Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Author's Note: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I'll continue to try and keep this as close to cannon work as possible. On a quick note, I'm going to try and not confuse the class schedules too much. Since book six isn't out no one knows exactly what classes that might be required, I can only make assumptions from what I know which is what I'm going to try to do. And I know that the apparating test don't happen at Hogwarts but I thought it would be easier to fit it in that way. So please forgive me if I make any small mistakes in the schedules or required classes. If I make a blatantly obvious one that bothers you just let me know in a review and I'll fix it. Thanks once again and please forgive any small typos I may have missed. Please review even if it is short or a criticism. Thank you.
Chapter Six: The Unforgivable Curse
The Hogwarts Express pulled out of King's Cross Station at exactly eleven o'clock that morning. Harry flipped the mirror over and over in his hands. It was identical to the other one he had stowed away in his case above him.
"You guys want to try it out?" Harry asked looking over at Hermione and Ron.
"Count me in!" Ron said enthusiastically.
"Try what out?" Ginny asked looking at the mirror.
"Nothing," Ron stepped in front of Harry.
"Come on tell me. I saw the mirror." Ginny stood up to face Ron.
"It's none of your business sis!"
"It's ok," Harry said, stepping to Ron's side, "We can tell her. Can you promise to keep a secret Ginny?"
"Sure!"
"You know for this being a secret you sure are telling a lot of people." Ron crossed his arms and sat down. Harry explained to Ginny about being given the mirror by Sirius, and how he had had Lupin find the other one, so that they could use it.
"Let's try it!" Ginny was excited.
"Give us the other one," Hermione said, "We'll try it out when we go up front."
"Go up front?" Ron questioned.
"We're prefects remember? We have to go up to the front car for instructions and reminders."
"Oh yeah."
Harry stood up and pulled down the case containing his robes. Opening it, he pushed the robes aside and withdrew the small mirror. He handed it to Ron. "Ok now when you want to talk to me, I think you just look into the mirror and talk."
"Ok. We'll try it as soon as we can." Ron and Hermione both stood up.
"We'll come back as soon as we can Harry, we promise," said Hermione as she slid the compartment door open.
"Yeah, we'll be right back." Ron slid the compartment door shut behind them and hurried off toward the front of the train.
"Think it'll work?" Ginny asked.
"I'm not sure." Harry peered down at his own reflection. Ginny scooted closer to peer down at the mirror too. They sat in silence, staring at the mirror, so long that they both had to readjust themselves to keep their limbs from falling asleep.
"What do you think is taking them so long?" Ginny looked up at Harry.
"I don't know. Maybe they're just waiting for a chance not to be seen," said Harry. The compartment door slid open. Harry and Ginny swung their heads up to stare at the girl standing in the doorway.
"There you are Ginny I've been looking all over for you." Luna Lovegood stood holding the compartment door open in one hand, and holding a bizarre looking purse in the other. Harry tried to nonchalantly slip the mirror in his pocket so that Luna wouldn't notice.
Luna sat down across from Ginny. "So how was your summer?"
"Wonderful!" Ginny grinned widely. "Harry and Hermione stayed with us."
"Hello Luna," Harry smiled and gave a small wave. Good she didn't see anything. He was relieved that he'd managed to sneak the mirror away without being seen.
"Hello." Luna said taking the latest edition of The Quibbler from her purse. She turned it upside down and promptly opened it to a dog-eared page.
"Your father still editing The Quibbler I see," said Harry staring at the upside down magazine.
"Yeah," Luna adjusted her necklace of butterbeer caps.
"Luna, why do you read magazines upside down?" Harry asked.
"What?" she lowered the magazine to look at them.
"You read the magazine upside down." Said Ginny pointing at The Quibbler Luna was holding.
Luna turned the magazine sideways to look at the front. She stared at it for a moment then muttered, "Huh, imagine that." She raised the magazine, still upside down, back up to her face. Harry and Ginny exchanged confused glances.
