Harry looked confused when Moody suddenly pointed at him, but Ron looked eager.
"Are you telling the truth, Professor? That even if we used the Killing Curse on you, you'd only get a nosebleed?" Ron looked at Moody curiously, suspicious of what Moody had just said.
The other young wizards also turned to look at him. Moody's last-minute change of heart was so comical that several students burst out laughing.
"Yes, I was right, Mr Weasley!" Moody ignored the sniggering students, striding over to Ron with wooden legs, and leaning close to Ron's face.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Moody demanded, staring at Ron.
Ron cringed as the strange blue eye stared at him, at a loss as to how to respond. He'd just been being clever and amusing.
"Now, Weasley … take out your wand … and cast a spell on me!" Moody suddenly shouted.
Ron was so startled by this that he nearly jumped out of his seat, as were the rest of the young wizards, and Neville, who was standing very close to them, shuddered.
The faint laughter suddenly stopped, and the classroom became eerily quiet.
Ivan also looked at Moody in surprise, not expecting the old Auror to be serious.
Although Ron's magic was weak and his spell-casting was terrible, it was the most dangerous of the three Unforgivable Curses.
It would be no joke if Ron managed to cast the spell!
"Didn't you hear me? Now! Now!" Moody yelled at Ron, slamming his callused left hand down on the table.
"Teach… Teach… Forget it… I don't know the incantation." Ron looked at Moody in horror and stammered.
"Don't worry… there's nothing difficult about this spell, I can show you right now!" Moody forced a smile and waved his wand behind him, causing a glass bottle to fly out of the drawer and into his hand.
Ivan could clearly see three black spiders the size of half a palm crawling restlessly inside the glass bottle.
"Come on, Mr Weasley! I'll show you how it's done!" Moody yelled hoarsely as he unscrewed the top of the bottle and slammed it on the table.
Ron wondered if Moody had lost his mind and tried to move his chair as far away from Harry as possible.
Harry, too, looked shaken.
Moody held up the glass bottle, and the three spiders escaped, only to be trapped by Moody's magic and forced to circle in circles.
"Ha, look at these little ones, alive and kicking, but they won't be for a while…" Moody said darkly, then looked at Ron.
"Remember, this Dark Art incantation is not hard to remember, we just have to do this… and watch!"
All eyes were on the three spiders, excited and a little frightened. It was the first time that most of the young wizards and witches were witnessing the release of the Killing Curse.
"Avada Kedavra! (Avada Kedavra)" Moody drew his wand and yelled at one of the black spiders.
The next moment, a brilliant green light shot out from the tip of the wand, and Ron, who was closest to it, felt a chill run down his spine.
The green beam hit the middle black spider unhindered.
There was no horrible wound. The black spider just shook violently, and its body collapsed, stiff and unmoving…
Everything seemed calm, but Ivan understood the terror that lay beneath the calm. Death magic was never simple.
Was it an attack on the soul?
Yvonne thought about this, then realised that something was wrong. The curse must have instantly stripped the victim of their life force.
Otherwise, Harry would not have been able to see Dumbledore in the spirit world, and Voldemort would have been hit by the reflected Avada Kedavra.
This had the effect of a Horcrux, but it was enough to prove that the Killing Curse could not destroy a person's soul.
Ivan was the only one who looked at the Killing Curse with a research-oriented mind. The other students in the classroom watched in shock. Several girls covered their mouths in shock and tried to hold back their screams.
"Is it… dead?" Ron gulped, his voice shaking.
"Of course!" Moody grinned as he used his wand to lift the limp Black Spider and place it in front of Ron. "Why? You want to make sure?"
Ron frantically shook his head. He was already terrified of spiders, let alone one that had just been hit with the Killing Curse!
"As you can see, this is the Killing Curse!" Moody exclaimed, holding up the Death Spider so that everyone could see it.
"Not just anyone can do it!" Moody went on. "It's either a powerful wizard or a complete villain who can do it!"
"Most of the time, of course, it's a combination of the two—the Dark Wizard with the most magic! It's their speciality!"
"If you meet any of these people, you'll just have to pray that you don't get hit…or die trying!" Moody growled, turning back to Ron.
"Mr Weasley… your turn!"
"No, I wouldn't dare… Professor!" Ron was shaking with fear; he didn't think he could even lift his wand.
Moody did not press the issue this time. He glanced at the students he had intimidated and nodded in satisfaction.
He saved his dignity in one fell swoop!
Moody looked at Ivan as if he had no idea what was going on. Who would have thought there would be such a monster in their fourth year?
From what he had gathered, Moody had no doubt that Ivan would have killed him on the spot if he had used the Killing Curse on him, just like the spider.
He also noted that Ivan seemed to be very familiar with the Killing Curse. Not only did he answer all of his questions comprehensively, but his face did not even flicker when he saw him casting the spell.
Moody took all of this to heart, but he did not show it. His expression did not change as he continued his lesson, using the remaining two black spiders to demonstrate the Imperius Curse and Cruciatus Curse!