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Chapter 4The Heir of Gryffindor
"Hmm… let's see, what class do we have first?" Belle asked at breakfast the next morning.
Lily looked at her schedule that read:
Lily Evans, Gryffindor, 7th year: (Head Girl)
Monday: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, LUNCH BREAK, Potions x2, Herbology x2
Tuesday: History of Magic x2, Care of Magical Creatures, LUNCH BREAK, Transfiguration, 12:00am: Astronomy
Wednesday: Herbology, Muggle Music, LUNCH BREAK, Charms x2, Alchemy x2
Thursday: Care of Magical Creatures x2, Alchemy, LUNCH BREAK, Potions, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts x2
Friday: Transfiguration x2, LUNCH BREAK, Muggle Music x2, 12:00am: Astronomy x2
Saturday: Free
Sunday: Free
"Defense Against the Dark Arts, I suppose." Lily replied. "Wonder who the new teacher will be, since the other one quit last year?"
"I have no clue. I guess we'll find out." Madison said, getting up form the table, and grabbing her bag off the floor. "But we'd better go."
The friends left the Grand Hall and headed up to the fourth floor, where Defense Against the Dark Arts was held.
When they reached the classroom, they entered and placed their things on the desks in the back of the room. The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was a large room, with high stony ceilings and tall window that looked down on the grounds below. There was a large staircase with two platforms that must have led up to the teacher's bedchamber or office. This first platform was used as a stage. The teacher's desk was situated happily on top of it.
When the bell rang, students scurried to their seats, and waited patiently for the teacher to arrive. Each student watched the stairway anxiously.
No one came.
Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Where was the teacher?
Suddenly, the door atop the stairs opened and slammed loudly against the wall, causing the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff seventh years to jump.
Standing there was a middle-aged man; dressed in long, gray robes. A black traveling cloak was thrown over this ensemble recklessly. His long, dark, matted hair was unkempt and tied back at the base of his neck. But the feature that made all the classmates stare was his face.
The supposed teacher had a large, fresh gash across his cheek and something very strange: One of his eyes was quite normal- small, dark, and beady- but the other! The other eye was a vivid electric blue and was at least two sizes too large. It moved ceaselessly and unblinkingly round and round in his head, taking in the scene.
"Hullo." The man replied gruffly. His voice sounded harsh and gravelly. This greeting was met with nothing but a shocked silence, as all the students watched his every move cautiously.
"I understand that you all have studied Unforgivable Curses last year? That's good… very good." He replied, as his blue eye rolled into the back of his head, showing everyone in the room nothing but white. Madison put her hand to her mouth in surprise.
Then the man pulled out his student roster, and his cinnamon brown eye scanned down the list, while the blue one rolled around and around. "Let's see…" He began to read each student's name, and as they raised their hand, his blue eye would swivel to look at them.
"What say we do a quick review of those Unforgivable Curses, hm?" He replied. Lily gulped. "Anyone care to share one?"
Very few quivering hands rose into the air. Lily's was not one of them.
"Er, Natasha." The man said.
"Um, the Imperius Curse?" Natasha of Hufflepuff ventured.
"Quite right." He said. "Care to tell me what its about?"
"Well, um," Natasha began uncomfortably. "When the wand holder casts the spell, he gains total control over the person he casts it on. And, um, they are forced to obey everything that the wand holder tells them, and it's hard to tell who's under the influence of it, and who's not?"
"Precisely." The professor said. "What about the Cruciatus Curse, Mr. Black? According to this, you passed the test quite well…"
Sirius froze slightly in his chair. His mouth opened, but no words escaped.
"Well?"
"Um, the Cruciatus Curse is, er, basically a pain curse. Who ever is subjected to this curse, will experience great pain, right?" Sirius said, uncertainly.
The professor smiled slightly. However, the grin only made him look ten times more frightening. "Exactly." He replied. "And I'm sure someone has heard of the Avada Kedavra curse, correct?"
Belle cautiously raised her hand into the air.
"Miss. Figg?" He said, as both of his eyes focused in on her. "Care to try?"
"Avada Kedavra means immediate death. Use it once, and you're, um, looking at a lifetime in Azkaban Prison." Belle said softly.
The professor's face hardened slightly. "Yes. In fact, use of any of these curses will get you a cell in Azkaban, as you should have learned last year. You don't ever want to be found in a situation where you'll be put in danger of any of these. It's not pleasant. You need to be strong, ready, capable, and above all else, you must have CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!" He barked, causing all the students to jump in their seats. "And you all could whip out your wands right now, and Avada Kedavra wouldn't do more than a nose bleed to me. To perform it you need powerful magic. Much more powerful than the stuff you learn here.
