The Autumn's Zephyr

Chapter 3: Paths

The following morning delivered on its promise of improved weather as the storm of the previous evening had blown itself out. However the ceiling in the Great Hall was remained gloomy. Harry Potter found himself sitting at his house table alone as he had made a conscientious effort to wake up early. The reason for this, if anyone had been awake and could look out at the Great Lake, they would see a lone figure running laps around the body of water.

The dark haired teen ran a hand through his shaggy black hair as he continued to read his new copy of Ancient Runes made Easy. The reason for this new addition to his morning routine was a simple one, Quidditch was cancelled this year and Harry was not about to do nothing all year.

"Ah, good morning, Mr. Potter. I trust you have had a good evening's rest." Harry looked up and saw his head of house, Minerva McGonagall looking at him curiously.

"Yes, professor, you as well I hope." He nodded.

"Quite, no time like the present, we may discuss the owl you sent me over the holidays regarding your desire to drop Divination. May I ask why, Mr. Potter?" The Transfiguration professor asked with narrowed eyes. Harry considered his words carefully, he wanted to be respectful but assertive.

"If I may be so frank, professor," At McGonagall's curt nod, he continued, "Divination was very different than what I imagined it to be, Professor Trelawny has done nothing but predict my death for the entire year...I feel it would be best for everyone involved that I pursue another class."

Harry finished and watched as his head of house continue to stare at him, then she gave a sigh, muttering something along the lines of "Trelawney…fraud…Albus…unbelievable…"

"I would not begrudge you for making this decision, Mr. Potter, but" Harry felt his posture straighten, "it will be challenging to be transferred directly into a fourth year elective, I do not believe I need to tell you that you will need to catch up to the rest of your cohort. Do you believe that you are up to the task." Here, McGonagall shot him a stare which made Harry shift uncomfortably in his seat however the prospect of learning something even with double the amount of homework triumphed clearly over in being stuck in Divination and having Trelawney predict his death over and over again.

"Yes, professor." Harry said, drawing strength from his resolution as he stared back.

"Very well, Mr. Potter," McGonagall responded and drew out his timetable and gave it a quick wave with her wand, "I have amended your timetable to reflect this change, I will notify Professor Babbling that you will be attending her fourth year class. I see you have been proactive approach in familiarising yourself with the subject, do you have any further questions, I assume you have your required textbook for this year?"

"Yes professor. Thank you for your assistance."

"I look forward to your performance in Transfiguration this year. Till then." McGonagall nodded and walked to join the staff table.

Harry let out a breath of relief, no longer did he have Divination as he continued to read his book just as more students entered the Great Hall. He barely looked up when he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching him.

"Harry—"

"Where—"

"One at a time please." Harry responded, eyes still glued to the number chart on the page he was reading.

"Where were you mate, your bed was empty when I woke up." Ron exclaimed as he took the empty seat next to him and started to pile an impressive stack of food on his plate.

"I decided to wake up early and exercise, because we have no Quidditch this year." Harry ignored the mental remark the redhead made.

"I saw you speaking to Professor McGonagall just now, what were you talking about?" Hermione asked, taking the seat across from him. Harry inwardly sighed, feeling slightly annoyed. Taking a deep breath, he looked up from his book.

"Just a conversation around finalising my elective change."

"Why'd you change classes, we don't need to do anything in Divination." Ron said as he rapidly shoved food into his mouth.

"Not doing anything is precisely why I decided to drop it. That class is a waste of time and after what happened in the summer, time is something I can't be wasting away." Harry responded firmly however his expression softened as he caught movement in the Ravenclaw table.

He watched on as Cho taking a seat with her friends in her Ravenclaw robes. She seemed to be laughing at something another girl at her table was saying. He froze when she caught his gaze, smile still on her face. She sent him a small wave, which he responded in a way that he hope was natural.

"Harry!" He was broken out of his trance as he turned to look at Hermione who looked exasperated with him.

"Hmm?" He asked innocently.

"I asked if you were going to be fine with joining us for fourth year Ancient Runes. There's a lot of catching up that you have to do."

"I'll have to be, won't I?" Harry replied.

Harry sat patiently in his seat in the familiar dark and permeating gloom that was the dungeons, mentally preparing himself for another year of Severus Snape looming over him like the overgrown bat he was as well as the inevitable attempts of the Potions Master trying to get a rise out of him.

