Crucio, the Impostor Acts Strangely / A Sudden Attack, Hostages Taken

The spider suddenly trembled, jumped off the Fake Moody's hand, and landed directly on the table.

The Fake Moody's wand began to bounce incessantly, and the spider simultaneously made various bizarre movements, such as somersaults, or standing on its two hind legs and tap dancing.

The students laughed at the comical act, but the Fake Moody's expression remained cold.

Harry, however, sneered inwardly.

He really is Death Eater; a leopard can't change its spots.

Although they belonged to different camps, Alastor Moody was always a wizard whom Harry admired. The reason he was so respected was that no matter how badly he was wounded, he never used the Unforgivable Curses on any dark wizard!

Just imagine, how could a steadfast and principled Mad-Eye Moody possibly demonstrate something like this to his students?!

"You think this is funny?" the Fake Moody coldly rebuked. "If I did this to you, would you still like it?"

The laughter stopped abruptly.

"It's completely under my control now," the Fake Moody said softly. "I can make it jump out the window, or drown itself, or... jump into the throat of one of your classmates."

Ron trembled involuntarily again.

"Many years ago, many wicked wizards and sorcerers claimed to be controlled by You-Know-Who's Imperius Curse," the Fake Moody continued. "But the problem is, how can we tell who is being controlled and who is acting out of their own volition?"

"But I must say, the Imperius Curse can be resisted! I can teach you the method now, but it requires great personal strength, and not everyone can master it. You'd better try to avoid being hit by it and always be vigilant!"

The Fake Moody suddenly yelled, startling the entire class.

"Weasley!" Then, he abruptly called out Ron's name.

"Here!" Ron instinctively stood at attention; he hadn't even sat down yet.

"Now let's see what happens! Take your wands and step forward!" Fake Moody pointed to the open space in front of the classroom. "I heard you all have good grades, so let's have a real-life demonstration. Try to knock me down, however you have to, while dodging the Imperius Curse I'm about to cast on you!"

"What... what did you say?!"

This time, not only Ron was stunned, but the entire classroom erupted in an uproar.

This new professor is actually going to demonstrate the Imperius Curse on a student?!

Chapter 604 Cruciatus Curse, Counterfeit Goods Abnormal

Holy crap... a live demonstration of the Imperius Curse? This is pure utter nonsense!

Harry was utterly speechless. This Fake Moody had become so twisted, Albus Dumbledore was still going to keep him at school for so-called 'surveillance'?

Honestly, Harry really can't stand this about Albus Dumbledore.

In order to find out Voldemort's ultimate plan, he brazenly placed a Death Eater in the school, ostensibly to keep a close watch on him and turn the tables on him.

This is actually the same as when Lupin enrolled in school in his early years. They claimed to have taken strict protective measures, assuming that Lupin, this Werewolf, would never harm the other students.

Harry genuinely didn't know whether Albus Dumbledore was being overly protective or simply too confident.

Why does he insist that everything must unfold exactly as he predicts?

"Wait a minute, Professor!" Just as Ron was at a loss for what to do, Hermione stood up and objected unequivocally, "You just said those spells are illegal! Even when you were capturing dark wizards, you never..."

"Professor Dumbledore wants you to experience it for yourselves." The Fake Moody glared menacingly at Hermione with his only remaining eye. "If you're willing to learn in a more cruel way—waiting for someone else to cast this spell on you, to have you completely under their control—then... you can leave now."

"Then why don't you try someone else, Professor?" Harry stood up at the same time, making way for Hermione beside him. " Of the Three Unforgivable Curses, I only haven't tried the Imperius Curse yet. Do you want to cast it on me?"

"I won't do that, because it wouldn't serve as a demonstration at all." Fake Moody shook his head, then looked around the class and said, "Your classmate, Harry Potter, has a personality strength far exceeding that of wizards his age, or even adult wizards. Even if I used my full power to cast the Imperius Curse, it might have no effect on him."

His words softened Hermione's expression slightly. In any case, since the Fake Moody was willing to endorse Harry, Hermione wouldn't have too much of a problem with him.

"But then you won't be able to see the specific effects of being controlled by the Imperius Curse." Fake Moody then changed the subject, his tone tinged with regret. "You see, of all the Unforgivable Curses, only the Imperius Curse can be directly demonstrated to the students. If we forgo the demonstration, Mr. Weasley will also lose a rare opportunity to hone his own personal strength."

"This..." Ron struggled silently for a moment, clearly somewhat unwilling.

