The opening feast for the school year was always a marvelous occasion Harry thought. It spoke of new possibilities, and of reuniting with friends who you hadn't seen over the Summer. It was one of the moments that Hogwarts, despite it's constant bickering and infighting, all felt as one entity, happy to be back together as the large dysfunctional family it was. Harry was sat at the Ravenclaw table as normal, moved to the section that normally contained the fourth years, as tradition dictated that seventh years sat closest to the head table, then moved down by year. This supposedly had started as an easy way for first years to get to know each other, as well as understand where they could find their Prefects and the like should they need it. Harry was uncertain how true that was, but the system stayed regardless of his opinion. At the head of the Ravenclaw table, basking in his accomplishment though was Roger Davies, who had miraculously managed to become Head Boy this year. It was an honor for a member of your house to be Head Boy or Head Girl, and Harry was happy for Roger, although a little shocked that the position hadn't gone to Hufflepuff's Cedric Diggory. As far as candidates though Cedric seemed near perfect, he was well liked by the entire student body, as well as a strong student academically if what Susan had told him was anything to go by. Perhaps Roger was simply stronger on that front. Harry knew that Roger, despite his flaws, was exceptionally brilliant. Perhaps that had been the deciding factor between them.
Harry's attention was moved up from the head of his table to the head of the hall as Headmaster Dumbledore made his way to the podium. "Students of Hogwarts! To our first years, I bid a most hearty welcome, and to the rest of us, I bid a hearty welcome back! I have a few announcements this year before the welcoming feast, so please allow me to go through them. Firstly, with the resignation of Professor Remus Lupin, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. Please welcome Professor Alastor Moody!" there was a brief pause as the student body clapped for the new professor who stood up from his chair as his name was called. Alastor Moody was an odd looking fellow. He was missing the lower section of one of his legs, and walked with a cane, his red hair was thin and wispy on his head, but most notable about him was his eye, or rather, lack thereof. In one of his eye sockets, Alastor Moody had a fake glass eye that shot back and forward at rapid speeds. It was held in place by a series of straps that encircled his head. Harry thought his appearance was rather strange, but such things were normal for Hogwarts. "Professor Moody has been a dear friend of mine for many years, and I believe he will be a welcome member of the staff. He is incredibly knowledgeable about the subject of Defense, having been an auror for many years. You would all do well to listen carefully to his lectures. Beyond that, I have but one more very exciting announcement. This year, for the first time in many many years, Hogwarts will be holding the Tri-Wizard Tournament! This tournament is a competition between ourselves, and our sister schools of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. Unfortunately, because our staff will be very busy with this event, Quidditch will be canceled for this year. Quidditch teams will still be permitted to practice and train members, but no games will be held this year. With those announcements out of the way, I believe we may begin the feast proper. Tuck in!" With that, Dumbledore gave a loud clap, and food appeared in front of a very hungry student body.
Harry tucked into some food for a moment before looking at Hermione. "Do you know anything about the Tri-Wizard Tournament? Seems like something that'd probably come up in Hogwarts: A History." That was Hermione's favorite book, which was something that always confused Harry just a tad. He understood liking it, he had read one of the many abridged versions, as the 'canonical' volume was some several thousand pages and constantly being updated. Hermione however, had read the entire thing, and was making notes for if she ever got to add her own section to the book someday.
"A bit, like the Headmaster said, it is a competition between Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Hogwarts. It was stopped over a century ago for being too dangerous. I wonder why they think it can come back?" Hermione said, as she idly fiddled with a particularly stubborn pea on her plate.
"Maybe they think modern safety standards are up to the task?" Padma suggested. She was sitting opposite Harry, looking mildly distraught as her typical Left-hand position was taken up by Luna.
"Coming from the school that had an eighty-foot basilisk wandering the halls a couple years ago, and didn't let any students leave? I don't think so." Harry said, causing a shiver to go down Hermione and Luna's spines. They remembered that incident far too well.
"Well, maybe they're trying to show an image of a reunited magical world? After the war Britain was kind of isolated from the rest of the magical community, this would be one step towards showing that we can rejoin the wider wizarding world." Luna said, as she took a spoonful of pudding.
