The Golden Quartet: Year 4

CHAPTER 8

The next two days passed without much happening – unless you count Neville melting his sixth cauldron in Potions. Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness over the summer, gave Neville detention, and Neville returned from it in a state of nervous collapse.

“You know why Snape’s in such a foul mood, don’t you?” Astrid said to her friends.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “Your uncle.”

Astrid nodded, “And he’s not only angry about not getting the Defense Against the Dark Arts position again… he’s a bit afraid of my uncle too.”

Ron chuffed, “Yeah, who wouldn’t be?”

The Gryffindors were so eager for their first lesson with Moody they all arrived early on Thursday, right after lunch, all queued up outside his class.

“Come on, let’s get some decent seats,” Harry said and the four of them quickly shoved their way to the front of the class.

Harry and Ron sat together at one desk, and Astrid and Hermione sat in the desk behind them and then pulled out their copies of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, and waited, unusually quiet. Soon they heard Moody’s distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor, and he entered the room, looking as strange and frightening as ever.

“You can put those away,” her growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down in front of the class, “those books. You won’t need them.”

They put their books away and Ron looked excited.

Moody took out the roster and began calling out names, his normal eye looking down the list while his magical eye looked around the class, fixing upon each student as he or she answered.

“Right then, I’ve had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you’ve had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures – you’ve covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?”

“Oh yeah, we’ve covered werewolves alright…” Astrid mumbled.

“But you’re 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-“

“What, you aren’t staying?” Ron asked, before Astrid could.

Moody’s magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; who looked extremely apprehensive, but after a moment Moody smiled and Ron looked relieved.

“You’ll be Arthur Weasley’s son, eh?” Moody asked. “Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago… Yeah, I’m staying just for one year. Special favor to Dumbledore… One year, and then back to my quiet retirement.”

He gave a harsh laugh and clapped his hands together.

“So – straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I’m supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I’m not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you’re in the sixth year. You’re not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore’s got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you’re up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you’ve never seen? A wizard who’s about to put an illegal curse on you isn’t going to do it nice and polite to your face.”

Astrid raised her hand, “Unc- er, I mean, sir, are you saying you’re going to teach us… the Unforgivable Curses?”

There was a sudden murmur throughout the class and Hermione looked unsure.

Moody nodded, “Aye, the Unforgivable Curses. The most heavily punished by wizarding law. Any of you know them?”

Several hands rose into the air, including Ron and Hermione’s, but Astrid kept hers down and sat back in her chair, as if trying to get away from the topic.

Astrid already knew everything there was to know about the Unforgivable Curses. She knew their effects, to the victim, and the caster and these were spells Astrid had no intention of ever using.

Moody pointed at Ron.

“Er,” Ron said tentatively, “my dad told me about one… Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?”

“Ah, yes,” Moody said appreciatively. “Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse.”

Moody reached over and opened a desk drawer and pulled out a large glass jar that had a large black spider contained in it and Ron recoiled – being utterly terrified of spiders.

Moody opened the jar and took out the spider and held it in the plam of his hand. He then pointed his wand at it and muttered, “Imperio!”

The spider leapt from Moody’s hand and began to swing back and forth, it stretched its legs and then did a backflip. It then landed on the desk and did a few cartwheels and then began to dance.

Everyone was laughing, except Moody… and Astrid, who was looking quite stoic.

“Think it’s funny, do you?” he growled. “You’d like it, would you, if I did it to you?”

The laughter died away almost instantly.

“Total control,” Moody said as the spider balled itself up and began to roll around. “I could make it jump out of the window,” he moved his wand and the spider slammed against the window, “drown itself…” he moved it to a bucket of water that was by the window, making the spider touch the water but then pulling it away.

“Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse,” Moody said, obviously talking about the time when Voldemort was in power. “Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will.

“The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I’ll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone’s got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” he barked and everyone jumped.

“Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?”

Hermione’s hand flew into the air again, and so did Neville’s, but he looked unsure of himself.

“Yes?” Moody said, his magical eye rolling over to fix on Neville.

“There’s one – the C-Cruciatus Curse,” Neville said in a small voice.

Moody was looking very intently at Neville, this time with both eyes.

“You’re name’s Longbottom?” Moody asked and Neville nodded.

Moody brought the spider over and placed it on his desk, where it remained motionless, apparently too afraid to move.

“The Cruciatus Curse,” Moody said. “Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea,” he said, pointing his wand at the spider, “engorgio!”

The spider suddenly grew larger than a tarantula and Ron pushed his chair backwards, right into Astrid’s and Hermione’s desk.

