Chapter 738: Studying Dark Magic at Hogwarts. Is This Some Kind of Mistake?Screams.Manic laughter.Twisted faces.Set against the gloomy Defence Against the Dark Arts class |
The Carrow siblings were the same as Avery, Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Yaxley, Greyback, and the others.
At first, they had all thought the Dark Lord was truly finished, so they made up excuses to avoid being locked in Azkaban and tormented by those Dementors...
But unlike Lucius and a few others, after the Dark Lord’s resurrection, the Carrow siblings returned to his side without hesitation and with remarkable speed, offering their hearts to their great Lord Voldemort.
That even included Snape.
At least, that was how it appeared on the surface...
In any case.
What Draco and the others were about to face next was Amycus Carrow, Alecto Carrow’s older brother, who would be serving as their Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.
Yes.
At the very start of seventh year, Draco and the others’ first class would be taught by this Professor Amycus Carrow.
It was easy to see the unease and worry on many of the young wizards’ faces.
These were the ones who knew exactly what identity lay hidden behind Amycus Carrow.
As for the remaining young wizards who could still smile and were even celebrating the fact that they would no longer have to see Snape this year, either they still had no idea what was going on, or their parents were also Death Eaters.
That was why they had no awareness of the danger and felt no tension at all.
Still, it had to be said that Death Eaters appearing at Hogwarts had instead become something normal, almost a matter of course.
It was entirely possible that while walking through the castle, you might run into a professor who was a Death Eater the very next second, or perhaps a second generation Death Eater...
“Draco, are you really going?”
“Exactly... Who knows what they might do to you? Even if you say there’s some kind of deal...”
“I agree with Parkinson this time. Besides, you don’t need to take these classes anymore anyway, do you? Why don’t you just teach us magic instead? Then we wouldn’t have to take this risk.”
“Granger is right.”
It was not only Pansy and the others trying to persuade Draco. Even Goyle and Crabbe kept glancing this way.
Whether Goyle and Crabbe were truly worried about Draco’s safety or simply hoping they could skip class was another matter...
Looking at Pansy and Hermione blocking his way, Draco reached out and firmly ruffled both of their heads.
“I know what you’re worried about, but there are some things you can’t understand unless you see them for yourself. Otherwise, you’ll never see the truth hidden beneath the surface.”
“But...”
“Besides, don’t you want to know what’s happening outside right now, and what these people are really after?”
“...”
Perhaps they could never really argue against Draco’s decisions, or perhaps what Draco said truly did make sense.
Subconsciously, Pansy and the others stepped aside to clear the way.
Then, once they realized what they had done, they quickly picked up their pace and followed him again.
“Um, can you pat my head too?”
“You rude little thing. It took me ages to get my hair this smooth!”
Amid Pansy and Hermione’s teasing and bickering, the remaining little snakes of Slytherin silently followed in the footsteps of their king.
This was probably what Draco had meant before.
If even the King could not move forward, how could those beneath him be expected to advance without fear...
...
In any case.
Although they had mentally prepared themselves, when they sat down in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and waited for the new professor to appear, most of them still looked tense and worried.
Especially the Gryffindor students taking the class with them. Compared with the relatively calm Slytherins, they looked as if they were facing a great enemy, as though a war might break out at any moment.
And sure enough.
After Draco and his group appeared, several Gryffindor students who had joined the Draco Constellation kept looking over at them, as if they were waiting for some command from Draco.
“It’s almost time. He should be here soon.”
“Amycus Carrow. As far as I know, after he was lucky enough to escape being sent to Azkaban, his whereabouts became a mystery. Some said he was secretly trying to resurrect the Dark Lord, while others said he had gone into hiding. But I never expected...”
After realizing that nothing could change the situation now, Pansy had no choice but to tell them everything she knew.
Even though she had already said it several times before, she still did it again.
“I’ve heard you say that several times already... Wait! Draco, isn’t that... How could he possibly be here?”
“No way?!”
As Hermione let out a low cry of surprise, Draco, who had shown no change in expression until then, finally revealed a flicker of emotion. The shock and uncertainty flashing through his gray eyes could be seen clearly.
Because in this classroom, he had seen someone who should not have been there.
That person was not the long dead Albus Dumbledore, nor Harry Potter, whom Voldemort regarded as a thorn in his side, and of course it was not Severus Snape, who had only recently become Headmaster of Hogwarts.
It was...
The one smiling broadly in their direction...
The red-haired Ron Weasley!!
...
If not for that unmistakable red hair, they might have wondered at first whether they were seeing things, or whether they had mistaken him for someone else.
But it seemed this was not a hallucination on Draco and the others’ part. The Ron Weasley before them really had returned to Hogwarts...
“A Weasley? Granger, what is going on? You never mentioned this to me. Did you not hear anything about it in Gryffindor?”
