After his usual morning workout, Draco was bored, so he wandered around the castle with his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.
Hermione and Dudley were reading in the library, while Neville, Ron, and Harry were practicing spells in the Room of Requirement.
He didn't feel like going to either place today. He didn't want to study or practice spells; he had planned to just relax for a whole day.
You know, for a member of the Disciplinary Committee, just attending class is a break.
Suddenly, he had the vague feeling that something was following him, as if someone was watching him.
But every time he turned his head, he saw nothing.
This baffled him.
However, he trusted his gut feeling that something was really following him.
So, without lingering, he immediately went to the library to ask Dudley for help.
Strangely enough, the moment he stepped into the library, the feeling of being watched disappeared.
"Draco, I thought you were taking the day off?" Dudley asked as he looked up.
Draco thought for a moment before telling Dudley about the feeling he'd had. Dudley advised him to be careful and that he might have been targeted by someone or something. He told him to come straight to him next time he had that feeling.
Draco had been targeted by someone?
Naturally, it was 'Moody.' The fellow wanted to establish his image, and targeting Draco, the son of 'traitor' Lucius, was the best choice.
It would not only let him vent his anger but also make his 'Moody' image more convincing.
The study period ended quickly, and the fourth-year wizards and witches began to trickle into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. This was their fourth year at Hogwarts, and they had seen a stammering garlic professor (Quirrell), a peacocks professor dressed up like a showman (Lockhart), and a perfect professor who could transform (Lupin).
Today, the fourth Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was teaching them.
They had already placed their copies of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection on their desks, quietly waiting for the arrival of the infamous 'Mad-Eye.'
Many of the younger wizards and witches had already heard about Moody from their older classmates.
His teaching level was top-notch; there was almost no Dark Arts he didn't know about, and his achievements in fighting the Dark Arts were unparalleled.
In a word, Professor Moody's class was simply "wicked."
After his first class, he immediately won the admiration of many young wizards and witches.
Accompanied by Moody's distinctive thumping footsteps, the strange and intimidating old wizard appeared at the classroom door.
"Put those away," was the first thing Moody said as he entered the classroom, pointing to the textbooks on the students' desks in a gruff voice. He propped himself up with his cane and seemingly with difficulty, went to the podium and sat down.
"You won't need those textbooks."
That one sentence made the students sitting in front of the podium excited.
They had heard similar words from their previous Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Lupin. While Professor Lupin had also taught them about Dark creatures in the order they appeared in the textbook, he never actually used the textbook.
The ones who did use the textbook were the two professors before him: Quirrell and Lockhart.
Using a textbook for class had almost become their standard for judging whether a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was qualified or not.
"Before I came, I received a letter from your Professor Lupin introducing me to what you have learned in this class. You've already learned many ways to deal with Dark creatures."
The students quietly agreed.
Professor Moody nodded, then changed the subject. "It's not enough. It's far from enough! For three whole years, you've only learned how to deal with Dark creatures like Boggarts, Red Caps, Hinkypunks, Grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves..."
"You're in your fourth year now... And your understanding of Defence Against the Dark Arts is still limited to this shallow knowledge. When I was your age, I was already learning how to deal with Dark wizards!"
By the timeline, Moody, Hagrid, and Tom Riddle were roughly from the same generation.
That was the era of Grindelwald... so his claim that he learned how to deal with Dark wizards back then was, in a sense, not wrong.
"I really want to know what you learned in your first two years?"
The students looked at each other...
The professors for Defence Against the Dark Arts in their first and second years were Quirrell and Lockhart, and they also wanted to know what they had actually learned in those two years.
If it weren't for the guidance of Professor Lupin and Mr. Dursley in their third year, their understanding of Defence Against the Dark Arts might still be at the level of dealing with prankish little curses like 'Hocus-Pocus.'
The students below were chattering, and Moody tapped the ground with his cane, silencing the classroom.
"Defence Against the Dark Arts isn't just about dealing with Dark creatures, but also about learning how to deal with Dark spells!"
"I'm going to let you experience how wizards and witches cast spells... I have a year to teach you how to fight against the Dark Arts."
"Who can tell me what the best and most effective way to deal with the Dark Arts is?"
Moody looked at the students below and asked.
Ron, who knew the answer, immediately raised his hand.
"It's a counter-jinx, sir."
"Correct answer." Moody nodded in satisfaction. "Red-headed boy, you're a Weasley, aren't you? Your father, Arthur, helped me with something big..."
Ron, a little embarrassed by Moody's praise, said, "We already learned a lot of Dark Arts counter-jinxes in our third year."
Then, he seemed to remember something, and his expression dropped.
Points? Where were his points?
This was a rare moment where he answered a question in class. Where were the Disciplinary Committee points?
"Oh, really?"
Moody nodded, his expression a little surprised. Lupin's letter hadn't mentioned this. It said that the fifth years (the previous fourth years) hadn't learned counter-jinxes yet... So how did the current fourth years (the previous third years) learn them instead? Did Lupin make a mistake with the year?
"And we also learned the Patronus Charm..." Ron, who didn't get any points, added another line, unwilling to give up.
Moody's face began to look a little unnatural.
Third years (the current fourth years) learning the Patronus Charm? Are you sure you're not kidding?
That's something not even sixth years are guaranteed to be taught.
Not many Aurors can even cast a Patronus Charm...
"Then you..."
Moody asked in a probing tone.
"We've all basically learned it."
The students answered in unison. Even if some students couldn't conjure a corporeal Patronus, being able to cast a wispy white strand was enough to deal with a single Dementor.
Moody's mind was a little muddled.
Something was wrong... Were they really fourth years?
He had originally planned to say that what they had learned was not deep enough, but now it wasn't a question of not being deep enough...
It was a question of the content being way above their level.
Who teaches the Patronus Charm to a third-year?