"Harry! I can't see you!" Harry's eyebrows shot up as the muffled voice came from his pocket. "Where are you…Harry?" Luna lowered the magazine and stared at him.
"What was that?" she asked.
"What was what?" Harry said.
"I didn't hear anything," Ginny was looking out the window.
"It sounded like your pocket said something." Luna kept her eyes glued on him.
Harry smiled and was about to say something when the muffled voice appeared again. "It's all black; I can't see anything Hermi-"Ginny began to cough loudly, diverting Luna's attention. She continued to cough so loudly that Luna got up to pat her on the back. Harry took the chance to stand up, grab his robes out of his case, and step over to the sliding door.
"I'm going to go change. Better do it now before I forget!" As he stepped into the corridor he could still hear Ginny fake coughing. Good thinking Ginny. Pushing past a few students he quickly made his way to the back of the train. He checked every compartment he passed for an empty one without luck.
A chuckling Draco Malfoy almost caught sight of him as he passed a Slytherin filled compartment near the back. Filing past a few more compartments he found a bathroom. He went inside, locked the door and pulled out the mirror.
He stared down at strands and strands of brown in the mirror. "Err-hello?" There was a small shriek from the mirror, which made Harry jump.
"Harry you scared me!" Hermione's face appeared in the tiny mirror, looking up at him. "Where have you been?"
"Luna came into the compartment. I hid the mirror in my pocket so she wouldn't see. Ginny made a distraction so I could get away; I'm in the bathroom right now. Where's Ron?"
"He went to check on you. You didn't respond so we wanted to make sure you were all right. Well I guess this means it works." Hermione smiled.
"Yeah this is great. Too bad we don't have three of them." Harry sat the mirror down on the washstand and pulled on his robes.
"I have an idea. Why don't you hold onto one of them at all times, and we'll hide the other one in a place where Ron and I both know where it is, incase we need to contact you, or if we're going somewhere."
By this time Harry had adjusted his robes and picked the mirror back up. "Sounds good to me. I'd better go back and see what happened to Ron."
"Ok, I'll head back too." Hermione disappeared from the mirror and Harry was left looking at himself. Checking his appearance in the mirror one more time, he pocketed it and opened the door. As he stepped into the hall he came face to face with Cho Chang.
The silence was awkward. They stared at one another. It was Harry who broke the silence first, "Hello Cho, have a nice summer?"
"Yes very," her manner was calm and dismissive. Marietta Edgecombe, Cho's best friend stood behind her. She glared at Harry with a sort of strong resentment. Cho was already dressed in her Ravenclaw robes.
"Well be seeing you then." Harry smiled and as politely as he could stepped around her.
"Where are you off in such a rush?" Cho demanded, turning to keep an eye on him. The question took Harry by surprise.
"I was going back to my compartment, my friends are waiting on me."
"Oh of course, I wouldn't want to keep you." Cho smiled. "Of course it would be too much to give me the time of day. It's nice to know how little I meant to you, but you need to run along to darling miss Granger so, I'll be seeing you," she gave him a small smile, then with Marietta close behind her, continued on down the corridor.
Harry fumed, gritting his teeth hard. "SHE'S NOT MY- OH FORGET IT!" He turned briskly on his heels and stormed the length of the train back to his compartment. Hermione met him coming down the hall.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"It's Cho. She's just trying to upset me now, she's not pulling any punches!"
"So I guess this means you don't like her anymore?" asked Hermione. The compartment door next to them slid open and Ron appeared in the doorway.
"There you are! What happened to you?" Ron chuckled. "I guess I found him."
"Sorry Ron," Harry said in a whisper so his voice wouldn't carry into the compartment. "Luna came in and I didn't want her to see it I had to sneak away. They work though."
"Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. "Neville's here too, he came in when I was looking for you." Harry peeked over Ron's shoulder to see Neville talking to Ginny.
