11
Just Like Hogwarts:
Moody's predictions had been right. Their classes were extremely hard and very time consuming. It was like being at Hogwarts but on steroids. They were expected to read several chapters a night and had much more work than they had ever had before at Hogwarts.
Their teachers expected them to be able to master spells during the class time and be able to perform them perfectly.
Even the classes themselves were harder, there concepts were geared into transforming them into the best aurors possible, and as such were very hands on and serious.
They also encompassesdsome of the strangest concepts they had ever encountered, Yesterday's Concealment and Disguise class had consisted of them all charming themselves to look different. And their Professor, Auror Greenboil had made sure everyone looked so unrecognizable it was actually frightening.
Moody's classes though, were by far the hardest and required the most work. He had started off by lecturing them everyday on the importance of 'Constant Vigilance' a term he had coined to keep them on their toes and constantly questioning their surroundings.
Today's class was one Doe was most interested and scared to go to, after several days of studying the three unforgivable curses consequences they were finally going to have the opportunity to try them.
" Now aurors and very high-up ministry officials are the only ones who are allowed to perform these curses. They're extremely dangerous and the most vicious curses in our world. So you will respect them, I don't want any fooling around" Moody snapped.
He lined them all up, he told them that today he would be performing the Imperius curse on all of them. Some of the people in the class gasped.
Doe wasn't looking forward to it, but she knew chances were pretty good it would be used on her at some point in her career and she didn't want to be unprepared.
"Any takers for who wants to go first?" Moody asked with a slight snicker.
No one from their group of nine answered him. Everyone looked at him with slight trepidation.
After another moment of silence, Doe stood forward.
" I'll do it" she said quietly.
Moody eyed her curiously, " Alright Meadowes stand over here" he said pointing to a spot a few feet in front of him.
Doe stood there, trying to ignore the slight shaking there was in her knees.
Moody raised his wand, " Imperio!"
At first she didn't feel any different. She had expected more, like she would feel as though she was bound by chains or something. She didn't feel any differently.
" Now, jump" Moody ordered.
It suddenly changed. She didn't want to jump, but her legs were no longer controlled by her. She had no choice. She jumped slightly.
" Now jump onto the table" Moody ordered.
The table was very high up, several feet. A jump that normally would have had her slightly concerned, but she did it without hesitation, sticking the landing proudly.
" Now come down, and raise your wand to Longbottom" Moody said.
Doe didn't hesitate at all, her body responded fully to Moody's orders and she took my wand out pointing it directly at Frank.
" Now jinx him" Moody ordered.
Her mouth started to open to say the curse.
She felt so light, like all of her problems had gone away and here she was enjoying the effects.
Because you're not in control of them a tiny voice said in her head.
Why would you jinx Frank, he's your friend it said again.
Doe hesitated every so slightly trying to lower her wand. It was harder than she thought. Her arm wouldn't budge and no matter how hard she set her jaw her lips get trying to pry themselves open, desperate to utter the jinx.
" See now, you see how she's starting to fight it" Moody said, " but it's very strong"
His words drew it out of her, and her mouth opened and the jinx came out. Frank was instantly stuck together in the leg locker curse.
Moody lifted the curse from her instantly and revived Frank. She took a deep breath, it felt like the world was spinning back and she was regaining control.
" And how did that feel?" Moody asked her.
" Awful" she said shaking her head, " You feel so light and out of control"
Moody frowned turning back to the class " Most people like the feeling of the Imperius curse, it causes you to feel very detached from your problems and your fears, however most people also can't fight it even slightly"
Doe walked back over to where everyone else stood, feeling very exhausted.
" Alright, Darwil, you're up" Moody said raising his wand. The Durmstrang boy next to her walked over with a sigh.
They spent the rest of class watching everyone face being under the Imperius curse. Sirius and Piers were the only other two who were able to question the curse even slightly, but like Doe, they ultimately fell victim to it's controlling forces.
After everyone had gone, Moody spent the next two hours discussing the various methods and tactics that you could use to try and combat the curse. They all took diligent notes, being aware of how controlling it could be.
"...so only very skilled witches and wizards can resist the power of this curse, and even they cannot resist it every time. We will do this over and over again. Once a class period. My hope is that by the end of your classes, you will all be able to resist it, or at least put up a fight"
" So he want's us to be impermeable to the strongest curse in the world?" the Beauxbatons girl asked incredulously, " how are we to do that?"
Moody dismissed them and they headed to their Poisons and Antidotes class on the other side of the office.
" That was awful" Sirius said shaking his head, " you're so out of control"
" I hated it" Doe told him, "you could kill someone and have no choice"
" Well I hope no one ever uses it on me" Frank said.
" Someone probably will" Sirius said with a sigh, " it's the nature of the beast".
The day was a long one. In Poisons and Antidotes Auror Raindell spent three hours lecturing on the usefulness and effects of a bezoar, forcing all of them to ingest a harmful poison and use the bezoar to stop it. By the end of it, they all felt the bubbling in their stomach that came from the use of the stone.
Doe noticed how similar this class was to Potions and it made her smile. Even the slight familiarity of Hogwarts was comforting. However, the content was so much more elevated. She could never imagine Professor Slughorn forcing them to take dangerous poisons.
Then again, Slughorn's biggest concern was getting them to pass their O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's, not training them to protect an entire population.
By the end of the day, every Auror student was so exhausted from all of the massive amounts of work they had done today, that most of them couldn't apparate out of there fast enough.
But after their Poisons and Antidotes lesson, Doe stopped by the 'Stealth' classroom to see if Moody was still there.
" Moody, Do you have a minute?" Doe asked, lingering in the doorway, fearing he may not be in the mood to talk. Moody had two moods, and one of them was not very patient.
" Come in, Meadowes" he grunted from the desk.
She walked over cautiously, in case he were to get angry.
" Well? What is it?" he asked.
" Well, you see I had a question about..well about You-Know-Who" she said quietly.
Moody sighed, " You're going to be an auror, soon it will be your job to combat wizards just as dark as him, so I trust you start using the name 'Voldemort'"
She nodded quickly, " Okay, well I was wondering if you had heard any news about which one of Voldemort's followers had killed my father?"
Moody pursed his lips, " We don't know yet, the identities of his followers and supporters is kept well under wraps, though it's not hard to guess who his main support would draw from"
" Pureblood Slytherins" Doe added.
Moody nodded, " He hates muggles, and muggle-borns specifically, so I doubt he would surround himself with any"
" If you don't mind me being forward," she started, " is he really as strong as people are saying?"
Moody didn't blink. " He is very strong. I wouldn't be surprised if his support grew soon"
Doe took a deep breath, that means that people would support his ideas, and persecute Muggle-borns. Just the thought alone terrified her.
" So you want to stop it, make sure you study and actually make it to fight him" Moody said.
Doe nodded in agreement.
" I was impressed with you and Black's resistance to the Imperius curse today" Moody said, " It's not common"
" Thank you" Doe said, " though I don't really even know how I did it"
" You've got a real talent for this" Moody said, " Your dad did too"
Doe smiled slightly, happy to be compared to her father in any way.
" Now get out of here, you've got class tomorrow" Moody ordered.
Doe left the room soundlessly, torn between wanting to think about her father and wanting to worry about the terror that stemmed from Voldemort.