New Term, Early to Bed and Early to Rise

In the Headmaster's office, Loren picked up the teapot and poured golden Pumpkin Juice into a white porcelain teacup, releasing a sweet aroma.

The last time I met Dumbledore was at the International Wizarding Congress in New York. A lot has happened in the past month, and it seems they both want to have a good talk.

For example, Professor Moody.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Headmaster, do you feel that Mr. Moody is somewhat... different from when we last met?"

"Not quite the same?"

"He called me 'little Witch,' as if he had never seen me before and didn't know me..."

Dumbledore glanced at Hermione. Professor Moody's behavior was actually quite typical of Alastor, but who would have thought he'd bring a young Witch to the Ministry of Magic to observe a trial? Even the person impersonating Alastor hadn't expected it.

"That is indeed a bit strange. For Alastor, he is indeed being overly vigilant. However, it may be that he has just arrived at Hogwarts and has not yet adapted to the environment here. In a few days, he will understand that there are no dark wizards at Hogwarts who are ready to attack him at any time."

Hermione's beautiful eyebrows furrowed. Dumbledore's words made a lot of sense, but she still felt that Professor Moody was not right.

Loren glanced at the old bee who was pretending to be confused and bluntly exposed him. "Professor Moody is a fake."

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, and her expression began to tense up.

Dumbledore's face lit up with interest. "Oh, why do you say that?"

"The strong smell of Polyjuice Potion on him could not be masked even by strong tea."

"Polyjuice Potion?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I mean, Alastor suffered many incurable injuries when he was young, including his missing eye and right leg. As his robust body gradually weakened, those wounds that had been repelled began to come back to haunt him, so he often needed to numb himself with alcohol."

Loren slowly swirled the Pumpkin Juice in his glass, waiting for it to cool down a little before carefully taking a sip and letting out a comforting breath of warm air. "If you're worried, Headmaster Dumbledore, you can have Professor Snape smell it up close, or try to get some from his flask to taste."

"This is really... Regarding the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor for this school year, I actually preferred a brilliant young wizard, but after receiving Harry's letter and learning about the omens in his dreams, coupled with the upcoming Triwizard Tournament this year, I changed my mind and let the experienced Alastor take on the job... I didn't expect that it would implicate Alastor."

Dumbledore, holding his teacup, sighed half-heartedly, "Loren, do you have any more leads regarding the person impersonating Alastor?"

Loren for a moment and said, "Polyjuice Potion, being Potions that needs to be prepared in real time, doesn't last long. So if he wants to impersonate Mr. Moody for an extended period, he'll need a large amount of Polyjuice Potion ingredients and will need to collect Mr. Moody's hair regularly..."

Hermione's eyes lit up, and she blurted out, "If that's the case, Mr. Moody must be very close to him, maybe even inside Hogwarts Castle. If we can subdue this imposter, we can rescue Mr. Moody!"

"I'm afraid that won't work, Hermione ..." Dumbledore said calmly and slowly, "We still don't know where he's hiding Alastor. If we anger him, Alastor could be in mortal danger."

Hermione looked at the headmaster in surprise. "Are we just going to let this fake professor stay in the school?"

"Professor Kettleburn taught me that when capturing fierce Fantastic Beasts, sometimes you can let them run away for a while to lower their guard."

Loren:...

Loren took a sip of the Pumpkin Juice and silently complained to himself, "So Professor Kettleburn Burne only has one and a half limbs left. And this excuse sounds like the old bee wants to start another dungeon run."

As Loren walked out of the Headmaster's office and back to the lounge, he filled a bag with all sorts of candies, including Fizzing Whizzbees, Licorice Wands, and the principal's prized possession: Cockroach Clusters.

I felt no guilt whatsoever and took it without a second thought.

If Hermione hadn't stopped him, Loren would have also wanted to take the jar of Pumpkin Juice; after all, keeping secrets always requires some reward.

The school year has just begun, and the confidentiality period is expected to last a long time. I will have the opportunity to collect some payment from the Headmaster's office later.

He had been eyeing those silver items on the desk that kept the room warm and humidified for a long time.

