DISCLAIMER: I OWN NEITHER FMA NOR HARRY POTTER!

Chapter Ten

Ed appreciated the food that Winry had brought to him. He ate it all in an instant. After eating the food, Ed went back to reading. Winry had to force him away from reading the books deep into the night. She had him put his books into his trunk and get to bed. After doing so, Winry went to bed as well, after cleaning up of course.

The first class for Ed and Winry the next day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. On the way to the class after breakfast, Winry told him what Fred and George and Lee had told her about Moody's class.

"Well, we'll just have to see for ourselves, won't we, Winry?" asked Ed.

"What do you think he'll be like though?" asked Winry.

"I don't know," said Ed. "That's why we'll just have to see for ourselves."

Winry sighed. She couldn't stand it when Ed didn't give straight answers. They got to the classroom as the doors were opened. Ed and Winry got seats in the middle of the room. They didn't want to be in the front seats. Just as Ed and Winry were about to take out their copies of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, Moody came stumping in and told the class to put their books away. Ed and Winry put their books back into their bags as Moody went to his desk and sat down. Moody pulled out a register and started to do roll call. His magical eye would look at the person who responded.

"Right then," Moody said after the last student declared themselves present, "I've got a note from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark Creatures, is that right?"

There was a general murmur of assent.

"But you are behind on curses," said Moody. "So, I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark -."

"Why aren't you staying for longer than a year?" asked Ed. "You hate teachin' or something?"

Moody's magical eye spun to look at Ed.

"You're the new transfer student, aren't you?" asked Moody.

"You can say that," said Ed.

"I'm just doing a favor for Professor Dumbledore," said Moody. "I'll be back to my quiet retirement after this year."

"You mean boring?" asked Ed.

"Edward!" Winry scolded.

Ed grinned.

"Just quiet," said Moody. "Now, let's get to it. Curses come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you counter curses 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 Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. 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. You need to put that parchment away, Miss Rockbell, while I'm talking."

It seemed that Moody's eye could also see through wood, as well as the back of his head, for Winry had been sketching a new design for Ed.

"Are going to take it away if I don't?" Winry asked.

Moody looked at her.

"Is your grandmother Pinako Rockbell?" asked Moody.

"Do you know her?" Winry asked.

"A lot of people know her," said Moody. "She gave up the chance to be Head Healer for a life of wanting to help Muggles stay mobile even after they've lost their limbs by making metal prosthetics."

"There's nothing wrong with that," said Winry.

"Of course there isn't," said Moody. "You've just inherited her spark."

"And my mother's," said Winry.

Then Winry put her sketch and quill away.

"You can go on now with the lesson," said Winry.

Moody looked at her for a moment longer and then went on with what he was saying.

"So…do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?" he asked.

Several hands rose tentatively into the air, including Ed's and Winry's. Moody pointed at Ed.

"The Imperius Curse," said Ed.

"That one gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse," said Moody.

He got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three large black spiders were scuttling around inside it. Winry could feel Ed recoil next to her. Ed hated spiders. Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in the palm of his hand so that they could all see it. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered, "Imperio!"

The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance. Everyone was laughing - everyone except for Ed, Winry, and Moody.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Moody growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

The laughter died away almost instantly.

"Total control," Moody said 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…"

Ed gave an involuntary shudder.

"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse," said Moody. "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!"

Everyone jumped. Moody picked up the somersaulting spider and threw it back into the jar.

"Anyone else know one?" asked Moody. "Another illegal curse?"

Winry rose her hand and Moody looked at her. She put her hand down.

"The Cruciatus Curse," said Winry.

Turning back to the class at large, he reached into the jar for the next spider and placed it upon the desktop, where it remained motionless, apparently too scared to move.

"The Cruciatus Curse," said Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea."

He pointed his wand at the spider.

"Engorgio!" said Moody.

The spider swelled.

Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, "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 given a voice it would have been screaming. Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently -

"STOP IT, YOU SICK BASTARD!" Ed yelled.

Everyone started. They looked to see Winry covering her face with her hands. She was crying. Moody raised his wand. The spider's legs relaxed, but it continued to twitch. Ed pat Winry's back in a soothing way while glaring at Moody.

"Reducio," Moody muttered, and the spider shrank back to its proper size.

He put it back into the jar.

"Pain," Moody 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. Right… anyone know any others?"

No one said anything. Then…

"Avada Kedavra," Ed said.

"Ah," said Moody, another slight smile twisting his lopsided mouth. "Yes, the last and the worst. Avada Kedavra… the Killing Curse."

He put his hand into the glass jar, and almost as though it knew what was coming, the third spider scuttled frantically around the bottom of the jar, trying to evade Moody's fingers, but he trapped it, and placed it upon the desktop of Cormac McLaggen. It started to scuttle frantically across the wooden surface.

Moody raised his wand, and Ed felt a sudden thrill of foreboding.

