First class of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
PARVATI III
Like most of the Gryffindor students in fourth year, Parvati woke up in the first Thursday of their school year with not much enthusiasm. The main reason was that they had a double class of Potions in the morning. This was one subject which no one was eager to resume.
"Maybe he'll be in a better mood today, after the summer holidays," Parvati hopefully suggested to her best friend as they went down to the Great Hall, not really believing her own words.
"I hope so," Lavender said. "I almost failed my Potions exam last year. Why wasn't it Snape who resigned last year, instead of Professor Lupin?"
Both girls, and almost all their friends in the school, regretted the departure of Remus Lupin.
"Do you think Professor Moody will be as good?" Parvati asked her friend.
"Well… I don't know… People say he is mad."
Parvati heard the same rumors. "I heard Hannah Abbott say that he removed his eye himself to place a magical one instead."
Lavender looked disgusted, like Parvati felt when she first heard it. "Perhaps Madam Pomfrey could repair his nose," Lavender suggested.
Parvati giggled as she thought of something related. "I hope the result would be better than for Eloise Midgen."
Lavender joined the giggling. "If I have an acne problem, make sure I'm not as stupid as she was."
"I promise. I wouldn't like my best friend to have her nose misplaced on the right."
"I thought it was on the left."
"She should have tried that cream I showed you."
"True. It's very effective, and safe."
They kept talking about Eloise's acne until they reached the Gryffindor table. Lavender found herself sitting between Parvati and Seamus, who was with his own best friend Dean. Parvati tried to smile as brightly at them as it was possible.
"Hi," Dean waved his hand in her direction. "So, ready for the lesson that makes us want to kill ourselves?"
"Don't say that, Dean," Lavender said. "It's already hard enough. And maybe Snape will be more bearable this year."
"I'm sorry about that, Lavender, but I highly doubt it," Seamus said. "He seems even worse." He looked to Parvati. "Your sister told me he removed five points from Ravenclaw and gave her detention yesterday, only because Stephen Cornfoot happened to spill his cauldron while Snape was next to him."
"She didn't tell me," Parvati said, surprised.
"It happened yesterday. Michael told me about it." Seamus returned his gaze to Lavender. "So be careful, Lavender. I don't want something bad to happen to you."
"Oh, thank you, Seamus."
She turned her face away, and Parvati noticed the sparks of pink on her cheeks. She focused on her porridge.
"At least, we'll have Defence Against the Dark Arts this afternoon. Everyone I talk to says it's going to be something," Dean said. "Though I doubt Moody can be better than Lupin."
"It will be hard to be better than him," Seamus said. "I can't believe he was a werewolf. Even now, I don't understand how he can be one."
"It's true. He looked so kind," Lavender said. "Once, I arrived late in class because I woke up a little too late. He gave me no detention, no punishment. He didn't even remove points from Gryffindor. He only gave me a warning. McGonagall and Snape would never have done something like that."
"Somehow, I doubt Moody will be as lenient. I suggest we arrive early for his first lesson," Dean suggested. "And we should do the same for Potions."
Everyone agreed with Dean, and they arrived in Potions ten minutes in advance. Many other students seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Even the Slytherins arrived in advance, although they didn't have anything to fear from their Head of House.
Only about five minutes remained before the lesson began when Draco Malfoy raised his voice.
"Hey, Potter. Have you read the newspaper?"
Parvati's heart made a jump. Indeed, she noticed that Harry, along with Ron and Hermione, just walked inside the classroom.
"No, Malfoy. Why?" Harry retorted, obviously exasperated.
"They talk about your mom. Listen to this!"
A DRAGGING INVESTIGATION
On August 21, George Goldstein, a wizard who inhabited a small house alone in the Muggle community of Newton Abbot, was found dead, the Dark Mark hovering over his house, only a few miles from where the catastrophe that was the Quidditch World Cup took place. According to our Special Correspondent, Rita Skeeter, the Ministry was just as unable to arrest the people responsible for the riots in Dartmoor as the person responsible for this murder.
