Hodge was in the Great Hall when he heard the full story.
He was about to tuck into lunch when he noticed a few familiar faces at the Hufflepuff table, heads bent close together, listening intently as Ernie Macmillan whispered something. Judging by the reactions of those around him, the topic was clearly gripping.
"…three of them in total, two men and one woman. I'd bet my wand they're all Aurors."
Hodge edged closer, catching only fragments of the conversation. With a quick pivot, he plopped himself down between Justin Finch-Fletchley and Susan Bones. "Ouch!" Susan yelped in protest, but Hodge, with a flick of his wand, transformed the goblet in front of her into a fluffy golden rabbit. The rabbit promptly hopped into her lap. Susan froze for a moment before flashing Hodge a placating smile.
"You're just in time for the good part!" she said enthusiastically, nudging Ernie to continue.
Hannah Abbott, her ponytail swaying, glanced enviously at the soft-furred rabbit in Susan's arms. There was no room for her to squeeze in, with Ernie on her left and Justin on her right. "Can I pet it?" she asked Susan quietly, who generously extended an arm to share.
"Uh… right," Ernie said, shaking his head as if to clear it. The tall, broad-shouldered boy continued, "I recognized the man with the gray-white cropped hair right away. His name's Dawlish. I've seen him at my uncle's place. Uncle says Dawlish is a highly skilled Auror. The other two… well, the witch looked young, probably a rookie. And the other guy…" He lowered his voice, adopting a mysterious tone. "He's definitely a tough one. You can tell just by looking at him."
"His nose—missing a chunk. And here—" Ernie covered one eye with his hand, "he's got some kind of magical eye." He rolled his own eyes dramatically in their sockets, earning a collective shudder from the group. "And his leg—" He gestured horizontally at knee level. "Everything below that's wooden."
Ernie paused, and a hush fell over the group.
"It's Mad-Eye Moody," Susan Bones said, breaking the uneasy silence.
That was exactly who Hodge had in mind too. And the witch? Likely Tonks, if his guess was right. From what he'd pieced together, the Ministry—probably Fudge—had only sent Dawlish. Tonks must have fought to be included, and as for Moody, that was probably Dumbledore's influence at work.
Hodge cross-referenced Ernie's account with what he'd heard from Malfoy, filtering out the usual exaggerations, and the picture became clear.
"So, Ernie, you're sure they came for Potter?" Hannah asked eagerly.
"And Weasley," Ernie added gravely. "Professor McGonagall was the one who met them. I overheard them mention Potter's name while I was, er, pretending to look for a classroom." He flashed a sly grin. "You know how first period Herbology is with Gryffindor, right? So I lingered a bit. You all know what happened next: Potter and his friends got intercepted at the greenhouse door. Didn't even make it to class. Shame, really—it was an interesting lesson. I mean, a unique one."
Hodge glanced around, confused.
"Professor Sprout introduced a new plant," Susan explained. "Mandrake. The mature ones have a cry that can kill."
"And Professor Lockhart was there too," Hannah added, her face lighting up with admiration. "He tried to help Harry and the others by causing a distraction—snapped a photo, caused quite a stir…"
"What happened?" Hodge couldn't help but ask. If he'd heard correctly, this was Lockhart and Moody's first encounter.
Their personalities were like oil and water.
"That rude bloke—the one with the wooden leg," Hannah said indignantly. "He actually hit Professor Lockhart with a Stunning Spell! If Lockhart hadn't been distracted, fiddling with the camera's flash…"
"My aunt says Moody's a tough, battle-hardened Auror," Susan interjected. "If he hadn't been on the front lines so long, he'd probably hold a higher position. Though now, with his war injuries, he mostly stays at the Ministry training new recruits."
"Your aunt?" Justin asked, curious.
"Amelia Bones," Susan said, her tone brimming with pride. "She was appointed Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement after her outstanding service during the war."
In other words, Amelia Bones was the boss of all three Aurors—and then some. Her department, the largest in the Ministry, oversaw everything related to law, trials, arrests, and searches, including the Auror Office and Arthur Weasley's Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Hodge himself had dealt with the department before, though through its Misuse of Magic Office, when Umbridge had sent him that overstepping warning letter.
Hodge mulled it over. So, to sum it up: the Ministry had sent people over first thing in the morning, which had clearly irritated Professor McGonagall. The Aurors had whisked Harry and Ron away before their first class, and thanks to Lockhart's antics, there'd been a ridiculous incident involving a camera flash. Heaven only knew why Moody had overreacted—though with a nickname like "Mad-Eye," it wasn't entirely surprising. Maybe the flash had triggered some kind of combat instinct?
For Lockhart, this was a spectacularly bad first impression. Would he even make it to his afternoon class?
"Hodge, how long will this last?" Susan asked reluctantly, cradling the golden rabbit as he prepared to leave. Normally, a spell like that would last two days at most.
Hodge paused, then tapped his wand to his forehead.
A thin, silvery thread of memory emerged from his temple. Ernie leaned back, grimacing slightly, clearly a bit queasy. Hodge tapped the rabbit with his wand, and its eyes grew more lively.
"It should last quite a while now," he said. "If you don't want to keep it, just use the Finite Incantatem charm to turn it back."
"Give it a name!" Hannah said, her voice full of affection.
Susan glanced at Hodge expectantly.
"Bowtruckle," Hodge said without hesitation.
"Why?" Susan asked.
He shrugged.
Because, of course, he'd modeled the spell's memory after a Bowtruckle's behavior.
As Professor McGonagall had explained in class, animal transfiguration had two main challenges: ensuring an even distribution of magical energy and either suppressing or instilling a creature's will. Just now, Hodge had cleverly woven a magically infused memory into the transfiguration process, making the spell appear more lifelike and significantly extending its duration.
It wasn't perfect, though. For one thing, Susan's rabbit might develop an unexpected fondness for climbing trees.
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