Hogwarts: I will not become the Dark Lord

Harry and his companions stepped into the Entrance Hall, finding it bustling with people. Amidst this lively atmosphere, a corner on the second floor of the Entrance Hall appeared particularly quiet. Jerry stood there alone, his gaze shifting between Harry and Malfoy, as if secretly observing something.

Before long, a figure silently approached Jerry—Professor Moody, disguised as Barty Crouch Jr.

Jerry's expression instantly turned cold. He glanced sideways at the fake professor, his tone filled with obvious caution and dissatisfaction: "You come to me directly like this, aren't you afraid of attracting attention?"

Moody (actually Barty Crouch Jr.) frowned in feigned confusion, as if everything were within his expectations: "Oh? What's wrong with that? As the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, is it not my duty to care about the students' learning progress?"

Jerry snorted softly, expressing his disdain. Moody, however, smiled, a smile with hidden depths. He turned his gaze to Malfoy not far away, his tone playful: "That's Lucius's son? Is he up to it?"

"Rest assured, there is no one more suitable than Draco Malfoy!" Jerry nodded in confirmation. "Of course, if you think Snape is more suitable, you can also choose Snape!"

"I remember you and Potter are still friends, right?" Moody looked at Jerry. "Are you just scheming against him like this? Tsk tsk, being your friend must be dangerous!"

"Fortunately, fortunately, we are not your friends, haha!" Moody's laughter contained a hint of mockery.

"Hmph, you're not worthy of being my friend," Jerry retorted, a cold smile curling on his lips, his gaze sharp as a knife. With that, he turned and strode away.

Moody was not angered by this. Instead, a deeper smile appeared on his lips, and his gaze refocused on Draco Malfoy.

Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Neville stood in the Entrance Hall, just about to enter the Great Hall for dinner, when a sharp and provocative voice suddenly rang out behind them.

The four turned around in unison, seeing Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle standing side by side, exuding an inexplicable sense of triumph and excitement, as if they had just heard a hilarious joke.

"Weasley!" Malfoy's eyes locked on Ron, deliberately drawing out the syllables as he called out.

Ron's brow furrowed, his face filled with impatience and wariness, as he coldly replied, "What is it?" His tone laced with obvious resistance.

"You don't know yet, Weasley, congratulations, your father is on the front page of the Daily Prophet!" Malfoy said, waving the newspaper in his hand.

Malfoy deliberately raised his voice, ensuring that every corner of the crowded Entrance Hall could hear him clearly. Then, in a mocking tone, he said, "Listen to this latest exposé!"

"Storms Brew Again in the Wizarding World, the Ministry of Magic's Troubles Seem Never-Ending. Today's Special Report Brought to You by Our Star Reporter, Rita Skeeter."

"Recently, the Ministry of Magic has been under heavy public criticism for its gross negligence in the security arrangements for the Quidditch World Cup, and for its continued failure to provide a clear explanation for the mysterious disappearance of Ministry official Bertha Jorkins."

"Even more laughable is that, just yesterday morning, Mr. Arthur Weasley, head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, once again thrust the Ministry of Magic into the eye of the storm with a series of perplexing actions."

As Malfoy spoke, he deliberately turned his gaze to Ron, wanting to see his reaction.

"Haha, Weasley, they even misspelled your father's name! That's normal, after all, your father is just an insignificant nobody, right?" Malfoy's voice echoed in the Entrance Hall, drawing the attention of everyone around. All eyes were drawn to his words, and the noisy Entrance Hall became quiet for a moment.

Everyone was in no hurry to have dinner; gossiping was better than eating!

Malfoy raised the Daily Prophet in his hand with an almost exaggerated gesture, as if performing a carefully choreographed theatrical act. He read aloud:

"Mr. Arnold Weasley, this Ministry of Magic official, faced charges two years ago for a flying car. Yesterday morning, he was unexpectedly involved in a dispute with Muggle law enforcement officers (Muggles call them police), and the trigger for all this was nothing more than an ordinary Muggle trash can."