"I am Professor Alastor Moody." He replied. "I am here to teach you about the Dark Arts and how to defend yourself against them. Believe it or not, I do this stuff as a living."
Most of the students exchanged confused looks, but Moody did not explain.
"Now then, Unforgivable Curses." Professor Moody replied. "Open your books to page 34, and begin the review questions. They will be due on Thursday. Right then. Straight to it." He said, pulling back his robes, and taking a hip flask off his belt. He took a long swig, and the class watched him closely.
"What are you lot waiting for?!" He barked. "Don't make me get out my wand. I strongly believe in student discipline."
The class didn't need to be told twice. They immediately pulled out their books, quills, and parchment and began to work silently.
"Wow! Could you believe that guy?!"
"Did you see that eye? Ugh! It was disgusting!"
"And his scar? Wonder how he got it…"
These were only a few of the comments that Lily heard from the moment they stepped out of Moody's classroom. Lily agreed entirely with everything everyone was saying. Although, it was a relief to finally have a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who seemed to know what he was talking about.
Unfortunately, none of Lily's other classes were just as thrilling as Moody's class. There was something about him that frightened, and interested Lily. Maybe it was his scary appearance that made Lily and the other students feel like their mouths were permanently glued shut.
"Er, Lily?" Siverus Snape replied, as Lily was half way down the stairs to lunch. "Could I, um, talk to you about that train thing?"
"I… guess so." Lily said reluctantly. Why couldn't she say no?! "I'm supposed to meet Belle downstairs in a few seconds…" She lied.
"Oh. Well, I just, er, felt bad about what happened. I mean, Lucius kind of pushed me into it. I didn't really want to… to terrorize the students." Snape said, gaining confidence. "I just thought I'd let you know that…" He added uncomfortably.
"Oh, well, um. I'm glad to hear it." Lily said uncomfortably. Silence. "Well, I'd better…"
"Go?" Snape said.
"Well, was there something else?" Lily asked, cautiously. She knew what Snape wanted to ask her. He had been trying to say it for the past year.
"Sort of…" He said softly. He cleared his throat and stood up a little taller. "See, I was just wondering if maybe-"
"Lily! There you are!" James replied, jogging up to her.
"-If maybe we could, or if-"
"I've been looking everywhere for you!" James said. Siverus missed the sarcasm. To Lily's shock, he put his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head. She was totally appalled.
"Ah-" Snape muttered, as though he understood the situation for the first time. "I'll just go…"
"No, we're not…" Lily began, but he was gone. Lily shoved James away immediately. "What in God's name were you doing?!" She shouted.
"Hey- I just saved you BIG time!" James defended.
"I did not give you permission to… touch me!" She said angrily. "Ugh! You pig! That'll be 25 points from Gryffindor for… grossing me out!"
"Oh yeah?" James said. "Well then, I award Gryffindor 30 points for saving your sorry ass." He retaliated.
"Whose sorry ass?" Sirius asked cheerfully. "Where've you been, Jamie?"
"How many times have I told you not to call me 'Jamie', Padfoot?" James said, in fake aggravation.
"About a million?" Sirius guessed. "Anyway, Remus is saving us all seats in the Grand Hall for lunch… Prongs, can I have a piggy back ride?"
"Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall replied, hurrying up the stairs. "Professor Dumbldore needs to speak with you…" Then she noticed Lily and Sirius. "Well, I suppose you two may come as well. Maybe you can help."
"Anything for you, O Sexy One." Sirius said to McGonagall, who looked at him very strangely. "Oh, come on, Minerva! You know you've wanted me since last year… No woman can resist the Black Magic, even one so fine as yourself…"
"Why you hang around this doofus is beyond me." McGonagall said to James, who tried his best not to burst into laughter. "5 detentions, Black, starting tonight at six. Come along, now."
"SCORE!" Sirius cheered, breaking into a victory dance. "First day, and I've already got 5 detentions!"
Their group hurried down the stairs and then turned right in the Entrance Hall. They went down a corridor, and then, at a huge statue of a gargoyle, McGonagall spoke the password, "Acid pops." And the gargoyles leaped out of the way, revealing a moving, circular staircase- like the escalators Lily used in the muggle malls. They all hopped on, and they were transported to Dumbledore's office and bedchambers.
The walls were dotted with pictures of past Headmasters and mistresses. Up on a platform, Dumbledore was sitting at his desk. He stood up, smiled, and motioned for them to join him around his desk.
