Chapter 25
Moody's Curses and Occlumency
Notes from the authors: Thank you for your reviews, likes and comments. Please do keep them coming. Also, thanks to Lawnie for all her help with the chapter.
There was a sense of normality during the first two months of classes, with a heavy undercurrent of excitement for the arrival of the foreign students at the end of October. Lily and her friends quickly fell into the usual routine of classes, homework, and socialising, along with the added self-taught Occlumency practise.
She had agreed to assist Angelina, Katie, and a Ravenclaw called Luna Lovegood, who was a casual friend of Ginny's. Sirius and Remus had insisted on the importance of having a clear mind for Occlumency to work and it was Luna who suggested that it sounded a lot like meditation after the first infuriating group session.
Luna was, Lily thought, very sweet and kind even with her rather unusual quirks. The small blonde haired 13-year-old was clearly skilled with magic, but it seemed like she disliked wearing shoes and she often spoke about a creature called a Crumple Horned Snorkack. Hermione insisted the creature didn't exist whenever Luna was outside of earshot.
Whilst everyone was talking about the Tri-Wizard tournament – with some people commenting that they would try and find a way to enter despite the age restriction – the other subject that was gaining traction was Moody.
The first time Lily and the group were impressed with Moody was during a break between classes, when they were walking through the corridor, and came across Malfoy, who immediately began to mock the group.
Lily, tired of him, had snapped back and insulted Malfoy and his mother, but when Malfoy went to attack Lily behind her back, Moody immediately leapt to action, turning Malfoy into a ferret.
After a few moments of Moody bouncing ferret Malfoy up and down, Minerva had come along and turned Malfoy back, but the moment had been captured by Colin Creevey, who ensured that everyone had a copy of the photo of Malfoy being turned into a ferret and punished by Moody. That made Colin the talk of Gryffindor, with the photo being distributed through the school, further humiliating Malfoy.
By the time the 4th year Gryffindor and Slytherin students had their first lesson with Moody, rumours were already flying around the school on his hands on approach to the Dark Arts. He inspired awe and fear in a majority of the students, and it was with bated breath that Lily and her classmates sat down in the empty classroom. The rhythmic clonk of his wooden leg alerted the class to his arrival, and they began to get out their books.
"Put those books away, you won't need them," Moody instructed gruffly, shuffling to the blackboard. "I had a letter from Professor Black about this class and it seems like you've covered a few important things. Now it's time to show you something worse."
"Worse?" Ron whispered to Lily, who merely shrugged.
"Unforgivable curses; why are they called that?" Moody demanded after writing the term on the board.
Hermione's shaking hand shot up.
"Because they're unforgivable, sir. The use of any one of them will earn…" she started before Moody cut her off.
"Will earn you a one-way trip to Azkaban," Moody concurred. His magical eye spun in its socket. "The Ministry wouldn't like me showing you these, but you need to be prepared," he said, back to the class. "You need to be aware. You need to find a better place to put your gum than the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnegan!"
Everyone was shocked, none more so than Seamus who muttered about 'the old coot seeing out of the back of his head' and got, for his trouble, a chalk eraser thrown at him, with Moody informing him that he could hear across classrooms. He looked around before continuing his lesson.
"There are dangers lurking outside of these walls and while many would want to coddle you, if you are to survive, you need to know of these things. Magic isn't just fancy lights and conjuring flowers. It's power, it is control, it's danger. Someone name me an Unforgivable!"
Ron put his hand up first. Hermione gave him a concerned glance.
"My dad told me about one; the… the Imperius curse," Ron said.
"Yeah, your father would know of that one," Moody commented. He took out a jar which had three spiders in, and removed one of them, putting it on his desk. He then began to make it dance and move around the room, including having him dance on Malfoy's face, making everyone roar with laughter.
