Chapter 54
The people at Potter Castle were in a right state, none more so than Severus and Sirius as the two were wondering when Harry would return. Sirius told Severus what happened at the World Cup, and the usually sour potion master/father was less than pleased. They, however, were not the only ones concerned, as Emily and Daphne were also worried. Harry and Miwa stayed behind to deal with the death eaters. While they knew that the two could handle themselves in a battle, it didn't stop them from worrying as anything could've happened.
When it came to Lord Puecy and Mr. Vaisey, the two were still trying to process what was going on. First, the Quidditch World Cup was attacked by a squad of former death eaters; next, they were brought to Potter Castle, where they learned that Severus was Hadrian's adoptive father. The two didn't press the matter as they were concerned with their kids.
A low growl came from Arcturus Black, and the occupants could tell that he was not in a good mood. "How the fuck did this happen?" everyone looked at him. The angry expression on his face was as clear as day "when I get my hands on the bastards responsible. I'm going to make them pay."
"Black, we have other things to be concerned with a the moment," Severus coolly stated. "Like, for instance, where are Harry and Miwa? They should have been here by now."
"Not only that," Mr. Vaisey came in, "but how were the death eaters able to cause so much chaos? Why did the security at the match do anything about them?" raising some valid questions. Aurors at the match were supposed to protect the visitors, and yet none of them were present during the assault.
Before the adults could continue debating, Severus clapped his hands together, bringing the attention to him. "Everyone older than the age of 29 follows me into the dining room. The rest of you stay in here!" he ordered.
The teens, especially Nicole, wanted to protest as they wanted to know what was going on, but after receiving a couple of glares from their guardians that clearly said: stay here, did they comply. Severus led the adults into the dining room, leaving the rest in the main living room.
Nicole turned towards Blaise with questioning eyes "what do you think they're talking about in there?" The only answer she got from him was a shrug of his shoulders. "I don't know; it could be anything. I am, however, more worried about Miwa and Harry. They should have been back by now." He then looked at Emily "can you try and find out where they are?"
Emily shook her head and sighed, "I've been trying ever since we got here. Neither of them has responded yet. The only thing I can say is that I know they're alive." It wasn't necessarily a lie, as she did try contacting him through their link, but he didn't respond. So all she knew was that he's alive. There was also the fact that she was not ready to tell the others about her special link with him.
While the others continued debating on what was going on, Daphne's mind was on Harry. She didn't like that he chose to stay behind and deal with the insurgents but understood why. He was a protector and a warrior. But, like all of the Potters before him, he was quite stubborn, and once he set his mind on something. It was very difficult to change it.
The next moment two masked individuals walked through the door wearing battle gear uniforms, causing the others to scurry to their feet and take their wands out.
"Who the fuck are you two?" Nicole exclaimed somewhat shakingly as she held her wand at them. The power radiating from them was tremendous. It wasn't long before the adults came rushing in with their wands, ready to fire a spell at them.
"How the hell did you two get in here?" Cyrus nervously asked, standing in front of his daughters. He then felt a hand on his; turning to his right, he saw Daphne trying to lower his wand. She then started walking towards them. "Daphne, get back here. They're dangerous!"
"True, but I doubt they attack us," stopping in front of Shadow. She had a feeling she knew who was behind the mask. The familiar magical presence and the warmth she felt inside seemed all too familiar. "Harry? That's you, right?" she whispered.
His partner started giggling, "girl is smarter than what I give her credit for."
Shadow slowly reached behind his mask, undid the straps, and removed it, revealing the neutral face of Harry himself. The occupants of the room who didn't know he was Shadow were shellshocked. "How long have you known?"
"I didn't know," Daphne admitted. "At the beginning of May, I started suspecting it was you."
"Like I said," Miwa removed her mask. "She's smarter than what I gave her credit for," Harry grunted in agreement.
"Wait a minute," Lord Puecy exclaimed. "Those raids across the planet, they've been you two," pointing an accusing finger at the pair.
"We were only doing our jobs." Their uniforms changed back into their original clothes, and their I.D tags were once again around their necks. They then showed their badges.
"Y-Your M-Magi's," Mr. Vaisey shockingly said. Once again, everyone was struck speechless; Adrian fell back and fainted.
This time Miwa answered. "We're in training," clarified for them as Nicole revived Adrian with a wave of her wand. "To put it more susceptibly, we're not full-fledge Magi's, yet. However, this information needs to stay quiet," emphasizing the point by flexing her magic.
"The girl is correct" Severus stepped towards Harry and placed a hand on one of his shoulders.
"How long have you two been Magi's?" Blaise asked, still baffled at learning that his best friend was training to become a Magus.
Emily replied after walking towards him, "remember when he had to stay an additional ten days?" The teens nodded their heads. "That was when they had to leave for the Citadel and register."
"Why didn't either of you say anything? Why all the secrecy?" Tracey eye them.
"That would have been problematic," Harry began "we figured that by staying quiet, no one would be able to learn that we were involved in those attacks. The less people know-"
"The less information your enemies will know and likely not come after anyone close to you. So, by not telling anybody, you two were keeping us safe," Daphne finished for him.
"Exactly," Harry said in a neutral voice. Miwa agreed with him. However, she had to admit that Greengrass was indeed very intelligent grudgingly; she was academically smart and good at deducing things.
"Now, I hate to get right to the point, but I'm going to need a magical vow from the both of you," gesturing to Lord Puecy and Mr. Vaisey. "Saying that the two of you will not reveal Severus being my father."
The two adults looked at each other for a moment before giving the vow to stay quiet on the matter. Even though they were still shocked to learn that Severus was the boy's adoptive father, they started vacating the castle after they gave the vows, leaving the Greengrasses and Tracey behind. Miwa said she'll be leaving at noon tomorrow. Harry offered to let the others spend the night in the castle, which they accepted, while they got ready to retire for the night. Then, he ushered his dad, uncle, aunt, and godfather to the Lord's study for a private discussion.
"What's the matter, Harry?" Sirius asked after he closed the door and activated the wards around the room.
"The debacle at the World Cup bothers me," he thoughtfully said, "while the death eaters were running free, the security force wasn't present to repel them." He took out a bottle of water from his watch and drank it.
