LOST ↝ G. WEASLEY [1]

23 | Application

"What the hell is going on here?" Nicolette asked as the group walked into the Dark Arts classroom to see a group of frightened-looking first years standing at the front of the class next to Professor Carrow, a grin spread across his face.

"Take your seats, students," Carrow said, and Joey quickly slid into the open spot next to Nicolette. "for class today, we're going to look into the next step of the practical approach to using the Cruciatus Curse. Today, we're going to look into the application step."

"Application?" Blaise Zabini inquired from his seat at the front of the class.

"Today, you lot will practice the curse on these test subjects right here," Carrow explained, gesturing to the side where the first years were trembling, looking back at him with pleading expressions. "alright, who's first?"

"I am," Goyle said, standing up from his desk with a laugh and grabbing his wand. 

"Come on up here." Carrow said, gesturing for Goyle to come forward. "Which of these students would you like first?"

"I want her," Goyle said, pointing towards a tiny Ravenclaw girl, and Joey noticed a tear escape from the little girl's eye, causing the seventh year girl to nearly begin shaking with rage.

"No!" Neville exclaimed, slamming his fists down onto his desk and standing up.

"What did you say?" Professor Carrow asked, looking away from where Goyle's hulking figure was towering over the frightened little girl and glaring over in Neville's direction.

"No." Neville pressed further, resulting in whistles and laughter from the Slytherins in the front. "We're not doing that. What has she done that's earned this? Or any of them? They're just kids."

"This is my class." Professor Carrow said, slowly walking down the aisle until he reached where Neville sat. "And in my class, we follow my rules and my practices. Today, you're gaining experience in a spell that will be useful to you in the future. Isn't that what school's about? Learning? Anybody else have a problem with that?"

"I do." Joey said, slowly standing up and feeling everyone's eyes trained on her. "I'm not torturing eleven year olds, that's barbaric. They come here to learn, not to be test dummies for the rest of us. You're going to scar them for life."

"I'm not doing this either," Nicolette said, standing up, followed by Seamus and Tommy. "You've got to be spectacularly dimwitted to think I'm going to use an Unforgivable Curse on a first year."

"Very well." Carrow said. "Detention, all of you."

"Arden?" Joey asked in disbelief as soon as the door to Carrow's office opened, revealing the students from the other Dark Arts class who had refused to practice the curse. "Rowan? Monty?"

"H-hi," Arden said, shaking a bit, and Joey quickly ran over, pulling her into a hug.

"It's going to be okay," Joey tried to reassure her as Carrow shut the door behind him.

"You all know why you're here." Carrow said, locking the door. "Can anyone tell me why you're here?"

"Because we thought torturing eleven year olds was immoral?" Nicolette asked, raising her hand.

"Because you disrupted my class and refused to comply with my practices." Carrow corrected her before moving onto Neville. "You were the first disruption. Come up here first."

Neville slowly walked towards Carrow, only for Carrow to take his wand and shove him towards the wall, where sets of shackles hung as if from a dungeon, much to the horror of the other students in the room. Neville was secured into the shackles, which refused to break no matter how much he fought against them.

One by one, Carrow shackled everyone to the wall, leaving them hanging and trying to fight back. During his quarrel, Rowan spat at Carrow, causing the man's eyes to widen.

"All this from the nephew of one of the Dark Lord's greatest followers?" Carrow asked, a menacing grin spreading across his face. "Bellatrix would be so disappointed."

"She's no family to me," Rowan said in a venomous tone, teeth clenched as Carrow aimed his wand at the boy.

"You should learn to respect your superiors." he said. "Crucio!"

"No!" everyone exclaimed as screams tumbled out of Rowan's mouth, metal clanking against metal and stone as he fought against the chains. 

As soon as he was satisfied, Carrow allowed the curse to break, Rowan's head lolling forward as his chest rose and fell with his heavy breathing, the front of his shirt coated in sweat. Leaving Rowan still shackled and half-conscious, he moved onto the next person down the line, which had been Monty, until he finally reached the end of the line, where Joey was.

Watching someone under the Cruciatus Curse was one thing. It's near impossible for the onlooker to imagine the pain that must be surging through the victim's body at every second as they beg over and over for it to come to an end. Feeling it, however, was unlike anything Joey could've ever pictured. 

She vaguely remembered Arden yelling her name, and then the screaming, though she couldn't be sure if it was coming from her mouth or somebody else's. At one point, her head reared back, hitting the wall and causing spots of black to explode across her vision as she shut her eyes, willing it to finally be over, when all of a sudden, the pain finally ceased.

With a wave of his wand, the shackles unlocked, causing the kids to fall face-first onto the ground. Monty's face hit the stone floor, leaving him with a bloody nose that bruised almost instantly.

"Now you lot get back to your common rooms before curfew." Carrow warned. "And don't let me catch you disrupting my classes again."

Arden and Seamus rushed over to Joey, helping her up to her feet. Slowly, they managed to find their way up to the Room of Requirement, stumbling in the doorway and hearing the gasps of the others as they caught sight of the injured teenagers. The entire time, Joey noticed the room never ceased its spinning, the black spots still threatening to creep up in her vision.

"What the bloody hell happened?"  Lavendar asked, the other students rushing forward to help them in unnoticed. 

"Carrow used his bloody 'application' process on us to punish us for disrupting his lesson." Nicolette spat. "Joey hit her head and I think Monty's got a broken nose."

"Let's get Joey in one of the hammocks," Padma Patil said, and she felt two pairs of arms hoist her up into it, and then she took notice of Padma leaning over her. "Alright, Joey, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," she said, and Padma nodded, a proud smile on her face.

"Okay, that's a good sign." she said. "Someone get her some water."

"It's not safe for us out there anymore." Arden said. "Even in classes, it's too dangerous. So, if we have the choice, I don't think we should leave here unless it's absolutely necessary."