As the wizarding community begins to question the ability of the authorities to ensure their safety, the Aurors responsible for the investigation show a complete lack of disposition to inform the wizards and witches of Great Britain and Ireland about the situation. One of these Aurors, Lily Evans Potter, who recently joined the Auror Office and was chosen to lead the investigation, refused to comment the rumors circulating that Mr Goldstein would not be the only victim in relation to the events of August 18. Lily Evans Potter was awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class, thirteen years ago after she survived an attempt of murder by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She then moved into the Muggle World where she spent approximately ten years without using magic. When she was asked why the Ministry of Magic put her in charge of the investigation despite her lack of experience and her until recently non-magical life, she refused to comment.
Malfoy put the Daily Prophet aside and looked to Harry with a satisfied expression. "So, Potter, it looks like your mom is not as good you thought."
"Quite the opposite, Malfoy. You'll ask Moody when you'll see him. He trained her himself. You know, the same Moody who caught your father after his master disappeared." The smile on Malfoy's face vanished. "Yes, I know. You thought I wouldn't? Alastor Moddy cannot be bought. Too bad for your father."
"To your seats," the soft and dark voice of Severus Snape said all of a sudden as he walked into the classroom.
Everyone went to his or her place immediately, and even Parvati and Lavender, who usually always talked, even during lessons, shut their mouths. The lesson had not begun, and would only begin in about five minutes, but everyone remained silent all the same, Professor Snape's dark eyes journeying across the classroom. Parvati felt shivers run along her spine when she felt his pupils stopping on her. As a result, out of curiosity and to distract herself from Snape's stare, she looked over her left shoulder, and watched Harry as he took his stuff out of his bag for the lesson.
This was much easier, looking at him, than in the early days following their breakup. Parvati had felt very lucky when they started dating. She started to have some kind of an eye on Harry after Gryffindor's victory over Ravenclaw last spring. They only got really closer at the end of the last school year though, and Parvati kind of flirted with him until that evening following the day out in early July, when they kissed for the first time. They were together for a little more than a month, until a few days before the Quidditch World Cup, when Harry broke up with her, saying he wasn't in love with her.
The breakup had been a shock to Parvati. Things were going very well between her and Harry. They spent a lot of time together, and she enjoyed this time. Harry seemed to enjoy it as well. Though today, with some capacity to look behind, it was true that she had the impression Harry put some distance between them after he came back from his week of vacation in France. Perhaps she should have seen it coming. But she was so excited about the fact that she was dating him that she must not have noticed it.
Parvati was very sad for a few days, including during the Quidditch World Cup. It got better after she had a conversation with Harry a few days later. And now that it had been almost three weeks since they broke up, Parvati somehow felt that Harry may have been right. She liked the time they were together. She enjoyed it very much. At the same time, it felt almost like a responsibility, even a burden to be with him. He rarely talked to her. She also never told her family that she was dating him, thinking of it as some big secret that was for her and only for her. Padma discovered it by herself, and she never told their parents. Even Lavender only learned of it when Parvati told her about the relationship they had the day she was reunited with her best friend in the Hogwarts Express.
Truth be told though, her relationship with Harry was not that different from the two other ones she had before. She shortly dated a Muggle boy during the summer between her second and third year at Hogwarts. She also saw a boy from Ravenclaw, one year older than she was, last year before Christmas, for about two weeks. They even went to Hogsmeade together. Her relationship with Harry had been longer, and more intense, but it was short like the two previous ones. However, now, although she still felt something when they crossed path, she no longer felt attracted to him like before.
Parvati turned away from him, a smile on her lips. It had been something, dating Harry Potter. She could say that she was the first girl to kiss and date him. And although she felt their relationship could have gone farther, she also felt good about being able to look at other boys. And in fact, she felt better considering Harry as only a friend. She only regretted that Ron was his best friend and he was often with him. After the bad joke he did to Lavender during their first Divination lesson, she wasn't going to forgive him for some time. It was really not useful, for Harry was one of the few people who accepted to talk with her about what Trelawney predicted without telling her everything she foresaw was invented, and he also reassured her by pointing out how her predictions didn't necessarily mean death soon for Parvati. Lavender, although her best friend, was not very helpful in that domain. Parvati snapped more than once at her best friend for relishing in Trelawney's predictions proving right, even when she foresaw catastrophes.