"Well let's sit down, we've still got quite a ride ahead of us." Harry said ushering them back into the compartment.
The remainder of the ride was very enjoyable for the group. Neville showed everyone his new Wizard's Chess set, and at seeing Ron's eyes light up, offered a game. Everyone watched the game closely and they began to put down bets of candy, after the cart full of sweets had gone by.
Ron ended up winning a very close game. Neville put the board up, and everyone took turns going to dress in their robes. The sun was setting on the horizon as Luna, the last to leave to dress, came back decked in her robes. Harry sighed as he watched the fields fly by the train.
A loud noise and hissing of steam signaled the trains slowing down. "We must be almost there." Ginny said, packing up a few of her things she'd taken out during the trip. They all watched as the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station, and slowly came to a stop. Ron lead the way down the corridor, nearly dropping his case as a first year bumped into him in a mad rush to get off the train.
The wooden exit platform creaked loudly under Harry's weight as he stepped off the train. A group of scared looking first years scuttled by him over to a waiting Hagrid. "HAGRID!" yelled Ron, waving excitedly. Hagrid waved back with his giant hand, and then took to helping the first years board the small canoes. Gathering their trunks together, they started off for the road.
Hermione nearly dropped her things when they came up to the carriages. Ron stopped dead in his tracks too.
"What is it?" Harry asked setting down his trunk. He looked over to the carriages.
"I can see them," Hermione choked.
"They're…hor, horses," Ron stammered.
"Oh the thestrals," Neville said coming up from behind. "They've never seen them before."
"Oh that's right!" said Harry looking back and forth from Ron to Hermione.
"I guess we were all a little closer to Sirius than we thought," said Hermione quietly, picking her things up.
"Yeah," Ron trailed off, still mesmerized by the thestrals. Hermione averted her attention from the dark horses, paying much more attention to holding Crookshanks tightly in her arms. They all climbed into one of the larger carriages, and in no time were headed off towards the castle.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Harry took a seat next to Neville, across from Ron and Hermione. Ron had taken from staring at the thestrals, to Hermione who occasionally smiled at him. The Great Hall was decorated with beautiful tapestries, and banners to commemorate the start-of-year feast. The staff table was lined with the old familiar instructors that made Harry feel at home.
"Firenze isn't using a chair." Ron pointed at the centaur teacher who was sitting on his hind legs to come even with everyone else at the head table. "That must be really weird." Ron laughed.
"Who's that?" Ginny pointed next to professor Sprout, where an elderly woman, wearing a tall pointed hat much like McGonagall's sat. Harry squinted to make out her features.
"That's Mrs. Figg!" Harry said excitedly. "She lives near the Dursley's! She's the one who helped me after I was attacked last year. I bet she's come to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Anything is better than that old hag Umbridge." It wasn't common for Hermione to speak of anyone in an ill-tongue, but nobody questioned why she would speak of Umbridge like that.
The large oak doors creaked open and a tight lipped McGonagall stepped into the Great Hall. Following her were a line of very scared, yet anxious looking first years.
"I remember being sorted," said Ron. "I was scared out of my britches."
"I'm just glad they didn't put me in Slytherin. I don't want to even be in the same room with Malfoy, let alone in the same house." Harry shuddered at the thought. The first years formed a long line down the Hall as McGonagall placed an old rickety stool in front of the tables. Dumbledore handed her the old, patched, Sorting Hat. She placed it on the stool and stepped away, crossing her arms.
The Sorting Hat shivered a little, and then gave a loud cough. The tear in the front opened and the hat began to sing.
It once stood common place
Back when this school was new
You would never see a young one's face
Turned away from the selected few:
But Slytherin said what?
I'll teach the very best,
And as for all the other ones
We'll turn away the rest!
Then Ravenclaw said this;
It isn't blood that I wish pure
Something that will set apart
Is a strong and steadfast mind for sure!
