Note: Please look to prologue for disclaimer and additional notes about the story.

A Dance With Fate

Canopus Carina

Chapter 12 of 20

The room was even damper than the Chamber of Secrets, but he continued without fear. Come any snakes full of venom, come any shadowed specters of sorrow, come giant spiders without reason, he was ready. If this would bring Ron back to them, he would face Voldemort again if he needed to. He didn't care. If this book held a way of getting Potion Master and Healer Remedius Partromi's recipe to break the Manas Curse, he would endure the slimy cave he was in.

A slight unreasonable feeling of claustrophobia crept into him as the walls narrowed, threatening to brush their slimy surfaces against him. So many years locked in a cupboard should have eased him out of such a fear. But it could have been caused as the hallway looked so much like a tomb. The feeling gave way to hope as a small light was seen from around a bend.

He had made it.

Wednesday: 19 October 1977

"Before I even start today's lesson, I have to lay down some ground rules. What I will be going over today is highly illegal to do, so we are not going to do any of it, only talk. In fact, get comfortable and put your wands away for now." A deep wave of groans washed over the Hall at the thought of a nonactive lesson. "I know, I know, but we don't want anyone to die or get sent to Azkaban for you to have a little bit of fun. And I hope you already know what I'm talking about."

Remus immediately knew what he was going to teach once he mentioned Azkaban but turned to see if anyone else got it. From the many vacant expressions he was seeing, he was only one of a few members of the club that died. He turned back quickly to get a read on Harry before he continued with, "Maybe it's too soon for this."

Looking around the room again, he understood what Harry meant. Along one table was all the first years who decided to brave this lesson as opposed to any other of the less harsh lessons. Scattered around the room were students from years two to four, the year when he had learned about the three Unforgivable Curses. Even at year four, he felt that he was too young to learn the about Curses and what happened when cast. But then he had to remember what Harry had said only two lessons ago when Amos gave up: the Death Eaters don't care what you lean in school. It is a brutal way to live, always paranoid to walk outside lest you get hit by a curse of destruction. It was the way they had to live. And only one year from then, they would have the safety of the castle they hid behind taken away. They would be on their own, maybe even warriors against the oppressive darkness.

To his side, he could see at least that his fellow Marauders had understood what Harry had meant, but unlike him, they wanted to be taught. They didn't even consider the younger years. To them, they wanted to know what the Death Eaters could do to them. That at least was for a good reason. He wouldn't want to be in Harry's position at that point.

"You know what? I'm going to have to go through the headmaster on that." Another series of groans, but Harry wasn't deterred. It was the right decision to make at a time like this. "At least now you could use your wands, how about that?"

He then set them to work on various spells based on grade level and magical ability. The lesson continued without any problems, but Remus decided they needed to speak with Harry after the lesson. He knew there was a large chance that one if not all of the Marauders would be fighting against the Death Eaters soon. Sirius would be targeted as soon as he graduated for walking out on his family, James for his family's ties with Dumbledore, Peter for his devotion to the two of them. And he would be targeted the moment he rejects the inevitable Death Eater invitation. At least one of them worked for the Ministry, as they had somehow come up with Ministry secrets, and would have access to his Werewolf Registry records. He wanted to be ready to fight when that moment came.

After class, Harry mysteriously disappeared like he usually did after lessons if he didn't have to direct someone to the hospital wing. Remus wished he had the Marauder's Map with him so that he could see where he went each day. But as he didn't, and by the time he got it from their dorm room it was pretty late, he decided to speak with Harry the next day. But once he remembered to look for Harry during breakfast, the four Marauders were running down the hall so that they weren't late for Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The Marauders agreed that the war for them could be approaching rather quickly and wanted to know what they should do to prepare. Hopefully the Defense class, while it was the dangerous combination of Gryffindor and Slytherins, would help them.

