face.
"So which curse shall we see first? Weasley!" He shouted, standing in front of Ron.
"Y-yes?" Ron croaked out.
"Stand." The professor ordered.
Ron stared at him for a second before standing up nervously, his eyes darting around the room.
"Give us a curse."
"Well, my dad did tell me about one... The Imperius Curse." Ron stuttered.
"Oh, yeah, your father would know all about that." Moody spat, his mechanical eye darting all over the place.
"Gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps this will show you why."
Moody turned his back and started walking back towards the front.
Hermione took a deep breath. Worried for what Moody will do next, she tightened her grip on Y/N's hand.
"Hello!" Moody chirped, grabbing a spider out of a jar.
"Lovely little beauty." He said, letting the spider climb onto his hand.
Y/N's eyes softened. He liked animals, big or small, except for rats. Y/N had always been creeped out by rats, more specifically, their tails.
"Engorgio." Moody casted, pointing his hand at the small spider which was now the size of a tarantula.
"Imperio!" He yelled, causing the spider to fly to a direction that he pointed his wand.
Goyle gulped as the spider dropped on his hand, causing the class to erupt with laughter.
"Don't worry, it's completely harmless." The professor soothed, flinging the spider towards another group of students.
The student gasped while the rest of the students laughed. Next Moody made the spider hover on top of Ron, making him nearly pee his pants. Everyone knew spiders were one of Ron's greatest fears.
"If she bites... She's lethal!" He exclaimed dropping the spider on Ron's face.
Ron wailed as Draco laughed manically.
"What are you laughing at?" Moody spat, turning his attention to Malfoy.
He quickly sent the spider onto Malfoy's face making the rest of the students laugh harder. Even Y/N let out a small chuckle.
"Get it off!" Draco cried, trying to shake the spider off of his face.
"Talented, isn't she? What should I have her do next? Jump out the window?" The professor said, sending the spider towards a window.
Y/N's amused face was now filled with worry.
"Drown herself?" Moody added, making the spider go to a bucket of water.
The class was now silent, watching the spider struggle. After a few seconds, he brought the spider back in front of him, placing it in his hand.
"Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding... under the influence of the Imperius Curse." He explained.
"But here's the rub: How do we sort out the liars?" He asked his students.
"Another, another. Up, up. Come on." He ushered, causing most of the students to raise their hands.
The quartet kept their hands to their sides.
"Longbottom, is it? Up." He said.
Neville slowly rose from his seat as the students lowered their hands.
"Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for herbology."
Neville slowly nodded his head with fear in his eyes.
"T-There's the... Uhm... T-The Cruciatus... Curse." Neville stuttered out.
"Correct! Correct! Come, come." Moody yelled, making Neville follow him.
"Particularly nasty... The torture curse..." Moody explained, pointing his wand at the spider.
"Crucio!"
The spider was now filled with agonizing pain, squealing as it moved around on the table. Y/N winced, unable to watch the spider be in pain. He buried his face into Hermione's shoulder, trying to block out the spider's pain. Neville also watched, seemingly also feeling the pain.
"Stop it!" Hermione yelled, taking Y/N's hands into hers again.
"Can't you see it's bothering them? Stop it!" She screamed, unable to watch her boyfriend and her friend in pain.
He stopped, looking towards Hermione and Y/N, who had his head in Hermione's shoulder. Neville took deep breaths and Y/N lifted his head from Hermione's shoulder.
"Thank you, 'Mione..." Y/N whispered.
Hermione simply nodded at him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Moody cleared his throat as he placed the spider onto their desks, right on top of Hermione's book.
YOU ARE READING
Hand Over Hand (Hermione Granger x Male Reader)
Fanfiction"When I saw her smile, I didn't know what I was feeling. Because I want to be her tomorrow, I lived through today." The boy who lived: Harry Potter, the symbol of strength, a beacon of hope. We all know of him, the boy who rekindled the dead flame...
