Ch 22
A/N: Hey guys, I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter done. Hopefully it's worth it. Here comes year 2 of Auror training.
...
The next morning the trio met up at the rundown house, all looking worse for the wear. No one was talking, knowing that the others felt just as bad as they did simply from looking at them. Victoria was still clutching her head after apparating in, her ice blue robes wrinkled and her black hair in a messy, lopsided bun. Tonks was leaning against the railing to the house straining to keep her bloodshot, red rimmed eyes open, her usual bubblegum pink hair had turned to a garish shade of green. Meanwhile Caden's usually perfect hair was sticking up in odd clumps and he had a slightly green tinge to his skin, looking like his breakfast did not want to stay down. As Moody apparated in the soft pop made Victoria cringe. She tried to play it off as best she could, smiling she asked, "So what's on the agenda for today?"
"First thing, we're not going to be working here anymore. Take ahold." Moody said leaning against his walking stick. He watched as they all gingerly took their first few steps towards him, "Now people! We don't have all day!" he barked.
They all cringed, taking ahold of his arm and apparating away. When they stopped Victoria held her head in both of her hands, trying to get the spinning to stop, Tonks unceremoniously took a seat on the ground hiding her fall, while Caden took a step away bending over and putting his head between his legs to stop the contents of his stomach from making a second appearance. Moody shook his head at them disgusted, "Bloody idiots. Don't think this will get you out of working today."
"No Moody," Caden said finally picking himself back up and swallowing hard. "We'll be fine. Let's start."
Moody gave them all a dark look but started anyway, "This is going to be our new training ground." He said motioning to the large, misty field around them. There was a line of large rocks serving as a fence around the clearing. As they got their bearings the mist turned into a drizzle. "Get used to the weather, it doesn't make any difference, you will be out in anything. Now, we're starting on dueling. Caden, Victoria, come out here and show me what you've got."
Victoria lifted her head from between her hands and gave him an inquisitive look, "Moody, me? Are you sure?"
"Get out there!" he snapped back taking a seat on one of the large rocks that lined the outside of the field. He started, "On my count," he growled eyeing them suspiciously. "One," he watched as they took their wands from their pockets and took their stance. "Two," Caden gave Victoria an almost imperceptible smirk. "Three!"
On the count of three Victoria shot. Suddenly Caden's entire body was covered in fur the same shade of blond as his hair. He paused for a second, "Fur! Are you serious?!"
"What are you waiting for?" Moody snapped watching them.
Caden snapped out of it and sent a spell in her direction, the jet from his wand a sickening shade of pink. Victoria didn't know what came over her, it was a feeling unlike she'd ever had before. She suddenly saw Caden as if for the first time. In her eyes he was irresistible, even with the fur covering his body. She couldn't stop herself as she started towards him. He stood in shock watching her come towards him, a strange look in her eyes. Taking him by surprise she put her arms around him and pulled him towards her, crashing her lips down onto his. This seemed to break the spell as she finally came back to her senses, pushing him away again. While he was still dazed by her actions she was able to hit him with another spell.
Caden stumbled backwards momentarily, clutching at his nose. A moment later a large black bat emerged from inside his nostril and started flapping around his face. Tonks started laughing on the sidelines, "Nice one Vicky."
Victoria turned to smile at her, just as the bat flew away from Caden. He shot yet another spell at her while she was distracted. This time she started laughing uncontrollably, falling to the ground and clutching her stomach. While on the ground Caden took a few steps towards her, pointing his wand at her yet again. The gold jet he sent at her wrenched her wand from her hand and he caught it easily in the air.
Moody shook his head at her, still on the ground. After picking Victoria up Moody growled, "I told you to go home and study, not go for a drink."
"It was my birthday yesterday." She answered indignantly, brushing herself off.
"You should be old enough to know better." He snapped taking his seat on the rock yet again.
She laughed, "Old enough to know better, still too young to care."
"If you were dueling with Bellatrix you would care." He shot her a dark look.
She turned, her demeanor changing in an instant. Her eyes shooting daggers at him, "With her I wouldn't have played nicely," she stated icily. "Caden is my teammate, not my enemy."
