Mad-Eye Moody's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, because of his notorious reputation, became the most anticipated and most feared lesson for all fourth-year students.
As Lia followed Hermione into the classroom, the sensation of being watched that she had felt at the dinner returned once more, like a shadow that clung to her bones.
This time, it was clearer and more undisguised.
A tense atmosphere, a mixture of rust and fear, permeated the classroom.
Moody stood before the podium, leaning on his staff.
His magical eye, whirling and rolling in its socket, scanned every student who entered the classroom, sending a shiver from the base of their spines to the tops of their heads.
When the beam of that magical eye stopped arrogantly on Lia, she felt as if her skin were being stroked by an invisible, rough finger.
She subconsciously gripped Hermione's sleeve and shrank behind her, trying to use the warm, clean scent of Hermione to fend off that highly aggressive gaze.
Hermione immediately noticed her abnormality and quietly adjusted her position, using her shoulder to completely shield Lia in her shadow, cutting off that nauseating scrutiny.
"Sit down!" Moody roared in a gruff voice soaked in strong liquor and fury.
The students hurriedly found their seats, and the classroom instantly became silent.
"I am your new Professor, Alastor Moody." He thumped his staff heavily against the floor, making a dull thud. "The idiots at the Ministry of Magic think you're too young to be exposed to the real Dark Arts. But I don't think so."
His magical eye scanned the room frantically, carrying a near-manic paranoia.
"You need to know what methods the enemy will use against you! You need to be prepared! You need to—stay—constantly—vigilant!"
He suddenly lowered his voice, as if sharing a filthy secret, full of inducement.
"The Ministry of Magic forbids me from doing this. But Headmaster Dumbledore agreed. He believes you have the right to know... that some curses are unforgivable."
He took a large spider out of a glass jar under the podium and placed it roughly on the desk.
Ron's face turned white instantly, and his scalp felt numb.
"Does anyone know the Unforgivable Curses?"
After hesitating for half a second, Hermione's hand rose slightly.
Moody's normal eye looked at her. "Miss Granger, isn't it?"
"Yes, Professor." Hermione stood up, her voice a bit tight but still clear. "There are three Unforgivable Curses: the Imperio Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Avada Kedavra Curse."
"Correct." Moody nodded approvingly. "They are named unforgivable because using any one of them on a human will earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban."
He drew his wand and pointed it at the innocent spider.
"The Imperio Curse."
He barked, "Imperio!"
A faint light shot from the tip of his wand and hit the spider.
The spider did not struggle; it just stayed quietly in place.
"I can control it to do anything now." Moody's voice carried a cruel pleasure. "Make it jump out the window, make it drown itself, make it..."
He waved his wand, and the spider began to tumble and jump on the table like a puppet, even standing on two legs to perform a comical tap dance.
The students let out a burst of uneasy laughter, but there was no joy in it.
Lia could not laugh.
Through her Eye of Truth, she clearly saw that filthy green magical thread extending from the tip of Moody's wand.
A writhing tentacle spun from rotten desires and evil thoughts, it pierced the spider's weak soul like a dirty puppet string, tied firmly to it, forcing it to perform various actions.
Corrupt and fallen magic flowed through the thread, and the stench of it made her feel physically nauseous.
"Many Wizards claimed they were under the control of the Imperio Curse while serving the Dark Lord." Moody withdrew the spell, and the spider collapsed on the table. "But the question is, how do we tell who is lying?"
He did not wait for an answer, but grabbed a second spider from the jar. His normal eye swept over the crowd and fixed on Neville Longbottom.
"You're Longbottom, right? Stand up."
Neville stood up tremulously, supporting himself on the table.
"Professor Sprout told me you're very good at Herbology. Do you know what the other Unforgivable Curse is?"
Neville swallowed nervously, his lips trembling as he spoke slowly, "There's... there's also the Cruciatus Curse."
"Correct! Very good, come here, come here."
As he spoke, Moody placed the spider on the other side of the podium and signaled for Neville to come closer.
"Crucio!"
A blinding red light hit the spider.
In that instant, the spider's body arched violently, its eight legs twitching and trembling fiercely as it rolled frantically on the desk.
It could not make a sound, but that pure, extreme agony was clearly transmitted to every onlooker through its spasming, distorted body.
Neville's face instantly lost all color, his breathing became rapid, and his body began to shake uncontrollably.
Lia's pupils also contracted suddenly; this curse...
She had felt it before.
She closed her eyes and leaned against Hermione's shoulder to alleviate her discomfort.
Hermione felt Lia's abnormality beside her. While glaring angrily at Moody on the podium, she reached under the desk and tightly grasped Lia's cold hand, soothing her with her own warmth and strength.
Finally, Hermione could bear it no longer.
"Stop!" she stood up abruptly, her voice trembling with anger. "Professor! Can't you see how much this is hurting him?!"
Moody stopped the spell. The spider curled into a ball, twitching slightly, clearly broken.
A flash of surprise crossed his normal eye, while his magical eye moved back and forth with interest between Hermione and Lia, who was radiating a low-pressure aura.
"Miss Granger," Moody said slowly, his tone mocking, "having sympathy for the weak? That is not a virtue in battle; it will get you killed."
Hermione ignored his words.
Moody didn't want to dwell on it further and, like a proper Professor, let the pale Neville return to his seat.
On the podium, Moody expressionlessly picked up the last spider.
He continued his "teaching" as if nothing had happened.
"The last one, and the most powerful one. The Killing Curse."
He casually threw the spider onto the empty desk in front of Hermione.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A blinding green light, accompanied by a hissing sound like a viper's tongue cutting through the air, exploded from his wand.
The green light hit the spider, and before it could even twitch, it instantly stiffened, all signs of life completely wiped out.
That green light... once again coming into close contact with the curse that had once struck her.
Lia only felt a slight heart palpitation; the pressure of death that could make an ordinary Wizard tremble had no effect on her.
However, at the moment that golden light and green light clashed, something forgotten in the deepest part of her soul was quietly awakened by this familiar death energy.
The bell for the end of class rang.
Moody gruffly announced the end of the lesson.
The students rushed out of the classroom as if fleeing a plague, still shaken.
Hermione immediately took Lia's hand and walked quickly outside.
No one noticed that Lia, led by Hermione, had a subtle change in her expression.
She still kept her head down, but deep within those deep blue eyes, a trace of soft dependence had faded, replaced by a cold, aloof scrutiny.
The corners of her mouth unconsciously curled into a slight, elegant, and noble arc.
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