Unofficial Portkey Archive

Lucius Malfoy bowed swiftly to Lord Voldemort, his hard gray eyes fixed firmly on the floor. He was at the Dark Lord's hide-out in the Forest of Tenebrae to bring his weekly report of what was going on in the Wizarding World. Voldemort has scattered his minions all across the world, recruiting more Death Eaters, finding information on the Light, and having all sorts of Dark creatures join the ranks of his new army.

So far though, Lucius had been assigned only one task, one that Voldemort called very important and highly essential. For the past several weeks, Lucius had been watching Illustris and trying to penetrate it's thick magical wards. He had also been trying to spy on the Heirs but with no such luck. It seemed as if a special ward had been placed around Illustris to make everything within it appear invisible. Smart move by Dumbledore, who made the immense castle look like nothing more that an old shack.

"Well?" Voldemort asked, his voice laced with impatience.

"Dumbledore has placed many heavy wards on Illustris, some of them I can not even place. A cloak of invisibility remains around the castle as well, My Lord. I have been unable to see anything." Lucius kept his eyes to the floor, knowing the information would greatly anger Voldemort.

"Fool," Voldemort spat, rising to his feet. "I entrusted you to this task and yet you fail me? I should punish you for this lack of loyalty!"

"If that is your wish, My Lord, I understand," Lucius said solemnly, bowing his head further.

Voldemort seemed to be considering for many moments, drawing his wand from his robes and pointing it toward his follower. Several seconds went by before the Dark Lord lowered his wand, a sudden idea crossing his mind.

"Get up! I have another task for you to do instead. We shall leave Illustris be, at the moment."

Lucius stood obediently, awaiting his new instructions. He knew he would follow them no matter what, such was his loyalty to the Dark Lord. He had already sacrificed his daughter for him, he knew he would sacrifice so much more. A smirk fell across his lips and his eyes glittered maliciously in the pale green light from the fireplace.

"How much does your son care for his mother?" Voldemort questioned, twirling his wand idly.

"Very much," Lucius responded dryly. "One of his many weaknesses. He would always do anything for his mother and sister."

Voldemort smiled evilly. "Very good. Then I shall tell you of my new plan. It seems your son needs a bit more persuasion. I have been able to read into his mind so far and he seems to be becoming a bit reluctant. For the Final Battle to go according to plan, nothing must fail in the slightest. He has no idea yet what is going on but soon, everything shall make sense. Do you understand what you need to do, Lucius?"

Though Voldemort had not exactly voiced his command, Lucius knew what he was expected to do. Bowing low, he nodded his head.

"Yes, My Lord, I understand perfectly. All shall go as you want it to."

"Your loyalty is recognized," Voldemort said. "Go and report back to me as soon as you are finished. I have other assignments for you when you return."

Waving his hand, Voldemort turned away from Lucius, who bowed once more and backed out of the room. Once he shut the large double doors, he started his way out of the mansion, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Lucius knew his task would be difficult to complete but it would only be a small price to pay for the trust he knew he would receive from the Dark Lord.

……………………………..

A slightly cold breeze blew across the landscape surrounding Illustris, the bare branches on the trees swaying and the grass that poked through the snow rippling. The sun shined dully above, haze covering it. The stiff wind continued to blow repeatedly, causing the robes of Professor Remus Lupin to snap back from his body as he strode across the grounds.

He was heading toward the mound where the Heirs practiced their Defensive and Offensive Training. Today though, the spells they would be learning were the most difficult and the most dangerous they would ever be taught. Their Physical Training lesson with Moody had been cancelled that day just so the Heirs would have enough strength to perform these three curses.

Remus sighed deeply. The Unforgivable Curses. That was what the Four Heirs would be learning that day. The most deadly curses known to the Wizarding World.

Moody would be helping him in the lesson, for even though Remus knew a great deal about them, this particular lesson was so very important. To successfully fight in the Final Battle, the Heirs needed to know about and learn the Unforgivable Curses. So many of Voldemort's supporters would be using them along with Voldemort himself and the only way to counter and defeat them was to perform the same curses. The use of evil would be used to defeat evil.

Remus had despised this part of the training ever since Dumbledore had told him of it at the beginning. He had desperately fought the wise wizard, saying it was not necessary for the Heirs to learn the Unforgivables and they could rid of Voldemort by other means. But Dumbledore had insisted and Remus could not convince him otherwise. Now him and Moody were about to pass on the knowledge of curses that were illegal and shouldn't be spread any more than they already were.

Not that he didn't trust the Four Heirs, he just didn't see the full reason behind why the Unforgivables were so important for them to learn. All Dumbledore had said was, "They need to know. One of them may come in handy during the battle."

Remus finally reached the training area and saw that Moody was already there, studying the small hill with his one beady black eye, the electric blue one swiveling around in a circle.

Coming to stand beside him, Remus nodded his head. "So, what do you think, Moody?"

"It'll do," the wizard growled back, stomping his cane into the dirt.

"Do you really think this is a wise idea? Teaching the Four Heirs the Unforgivable Curses?" Remus questioned quietly.

Moody didn't respond at first, just letting his blue eye move to stare fixedly at Lupin. The younger wizard stared back pointedly before turning his own gaze to the hill. With a low growl, Moody shifted his weight and finally answered.

"I don't really think it is wise or not wise. Dumbledore obviously thinks that the Unforgivables are important to their training and I'm not going to question his motives for this reasoning. I do think that every young witch and wizard should know about the Unforgivables. Constant Vigilance! That's what I always say. Knowledge of the curses could greatly help in their success but I do have to agree with Dumbledore, the performance of the curses will improve their chances. Power and strength must be met with the same degree on the battle field. We all know how to use the curses, why not the Four Heirs?"

"But they are so young!" Remus countered angrily. "Do we really need to put this kind of pressure on them? They are already being taught so much more then someone their ages should be! To teach them the ways to harm, influence, and kill will only add to the strains on them. I do not think it will do much good, it can only do harm in the end."

"You may very well be right, Remus," Moody said softly. "But nonetheless, we must teach them the three curses. Have faith in them. I believe they will use them only when necessary and for the right reasons. Be supportive and teach them well, that's all we can do."

Remus sighed in defeat and nodded, knowing Moody was right. He knew he shouldn't doubt Dumbledore or the Heirs. It was just that the Unforgiveables were so powerful and so deadly. But maybe good would come of it. He just needed to have faith.

"Ah….here they are," Moody suddenly spoke, startling Remus out of his thoughts.

Though he hadn't turned around, Moody had obviously seen the Heirs coming from behind, as his blue eye was currently pointing backwards. Remus looked around and saw that Moody was right, the Four Heirs were making their way slowly across the grounds, heads bent against the wind.

"Hurry up there!" Moody called loudly. "You four have a lot to learn today. Best to get started early."

As the four came to a stop, Draco took a position as far from the ex-Auror as possible. He kept eyeing him warily and shifting his feet uncomfortably. Ginny glared at him out of the corner of her eye and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Coward," she said while smirking.

Draco raised his eyebrows at her. "No, just cautious."

Ginny shook her head and just continued smirking, reminding Draco strongly of himself.

"All right," Remus began, "I'm not too keen on the lesson plan for today but Dumbledore, and Moody, believe it is best for you to know and be able to cast these curses so, we will teach them to you. From what I heard, back in your fourth and third year, you were all told about the Unforgivable Curses. Am I right?"

Hermione felt Harry tense up next to her at the mention of the curses and squeezed his hand affectionately. He smiled weakly at her as they all acknowledged the fact of knowing about the curses.

"Ok, so part of our work is already taken care of, though we will go over the detail of the curses briefly. Now, I was also told that the Imperius Curse was actually performed on you, which is very interesting indeed. There will be little performing of the curses going on today since we can't and will not perform the Cruciatus Curse on any of you and naturally, Avada Kedavra……" Lupin trailed off.

Clearing his throat, Moody continued for him. "So, Imperius, Cruciatus, and Avada Kedavra you will all be taught and you will all know how to perform them by the end of today. Not a pretty thing to learn but on the battle field you all will, for a fact, encounter these three curses. You need to know about them more extensively and you need to know how to come back with the same curse. Since there is no counter curse for these three, you will be fighting the Death-Eaters and Voldemort with the same weapon."

Hermione raised up her hand timidly. Moody fixed his gaze on her before nodding shortly.

"Professor, I thought that the Unforgivables were practically impossible to perform unless you truly hold evil within your heart and soul. That was proven by Harry last year when he couldn't hold the Cruciatus Curse last year over a Death-Eater."

Harry closed his eyes painfully, remembering too well that fateful day. When he reopened his eyes, Moody was watching him closely but said nothing about his reaction. Remus was smiling slightly at Hermione and responded.