"And that is your problem!" Moody yelled. "You are all teammates, but when it comes to dueling you must remember, someday you will not be dueling with your friends. I do not want to see any more taking it easy on each other. If you are not fighting your best each and every time, you might as well not even be here. Now do it again."
Victoria shook her head, sadly knowing that Moody was right. If it would have been anyone other than her teammates they wouldn't have been conscious. Taking a deep breath she took her position in the center of the circle yet again. Her head was still pounding, but this time she held a determined look in her eye. In her mind she tried to picture Bellatrix in Caden's place. As Moody did the countdown again, she held her breath until the last second, stepping forward and shooting as he uttered the last syllable. Caden didn't even know what had hit him as he found himself sprawled out on the ground, his wand already in her hand.
She stepped over him and smiled, offering her hand to him, "You ok?"
He sat up gently, giving his head a shake, "Where did that come from?"
"He told me not to be nice." She answered helping him to his feet.
"Remind me never to get on your bad side." He smiled brushing himself off.
Moody stepped towards them, "That was better," he gave Victoria a quick pat on her back. "You," he turned to address Caden, "need some work."
Caden hung his head in mock defeat, "You're right, ready to teach me Master?"
Moody growled, "I am no one's Master. Now get back out there, I'm not finished with you. Tonks, get in position!"
The rest of the day was spent in much the same manner. Each taking on the others until Moody finally let them go, each having landed on the ground more than a few times. By the time they were through they were soaking wet with mud and sore. "It's only going to get worse from here." Victoria lamented.
Tonks nodded holding her back where she'd landed just a few minutes ago, "You're right. Bollocks," she whined hanging her head.
Caden trudged up behind them, "That is the last time I drink the night before training."
They all laughed, agreeing just before apparating away.
…
For months, Moody had the trio perfecting spells they already knew on each other, occasionally throwing a new one in the mix. These were usually a bit more powerful than the ones they already knew, but nothing too intense. It was now the middle of July and as the temperature increased their patience decreased.
As they arrived at the training ground that morning Moody was already there, standing in the middle of the circle waiting for them. Surprised, they all shared a confused look and walked over to him. "Wotcher Moody." Tonks called first.
"Tonks," he growled with a nod.
"What's up Moody?" Victoria asked stepping towards him, wiping her already sweaty forehead.
"Time for a new lesson," he answered quickly. From the inside of his robes he pulled out a jar with three large black beetles inside. He watched as Victoria gave half a step back giving the bugs a wary look, "How do you expect to fight dark wizards when you can't fight a harmless insect?" he growled impatiently.
"Dark wizards don't have multiple legs and can't crawl all over me." She answered easily still giving the bugs a cautious stare.
He shook his head at her, but continued on, "I know in school you learned defense against the unforgivable curses. Now you will learn to cast them."
Caden looked at him as if he'd lost his mind, "Cast the Unforgivable Curses? They're unforgivable for a reason, if we cast them we'll wind up in Azkaban."
"Aye, it's true today, but during the war it was made legal for Aurors to use them. Since then we've been teaching them to the Aurors in the case that it would happen again." Moody said setting the jar with the bugs down.
"How likely is it that we'll have to use them now?" Tonks asked her brow furrowing.
Victoria studied Moody, she was curious to see how he would answer, remembering back to the meeting they'd had with Dumbledore just after the last war. They both knew that there was a possibility, albeit a small one, that the Dark Lord could return. She listened intently as he started, "It is not my job to know how likely or unlikely it is that you will need to use what I'm teaching you. My job is to make sure you know what to do in case you need it." He paused, looking over them before continuing on, "Today I'll be teaching you the Imperious Curse. Have any of you had it used on you before?"
They all shook their heads. It wasn't something that was done in school regularly. Moody gave a curt nod, "The best way to defend against something is to know what it feels like." He looked around them again, his eyes connecting with Victoria. She smiled knowing what he was going to do, "Are you ready to try?"
She didn't say anything but she nodded. He pointed his wand at her and in an instant she felt like she was floating. A small smile formed on her lips as her body completely relaxed. She wondered for a moment why everyone thought that this was such a bad thing, she loved it. Seemingly through a fog she heard Moody say, "Give me your wand."
Victoria started towards him, her hand extended to give him her wand. However as she approached him another thought seemed to hit her, 'What am I doing?'