Lily, James, and Sirius walked up a small flight of steps, and sat down in the large backed, feathery chairs. When Lily looked to her left, she saw a brilliant bird- a phoenix. It was covered in scarlet feathers and seemed quite content on its golden perch.
"I'm sure you all are quite curious as to why you're here." Dumbledore began. His bright blue eyes twinkled as he sat down behind his desk again.
"What have I done this time?" James asked, his head hanging in shame. "You aren't going to expel me, are you?"
"Oh no, James!" Dumbledore chuckled. "Not at all. In fact, this is something you could not have prevented."
James exchanged a confused look with Sirius. "What are you talking about?"
"Well, as I was saying at the feast, it is not my place to inform you of what's going on outside of Hogwarts, but I feel that this is a time when I need to tell you."
"Just us three?" James asked slowly. "Why not the whole school?"
Dumbledore chose to ignore this, and continued as though James had not spoken. "Do any of you three know who Tom Riddle was?"
"Didn't he kill the monster in the Chamber of Secrets, sir?" Lily ventured. "But that was over 34 years ago…"
"He supposedly killed the Chamber's monster." Dumbledore corrected, stumping the students. "But that's getting entirely off the subject." He grinned.
"Wouldn't he be, like, 50 years old now?" James asked. "He's still alive, isn't he?"
"Not in my mind." Dumbledore said. "Do any of you know what happened to him after supposedly killing the monster?"
"Uh… he graduated from Hogwarts?" Sirius guessed blindly.
"Yes- with top marks. But after?"
Silence.
"I see." Dumbledore replied, nearly laughing. "Well, I'll tell you then, but that's no fun. He disappeared and sank deeply into the Dark Arts."
"He did? Why? He had so much going his way!" Lily exclaimed.
"Yes! He had great talent." Dumbledore said. "But, for some reason, the Dark Arts called to him." He replied. Lily got the impression he wasn't telling them all he knew.
"Professor? What made him… do the Dark Arts?" Sirius asked.
"Well, very few people know that Tom Marvollo Riddle was the final heir of Slytherin." Dumbledore said, his face growing solid.
"The heir of Slytherin?" James asked. "He would have been related to Salazar Slytherin then?"
"Yes." Dumbledore replied. "Salazar Slytherin was not only one of the four founders of Hogwarts, but, as most people know, Slytherin had the Dark Arts running through his veins. Riddle decided to take the same path as one of his fore-fathers."
"Wow." Sirius said stupidly.
"Yes, very." Dumbledore agreed.
"What does this have to do with me?" James asked.
"I'm getting there." Dumbledore chuckled. "Hold your horses… So Riddle performed many curses, and charms on himself over the past 34 years, making himself basically inhuman."
"Inhuman?" Sirius asked. "How so?"
"Yes, inhuman." Dumbledore said sadly. "He is the mere shell of what an average wizard would be. He has filled himself with so much evil, in my mind, there's no human life left in him."
"So in your point of view, he's dead?"
"And reborn as the Dark Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore said stiffly.
"Voldemort?" Lily repeated. "What's that?"
"It is a name he believes will strike fear in every human's heart. A name he thinks will filter pain into every muggle or wizard soul. And, above all else, a name he wants to be remembered as the most feared, and powerful sorcerer in all the world." Dumbledore said. All sparkle in his eyes had now vanished, leaving Lily with an unwelcome cold feeling.
"And those men on the train…"
"Those men on the train were his supporters. He is gathering them fast, and he calls them his Death Eaters." He replied.
"Malfoy knew." Sirius said angrily, as though he had just solved a huge mystery. "He knew they were called Death Eaters… I bet he's a part of it all! His whole family's been in Slytherin: I bet Riddle and him are long-lost brothers or something…"
"Sirius, didn't you hear a word Professor Dumbledore said?" Lily asked angrily. "Riddle is the last remaining heir of Slytheirn!"
"But why did he choose the name Voldemort? And what does he have to do with me?" James asked.
"Tom Marvollo Riddle rearranged spells out I am Lord Voldemort." Dumbledore explained. "It was a name he was already using at Hogwarts… but only to his intimate friends."
"What about James?"
"It is very well known that Gryffindors and Slytherins detest each other." Dumbledore said, continuing to ignore James and Sirius. "It has been that way since Hogwarts was created. And Gryffindors and Slytherins tend to have very strong powers that the other House students don't have. These two heirs will have close, if not matching, amounts of strength and magical power. I am without a doubt certain that Voldemort will want to destroy the Heir of Gryffindor as soon as he possibly can."
"To wipe off all competition…"
"And you, James Potter," Dumbledore said. "Are the Heir of Gryffindor."