99 What the Eyes See and Ears Hear...

Dark Arts Classroom, Oct 31st

Today's Dark Arts class was going to be different. There was a feeling of excitement and foreboding in the air as the students waited for Professor Rosier to begin his lecture. Most of the class had been waiting for this lecture since the first day of class, and there wasn't a single seat without a student in it. The few fifth years that would mention anything about what the lesson was like for them last year all said the same thing, that today would be the most memorable Dark Arts class of their lives.

Harry wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

At exactly eleven o'clock, Romulus stood up from behind his desk. He waved his wand, and a single word appeared on the board behind him.

Unforgivables

The class waited with baited breath, quills ready to take down exactly what their teacher had to tell them.

"You all believe yourself to be practitioners of the Dark Arts," Romulus said, his tone leaving no one in doubt as to what he thought of such a claim. "In truth, you are all nothing but children. So far, I have taught you spells to hinder, terrify, and to defend yourself, but all of the curses that you have been taught are nothing. They are the tools of children wishing to be adults. Well, today marks the end of your childhood. From now on, I will treat you like adults, and hold you to the same expectations of adults. If you do not think you can handle that, leave now."

No one moved, Harry wasn't sure if anyone had even dared to breathe.

"I see. You all feel that you are ready to become adults. That you are capable of understanding the raw power of the Dark Arts. You know nothing." Romulus locked eyes with some of his students. "None of you have beheld the destructive force of Fiendfyre. You've never witnessed an army of Infiri storm a battlefield, or seen a Basilisk hatch. You sit in this classroom and you think you are learning the Dark Arts." Rosier snorted in disgust before turning his gaze to Harry.

"Potter. Name me one of the unforgivables."

"The Cruciatus Curse, sir." Harry replied. "The incantation is Crucio."

"Yes, the Cruciatus Curse," Rosier said, his voice eerily quiet, yet still managing to carry throughout the room. "A spell designed to cause an indescribable amount of pain in its victim. Many have tried to find a use for the spell beyond its destructive nature, but I assure you, there is none. The Cruciatus does not help psychic shock or assist coma patients. The Cruciatus is used for one thing, and one thing only, to cause agony in those unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of it."

Turning his back to his class, Romulus went back to his desk and brought a fairly large box to the front of the classroom. Romulus opened the lid and levitated out a small brown-haired puppy.

Harry felt his stomach lurch. Calypso had warned him not to eat anything at breakfast this morning, and now he knew why.

"Crucio," Romulus snarled, and, immediately, the small puppy let out a horrible, heart-wrenching, yowl of pain.

Harry watched as Romulus held the curse on the small creature until blood started oozing from out of the puppy's mouth. After another minute in which the puppy stopped making any noise and just continued twitching, Romulus released the spell.

"How many of you wish to leave now?" Romulus asked coldly.

Harry did. He wanted to leave and not come back. The poor puppy was just staring out into space, it was like there was nothing left. The curse had turned a vibrant, happy puppy into a living corpse, and he wanted to throw up.

"Potter! Name me another unforgivable," Romulus demanded.

Knowing exactly what Romulus was planning on doing, Harry looked up at his professor and said, "I don't know, sir."

Romulus appeared annoyed before a dark smirk made its way onto his face. "Really? How very... disappointing. Why don't you assist me in a demonstration then, Potter. I'm sure you would benefit from it."

Harry knew it was more than a command, it was an ultimatum. Slowly, Harry stood up and walked to the front of the class. He was close enough to see the two remaining puppies inside the box Romulus had brought with him. They looked terrified.

"Since I believe more than a few people, my daughter included, would be upset if I demonstrated the killing curse on Potter here, someone tell me the remaining unforgivable," Romulus asked the class at large.

"The Imperius Curse, the incantation is Imperio," A plump girl named Melissa spoke up.

"Correct, Ms. Davenport. The Imperius Curse, a spell that completely subjugates the will of another person. It is the only unforgivable that may be fought off; however, it requires a keen mind and a great deal of will power to do so. Shall we see, Mr. Potter, if you have such will power?"

Harry nodded stiffly, recognizing the challenge. As Romulus raised his wand, Harry idly wondered if Calypso had known he would try to do this to him.

"Imperio!"

Much like Legilimency, Harry felt the spell hit him and tried to exert a foreign presence into his mind. He fought the spell, but, slowly, a strange sensation began to wash over him. It was...bliss. It really did feel wonderful, like there was nothing in the world to care about.