"Give me your wand," he demanded again, watching her carefully.
'No,' she thought to herself, taking a step back, 'you never give up your wand.'
"Give me your wand!" he shouted this time.
Pulling her hand back to her chest she shook her head, emerging from the fog. She saw Moody smiling back at her. "That's how it's done."
She beamed back at him, "Thanks."
"Any pointers you wish to give the others?" He asked casually.
She thought for a minute, debating whether she wanted to give them any tips, or just let them fight it out themselves. Finally nodding she said, "Just keep listening to that little voice in your head."
They both looked at her curiously, wondering for a moment if the curse had done neurological damage. Moody, however, continued to smile, "Who's next?"
This went on until they had all had it done. Tonks was able to fight it off, although not until after she'd already done cartwheels into the rocks. Caden, however, was not able to get it even after having it done four times.
Deciding to give him a break for the day Moody picked up the jar of bugs again. "You each know what it feels like, now I want you to try putting it into practice." Victoria flinched again as Moody started to untwist the top. Pulling two beetles out of the jar he handed one to Caden and another to Tonks who accepted them without complaint. Victoria on the other hand took the jar with the last bug from him and pulled the top out of his other hand sealing it quickly. Moody shook his head at her growing increasingly annoyed, "How are you going to perform the spell if your target is in a sealed jar?"
"I plan to open the jar and quickly point my wand at it before it leaves," she explained easily. Moody gave her a skeptical look, but watched as she took the top back off of the jar and pointed her wand at it before it even had a chance to move. A second later the beetle was doing somersaults around the jar. The others laughed as she made it do a jump above the rim, flip in the air, and land in a handstand at the bottom. Putting the top back on the jar the spell ended immediately, the bug cowering in the jar afraid to move. "See," she said simply handing the jar back to him.
Moody shook his head at her, then turning to the others, "What are you waiting for?" he barked. They jumped, Caden dropping his beetle and nearly stepping on it when he tried to pick it up.
…
After a few months they had all perfected the Imperious Curse. Caden was even able to fight it off without any difficulty. They had also learned to do the spell on each other, not just on the bugs. This was something much easier said than done, as they'd learned quickly. Victoria was the first to master casting it, Tonks took a few more days, and Caden had just accomplished it.
Today however, when Moody apparated in, he wasn't holding his usual jar of beetles, this time it was grasshoppers. He didn't even wait for them to greet him as he said, "Today we're starting on the Cruciatus Curse. I know some of you have learned about it, and at least one of you has had it used against you. Now you will be using it for yourself. This spell is not as easy as the Imperious, it takes much more concentration. It's not a spell to take lightly, you have to mean it. You must want to inflict pain."
"Why would we want to inflict pain?" Tonks asked eyeing the harmless grasshoppers.
Moody's magical eye flicked to her quickly, the rest of his head turning slowly as he gave her a dark look, "There are times when the only way to get out of a situation is to fight fire with fire," his voice dropped to a low growl.
Tonks continued to give him a curious look, "Wouldn't that make the problem worse. You're dropping to their level."
Victoria interceded, "Sometimes it's not that easy. When you're getting hit with it there isn't anything you can do to fight it. The pain is too intense, and the more the person casting it wants to hurt you the worse it feels. That is when the only thing you can do is to give it back to them," she didn't look up as she spoke, a distant look in her eyes. She would never forget the pain that she felt when Bellatrix had hit her.
Tonks looked at her this time, her eyes filling with sympathy. It was clear she'd known the pain, although Tonks had no idea who had done it to her.
As they stayed silent Moody took his chance to get back to their lesson of the day. "As I said, I know one of you has had it done to you. I will give you the choice if you would like to know the truth of what it feels like I will do it to you. If you would like to stay in the dark, a coward, that is your choice."
Victoria gave a short laugh, "I'd be called a coward. It's not worth it."
Moody turned on her, "I wasn't asking you."
"Never said you were, just giving my opinion," she stated simply crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Caden looked between the two, a determined look passing over his features. "I'll try it."
"That's the spirit." Moody grinned happily
Shrugging Victoria stepped away taking a seat on one of the rocks, "Fine, your body. I warned you."