"Yet, that is not what concerns you," Cassie knowingly said.
Harry let out a breath. "No! It's the fact that there were a minimum number of security guards present, and despite that, they chose to leave rather than protect the people. According, to Crouch they were delayed because Umbitch tasked them to do things before they could return. Since, when does that toad have any power over the Auror department?" He was still pissed that the toad was able to stall them when she has no authority over them.
"She doesn't," Arcturus answered in a steel voice. "And I agree with you. This mess should never have happened. I'll be sure to bring that up with Amelia the next time I see her."
"There's something else as well," Harry said. "Crouch seemed to be on edge when he arrived with his Aurors and immediately blamed a group of teenagers for casting the dark mark."
"What" Sirius and Cassiopeia said in unison.
Arcturus was seething. "Crouch has lost his motherfucking mind," he roared. "Why would he accuse teenagers of performing a spell only known to death eaters?"
"I don't know" Harry shrugged his shoulders. "It's well-known that he is a supporter of the pureblood cause and believes in fighting fire with fire. But to accuse teenagers casting the dark mark is crossing the line."
Severus responded, "remember what I told you about Igor Karkaroff's trial" he sneered in disgust, remembering his former colleague. Harry nodded. "During the trial, he made a deal and ratted out a couple of death eaters to get a reduced sentence. Unfortunately, one of them happened to be Crouch's son. Barty Crouch Junior. That exposure cost Crouch senior his chances of becoming Minister and reduced him to the Head of the Department of Magical Cooperation. Even though his son begged him to listen, Crouch had him sentenced to life in Azkaban."
Sirius snorted. "That's a load of hippogriff shit. Old Crouch used his son's trial as a way to publicly disown him, not that he ever gave a damn about his only son."
"For once, I agree with you," Severus said, much to Sirius's surprise. "I've heard Barty complain about how his father was hardly involved in his life. The only one who gave him any love or acknowledgment was his mother."
"What happened to her?" Harry asked.
"Due to the stress and anguish she felt after her son was convicted. Her health rapidly declined, and she passed away a year or so later."
"Hmm, so that means that only Crouch Sr is left," Harry began thinking. "Alright, then I guess that's enough for the night."
"Hold on" Cassie blocked him from leaving. "The death eaters you and Kawada faced, who were they?"
"Leon Parkinson and the former Lord of the House of Flint, Patrick Flint. The former lost an arm, while the latter is dead."
Severus thought for a minute "alright, go get some sleep. We have a meeting in two days."
"Night, everyone," Harry said before leaving the study to go back to the master bedroom. He immediately stripped down to his boxers to release Byakko and Suzaku from their tattoo forms. Then pulled out a nightshirt and sweat pants before climbing into bed and going to sleep.
Sleep, however, did not come so easy as Harry kept thrashing around until he woke up sweating and panting. Waving his hand and saying "tempus," the time spell showed that it was almost five-thirty. Rising from the bed, he dressed in some comfortable clothes and went downstairs.
Oddly enough, Harry didn't go into the dining room for breakfast, nor did he start his morning training routine. Instead, he just sat outside on the bench, looking over the horizon, attempting to empty his thoughts.
Then suddenly, his senses told him that someone was approaching from behind. Smelling the air around him, he caught the scent of a familiar aroma "you're having trouble sleeping too, huh?"
"Yeah! For some reason, I can't sleep," Daphne said. "Mind if I sit next to you?"
"Please," he moved over. "I find your presence soothing."
She took a seat next to him, and they sat on the bench in silence for ten minutes. That was until Daphne broke the silence between them "what were you dreaming about?"
"It was just a nightmare," he said dismissively, though she could hear the distress in his voice.
Daphne placed a comforting hand on his arm "how long is it going to take for us to be honest with each other?"
Harry closed his eyes and let out a breath. "My dream was about Voldemort. A few of his death eaters surrounded him, and they jeered as he slaughtered countless innocents in the most heinous ways imaginable. Unfortunately, you were one of the victims."
"Harry look at me," she said. He turned his head to her; she placed her hands on his face "it was only a dream and nothing is going to happen to me. The same as you protect your family and me. I have to protect you" her eyes shined brightly in the night sky. Then, bringing their heads together, "I'll never leave you," Daphne whispered.
They turned their attention to the horizon, where they sat the rest of the morning watching as the sun started to rise—all the while intertwining their fingers with one another's. Finally, the two sat on the bench and watched as the sun started to rise. Daphne unconsciously rested her head on his shoulders until it became time for breakfast. After everyone ate, Harry was tempted to go to his lab and work on his project but decided to do something else.
Seeing as it was a nice day, Harry asked the others if they wanted to go swimming for the day. Everyone immediately agreed and went to get changed. He placed a call to the Zabini residence and invited Blaise to join them. A second after he invited him, Blaise readily agreed, saying that he'll be over in a few minutes. Meanwhile, Harry changed out of his clothes and into a pair of black swimming trunks. Going to the beach, he marveled at the large body of water before him. Usually, he'd use it for training, but not this time. Today he was going to relax with his family and friends.
Pretty soon, the others came out. Blaise was wearing blue swim trunks while the girls were in their bikinis. Harry caught himself looking at Daphne as she was wearing a black two-piece, and he had to admit that she looked good in it. Together they went into the water and started swimming around the area. The teens occasionally played games like tag or laid on the beach under the sun. Much to everyone's surprise, Harry and Emily could walk on water as if it was nothing. Being water elementals certainly had its perks.
They spent the rest of the day relaxing near the water. Harry and Daphne would occasionally steal glances at one another. It was pretty obvious that the teens fancied each other but lacked the courage to say anything. Later that day, they went back to the castle for dinner and went home.
(0^0)
Harry told his friends not to come over as a meeting would occur in the afternoon during the next meeting. They wanted to stay, but he said the meeting was important, and only a select few were allowed to listen. Reluctantly they agreed not to come the next day.
As soon as the clock struck noon, people started arriving for the meeting, either coming to the castle or participating through the crystal projections. Amelia began by angrily explaining what was going on at the Ministry before the disastrous events of the Quidditch World Cup. The severe expression on her face and the angry tone in her voice was enough to show that she wasn't happy. And boy did she have a lot to be angry about. "I still can't believe that Umbridge was able to escape questioning when it comes to my Aurors, the answer to me! Not to her."