"It is said that Mr. Weasley's actions were in aid of his old friend, Mad-Eye Moody."

"Alastor Moody once served in the Auror Office of the Ministry of Magic. Due to his paranoia in his later years, he found it difficult to distinguish between a friendly handshake and an attempted murder, and eventually retired from the Ministry of Magic. However, when Mr. Weasley rushed to Moody's heavily guarded residence, he found that it was another false alarm, a misjudgment by Mr. Moody, who had mistakenly issued a false alarm."

"When Mr. Weasley was confronted by several persistent Muggle police officers, he had to modify their memories to successfully extricate himself. But when reporters asked Mr. Weasley whether his actions violated the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, Mr. Weasley declined to answer. He chose to remain silent, refusing to give any response."

"Look, Weasley! There's even a photo of your parents in the newspaper," Malfoy drawled, flipping the newspaper over and holding it up high, his eyes gleaming with triumph.

"This photo is really interesting. Is this your house, haha, it's really laughable! They actually call that place home? And your mother, if she could pay a little attention to her figure, her appearance might be considered 'passable'!"

Hearing this, Harry's anger flared, and he felt a surge of heat rushing to his head. He gritted his teeth and growled, "You bastard, I will never let you get away with this!"

Originally, Harry and Neville were working together to appease the angry Ron, but at this moment, the situation took a sharp turn, and Neville was left alone, struggling to hold back the almost out-of-control Harry and Ron. Although Neville was strong, he felt unprecedentedly strained, fearing that with one slip, the two would break free and rush towards Malfoy.

"Malfoy, if you don't clean up your mouth, don't blame me for being impolite!" Hermione said, unable to bear it any longer. As she spoke, she joined Neville in pulling Harry and Ron away from Malfoy.

Just then, screams suddenly erupted from the surrounding crowd. Harry felt a burning sensation brush past his cheek. An ambush! It was Malfoy's ambush! Was he crazy? Daring to attack a classmate with a wand at Hogwarts?

Harry subconsciously reached for his wand inside his robe, but before his fingers could touch the cold wand, another deafening sound echoed in the air.

After the loud noise, a majestic and stern roar reverberated in the entrance hall.

"Stop it, boy!"

Harry turned around and saw Moody, wand in hand, limping slowly down the marble staircase. Moody's wand was pointed at the ground, where a snow-white ferret was curled up in a ball, trembling. The ferret was exactly where Malfoy had been standing.

The air in the entrance hall seemed to freeze, and only Moody's heavy breathing could be heard in the silence. Everyone was shocked by this scene, and no one dared to move.

"Did he hurt you?" Moody's voice was a little hoarse.

"No," Harry shook his head.

"Don't touch it!" Moody suddenly shouted, his voice filled with an undeniable authority.

Harry was stunned for a moment, and asked in confusion, "Don't touch what?"

"Not you, him!" Moody shouted again, while raising his thumb and pointing behind him. Only then did Harry notice that Crabbe was hesitating, wanting to approach the ferret, but Moody's shout had frightened him into a standstill, afraid to move.

Moody's blue magical eye could see what was happening behind him.

Professor Moody took his slightly faltering steps, approaching Crabbe, Goyle, and the panicked ferret. The ferret let out a shrill scream, and suddenly darted away, fleeing towards the underground classroom.

"Where do you think you're going!" Moody roared, waving his wand again. The ferret was instantly lifted into the air by an invisible force, then slammed heavily back to the ground, and then suddenly lifted up again, repeating the process.

"What I hate most are cowards who resort to dirty tricks behind their backs!" Moody's voice was low and powerful, every word filled with indignation, "This kind of behavior is dirty, despicable, and simply the patent of a coward!"

As Moody's words fell, the ferret's struggle in the air became more and more violent. Its limbs and tail flailed wildly in the air, emitting bursts of desperate screams, as if repenting for its mistakes.

"See if you dare to do it again!" Moody's eyes revealed an unquestionable sternness.