Then bold Gryffindor broke in:
I'll teach the strong at heart,
For brave deeds and chivalry
Will set my group apart!
Then Hufflepuff declared:
How can you say that we should choose?
I'll take the ones that want it most
And turn the others loose!
And thus the sorting had begun
To decide of whom to teach
From this my sorrowful tale is strung
As each began to preach.
Slowly over time they did grow apart
No longer even friends
A rivalry the houses had to start
The beginning of the end.
Now the time has come
To sort you one by one
Continue I will do this
Until my job is done.
But I warn you now
The evil has returned.
And if you stand divided
Hogwarts School will burn.
I wish I could oppose
This most wicked sin,
But it is my job, my duty
Let the sorting now begin!
Harry gave Hermione and Ron an uneasy glance. He leaned across the table. "Did it say Hogwarts would burn?"
"Like your dream," said Hermione. "Don't put too much thought into it tonight Harry, I'm sure it's just another rambling of the Sorting Hat. Remember what Nick said? It makes all sorts of predictions, and I doubt they rarely ever come true."
It appeared as if the Sorting Hat's song had struck a cord with some other students as well, as many of the older students were having hushed conversations at the tables. The child who was first in line to be sorted was standing there apprehensively, not wanting to approach the stool. McGonagall took him firmly by the arm and, dragging him towards the stool, plopped the hat down on him.
After a few silent moments of deliberation the Sorting Hat opened it's mouth and proudly exclaimed, "HUFFLEPUFF!" To which the long table of Hufflepuffs gave an enthusiastic applause. The rest of the first years slowly became less reluctant to step up and be sorted, and by the end of the hour, every one of them had been sorted.
Dumbledore stood up proudly as McGonagall sat the stool and Sorting Hat aside. "Welcome all to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" The Great Hall filled with the echo of a thousand clapping hands. "I wish to welcome all the first years as they start their career towards excellence, and the art of magic. As for the rest of you, I'm glad to see you've returned."
"IT'S THE LEAST WE COULD DO!" Ron shouted over everyone's heads.
"Ah, yes thank you Mr. Weasley. It's nice to know that in the absence of your brothers there is still someone around that knows how to effectively use a dungbomb. Now I've kept you all waiting long enough, let the feasting begin!" Dumbledore gave a small flick of his wand and the empty bowls and plates sprang to life, filled to the brim with the most delicious looking food anyone had ever seen.
"Aren't you violating S.P.E.W. standards by eating this Hermione?" Ron questioned.
"I've decided that whatever I eat was made by Dobby, as he is paid for his services. Then I'm not breaking any standards of slavery." Hermione answered, as she put a dollop of peas onto her plate.
"But how do you know Dobby made what you're eating?" Ron leaned over putting his face close to Hermione's.
"Don't mess with me Weasley." She said turning and smiling at him. Harry thought it nice to see them getting along. Maybe Ron had been right, maybe there was something there after all. But he didn't care too much about that at the moment, all he could think about was meeting with Dumbledore that night.
The night wore on until even Ron couldn't stuff anymore pudding down himself. Dumbledore motioned for the room to fall quiet. He stood up, wiping his face on a napkin. "Now for the start-of-term notices. In the absence, yet again, of a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, we were forced to fill the position. Please put your hands together for the your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher-"
"Mrs. Figg" mumbled Harry to himself, smiling.
"Professor Severus Snape!" finished Dumbledore. The Great Hall fell into such a silence that if a pin had been dropped, every student would have heard it. The misty silence floated around the room so intensely, that Harry couldn't even turn to show Ron and Hermione what a horrible shock he'd just received.
"To fill," Dumbledore broke the intensifying silence, "the position of Potions Master, please welcome the newest addition to our teaching staff, Madam Figg." Only the eight or nine students that had gotten over the shock of Dumbledore's previous statement gave a futile clap. "Now please follow the prefects, as they escort you to the common rooms. I look forward to a wonderful year with all of you at Hogwarts." His head turned in Harry's direction. "I will be in my office."
