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In truth, Lupin had only briefly told Moody about the teaching progress from first to seventh year. He had not said much about the fourth-years, last year's third-years. After all, the learning progress of that former third-year group, now fourth-years, was strange even by the standards of Hogwarts history.
The fifth- and sixth-years had not progressed as quickly as the fourth-years.
Of course, this year had produced the disciplinary group. They had pushed themselves to an absurd degree.
"Not bad. You are truly not bad."
Moody's tone was dry.
After listening to the young wizards describe their progress in a rush of voices, Moody became more and more alarmed. At this point, he truly did not know what he could teach them.
Yet the students below looked a little ashamed.
"Professor, compared with you, we still have a long way to go. We still have not learned how to deal with a Dark wizard."
Moody fell silent.
That had merely been an exaggerated way of speaking. Even if Dark wizards had been rampant in that era, no one had truly made a fourth-year Hogwarts student fight Dark wizards.
This was not the even more chaotic age from a century ago.
Moody coughed a few times and turned the subject back to Defense Against the Dark Arts. He had to give them something shocking. Otherwise, it would be difficult to impress these children.
"Then can anyone tell me which spells receive the harshest punishment under wizarding law?"
Ron's eyes lit up again.
He knew this one too.
He raised his hand even faster than Hermione.
"The three Unforgivable Curses!"
"The Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Killing Curse."
"Good. Very good answer."
Moody praised him again and gestured for him to sit down.
Where were the points? Where were the promised points? Even one point would do.
Ron blinked. Seeing that Moody had no intention of awarding points, he decisively decided that next time, even if beaten to death, he would not answer.
"The Imperius Curse caused the Ministry no small amount of trouble back then."
As Moody spoke, he took out a transparent jar from his pocket. There was a spider inside.
"Imperio!"
Moody took out the spider and lightly tapped it with his wand. The spider began tap-dancing like a puppet on strings.
He had thought the young wizards would laugh loudly when they saw this. The older students in other years had all reacted that way before, even the seventh-years.
Yet to his surprise, this group of fourth-years all put away their smiles and looked at the spider with serious expressions.
"A terrifying curse. It can turn the victim into a puppet."
"I heard my father mention this curse. It can make someone completely controlled. Whatever the caster tells them to do, they do it. Even if it means death..."
"Is there a way to remove this curse?"
"I heard from my aunt at St Mungo's that there is, but it involves treatment of the mind and is very complicated. One mistake and the person may be ruined."
"Then how do we identify whether someone is under the curse?"
"I remember hearing Mr. Dursley mention it once. Look at the eyes."
In theory, a wizard under the Imperius Curse was actually fairly easy to identify.
The simplest method was to see whether the person's eyes were focused.
Most people simply did not notice that detail.
Listening to the young wizards' discussion below, Moody's face remained expressionless, but he was very surprised inside.
Were these truly fourth-years?
Their way of thinking would shame the seventh-years.
And yet this was not over.
Very soon, the young wizards presented Moody with a difficult question.
"Professor Moody, if we are hit by the Imperius Curse, is there a way to break free ourselves?"
Break free from the Imperius Curse on one's own?
That was a very good question.
Unfortunately, he did not know. He only knew how to cast it on people.
His deepest understanding of Dark Magic lay in its use.
"Regrettably, so far, very few wizards have ever managed to throw off the Imperius Curse by will alone."
After hearing Professor Moody's answer, the young wizards gained a new understanding of the Imperius Curse.
At the same time, one new question after another appeared.
"Professor Moody, is there any way for us to avoid or resist the Imperius Curse?"
Most wizards found it extremely difficult to resist the Imperius Curse. Without an iron will, they were easy prey.
Moody thought briefly and answered, "Very difficult. The chance of success is almost nonexistent."
"Professor Moody, if someone is under the Imperius Curse, can we control them with a new Imperius Curse?"
This question was deeper than the previous two.
If one's comrade was controlled by an enemy, could one seize control back?
Facing this question, Moody thought for even longer.
"It is possible. But your mastery of the Imperius Curse must be greater than the other person's."
If three people cast the Imperius Curse on one person at the same time, the result would be similar. It depended on whose mastery was deeper.
Seeing the young wizards ask question after question, each more difficult than the last, Moody quickly changed the subject.
"That is enough discussion. I think everyone should see the next of the three Unforgivable Curses."
If they kept asking, he would run out of answers.
He had come here to teach, not hold an academic conference.
What was the next spell?
To let the young wizards see more clearly, Moody cast an Engorgement Charm on the spider.
The spider instantly swelled to four or five times its original size.
The young wizards could clearly see every hair on its legs.
Moody pointed his wand at the spider again.
"Crucio!"
Along with the clear incantation, a harsh flash of magic burst from the tip of his wand and struck the enlarged spider.
The spider's eight legs instantly curled inward, pressing against its body until it formed a ball. It flipped over, its body convulsing violently and rocking from side to side. Every young wizard knew this was a struggle of pain. If it had organs capable of making sound, it would certainly have been screaming with all its strength.
But it was only the most ordinary kind of spider, not an Acromantula that could speak and carried a XXXXX danger rating.
So it could not wail.
Moody did not move his wand away. As the curse lasted longer, the spider began trembling all over and twitching more violently. The young wizards saw an astonishing sight: the spider began tearing off its own legs one by one.
"Please stop, Professor Moody."
The young wizards' warning did not make Moody stop. Instead, he went further, his expression like that of a mad scientist.
Only after the spider had torn off all eight legs, leaving only a body and a final breath, did he stop.
"Extreme pain. A person hit by the Cruciatus Curse feels pain beyond anything they have ever known. It is not only pain in the body, but pain from the depths of the soul."
Moody spoke softly. The classroom was very quiet. The young wizards seemed frightened by his actions.
"Now, if you have any questions, ask them."
Just as Moody was feeling pleased with himself, the students' answer stunned him.
"Professor, we still did not see clearly. Your body blocked our view."
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