EDITED
January 4, 2014
If you find any grammatical/spelling errors, please politely let me know. I am not a professional, nor do I claim to be an experienced author. I do make mistakes that I am trying to clean up.
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[Chapter 3: The Unforgivable Curses.]
The next few days were uneventful, other than The Twins' constant attempts to get me back for the chocolates I'd slyly passed them--candies that caused flaming flatulence. It landed Fred in detention because he passed flaming gas just as Snape walked behind him. Lee Jordan singed Angelina Johnson's robes while preoccupied by flirting with Hattie Mullingar, earning him a very stern chewing-out. George hadn't gotten in quite as much trouble as his two partners in crime, but I imagine it was still rather embarrassing for him. When the news got back to me, I was absolutely delighted. A triple whammy!
Sometime earlier in the week, during Transfigurations, Neville turned a stone glass into a bird which went insane and tried to peck our eyes out. Other than that, classes and life as a student went by pretty smoothly.
Professor Moody's Thursday class was jam packed. The whole class took out their books titled 'The Dark Forces: A Guide To Self Protection,' and began readying themselves for whatever lesson Moody had planned for us. Although this would be my first class with him, I'd heard many whispers about his rather raw methods, and found myself growing anxious as I sat with my classmates, awaiting further instruction.
"You can put those away." A voice said from the back of the classroom. All heads turned to see Professor Moody limping towards his desk. His eyes fixated on me, "Those books. You won't need them."
We all returned the books to their proper places, and I shifted in my seat; there was a growing feeling of angst in the room. Defense Against the Dark Arts was probably one of my more favorite classes, but somehow, sitting and waiting for Moody to speak made me considerably less excited.
Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps could be heard as he walked to the front of the room, looking as strange and frightening as ever. I could just see his clawed, wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes.
Moody took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled gray hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swiveled around, briefly fixing upon each student as he or she answered.
"Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present. "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures-- you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?"
There was a general murmur of assent.
"But you're behind-- very behind-- on dealing with curses," said Moody. "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark--"
"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out.
Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked extremely apprehensive, but after a moment Moody smiled-- the first time I had seen him do so. The effect was to make his heavily scarred face look more twisted and contorted than ever, but it was nevertheless good to know that he ever did anything as friendly as smile. Ron looked deeply relieved.
"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Moody said. "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago... Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore... One year, and then back to my quiet retirement."
He gave a harsh laugh, and then clapped his gnarled hands together, "So-- straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."
Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk. Apparently Moody's magical eye could see through solid wood, as well as out of the back of his head. More of a reason not to trust the guy.
"So... do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"
Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ron's and Hermione's. Moody pointed at Ron, though his magical eye was still fixed on Lavender.
I knew all about the Unforgivable Curses; you'd have to be awfully thick not to remember those. There was no way, however, that I was keen on discussing these. Even as eager to learn as I was, I didn't feel that discussing it in the classroom so openly, without any warning, was exactly the right way to go about it.
"Er," said Ron tentatively. "my dad told me about one... Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?"
"Ah, yes," said Moody appreciatively. "Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse."
Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. I felt Ron recoil slightly next to me--he hated spiders, Hermione had mentioned to me. Despite the tense air, even I had to crack a laugh at that.
Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in the palm of his hand so that we could all see it. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered, "Imperio!"
The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.
Everyone was laughing-- everyone except Moody and me.
"Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"
The laughter died away almost instantly, and I glanced down stoically. Not having any freedom was a terrible, terrible thing, and being under anyone's influence didn't bode well with me.
"Total control," said Moody quietly as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats..."
Ron gave an involuntary shudder.
"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse," said Moody, "Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will.
"The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he barked, and everyone jumped.
Moody picked up the somersaulting spider and threw it back into the jar.
"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"
Hermione's hand rose into the air again and so, to my surprise, did Neville's. The only class I'd noticed in which Neville usually volunteered information was Herbology; it was easily his best subject. He looked surprised at his own daring.
"Yes?" said Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville.
"There's one-- the Cruciatus Curse," said Neville in a small but distinct voice.
Moody was looking very intently at Neville, this time with both eyes.
"Your name's Longbottom?" he said, his magical eye swooping down to check the register again.
