Chapter 86
Hermione was relieved that her ankle had finally healed and she had been able to meet with Madam Pomfrey and turn in the key to the Prefect's bathroom before making the long climb up the stairs to classroom 3C off the Serpentine corridor on the third floor, but that relief didn't last long.
The air was thick with apprehension as Hermione and her classmates stared at the husky, intimidating man before them. Even the Slytherins, Hermione noticed out of the corner of her eye, looked uneasy as the man's magical eye spun almost wildly, moving this way and that. It was the afternoon of Thursday, the eighth of September, and they were sitting in their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson of the year.
"Alastor Moody," the man said curtly as he stood before the blackboard, before turning to it, picking up a piece of chalk and writing briskly upon it as he continued to speak. "Ex-Auror, Ministry malcontent, and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story. Goodbye. The end. Any questions?"
Hermione swallowed, looking around her periphery. Yes, she had questions, but like those around her, his tone held her back.
"When it comes to the Dark Arts," Professor Moody continued when no one spoke up. "I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?"
"Three, sir," Hermione murmured quietly, fighting her trembling voice as unease filled her over the topic and her anxiety grew.
"And they are so named?" Professor Moody pressed.
"Because they are unforgivable," Hermione replied, her voice still trembling. "The use of any one of them will -" she broke off, unable to continue over the lump that formed in her throat at the thought.
"Earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban, correct," Professor Moody said. "Now, the Ministry says that you're too young to see what these curses do, I say different! You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared," he said turning to the blackboard. "You need to find another place to put your chewing gum besides the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnigan!"
"No way!" Hermione heard Seamus mumble. "The old codger can see out the back of his head!"
Professor Moody turned sharply and chucked the chalk across the room at Seamus. "And hear across classrooms!" he bellowed. He waited a moment and then stalked over to the group of students. "So," he said almost casually. "Which curse shall we see first?Weasley!"
"Yes?" Ron asked fearfully.
"Stand," Professor Moody commanded.
Hermione saw Ron stand uncertainly to his feet.
"Give us a curse," Professor Moody all but purred, sending chills down Hermione's spine.
"Well," Hermione heard Ron say nervously. "My dad did tell me about one... The Imperious Curse."
"Oh yeah," Professor Moody murmured. "Your father would know all about that. Gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago... Perhaps this will show you why..."
Professor Moody turned back to his desk and Hermione took a deep breath, trying to steel herself for what she dreaded was to come. She wished she could force herself to stand, scream, leave the room far behind like she had last year with Professor Trelawney and Divination, but her body trembled at the thought and she knew she couldn't, besides, Defense Against the Dark Arts was a required class through next year... she couldn't drop it like she had Divination.
"Hello," Professor Moody crooned, causing Hermione to blink and look up to see that he had taken a large *spider out of one of the covered jars. Hermione wished she knew what kind it was, it wasn't one she recalled seeing before, so she didn't know much about it. "Engorgio," Professor Moody said, pointing his wand at it and the spider grew even larger so that they could all see it better, but still remained palm sized. "Imperio!" he said with conviction, causing the spider to shudder. He then moved his wand and the spider jumped an impossible distance from his hand onto the desk shared by Neville and Dean Thomas. With a flick of his wand, the spider jumped again, going from the desk in front of Dean to land on Crabbe's head, causing the usually tough, knuckle cracking bully to cower in fear.
"Don't worry," Professor Moody said. "It's completely harmless."
Hearing Parvati and Padma Patil's laughter, Professor Moody sent the spider flying again to land on Parvati's arm, terrifying the poor girl as it moved up toward her face before he moved his wand again and the spider hovered in the air, kicking its legs over Ron, who stared up at it in panic. "If she bites," Professor Moody said, "she's lethal," he said with a laugh before he dropped his wand allowing the spider to fall on Ron's head where she crept down to perch over his eyes.
Hermione felt sorry for him, knowing without hearing his panic sounds or seeing his pale, fearful expression that he was afraid of spiders from their second year when he'd told her and Harry when they'd noticed the trail of spiders fleeing the castle the night they found Mrs. Norris petrified, and then last year, when his Bogart had turned into one of the Acromantula that Harry had told her they had escaped from in the Forbidden Forest when Hagrid had told him and Ron to 'follow the spiders' in their second year. Honestly, it disgusted her that a professor would do this, terrify students, but as he had said in the beginning, he was here at Professor Dumbledore's request. But he seemed to be enjoying their fear thoroughly.
She sneered when she heard Malfoy cackling over Ron's fear, joining in with Professor Moody's laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" Professor Moody asked, and sent the spider jumping right on his nose, sending him into a panic.
"Get it off me!" Draco demanded and Goyle began batting the air around it as he tried to scare it away, not really wanting to touch it as the other students, Harry and Ron included, began to laugh.
