「 DARK ARTS AND DARK SPELLS 」

"HURRY UP, THEO," DAPHNE'S VOICE called from the door to his dormitory. "You know Amycus doesn't like it when we are late. Come on."

Didn't Theo know that. He wished he could somehow completely vanish himself so that he needn't face Amycus's class. But he had to. While the other Professors have gone slack and allowed them to skip a class or two, the Carrows had severe punishment in store for those who dared to come late, or Merlin forbid, not come at all.

The thought of facing Amycus again made Theo's throat hurt. He knew it was silly. Of course, the Carrows' presence did not have any physical effect on the wounds that decorated his body. But the prospect of attending their classes and staying in close proximity to them nevertheless filled him with dread. As he packed and unpacked his bag continuously, he felt immense admiration and wonder toward Neville, who didn't hesitate to stand up against the Carrows again and again and again and still go back for more.

"What are you even doing?" Daphne called once again. Theo started, then quickly shoved his bag over his shoulders and hurried to the door just as she said, "I'm coming in."

They almost collided with each other. Theo tried to smile but failed horribly. "I'm ready. Let's go."

Daphne eyed him suspiciously for a minute. When he passed her inspection, she moved aside to let him pass and together they made their way to the Dark Arts class.

Theo supposed he could - or should - tell Daphne about how he was feeling. He didn't particularly have the words to convey the sense of terrible fear that pulsed through his veins, but he could at least try. But he doubted that Daphne would understand. When she had earned her first detention with the Carrows, she returned proud, head held high. She had attended each and every one of the Carrows' classes with a sharp glint in her eyes - pride in the fact that the Carrows hadn't succeeded in thwarting her by drawing blood, a challenge to try more to suppress her. If he tried telling her that he wasn't quite looking forward to meeting Amycus and Alecto again, she wouldn't understand. She would insist it was a way to show them they hadn't broken him.

But they had.

He wasn't brave like Neville. Or kind-hearted like Seamus. Or determined like Daphne. The Carrows had quite certainly succeeded in shattering his spirits and he feared that he wouldn't make it out of their classes whole.

Seamus would have understood. He did understand. Wasn't that why he had offered to sit next to him in class? He would have provided the comfort Theo so badly needed. He began to wish he hadn't kissed Seamus.

The thought instantly made him feel selfish.

"Are you going to tell me what's happening with you?" Daphne's words pierced through the thoughts in his head. He looked at her, blinking.

"Nothing's happening," he answered, voice barely a mumble.

They reached their Dark Arts classroom.

Amycus wasn't there yet. Theo's eyes briefly met Blaise's. He sat toward the middle of the classroom, next to Goyle. He looked so insignificantly tiny in comparison to Goyle's large form that Theo had the sudden urge to laugh. Hastily looking away, he went to the back of the classroom where he was joined by Daphne a second later.

As he began to pull out quills and parchment from his bag, a voice floated to him, soft and mildly concerned. "Hey, Theo." It was Seamus. He was to the front and left of where Theo sat, next to Neville. "Are you okay?"

Theo was so surprised at the sudden question that he forgot he was avoiding Seamus. He nodded, a smile appearing on his lips unbeknownst to him. "Yes. Why wouldn't I be?" He realised how unconvincing he sounded the moment the words left his lips.

Seamus pursed his mouth, scrutinising him. "I'm here if you need anything."

Theo looked away, jumping when Daphne cleared her throat. He had forgotten she was there and realised she had been listening to his short conversation with Seamus with stark interest. "What's happening with you?" she asked in a resigned voice that showed that she didn't really expect an answer. "And with you and Finnigan? I'm very confused."

Theo sighed, looking down at his hands. They were clutching his quill so hard that lines have appeared on his palm. He loosened his fist. "So am I."

Amycus entered just then and the soft murmurs died. Backs straightened and faces were erased of all expression as Amycus Carrow's eyes flitted around the classroom, like a restless fly trying to find an escape in a confined room. Twice they rested on Theo and he thought he saw an ominous glimmer in the dark pupils of his eyes.

He clutched his quill again.

"You - girl!" Amycus barked at someone. Daphne flinched beside him, then relaxed when she realised she wasn't the one being summoned. "You with the silly pigtails. Come over here."

Heads swivelled around to the Gryffindor side of the classroom where Parvati Patil stood shakily. She looked scared out of her wits but incredibly, she smiled at her friend Lavender Brown and walked over to where Amycus stood. She faced the classroom, looking quite steady.

"Tell me who's responsible for the drawings on the walls," Amycus demanded. Beside Theo, Daphne stiffened.

Parvati looked at him, meeting his eyes. "I wouldn't know, Sir. I was home during Christmas break, you see."

Amycus Carrow trudged toward her, standing so close that Theo thought she would flinch away. But she didn't. She continued to stare at his eyes. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Amycus broke eye contact and turned to the classroom. "You are part of the Dumbledore's Army, aren't you?" he asked Parvati, although his eyes, once again, flitted across the classroom.

