Hateful Love

Chapter Twenty-Five

NOTE: I do not own any of the ideas or characters expressed in this story (except Cassie Jackson). All of these belong to J.K. Rowling.

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Cassie P.O.V.

          Even after what happened with Hannah Abott, the thing that really convinces me Hogwarts has changed is my first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. With the Carrows.

          Luna departed for Transfiguration right after a particularly boring History of Magic, so I enter the classroom alone. Much to my relief, I spot Draco sitting alone in a desk by the back. I’m just wondering if it’s a good idea to sit with him when he turns and smirks over at me.

          “Are you going to sit next to me or not?”

          I return his smirk and close the distance between us easily, passing through the rows of desks. As I put my bag beside my chair, I look up briefly to see Cho sitting beside another Ravenclaw girl. This makes me feel relieved; if Cho had been sitting by herself, I’m not sure what I would have done.

          “I don’t know if I can handle sitting next to you,” I smile with a raised eyebrow, looking at Draco out of the corner of my eye. “With this new rule, it’ll be hard keeping my hands off you.”

          He returns the grin, but I can see it practically melt off his face as Blaise Zabini saunters in. I don’t miss the intense glare they give each other. Leaning closer to Draco, I ask quietly, “Is something wrong?”

          Draco gives a tired sigh as more students enter the classroom. His eyes flick back up to meet mine, and he smiles a little. “No, don’t worry about it.”

          I bite my lip and turn away, barely refraining from pressing further. Maybe I’ll get him to explain if we meet up tonight…though with that load of History homework, I’m not sure it’ll be possible.

          Another moment passes, and then Amycus Carrow enters the room. All whispers vanish instantly as the oak wood door slams shut behind him, and darkness closes in on us when the professor waves his wand, efficiently shutting all the windows. As soon as he turns around at the front of the classroom with a creepy smile etched on his face, my blood runs cold. I have a bad feeling about this class…

          Carrow rakes a black-eyed stare over all of us, then says happily, “Welcome to your first Defense Against the Dark Arts class!”

          No one smiles back.

          Carrow’s grin falters, but he manages to continue cheerily, “You’ll be having assigned seats this year.” A few people groan quietly, and Carrow doesn’t miss this. His voice turns considerably colder as he orders, “Get up.”

          The air is filled with the sound of chairs being scraped back, but no one is brave enough to complain. Carrow smiles wider and moves about the room, directing people to their new seats. Draco and I exchange looks of frustration; he seems to be placing students beside people they dislike the most.

          Carrow gets to our table and looks surprised to see us standing next to each other. He doesn’t comment, however, and sends Draco to sit beside Danny. I just push down the laughter at Draco’s expression—he almost looks sickened.

          I don’t feeling like laughing when the professor seats Pansy Parkinson beside me. She gives me a nasty sneer as she sits down in the chair next to mine. I take a deep breath to try and control my anger; I do not like Pansy.

          Amycus returns to the front of the room gleefully, which makes me want to throw my textbook at him. He turns away from us and waves his wand at the blackboard, where white, chalky letters begin to spell out Unforgivable Curses.

          A few people twist in their seats to exchange looks, and I don’t blame them. We’ve already learned about these in fourth year, so why would Amycus want to teach it again?

          The professor turns back to us and grins widely, then begins, “Today we’ll be learning about the three Unforgivable Curses. Who can tell me the names?”

          After a moment, Seamus Finnigan raises his hand tentatively. “Sir—“

          “Twenty points from Gryffindor,” Amycus interrupts crisply. As Seamus’s mouth falls open in outrage, he continues as though chiding a five year old, “Wait until I call on you before speaking. Now, Goyle, what are the names?”

        I glance over to see Goyle sitting beside Dean Thomas, looking extremely flustered. “Uh,” he stammers, clearly thinking hard. “Crutiatus, Killing…and, um…Imperius curse.”

          “Excellent,” Amycus beams, as though Goyle has just answered an extremely difficult question. “Fifty points to Slytherin.”

          “Fifty?” Seamus exclaims in disbelief. I wince as he leans forward with a red face; he’s going to get in so much trouble. “A six year old could have answered that question better!”

          “Detention, Mr. Finnigan.” Amycus turns away and waves his wand at the board once more, continuing his lesson. “And another twenty points from Gryffindor.”

          My blood boils at how unfair he’s being, but I’m sure Seamus must be seething with anger. Pansy snickers beside me, and I have to fight down the urge to say something. I’m suddenly very grateful Katherine isn’t here; she would have already received more than a detention with her smart mouth.

          “Now,” Carrow says, facing us once more. “As most of you realize, these three curses have been illegal for centuries. The Ministry of Magic decided that the use of just one of these curses was punishable by a lifetime sentence in Azkaban. Which, let me tell you, is an extreme punishment.”

          Yeah, and you would know, I think angrily, remembering how the Carrows had been sent to Azkaban after You-Know-Who fell almost 16 years ago.

          Amycus smiles widely, revealing broken and rotted teeth. “However, you must surely know by now that this law has recently been revoked by the Ministry of Magic.”

          My mouth falls open in shock, and I’m not the only one. I can see Cho looking outraged, and Seamus’s face has turned red again. The Slytherins, on the other hand, wear faces of delight, and some even laugh out loud. Pansy lets out a happy giggle, making me feel sick. I desperately look over and lock eyes with Draco, and it’s clear to me that he’s terrified. This is not good.

          “So,” Carrow continues, fixing us all with a dark glare. “All three of these curses are now allowed at Hogwarts. Keep that in mind when you consider breaking a rule.”

          I feel like my heart stops in my chest. There’s no way…would he actually do that? I look down and see that my knuckles have gone white in my right hand, clutching at my quill in anger. Snape can’t really be allowing this, can he?

          Cho raises her hand and impatiently waits until Carrow calls her name. “Um, sir, you can’t mean that a professor would actually use an Unforgivable Curse on a student?”

          Amycus smiles widely and doesn’t answer.