Chapter Three

The next couple of days were average school days, at least average for Hogwarts. She heard the rumors about what happened to Draco shortly after school started, somewhat amused over the concept of him being a weasel. This made her a little wary of Alistair Moody, though, if he so freely served out corporal punishment on students in and out of the classroom. Snape didn't seem fond of Moody either as he seemed to avoid him like the plague. She knew he wasn't happy about being denied the DADA position again, she wasn't sure why since he would most likely excel at it.
Time had finally rolled around for the first DADA class of the year. Rumors had been flying around about the contents of the class, apparently Professor Moody had taken a more direct approach to teaching actual dark arts instead of how to defend yourself against them. Eileen wasn't sure she wanted to be present for such classes but the idea of learning more about her enemy piqued her interest, so she attended.

Along with Cheryl, they took up seats near the rear of the class, eyeing the glass vials on the table at the front with spiders in them.

"What do you reckon those are for?" Cheryl whispered apprehensively. "Is he going to torture us with them?"

Eileen watched the spiders curiously, trying to think of the dark things they could learn with them. Then it dawned on her. "I think they're the subjects of today's class."

"Huh?" Cheryl looked confused.

"Quite right, Miss...?" A booming voice came from the rear of the class, startling the students who jumped, some squeaked.

"Pierce, Eileen," Eileen responded, not being one to jump but looking a little surprised.

"Pierce. You seem familiar with demonstrations then, which is what today's class is all about," Moody clunked his way to the front of class before snatching up an attendance list and going over it before beginning the class. "I'm supposed to teach you how to defend yourself against the dark arts, but counter curses won't do you a lick of good if you don't know what's coming."

Moody carried on, explaining his class in detail and further explaining the target of the current day's lesson: Forbidden Curses. The hair on the back of Eileen's neck prickled, she wondered if that was what she was almost hit with at the campsite by the hooded figure.

The class began asking questions and proposing curses to display, starting with the Imperius curse. The spider began doing grand displays on the table before back flipping back into the jar it came from. Eileen tilted her head, watching this demonstration with interest.

You can control people with magic, a voice deep down whispered. You can wish them to leave you alone, direct them to walk away from you. You can have people do your bidding...

Eileen blinked, where had that voice come from?

"Ah yes, the Cruciatus curse. This one was quite popular in the day with Death-Eaters," Moody prattled on, beginning to torture the spider on his desk.

You can do things like this, it looks so easy, the voice whispered again. They don't have to know you did it, you can use your magic without your wand. We can practice when no one's looking, get stronger.

She shook her head, unsure where these thoughts were coming from.

"This is sick," Cheryl gasped, her voice raspy. She was pale as she watched the torture occur.

Eileen looked over at her, worried this was too much for her friend. Then the final curse was announced, a hush went over the class as the teacher demonstrated it with cold accuracy. A rush of air and green burst later, the spider was stone dead on the table.

Yes...that truly is masterful work. Perfection.

Eileen gasped, getting up from her desk and fleeing the room.

"Miss Pierce! Return to your desk!" Moody's commands went unheard as the girl fled out of the class and down the stairs.

Darting though hallways and down toward the dungeons, she swiftly let herself into the potion storeroom and hid herself in a corner, shivering at the thoughts that she felt in class. They couldn't have been her own, could they? Was there really something so dark inside her?

A moment later, the door swung open sharply as a dark figure stood in the doorway and bellowed angrily, "Who's in here? Come out before I - " He spotted the huddled figure and hurriedly shut the door before going to her. "Eileen, what are you doing in here? Aren't you supposed to have class right now?"

"I can't, the thoughts," Eileen gasped, holding her head. "They were so dark!"

"Thoughts? Whose thoughts?" Snape frowned in concern.

"Mine! I mean...who else could have been thinking them?" Eileen looked up at him, her eyes wide. "We were learning about...Forbidden Curses...I thought they were so amazing...I wanted to..."

Severus scowled more, gripping her shoulders, "Eileen, are you sure they were your thoughts? You have been practicing your occlumency, haven't you?"