He kept his gaze focused on the empty chalkboard as the door swung open and he felt a billowing of wind brush past him as he caught sight of the Head of Slytherin walking past him, robes billowing.

"Is that a spell and does he cast it every day?" Harry wondered as Snape reached the the front of the class and turned around in his usual dramatic fashion.

"Welcome back to fourth year Potions," Snape drawled, "this year marks the beginning of distinguishing those who possess true talent for the art of potion of making and those who we will be bidding farewell following the end of next year."

Harry did not need to look at Snape to know whom he was referring to. He was certain if looks could kill, he would be pile of fleshy goo stained on the floor.

"To that end, we shall be brewing what is known as the Calming Draught...Instructions are on the board, begin." Snape waved his wand and the instructions for said potion appeared on the chalkboard.

Harry laid out his tools on his desk and commenced. Throughout the summer, he had made the effort of taking a good look at his potions supplies and was slightly ashamed to have admitted that his tools had residues of potions that he had brewed throughout his first three years of Hogwarts. It was little wonder why his potions turned out the way they did, of why they never seemed to be right despite his competence in following instructions. The new potions equipment he had ordered would be receiving better care.

As he worked, Harry felt a cold sensation running down his spine despite the heat coming from his cauldron as he noted what could only be the presence of Snape over his shoulder but the lack of a derogatory remark meant that he must be on the right track as Harry saw the Potions Master swooping over to where his next favourite victim, Neville Longbottom was sitting.

The chubby forth year boy immediately cracked in Snape's oppressive presence. Harry could not help but feel sorry for his classmate as Snape tutted in the manner only he could as he enthusiastically berated his target. Silently, he let out a breath of relief as he leaned back from his potion, which had gradually shifted in colour, changing towards the described bluish turquoise colour it was meant to have.

Gingerly taking a sample, Harry labelled his name on the vial of potion and placed it on the rack. Harry said nothing as he felt Snape's eyes tracking the back of his head. A

t the end of the class, Harry noted that not all of the vials in the rack were blue as listed on the instructions. Apart from his own it would appear that only Hermione, Malfoy and another Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass had successfully brewed the potion correctly.

"Dismissed." Snape drawled at the front of the class again as everyone eagerly rushed out of the dungeons. "Potter. A word..."

Harry inwardly sighed, it was too good to be true that he went through a Potions class with Snape with no incident occurring. Ron and Hermione both shot him sympathetic looks as they left the classroom.

"Sir?" He asked tentatively as he saw Snape holding his vial towards him. Dread filled Harry as he had thoughts around whether Snape was going to drop it and hand him a big fat fail grade for his efforts. It certainly would not be out of Snape's character to sabotage his efforts in an attempt to get a rise from him.

"What do you suppose this is?" Snape sneered.

"My Calming Draight?...Sir?" Harry responded slowly, eyes still fixed on his vial.

"Tut tut..It would seem that our residential celebrity has been deflating his enormously large head over the holidays…An adequate attempt…one that might instil hope that I might have to delay our farewell…how disappointing."

Harry for once was rendered speechless, was that a compliment beneath the snark?

"Thank you, sir?" Was all he could muster as Snape sneered at him.

"I expect similar if not better from your subsequent performances…I would advise you to not regress back into mediocrity. The consequences should this happen…."

"Of course, sir." Harry replied, looking at the dark cold eyes of his Potions professor.

"That is all. Dismissed."

With that, Snape placed his vial back on the rack and swept away into his office with his usual robes billowing after him, leaving a rather confused Harry Potter behind.

The rather out of character experience that was his first Potions class this year lingered on Harry's mind longer than he had hoped. Entering the classroom for Ancient Runes, he was relieved to find that he had been the first to arrive. Taking a seat the second row, he pulled out Ancient Runes Made Easy. Ron had again made his displeasure around Harry dropping Divination, to which Harry only sighed in frustration but said nothing as he had already made his point clear.

"Mr. Potter, I do believe there is still quite a bit of time before your class is to begin." A feminine voice snapped him out from his book as he looked up to see a dark haired witch gazing at him with curiosity. Bathsheda Babbling was the Ancient Runes professor, the youngest Hogwarts Professor in the school's history as recounted by Hermione who had a look of utter revere on her face as she did so. The professor wore plain dark robes and had her dark brown hair tied in a professional ponytail.

