Chapter 3
It was nearing the end of the summer holidays. Nico had already figured out his way around Hogwarts, thanks to the ghosts, some help from the professors, and his experience in the Labyrinth.
He was quite surprised when Dumbledore asked him to choose a textbook to teach from. Although there were a couple on Necromancy, Geokinesis, Umbrakinesis, Dark Pyrokinesis, none of them could be easily explained.
Necromancy is an art which confounded and turned many mad. Geokinesis has not much connection to the Dark Arts the wizards believe. Umbrakinesis caused many misunderstandings in the past and Pyrokinesis, he does not want to teach for it is considered to be quite 'evil'. He himself only used it on rare occasions.
Furthermore, the books got a good portion of the concepts wrong. One does not simply say a spell to raise the dead, he thought. Raising the dead is harder than that. The lunar calendar plays a part in this (he learnt some Chinese to understand it).
You can only raise the dead in the flesh (raising ghosts/ zombies/ inferi are another thing) the first of two full moons in the lunar month. Why it had to follow the moon position? Nico did not know.
After a good number of days in the library and a few nights in the Underworld, Nico understood how the Unforgivable Curses worked. The Underworld consisted of some people who had died from the curses; they told him how it worked in detail.
Nico decided not to use any textbooks; it would not help at all. Besides, he didn't want people to start cursing each other the moment they exited the classroom.
*I am just a line I am just a line I am just a line*
It was the first day of their sixth year at Hogwarts. The trio was in the dining hall at Hogwarts watching the first years get sorted.
Nico, however, was not in the hall. Being the Ghost King had its cons. This was the first time he realized it. Apparently, Hecate had 'forgotten' to tell him about it.
All gods/immortals had to replenish their powers every now and then, especially those without offerings. If they didn't they would get 'sick'. The way of course was not hard. The god/immortals just had to go back to the basics and go to where their power source was.
For Nico, the cemetery worked well enough. He simply 'stole' power from the ghosts there.
Back at the ceremony, Dumbledore was giving his speech. "You will have some changes in professors this year. Professor Slughorn will be taking Potions," Slughorn waved at this part. "Professor Snape will be taking Defense Against the Dark Arts." Harry and a few others shouted "NO!" at this part.
"Last but not least, Professor di Angelo , who is currently not here, will be teaching a new subject, the Dark Arts. Before you ask anything on this, I would like to clarify the fact that this subject is merely so you understand what you are up against. There is no textbook for this subject. With that, let us begin the feast!" finished Dumbledore.
As Harry ate he asked Hermione what she thought of the new subject. "It will be an interesting subject to learn," she replied. Ron had another opinion. "I'd say that the teacher has a good chance of being a Death Eater. Who knows? Maybe he's not here because he's in one of their meetings," Ron said.
Personally, Harry agreed with both.
*I am just a line I am just a line I am just a line*
Nico returned to Hogwarts in the wee hours of the night, looking less pale than he had in the morning. He blamed Hecate for the headache. I don't want to be a god now; he thought he drifted to sleep. Major gods never had to worry about things like this, minor gods however had to.
Immortals like demigods who accidentally made themselves immortal were few in numbers. Most were unknown to the world and spent their days in the realm of their godly parent or their own realm.
*I am just a line I am just a line I am just a line*
The next day came quickly enough. Students were rushing around getting to their classes. The Trio was in Defense Against the Dark Arts. "The dark arts are…" Snape taught. Only the Slytherins seemed to be listening.
Harry was waiting for the class in which everyone wanted to know was about. The Gryfindors were rather curious, while the Slytherins were excited. After Snape issued the homework, the pupils tried to find their way to the Dark Arts classroom.
The pupils settled down once they found a seat in the classroom. Then, a man who most likely couldn't have been older than twenty stood at the front of the class. The girls swooned at his muscular body and his beautiful features.
