A/N: Special thanks goes out to my beta Alicia.

Chapter 18

"Who can tell me what the unforgivable curses are?"

Almost every hand in the classroom flew into the air. Lily raised an eyebrow. Hermione's arm remained on her desk. She noticed Harry, and George had their hands down as well. Surely, they knew the answer. Fierce concentration hardened their features. They focused on tuning out the professor.

"That's right, they are illegal dark curses. Who can name one?"

Another flurry of hands. Again, the trio kept their hands down. The whole lesson followed Mad Eye Moody's from their fourth and sixth years.

"They were supposed to cover this in their sixth year," Hermione said.

Harry rolled his shoulders. His ears managed to capture the explanation of the Imperius Curse. His fingers twitched remembering how he used it on a goblin. It transforms you into a puppet on a string, he thought bitterly.

Rat number one became the puppet as Caprise demonstrated how the curse worked.

"This curse is the most popular among dark wizards. Someone care to hazard a guess as to why?" She ignored the raised hands. She zeroed in on her star pupil who was unusually silent. "Miss Granger?"

"They can force other people to do their bidding," Hermione said.

"Exactly, the curse can be used to control people. For instance…" She described some of the cases she'd witnessed as an Auror.

"This is one curse you can defend against. I'll teach you how. We'll be concentrating our efforts on that the next two weeks. Moving on, who knows another unforgivable curse?"

"The Cruciatus Curse," recited James.

Hermione gripped the edge of her desk. Her knuckles turned white. The color drained from her skin. She suddenly looked ill. Harry impulsively took her hand. He offered support, and comfort. They avoided looking at each other, and the rat as the spell was cast.

The image of Bellatrix LeStrange appeared in Hermione's mind. Echoes of insufferable agony swept her nerve endings. She trembled. Shuddered. She squeezed Harry's hand. It was the lone string tying her to reality. The memories threatened to drag her into the murky abyss.

Harry understood. He battled Voldemort in a cemetery. George studied his friends. Their minds shrieked. He had known they suffered, but this was torture. They were tortured. LeStrange wielded the curse to break Hermione. Voldemort to inflict pain.

George's eyes were drawn to the rat. It convulsed emitting terrible high-pitched noises. The rest of the class was likewise riveted to the creature. All except Sirius. He watched the joined hands in front of him. Hermione flinched. She cringed in time with the rat's spasms. Harry was stone. He stayed completely still. It was like a full body bind had frozen him.

"The curse is used frequently in torture. Pain is the ultimate goal. To say the word is not enough to cause damage. A person has to enforce it."

Those words crashed into Harry. Bellatrix was running. He cast the spell. It made her shudder, and not much more. His hatred wasn't strong enough. He didn't mean it.

"While the curse delivers unbearable pain it also has detrimental effects…" Caprise let the sentence hang as she perused the class. "Mr. Walker?"

"If a person is subjected to the curse for long periods of time it will alter a person's mind."

"Elaborate," she instructed.

George took a deep breath expelling it in a long sigh. "A person's mind would be destroyed. They would not be able to function as they were before. They lose their memories, their ability to talk, and their sense of self."

"Very well said," she remarked. She squinted at him. She revised her opinion of him. It was clear she desired a more in-depth discussion. Her eagerness made George sick.

He was repulsed by the compliment. He described Neville's parents. Hermione made eye contact. She felt the emotions he did not display. He could not hide the disgust. Hermione couldn't either, although hers was buried beneath the pain written across her features. What George depicted had almost happened to her. Her saving grace was the rescue staged by her friends. She shivered as Caprise continued.

"The Cruciatus has no known defense. The power of it is controlled by the caster. This trait is shared with the Aveda Kedavra. The difference being the Aveda Kedavra causes immediate death."

Against his will Harry's gaze traveled to the last rat. The familiar green light flared. It shot from her wand. The class gasped in unison. He closed his eyes. Faces hovered in the dark.

Hermione, and George were going to speak to Harry to subdue the effects, but the figures emerged. Cedric followed by Hedwig. Mad-Eye Moody. Sirius a smile still etched on his face falling backward. James in a hallway shouting at Lily. Lily pleading in a bedroom. Harry facing Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest.

A tear escaped down Hermione's cheek as she bowed her head. She bit her lip to stop the scream, or the sob. She didn't know which. It could have been a combination. A screaming sob. It would be endless and shrill. She'd shriek until someone stunned her. The memory was so strong they were no longer in the classroom. Hermione, Harry, and George were transported to the forest. They were in the clearing. Hermione, and George were Harry.

