Chapter 26 : A Moody Class + Special bonus add-on - Poll on profile, please attempt.
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Regulus Black was dead. How had he managed to... We had, or of course my servants had incinerated all the inferi within the lake as soon as the collapsed werewolves had come up. Macnair returned from a local pub, wearing multiple glamouring enchantments.
"Not in the lake, my lord. We have scoured it all all sides, nothing is within." growls Greyback. "I tried a summoning charm too, my lord."
"Macnair you fool, if I had the least bit of common sense, I wouldnt have placed a priceless heirloom of Slytherin without Anti Summoning Enchantments. Go do something useful."
"We found the corpse of Black here. I think he did it without informing anybody about this. And why would it make ye mortal, my lord?"
"Greyback, please ask your friend here, to mind his business, with another warning too."
"'Crucio'." The werewolf twitches for a full ten minutes, and then collapsed. "Dead. My Lord, I'm afraid, it must have been the stress of the last... um... moon. I shall... should I dispose of this too?"
"Yes. Search the waters again. Abandon the cave, and I would rather hit that loose curtain on the right side of the cave. Destroy the cave with that. Clear traces of magic. Macnair, follow me."
He shouted at the werewolves near the small island, and they grumble as they enter the water again. A foolish one amongst them had not even cast a bubble head charm upon himself.
We exit the cave, as Macnair crouches. "My lord, that was indeed Regulus Black's body. He disappeared off the radars of the ministry and other records before you had even... your... fall." He struggles to keep his composure. "Regulus must have taken the locket, but how? How did he know it was here? And how did he know that you, my lord, you would have kept this priceless heirloom of Lord Salazar himself, here? Out of all places. It surely couldn't be a chance event..." Clever. He avoids saying whatever he suspects. "The Locket of my ancestor and Hogwarts' true founder must be found. I shall embark to find the artefacts that I have safely placed in secure locations, and I believe I would have to pay a visit to them."
Where would I have gone wrong? Regulus had never challenged me face to face. Might be... "Wait!" I glide over to the entrance of the cave. "Did you find the corpse of a house elf here?"
"No, sir. All human." Just then, a werewolf cast a Reductus at the column near the drapes, as the cave imploded, and the potion splattered. The water had been drained to the sea for exposing the Inferi, and now with the cave in, the night is pierced by howls. Most are alive. I spot the hidden stone that prevented us from on-the-spot Apparation, and with Macnair destroying it, we leave. Three werewolves have died, and we cross the borders of Scotland manually, avoiding cross country Apparation detection.
The house elf must have survived. Regulus must have ... but why? Why should regulus avenge, nah, take his revenge for a house elf? And what is it with stealing my things? First my life. Then the stone embedded on the Gaunt ring. Now my locket. It seems I will have to get the help of an old friend, or kill him trying.
"Wake up, Harry. It's the twenty fourth. The holidays start today. Just the Half day of classes."
"Half day?" He said groggily, reaching out to the shelf for his glasses.
"Saturday. Only DADA for three hours, and another hour of Charms. Dean, wake Neville up."
"Three hours! What?" Asked a surprised Seamus, as Dean threw a couple of jeans and a robe at Harry's still half-asleep face.
"Yeah, Moody exchanged classes for this lesson. I asked him after the last class on Thursday." Neville sat upright, then jumped to his feet.
"What for? I mean, he completed all those revisions on Vampires and Dugbogs, didn't he?"
"My bladder's full." Neville ran across the room to the bathroom.
"He said some kind of practice session. Anyways, I hated those revisions."
"So, after the ball, we can go home? Eh?" Asked Seamus, while glancing at the bathroom door slamming shut.
"Dunno. I think we stay here. Anyways. I am staying. Ummph." Harry sat up on the bed. "Dumbledore said I could go to Sirius' home in the Easter break."
"I'm staying here. Me mam don't want me returning in holidays, she's in Japan, presenting a project on... lemme see. " He pulled out a folded letter from beneath his pillow. "Diagnosing changes between dragon pox and dragon flu, and spreading awareness. I'll go home in Easter though."
"What about you, Ron?"
"Well, if Harry's staying, then so am I. And I don't think Ginny or the twins are going home too."
The bathroom door opened, and Neville stood there, soaked in water.
Dean looked at him, with an embarrassed look. "I forgot to inform the house elves 'bout the broken tap in the sink. And the plumbing was a bit weakly fixed, my repairing charm isn't that good. Sorry, Nev."
"Why does everything happen to me?"
Moody closed the windows of the classroom. The hall had been expanded in the length to allow two of the duelling podia they had used in their second year. Moody stood near the blackboard, holding his staff upon his shoulder and leaning heavily on the table.
"Pull the blinds too, Miss." Parvati closed the Venetian blinds on the far side of the classroom. The room dimmed by a lot. "Light those lamps, Mister Finnigan. And everybody, take your seats."
"We are here to try beginner's hexes, and jinxes. Try using the list of charms I put up on the board. You all should try and avoid every jinx. Not every hex, get hit by them and get your faces smashed. Like mine." He got a weak chuckle as he pointed at his face.
