Lessons and Curses
As she entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Wanda was already sitting calmly, seemingly focused on reading a book related to the subject. She only lifted her gaze slightly when she saw Harry, Hermione, and Daphne come in, offering them a small smile.
Harry glanced over his shoulder, noticing that this class would be shared with Gryffindor. Ron Weasley was sitting next to Seamus, speaking quietly, while Neville did not seem to be anywhere in sight.
The three of them quickly looked for their seats, waiting for the class to begin as more students continued to arrive little by little. Draco came in almost at the last moment, somewhat rushed, as if he had been moving at full speed, accompanied by Neville. With their arrival, clearly the last missing students, Wanda calmly closed her book.
"All right, let's see," Wanda said in a calm tone, naturally adopting her role as a professor. "According to what corresponds to this year's course, we will begin with curses, or rather, with their counter-curses. Especially the Three Unforgivable Curses. Does anyone know which they are?"
Hermione was the first to raise her hand, so fast it almost looked like her shoulder would pop out of place. That earned her a small smile from Wanda and a touch of embarrassment from Hermione herself.
"Go ahead," Wanda said, giving her the chance to answer.
"They are the Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and…" she hesitated for a moment before finishing, "…the Killing Curse," she said at last.
"Good," Wanda replied with a smile, moving her hands gently.
Then, images began to appear reflected in front of her. Three different scenes took shape in the air. In them, three dark wizards were using those curses on figures that looked like faceless mannequins. It was a clear way to avoid showing something too explicit to the students, while still making the danger of those spells evident.
In one image, the figure writhed on the ground, suffering unbearable pain. In another, a person was being controlled, forced to stab what seemed to be their allies in the back. In the last one, a green spell struck someone who, after falling to the ground, never moved again.
Neville's gaze was fixed on the mannequin suffering under the Cruciatus Curse. He clenched his fists slightly, remembering what his parents had gone through in the past. Even though they were better now, he knew they still had nightmares from time to time, reliving that event. Something that would have completely frozen him in the past. But now, there was a different seriousness in his eyes, a quiet determination, as if he truly wanted to find those responsible.
Harry, on the other hand, stared at the image of the Avada Kedavra Curse before turning his gaze away, as if he did not want to keep looking at it.
The scene left everyone somewhat shaken. Even as representations, they were still dark and disturbing images.
"These spells are known as the Unforgivable Curses," Wanda said in a serious tone. "They are harmful and horrible curses. There are many worse ones out there, but there is a reason these are at the very top of the list. They require an extremely strong killing intent to be used, and that causes the caster's mind to begin to corrupt."
Her voice was firm, as if corruption itself were the last thing anyone would want to experience. And it was clear she was speaking from experience, someone who knew very well the weight of that subject.
"But, Professor," Terry suddenly spoke up, raising his hand. "According to the history of the last magical war, Aurors and some fighters against the forces of evil were given permission to use the Unforgivable Curses. So are they corrupted as well?" he asked seriously.
Wanda smiled approvingly at the question.
"The answer is simpler than you think. Yes and no," she said calmly. "As I said before, these curses require killing intent. If you want to kill someone, you must truly want them dead. To torture someone, you must want to see them suffer."
She paused briefly before continuing.
"Dark wizards used their so-called beliefs that they were cleansing the magical world as an excuse to kill and torture. But in reality, they were just idiots looking for a justification to lose their minds. On the other hand, there are people who simply want to protect their families. Even if that means being willing to kill, knowing they might lose everything."
Her tone grew heavier.
"Killing someone is never justified. Never," she said firmly. "But each person must decide whether they would be willing to do it to protect their family… or not."
"So then…," another student asked, "…are those who kill for their family good or bad?"
"The answer is even simpler," Wanda said with a calm smile, surprising everyone with how quickly she replied. "Obviously, they are bad."
Silence filled the room immediately.
"But if a father kills to protect his child," Wanda continued, smiling faintly, "then being the most evil person in the world would fall short, compared to what we are willing to do for them."
As she said that, she briefly glanced at Harry before standing up.
"All right. Now, someone tell me other curses," Wanda said as she walked toward the board and began writing names. The students started calling out everything they could remember, forming a list. Off to the side, Wanda wrote down the corresponding counter-curses for them to research later.
Everyone seemed quite animated, as if it were a game to see who could name the most before the class ended.