"Potter, I understand your feelings, and I'm even more convinced of your abilities." Fake Moody looked at Harry, his words seemingly quite earnest. "But you're already so powerful, can't you also give other classmates a chance to become stronger? The return of the You-Know-Who isn't just your problem; every wizard in the Britain Wizarding World, every classmate of yours, could become a target of the Unforgivable Curses in the future. They need to understand these spells! Or do you think that no matter how hard Mr. Weasley tries... he absolutely cannot escape the control of the Imperius Curse?"

"I'm going to give it a try!" Ron, who had been secretly struggling with his decision, finally made up his mind and walked out with his wand, ignoring everything else.

"Let's begin, Professor Moody, I'll definitely do my best!"

He glanced unconsciously in Harry's direction, avoiding eye contact, but his resentful expression said it all.

"Heh..." Harry sighed softly, then fell silent.

This is fucking interesting...

That Fake Moody is clearly trying to flatter Ron while actually belittling him. He's pretending to praise himself, but in reality, he's using him to hurt Ron's pride.

It must be said that his choice of target was very accurate.

He had stood up for Ron before, so it was easy for him to gain Ron's trust. Besides Ron often acted impulsively, so nothing Harry said would make a difference now.

And... is this imposter so sure he won't dare to make a move? First, he openly drank Unicorn Blood, and now he's not even calling himself Granger anymore. Isn't this just too reckless and courting death?

Few people who call themselves 'Harry Potter' are good people; this isn't universally known, but it's practically a consensus.

Based on this bastard's behavior today, if Sirius hadn't yet sent back news of Moody's rescue, Harry would have jumped out and killed him right now!

"Ready? Let's begin, Mr. Weasley." Fake Moody gave Ron a standard dueling salute. "You'd better watch my movements."

"Alright, then I'll use the armor..."

"Imperio!"

The battle ended in an instant. Just as Ron was about to cast a spell to protect himself, the Fake Moody's spell struck first, freezing him in place.

"You see, this is what it looks like when a dark wizard casts the Imperius Curse."

The Fake Moody, playing himself, manipulated Ron to appear before the classmates, making him hop and skip around the classroom several times, even singing the national anthem.

Ron, on the other hand, did as instructed with a blank expression the whole time, showing no sign of resistance whatsoever, and even gradually developing a silly grin on his face.

"I hope you remember what he looks like now!" the Fake Moody said gravely. "Once you're controlled, you'll be completely out of control!"

He waved his wand forcefully, and Ron simultaneously showed a look of sudden realization.

"What... what just happened?" Ron looked at his hands as if waking from a dream, his fingertips trembling uncontrollably, as if he had not yet completely broken free of control.

"Please return to your seat, Mr. Weasley. The demonstration was excellent." Fake Moody guided Ron down from the podium, offering friendly encouragement. "Although you didn't manage to break free of the Imperius Curse, you've at least gained valuable experience."

Has it really been lifted...?

Harry stared intently into Ron's eyes, a thought suddenly occurring to him... What if the Fake Moody hadn't broken the spell?

This guy has been acting very strangely; maybe he has some other scheme in mind!

With this in mind, Harry became secretly on guard.

At that moment, the imposter professor had already used his wand to lift the original spider again, and walked off the podium with it.

"Does anyone else want to share other Unforgivable Curses?"

When the question was asked again, the Fake Moody happened to walk up to Neville. Although he was asking the whole class, his eyes were fixed on Neville, completely ignoring Hermione who had her hand raised.

"There is a... Crucio." Neville's voice was soft, but exceptionally clear.

"You're Longbottom, right?"

The Fake Moody correctly called out Neville's name, but didn't ask anything else. He simply brought the spider closer to Neville.

"The Crucio can't be cast on humans, so I need to enlarge it a bit so you can see it more clearly." He pointed his wand at the spider. "Engorgio!"

The spider immediately swelled up, becoming even larger than a wolf spider.

However, Harry then noticed that Ron did not back down in fear; his expression remained unchanged.

He was really being controlled!

"Cruciatus Curse!"

At the same time, the Fake Moody, with a sinister look on his face, unleashed the Unforgivable Curses on the spider!

Chapter 605 A Sudden Attack, Hostages Taken

Almost the instant the spell struck, the spider's legs retracted completely, pressing tightly against its abdomen.

Its body began to convulse violently, swaying incessantly in front of Neville's eyes. If spiders didn't lack vocal organs, they would surely have let out an extremely shrill scream.

Harry could fully imagine the pain the spider was enduring.

He had previously suffered from Quirrell Voldemort's Crucifixion Crucio, and if it weren't for the Unicorn Blessing protecting his body, the eleven-year-old Harry at the time could very well have been driven insane by the torture.

"Stop!" Hermione suddenly screamed.