Harry ruminated on that answer for a bit. It made sense really, Hogwarts was supposedly one of the most prestigious wizarding schools in all of Europe, if not the world, but they hadn't sent any representatives to the European Dueling Championships for several years before Harry went in his second year. It surely wasn't a lack of talent, Harry had many negative opinions about Professor Snape, but even Harry knew the Professor was an exceptional wizard who likely would have done very well in such competitions. Nymphadora and Charlie both would have made excellent duelists as well, even though their love was Quidditch. He'd heard of a dueling club that had existed during their tenure at Hogwarts, so there must have been some interest. Why not send a representative? The only reason could be a general lack of desire to be associated with Wizarding Britain, or maybe Hogwarts in particular. There was another boy from the British Isles at his tournament, but notably he wasn't a Hogwarts student. In the few moments Harry had gotten to talk to him between matches, he had mentioned attending the Swansea Academy of the Arcane, a Magical School in Wales.
"Whatever the reason, it will certainly be interesting." Hermione said. Harry had to agree, Hogwarts might not typically be the most logical of places, but it certainly never lacked for excitement.
The following day brought the beginning of their fourth year classes, and Harry's favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts. Making his way into the class alongside his fellow Ravenclaws, as well as the Gryffindors they shared this year with, Harry felt a strange energy in the classroom. Defense class was always an unpredictable affair. From Quirrell's largely ineffective stuttering, to Lockhart's inane talks about his own greatness, to the uncertainty of whether Remus Lupin or Severus Snape would be teaching class that day, you'd never truly been able to tell what kind of day you were in for in defense. The presence of a new teacher, one that visually seemed as unstable as the position itself seemed to be did little to dissuade the notion.
"Alright. Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts and all of that. Got a letter from your last teacher, Lupin. Said you lot spent last year largely focusing on magical creatures that you might need to defend against. Understandable way to spend your third year. That's got you behind on another important aspect of the subject though. I've got one year to catch you up on curses." Moody said, his prosthetic eye darting about the room.
"You're not planning on staying?" came the voice of Ron Weasley from the back.
"No. Here on a special favor to Dumbledore. One year of teaching and then I'm back to retirement." Moody said, before moving a few things on the table behind him. "Now, when talking about curses, I believe the best way to start is the top down. Learn about the worst ones first, and the lesser ones seem more manageable. This does not mean that lesser curses are less dangerous, simply that they aren't as powerful. Now, there are three curses we'll talk about today. They're banned entirely by the Ministry of Magic, what is their given name?"
A few hands shot up across the room, and Moody pointed out one. "You there, the big Ravenclaw boy. Say your name and then your answer."
"Terry Boot, and they are called the Unforgivable Curses aren't they?" Terry said.
"You're correct Mr. Boot, take two points to Ravenclaw. Yes, the three Unforgivable Curses are forbidden by the Ministry of Magic for use. Special exceptions are granted on incredibly rare occasions, and that is only ever for the purposes of study. I received such an exception, and as such I can demonstrate them today. Now, who can name one of the Curses, bonus points to your house if you can say what it does." Moody continued.
Fewer hands shot up this time, including Neville, who shakily raised his. "You there, Longbottom. I know you've got some experience, go ahead and say it then." Moody said.
"There's the torture curse, Crucio…. It causes great pain." Neville said shakily. Harry was concerned for his best male friend, Neville had come a long way from the shy boy he had been in their first year, and this topic seemed to revert all of their progress. Harry knew why of course, Neville and he had bonded over losing their parents to Voldemort, Neville's parents hadn't been directly killed though. They had been tortured to the point that their minds simply weren't there anymore. The bodies still functioned, they breathed and could swallow unprompted, but could do little else.
"Right you are, there's more to it, but I wouldn't expect anyone to know much more. Take 10 to Gryffindor." Moody said moving on. "Anyone else know one of the others?"
Padma raised her hand, and Moody pointed at her. "Name and answer."
"Padma Patil, and I believe there is a mind controlling one?" she said.
"Right, the name is Imperio. There's one other, and it's the most dangerous of them all, the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra. One cast and you're dead, only one person has ever been known to survive it, and he's in this very room." Moody said, as he looked over to Harry. "Any ideas how you managed Mr. Potter?"
"None at all sir." Harry answered, uncomfortable with the question. It wasn't something he liked to think about.
"I thought not. No ones really sure. Now, these curses are indeed deadly, and casting them without permission is effectively a guaranteed life sentence in Azkaban. They require substantial power to cast, as well as specific intent. Curses in general need you to really mean to cast them. Amount of need is proportional to damaging the spell. A simple jelly-legs curse doesn't need much malice at all to cast, while the killing curse… well you need quite the stomach and hate to make that function." Moody said.
