𝑵𝑰𝑲𝑶𝑳𝑨 𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹 ⭑ 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑶 𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑭𝑶𝒀

THREE: The Selection

Our first class this year was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Me and Daphne entered and quickly took our seats when we noticed
Mad-Eye Moody was stood at the front of the class. We gave each other an unsure glance, before placing ourselves into our seats. He scribbled his name down on a black board, with a dry piece of chalk that scratched horribly making my teeth ache.

"I'm you're new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, as this school seems to need a new one every damn year. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me, end of story. Any questions?" he snarked, and he spoke so quickly I almost didn't keep up. After the scanning the classroom and receiving only silence and turning back to his desk. "I only believe in practical approach for this topic. But first, can anyone tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?"

"Three sir," Hermione called from the front of the class.

"And they are so named?" he asked again.

"Because they're unforgivable. And one will earn you a-" Hermione began to go on, but Moody interrupted clearly irritated by her soothing slow speech.

"Earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban prison, yes. The ministry thinks you're too young to see what these curses can do but I say different. Ronald Weasley, give us one will ya?" he spoke, still at a speed like he was in a rush, approaching Ron and Harry's desk. Ron stared up at his nervously as he answered.

"My father did... tell me about one. Th-the imperious curse."

"Ah you're father would know all about that one. Now let's see," he muttered, taking a jar with a large spider inside it. A few years ago I would have ran just at the sight of such a thing, but I'd seen much greater things than this spider now. Not to mention the huge cave we entered with ones ten times his size.

"Ah what a beauty," he mutters raising the spider out of the jar with his wand. "Complete harmless," he cackled with laughter as he sent it from table to table, sending some girls screaming as he did so. "But if she bites she's lethal!" he continued to laugh placing it on my desk, I stared at it with no reaction. I lifted the spider gently into my hand and gave Moody a rather smug glare before he lifted it with his wand again to bring it back to him.

"What shall I have her do now? Drown herself," he joked, hovering the spider over a glass of water. The class was extremely unsettle now, though I watched quite intrigued. "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.. another. Longbottom is it?" he kept rambling, and approached Neville's desk. The boy looked up at him rather terrified after his last unpredictable performance.

"There's the um... The cruciatus curse," Neville muttered, refusing to make eye-contact with Moody.

"Yes correct! Come come," he said, beckoning Longbottom out his seat next to his desk. "The torture curse," he states, demonstrating the spell on the spider on his desk, as it wriggles and squeals. Neville flinches away and shuffles uncomfortably, as do many others in their seats. I however lean forward to watch closely.

"Stop it!" Hermione yelled, raising from her seat. "Can't you see it's bothering him?" Moody stopped and glanced over at her. He picks the spider up and placed it on Hermione's desk.

"Perhaps you can give us the last curse, Miss Granger?" he asked, but Hermione immediately shook her head aggressively, tears forming in her eyes. I watched closer now, leaning over the desk for a closer look. I knew exactly what was coming. He yells the words and by his wand causes the spider to stop it's squealing, laying dead in front of Hermione who had closed her eyes shut tight.

"The killing curse," Moody stated. "Kills the opponent immediately. Only two people are known to have survived it, and they're sitting right here in this room." He glanced over at Harry, and then at me behind him. I smirked slightly back at him, not in a smug way, but to show him his theatrics did not scare me.