"Interesting point, Hermione. It is true but considering the circumstances you four shall be in and what has happened, I think you will be able to perform the curses effectively. It will not make you evil to make use of these curses, it simply makes you angry and full of vengeance. Your intentions are good in the end, you are trying to save the world."

Hermione nodded, accepting the answer. Draco cast Lupin a look of confusion though.

"Since we can't perform the spells on each other, how will we know we're doing them right?"

"Ah, right you are, Draco. You will be using spiders to try the spells on. It's a lucky thing Ron isn't here, right?" He winked at Harry and Hermione, trying hard to lighten the mood.

Hermione forced a laugh along with Ginny but both Harry and Draco were looking apprehensive and not at all thrilled with what was about to come.

Remus then removed four different jars from his robes and handed them to each of the Heirs. Each jar contained nine spiders. The Heirs were then ushered up to the top of the mound and Moody performed a quick spell which created an invisible barrier around the hill, keeping out the wind so the spiders wouldn't be blown away.

"Now, set your jars down and come over here. We need to do some explaining about the curses first," Remus informed them.

Still not looking very happy, the Heirs made their way over and waited patiently for the lecture to begin.

"I know this won't be fun for any of you," Moody growled out softly, "but it is vital and necessary for the four of you to be able to use the Unforgivable Curses. You must know and be ready for anything to occur in the battle. Using these curses takes a great deal of strength in both body and mind. We are here to prepare and train you to use them effectively and only when you must! You must have constant vigilance and be aware at all times! It won't be easy but by the end of this lesson, all four of you will be able to cast the three curses."

He stopped, staring hard at all of them. The Four Heirs didn't meet his gaze and were staring at the grass, showing just how difficult this was for them. Moody softened his voice even more, sympathizing with them.

"Remus and I will be here, so don't fret too much. Just learn the curses at the moment, we'll deal with the emotional responses a little later. Now, I must bring this up and ask it even though I pretty much already know the answer. Who here has seen any of the three curses performed?"

Tentatively, all Four Heirs raised their hands. Moody nodded knowingly and Remus braced himself for the next question.

"All right. Now, who here has had an Unforgivable performed on them? Besides Imperius because I already know about fourth year." His eyes flashed at the memory of the man who took his identity for many months.

Swallowing very hard, Harry rose his shaking hand. To his surprise, Draco rose his as well, staring firmly ahead. Harry's eyes widened and he locked his gaze on Draco, who refused to look at him.

"I thought so," Moody said, waving his gnarled hand to have them put their arms down. "That's all I need to know. I won't bring it up again."

Ginny moved over to Draco and gently touched his shoulder. He glanced at her and sighed, knowing what she was thinking.

"My father," he muttered.

Ginny brought her hand back in surprise before her dark eyes softened and she stepped forward to give Draco a hug. He stiffened in her arms but finally returned the hug and kissed the top of her head.

Remus finally spoke again. "Go back to your spiders and take one out. You'll be doing the Imperius Curse first. Remember, the incantation is Imperio. And here."

He flicked his wand and conjured up four pieces of parchment. He handed them to the Heirs. "This is for you to put the spiders on, I doubt you really want to be handling them."

Moody made his way over and pointed his cane back toward the jars. "Off you go, your fears about the Unforgivable Curses must be overcome."

"Who said I was scared?" Draco snapped with a sneer, breaking away from Ginny.

Moody's electric blue eye revolved and halted on the blonde, studying him. "I'd call you a fool if you weren't scared."

Draco scowled even more and turned away from the wizard, marching over to his jar and throwing the piece of parchment and his wand on the ground. A sullen looking Ginny followed behind him, glaring at her boyfriend every few minutes. She was starting to get tired of his frequent mood swings.

Once the Four Heirs were in their places, Remus began to tell them more about the Imperius Curse.

"The Imperius Curse, as you know, is a powerful binding spell that allows the witch or wizard to effectively control the mind of someone else. Depending on how strong someone casts the spell, the curse can either have a mild effect on the other person or a very powerful one. Once you have control, their mind is open to you and you are able to have them do whatever you want."

Moody continued on. "Problems can arise though and we must warn you of this. If the curse is in place too long, the person will notice and began to fight, causing the effects of the spell to weaken. Also, if you cast the Imperius Curse on someone and then another person comes along and casts the same spell on that same person, the control becomes divided and the person will not know who to listen to. It can also destroy a person, if it gets to be too much."