"Now." Although Snape's voice was low, it made Parvati jump in surprise, such a silence having settled in the classroom. "I hope you completed your summer assignments. I would hate, although it wouldn't surprise me, if I was to remove points and give detention to a student so early this year."
With a move of his wand, all homework were collected. He went shortly through all of them, commenting in low tone with very efficient effect.
"Your writing is barely understandable, Longbottom…" Parvati felt a pang of pity for Neville, who was the most miserable in Potions among them. "Miss Patil, Miss Brown, your assignments are barely the length I requested." Parvati wasn't sure if she should be afraid that he would prepare a punishment for her later or relieved that he didn't give her any now. "Weasley, your lines will only count as half the space they occupy. You write your letters twice the size of the average student."
After he was done shortly reviewing their assignments and commenting on those given by Gryffindors, he abruptly set them aside on his desk and looked at them.
"Today, you begin your fourth year in Potions. I demand more work, assiduity and caution from you. Your O.W.L.s will take place next year, and although I don't expect many of you to access my N.E.W.T. class, I will not reduce my requirements because you're too stubborn or limited to learn the art of Potions. And I will not accept the Triwizard Tournament as an excuse to not give your lessons the attention they deserve. Moreover, it would displease me, as well as the Headmaster, if you were not to show our guests who will arrive in October that you are as diligent in your studies as they are. My hope is that the presence of the elite of other schools will drive you to perform better. As for today's lesson…"
Parvati was extenuated, physically and emotionally, when they finally got out of the dungeons. She picked a sandwich the moment she sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall for lunch.
"Why is he even worse than last year?" Lavender asked, falling on the seat next to Parvati, exhausted as well. Snape made such negative remarks about her potion that she almost broke into tears in front of the whole classroom.
"Hey, don't worry, Lavender," Seamus said, placing a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "He's like that with everybody. It's not you. You've seen how he reacted when Neville melted his cauldron?"
"How many did he melt now? Was it the fifth, the sixth or the seventh?" Dean asked.
"Well, anyway, we only have to suffer him once every week. Just think of it as a bad moment to get through. And now, we've got Defence Against the Dark Arts this afternoon."
"I hope Professor Moody is kinder than Snape," Lavender hoped aloud.
"He cannot be worse," Dean said. "What kind of teacher do you think he is?"
"I don't know," Parvati replied. "Harry said his mother was trained by him." He didn't tell her directly. She heard it while he was talking with Ron and Hermione, like he often did. But Lavender didn't know it, and she sent a warning stare at Parvati.
"If he's used to train Aurors, he might be very demanding with us."
"I'm sure he won't," Seamus said again, Parvati not being able to miss that he seemed to be addressing mainly Lavender as he talked. "Well, he can't be that bad. And since he was an Auror, he must know how to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts."
They wondered for the rest of lunch what to expect from their afternoon's class. On the way there, Parvati purposefully lagged behind with Lavender. They were more than enough in advance for the lesson anyway.
"So, what are you going to do?" Parvati asked her best friend in low voice.
"What are you talking about?" Lavender replied, not seeming to understand what Parvati meant.
"Seamus. What are you going to do about him?"
"What should I have to do about him?"
"He's into you, Lavender."
"No, he's not!"
Despite her protests, Lavender's cheeks had turned pink again. "Yes, he is," Parvati insisted on a playful tone. "And I think you like him too."
"No, I'm not."
"Oh, you don't like him?"
"No. I mean, yes. I mean, I like him, but not… He's not into to me!"
"He is," Parvati simply stated, knowing it was the truth. "He spends his time being sweet with you, and comforting you every time you are upset. He even defends you before the others. And you turn red like Ron whenever he says something nice to you."
"No, I don't. And stop that, Parvati. I… I should be asking you why you smile when you look at Harry, after what he did to you. You look like you still love him."
"No, I don't."
Despite answering quickly, Parvati knew this was the truth. She wasn't in love with Harry. Not anymore. Her heart did still jump when he appeared without warning, but that was all. She wasn't attracted to him anymore. It was a memory, a recent memory, but nothing more.
