"Oh, by the way, I should mention something. I want to research dark magic," Aiden said, getting up from the sofa and preparing to return to his dormitory.
Dumbledore stared at him in shock. "...!!!???"
"Wait, explain this in detail!" Dumbledore hurriedly stopped Aiden, who was about to leave.
"I've learned most conventional magic. To continue delving deeper into this magical system will inevitably involve soul studies. Don't tell me you don't know this," Aiden said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, perhaps you could start with something safer, like curses and hexes," Dumbledore tried to negotiate.
"Name one curse I can't use," Aiden sat back down with an expression that said, 'Please, perform to your heart's content.'
This one sentence successfully silenced Dumbledore. After hesitating for a long moment, he handed Aiden a black-covered notebook.
"Aiden, I can only remind you as someone who's walked this path before: don't let loose the beast in your heart," Dumbledore warned with grave seriousness.
"I won't," Aiden nodded solemnly.
Time came to Tuesday. Since Ravenclaw's Defense Against the Dark Arts class was scheduled before Gryffindor's, Aiden would experience the Unforgivable Curses demonstration first.
In the classroom, the impostor Moody stood in front of the blackboard, using his magical eye to survey the young wizards from all directions.
"Alastor Moody, former Auror," he said, turning to write his name on the blackboard with harsh strokes.
"Many of you may have heard my name, but now I'm simply your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
He put his hands behind his back, his magical eye rotating constantly in all directions.
"I came at Dumbledore's invitation. Do you have any questions?"
The classroom fell into uncomfortable silence. Moody nodded and continued his lesson.
"Very good. Your previous teacher Lupin sent me the teaching progress. He's a competent teacher; unfortunately, he couldn't continue. But that's not what we're discussing today. My personal style leans more toward practical application, so I want you to properly understand what dark magic truly is," Moody said, narrowing his eyes.
"First, I want you to tell me: how many Unforgivable Curses are there?"
"Three, sir," Edmund answered promptly.
"Tell me why they're unforgivable, Mr. Lestrange!" Moody's voice seemed to come from between clenched teeth.
"Because once you use any one of them, you'll be sent directly to Azkaban," Edmund answered carefully.
"Very good. The Ministry thinks these spells are somewhat inappropriate for children, but I disagree. You need to understand your opponents and be prepared," Moody said, coming down and approaching Aiden's group.
"Mr. Prewett, the genius who invented counter-curses for the Unforgivable Curses," Moody called on Aiden directly. "Could you introduce them for us?"
"Of course, Professor. These three curses are the Imperius Curse, the Cruciatus Curse, and the Killing Curse," Aiden stood up and answered clearly.
"Very good. Now let me show you them in action," Moody said, opening a box and taking out a large spider.
"Come on, little beauty," he said as the spider jumped onto his outstretched hand.
"Imperio. Engorgio." Moody cast both spells on the spider with his wand.
Then he controlled the enlarged spider to weave among the students, causing obvious discomfort and commotion.
"See, this evil curse can completely dominate a creature's mind. Back then, this caused considerable trouble for the Ministry," Moody explained in disturbing detail.
"Of course, if you have a strong enough mind, you can naturally resist it," Moody said, bringing the spider back to the podium.
"Before having you experience the curses yourselves, I'd like to first ask Mr. Prewett to demonstrate his famous counter-curse," Moody beckoned to Aiden.
Looking at the impostor, Aiden felt a sense of absurdity. This guy was really doing his best to teach the young wizards properly.
Shaking his head, Aiden stood up and walked to the podium.
"Snap." Aiden didn't draw his wand but simply snapped his fingers. A silver light circle appeared around the spider, then green smoke rose from it, and the creature broke free from control.
"Oh, look at this elegant magic. If only we had such spells back in my day," Moody murmured, but Aiden caught the flash of genuine surprise in his eyes.
"Good, excellent cooperation. Five points to Ravenclaw."
Moody nodded for Aiden to return to his seat, then led the young wizards to try resisting the Imperius Curse one by one.
Aiden pretended to be controlled by the Imperius Curse, and the false Moody showed slight satisfaction with the performance.
"No good, no good. Your resistance is far too weak," Moody criticized harshly. "You need much stronger minds."
"Now for the second one," Moody said, taking out another spider.
"According to Mr. Prewett's introduction, the second is the Cruciatus Curse, an evil spell used specifically to torture people."
"Crucio." Moody fired the Cruciatus Curse at the spider, and sharp, agonized screams echoed throughout the classroom.
Many young wizards turned pale and covered their ears in distress. Aiden frowned and snapped his fingers, wrapping the spider in a merciful Silencing Charm.
"Excellent spellcasting, Mr. Prewett," Moody acknowledged, turning back to him.
"You also witnessed the effect. Don't be easily hit by this curse, or you'll be in absolute agony and immediately lose all resistance," Moody continued his grim teaching.
"Ah, and of course there's the final curse, the one that takes people's lives."
Moody raised his wand, and the spider became clearly visible against the ceiling.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A deadly green beam of light struck the spider, and it immediately stopped all movement forever.
"Absolutely lethal, absolutely dangerous. I require you to run the moment you see this green light. If you can't run, try to find solid cover. You absolutely, absolutely cannot let it hit you."
Moody leaned on the podium with both hands, looking with deadly seriousness at the pale-faced young wizards below.
"However, this curse requires powerful magical power to drive it effectively. I suspect that if any of you attempted to use this curse on me, it would at most give me a minor nosebleed," Moody said, crossing his arms.
"Well, our time is nearly up. Today's lesson ends here. Everyone must submit a two-foot essay on the Unforgivable Curses after class."
Moody assigned homework and limped out of the classroom, not forgetting to take a drink from his ever-present flask on the way.
"What do you think is actually in his flask?" Edmund asked with obvious curiosity.
"Polyjuice Potion," Aiden said, rolling his eyes.
"Ha, I bet it's not. If I'm wrong, I'll eat this entire textbook," Ethan said, coming over to tease.
"Then watch very carefully," Aiden replied meaningfully, narrowing his eyes.
At dinner that evening, Gryffindor and Slytherin students walked into the hall looking completely disheveled.
"What in Merlin's name happened to you?" Aiden asked the trio in confusion when he met them at the entrance.
"Hagrid. He actually crossbred fifty Fire Crabs with a Manticore to create some new species of magical creature," Ron said, grabbing his adoptive brother and complaining bitterly.
"It's a creature that looks like a giant shelled lobster, absolutely disgusting in appearance and smells like rotten fish and shrimp," Harry added with obvious distaste.
"You two only remember those unpleasant details. It's a creature Hagrid cultivated called Blast-Ended Skrewts, with tails that can spray propulsive flames," Hermione corrected, adding the proper magical knowledge.
Before the Care of Magical Creatures class had even begun, the trio had already given Aiden a complete overview of the lesson's content.
Aiden nodded sympathetically. "Go eat quickly. After dinner, go back and wash up thoroughly. The smell on you really isn't pleasant."
The trio lifted their hands to sniff themselves, then quickly ran away in embarrassment.