Remus jumped back in. "Also, whoever you cast the Imperius Curse on can not stray too far from you or the bond may be broken. Be warned in that if Voldemort catches one of his followers under the curse, he can trace it back to one of you as long as the curse is still in place. Be cautious with this curse. Use it only if it means saving your life or someone else's."

The Heirs nodded slowly, already readying themselves. Each of them was wondering if they had enough strength in themselves to actually perform the curse. None of them particularly wanted it.

"We placed a charm on the spiders to subdue them slightly so they don't run off everywhere," Moody explained. "So take out your wands and one of the spiders. Concentrate and just say Imperio. If the spider appears to relax, you should have performed the curse correctly. Then, just say whatever you want the spider to do. If it doesn't work, remove the curse and try again. This curse won't really harm the spider so you can try it a few times on the same one."

As the other three bent down to pick up their jars of spiders, Harry remained frozen, fighting an internal battle. He knew he needed to learn about the Unforgivable Curses and he knew he needed to perform them correctly but something was holding him back. The effects of the Unforgivables on himself and everyone he loved had been devastating. The one time he had used an Unforgivable had been out of pure rage coming from the death of Sirius. He was still wounded from Hagrid being killed as well but his wanting to use an Unforgivable had been diminished. Harry didn't see any reason for him to use one on another person, even if they were a Death-Eater. There were so many other spells that could be used to fight with. It was down to one thing: Harry didn't want to perform an Unforgivable.

Harry was startled out of his thoughts when Remus suddenly appeared by his side and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you all right, Harry?" he questioned gently.

His blue eyes were staring straight into Harry's green ones, seeming to already know the answer but wanting to hear Harry say it, to acknowledge it. Harry cast his eyes downward, trying to figure out the right words to say.

"I don't….I don't think this is right for me to do," he muttered, almost ashamed.

Remus squeezed his shoulder in response and nodded his head, completely understanding Harry's dilemma.

"I know this is hard for you, Harry. Out of everyone here, you've been affected most by the Unforgivable Curses. I don't agree with all of you learning them either, but I trust Dumbledore and his judgment and so should you, Harry. I will not force it upon you but strongly consider your decision. I believe you should go through with this lesson."

He stepped back and went to help Ginny, who was having trouble keeping her spider in one place. Harry watched him for a second before bending down and picking up the jar, studying the spiders inside. He had to do this, he knew it.

His mind made up, Harry quickly opened up the jar and brought one of the spiders out, setting it on the parchment. It lay still, obviously still under the effects of the charm, unlike Ginny's. Pulling his wand out of his pocket, Harry pointed it at the spider, noticing that his hand was shaking. Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to concentrate, Harry uttered the curse.

"Imperio!"

The spider slackened and Harry knelt next to it, wand still pointed forward, and softly commanded, "Jump three times."

Obediently, the spider leapt in the air three times, after which Harry commanded it to do a few somersaults. Having seen enough, Harry removed the curse and placed the spider back in the jar, where it began to scuttle on top of it's still drowsy friends.

"Well done, Potter," Moody growled above him.

Harry sighed and shrugged, not very pleased with himself.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Potter," Moody said. "It's not a crime to use these to defend one's self against Voldemort and his followers. Dumbledore only wants you to know these for that reason."

The Heirs all successfully performed the Imperius Curse so Moody began to tell them about the Cruciatus Curse.

"It's not pleasant, as you know, it's simply torture. Voldemort and his Death-Eaters love this curse, they use it on practically anyone they can, including their own people. I do not recommend any of you using this one, even in the middle of battle. I don't think any of you are emotionally ready to handle casting this spell on a human being. We must teach you it though, so you are aware of it. Take out another spider and try it."

Somberly, they all reached for another spider. Hermione was shaking as she put the spider down. She remembered so vividly when Neville had watched in horror as the fake Moody had put a spider through this curse. The memory of his parents' agony under the Cruciatus curse still there. She remembered how frighten she'd been when Harry had almost endured the curse under Umbridge's wand, the evil woman that she was. Hermione hated the curse with every fiber of her being and having to perform it almost made her sick.

She turned her head to look at Harry, who was struggling with his own inner feelings about the second curse. He finally winced and flicked his wand at the spider, his face contorting as it curled up and rocked in agony. She closed her eyes and faced Draco, who held no expression on his features as he put his spider under the curse. Hermione did notice that he removed it rather quickly though. She then saw Ginny, who was having trouble getting the curse up to it's proper strength. Both Moody and Lupin were helping her out.