Sirius placed a hand on her shoulder "at least the toad is suspended for two months without pay, and Parkinson was sent to Azkaban." He, too, was angry that the woman hadn't been fired yet, but at least Parkinson was sent to prison. His grandfather filled them in on what happened at the trial; Lord Parkinson tried to free his brother, but it was vain. The bastard was questioned under veritaserum and sang like a canary, woefully and deliberately attacking the cup's people. When asked who else was involved? The man couldn't reveal anything as he took a magical vow not to say anything.
When it came to Lord Flint, he was outraged that his father was killed by Shadow and demanded that something is done about him. However, Crouch explained that Shadow was a Magi. Therefore he owed no one any explanations besides the Magus Council. So, despite Flint's family influence, he was shot down, much to his anger. As for Dumbridge, she explained that she was simply doing her job as a ministry employee. However, that didn't sit well with Lord Black, who demanded to have investigated as she had no rights meddling in the affairs of the Auror department. The Auror department conducted a thorough investigation on her but turned up nothing. Arcturus, however, was not going to let the woman go free and used his influence to get her suspended for overstepping her job description.
Amelia continued, "Furthermore, you should know that Bertha Jorkins has gone missing." Everyone present was either shocked or confused.
"Who's Bertha Jorkins?" Emily asked. Sirius answered, "she's a low-level employee who works in the Department of Magical Games under Ludo Bagman" his voice held a significant amount of disgust. "The woman was a few years older than James and me when we were in school and had a knack for being a nosy gossiper. She wasn't bright, which made it a bad combination."
"Back to the point" Severus wanted to keep things in order. "Do we have any leads on her?"
Amelia shook her head. "The last time anyone saw her was in Albania. From there, the trail goes cold."
"Do you think it's possible that she ran across Voldemort and some of his death eaters?" Alex asked.
"I wouldn't know, even then I doubt they get much out of her," she let out an exasperated breath. "Bertha had a knack for hopping from job to job and hardly had any brains." Then, finally, her attention went to Ichika. Have there been any developments in Japan?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Ichika gravely said. The expression on his face indicated that he wasn't getting enough sleep "there's been a spike of attacks. Both in the magical and muggle world. My people are doing all they can, but we're spread too thin."
Alex responded. "I'll see if I can spare anybody to help you deal with the insurgents."
Ichika gave him a grateful nod. "There's something else," pausing for a moment to let out a breath. "These insurgents aren't just any insurgents, the ones we encounter either possess the dark mark on their left arms or shoot it into the air."
That made everyone cringe as they turned to Severus. "Dad, has your arm been hurting recently?" Severus rolled his sleeve upon his left arm. The mark on his arm was red and seemed to twitch.
Harry watched as his father cursed the day he received the mark from Voldemort. "What's going on?" nervously, looking at the mark.
Severus took a breath before speaking, "during the last war, the Dark Lord branded people with the mark. He often used it to summon us to him, should he want anything. After his first fall, the mark somewhat faded away but was still present," he explained. "I later discovered that it was connected to his lifeforce."
"What does that mean?" Jack looked as if he was not going to like the answer.
"The more power he gains, the darker the mark will become, and it'll eventually start to move," Severus briskly answered. "Once the mark starts burning, anyone in possession of it will know that he is returning."
"And given Trelawney's little prophecy, he'll be a lot worse" Harry came in. "Only this time it's going to be a whole lot worse. If Tom regains his body and power, then he's going to show the world baby I'm back, and the last war will look little by comparison."
"Most of us have already lived through two wars and have seen the devastations they've caused." Everyone looked at Yoshi. The man had a mixed expression of anger and sadness. "If there's going to be a third, then it will likely be the end of the magical world as we know it."
Alex was seething, "alright, we're going to need to double our efforts. Hayato, see if you can speak with the council and ask if they can lend any support." Hayato nodded, understanding the situation. "Has there been any luck in locating Horace Slughorn or any more information on Voldemort?"
"Slughorn has proven to be resourceful in evading our attempts to find him," Arcturus said in annoyance. "However, I believe Nymphadora can shed some light on Voldemort," gesturing for their newest member to come forward.
Dora's hair was cycling in between colors because Lord Black used her given name but kept her composure. "I was able to find some information on the Gaunts, most of it eludes me, but it might make sense to one of you." She got the green light to proceed "from what I found, there were only three of them. Marvolo, Morfin, and Merope. The first two have quite a history of spending time in Azkaban. According to the old Auror reports, they were arrested for attacking muggles and a ministry representative. The oldest Marvolo died in Azkaban years earlier. His son, however, was released and now old and unstable."
"When the report ended, I went to Azkaban myself to check the records. It turns out that Morfin was sent back years later after murdering Tom Riddle and his parents. By the time the Aurors came to question him, he had shown no remorse and proudly admitted to killing them."
"Is there anything else?" Arcturus narrowed his eyes. The girl had to go all the way to Azkaban to get answers. He'd be sure to repay her for the trouble of going to that shithole.
Dora nodded. "I read over the transcript and learned that while Morfin did admit to killing them. He was furious and raved that he was missing a ring. The only thing he seemed concerned about was that his ring was missing and that he raved about some nampy bitch who stole a locket. Both of which were owned by Salazar Slytherin himself."
Arcturus, Jack, Harry, and Alex shared a similar look as they remembered questioning Borgin about the locket. "Merope was pregnant with Voldemort when she sold it to Borgin and Burke," Harry explained. "Either she didn't know how valuable it was or didn't care when she sold it. However, we learned that Caractacus sold it to Hepzibah; years later, she mysteriously died, and both the locket and cup went missing. Did you find anything else?"
"Yes, but it's very strange, though. The records show that Dumbledore visited Morfin on a number of occasions and a house-elf named Hokey."
"A house-elf in Azkaban?" Miwa asked in a surprised voice. "How did that happen?"
"She was arrested for killing her mistress" her eyes went wide in realization. "Wait a minute, Hokey served Hepzibah Smith" blinking her eyes, she looked at Harry. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
He nodded. "Borgin did say that Tom was sent to her on a few occasions to try and retrieve the locket. I'm willing to bet that he killed old Hepzibah and framed her elf for the crime. After altering the elf's mind, it would have been a relatively easy task to take both items and disappear."