Moody and Caden stepped away into the center of the circle, "Get ready." Moody grunted. Caden stood up straight, puffing his chest out to look tougher, waiting, unsure of what was about to happen. Moody counted down, and shot. Instantly Caden was on the ground writhing in pain. Moody let up after only a second, but it was long enough for Caden to stay on the ground, tears streaming from his eyes.
Caden gingerly got to his feet, looking to Victoria, "You were right. It's not worth it." Limping he made his way over to her and sat down.
Victoria smiled, "I told you."
"What do you say Nymphadora? Are you up for the challenge?" Moody growled again.
Tonks looked between Victoria and Moody. Terror was etched on her face, but there was a bit of curiosity as well. "Don't call me Nymphadora," she growled back, but finally nodded at him. Moody smiled while Victoria threw up her hands in exasperation. "Alright, get ready."
"Wait a minute, wait." Victoria said stepping up to Tonks. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked, her eyes begging the younger woman to see sense.
"I'm sure." Tonks answered resolutely. Turning back to Moody she nodded. An instant later Victoria caught Tonks as her knees dropped out from under her. She screamed in agony far beyond anything she'd ever felt before. As with Caden, Moody didn't make the pain last for more than a second. Tonks got to her feet quickly with help from Victoria, clutching her side. "I was barmy," she grimaced quietly.
Victoria shook her head, "Yes, but I understand the curiosity."
Moody made his way over to them, "You did well. Now it's time to try it yourself."
Caden looked at him incredulously, "You want us to do that to something else?"
"Did I stutter?" Moody barked handing him a grasshopper.
"No." Caden answered sheepishly.
"After having that done to us, how can we want to hurt something like that?" Tonks asked looking sympathetically at the large green bug in her hand. "I can't imagine wanting to do that."
"You will imagine that it is someone trying to hurt you." Moody retorted impatiently. As he stepped over to Victoria she grimaced at the jar, "Don't tell me, you're not going to touch this one too."
Victoria smiled nodding; she took the jar from him and sealed it as she'd done with her beetle. Moody shook his head at her, "You're hopeless."
"Excuse me?" she asked watching him turn away from her.
He turned back to look her in the eyes, "You are hopeless."
She didn't think, pulling her wand out of her robes. Before she had the chance to throw a spell at him, he already had her on the ground. A dark look crossed her features, now livid she threw a spell at him. It connected, obviously causing a bit of pain, but he was able to stay upright. Once she let up he cast again, this time she fell, crying out as it felt like a thousand burning hot knives pierced through her. An instant later the pain had stopped and she jumped back to her feet. He growled at her, "I told you, you must mean it. You must want to inflict pain."
Still fixing him with a dark look, she picked up her bug. He took a step closer to her, whispering so the others couldn't hear, "Would you like to give it another try?"
She eyed him suspiciously; she knew it had been a dare. He grinned as she remained silent, "As I said, you're hopeless."
Dropping the jar she pointed her wand at him again. She let the anger she felt for him build up inside her along with the fury she felt for Bellatrix. Realizing that the only way to change his mind about her was to prove him wrong she shot. The smile that was on his face was replaced with a grimace as his knees buckled under him. Dropping down to the ground he stayed down for a moment, but came back nearly as fast. He nodded at her as she put her wand back down, "It was a decent try."
"You're not the one I really want to hurt," she answered coolly picking her jar back up.
"Don't try that again until you mean it." He retorted making his way again to the rocks. The other two looked on in amazement, Moody barked, "What are you staring at?"
Caden jumped turning to his bug, but Tonks continued to look at Victoria curiously. She realized there was more to Moody and Victoria than either she or Caden knew, but thought that it wasn't the time to ask.
…
Victoria couldn't help but wonder where the year went as she stepped into the Three Broomsticks. It was already the middle of November and she finally had a few days off. As she looked around the room she noticed that there were more people than she'd expected there. Of course being a Hogsmeade weekend it was understandable. Spotting the person she was meeting at a back table, she made her way through the crowd. Coming closer she heard the familiar voice exclaim, "Victoria! It's so nice to see you!"
A moment later she was enveloped in a tight hug as Poppy threw her arms around her. Victoria laughed, "It's great to see you too Poppy."
"Come, sit down." Poppy smiled releasing her, "Tell me about training."