Sighing, Hermione looked back down at her spider and screwing up her courage she uttered, "Crucio!" and watched as the spider started trembling in pain. A few seconds later she removed the curse, trying hard not to cry. She could never see herself performing that curse again.

"Stop!" Remus finally said. "I think that's enough for that curse. You've all proved you can use it. Now, on to the……..last curse."

His voice wavered as his sentence ended and silence greeted him. Moody shuffled forward and Remus turned away. The Killing Curse. The only Unforgivable left.

"I'm not even going to explain this one. Just….try it." Moody's words faltered a bit as even he seemed to be struggling with the ending part of the lesson. There was no way to make Avada Kedavra sound good.

Almost too calmly, Draco took another spider out of the jar, placed it on the ground, lifted his wand, and uttered the curse.

"Avada Kedavra!" he yelled loudly.

The green light shot from his wand and the spider collapsed, dead. The other Heirs stared at him in shock. As he looked up, he saw an unreadable emotion in Ginny's eyes before she turned away from him. He didn't want to look at Hermione and Harry, he didn't need to see their accusing stares.

Letting his gaze fall on Moody, the older wizard nodded at him. Draco quickly picked up the rest of his things and waited for Moody to remove the barrier. Once it was lifted, Draco marched down the hill toward the castle, not noticing the single tear that was falling down Ginny's pale face.

Putting the barrier back up, Moody turned to the other Heirs and motioned for them to continue. As Harry lifted his wand to finally perform the Killing Curse, a memory of a flash of green seared through his mind and he shut his eyes to block out the past.

He heard Hermione to his right finally utter the curse and the roaring noise that followed it. A soft sob then filled his ears as Ginny finally choked out the words, the same roaring accompanying it.

Determination suddenly setting in, Harry opened his eyes and clenched his hand tighter around his wand. Trying to think of Voldemort and the pain he had created in his life, Harry finally uttered the one curse that had caused the most grief in the Wizarding World.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Green filled his vision and the spider lay still, Remus quickly removing the remains with a flick of his wand. Moody limped forward and lifted the barrier once more, the cool breeze returning and hitting the Heirs' hot faces.

"Lesson's over," he grunted, not looking at them. "Go back to the castle and get ready for dinner. There's no assignment for tonight."

As Harry, Hermione, and Ginny began to pick up their things, Lupin made his way over and spoke quietly to the red-head.

"Check on Draco when you return to the tower. Even though he didn't show it, I think today's lesson might have deeply affected him."

Ginny seemed surprised but nodded. "Ok, Professor. I will."

He patted her shoulder and started his walk back to the castle, Harry and Hermione following him. Ginny picked her bag up and trudged after the pair, feeling very subdued. Moody watched them all leave before going after them, his steps measured.

All of them were lost within their own thoughts.

...........................

Author's Note: Another chapter up! I hope I didn't take as long with this one, I was really trying to work faster because I hated how long I left you guys hanging last time! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, a little more angsty and somber. I think it was important to show the Heirs performing the Unforgivables and how hard it was for all of them. It may seem as if they caught on to them quickly but being the Heirs and what they have gone through puts them ahead of the average witch/wizard, so that's why I wrote it that way. Don't worry about the angst though, I have a really fluffy chapter coming up next, focusing on the three different couples. Just a little break from the action before the more serious stuff starts happening. Things are gonna start picking up pretty quick around chapter 30, there's a lot that will be happening from now on.
I am simply AMAZED by all of the fantastic reviews I've been receiving for this story. Your support is overwhelming and I'm so glad this story is so well loved, it truly makes me happy. I hope I continue to keep all your interest and you stick with the story, so many of you have been so faithful to it, even though I have lagged with updates. You guys are just great! :)
Also, I was wondering if I could request something. Is there anyone who would be interested in drawing some of the scenes from this story? I would do it myself but I'm a horrible artist. It's just an idea, I'm not pushing it or anything but I would love to see some of these scenes drawn out on paper and I know there are some amazing artists on this site, I've been checking out the fanart lately! If you would like to, please, do so. I give my full approval! Just tell me when you do because I would love to look at it myself! Again, I'm not saying it has to be done, it would be just a cool side thing to my story. :)
Thank you again for all the wonderful reviews! I'll try and update again soon! Please remember to review this chapter as well!!
Much Love,
PhoenixFirebolt