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6 Dec 2025
Reading this, the students all looked at Dumbledore at the front with admiration. This was the guardian of their Hogwarts, the pillar of support. Just one person was able to suppress that group of vicious dark wizards in Azkaban, preventing them from escaping.
Dumbledore accepted these adoring gazes with equanimity, as he was used to them. Then, he said to the students with earnestness, "With great power comes great responsibility. I hope you can remember this. I look forward to seeing good news about you in the Daily Prophet from time to time after you graduate."
The students nodded excitedly.
"And now, we should talk about some other things." Dumbledore waved his arms, as if stretching.
"The Dementors have been removed from Hogwarts, which is a good thing for me. I don't like dealing with those creatures. But for you, the guard force protecting you has been reduced a lot. Black is still on the run and sneaks into the school from time to time. The Fat Lady's portrait proves that this place is not absolutely safe. If it weren't for enough luck last time, I think a tragedy might have already happened."
"We're not afraid!" a Gryffindor student said hastily, eager to prove his courage.
"Yes, we're not afraid!" the rest of the students echoed.
"No, no, no, I don't want you to face that fugitive directly. A person should have a full understanding of his current situation, neither underestimating himself nor being arrogant," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
"Sirius Black, he was also my student. He was very talented, almost impeccable except for being a bit mischievous," Dumbledore said in a tone of reminiscence, while glancing at Lupin diagonally opposite him.
"I originally thought he would become an excellent Auror or other respected profession, but unfortunately, he didn't. Most of you probably know what happened back then."
"What I need to say here is that he is first and foremost an adult wizard, an extremely talented adult wizard. Most of you here will not be his match when facing him. Perhaps in time you can, but definitely not now. And he may have learned more profound and evil dark magic. I can't possibly let an underage child face this kind of danger, especially since you are all my students. This is my responsibility."
"So, the Dementors are gone, and we need some other help." Dumbledore cleared his throat, drawing the students' attention back.
"My old friend, please come in.
Try not to scare my students, most of them are still just children." Dumbledore looked towards the door and shouted loudly.
With a "bang," the door was suddenly pushed open, and a gust of cold wind poured in, causing many students to pull their robes tighter.
A man stood in the doorway, leaning on a long cane, wrapped in a black traveling cloak. Everyone in the hall turned to look at the stranger.
And so, they who had only felt cold on their bodies just now, now began to feel cold in their hearts as well.
The hall's lights illuminated the man's face, making it appear incomparably distinct, as if carved from a piece of rotten wood, and the carver had only a vague concept of what a human face should look like, and wasn't very skilled in using a carving knife. Every inch of skin on that face seemed to be covered in scars, the mouth was like a crooked gash, and where the nose should have been, there was nothing. But the most terrifying thing about this man was his eyes.
One of his eyes was small, black, and shiny; the other eye was large, round like a coin, and a bright, vibrant blue. That blue eye moved incessantly without blinking, turning up, down, left, and right, completely independent of the normal eye—later, that blue eyeball rolled back and disappeared into the man's head, and everyone could only see a large white eyeball.
The stranger walked quickly, randomly choosing a gap beside a table and walking past, causing the students on both sides to move their benches back a few steps.
In terms of appearance, he really didn't look like a good person. A few students even started to tremble all over at the sight of him.
"It should be the real deal now," Malfoy said with some surprise when he saw the person in front of him.
His identity was almost self-evident—Mad-Eye Moody, that blue eye that constantly swiveled around was the best proof of his identity.
"How did he get that big eyeball, it looks interesting," Pansy, compared to the other students who avoided him, developed a strong interest in the man in front of her. She stared at Moody's eyeball with sparkling eyes, asking Malfoy with great interest. Perhaps she thought it was cool to be able to turn an eyeball so flexibly.
"I'm not sure, but the only thing that can be certain is, if you also want to have such an eye, you first have to dig out your normal eye," Malfoy said helplessly. Sometimes he really had difficulty understanding Pansy's thought process.
"Then forget it, I thought it was just a prop. It's handsome, but not pretty," Pansy shook her head in disappointment.
Moody walked to Dumbledore's side. He extended a hand, which was as scarred as his face. Dumbledore shook his hand, and whispered a few words, which the students didn't hear clearly. He seemed to be asking the stranger something, and the stranger shook his head without a smile, answering in a low voice. Dumbledore nodded, signaling the man to sit in an empty seat on his right.
He sat down, shaking his head to brush the gray-white hair away from his face. His normal eye stared straight ahead, as if in a daze, while the magic eye swiveled around in its socket, surveying everything around it.
The students at the table wished they were still eating, so that the man in front of them might use that disgusting eyeball to look at the food.
"Allow me to introduce Mr. Moody, who will be responsible for the school's safety in the coming days," Dumbledore said with a smile, then waved his hand and said, "If any of you wish to become an excellent Auror, then he is your best role model."
"I remember who he is, Mad-Eye Moody!" At the Gryffindor table, Ron suddenly slapped the table, attracting everyone's attention. Hermione, who was sitting far away from Ron, also perked up her ears. She was good at knowledge about textbooks, but not so familiar with some figures in the wizarding world.