"Talented, isn't she?" Moody said casually, laughing with them. "What shall I have her do next? Jump out the window?" he asked as the spider leapt towards the window and hovered there, as Moody stopped laughing. The rest of the laughter immediately stopped. "Drown herself?" He flicked his wand and the spider hovered above a jug of water. "It's all fun and games at the start, but what about when you are made to do something heinous?" Moody put the spider back in the jar and turned to the pale class, telling them about witches and wizards who claimed to do Voldemort's bidding under the Imperius curse.
"You can't prove if someone is being controlled in that way, at least not humanely. Many Death Eaters escaped their punishments by insisting they were under the curse." Did Lily imagine it or did the magic eye swoop over to Draco Malfoy? "Who knows the second Unforgivable?"
In a weak voice, Neville (to the surprise of everyone) named a second. The pain curse, known as the Cruciatus, made another spider writhe in obvious agony. Hermione and Lily shouted at Moody to stop when Neville began retching, his entire body shaking like a leaf.
The final Unforgivable was the killing curse. As soon as the flash of green light erupted from Moody's wand, leaving the final spider dead with no visible marks, Lily felt herself break out into a cold sweat. Echoes of a familiar scream played in her ears, and she thought of the Dementors. Was that what happened to her parents? Two words, and Voldemort killed them.
"The Dark Lord was infamous for his use of the Avada Kedavra curse. Not just anybody can cast it, either; you truly need to intend for the result and have a powerful magic core. Because of this, nobody can survive the killing curse," Moody told them all, his voice gruff. "However, somehow, someone once did." The eye turned to Lily, and she felt everybody else stare at her as well. "What caused this to happen? Many powerful Witches and Wizards have succumbed to the curse. While it is possible to dodge it, once it hits a living thing it is fatal."
"For the record," Lily croaked, "I don't remember anything from that night. I was a baby."
"Curious, then, isn't it?" Moody commented. He stared at her for a few seconds longer than Lily felt comfortable with before he turned to the board and wrote out the names of the curses. "The control over someone's free will, the infliction of mind-altering pain and the destruction of one's soul and lifeforce; these are the Unforgivable Curses. This is magic at its darkest."
Pansy Parkinson hesitantly raised her hand, and asked a question that surprised Lily, more because it was Pansy that asked it. "Sir? What… what makes magic Light or Dark?"
"The intention behind the magic," Moody informed them all. "A harmless tickling charm is a Light spell, but I've seen people use it as a form of torture. Your simple Alohomora, a spell you learn at the age of 11, can be used to invade someone's privacy and thus cause a sense of violation, mistrust and trauma. If you intend to hurt or control someone, you are the one who turns the magic Dark."
"So the Unforgivables –"
"There is no mistaking the intention behind them," Moody broke in, his face gnarly and terrifying. "I told you that you need to intend the outcome to cast them. There is no misunderstanding or accidental use of Unforgivable. That's what makes them so forbidden."
Seamus put up a hand. "Did you really see someone be tortured by tickling?"
Mad-Eye broke out into a vicious smirk. "It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? But think back to when you were tickled by friends or family members when you were young. You laugh so much you get a stitch; you feel like your bladder is going to burst, you begin to sweat and your lungs ache from laughing…. You call out to stop, but it doesn't. Your heartbeat becomes erratic, you piss yourself, your body is contorting in all sorts of unnatural ways to escape the sensations of the tickles which are now painful… but you can't stop laughing, despite becoming dizzy and not being able to catch your breath. Your chest hurts. You lose control of your bowels, your muscles tear, blood vessels burst in your eyes and nose –"
"Forget I asked," Seamus sunk into his seat, horror over his face.
"Minus a few exceptions, Dark and Light magic is what we make," Moody said. "Get your books out; give me examples of how traditionally Light spells can be used to cause harm. Longbottom, go fetch some water, lad."
The second lesson with Moody was just as interesting and eye opening as the first. "Today, I will put you all under the Imperious Curse, so you know what to watch out for," he told them, waving his wand to move the desks and chairs to the side of the class. "Form a line."
"But that's illegal," Hermione squeaked.