Just then, Professor McGonagall slowly walked down the marble staircase, holding a stack of books in her arms.

"Moody, what is this?" Professor McGonagall asked, looking at the ferret.

"Giving him a little color to see."

"Moody, are you saying... that's a student?" Professor McGonagall's voice trembled slightly with shock. The books in her arms scattered all over the ground, and she seemed unable to believe everything in front of her.

"Oh, no!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed when Moody nodded. She quickly quickened her pace down the stairs, and the wand instantly appeared in her clenched hand.

With a crisp crackling sound, the magical light flashed and disappeared, and Malfoy's figure gradually returned to its original state. He was curled up on the ground, his pale yellow hair plastered messily on his cheeks.

After a moment, Malfoy struggled to stand up, his body trembling involuntarily, looking particularly embarrassed.

"Moody, we at Hogwarts never use transfiguration as a means of punishment!" Professor McGonagall's voice was filled with obvious anger, "Didn't Professor Dumbledore explicitly tell you this?"

"He might have... mentioned it," Moody scratched his chin lightly, his tone carrying a hint of nonchalance, "But I think that sometimes, a stern warning is more effective than any sermon."

"We have more appropriate ways to handle this situation, Moody, such as giving detention, or reporting the matter to the student's Head of House."

"I will talk to his Head of House!" Moody's disgusted gaze remained locked on Malfoy.

Malfoy raised his head at this moment, glared at Moody resentfully, and mumbled something indistinctly, among which the words "My father..." were particularly clear, filled with a threatening meaning.

Moody sneered, and took a few steps forward, dragging his wooden leg. The sound of the leg hitting the ground echoed in the empty entrance hall, sounding particularly harsh. "Good, your father and I are old acquaintances. Child, go back and tell him that Moody is now watching his precious son. Just relay that message to him verbatim. Also, your Head of House is Snape, right?"

"Hmph, another old friend." Moody's voice suddenly became low and powerful, as if suppressing a bellyful of anger, "I've long wanted to have a good 'chat' with this old pal. Let's go, boy." As he spoke, he grabbed Malfoy's arm and dragged him unceremoniously towards the underground classroom.

Professor McGonagall watched their receding figures for a long time before she recovered. She gently waved her wand, and the books scattered on the ground seemed to be lifted by an invisible force, slowly rising into the air, and finally landing steadily back in her hands.

"Cool, Ron, is that Mad-Eye Moody? I'm starting to look forward to this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class!" Harry said excitedly, watching Moody's departing figure.

"Harry, me too!" Ron was equally excited, "Draco Malfoy, a lively, bouncing ferret, hahaha, serves him right!"

In a corner that no one noticed, the corners of Moody's mouth inadvertently curled into a faint sneer. Jerry Green was right, the fastest way to gain Potter's favor and trust was none other than Draco Malfoy!

After entering the Great Hall, the group immediately caught sight of Jerry's figure. He was sitting leisurely at the long table, waiting for them. Harry quickly ran over, eagerly using gestures and excited words to tell him what had just happened in the entrance hall.

"Jerry, it's such a pity, you missed a good show!" Harry said.

"So, Professor Moody just taught Malfoy a lesson for you guys?" Jerry smiled and shook his head, unaware that everything was a plan between him and Barty Crouch Jr.

"Yes, yes, yes, it's incredible!" Harry said with an excited face, "Who would have thought that Professor Moody would directly turn Malfoy into a ferret!"

"But speaking of which, that kind of practice is indeed very dangerous," Hermione frowned, her tone revealing some worry, "Fortunately, Professor McGonagall intervened in time and prevented the situation from deteriorating."

"Hermione, you're always such a spoilsport," Ron shook his head slightly, glancing at Hermione with slight dissatisfaction.

"You're not going to the library again tonight, are you?" Jerry asked with concern.

"Of course I am," Hermione nodded, and began to devour her food again.

"Wait for me, I'll go with you!"

A few minutes later, the two of them finished the food on their plates in a whirlwind, and then hurriedly left their seats.