Harry Potter and the Goblin of Fire Ants

Chapter Six

What if they discussed other things about the three curses?

By

Jason Richard

The next week they met the students from the other schools. The first group were from Durmstrang, a school in Russia. These were tough looking students in thick winter clothing, their shoulders adorned with fur and their heads adorned with fur caps.

And next to the headmaster of this school was none other than Quidditch player and celebrity Victor Krum.

Ron stared open mouthed at him.

"Careful Ron," said Hermione. "A pixie might fly in your mouth."

Ron: "Shut up Hermione I'm looking at Victor Krum."

The other school was Beaubatons, and they were from France. They wore stylish robes and had a sophisticated or snobbish demeanor depending on who you asked. A particular group of them, all women, seemed to draw every male eye in the room.

Hermione: "You're drooling Ron.

Ron: "Shut Hermione I'm staring at beautiful women."

Harry didn't notice. He kept staring at Cho Chang, the pretty Ravenclaw on their Quidditch team that
Harry had spontaneously developed a crush on.

Hagrid began chatting up the headmistress of Beaubatons, who was so tall she was obviously a half giant.

Suddenly Professor Moody came up to Harry and said, "Hey Harry, Malfoy was insulting your mother so I turned him into a ferret, because I'm someone you can trust completely."

And then he winked his normal eye and walked off.

Ron: "Do you think it would make him look less trustworthy if he winked the fake eye?"

Harry: "Less trustworthy. Apparently he can see through solid objects with that one, so if you think about it he wouldn't really be winking."

Ron: "Ah! Good point!"

Hermione: "Regardless, I think our first class with him is going to be very interesting."

…

Professor Moody: "Welcome to your first class with me where I show you forbidden techniques."

Ron said with glee, "Wicked!"

Moody: "Show you boy, not teach them to you. You need to know what's out there, what you're up against, and how to fight it. Now…"

Professor Moody then took out a small glass cage with a spider inside of it.

Moody: "The three spells I'm here to show you are the three unforgiveable curses. Use of any of these curses will result in a one way trip to Azkaban. Law abiding wizards don't touch them, but not every wizard is law abiding, now are they?"

Harry felt the lightning bolt scar on his forehead tingle.

Moody: "The first curse is the Imperious Curse. Imperio!"

Pointing his wand at the spider, it froze immediately. Moody then told it to do things. Roll over, jump, spin a web, and it did everything he told it to.

Moody: "Taking away someone's will power is a dangerous thing, one of the most egregious crimes a wizard can commit. During the reign of he who must not be named many wizards claimed that they did what they did under the influence of this curse."

Moody glared at everyone in the room.

Moody: "But how do we sort out the liars from everyone else?"

Every single student gulped nervously.

Moody: "And now, the Torture curse, also known as the Cruciatus Curse. Crucio!"

The spider started twitching in pain. Neville Longbottom started to look sick. And then he screamed hysterically and ran out of the room.

Moody: "He's got the right attitude."

The room collectively gulped once again.

Moody: "Finally, the worst curse of all, the most forbidden, one for which there is no magical defense, the Killing Curse. Avada Kadavra!"

A green light shot from Moody's wand and the spider was dead.

Moody: "I don't think that needs much explanation."

Silence for a moment, and then…

Harry: "That's it?"

Moody: "What do you mean!? It's a murder curse! That seems pretty bad to me."

Harry: "Well yeah, but...magic can kill people in much more sadistic ways that this, and those spells aren't forbidden."

Moody: "Such as?"

Harry: "You can set someone on fire. That's a bit worse than instant death."

Moody: "Well okay, but…"

Harry: "And what about using the levitation spell to stab someone with a spike? Or hit them with a blunt object?"

Moody: "Okay…okay, that's also pretty bad but…"

Student: "What about using magic to send someone flying into the air only to die from the fall."

Moody: "I get it…I get it…those are all pretty bad…"

Harry: "Not to mention how you can use transfiguration to kill someone."

Moody: "Oh come on! Transfiguration transforms you into something. How can that kill?"

Harry: "I once heard about a guy who transformed someone into a mouse in the presence of a cat."

Moody: "Oh."

Student: "I once heard of a guy who turned someone into a cat in the presence of a dog."

Student: "I heard of another guy who turned someone into a sparrow in the presence of a hawk."

Student: "Or worst of all, I heard of a man who turned someone into a lemming…in the presence of a cliff!"

Silence.

Moody: "Lemmings don't throw themselves off of cliffs. That's a myth."

More silence.

That student said with a grumpy expression, "Well it was still a mean thing to do."

Harry: "Look, the point is that a curse that kills does nothing else. It leaves no marks on the body, is instant, and wouldn't do anything that causes pain, so why, when you could do much more horrible things, is this the one that's an unforgiveable spell?"

Moody: "Well…because it's all it does…it serves no other purpose. Oh, and you have to mean it for the curse to work."

Harry: "I don't know, if someone kills a man by turning him into a mouse and feeding him to a cat, I'm pretty sure he'd have to mean that to."

Silence.

Student: "I once heard of another way someone used transfiguration to kill someone. He turned him into a fly and levitated him into a spider web."

Silence again, and then…

Ron: "AAAAAAAH!" and he ran out of the room.

Silence again, and then…

Moody: "Uh, Constant Vigilance?" and he shrugged.

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Thanks for all your kind words, and have a Happy New Year!

Jason.