"Dumbledore wants you all to know what it feels like. CONSTANT VIGILANCE, as I always say. However, it is optional so if you don't want to learn, there's the door. Don't worry, I won't make you hurt one another."
Neville was first, and he was made to do a series of flips that he would have never been able to do normally. Seamus was forced to do a dance, and Dean had to act like a chicken.
When it came to Lily's turn, she took a deep breath to try and calm her anxiety. As Moody cast the curse on her, Lily's mind went blank, and she could hear a voice telling her to leap onto the table.
'Why, though? That's not a smart thing to do' Lily thought, refusing to obey. She heard the voice again, but Lily mentally refuted it. Moments later, the slight buzzing in her ears lifted and she opened her eyes to see Moody staring at her with a grin on his face.
"I've never known a fourth year able to completely throw off that curse. That takes a lot of strength, lass," Moody told her. "That's two Unforgivable curses you can resist. You're definitely something special."
Lily took a breath as she returned to her friends, sweating.
"How'd you manage that?" Ron whispered when she was in earshot.
"I cleared my mind, like in Occlumency," Lily whispered back, loud enough so that Parvati, Lavender and Hermione heard. When Ron was called up, Lily watched as he took a few deep breaths, flinching as the spell hit him. His hands balled into fists. He was struggling but within moments, Moody stopped, his grin even bigger.
"Bloody hell, you Gryffindors just keep impressing me," Moody said.
Hermione was unable to throw the first Imperious curse completely off her, and she demanded he do it again. It took two more attempts for Hermione to completely throw it off, the same number of attempts it took Lavender and Parvati as well.
As the bell rang to signal the end of the class, Moody pointed at them. "You five, stay behind," he demanded. When the classroom had emptied, he sat heavily on his desk, both eyes observing them with curiosity. "You mind telling me how five fourth-year students were able to throw off the Imperius curse so well? Not been practising on yourselves, have you?"
"Not at all, Professor," Lily replied quickly. "We've been studying Occlumency, you see, and the techniques we use for that helped."
"And why would you all be studying that? That's not something you learn until your sixth year," Moody raised an eyebrow at them. "It's advanced magic."
"We know some wizards can read minds, especially You-Know-Who, and, well, we thought it was best that we train against it," Hermione quickly intercepted after Lily stammered to make a reply.
"And since we spend all of our time together, we all wanted to do this together," Lavender chimed in.
"You five seem to have a strong bond of trust and friendship, and skills beyond any I've seen your age before," Moody complimented them. "I'm genuinely impressed, and it takes a lot to impress me," he added, before taking a sip of his drink from his hip flask. "Take twenty points each for Gryffindor and keep practising. It's not often I come across young witches and wizards with as much potential as the five of you," Moody told them after he finished wiping at his lips. "Off you go, before you're late to the next class."
The group left, all of them grinning. "I can't believe that worked! Who knew Occlumency could do that?" Lavender said happily.
"In everything I studied, I never read it could be used to throw off the Imperius curse," Hermione replied, frowning softly. She shook her head and smiled. "Just goes to show that magic is always evolving and changing."
"We should thank Sirius for this," Lily commented. "I thought it would be harder to throw off an Unforgivable than that!"
"I dunno, that was pretty difficult mate," Ron commented.
"But I managed it easily, and I'm not really better than you four," Lily countered. Ron, Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati all burst out laughing.
"Lily, we know you're humble, but come on, you are definitely better than us. You faced off against those dementors, You-Know-Who, a Basilisk… you've got great power Lily. We're just thankful we can keep up most days," Lavender said.
"Come on Lavender, you're awesome! You can do the best Jelly-Legs jinx I know of. Parvati, look at how amazing you are with charms, Ron's helped me face some of that stuff, including the Basilisk, and Hermione's the smartest one out of the school!" Lily pointed out. All of them blushed at the words.
"Thanks Lily, but please, don't sell yourself short. Just… keep being you," Parvati said, smiling. Lily returned the smile as the five of them headed away from the class, feeling happy and proud of themselves.