Harry looked into the red eyes, and wanted it to happen no, quickly, while he could still stand, before he lost control, before he betrayed fear — Voldemort's mouth moved and a flash of green light.

Professor Caprise's voice ripped them harshly from the memory. Disoriented they reached for the words to tether them to the here and now. George, and Hermione stared at Harry. He fixed his gaze at the wall. He had not meant to take them with him.

"No one has ever survived this curse. You must understand what dark wizards are capable of. You must know what you will have to defend against."

A laugh rolled and gurgled. This woman had no bloody idea. Harry pressed his lips together to stop the hollow sound escaping. He'd lived, not once, but twice. He was the boy who lived. Hermione squeezed his hand. He released his fingers. She let go. His hand fell limply to his side. White, and red streaks decorated the skin.

Caprise finished describing the essay she assigned. She dismissed the class. Harry, Hermione, and George jumped from their seats. They raced to the door. Students blocked the way preventing their escape. They stepped away from the throng. The minor crowd suffocated. The unintentional brushes, and jabs burned sensitive nerves.

"What a lesson," exclaimed James. An odd brightness reflected in his eyes carrying to his demeanor.

"You enjoyed it?" Lily asked disgusted.

"Not at all," answered James. "But it's one thing to hear about a curse, quite another to see it in action."

Hermione's insides trembled. Faint. She felt faint. She might collapse any moment. "I need to get out of here," she whispered to George.

"I know," he said. He longed to offer comfort, but he sensed a touch would destroy her fragile composure. "We're stuck." His friends relieved their worst nightmares. He was barely coherent. He couldn't imagine how they were upright.

Harry put his arm around Hermione. She burrowed into the offered warmth. Her shaking gentled. She sighed. Harry remained silent. He buried the images. He shoved his emotions after them. Hermione wrapped her arm around his middle. He pulled her in tighter, tucking her to his side. She rested her head on his shoulder.

Sirius grimaced. Hermione sought comfort. Harry tried to give it, but the lines of his body were taut, and drawn. He didn't relax into the embrace. He was trying to contain something. If his guard slipped, it would escape.

"How could she do that?" Lily asked in disbelief.

"We have to know what we're up against," declared James.

"Still fancy being an Auror?" Remus solicited.

James didn't respond. He didn't have to. The excited light in his eyes told Remus he'd relish the challenge.

"What about you, Sirius?" Lily inquired.

Sirius broke his intense examination of Harry and Hermione to answer distractedly, "I guess."

"You know," James whispered to Remus, "it's a good thing Wormtail wasn't in this class."

Remus frowned at the attempt at humor.

Lily and James continued to bicker in the background all the way to the common room. Harry slumped onto a couch with Hermione. George sat across from them. Their energy drained.

The marauders and Lily congregated around them. Their conversation turned to other concerns such as the length of the essay due next class.

Peter came in. He was regaled with the lesson. James did most of the talking. Remus interjected here and there. There was no mention of the rats. Lily discouraged this discourse, but James talked over her.

Sirius sulked in a chair intermittently staring at Harry, and Hermione. Neither noticed because their attention was focused on drowning out the rehashing.

"Could you imagine seeing them used on a person?" asked James.

The atmosphere in the room thickened as several things happened at once. Everyone turned to James. Wide eyes stared with shock. Lily and Hermione gasped. George flinched. Peter gnawed his fingernails. Remus and Sirius leaned forward. After a drawn-out pause, Harry's head slowly lifted. He pierced his father with a heated glare.

Tension filled their circle. James skipped from one person to the next until his eyes landed on Harry. He winced. Harry's eyes blazed.

"Would you be amused?" Harry asked through clenched teeth.

Lily cringed at the quiet fury. Harry stood. He glowered at James.

"Would it be entertaining to see someone lose their will power? To watch as they committed atrocities while a dark wizard laughed? Would you like to hear the screams of the tortured? Would you laugh when it's your best friend doing the screaming? Would you find it pleasurable to watch someone die?" By the end Harry barely whispered, but the iciness froze them all.

The group looked from James to Harry in stunned awe. James opened his mouth. He closed it without speaking. Harry vibrated. The rage built and built. He spun. He retreated up the stairs. Hermione leveled her gaze on James before she went after Harry followed by George.

