Chapter 26

Sirius dropped into his seat in Defence. He felt old and tired all of a sudden. His stomach lurched with the knowledge that today he was a man! That was so funny. A man him, never. But he was seventeen and that made him an adult. That was a scary thought. Although deep down he knew he'd been living like one for quite some time.

The door was closed and Sirius watched as Tad walked towards the front of the room. He pulled out his register and Sirius noticed how he longer listened for Ginny's name. It was strange how life moved on. The old man missed out Remus' name as he came to it without even looking up. Then he smiled looking at them all.

"So today I thought that we'd move on from silent charms. Today I want to talk about the three most dangerous spells there are. Now some of you I'm sure have already come into contact with them, but we need to know. So can anybody tell me what they are?"

Hands shoot up around the room but Sirius noticed that Amanda had pushed herself lower in the chair in front. His friend was sat on the end of the row next to Branwen. He watched as silently she looked down the table, at the other end next to Lily sat Alice. Now he understood.

"Sirius, any ideas."

"What?"

The man gave him a look and Sirius smiled sheepishly.

"Cruciatus curse."

"Ten points to Gryffindor. Indeed one of the three forbidden spells is the Cruciatus curse. Now does anybody know why?"

Sirius put his head in his hands. Nobody was answering. Tad though was looking around the room.

"Aaron do you know?"

"No Sir."

"Lisa?"

"The spell causes intolerable pain Sir."

"Ten points to Hufflepuff. As Lisa has correctly pointed out the Cruciatus curse causes pain. Now this is not like pain that you suffer on a daily bases, take it from someone who knows. This is pain that is focused on a point. It is so painful in fact that most people break and will tell their torturer anything that they want to know. That is why this spell has become a favourite for Voldemort and his Death Eaters. There is a side affect though that is just too horrible. Branwen do you want to tell us what that is?"

"Not really."

"Branwen!"

Sirius laughed quietly under his breath sharing a look with James.

"Excessive use of the spell can lead to permanent damage. Usually people who have been under the curse for too long end up insane."

"That's right. Take ten points. Now over exposure of the curse can lead to damaging affects to the brain. However there hasn't been a recorded case since 1768 when Ingvar Reichs annoyed his wife so much that she over used the spell."

Tad laughed gently and Sirius was sure that he was lost in a thought somewhere.

"Now there is no protection against this curse. One just has to be smart and keep an eye out. It is possible that if you can put up a strong enough shield charm that you may be able to block some of the effects. But the truth is that you must be ready to calm yourself and not let the pain affect you too badly. After all pain is a friend, it is a reminder that we are still alive."

Sirius shared a look with James as the professor asked for another example.

"Alice?"

"The killing curse."

Her voice was very low. As she said it Sirius heard an intake of breath. The Hufflepuff students sharing their lesson looked around at them. Alice though to her strength kept her eyes forward. From beside him Peter lowered himself into his chair just as Amanda had done. Tad's eyes sparkled with sadness as he looked at Alice.

"Indeed. The worse of all the curses ever invented. Ten points to Gryffindor. Now the killing curse, also known by its incantation Avada Kedavra is the most serious and deadly curse known to wizarding kind. There is absolutely no defence to it and nobody has ever survived. The only kind thing about this spell is that it seems to be painless, although that does not make it good. There is nothing more serious than taking another person's life. I wish I could teach you how to protect yourselves from this but that is something nobody can do."

The class was silent as Tad called out once more. Nobody attempted to answer and Sirius watched as Tad looked at the girl in front.

"Amanda the last one please."

"Imperius curse."

"Ten points. Doug please tell us what the affects are."

"The victim falls under complete control of the caster."

"Ten points. Correct. Imperius is the last of the forbidden curses. This in the scale of the others seems the less offensive however having complete control is dangerous. If I was to control you I could make you do anything and everything that I want."

"Now there is a way to fight this one but you need to be strong of mind. You need to try and think through the instructions. So for instance if I put the curse on Peter and told him to jump off the highest tower he would need to ask why. He would need to see that it's a stupid thing to do. If he was able to do that he would be able to break the spell."

A bell sounded from outside the room and everyone jumped. Sirius was unaware that so much time has passed. The class stood up and left the room. They had Transfiguration next. Sirius watched as Branwen, Alice and Lily marched ahead of everyone out of the room. Sirius watched Amanda slowly put her book away.

"You coming Sirius?"

"I'll meet the pair of you in class."

James shot him a look but said nothing. He and Peter left the room. Sirius followed and waited outside. Everyone had left by the time Amanda emerged.

"Taking your time aren't you?"

"What can I say? Maybe I'm trying to wait until most people are in their next lessons."

"Mand stop worrying."

"Si everyone is talking about how my dad murdered Alice's family. The Hufflepuffs have a vendetta against me."

"Like hell they do!"

She gave him a funny look. It was true. They remembered Aaron Scott as one of their best in years. He had led them into second place in the Quidditch. He had been popular and well liked. He threw his arm over Amanda's shoulder as they walked down the corridor.

"Fancy sneaking down to the kitchens later. I'm going to steal some cake."

"Oh yummy. Count me in."

He laughed at the way she licked her lips. They walked together through a secret door in the wall and headed down the floor to Transfiguration. However half way down the stairs Amanda stopped and looked around.

"I have something for you."

"Oh yeah and what's that?"

He was taken by surprise as she went onto tiptoes and kissed him gently. As she pulled away he felt a parcel in his hand.

"Happy Birthday Sirius."

She turned and carried on down the stairs as if she hadn't done anything.