Malfoy's words infuriated Harry so much that he would have thrown his plate at Harry if Hermione and Ron hadn't stopped him.
"Are you asking for a beating again, Malfoy?" Ivan put down his newspaper slowly and glanced at Malfoy helplessly.
How many times had he done this? Did Malfoy always forget when to eat, or was Harry really that attractive?
"You…" Malfoy's pale face turned red, and he wanted to say something harsh to prevent himself from losing his momentum, but when he saw Ivan show signs of drawing his wand, he swallowed his words.
The previous few lessons had taught him that the difference in strength between the two parties was too great, and that fighting was asking for trouble.
"I'm just here to congratulate Weasley's father and the Azkaban fugitive on the papers…" Malfoy dared to add sarcastically, before angrily leaving with his two henchmen.
Ivan broke the silence. "Well, that's all thanks to your father leading the trouble during the World Cup, isn't it? Otherwise, there wouldn't be this misunderstanding…"
"Bollocks!" Malfoy shouted, his voice fierce, a look of panic on his face.
Harry looked at Ivan in surprise, wondering why he had said that.
Ron looked excited. "Ivan, you must have found something, haven't you? I knew Malfoy's father was a bad lot!"
Ivan ignored Ron, keeping an eye on Malfoy's changing expression, and seeing his excitement confirmed his suspicions.
The chaos of the Quidditch World Cup was most likely planned by Lucius Malfoy…
"This is slander! My father slept in his tent that night and he didn't go anywhere!" Malfoy shouted.
However, his words were apparently not very convincing, and Hermione was able to find a loophole in his speech and retort sarcastically.
"Really? Your father's sleeping in his tent after all that trouble? He's got a big heart!"
Malfoy was speechless for a moment, and then he stammered, "My father is usually a heavy sleeper…"
"Don't try to fool us, Malfoy! I heard your dad was a Death Eater once, wasn't he?" Ron pressed him relentlessly, even going so far as to reveal the gossip he had overheard at home.
"When You-Know-Who lost power, your father lied and said that he was controlled by the Imperius Curse, which saved him…"
"Death Eaters? Who's talking about Death Eaters?"
A hoarse voice interrupted their conversation, and everyone turned to see Moody limping towards them from the other end of the Great Hall.
Moody moved closer, the hideous scars on his face twitching, the large blue magical eye on his left turning from side to side more frequently, sweeping over Harry, Ron, Malfoy and the others, then pausing on Ivan.
"I just heard Death Eaters! Tell me, who the hell said that?" Moody demanded loudly.
Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Malfoy were all shocked by Moody's reaction, and Ron's body was shaking so much that he didn't dare make a sound, as he couldn't tell if he was saying the right thing, or what Moody's attitude was.
From what he had heard about Moody in the past few days, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor seemed to have a screw loose in his head, being jumpy and suspicious of everything around him… It was said that he retired from the Ministry of Magic because Moody could no longer tell the difference between a normal handshake and an attack.
Ivan tried to test Moody, but Malfoy beat him to it.
"We were talking about Sirius Black, Professor! The dog of the You-Know-Who, the fugitive from Azkaban…" Malfoy's eyes rolled and he gave Harry a nasty look.
"Trying to fool me? You're green, boy! I know that Black, he's not a Death Eater!" Moody shouted, his walking stick hitting the ground with a dull thud that interrupted Malfoy.
Before Malfoy could reply, Moody smacked his head as if remembering something. "Ah… I know who you're talking about. Lucius Malfoy!"
"Listen, boy! I knew your father, Lucius, and what he was like, and a man like that should have stayed in Azkaban!
You'd better not let me know that you're the same as your father, or I'm afraid Azkaban is going to have another prisoner and I'm going to be watching you all over the school!"
Moody said fearfully, his words sharp, not caring that Malfoy was a fourteen-year-old brat.
"Are you threatening me?! You're finished! I'm going to tell my father and have him fire you!" Malfoy backed away, looking at Moody in fear, and then ran into Goyle and Crale.
"Go on, brat… go home and tell him! I'd like to see Lucius's balls!" Moody spat disdainfully.
Malfoy pursed his lips, not daring to argue, and fled with his two henchmen.
Ron couldn't help but laugh when he saw Malfoy fleeing, and Harry looked gratefully at Moody.
"Thank you, Professor!"
"It's nothing! When Dumbledore sent for me, he told me to keep an eye on you at school, and that I shouldn't let a Death Eater kid get too close to you! Who knows what's going on in his head…" Moody waved his hand and continued in a low voice.
"I've met Death Eaters who excel at pretending to be harmless, then sneak up on you with Killing Charms when you're not looking!"
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger did not think Malfoy had the guts, but they enjoyed Moody's protection.
They were even reminded of Lupin in his first year of school, when his attitude towards Moody changed one-hundred and eighty degrees, so that he would not be shunned by rumours and the hideous scars on his face.
Ivan did not let his guard down with a few defensive words from Moody,
In his opinion, even the name he saw on the Marauder's Map yesterday was not enough to confirm the identity of the other party.
Thus, upon Moody's arrival, Ivan gave the sixty-year-old Auror an off-centre look, especially around Moody's waist, in an attempt to find the jug of Polyjuice Potion…