In comparison, Ron, who was born into a wizarding family, would always have some advantages due to being influenced by his surroundings.
"Is that the Moody?" Seamus asked from the side, the fear on his face gradually receding, turning into admiration.
"That eye of his is the proof." Ron seemed to enjoy being the center of attention, then asked with some confusion, "My dad told me he'd retired and was a bit loony, how could he be here?"
"We don't even know who he is yet." A girl beside him asked. Girls rarely paid attention to such things; only boys yearned for the heroic deeds of those who vanquished evil, a natural inclination.
"He's a very famous Auror..." Ron began to show off the stories he'd heard about Moody, but Dumbledore interrupted him.
"I'm sure some of you have already heard of his exploits, but save those chats for your dorm room at night. We have more important matters to announce now."
"Mr. Moody has, in fact, retired." Dumbledore softened his tone. "He could have spent his twilight years in peace, but this old fool talked him out of it. Thank you for your generosity, Mr. Moody." Dumbledore said with a respectful tone, bowing in the direction of Moody.
"I believe it would be a disgrace if I died peacefully in bed in my old age. I should be thanking you, Headmaster Dumbledore." Moody immediately stood up and returned the bow.
"I feel strange." A slight curve suddenly appeared at the corner of Dumbledore's mouth.
"Me too." Moody echoed.
Then they both laughed at the same time. "When did we start needing to be so polite?" Moody grinned, his laughter contrasting sharply with his scarred face, making the surrounding students feel that this man wasn't so scary after all.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, my old friend." Dumbledore thanked him again.
"This eye of mine is eager to see more evil." Moody coughed heavily. "Of course, I trust all your students, so..." Moody's normal eye and his magical eye simultaneously scanned the students. "You don't need to be afraid of me. I only strike at evil."
The students began to whisper again.
"Scabbers? Scabbers?" Ron whispered under the table. He felt Scabbers start to tremble frantically again, as if extremely frightened.
Could the magical eye see through an Animagus? This was a question worth pondering, especially a potentially fatal one for Peter Pettigrew.
"Moody, tell us about your plans." Dumbledore gestured for him to proceed.
Moody strode to the front of the students, looking down at them from the stage.
"The Dementors are gone, but the security of Hogwarts cannot be relaxed. So, at the request of the Minister for Magic and Mr. Dumbledore, I have brought a group of Aurors, urgently recalled, to Hogwarts. This is also my alma mater, and I hope those evil, brutal criminals will never have the chance to set foot here." Moody said with a serious expression, his hoarse voice like fingernails scraping across a blackboard, sharp and unpleasant.
He had too many scars on his body, even a scar on either side of his throat, which was the main reason for his unpleasant voice.
"So, I hope to get everyone's cooperation, because I don't want to see your corpses in certain places. That would be too cruel, wouldn't it?" Moody's magical eye began to scan each student, the somewhat distant word "corpses" sending chills down their spines.
"Perhaps death is the best outcome. Many cruel spells can make you wish you were dead. One spell can make you beg for mercy. Don't expect a murderer to play dueling club with you, that's not a friendly spar, and they won't politely bow to you."
"For example, like this." Both his eyes widened, and he swiftly drew the wand from behind him, raising his hand.
"Stupefy!"
A brilliant beam of light shot from the tip of his somewhat old wand towards one of the students, causing the surrounding students to scream.
"Protego!" An invisible barrier rose in front of Malfoy, absorbing the spell as if it were a sponge. The speed of the spell decreased sharply, and the light began to dim until it completely disappeared above the table.
"Clap, clap, clap." Just as most of the students hadn't recovered, Moody clapped his hands, drawing their attention. "I wanted to find a negative example, but I didn't succeed. Unexpectedly, you are very good. I thought Dumbledore was just complimenting you politely, but it turns out you really live up to the name." Moody said admiringly to Malfoy.
"You flatter me, Mr. Moody." Malfoy stood up and replied, then sat down again.
"Besides this student, ask yourselves, how many of you had the confidence to take that spell just now?" Moody shouted at the group of students.
There was another moment of silence.
"See, I was holding back just now. Real dark wizards will be faster and more ruthless than me." Moody's words became sharper, and some students couldn't help but lower their heads, not daring to look at him. "By the way, Dumbledore, is there still that tradition of giving Slytherin's student ten points?"
"Of course, Slytherin gains ten points for Draco's wonderful performance." Dumbledore said with a smile, then reminded Moody, "You can relax a little, don't be so tense. My students aren't as strong as you think, they still need time."
"Being embarrassed now means not losing your life in battle." Moody gave Dumbledore this reply, then turned to the students and began his "bombardment."
"Black was tortured by Dementors in Azkaban for so many years. Now he relies on a vengeful heart to support himself. I can't imagine how twisted his mind is. This will add a lot to the power of certain spells." Moody paused, then looked at Neville at the Gryffindor table and said with some emotion, "You must have a deep understanding."
Neville's small round face showed a firm and heavy expression, and he nodded deeply.
His parents were both tortured to the point of madness and are still receiving treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital.
"I am very pleased that your grandmother taught you well, and you have lived up to your parents' efforts." Moody nodded approvingly.
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