Victoria couldn't help but smile at her excitement, "It's a challenge. I've been learning a lot."
"Good, learning is what you're there for. How are you doing with your teammates?" Poppy asked, talking a sip of her Gillywater.
"Tonks is doing great. There are times she shows how young she is. She's still naive about some things." Victoria smiled as Madam Rosmerta set down a Butterbeer for her.
Poppy nodded, "Naïve, but a wonderful person. What about the other one, Minerva said there were three of you?"
"Yeah, Caden. He's… well there are times that he's great, and other times he really worries me. We're learning the Unforgivable Curses. When we did the Imperious Curse, it took him a few weeks to be able to even defend against it, but now that we're learning the Cruciatus he was the first one to do it perfectly. It just makes me a little nervous."
"I'm certain he will do fine, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. This Caden, is he… good looking?" Poppy asked mischievously.
"Poppy!" Victoria exclaimed, nearly spitting out the drink she'd just taken.
"What," she asked feigning innocence. "Does he not look good enough for you?" Poppy smirked, watching Victoria carefully.
"No, he's gorgeous actually. Short sandy blond hair, steel grey eyes, buff, everything a girl could want."
"What on Earth is the problem?"
"He's not into girls." Victoria shrugged.
"Oh," Poppy said dejectedly. "You know I just want to see you happy."
"I know, but I think you should worry about yourself a little more than about me." Victoria fixed her with a piercing stare.
"Me? What are you on about? I am perfectly fine." Poppy waved her off, hoping that Victoria would end the debate there.
"Are you?" Victoria asked studying her.
"I am," Poppy smiled.
"You don't need to lie to me, Poppy." Victoria shot her a skeptical look. "I know you too well."
Poppy sighed, a wistful look painted her face, "I'm as good as I can be," she answered honestly.
Victoria decided it was time to push her just a bit more. Making sure to catch Poppy's eyes she said, "You know he's lonely too."
Poppy looked at her suspiciously, "Did he say that?"
Shaking her head Victoria answered, "He didn't have to. He's not a man of many words, but I can see it."
Poppy waved her off again, "I'm certain that you're reading far too much into it."
"Poppy, I know him. The happy, funny man that used to be there has gotten pushed back. He's changed. I think he needs someone to bring him back."
"If that's true, I'm sure I would not be that person. He has made that perfectly clear." Poppy looked down into her glass.
"How's that?" Victoria asked sternly, sounding more like Minerva than she'd intended.
"Min… I mean, Victoria," Poppy caught herself, then sighed, "If he wanted more he would have done something about it by now. As you have said he is not a man of many words, however, he is a man of action. I have no doubt that he would have made his intentions known by now."
"How can you give up that easily?" Victoria asked crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You haven't even tried. What would it hurt?"
"We have been over this before. I have no intention of ruining a friendship over something I know will never happen. My life is the way it is and is not going to change."
Victoria huffed, "Fine. If you want to throw away something that could be great, then it's your choice."
"Thank you." Poppy ended their debate, pausing to take another drink.
Victoria sighed, changing the subject, "Anyway, how's Hogwarts? Tell me everything."
Poppy let out a deep sigh, "It's been a busy year. One of the Weasley boys, Ron, broke is wand at the beginning of the year so he's been to see me nearly every day. I keep telling him he needs a new one, but he doesn't want to ask his parents for one."
"I completely understand," Victoria laughed. "When I was in school my wand got broken. My dad was the Care of Magical Creatures teacher so instead of having a normal pet, like a cat that I had begged him for, he got us a Pegasus. It was beautiful, but the day he got it, it ate my wand."
Poppy couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, "That wasn't very good."
"I was lucky though, my mom gave me her old wand."
"That was very nice." Poppy smiled taking another sip from her drink. A moment later a pensive look crossed her face.
"What is it?" Victoria asked, noting the look.
Poppy shook her head, "I'm sure it's nothing."
"Come on Poppy, what is it?" Victoria urged.
Poppy sighed, "I'm certain no one wants it getting out."
"Who am I going to tell? I don't see anyone but my teammates. What's going on?" Victoria asked gently.
Poppy looked as if she were still debating saying anything, but conceded lowering her voice slightly so that no one else could hear, "There is something that's been happening at the school; something that's happened before."