Moody raised his wand again, pointed it at the spider, and muttered, “Crucio!”

At once, the spider’s legs bent in unnatural ways and it rolled over and twitched horribly and rocked from side to side. A tiny, squeaking-like scream could be heard. Moody did not remove his wand, and continued to torment the spider.

Astrid looked away, and happened to see Neville. His hands were clenching his desk tightly, and his eyes were wide and horrified. Astrid felt like an idiot for almost forgetting what her mother told her many years ago… about Neville’s parents.

“Stop!” Astrid demanded, staring down Moody, who raised his wand off the spider.

The spider relaxed, but still twitched occasionally.

“Pain,” Moody said softly. “You don’t need screws, or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse… that one was very popular once too.

“Right… anyone know that last?”

No one raised their hand, but then Astrid slowly raised hers, a firm and unforgiving look on her face, “Avada Kedavra.”

Several people looked uneasy.

“Ah,” Moody nodded, “you know… your mother tried to use this curse once,” Astrid’s eyes widened slightly. “Didn’t have the stuff for it though…” Astrid relaxed a little, but the way Moody smiled, it was slightly twisted, “found other ways to achieve her means though.”

He turned, “Avada Kedavra… the worst… the Killing Curse.”

He raised his wand to the spider and roared, “Avada Kedavra!”

There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound and the spider then rolled over onto its back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead.

“Not nice,” Moody said calmly. “Not pleasant. And there’s no countercurse. There’s no blocking it. Only one known person to have ever survived it, and he’s sitting right in front of me.”

All eyes landed on Harry, and he looked away.

“Avada Kedavra’s a curse that needs a powerful bit of magic behind it – you could all get your wands out now and point them at me and say the words, and I doubt I’d get so much as a nosebleed. But that doesn’t matter. I’m not here to teach you how to do it.

“Now, if there’s no countercurse, why am I showing you? Because you’ve got to know. You’ve got to appreciate what the worst is. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you’re facing it. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” he roared and the whole class jumped again.

“Now… those three curses – Avada Kedavra, Imperius, and Cruciatus – are all known, as Astrid pointed out, as the Unforgivable Curses. The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban. That’s what you’re up against. That’s what I’ve got to teach you to fight. You need preparing. You need arming. But most of all, you need to practice constant, never-ceasing vigilance. Get out your quills… copy this down…”

They spent the rest of the lesson taking notes on each Unforgivable Curse. No one spoke until the class was over – but when Moody dismissed then and they had left the class, a torrent of talk burst forth.

Most of them spoke of the curses in awe.

“Neville…” Astrid said softly as she saw him staring out a window in the hall.

The three of them followed Astrid over to him.

“Neville?” She asked gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Neville looked around at her, “Interesting lesson, wasn’t it?” his voice was off, like he didn’t even really know what he was saying.

“Neville, are you all right?” Hermione asked.

He looked away again and Astrid did something no one expected her to do – she hugged him.

Neville seemed just as shocked as the others, but then relaxed and brought his hands up and hugged her back, even rested his forehead on her shoulder.

Then a familiar clunking noise came down the hall and Astrid and Neville pulled away and they all saw Moody limping towards them.

They all fell silent.

When Moody spoke, his voice was low, “It’s all right, sonny,” he said to Neville. “Why don’t you come up to my office? Come on… we can have a cup of tea…”

Neville neither moved nor spoke.

Moody looked over at the others, mainly Harry and Astrid. “You’ve got to know. It seems harsh, maybe, but you’ve got to know. No point pretending… well… come on, Longbottom, I’ve got some books that might interest you.”

Neville looked pleadingly at them, and then Astrid placed her hands on his shoulders, “It’ll be alright, Neville, I promise.” At that, Neville relaxed a bit, it seemed he knew, along with a few others, that when Astrid made a promise, it was impossible to break.

Moody put a hand on Neville’s shoulder and led him back to his office.

“What was that about?” Ron asked Astrid.

“I… can’t say.” Astrid said and they began to head to the Great Hall for dinner.

“Why not?” Ron asked.

“It’s not my place. It’s something personal for Neville, even though you’re my best mates, I can’t just go around talking about other people’s personal life…” She said.

“Okay, then, what about your mum?”

“What about her?” Astrid asked, confused.

“Moody said she tried to use the Killing Curse, but couldn’t and that she found other ways?”

“Honestly, I didn’t know my mum tried to use the Killing Curse… as for… the other thing… supposedly my mum has a notebook of some kind… filled with spells and potions that she, herself, created.”

“Your mother knows how to create spells and potions?” Hermione asked.

