32

. 32. Professor Moody

Classes started the next morning. Almost everybody was speaking about the Triwizard Tournament. The morning began with Transfigurations and Herbology. In the afternoon, I had a free period. My friends went to Care for Magical Creatures whilst I went down to the lake. After what had happened with the hippogriff last year I had decided to drop the subject. It wasn't of great use anyway but of course I didn't tell Hagrid. I used the excuse that I had enough to do with my other subjects. It sort of was true, my dreams kept me busy almost every free minute I had.

Sighting, I sat down and smiled at the awesome sight in front of me. The sound of a breaking twig made me whirl around in less than a second. Slowly and with a very arrogant posture Nala strutted in my direction.

"You couldn't have shown up yesterday, couldn't you?" I laughed as she rubbed her small head against my leg. Carefully, she climbed on my lap and made herself comfortable, purring loudly.

Slowly, I lay down in the grass after some time. Since I had the strange dreams I hadn't managed to sleep properly. Therefore, I was feeling tired whenever I had nothing to do.

"You're too late!" I said through clenched teeth. My father curled his lip in anger as I resisted his torture. "I've already found my fairy-love."

"Who is he?" He spat in my face raising his wand threating.

I laughed provocative. "Do you honestly believe I would tell you? I'd rather die than betraying him."

"Crucio!" My father screamed out and I fell back on the wet ground, doubling over with pain. I forbade myself to scream out, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction. I wouldn't!

"You will tell me who he is, Aryanna." Slowly, he walked around me and smiled ugly. "Nobody has ever resisted the Cruciatus Curse. Don't think that you can."

"Arya." That was it. I started hallucinating. I heard Severus calling my name. But he wasn't here.

"Aryanna!" Severus called louder and more determined now. As the pain diminished I looked up at my father but he didn't seem to have heard him.

"ARYA!" What if he really was here? What if he had followed me here somehow? If he continued screaming my name my father would find him.

A sharp pain on my forearm made me flinch…

Screaming, I opened my eyes and sat up.

"Calm down, it's okay. It was just a dream." I heard Draco's voice to my left. As I turned I realized that he had a firm grip on my arm.

"Arya!" Draco snapped me out of my trance and I looked around. My face felt cold and as I touched it, it was wet. I had been crying…

"Hey, it was just a dream." Worried, he tried to embrace me but I pulled back. Tightly, I put my arms around my legs and rested my chin on my knee.

"I'm used to having these dreams, Draco. Nothing to worry about." I stared into space in front of me. Draco let himself plop down next to me now, obviously annoyed.

"Nothing to worry about. Right. You tossed and turned, crying and whimpering. I wouldn't say it's nothing to worry about!" Angrily, he threw his hands up whilst staring at me. "Tell me what you're dreaming. Obviously, they're penetrating you since summer holidays."

A long silence followed in which I gulped several times…

"Promise me not to tell anyone, especially not Severus. Not like the Quidditch match…" Accusingly, I lowered my voice and glared at Draco.

Draco – being Draco – never felt awkward or ashamed of something. Therefore, he shrugged his shoulders and answered in a bored voice. "I knew you wouldn't tell him so I did instead."

"You're incredible!" I couldn't suppress a short laugh and he chuckled.

"I know." I raised my eyebrows as he grinned self-consciously.

"Don't flutter yourself!" That made him laugh and I grinned in return.

"So, tell me about your dreams." Annoyed, I exhaled loudly. I knew he wouldn't let it drop, especially not after what had happened a few moments ago.

"I have nightmares." I started quietly. "I see myself on a graveyard with my father and Death Eaters. He uses the Cruciatus Curse because he wants to know who my fairy-love is. I resist him and he tortures me again."

Draco watched me thoughtfully. "What do you think they mean?"

Helpless, I shrugged my shoulders. "If I knew… I'm always dreaming, every night and it's annoying. Hermione has already asked me about it because she noticed that I'm not sleeping well."

"And if you asked Snape for a sleeping potion? Maybe it would help you." Draco suggested.

I laughed shortly and shook my head quickly. "Oh no, definitely not!"

Confused, my brother furrowed his eyebrows, gazing at me with a quizzical expression. "Why not? Did something happen?"

No, nothing happened. I gulped as the thought popped into my head. What was happening to me?

"He won't give it to me until he knows why I want it. So, I'd have no choice except telling him." I mumbled, nevertheless he heard it and started grinning to my annoyance.

