Moody changed tack, his magical eye swiveling toward the window, as though he could see the chaos of that night.
"Not bad. Good combat awareness. Faced with an attack by Death Eaters, they didn't panic. They knew how to protect themselves and could even fight back."
He withdrew his gaze and looked at Douglas again.
"Much better than those spineless weaklings at the Ministry of Magic who only know how to sit in offices writing reports."
Even this praise sounded like an accusation.
"They were just lucky, sir."
Douglas spoke modestly.
"I only taught them some basic defensive spells."
"Basic?"
Moody's magical eye abruptly swiveled toward Sirius.
Sirius immediately took the hint and chimed in proudly, "Douglas is being far too modest, Alastor. His curriculum reforms have been very successful."
"Students today are much better at adapting and fighting than we were back then. And they're much better at following the rules than we were, too."
Sirius tried to ease the tension.
"Rules?"
Moody slammed his walking stick against the floor.
"Rules won't save your life on a battlefield!"
He growled, his scarred face twisting with agitation.
"Rather than teaching them to follow rules, teach them how to survive when the rules stop working!"
"Constant vigilance! Holmes! You need to make them understand that danger is everywhere!"
Moody took another long swig of liquor, as though suppressing some emotion.
He turned and limped toward the door.
"Stay vigilant, Holmes."
When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and glanced back at Douglas.
His magical eye pierced the wall, seemingly looking into the depths of the corridor.
"The walls of Hogwarts are easier to penetrate than you think."
With that, he pulled the door open and walked out.
"Clack, clack..."
The sound of his wooden leg receded down the corridor.
Sirius