"Yes, professor, I had plans to read outside but the portraits were being quite rowdy…I hope I'm not causing any inconvenience." Harry responded, shifting his shoulders nervously.

Professor Babbling smiled and shook her head.

"It's no inconvenience, Professor McGonagall had informed me of your decision to change one of your electives this year, I admit, I have doubts on how well you would fit in our fourth year class…" Harry resisted the urge to object or plead his case as he sat, "That being said, in class in just a moment, I will make clear that I do have an open door policy, Mr. Potter. My door is opened should you need any assistance on the subject. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you indeed feel that you need any clarification on any of the subject material. "

Harry felt relieve wash over him as he nodded with a smile, "Thank you, Professor. I'll keep that in mind."

The bell rung and students began to file into the classroom. Nodding to her newest student, Professor Babbling walked to greet her other returning students. Harry took a quick peek around the classroom. To his relief, Malfoy did not seem to be attending this class, instead he recognised the faces of Blaise Zabini, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis. Following them, he also saw Terry Boot, Ernie Macmillan and Susan Bones enter. He said nothing as he saw Hermione walk past him and taken the seat in the row in front of him.

"Welcome back to Ancient Runes…I trust you all have had a restful summer." Professor Babbling smiled as everyone nodded or murmured something in response. "Good, before we begin our class today, we have a new student who will be joining us. Mr. Potter, if you will."

Harry inwardly wished the ground could swallow him whole at that moment as he stood up from his seat to turned towards them, raising a hand in greeting.

"Thank you Mr. Potter." It would seem that Professor Babbling sensed his nerves as he quickly sat down again. "Today we will be spending a portion of class revising the material we have went through last year."

Professor Babbling ignored the groans of protest, giving her wand a flick and sheets of parchment appeared on each of their desks.

"A simple translation exercise. Partner up."

Harry looked up from his sheet, a little put out to see that people were already mostly if not nearly all paired up. Fortunately, he saw Susan Bones still in her seat by herself as he quickly got up and took the empty seat next to the red haired Hufflepuff who seemed surprise by the sudden movement.

"Oh, hello Harry." She said shyly.

"Hi Susan, do you want to partner up for this assignment." Harry asked hesitantly.

"Sure, this is your first Runes class, isn't it?" At Harry's nod, Susan continued, "Okay, do you have Spellman's Syllabary with you?" Another nod, "That's going to come in handy for you…let's get started in deciphering these, let me know if I'm going too fast."

Time seemed to go by quickly when one was focused, as Professor Babbling reminded that time was up, Harry was polishing the final response on his sheet. He was apprehensive at the expression Professor Babbling had on her face when he and Susan handed in their parchments.

"Harry, you managed it really well for someone who has never had a Runes class before today. Don't be too hard on yourself." Susan said as they packed up their bags.

"Er…thanks, Susan." Harry responded feeling a little embarrassed. The two said their farewell as Harry turned a corner and almost collided face to face with another student if it were not for his quick seeker reflexes as he caught them by their shoulders at the last minute.

His eyes widened when he saw who it was that he had nearly ran over.

"Cho—"

"Ooof, Harry—"

Quickly, he released his hands from her shoulders, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Sorry, wasn't really looking at where I was going." Harry said and felt his heart race as he saw Cho laugh.

"I could say the same for me." Cho responded and gestured her friends to go on ahead without her.

"How's your day first day back? Haven't fought any dangerous magical creatures or possessed teachers yet, I hope." She teased.

Harry smiled in response.

"Can't say anything about the latter but I did have the oddest of interactions with the temperamental bat in the dungeon."

"Oh? Consider my interest piqued, Mr. Potter…" It was then that the bell decided to ring.

"That's the bell, I have to run…" Harry said, a regretful look on his face, which Cho found to be sweet.

"That's alright, Harry, till later?"

His smile immediately brightened. "Yeah, of course. Anytime…"

Cho couldn't help but let out a quiet giggle as she watched Harry, pink in the face, take off but not before he gave her a small wave which she returned.

Harry allowed himself to feel jubilant as he ran to Transfiguration with a skip to his steps, a small smile on his face even as he saw McGonagall's look of disapproval in being slightly late for her class. He noted that there was a cage of rather unassuming looking guinea fowl from atop of her desk. The birds seemed to be chirping innocently enough.