"We'd better go help get the first years to the common room. Are you going to go talk to Dumbledore now?" said Ron.
"Huh? Oh, yeah I guess."
"Tough break about Snape mate."
"Tell me about it." Harry followed Ron and Hermione to the entrance of the Great Hall. When his foot touched the marble staircase a few minutes later he was stopped by a loud snickering behind him.
"Looks like we finally got a competent Dark Arts teacher Potter." Malfoy sneered. His goonies, Crabbe and Goyle brought up his rear, and they glared at Harry. "Maybe now we can learn something of use. At least he won't try to eat us if it happens to be a full moon."
"It's Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry sneered through his teeth. "And Lupin was the best teacher we've ever had." He was so filled with rage he had to grip the banister to stop from lunging forward and knocking Malfoy senseless.
"What's wrong Potter? A little…stressed are we?" Malfoy made fake crying motions with his hands.
"At least my father wasn't a criminal!" Harry turned and tore up the stairs. A portrait on the wall hissed as he stomped by but he didn't care. He turned sharply onto the second floor and walked toward the lone gargoyle statue that guarded Dumbledore's office.
"Uh," Harry stared at the gargoyle. "Lemon Drops? Treacle? Strawberry Shortcake? Oh this is useless I'll never guess it." He put his back to the wall and slid down to the stone floor, resting his arm on his knee. Closing his eyes he slowly began to imagine his favorite class, the only thing he'd ever been good at, being taught by Snape.
"Cotton Candy." Dumbledore's voice echoed through the hall. "Sorry Mr. Potter, I forgot to tell you the password." Harry opened his eyes slowly and looked up into the Headmaster's smiling face. "Come on."
Harry followed Dumbledore through the passage behind the gargoyle. He rode the moving staircase up in silence, keeping his eyes glued to his own shoes. In a few short minutes he was sitting in one of the large chairs in the office, and was about ready to burst at the seams.
"I am most assured that you are wondering why I called you here,"
"It's been driving me mad,"
"You also appear most displeased at the new choice for post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but I assure you there is a perfectly good explanation." Dumbledore rested his head in his long spindly fingers.
"Well…what is it then Professor?" Harry fidgeted in the chair.
"As you know the burden of Voldemort's downfall is resting solely on your shoulders. This is a terrible burden my dear Harry, that I would not wish upon anyone. If I could have a single wish, it would be to remove you of this task."
Harry smiled a bit at the thought. At least he could count on Dumbledore being there for him if he needed it.
"But as this task is yours to bear, you will need to learn how to hold your own in battle."
"I don't think I understand Professor. I've practiced wizard dueling already, and I was pretty good at it," said Harry.
"I understand. But there is still much for you to learn. The reason I appointed Professor Snape as head of Defense Against the Dark Arts is to teach you…the Avada Kedavra curse." Dumbledore smiled weakly at him.
"But," Harry began to sweat. "Professor it's, I mean, but, that's an unforgivable curse."
"Never would I condone the teaching of an unforgivable curse, especially the most heinous of them all, the killing curse. But Voldemort will no doubt use everything in his power to stop you, and that involves the unforgivable curses. The only choice left for us is to teach you how to defend yourself…and fight back."
"I, I, tried to use one once." Harry could barely speak anymore. Too much had fallen on him tonight to be able to think straight. He gripped the arm of the chair tightly to hold himself up straight.
"When?" Dumbledore sounded less concerned and more proud which Harry found slightly odd.
"In The Department of Mysteries. When I followed that Lestrange woman, I tried to hurt her. I was too weak to control the spell though. It didn't even faze her."
"I'm proud of you Harry."
"Why? I used an unforgivable curse."
