I unfortunately do not own the world of Harry Potter. That honor belongs to J. K. Rowling.

I would just like to say a quick thanks to Allen Pitt, Sam-EvansBlue, Dammi forza, Whispering-Lestrange, Loonynamelass, Princess-Lazy-Chan, nalintood, xBeyondxBirthdayx, narniagirl19, AnonymousMSQ, potter-granger-mad, lovemalfoy9309, and Forest Grrl.

This is my first fan-fic. Hope you like it! (And if you haven't guessed by now, reviews are greatly appreciated!)

I am writing 5 other fan-fics at this time as well. If you could please check out my profile and check them out, I would greatly appreciate that. Thanks! :)

Chapter 36:

The Cruciatus Curse

The following day in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Moody was about to start on the day's topic when Draco Malfoy raised his hand. Moody nodded his head once suspiciously in his direction.

"Sir, I was wondering. You showed us how the Imperious Curse's power, and how it affects humans. Why not show us how the Cruciatus Curse affects humans?"

"And are you volunteering, Malfoy?" Moody asked darkly. Draco smirked.

"No sir. That is, I'm not volunteering myself so much as Ariella." He said, his voice smug, while turning around to look at the said girl, a malicious glaring triumph in his eyes.

All eyes shot to stare at him. Surely even Malfoy couldn't be that mean, Harry thought in disbelief, shooting a look at Ron, before letting his eyes drift towards the back of the room where Ariella was seated. Or rather, where she had been sitting. At the moment, she had gotten up, hands on her desk, her face hard and stony. Her hands pushed off of the desk, and she strode, head up, looking straight, eyes dark and cold, jaw set, up the center aisle. As she passed the desk where Neville Longbottom was sitting, she dropped a small piece of folded parchment in front of him. It read two simple words:

Don't look.

The boy looked up as she took her place at the front of the room, and he managed to catch her eye. She gave a small, almost nonexistent nod to him, before focusing her gaze on her Professor.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Moody growled.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I, Professor?" she replied wryly, bitterness clear in her voice. He nodded once, and she braced herself. Neville looked down and cringed as the Defense teacher said,

"Crucio!"

Pain coursed through her body, but much to the surprise of everyone, (and the disappointment of Draco,) no scream came from her. She was currently bent over, holding onto the desk for support, before she fell completely to her knees, hunched over, and still, not a single sound escaped from her mouth. The curse was released the same time as the bell rang. Ariella stayed on the floor for a moment, sitting back on her heals, taking in big gulps of air, breathing hard, before rising to her feet, and walking, head up, to the back of the classroom to gather her books. As she did so, she ran her tongue over her lower lip, trying to stop the bleeding. She had been biting it so hard to stop herself from screaming that it had split.

Meanwhile, the class was only just starting to move, get up and file out now. They were still in shock at what they had just been witness to. Harry Potter gave her a long look, and as he was turning away, he caught the girl's eye as she once more came up the center aisle, this time in order to leave the classroom. Once she was beside him, he said quietly,

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Actually, Potter, I did." she said, her voice even, before giving one curt nod to him and his friends before leaving the room. They just stared after her, confusion and sympathy in their eyes.

It wasn't until later that day that the events of the morning really sunk in. in all reality, she was trying very hard to forget that it had happened at all. But that was rather hard to do when everyone was staring at you, and whispering about you wherever you went. But when the events of that morning finally did sink in, once again, servant and master were alone in a hallway. But this time, it was Ariella who cornered Draco, her wand at his throat, her eyes fierce.

"Why?" she spat. "Why did you do that? To make yourself feel good? How – How could you even bring yourself to do that? You know, I thought you were different, Draco, I really did. But I was wrong. You're just as vile and cruel as your father." She said, her voice full of hatred and disgust. Meanwhile, as he listened to her, Draco had had enough. Rage filled him, and he pushed Ariella off of him with such force that she stumbled backward, giving him just enough time to get his own wand out, and pointing it at the girl in front of him, yelled, for the first time in his life,

"Crucio!"

As Ariella fell to the floor for the second time that day due to this particular curse, she vaguely noticed that both Professor Moody's and Lucius Malfoy's curses were far superior to Draco's. The spell ended, and Draco knelt down next to her, and in that moment, the similarities between father and son had never been so prominent.

"Maybe this will finally teach you not to mess with Malfoys." The blond-haired boy said in her ear, his voice so cold, it would have frozen over any lake. He then stood up, straightened out his clothes, and walked away, his pale face hard, his grey eyes cold. Ariella made sure he was out of site before getting up herself. But what neither Slytherin knew was that three people had listened in on and seen the whole thing. As Ariella was searching through her bag for her stash of chocolate, the three revealed themselves to her, looking stunned.

"Ariella? Are you okay?" The Slytherin girl whipped around, and, upon seeing the Gryffindor trio of friends, she nodded, and said,

"Fine. Why?" The two boys exchanged looks, before Ron Weasley said,

"Because you've just been hit with the Cruciatus Curse."

"Yeah, what's your point?" Ariella replied, and slid a piece of newly recovered chocolate into her mouth.

"Well, you should tell someone. Malfoy shouldn't be allowed to get away with this. That curse is illegal." Hermione said. The other girl snorted, before turning sharply to face the Gryffindor girl, and coming closer.

"There are many things you know Hermione. But you do not know everything. As I'm sure you do indeed know, there are rules, and then there are exceptions to those rules. What Draco did was an exception to the rule. What Draco did to me was perfectly legal. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd rather not be late to my next class." She said, before turning on her heal, and heading down towards the entrance of the school in order to make her way down to Herbology with the Ravenclaws, leaving three shocked Gryffindors staring after her.

"Since when is the Cruciatus Curse legal?" Harry asked his friends, stunned. Ron shrugged, still dazed at the newly uncovered information.

"I dunno mate." He replied. Meanwhile, Hermione had a set look on her face. And both of her friends knew that look. It meant that she would be dragging them on another quest to the library…right after their Charms class. Because if there was one thing that Hermione Granger hated, it was not knowing everything.

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Anything you recognize is from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Thanks to all who are reading, and liking it. If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, please feel free to review/private message me. Also, if you have any ideas at all, or would like to see something happen, let me know, and I'll consider putting them into a chapter. Thanks! ~ Leanora