On the way from the Great Hall's dueling chamber down to the dungeons, Professor Snape didn't say a word.
It wasn't until they stepped into the dark, damp dungeon that he stopped abruptly.
"You've learned quite a few jinxes, hexes, and curses…"
he said in a low voice, his hooked nose looking especially sharp in the dim dungeon light.
"Thirty-six jinxes, eighteen hexes, and six curses, Professor."
Sean nodded.
"Hmph…"
Snape gave a cold snort, and for a moment something like anxiety flashed beneath his usual restraint.
"A barely acceptable pace. But—
when it comes to dealing with curses, what you've learned is still far from enough—far from enough.
This will be your first lesson. It may also be your last.
Today, you're going to truly understand what wizards do to one another. I'm going to spend enough time teaching you how to deal with…"
He broke off there, staring at Sean carefully.
Not just at those green eyes.
"Listen carefully."
Snape raised his wand.
"You've learned some insignificant spells. They come in many forms and vary widely in magical force.
I've trained you to handle some Dark Magic—how to guard against it, how to undo it… But those were only the weakest parts of Dark Magic.
By rights, truly illegal dark spells are not something you should be coming into contact with yet. You cannot imagine them, and you cannot yet build any meaningful resistance against them.
And yet some 'greatest wizard' thinks you can deal with them?
The most foolish part is that some idiot also seems to believe he can face the most evil, darkest things in the magical world."
Snape's eyes fixed hard on Sean.
Sean didn't understand. He had no idea what Snape had noticed this time.
Ravenclaw's diadem? The Gaunt ring? Slytherin's locket?
As a double agent, Snape's powers of searching and deduction had never once been in doubt.
"You know, Professor?"
Sean asked.
"I know far more than you do…"
Snape let out a mocking laugh.
"The sooner you understand what you're up against, the better.
If you've never seen something before, how could you possibly…"
Snape fell suddenly silent. He stared at Sean, and at last forced out a few words through his teeth:
"Stay alive…"
A few seconds later, he continued.
"You'd better carve this into your skull, Green: staying alive is the point of everything.
If they intend to cast an illegal curse on you, they are not going to tell you their intentions.
You'd better grasp that clearly, you stupid Green. They will not cast politely, fairly, or courteously—you must be prepared. You must be vigilant.
Now, Green—tell me. Which curses are punished most harshly under wizarding law?"
"The Unforgivable Curses, Professor."
Sean was surprised. Snape was actually teaching him about the Unforgivables?
Why?
"Good. You do know.
The Unforgivable Curses: the three most powerful and most evil Dark spells known in the magical world.
They are the Killing Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Imperius Curse.
Under Ministry law, the use of any one of these on another human being carries a sentence of life imprisonment in Azkaban.
Because of their lethal, cruel, and utterly controlling nature, they are grouped together as the signature tools of those people."
Snape paced as he spoke. Then suddenly he picked up a slug.
"Imperio!"
The slug began to dance, its movements grotesque and disgusting.
"That is the Imperius Curse. It is now completely under my control. I could make it drown itself. I could make it jump out the window.
Listen to me, Green. If you continue being this stupid, it is not beyond imagining that this curse may be used on you. Barely hanging on is still better than being dead.
Years ago, many wizards were controlled like this.
And the fools in the Ministry? They never know who acted under force and who acted of their own free will.
Still—the Imperius Curse can be resisted. I will teach you how, but that requires very strong force of personality.
If you ever encounter it, you'd better do everything possible to avoid being hit by it in the first place."
Snape finished, then went on without giving Sean any time to process it.
"The Cruciatus Curse… unbearable pain!"
He pointed his wand at the slug again. Sean watched the creature convulse violently. After a moment it couldn't even wriggle anymore.
"And the last one—the Killing Curse. When you hear it, Green, run. Move your damned legs. Your best option is to get behind Dumbledore—Avada Kedavra!"
Snape said it flatly. The spell shot out in a blinding green flash, accompanied by a strange rushing sound, as though some vast invisible thing had swept past overhead.
Like Death swinging a scythe.
At the same moment, the slug rolled over and lay on its back on the table. There was not a single mark on it.
But it was unquestionably dead.
"A deeply unpleasant spell. And there is no counter-curse. No way to block it."
Snape stared into Sean's eyes.
"Dumbledore considers you a wizard who must be weighed more carefully than most. He will never allow anyone to teach you this kind of Dark Magic.
As everyone knows, Dark Magic corrodes the wizard's mind. But…"
He looked at the child in front of him.
He would sooner raise a Dark Lord than ever again be left as a helpless loser, forced only to gather the body afterward.
"So…
these three spells—Avada Kedavra, Imperius, Cruciatus—are called the Unforgivable Curses.
Use any one of them on a human being, and you've earned a life sentence in Azkaban.
This is what you need to be able to resist. This is what I'm going to teach you to resist.
You need to be prepared. All of you need to be on guard.
What are you standing there for? Take out your quill… and write this down…"
Snape's voice blended with the cold wind in the dungeons.
When Sean left the dungeon, still slightly dazed, carrying with him knowledge of the Unforgivable Curses, Snape remained standing in the shadows.
He raised his left arm. On the inside of his forearm was a mark burned into the skin, looking like a bright red tattoo.
The sensation from it had weakened again.
The Dark Lord's power had been diminished yet again.
Snape didn't need to think to know who was responsible.
But he would come back in the end. No one had ever truly killed him—that had already been proven too many times.
And as for those who stood in the way of his plans…
"Dumbledore—you'd better explain—"
Snape suddenly turned his gaze toward the dungeon door.
The old wizard, his beard long and white, was slowly appearing beyond the wooden doorway.
~~~
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