Kindred Spirits

by Tailkinker

This is a work of fan fiction based on the Harry Potter series and the Sailor Moon franchise created respectively by J.K. Rowling and Naoko Takeuchi. The characters and settings belong to their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes and should not be considered as part of the official canon of either series.

Unforgivable

Defence Against the Dark Arts was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it was most of a week before Harry attended a class with Mad-Eye Moody. He, Ron and Hermione were among the first at the classroom.

"Ravenclaw sat this class yesterday," Ron said. "Did Hotaru tell you anything about it?"

"Yeah, she did," said Harry. "She found it...really disturbing."

"Terry Boot told me that it was incredible," said Ron. "Said that Moody really knew his stuff. What did Hotaru not like about him?"

"It wasn't him," said Harry, shaking his head. "It was the subject she had a problem with."

"Well, not everybody's gifted like you, Harry," pointed out Hermione.

Harry shook his head. He didn't want to reveal any confidences, but Hotaru's comments weighed heavily on his mind. "He's going to teach us about some really dark curses," he warned them.

"About time we had someone who took that stuff seriously," said Ron. "I mean, Lupin was great, but he mostly concentrated on creatures."

The classroom door opened, and Professor Moody glared out at them. "Are you waiting for a hand-written invitation? Because my handwriting sucks."

"Sorry, Professor," said Hermione. "Most of our professors want us to wait outside if the door's shut."

"Mm. Well, for future reference, if the door's shut, just come on in." He turned and stumped away from the door, his artificial leg producing an odd sound on the flagstones of the Defence classroom.

Harry, Hermione and Ron walked in behind him. Harry glanced around hesitantly. Under Lockhart, the walls had been covered with portraits of the fop; under Quirrelmort, it had been hung with garlic; under Lupin, a dozen bizarre creatures sat in tanks or cages. Professor Moody had many mirrors and odd devices. Harry recognized one as a sneakoscope; Ron had bought one for him in Egypt.

Behind him, he heard more of their House arriving for the class. He heard the jingling of Parvati's bracelets, and heard someone stumble. A quick glance proved that his first guess was correct; it was Neville. He found a seat next to Ron, and pulled out a quill.

"Won't need that, Potter," growled Moody. "Today's an introduction to dark curses. I don't expect you to make notes on this, and I'd be surprised if you forget anything you hear today.

"You've heard my name already," he said more loudly. "But in case any of you were too befuddled by the feast, it's Moody. I don't care if you call me Professor; I'm only here for a year, after all." He smirked, twisting his face into an even more horrifying mask. "All that Dumbledore could get out of me. I've reviewed the notes left by your last professor, and I see you're up to date on creatures. But you're woefully behind on curses, so that's what we're going to focus on."

"It wasn't just curses, Harry." Hotaru hugged herself, shivering. Harry rubbed her back gently, trying to offer what comfort he could. "It was some of the darkest curses in existence. Curses that they call Unforgivable."

"Probably something we need to know about, then," said Harry quietly. "No matter how disturbing they are."

Hotaru looked up at him, her expression bleak. "Yes, but he demonstrated them!"

Moody had brought out three large jars. Each contained a spider—tarantulas, if Harry was guessing correctly. Beside him, he heard Ron shifting in his seat, as though getting ready to bolt.

"Dumbledore thinks you're too young to see these," said Moody absently. "He wanted me to restrict these curses to NEWT students. But you've got to be aware of them. You've got to know!" He pointed at Ron. "You! Can you name one of the Unforgivables?"

"My...my dad said something about the Imperius Curse," said Ron uncertainly. "I don't know what it does."

"Aye, your father'd know all about that one," said Moody. "Gave the Ministry more than a few problems, it did.

"The Imperius Curse places a person under the caster's complete control. They'll do anything that they're told, and not even blink." Moody looked disgusted. "We rounded up a bunch of Death Eaters after Voldemort's fall, but many of them claimed that they were under the Imperius Curse. How could we tell? There's no way."

He uncapped one of the jars, and pointed his wand at the spider within. "Imperio!"

"He made the spider run all over the desks," mumbled Hotaru. "It jumped on Lisa Turpin's head, and danced a jig in front of Mandy Brocklehurst—and she hates spiders nearly as much as Ron."

"Doesn't sound so bad," said Harry. "But if it's upset you this much—"

"We all laughed, to be fair," admitted Hotaru. "But then he said that he could make it bite any of us. That was less funny. He then said he could make it kill the other spiders, throw itself out the window, drown itself...and the spider couldn't do anything to protect itself." She shuddered. "I'm glad he didn't do any of that, but the fact that he could even think about it..." She shuddered again. "And worse yet is what the Death Eaters did with that spell."

"Imagine coming home after a day of work," said Moody grimly, "and finding your children dead, and your wife or husband coming at you with a knife. And for no reason at all. That is the sort of thing the Department of Magical Law Enforcement had to deal with. And that alone is enough to guarantee that if you use this spell, it's a one-way ticket to Azkaban for life."

