Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Danny Phantom and the Magic of Ages
By WarriorLoverInc
Chapter 5: Unforgiveable
"Harry Potter."
Harry looked up and was met with the magnified eyes of Professor Trelawney and her usual forlorn look. Of course, it was only usual when she was looking at him.
"Yes?" Harry hastily tried to cover his chart and its two Saturn's and Ron looked quickly away, stifling a giggle.
"Is that your friend over there?" she pointed a knobby finger at Danny who was sharing a table with Neville, quickly scribbling something out on his chart while Neville looked on. Danny seemed to take pity on him and pointed something out.
"Yes?" Why was she asking him this?
She was instantly all up in his face. He nervously scooted back. "Has he told you anything about himself?"
"Um… yes?"
She glanced Danny's way as he laughed at a joke with Neville. "A tragic past… tragic past…"
Ron and Harry eyed her warily, for once she was right. But she could've read his records or something, she was a teacher.
And Professor Trelawney was back, "His scar?"
"What?" she had taken Harry by surprise, as usual.
"What about his scar?"
"Um…" Harry bit his lip. He wasn't sure he should be telling anyone Danny hadn't allowed him to about his scar. "He… he didn't tell me about his scar."
"Oh." Trelawney turned away with a whisk of her shawls, disappointed. "Perhaps I shall ask him myself."
Why didn't she just do that in the beginning? Harry sighed exasperatedly. Why was it always him?
…
Danny was very irate in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Apparently, Professor Trelawney had interrogated him after class, and learned nothing more. Harry had a feeling she had found another person to make woebegone with her predictions of doom.
But everyone's woes were dispelled for the moment as Moody's lesson went into full swing. Moody definitely held a candle up to Lupin, but it's only the first day, Harry chided himself, the first days were the best, the worst, or only a small taste of what was to come. Now, they were going to learn about the Imperius Curse. Danny, who sat in front of Harry, stopped his angry tapping of his finger and gave Moody his complete attention.
Moody took a spider out of a jar on his desk and Harry felt Ron cringe, he hated spiders. Keeping the spider in plain sight, Moody demonstrated the curse to them, "Imperio!"
**The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backwards and forewords as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a back flip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.**(1)
Everyone was laughing—everyone except Moody and Danny, both of whom had grim looks on their faces.
**"Think it's funny do you?" he growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"
The laughter died away almost instantly.
"Total control," said Moody quietly as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats…"**(2)
Ron gave an involuntary shudder. Danny was nervously scratching his desk, the wood rubbing off under his relentless fingernail.
**"Years back there were a lot of wizards and witches being controlled by the Imperius Curse," said Moody, and Harry knew he was talking about the days in which Voldemort had been all-powerful. "Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will.
"The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he barked, and everyone jumped.**(2)
After throwing the spider back in the jar, he asked if anyone knew anymore curses. They learned of the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse. Normally, Danny and Neville acted the part of best friends—which Harry was sure they were—but when Neville stood staring blankly at a wall after the lesson, Danny walked right by without so much as glancing at him. The curses had really scared Neville, as they would any normal person, but the Unforgivable Curses seemed to have some adverse affect on Neville for reasons Harry could only guess at.
Harry watched Danny's back retreating down the corridor.
**"Neville?" Hermione said gently.
Neville looked around.
"Oh hello," he said, his voice much higher than usual. "Interesting lesson, wasn't it? I wonder what's for dinner, I'm—I'm starving, aren't you?"
"Neville, are you alright?" said Hermione.
"Oh yes, I'm fine," Neville gabbled in the same unnaturally high voice. "Very interesting dinner—I mean lesson—what's for eating?"
Ron gave Harry a startled look.
"Neville what—?"
But an odd clunking noise sounded behind them, and they turned to see Professor Moody limping toward them. All four of them fell silent, watching him apprehensively, but when he spoke, it was in a much lower and gentler growl than they had yet heard.
"It's all right, sonny," he said to Neville. "Why don't you come up to my office? Come on… we can have a cup of tea…"**(3)
His magic eye swiveled and glared at Danny as he turned a corner out of sight. Not a glare for not being with Neville, a glare for something else…
**Neville looked even more frightened at the prospect of tea with Moody. He neither moved nor spoke. Moody turned his magical eye upon Harry.
"You all right, are you, Potter?"
"Yes," said Harry, almost defiantly.
Moody's blue eye quivered slightly in its socket as it surveyed Harry. Then he said, "You've got to know. It seems harsh, maybe, but you've got to know. No point pretending… well… come on, Longbottom, I've got some books that might interest you."
Neville looked pleadingly at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but they didn't say anything, so Neville had no choice but to allow himself to be steered away, one of Moody's gnarled hands on his shoulder.
"What was that about?" said Ron, watching Neville and Moody turn the corner.
"I don't know," said Hermione, looking pensive.
"Some lesson though, eh?" said Ron to Harry as they set off for the Great Hall. "Fred and George were right weren't they? He really knows his stuff, Moody, doesn't he? When he did Avada Kedavera, the way that spider just died, just snuffed it right—"
But Ron fell suddenly silent at the look on Harry's face and didn't speak again until they reached the Great Hall, when he said he supposed they better make a start on Professor Trelawney's predictions tonight, since they would take hours.
Hermione did not join with Harry and Ron's conversation during dinner, but ate furiously fast, and then left for the library again.**(3) Harry and Ron walked back to Gryffindor Tower, and Harry who had been thinking of only two things (the Unforgivable Curses and something else…) raised the subject of his second thoughts.
"Ron?"
"Yep?"
"Do you think Danny would mind telling us about his letter?"
