10| WHY MISMATCHED EYES ARE USEFUL
The long-awaited double Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson arrived at long last on Thursday morning. The Slytherins were all eager to see what Professor Moody had in store for them, all except for Draco Malfoy, who was reminded every single day of his humiliating experience as a ferret by none other than Gemini Delmar. It was what she and Draco were discussing as the Slytherins rushed to the DADA classroom.
"Do it," Gemini poked Draco.
"Shut up, Gemini." he scowled.
"But you made such a beautiful ferret!" she exclaimed loud enough for the surrounding population to hear as she threw her arms out exaggeratedly. Draco flipped his silky blond hair arrogantly when she called him beautiful. "It's a pity you make such a detestable human," she grinned cheekily.
"You really know how to provoke people, don't you?" he glared at her.
Gemini placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a very convincing grave expression. "The truth is like a nettle sting, Mr. Malfoy." she enunciated.
"You're going to fall if you keep walking like that." Blaise interrupted.
Gemini had been walking backward, not looking behind her even once. Astonishingly, she hadn't met with any accident yet; not even a minor slip or collision with any student who was cutting through the corridor. "Watch me," Gemini smirked at Blaise.
"I am," he responded sincerely.
"When aren't you?" Daphne spoke from the back of their little crowd.
"Probably when she's sleeping," Tracey suggested.
"Or is he?" Theodore spoke up. Everyone looked at him surprised; he hardly ever participated in their conversations.
"Oh, ha-ha, Nott!" said Gemini, sarcasm lacing her melodic voice.
"Don't bother Delmar, you know he'd do it in a heartbeat if he got the chance," said Theodore. Gemini raised an eyebrow at him and then turned to Blaise with the same expression.
"Well, you did look quite attractive in your nightwear...." started Blaise. Draco wolf-whistled loudly as the others hooted. "But no —" Blaise said a little louder. "I'm not the type to stoop to that level."
"And when did you see Delmar in her nightwear?" Theodore prodded.
"Tuesday morning," Gemini rolled her eyes, speaking before Blaise could. Everyone stared, looking amused. "What? Did you expect me to blush and giggle?" she asked them.
"Yes and no," Draco answered, looking amused.
"You people are so stereotypical," she clucked as they arrived at their destination.
"Never walk like that in the corridors, Miss Delmar." said a gruff voice from behind her, right before Gemini spun around and blocked a beam of bright white light which had been shot straight at her. The others looked startled at this turn of events.
"Good morning, Professor," Gemini smiled at Professor Moody, who looked quite impressed by her quick reflexes.
But he didn't say a word until all of them had entered the classroom and taken their seats. Gemini sat on the first bench, Blaise beside her. On their left sat Draco with Goyle and on their right were Pansy and Tracey.
No one bothered to open their books; not even Gemini, surprisingly.
Moody pulled out a register and started calling their names, each person declaring themselves present. When the last person, Blaise, had declared himself present, Moody put the register aside and looked at them intently for a while with his good eye, the other blue one kept whizzing around and changing its focus. Then suddenly —
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he barked.
The class jumped, except for Gemini and Blaise, who were just too impervious.
"You must always be aware of your surroundings," said Moody. "Miss Delmar showed an excellent example of this to you just now."
Gemini gave a complacent smile.
"You never know who might attack you," Moody continued, "A flock of birds?" he proposed and a dozen aggressive birds shot out of his wand and flew around the classroom; Pansy and Tracey screamed loudly as a bird tried to peck them — they had been talking as always. "Or a giant spider?" Moody said, enlargening a spider he had removed from a jar and throwing it at Draco's face, who had been laughing at Pansy and Tracey.
Draco uttered a shriek more girlish than Pansy's.
Moody then flicked his wand at the spider and it bounced around the classroom, landing on one person to another. Blaise deflected it with his wand when it landed on their table, looking at it with disgust.
Moody put the spider back in its jar.
"But 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." he said. "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 I say otherwise," he banged his table with his fist. "You need to know what you're up against; the sooner, the better. Professor Dumbledore agrees, he believes you should be able to cope with them fairly well."
"Who cares about what Dumbledore says?" Draco muttered to Goyle.
"Mr. Malfoy, since you seem to underestimate the imperativeness of this class so well, why don't you give us the first curse?" he growled at Draco, apparently having heard his jab at Dumbledore.
"The Imperius Curse," he answered without delay.
"Yes, yes," Moody muttered as he opened the jar containing the spider again. He pointed his wand at it from the open mouth of the jar. "Imperio!" he said, and the spider seemed to go unnaturally still. The class stared in amazement, obviously not expecting a Professor to use an illegal curse in the class. Gemini went as still as the spider, and Blaise didn't fail to notice this. The spider jumped out of the jar and landed on Moody's table and started performing what was unmistakably the Irish jig.
