𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗦

𝘉𝘌𝘈𝘜𝘟𝘉𝘈𝘛𝘖𝘕𝘚 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘋𝘜𝘙𝘔𝘚𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘕𝘎

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"There you were!" Hermione said, catching up with Alina as they both descended to the Gryffindor common rooms.

"Hm?" hummed Alina, turning around to see Hermione next to her. "Oh, yes. Hi."

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked. "I've been waiting for you to come back, but I must have fell asleep before you did."

"Sorry for yesterday, last class got me...  overwhelmed a little," Alina confessed.

"Are you okay?" said Hermione. "I wanted to ask you yesterday, but I couldn't find you."

"I know." Alina nodded. "I'm fine, there's nothing a good night's sleep can't solve."

Now, that was only half true. Yes, she was feeling better, but she didn't completely move on from yesterday's events. But they weren't as fresh as they were back then, and she slowly regained control.

And over the next few weeks, Alina and Professor Moody both learned to cooperate with each other. She didn't approve of his methods, but he didn't go on a spider killing spree anymore.

There wasn't a Defense Against the Dark Arts class in which Alina didn't answer at least one of Moody's questions, and she wasn't really sure whether she made it to his favorite students list, or if he was simply trying to test her knowledge and see if she studied hard enough or not.

However, none of the previous lesson could prepare her—or anybody else—for what Alastor Moody had in store for his fourth year students. Today, he was going to put them all under the Imperius Curse to demonstrate how powerful it was and see if they could resist it or not.

Some students did strange things, like Dean Thomas, who jumped three times across the room while singing the National Anthem, or Lavender Brown, who imitated a squirrel. Or Neville Longbottom, who demonstrated some gymnastics he wouldn't have been capable of, to which Professor Moody explained that the Imperius Curse was powerful enough to make witches and wizards do even the things they couldn't do under normal circumstances.

"Are you ready, van Blumenthal?" Professor Moody asked as the girl stepped forward. "You better be. Imperio!"

Moody casted the spell on her. At first, Alina felt dizzy. It was as if her legs were no longer touching the ground and she floating in the air. All of the nerves she had only moments ago, they were all gone.

"Let's see, van Blumenthal... " Moody trailed off, thinking for a second before waving his wand at her again. "Alright, let's hear you apologize for your reckless and inappropriate behavior."

Without even hesitating and without any hint of hostility in her eyes, Alina said, "I'm sorry, Professor. I shouldn't have—"

Shouldn't you? A voice awaked in the back of her head.

Are you really sorry? The voice said again, louder this time.

She could hear both the voice in her head and Moody's voice. The teacher kept repeating the same words over and over again, asking her to apologize for disturbing his first class, but they both got mixed up in her head and she found herself subconsciously bringing both of her hands up, fingertips firmly pressed on her temples.

"Make it stop... " Alina said, furrowing her brows.

"I didn't hear you apologize. Say it!" Professor Moody insisted.

"... my head, it hurts... " she complained.

It will keep hurting if you resist it. But maybe it's for the better if you give in. You're not ready. You're not strong enough.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I shouldn't have interrupted your lecture with my reckless and inappropriate behavior," said Alina, sounding completely...  honest.

And right after that, Alastor Moody lowered his wand and the curse wore off, leaving Alina confused. She blinked a couple of times and realized that the strange feeling of comfort she had before was gone, and she was left with a splitting headache.

"Did you all see that?" Moody asked, turning to look at the students. "She almost resisted it! Let's try it again, van Blumenthal! Let me see your eyes, Imperio!"

This time, however, Alina didn't hear the voice anymore. And just as she was told, the girl once again apologized for her behavior, sounding just as honest as she did the first time. And once again, after the curse wore off, Alina was left feeling empty.

"Hmph!" Professor Moody exclaimed. "Breaking your will wasn't that hard, van Blumenthal. It must run in the family. Moving on... Malfoy! Draco Malfoy!"

At the mention of her family, Alina frowned. Then, she wondered whether she heard him well or she just imagined it, as she was still feeling dizzy from being cursed only moments ago. But this time, she didn't ask about it. Instead, she focused on trying to make her head stop spinning.

"Imperio!" muttered Moody, putting Draco under the Imperius curse as well. "Hm...  what should we make you do, Malfoy? Something embarrassing, something you might never do while fully conscious and aware of your actions... "

But before Mad-Eye Moody could force Draco to do anything, the boy took a few steps in Alina's direction.

"Alright, go on... I'll let you do whatever you want! As long as it's something you wouldn't normally do!"

