HP: Supreme Potion Collector [Original Female Protagonist]

The next two days passed uneventfully, with nothing out of the ordinary happening—unless you count Neville melting yet another cauldron in Potions class. This was the sixth cauldron he had ruined since starting at Hogwarts.

Snape's vendetta against Gryffindor seemed to have reached new heights as he coldly sentenced Neville to detention. Poor Neville was tasked with gutting a large bucket of horned salamanders, and by the time he returned, his nerves were completely shot.

But if anyone was more distressed than Neville, it was Orli Waters. Although no one else seemed to notice, Snape was now treating her as if she were invisible, like she didn't even exist.

Harry and the others believed Snape's foul mood was due to Moody taking the Defense Against the Dark Arts position. But Orli thought otherwise. Snape was clearly avoiding her, refusing to engage with her in any way. She even went out of her way to scatter wormwood everywhere, but Snape walked right past her as if he hadn't seen a thing.

The frustration gnawed at Orli like a cat clawing at her heart. She would have given anything—even losing ten points for Gryffindor—just to get a reaction out of him!

On Wednesday evening, she mustered the courage to head to the dungeons to help with the usual tasks, just like last term. However, Snape didn't even open the door. Through the closed door, he informed her that from now on, her work schedule would be reduced to once a week—Sunday afternoons only. She was not to bother him at any other time, as he was very busy.

By Thursday afternoon, after lunch but before the bell rang, the Gryffindors had already gathered in Moody's classroom, waiting eagerly. They had their copies of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection out, and the atmosphere was particularly solemn.

Soon, they heard Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps echoing down the corridor. He entered the classroom, looking as peculiar and intimidating as ever. They could see his claw-like wooden leg peeking out from beneath his robes.

"Put those things away," Moody growled, hobbling to the front of the room with the help of his staff. He sat down at the desk. "You won't need those textbooks."

The students obediently stowed their books back into their bags. Ron looked particularly excited.

Moody pulled out the class roster, shaking his head to toss the long, grizzled hair away from his scarred, twisted face, and began calling roll. His normal eye scanned down the list, while his magical eye swiveled constantly, scrutinizing every student who answered.

When he reached the names Harry Potter and Orli Waters, he paused briefly. Then, suddenly, he said, "Before we begin today's lesson, I think we should acknowledge one of your classmates. She was the one who uncovered a major threat to Hogwarts—Peter Pettigrew, wasn't it, Waters? That sly, disgusting rat. Well done! For that, I'm awarding Gryffindor five points!"

Orli froze in surprise, staring at Moody in confusion. Very few people actually knew about Peter Pettigrew's capture. Dumbledore had kept the details private to protect her. Could Moody have learned about it from Dumbledore?

Harry and Ron clapped enthusiastically beside her, while many of the other students, who were unaware of the incident, began whispering among themselves.

"Alright," Moody said, pounding his fist on the desk. "I received a letter from Lupin outlining the progress of this class. It seems you've learned quite a bit about handling Dark creatures—you've dealt with Boggarts, Red Caps, Hinkypunks, Grindylows, Kappas, and Werewolves, haven't you?"

The students murmured their agreement.

"But when it comes to countering spells, you're woefully underprepared—woefully underprepared," Moody declared. "Fortunately, we've got a whole year. Yes, just one year. I'm only here to do Dumbledore a favor... teach for a year, and then return to my peaceful retirement."

He let out a raspy laugh and clapped his rough hands together. "Now, let's get to it. First, we need to practice a basic defensive spell. When a Dark wizard points their wand at you, what's the first spell you should think of?"

"Protego! The Shield Charm!" Hermione answered immediately.

"Excellent. Looks like Gryffindor has quite a few promising Auror candidates! Two points to Gryffindor!" Moody said, his scarred face twisting into a grin.

"This might be a bit challenging, but come on, boys and girls! You're fourteen now—time to start training as warriors! Pair up, and let's practice the Shield Charm!"

For the remainder of the lesson, they focused intently on dueling practice. One partner would cast the Disarming Charm, while the other would use the Shield Charm to see if they could avoid losing their wand.

Orli felt a weight lift from her chest. This Moody seemed perfectly normal—no demonstrations of the Unforgivable Curses, no torturing spiders, and no odd remarks or suspicious behavior.

As they left the classroom, Ron and Harry walked with their backs straighter, as if they had already been chosen as Aurors. They muttered the incantation for the Shield Charm under their breath repeatedly. Meanwhile, Hermione dashed off toward the library in a hurry.

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