"That sounds like something he do," Cassie said. "Wherever Voldemort goes, death certainly seems to follow. And it's no coincidence that Dumbledore would visit them."
"Indeed," Arcturus agreed. "The old goat wouldn't waste his time on them without good reasons." His attention then turned to Nymphadora, "and then there's the locket and ring you mentioned. Are you sure that Morfin said it was gone?"
Nymphadora nodded.
Sirius spoke, "you think he converted the ring into a Horcrux?"
"I am almost positive the little fucker did," Arcturus grunted, ignoring the scathing look from Sarah. "If he converted the cup and locket into Horcruxes, then it stands to reason that he made the ring into one."
"So we have a lead," Jack said. "Tonks, did the reports say where'd the Gaunts lived?"
"No," shaking her head. "I checked everywhere. All records indicating where they lived are gone." It was true after her trip to Azkaban; she looked everywhere for the Gaunts residence; every time she thinks she gets a lead. It ends in a roadblock. "I'm sorry I couldn't find anymore."
"It's fine, and you brought us more information than what we needed," Harry reassured her with a smile."
"I concur," Amelia agreed with him. "After you take a few days off, we'll talk about a promotion," giving the young metamorph a warm smile when she looked up in surprise. "Thanks, boss," Dora said with surprise.
They spent the next two hours debating on what their next move would be. Finally, the officers of the ICW agreed to strengthen the security around their borders and send word to the other communities to do the same. Alex explained that the werewolves have been more active as of late and that Fenrir Greyback has resurfaced. That sent a shiver down some of their spines as Greyback was notorious for either murdering people or turning them into werewolves. His preferred targets were mainly women or children who either started or were about to begin their educations. Severus explained that Fenrir and his pack mates were allied with the Dark Lord during the first war. Sirius added that Dumbledore frequently sent Remus to the Werewolf settlement in Romania to either join his side or urge them to be neutral.
Harry looked at the both of them along with his uncles as he had a feeling Dumbledore wanted something else from the werewolves. However, he chose not to say anything. Soon everyone received their assignments; Arcturus and Cassiopeia were assigned to find Slughorn and bring him to the ICW for questioning. After that, the crystals deactivated, cutting the feed off.
"This is one hell of a fucked up situation," Arcturus said as he massaged his temples. "If the spike in death eater activity has indeed increased, then that could only mean that the bastard is slowly getting his strength back. We also still need to find Slughorn. How that sack of shit can avoid detection, I'll never know."
"We also have to be concerned about Bellatrix," Cassie interjected. "Say what you want about her, but she is extremely powerful and dangerous, not to mention unpredictable."
"Right," Severus groaned, remembering full well how she was during the war. "During the war, she was Dark Lord's right hand; the Dark Lord himself only ever surpassed her tendency for destruction and sadistic nature."
Sirius sneered at the mention of his older cousin as he knew better than most about how she was like. Having grown up together, he knew all about his bitch of a cousin. He'd seen firsthand what she was capable of and was willing to bet that her time in Azkaban made her all that more unstable and dangerous.
"We must prepare for the worst," Sirius stated. "Has there been any word on what Dumbledore's planning?"
Severus shook his head. "For the most part, he's been in his office staying quiet" his voice held a partial amount of concern. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Harry.
"There's more, isn't there?"
Severus wanted to wave it off but knew better than to try and keep something quiet from the boy. While it's true that he noticed a change in Albus's attitude, his usual trademark twinkle was present but shined more dangerously than before. That and he's been looking for ways to get Harry back under his control. The tournament that was scheduled for the upcoming year sent a shiver to do his spine.
Taking a breath, Severus responded, "you, Emily, and your friends are going to need to be a lot more cautious around the headmaster. There's been a recent change in his attitude that has me concerned. For the time, you two will need to limit the number of trips to his office and be wary of his supporters."
They nodded, understanding the warning from him. At the moment, caution seemed to be their greatest ally. Although, in Harry's case, the whole situation was making him feel uneasy "we'll be careful."
Severus gave him a nod, and the two went out to the gardens with Dora. When they were outside, a house-elf came and brought three glasses of butterbeer for them.
"Thank you, Mimsy" Harry said, and the elf popped away. Drinking some, he tried to clear his thoughts; Dora saw the expression on his face and attempted to direct his attention to something else.
"You know Harry. A little birdie told me something interesting happened at the World Cup. Before the match, you got into a disagreement with someone. Care to enlighten who the unfortunate person was?"
Harry briefly looked at Emily, who didn't meet his gaze. Instead, he smiled and affectionately rubbed her head. "The bloke is someone you know quite well. Your ex-boyfriend Charlie Weasley" a frown appeared on her face when he mentioned him. "Me and him had a…conversation of sorts. Well, it was more of a one-sided conversation."
Emily began giggling "if by a conversation you mean beating the redhead up and breaking his bones. Then yeah, you could call it that."
He only shrugged his shoulders "the prick had it coming for the way he treated you back in school. Talking as if you were his property and having the audacity to say that you two were still together."
Nymphadora's eyes widened at him as no words could form in her mouth. To hear what he did to Weasley was like saying Merry Christmas to her. I pulled him into a big hug in one motion and muttered, "you are the best cousin ever," in his ear. He returned the embrace before releasing her. "So, what bones did you break?" she asked a bit too eagerly.
Rather than responding, he flicked one of his wands out, conjured a vial, and pointed the wand at his temple, extracting the memory. Then, carefully, he put the memory in the vial "better you view it for yourself," smirking as she took the contents.
"Mind if I borrow your pensieve?" looking pleadingly at him.
"Like you even had to ask," Harry called one of the house-elves and asked if she could get the pensieve from the Lord's study? The elf popped away for a moment before returning with the device, leaving it suspended in the air.
Dora handed him her glass and poured the memory in, giving him a nod. Then, she entered the pensive to watch the memory. Ten minutes later, she came out with a big smile on her face and began laughing while clutching her stomach "that was brilliant. You let him have it!"
Harry grunted. "All things considered, he got off easy," retrieving the memory from the pensieve and returning it to his mind. "Let me know if he bothers you again. I will be happy to straighten him out."
