The Art of Cruelty By: ChoCedric
She's so glad that now, after all these years, the people who are not meant to be a part of society are getting their comuppence. She is in a position of power, of authority; she is the Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts, the replacement for that worthless Mudblood lover Charity Burbage. It is her chance to indoctrinate young minds into thinking that Muggles are nothing, that they are scum that need to be stamped out like the garbage they are.
A twisted smile graces her face as she and her brother see many students succumb to despair, as they watch them lose the sparkle of hope and defiance in their eyes. They are the ones in charge now - they are so honored that the Dark Lord trusted them enough to put them in this position.
However, Alecto's anger mounts and mounts when she sees that three students have not lost that last spark yet, and these three hooligans cause nothing but trouble, defying her and Amycus's authority at every turn. Luna Lovegood, her head in the clouds, not knowing a lick about anything; Neville Longbottom, who chose now, of all times, to emulate his parents, which she heard so much about from the Dark Lord himself; and Ginny Weasley, who she sees Amycus often leer at. She's pretty, granted, but she's a disgusting Muggle-lover who whored her way into the lap of, of all people, Harry The-Chosen-One Potter.
But as she studies them over the months that pass, she becomes aware of their weaknesses, Miss Weasley's in particular. And then, as luck would have it, the perfect opportunity comes for Alecto to revel in what the young girl fears most. One day, Ginny can't keep her mouth shut in the classroom, and earns herself a detention. And Amycus and Alecto devise the plan for the coming punishment; they know exactly what to do to break her.
As Ginny walks into the classroom, Alecto casts a spell at the closet door, and subsequently sneaks off into the shadows with Amycus to watch the display. And it's exactly as they predicted - so juvenile, so pathetic.
For it's a boggart that Alecto unleashed, and as Ginny walks further into the classroom, she sees what it's turned into - Harry Potter's corpse lying on the floor, his emerald eyes wide open, staring lifelessly up at the ceiling, his face frozen with fear and shock, his wild, messy hair sticking up every which way. She smirks in satisfaction as she watches the usually blazing, sassy, defiant Ginny Weasley break. She runs over to the boy's body and collapses onto him, screaming his name - "HARRY! HARRY! NOOOOOO! HARRY! HARRY!" and clings onto him as though he's the only thing in her pathetic, shallow little world. She strokes his hair, gazes with despair into his sightless eyes, and sobs and sobs over him. Alecto feels as though she's going to gag at the nauseating sight.
She and Amycus laugh and laugh as the entertainment continues for minutes on end. The tears of Ginny Weasley seem to be endless, and her screams of "HARRY! HARRY! IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS, YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!" go on and on until Alecto feels as though her skull's going to be split open.
But all too soon, it comes to an end as those two miscreants Longbottom and Lovegood come running into the room. As quick as anything, spells are shouted out and the two Death Eater siblings find themselves the victims of Body-Bind Curses. They can only watch as Longbottom bends over Ginny, and Lovegood calmly points her wand at Harry's corpse, intoning, "Riddikulus!" Alecto's fury knows no bounds - how could the stupid child have known it was a boggart and not the real thing?
Longbottom then proceeds to comfort a still weeping Ginny, telling her that it was only a boggart, that Harry's not here, that he's still alive, still fighting, still trying to make the world a better place. He drags her out of the room, leaving Lovegood to just stare at the two Death Eaters. "I think," she says softly, the calmness still not leaving her voice, "that you two are not very nice people at all."
And then she exits, leaving Alecto and Amycus to stay paralysed on the floor. It is not until about two hours later that Headmaster Snape discovers them and lifts their binds.
But now, it is the night of the final battle. The Dark Lord is on his way to the school, bringing his other followers, and Alecto knows that even Longbottom and Lovegood will be forced to break tonight. Despite what happened in Weasley's detention, she knows for a fact that the defiance will not last, that once Harry Potter really is killed, the hope of the Dark Lord's defeat will die with him. After all, the pathetic sheep that follow Potter expect him to save them and the rest of the wizarding world. She can't wait to see Miss Weasley crying over the sight of the real, true Harry Potter lying dead, finally thwarted once and for all. And Longbottom won't be able to comfort her this time, won't be able to tell her that it's just a trick.
And at that moment, the clock turns from eleven fifty-nine to midnight. Once again, that twisted smile is alight on her face - the show is about to begin.