“Supposedly, I mean, I know she can make potions, but I only faintly remember her mentioning a spell she made and used when she came to Hogwarts… but I don’t really remember. It’s just sort of a rumor… that only my sister and I talk about. Whenever we’d ask our mum, she’d just say ‘the more you ask proves you’re not ready to know’, and we just left it at that. Well, I mean, Athena and I would try and look for the notebook, but never found it.”

“Your uncle… he’s very… jarring.” Hermione said.

“Yeah, now that I see him, I think I know why my mum stopped bringing him ‘round ours,” Astrid replied. “I think maybe I’ll talk to him, later though.”

At dinner, Harry and Ron talked more about Moody and the lesson with the twins and Lee Jordan, Hermione ate fast again and headed off to the library, but Astrid was turned to her sister and they talked about their uncle and what he said about their mother.

“He said mum tried to use the Killing Curse?” Athena asked.

Astrid nodded, “Yeah, but she couldn’t do it. Then he mentioned her doing other stuff… like… her spells.”

Athena’s eyebrows raised, “Her notebook of spells and potions… we long since gave up on that... maybe I should write to mum and ask – oh! That reminds me!” Athena turned and pulled out a letter from her book bag. “Mum wrote back – here,” she handed the letter to Astrid who quickly took it.

“Dear Athena and Astrid,

I am so sorry to have lost touch, but it is rather difficult; the Ministry has had me under tight surveillance since your father escaped, as you know, but because of the recent attack at the World Cup, they seemed to have realized I have nothing to do with any of it and lost interest. When I heard about the attack it wasn’t until a couple of weeks after it had happened, when I received your letter, Athena. Your father and I, in order to have privacy and to protect him, we had to place many wards and spells up to keep people off of us and to leave us be, and I am afraid that may have contributed to why it took Aldara so long to get to me, and just a few moments ago Hedwig arrived with a letter from Harry – your father is reading it now.
Something is going on. I can feel it. I know you must feel it too, especially you, Astrid. I cannot believe the Death Eaters are back… I mean… I always knew one day they would return… I suppose with Pettigrew’s return, I should not be surprised… Pettigrew… I still… he was one of them… the legendary Marauders… I say, they weren’t legends until I got involved, but… now is not the time to reminisce.
About these formal gowns you two will need, there used to be a shop in Hogsmeade for special occasions, wonderful with a wonderful shop owner. She knew what dresses should go with what people. Unfortunately, the shop closed a few years after I left Hogwarts, because the owner passed away. But, do not fear, loves, I will find you lovely gowns I know you will adore and look beautiful in!
Please, if anything is going on, let me know!
Oh, as for you, Astrid, running off into battle to fight those Death Eaters, though brave and heroic, is also very foolish and abrasive! You seem to have some notion that you must be a hero, but you are my daughter first! I do not want you fighting… trolls and giant spiders and Basilisks and werewolves anymore! Let alone, Death Eaters! For once, I want you to have a good, normal year, please, just try to stay out of trouble. There may be dark times ahead, so take this time to live easily.
I love you both, so much!
Here ,is your father…”

The writing changed.

“My darling daughters!

Athena, fifteen! Astrid, fourteen! I can scarcely believe it… I am sorry we were not able to spend much time together, I hope in the near future this will change, but I cannot say.
I am curious as to why you need these gowns, is there some kind of ball?
Astrid, you are surely a Gryffindor, through and through! Charging into battle to save those Muggles and fight those Death Eaters, your mother worries, but you’ve got my daring and your mother’s nerve and you’ve got some of your own stuff that I would surely wish not to go up against! To become an animagus at age thirteen!
Your mother says, Athena, you can transform into a fox, but are having some difficulty maintaining it? Do not fret, it is still impressive!
I’ve just finished reading a letter from Harry, I wrote back and sent it, though I believe you’ll receive this letter before he gets his, seeing as these hawks are so fast!
Astrid, I need you to do something for me, a promise that you must keep (and I hear those are unbreakable), I know you are strong and powerful, gifts you inherited not from just my line, but from your mother’s as well, so I need you to promise to look after Harry. Make sure he’s alright and stays that way – though I’m sure I didn’t really need to even mention this, from what I’ve heard, you’ve already laid your life on the line for him! Very loyal of you! You remind me of myself in that way, and Harry of James… so, just continue that hard work.
I love you. You and Athena.

Love,
your mother and father”

“See? Dad thinks I’m brave.” Astrid said, handing the letter back to her sister.

“And mother thinks you’re abrasive. She’s right, just like I said, you need to just… have a normal year.” Athena stated, putting the letter away.

