Draco Malfoy and the Goblet of Fire (BOOK 4 of 7)

Chapter 4-An Unforgettable Class

"Alastor Moody."

It was the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and Moody was introducing himself. He picked up a piece of chalk and began to write on the chalkboard.

"Ex-Auror," he spoke, writing his name and then tossing the chalk aside, "Ministry malcontent. And your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I am here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions?"

No one answered.

He continued, "When it comes to the Dark Arts, I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?"

"Three, sir," Granger answered without raising her hand. Moody wrote the word "unforgivable" under his name.

"And they are so named?" he asked.

Granger said, "Because they are unforgivable. Use any one of them will-"

"-earn you a one-way trip to Azkaban!" Moody interrupted. "Correct. Now the Ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different! You need to know what you're up against! You need to be prepared! You need to find another place to put your chewing gum besides the underside of your desk, Mr. Finnigan!"

Everyone turned to face Finnigan.

"No way! The old codger can see out the back of his head!"

"And hear across classrooms!" Moody said, turing around and throwing the chalk at him.

"So, which curse shall we see first? Weasley!"

"Yes?" Weasley turned back to the front of the classroom in fear.

"Stand! Give us a curse."

"Well, my- my dad did tell me about one. The Imperius Curse."

"Oh yeah, your father would know all about that. Gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps this will show you why."

He went to a table and picked a spider out of a jar. He enlarged it and then said, "Imperio!"

He first threw the spider onto Dean Thomas's desk, then onto Crabbe's face, then onto Parvati Patil's arm.

"Don't worry, it's completely harmless." He dangled the spider over Weasley's head. "But if she bites," he dropped the spider, "she's lethal!"

Draco burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Moody said and flung the spider at him. Draco ducked, and the spider hit Blaise.

"Ugh!" Blaise groaned. He brushed the spider off his face.

"Talented, isn't she?" Moody said. "What shall I have her do next? Jump out the window? Drown herself?" Moody brought the spider back over to him.

"Scores of witches and wizards have claimed that they only did You-Know-Whose bidding under the influence of the Imperious Curse. But, here's the rub: how do we sort out the liars?"

Blaise, Theo, and Adrian all unconciously looked at Draco who was staring down at his desk. From her seat, Herimone noticed this.

"Another?" Moody prompted. Loads of people raised their hands. "Longbottom, is it?"

The Gryffindor rose.

"Professor Sprout tells me that you have an aptitude for Herbology."

Longbottom said, "There's the, um, the Cruciatus Curse."

"Good! Come here." Moody set the spider on the table by the chalkboard and said, "Crucio!"

The spider began to writher in pain. Draco could do nothing but stare at it.

"...you, heir to one of the most powerful pureblood families in the wizarding world, are a squib!"

"Therefore, you must be punished. Crucio!"

"Draco. Draco. Draco!" Draco blinked. The entire class was staring at him.

"Something you would like to share with us, Mr. Malfoy?" Moody asked.

Draco shook his head.

Moody turned his attention to the rest of the students and said, "If what you saw brought you pain, imagine what it must feel like. I have a hunch that only one person in this classroom has ever felt this curse before."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his professor.

"Of course, it's only a hunch. Anyway, I bet each and every one of you would scream and cry if this curse was put on you. No one is immune to this curse."

"I am."

Once again everyone looked at him. Draco didn't know why he said that.

"You?" Moody said.

Draco nodded.

"Why?"

"The Malfoys can't feel pain," Draco made up. "It's a family thing. I don't know too much about it."

"Then perhaps you would like to demonstrate for us."

Draco stood up.

"No, Draco!" Blaise whispered. "What are you doing?"

Draco ignored him and slowly walked up to the front of the room.

Moody eyed Draco warily before saying, "Crucio!"

Draco was immune, but only because he had felt this many times before. He didn't even react. Yes, his body was searing with pain and he was aching, but he did nothing except scratch his arm for a few seconds. He had learned to control his emotions, to not let his pain show, especially after the episode with his father.

Moody removed the curse and as Draco walked back to his seat, everyone, even the Gryffindors, applauded him. Moody looked at his wand and looked like he was trying to figure out if there was something wrong with it.

"Excellent bravery, Mr. Malfoy. Could you give us the last Unforgivable Curse?"

Draco packed up his belongings and slung his bag over his shoulder. He marched up to the front of the room, pointed his wand at the spider, and said, "Avada Kedavra!" before leaving the room.

Before he left, he noticed Moody looked a bit impressed. The professor stuck his tongue out and licked the right corner of his lower lip. He then drank from his flask.

A/N: I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!