'Curse one of the puppies in the box'

Wait...what? Why would he want to do that? The puppies were rather cute.

'Curse one of the puppies in the box!"

Well, maybe they were just a little too cute. That was deserving of good cursing, right?

Harry slowly started to raise his wand, but, as soon as he did, he began to falter. It didn't make sense, why would he want to curse a puppy?

'Do it! Curse the puppies!'

"No," Harry moaned, dropping his wand and falling to his knees.

Suddenly the peaceful feeling disappeared completely, and Harry remembered where he was. He felt several people helping him to stand up, and he got to his feet unsteadily.

"Impressive, Potter," Professor Rosier commented. "Very few people have the strength of will to fight the imperius curse that well on their first attempt."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said wearily as he slowly returned to his seat.

"Oh and Potter," Romulus called out just as Harry was about to sit down.

"Yes, sir?"

Romulus stared right into Harry's eyes. "The final unforgivable?"

Knowing nothing would stop Romulus from finding out the answer, Harry sighed softly. "The killing curse. The incantation is Avada Kedavra. It's... usually, always fatal."

"Yes," Romulus muttered darkly. "Usually it is. Avada Kedavra."

With a burst of green light, the puppy that had endured the Cruciatus died.

The class sat in silence as Romulus looked at the shocked and frightened faces of his students. Some of them tried to hide their fear, but he could still see it.

"From this point on, you are no longer children. As adults, I make you this offer; I will give anyone who wishes it, a chance to cast the Imperius or Cruciatus curse on me right now, and I will not try to avoid it; however, if your spell fails, I will cast the same sp

ell on you."

The students immediately began muttering amongst themselves, wondering if anyone would take up Romulus' offer.

Harry knew better than to volunteer. The unforgivables were powerful dark magic, and you would have to be a complete idiot to think you could just wave your wand, speak an incantation, and expect the spell to work on the first attempt.

"I'll try it."

Harry glanced at the speaker and snorted. Devin Montague was the younger brother of Graham Montague, a student at Hogwarts. Devin was an above average duelist, but he was far from one of the best students in the class. Harry figured he was volunteering to make a name for himself or to impress Professor Rosier.

"Take your shot, Mr. Montague," Romulus invited.

Devin took a deep breath before snarling, "Crucio!"

Harry's eyes widened at the boy's stupidity.

The spell struck professor Rosier in the chest, and other than making him wince for a moment, there was no noticeable effect. "A poor effort, Mr. Montague," Romulus muttered. "Now, let me show you how it's done. Crucio!"

The class watched as Professor Rosier held Montague under the Cruciatus for several seconds. Devin's screams filled the classroom and caused several people to look like they were going to be violently ill. Harry held no pity for the boy though, unlike the puppies, Montague had practically asked for this by being stupid.

Romulus released the spell, and Devin curled up pathetically into the fetal position crying softly.

"Are there any other volunteers?" Romulus asked.

No one spoke up.

"Very well then. For homework, read chapter 13 in your book on the Unforgivables. Class dismissed."

Harry tried to quickly make his way from the room, but Romulus called for him to remain.

Once the rest of the room had cleared out, Harry approached his teacher's desk.

"Your reputation for charms is well known, Mr. Potter. Tell me, have you had a chance to study illusions?" Romulus asked curiously.

"Of course," Harry responded.

"Then you know how to dispel one?"

Harry nodded affirmatively.

Romulus smiled. "Then if you would. Please remove the illusions from the puppies."

Surprised, Harry cast the spell and quickly jumped away from Professor Rosier's desk. Instead of adorable puppies, there were now two vicious baby acromantulas, with their pincers and teeth bound, in the box. Romulus canceled the spell on the dead puppy, revealing it too was an acromantula.

"I have found that most people see the torture and death of a puppy to be far more reprehensible than that of a spider," Romulus explained. "That said, my daughter has always been a dog lover, and I must, on occasion, improvise. I trust this will remain between the two us?"

Harry nodded his head, relieved that a puppy wasn't tortured with the Cruciatus.

"Did you enjoy today's class?" Romulus asked curiously.

Unsure of what to say, Harry decided to be respectfully vague. "It was interesting, sir."

"Would you like to try your hand at any of the curses?" Romulus asked. "I seem to have two rather vicious creatures I need to dispose of soon."

"Err...no, sir. I-I don't believe I would be able to cast any of those spells."

Romulus simply nodded his head. "I see. Well, Potter, best be off with you. Wouldn't want to be late to your next class."