Author notes:

Most of what happens in this chapter is an excuse to show Arabella's views on the world. Cedric is described in the books as a paragon of virtue, but paragons of virtue won't eventually commit serious crimes for revenge. Avengers, I think, require a more imperfect view of the world.

On Ethics and Restricted Books

As the week progressed, everyone began to settle in again to the normal Hogwarts routine, or at least, as routine as it gets at Hogwarts. Arabella wrote to her father asking to talk to someone in the ministry to get the dementors removed. She tried to check books on dementors in the library, but she had waited a few days as she worked on her potions and astronomy essays so by the time she asked Pince for books on dementors, most of them had already been checked out by other students. Only Albus Dumbledore's translation of Ekrizdis' Journals About Dementors remained unchecked, but that book was in the restricted section - which only increased her interest in it. If there was something on how to get past them, it had to be in an advanced restricted book for NEWT students and not in a general book on monsters. And even if there wasn't, the fact that the book was restricted made it all the more interesting anyway.

She squashed all her intentions of making a good first impression (or second, really) on the new Defense professor by arriving to class right after Professor Lupin finished taking roll, though. She took a seat at the back of the class, next to Marcus and Eddie.

"Where have you been?" Whispered Eddie.

"At the library. Got hung up reading about newt spleens" she answered truthfully.

"Wit-sharpening potion? It would have stopped you from arriving late" joked Marcus and Arabella giggled.

"Do you have anything to contribute, Miss Diggory?" Called her out Professor Lupin

"Uh, no" she answered, embarrassed, and the professor continued his introduction to the class.

"Alright. Now, as I was saying before Miss Diggory showed up, Defense Against the Dark Arts is supposed to teach you first how to defend yourself against non-magical creatures, be those muggles or wild animals you can find in the field. A simple jelly legs jinx would stop a boar or a muggle, both of which would be unable to undo the jinx, which gives you time to seek help if attacked. Note that the class is about Defense. You are not supposed to harm people or even animals, if there is no need. And against muggles, there is no need.

The second and third years cover the less dangerous magical creatures, ranging from household pests to deadlier underestimated creatures like grindylows, and then you start with humanoids like hags and move on to vampires, werewolves and banshees.

Fourth and fifth year focus on making you capable of surviving an encounter with one of the most dangerous magical beings to walk this world" he said and let a dramatic pause "Wizards. Do any of you know some spell capable of protecting you from most of the things a dark wizard can throw at you?"

Arabella raised her hand, still thinking about getting authorization to check Ekrizdis' Journals from the library "The shield charm. The incantation is protego" she answered when called. Lockhart's attempt to start a duelling club had been an unmitigated disaster, but it had piqued the interest of quite a few of the then third years, and they had been doing some practising on the side during the past term.

"Three points for Ravenclaw. Correct." Admitted Professor Lupin "A proper shield charm will deflect away all jinxes and hexes. The more powerful forms of the shield charm, which are covered after you take your OWLs, can also protect you from most dark curses, except for the unforgivable curses. Now, before we move into practising the shield charm, do any of you know which are the unforgivable curses and why they are called such? We will be studying them, in theory only, in the next class"

Now he had piqued the entire classroom's interest. Practical lessons and learning about the worst curses in the world, all in one week? Arabella, Cho and Leo quickly answered the question about which were the curses, eager to move on to practice the shield charm, and got another six points to Ravenclaw and three to Hufflepuff in the process.

It was Marcus who raised his hand when Professor Lupin asked why they were called unforgivables.

"Mister Belby, right?" asked Lupin, likely trying to commit everyone's surnames to memory "Are you by any chance related to Damocles Belby?"

"Are you acquitted with him, sir?" retorted Marcus, instead of answering right away. Up close, Arabella could tell he was nervous.

"I'm not. It's just that Damocles Belby is… well, he is a renowned potioneer" answered the professor.