She continued laughing and thanked him profusely. "Will do!"
(0^0)
The rest of summer passed relatively quickly, much to everyone's annoyance as it meant they had to return to school. On September 1st, the teens arrived early to find their compartments, while Harry began working on the wards after placing their trunks on the racks. Daphne and Nicole left to find the perfect carriage to meet their fellow prefects and Head Boy. Nicole made sure Daphne read the prefect book over the summer to know the rules and regulations. Arriving at the compartment where the meeting was supposed to be, they noticed the young blonde saw that it was more spacious than the other compartments. Surprisingly no one else had shown up yet, making it easier for them to sit and relax.
Roughly a few minutes later, the other started coming in, and the girls were greeted with a few familiar faces. Some of which they weren't pleased to see. Daphne surveyed the prefects in the compartment and looked ready to get the meeting over with so she could get back to her friends. The frosty glare she got from Cho Chang did not go unnoticed by her, but she decided to ignore it as Chang was as much of a threat as a cat.
Cho sent the best cold glare she could muster toward Greengrass. It angered her to no end that the blonde Slytherin could become close to Harry Potter and not her. Like all the girls at Hogwarts, they thought Harry was extremely handsome and wanted the chance to become Lady Potter. Hell, who wouldn't be enthralled by him? He came from more than one Ancient House, was rich, a prodigy at magic, and, more importantly, the Boy-Who-Lived. Naturally, Cho thought she was the perfect person to be by his side, but she tried to get him alone every time. He'd turn her down. It was like he didn't even find her attractive or even appealing. Whenever she walked through the halls, guys would drool and think about her. All except for him; she figured that he was playing hard to get, but she would not give up and let someone like Greengrass get him.
Her attention quickly went to Cedric and hatched an idea. Maybe she could use him to make Potter jealous. If he saw her with Cedric, that might enable him to ask her out, and they could be together. She would just need to be patient, and when the time was right, she would ensnare him.
Camden and Nicole spent the next two hours going over everyone's schedules to patrol the corridors, be it either early in the morning or late at night. The latter explained how they were supposed to be role models toward the other students and not to abuse their positions as it was a privilege to be chosen to become perfect. After making sure everyone knew their roles and regulations, they were dismissed and returned to their compartments.
While Daphne and Nicole ventured to their compartment with the others, they ran into Granger and the two youngest Weasley kids. Hermione saw the badges attached to their robes, making her glare at them with envy. She was positive that Professor McGonagall would make her perfect as she was the best candidate for the position among the other Gryffindor girls in her year. The two youngest Weasley kids stared daggers at them. "You two must be so proud that you were made Head Girl and prefect. Then again, knowing who your head of the house is shouldn't come as a surprise."
Daphne and Nicole glared at the Weasley boy for his sarcastic comment. "Weasley, if you must know, we earned these positions," Nicole bit back. "Unlike you, we work hard and do our best in classes. Then again, I doubt you know the meaning of the word as you had everything handed to you. Now is there something important you three want? Because if not, then you're only wasting our time."
Ron's face was red "you slimy snakes don't deserve" he didn't get to finish.
"This is not the time, Ron," Hermione spoke in a bossy tone silencing him. He just glared hatefully at them and muttered self-important snakes. She turned back to them "we're unable to enter Harry's compartment as it appears that he put up some strong words on the door." It killed her on the inside to admit this, but the wards around the door were powerful, and no matter what she did, they wouldn't break. "Since you two are close to him, we figured that you could get him to come out."
Ginny cringed at what Hermione said about Greengrass being close to her man. She stared daggers at Greengrass but took a step back when she saw the bright blue fire in her eyes. Bill told her that people capable of making their eyes shine with power meant they were magically powerful. It didn't matter though, Greengrass may be powerful, but she was also a snake, and there was no way that a Gryffindor would ever marry a Slytherin. Harry was hers. Her mother said it was her destiny to become his wife and take up the mantle as Lady Potter. After all, he looked like his dad, and she was his mother. They were practically made for each other.
"Sorry, but we can't help you there," Daphne replied, choosing to ignore the scathing glare from the youngest Weasley.
"Why not?" Ginny demanded hotly.
"In case you haven't noticed, he doesn't like any of you," stating a fact while looking at them. She also had a feeling she knew what they wanted to say to him "besides the moment he comes out, Granger will demand he listen to her, as she'd claim to know everything. Your brother will start his dribble about how we're evil and that he should be hanging out with Dumbledore's lot. And then you would start batting your eyelashes and try to look beautiful."
The three Gryffindor's were offended by her accusations. But, even if Greengrass was partially correct, what right did she have to point it out? Hermione managed to keep her cool enough "look, we just want to ask him why he harmed Charlie at the World Cup? It was uncalled for with the way he broke his bones."
Daphne and Nicole had to resist the urge to roll their eyes. The former had a feeling that was what they wanted to discuss "fine, but don't bitch or complain about the response you'll get from him."
"Language! You're a prefect now. You should use appropriate language" Hermione scolded and chastised her.
"Shut it, Granger," Nicole and Daphne said in unison.
Nicole added, "if we want to hear a lecture from you, then we'll let you know." She then tapped her chin "wait, no, we won't. The last thing we want to endure is a boring, long-winded rant from you.
Hermione was gaping like a fish as they began laughing. The two moved past her and went back to their compartment. A few compartments later, they arrived at their destination. Nicole knocked on the door, getting the occupants' attention.
Harry put his book down to look up. He saw Granger, along with the two youngest Weasley's, standing behind Daphne and Nicole; taking his wand out, he waved it to allow them in. An awkward silence enveloped the area when the door opened.
Adrian cleared his throat after a moment of silence "how was the meeting?" He asked in a neutral voice ignoring the three lions behind them.
Nicole was the one who replied, "mostly boring. All we did was go over rules and everyone's schedules." Then, she turned to Harry, who went back to reading his book. "Harry, can you come outside? These three want to speak with you," gesturing to the lions behind her.