Dumbledore straightened up in his chair. "Yes you did, but it is the reason you chose to use it, that makes me proud. You did not use it out of greed, or malice, or spite. You chose it as a last resort to protect the ones you loved. Perhaps "unforgivable" is an inappropriate title. You must remember that there are certain times when what seems like doing something horrible, or hurting someone, may in fact be the only right thing to do. You will be left with no choice but to learn the curses Harry, if for no other reason than to prevent what happened to Sirius, from happening to anyone else you care about."
There were no words to describe how the dark haired boy felt at that moment. There was nothing he could do but nod. Harry didn't feel strong at that moment, in fact he felt so weak and scared that the room seemed to grow larger to every second.
"Go on, get some sleep. You've had a rough night." Dumbledore helped him stand and guided him to the door. It was a long walk back to the common room that night indeed.
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Ron was half dozing with one eye half open, the other closed, outside the portrait of the fat lady. He didn't stir as Harry approached him.
"Ron."
"Go away I don't want any." Ron said in a half snort. He shifted slightly against the wall to make himself more comfortable.
"Ron," Harry said again. No response. He knelt down beside his friend and gave him a quick shake. "Ron," he repeated.
"Huh, what? Oh Harry!" Ron scrambled to his feet, brushing the dirt from the floor off of his robes.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh well it occurred to us that you didn't know the new password yet. So I was waiting for you to come back." Ron turned to the fat lady. "Filibuster."
"Thank you. Shouldn't you two be in bed?" questioned the fat lady as she swung to the side.
"We're going, we're going." Ron said as he entered the common room. Hermione ran to greet them. She was the only one left in the common room, Harry surmised that everyone else must already have been in bed.
"So what did he say?" Hermione's voice was mixed with excitement and worry. Harry froze. He hadn't thought of anything to tell them. I can't tell them the truth, or else they'll know that I have to face Voldemort. Quick what do I say?
"Yeah what's up?" questioned Ron.
"Err-he just said that I need to keep up the Occlumency. That's all."
"He did?" Hermione sounded doubtful. "Come on, he could have just as easily told you that by owl, and he's already told you twice this summer. What did he really say?" She blocked his path to the boy's dormitory staircase.
"Yeah don't lie to us," said Ron.
"I'm not lying!" Harry protested. "That's what he said. He said he made Snape the teacher so that he can continue to give me Occlumency lessons."
"Did you ask him about the attacks in Diagon Alley?" Hermione persisted with the questions making Harry uncomfortable.
"Oh no, I forgot to ask." The attacks had completely slipped his mind.
"Forgot to ask? People were killed." Ron said in a hushed voice.
"Can I go to bed now?" Harry asked. Hermione moved aside, and he began to slowly ascend the stairs.
"Uh, Harry?" Hermione called after him. He turned back to her. "I've been doing some thinking. It's probably for the best that Snape is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts now."
"What! That's just insane. How could that be a good thing?" said Ron.
"I don't understand either." said Harry running his hand through his hair.
"Well you want to be an Auror right?" Hermione's question struck Harry odd. What did that have to do with anything?
"Yes."
"Well you have to take Advanced Potions to be an Auror. With Snape teaching potions you had no guarantee of getting into it. But now that someone you know is teaching it, she'll let you in for sure. And Snape can't deny you from being in Defense Against the Dark Arts, not only are you the best in the class but you have to stay in it to practice Occlumency."
"Wow," said Harry. "I never thought about it like that. It makes perfect sense. How did you get so smart Hermione?"
Hermione blushed a little at what he said. "Oh I'm not that smart."
"Sure you are!" said Ron. "Much smarter than the both of us combined."
Harry poked Ron in the side, "That's not saying much you know." They all laughed and said goodnight. Ron and Harry quietly made their way to their beds, trying not to wake anyone.
Harry slid the curtain of his canopy closed, and pulled the blankets over himself. Maybe everything isn't so bad after all. Thanks guys. Cool air drifted through the open window that night, and lulled him off to sleep.
Ending Note: I do realized that Mrs. Figg is a squibb but I'll address that, just go with me on this one.