He flicked his wand, and the Imperiused spider climbed back into its jar. He put the top back on, and set the jar below the desk. He then pointed at Neville Longbottom. "You. Can you name another of the Unforgivable Curses?"

"The Cruciatus Curse might be one of the most awful things I've ever seen," said Hotaru, her voice laden with disgust. "It causes pain. Nothing else; just pain, for the sake of pain! Who would even invent a spell like that?

"And he used it on that spider—just tortured it!" She shuddered, more deeply than before. "I was nearly sick. It was happening right in front of me!" Tears were running from her eyes now. "And I couldn't stop him—he's the Professor!"

Harry rubbed her back. "I suppose he felt it was important that we know—"

"I can't imagine why he thought we had to see it!" she wailed. "Is there something wrong with him?"

"He fought the Death Eaters in the war," said Harry. "He's probably...not all right in the head any more."

"Pity I can't heal that," muttered Hotaru. She wiped her eyes.

It seemed that Neville had the same problem. He looked away, wincing, and Harry could see tears in his eyes.

"Stop it!" yelled Hermione. She was staring at Neville, who now looked like he was going to faint. "Can't you see what it's doing to him?"

Moody lifted his wand, and the spider stopped twitching. "No hot irons, no thumb screws, no whips, no other means of torture produces pain as unrelenting as the Cruciatus Curse. There's no way to resist it, no way to block it, no defence at all, except one: Don't be hit by it.

"Constant vigilance!" he roared, causing several students to jump. "That's the only defence that will work. Don't be hit.

"Worse, the pain doesn't end when the spell ends. It lingers." Moody glanced at Neville, and for the first time, some human emotion entered his face; he showed some sadness, some regret. "The longer the subject is under it, the longer it lingers. Too long, and it will drive the target mad." He picked the tarantula up and dropped it into its jar, then put the jar below his desk as well.

Harry had to wonder at that. Why use a different spider each time? Why use spiders at all?

"One curse left. Anyone know it?" He glanced around the classroom, then jabbed his wand at Hermione. "You, girl?"

Hermione glanced at Harry, then said, "The Killing Curse."

"One flash of green," whispered Hotaru, "and the spider was dead. Just like that."

"I'm sorry you had to see it," said Harry quietly.

Hotaru nodded sadly. "I suppose it's just a spider, but the fact that someone could just...extinguish a life like that. No effort. It's unsettling, that this curse exists."

"It's really so easy? Just speak the incantation and point?"

Hotaru shook her head. "No. And that actually makes it worse."

"All of you could point your wands at me right now and yell the incantation, and you wouldn't even give me a nosebleed," said Moody. "It's the emotion. You have to genuinely desire the death of your target in order to cast this spell. That level of hatred is what you need to cast the Killing Curse."

Why did you hate the spider? Harry asked himself.

"There's no counter, no cure, no shield that can stop this spell," said Moody. "There's only one person who's ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me." Moody stopped, and looked down at Harry.

I'll have to tell Hotaru about that, thought Harry.

"A spell powered by hatred," said Hotaru quietly. "And the Death Eaters can just...cast it at will? What is wrong with them?"

"They don't view their opponents as human," said Harry. "To them, Muggleborns are just...things."

"But they cast all these horrible spells," said Hotaru. "If nothing else, this convinces me that we need to fight them." She sniffed back more tears. "Well...others will have to fight them. I'll just heal them up afterward."

"You mastered the Patronus a lot faster than I did," objected Harry. "And you're brave; when I had to chase Draco down that hill, you came along. Even though I told you not to."

"You're not the boss of me," said Hotaru, a giggle escaping her through her tears.

Harry grinned; he was glad to see her cheering up, even a little. "My point is, don't rule yourself out as a fighter. You're braver than you think, and stronger than you know."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Harry." Her smile turned a bit wry. "I'll lag behind you, though, since you always charge straight into danger."

"Thanks," he said, and she giggled.

"Anyway...then he said that next class, he's going to cast the Imperius Curse on us, to see if we can shake it off."

"What."

"I got special permission from the Ministry, in light of the events at the World Cup," said Moody.

"But it's an Unforgivable!" exclaimed Hermione.

"That's the point," countered Moody.

Hermione drew a breath, clearly marshalling her logic. "But using that curse on students—even with good intentions—goes against the principals of our education system. The curse should be condemned and eradicated, not used as a teaching tool. Using it here can only set a dangerous precedent."

"Death Eaters don't care about your ethics and morals," snapped Moody. "They'll use it anyway. And it's the only Unforgivable that can be resisted—but only if you learn how, and practice. But the Ministry requires that you give consent to its use." He strode towards her, staring down at her defiant expression. "So if you don't want it cast on you, just say so. But then don't whinge when a Death Eater uses it on you, and you have no defence!"

He stared at her, until she looked away. Then more quietly, he said, "I won't be teaching anybody to use the curse—it requires a frame of mind I'll not be sharing. And if anyone figures it out anyway, and I catch them using it, I'll put them down myself."