New chapter! Thanks for all the support!
x
Professor Moody's explanation was somewhat forced, but combined with his own situation, it still made some sense. It was said that he had lost his leg because he had been betrayed by a fellow Auror.
Constant vigilance had become his motto.
He only ate things he prepared himself. Even water was the same. He carried a flask with him and drank from it every so often.
Everyone thought he was strange, but they also had to admit that his magical ability was truly high. They could learn many things from him.
One morning at breakfast, an owl descended from the sky and delivered a letter to Harry.
Harry tore the letter apart without expression and continued eating breakfast.
The movement was so practiced that this was clearly not the first time he had done it.
"He is still sending you letters, Harry?"
Neville swallowed the egg in his hand in one bite and asked.
Who "he" was needed no explanation.
Harry nodded expressionlessly and drank a mouthful of milk.
Ever since Dudley had told them that drinking more milk could make them grow taller and stronger, every member of the disciplinary group drank a large glass of fresh milk at breakfast.
One had to admit, it was effective. Just look at Harry and Neville's builds.
After Professor Moody learned that the fourth-years had already mastered counter-curses proficiently, he changed his teaching strategy.
For example, in today's class, he announced that he would cast the Imperius Curse on each student in turn to demonstrate its power and see whether they could resist its influence.
According to his explanation, frequent contact with Dark Magic was the only way to resist Dark Magic properly.
One learned while being attacked, grew while being attacked, and continued until mastery. Only this way could one truly protect oneself.
There was some logic to what he said, and everyone accepted it.
The young wizards came before Moody one after another. He cast the Imperius Curse on them in turn.
Under the curse's influence, the young wizards performed abnormal actions one after another.
Some hopped around the classroom three times.
Some imitated hamsters, constantly stuffing nuts and other things into their mouths until they could fit no more.
Some, like Goyle and Crabbe, even performed a series of astonishingly flexible dance-gymnastics movements, something they absolutely could not do in a normal state.
The funniest was Seamus. He pretended to be a mushroom, crouching motionless in the corner.
Almost no one could resist the curse. They only returned to normal after Moody removed it.
So what if their learning progress was fast?
In the face of truly powerful magic, they still exposed their shortcomings.
Moody was very satisfied with the current situation.
"Dursley, your turn."
Moody's magical eye spun as he examined Dudley, a wizard who clearly showed no visible protective measures, yet whose defenses his magical eye could not see through.
Even observing him from such a close distance now, Moody still could not see anything.
"This curse is useless against me."
Dudley spoke calmly.
"You mean to say you are not affected by the Imperius Curse? Every wizard thinks that. They insist they are the special one. In truth, they are not."
Moody scoffed at Dudley's claim.
Dudley stood before Moody and watched him raise his wand, point it at him, and speak the incantation.
"Imperio!"
A strange feeling rose in Dudley's mind, as if a force were tugging him away, over houses and into the clouds.
Then Dudley stood where he was and did not move.
That pulling force gradually grew stronger. At the same time, a specially light, carefree feeling came with it, trying to empty Dudley's mind.
Yet Dudley still stood motionless.
Seeing that Dudley remained unaffected, Moody increased his strength again. He no longer cared whether the target was a young wizard. This time, he was already casting at full strength.
Unfortunately, no matter how the force pulled, Dudley always stood where he was.
Expressionlessly, he looked at Moody.
As if saying: See? I told you it was useless.
"Good. That is more like it."
After holding on for another stretch, Moody finally lowered his wand.
Yes. He gave up.
"Everyone, look. Dursley resisted the Imperius Curse. He did it."
"Remember this feeling. Maintain this feeling. Only then will enemies be unable to control you."
Of course Mr. Dursley was completely unaffected by the Imperius Curse.
A Dark wizard with deep magical power truly was different.
The other young wizards who understood the power of this curse all looked at Dudley with admiration. Invisibly, he gained another small wave of reputation.
Moody tried several more times on Dudley. Without exception, all attempts failed.
Was this a joke? Dudley dared to take spells from more than ten wizards with his chest. Why would he fear one person's Imperius Curse?
After Dudley passed, Harry came next.
Moody cast the Imperius Curse on Harry in the same way.
Although Harry was not completely unaffected like Dudley, one could still see his resistance to the curse's commands.
Moody told him to jump high, but Harry only lifted one leg and made no further movement.
This behavior made Moody very happy. This was already the second young wizard with the power to resist the Imperius Curse.
What made him even "happier" came later.
Next was Granger. She performed even better than Harry. Moody told her to spin, but she only moved her shoulders and made no further movement.
This was the third underage wizard to resist the Imperius Curse by willpower.
The three performances opened the young wizards' eyes.
"Longbottom, your turn."
The same thing happened again. Neville performed a little worse than Harry and Hermione, but he still successfully resisted the action Moody commanded him to do.
'That was the disciplinary group for you.'
The fifth one.
"Malfoy."
Looking at Draco standing before him, a sharp glint flashed in Moody's eye.
"Imperio!"
"You are a ferret."
Draco fell silent for a moment.
"I do not believe I am that kind of creature. If I had to choose, I would choose a dragon."
To Moody's surprise, Draco also resisted the Imperius Curse.
'Lucius's son... there is something in him.'
"Move, move."
Before Draco had even gone back, Ron, who had been behind him in line, hurried forward impatiently.
'It is time to show real skill.'
Thinking this, Ron stood before Moody and waited for Moody to cast on him.
Moody knew Ron was also one of that group. The performance of the previous few had already told him that they had the will to resist the Imperius Curse. Presumably, the youngest Weasley son would be the same.
He cast on Ron quite casually.
"You are a duck."
Ron froze. His eyes gradually lost focus. He put both hands on his waist, half-crouched on the ground, and began turning in place with tiny steps.
"Quack, quack, quack... ah, ptoo!"
Draco fell silent again.
The other young wizards fell silent with him.
Even Neville and Harry covered their eyes.
Who told him to relax when someone was casting on him?
If he did not concentrate on resisting the Imperius Curse, exactly how confident was he in himself?
He was truly the shame of the disciplinary group.
x
x
x
If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheDevotedReader