"Alastor Moody. Ex-Auror. Ministry malcontent and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. l am here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions?" Moody says as he stands at the front of the class. I am sat with Draco. "When it comes to the Dark Arts l believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?"
"Three, sir" Hermione says. I roll my eyes and lean back in my chair as he begins to scribble on the whiteboard.
"And they are so named?" He asks.
"Because they are unforgivable. The use of any one of them will..." She says.
"Will earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban, correct. The Ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. l say different! You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared. You need to find another place to put your chewing gum besides the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnigan!" He shouts and turns to Seamus. Draco snickers as Seamus sulks.
"No way. The old codger can see out the back of his head" Seamus groans and Moody launches the chalk across the classrooms.
"And hear across classrooms! So which curse shall we see first? Weasley!" He says stopping in front of Ron and Harry's desk. Ron jumps out of his skin.
"Yes?" He asks shakily. Draco sits forward.
"Now this should be funny" He whispers. I just roll my eyes.
"Stand. Give us a curse" Moody says. Ron stands slowly.
"Well, my dad did tell me about one. The lmperius Curse" He says slowly. Moody nods with a small smile.
"Oh, yeah, your father would know all about that. Gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps this will show you why. Hello. Lovely little beauty. Engorgio. Imperio! Don't worry. lt's completely harmless. lf she bites she's lethal. What are you laughing at?" He says and launches the spider from Ron's desk to Draco's face.
"Get it off!" He shouts and I jump away from it.
"Not a chance" I say, shaking my head. He glares at me as Moody takes it away.
"Talented, isn't she? What should l have her do next? Jump out the window? Drown herself?" He says and holds it over a bowl of water. I sit back in my seat slowly. "Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the imperius Curse But here's the rub: How do we sort out the liars? Another, another. Up, up. Come on. Longbottom, is it? Up. Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for herbology" Neville slowly stands up.
"There's the...The Cruciatus Curse," He says. He ushers Neville to his desk.
"Correct, correct. Come, come. Particularly nasty. The torture curse. Crucio!" He says and the spider starts crying out. I look to see Neville shaking and scrunching up his face.
"I can't watch this," I say, turning my head away.
"Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him? Stop it!" Hermione screams. I turn to see him stop. I take a deep breath as he puts the spider on his hand.
"Perhaps you could give us the last Unforgivable Curse, Miss Granger. No?" He says as she shakes her head. He turns his gaze to me and places it in front of me. "What about you Miss Avery? I'm sure you've heard of it"
"No" I say and shake my head. I ignore the tears threatening to spill.
"Avada Kedavra!" He says. I jump as the spider dies. I stare ahead of me not even meeting anyone's gaze. "The Killing Curse. Only one person is known to have survived it and he's sitting in this room" He dismisses the class and I grab my bag rushing out.
"That was barbaric! They shouldn't be allowed to show us that" I say as the others join me.
"They're not supposed to. I guess he thought we could handle it" Draco says carefully. I roll my eyes but accept his hand.
"Well clearly not...what did he mean by I should have heard it" I say.
"Y/N..." Malia says. I turn to see Neville stood by the window. I ignore the golden trio.
"Neville? Are you okay?" I ask him putting a hand on his shoulder. Moody pushes past the crowd.
"Come on son, let's go have a cup of tea" He says. Neville turns and walks away. Harry is looking at me confused.
"Don't give me that look, didn't you see his face? I guess you probably thought I'd like learning about them right Potter?" I say. Draco pushes past him and takes my hand.
"Stay away from her Potter, I mean it" Draco warns. He pulls me down the rest of the stairs and takes my other hand.
"Come on Y/N, let's go to charms," Malia says. I nod and go to leave Draco but he clings on.
"Meet you in the hall later girls" Blaise says.
"If you need me just say the word and I'll be there" Draco says. I nod, I know he's just trying to look out for me.
"I'll be fine babe, now go" I say and give him a quick peck. We walk to Charms and listen to Flitwick drone on for an hour. It feels like so much longer. Malia nudges me when he dismisses us. We walk out of the room towards the great hall. We are engaged in a conversation when Cedric steps in front of us.
"Hey Y/N" He says.
"Hey Ced" I say giving him a smile and a quick hug. We break apart and I see Malia eyeing him.
"You must be Malia? I'm Cedric Diggory" He says. They shake hands and Cedric looks her up and down. I raise my eyebrows slightly.