Moody then moved forward with the lesson, giving a small demonstration of the three curses with a spider he had kept in a jar. Having it move about the room at his direction with Imperio, torturing it briefly with Crucio, and then killing it in a green flash with Avada Kedavra.
"Professor Moody, if you require hate to cast these spells, how were you able to do it to that spider? Surely you don't hate that spider enough to want to torture it." Asked Dean Thomas of Gryffindor.
"You're correct. I didn't hate that spider enough to do it. But the hate you channel need not be for your target, it can be towards anything, provided it's strong enough." Moody said, his expression dour. "That's it for the demonstration today. We'll cover more on curses throughout the year. Mr. Longbottom, if you would stay after class with me."
Neville nodded and the rest of the class filtered out. Harry, Hermione, Padma, Parvati, and Lavender elected to wait for Neville outside of the classroom, as they were intending to spend their time until dinner in the Sphinx Club room. Neville emerged a few minutes later, looking less anxious than he had been when he stayed back.
"What did he want Nev?" Harry asked.
"He apologized for the demonstration of the Cruciatus curse. Knew it would be tough for me to watch, but felt it was important for us to see. Offered me a copy of Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean as a peace offering, but I declined since I already had a copy. It was a nice thought of him though. Snape would have just done it and taken points away for me being scared." Neville said.
"Fair enough. The demonstration was… educational if nothing else." Harry said, still reeling a bit from the display of the Killing Curse.
"You okay Harry?" Hermione asked, taking Harry's hands into her own.
"I'll be fine. A touch shaken from the Killing Curse. Memories of green flashes coming back." Harry said, as Hermione leaned in and hugged him close. As she let go Padma did the same.
"We're here if you need us Harry. You too Neville, but no kisses from us for you." Padma said, a touch of humor in her voice at the end.
"Thanks guys. Means a lot." Neville said.
"Alright, how about we make our way to the club room then huh? I know Hermione, Padma, and I don't have any more classes today. Do any of you?" Harry asked.
"Parv and I have a double Diviniation after dinner. Looking forward to that." Lavender said.
"I could do without it being a double." Parvati added.
"I will never understand how you two like that class. It seems inane." Hermione said.
"Well, some Divination does have practical uses, such as the ability to see far off locations or predict weather patterns, although from what you've told me Muggles have their own ways for doing that. There's also something romantic about the idea that you could determine your future by reading tea leaves." Lavender said.
"You're just saying that because our last reading said you'd fall in love with someone famous." Parvati said.
"Hey, my two best guy friends are Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter, it's entirely possible!" Lavender said.
"Don't tell me you're interested in me like that Lavender, I'm already struggling with five girls!" Harry said.
"So you're saying you'd say yes?" Lavender asked, fluttering her eyelids.
"Lavender, you're a good friend, and if I didn't already have all the girls, I probably would say yes. As it is though? I would be saying no." Harry said, taking a frightful glance at Hermione and Padma. They were laughing behind their hands at Harry's misfortune.
"Well boo. That's one good catch gone. Neville, you game?" Lavender asked, turning her attention to the other boy in their group, who immediately turned bright red.
"I ugh… I have another girl I'm interested in." Neville said.
"Yeah, we know. You should really just ask her out some day." Parvati said rolling her eyes. "Lavender, stop teasing the boys."
"Come on Parv, you're no fun." Lavender said.
"You can tease other boys, we like these two too much for you to make them uncomfortable." Parvati said.
"Ah, but they're so cute when they're flustered." Lavender said.
"If you want a turn, ask the girlfriends that are already there. Otherwise stick to having Ron Weasley make goo goo eyes at you." Parvati said, and Lavender frowned.
"I appreciate the attention, but I'd really prefer a suitor who had better manners." Lavender said.
"I could put in a good word for you with Terry Boot, he's single." Harry said, happy that someone else was getting teased for a change.
"Ooh, Terry IS kinda cute. Not sure he's my type though." Lavender said, the gears in her head turning. "Whoever I do snag needs to be Sphinx Club material. I'm not having someone who can't keep up."
"Good luck with that, Neville and Harry are the only two boys in our year who I think even try. Malfoy's got the brains, but none of the other good qualities." Parvati said.
"He's handsome though." Lavender said.
"If you say so, he preens around like a peacock, that's not exactly what I'd call attractive." Parvati said.
"That is true… hm… harder than I thought." Lavender said.
This made Harry smile, as much as he would like to avoid the teasing, spending time with his friends like this was always enough to get his mind off of whatever bothered him, be it Killing Curses, Death Eater attacks, or even upcoming exams.