"We are related. I think he's working for the Peruvian army in their war, but I haven't heard from him in a long time" he said, overstretching things. Arabella and Eddie shared a quizzical look. As far as they knew, Marcus hadn't ever been in touch with him, but apparently, he was keeping tabs on his father's relatives. Considering how often they were on the Daily Prophet's social pages, it wasn't a hard thing to do, at least from afar. "They are called unforgivables because using them against a human being carries a life sentence in Azkaban." Continued Marcus "But that's the legal punishment. They say what really makes them unforgivable is that you have to mean them to use them. You have to really want to control, murder or torture your victim. So they claim someone who's able to channel powerful magic in such a way isn't fit for living in society. And that, and not the life sentence, is what makes them unforgivable, sir"

In front of the classroom, Professor Lupin nodded "Yes. The punishment is the textbook reason or is at least the official reason. But what you've described has been discussed. Five points to Ravenclaw. Now, desks away and wands out. Let's see how much we can advance in your shield charms for the remainder of the class. The pronunciation is 'pro-te-go' with an upward swish of the wand, and you reinforce your magic during the 'te' syllable. Let's go"

The following hour was a bit of a mess as Lupin corrected the students as they practiced and the students just happened to fire the odd jinx here and there when Lupin turned their back on them. Eventually, Marietta was the first to cast a really good shield charm. Therefore the last fifteen minutes of the class were supposed to be spent with everyone else taking turns throwing full body binds at Marietta's shield - which held - while those who weren't casting the jinx ducked for cover as jinxes rebounded everywhere. Only Lupin's swift deduction of house points to pretty much everyone prevented the class from completing its descent into madness: Arabella laughed when a deflected jinx hit Eddie, who retaliated as soon as Lupin turned her back, causing Arabella to hit him with a jinx of her own when Lupin himself had to cover from a jinx deflected from Marietta's shield, so Marcus fired back at Arabella, who was in turn covered by Cho. The two-on-two duel didn't last: Katie joined Marcus and Eddie, so Cormac remembered he had a girlfriend and pushed a desk towards the Eddie-Marcus-Katie trio.

And at the shout of "House traitor!" Delphine jinxed Cormac, so now Cho and Arabella were two on four, but Seraphina and Leopold joined them to even the odds, and then the Slytherins decided to make a third party composed of all five of them and attacked everyone, and Lupin deducted points from all of them and along all that, Marietta's shield still held.

Still panting and with an upcoming class on the unforgivables later in the same week, Arabella decided against asking for authorization to check Ekrizdis Journals. Instead, armed with patience, she later went to the library to note the title of some restricted books on the unforgivables. And she also took the opportunity to grab a few books on common curses for solving her puzzle box. Her general idea was that by asking for additional reading material for class-related homework, Lupin would be more predisposed to give her authorization for works unrelated to the curriculum.

So by the end of her second Defense class, she approached Professor Lupin to get the authorization to withdraw Ekrizdis Journals and the couple of extra books on the unforgivable curses from the restricted section of the library.

"No" Surprised her professor Lupin "Why do you want these three books together?"

"Uh, well, the books on the Imperius and killing curses are to expand on the essays. Since they are restricted, if I find I need them for the essays I should ask before starting it, or I'd need to track you down on the weekends to get them." She smiled, a bit nervous and surprised about how taken back the professor was in his initial answer "Dumbledore's Translation on Ekrizdis Journals it's because it's the only book on dementors that wasn't checked out from the library. I thought, with dementors around, it's better to learn what we can about them, right?" She explained. It was probably ten percent of the truth, but not technically a lie. Besides getting past them, she may figure out how it was that they were so powerful, how they could affect so many people at once, how they made people remember misery they've forgotten and what exactly they were. And then probably something more, once she got her hands on those Journals and figured out even more questions by reading it.

"So you don't think they are related?" wanted to clarify Professor Lupin.

"These three books? No. Are they?"

"Only tangentially" shook his head Lupin "No, Miss Diggory. You don't need additional material for your homework, just the stuff in your textbook. And just stay away from the dementors. I'll add material on them in the next coming weeks. But… just remember they don't differentiate between guilty and innocent. For them, we are all just food. And some of that food bargains with them to give them a steady supply of more food. That's the only reason we think we control them. We do not."

"I've never said I wanted to go after the dementors" she complained, but Lupin gave her a knowing look. Arabella didn't buckle. It's not as if the old professor knew how often she'd sneaked around in the forest, where she could be at risk of dementors. Or Cormac had, often with her. Or Fred and George, on their own. Or Fred, George, Cedric and Al, to engage in hippogryph racing. "It's all those things you've mentioned and more that I want to know!" She insisted. It wasn't exactly a lie, just withholding some particular information.

