The next morning I woke up to Lizzie shaking me. "Maddie wake up! You're gonna be late!". I looked over to the clock on my nightstand and immediately jumped out of bed. I already knew that I was gonna miss breakfast and didn't have enough time to shower. I got into my uniform, put my untied tie around my neck, grabbed my hairbrush and ran out the door. I was buttoning my shirt while walking down when I crashed into someone.
"I'm into the sexy look Frenchie but I reckon that you might get detention for wearing your shirt like that" Fred said eyeing me up and down and then pointing to my shirt that was still half unbuttoned, where my red lacy bra was clearly visible. I blushed and rolled my eyes and proceeded to finish buttoning my shirt. As Fred and I left the common room we were talking about our lessons for the day. I told him how excited I was about charms in the afternoon and muggle studies.
Our first class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts and I was not thrilled about that one. It wasn't anything to do with the subject but it had to do with the teacher himself. I knew Mad Eye Moody from afar since dad worked under him for in the war and told us stories about him, but I felt a strange vibe about him which set me off. When Fred and I arrived to the class, Moody hadn't walked in yet for our relief. We took a seat behind George and Lee who were sitting next to Alicia, Lizzie, Meredith and Angelina. The door flung open and Mad Eye walked in with a loud clunk every time he took a step. Once he was in front of the class he turned to face us all, his fake eye moving around like crazy.
"Alastor Moody," he took a piece of chalk and faced the board as he began writing. "Ex-auror, Ministry malcontent and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me, end of story goodbye the end! Any questions?". Everyone seemed to be holding their breaths including myself, he was truly terrifying. After he roll called, he told us that we were behind in curses and that we needed them for our NEWTs.
"When it comes to the dark arts, I believe in a practical approach. But first which of you could tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?". I tensed up immediately at hearing that we would be learning about unforgivable curses, and the only image that came to my mind was seeing dad struck with the torture curse and then by the killing curse.
"Three sir", Alicia said. "And they're so named?" Moody asked. "Because they're unforgivable, the use of any one of them will–", "EARN YOU A ONE WAY TICKET TO AZKABAN! Correct!" Moody finished her words. I didn't notice my breathing was becoming faster and I began to sweat. "Now the Ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do, I say different! You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He said almost yelling. The whole class flinched at his words and I began digging my nails into the palm of my hand trying to control myself. I was sweating even more and was becoming shakier by the minute.
"So, which curse will we see first? WEASLEY!" He said pointing at George. "Stand!", George stood up uncomfortably. "Give us a curse" said Moody. "My dad told us about one, the Imperius Curse" the redhead said. "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 walked over to his desk and took out a small spider from a jar. He enlarged the spider with the enlargement charm before facing back to the class. "Imperio!" He said pointing his wand at the creature. Moody made the spider swing back and forth on a silk thread as if it was balancing on a trapeze, he then made it dance on the back of its legs and the rest of the class was laughing loudly except myself and Moody. "Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?", the laughter died instantly. "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... 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!".
Many students raised their hands and I knew what was coming next and my breathing sped up faster than before. "The Cruciatus curse" said a Slytherin boy with a smug grin plastered on his face as if he were to enjoy what would come next. "Correct! Particularly nasty that one", Moody took another spider from his desk before enlarging it and pointing his wand at it saying "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. Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently. I wasn't even looking at the spider at that point, my body was trembling and I felt like if I was back in my wardrobe hidden, watching my dad being tortured. All I could hear were his screams of pain and my breathing became faster and faster each time. My chest ached and I felt like I was being choked by my tie but I couldn't move.
He raised his wand and place the spider back in the jar. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse... That one was very popular once too. The last one?" He asked the class. Even fewer hands were raised but Moody pointed at a Ravenclaw Girl. "The Killing curse" she said. Moody took another spider and placed the creature on his desk. The spider tried running away knowing what was coming but before it could get far Moody said loudly "Avada Kedavra!" and the flash of green light I knew too well collided with the spider stopping it's life forever. That's when I lost it.
I stood up, my whole body pale, trembling with a coat of cold sweat covering me. I walked out of the class; not even bothering to take my things with me. I faintly heard Moody yelling that class wasn't over but I was way too fucked up to care. I nearly ran to the closest bathroom and locked the door. I began crying loudly trying to rip the tie that was strangling me but I couldn't. I felt like all of the air was being sucked from my lungs as my breathing grew faster and faster each time. My chest was hurting terribly and I couldn't stop sobbing. I tried reaching for air but I couldn't. I walked over to the sink, my body still shaking and sweating and then everything went pitch black. The only image in that darkness was my dad's body lifeless and still in the middle of my bedroom.