"Then stop looking at him this way. After what he did to you…" Lavender went on.
"I know. But… Look, he was really trying to be kind with me. He was only… in love with someone else."
Lavender scoffed. "I wonder who can be better than you."
Parvati felt a particular fondness for her best friend right now. "Look, I spent a very good time with Harry. Now it's over. But I liked it. I can say that I was Harry Potter's first ever girlfriend."
"Why don't you want to tell anybody then?"
A good question. Parvati forbade her sister and Lavender from talking about their relationship to anybody. "I don't know. When the time is right, I guess. I just… I don't want the other guys to think of me this way. The girl that Harry Potter dropped."
"I wouldn't mind telling everybody how unkind he was to you."
Parvati shook her head. She knew Lavender would take her defense, but she didn't want to go down that road. She would rather have Harry as a friend than as an ex-boyfriend she couldn't talk to anymore.
When Parvati and Lavender arrived, it seemed like most of the students arrived early, highly anticipating today's lesson. They managed to sit in the second row of seats, behind Harry and Ron, before Hannah and Ernie, on Megan and Wayne's right, with Hermione and Susan diagonally ahead of them.
As with Professor Snape, the whole class went silent the moment Professor Moody walked into the classroom. His big blue, electric eye, but also his clawed, wooden foot making a singular sound imposed silence on them all. He was frightening, but not in the same way as their Potions teacher was.
"You can put those away, those books," he ordered, sitting on top of his desk. "You won't need them."
Parvati didn't even pull out her book, so she didn't have to do anything, but most of the class did.
"You say present when I call your name," the former Auror groaned, taking a large piece of parchment which likely displayed their names. "Hannah Abbott."
"Present," the Hufflepuff girl with an abundant blondish hair falling on her shoulders replied.
"Susan Bones."
"Present," the girl next to Hermione, with long red hair brought together into a single plait behind her back, replied in a low voice.
"Lavender Brown."
"Present," Parvati's best friend replied a little too enthusiastically and forcefully.
He went on like this until he reached the name of Ronald Weasley, his blue eye stopping on each and everyone of them at the call of their name, sometimes even before they raised their hand. Parvati thought he stopped a little more time after calling the names of Harry, but also Neville and Susan.
"Right," he declared after confirming who Ron was. "Your professor from last year, Remus Lupin, shared with me what you viewed last year."
"Is he alright?" Dean asked all of a sudden. Mad-Eye Moody stared at him with both eyes. Parvati was afraid for him for a moment.
"I'm not aware of Remus Lupin's whereabouts. If you want to know, you may simply ask him. He told me you viewed dark creatures and how to deal with them while he was there. Is that right?"
The whole class nodded to show it was true.
"That's good. However, the two professors you had before him were mediocre, to say the least." Parvati, and probably most of the class, was surprised by such a statement. Teachers seldom criticized their colleagues. "They were incompetent, and stupid. One is dead, good for him, and the other is in hiding after he refused to rescue one of you. This is unacceptable. You should have had teachers who not only taught you about dark forces and how to tackle them, but also who were to be an example to you. I may be here only for this year, but I'll make sure that when I leave, you're no longer behind to deal with curses and what dark wizards may do to you."
"What, aren't you staying?" Ron asked.
The professor stared at him with both his eyes. "You're one of Arthur Weasley's sons, aren't you?" Ron nodded, looking afraid all od a sudden. "He's wasting his talent at the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts. And the Ministry is stupid for letting him rot there." Parvati wasn't sure how to react to this, and Ronald didn't seem to know how to react either. "But no, I won't be staying. I'm here for this year because Dumbledore asked me, that's all. Other questions?"
No one dared to answer or ask. This man was indeed intimidating.
"Now, to curses. They are various, all different by their nature, strengths and effects. The Ministry thinks I should teach you counter-curses, and nothing more. These imbeciles believe I should not show you what dark curses are before the N.E.W.T. stage, which some of you will not attend. They are fools. You must be prepared for what's waiting for you in the outside world, no matter your grades. I will not tolerate that young wizards and witches leave this school without being aware of the dangers they might face. And we're going to begin with the worst that could happen to you."