"As I was explaining prior to Mr. Potter's interruption, these are guinea fowls and we will be attempting to transfigure them into guinea pigs. This will be the extent of our transfiguration work for this year."

Harry observed the level of wand waving displayed before him with crossed arms before turning his eyes to the bird that had been plopped in front of him.

He stared at it, it stared back.

"Very good, take ten points, Miss Granger." It would seem Hermione was the first to complete the task and was glowing with uncontained pride. It would appear that no one else had come close as time went on.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Potter?" Professor McGonagall was now standing in front of him. "I can see that you have yet to start your task."

Straightening his back, Harry caught the look Hermione was giving him before he turned his focus back on his bird.

"Harry, the book says to —" Before she could finish her sentence, the fowl on Harry's desk had changed into a white guinea pig with coffee brown fur on its back. It was chirping with excitement. Harry turned to face Hermione, giving her a lazy smile.

"It took me three attempts, how—"

"Well done, Mr. Potter. Twenty points to Gryffindor for a perfect transfiguration attempt…I expect similar results in your subsequent performances."

"Yes, professor." Harry responded, eyes still locked with Hermione's before she huffed in frustration and turned to Ron who's fowl did not appear to look too good as it still had half of its feathers.

The squeaking of his guinea pig caused Harry to chuckle as he enjoyed spending the remainder of time petting it and letting it play around with his fingers. He was sorry that he couldn't hang onto the creature when the bell rang and he had to return the still squeaking guinea pig back to Professor McGonagall.

As the first few days of classes past and Harry showed no intent on stopping around his recently discovered motivation in excelling so too did he find Hermione's behaviour growing tiresome, Harry always knew his friend prided herself on being the best student of their year and determined to be the best student the school ever had which was a respectable endeavour, that said, he was not going to rest on his laurels this year onwards.

He had caught her glaring at him when he successfully cast the repairing, summoning and banishing charm on the first try. Professor Flitwick, the diminutive Charms professor had been so ecstatic about his performance that he excused Harry from homework, which inadvertently caused many to glower at him.

The same had occurred in Transfiguration later where McGonagall had praised his essay on performing cross species transfiguration and Potions where he had successfully brewed a Strengthening Solution, much to Snape's displeasure around not being able to find any major faults with his attempt.

The young wizard in question was now in the Great Hall, reading on the Disillusionment Charm, noting that it was a charm that could allow a caster to camouflage themselves to their environment. The more powerful the wizard or witch was, the stronger the charm would become.

He was mimicking the wand movement when he saw Hermione looking at him from the corner of his eye, seeming wanting to say something.

"How did you get so good at Transfiguration?" Hermione asked quietly, her crusade for House Elf rights seemed to not involve her trying to starve herself it would appear. Harry closed his book.

"I spent a majority of summer when I'm not doing chores for my relatives reading on theory. My dad's supposed to be one of the best ever from what McGonagall has told me. With O.W.L.S. and what happened at the World Cup, I'm going to need to start taking things seriously."

"But Professor Dumbledore—"

"Dumbledore can't be everywhere, Hermione, he's just one man." Harry said in a quiet voice, "And I'm focusing on my schoolwork, isn't this what you were always going on about anyways with me and Ron…"

Hermione was speechless as Harry got up and briskly walked out of the Great Hall.

From her position at the Ravenclaw table, Cho Chang looked on with concern as she unintentionally caught Harry's look of growing frustration as he spoke to Hermione Granger in a hushed tone. She could not make out what they were saying but it would seem their conversation was not going well. She did not know why she did what she did but eventually will look back on her actions with fondness as she got up from her table left the Great Hall, ignoring her friend Marietta's call her name.

She found him sitting on a ledge at the entrance courtyard by himself, focused on the lake and the boathouse a bit further and lower from them.

For a moment, she felt stuck between not wanting to intrude and wanting to say something however her concern for her friend outweighed any doubts she might have had.

"May I join you, Harry?" She asked softy as she saw him freeze.

Turning his head, he gave her a small smile and gestured "Sure."

Together they sat in silence, taking in the September Scotland weather. Cho was thinking about all the things she could say but refrained out of respect for Harry's privacy, so she decided on a rather simple conversation starter.