Several students uttered phrases of wonder.
"Appealing, isn't it?" said Moody. "Imagine me doing the same to you."
Everyone quietened at the thought, their awe fading away.
"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...."
"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse," Moody continued, his blue eye seemed to stop at Draco and Theodore for a moment. "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 most people seemed to control their involuntary jumping this time. Moody nodded approvingly.
"Mr. Zabini," he suddenly turned to Blaise. "You seemed to perform well in preventing the spider earlier," he said. "Give us the second curse."
"The Cruciatus Curse," Blaise replied in a toneless voice, looking relaxed as ever.
"Ah, yes," said Moody. "The torture curse," He pointed his wand at the spider. "Engorgio!" The spider swelled to approximately four times its size. "Crucio!"
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 if it could have been given a voice, it would have been screaming. Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently.
No one said a word, though many of them simply studied the spider carefully. Gemini's eyes, cold and intense, were fixed on the spider in an unblinking stare, but her mind wasn't in the slightest focused on what her eyes took in. Draco, on the other hand, didn't seem very entertained. Instead, his blue-grey eyes stared at the spider with an odd look.
"Not remotely pleasant, is it?" asked Moody, and he stunned the spider to keep it in place. "Pain," he said 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..." His normal eye stayed fixed on the spider as the magical one zoomed around the classroom and stopped at Millicent. "Miss Bulstrode, the third curse please."
Millicent wasn't much of a responsive student in classes and usually chose to be quiet and isolated from everyone. So given this behaviour of hers, it was really a shock for them to see her answer the question in a cool, confident voice, "The Killing Curse."
"The last and the worst," said Moody. "no pain, no control; instant death."
He undid the spell on the spider, which tried to escape at once. But then Professor Moody spoke two simple words, "Avada Kedavra," and the spider dropped dead on Pansy's desk, who shrieked along with Tracey, both clutching each other tightly.
Gemini watched the entire process with an unreadable, blank look. Draco tried to act unbothered but he was fidgeting with his ring.
"Not nice," Moody said calmly. "Not pleasant. And there's no countercurse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and I'm assuming you all know him."
"Saint Potter." Draco sneered.
"Harry Potter." Moody corrected him. "Avada Kedavra's a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it — you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I'd get so much as a nosebleed. But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it."
Everyone exchanged looks.
"Now, if there's no countercurse, why am I showing you? Because you've got to know. You've got to appreciate what the worst is. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you're facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he roared, and no one jumped this time.
"Very good, very good," he muttered. "This class is progressive. Now... those three curses — Avada Kedavra, Imperius, and Cruciatus — are known as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need to prepare. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills... copy this down...."
They spent most of the lesson taking notes on each of the Unforgivable Curses. But Moody seemed to have other plans for the second half of the lesson.
"Quills down," he said once everyone had copied down relevant information on the three Unforgivables. "And put those books inside."
Students cast questioning glances at each other.
"Wands out." he barked.
A shiver of excitement seemed to enliven everyone. A practical lesson was what everyone looked forward to when it came to Defence Against the Dark Arts.
"Now, you've done a lot of theory," Moody said. "but theory won't help you when you're face to face with an offender. I will now be conducting a practical test for you; I want to see how much you're capable of — what you can do. Pick partners."
Students stood up and rushed around the classroom, making pairs of two. Crabbe and Goyle partnered up; Daphne went with Blaise, Millicent with Tracey, and Pansy rushed over to Draco — which left Gemini and Theodore. Gemini, who was leaning against her desk, refused to move from her place, so Theodore resentfully walked over. Gemini pushed herself away from the desk.
"Right," said Moody, and waved his wand, sending the benches and desks towards the wall, each of them lining up neatly. "Now this is not some casual practice," he warned. "There will be rounds. Each winner will proceed to the next round and I will partner you up. The last one will duel me."
Draco looked Moody up and down disdainfully.
"Spread out!" he instructed, "Spread out, quick!"
Everyone obeyed.
"Bow before your partner," he said. "An honourable wizard bows before starting a duel."
Everyone bowed — Gemini, Blaise, Draco, and Theodore were the only ones who could perform it properly. Gemini and Blaise were the most graceful.
Gemini and Theodore looked directly into each other's eyes as they straightened up, their gaze challenging. Moody noticed this. He noticed Gemini's confidence, her proud stature, and wondered...
He banged his staff on the floor, "NOW!"
