Chapter 8
Quirinus Quirrell, along with being terrified and exhausted, was a little confused.
He had heard many stories about Voldemort, and none of them were good. Having first been the Muggle Studies professor, Quirinus had been told of many Muggle-raised wixen being slaughtered mercilessly by said Dark Lord. There were rumors of his insanity and lack of morals, tall tales of his terrible feats of magic, legends of his crimes. Everyone knew that he was a murderous psychopath with the looks of a vampire-snake hybrid.
But since he was taken over by Voldemort's wraith in Albania five months earlier, few of those stories seemed true.
For one thing, the man's wraith looked like just that: a man, albeit transparent and very pale. For another, he was cold, calculating, and very, very patient. And lastly, Voldemort noticed abused children.
Quirinus couldn't hear every thought the Dark Lord had, but he still saw through his own eyes and sensed his emotions. Voldemort would focus on a child's behavior, especially when flinching at sudden noises or being touched, being anti-social, and being distrusting. He would sense Voldemort's anger and worry.
Quirinus never tried to ask how Voldemort could see that a child was being abused. He himself knew the symptoms, but as Quirinus was incredibly bad at noticing anything. (Probably why he was so easy to control.) There were two ways someone could notice an abused child, and the more likely explanation was that Voldemort himself was abused. Quirinus didn't think Voldemort had been trained in child welfare, and those who were missed a lot of abuse anyway.
But he had to ask when Voldemort saw those same symptoms in Harlequin Potter-Black.
He had the boys in class on Thursday afternoons: first-year Slytherins and Gryffindors. They would be learning the basics of Defense Against the Dark Arts, which Quirinus couldn't quite remember. He was better at remembering his Muggle Studies curriculum.
Voldemort was actually a good teacher: patient, calm, warm, fair. Quirinus guessed that he had to be, to keep people from suspecting anything. He actually acted a lot like Quirinus had before he'd gone on his sabbatical.
Once Voldemort had finished calling roll, he turned to the class. "Can anyone tell me the six different types of magic?"
Several people, mostly Slytherins, raised their hand. Voldemort called on a Gryffindor. "I thought there were only two?"
"Are you referring to 'Light' and 'Dark' Magic, Mr. Finnigan?" Voldemort asked calmly. When Finnigan nodded, he said, "There are three categories of so-called 'Light' Magic and two categories of so-called 'Dark' Magic. I want to know specifics. Mr. Weasley?"
"I don't know the Dark Magic categories, Professor, but my dad taught me about the Light ones," Ron Weasley said carefully. "Transforming Magic, like Animagi, Household Magic, like most Charms, and Mind Magic, like Occlumency."
"Very good, Mr. Weasley," Voldemort said, tapping Quirinus' wand on the board. Quirinus had no idea how Voldemort had gotten it to work for him.
Words appeared on the board:
"Light" Magic (Concentrating on Thoughts)
Transforming Magic
Household Magic
Mind Magic
"The rest of the categories?" Voldemort continued, glancing around. "Mr. Zabini."
"Blood Magic and Death Magic are the two Dark Magic categories, Professor," Blaise Zabini said.
"Correct." Another tap with Quirinus' wand and more words appeared underneath 'Mind Magic.'
"Dark" Magic (Concentrating on Emotions)
Death Magic
Blood Magic
"And the last category?" Voldemort continued. "Mr. Harrison Potter-Black?"
"It would have to be a type of magic that focuses on both thoughts and emotions, Professor," Harrison Potter-Black said. "Is it called Neutral Magic?"
"It is indeed." Voldemort tapped his wand on the board once more, and the words 'Neutral Magic' appeared on the board beneath 'Blood Magic.' "Now, you will most likely never need to learn how to cast any of these Magics-" he pointed to the 'Dark' Magic section "-but you will need to learn about them, so you can defend yourselves against them. You will only be learning Neutral and 'Light' Magics." He paused, seeing several Gryffindors raising their hands. "Yes, Miss Brown?"
"Why are 'Light' and 'Dark' in quotations?" Lavender Brown asked.
"A good question. A long time ago, during the time of Emrys Merlin, Magics and Wixen weren't divided into 'Light' and 'Dark.' Light wasn't seen as purely good, and dark wasn't seen as purely evil. Wixen and Magic were one.
"A few centuries after Merlin's death, Wixen and Magics were split into 'Light' and 'Dark,' but still, neither were seen as evil or good, just tools. Some wixen, however, did believe that 'Dark' Wixen and Magics were evil and tried to hunt them down, which caused Dark Lords to emerge."
The class -- and Quirinus -- were startled by this. "I am aware that Dark Lords are seen as evil and chaos," Voldemort said, "but they weren't always like that. True Dark Lords were created for the balance of Magic, to protect all Wixen, to fight for equality and freedom for so-called 'Dark' Creatures. A true Dark Lord is always called by Lady Magic.