"I'm busy," turning a page in his book. In truth, he didn't want to deal with the three as he was sure they would annoy him. Hermione glared at him for not acknowledging their presence "look. We just want to talk about your actions against Charlie at the World Cup. When we're done, you can get back to reading your book." She stared with envy at the familiar book he was reading. It was his family grimoire. Hermione was still mad that he wouldn't let her read it. In the future, after she became the first muggle-born Minister of Magic, she'll be able to get rid abolish most of the laws to make the magical world more like the muggle world.
The magical world needed to improve, with her as the Minister and Dumbledore by her side. They will be able to shape the world in their image and abolish some of the outdated traditions.
"If you have something to say to me, then say it here. I'm not going anywhere with you three," turning another page. "While we're on the topic of the World Cup, it has nothing to do with you, Granger, as you're not a Weasley. Unless, of course, the bottomless pit proposed to you over the summer."
Ron and Hermione flushed in embarrassment. Hermione retorted, "no, we are not married, and I care because Ron and Ginny are my friends. Now, why did you beat up Charlie? He did nothing to you?"
"It's not what he did to me, more like what he did to Dora," looking at the three after closing his book.
"He treated her the way; she was supposed to be treated, you self-righteous prat," Ron snapped. "It was no more than what she deserved."
Harry's eyes were set ablaze, and in one motion, he pushed the redhead idiot against the wall with his hand wrapped around his neck. "Choose your next words very carefully, Weasley," he said in a low, threatening voice, "and know this I was rather easy with him all things considered," tightening his hold on the fool's neck, making it hard for him to breathe.
"Now, I will make this clear, so pay attention. Nymphadora Tonks is my cousin and a member of the House of Black. What your brother did to her was inexcusable. How would you like it if I did that to your sister? Play with her emotions and make her feel insignificant, and just so we're clear, I'm nice. And get this through your thick head, if you or any members from your family cross the House of Potter or House of Black, then the Weasley family will become extinct." He then dropped the terrified boy and walked back into the compartment with the girls, ignoring the crowd who witnessed the altercation between them.
Ron was both angry and scared, mostly angry not only did Potter threaten him and his family. He humiliated him. Hermione couldn't form any words after what she witnessed; part of her thought Ron went too far with what he said, and the other part thought Harry went overboard and had no rights threatening another student. Ginny was amazed as she felt the magic coming off Harry. His power had grown significantly. It only served to fuel her desire for him as his power might continue growing, and she wanted that for her kids. If they were to marry, then his powerful genes will greatly benefit her family, and they could potentially be the perfect family with his family status.
Ginny followed behind Ron and Hermione as they went back to their compartment, all the while fantasizing how life will be like after Harry and she got married.
Other than the encounter with Granger and Weasley, the only other issue was Draco and his cronies. The blonde boy tried to enter the compartment multiple times, but everything he did was in vain as the door wouldn't budge. Whenever he attempted to use magic on the door, it would activate the wards and zap him. After a couple more tries, Draco was red in the face, and he ushered the others to follow him. However, Flint and Nott looked lecherously at Daphne, Nicole, and Tracey, making a cold shiver run down the latter's spine. The formers ignored them completely as their barks were much worse than their bites.
When the train finally pulled into the Hogsmede station, everyone was dressed in their school robes and began casting the impervious spell on their carriages as a massive thunderstorm was pelting everything and everyone who wasn't protected by the charm. Nicole looked behind the carriage she was in only to see that he was talking adamantly with Katie Bell. The two had exchanged letters over the summer and became relatively closer. She didn't miss the glares that the Weasley twins sent him as it was plain as day that they disapproved of their relationship. The only thing keeping them from making complete fools of themselves were Angelina and Alicia. Nicole had a feeling the Gryffindor chasers were going to be harder on them, having spoken to them on several occasions. She learned that the two secretly wished that Fred and George would grow up.
Being the older sibling, she began thinking about what to do if they try and mess with Aaron. Because if they attack him, then they better be prepared to deal with her. When the carriages made it to the front entrance, everyone disembarked and began walking inside the castle, unusually lit by lightning strikes. Just as the students started coming in Peeves arrived, and started pelting them with water balloons; the first years who were already soaked from the rain became all that wetter. Harry took out his wand and cast a spell designed specifically for ghosts, while the others cast drying charms on the first years. Then, waving his wand in a circle, he sent a large electrocuting bubble towards the annoying ghost, imprisoning and making him scream in pain.
"Mr. Potter! Please stop," Minerva said as she ran out skidded across the floor. She didn't like Peeves for his antics as he had the annoying habit of being a nuisance to the students, staff members, and house-elves.
Harry narrowed his eyes at Peeves before turning to McGonagall. "Professor, I suggest you deal with this poltergeist, or I will take more extreme measures to ensure that he does behave."
McGonagall thinned her lips "rest assured. I will deal with Peeves. If you would be so kind as to release him, I will handle him then let the Bloody Baron have his turn after I'm done."
Harry regarded her for a moment before slamming his wand down, bringing the bubble holding Peeves down to the ground, repeating the process a few times. He finally released the poltergeist from his painful prison. "Have fun! Everyone else in the great hall" calmly strolling inside," ignoring the groaning coming from Peeves.
McGonagall glared at the poltergeist. "You are going to be the death of me one of these days." Then, pinching the bridges between her nose, "you will report to my office after the feast. If you fail to show up then, you'll have Mr. Potter to contend with, and believe me; he will not be nice to you."
Peeves muttered a "yes" before flying away.
As the first years waited outside the great hall, the second years and above went in to sit at their respective tables. At the Gryffindor table, the quidditch team sat together talking about the World Cup. Harry occasionally added some comments about the match between Bulgaria and Ireland. However, when it came to Fred and George, the twins weren't too happy as they made a bet with Ludo Bagman, and after losing, he tried to pay them with leprechaun gold. Bill explained that gold was worthless and didn't hold any real value, which slightly annoyed them as Bagman cheated them.
However, the conversation became really interesting as the twins told their teammates how Shadow and Hakugarai intervened to deal with the death eaters and get Crouch off their backs. The Hitler mustache-wearing man accused them of casting the dark mark, much to everyone's surprise. (Harry pretended to listen as he already knew what happened.) Unfortunately, that was not the end of it, as Ron's wand was missing, only to be discovered in the hands of a petrified elf that served Crouch. According to Fred, Crouch wouldn't even listen to what his elf said and gave her his tie, meaning she was now free.