Spells shot around the classroom in a spectacular array of colours. "Good, good," said Moody, walking around the classroom with an expression of indifference, deflecting an occasional spell that would come his way.
Crabbe and Goyle threw jinxes around clumsily, their wands waving in a flimsy swish, their vocabulary of spells limited. Pansy was doing quite well, but Draco was far better. He had materialised a black serpent and Pansy kept shooting spells at it, apparently scared. The serpent only got angrier. It was second year's dueling club all over again, only this time the victim, Pansy, couldn't speak Parseltongue.
Millicent and Tracey were a perfect match for each other — neither was very good. Blaise stood tall while Daphne aggressively directed hexes at him; he deflected them easily. Gemini recognised his tactics. He would allow Daphne to get tired before he started his assault on her.
Gemini and Theodore, however, created an entirely different scene. Gemini was merely standing in one place, her hip leaning to one side as she twirled a wand between her fingers; her own wand in her pocket. Theodore was kneeling on the floor before her, his arms bound to his body by a glowing red rope. She had disarmed him the moment Moody had instructed them to start and had then used the Incarcerous spell on him. He was glaring at her harshly.
"Grumpy Mr. Nott," she taunted him.
"Delmar and Nott, first to finish!" Moody announced. "That was quick, Miss Delmar."
"I figured there was no point wasting time, Professor," Gemini replied loudly, meeting Blaise's eye and indirectly mocking him. Blaise, clearly not pleased with the insult, ended his and Daphne's duel abruptly, stunning her.
"Zabini and Greengrass! Second to finish! Mr. Zabini, take Miss Greengrass away from there, try to wake her up." Moody told Blaise.
Blaise nodded and lifted Daphne in his arms. He took her away from the chaos and rested her against a bench. He then conjured a glass and produced water in it using his wand. Sprinkling the water on Daphne's face, he patted her cheek and tried to make her regain consciousness.
"YOU TWO!" Moody roared at Goyle and Crabbe. "DISQUALIFIED! DISQUALIFIED! I HAVE NEVER SEEN A MORE DISHONOURABLE DUEL!"
Crabbe and Goyle were far from dueling. Their wands lay forgotten on the floor as they wrestled each other with their huge, bulky arms, their faces contorted with anger. When Moody called them out, they separated at once, panting heavily and pink-faced, and bent down shamefully to pick up their wands.
Pansy shrieked.
Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and stared at her. She was jumping frantically on her toes, running around the classroom with the serpent chasing her, hissing spitefully.
Draco was howling with laughter.
"Stop it! Draco!" Pansy shrieked. "AAHH!"
Moody flicked his wand once and the snake easily disappeared. "Malfoy!" he barked. "Distraction during a duel means disaster! Never get distracted! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Draco muttered a snarking comment about Moody under his breath, calling him a nutter.
"You want me to turn you into a ferret again, boy?!" Moody rumbled.
The threat was enough to shut Draco up. His face turned pink at the memory of his embarrassing first encounter with Moody.
Gemini chuckled gleefully.
Meanwhile, Tracey had taken the opportunity to jinx Millicent, who was now dancing wildly.
"Very good, Miss Davis! Always use your opponent's distraction to your advantage. Now," he huffed. The class stood still. "The winners, please step forward."
Gemini undid the charm on Theodore and smirked at him as she stepped forward. Blaise followed after he had awoken Daphne ("Rennervate!" he'd ended up saying). Tracey followed and Moody beckoned Draco.
"Despite the improper ending of your duel, Mr. Malfoy, you were clearly winning, so you will proceed to the next round." Moody continued. Draco's face morphed into a pompous smirk. "For the second round, Miss Delmar and Miss Davis will form a pair, and Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Zabini will form the other pair. Mr. Malfoy, I expect more concentration from you, though it seems you won't require my warning. Mr. Zabini seems more than capable of keeping you engaged. Miss Delmar,"
Gemini raised both eyebrows at Moody; the others gave her the same look.
"Your duel was hardly a duel, Mr. Nott never got a chance to attack," said Moody. "I want more offensive spells, more defences. You and Miss Davis will not disarm."
Gemini nodded curtly. Tracey looked uncertain.
"Positions!" Moody said sharply. Gemini and Tracey moved a few feet apart and took their positions. Blaise and Draco faced each other, Draco still with his overconfident expression and Blaise looking as blank as a new piece of parchment. This time Moody didn't need to tell them to bow. Each of the four of them dipped low and straightened up quickly. Moody banged his staff on the ground again, giving the signal, and powerful blasts issued from four wands.
"Expulso!" said Blaise, aiming a perfect shot at Draco. But it was blocked at the last second.