"I'm not going to dump you with the everything in the vicinity is a weapon crap. Nothing usually is. But anything conjured by you, must be a weapon. Any spell coming out should be a weapon ready for a clean kill. See. 'Scourgify'" He cast it at the blackboard, leaving it spotlessly clean.
"Now think of the scenario if I use it on your mouth. A bit deeper, and it mounts to me strangling you. A bit deeper, and you are dead before you ever say 'weapon' again. Clean Kill, if the occasional pun is allowed."
"A bit morose. And pessimistic." muttered Ron, as Moody said "I heard that comment, Mister Weasley, and I am glad that you have expanded your vocabulary. Depressing, yes, but also Lifesaving. Yes. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He thundered as usual, but they were now used to the shouts.
"While soap in the mouth isn't in anyway the worst death, some of the curses used in modern practice, are nevertheless more or less equal to the killing curse in terms of intent and effect. Active Euthanasia is usually done in St Mungos by injecting rat tail venom, not a good spell at the wrong spot. Why?"
Harry attempted the question. "Because nobody else should try that spell in a lethal way? Preventing... um... er..."
"I get what you say, but a killer can use them spells anywhere, can't they? Anti-Unforgivable wards on wands never was legalised till the First wizarding war. Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Because they don't encourage usage of wizard methods for wrong purposes. It makes wizards look bad?" She ended the question in a puzzled look, as though her answer didn't seem satisfactory to her.
"Blah bleh bleh. Nothing of that. It's just cause they are incompetent idiots like you all. They can't cast spells correct. That's why those losers became healers." He paused.
"I was just kidding. That was never a real question. But the way you thought of those answers, especially yours, Mister Potter, that is good. Take five points for Gryffindor. Rat tail venom can't be cured in two minutes acting time, as it has a debilitating effect on viscera. Learn some of these Greek and Latin words, and you can make spells. And brag."
"Now, Every spell has a good and a bad effect. Here I have provided a list of spells that are the commonest ones in your curriculum. Try listing out spells, while four of you come in batches. Duelling practice."
The class continued, and Moody asked them to write down answers in a piece of parchment. Much like in a test, they were not allowed to copy, or even discuss. Moody took a chair and sat at the end of the row, and graded them all one by one, calling them in reverse alphabetical order. As Ron returned, Ernie Macmillan knocked the open door, and entered. "Sir, you scheduled a class in this period for your... um." "Which.."
"Fourth year Hufflepuffs sir. Now. They said you changed the class to Gryffindors, but the portion and the test are yet to be completed, and it is our last day."
"Stop discussing you all. Yes, Mister Macmillan, well, then. Call the others. Now it's a period off, for you?"
"Yes sir. Professor GrubblyPlank said you borrowed our period, but you were not in your office. Professor McGonagall said you had borrowed Professor Snape's p-"
"Yes, yes. Come on. Write down those spells on the board, and find a lethal of damaging use for it. Not a counter, just a bad usage of the spell. Next, Potter, Patil. Come on, come on, we haven't got all day."
Harry left his paper and quill, and most importantly closed his ink reservoir before he left his seat. He turned back and flipped the paper too, to the unwritten backside, promoting Seamus' glares.
He stepped upon the duelling stage, and Parvati stood on the other side. Moody was closer to her side. "Three jinxes." He called. "Do three and the other shields, and then vice versa."
Harry started with the shield first. He had practiced it in Flitwick's class, but it had always drained him, leaving him tired in the end. But the shields were strong,not a problem with that. Parvati tried a Furnunculus, as the shield bounced it off. Harry peeked from the side, delighted to see Moody tick a box. The jinx disappeared off the boundaries of the duelling stage. It must've been enchanted to-
Parvati fired again. This time it was a Relashio. Harry didn't expect this, but he held his ground, thanks to his overpowered shielding. "Good, miss Patil. Striking when he does not notice. But grip was lousy. Potter! CONSTANT VIGILANCE! Where are you looking at?"
This time it was louder, and most of the students on the other side looked over.
Harry cowered, and raised another shield. "Hold it near the hilt, boy. Hands around the amount of core involved. Don't grip the wand like... here." He came near and adjusted his position. "More the core within your hand, more the magic flux. Hold with minimum skin contact to adjust. Now. Do it. The shield."
"'Protego.'" And the shimmery fluidlike shield appeared in front.
"Impedimenta' " shouted Parvati, as Harry noticed her hand pointing towards his feet. Harry shifted his wandpoint downwards, with a slight jump. Surprisingly, his shield moved along with the wand point, and the spell hit the angle between the shield and the base, ricocheting off the ceiling next. Parvati ducked, as Harry smiled, with another tick appearing on the sheet Moody had.
Parvati shook her head, in a sort of gesture that might have meant exasperation, and assumed her shield. Harry cast an Impedimenta, as the white clashed with the shield. He held all fingers on his wand, following Moody. "Too strong, Potter. You don't want Miss Patil knocked out for a day, do ya? But perfect casting." He ticked a box for the proper shield Parvati had, as Harry cast a Jelly legs. She stopped it with a smirk, as Moody ticked another box. Harry was now worried, as he had not seen if he got the second tick.