"Very well. For homework, I will leave you with something simple," Wanda said as she wrapped up the lesson. "Learn the counter-curses. In the next class, we will have a real competition. Whoever gets the most right will earn thirty points for their house."
Immediately, the Ravenclaws looked pleased, as if they could already see the hourglasses in their common room filling up. The Gryffindors, proud as ever, clearly had no intention of making it easy for them, throwing competitive glances their way.
Wanda smiled as she watched the students, observing them as they left the classroom.
…
Wanda left the classroom with a small smile. Somewhat encouraged by returning to her role as a professor, she thought that maybe it was not so bad after all, especially if it meant being able to see her children all the time. She walked through the corridors, being greeted by a few students along the way, until she reached the teachers' lounge.
As soon as she entered, she noticed that only Susan and Narcissa were there. Susan, for some reason, had several snacks piled in her arms, trying to share them with Narcissa.
"Hi, Wanda. How was your first class with our children?" Susan asked as soon as she saw her come in.
Narcissa also lifted her head to look at her, as if waiting for the answer.
"Obviously good. Aside from a few problematic things they usually do, they always care about their homework," Wanda said with a smile as she moved to sit down, glancing sideways at the number of snacks Susan was holding for some reason.
"Oh, this," Susan said, noticing her look. "Some children came to ask me a lot of questions about Muggles and ended up giving me quite a few things. They really are good kids," she added with a cheerful smile, as if she truly enjoyed her job as a professor at a magical school.
"That's how it is. I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, although Wendell might not be too happy now that all the work at the clinic is left to him alone," Wanda commented with a small smile, calmly taking one of Susan's snacks.
"Oh, he'll be fine. I already told him we could close the clinic, or maybe hire more dentists and make it bigger. After all, we have plenty of money," Susan replied calmly, while looking at a Chocolate Frog that was trying to slip out of her hand.
Narcissa, as always, did not say much. She quietly took a few snacks while eating in silence. The three mothers seemed genuinely comfortable in the room, although one of them was missing, the one who should have been teaching her class at that very moment.
…
Meanwhile, in the Slytherin common room, Carrow sat with his arms crossed, his expression clearly irritated. After what had happened with Potter, he had grown more withdrawn and barely showed himself in public, limiting himself to attending classes and then returning immediately to the common room.
Behind him, several Slytherin students seemed to be waiting. They were clearly fewer than there had been when Juliette had practically controlled the entire House of Serpents. Much of that was due to the decisions of the Carrow family, who had abandoned everyone to save themselves, even now that everyone had survived. Not many were pleased with him.
"Did you manage to get any information out of her? Is it really clear that she's a Muggle?" Carrow asked one of the few who still followed him.
"Um… well… I tried while she was surrounded by other students, but it wasn't that easy," the student replied, visibly embarrassed.
"What do you mean it wasn't easy? Just ask her to teach you a spell and that's it," Carrow said irritably.
"Well, maybe it sounds easy, but I really got distracted for a moment. After all, she's quite friendly and not bad at teaching. So I ended up joining the others and even shared some of my snacks with her," the Slytherin said.
"What?" Carrow replied, looking at him as if he were a complete idiot.
Luckily for the student, someone entered the common room at that moment, distracting Carrow and allowing him to escape.
"Pansy, where have you been?" Carrow said when he saw his former fiancée enter, using an authoritative tone, as if he still believed he had power over her, even after abandoning his family and breaking the engagement.
Pansy glanced at him sideways, a hint of disgust reflected on her face. In her mind, an image immediately overlaid itself: someone who truly carried the air of a king… or perhaps a dictator. That memory made her cheeks flush and her eyes gleam in a dangerous way.
She ignored him completely and kept walking.
"I'm talking to you, bastard," Carrow shouted furiously, staring at his ex-fiancée, who once would have been trailing behind him.
Pansy stopped, clearly annoyed, and turned around, pulling out her wand almost instantly.
"Bombarda!" she shouted.
The spell struck Carrow so fast that he did not have time to react before being sent flying, engulfed in an explosion of flames.
Immediately, Crabbe, Goyle, and several other students from their year rushed toward him to help extinguish the fire and check if he was all right.
Pansy watched him for a moment, wearing a completely unhinged smile, before continuing on her way without looking back.
"Ah, Draco… how could I let a jewel like you slip away? I have to get you back. I have to. I will. I will. You will be mine. Only mine. And no one else's," she murmured, as her gaze grew more and more unhinged.