"You would get it if you really wanted it. The reason you tell him everything is because you're always giving in. But if you insisted on not telling him you would get your sleeping potion without revealing your dark dreams." Draco said provocative ironically and I groaned.

"Who of us lived with him again?"

"Don't start like this. Everybody else would have to give a precise reason as to why he needs a sleeping potion but you… Snape would give you everything." Draco finished matter of fact.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." My glare didn't impress him. On the contrary, he started laughing smugly.

"I know more than you do, beloved sister. I know things you wouldn't dream of." I pushed him and he fell back, still laughing.

"Shut up, you bloody nag! You know what, I think I should go now. My friends are maybe already wondering where I am." Grinning at him, I stood up.

"Wait, wait. You do remember what I told you in the train right?" Draco had stood up as well.

"Yes, you told me to remember what you told me before. Whatever it means…" I put on a fake confused expression and to my amusement he bought it.

"You forgot? Blaise and I told you that we had a surprise for you and you'll have it soon."

"Of course, I didn't forget, Draco. By the way, it annoyed me all summer that you wouldn't tell me what it is. Technically, it's still annoying me…" I couldn't suppress a grin as he started chuckling.

"You'll love it!" He assured me. Then he pulled me in an embrace. "This year will be awesome!" Draco's happiness confused me. I mean the Triwizard Tournament was awesome but seeing as he couldn't enter it would only be something we could watch.

With that he left me standing there alone, ignoring my question I called after him. "When will I get it?" He only raised one hand before he disappeared around the corner.

Everybody, was eager for Defence Against the Dark Arts on Wednesday. According to Fred and George he was the best teacher they'd ever had. Therefore, it was no surprise that we were all waiting to enter the classroom even before the bell had rang.

"Good morning, class. I'm Professor Moody and your teacher for this year. I'm here because Dumbledore asked me too. End of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions?" Professor Moody's welcome speech took many by surprise, me as well. But not because of what he had said rather of the feeling he made me feel. My magic told me that he was lying, something dark came from him and flooded the whole room.

"Jackson!" I flinched in surprise as he snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, professor." I replied automatically making his scary eye turn to me. He watched me closely with both eyes now as a sudden sharp pain erupted in my left forearm. I flinched and groaned with a clenched jaw. Then as fast as it had come the pain subsided until I felt nothing anymore but a throbbing sensation. Something was undoubtedly wrong here! It felt all so incredibly strange… Hermione watched me with furrowed eyebrows but I ignored her.

Moody's eye wandered to my forearm and his lips twitched. "I didn't ask anything; I'm just reading out your names. But I don't want to find you stare into space again in my class!" Warningly, he gave me one last stare then he continued. I pulled up my sleeve but there was nothing on my arm. Perhaps my body is reacting to the darkness I feel in him…

Maybe it was because he was an auror. Alastor Moody had been the greatest auror of his time, he had brought more Death Eaters to Azkaban than anyone else. Maybe the feeling of darkness didn't leave you if you had spent too much time with it.

But Severus doesn't feel like him even if he has been a Death Eaters back then. Annoyed, I sighted and turned my attention back to Professor Moody who was now asking about the unforgivable Curses.

To my disgust he was taking out a spider and pointing his wand at it. Ron had just named the Imperius Curse. Did he really wanted to use it on the spider?

"Imperio!" Moody growled and the spider flinched before becoming rigid. I folded my fingers and pressed my nails deeply into my hands. My body had tensed up as I watched the spider horrified.

Moody let it jump from one student to another, some laughed, others screamed. I clenched my jaw and had difficulties in keeping my mouth close. Hermione, sitting next to me, had the same feelings.

"Who knows another one?" Moody asked as the spider had returned into his hand. To my surprise, Neville raised a shaking hand so Moody turned to him.

"There's the Cruciatus." Neville said in a determined and slightly shaking voice.

A cold wave rushed over my body. He wouldn't! Not the Cruciatus Curse! I pressed my hands together as hard as I could to prevent them from shaking.

"Crucio!" At once, the spider's legs bent in upon its body. It rolled over and twitched horribly, rocking from side to side.

Now, I couldn't stop my whole body from shaking. The pain the spider felt was unbearable! I knew if it could it would scream. Suddenly, the scene in front of my eyes changed. I was on the graveyard again and my father pointed his wand at me. He laughed as he used the Curse over and over again until I couldn't stop whining and doubling over in agony.

"STOP IT! Can't you see it's bothering him, stop it!" Hermione shouted and in a second I was back in the classroom, watching the spider being in great pain; but it wasn't the only one. Neville had turned to the side, a tight grip on the desk next to him. His body was tense and his expression horrified. I understood how he felt.

