A chubby old man with a magical eye and a wooden leg sneaked in through the staff entrance. His eye swept over the professors' table as if he were secretly observing someone, though no one could tell who it was.
Above the Great Hall was the illusionary night sky, conjured by magic, which suddenly roared with thunder like a storm was about to break.
Everyone jumped in fright, but Moody reacted immediately. He drew his wand and fired a swirling burst of gray magical energy upward, dispersing the storm clouds before they could unleash.
"This sky in the Great Hall is as temperamental as ever," he muttered.
No longer hiding in the shadows, Moody hobbled out on his metal leg. A retired Auror, he had been invited by Dumbledore to serve as this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Dumbledore welcomed him warmly, the two embracing with cheerful smiles.
"So this is our new professor? Seems like the Defense Against the Dark Arts position changes every year—must be the Dark Lord's curse!"
A student who clearly knew the inside story made this comment, drawing a crowd of curious classmates who pressed him for details. The student even climbed onto a table to start explaining, as if giving a formal lecture.
The scene resembled something out of a farce—like a costumed storyteller perched on a mountain of props, surrounded by idle brothel patrons too distracted by the tale to get on with their business.
Kid! Behaving like this without giving Dumbledore any respect? Careful, or you'll end up with a poor graduation review!
After dinner, the Hogwarts students naturally returned to their dormitories. The German students went back to their ship, while the French students returned to their carriage. For the next year, they would all be stationed here, studying and competing together.
"Peeves!"
In the Room of Requirement, Regulus Black bundled a stack of letters and tied them to the talons of his family's snowy owl, Rena. He fed her a few strips of beef before sending her off to deliver the letters to Kreacher.
Too many women—this was the problem. Maintaining relationships required constant correspondence. All those letters were addressed to his various girlfriends.
"Master! Something good must've happened? You didn't let me into the Great Hall today. I missed the arrival of the other two schools. I'm heartbroken!"
Peeves, mimicking some bizarre theatrical style he'd picked up who knows where, was dramatically over-the-top.
"I have a task for you. Just say that the new professor, Moody, has a magical eye that can see through people's clothes."
Regulus Black's assignment was for Peeves to spread a rumor—something Peeves excelled at.
By the next day, the way students looked at Moody had completely changed. Boys became visibly nervous when caught in Moody's gaze, and girls who were stared at too long often fled back to their dorms in tears, refusing to attend class.
Magical trinkets that claimed to block peeping and x-ray vision became wildly popular. Everyone wore at least one. Some girls even treated them as accessories, wearing several at once like jewelry.
"Who's the bastard spreading these rumors? I'll find him and throw him in Azkaban!"
Moody was in the headmaster's office, waving his arms furiously and complaining to Dumbledore about his current situation. The content of the rumors was downright disgusting. Was he really supposed to gouge out his magical eye just to prove he wasn't using it to peep?
"Old Immortal Moody, the magical eye is invincible!"
"Old Immortal Moody—whoever he stares at ends up pregnant!"
"Old Immortal Moody—he sees what he wants, when he wants!"
There were always troublemakers at Hogwarts who feared nothing—whether in Gryffindor or Slytherin.
Those catchphrases were all thought up by Regulus Black and spread by Peeves.
Some of the boldest students even formed a ridiculous group called the Accidental Pregnancy Response Support Squad—Stared at by Moody the Old Immortal.
That particular idea hadn't come from Regulus, but he had to admit—it was brilliant.
"You little brats, just wait until I catch you!"
Moody stormed after a group of students wearing hoods designed to look like his face. The fake magical eye on the hood even rotated. This was the second version—unlike the first, this one's fake eye actually moved.
Naturally, the students didn't want to get caught. So when they were out stirring up trouble, they always wore their hoods and masks.
Thanks to Hogwarts' uniform policy and the protective trinkets that blocked magical sight, everyone was well-covered.
And when your face can't be seen, how can anyone prove it was you?"I was just passing by."
