The North American bros and the Goblet of Fire

The Unforgivable Curses

Matthew hadn't been sure about that day. In hindsight, he often thought of how much he'd rather have learned about, say, dark creatures. Like the previous teacher of DADA, Remus Lupin (why did his name mean "wolf" twice? Like seriously. Who names their kids like that?), had done. No curses. No spiders. No pain. That would have been nice. But no. They got Moody. Mad-Eye Moody (that couldn't be his real name, could it?). Harry had given him prior warning about what he was going to see that day, but when the time came, it didn't seem like enough. This guy was just so...intense. 
When Matthew walked into class that Thursday, he did not expect to see small containers holding spiders. But that's the sight he was greeted with. 
"This guy really knows his stuff," whispered Justin, "after all, he was a legit auror. He's seen it all."
    Matthew was not reassured by this. He couldn't put his finger on why, but he didn't trust this man. Ironic, since Moody didn't trust anyone either. His shelves were lined with anti-dark gadgets, from foe glasses to sneakoscopes. He was clearly incredibly paranoid. But Matthew didn't have time to think about all that before the grizzled man turned to face him and his friends.
"Put your books away. You won't need them." He spoke in a gravely tone, growling the words. Then he began to call out names. When he got to 'Matthew Williams', he initially marked the boy absent, as Matthew's reply has been incredibly quiet. Hannah had to point him out. 
"Right then," said Moody, "I've got a letter from your former DADA professor Lupin about this class. He says you've tackled dark creatures thoroughly. But you are behind-very behind-on dealing with curses. So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with dark-"
"So you're not staying either," asked Hannah, dismayed. Moody didn't turn, but his large magic eye did. He was looking through his head at her as he said "Nope, just staying the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore. Funny, I got the same question yesterday from one of the Weasly kids. Don't suppose you'd know them, though. Anyway," he said, his eye swiveling back to the class, "straight into it. Curses." He began a long winded speech that Matthew only half paid attention to. Reaching under his desk, he began to pet Kumajiru. The silly bear had followed him to class. 
"You need to be alert and watchful. You need to escort that animal out of here, Mr. Williams. He's a safety hazard and a distraction." Matthew looked taken aback. Kuma-what's-his-face had been pretty quiet, and as Matthew sat at the back of the room, the underneath area of his desk wasn't readily visible. Maybe Moody's eye could see through solid wood as well as out of the back of his head. Matthew wouldn't question it. After all, he was at a wizarding school. Strange things were bound to happen. 
"So," said Moody, "do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?" 
A girl who Matthew recognized as Susan Bones raised her hand. 
"They are the Imperius curse, the Cruciatis curse, and Avada kedavara- the killing curse." 
"How'd she know that," whispered Matthew to Hannah. 
"Her aunt's the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, so she knows this stuff," Hannah answered. 
"Correct," boomed Moody, not hearing Matthew, "We'll start with the Imperius curse." Upon these words, the professor rose and took a glass jar out of his desk drawer. There were three large black spiders scurrying around inside it. Moody removed one of the spiders and placed it in the palm of his hand for the students to see. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered "imperio". The spider then leapt off his desk on a silken strand and began swinging, as if it was a trapeze performer. It then did a backflip, breaking the thread and landing on the desk, whereupon it began to cartwheel aimlessly in circles. Moody jerked his wand and the spider began, to Matthew's bewilderment, tap dancing. The class was uproarious with laughter until Moody's stony glare silenced them. 
"Think it's funny, do you?" He growled. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?" 
   At these words, all signs of humor died from the class.  
"Total control," hissed the professor, "I could make it jump out the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats..."
Matthew was incredulous. Who was this guy? He was like some kind of sadist! 
"The Imperius curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it requires real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Yesterday, only one of the students in Gryffindor was able to fight it, and that was Harry Potter, who's already had experience with dealing with dark wizards. And even he couldn't completely beat it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he barked. The last words were so sudden and loud that everyone jumped in their seats. Moody picked up the spider and returned it to the jar. 
"Miss Bones," he said, "please repeat the next curse you mentioned."
"The Cruciatus Curse," said Susan. She seemed to shudder a bit as she said the words. 
"The Cruciatus Curse," repeated Moody. "Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he said, pointing his wand at another spider. "Engorgio!"
The spider swelled until it was larger than a tarantula. The class shifted back in their seats, probably subconsciously. 
Moody once again raised his wand before muttering "crucio!"
The spider immediately began rocking side to side in clear agony, its legs twitching as it did so. It made no sound, but the students all know that if it could speak, it'd be screaming in pain. Finally, Hannah snapped. 
"Stop!" she cried, just as Hermione had done the day prior in response to the same experience. Moody raised his wand. "Reducio," he muttered. The spider stopped shaking and looked somewhat relieved.  
"Anyways, onto the last curse. Avada Kedavra. The killing curse." He put his hand back into the jar, taking a second to catch the last spider. He raised his wand, and Matthew, like Harry had before him, felt a sudden rush of foreboding. 
"Avada kedavra!" roared Moody. There was a flash of green light and a rushing sound. After it lifted, the spider was on its back, unmistakably dead, although unmarked. Some of the students bit back cried of shock. Hannah looked like she was about to collapse into tears. 
"Not nice. Not pleasant. And there's no counter-curse. There's no blocking it. Only one known person has ever survived it, and he had this class yesterday." Matthew then stopped listening. Instead, he was thinking. This is how Harry's parents had died. This would be how Harry might die too, at least if Canada couldn't help it. When the class was dismissed and Moody finally stopped talking, Matthew was lost on a reverie. He was trying to figure out how to protect Harry should a killing curse be aimed unavoidably at him. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a jarring sight. Standing before him was a young man with bright blond hair, glasses, a cowlick, and an unmistakably loud voice. 
"HEY, CUZ!" shouted Alfred F. Jones, "THE HERO HAS ARRIVED!" Matthew groaned inwardly. He was going to lodge a complaint with England. Was he really doing that badly that his brother needed to be called upon?