Parvati grew afraid as he kept talking. It was as if they would meet danger at every corner once outside of Hogwarts. Though, given the predictions Professor Trelawney made, and what happened at the Quidditch World Cup, she was better disposed to believe this man than she would have been two years ago or even last year.
"Now, who here heard about the Unforgivable Curses?"
About half the hands in the classroom were raised, including that of Parvati. She noticed that Lavender didn't raise her own, and neither did Dean and many students who came from Muggle families.
"Well, you should all know about them. Can someone tell me why they are called this way?"
Many students kept their hand up. Professor Moody pointed Harry. "You, Potter. Answer. Your mother is an Auror. I expect you to know that."
"Because… any person who uses one of these curses is condemned to spend his life in Azkaban," Harry said.
"Correct. Though not entirely. This is the maximum sentence. Extenuating circumstances can result in a lower sentence, or even acquittal in some circumstances. And if a wizard who cast an Unforgivable Curse is never identified or caught, he will get away with it. That's why you must know about them and how to counter them. You cannot rely on the Ministry to protect you. This summer's events proved it more than enough. Now, there are three Unforgivable Curses. Can you name one?"
A few hands were raised, including those of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Susan, Hannah and Ernie. The professor finally pointed Ronald.
"Er, my dad told me about one. The Imperius Curse, or something."
"Ah, yes." For the first time since the class began, their professor smiled, though clearly not of joy. "Many people in the Ministry know about this one. Let me show you why."
The professor went to take a large transparent jar that Parvati didn't notice when she walked into the classroom. It was near one of the windows, and it contained three big spiders. He took the jar and put it abruptly on his desk. Then, without warning, he grabbed one of the three spiders and showed it to the entire class.
"Look very carefully." He pointed his wand at the spider. "Imperio!"
The spider stood straight on two of its legs. It was hard to tell from its movements, but Parvati would say it was dancing. The it dropped from Moody's hand, still attached to it by a thread of silk. It gave itself some impulse, and managed to make rolling around his hand and arm, until it landed on his shoulder, where it performed several back flips and rolls until it returned to the hand.
Parvati joined the concert of laughter in the classroom, but it was cut short when Moody raised his wand, and a thunderous sound, similar to that of a lightning that hit the ceiling, resonated through the classroom and everyone shut up.
"You might find it funny, but you'll find it much less funny the day it happens to you. This curse…" He brought the spider to a candlestick over their heads. Ron squealed at this moment. "…gives total control over any being or beast. It can be thrown at wizards, Muggles, elves, centaurs, hippogriffs, rats, whatever lives and breathes. The one who cast it can make the receiver do whatever he wants. Right now, I could order this spider to throw itself in the air to crash on the floor, or to fall into your throat. Whatever I tell it, the spider will do it."
This sent shivers in Parvati's spine. The mere idea of someone else making her do whatever he pleased was bad enough, but realizing it could go as far as ordering someone to kill himself was simply horrific.
"This curse can be fought. I will teach you how, but it is very hard, and few people can manage to resist it. The better solution is to avoid the curse in the first place. Always remember that the best way to counter a curse is simply by avoiding it, and avoiding the situations where you might receive it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"
Parvati jumped at the outburst. Lavender pushed a small cry. As she recovered, Moody placed back the spider into the jar.
"Now, as I said, there are three Unforgivable Curses. You just saw one of them. The two remaining are worse, far worse." Parvati wondered what could be worse than controlling someone's mind. "Anyone can name another Unforgivable Curse?"
Only two hands were raised. One was Hermione's, which was no surprise, and the other one was from Neville. Parvati was surprised. Neville seldom raised his hand in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Aside from when Professor Lupin forced him to answer his questions in the first lesson last year, Neville mostly remained silent in most subjects, except Herbology.
"Longbottom?" Professor Moody looked at him with both eyes. "Of course, you know one. Name it."
When Neville spoke up, he stammered. "There's… the Cruciatus Curse."
