Out of the Shadows [Book Three]

Chapter Seven:

dedicated to bubblegumme123 for being awesome and supportive on the first book (and possibly the second book, i hope you find great happiness in the last book for this trilogy <3 

Chapter Seven: 

DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY - STILL RECRUITING 

Ginny and I admired our handiwork painted along the corridor that led to the Great Hall momentarily, not sticking around to see anyone's reactions to finding it.  It was the middle of the night and we both should have been in our dorms while sleeping peacefully but we wanted to make sure our message was heard loud and clear.  

So non-removable paint seemed like a good idea, I made sure to take my time designing it and tested all of the cleaning and removing spells I knew (and looked up some of the ones I didn't) before I deemed it fit for use and designed it myself (with a bit of help from magic, of course), then Ginny and I decided where the best places to use it would be.  Our conclusion?  The Great Hall Corridor, because every student and teacher walked past that area every morning and every evening without fail. 

Once we'd made it safely back to our common room, dodging Filch and Mrs Norris along the way, we flopped onto our respective beds and hoped that all would go well.  

* 

Soon enough, the beginning of November was upon us and while usually All Hallows Eve was celebrated with a feast, some candy and each house of Hogwarts throwing their own party, this year saw none of that and it passed as it would with any other day.  

I'd not gotten detention again, making sure that anything I did against the Carrows was done without getting caught and other than what I did for the D.A I made sure to do nothing else against the rules.  I finished every inch of my homework perfectly, I was never late for classes and I never spoke, no matter who tried to speak to me.  

Which is why it came at such a large surprise to find myself in Dark Arts with a wand pointed at me.  I stood on the floor, not particularly scared of course because it was only another student after all.    We were meant to be practicing the newly-made forgiveable curses on each other.  The Imperius and the Cruciatus curses though today we were focusing on Imperio.  Paired in groups, we were taken in the corridor and given approximately a three yard radius to use in order to make our partner do whatever we wanted.  

Cartwheels, handstands, jumping off the banister and making them fall to their deaths.  

One student would have complete and utter control over another.  

Fun.  

With a fellow Gryffindor's wand in my face, I looked him dead and the eyes as he began to say the spell.  "Don't forget, if you do it wrong, I'll be mentally incapable for the rest of my life.  Chorley was incorrectly placed under the Imperius curse and he's going to think he's a duck for the rest of his life," I smiled, watching as fear placed itself in Ritchie Coote's eyes.  He was a good kid if his reaction was anything to go by.  "But don't worry, I trust you."  

Inwardly laughing at his face, I listened as Carrow gave the command to begin.  Coote lifted his wand up and pointed it at my head, his arm shook and I could see the sweat beginning to bead on his dark skin.  

"What are you waiting for, boy?!"  

Jumping as Amycus hollered at him, he looked me in the eyes nearly apologetically before muttering a quick but efficient 'Imperio'.  Instantly, all my worries fell away and I was left feeling a bit hazy but certainly not unhappy.  I could see, I could hear but I didn't have to protect anyone, I didn't have to make any decisions, I could just do nothing and feel as though everything was being done.  

That was the beauty of the Imperius curse.  

"I want you to make your specimens do a back flip."  Without having to do anything, I could feel my body get into position before my knees bent and I jumped, and though I'd never done a backflip before, I did it perfectly as did everyone else.. well almost everyone else.  Ginny Weasley, who had been the 'specimen' just as well as I was, wasn't doing a flip, she was just stood there looking confused.  Oh well, wasn't my problem.  I paid no attention to anything else going on around me, deciding to just let my body do whatever it had to do so I could remain worry free as long as I could.  

But all at once my worry, my terror, my hopelessness, my maliciousness, my anger, my pain.. everything.. it all crashed back down onto me, leaving me on the floor near tears.  There was nothing as horrible as feeling like there was nothing you ever needed to feel again, only to have human emotions thrust back into your empty imperio'd shell of a self.  I imagined it was worse than dying, nearly.  

"Now, Weasley has shown an aptitude towards shielding herself from the Imperius curse but I'm keen on the belief it was probably due to the fact that Bushwell has the remarkable ability to do absolutely nothing right.  So I want Potter up here to try to Imperius Weasley.  If she can do it, I won't make her take part in the Cruciatus curse."  

Smiling at Ginny, I walked up to her confidently, knowing that I could do the curse properly and she wouldn't feel a thing.  

"Imperio," I said loudly, pointing my wand at her and at first it seemed to work but when I was instructed to make her do a backflip, I found that she wouldn't do it.  I wasn't sure if she was simply strong-willed enough to not be affected by it or if I was simply not strong enough to do it as I'd given up my Death Eater ways.  

The back of my cloak was grabbed forcefully and  I was turned so that I faced the entire class.  "This is what a failure looks like.  Don't be a failure in my class, tomorrow you will find out why its a bad thing to be."  

I was released and our class was told to gather our things up.  My hands shook a bit and I knew it was from both fear and nerves; tomorrow would be the Cruciatus curse and I had a feeling I wasn't going to be the person performing it.  

*

Two girls, a boy and a house elf stood before the entirety of the sixth year students.  We stood outside in the Quidditch field, Gryffindor to the left near the stands, Slytherin to the right on the other side of the stands, Ravenclaw to the back at one set of Quaffle posts, and Hufflepuff at the front of the other set of posts. 

Amycus and Alecto both stood on the field in the middle of all four houses, explaining the rules of todays class.  How they managed to get all of the students together in one class was beyond me but for obvious reasons, I didn't ask about it.  

 "In front of your houses stands your target.  For Gryffindor, there is Amaryllis Potter, for Ravenclaw you'll see Marietta Edgecombe, Hufflepuff you'll notice Zacharias Smith in front of you and Slytherin, because I couldn't seem to find a student in your class, in your year, that deserved torture, you have a house elf.  The rules are as such!  Any student who refuses to practice this curse will be the target for our seventh years and receive detention for one week with my brother, Professor Carrow," Alecto spoke in front of us, her voice echoing off the stands behind us.  

"I'll be giving away house points, for every second you hold the spell, you will receive one point, you can break off the curse whenever you wish and there will be no repercussions however.  Once everyone in Gryffindor has practiced the curse on Miss Potter, she will then practice it on whoever held the curse the longest on her.  The same goes for Ravenclaw's target and Hufflepuff's,"  Alecto smiled as if this was the most normal, nicest thing anyone had ever done for Gryffindor.  I was not frightened, because I had been through this with the Dark Lord and Bellatrix countless times, more times than there were sixth year Gryffindors to be sure.  

But I was scared that when it came to my turn, I wouldn't do it.  Because I knew once I began doing the Dark Arts again, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from using them against everyone that bothered me.  I was a weak-willed person who found enjoyment in causing misery, I'd gone long enough as it was without resorting back to that time in my life, I couldn't go back now.  

"Creevey, you first."