During the conversation, Colin Creevey came over to Harry wearing a big smile on his face. "Harry guess what? My younger brother Dennis is coming to Hogwart's this year. "I just hope he's in Gryffindor! So keep your fingers crossed, eh, Harry," he said with a lot of enthusiasm, not even giving Harry the chance to say anything as he went back to his seat.
Watching the boy sit back with his friends, Harry shook his head as he secretly hoped that Creevey's brother wasn't as annoying with his hero-worshipping as Colin was. One was already enough to annoy him. The last thing he wanted to deal with was two of them.
They resumed the conversation about what happened at the World Cup, then changed to the topic of who their new DADA teacher would be. Looking up at the head table, some of the seats were vacant, and the students began theorizing who would be their Defense teacher for the year. Many of them said they would miss having Remus Lupin as a professor. Before the students could say anything else, McGonagall came in with the sorting hat and the first years. For the most part, it was relatively quiet. Most of the time, people could hear Weasley complain he was hungry. Some either ignored him completely or shot him disgusted because they were also hungry but didn't complain like a child.
When the last of the first years were sorted, Dumbledore stood up, raising a hand for silence. "I only have two words: Tuck in" with that, the food appeared in front of everyone.
Halfway through the feast, while everyone was eating, chatter could be heard talking about the fact that the seat next to Professor McGonagall was still empty. That was when the doors to the great hall flew open with a loud bang. In came in a scarred grizzled man with a pronounced limp and spinning eye, dressed in traveling clothes and leaning on a staff.
"That's Alastor Moody," Alicia said. "He's supposed to be in retirement."
Everybody watched the exchange between Dumbledore and Moody. Then, finally, they shook hands before Albus addressed the students. "May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."
While the students and a few staff members clapped, Harry had a curious look on his face as something didn't feel right about old Mad-Eye; his magic had traces of evil. That and the fact that Dora told him that he retired from being an Auror. Why would he want to teach at Hogwart's?
Dumbledore stood up once again at the end of the feast.
Now in other news, the Quidditch season for this year has been canceled." As Dumbledore said, this shouts of anger rang out from all the Quidditch players and fans. Dumbledore held his hands up for silence which came slowly. "Quidditch will be canceled because this year Hogwarts is playing host to a most prestigious event…The TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT!"
"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly.
The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke.
Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.
"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. "Er - but maybe this is not the time.. . no. . ." said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament. . . well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.
Murmurs went through the four tables. "The tournament has not been active since 1792 due to the high death tolls, but our Departments of International Cooperation and Sports and Games have brought it back. However, they have added a stipulation that the champions must be seventeen years of age to enter." More protests rang out from the students. Then, *BANG*, Professor McGonagall sent off a cannon fire from her wand and glared at the students; they quieted but had surly looks on their faces. "The champion from three schools will be chosen by an impartial judge and will compete in three tasks, three dangerous tasks, enter at your own risk, the winner will gain not only eternal glory but 15,000 galleons."
"I'm going for it," Ron yelled with glee alongside his brothers, who were looking just as excited as him.
"The students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be arriving on October 30th." Dumbledore continued while the students were talking about entering the tournament. "Now off to bed. You all have classes tomorrow," he gently ordered.
The prefects lead the students out of the great hall to their common rooms. When no one was looking, Harry snuck away, venturing to the room of requirement as he preferred the room more than the lion's den.
(0^0)
A few days later, the students of Hogwarts were spending their time either settling back into class modes or talking about the Triwizard tournament and the other schools coming at the end of October. Many of whom wished that they would become the champion for Hogwarts. The most vocal was Ron Weasley, boasting that he would become the Hogwarts champion and win the tournament. Most either ignored or glared at the redhead prat as they knew he was only interested in the money and the fame. He wasn't the only one who was boasting about entering the tournament; Draco himself announced to anyone willing to listen that he would enter the tournament. The pale boy couldn't resist the fact of mentioning how close his father was to the Minister and his family connections.
In the case of Professor McGonagall, the stern transfiguration professor did what she promised and chewed Peeves out for his constant pranks. Needless, to say the poltergeist was not thrilled with the two-hour scolding he got but complied, nonetheless. After she was done with him, he was sent to the Bloody Baron, who made his displeasure known to Peeves. During the first two days at the start of term, Peeves looked thoroughly agitated as he couldn't cause any trouble.
Speaking of teachers, those in their final year received a lecture from their teachers and a shitload of essays to complete. If they thought fifth-year was bad, then they were very wrong as NEWT year was way worse. Nicole adjusted to her new position as Professor Snape's apprentice rather nicely. Her responsibilities were now completely different as she had to shadow Snape's lessons by acting as his assistant in teaching the other students. She would also have to learn to brew more advanced and difficult potions exclusive to potion masters or mistresses and their pupils. Severus explained that if she wanted to gain mastery, she had to submit a useful potion and its capabilities at the end of the academic year. It would then need to be approved by the Society of potioneers; if they deemed it acceptable, she would become a Potions mistress.
The poor girl knew she would have her work cut out for her, but she wanted her degree. Better to just suck it up and deal with it.
Once the first two classes are done for the day, the fourth-year Gryffindor and Slytherin students went to attend their first DADA class with Professor Moody. Arriving at the classroom, they hurried into three chairs right in front of the teacher's desk, took out their copies of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and waited, unusually quiet. Soon they heard Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor, and he entered the room, looking as strange and frightening as ever. They could just see his clawed, wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes.
"You can put those away," he growled, stomping over to his desk and sitting down, "those books. You won't need them."
The students happily complied, returning the books to their bags.
Moody took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled gray hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list while his magical eye swiveled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered.
"Right then," he said, when the last person had declared themselves present, "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures - you've covered boggarts, RedCaps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?" There was a general murmur of assent.
"But you're behind - very behind - on dealing with 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 -"
"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out.
Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked extremely apprehensive, but after a moment, Moody smiled. The effect was to make his heavily scarred face look more twisted and contorted than ever, but it was nevertheless good to know that he ever did anything as friendly as a smile. Ron looked deeply relieved.
"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Moody said. "Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago. .. . Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore. . . . One year, and then back to my quiet retirement."
He gave a harsh laugh and then clapped his gnarled hands together.
