However, Ron was not happy for long. When he turned his attention to his morning timetable, his excited face turned ugly, as if he had eaten a fly!
This was because they had to go through one of Snape's Potions classes before Moody's Defence Against the Dark Arts.
"I wish we could skip this Potions lesson…" Ron complained.
Harry couldn't agree more.
"If you'd only spent more time getting ready for class, you could have kept Professor Snape from catching you," Hermione retorted.
"Save it, he'll find another reason even if we don't make a mistake!" Ron spat. Preparations were impossible, not in this lifetime!
Snape lived up to Harry and Ron's expectations and kept a straight face throughout the lesson.
As soon as they made the slightest mistake in the brewing of the potion, Snape would appear behind them, deduct points with practiced ease, and deliver a torrent of insults.
It was not until Neville accidentally burned out the cauldron in Potions that Snape was able to distract him and save them.
However, this caused Snape to lose his temper during the lesson, and he punished Neville with severe disciplinary actions, such as disembowelling a large barrel of horned toads before lunch, or he would not eat his lunch.
Neville nearly burst into tears at the order.
"Oh my God, did Snape take a potion today? I've never seen him like that before when Neville broke his cauldron…" After leaving the Potions classroom, even Hermione thought Snape had gone too far.
"I think he's been in a bit of a mood lately," Ivan said, shrugging.
The dream that Harry had explained to Dumbledore the other day was one that the Professor would most likely pass on to Snape.
Snape would be damned if he was happy to hear that the Dark Lord had regained some of his powers and was planning something.
Additionally, as Lord Voldemort's powers gradually recovered, the Dark Mark on the Death Eaters occasionally became extremely hot, a harbinger enough to make every one of them double-crossing and escape the Ministry's Death Eaters.
Ivan frowned at the thought, suddenly remembering that Doggett also had the Dark Mark.
According to previous information, Doggett had no loyalty to Lord Voldemort, but if he did not get rid of this thing, it would eventually become a problem!
This made Ivan realise that the missions given by the System, such as the task of tidying up Knockturn Alley, were necessary. The reward was knowledge of magical imprints, from which he might find a way to break the Dark Mark.
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were all trying to guess the reason for Snape's outburst, and agreed that it had something to do with Moody stealing Snape's post as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
After all, they both knew that Snape had been coveting the position for years, but Dumbledore had refused to let him.
Ron even felt that Snape had something to do with the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's curse, and that he might have been the one who secretly jinxed the professors to get rid of them.
"He must be furious because he thinks he can't handle Professor Moody!" Ron said confidently, almost convincing Harry and Hermione.
Ivan, on the other hand, was deeply moved by Snape's burden of having to carry all kinds of blame in addition to being a double agent…
After lunch, in order to get a front-row seat, Ivan and the others hurriedly grabbed their textbooks and rushed to the classroom for Defence Against the Dark Arts.
There were apparently many others who shared their sentiments, and by the time they entered the classroom, it was already half-full. Ivan and the others had no choice but to take seats near the front.
A moment later, the sound of wooden feet hitting the floor could be heard and Moody appeared at the door.
He arrived almost exactly on time for class!
"Put your textbooks away, they're not going to be useful in my class!" Moody growled as he hobbled to the middle of the dais, his cane in his hand.
Hearing this, the wizards put away their textbooks and stared at Moody expectantly.
From their years of experience with Defence Against the Dark Arts professors, it was clear that those who only knew how to read by the book were often subpar, and those like Moody who asked them to put down their textbooks were prepared to teach real skills!
Moody, as was his custom, took out the roll and began to call out names one by one. His normal right eye moved down the list, and his strange blue magical eye moved restlessly from side to side, looking at each student who answered, memorizing their faces.
"Very good. It seems no one mischievous would dare to be late for my first lesson."
When the last wizard had finished answering, Moody said this with satisfaction, then threw the roll on the table and took a few steps closer on his wooden legs. Seamus, sitting in the front row, could see the fine lines of the hideous scar on Moody's face.
"Before coming to Hogwarts, I received a letter from Lupin, telling me the basics of the class and how he taught you last year how to deal with nasty Dark creatures.
I'm sure you've mastered the basics, and Lupin wrote to me about how well you've mastered them, and how you've all been able to face Boggart, Red Cap and Hinkpunk on your own…
That's why we're not teaching this year's class. We need to focus on spell protection this year!"
Moody spoke quickly, and his slightly hoarse voice was not pleasant to hear, but the young wizards in the audience did not care, as they were intrigued by what he was saying.
When Moody mentioned Lupin's praise for them in his letter, the young wizards looked very proud of themselves, as they had successfully defeated many monsters in their first year of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Several young witches also curiously asked about Professor Lupin's condition.
Instead of answering, Moody changed the subject abruptly. "What do you know about the Dark Arts?"
At Moody's words, Hermione was the only one who raised her hand high in the air, but Moody's magical eyes were sharp enough to see that Hermione was looking the other way with her mouth curled, and that the others were not interested in answering.
He was puzzling over this when he heard Ivan's voice.
"I understand a little, Professor! The Ministry of Magic, depending on type and intensity, classifies offensive Charms into three categories: Curse, Hex, and Jinx. All of the evil dark magic that we know of belongs to Curse, such as the Three Unforgivable Curses.
Hex and Jinx are mostly restrictive, binding spells, some of which are less dangerous…"