As an accomplice in the scheme to extort the elderly, Hermione received several boxes of Cockroach Clusters, but seeing her listless appearance, Loren kept them for her.

You're welcome. It's what I should do to ease my friend's burden.

It was already late at night when I returned to the Common Room.

A group of young wizards were still gathered in front of the fireplace, asking Harry and Ron about the Great Hall. Seamus and Dean were flushed with excitement.

"Harry, you and Loren are so cool!"

"I dare say you are absolutely qualified to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, it's such a pity..."

Hearing the sound of the stone door to the Portrait Hole being moved open, a group of young wizards turned to look at the two of them.

"Pajama Party on the first day of school!"

Loren chuckled and wiggled his head as he leaned in, "Count me in. I still have some snacks and candies here. It's all Hermione's fault, otherwise you guys would have been able to drink the headmaster's special Pumpkin Juice."

"The principal's Pumpkin Juice..." Ron gave a speechless look. "Never mind."

Seamus, Dean, and the others crowded around, curiously asking about the magic that had overturned the professor. They only stopped after learning it was a characteristic of the Shield Charm, and then dispersed to study the Shield Charm less diligently.

"What did Dumbledore say to you alone?" Harry reached for a few Licorice Wands, blinked, and asked, "Did the professor want to put you in solitary confinement? Hermione didn't lay a hand on you, so does criticizing the professor count as violating school rules?"

Loren blurted out, "They instructed us to teach you Occlumency."

"Occlumency..."

Harry's expression became complicated. He had been studying this magic for several years, and apart from making some progress when he first came into contact with it, he had been completely clueless ever since, let alone able to shut it down.

Harry hesitated for a long time before finally asking in a low voice, "I know I should practice Occlumency, and I mentioned it during the summer vacation, but I haven't made much progress practicing the method Sirius Black taught me. Loren, Hermione, do you have any good ideas?"

Hermione opened her mouth, but hesitated to speak.

Fine, Occlumency it is Occlumency. Harry really should learn it properly.

"Good idea..." Loren rested his chin on his hand thoughtfully, "The best way is to Legilimency and practice in the process."

Harry's eyes lit up. "Do you Legilimency? I can practice with you."

Hermione shook her head, Loren waved his hand. "I suggest you go find Professor Snape. He is a famous master of Legilimency. You might even gain some unexpected benefits during your practice."

"Snape ..."

Harry repeated it in a muffled voice, a conflicted expression on his face.

Hermione couldn't help but look at Loren, wondering what his scheme was.

"What are you looking at?"

Loren glanced at her, stuffed a Cockroach Clusters into her mouth, casually flicked her nose, and then got up and went upstairs.

A new semester, a new look. He should go to bed early and get up early to study hard. Why is he staying up all night with these bad students?

Seriously.

Wednesday, 9:00 AM.

The Potions Master classroom on the basement floor.

Loren arrived at the classroom just in time for his Potions class in fourth grade.

There was no other reason; he lingered in bed for a little while longer, and Hermione came downstairs with his textbooks to save him a seat, so his breakfast was delayed a little longer.

In short, it's all Hermione's fault.

Professor Snape hadn't arrived yet. As soon as Loren entered the classroom, he saw Hermione in the second row, head down, reading a book. The seat next to her was empty, clearly reserved for him.

Good morning, Hermione.

"..."

Hermione glanced sideways and saw that the person had just sat down next to her empty-handed when the class bell rang. Yesterday, he was talking about going to bed early and getting up early, but today he almost missed class. Hermione was speechless.

Loren happily flipped through his Potions class: "The first Potions class of the new semester! We'll probably go over the course schedule for the year and do some maintenance on the cauldron. There won't be any homework."

Hermione lowered her head and silently prepared for her studies.

Just as Loren had predicted, Professor Snape had them maintain the crucible. The maintenance process wasn't complicated, but it was still a meticulous task. First, they wiped it with a damp cloth, then burned it with a flame to remove the grime, and finally wiped it again.

"Everyone, come together!"

Snape said calmly, his dark eyes gleaming slightly, "Let's see how Lomberton melts the third cauldron. I have no doubt about that. After all, no one would be foolish enough to watch a cauldron heat up and soften in the flames until it melts and flows down as liquid."