"Nice to meet you" She says and then turns to me. "I'll see you in the hall" I shake my head as she trips over a first year.
"See you Mal" I say and she disappears. I turn back to Cedric. "So what's up?"
"I was just wondering how you were, I heard some rumours about you slapping Potter" He says. I shrug and smirk.
"He deserved it but I'm okay" I say. He notices my small drop of my face.
"Well if you need a shoulder you know I'm here" He says. I nod as we start walking into the hall together. I see him pull out a piece of paper and stop.
"You're putting your name in the cup?" I ask slightly shocked. He shrugs and looks towards his friends.
"Yeah, my friends think I'd be good at it. Thought why not give it a go" He says. I give him a quick hug.
"Well good luck, if you get picked I'll root for you" I say. He lifts me up slightly.
"You better Avery" He says and walks towards his friends. I turn to see a very sour looking Draco complaining to Malia who mouths help. I walk over to them.
"Hey guys" I say and sit next to Draco giving him a quick kiss.
"Didn't think this would be Diggorys thing?" He says. I shrug and put my bag down on the bench.
"Neither did I but he's always been competitive I guess" I say and Draco nods. "Anyone else interesting put their names in?"
"Mainly Durmstrangs, a few Slytherins but I doubt they'll be picked" Crabbe says nodding as Cedric puts his name in the cup. He meets my eye and I smile at him.
"Oh god, what are Tweedle Dee and Dum doing?" I say as Fred and George run in. They're waving something in their hands. The Gryffindors start cheering.
"I saw them earlier working on an age potion, it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't work," Draco says. I'm not surprised if he knew exactly what the potion lacked; he's always been top of the class.
"Looks like you were right," Blaise says. I shake my head and laugh as the boys are blown back with white hair and beards.
"When aren't i?" He says. They start fighting on the floor as Krum walks into the room as it quietens down.
"Oh my god, is it possible for him to get any better looking?" Malia says. I smirk at her and point at her lip.
"You've got a bit of drool their, Mal" I say. She pushes my hand away. "Besides I've heard he's pretty boring and got the hots for Granger"
"Of course he does," She grumbles. He walks away and I smile at her.
"You can do better, trust me" Blaise says. Draco and I share a look. Then I smirk down at Blaise.
"Oh yeah, I wonder who would be better?" I tease. He shrugs.
"Sit down. Settle down everyone" McGonagall says walking into the room. Dumbledore and the other officials follow in behind her.
"Now the moment you've all been waiting for: The champion selection. The Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum" He says, taking the first name. There is a cheering for him as he collects his paper and leaves.
"That one was obvious" Draco says. The next name flies out.
"The champion for Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour" Dumbledore calls out. I clap as she walks forward and then wait for Dumbledore to release the next name. "The Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory!"
"Yes Ced!" I shout and clap loudly. I jump up from the bench as he walks forward.
"Excellent! We now have our three champions. But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory the Triwizard Cup!" Dumbledore says as the cheering dies down. The fire turns red again.
"What's it doing?" Malia asks from next to us.
"Nothing good" I say as the paper flies into Dumbledore's hand.
"Harry Potter. Harry Potter?" He says. My eyes widen and I turn to look at Harry.
"How...?" I whisper.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore demands as whispers fill the hall.
"You've got to be joking" Draco says shaking his head. I take his hand.
"He's a cheat!" People shout as Harry starts walking down.
"He's not even 17 yet!"
"You're all dismissed! Back to your houses!" Dumbledore shouts. We start to walk back to Slytherin common room. As soon as we get inside, Draco slumps on the couch.
"Of course Saint Potter found a bloody way to get in" He says. I sit down next to him.
"Maybe it wasn't him?" Crabbe says. He has a point but it's not good to bring that up to Draco when he's pissed.
"Of course it was! He's always after attention that one" Draco says agitated. I put a hand on his knee and he calms down slightly.
"I don't know Dray, he looked quite shocked" I try. He looks at me confused.
"Don't tell me you're on his side," He says. I shake my head and lay it on his shoulder.
"Hey I'm just saying what I saw plus I'm rooting for Ced" I tell him. He nods slowly.
"Wait till Father hears about this" He says. I feel my eyes drooping.
"I'm gonna head to bed, see you guys in the morning" I say. Draco kisses me softly. I smile at the warm feeling filling me up.
"Goodnight gorgeous" He says. I jump up and he smiles at me.
"Night Y/N" The others echo.