"What?" Victoria asked leaning in slightly.
"There have been attacks."
"What!" Victoria shouted. Getting shushed by Poppy, she lowered her voice, "What kind of attacks?"
"It's strange. People are getting petrified."
"You're kidding! How?" Victoria asked now getting really worried. She couldn't help but wonder if everyone she knew was alright.
"We don't know that's the problem."
"You said it happened before?" Victoria's mind started to wander over the possibilities of things that it could be.
"Yes, long ago. It was back when I was in school, our seventh year," Poppy had a faraway look in her eyes.
"What happened then?" Victoria asked urgently.
Poppy looked into her drink as if into a crystal ball, "Many people were attacked, one girl died. We had been told that the monster was killed and the person responsible was expelled."
"But if it's happening again, how can that be?"
"That is the question. I don't believe that the real culprit was killed. I think it's still in the castle." Poppy said sadly.
"If it's still there, that means someone else could be killed!"
"Yes, and this time it could be anyone." Poppy stated putting her hand over Victoria's.
…
It was about a week before Christmas when Moody joined them without any jars in his hand. They had all just mastered the Killing Curse on roaches the day before. He stood in front of them and conjured three chairs. Beaconing them to sit he started, "Today we're starting with the most difficult lesson you will learn during your training. Occlumency is a skill that few witches and wizards are able to pull off. You will each need to learn it before we can move on."
Caden looked at him curiously, "What exactly is Occlumency?"
"The technical definition is a magical defense against external penetration." Moody stated simply conjuring a fourth chair for himself.
"External penetration," Tonks repeated. "You mean mind reading?"
Moody nodded, "Mind reading is a basic way to say it, but it's more than that. If someone is skilled enough at Occlumency they can hide only the information they choose from the person invading their mind."
"So, how do we do it?" Victoria asked leaning back in her chair, looking much more relaxed than the others.
Moody gave her a slight smile, "The first way you'll be learning is much like fighting off the Imperious Curse." A loud groan could be heard from Caden at the statement, however, Moody continued, "You will need to close off your mind. Completely empty it." Looking at Caden who still had his head tipped back, looking like this was the last thing he wanted to learn Moody said, "Caden, let's start with you."
"Can you start with one of the girls?" Caden begged raising his head to look at Moody.
"No, you're the one. Get ready." Moody said pulling out his wand.
"No Moody, please." Caden pleaded.
"One," Moody started, "two," Caden was still begging with his eyes, but tried his best to get ready for it, "three." Just after Moody said this he shouted, "Legilimens!"
Caden shook slightly, almost as if he was under the Cruciatus Curse. A few moments later, as he slipped out of the chair Moody put his wand down, "You still need work."
Breathlessly Caden returned to his seat, "I asked you to start with one of the girls."
"You are the one who needs the most work." Turning next to Victoria he smirked, "Are you ready?"
Victoria sat up a little straighter in her seat, "Ready when you are."
Testing her, he didn't even count down yelling, "Legilimens!"
For a moment she saw flashes of memories fill her mind. She watched as she walked into the Leaky Cauldron for the first time, seeing Sirius and Remus at the bar. Then it flipped to Sirius coming to her saying the Death Eaters were coming after him. A moment later she was back at the Halloween they spent together and Sirius was coming closer to her, their lips finally meeting. This was the last straw, she mentally pushed him out, the memories fading quickly and she was back in the field they sat in.
"That wasn't bad for your first try." Moody grunted his approval.
"Nymphadora, are you ready?" Moody asked.
Tonks's hair immediately turned a brilliant shade of red, "Don't call me Nymphadora!"
He shook his head at her and bellowed, "Legilimens!"
She almost instantly slipped out of her chair, falling onto the wet grass. Moody dropped his wand hand again shaking his head at her. "I told you to clear your mind. The more emotional you are the harder this will be."
"You're the one who used that name!" she said indignantly.
"I don't care what you are feeling; you need to learn to shut down those emotions. All of you need to learn that! I do not want to hear any excuses. Now let's try it again." Moody turned back to Caden and they started again.
It took over a month for Victoria to finally be able to close her mind off completely. She was the first to manage it and received a hearty smile from Moody, "That's the way to do it. I haven't seen anyone be able to fight me off that quickly since McGonagall."