She wasn't looking at the spider, but at Neville, who was gripping the edge of the table tightly with both hands, his knuckles white, his wide eyes filled with terror.

Seeing this, the Fake Moody raised his wand, and the spider's legs relaxed, but continued to twitch.

"Professor, why did you show this to Neville?" Hermione demanded angrily.

"I just hope you can all objectively witness this curse that brings extreme pain," the Fake Moody said coldly. "Miss Granger, can you tell me what the last Unforgivable Curses is? You seemed to raise your hand to answer both times just now?"

"It's... the Killing Curse, the Avada Kedavra." Hermione hesitated for a moment, then finally gave the answer.

"Ah, that's right." Fake Moody stared intently at Hermione, a cold smile slowly creeping onto his crooked lips. "Yes, this is the last, and most powerful, spell."

He seemed ready to raise his wand again, but Harry called him back before he could.

"Professor, I feel you haven't finished explaining the Imperius Curse yet."

"Mr. Potter, but I don't think this is right." Fake Moody looked at Harry expressionlessly. "Professor Dumbledore has told me a lot about you, including your privileges at school. But I must tell you, I don't like having my lessons delayed."

"Professor, do you really want me to spell it out?" Harry scoffed dismissively. "Ron Weasley, the Soul Reaper in him..."

"Let's continue with the next part of the lesson! The third spell is... the Avada Kedavra!!"

Before Harry could finish speaking, the Fake Moody's expression turned extremely sinister in an instant. He suddenly swung his wand, unleashing a blinding green light at Hermione!

"You bastard! Expelliarmus!"

The incident happened so suddenly that Hermione didn't have time to react. However, Harry, who was beside her, had been on guard against this imposter from the beginning. When the imposter suddenly attacked, Harry immediately kicked up the desk in front of him, narrowly blocking the Killing Curse aimed at Hermione!

Meanwhile, Harry's spell had already pierced through the flying sawdust, aiming directly at the Fake Moody's wand, preparing to eliminate the biggest threat in the opponent's hands first.

"It's useless!"

However, the Fake Moody just smiled coldly. Ron, who was under the influence of the Imperius Curse, rushed forward without hesitation, just like the desk had done before, to shield the Fake Moody from Harry's curse, and fell to the ground.

"Ron... Ugh!"

Neville, who was nearby, was startled by what he saw. He was still a little dazed when he saw Ron fall to the ground and instinctively tried to help him up, but before he knew it, the Fake Moody had already pointed his wand at him and cast another Imperius Curse to subdue him.

With Ron and Neville, two tall and strong students, acting as a shield, Fake Moody would no longer expose any weaknesses when facing Harry.

"Hmph, Harry Potter, surprised, aren't you?" Fake Moody sneered smugly from behind the two students. This guy was indeed very vigilant; even when he was showing off and making threats like this, he didn't peek out from behind the two of them.

"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione asked warily, drawing her wand as well.

"This Professor Moody is a fake. His real identity is the Death Eater rescued Voldemort in Albania!" Harry explained bitterly. "I was planning to deal with him as soon as I found the real Moody, but I didn't expect this guy to expose himself before even finishing the first lesson!"

Harry held his wand up tightly the entire time; he dared not let his guard down for even a moment.

Against the Avada Kedavra, Protego offers little protection, barely more than paper. In other words... all the students in the room are now sitting ducks!

"I knew it. You saw right through my disguise. But you should also know your situation," the Fake Moody chuckled smugly. "Want to guess... who my next target will be?"

"Everyone, defend your positions!"

At Harry's command, the classroom erupted in the sound of desks and chairs being moved. Students who had reacted in advance took the lead, quickly influencing the entire class. They swiftly arranged the desks and chairs around them as cover, and then began casting Shield Charm on themselves. The entire classroom flashed with light in an instant.

"A quick reaction, it seems their skills are indeed quite good. No wonder even that Mad-Eye Moody speaks highly of you." Fake Moody smiled with interest upon seeing this, but then shook his head sarcastically, "However... such tricks are ultimately child's play to me."

"Hmph!" Harry snorted unhappily, but in his heart he had to admit that what the other party said was true.

He was different from all the other Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, including Lupin. Harry was more inclined to teach advanced concepts of Defense Against the Dark Arts, because all methods of defense are derived from these concepts.

For example, defense is essentially about ensuring that you are not harmed, and both the defense provided by spells and the surrounding cover can achieve this effect.

For example, when fighting the Avada Kedavra, when the spell's defenses are completely ineffective, some sturdy obstacles become the key to the wizards' survival!

These were all taught by Harry to the students, but the fourth-year students were still too inexperienced to deal with a terrifying old schemer like the Fake Moody.