Dangerously Close

“It’s rubbish,” Fred exclaimed

“It’s unfair, Fred,” George agreed.

“We’re turning 17 in April!”

“We should be able to compete!”

I groaned and lifted my right arm up. “Could you two please? The Ministry’s rule was set and there’s no way to break it. Plus, Dumbledore made an Age Line on the Goblet. Just move on!”

“You think this tournament is just a simple competition, don’t you,” Fred asked.

I nodded. “Like you said yourself. It’s rubbish.”

“It is not rubbish,” George complained.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever you say, then. I don’t understand what the big commotion about this is. Everyone should be making a bigger commotion about how we now have two new schools in our already-crowded castle.”

They scoffed. “You’re just excited to be in the same building as Viktor Krum.”

“I am not,” I grumbled, unamused by their joke. “It’s definitely thrilling being under the same roof as a Quidditch star but it’s not something to get my knickers in a twist for.”

“Oh, watch out, Rose, it’s Krum,” Fred exclaimed as he pointed forward to absolutely nothing.

“He winked at you,” George exclaimed.

“Hurry, throw your knickers and bras at him!”

I swat their arms, turning a pink shade. “You two are the most embarrassing people ever, I swear.”

“It’s our job,” they both said at the same time with a grin.

“A bloody annoying job, too.”

We burst out laughing, leaning back against the wall next to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. We knew we had arrived a bit early when we saw the fourth year Gryffindors and Slytherins exiting the classroom. Most of them had widened eyes, and Neville seemed to rush out of there first. I raised a brow when Harry came out, and he shook his head.

“What happened,” I asked. “Everyone looks like if they just saw a naked McGonagall for the first time.”

Fred snorted.

“Um, Professor Moody - I’ll tell you later. Just, try to live through your bloody lesson without being...you,” he said.

I scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Ooh, Harry, mate, you offended your own sister! Good going,” George joked, earning an eye roll.

“Just - never mind. Have fun and try not to go paranoid-protective mode.”

I nodded. “O-kay?”

I walked into the classroom with the twins following close behind. The two sat together and I took the desk in the front behind theirs. The other sixth year Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students began to pile in, taking their seats. Rayne walked in right on time, last minute like always. She waved hi to me and took the seat next to me.

“Harry told me some stuff that’s scaring me about the class,” Rayne whispered in my ear.

I huffed. “He tells you, but not me.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean, miss Allister,” Professor Moody spoke up, turning around from the chalkboard.

She picked at something in her nails. “Nothing, Professor.”

He narrowed his eyes, then walked back to the board. He wrote angrily on the board, and I didn’t know how I felt about the lesson, and it hadn’t even started.

“Alastor Moody. Ex-Auror, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I’m here from Dumbledore’s will, end of story. No questions.”

Everyone remained silent.

“I taught the fourth years today about the same thing you will learn today. How many of you here know about the Unforgivable Curses?”

Oh.

Some of the kids raised their hands slowly, including me and Rayne.

“For those of you who have the least absolute idea what they are, you’re goddamn sixth years! You should know this by now! Someone care to explain?”

Without anyone raising a hand, in less than a second he yelled, “Weasley!”

“Which one,” the two twins both said at the same time, causing some of the class to chuckle a bit.

“The one on the right, I don’t care who bloody answers!”

“If I’m right, they’re three curses that are so unbelievably horrendous that a use of either one of them will -”

“- earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban,” Moody finished, his face twisting in slight anger.

What the bloody hell was his problem?\

“Allister,” he exclaimed loudly, causing some people to jump in their seats.

“Yes, Professor?”

“Since you seemed so eager in the beginning of the lesson, why don’t you name one?”

He eyed my blonde friend, waiting for an answer. His magical eye moved around weirdly in his socket, which freaked me out a bit.

“Um, I learned about one called the Cruciatus curse, it-”

“It tortures people. This was how the Dark Lord tortured the people who wouldn’t give him information, and people who betrayed him.”

He walked over to a jar where a small spider was visible. He opened the lid and took out the spider, putting it on the desk. He grabbed his wand from his coat. “Engorgio.”

The arachnid grew large in size. “Crucio!”

The creature began to let out ear-splitting cries, causing everyone to squint their eyes and squirm in their seats. It was uncomfortable, disturbing, and painful to see the torturing in front of you, and especially performing them in front of the class.

After a moment, the spider’s noises stopped, causing everyone to re-open their eyes. All I could do was look at the Professor with widened eyes.

“Who can name another Unforgivable Curse,” he asked in his gruff voice, seeming to not have cared that every student in the room had probably just been traumatized for life.

He pointed to a Hufflepuff in the back, who - while his lower lip was quivering - spoke up. “Er - there w-was th-the Imperius Curse.”

He nodded and pointed his wand to the spider. “Imperio.”

The spider didn’t seem to flinch or move in pain, causing some of the students to sigh in relief, only for screams to be heard as Moody started moving the spider above our heads, and others laughed at the display, clapping.

The spider travelled to Rayne’s head causing her to let out a screech and then the twins began laughing, only to have the spider crawl down their shoulders and then be tossed back into Moody’s hand.

“What do you think we should have her do next?”

The Professor waited for suggestions, but no one said anything.

“What is the last Unforgivable Curse?”

A lot of people raised their hands, but I didn’t bother to.

“Potter!”

My eyes shot up to where the Professor now stood - in front of my desk.

“Maybe you could name the last one.”

I bit my lip. “T-The Killing Curse.”

“You would know all about that,” he stated, before putting the spider on mine and Rayne’s desk, and pointing his wand at it.

“Avada Kedavra!”

A flash of green light that I hoped I’d never have to see again in my life shot out of Alastor Moody’s wand, ending the spider’s life. Everyone watched with their eyes widened in shock as I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat.

“For those of you who don’t know, the Killing Curse does exactly what it says - kills instantly. Only one person has been known to have survived it. He so happens to be the brother of someone in this very room

Mad-Eye looked down at me, and so did many of the other students. After a few seconds, Moody looked back up and yelled, “Well, what are you all waiting for? Class dismissed - you’ll miss lunch!”

I shot up out of my seat and grabbed my book, walking out of the classroom first. Rayne and the twins followed behind.

“What in Merlin’s name did that bloody teacher think he was doing,” Rayne exclaimed. “They can’t show us that! And he literally made you re-live the-”

“Just ignore it, Rayne. I’m as shocked as you are but the best to do is to bloody forget it,” I stated calmly.

The three nodded, as we walked silently to the Great Hall, not believing the torture, demand, and murder we had just witnessed.