☤ Pseudonym ☤

~Chapter Four~

'Alastor Moody.' I sit at the back of the class, glaring at the man who calls himself a professor. 'Ex-Auror...' he writes MOODY in large letters on the chalkboard, as if we did not know how to spell it. 'Ministry malcontent and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.' he eyes all of us, his gaze slightly pausing on me. My glare is unfaltering. 'I am here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story, goodbye, the end.' he pauses dramatically, 'Any questions?' Everyone stares at him with fear and respect. They have heard whispers of his supposed 'heroics' yet his aura seems to stun people into silence.

'When it comes to the Dark Arts... I believe in a practical approach.' I see a few students exchange glances warily. 'But first, which of you can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?'

Without raising her hand Hermione calls out, 'Three, sir.'

He turns to the board, chalk poised. 'And they are so named?'

'Because they are unforgivable. The use of any one of them will-'

'Will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban, correct.' he finishes for her. 'Now the Ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different!' he shouts, slamming his chalk onto the table. Of course he says different. 'You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared.' he turns to face the board once more, 'You need to find another place to put your chewing gum beside the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnigan!'

Seamus sighs in exasperation 'No way. The old codger can see out the back of his head.' I laugh at this comment. Picturing the anger in Barty's head as he has to restrain himself.

Barty turns and hurls the piece of chalk at Seamus, 'And hear across classrooms!' everyone ducks and Seamus narrowly avoids being hit by the white missile. Barty glares at me as I try to restrain my laughter. I swallow it and put on a straight face. 'So which curse shall we see first? Weasley!' he shouts.

Ron jumps, 'Yes.' he mumbles.

'Stand.' Ron shakily rises to his feet. 'Give us a curse.'

'Well... my dad did tell me about one.' Barty looks deep into his eyes, 'The Imperius Curse.'

'Oh, yeah, your father would know all about that.' he nods furiously, 'Gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago.'

Barty had already told me all about these curses and how to use them, so the lesson was beginning to bore me. I gaze solemnly out the window as I remember the first time I had to use one.

'P-p-please.' the wailing man begs on his knees, tugging at Barty's coat. He throws back his head to let out a huge guffaw.

'P-p-p-please.' he imitates mockingly, adding greatly to his laughter.

I stand in the corner of the room. My knees tremble slightly, so I lock them together. I clench my hand in a fist around my wand.

'Florence. Come and say hello to our little friend.' he turns with a great smile, beckoning for me to come closer. I take a small step forwards, but stop. 'NOW!' he shouts and jump, shuffling towards him. He laughs loudly at my reaction. 'Florence it is now time to... initiate you into our select group.' he wraps an arm around my shoulders, squeezing me uncomfortably. 'To do this you must dispose of a certain mudblood.' he kneels so he is at my level, 'This man posed as a wizard... but we know the truth. Don't we?' I do not answer. 'DON'T WE?' he screams, spit landing on my cheek, but I do not dare wipe it away.

'Y-yes.' I mumble.

'Good. Now you know the words.' he orientates me towards the whimpering man.

I take a deep breath, steeling myself, 'A-avarda k-k-kedavra.' it sounded more like a question. Green sparked out of my wand but fell to the ground. A large hand slapped me brutally and fingers gripped my chin.

He forces me to look at him. The brown flecks dance in his murky green eyes. 'Say it like you mean it.' he breathes, his hot breath kissing my face.

I close my eyes for a second. Then I open then. I face the man. 'Avarda kedavra!' I shout confidently. The green envelops my mind.

But it is not over yet. The man slumps to the ground. His eyes stare at me, I can see his life depleting. 'Ha!' Barty shouts. It was not really a laugh, almost a reflex. He belongs in a mental asylum. 'Well done, darlin. You truly earned this.' I feel a deep burning on my wrist. I do not move. Pain is just a message transmitted by neurones to your brain. I am not dying. Yet.

The snake wiggles on my wrist, breathing life into the dark corners of my soul.

I burst from my daydream with a start. The eight year old memory still feeling fresh in my brain. I lift the cuff of my shirt to reveal the black snake and skull dancing on my wrist. Quickly I pull it down. That day I was rewarded by becoming a Death Eater. But I know that it was truly a curse.

'Wilde!' a shout breaks my chain of thoughts. I look up to find everyone staring at me. I raise an eyebrow in question. 'I asked you a question.'

'Did you?' I find great pleasure in taunting him as I know that he cannot do anything in front of twenty witnesses.

'Yes.' he says through gritted teeth. 'What is the final Unforgivable Curse?' I examine the board which already has 'Imperius' and 'Cruciatus' scratched onto it.

'The Killing Curse.' I murmur.

'What was that? Speak up?' he lifts his hand to his ear.

'The Killing Curse.' I repeat, louder this time. Our eyes connect across the room and I glare at him. He asked me that on purpose.

Barty digs around in his jacket and pulls out a small flask. Taking a large swig of what I assume to be polyjuice potion he yells, 'Dismissed!'

Everyone scrambles to pick up their books, which were left untouched this lesson. Cannot wait for the next one! The class funnels out but as I am leaving Barty grabs my arm firmly. His fingers dig painfully into me, though I refuse to show him my discomfort. I recognise the warning. It is loud and clear. I keep my eyes on the floor and roughly pull my arm from his grip.

I walk down the steps with Ron, Hermione and Dean. Harry always seems to find a way to avoid me. 'Brilliant, isn't he?' Ron seems enthralled by the psychopath, 'Completely demented, of course, and terrifying to be in the same room with, but he's really been there, you know?' Sure but not quite in the heroic way Ron thinks. 'He's looked evil in the eye.' Maybe when he looks in the mirror.

'There's a reason those curses are unforgivable.' Hermione says with digust, 'To perform them in a classroom!'

I can feel eyes watching me all the way down. 'Do you need something, Dean?' I shout. He shakes his head and brushes past me. I release a tired sigh.

'What was that about? You two never fight.' Ron laughs and continues to chat away with Hermione. I look out the window and watch the first droplets of rain dribble down the pane.