Chapter Two:
Unforgivable Memories
"Okay class, what have you covered so far this year?" Harry asked his class of seventh year Gryffendors. This was the class he was looking forward to the most, but, it was also the class he was themost nervous for. "Miss Evans?"
Harry watched his mother, Lily Evans, speak in a bossy manner, which remindedhiim a lot like Hermione. "We did dueling and we researched shields. We were about to start the Unforgivable Curses."
"Thank-you. And, I'm very glad I am the one who gets to teach them to you. It will be…an adventure," Harry said, "But, we need to learn some theory first. Can anyone tell me about one of the three curses?" Sirius raised his hand. "Take the floor Mr. Black."
"The Imperius Curse, professor," Sirius said, "It gives the castorcomplete control over the victim."
"Good. Ten points to Gryffendor. Now, I call this one the best of the worst. This is the only one you can completely throw off. We'll be working on that later, sometime next week. Another curse?"
"The Crutiartus," A blond girl named Ashley Fleck whispered, "It give you pain beyond pain. Unlike the Imperius, you cannot throw it off."
"Well said. Another ten points to Gryffendor. Now, class, as Miss Fleck correctly stated, you cannot throw this curse off completely, but you can resist it. I speak from experience when I say, don't give the enemy the satisfaction of your pain. It becomes worse. Try to keep it in, although it is very hard. And, if you are kept under this curse long enough, you can be tortured to death, or worse, insanity." Harry pointedly looked away from Frank Longbottom and Alice Symmons, who would have that fate in a few years. "Does anyone know the last of the curses?"
"The killing curse. Avada Kedavra," James said quietly, white as parchment.
"Correct. The bell should be ringing soon, so please pack up your things. Mr. Potter, can I see you after class?"
James nodded, and stayed seated while the rest of his classmates left.
"James, do you know anyone who has been hit by the last curse we talked about? You seemed terrified in class, to say the least," Harry asked kindly.
James nodded, and wondered why he was about to confide in a complete stranger. He felt as if he could trust him, so he took a deep breath and said, "My sister. It was this summer."
"I'm so sorry for your loss, James. I can imagine how you are feeling."
"Thank-you professor," James muttered, turning slightly pink.
"None of that 'professor' and 'sir' crap! At least out of class. Call me Harry. That's my name. The other stuff isn't, and it makes me sound way older than I really am!"
"If you don't mind me asking, Harry, but, how old are you?"
"Er—sixteen."
"What! You are a year younger than me!"
'More than that!' Harry thought, but said, "Well, the teensy school I went to had barely any people, so everyone worked at their own pace. I was a quicker learner than others."
"Yeah, it sounds like it. Anyway, I have to go off to lunch! The guys will be waiting for me."
"Of course. And James."
"Yeah, Harry?"
"Fifteen points to Gryffendor. You showed true Gryffendor bravery, in answering my question. Especially since your sister's death."
"Thanks."
As he watched James exit the classroom, Harry couldn't help but think, 'I could have had an aunt…a real aunt.'
"Okay class, we have covered the basics of the Unforgivable Curses," Harry said to the same class a week later, "I have been given special permission to perform them onto spiders as a demonstration, then on each of you will be placed under the Imperius Curse."
"What?" The class shouted, and Lily cried, "But that's illegal!"
"You must have missed the part about 'special permission' Miss Evans. And, I thought you were an excellent listener," Harry said. Lily turned pink. "Anyway, you need to have this class to be able to throw off the curse. You might land in a situation where the skill is vital. For example, let's say in five years, you are married and have a couple kids. What if a Death Eater put you under the curse and told you to kill them? If you can't fight it, you will do just that. Do you understand what I'm talking about?"
Murmurs of, "Yes Professor," rang through the classroom and Harry pulled out a jar containing three spiders up from under his desk for his 'Moody-inspired' demonstration.
"Imperio," Harry said, pointing his wand at the spider. It began to do a complicated dance routine, that it could never do without the curse. The students began to laugh.
"Do you think it's funny?" Harry growled at the class, who went silent. "Right now, this spider is under my control. I can tell it to drown itself." The spider headed towards a pitcher of water. "Chuck itself out the window." The spider changed direction and headed towards the window. "Or shove itself down Mr. Pettigrew's throat." The spider headed towards Peter and climbed up his body. Harry enjoyed the terrified look on Peter's face, and only lifted the spell once it was just under his chin. "Thank-you Mr. Pettigrew. I'll have my spider back." Harry walked to the desk, and took the spider.
"Do you really think it's that funny anymore?" Harry asked, almost sounding as if he was pleading. He didn't need to, because the class looked petrified. "I don't think so. And the results are disasterous. People have killed or badly injured their close family and friends. Are there any questions?" No one moved. "Now, the next curse, the Crutiartus Curse. Here, just so you get a better understanding, I'll enlarge the spider. Engorio." The spider grew so it fit nicely on Harry's empty desk. "Crucio."
