Disclaimer: still don't own anything.

Summary: The Dark Lord curses the Defense Against The Dark Arts job.

Warnings: Drunken Hagrid. Protect your china!

Chapter 6: Seven of a whole

The forest near the castle grounds laid in darkness. A warm light came from a small hut slightly hidden near the outskirts of the woods. It was a pleasant and beautiful night with a clear sky where the stars brightly shone down at the peaceful land.

A huge hairy man trudged up the path from the small village down the valley singing a merry tune to himself. From time to time he clumsily stumbled over his own feet and the merry song was interrupted by rumbling laughter.

It was a quiet and nice summer night. No one would deny that. Not even the man with the white hair who glanced down from a castle window on the starlit grounds through his half-moon spectacles. He seemed at peace as he smiled slightly and took one final glance over to the forest. Dumbledore closed the curtains and only a moment later the lights behind those went out.

It was almost midnight. And everything was more peaceful than it could ever be with hundreds of students in the castle.

But one being was not at peace that night.

Or rather, he felt at peace only by thinking of his plan to disturb the future peace of the castle.

Deep down in the heart of the forest, at a small clearing, a man stepped out of the shadows of the trees and walked briskly to the middle. Raising his head up to the sky, Voldemort went through his plan another time, his pale skin slightly glowing in the starlight.

Everything was finally prepared.

It had taken the Dark Lord a whole week to find the right incantations with the most efficient order to cast them.

But of course, he could have done it sooner. Only, he did not like to give Dumbledore an imperfect "Thank you" gift in return for his denial of the job. If you intend to mess with a school where someone like Dumbledore is headmaster, you ought to be extra careful. Otherwise the curse will be removed soon and his efforts would all be in vain. And someone like Voldemort definitely did not waste precious time.

Not after he decided that his years of preparation in hiding were finally over. At last it was time to act.

What is your name?, the child had asked him.

He will know soon. They will all know soon.

And by then, they will all know what fear truly means.

Thinking back to his years of hiding he was quite pleased with his achievements. He had found four precious objects connected to the founders of Hogwarts. One of them had been hidden here in this forest right at this clearing. Wasn't this the reason why he had chosen this place? The exact same spot where the daughter of Ravenclaw had died centuries ago. Where the lost diadem got lost and was lastly found by none other than him. It was a place of history and it will witness the making of history once again.

He concentrated on the task at hand.

After a long time of reading and re-reading through countless books, he had finally chosen seven different spells.

It had to be seven, for only this number held enough magical power to stabilize the curse for all eternity. The spell will be impossible to vanquish. Just like he is and ever will be.

A slight glow spread from the center of the clearing to the trees as the man in its center began to speak in a low voice.

The first spell was a rather simple one but nonetheless as crucial as the six that will follow suit.

It was cast quickly, its only task to conceal the curse from anyone searching for it. Of course it will take some time even for Dumbledore to notice that there is indeed a curse.

The eerie light had become brighter and now flooded the clearing in an unnatural aura whilst the man in the center of it started to mutter the second spell. His high voice sounded oddly loud in the deadly quiet forest. It was hard to believe that only a few moments ago the trees had been alive with the sounds of animals. Now, there did not seem to be any living being within miles except for the man with the crimson eyes.

This forest had always been called "The Forbidden Forest", even before Hogwarts was founded. But in all those centuries, there had never been a night where this name had suited it more than in this particular one.

If anyone mustered up the courage to check on that pale light coming from the depths of the forest, he would witnessed one of the future secrets around Hogwarts and he would not live to tell about it.

The second and third spell were more complicated than the first one and of his own creation. At the time he was inventing them, he had intended to use them to find a way to reopen the chamber of secrets and finish the noble task of Salazar Slytherin, his noble ancestor, once and for all . But then he had found a better way to ensure that the chamber will be opened once again. Still, he had finished the creation of those two spells even before he had left the school.

Not that it was exceptional for him to to so. For any other wizard or witch on the other hand, it would have been impossible.

Those two spells were like twins. They had the power to attach themselves to a curse, the cursed object and one or more person who came in touch with said curse. On that way the jinx could infect the unlucky one and there would be no escape for him from the damage the curse would surely and inevitably cause. The cursed object will still hold the curse while the person infected with it will carry it the rest of his life. In this particular situation the curse will be laid upon the position of the "Defense Against The Dark Arts"- teacher whilst the teacher himself will also be burdened with it. It was one of his meaner – and funnier- ideas. If someone occupied the job for only a year, the curse would not trigger, for its task was to prevent anyone to hold this position for more than a year. Preferably with the most cruel reason why he wont occupy it a second time. So, if someone stops being a teacher after only one year, the curse will sleep and even strengthen itself over time. If he comes back, well, he most certainly will not survive his return to the school.

A nasty grin appeared on the mans face forcing his eyes to small slits and his face into a strange snake like mask whilst the man still looked up to the stars, now reciting the fourth incantation.

That one will bind the seven spells together making them seven parts of a whole.

The light shifted into a bright red while the earth seemed to shake slightly under the feet of the man who either took no notice or cared not.

Fog slithered snakelike out from under the trees into the direction of the man in the center. Behaving just like a pet called by its master, it curled and uncurled at his feet whilst becoming thicker and thicker with each passing second, protecting its master from sight.

The fifth one was easier again. It was mostly for protection against any attacks or even nullification. It will only be needed at first but it was better to be safe than sorry. He cast it swiftly.

And now the sixth one, a special gift, one could say.

The foggy snakes twitched, crawling over one another, all in their attempt to reach their master. Some of them started to curl around him, wrapping him completely with their own thick bodies, which shimmered red in the abnormal light.

The gift of time.

The high voice echoed over the clearing and the trees were rustling as though the voice itself let them shake in fear.

This one will truly ensure immortality. It will start weak, not being able to do its task at first. But the curse will ripen over time and will grow into something men will fear. And given enough time, there will be no possible way to destroy it anymore.

No possible way to end it.

For no one.

A high laugh filled the air.

And then the light became darkness and the clearing was silent again.

The fog had vanished.

The black haired man, now practically invisible in the sudden darkness, lowered his head and closed his eyes.

The seventh spell, the heart of the curse, was cast in darkness and silence for there shall it remain and do its evil work.

Voldemort turned around, looked at the castle and smiled lovingly.

"Good night my only home. Sleep well until we see each other again."

Wind blew, the sound of animals filled the air again and the forest simply forgot what had happened a moment ago, just like it always did.

This one was really hard. I had the idea of writing this scene but did not know how to do it. My first version was about half a page and really lame. So I rewrote it over and over again. And I had a lot of trouble finding the right words. After all, English is not my mother language. But I like how it turned out to be. Actually I wanted to show that he did not even think once about Sev, but I couldn't bring myself to let Voldy simply forget him. So he had to think at least once about him.

Besides the next chapter will have the first time skip and might get really long. I hope I can finish it till next Monday.

Thanks to PiffyEQ and Aria Slytherin for the comments. It made me really happy :)