"Blimey mate!" Ron blinked at him, "We've already lost Gryffindor a hundred points in one fell swoop! I wouldn't be surprised if we get mobbed tonight! Maybe we should just stop digging. It might just be an American thing…"
"I don't think so…" Nobody should be treated that way. Living with the Dursley's for most of the summer (and more of his life than he cared to admit) Harry felt that anyone being mistreated in such a way—verbally, non, or physically—deserved to be free of it. He turned the word over in his mind.
Obey… obey… obey…
If anything it was his least favorite word. It was the formal way of saying, do it or else… he had enough of that experience. If Danny was getting letters from Dursley-ish people, he wanted to know.
Your just curious and like being nosey, nagged a small voice in the back of mind, you have to get yourself in trouble every year…
Violently shaking his head to clear it of the train-wreck of a thought he was having, Harry boarded a new one.
On more interesting news—
What could the more interesting news be? The author of the letter had already hinted at some sort of skill Danny possessed, a friend of his would be in the tournament, that the letter was a routine check up, they expected a full report back, and this mysterious "they."
Harry's stomach clenched involuntarily at the word. It gave him a bad feeling for some reason.
Now I'm just going crazy, he thought, it's just a word.
In quotation marks, in a suspicious letter to a suspicions student…
Great, Harry sighed loudly, barking mad… I'm listening to voices in my head…
"Balderdash."
Harry jumped in surprise, remembering he was in the company of Ron. He had really been thinking then. Best to stop now, they still had homework and he didn't want to hurt himself. He vaguely recalled Ron's one sided discussion with him on the way to the tower, something with Moody and Dumbledore and the Unforgiveable Curses…
**The Fat Lady swung foreword to reveal the entrance hole, and they climbed into the Gryffindor common room, which was crowded and noisy.**(4) A few people sent them glares, obviously noticing the conspicuous absence of one-hundred points and honing in on the most likely of suspects. They already had quite the reputation.
**"Shall we get our Divination stuff, then?" said Harry.
"I s'pose," Ron groaned.
They went to the dormitory to fetch their books and charts, to find Neville there alone, sitting on his bed, reading. He looked a great deal calmer then at the end of Moody's lesson, though still not entirely normal. His eyes were rather red.
"You all right, Neville?" Harry asked him.
"Oh yes," said Neville, "I'm fine thanks. Just reading this book Professor Moody lent me…"
He held up the book: Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean.
"Apparently Professor Sprout told Professor Moody I'm really good at Herbology," Neville said. There was a faint note of pride in his voice Harry had rarely heard there before. "He thought I'd like this."
Telling Neville what Professor Sprout had said, Harry thought, had been a very tactful way of cheering Neville up, for Neville very rarely heard he was good at anything. It was the sort of thing Professor Lupin would have done.**(5)
Danny's head poked out of the bed curtains at the end of the room. Throwing them open wide, he smiled brightly, "Harry! Ron! Where's Hermione?" Though his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
"D-Danny!" Neville sounded surprised, why would he be surprised? Harry wondered. "I didn't know you were in here! When did you come in?"
"Hm? I've been in here since Moody's lesson, I skipped lunch…" then he mumbled something about not being hungry.
Ron got on his tiptoes and peered into Danny's bed, "Are you writing a letter?"
Hesitantly nodding, Danny pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, his eyes not quite so friendly, "But it's none of your business."
Harry realized he must have been talking about how they read his mail earlier.
"Look… about that…" Harry sighed, "Ron and I are sorry, we shouldn't have done that."
"He… hey!" Ron stammered, "I can apologize for myself!"
An uneasy silence blanketed the room as Ron and Harry waited anxiously for Danny's reply. To Neville this was news, he stayed silent as well.
…
Peering from the nervously shuffling Ron, to the somewhat calm Boy-Who-Lived…
Heh… a shark-like grin appeared on Danny's face, unnoticed by the occupants of the room due to his hair. He looked up from the paper, grin gone on the outside but still there internally. Boy-Who-Lived… I'm sure he wouldn't be apologizing if he knew who I was…
…Danny smiled disarmingly, "I forgive you. I'm sorry, I must sound so secretive sometimes, I'd be curious too if an owl gave me a letter that wasn't mine and sounded like that."
The tense aura lifted from the room. Ron visibly relaxed and Neville smiled slightly and went back to his book, but Harry continued to scrutinize Danny. He walked over and sat next to him.
"Who're you writing too?"
Danny beamed, "My sister."
Filthy, nosey, cheeky, lucky little…
"Oh!" Harry raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you had a sister."
You wouldn't. Shouldn't. But you're a snooping, meddling, annoying…
Purposely crinkling his brow, Danny tried to look sad, "Well…" he felt a good lie coming on, "we're not exactly on the best terms…"
Let the prying, disgusting, irritating, fluky, little boy think up his own conclusion.
…
Oh, Harry thought, the gears in his head spinning, that's why the letter sounded a little hostile…
So that letter was really personal. Great, now Harry felt even worse than when he had been caught reading it. Seeing Danny's dejected expression, Harry switched the topic, "You wanted to know where Hermione had gone?"
Danny tore his eyes away from his half finished letter and looked expectantly to Harry, nodding.
"She's in the library… again."
Danny smiled a little. Folding up his letter and grabbing his quill, Danny stood and stretched.
"Thanks, Harry."
Harry smiled kindly, "See you later?"
Ron came up behind him, "Yeah, mate?"
Danny nodded and left the dormitories, slamming the door behind him and creaking down the stairs.
. . .
Authors Note: Dooooone! Kill the block! *Shakes fist*
(1): Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Page 212-213
(2): Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Page 213
(3): Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Page 219
(4): Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Page 220
(5): Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Page 220-221
Tuesday, December 7, 2010