Neville nodded nervously, but Moody made no further inquiries. Turning back to the class at large, he reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it upon the desktop, where it remained motionless, apparently too scared to move.
"The Cruciatus Curse," said Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he said, pointing his wand at the spider. "Engorgio!"
The spider swelled. It was now larger than a tarantula. Abandoning all pretense, Ron pushed his chair backward, as far away from Moody's desk as possible.
At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body; it rolled over and began to twitch horribly, rocking from side to side. No sound came from it, but I was sure that if it could have given voice, it would have been screaming. Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently.
I looked away from the spider, bile rising in my throat. I didn't like spiders either, but that wasn't a reason for torture. My gaze landed on Neville, who's hands were clenched upon the desk in front of him, his knuckles white, his eyes wide and horrified. Realizing how bad it was bothering him, something sparked inside of me.
"Stop it!" I boomed, slamming my hands down on the desk and standing from my chair, "Stop it right now!"
Moody raised his wand. The spider's legs relaxed, but it continued to twitch in the aftermath.
"Reducio," Moody muttered, and the spider shrank back to its proper size. He put it back into the jar, but kept his eyes on me. "Pain," said Moody softly. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse... That one was very popular once too."
I slowly sank back down to my seat, forcing myself to calm down and drew my attention the window rather than the mad instructor.
"You there! Girl! Name?" He asked in his normally husky voice. I could tell his question was aimed at me. The classroom had fell silent.
Looking back at him with angry eyes, and yet a calm voice I answered, "Acacia Ivory, sir."
"Ivory..." said Moody's gravelly voice, drawling along over the name as if he had heard it before. "Well, Ms. Ivory, can you tell us the third and final unforgivable curse?"
I shook my head no and kept my mouth in a thin line, hoping that if no one said it, he wouldn't demonstrate it. This was wishful thinking, of course, but it mattered to me.
"Come on. I hear you're the top of all your classes. A natural with magic, yes? You know what it is," He pushed, walking towards my seat as his wooden leg thumped the hard floor.
"Someone's been doing their research. Perhaps too much," I said coldly, glaring up at him as he came closer. "I know the spell."
The class's atmosphere went even more tense than before, and I half expected him to preform the last and final curse on me.
"You strike me as timid," His foot gave a loud and daring clunk, closer to me than I was comfortable with. "Gryffindors are known for their bravery. Were you sorted incorrectly?"
"It might interest you to know reverse psychology does not work on me," I stated, crossing my arms defiantly and refusing to break eye contact with him. "There's a reason the curse is unforgivable. It lands you straight in Azkaban."
"Valid point," He said dully, an unimpressed look hanging wearily on his face. "But you may as well inform your classmates. This course exists to educate and prepare you against Dark forces."
Even though I had my poker face on, I was shaky. I'd promised myself that that spell would never come into thought a second time, let alone leave my lips. Yet here I was, being extorted by Mad-Eye Moody.
My voice quaked angrily, unable to look anyone in the eye, "The Killing Curse."
Several people looked uneasily around at me, including Ron, Harry, and Hermione.
Moody smiled slightly, letting it twist his already lopsided mouth, "Correct."
He thumped back over to his desk and shoved his hand into the glass jar. Almost as if it knew what was coming, the third spider scuttled frantically around the small perimeter of the jar, trying to evade Moody's fingers, but alas, the arachnid's efforts were of no use. Moody trapped it against the glass and set it on the top of his desk.
Moody raised his wand and we all gripped the desks, waiting for a final cry.
"Avada Kedavra!" Moody roared with a hiss that was almost snake-like.
There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air--instantaneously the spider rolled over on it's back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. I closed my eyes and gave a slow, shuddering breath; Ron had thrown himself backward and almost toppled over as the spider came skidding toward him.
Moody swept the lifeless arachnid off the desk and onto the floor.
"You are dismissed..." His deep voice notified.
No one spoke until we had left the classroom--that was when a torrent of talk burst forth. Most people were discussing the curses in awed voices-- "Did you see it twitch?" -- "--and when he killed it --
They were talking about the lesson as though it had been some sort of spectacular show, but I hadn't found it very entertaining-- and nor, it seemed, had Harry or Hermione. I think Ron, on the other hand, was more appalled by the spiders than anything else.