While Professor Moody explained that the Imperius Curse not only enhanced the abilities of the cursed person so that they could do whatever they were asked to do, but it also affected the cursed person's behavior, because it loosened their inhibitions and provided them with a false sense of comfort and safety, so that they wouldn't suspect they've been put under a curse.

Draco Malfoy felt strange. Apart from feeling lightheaded, he also felt relaxed and happy and his head was emptied of all the worries and the thoughts he previously carried.

He took one step after another, until he was finally standing in front of Alina. And then, one of his hands reached for her face. With his fingertips, he grabbed a golden lock of hers and tugged it behind her ear, all while staring emptily in her eyes.

His eyes. There was something strange with Draco's icy grey eyes. Usually, there were so many things that could be read in his eyes, things Draco Malfoy would never say out loud. But now... it was like he wasn't thinking anything at all. Never before had Alina seem such emptiness in his eyes.

Alina carefully watched Draco, curiously trying to see how far he'd go. According to Professor Moody, he was going to do something he considered embarrassing, something he wouldn't normally do.

Could he also hear the voice she heard before? Alina wondered.

Draco's fingertips gently rubbed her cheek. She couldn't read his mind, no matter how much she tried. She simply couldn't guess what was going on in the boy's mind, but considering the experience she just had with the Imperius curse, it was probably nothing. But could this be true? Could it be that Draco Malfoy was finally set free of his inhibitions and he was not pulled back by anything anymore? An empty mind was dangerous, particularly for someone like him.

He lifted his other hand as well and cupped Alina's face. Then, the boy with the empty eyes—and head—leaned forward, his lips pressing against the soft skin of the Gryffindor's cheek. But he didn't say anything. Draco Malfoy just stood in silence, letting his kiss linger on Alina's cheek and at once, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if he was taking in the girl's deep vanilla scent.

Professor Moody lowered his wand, setting him free from the Imperius Curse. Draco blinked twice and found himself in an uncomfortable position.

He was quick to retract his hand and turn his back on her, clearing his throat before shooting an upset look to Alastor Moody. He wasn't sure what he just did, but he knew it was the stupid curse he was put under that made him do something embarrassing and he made a mental note to mention this to his father later. But for now, he had to save whatever was left of his dignity.

"What a stupid demonstration," said Draco, coldly. "Why do we need to see what a curse can do, if its effects are not something the cursed person would ever do?"

Then, he turned around to Alina, his cheeks still displaying a barely noticeable tint of pink.

"I don't know what that was, but just so you know, I would have never done that if I wasn't cursed!" he defended himself.

"That's enough, Malfoy," Moody said, motioning for him to go back to his seat. "Let's see whose turn is it... Potter!"

The rest of the class went by almost uneventfully. Professor Moody had to cast the Imperius Curse on Harry four times for him to resist it completely—not to mention the boy almost broke his kneecaps, but there was nothing a little magic couldn't solve.

These were the hottest gossip topics for today: Harry Potter resisting the Imperius Curse, Alina van Blumenthal almost doing the same, and Draco Malfoy showing off his shockingly soft spot for Alina. That was way too much attention than the girl wanted to receive.

And if that wasn't enough, she now had to worry about Snape too, who promised to poison one of them before Christmas, so that he could see if they have studied antidotes hard enough.

Much to Alina's relief, an announcement has been made and it kept people buzzing for the rest of the week. They were now no longer talking about what happened in Moody's class, but about the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang that will be arriving at the end of the week. In the following days, some changes occurred at Hogwarts. The castle was cleaned thoroughly, every inch of it being rubbed until it was squeaky clean, including some grimy portraits that haven't been dusted off since they were painted, much to their subjects dislike, and everybody seemed to be on their best behavior.

When Friday morning finally came and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Alina went downstairs for breakfast, they discovered that the Great Hall has been decorated overnight, probably by the house-elves, much to Hermione's horror. Enormous banners that represented each house had been hung on the walls, carefully crafted out of colorful silk. It made the Hall look even more imposing than before.

They sat down at the Gryffindor table, next to Fred and George, who were still debating on how to enter the Triwizard Championship, even if they didn't meet the age requirement.

"I wonder if the delegates from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang would be interested in my S.P.E.W. merchandise," said Hermione, looking pretty lost in thought.

So far, it seemed like a normal morning. They were chatting and laughing for several reasons, all while enjoying a warm cup of tea and some honey and butter on toast for breakfast.

