Chapter 17: "Shelby, I Will Absolutely Not Teach You the Unforgivable Curses"

Chapter 17: "Shelby, I Will Absolutely Not Teach You the Unforgivable Curses"

Leon stood in front of Sirius Black's cell, making idle chitchat with Moody for some time until their allotted time was up.

The entire time, Sirius kept his head bowed, showing no reaction. But Leon didn't miss the veins standing out on the back of his clenched hands.

"It's less than three weeks until the start of the Hogwarts term. For Merlin's sake, just try to stay out of trouble until then," Moody advised as he led Leon out of the prison.

Leon's tone was light. "Please, relax, Mr. Moody. All the necessary preparations before school are complete. For the remaining time, I will be staying quietly in Birmingham."

This time, he wasn't lying. Although Leon had foresight about many future events—the Philosopher's Stone, the return of Voldemort—he was not nearly powerful enough to get involved. Not yet.

Everything he could accomplish before the start of the term was done. The rest would require patience and planning.

This, however, caught Mad-Eye completely off guard. He had only hoped the little terror would cause less trouble, not that he would actually stay home.

"I have to say, lad, I didn't see that coming," Moody scratched his head. A thought then occurred to him, and he spoke with some embarrassment. "Well, if you're just staying at home, it seems there's no need for that old mate of mine to come over after all..."

Mad-Eye was a blunt, honest man. Excessively so.

"I promised him five hundred Galleons. That's no small sum. I'd best send him a letter and tell him not to come."

Moody's logic was simple. The Shelby boy might be flowing with gold, but he couldn't, in good conscience, scam a child just to get an old friend a payday.

Leon immediately stopped him. What was he thinking? Any wizard Moody was willing to vouch for would undoubtedly be exceptional in both skill and character. If he was really lucky, it might even be one of the legendary members of the original Order of the Phoenix.

To make a connection like that for a mere five hundred Galleons was a bargain.

"No, no!" Leon's voice rose. "It would be even better if he came to teach me some magic! To be honest, sir, I was worried one tutor wouldn't be enough."

A complex series of emotions flickered across Moody's face. He finally gave in and nodded. He did have a personal wish to help his old friend's financial situation.

"If it's a teacher you're needing... then my old mate is probably a perfect fit. He's a smart, gentle, and sensitive man. He'll make a fine teacher."

"He's... fallen on hard times these last few years," Moody continued, his voice softening. "He's strapped for cash, but he's too proud to accept help from any of us old friends."

"You giving him this opportunity... well, on behalf of him, and the rest of the old crew, thank you."

Hearing this, Leon's eyes lit up with understanding. He had a very good idea of who was coming.

"Right then. Grab hold, I'll take you home," Moody put his hand on Leon's shoulder. "Until my old mate arrives, I suppose I can teach you a few simple spells. Play the part of a teacher."

For the next few days, both Leon and Moody had a relatively quiet schedule. Their only task was to conduct magic lessons within the grounds of Shelby Manor in Birmingham.

However, after just a few days of lessons, neither of them was very happy.

"Shelby! I am telling you for the last time, I will absolutely NOT teach you the Unforgivable Curses!"

"Professor Moody, the Hogwarts letter stated that all students must take a course called 'Defence Against the Dark Arts.' And as I understand it, are the Unforgivable Curses not the most classic example of the Dark Arts?"

"I'll wager you're the only student in Hogwarts history to read his acceptance letter that bloody carefully. Yes, you're right. What does that have to do with you wanting to learn them?"

"Professor, fear stems from the unknown. If I know nothing about the Unforgivable Curses, how can I possibly defend against them? I believe the correct teaching method is to face the Dark Arts directly, to study them until they are thoroughly understood! Only then can one mount a perfect defence!"

"..."

"Shelby, I'm not even going to bother calling your bluff! You want to 'study' them? You want to 'defend' against them? You just want to master them, you little terror!"

"The magic isn't evil! The wizard using it is! It's not the spell, it's the intent!"

"Rubbish! I don't care about your philosophy! I'm the teacher, and I say no! What are you going to do about it? Now, do you want to learn the Levitation Charm or not? If not, class is dismissed!"

"I've already learned it. Wingardium Leviosa! See? It's flying."

"The charm is... passable. You've got the wand-work down. From now on, focus your mind on proper spells. Right. Today I'll teach you another one."

"I'm guessing it won't be an Unforgivable Curse, correct?"

"A very clever guess, Mr. Shelby."

All in all, apart from their "disagreement" on the Unforgivables, the lessons went quite well. Leon perfectly mastered the Wand-Lighting Charm and the Wand-Extinguishing Charm. His natural talent for magic genuinely surprised Moody; the boy was almost too clever.

"Right, that's enough for today. We'll continue tomorrow. I'll teach you some simple Transfiguration," Moody said, getting to his feet and calling an end to the lesson. "The Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts... it's McGonagall, isn't it? A very strict woman, as I recall..."

The ringing of a telephone cut off Moody's reminiscence. Leon picked it up. "Yes, what is it?"

"Boss, there's a... a very thin man at the gate," the voice of one of his men came through the line. "He looks a bit rough. Says he's here to see a Mr. Moody."

Leon's eyebrow shot up, a flicker of excitement in his eyes. "Mr. Moody, it appears your old friend has arrived."

He spoke into the phone. "One moment. I will come to the gate to receive him personally."

A huge, gap-toothed grin spread across Moody's scarred face. He strode quickly towards the door, clearly impatient to see his old friend after so many years.

A few moments later, the two of them arrived at the main gate of Shelby Manor.

In the distance, Leon saw a thin man dressed in an extremely shabby, threadbare wizarding robe. The collar was so worn it had begun to fray. He looked ill and exhausted, as if he had been travelling for a long time.

Leon could see that the man was still relatively young, but his light brown hair was already streaked with silver.

The moment he saw him, Leon knew his guess had been correct.

A second later, Moody's enthusiastic, booming voice confirmed it.

"It's been a long time! Lupin! How have you been?"