Moody lowered his wand and the spider stopped moving. "Maybe you want to tell us the last Curse, Ms. Granger?"

For the first time, Hermione refused to give an answer. Moody, put the spider in front of us on the desk and I pushed my chair back as fast as I could, watching the scene in front of me disgusted.

"Avada Kedavra!" A green flash light and the spider was dead.

"The Killing Curse. There's no counter curse. And there's only one person who's ever survived it." The whole class glanced at Harry who tried to avoid them. Any other day I would have smiled at him to comfort him but I was still too shocked at what had just happened; How Professor Moody had tortured and killed the spiders so easily.

"You need to be prepared for the real world!" He continued as if nothing had happened. Slowly, I approached my chair towards the table. The spider had vanished, with a flick of his wand Moody had made it disappear. "You need to know what you're facing. Dark Magic is very subtle and dangerous. If you don't know what you're up against you'll die. That's the reason why so many witches and wizards died facing You-Know-Who's Death Eaters. They didn't know anything about the dark."

Moody had stopped in his pacing and fixed me with his gaze. A cold wave rushed down my spine. The dark I felt radiating from him was scary! I wished nothing more than to look away and avoid his piercing, cold and uncomfortable gaze but I didn't want to show him my fear. My forearm was stitching again but not as strongly as before…

"How should they've known about it, Sir?" To my great relief, Blaise had come up with a distraction. Moody blinked and I felt weight being lifted off my body as he turned towards Blaise. Slowly, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Whilst I observed Moody answering Blaise' question I couldn't ignore the strong feeling that something was wrong here.

"I'm here to prepare you against the Dark. Now, I want you to open your books and take notes on the Unforgivable Curses!"

And so, we spent the rest of the lesson in silence, working on the Curses. I couldn't concentrate however… My gaze drifted off to our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who scribbled something down. Moody looked like… well, like an auror might look after passing his whole life chasing Death Eaters. Thoughtfully, I chewed on the tip of my feather.

Something's wrong here! The rest of the time I racked my brain to find out what was it that bothered me so much but as the bell rang I hadn't made any progress. Annoyed, I stuffed my things in my bag and threw it aggressively over my shoulder. I felt someone watching me but I wanted to get out of here so badly that I didn't turn around again.

"Arya, wait." Hermione called after me as I walked quickly through the corridors. I didn't slow down or turn around until a hand on my shoulder stopped me. With a cold expression, I turned around and yanked myself out of Hermione's grip. Annoyed, I sighted and continued my way towards the Dungeons for Potions class.

"I just want to get away from that man." I said through clenched teeth, walking at full speed. "Something's wrong with him."

"What do you mean 'wrong'?" Harry asked quizzical. "Because he showed us the Unforgivable Curses?"

"Yes… No…" Helpless, I threw my hands up and looked around to see if anybody was with us. In a lower voice, I continued. "It's difficult to explain. On one hand, he's himself but then on the other hand he's lying and something dark is coming from him."

"He's an auror, Arya. He spent his whole life fighting Death Eaters. Of course, he cannot tell us everything." Hermione tried to reason but I shook my head. "Besides, what was that with your arm?"

"He's on our side, he wouldn't hurt innocent people. I mean Dumbledore made him come back because he trusts him." Harry said as we turned around the last corner.

Annoyed, I exclaimed: "You cannot understand it. It's what I feel and my magic never betrayed me before. And I don't know why my arm was hurting all the sudden, Hermione."

With that the discussion was over and we waited for Severus to enter the classroom. Gloomy, I stared into space. I shouldn't be so angry! I told myself. What I told them doesn't really make sense, I don't understand it myself…

"Enter, class." Severus snapped me out of my thoughts and I followed Hermione in silence as she chose a table on the other side of the classroom.

"I want you to open your books on page 216. You'll find the instruction for a Shrinking Solution." Severus instructed, his gaze wandering around the room. With a flick of his wand the needed ingredients appeared on the tables and I light up the fire under my boiler, the one Derek had sent me for Christmas last year. I smiled at the thought of him but it vanished quickly as I started working. The Potion was tricky but nothing I couldn't handle.

The only problem was that I couldn't really concentrate on Potions right now. My thoughts were still in Moody's classroom. Repeatedly, I felt the feeling he made me feel or the ones I'd had when I'd watched each spider being tortured.

