"You arrogant brat! Have you learned nothing these last few weeks? Have my lessons not been – literally, I might add – drilled into your incredibly inflated head?" The high, cold voice rang out, before pain shot through Harry's body. Harry, restrained by the chair once more, still thrashed about. He thanked whatever higher power there was that because this was all in his head, he didn't ever get any real damage from the Cruciatus curse. He had already fell under Marv's Imperius twice since he arrived at the Weasley's a week ago. The first time had been when Harry refused to leave his room, preferring to sulk in the bedroom he shared with Ron. He had never felt such a presence in his head, telling him what to do. It was almost…relieving, to just follow someone else's command.
The second time…Harry shuddered as he remembered the previous day's command. He was playing a game of quidditch in the orchard with several of the Weasley's and Charlie was about to catch the enchanted walnut that worked as a snitch. He was going to let Charlie win, as it was just a game, but Marv had other plans. Harry had found himself ramming Charlie to throw him off course, which unfortunately led to Charlie colliding into a tree and falling through the branches to impact the ground with an audible thud. Charlie was fine, used to taking a beating from his handling of dragons, but Harry felt fear because he had hurt someone and he wasn't in control. This led to the current situation, where Marv was insistent on Harry getting some of the curse-breaker books from Bill.
Harry, sick of studying, had told Marv no, that he wanted to just enjoy the week before the World Cup.
"I'll do it after the World Cup! I've been studying and reading and brewing nearly every day for the entire summer, on top of chores! Would you just let me relax?!" Harry spat out, recovering quickly from the Cruciatus. He almost thought that he was becoming used to the pain, but that thought quickly left his mind as Marv stood from his dragon hide chair, his eyes glowing red ever so slightly.
"No, boy¸ you can't do it after the World Cup. Why? Because there is no reason for William to remain here afterwards! What keeps him here is the Cup! Afterwards, he'll leave and the chance will be lost! Now do what you are told! Get the books! If you get the quickly enough, I may allow you to relax for the days following your silly little sport. How foolish these pure-bloods are, gathering in such large numbers. So reliant on magic, on their ways, that they feel safe. Had they not learned during the second World War, when bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Had they not realized that an entire magical community was killed? WE. ARE. NOT. SAFE!" Marv shouted, his voice echoing.
Harry, wisely, kept quiet. He learned more about Voldemort during these rants than at any other time. He was learning the real reasons behind why Lord Voldemort hated the muggle folk, why he had recruited the pure-bloods for his cause. He was disposing of those who would slow the progress of the magical community while, at the same time, lowering the number of dangerous muggles. Lord Voldemort was paving the way for those who sought progress in the magical world, sought to do away with the barbaric practices that revolted him when he was introduced to magic.
"Get the books, Potter. If you don't, I'll force you do something you'll have to live with for the rest of your existence. Which, might I remind you, will go on for as long as I exist. I'll make sure of it. Now go, don't disappoint me."
Harry was forced from the elegant room that Marv occupied, removed from the depths of his mind, and returned to find himself sitting at the breakfast table where conversation continued from where it left off before Marv had summoned him. Swallowing the mouthful of toast that had been in his mouth, Harry took a sip of water before addressing Bill.
"So, Bill, what exactly does a curse-breaker do? When Ron told me about it, he didn't give me many details besides that you were working on tombs and the like in Egypt. I've been curious, but Hogwarts doesn't have any books about occupations, funnily enough."
Bill, relieved to be pulled from yet another conversation with his mother about a haircut, immediately and eagerly jumped into the conversation Harry offered.
"Well, Harry, it depends on what you're contracted to do and who you're working for. For me, as you probably know, I'm contracted by Gringotts. My job was to assist in breaking through wards, for the most part, but I also worked on – you guessed it – removing curses from valuable objects. The process is tricky as not only do you have to remove the curse, you have to know what curse it is without activating it. You have to be sure, 100%, that you removed all of the curses, as sometimes they're hidden behind decoy curses – obvious curses that may lead us to become careless since we don't think there is another one hiding. Furthermore, you have to know containment protocol. Those aren't pretty." He trailed off, a faraway look in his eyes.
Harry, and Marv, were both interested in what Bill was saying, so he motioned for Bill to continue.
"Sorry, I was just thinking about Derek…first time out in the field. He had tripped over a fallen brick and reached out to grab himself – something anyone would do. Ended up grabbing a table and knocking a chalice off it. Egyptians used a lot of blood magic and this chalice had an exsanguination curse on it. Damn kid never stood a chance – drained dry in a matter of seconds" Bill spoke, noticing the rest of the family wasn't paying attention to his and Harry's conversation. "Oh, you get used to the sight after all the mummified corpses we uncover. Still, it's sad though. A year out of Hogwarts and gone, just like that."
Harry swallowed, nervously, picturing himself drained of all his blood. He took a sip of juice from his glass before speaking.
"So, what are the containment protocols?"
"Right, sorry. Pretty much, if a person gets cursed – you isolate the person from everyone else and, if you can, separate the object from the person. If you're lucky, the curse will stop and you can move in to try and save the person. You still have to work on removing the curse from the person as if he or she was the object. Which goes back to knowing what the curse is and if that was the only curse they were exposed to. Some curses are hidden, lying dormant until something triggers. For instance, some will only trigger if it is a full moon on a Wednesday. Others will trigger the next time you take a bath. It's a tricky business and those unfortunate few who haven't been treated yet live in an isolated cell, in constant fear. The other protocol calls for a containment shield to be cast around the object in question. These are typically used in area curses, to limit how far the curse reaches. It could be used to shield yourself in the long haul, but that's a serious drain on your magic. I doubt Dumbledore could manage a shield past 5 minutes. Plus, you can't lose concentration on it at all, meaning you can't cast any other spells while you're shielding yourself. I've got to ask, though, Harry, why is a fourth year interested in this kind of stuff?"
Harry felt a calming presence sweep over his mind and felt Marv guide the words,
"Well, truth be told, it sounds like something I might be interested in knowing. We've already had experience with cursed objects, like Ginny's Diary. Plus, you're my best friend's oldest brother and I hardly know anything about you. Charlie does dragons, Percy just started Ministry stuff, and I know the rest of the family rather well. Plus, a certain someone has been nagging me about O.W.L.s and I guess I'm just trying to figure out what I want to have a basis in. Do you mind loaning me any books you might have dealing with curse-breaking? I'd like to read some more. I would buy them myself, but the only time I get to go to a bookstore is with your mum and, well, we both know she'd try stopping me."
Bill leaned back in his chair with a grin, knowing all too well what Harry was getting at. He rose from the table and made his way to where some spare parchment was resting on a table. He scribbled something down on it using a muggle pen, Harry noted, before tearing the piece off and folding it up.
"Most of my collection is back in Egypt, but here are the names of some books to get you started. Once you get back in school, write me and I'll send you the ones you can't find in the library."
Is that good enough, Marv? He doesn't have the books on him, but he said he'll help. Now can I just relax? Harry thought to the Dark Lord residing in his skull.
it will…suffice, I suppose. But because of this, I want you to start thinking of weaknesses of this household. Observe their mistakes, pay attention. Don't be like your father and leave your wand behind, for an example.
Harry affirmed, before continuing the day.
_
AN: It's short. I know. I've been thinking of various things to incorporate into the story but haven't found the willpower to write. Mental illness sucks and it's only getting worse for me. I'll probably just keep doing time skips to bigger events from now on, truth be told. Meaning the next chapter will be the aftermath of the World Cup, the chapter after that will be the Goblet choosing the champions thing. Then the task, so forth and so forth. Sorry if I'm letting y'all down.