"Dark Lords weren't seen as evil until Herpo the Foul, who was, most likely, the first Dark Lord who wasn't chosen by Lady Magic," Voldemort said. Some of the Slytherins went white, but most of them didn't recognize the name. Quirinus sure didn't. "Herpo the Foul was wiped from history books a long time ago. It was argued that it was because of the horrible slaughtering of his enemies, and to hide the evil magics he created. Some scholars disagree, probably because there is very little on him in books that are legal to own."
"Well, that explains why Malfoy knows about him," Lavender Brown muttered under her breath. Several of the Slytherins scowled, and Harlequin Potter-Black had to be shoved back into his seat by his brother.
"Miss Brown, do you believe that children are evil?" Voldemort asked quietly.
She looked outraged. "Of course not!"
"So you don't believe that Mr. Draco Malfoy is a child?"
She didn't respond. She looked torn between defiant anger and guilt.
"Perhaps," Voldemort said calmly, "all of you might consider giving children the benefit of the doubt. You don't know what or who they'll grow up to be. Everyone has the potential to be good or evil, regardless of what their House was or who their parents are or were. And I believe firmly that it is impossible for children to be evil. They can make mistakes, yes, even terrible ones, but your brains haven't matured fully, and so they are just mistakes. You are young, and can grow and mature. I think it will be easier if you don't immediately condemn any child as evil or bad."
Silence. Quirinus was really confused now. Voldemort wasn't trying to turn them against each other, especially against the Muggle-raised or 'blood-traitors,' and he wasn't trying to turn them Dark. Yet he still threatened to have Quirinus' brother killed if he didn't cooperate.
"Does anyone have any questions about the categories of Magic?" Voldemort asked.
Harrison Potter-Black was surprisingly the only one to raise his hand. Quirinus supposed they were all still thinking about Voldemort's little speech.
"Yes, Mr. Potter-Black?"
"Why is this class called 'Defense Against the Dark Arts,' if all magic can be dangerous?" the boy asked.
"Because the Ministry has ruled all 'Dark' Magic to be illegal and very dangerous," Voldemort said.
"They banned a kah-niffy because it can kill people, so nobody can use it to -- chop veggies?" Harlequin Potter-Black said indignantly. Several students snickered at his pronunciation of 'knife.'
Quirinus barely noticed the little pause between 'to' and 'chop,' but Voldemort did, and now he was studying the child surreptitiously. Quirinus didn't notice that Harrison Potter-Black realized Voldemort was studying his brother, but Voldemort did.
"I suppose that's one way to look at it," Voldemort said slowly.
The rest of the class composed of Voldemort teaching them about the basics of Battle Magic, which was only categorized as 'Neutral' Magic simply because there were both 'Light,' 'Dark' and Neutral Magics in that type of Magic. Most of the spells taught in DADA were Defense spells, although Voldemort argued that technically, all Battle Magic could be called 'defensive' because you could do anything to defend yourself.
Quirinus' consciousness went unconscious at some point -- his mind was tired all the time now -- and when he woke up, class was over and the Potter-Black twins were the only ones in the classroom. Harrison Potter-Black was calm and blank-faced, while Harlequin Potter-Black was twitching and glancing around.
"Mr.s Potter-Black," Voldemort said curiously. "What is it you need?"
"Would it be possible for Harley and I to have extra lessons from you, Professor?" Harrison Potter-Black asked after a small pause. Once again, Quirinus missed the fact that Harrison Potter-Black was reading Voldemort just as Voldemort was reading him.
"And why would you want to take extra lessons from me, Mr.s. Potter-Black?" Voldemort asked quietly, eyes on Harrison Potter-Black.
"You are a very good teacher, and one neutral in the division of Magic, Professor." It was clear the boy was choosing his words carefully. "I enjoy learning from you."
"And I believe I will enjoy teaching you, Mr.s Potter-Black," Voldemort agreed, casting Harlequin Potter-Black a faintly amused look; the boy was now bouncing in place, looking impatient.
"Do you know what ADHD is, Professor?" Harrison Potter-Black asked suddenly.
Quirinus had no idea, but Voldemort nodded. "You have ADHD, I presume?" he asked Harlequin Potter-Black dryly.
"Yep," the boy said, grinning wryly. Quirinus didn't notice the insanity in the child's fractured green eyes, but Voldemort did.
"I will keep that in mind and give you any accommodations you need," Voldemort promised. "Was there anything else? The Slytherins in seventh year usually get here early."
Quirinus had no idea how Voldemort had gotten that from his mind, because he definitely didn't remember everyone's arrival times in Muggle Studies.
"Not at this moment, Professor," Harrison Potter-Black responded.
"My office, Saturdays at one?" Voldemort suggested.
"In the morning?" Harlequin Potter-Black asked innocently. Voldemort snorted but didn't respond.
If Quirinus could speak, he would have sputtered in disbelief. Voldemort snorted?
"Yes, I think that could work," Harrison Potter-Black agreed. "Harley, you aren't allowed to come here at one in the morning."
"Aw. You're no fun."
Voldemort snorted again, and now Quirinus was having a minor heart attack. "I will see you on Saturday, then, Mr.s Potter-Black."