"And we'll cover them in class in due time. Now, aren't you late for your next class?" Said Lupin pointing at the classroom door, where older students were already queuing up for their own Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Friday finally came and with it the end of the first week of classes. Arabella got an answer from her father about removing the dementors. It essentially said it was impossible. Despite the many complaints, the minister had insisted he wanted dementors around to keep Hogwarts safe from Black. Sadly, the letter didn't specify what it was that made the minister stick to the idea that Black would attack one of Britain's best-defended magical dwellings. Probably nothing, she thought, picturing Black having some drinks on a warm beach somewhere while dementors waited for him thousands of miles away.

Arabella and Cho ended up earning a galleon and some change each for selling the remains of their dreamless sleep potion. That was both too little and too much. It was too little when compared with the fees actual potioneers charged. It was too much when considering they had given away half the batch, that most of the students who paid for it should have been able to brew it themselves and that the potion was freely available in the hospital wing anyway.

She got a hold of a non restricted book on dementors, but it was rather basic. It described them as non-beings, related to boggarts and poltergeists (that was news to her), amortal. When it came to fighting them, it settled in advising the reader to stay away from them 'as only the more powerful aurors can deal with them'. A book as useful as the Ministry, as far as she was concerned.

After the final class on Friday, notices appeared in the Ravenclaw's common room about the schedule of the Charms Club and Arabella, who had joined all the way back to first year, quickly signed herself up again. Quidditch tryouts were also posted and, with the seeker position open this year, Cho was determined to join the titular team. And, of course, Cho pestered Arabella during dinner about her seriously trying out, so both would get to play together. Worse, she got the Ravenclaw captain, Roger Davies, to assist her in convincing Arabella. That only led to a long dinner in which Davies and Cho insisted that waking up at seven in the morning on Saturdays or doing practices during thunderstorms was the best possible way to spend the time.

"Yeah, what would I do instead?" mocked Arabella "Sleep late and stick to a warm fire with hot chocolate when there is a blizzard outside?"

"Precisely! We train in the worst possible conditions just in case we have to play Gryffindor or Slytherin under a snowstorm!" explained an enthusiastic Davies, without catching the irony in her

"Or I can drink hot chocolate and play with the puzzle box while you freeze your ass off" cleared up Arabella.

"But you like Quidditch, Ara" insisted Cho.

"Yes, I love to play in clear afternoons, after a good night's sleep. Or at night, when none gets to see me coming, as long as it's not freezing, raining, snowing or any of those things you nutjobs enjoy. Keep me in the reserve team, that's it." answered Arabella

"Training in those conditions gives us a competitive advantage against the other teams! And you could be one of our best beaters now that Owen and Natalie graduated. Your priorities are all wrong, Diggory" shouted Roger Davies before getting up and going back to his friends.

"My priorities are perfectly fine, Davies!" closed the issue Arabella as Davies left. Seriously, hot chocolate or thunderstorm? Quidditch players were mental, Cho included.

Cho, however, wasn't so easily deterred "We could be flying together Ara. If I make it to the titular team, that is. My broom sucks"

"I'd absolutely love playing in the same team as you Cho" answered Arabella, with a hand on her heart "on sunny afternoons. And maybe cloudy and easy winds days and nights as well"

She overslept on Saturday morning on principle and made it to the Great Hall when breakfast was about to end. According to Marietta, Cho had eaten early to go practice flying at the Quidditch pitch. Making a mental note to finally figure out where the kitchens were just in case she was too late in the future, Arabella decided to insist on Ekrizdis Journals with Flitwick. She'd miss flying with Cho, who was probably disappointed with her - and for all she knew, Cedric and the Weasley Twins would also be around - but she'd rather catch her head of house in the morning before he left for Hogsmeade, or whatever he did during weekends.

She knocked on the door of Flitwick's office and quickly heard her Head of House voice as if he was standing right next to her "Miss Diggory! Kindly wait a few minutes!"

How did he know it was her, she didn't know. But she waited alone in the corridor for a while - she lamented not having the puzzle box with her to spend the time - until finally a jovial Professor Flitwick came out of the door accompanying a shy first-year student, who quickly went his way.

