Moody used his magical eye to see through the trio hiding in the corridor, so he intervened at the perfect moment.
"What are you doing here!"
"Well, well, if it isn't Mad-Eye," Snape said, narrowing his eyes with obvious suspicion.
"Planning to cast some Dark Magic again?" Moody asked, approaching with his distinctive limp.
"Hmph, none of your business," Snape snorted coldly, put away his wand and turned to leave with his robes billowing.
The remaining Filch, having heard of Moody's fearsome reputation, didn't dare conflict with him.
"Argus Filch, I've heard of you. You're a Squib, aren't you? Why do you have magical power!"
Moody walked over, observing Filch intently with his magical eye.
"Oh, this..." Filch stammered nervously.
Tell him, Argus, a gentle young voice sounded in his mind.
"I participated in Mr. Aiden Prewett's experiment," Filch said truthfully.
"Experiment? There's such a thing? What's the success rate?" Moody asked, his hand gripping his cane trembling slightly.
Less than one percent, all failures resulted in death, the young voice entered Filch's mind again.
"Less than one percent, sir. The failures all paid with their lives," Filch confessed again with obvious fear.
Hearing the answer, Moody regained his composure, showing a barely detectable mocking smile.
"I see, lucky fellow. Don't waste your good fortune," Moody said, patting Filch's shoulder.
Filch bowed respectfully to Moody, then also left quickly.
The trio remained hidden under the invisibility cloak nearby.
"This won't do, it's too dangerous and evil. I have to stop him!"
Hermione was very agitated, but Harry and Ron held her back firmly.
Moody came over and pulled off the invisibility cloak with one swift grab.
"Ah!" came three voices in unison.
All three cried out in surprise simultaneously.
"Alright, they've gone far away, it's safe now," Moody said casually.
"Professor, aren't you going to punish us for night wandering?" Hermione asked with obvious worry.
"Punish? Why? Are there any Gryffindor students who don't wander at night?" Moody asked, winking at Hermione with amusement.
"Oh, what's this? Let me see," Moody said, turning around and snatching Harry's Marauder's Map.
"This is the Marauder's Map. My... father and his friends made it. It can show the whereabouts of everyone in the school," Harry explained openly.
Moody's days of building rapport with Harry had finally paid off, making Harry spill the secret like pouring beans.
"Good stuff. Can I borrow it for a while?" Though Moody said "borrow," he had already tucked the map into his pocket.
"Of course," Harry nodded in agreement.
"Alright, it's getting late. You should go back and rest," Moody said, dismissing them.
Then Hermione, Harry, and Ron were sent away by Moody, leaving only him alone in the empty corridor, lost in thought.
The next day, a small team of Aurors infiltrated Hogwarts to prepare for the upcoming competition.
Aiden was carrying books, preparing to return to his dormitory, when he sensed someone following him.
With a graceful turn, the dragon vanished into the blind spots of consciousness.
Behind him, a small team of Aurors emerged from hiding.
"Did he notice us?" The lead Auror asked with a worried frown.
"Impossible, how old is he?" Someone in the team answered dismissively.
"Snap!" A crisp finger snap struck their ears, and they lost all sensation from the neck down.
Aiden stepped from illusion to reality before their very eyes.
"Well then, gentlemen, could you explain what you're here for?" The dragon said, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
As if scorching dragon breath were contained in the dragon's mouth, trembling from the soul, it gently licked at everyone.
"Wait, sir, don't act rashly. We're staff for the Triwizard Tournament," the lead Auror quickly pleaded for mercy.
"Staff? Why follow me? Did Ludo Bagman bet on me losing and send people to eliminate me?" Aiden wondered aloud.
"No, sir. We're responsible for capturing the champions' treasures. We heard from above that you're friends with competitor Harry Potter, so they told us to capture you," the fallen Auror explained desperately.
"Wait, me? Don't you recognise me?" Aiden asked, pointing at his handsome face.
"Boss, he looks kind of familiar," the second Auror said.
"!!??" Only then did the lead Auror react. "You're also one of the competitors?"
"Who is your superior? Don't they investigate targets before taking action?"
Aiden released the manipulation on several people while checking their memories to confirm they were telling the truth.
"Uh, since we're currently in an election period, command authority in the Ministry keeps changing. Our current supervisor is Dolores Umbridge."
Hearing a disgusting name from the lead Auror, Aiden shook his head with disappointment.
"Go on, I'll help you catch people. The next ones to capture should be Ron and Ginny, right?" Aiden said.
The lead Auror took out the list, checked it carefully, and nodded.
"No need to trouble you. We're very sorry for causing you problems," they apologised and prepared to leave.
"That's not what I meant, sigh..." The Aurors perhaps couldn't save face and hurried away without listening to Aiden's complete words.
By the Black Lake, Ron and Ginny were playing wizard's chess peacefully.
When Ron was about to grab a piece, he suddenly felt warning palpitations.
He immediately took out his ring and put it on while giving Ginny a meaningful look.
Ginny understood and also put on the ring Aiden had given her.
Several Aurors suddenly jumped out from the woods and fired Stunning Spells at them.
But Ginny raised her right hand, and hexagonal crystal barriers wrapped protectively around both of them.
Then Ron used flying magic to soar into the sky, conducting precision bombing on the Aurors on the ground.
Ginny on the ground also coordinated perfectly with Ron, firing Stunning Spells at them.
The Aurors in the woods were blown to pieces by the two due to Hogwarts' anti-Apparition wards.
"Sigh," Aiden said, walking out from the woods with obvious exasperation.
He stopped Ron and Ginny to prevent them from completely annihilating these Aurors.
"Aiden? You were also attacked, right?!" Ron said, coming over and looking at Aiden with genuine concern.
"They're staff for the Triwizard Tournament," Aiden said, shaking his head.
With his right hand extended, six Aurors floated up and gathered around Aiden.
"The price of underestimating people. You're still Aurors, yet you were defeated by two fourth-years."
His staff materialised in Aiden's hand, cyan light glowing as the Aurors' injuries began to heal.
However, the Aurors' low combat effectiveness wasn't a problem from just a day or two. Ever since Fudge and Umbridge took over the Ministry of Magic, they had been promoting demilitarisation.
How should one put it? Should we praise the peaceful effect, or should we attribute it to the British sense of relaxation?
"All healed, get up quickly," Aiden said, waking up these Aurors who were lying on the ground pretending to be unconscious.
Ron and Ginny looked at them mockingly.
"What are you going to do now?" Aiden asked.
"Cough, cough."
The lead Auror had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask Ron and Ginny to accept their 'kidnapping'.
The 'captured' Ron still shouted to Aiden, "Aiden, help us bring the wizard chess back."
This made the Aurors extremely embarrassed and quickened their retreat.