The spider twitched and jerked around. Harry quickly removed the curse, shrunk the spider, and gently placed it back into the jar. He had seen and endured the curse many time, but still could not handle the look. His face was white, and he spoke in a hollow voice, "Terrible. Just terrible. You only got to see the better part of it. If the victim can, it screams bloody murder. It's like hot knives are stabbing you all over. You want it to stop. You'd rather die, then endure the pain. And, as I said before, if you're under it long enough, you can go insane. Not have a clue who anyone is. They're in a vegitive state, only walking around cluelessly, with a stupid expressions on their once true faces, or laying on a bed, staring up at the ceiling, not realizing there is anything going on around them."
"Erm, professor," Lily interrupted, "Not to be rude, nosy, or anything, but it sounds like you've experienced this before."
"I have. I have been put under the curse countless times. And one of my close friends' parents are laying in a hospital, insane. His father lays there, and his mother walks around aimlessly. The only thing they do that includes him, is his mother will give him candy wrappers. I think he has enough to cover the Gryffendor Common Room. He keeps them, because that's the only thing he has ever gotten from either of them since he was a year old. Are there any other questions about this curse?" A few people shook their heads. "Okay then, the last curse. The killing curse. Quick and easy, just two words. Well, here goes nothing…Avada Kedavra."
He pointed his wand at the spider, and with a flash of green light, it was dead. Harry just stared at the lifeless body for a few minutes, then his parents. He collapsed behind his desk, and clutched the place where his scar used to be.
Flashes of all the people he had seen dead went through his head. His mom. His dad. Cedric. Ron. Hermione. Aunt Petunia. Uncle Vernon. Dudley. Molly. Arthur. Percy. Charlie. Cho. Colin. Dean. Micheal. Zacharias. All of them raced through his head, his head seering with pain.
His class had gathered around him, watched him jerk every which way, and yell the names of the people in his mind with terror.
"Someone get Professor Dumbledore!" Lily screamed over her professor, "And Madame Pomfrey!"
Ashley Fleck and Alice Symmons dashed out of the room, while Lily instructed the rest to move everything away from Harry. She then knelt down, and tried to touch him to calm him down, like her aunt did to her diabetic cousin, but Harry was moving too quickly and too violently for her to get near enough.
"Stupefy," James said, and a jet of red light stunned the teacher, hitting him square in the chest.
"Potter! You attacked a teacher!" Lily shrieked, "You're Head Boy! You're supposed to set an example! A good example!"
James ignored her and knelt down on the other side of his teacher. "Enneverate." Harry's eyelids shot open.
"Wh-what happened? Where am I? Who are you? Wait, are you a death eater? Was there an attack?" Harry cried, whipping his wand out and shoving it straight at James' face. He blinked twice. "Er-uh-sorry Mr. Potter," He stuttered, "Didn't mean to. I was just-er-out of it. What happened?"
"Well Professor," Lily said, "You were demonstrating the Killing curse, then you look at some of us, then you had some sort of seizure."
"Ah, thank-you Miss Evans. It just brings back terrible memories," Harry said, unconsciously rubbing the place where his scar used to be.
"Like what?" Sirius asked, sounding excited.
Remus slapped him on the backof the head, "You idiot! Obviously he doesn't want to talk about it!"
"Quite the contrary, Mr. Lupin," Harry said, with a small grin on his face, "Thank-you Mr. Black, you have given us a discussion topic. The effects on other. Please take your seats."
The whole class moved, not daring to take their eyes off of Harry.
"Has anyone seen what pulls the school carriages?" He asked, glancing around.
"They're horseless!" Sirius shouted out, "There's nothing there!"
"Maybe to you, Mr. Black. What are your views, Mr. Potter?"
"Well, they've only started this year. They are like horses with wings. It looks like their body is inside out. I mean, their coats are skeletons. And, their eyes. Just white. That's it. It's really creepy," James said, shuddering.
"Lovely description, Mr. Potter," Harry said, scowling, "Five points to Gryffendor. But, if I'm not mistaken, they've always been there. You see, the creatures that pull the carriages are called Theastrals." Everyone looked at him stupidly, except Lily, whose eyes widened. "By the look on Miss Evans' face, I believe she knows the answer. Go ahead."
"Well, the only people who can see Theastrals, are people who've seen death," Lily answered, "Lots of people believe that they are a bad omen, because of that, but they're not. Theastrals are dead useful, very strong, and they have an excellent sense of direction. They can take you anywhere you tell them to go."
"Very good! Ten points to Gryffendor! I believe Mr. Potter is the only one who can see the Theastrals," Nods rippled across the room. "And I don't think he's ready to share his story, but I can share mine. I have seen my parents, godfather, best friend, girlfriend, and another friend, all die at the direct or indirect hands of Voldemort." The entire class flinched. "Are you telling me that a bunch of seventeen-year-old Gryffendors are scared of a name? A bunch of letters? Don't be! Just say it. Vol-de-mort. Wait, better yet, call him Tom. That's his real name, Tom Marvolo Riddle. No mother would be stupid enough to name a kid Voldemort. Imagine it, Voldemort Potter, Voldemort Longbottom, Voldemort Evans, Voldemort Patterson. Stupid, really. Here's your homework. I want you to write me an argument saying why you shouldn't say Voldemort. I expect something from everyone. If you have any questions, please see me after class. You are dismissed. Enjoy the snow! It won't be here much longer. Have a good day."
The class filed out, and Harry was surprised to see that only James was left. He expected to see more people ask about the homework assignment.