It didn't occur to her she may have been projecting someone else's thoughts in class, she had been watching the teacher closely. "I...yes, of course. Oh, do you think I was hearing someone else's thoughts?"

"It's possible..." Snape sighed, shifting and glancing back at the door. "Did anyone see you come here?"

"No, everyone's in class right now...I ran out," She admitted, rubbing her face. "It felt so intense, the hatred and...darkness."

"Yes, it can be," Snape ran his fingers through his lank hair. "You shouldn't have left class like that, you're liable to get detention for this."

"I know," Eileen leaned back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. "I couldn't breathe."

He thought for a moment, coming up with an excuse, "Go to Madam Pomfrey, say you got ill in class. If you went to the hospital wing, he may be more lenient on you for leaving so abruptly."

She nodded and stood up shakily, "Do you think those thoughts were mine?"

"I don't know. Try not to think on it too heavily," Snape guided her toward the door. "And don't break into my store room again, the students will think it's easy and try to rob me blind."

"Sorry," Eileen muttered as she meandered back down the hall. "It was pretty easy."

Snape frowned after her as she disappeared down the hallway before looking back at his setup, grumbling and locking up again with a few added measures.

Eileen managed to get to the hospital wing unseen, hoping her cover would be sufficient to escape detention. Popping into the room, she made a beeline for a bed and plopped down, soon attended to by Madam Pomfrey who chastised Moody's motives of teaching upon hearing the cause of her ailment.

Later that day after class completed she was summoned to Professor Moody's office for a follow up. Mustering her defenses, she knocked on the professor's door and entered after being permitted.

"Miss Pierce, that was quite the display in class earlier," Moody remarked gruffly. "I got word from Madam Pomfrey that you became ill."

"Yes, I am sorry, the subject was rather intense, I was not prepared for it," Eileen sat down in a chair opposite his desk, calmly meeting his gaze and keeping her nerves cool.

"Did the subject have any family ties? I fear I'm not familiar much with your lineage," He watched her intently with both eyes, which was slightly unnerving but a challenge she willingly met.

"My mother was tortured and killed by Death-Eaters," She lied, keeping her tone even but not even enough that it was obvious she was being dishonest.

Moody watched her very closely, "I see, that's a real shame, Miss Pierce. I'm sorry for your loss, many a good witch and wizard fell pray to those dogs during the war."

She nodded, "It was hard to watch, I apologize for leaving class so abruptly. I understand if you wish to provide me with detention work."

"No," He said thoughtfully, "I can hardly blame you for that. There wasn't much more of the lesson to miss, but I would like you to write an essay on Forbidden Curses, their uses, and why they are forbidden."

She blinked vaguely, "Yes, of course, Professor. I greatly appreciate your leniency."

He waved her off with a grunt, "I have heard good things about you, Miss Pierce. You seem to know your stuff, I wouldn't consider you a slacker like some of the scum here."

She wasn't sure how to take his comment. "Thank you, sir."

"These classes won't get easier, are you going to run out of every class like that?" He huffed, narrowing his eyes a bit at her.

"No, sir, I won't let it happen again," She looked apologetic.

"Good, because the Death-Eaters won't let you run away. You need to remember that, only constant vigilance will ensure at least a chance of survival out there!" He pounded his fist on the desk.

"Do you think he is returning, sir?" She asked earnestly.

Moody scowled at her, almost hesitating to respond, "He? He who?"

"Voldemort, sir - "

"DON'T SPEAK HIS NAME!" Moody roared, standing at his desk abruptly. "DON'T YOU DARE!"

Eileen's eyes widened slightly, surprised by his outburst. He seemed like an unstable fellow, but his reaction was more...personal than she expected. "I apologize, sir."

Huffing again, he sat back down with a creak. "Well he's dead, ain't he? No chance he'll be coming back," He shifted in his chair, clearing his throat. "But those followers of his...they're always looking for an excuse to start another war, can't trust the lot of them."

"I see...of course," Something nagged at the back of Eileen's mind, causing her to stand and bow slightly, "I will remember your guidance and learn further about these curses. I promise to be vigilant night and day."