“Actually, I don’t know when he came back to school either. Maybe even Ginny doesn’t know about this.”
“This whole thing feels strange no matter how I look at it...”
Looking at the Gryffindor wizards surrounding Ron Weasley, Pansy and the others all stared over with odd, suspicious expressions.
Probably only Ron Weasley’s friends, along with a few wizards who still had no grasp of the situation, could so carelessly treat Ron Weasley’s appearance as something worth celebrating.
Under normal circumstances, of course it would have been worth celebrating.
But Hogwarts was currently under lockdown.
That alone was enough to make the whole thing suspicious.
More importantly, this was the Weasley family, the family most loyal to Dumbledore...
Faced with Pansy and the others’ doubtful looks, Draco truly could not give them an answer.
“Judging from his eyes, one thing is certain. It doesn’t look like the effect of Polyjuice Potion.”
“So it really is him?”
“It seems so.”
“The only thing we can be sure of right now is that returning to Hogwarts at a time like this definitely means there’s something wrong. Perhaps we can have Ginny look into it.”
“Ginny... That is a good idea. I just hope things aren’t that bad.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Just as everyone’s attention was drawn away by Ron’s appearance, the door to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom had been pushed open at some point.
Amycus Carrow stood in the doorway, sweeping an extremely cold gaze over the young wizards inside.
That appraising look was like he was choosing which prey to devour later...
...
Amycus Carrow did not dress much differently from the other Death Eaters.
Perhaps he had been influenced by their great Dark Lord.
At that moment, he wore black clothes underneath, with a black robe layered over them. That was the usual style of most Death Eaters.
What was worth mentioning was that as he walked, the Dark Mark on his arm could be glimpsed faintly. He had no intention of hiding it at all. He even seemed proud of it.
Everyone could see the magical mark glowing with green light.
That indirectly showed that the Dark Lord’s strength had already returned to its peak...
Just as everyone watched the professor on the platform uneasily, Amycus Carrow slightly raised his wand and spoke in a hoarse, grating voice.
“I look forward to teaching you some useful and efficient dark magic in the days to come.”
“...”
Dark magic?
Had he left out a few words?
After confirming that they had not misheard, a few young wizards opened their mouths as if to say something, only for their companions to stop them.
As for the wizards of the Draco Constellation, Draco had already warned all of them before class began.
Under no circumstances were they to argue or draw the man’s attention.
Because no one knew what kind of insane thing this wizard, who was a professor on the surface but actually a Death Eater, might do to the students...
“Sir, you mean Defence Against the Dark Arts, don’t you?”
“...”
But unsurprisingly, an accident happened right away.
Not everyone had a companion who could pull them back in time, and not everyone was qualified to enter Draco’s Draco Constellation, Hogwarts branch.
Sure enough.
This brave soul was one of their Gryffindor students...
“Oh? What are you trying to say?”
“After all, dark magic... that shouldn’t be the sort of magic we’re learning...”
Clap, clap, clap.
“Very brave, and very courageous. But that is not a reason for you to stand up and contradict a professor.”
As Amycus Carrow clapped and smiled, what he did next made everyone instinctively swallow.
As for that brave Gryffindor student, he nearly collapsed from fear.
Because this Defence Against the Dark Arts professor had actually raised his wand and pointed it at his own student.
“How unfortunate. On your very first lesson, I have to make such a regrettable decision.”
“...”
“Detention. And you’ll need to receive a small punishment.”
“Professor?!”
The instant Amycus Carrow saw the terror on the student’s face, he let out a delighted laugh.
“Crucio!”
“Ugh... Aaaaaah!”
Green light.
Screams.
Everyone was so frightened by this sudden turn of events that they huddled together.
Coldly watching the mad, shocking scene before him, Draco merely tapped a finger lightly against the desk, with no intention of intervening.
Or rather, he could not act rashly.
Because if he had not seen wrong, just now, the moment Amycus Carrow raised his wand, it seemed to pause deliberately in Draco’s direction for a few seconds.
Had he done it on purpose?
Was it a warning?
Or was Draco simply being too sensitive...
...
Screams.
Manic laughter.
Twisted faces.
Set against the gloomy Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, the scene looked even stranger and more terrifying.
Looking at the professor whose entire face had been cast a sickly green by the green magical light, every young wizard fell silent in fear. None of them dared make a sound.
Even the timid young witches covered their mouths with their hands, not daring to let out the faintest whimper, afraid that the terrifying professor might turn his gaze on them.
And among them, the one with the strongest reaction was probably Neville Longbottom.
His constantly trembling body and gradually reddening eyes immediately drew Draco’s attention to Mr. Longbottom.
The way he looked, it was as if the one suffering right now was not the Gryffindor student rolling on the floor, but Neville Longbottom himself...