"McGonagall," Victoria asked, "did you teach Professor McGonagall?"
"No, we trained together. She learned a full month before I did." Moody smiled remembering his training days.
"Wait, trained together?" Victoria looked at him curiously, "You mean McGonagall was an Auror?"
"Aye, she was an Auror for two years after we finished training."
Victoria was astonished, she couldn't figure out why Minerva hadn't told her before this. "Why did she leave?"
"She had enough of fighting I think. The night I lost my eye she was with me. Grizzly business that. We were working against one of the worst dark wizards there ever was. We were both dueling with him when it happened. He shot a curse at her while her back was turned, and I jumped and pushed her down. Took the full force of the spell myself," He explained. "Not long after that Dumbledore offered her a job at Hogwarts. She left a few days later."
"Wow, I never guessed that from her. She's never said anything." Victoria still couldn't understand why Minerva hadn't said anything before.
"Suppose she wants to put it behind her. Aurors see a lot. Sometimes it's not pleasant."
Victoria nodded, changing the subject after a minute, "So what's next?"
Moody smiled at her, she reminded him of her mother, "Now you'll be learning to only block what you need to."
Victoria smiled, "Let's do it."
…
Victoria sat at the Three Broomsticks, waiting with a Butterbeer in front of her. It was May now and an absolutely beautiful day, the sun was shining high in the sky, the birds were singing, and a light breeze had the leaves on the trees fluttering gently. She didn't have to wait long before she heard a familiar deep drawl say, "Victoria."
Smiling she turned to him, rising from her seat, "Severus," she pulled him into a, slightly awkward on his part, hug. "I missed you."
He nodded, choosing not to respond. "How is training?"
"It's good, thanks," she continued to smile, watching as he took a seat across from her. "We just finished covering Occlumency."
"Advanced magic," he stated sounding slightly impressed.
"That is why they have Auror training. So how are things at Hogwarts?"
"Dismal. We have a new teacher for Defense this year, Professor Lockhart." Disgust was etched on his face as he spoke the name.
"You mean Gilderoy Lockhart? The author?" Victoria asked, remembering the last time she'd been into Flourish and Blotts she'd seen his books covering the front windows.
"The same. The man is all show. I doubt he has done anything he has said in his books."
Victoria chuckled, "What's so bad about him?"
"Earlier in the year he had the brilliant idea of starting a dueling club and asked me if I would be willing to perform a demonstration with him," he stated simply.
"Oh, that should have been interesting." Victoria smiled.
"Quite. He regretfully forgot to block my spell and found himself on the ground before he knew what had hit him."
Victoria laughed heartily, "I would have paid to see that."
Severus smirked, "It was… a sight. He was in charge of decorating the castle for Valentine's Day as well."
"Really?" Victoria thought back to how it had been decorated while she was there; it was almost more than she could handle then. She couldn't imagine how he would ruin it.
"Yes. It was a day with large pink flowers covering the walls of the Great Hall and heart shaped confetti falling from the ceiling. Dwarfs or what he called cupids delivered cards to the students, interrupting classes all day. He actually suggested that the students ask me to show them love potions."
Victoria lost it, laughing hysterically, "That must have been something. I'm actually sorry I missed it. Your face must have been priceless."
"It was decidedly not the best day in my teaching career."
She continued to laugh for a minute, stopping to wipe tears from her eyes. After a minute she changed subjects, "The last time I talked to Poppy she said something about there being attacks." Victoria leaned forward, lowering her voice.
"Yes. There have been more. Last night two more students were petrified." He said, very little emotion showing in his statement.
Victoria looked at him in amazement, "Two more? They still haven't figured out what's doing this?"
"No. The governors took matters into their own hands. Hagrid has been taken to Azkaban and Dumbledore has been asked to step down."
She couldn't believe her ears, "Dumbledore step down, why? It makes no sense!"
"They believe that he has not been doing his job. He has not been able to stop these attacks over the last eight months." He stated simply.
"But if Dumbledore can't stop it, how do they think anyone else can do better?"
"They assume that another person could catch who is doing it, someone who is… not as close to the culprit."
"What do you mean?" she asked, now completely confused.
"You do know why Hagrid was expelled I trust," he said leaning back slightly in his seat.