"I didn't mean…" floundered James. He searched his friends' faces lost for words.

#

Harry sat on his bed trembling. Hermione, and George sat opposite waiting.

"He didn't mean anything by it," Harry said.

"He didn't," Hermione confirmed.

"We thought it was cool the first time Moody taught," George said.

"They haven't seen what we have. They don't understand," Hermione said.

"Yet," Harry said. "They don't know yet." He sighed heavily. His body collapsed onto the bed. It spasmed. He fought for control. He latched onto something, anything to banish this onslaught.

"I'm sorry," Harry said.

"For what?" Hermione asked. She was worried. Lingering trauma demanded her attention. Harry's rapid temperature changes threatened an outburst.

"Everything." He remembered her determination. Her quick thinking that saved them countless times. How not listening to her cost him. What she suffered because of him. The sacrifices she made. If Hermione perceived a threat, it was real.

"Harry, that's a lot of stuff," she replied. A hint of a smile.

"For not taking you seriously."

"Oh."

"Me too," inserted George. Experiencing their memories reformed his opinion of Hermione's persistence.

"Good," she said. "I have something for you both." She searched inside her bag until she found the folded parchments.

"What's this?" Harry asked.

"Read it."

"We supposed to memorize this?" George asked.

"If you want," Hermione said. "I thought it would help."

"It will," admitted Harry. It was list of the people they knew with aliases written beside them.

"We don't know what they're going to ask. We can't keep avoiding names," Hermione explained.

By taciturn agreement they didn't speak of what happened during class. Being Harry in that last scenario effected Hermione, and George. Neither were willing to delve into it. They guessed what Harry had done. Experiencing it was a different matter altogether. Harry had been incredibly brave. He was scared, but he'd still done it. He did it for them. To save everyone. They were not ready to probe that wound.

#

Remus disappeared shortly after dinner. The marauders' plan was put into motion. It began when Remus complained of a stomach ache. His symptoms gradually got worse throughout the evening climaxing after dinner with a fever. James, and Sirius convinced him to go to Madam Pomfrey. They accompanied him. It was no surprise when they returned without him.

"He had to stay overnight," James said.

"Should someone go check on him?" Lily asked concerned.

"No," Sirius replied. "He doesn't want visitors." He turned pleadingly to James.

James hurriedly covered his shock at Sirius's attempt at subversion. "What Sirius means is that Moony is grumpy. He wouldn't appreciate visitors. Madam Pomfrey assured us he'd be fine. Besides visiting hours are over." James covertly sneered at Sirius. Sirius stared at Hermione.

"Oh," Lily said.

George managed to stifle his chuckle. His advice: lead with visiting hours were over, followed by a quick check on him in the morning. Short. Concise. The less convoluted, the better. His amusement vanished as he too noticed where Sirius's concentration was. Harry's theory gained credibility. Sirius growled when Hermione touched Harry.

#

"Go on, Harry," Hermione encouraged.

"In front of everyone? I'm not sure I ought to say anything." He was nervous. A scolded child forced to face his parent.

The remnants of tension clung to the air above their group. Harry longed to go to bed. To end this monstrous day.

"Ok," Hermione drawled in a tone that said it was most certainly not okay.

Hermione rested a hand on Harry's arm in a show of support. Harry struggled with how to explain his reaction. He also dealt with the qualms of speaking publicly. He delivered his tirade with no heed to the audience. He was extra aware of the packed room. Too many ears. Too many mouths to repeat the episode.

"James," Harry said too loudly. He closed his eyes. He took a deep breath to combat the wings fluttering in his stomach. "About before. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things."

James looked at Harry. He was unsure of how to proceed. The silence droned on. Harry attempted to fill it.

"I know you didn't mean…but you, um…" he rambled.

Raised eyebrows. Panic.

"Stop talking," Hermione said. "Relax."

Harry pursed his lips. It was effective in bringing the word vomit to a close. It would be easy to offer his mum, and dad's deaths as an excuse. They were killed by the Aveda Kedavra. He couldn't do that. It would raise too many questions.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper," Harry blurted. He willed James to accept the apology with no further explanation.

"No worries, Harry, we all have those moments." James took the apology. He filed the crumbs of comprehension.

#

"What will they do to us?" George asked. Trepidation colored his words.

"Why do they have to do anything?" Hermione questioned.