Neville:...

He could explain it: the first crucible was too old, so it melted before the grime could be removed. The second crucible was fine, but Snape was standing right behind him, and the chilling sensation made him feel like the temperature wasn't high enough, which is why it melted.

Neville watched silently as the flames licked the third crucible. In less than ten seconds, the bronze crucible turned into molten copper, which flowed down the furnace and covered half of the stone table.

"!!"

Neville closed his eyes in pain, his composure crumbling.

A rampaging Gorgon! Yet another aging crucible!

"The fourth crucible..." Professor Snape said coldly.

Hearing the snickers behind him, Neville pursed his lips, picked up the fourth crucible with tongs, and carefully placed it on the furnace.

Ten seconds later, the molten copper flowed silently.

Neville: "..."

After burning seven cauldrons in a row, Neville's expression had become completely numb. Even when he heard Professor Snape punish him by making him gut a large barrel of horned toads, there was not a ripple in his eyes.

He used Professor Trelawney's astrological Divination last night, and the Celestial Astrolabe gave him Six Sun Signs. If one of the six crucibles after that doesn't age, then it proves that this is the will of Goddess of Luck...

After class, Loren, as usual, approached the podium and asked Snape, who was packing up his books, "Professor, how are the Potions Club's activities and courses arranged this year? Are they the same as last year?"

Snape said expressionlessly, "Due to the impact of the Triwizard Tournament, the club will be closed for a year for restructuring."

"Okay, Professor. Goodbye, Professor."

Loren obediently stepped back, then pulled Hermione along and quickly left the classroom.

The professor seemed to be in a bad mood...

Seeing that the Dungeon Classroom was almost empty, Harry finally walked hesitantly to Snape: "Professor..."

Snape gave him a cold look.

"..." Harry hesitated again, but thinking of the years of stagnation in Occlumency, he mustered his courage and spoke, "Professor, I want to learn Occlumency from you... Dumbledore said—"

Snape frowned, sized up Harry for a while, then picked up his textbooks and turned to leave.

"Saturday afternoon, in my office."

Thursday afternoon, Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Almost a week into the new school year, Professor Moody's name has spread throughout the Castle. Half an hour before the school bell rings, the classroom is already full of fourth-grade wizards.

"Loren, you know why Snape has such a bad temper, right?" Ron asked in a low voice.

In the front row of the classroom, Harry sat next to Ron, Hermione sat next to Loren. They were watching Loren teach Neville a Scouring Charm that could remove the toad's entrails from under his fingernails.

"Perhaps it's because of Moody that Professor Snape lost his Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor once again..." Harry guessed.

Loren and Hermione remained silent, assuming Snape was wary of Moody.

Whenever Snape and Moody came into contact, such as during meals or when they passed each other in the hallway, Snape would clearly be deliberately avoiding Moody.

Hermione believes Snape may have discovered some flaws in Moody's disguise, while Loren believes Snape may be subconsciously wary of the Aurors, given his past as a Death Eater.

Tap, tap, tap...

Moody's distinctive footsteps gradually approached along the corridor, and the young wizards in the classroom fell silent in unison, creating a somewhat solemn atmosphere.

He walked into the classroom, looking as strange and frightening as ever, with his claw-like wooden foot peeking out from under his robe.

"Put these things away," Moody said gruffly, as he trudged to the podium with his cane and sat down. "I'm telling you, you don't need these textbooks."

Moody pulled out the roster, shook his head to clear his long, graying hair from his contorted, scarred face, and began calling out names. His one normal eye moved down the list, while his demonic eye darted back and forth, staring at each student who answered.

Surprisingly, when he saw Loren and the group of people around him, he gave a strange smile, which made his scarred face look even more distorted and bizarre.

"I've already met some of you, and you've certainly made a strong impression on me!" Moody chuckled hoarsely. "I must say, your Disarming Charm is quite good, Harry Potter! And your application of the Shield Charm was brilliant, Loren Morgan! If you're interested in becoming Aurors after graduation, I can write you letters of recommendation..."