He couldn't believe he luck when Professor Braun stepped up to his lecture pedestal and announced today's lesson would be on the Unforgivable Curses. It seemed as if he didn't need to go to Harry or the headmaster if they would be going over it anyways. This way his peers, as the professor reported he was going to teach it to years fifth year and above as well, would be able to get the information Harry thought they should have while not teaching it to those too young. Harry probably spoke to the headmaster about it, and got Braun to teach it here.

The unusually thin –probably due to chasing pixies for years- professor stood in front of the class like a reluctant celebrity in front of reporters. He obviously preferred to be in front of a group of pixies instead of students but felt he was supposed to do it that way. So he started going on about what would happen during Death Eater battles that he never fought in. Remus really appreciated the lessons Harry provided as he at least knew what to expect due to experience. Professor Braun hadn't come anywhere close to a Death Eater as he stuck to pixies as opposed to humans.

"So who knows about the three Unforgivable Curses?" he asked once finished with his preamble. A few hands rose, but he called on Remus to answer.

"There is the Imperious, Cruciatus, and Killing Curses. They are the mind controlling, pain inducing, and killing curses, respectfully, recently used primarily by Death Eaters and Aurors. Any use of them are immediate sentence to a life in Azkaban Prison unless given prior permission by the Minister of Magic for educational purposes or by Aurors exclusively."

"Excellent, and could you tell the class ways of blocking these spells, if you know?"

"The Imperious Curse is able to be blocked by a strong or determined mind. If the caster is stronger mentally than the victim, it is even harder to block the attack. The Cruciatus Curse is unblockable. However it has been rumored that individuals with high magical power, in example Headmaster Dumbledore, would be able to tolerate the spell and questionably end the spell sooner than the caster anticipated. Victims are known to have various nerve maladies afterwards, most treatable by healing. Finally, the Killing Curse is unblockable and without a counter curse. It is considered to be quick and painless death, though no one knows for sure as victims have not become ghosts as a result to tell us."

Professor Braun seemed happy with his answer and gave Gryffindor ten points for such "a thorough answer". He then went over some other, legal curses that the Death Eaters have been known to employ during battle before directing them to practice cursing pillows for the rest of the class.

Remus didn't know how practicing the curses helped them learn why their enemies used them, but listened to the professor. He felt that by learning how to cast them, Professor Braun was encouraging to use them on other human beings, as unethical as it seemed. The professor walked the rows of the class, helping those execute the list of curses on the board.

It was foolish for them to be practicing on a pillow anyways, if they wanted something like the Jelly-Fingers Curse to work. And the Impediment Curse that Michelle Rogers was now trying to attempt would never work as the pillow wasn't moving in the first place. Without thinking about it, he cast the Blasting Curse on the pillow and watched in satisfaction while the little feathers that once were in the pillow float slowly to the ground. It wasn't until everyone else stopped working on their own spells that he realized that the Blasting Curse wasn't on the list of curses.

"Mr. Lupin!" Professor Braun called out, and scurried over to his desk, "How did you know that curse? It is not in the curriculum."

"I read about it over the summer. It was easy, really," he answered offhandedly. The other students knew him enough to know that the comment wasn't meant to put them down for not knowing it. To them, he was a Ravenclaw that was somehow in Gryffindor so it was easy to be beaten by him in classes. Only certain Slytherins glared at him for beating them in curses, something the Slytherin house has always been better at.

"Well, another ten points to Gryffindor for researching!" the professor exclaimed before a small explosion came from Peter's desk when the other boy attempted the Blasting Curse as well. As he didn't have the aim correct and extenuated the wrong syllables, the desk was the victim of the curse and the pillow fell unharmed to the floor.

End of Chapter 12 – 1,515 of words

Posted: 15 June 2007

Okay, I know it's not that great of a chapter today, but it's necessary for a future chapter. Please, please review. Finals are over, but I'm still waiting for grades, I need a job by Monday, and tomorrow is going to be the saddest day of my life: I have to move out of my dorm. These people are practically my family and I don't want to leave them.