"Oppugno!" Gemini hissed and numerous books flew towards Tracey, who scarcely missed them.
"Tarantallegra!" shouted Tracey, trying the same moves she had used in her previous duel. But Gemini, being excellent at dueling, easily blocked it.
"Locomotor Mortis!" yelled Draco at the same time Blaise said, "Impedimenta!"
Draco's spell slowed down for a moment and Blaise redirected it at him. The spell hit Draco with much force and he was knocked backward, landing on the floor with his legs locked together. He raised his wand in a futile effort, only for Blaise to disarm him.
"Zabini wins!" Moody announced.
Blaise folded his hands behind his back and looked at Gemini pointedly.
Gemini decided that she was tired of stalling, especially when she felt Blaise's smug gaze boring into her. "Langlock!" she said, and Tracey found herself unable to speak.
"Brilliant, Miss Delmar!" Moody interjected, his face alight with gravelly enthusiasm.
"Relashio!" Gemini continued and Tracey's wand whipped out of her hand and fell onto the floor with a click-clack. She then 'accioed' the wand and caught it expertly between her fingers.
"BRILLIANT!" Moody roared. "This — this is what I am talking about. Use your brains," he said. "Miss Delmar didn't disarm Miss Davis directly. Langlock — you made excellent use of it, Miss Delmar."
Gemini grinned broadly.
"Not many wizards are capable of performing non-verbal magic. Silencing them is the easiest way to turn a duel to your advantage." Moody explained, pacing across the length of the room, pounding his staff on the floor every now and then. "And — Relashio — the Revulsion Jinx — forces the target, living or inanimate, to relinquish its hold on another object. Lastly, Accio, the Summoning Charm allows a person to propel an object towards themselves. I believe you are yet to learn it; it's in your fourth-year Charms book."
"You're reading ahead, Miss Delmar," Moody noted. "Now, these spells, I expect you should all know about. Immensely useful, they are. But we will not be discussing the effects of spells now — time is ticking, and we need to get over with two more duels. Everyone, move to the benches; Miss Delmar and Mr. Zabini will stand in the middle."
Moody himself shuffled towards one end of the classroom, leaving ample space for Blaise and Gemini to duel. Both took their positions, and Blaise bowed with his usual gentlemanly charm as Gemini followed with a flourish of her skirt.
They both drew their backs upright and Gemini gave Blaise a challenging smile and discreetly winked at him. Blaise smirked back.
Moody banged his staff twice.
"Stupefy!" they both shouted together.
The spells clashed and an enormous BANG sounded. Several students were thrown back, even Blaise, but Gemini remained in her place. Moody, who had used his arm to protect himself, moved his arm away and caught sight of a golden shield surrounding Gemini, who stood there, unharmed. But the shield dissipated quickly and Moody's magical eye finally landed on Blaise groaning on the ground, clutching his broken arm. He had hit it against one of the benches.
"Mr. Zabini can leave to the infirmary," Moody spoke and then checked his watch. "Time's up, I'm afraid. Miss Delmar and I won't be having our duel."
Gemini nodded.
"Applaud your winner!" Moody called. Everyone clapped unenthusiastically, except for Blaise — he couldn't move his arm. "Well, that's it for today, off to lunch!" said Moody, dismissing them. "Good work, Miss Delmar!" And he limped out of the room.
Gemini looked at Blaise as she walked towards him, extending her arm for him.
"I can get up myself," he snapped.
Gemini watched him struggle. "Come on, Blaise, no hard feelings," she said.
Unable to get up by himself, he finally put his hand in hers. "You won't be able to pull me up," he warned.
"Watch me," Gemini smirked and helped him up with a swift pull. He hissed at the strain on his arm. "You'll have to get that healed," she said.
"No thanks to you," he said.
"If you're going to kiss, I'll puke." came Draco's voice.
Blaise and Gemini's necks snapped towards him. Daphne, Tracey, and Pansy were giggling by his side and Theodore wiggled his eyebrows at them, leaning against a wall with his arms folded.
"Why would you think that?" said Gemini with a flustered look.
"Why would I — Gemini, darling, look at yourself and him," said Draco with sarcastic sweetness. "You're inches away from each other. And you're holding hands. What do you think that suggests?"
Gemini and Blaise turned to each other, and Gemini suddenly realised how close they were standing. She let go of his hand at once and took a step back.
"Now we aren't," she told Draco. He raised both his eyebrows at her. Gemini huffed. "Come on Blaise, I'll walk you to the Hospital Wing." She took his good arm and pulled him out of the classroom. He gave her a complacent grin as Draco and the rest whistled loudly in the background, and she could do little but stick her tongue out at them.