Like his name, di Angelo, he certainly looked 'of Angel' enough. "Today, you will begin with your first lesson in the Dark Arts," he started. "My name is Nico di Angelo you can address me as Professor di Angelo, and I shall begin today's class with an introduction on the Dark Arts."
"Who would try at a guess on the definition of the Dark Arts?" Nico asked. It is the art of using magic for the wrong purposes, Draco Malfoy thought. He didn't raise his hand; he wasn't the type to take the initiative.
"It is curses," some tried. "It is harming others," others said. "Half-correct. The Dark Arts you all think of might not be actually that dark, same for the 'good' magic you think of. Dark Magic is when magic is used for evil purposes. That also brings me to my topic for these few weeks. The Unforgivable Curses," he continued.
"Some of you may know this, some of you may not. However, one must know that to use such a curse requires a certain amount of hatred, or as some might prefer, evilness. You have to mean it for such a curse to work. You have to have a certain desire to truly harm to person to use it. Now, tell me, in your opinion, which of the curses do you think is the worst?"
Harry raised his hand. "The killing curse. It is wrong and unforgivable to take someone else's life," he volunteered. Many seconded that. The Cruciatus curse. The screams of those who suffered it is enough to tell one that, the pain is unbearable. Draco thought of the time Voldemort used it on him. "If you do not scream, you are worthy of becoming a Death Eater," he had told him.
Neville gingerly raised his hand. "The Cruciatus Curse. It is the worst for it makes a person's life a living hell."
"I agree with Neville on that. Although like many of you say, it is wrong to kill, for a person whose life is horrible and wishes death upon himself, the Killing curse can be a blessing. The Imperius Curse is of course horrible, however, if a person is berserk and his last wish was to never harm anyone. It can be a blessing to him when you use it to keep him from harming anyone," he explained.
Just then, the bell rang. "For homework today, I want all of you to write all the pros of the Curses," Nico instructed.
*I am just a line I am just a line I am just a line*
Later that night, the trio was in the common room trying to think of the Pros. Cons they could come up with in the hundreds, but pros…
"What do you all think of Professor di Angleo other than the fact that he looks good, is really young, and seems talented?" asked Hermione. "He's weird. Who thinks of the Pros of the unforgivable curses?" claimed Ron.
"Well, it is after all Dark Arts, not Defense Against the Dark Arts. Come to think of it, isn't it ironic how both of the Dark Arts connected subjects are taught by people who might be Death Eaters?" Harry said.
"I would leave it at that Harry. I'm not planning on listening on your who-might-be-a-Death-Eater talk now. Can anyone of you honestly think of a pro for the Cruciatus Curse?" Hermione asked.
*I am just a line I am just a line I am just a line*
Back in his room, Nico thought on how he could get Harry to understand that this subject would eventually benefit him when fighting Voldemort. He also thought of another mission Dumbledore had given him. "Voldemort wants to make you one of them. If possible, would you please help me out and be… a spy?" he had asked.
He raised skeletons from the ground to guard the door/ portrait. He would not risk the girls crashing into his room.
AN: I haven't done day-to-day updates for quite some time already. The dark art forms in the beginning are found under Hades' power on Camp half-blood wikia. I hope I got my stuff right. Thank you for all your reviews! As i read them, I thought of the irony that I scored less than 75% for my story-writing component in school yet am a rather okay fanfiction writer. LOL.
Guest (who asked about the 'di'): Sorry about that. I left it out as i was told by a teacher that 'di' meant of, hence, when my brain thought of it. It was Nico of Angelo, so yeah. Do remind me if you see it again.
That's it! Review, criticism is welcome but flames aren't. See you soon!- I am VOID
P.S. Cookies to people who catch all the references to different fandoms in my writings.
P.P.S. Any one who wants ideas for PJO/HP/THG/LOTR fandoms can come to me. Some of you like original ideas and I have some. (Just PM me)
P.P.P.S. Yes, I have a lot of last minute stuff. I do get bored without chats so anyone can PM if you want.
