Chapter 473: The Unforgivable Curses
On the path from the Great Hall's duel arena down to the dungeons, Professor
Snape said not a single word. It was only after they stepped into the gloomy,
damp cellar that Snape abruptly halted.
"Jinxes, hexes, curses—you've learned quite a few..." he said in a low voice,
his hooked nose looking particularly sharp in the dim light of the dungeon.
"Thirty-six jinxes, eighteen hexes, and six curses, Professor," Sean replied,
nodding.
"Hmph..." Snape let out a cold snort, his face betraying a trace of suppressed,
invisible unease. "A passably adequate pace. However... when it comes to
defending against such spells, you are woefully lacking—woefully. This will be
your first lesson, and perhaps your last. Today, you shall truly glimpse the
reality of what wizards are capable of. I will spend sufficient time teaching
you how to deal with..."
He trailed off, staring intently at Sean. It wasn't just those green eyes he was
studying.
"Listen to me carefully—" Snape raised his wand. "You have learned a few trivial
spells; they take many forms and possess varying degrees of power. I have
trained you to counter some Dark magic, how to prevent it, how to break it...
but those were merely the most pathetic scraps of the Dark Arts. In truth,
illegal Dark curses are far beyond what you should be exposed to. You cannot
imagine them, nor can you mount an effective resistance. And yet, that 'Greatest
of Wizards' seems to think you can handle them? More foolishly, some idiots seem
to think they can stand face-to-face with the darkest, most evil parts of the
wizarding world—"
Snape's eyes remained locked on Sean. Sean felt a jolt of confusion; he had no
idea what Professor Snape had picked up on this time. Was it the Ravenclaw
Diadem, the Gaunt Ring, or Slytherin's Locket? As a double agent, Sean had never
doubted Snape's aptitude for investigation and deduction.
"Do you know, Professor?" Sean asked.
"I know far more than you could ever fathom..." Snape gave a mocking laugh.
"Now, the sooner you understand what you are up against, the better. If you have
never seen a thing, how could you ever hope to... survive it?"
After a few seconds of silence, he added, "You had better remember this well,
Green. Staying alive is the only thing that gives existence any meaning. If
those people were to cast an illegal spell upon you, they wouldn't give you a
polite warning of their intentions. You must understand this clearly, you
foolish boy: they will not cast spells with frankness, fairness, or courtesy.
You must be prepared. You must be vigilant. Now... Green, tell me: which spells
carry the harshest penalties under Wizarding Law?"
"The Unforgivable Curses, Professor." Sean felt a surge of surprise. Professor
Snape was teaching him about the Unforgivable Curses? Why?
"You had better know them. The Unforgivable Curses: the three most powerful and
evil Dark spells known to the wizarding world. They are the Killing Curse, the
Cruciatus Curse, and the Imperius Curse. Under Ministry law, using any of these
three on a human being results in a life sentence in Azkaban. These three are
unified by their lethal, cruel, and inherently evil nature, which seeks to exert
absolute control over others. They are their signature tools of choice."
Snape paced back and forth, then suddenly picked up a slug.
"Imperio!"
The slug began to dance, though its movements were grotesque and sickening.
"This is the Imperius Curse. It is now entirely under my control. I could force
it to drown itself, or to leap out the window... Listen to me, Green: if you are
foolish enough to be caught by this, I suspect it wouldn't be impossible for
this curse to be used on you. But clinging to a wretched existence is better
than being dead. Years ago, many wizards were controlled exactly like this. The
fools at the Ministry can never distinguish between those who act under duress
and those who act of their own volition... However, the Imperius Curse can be
resisted. I will teach you how, but it requires great strength of character.
When you encounter it, you had best do everything in your power to avoid being
hit."
Snape finished slowly. Before Sean could digest this, he continued: "Crucio...
extreme agony!"
Snape flicked his wand at the slug. Sean watched as the creature convulsed
violently; within moments, it was unable even to writhe.
"The final spell, the Killing Curse—Avada Kedavra. When you hear it, Green, run!
Get your legs moving, and you had best hope you can get behind Dumbledore—Avada
Kedavra!"
Snape spoke calmly. He cast the spell, and a dazzling green light flashed,
blindingly bright. It was accompanied by a chaotic rush of sound, as if an
invisible giant were hurtling through the air. It was like Death itself swinging
his scythe. The slug flipped over, lying motionless on the table. It bore no
wound, but it was undoubtedly dead.
"Unpleasant. And there is no counter-curse. No way to defend against it." Snape
stared deep into Sean's eyes. "Dumbledore regards you as the wizard he must most
carefully consider. He would not permit anyone to teach you Dark magic like
this. As everyone knows, Dark magic corrupts a wizard's mind, but..."
He looked at the young wizard before him. He would rather nurture a Dark Lord
himself than ever again have to play the part of a failure, reduced to merely
gathering the corpses.
"So... these three spells—Avada Kedavra, Imperius, Cruciatus—are the
Unforgivable Curses. Using any one of them on a human being is enough to land
you in Azkaban for life. This is what you must defend against. This is what I am
teaching you to resist. You must be prepared. You must be on your guard. What
are you waiting for? Take out your quill... write this down..."
Snape's voice mingled with the chill wind of the dungeon. By the time Sean left
the cellar, muddled and weighed down by the knowledge of the Unforgivable
Curses, Snape remained in the shadows.
He extended his left arm. A mark was burned into the inside of his forearm,
looking like a vivid red tattoo. The sensation of the mark had weakened once
more; the Dark Lord's power had been diminished again, and not for the first
time. He didn't need to think to know who was responsible. But he would return,
eventually. No one had ever truly managed to kill him, a fact proven many times
over.
And as for those who stood in the way of his plans...
"Dumbledore—you had best have an explanation—"
Snape suddenly turned his gaze toward the dungeon entrance. The elderly wizard
with the long, silver beard was slowly manifesting from behind the wooden door.
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