The Great Divide (Golden trio era)

The new defense against the dark arts teacher

Anika POV

"Alastor Moody," Moody spoke aloud whilst he wrote his name on the board. "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?"

No one responded.

"When it comes to the dark arts, I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?" He continued, this time Jocelyn spoke up.

"Three sir." She responded, Hermione beside her nodding.

"And they are so named?" Moody asked the class.

"Because they are unforgivable. Use of any one of them will..." Hermione trailed off not completing her sentence. Professor Moody picked up where she stopped.

"Will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban. Correct. Now the ministry says 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, you need to find somewhere else to put your chewing gum other than the underside of your desk Mr. Finnigan!"

Seamus' head shot up from where he was trying to stick his gum under his desk. "Aw no way, the old codger can see out the back of his head." He grumbled to Mady, who was sitting next to him. She stifled a snort. Moody pegged the piece of chalk at them.

"So, which curse shall we see first? Weasley!" He singled out Ron.

"Yes..." he answered. Ron stood up from his seat nervously.

"Give us a curse."

"Well, my dad did tell me about one... the imperious curse." He said the last part in a lower tone.

"Ahhh yes, 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." Moody walked over to a table that had all sorts of bugs and creatures on it in jars. He popped open a jar with a spider in it, pulling it out slowly. "Hello. What a little beauty." He told the spider.

"Imperio." He pointed his wand at the spider, flinging it around the class. "Don't worry. Completely harmless!"

Everyone was laughing at the poor student who got the spider flung onto their face. It landed on Paige and she squealed in fear. It flew over my head, luckily for me, landing floating above Ron.

"But if she bites, she's lethal!" Moody cackled at the pale boy. Draco started laughing. "What are you laughing at boy?" He flung the spider onto Draco's face.

"Talented isn't she? What shall I have her do next? Jump out the window? Drown herself?" Professor Moody flung the spider over a bucket of water. It writhed under the spell. "Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only do did you-know-whose bidding under the influence of the imperious curse. But here's the rub, how do we sort out the liars?"

"Another... Come on another." His eyes scanned the room finally landing on Neville who was sitting beside me. "Longbottom is it? Up."

Neville stood up shaking slightly. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it softly, in an effort to comfort him.

"Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for herbology." Moody's eyes drilled into Neville's.

"There's the um... the cruciatus curse." He spluttered out.

"Correct! Correct! Come come." Moody gestured for Neville to come up to the table, reluctantly he let go of my hand and went up the front. "Particularly nasty. The torture curse."

"Curtio!" Moody pointed his wand at the spider. The spider began to shrink in on its self writhing about on the glass plate. I noticed Neville's mood change almost immediately and I knew I couldn't just sit there and watch. It hit me in that moment that that was the curse that his parents must have suffered.

I stood up from my seat. "Stop it! Can't you see its bothering him! STOP IT!" I screamed at Moody. It seemed like Professor Moody was broken from a trance, he broke contact with the spider and took note of Neville's reaction. Moody picked up the spider and placed it in front of me.

"Perhaps you could give us the last unforgivable curse Ms. Laurie?" He asked me as I stared at the spider shaking my head.

"Avada Kedava!" He points his wand at the spider and it disintegrates. I turned away not wanting to look at it. Neville took his seat, still looking really shaken.

"The killing curse. Only one person is know to have survived it. And he's sitting in this room." Moody approached Harry's desk and took a swig out of a bottle.

~~~

"I hated that lesson." I muttered to Paige as we headed down the stairs, on our way to transfiguration. She was about to reply when I saw Neville standing very still, looking at a stained glasswork.

"Neville? Is everything okay?" I asked him softly. Moody barged past a bunch of students and placed his hand on Neville's shoulder.

"Son. You alright?" Moody asked him. Neville nodded but I wasn't convinced. "Come on, we'll have a cup of tea. I want to show you something."

"I don't think that's a good idea-" I began saying.

"Don't you have a class to be at Ms. Laurie?" Moody asked me annoyed. I was about to protest when Paige pulled me away.

"Just leave them be." She said dragging me down the rest of the stairs.