"Miss Diggory! What a lovely surprise, please come on it" greeted the tiny professor. The office was unchanged from the last term: file cabinets, several libraries stacked with books, the odd teapot and appliance jumping around and Professor Flitwick's desk, which was human-sized. It was rumored in Ravenclaw Tower that his desk was actually shorter when he was alone and he only made it grow taller when he got visitors. Whatever the case, he jumped into his chair with gusto and invited Arabella to sit in front "First-year muggle-borns always have a harder time adjusting. You purebloods and half-bloods already expect to come to Hogwarts. But for them, everything is new, and they often miss home when they first arrive" explained Flitwick.

"And besides, they miss their favorite shows on the telly", blurted Arabella.

"Telly? What's that?" asked Flitwick

"A muggle thing they use to make pictures move and since it also has sound, they use it to tell stories" Explained Arabella, momentarily forgetting the reason she was there.

"Really?" Wondered Flitwick "I thought muggle pictures didn't move"

"On paper they don't, but they make them move on projectors and in the telly. They have all sorts of weird stories" she explained.

"Such us?" asked Flitwick, always willing to learn something new.

"Well, you see, the Statute of Secrecy mostly erased the existence of magic from muggle history. But they keep myths. So, for instance, they have a story about a mermaid who falls in love with a muggle prince. But since they don't know how mermaids are, they draw pretty mermaids instead of ugly ones. And since they are writing about beings they believe don't exist anyway, then they also made stories about a family of talking ducks who fight a dog-wizard who's also an animagus over a duck-djinn. Because if you write about stuff that doesn't exist, why not continue to make things up, right?"

"Ducks fight a human wizard who turns into a dog?" Smiled Flitwick in disbelief.

"No, no! The dog stands on two legs and is already a wizard. And then he transforms into many other animals. I told you they are weird!"

The tiny professor laughed "That may be, but I take that you didn't come to see me because you wanted to talk about the muggle telly and I don't think you're having trouble adjusting to school either, right? What do I owe this pleasure?"

Arabella readjusted herself in her seat and internally thanked Flitwick. If he hadn't interrupted, she would have carried on talking about how the muggles turned Grindelwald and the Magical German government's fight for magical artefacts into the Indiana Jones movies. "Right. You know how we have dementors at the gates? Well, I went to the library to find books on them, but all except one were already checked out…" Arabella stopped as Flitwick raised his hand.

"You've already asked this to your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I can not disavow him, not on his subject" said Flitwick.

"But professor, you once told me this is a place of learning, remember?"

"Yes, and do you remember under which circumstances I told you that?"

Arabella failed to hide her guilty expression "You've caught me sneaking back into Hogwarts after dispelling two of the twenty-one charms watching the boundaries"

"I remember telling you they were at least fifteen" inquired the professor.

"And fifteen makes no sense" Explained Arabella "If there are going to be powerful wards to protect an ancient fortress, it has to be a magically round number. So I went and checked later and there are three times seven spells. New ones, that is. There is a lot of old stuff as well. Could it be that there are blood wards around the boundaries?"

Flitwick coughed nervously "Maybe. But whatever it is, is old and isn't believed to be functional. Blood magic has been frowned upon in Europe since the Romans. So we don't know who did it or when. Centuries ago, for certain"

"I knew it!" cheered Arabella "But, yes, I broke the rules. So you gave me detention and a puzzle box to learn because this is a place of learning. And that's what I want to do" smiled Arabella.

Flitwick, however, was unfazed "I gave you detention because you and Mister McLaggen sneaked out of the school boundaries. Do you know what's watching the school boundaries now?"

"Yes, Dementors. That's my point!" answered Arabella and Flitwick made a gesture as if to tell her to explain more "But I won't be trying to get past them because they are too dangerous. Professor, I've seen what they do!"

"Only a part of it. And I seem to recall giving you detention a year before to both you, Mr. McLaggen and Mr. Carmichael for sneaking past a creature you were told it was dangerous"

"Cerberuses aren't that dangerous" pouted Arabella "It was McGonnagal's chess set…"

Flitwick raised his hands in the air "Miss Diggory, most people do believe cerberuses are dangerous to twelve year olds!"

"But if we only needed a music box to get past it! Or is there something simple like that to deal with dementors?" she asked. Maybe there was hope!

"No, there isn't!" Flitwick was now exasperated.

