The half-blood princess

Chapter 17/Dark Arts

It's been a few weeks now. 

Nowadays we mostly walk in line because we've gotten into trouble more often, but not as bad as the others.

All classes are normal except Muggle Studies and Dark Arts. Although Muggle Studies is also more normal.

In Dark Arts we are currently learning how to use the Cruciatus Curse.

We're about to have another double lesson. We sit down in the classroom and then Amycus comes in.

"Today we're doing something special. A bunch of people from this class have detention and I thought you'd use the Cruciatus curse on these people. Let's start with you, Mattheo. Choose one of the three." he says.

Mattheo goes first. There are Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan and Michael Corner.

He doesn't actually want to do it but we're all afraid of punishment. 

Then Mattheo points his wand at Corner and says "Crucio!"

Corner just screams a bit and not that bad or loud. 

It probably wasn't very bad. Fortunately.

Then Draco, Pansy and Blaise are called. They all manage reasonably well.

"Now Longbottom!" hisses Professor Carrow.

It must be particularly bad for Longbottom. His friends are up there and he had to watch them being tortured. Even if it wasn't particularly bad.

"No!" Longbottom said several times.

After he continues to refuse, Carrow pulls out his wand and wordlessly cuts a wound into Longbottom's face.

Longbottom screams. But it doesn't bleed that much.

Then a few other of his friends take their turn. Some refuse and some try reluctantly.

"Now you, Rose." he says.

I go ahead. I think Seamus has had the least impact so far, so I'm going to use the spell on him. 

I actually want to refuse but I'm afraid. 

Then I quietly say "Crucio!"

Finnegan screams. More than anyone else. No, since when did I have so much conviction about something like this. Not even the others had that much conviction.

"Great job Rose. That's what I want to see from each of you." says Amycus. 

Then it's Theodore and everyone else's turn. But I was the one who did it 'best'.

>>>>>>>>>>

I'm just walking from the girls' toilet back into the common room. 

I absolutely had to and I couldn't get anywhere other than this toilet in a hurry. I'm not running in a group now, but I don't think I can get into that much trouble.

Amycus meets me on the way.

He says "Rose, you know you're supposed to go in a group!"

"I had to go to the toilet." I say.

"Then go to your common room."

"But-"

"No buts. Go to the common room right now and if something like that happens again you'll have detention."

"OK." I say and walk away. I don't want detention. I know from many others that they are tortured there. 

The Carrow's office is in the dungeon right next to our dorms and our common room and we always hear screaming coming from it even though the walls shouldn't let it through.

In addition, some students are taken to the dungeons and are not allowed to leave there for a few weeks. 

Next time I'll just quickly go to the common room toilet.

>>>>>>>>>>

I try to behave better over the next few days, but as we're walking back to our common room, I stumble and fall. It's not bad and I get up again shortly afterwards but the others are already gone.

I try to run after them quickly but then I'm stopped by another Death Eater. He gets Amycus.

"What happened now?" he asks suspiciously.

I reply "I stumbled. I was actually walking in the group."

"If you walk like your group, this shouldn't happen to you."

"I'm sorry." I still say.

"No, that was your second time. Just because you are also Death Eaters we can't give you so many other rules. That's what the Dark Lord ordered us to do. And your father won't be able to help you either. The Dark Lord told him that too ordered. So detention on Saturday at 3 p.m. and in class you know what to expect." 

Then I quickly walk away crying.

I enter the common room. Pansy comes straight to me and asks "What happened Rose?"

"I, I have n-detention." I stutter.

Pansy knows straight away what that means.

"Why?" she asks.

I sob "I was out of line twice. Today I just stumbled and then everyone was gone and the last time I had to go to the toilet and couldn't make it to go in the toilet here."

"Rose, everything will be okay. Surely nothing will happen in class."

"But. Amycus said that I know what happens in class."

"Oh, I'm with you and I won't do it with you. Even if you were the only one. Then I would refuse and I'm sure the others would too." says Pansy.

"No, I don't want all of you to hurt yourself just for me. The spell isn't that strong anyway if the person who casts it doesn't want to do it." 

Normally. It's not like that for me but I wish it was that way.

>>>>>>>>>>

Today is the next Dark Arts lesson. I've been shaking all day.

I should go on the front right at the beginning of the lesson.

Then Amycus says "Unfortunately today we only have one person who has to be detained. Rose. So I'll summon you one by one. You know what happens if you refuse."

Then Amycus calls the students forward one by one. The pain isn't bad. It just feels like you have a stomach ache. With every single one. For some then more and for some less. Pansy wants to refuse at the beginning but I manage to convince her.

After the lesson I only have a bit of a stomach ache but it goes away very quickly. It really wasn't that bad.

But on Saturday there is also detention. I'm afraid of that. Because the Carrows don't care if they torture. They are just happy to have a 'toy'. There is no other way to describe them.

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I don't know if this chapter makes any sense, but I wanted to include it somewhere in the story.

The next chapter will be the detention and I hope it's a little longer than the others since the last ones were all pretty short.