Draco was not the only one who noticed that something was wrong with Neville Longbottom.
Their Miss Know-It-All noticed it too.
“Draco, did you notice?”
“You mean... Longbottom?”
“Mm. What’s wrong with him? Why did he suddenly become like this?”
Because of Draco, Hermione had not had much close contact with the other students in her house for quite some time, but she still knew a little about what kind of person Neville Longbottom was.
Beneath that timid exterior, there was actually a brave heart.
So even if he really was frightened, Longbottom should not have shown it this clearly.
Unless there was another reason...
Pansy leaned closer from the side as well. “Is it because he knows that Death Eater on the platform?”
“It doesn’t really look like he knows him... And rather than saying he’s afraid of that lunatic, it’s more like...”
“More like Longbottom is afraid of the Cruciatus Curse.” Before Hermione could finish, Draco took over the words she had not yet said.
“Afraid of the Cruciatus Curse? Draco, you seem to know something.”
“That is a long story. After all, it involves Longbottom’s parents.”
“Huh?!”
After all, Longbottom had once been part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Even though the family had declined, Draco still knew a little about the Longbottoms.
In fact, if that tragedy had never happened, perhaps Longbottom would not have become the slow, foolish boy everyone saw him as.
But it had to be said.
In this classroom, the only people still calm enough to chat and talk about other things were probably Draco and the few beside him, who had the nerve and confidence to do so.
After all, Draco, sitting beside Pansy and the others, was a dangerous man who had once slaughtered Death Eaters.
Their sense of safety had been raised straight to the highest level...
So when the young wizards nearby saw that he did not seem to take the dark magic before him, or the deranged professor’s behavior, to heart at all, traces of admiration and envy appeared on their faces.
If they were in his place, perhaps they would not have to be so terrified.
That said, most of the wizards were still worried that the “professor” on the platform might notice what was happening on Draco’s side.
As the saying went, when great powers clashed, the little people suffered.
No one knew whether, if the two sides really came into conflict, innocent bystanders would be dragged into it...
...
In short.
So many things had happened in such a brief span of time.
Some people had not even fully accepted it all yet, still thinking they were trapped in a dream they had not woken from.
Perhaps because of that, no one noticed.
Ron Weasley, who had suddenly returned to Hogwarts, was staring with a fanatical gaze at the ghostly green light shooting from the wand in Amycus Carrow’s hand.
That focused look made it seem as if he were gazing upon the most beautiful, mysterious thing in the world...
As time passed, Amycus Carrow seemed to remember something and slowly stopped casting the Cruciatus Curse.
However, the unsatisfied look on his face made the young wizards below, who had only just breathed a sigh of relief, tense up all over again, terrified that they might become this deranged professor’s next target...
“The Cruciatus Curse. A very beautiful spell. Yes, just as you saw. This is the small punishment I give to disobedient students.”
“...”
That was a small punishment?
They silently looked at the miserable figure who had stopped screaming, but whose eyes had rolled back as uncontrollable drool slipped from the corner of his mouth. No one would ever want to experience the same treatment.
This was far beyond simple humiliation.
Looking at that body still trembling faintly even after losing consciousness, everyone wanted to ask the professor on the platform one question.
Did he have some enormous misunderstanding of the word “small”?
This was basically torturing someone to death!
Only this time, no one dared stand up and question Amycus Carrow’s words anymore...
As for the students, who had become unusually obedient...
Amycus Carrow seemed very satisfied with everyone’s reaction. That much could be seen from the wand spinning continuously in his hand, showing just how delighted he was.
Whether that was because the students had become obedient, or because he had just used one of the Three Unforgivable Curses on a student and it had put him in such a good mood, no one could say...
Thud, thud.
Amycus Carrow, who clearly had no love for his wand, used it to rap hard against the desk several times.
His crazed appearance nearly drove the young wizards below mad.
Fortunately, this time, the Death Eater seemed to remember his identity as a professor and was finally about to begin teaching.
“Then our first lesson will be learning to master the spell I just used!”
“...”
“It seems everyone is looking forward to it.”
“...”
Although the class Defence Against the Dark Arts did indeed contain the words “Dark Arts,” that did not mean the class was meant for learning dark magic.
Leaving aside the fact that school rules explicitly forbade students from coming into contact with dark magic, the Cruciatus Curse he had just used was one of the Three Unforgivable Curses.
It was a spell completely forbidden in the wizarding world.
Was this something they could just learn casually?
Instinctively.
Every young wizard below turned to look toward the Slytherin side.
More precisely, toward the blond-haired Draco Malfoy.
That synchronized movement made Draco’s lofty position in their hearts perfectly clear.
Because instinctively, they believed Draco could solve this problem perfectly...