Aside from playing tricks on Moody, the other major event at the school was challenging the Age Line—trying to toss a piece of parchment with one's name into the Goblet of Fire. Regardless of the outcome, the act of challenging it was immensely popular in itself.
For about a week, Dumbledore allowed the students to try their luck.
Students from all three schools would gather in the hall whenever they didn't have classes, just to see who would attempt to cross the Age Line next.
Various spells and potions were tried in turn. The Weasley twins successfully concocted an aging potion. They managed to jump over the Age Line, but as soon as they threw their parchment into the Goblet of Fire, the Goblet spat it back out—and both of them instantly turned into little old men.
"This is your fault! All your fault!"
"You must have messed up the potion. It had to be you!"
The two began to scuffle with each other while the surrounding students burst into laughter.
If taking an aging potion turned someone into an old man, then what consequences might other methods bring?
Someone threw garbage into the Goblet, only to have their clothes burned into a hole-riddled mess.
Someone else wrote the names of their entire class on a single piece of parchment. As he read each name aloud, the Goblet responded with "Myself" every time.
Ravenclaw students remained faithful observers throughout all these experiments, meticulously recording every incident and its aftermath. Gryffindor students, however, became more determined with each failure. After exhausting every idea they could come up with, they began seeking advice from other houses.
When such excellent test subjects came knocking of their own accord, Ravenclaw wore indifferent expressions—but inwardly, they were delighted.
A detailed experimental schedule was soon developed. All necessary magical tools and potions were supplied in abundance, and the number of students lining up to "risk their lives" in front of the Goblet began to skyrocket.
"It's like eating chewing gum that never loses its flavor—you just can't stop!"
Regulus Black held Ravenclaw's report in his hands. It included an in-depth analysis of the Goblet of Fire's material composition and possible construction methods, along with a study of its rules of operation and reactions to external stimuli based on numerous tests.
In fact, with all materials prepared and magic power sufficiently supplied, Ravenclaw now felt confident that they could build a Goblet of Fire themselves.
This is the power of knowledge and wisdom!
"Ah-ha! Caught you, you little brat from the Malfoy family. Think it's fun to prank me? Now it's your turn to know what it feels like!"
You don't walk by the river without getting your feet wet. After repeatedly playing tricks on Moody, one of the troublemakers finally got caught.
Who would've thought the precious young master would be abandoned by his friends? Or maybe he was noble enough to stay behind and cover for them?
With a single Transfiguration spell, Moody turned the young master into a snow-white ferret!
To hell with you, old Moody! You and Lucius Malfoy must've planned this together!
The Transfiguration spell turned Draco into such an adorable ferret—wasn't that more like an Animagus transformation?
The ferret floated up and down with Moody's wand, utterly terrified by the transformation and the feeling of having no control over its limbs.
"That's enough! Moody, as a professor, you shouldn't be using Transfiguration spells on students."
Regulus Black strode over, opened his magical robes, and gently tucked the ferret inside.
"Don't think I don't know about your relationship with Lucius. No matter how many times I capture your kind, you Death Eaters just keep crawling back like maggots."
Moody pointed his wand directly at Regulus. It looked like the two professors were about to fight.
Regulus, however, completely ignored Moody's wand and didn't even draw his own—because Professor McGonagall was already running toward them from afar.
"Stop right there! Moody, this is a school."
She had just heard from students that Moody had turned Draco into a ferret. But when she arrived, she saw Moody about to fight Regulus. Thankfully, Regulus clearly had no intention of retaliating.
Moody lowered his wand. He still had to respect Professor McGonagall, a fellow member of the Order of the Phoenix. And she wasn't wrong.
"I'm taking Draco with me. The boy needs to calm down."
Regulus Black gave a slight nod to Professor McGonagall, then turned and walked away.
Inside the Room of Requirement, Regulus Black released the ferret and even poured a cup of black tea, pushing it toward him.
"How are you feeling? Can you understand human speech now?"
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