"Hurry up!" Hermione said tensely to the three of us.
"Not the ruddy library again, I hope?" Ron groaned.
"No!" Hermione replied curtly, looking up a side passage.
I followed her gaze to see Neville Longbottom standing alone; he was halfway up the passage, staring at the stone wall opposite of him with the same haunted, wide-eyed look he had worn during the demonstration of the Cruciatus curse.
"Oh no," I said softly, a frown overcoming my lips. I walked in front of Hermione and quickly up the stairs, needing to show my concern for someone who looked so troubled.
"Neville?" I said softly. He looked around, slightly alarmed, trying to find the origin of my voice.
"Oh, hello," He said, his voice unusually high and strained, "Interesting lesson, wasn't it? I wonder what's for dinner. I'm-- I'm starving, aren't you?"
His voice sounded so far off and pathetic that it triggered a maternal sadness within me. The lesson had taken such a toll on the poor boy. I couldn't help myself--I felt obligated to comfort him. Despite being dead center of the passageway with other students passing about, I reached out and grabbed onto his robes, pulling him in for a hug. He was tense, seeming a bit caught off guard at first, but once he realized it was a sign of comfort and not an attack he relaxed into it. I even felt a soft squeeze back.
"Are you sure you're okay Neville?" Hermione's delicate voice asked from behind us; I released the boy from my hold, giving his arm a soft and encouraging pat. Pulling away, I was able to see
"Yes... I um-- very interesting dinner-- I mean lesson-- what's for eating?" He wondered, his voice still in an unusually high pitch.
"Neville, what--?"
An odd cluncking noise sounded behind me. The five of us looked around to see Professor Moody, limping towards where we were standing.
Silence engulfed us as we watched apprehensively, but when he spoke it was a much gentler and softer growl than we had heard yet.
"It's alright sonny," He said to Neville. "Why don't you come up to my office? Come on... we can have a cup of tea..."
Neville looked even more frightened at the prospect of having tea with him. He neither moved nor spoke, not that I could blame him. A man capable of such curses all in itself is terrifying.
I scoffed and narrowed my eyes at Moody, who turned those scary eyes upon me next, "Got something to say?"
"Oh, I've got plenty to say," I said with a sharp laugh. From the corner of my eye, I could see Hermione's eyes grow wide at my words.
"Don't hold back on my account," He ground out. "You've got something to say, lass, you should say it."
"Fine, I will," I straightened my spine and bowed my chest to maintain a strong appearance. "You piqued the interests of a young audience in one of the most tacky ways imaginable. By doing what you did, you basically just ingrained the idea in the class's heads that such serious spells can be used for cheap demonstrations. You made light of some very dark spells, and your explanation on them was thin and watery at best."
Students had stopped and were staring, as well as Ron, Harry, and Hermione. I was the first to even think about arguing with Moody, but he didn't scare me. Among the crowd I noticed a certain pair of red-hair and smirks. Fred and George were staring at me, their eyes glittering in respect.
"That's a keen observation, Ms. Ivory," said Moody in a way that was not praising at all. "Perhaps you'd like to lead the lesson next time."
"The entire point is that I shouldn't have to," I said, frustration growing inside of me.
"I don't care if you like my method of teaching or not. You're stuck with me for the year, so you might as well get used to it," He growled with finality. "Students need to understand and appreciate the bad curses as well as good ones."
"I'm not saying they shouldn't," I scoffed. "I'm saying we deserve the respect to have them presented in a better way."
"You are a piece of work, Ivory-- but soon your day will come. You'll see things my way," He assured me before steering Neville away.
As soon as Moody was out of earshot, all of the students began to crowd around me -- "You sure told him!" -- "That was outrageous!" -- "Did you see how flustered Moody got?"
"ENOUGH," Hermione said with finality. Her loud, stern tone was enough to hush the entire mob. "Leave Ash alone, you vultures. We'll be going now, and in the meantime, find something more productive to do with your lives."
She swept me away down the hallway with Ron and Harry protectively at our heels. I cracked a quick smile, "I guess I'm not the only one with a temper today."