Parvati looked confused, as though this was the first she was hearing of it. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Sir."

A low snicker rippled through the class. Amycus glared, instantly silencing them. "Don't play smart with me, young lady," he growled. "It has been brought to my attention that you can control spells from a long distance and that's how you, the Dumbledore's Army, have been able to do those silly drawings from home. Now you will tell me who has done this or there will be consequences."

No one laughed this time. Theo saw, out of the corner of his eyes, students glancing at each other in genuine confusion. He lowered his face to hide his laughter. Of course no one knew about this special spell. Daphne had simply made it up to divert attention from the small Gryffindors the Carrows had been accusing over Christmas dinner. He surreptitiously glanced at Daphne and was pleased to see that she looked amused.

"You can do that?" asked Seamus in a voice filled with exaggerated wonder. "I never knew. Will you teach us, Sir? I'm sure you know all about this spell. You are after all our Dark Arts teacher."

Another ripple of laughter spread through the room. Amycus's eyes flashed in anger, the muscles in his neck turning purple. "Dark Arts?" he sputtered. "Are you telling me that's a Dark Spell?"

Seamus feigned a look of complete innocence. Theo couldn't help but stare at him. "It must be. The protective spells around Hogwarts are so strong - you cannot even apparate into or out of the castle. I'm sure it would require Dark Magic to draw on the walls from outside of the boundaries. Sir."

No one tried to hide their laughter this time. Thankfully, Amycus was too preoccupied with this new bit of information to notice. "You cannot - apparate?" he muttered to himself, but everyone heard.

"You can't, Sir," said Neville. "It's one of the first things written in Hogwarts - A History. Why, Sir?" He leaned over his desk to stare at Amycus with wide-eyed interest. "Have you tried it?"

"I've heard it has serious consequences," said Lavender Brown. Neville and Seamus nodded along with her as though they were discussing a compelling story. "It's supposed to turn your insides into powder. Did that happen to you, Sir?"

A series of expressions crossed over Amycus's face - from disbelief to fear to exasperation to anger. He whirled his head to look at Daphne. Theo felt his insides go cold. If he started questioning Daphne about giving him false information - Theo couldn't imagine what he might do to her.

"You!" he barked. "Ms Greengrass. You told me about the long-distance spell. So you must know something about it. Are these little brats telling the truth?" He cocked his head toward the Gryffindors.

Theo looked fearfully at Daphne and was surprised to see she looked thoughtful. "Yes, Sir. I did hear your insides can turn into powder -"

"Not that!" Amycus bellowed. "I meant the - the long-distance spell."

"Oh, you must have misunderstood," Daphne answered, impossibly calm. "I don't know about the spell. I just heard my father talking about it and I thought that this must apply to the situation." She paused, pretending to think. "You could always look into the library though. I'm sure it has books talking about the spell."

Amycus looked utterly bewildered. Never in his career as a Death Eater/teacher must he have dreamed that he would be asked to look into the library by a seventeen-year-old girl. He began to sputter. "The - the library?" was what he must have said, but it sounded like dalavrouee?

To Theo's surprise, it was Blaise who spoke next. "Yes, Sir. It's on the first floor. A large room with lots and lots of books. You'll know when you see it. It's quite hard to miss."

The class could no longer control their laughter. They erupted, rolling against each other. Parvati grabbed the chance and slipped into her seat, grinning, but Amycus was far too busy to notice. He slammed his fist on the table, effectively silencing the class. His eyes looked positively scary now, and the veins along his neck were so dilated that Theo feared they would burst at any moment. Amycus stood, glowering at them and waited until the class has settled down.

"That's enough," he said with barely controlled anger. "You lot have all turned into little pieces of turd. No wonder the Dark Lord wanted us to come teach here so that we can show you what respect is. Evidently, Dumbledore has given you too much independence. None of you is going to turn into respectable human beings. Unless we drill some lessons into you and show you what respect is."

"You?" exclaimed Neville Longbottom. He sounded genuinely surprised. "Respect? I'm not sure you can use those two words in the same sentence, Sir."

The entire class flinched even before Amycus reacted. Theo wasn't sure what followed next, but there was a cry of pain and then an enormous uproar of protest. Amycus bellowed again and brought the class to silence. He glared at them all with purple veins popping up in his face, and stalked out of the classroom.

Neville was on the floor, clutching his stomach, wriggling and whimpering. There was no blood, no visible wound. Amycus must have used the Cruciatus curse.

Daphne was on her feet in a second. She joined Seamus as he tried to pull Neville to his feet. Theo wondered if he should help them, but decided that they were fine. He stayed at his desk and waited for Daphne to return.

•••

so I spent two hours outlining the rest of the story and have decided there will be around 45-50 chapters in total. sigh

i really want to finish this book within this year so wish me luck :)

update: i finished it :D