"See? Then I won't be trying to get past them. I just want to know all there is to know about them" She lied.

"And why do you want books on the Imperius and killing curses to read together with Ekrizdis Journals?" sighed Flitwick.

"Oh, those two other books were to ease Professor Lupin into giving me permission to check Ekrizdis Journals. I wouldn't mind reading them, but I only wanted the Journals"

Flitwick sighed, weighing something in his mind "There is something else, something you told Professor Lupin in the train. You said the ministry lacks in wizarding pride. Were you upset at the moment or do you really think that?"

"Well, the ministry obviously lacks in wizarding pride" Arabella said to her half-human Head of House.

Flitwick took a minute to consider "Great many atrocities were committed in the name of wizarding pride, Miss Diggory"

"And what does Grindelwald have to do with this?" asked Arabella, wondering where Flitwick was going with this "Yes, he wanted to rule the world with wizards as an upper class and the ICW went to war to stop him. But what does that have to do with the dementors?"

"I was thinking about You-Know-Who" clarified Professor Flitwick.

Arabella looked at him intrigued and swatted away a floating parchment with her left hand "What did he have on wizarding pride? He got hundreds of witches and wizards killed, all for his own ego" she retorted

"Grindelwald got a lot more people killed, though" insisted Flitwick, to Arabella's annoyance.

'Because the ICW insisted on holding onto the Statute of Secrecy' she thought, but didn't say that. She wasn't sure what Flitwick was getting at, or what Lupin had told about her behind her back. As far as she knew, neither Voldemort nor Grindelwald had anything to do with Ekrizdis Journals. "Right" she conceded "But Grindelwald didn't do it just for him. He had a vision for a world in which wizards ruled all beings for their own good. And of course with him as emperor of all mankind, because it's not like he was disinterested and magnanimous. But he would have avoided the calamities the muggles did during his war. The catch is, even if he won, and if he was a good, wise ruler, what happens when he dies if someone like You-Know-Who takes over?"

"So your problem with wizards ruling the world is who does it?"

"That's what an old muggle warrior who fought in Grindelwald's War told me" she defied Flitwick. She didn't think he'd realize she was talking about Marcus' grandfather but even if he did, Mr. Hall didn't have to explain himself to Flitwick. "It's nice for them to have self-rule, until they get someone like Hitler. But we can get someone like Hitler too, as You-Know-Who showed. And our problem is that we can't coexist as equals. If we break the Statute, we'd rule over them" she concluded, remembering some conversation between Marcus' grandparents and Eddie's parents about replenishing charms, their electrical generation buildings and the muggle economy. She hadn't understood that full discussion, but the gist was that wizards would dominate their businesses and, through them, their world.

"Who's Hitler? And why would we have to rule over them? Why do you think we can't act as equals?" Fired Flitwick.

Arabella sighed. At this rate, she wasn't going to make it to the Quidditch pitch before lunch. "Hitler was a muggle tyrant who horrifically killed millions of muggles during Grindelwald's War. We'd rule over them because we'd take over their economy. And we are not equals, we're superior"

"How are we superior?" Insisted her professor.

"We have magic, they don't" said Arabella, explaining the obvious. She looked out of the window, into the sunny day outside. She could be playing beater against Fred and George but she had to believe getting a book would be a simple talk instead of this. Worse, both Cho and Cedric had good chances of making it to their houses titular teams, and they could be with some harsh training. In the form of her flinging bludgers at them, of course.

Flitwick, however, showed no sign of relenting. "Dementors have magic too. And their soul magic is much more powerful than anything we can do, or even comprehend. Does that make them superior to wizards?"

"Well, they certainly think so, after the Minister let them harass a train full of kids because they were angry" She blurted before realizing that Flitwick had just told her soul magic was a thing.

"That doesn't answer my question. Let's try it from a different angle: we don't know what dementors think about this, if they think about it at all. Centaurs believe to be superior to wizardkind and even if they don't openly display it, so do goblins. Why is it that they are wrong and you're right?" Asked the professor, more calmly now.

"Centaurs are dumb half breeds…" started Arabella.

Flitwick interrupted her "You're not helping yourself, Miss Diggory"

"Well, they are. Worse, they mix the arrogance of humans with the cowardice of horses"

"Did you just say that they've threatened both you and Mr. McLaggen because they are cowards?" Arabella could swear she could see Flitwick veins growing in his forehead and neck.