The professor nodded and seized a second spider which he brought to Neville's desk. "Approach, everybody. You'll better see the effects from a closer point of view." Some with hesitance, others too quickly, went to surround the desk which Neville shared with Sophie Roper. Their professor pointed the spider with his wand. "Crucio!"
Immediately, the spider began to turn on itself, its legs retracting, moving all around, shuddering. It wasn't at all like the previous spell. The professor was not controlling the spider this time. It was torturing it. Despite the lack of sound, it was obvious the tiny thing was under unbearable pain.
"Stop it!"
It was Hermione who screamed. And Parvati noticed how white Neville had turned. The professor stopped the curse right away.
"All back to your tables," he ordered, and everyone obeyed immediately. He went to his desk and put back the spider in the jar. "The Cruciatus Curse. A curse that inflicts unbearable, unimaginable pain upon its receiver. Torture pushed to the extreme. In the worst cases, this curse can have permanent effects."
His big blue eye seemed to be staring at Neville as he said so.
"Now, can someone name the last Unforgivable Curse?"
Parvati didn't have time to fully proceed what they just witnessed. A torture curse, along with Neville's reaction, all that was too much. She wondered what could be even worse than this. In her heart, she knew what it would be, but she refused to concede it. Only Hermione Granger raised her hand this time. Parvati silently prayed for her roommate to drop it, for once in her life to not answer a question, to not know the right answer. But Moody instead looked at someone else with his two eyes, and he looked disappointed. For a moment, Parvati thought he was looking at her, but then she realized his gaze was a little too low. He was staring at the person right ahead of her. He was staring at Harry. But finally, he turned his attention to Hermione.
"Granger, you know the answer?" Against Parvati's wishes, she nodded slightly. "Answer then."
"Avada Kedavra."
The words hung heavy in the air, many people looking at Hermione. The professor simply nodded, but with gravity this time. He took the last spider, the one that had been left untouched. Parvati prayed harder. He brought the spider to the desk before that of Parvati and Lavender. The spider fell in front of Harry, and it began to run away. She thought she heard someone ask the professor to wait, but in such a low voice that nobody else must have heard it.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Parvati pushed a small cry, and she heard other girls in the classroom push one. A flash of green light came out of the wand and hit the spider. It stopped to move and fell on its back.
Despite other people screaming at the event, Parvati didn't think any of them was affected as she was. She knew this flash of light. She saw it. From afar, and months ago, but she definitely saw it. It was the night when Peter Pettigrew had died while attempting to attack Harry, back in June.
"The Killing Curse," Moody explained to them. "No injury. No warning. No suffering. Death. This is all this is." He picked the dead spider and threw it in a nearby garbage can. "There is no way to stop this curse. No way to modify it. No way to deviate it. It cannot be fought back, it cannot be resisted." He sat back behind his desk. "Only one known person has ever survived it, and he's sitting right in front of me."
Without realizing it, Parvati had opened her mouth in astonishment. Both eyes of the professor were staring at the same person, and Parvati, along with all the other pairs of eyes in the classroom, were glued to that person as well. Harry seemed to ignore that everyone was looking at him. He didn't look behind to see her. At the same time, she wanted to hold his hand, but she also wanted to distance herself from him.
So that was the curse Harry survived to. That was what You-Know-Who used against him. And somehow, while still a baby, Harry survived. How did he survive? Parvati never asked him. She realized that she almost never asked him anything. To her, he had always been the Boy-Who-Lived. She never really, seriously asked herself how he survived. She never really wanted to know it. And she wasn't sure if she wanted to know how he did. She realized, in this very moment, despite being of the same age as Harry, despite being in the small classes and house at Hogwarts for over three years, despite being his neighbor for three years now, and despite having dated him for over a month, she barely knew anything about him and his life.
And this was nothing compared to the fear Parvati felt at the knowledge that her life could be ended with a wand pointed on her heart and two words. She shivered violently as the various death predictions of Professor Trelawney came back to her mind.
That's the kind of lesson that leaves no one indifferent. The next chapter will see the remainder of the lesson and its aftermath from another student's eyes.
Please review.
Next chapter: another student