“Yeah, well, this age restriction thing made sure of that…” Astrid mumbled and then leaned over down the table, “Hey, Harry!” Harry turned away from his conversation with the Weasleys. “We got a letter from our mum; we should head up to see if Hedwig returned with one from – er –“

Harry’s eyes widened with great surprise and anticipation, “Yeah, let’s go!” he tugged on Ron to follow and they all left the Great Hall and quickly raced up to the Gryffindor common room.

When they entered they were surprised to see Neville there, reading a book with great interest.

“Are you all right, Neville?” Astrid asked.

Neville looked up, “Oh yes, I’m fine, thanks. Just reading this book your uncle lent me…”

He held up the book: Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean.

“Apparently Professor Sprout told Professor Moody I’m really good in Herbology,” Neville said, and Astrid noted the faint hint of pride in his voice and at this she smiled. “He thought I’d like this.”

“See? He’s not that bad,” she patted him on the shoulder.

Just then, Hermione came in, carrying a box and they walked over to her.

“What’s in the box?” Ron asked.

“I’m glad you asked!” She put it down on a table and took off the lid.

Inside were about fifty badges, all different colors, but all bearing the same letters: S.P.E.W.

“’Spew’?” Astrid asked, picking up one of the badges and inspecting it.

“What’s this about?” Harry asked.

“Not spew,” Hermione said impatiently. “It’s S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.”

Astrid groaned.

“Never heard of it,” Ron said.

“That’s because it doesn’t exist – Hermione’s just made it up,” Astrid stated, tossing the badge back in the box. “Hermione, this is just ridiculous.”

“I’ve been researching it thoroughly, Astrid! Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can’t believe no one’s done anything about it before now.”

“That’s because everyone besides you seems to understand how it works. Hermione, they like doing what they do! All that rubbish you want for them – they’d take it as an insult!”

Hermione put the lid back on the box, turning away from Astrid, “I don’t believe that. No one in their right mind would want to be enslaved!”

“Well, of course they’re not in their right mind! They’re elves! Don’t you remember Dobby? Bloody nutter, wasn’t he?” Astrid shook her head. “But, he was more the outrageous one, what with wanting to be free and all. Look, he wanted it, he got it, good for him, but the others, they don’t want that.”

“Well, are you going to try and stop me?” Hermione asked, turning back to face Astrid.

“What? No, ‘course not,” Astrid said, almost offended by the question.

“Then, you might as well help me,” Hermione said and Astrid rolled her eyes. “Our short-term aims are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they’re shockingly underrepresented.”

“And how do you plan on doing all this?” Astrid asked.

“We start by recruiting members,” Hermione said happily. “I thought two Sickles to join – that buys a badge – and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You’re treasurer, Ron – I’ve got you a collecting tin upstairs – Harry, you’re secretary, so you might want to write down everything I’m saying now, as a record of our first meeting – and Astrid, you’re our main recruiter, you’ll be getting people to join and support us.”

Astrid smirked and raised an eyebrow, “At any means necessary?”

Just then there was a soft tap tap on the window. They turned and saw Hedwig perched on the windowsill.

“Hedwig!” Harry shouted and ran over to let the snowy owl in. He got the letter from her and quickly opened it.

“What does it say?” Hermione asked.

"Harry-

We’re flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached us here. If it burns again, go straight to Dumbledore – they’re saying he’s got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he’s reading the signs. Even if no one else is.
I’ll be in touch soon. My best to you all. Keep your eyes open, Harry.

-Sirius"

“They’re coming back!” Astrid said, with a beaming smile.

“Reading the signs?” Ron said looking perplexed. “Harry – what’s up?”

“I shouldn’t have told him!” Harry said furiously.

“What are you talking about?” Astrid asked, her smile gone.

“It’s made him think he’s got to come back!” Harry slammed his fists on the table. “Coming back, because he thinks I’m in trouble! And there’s nothing wrong with me! And I haven’t got anything for you,” Harry snapped at Hedwig, who was clicking her beak, expecting food, “you’ll have to go up to the Owlery if you want food.”

Hedwig gave him an extremely offended look and took off for the open window, cuffing him around the head with her outstretched wings as she went.

“Harry, you’re being ridiculous. No matter where they were, they were always in danger. Anyways, with what’s happened at the World Cup and now with the Triwizard Tournament, I’m sure my dad isn’t even their number one priority at the moment. If my parents and Dumbledore think something is going to happen, then we’ll all be safer if they’re closer.”

Harry seemed to hear her words, but they didn’t seem to have much of an effect. “I’m going to bed,” Harry said and then headed up to the boys dormitory.