"My brother has been asking about you and if you've been taking things easy." Cho asked as Harry let out a chuckle.

"You can tell him that no one's tried to attack me yet, well unless you count my essays?"

"I'll be sure to let him know…"

"How's he doing?" Harry asked, turning to her.

"Busy, apparently, a new Auror has been placed on his team has been causing some headaches for him, driving him mad against the wall… she tripped and doused him with Iced coffee the first day they met." Cho smiled as she watched Harry struggle to contain his laughter but eventually fail as he hunched forward in holding his sides in between bouts of laughter.

"I'm sorry…" Harry apologised, as he was able to compose himself, "That's terrible luck…"

"I'll be sure to pass him your condolences." Cho grinned. Seeing Harry Potter lose control and laugh the way he did brought pause to her, as she reflected on liking the way he reacted. She very much doubted that this was a side that many people were able to see.

Like the rest of wizardkind, Cho knew of his name long before she had met him and read about him from what she knew now as fictional stories but the real Harry Potter had proved to be so much better than all of that.

"Look, our residential neighbour seems to be in a plucky mood today." Cho was snapped from her thoughts as she saw Harry point out towards the Lake, together they laughed as they watched the Giant Squid receiving the offerings that were thrown to it from the younger students, in the form of toast.

Harry found himself feeling lighter as he sat with Cho for the remainder of his break. They spoke in between bouts of silence, which did not feel uncomfortable, he knew that he shied away from talking about his home life but was grateful that Cho had decided to not ask him about that. She told him about how she came to support the Tutshill Tornadoes, the admiration she had for her brother in looking after her as her parents' work often meant they were away though she made him keep this a secret from him.

Harry laughed when Cho had told him that her little sister had also been asking about him in a not subtle manner.

"You should see the letters that she sends. She thinks she's being subtle…she's not." Cho giggled.

"Hey Cho…" Harry said quietly, as the bell rung, signalling that lunchtime was over and that they had to return to class.

"Yes, Harry?" Cho turned to look at him, staring straight into his eyes with those warm brown orbs that never ceased to take his breath away.

"Thank you." Harry said simply. Cho understood the significance of those two words as she smiled.

"You're welcome."

Harry rushed to Defence Against the Dark Arts with a grin that threatened to split his face, in that moment, not even Voldemort himself appearing before him could sour his mood.

Taking a moment to clear his throat and to put on a more serious expression, he entered the classroom, to find that more people than he expected had arrived a tad early. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan, their partner in crime had been singing Moody's praises to the high heavens and it would seem a lot of people were excited for his class.

Sliding next to an empty seat next to Hermione, Harry took out his copy of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection and waited.

Slowly but surely, he heard the clunking footsteps of Mad-Eye Moody growing loudly from the corridor. Harry caught the clawed, wooden foot beneath his robes as the retired Auror now Defence professor walk past him.

"You can put those away" Moody growled, standing in front of the classroom, looking as strange and terrifying as ever. "You won't be needing it."

Excitement filled the classroom as everyone returned their books back into their bags. Moody gruffly started a called out the names of students for this class from a register.

"Right then, I 've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark Creatures — you've covered Boggarts, Red Caps, Hinkypunks, Grindylows, Kappas and werewolves, is that right?" There was a general murmur of assent.

"You're all behind, very behind – on dealing with curses," Moody continued, "So I'm here to bring you up to speed on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark –"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron blurted out. Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked apprehensive but relaxed as Moody's scarred face erupted into a smile.

"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son eh?" Ron nodded

"Your father got me out of a very tight corner not long ago…yeah I'm staying just the one year. Special favour to Dumbledore…one year and then back to my quiet retirement."

The class jumped collectively as Moody gave a harsh laugh and clapped his gnarled hands together.

"So — curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic. I'm supposed to teach you counter-curses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in your sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it 'til then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away. Miss Brown, when I'm talking."

Lavender Brown jumped and blushed as the entire class turned their eyes on her. Apparently she had been showing Parvati her completed horoscope under the desk.

Harry shivered as he now knew that Moody's magical eye could see through solid wood, as well as out of the back of his head.

"So…" Moody continued, the visibly eager glint his non-magical eye made Harry feel uncomfortable, "Do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

Several hands shot in the air as Harry mulled over the speech Moody just gave.