"Talented isn't she?" Professor Moody asked, laughing. "What should I have her do next? Jump out the window?" He flicked his wand, and the spider crashed against one of the large round glasses next to the window that Hermione recognized as a foe-glass, a dark magic detector that showed one's enemies as shadows, and the clearer the shadows became, the closer your enemy was. "Drown herself?" Professor Moody asked, holding out his wand to make the spider hover over a bucket that Hermione knew was filled with water by the way it acted by kicking out its legs wildly. She breathed a sigh of relief when he pointed his wand at his hand, drawing the spider into his palm once more.
"Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that theyonlydid You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the Imperious Curse," Professor Moody told the now silent class. "But here's the rub: How do we sort out theliars?" He waited but no one answered. "Another, another," he demanded and Hermione looked around at all the students and was surprised when several hands went up, but none surprised her more than Neville Longbottom's, though he didn't hold it very high.
"Longbottom, is it?" Professor Moody asked, but Neville didn't reply. "Up," Professor Moody said and Hermione watched as Neville stood up slowly. "Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for herbology."
Hermione wondered what game Professor Moody was playing when she saw Neville nod. Perhaps he was just making sure he was addressing the right student? She didn't know, but it seemed odd to bring it up otherwise.
"Th-there's the um," Neville said. "Th-the Cr-Cruciatus curse."
"Correct, correct," Professor Moody crowed. "Come, come," he beckoned Neville closer. "Particularly nasty," he said and moved over to put the spider on his desk as Neville followed. "The torture curse," Professor Moody said as if revealing a well known secret. "Crucio!" Hermione couldn't believe the *squeal that rent the air. She didn't think a spider could make a sound. She cringed and shuddered, feeling sympathy for it as it was tortured, pain obviously wracking its small body as it shuddered and spasmed. Hermione winced, trying to tune out the normally quiet spider's shrieks of pain and Neville's gasps of labored breathing in the otherwise silent room.
"Stop it!" She cried out when she couldn't bear it any longer. "Can't you see it's bothering him? Stop it!"
She watched Professor Moody look up and meet her gaze, before shaking his head, as though he'd been absorbed in the act of the torture and didn't realize what he was doing. He looked from her to Neville and then to the spider still shrieking in pain to Neville again before lifting the curse.
Professor Moody looked unnerved for the first time during class. He picked up the spider and moved passed Neville. "Um," he murmured uneasily and cleared his throat with a cough, looking around. He moved to stand before Hermione's desk and she sat rigidly, closing her eyes and fighting back tears as he dropped the spider onto her DADA book on her desk, knowing she was going to be up next, and scolding herself for speaking out and drawing his attention.
"Perhaps you can give us the last Unforgivable Curse, Miss Granger," he said.
Hermione glanced up at him briefly and bit her lip, shaking her head vehemently, remaining silent and staring past him without seeing.
"No?" Professor Moody asked, his voice like gravel. He drew his wand and pointed it at the spider as Hermione closed her eyes. "Avada Kedavra!" Professor Moody exclaimed and Hermione's eyelids were filled with the green light of the curse as the spider's death cry filled her ears. Hermione turned away from it, before opening her eyes. "The Killing Curse," Professor Moody said. "Only one person is known to have survived it, and he's sitting in this room."
Silence reigned over the classroom and Hermione heard him move closer to Harry's desk with shuffling steps and knew Harry was the target of his gaze though she didn't need to look to confirm it, and heard him take long gulps from the flask he carried with him. It wasn't long afterward that the bell tolled for class to end and everyone got up and filed out of the room.
"Brilliant, isn't he?" Ron asked in awe as he walked with Harry and Hermione down the spiraling steps of *Hogwarts Turris Magnus, that stood beside the viaduct overlooking the suspension bridge and training grounds. "Completely demented, of course, and terrifying to be in the same room with," Ron continued. "But he's really been there, you know? He's looked evil in the eye."
"There's a reason those curses are unforgivable," Hermione snapped, turning to glare at him as they continued down the spiral stairs of the tower lined with windows of clear and stained glass depictions at intervals. "To perform them in a classroom..." she fumed. "I mean, did you see Neville's face?"
Harry reached over and tugged at her sleeve as they walked by one of the stained glass window depicting a sad man, and Hermione turned to see Neville there staring at it.
"Neville?" Hermione asked in concern, but the boy remained silent.
Professor Moody limped down the stairs. "Son?" he asked and reached out, grasping his shoulder until Neville looked at him. "You all right?" Neville didn't reply but nodded and turned away. "Come on," Professor Moody said. "We'll have a cup of tea. I want to show you something."
Hermione watched. Neville looked like he wanted to be anywhere but with Professor Moody, but without an excuse, turned and followed him sluggishly up the stairs, back toward the classroom while Hermione followed Harry and Ron with a shrug on down the stairs and toward the main part of the castle, heading to Gryffindor tower to drop her books off before dinner.