"Yeah," agreed Harry. "Maybe they'll wait till we're asleep, and then duck out."

George balked at their naivety. "They won't risk it. What if we woke up, and they were gone, or we followed them?"

Hermione bit her lip. She considered the options. "They've got a plan. Good luck." She stood. She smiled. "I'm going to my room." She waved goodbye.

Harry threw a pillow at her retreating back. "Coward," he called. A distinct giggle echoed fading as she descended into the common room.

"Might as well accommodate them. Be asleep before they come in," Harry said.

"Yes, let's make it as easy as possible for them," snarked George. He retrieved the pillow. He aimed it at Harry. Harry caught it.

"Aren't you the least bit concerned?"

"No," Harry replied.

George scowled. "You aren't worried about a werewolf running rampant on school grounds?"

"No," Harry repeated. "He was a teacher for a whole year."

"He had wolfsbane. It hasn't been discovered yet."

"George, we're not in danger. The others will keep him away from the school. Besides we're in a tower. Even if he managed to get into the castle how's he going to speak the password?" Harry masked his face in seriousness.

George ferreted the joke. "You arse." Under the smiling face fear radiated. Harry made sense. He hadn't been scared in his fifth year, but he hadn't known Remus was a werewolf then.

"It'll be ok, George."

"Irrational fears don't listen to logic."

"Of all the things to be afraid of you pick werewolves?"

"I didn't pick it. Blame Bill, and Charlie. Fred, and I weren't the only ones to play tricks on their brothers."

#

"Are they asleep?" Sirius asked. He threaded his fingers into his hair mussing it. As expected, it resumed its previous place. Unnatural. Sirius's hair was unnatural.

"How am I supposed to know?" snapped James. His nerves were thin wires. A good pluck, and they'd break. His best friend's brooding for the last hour annoyed him. He was deeply dissatisfied with Hermione. James didn't outright dislike Hermione. In fact, she was a refreshing change from some of the seventh-year girls. It was Sirius's infatuation with her that was fast becoming a problem.

Hermione was a distraction. James understood distractions. Lily. As much as the red head competed in his head for attention she was always placed on the back burner during a full moon. Their focus was needed to ensure an adventure not a mishap.

"Padfoot, are you ready for tonight?"

"What?" Sirius lounged with his feet propped on the arm of the couch. He sat bolt upright. His feet thumped as they hit the floor. He locked gazes with Prongs.

"You seem preoccupied."

"I'm not."

"The damage Moony could inflict if we're not careful."

"I'm not some ickle firstie fresh from the boats."

Peter looked fretfully from James to Sirius and back again. He nibbled his lips clutching his hands tightly in front of him. He recoiled from the impending argument.

"We have to go soon," he reminded his friends. Padfoot, and Prongs plied their glares at him instead of each other.

"We need to get to Moony," James said.

"Let's get this done."

#

Hermione tossed and turned. It stemmed from the desire to fight sleep instead of reaching optimum comfort. If she succumbed to sleep, the nightmares would come. Whose nightmares remained the unknowable question. The D.A.D.A. class guaranteed a bad night.

Her memories spawned distressing dreams, but Harry's memories seeped into her unconscious. They mixed. Coalescing into dreadful nightmares.

"Go to sleep, Hermione."

The intrusion timed perfectly prevented Hermione delving. Harry no longer possessed sole ownership of his memory in the clearing. She punched her pillow. She shoved the lumps together. Sleep descended. It calmed the frayed nerves. Soothed raw emotions. Gifted peaceful oblivion.

#

Harry smiled weakly trying to follow his own advice. Hermione's fears justified his. He was tired of the disturbing images. Awake, asleep, it didn't matter anymore. He ached with bone-weary exhaustion. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Push out the past, settle on something positive. George released a loud snore. Harry's heart skipped a beat. He exhaled long and slow. His lungs begged for air. A sharp inhale. Shorter exhale. Repeat.

Outside a violent howl erupted followed immediately by a coarse barking yowl. The marauders ran wild. The freedom. He grinned. He settled to the chorus of untamed abandon echoing across the grounds.

#

Wrestling the demons invading her dreams Hermione jerked awake. Groggily she blinked.

"HERMIONE!" the panicked voice called again. "HERMIONE!"

Flinging the covers aside she ripped her curtains open. She bounded out of bed. An edge of fabric tripped her.

"HERMIONE! HURRY!"


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