"Exactly" she explained, tired of explaining the obvious. "Now goblins, they are the closest we have to peers. And they do believe they are superior to us"

"And why do you think it's the other way around and it's wizards that are superior to goblins?" Insisted Flitwick, as if trying to prove something.

"Because I'm a human. If I was a goblin, I'd believe goblins to be superior. Mind you, I don't think the goblins would let a dementor loose among their kids, so point to the goblins I guess. But what does all this have to do with Ekrizdis' Journals?" she asked 'And me going to the Quidditch pitch once and for all' she also thought.

"Because Ekrizdis was one of the worst dark wizards of the late middle ages, Miss Diggory" Explained Flitwick "And just a week into the school year, I have a new professor asking me why one of my fourth years believes the Ministry, of all places, lacks in wizarding pride and also asks for assorted advanced books on dark magic including one that's comparable as you asking for the journals of Grindelwald or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"

Arabella jumped from her seat "You've known me for four years now. I'm no Stormwitch or Death Eater" she started "There are two reasons why I want that book. One, because neither you nor Lupin want me to read it. Second, for the same reason I went beneath the cerberus: because it's there" she insisted, realizing those were really two reasons she had, besides getting to Hogsmeade whenever she and Cormac wanted to.

Flitwick considered her for a moment "Just like you have two reasons to read it, we have two reasons why you shouldn't. The first one is that you may want to go after the dementors. They are, after all, there"

"Is there an easy way to deal with them, like with the cerberus?" she asked rhetorically. She was fully aware of the answer.

"No" was the simple answer, as expected.

She sat down "Then I won't." She lied "What's the second reason?"

"That you may try to replicate the experiments. Using, for instance, centaurs as your subjects, as I know you wouldn't use your classmates" said Professor Flitwick.

She weighed every word as she answered "And how exactly would I get centaurs, of all beings, to become subjects of such experiments?" she asked, getting angry again.

"Through the Imperius curse. A curse you've also asked about" answered Flitwick.

It took all the respect and appreciation she had accumulated towards Flitwick in her time at Hogwarts to not jump at him. That, and that deep down, she felt somewhat elated that her Head of House believed her powerful enough to cast such a curse " . .person" she said, punctuating every word "when centaurs pulled a bow on me, even outnumbered, we didn't hurt them. We immobilized them and then went looking for help. Not for us, for them, so we wouldn't leave them helpless in the forest. And we did it knowing we'd get punished for breaking the rules and going into the forest in the first place. Are those the actions of a dark witch who seeks to imitate the Vold… well that guy, but from the Middle Ages? Or wouldn't a dark witch simply kill them and hide the bodies?"

Flitwick looked guilty "I suppose you're right"

"Did you let a professor who barely knows my name taint your image of me?" she insisted. At that point, she no longer cared about the blasted book, or what the experiments were. Centaurs may very well be a piece of shite, but she wasn't feeding them to dementors to experiment on them. And though she wouldn't admit it, it hurt her that Flitwick considered that of her.

Her professor might have been thinking along the same lines because he wandlessly summoned a piece of parchment and began writing on it. "I apologize, Arabella. You're right, of course. Take your authorization" he concluded.

She left and, rather than going straight to the library, went to the Ravenclaw Tower. She got what she wanted, but she felt more dejected than victorious. Once in her dorm, she took her broom from her trunk and flew right out of the window towards the Quidditch pitch. Maybe she'll still be able to catch some of the pickup Quidditch games before everyone dispersed for lunch.

It was finally Sunday night (Cho and Cormac could really do with a lot of training and the days were still nice) when she could lay quietly in her four-poster bed, curtains closed, and take her time reading "Albus Dumbledore's Translation of Ekrizdis' Journals as they Pertrain Dementors". She skimmed over Professor Dumbledore's prologue, filled with warnings and disclaimers. Ekrizdis wrote in chronological order, starting with his arrival to Azkaban, abandoned at the time. She found out the real reason why Lupin and Flitwick had been reluctant to let her get that book, and why the combination of books she requested had freaked them out, just on the second page of Ekrizdis' first chapter.

Dementors were susceptible to the Imperius curse.

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