"Avada Kedavra!" Moody roared.

There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air - instantaneously the spider rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Several of the students, including Winry, stifled cries. Moody swept the dead spider off the desk onto the floor.

"Not nice," Moody said calmly. "Not pleasant."

"No shit," Ed muttered.

Moody ignored him.

"And there's no counter curse," said Moody. "There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and that person is Harry Potter."

'I've got to talk to Harry about that,' thought Ed. 'But not now.'

He looked at Winry. She was still upset. Ed frowned. He stood, flinging his book bag strap over his shoulder. He grabbed Winry's as well.

"Come on, Winry," said Ed. "We're leaving."

Winry looked at him as did everyone else.

"You're not going anywhere, sonny boy," said Moody.

"Oh, yeah? Just watch me," said Ed. "Come on, Winry."

"But, Ed, I - ." started Winry.

"No buts, Winry," said Ed. "We're going."

Winry didn't have a chance to say anything as Ed grabbed her wrist to try to get her to come with him. She grabbed her wrist back. Ed looked at her in shock.

"No, Ed!" said Winry. "We're not leaving this class!"

"But, Winry!" started Ed. "That psychopathic - !"

"He said it wasn't going to be nice, and we need to stay in class," said Winry. "I'll be fine, so sit down. Now."

Ed sighed angrily and sat back down, setting the bags down next to his feet. Moody went on talking.

"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," said Moody. "But that doesn't matter. I'm not here to teach you how to do it. Now, if there's no counter curse, 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!"

The whole class jumped again.

"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 preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills…copy this down…"

They spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on each of the Unforgivable Curses. No one spoke until the bell rang - but when Moody had dismissed them and they had left the classroom, a torrent of talk burst forth. Most people were discussing the curses in awed voices. Ed couldn't take it; he grabbed his and Winry's bags, got hold of Winry's wrist again, and pulled Winry with him out of the hall. He didn't let go of her until they were out of Moody's range and out of the classroom range. Ed looked at Winry.

"Are you all right, Winry?" asked Ed.

"I'm fine," said Winry. "It's just…"

"I know," said Ed. "Do you want to skip Divination?"

"No, we have to go," said Winry. "I don't know why Professor Dumbledore is making us take it for though."

"He's just a crazy old geezer," said Ed.

"Ed…," said Winry.

"Let's go," said Ed. "We don't want to be late for the psychic lady."

Then he and Winry went to the Divination class. Ed and Winry barely made it to class in time. They got into the room that was above the trapdoor when the bell rang. A sweet perfume that spread from the fire met their nostrils as they emerged at the top of the stepladder. The curtains were all closed; the circular room was bathed in a dim reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scarves and shawls. Ed rose a brow.

"Not too girly, is it?" asked Ed.

"Edward!" said Winry, trying not to grin at Ed's sarcasm. "Let's go find seats."

Ed and Winry walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poufs that cluttered the room, and sat down at a small circular table.

"Good day," said the misty voice of Professor Trelawney right behind Ed, making him jump.

A very thin woman with enormous glasses that made her eyes appear too large for her face, Professor Trelawney was peering down at Ed with the tragic expression she reserved for Harry. The large amount of beads, chains, and bangles glittered upon her person in the firelight.

"You have had a tragic childhood, my dear," Trelawney said mournfully to Ed. "My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within. And I regret to say to you that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you, alas…most difficult…"

Her voice dropped almost to a whisper. She patted Ed on the shoulder and swept past Ed and Winry and seated herself in a large winged armchair before the fire, facing the class. Ed and Winry looked at each other. Winry could tell that Trelawney had spooked Ed even though he didn't want to show it.

"My dears, we need to consider the stars for just today for dear Edward's and Winry's sakes," said Trelawney. "The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance, as they have told me of Edward and Winry's arrival to my class. You all know that human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays which intermingle…"

But Ed's thoughts had drifted. He couldn't help but to think about what she had just told him. Had she found out who he was? Or was she just guessing? Hermione had told him and Winry that morning at breakfast that Trelawney was just a fraud, but…

"Edward!" said Winry.

Ed came out of his thoughts.

"What?" asked Ed.

The whole class was staring at him.

"I was saying, my dear, that you were clearly born under the mournful light of the moon," said Trelawney, a faint note of resentment in her voice at the fact that he had obviously not been hanging on her words.

"Born under what?" asked Ed.

"The moon, dear, the moon!" said Professor Trelawney, sounding definitely irritated that he wasn't riveted by this news. "I was saying that the moon was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth…Your light hair…your soft stature and face structure," ("SOFT?!" Ed exclaimed) "I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in the summer?"

"No, I was born in February!" said Ed, blushing in anger and embarrassment.

Author's Note: I know that since I have posted this the first time, Ed's birthday month has changed. His birthday is still in winter, but I'm not entirely sure when. When I wrote this, sources were saying that it was in February. I am keeping his birthday in February.