Immortal Magic (Book 1)

Chapter Forty

Allison's Point of View.

Over the last two days, Hermione and I had practically lived in the library whenever we weren't in class. While Hermione buried herself in books about House-Elves and magical rights, I had spent every spare second reading through the grimoire.

The more I read, the stranger the book became. Some pages held spells I had never even heard mentioned before, while others described branches of magic that didn't seem to exist anymore.

I had been meaning to ask Professor McGonagall or even Professor Binns about it, but every time I thought about showing someone the book, something stopped me.

Right now, Hermione and I are seated near the back of the library before our first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Moody. I glanced down at my watch, and my eyes widened in alarm.

"Hermione," I hissed, snapping my grimoire shut, "we need to go if we want to make it to Defence Against the Dark Arts on time." Hermione looked up from the mountain of books surrounding her and immediately started gathering her things. "Oh no."

Within seconds, the two of us were hurrying through the corridors toward Moody's classroom. As we rounded the corner, we spotted Harry and Ron standing outside the classroom talking quietly.

"We were in the," Hermione began breathlessly. "Library," Harry finished knowingly, grinning slightly. Hermione rolled her eyes while Ron groaned dramatically. "Do you two ever leave that place?"

"Only for food and sleep," I answered lightly. Harry chuckled before motioning toward the classroom door. "Come on. Let's get decent seats before everyone else gets here."

The four of us quickly slipped into the classroom and grabbed seats right at the front beside Moody's desk.

I pulled out my copy of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection along with the others, but before any of us could open it properly, the heavy clunk of Moody's wooden leg echoed through the room.

The classroom instantly fell silent. Professor Moody limped into the room, his magical eye spinning wildly as it scanned every student.

"You can put those away," he growled, waving dismissively toward our textbooks as he made his way behind his desk. "Won't be needing them today." Everyone hurried to shove their books back into their bags.

Moody picked up the register and began calling names, his normal eye reading the parchment while the magical blue one continued roaming around the room independently.

Once attendance was finished, he tossed the register aside. "I received a letter from Professor Lupin," Moody said gruffly. "Seems you've covered dark creatures fairly thoroughly."

He started listing everything we had studied the previous year. Grindylows. Red Caps. Hinkypunks. Kappas. Werewolves. At the mention of werewolves, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I all exchanged quick looks.

"But," Moody continued, "you are severely behind on curses." The room grew quieter.

"Still," he muttered thoughtfully, "one thing confuses me. How you lot went an entire year with a clan of vampires staying at this school and never properly studied them."

A ripple of whispers spread through the classroom. Moody's magical eye suddenly fixed on me. "Stand up, Miss Weasley." I froze briefly before slowly standing.

"Or should I call you Miss Cullen?" The room erupted into confused murmurs. I ignored them, keeping my eyes on Moody.

"Tell the class," he said, limping closer to my desk, "how one kills a vampire if attacked."