When the owls came with the mail, a particularly snowy one stood out, delivering a letter to Harry, one he had been expecting for so long. When he opened it, he read it out in a whisper to his other three friends, looking relieved to hear from his godfather at last.

"Alina, Can I borrow your owl?" Harry asked, gently stroking Hedwig on top of her head. Before the owl could bite him, he carried on with his explanation, "I can't keep sending Hedwig, she stands out too much. A white owl that keeps returning to wherever he is... it's too risky."

"I would gladly let you send Rain, but he's light gray, so I doubt it would make much of a difference. How about Ron's owl? It might blend in more easily," Alina suggested.

The second half of day went by smoothly. Nobody really paid attention during their lectures and because the delegation was said to arrive at six, the chances of being poisoned by Professor Snape were slightly decreased.

After they ran to their Gryffindor Tower to put their bags and books back in their place and took their cloaks, they returned to the entrance hall, looking more excited than ever.

Alina has heard many stories about Durmstrang from her father, but he didn't sound like he enjoyed his time there that much. If anything, he seemed relieved that he got transferred to Hogwarts. For obvious reasons, as he liked to say right before endearingly looking in Mrs. van Blumenthal's direction.

They were all standing on the steps, lined up in front of the castle, waiting for any sign that would signal the arrival of the delegation. It was nearly six and the students were already impatient, debating theories on how the delegations would arrive.

"What if they'll Apparate? Maybe you're allowed to Apparate from a younger age wherever they come from?" said Ron.

"For the last time, you can't Apparate in Hogwarts!" Hermione was quick to correct him.

Alina heard Dumbledore's voice from the back row, where the teachers stood, "The delegation from Beauxbatons approaches, if I'm not mistaken."

Everybody started to look around, wondering from which direction the foreign students will come from.

"Over there!" a voice called out, pointing at the forest.

Right above the forest, there was something in the sky, quickly approaching the castle. At first, it was hard to tell what it was but as it got closer, it was revealed that it was an incredibly large horse-drawn carriage, pulled by a dozen palominos winged-horses.

It landed on the ground with a loud crash that made most of the students jump and from this close, Alina could see the horses' fiery red eyes. As impressive and beautiful the carriage was, the girl couldn't help but wonder why it was so large.

Her question got answered as soon as the door of the carriage was opened, revealing the frame of the largest woman she had ever seen. Her height could even be compared to Hagrid's. She, as abnormally tall as she might be, was also oddly beautiful and fashionable. She was introduced as Madame Maxine by Dumbledore, who seemed delighted to see her.

From the carriage emerged about a dozen of students, obviously not dressed accordingly for this rather cold weather, who were applauded by the Hogwarts hosts.

Now that Beauxbatons was here, it was time for Durmstrang to make an appearance. Some students were looking at the sky with hope in their eyes, but everything was silent for a while.

Then, a loudly and oddly eerie noise was heard approaching and it sounded like it came from . . .

"The lake! Look!" yelled a student, pointing at the lake.

From where they were standing, Alina had a clear view to the lake's black surface, who wasn't as smooth as it usually was. No, there was some disturbance going on underneath the water surface. And then, right from the middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared and something that looked like a black pole slowly started to rise from within. A magnificent ship eventually rose from underwater and continued to sail to the shore.

When the ship reached its destination and the anchor was thrown, the students from Durmstrang started to disembark. From afar, they all looked the same: they were large, although they were nothing compared to Madame Maxine, and broad shouldered, and they were all wearing heavy fur.

As they marched closer, she realized they looked so bulky because of their attire. The man who led them, he looked imposing, but not in the same way as Madame Maxine. No, the man looked rough around the edges and when he opened his mouth to greet Dumbledore, his voice was hoarse.

He was introduced as Professor Karkaroff.

Ron started to tap Alina and Harry's shoulders, then excitedly pointed in the direction of one of the Durmstrang students, "Look! It's Krum!"

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thank you so much for 1k reads, i'm really grateful. it brightens up my day to see you guys in my notifications, whether you leave a vote, a comment, or you just add my stories to your reading lists! i can't thank you enough 💛

i'm sorry i dipped again, i got really busy with school but i'll try to update once in a while. i also have a new story in my drafts, a marauders au that takes place in the order of the phoenix era & i'm currently working hard on that. it might take me a while to get it out but hear me out, it's something i'm pretty convinced you've never seen before!

fearless (taylor's version) is here & i've been in my feels ever since it came out! it's 2008 again & i'm so down for it! taylor inspired me every single day and she's making history right now. i don't even have words to say how proud i am of her! so if you listened to the album, what's your favorite vault & old song?