"Er," Ron said carefully, "My dad told me about one, the Imperius curse?"

"Ah yes," Moody replied, "Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time. The Imperius curse."

Harry's feeling of anxiety only grew as he watched Moody turned around to reach for the glass jar sitting on his desk. The glass jar contained several large spiders. Harry could see Ron squirming in his seat. He hated spiders.

Moody reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders and held it in the palm of his hand so that everyone could see.

He pointed his wand at it and muttered, "Imperio!"

The spider leapt from Moody's hand on a fine thread of silk and began to swing backwards and forwards as though on a trapeze. It stretched out its legs rigidly, then did a backflip , breaking the thread and landing on the desk, where ti begin to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider rose onto two of its hind legs and went into what was unmistakeably a tap dance.

Everyone was laughing, Harry noted except Moody, himself, Neville Longbottom and surprisingly, Malfoy.

"Think it's funny, do you?" He growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

The laughter died instantly.

"Total and complete control," Moody said quietly, waving his wand and the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown it self, throw itself down one of your throats."

Harry listened as Moody delivered a monologue around how countless witches and wizards had declared they were under this curse when Voldemort had the entire country under a cloud of fear and that the Ministry had done a poor job in determining the ones that told the truth.

"The Imperius curse can be fought and I'll be teaching you how but it akes resal strength of character and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He roared and the entire class jumped.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?" Hermione's hand flew into the air again and to Harry's surprise, Neville raised his hand as well.

"Yes?" Moody said, his magical eye rolling right over to fix on Neville.

"The Cruciatus Curse." Neville said in a small and hoarse voice. Harry froze, memories of what he had experienced at the near end of his summer holidays now at the forefront of the mind.

Your punishment for intervening…Crucio.

Harry's hands clasped into fists as he stared at Moody who fortunately had his attention on Neville, if he could see him, Moody would have caught the look of fury Harry had on his face. His clenched fists were now a pale white.

"Longbottom, isn't it?" He growled softly, to which Neville nodded nervously.

Moody said nothing more as he turned to the spider that was on the desk. "Yes, the Cruciatus curse, needs to be bigger for you to get the idea."

The spider was hit with an enlargement charm, it was not bigger than a tarantula. Ron made a sound.

Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider and muttered, "Crucio."

Harry watched on wordlessly as he saw the spider's legs bent in upon its body, it rolled over and began to twitch horribly, rocking from side to side. If the spider had vocal chords, it no doubt would have been screaming as if every nerve in its body was set on fire. Moody did not remove his wand, and the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently.

He could feel himself sweating, his palms becoming cold and clammy as he distinctively heard Hermione's shrill voice along with his own distant screaming.

For what seemed like an eternity, Moody looked up to return his glare as he raised his wand. The spider's legs relaxed but it continued to twitch.

"Pain." Moody murmured, "You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus curse…that one was very popular once too…"

He looked at the entire class who were now truly disturbed by what they have witnessed.

"Anyone know others?"

Harry, sensing the subdued atmosphere around him raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?" Moody's eyes were trained on him. At that moment, Harry felt that they were the only two occupants in the room.

"The Killing Curse…" Harry responded quietly. Several people around him looked uneasily around him, including Hermione and Ron. Harry knew that what was about to happen as Moody gazed at the still twitching spider as he stared at it.

"Yes, the last and worst, the Killing Curse…" Moody raised his wand, his eyes never once leaving Harry's.

"Avada Kedavra!" Moody roared.

Harry said nothing, the flash of blinding green light and the unforgettable rushing sound, a though a vast, invisible something soared through he air. He knew instantly that once the spider was hit by the green light emitted by Moody's wand that it was dead.

"There's no counter-curse, no shielding it. Only one person has ever survived it and he's sitting in front of me."

Harry forced his expression into one of blankness as he felt the eyes of everyone in the classroom on him. Harry felt he was looking at himself from out of his body, that was the only way to describe it as he listened to Moody elaborate on the Unforgivable curses and how using one on a fellow human being would constitute a one way trip to Azkaban.

For the rest of class until the bell rung, they took notes on each of the curses. Harry said nothing as he overheard the way his fellow classmates spoke about the lesson they had just experienced with awe. Nothing about it had been spectacular.

Please leave a review if you are wanting to see more, tell me what you liked and what you didn't like as much.