He nodded. "Good. Now off with you, you have further classes today, I assume?"

She nodded and excused herself before leaving the office. A great weight shed off of her like sticky rain as she descended the stairs back to the main hallway. What had she felt back there? Shaking her head, she headed to her next class of the day, her mind distracted by what she had seen in Moody's eyes.

The rest of the day was fairly quickly over with as she drifted off to dinner and then off to her free evening. She could not find the twins, stumbling upon their best friend Lee Jordan in her journeys. Approaching him on his way back to the dorm after dinner, she asked, "Have you seen the twins?"

"I think they went back to the dorm, they haven't been very social since the announcement," Lee sighed, slowing his pace to keep up with her.

"Are they planning something?" She frowned, knowing if they were up to something, he would probably know about it as well.

"Sort of," He whispered, "They think they can fool whoever the judge is, but since we don't know who that is yet, they seem to be working on something else."

"Ah," Eileen assumed it was related to the business. "Thank you, Lee."

"No problem. Hey," He looked around before speaking again, "Do you know any spells for making yourself older?"

Eileen shook her head, "None that I'm aware of, you might be out of luck if you're trying to cheat the system."

He snapped his fingers in frustration, "Blast. Thanks anyway, I'll have to keep hitting the books. See you later!" He jogged off down the hallway, waving goodbye before disappearing up a stairway.

"So that's what you guys are up to..." She mused before thinking about it and wondering if she could use an aging potion. It would make her look quite different, being older. She wondered if it would make her much taller.

Wandering toward the Ravenclaw dormitory, she passed pairs of boys and girls lingering in the halls and twittering amongst themselves. Girls giggling and playfully swatting the boys, boys leaning against walls and grinning, both leaning close to each other and staring into each other's eyes. Eileen wondered what it would feel like to be that way around Fred, to be so carefree and, dare she say, silly. She also noticed how the girls had curves to their uniforms, filling out their skirts and blouses, some more than others. She looked down at her own uniform, noting how thin and vertical her body was.

Sighing, she entered the dormitory and headed to her room, flopping on her bed.

"There you are!" Cheryl bounded up and pounced on the bed in a free space. "What happened in class this morning? Are you okay? They said you went to the hospital wing."

"I'm fine, I just got a little sick," Eileen mumbled into her sheets before rolling into a sitting position and slumping next to her friend. "Why don't I look like you?"

Cheryl quirked an eyebrow and tilted her head at her. "What? What do you mean?"

"These," Eileen sat up straight and pulled her blouse out in two tented points before letting it fall back in place. "Other girls have them, why don't I?"

Cheryl stared for a moment before snorting and laughing, "You mean boobs? You're only 13, you probably haven't blossomed yet."

"I'm not a flower," Eileen frowned, not sure what was so amusing about her predicament.

"No no, it's a saying. You go through puberty and some girls get bigger boobs and hips," Cheryl hopped up and outlined her figure in a statuesque pose, "Some don't."

"When did you get those?" Eileen watched her curiously.

"Hmm, I suppose it was about a year and a half ago that I really started growing into it. Dad didn't know what to do with me," She laughed. "Nothing funnier than taking your Dad to go shopping for bras."

Eileen wondered what Snape would do if she took him shopping for under garments. She imagined it wouldn't end well, or would result in her going alone and him standing outside the store. Or more likely her going shopping with Mrs. Weasley and having nothing to do with Snape as he refuses to acknowledge such an issue existing.

"Why do you ask?" Cheryl sat back down on the bed. "Did Fred say something to you?"

"No," Eileen sighed and fell back against the bed. "Just wondering."

"You worry too much. You're cute, I'm sure you'll grow up eventually!" With a bounce Cheryl pounced on Eileen. "Until then, DEFEND YOURSELF! HEYAH!"
Eileen laughed and wrestled with Cheryl a bit before they crumpled to the floor in a giggling heap. Several of the Sixth year girls commented on their maturity before going back to their gossip. Still giggling, they bid each other a good night and went about their own business for the remainder of the evening. Out of curiosity, Eileen found herself researching in the library until curfew looking up aging potions.