Tears came to my eyes and I cut my roots more aggressively, clenching my jaw. Never had I thought a teacher would use the Unforgivable Curses. Absentminded, I threw the roots in the boiler and stirred. Now, I needed to wait a few minutes to put in the next ingredient.

I let my gaze wander around the room and found myself staring in Severus eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed with worry. He knew something was wrong…

How comes that he doesn't look older than when I first met him… Deep in thoughts I noticed for the first time that he – indeed – didn't look older than thirty. Strange!

Severus snapped me out of my thoughts as he nodded towards my table. I didn't understand at first but when he turned away, I looked around remembered the potion I had to brew. Sighting, I turned my attention back to my boiler.

"Time's up. Bring me a flask with your potion." Defiance my lack of concentration I had finished the solution just in time.

"I want to ask Professor Snape something. I'll come to the common room right away." I told my friends as I slowly packed my things. They agreed to meet me later and I waited until everybody had left the room and closed the door.

Severus stood with his back to me, leaning over his desk and writing something. I stepped forward making him turn around with a confused expression. As he realized it was me his face softened and he came nearer.

"Arya, what happened?" He crossed his arm, facing me with a very serious expression. I laughed nervously.

"Is it really that obvious?" Severus didn't laugh only nodded shortly before intensifying his gaze.

I lowered my head and sighted. "It's Professor Moody."

"What did he do?"

Angrily, I clenched my jaw and looked him dead in the eyes. "He showed us the Unforgivable Curses. He USED them, Severus. Did Dumbledore wanted him to do this when he asked him to teach in Hogwarts?"

Severus seemed taken by surprise. After a second, however, he had hidden it successfully, leaving me questioning myself if I had maybe only imagined it. Severus' expression was blank now and he wasn't looking at me anymore. The tension in his whole body, the clenched jaw and the tightly crossed arms showed his anger.

"That was to be expected." Severus voice was surprisingly calm. With a cool expression, he gazed down at me and I opened my mouth in disbelief.

"You mean it's okay?" Astonishment was dominating my voice, the anger had disappeared.

Something snapped in Severus' eyes and his gaze turned dark. "Of course not but Albus needs him here this year."

"That's no reason, Severus." I glared at him, doing my best not to show my confusion. Absentminded, I scratched my forearm where it had started burning before. Severus sighted and relaxed. His voice was softer as he continued.

"I cannot tell you but he has a good reason. I thought it being a good idea seeing as the other schools would come here. Moody can keep an eye on everybody."

Now, I couldn't hold back my confusion any longer. "You agreed to have him here?"

Severus furrowed his eyebrows, alarmed and confused by my appalled voice. "Yes, why?"

I threw my hands up helpless, never had I felt so misunderstood from Severus. "I don't like him. He's not a good person, Severus! Something's wrong with him!" I decided not to tell him about my arm though. It was just something unimportant anyway.

Severus stepped closer, resting his warm hands on my shoulders to comfort me… it didn't. He searched my gaze worriedly. "This is not about the Unforgivable Curses. What happened, Arya?"

I had closed my eyes not to freak out. As I opened them again Severus was still watching me closely. Embarrassed, I lowered my look and stared on the floor. "I cannot explain it."

I didn't know how to explain. Severus forced me to look at him and I gulped. "Try."

A silence followed in which I tried to think clearly. "I have a bad feeling with him. Whenever he says something he seems to be himself but he's lying most of the time. Dark is radiating from him like… he reminds me of my father. I don't like him, Severus!" I finished, desperately for him to understand or at least not telling me that I was being ridiculous. Severus took me by surprise as he pulled me in a comforting, warm hug.

"I don't like him either. I always feel watched if he's around. You know, one reason I agreed to Albus' idea was that he couldn't see you with his eye. You're a fairy, therefore, he cannot see us in here. Or to put it in another way, he cannot see in any room you're in, whether you're alone or not."

His words did comfort me and I relaxed in his arms. "I'm sorry what you had to go through today. I didn't wish it to happen. I'll speak with Albus about it, I promise. Hopefully, he won't do something like it again." Severus voice was thick with sadness and it gave me goose bumps.

Determined, I pulled away and watched him warningly. "This is not your fault!"

Severus sighted, his mouth twitching. "I know, nevertheless, I feel responsible."

"Well, you're not…" I told matter of fact and he smiled. "I think I should go now. My friends are waiting."

"And I have to correct papers." Bored, he turned his eyes making me chuckle.

"Have fun!" I stated grinning and he turned around groaning.

"Oh, shut up." I heard him mumble and couldn't suppress a laugh as I left.