"I didn't even know he was expelled," she said surprised.
"Yes. He was expelled in his third year. He was said to have opened the Chamber of Secrets."
"The what?" she asked looking at him as if he'd lost his mind.
"The Chamber of Secrets is said to be a secret chamber underneath the castle that the heir of Salazar Slytherin can only open," he explained, sounding like he was giving her a history lesson.
Victoria shook her head, trying to absorb everything, "But Hagrid's not the heir of Slytherin! There's just no way!"
"The governors seemed to think that it would be prudent to take him as a precaution."
"It makes no sense! How could they have thought that he did it before?"
"As you already know Hagrid is known to think that dangerous creatures make good pets. It is for this reason that they believed it was him before."
"Just because someone keeps dangerous pets doesn't mean that they'd intentionally kill someone. If that were true my dad would have killed people long ago." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, anger contorting her face.
"It is what they thought. However, if any more attacks happen… they will close the school," he stated, his eyes giving away the sadness he truly felt at the thought.
"What?! Close Hogwarts?! They can't do that!" Her eyes shot open; again she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"They do not have a choice. Parents will not let their children continue if they are in danger."
"I mean I don't blame them for that, but really close Hogwarts? There has to be something else," her eyes pleaded.
"I do not see a way around it. I fear, within the year Hogwarts will be closed." He said looking down miserably.
…
After nearly six months the trio had all finally managed to learn Occlumency perfectly. Today as Moody apparated in a sly smirk was etched on his face.
Tonks eyed him cautiously, "What's going on Moody?"
"Today is your test." He continued to smirk at her.
"Test? What test?" Caden asked worried, trying to figure out if he'd forgotten to study for something Moody had told them.
"Your test to finish this part of training," He stated simply.
"What is this test?" Tonks asked nervously.
"Simple, the three of you will duel each other. The last one with their wand wins."
Victoria eyed him cautiously, "What's the catch?"
"None. Only spell off limits is the killing curse." Moody answered stepping away from them.
"That's it? We're just dueling?" Tonks asked confused.
"That's all. I want you to fight each other as if you were dueling real dark wizards. Do not hold back. If you cannot fight your teammates, you will never be able to fight worse opponents." Moody took a seat on one of the rocks watching the group. They didn't move for a moment, waiting to see if he had any other instructions. "Did I forget to mention, as soon as this duel is over you get a week off?"
This statement made them jump. After training for nearly four months straight a week off would be an amazing present. They each took their stance, listening to Moody count them down. As he said go they each shot, Victoria and Tonks both shooting at Caden as he shot first at Tonks. The girls' spells missed as he hit Tonks with a conjunctivis curse, causing her to cry out putting her hands over her eyes. Victoria had to stop herself from running to her friend as she saw an unmistakable jet of red fly in her direction. She was able to cast a quick protective spell before it hit her. Enraged she shouted, "Expelliarmus!" His wand was wrenched from his hand as she shot another spell at him, tying him in rope before he could catch his wand. She stepped over to him, anger still coursing through her veins and whispered, "Don't ever cast the Cruciatus on me. I was nice this time, don't expect it again."
Stepping back she noticed that Tonks was just now getting her eyes back to normal. The girls stepped back toward each other, a determined look in both of their eyes. In a flash Tonks sent a spell flying at Victoria, her robes bursting into flames. Victoria put it out easily and an instant later a jet of purple shot from her wand at Tonks covering her body in large, angry boils. Tonks cringed in pain, but continued to fight casting a stinging hex at Victoria, catching her in her face. Victoria, now nearly blinded sent a spell at Tonks, but missed. Sending out yet another, she caught her with an Obscuro, placing a blindfold over her eyes. At this point both girls were merely guessing where the other was. They sent spell after spell out at each other, after nearly five minutes of missing each other they finally connected, each hitting the other with an Expelliarmus at the same time. Both wands flew into the air simultaneously and were caught by Moody, beaming at the girls.
"Good." He smiled, reversing the spells on them and handing back their wands. "You are all ready to move on."
"So that's it? We're finally done with spells?" Tonks asked sitting up from her position on the grass.
"You're done. Enjoy your week off." He smirked, adding in a whisper, "You'll need it."
…