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Chapter 515: Magic Photo
Chapter 515: Magic Photo
The Black family's dining room.
"Alastor", Mrs. Weasley said, coming up from the kitchen downstairs, carrying a bowl of vegetable salad and a plate of chicken legs. "I made this with the leftover ingredients. The vegetable soup from last night wasn't very fresh."
"It's more than enough", Moody said calmly, his magical blue eye staring at the salad for a moment before he started eating greedily. "Oh, right", he looked at Neville, "Frank and Alice should be back around noon. They sent me some valuable information."
Neville nodded, his eyes brightening.
"What kind of information?" Harry couldn't help but ask.
"I can't reveal more. If you get caught and tortured by the Death Eaters, it could be disastrous—" Moody said gruffly, sniffing a chicken leg before taking a big bite. "Thanks, Molly." He tore into it ferociously.
Harry wasn't sure which was more pitiful—Moody's mutilated nose, the chicken leg that had just been bitten, or the prospect of being captured and tortured by the Death Eaters in Moody's imagination?
"Don't think I'm joking. Many people believe they can hold out and be tough, but just one Cruciatus Curse—" Moody grinned menacingly, gesturing at them. The young wizards sitting around the table recoiled in unison.
Mrs. Weasley gave him a disapproving look.
Moody had already picked up a second chicken leg. "Molly, they can handle it. I've heard they train frequently. They can't just be showing off in Duelling Class, can they? Are you all thinking of becoming Aurors?" His normal eye scanned the group.
Harry, Ron, and Neville nodded, Hermione hesitated but also nodded, and surprisingly, Ginny did the same.
Mrs. Weasley looked shocked.
"Ginny, you're only in third year! It's too early to think about this."
"It's not too early. I'll be in fourth year when school starts."
"I said it is too early! You're a girl, and I absolutely won't allow it—" Mrs. Weasley said angrily.
For the next few minutes, the dining room was quite lively as Ginny loudly argued with Mrs. Weasley, her hair flying around like an angry, agitated cat. Crookshanks, who had been lying at her feet, returned to her side, his flat, furry face staring at the two noise sources.
"We should go upstairs", Hermione signaled to Harry and the others, wanting to escape the battlefield, but Ginny had already left, stomping up the stairs loudly. Mrs. Weasley followed her, determined to persuade her to change her mind.
"Shall we, uh—go to the training room?" Hermione stood there, looking uncertainly at her companions. She didn't really want to train; she just wanted to get away from Professor Moody's ever-rotating magical eye.
The others felt the same and quickly stood up.
"Are you okay, Potter?" Moody said gruffly.
"I'm fine", Harry didn't tell the truth. He was hesitant about whether to reveal to Ron and the others that he knew the three Unforgivable Curses. He was also worried about what Dumbledore would think after seeing his memories, feeling a mix of anxiety and uncertainty.
Then, he had an idea.
"Professor Moody, I have a question", Harry said, noticing Moody's gaze following him. "Aurors were once allowed to use Unforgivable Curses... Was the situation really that dire? And wouldn't the spells affect you?"
"You mean that", Moody muttered, taking a swig from his hip flask. "That was mostly during the later stages of the war. It was indeed very tough, with more and more Death Eaters and their followers joining, or rather, being forced to join..."
"The true Death Eaters were elite, able to see the Dark Lord directly, but there were many others—like werewolves—who held lower ranks in the Dark Lord's forces. The war had been going on for nearly ten years, and people were starting to feel desperate. Barty... he was a tough guy. Many people continued to hold on because of him... He suggested to the new Minister, Bagman, that Aurors be granted certain privileges, such as the use of Unforgivable Curses against Death Eaters, and other various measures to give Aurors more freedom... Bagman agreed, a very decisive witch, I think she was stronger than her predecessor."
"But, will this really work?" Harry asked urgently. "I mean, can a Disarming Charm or a Stunning Spell subdue an enemy?"
Moody stared at him for a moment, then chuckled in a gruff voice. His face looked even more grim.
"In a way, you're right. The Killing Curse is just a spell, and decapitation can kill just as effectively", Moody said, speaking casually about something terrifying. "But they are fundamentally different. These three spells were designated as Unforgivable Curses in 1717, and their users faced severe punishments. After that, the public rarely heard about them. Of course, they didn't disappear; they continued to circulate among Dark Wizards..."
"It was the Dark Lord who brought them back into the public eye. The Death Eaters and his followers used these spells openly, and with the newspapers sensationalizing the stories, they became legendary. Barty wanted to change that. He believed it was necessary to restore public confidence, and the Killing Curse is certainly more intimidating than a Disarming Charm."
"Then, you—" Harry faltered, unsure how to continue.
"Do you want to know if I've ever used the Killing Curse to kill someone? Or what it feels like to do so?" Moody asked softly.
Harry stammered, and the others remained silent.
"Of course, I have. I remember it clearly. A Death Eater named Evan Rosier died that way..." Moody's smile was twisted. "But whenever possible, I try to capture them alive. Azkaban has quite a few of my acquaintances, but unfortunately, a group of them escaped a month ago." He muttered under his breath, sounding like he was cursing.
Harry might have misheard. Perhaps Professor Moody suddenly wanted a Fudge Fly, a type of fudge candy.
"As for the feeling, there really isn't much to it... During the height of the war, we just wanted the other side to be gone, no time to think much about it." Moody said nonchalantly. "You need a hard heart and plenty of experience to—"
Footsteps echoed from upstairs. Mrs. Weasley came down, and Moody picked up a chicken leg and started gnawing on it again.
The conversation seemed to end there.
"Oh, by the way, I have something you might find interesting", he said, pulling out a tattered magic photo from his pocket. Harry saw a small group of people moving around, some waving, others raising their glasses.
"This is—" Mrs. Weasley came over to look and frowned.
"The original Order of the Phoenix", Moody said in a low voice. "You've seen it, haven't you? I'm not sure, but everyone had one back then." He said to Mrs. Weasley, "Your two brothers were great, but they died too young... I visited Emmeline yesterday, oh, she's doing well, just injured—"
He noticed Harry and the others wanted to ask questions, so he preempted them. Mrs. Weasley's lips were tightly pressed together.
"Was it the fishing plan?" Harry asked softly. He knew Emmeline, a witch who dressed elegantly and didn't talk much. She was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry had met her a few times.
"It seems you know about that plan. That's right, you were there to receive the award, so you couldn't avoid it", Moody said.
Harry felt a mix of emotions. He had heard about this from Madam Bones, and both the Weasley couple had been replaced, but he never imagined the replacements were Emmeline Vance from the Order of the Phoenix, and that she was injured.
"She's lucky. Some here couldn't even find a full body, or only parts of one..." Moody seemed to notice Mrs. Weasley trying to hold back her emotions, so he handed the photo to Harry. "You keep it. James and Lily's copy might be lost... I went there once, to Godric's Hollow... It's in ruins now."
Harry managed a weak smile, not knowing what to say.
He saw his parents in the photo, smiling at him. Harry suddenly felt a strong urge to visit Godric's Hollow. As he lay in bed that night, the thought became more intense. It was strange; he had never considered it before.
(End of Chapter)
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