With a swallow, he cast a single tonguetwisting jinx, as it crossed the room in it's multicoloured form, and dissipated instead of just bouncing.
"Well done, Mister Potter. That is a fine example of how you dig your own grave. Do you attend Arithmancy classes or not?" Moody limped towards him. "I-" stuttered Harry, as Moody crossed him to get to the other blackboard. "Five hundred thaums. Give or take. With the wavelength of light changing quartets of this... Here. See? You channel white, you minimise prismatic efficacy loss. You split colours, Bravo, you get a colourful show, while the shielding absorbs remnant energy. You provoke the enemy to waste his energy, not give him more!" The chalk hit the floor, splitting to two. "But more range..." "Potter, who needs range for an enemy at ten feet? In a whole phalanx of enemies, Ptolemy shot eight hundred with an Impediment. Now that is a use of Range. He did it at a distance of-" "Four Miles." piped Parvati, with a look begging for an extra credit. "Good. And I know it is from the fourth card in your pack of Chocolate frogs. Go on, both of you. Potter, consider taking Arithmancy for the next year. Sinistra might give a class or two on the basics during summer. Divination is no subject for humans." He said the last sentence while he looked at the changes in Parvati's face with a playful chuckle.
"Call the next two. I left... the ..." He breathed out with every urgent limp. " wrting pad... in my desk."
Harry went to the table, calling Seamus. The hufflepuffs were huddled over near the board, and waiting for their turn after the Gryffindors ended theirs. They werent writing the answers to the spells that was on the board. "Psst. Harry, how d'you use Tarentellegra as a lethal one?"
"Dunno, cast it on a person at the edge of a cliff, maybe."
"If he's a wizard and manages to apparate? Ah, how about this one? A child, without apparation license?"
"Sadist."
"Shut your mouths over there." shouted Moody, as Seamus missed a step.
"Narcissa, prepare some tea. And call that infernal house elf. Where the hell did it go?" Narcissa came in, wearing a long dress, her hair tied in a braid arching to her right shoulder. "Call it, if you so want. I would bet in galleons that you wouldn't remember It's name."
She went back in, as Lucius arched for the newspaper. "If you had been in that Board of Governors, we would have been at the school for Draco's date. Pansy agreed to come with him, did you hear that?"
"Hmm?"
"I said, Draco asked Pansy to come with him for the Yule Ball. It isn't everyday that you get to see your child's first date in a historical ceremony."
"Pansy. What Pansy? Parkinson's daughter?"
"Yes, she. They are such a cute couple, don't you think? Wonderful. Don't you have any sort of interest in your child's life?" She placed the tray with a thump, but the silky tablecloth prevented much sound. Tea that should have spilled was contained within the pot with stasis charms.
Narcissa drew a Cup to her hands, and sipped it, while her husband flicked through the pages. "They say that the Board is not planning to view the Yuletide ball. Even if I had been there, it wouldn't have done much good, anyway. They all kiss Dumbledore's feet."
They drank in silence for a few more minutes, while Lucius suddenly looked up. "Did Rosalind Greengrass pay a visit? I asked her to-"
There was a shockwave that radiated along the edges of the Manor. Lucius grabbed the overcoat, as Narcissa plucked his staff from the near the umbrella stand. As she handed it over to him, he sipped the last drops of his tea, and rushed out.
There was a slight breeze as he stepped out. He raised the staff, and pulled out the wand. "Who is it?"
He removed the illusions on the opened ward, and found that the cause for the wave had been the residual brake on the warding. He closed it down, and saw a peacock stumbling over the remnants of the brake. "Shoo." He moved towards the piece. It had no magical memory, proved by the 'Revelio'. Satisfied, Lucius returned home, stuffing his wand back into the staff. He passed the doors to the hall, as he heard it. The unpleasantly and unfortunately familiar voice, uttering unprecedented words.
"I would love some coffee, but I need nothing except some help. Welcome, Lucius."
Lucius kneeled in front of the chair opposite to Narcissa, hyperventilating.
"My lord, it pleases me so much-"
"Stop it, Lucius. There is no forgiveness, nor any remembering. Let us all start anew. I need to take birth again."
"My lord?"
"I need a physical body."
As Lucius opened his mouth, the silvery apparition cut through. "Nothing of your blabbering. I have the full plans and all I need is human assistance. You shall serve me in this purpose."
"Y-Yes, my lord." He bowed, in fear mostly. Narcissa shifted her gaze to her husband, and bowed down. Voldemort smiled.
Sorry to announce that Lord Voldemort has requested that his first person narratives must be ended as soon as he gets a body.
If you enjoyed the first person narration, tell me. And if you want it to continue, tell me. I'll try to convince him to continue on with it.
And maybe if you didn't like it, then too, tell me.
In other words, Please Post Reviews. Try the poll on my profile.