Tracey and Blaise looked at each other with a mixture of shock and concern. Like their peers, the shock was because they wanted the man to stay permanently; they've heard many great things about the man from Nymphadora, Amelia, Sirius, and Harry. But his laugh made cold shivers run down their spines as it felt made them feel cold.
"So - straight into it. Curses. They 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 away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."
Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk. Apparently, Moody's magical eye could see through solid wood, as well as out of the back of his head.
"Geez, the old codger can see what we're doing when his back was turned," Seamus said to Dean, who was equally as surprised.
Moody whirled around and threw the piece of chalk he was holding at the Irish boy. "And here across the classroom, Mr. Finnigan! I advise you to remove that piece of gum you put under your desk and quickly."
Seamus was slightly pale at being caught, without wasting a breath; he removed the gum and deposited it in the trash can near the exit.
The grizzled peg-legged man began, "first, who among you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?"
Hermione was the first to answer, "three, sir!"
"And they are so named" Alastor picked up another piece of chalk and wrote 3 unforgivable on the chalkboard.
"Because they are unforgivable the use of only one of them-"
"Will earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban, correct" he finished with a growl before putting the chalk down, then turned around. "Now, which curse shall we see first? Weasley" he looked pointedly at Ron.
"Yes," he said in a terrified voice.
"Stand," Moody ordered. Ron did as he was told and slowly stood up until he was looking directly at the man. "Give us a curse!"
"Er," said Ron tentatively, "my dad told me about one... Is it called the Imperius Curse or something?"
"Ah, yes...aid Moody appreciatively. "Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse."
Ron was pale now and sat back down while Moody 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. Hermione felt Ron recoil as she was aware of his fear of 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. First, it stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a backflip, 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 began laughing, excluding Alastor, Blaise, and Tracey. The two teens knew about the curse and that there was nothing funny about it.
"Think it's funny, do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?" The laughter died away almost instantly.
"Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse," said Moody, referring to the days in which Voldemort had been all-powerful. "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!" he barked, and everyone jumped.
"Anyone else knows one? Another illegal curse?"
While Hermione normally raised her hand, surprisingly, so did Neville. She saw that he recently changed from a frightened chubby boy into a determined wizard.
"Your name's Longbottom?" he said, his magical eye swooping down to check the register again. Neville nodded his head, showing that he wasn't afraid; Moody made no further inquiries. Then, 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 said, pointing his wand at the spider. "Engorgio!"
The spider swelled. It was now larger than a tarantula. Abandoning all pretense, Ron pushed his chair backward, as far away from Moody's desk as possible.
Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, "Crucio!"
The moment he cast, the spider started shrieking in pain with its legs twitching all around. Moody kept the spell up with a ghost of a smile that appeared on his face that, for a split second, turned sadistic. Neville was doing his best to keep a brave face, but it began to crumble as he remembered his parents being tortured into insanity.
"That's enough! They know how the spell works," Blaise said in a cold, firm voice.
Moody canceled the spell and looked at the boy to his right. "You be Mr. Zabini?" Blaise nodded invalidation as the man came over with the third spider placing it on the desk. "Explain why you and Ms. Davis didn't laugh when I cast the imperius curse on the spider! Follow by what is required for casting the cruciatus curse."
Blaise held his ground "because there's nothing funny about casting an unforgivable curse on anyone, be it a human or animal." He noticed Tracey grabbing his hand and could feel her palm sweating in fear. "To power, the cruciatus curse their needs to be intent behind it. The caster needs to want to cause the person pain."
Moody regarded him for a moment before giving a booming laugh "ten points to Slytherin."
"Typical a snake would know about the unforgivable," Ron muttered. "He probably thinking about performing it on some muggleborns. If I had it my way, then everyone in Slytherin is sent to Azkaban."
"That'll be ten points from Gryffindor followed by three days of detention," Moody growled, whirling towards Ron, who had a panicked look on his face.
"But why? I was only telling the truth," Ron complained.
Moody got in front of his face, making go white as a bedsheet "that will be another two days of detention and ten more points from Gryffindor. Now shut your gob because you just cost your house forty points. Want to lose your house anymore?"
Ron shook his head furiously. "I still have to serve detention from last year."
"Oh, do you" Moody cooed "well, you can do mine after I have a chat with your head of the house. We'll schedule your detentions after my chat with McGonagall."
The look he gave Ron made him close to shitting himself, turning back to Blaise. "Mr. Zabini care to give us the last curse?"
Blaise gave an audible gulp "Avada Kedavra," he spoke in a low voice.
Moody pointed his wand at the spider and roared, "Avada Kedavra!"
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 stifled cries; Ron even shit himself when Mad-Eye used the spell on the spider.
Moody waved his wand twice to vanish the odor and the second to vanish the spider's corpse. "Not nice," he said calmly. "Not pleasant. And there's no counter curse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person in history has ever survived it." But, of course, everyone knew he was referring to Harry Potter.
The entire class was so shaken that everyone was dead silent. Moody began talking again. "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. 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!" he roared, and the whole class jumped again.
"Now. . . those three curses - Avada Kedavra, Imperius, and Cruciatus - are known as the Unforgivable Curses. That's what you're up against. That's what I've got to teach you to fight. You need to prepare. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. So get out your quills. . . copy this down. . . ."
They spent the rest of class copying down what he was writing on the board until the bell rang, and he finally dismissed them. Some of them ran out of the classroom as fast as they could, hoping to get away from the man. Others, however, walked out normally both in awe and fear at what they saw him do today.
A/N: Some Harry's friends now know that Severus is his adoptive father and that he and Miwa are Magi's in training. Daphne of course is smarter than what she appears to be as she'd already suspected he was Shadow. Harry and the others are going to have to be on guard as things are going to become more unstable.
As you all know I gave everyone the option of should I increase the amount of galleons given to the champion of the Triwizard tournament. After conversing with a few people I decided to increase the money by a lot, mainly because the champions are risking their lives in dangerous tasks. In my opinion a thousand galleons is not enough incentive.
Sidenote: I am debating on how I should deal with the fake Alastor Moody. Do I let him roam free till the end of the school year or expose him before the final task?
Next chapter: The delegates arrive and someone is going to get a much deserved ass kicking.