CHAPTER 4: MAD-EYE MOODY'S ARRIVAL

The feast began, and Harry joined in the chatter and laughter around him. The food was as delicious as ever, and the atmosphere was filled with excitement and camaraderie. As the evening wore on, Harry felt a sense of peace settle over him. He was back at Hogwarts, with Ron and Hermione by his side. They had faced countless challenges together, and whatever lay ahead, he knew they would overcome it. The future was uncertain, but for now, Harry was content to be home. All of the students slid and slid across the wet floor as they made their way across the Entrance Hall and through the double door on the right into the Great Hall.

"You haven't told us anything, Harry," whispered Hermione as they took their seats along the Gryffindor table. "How do you know all the things you just did?"

"Not now, Hermione," said Harry. "I'll explain it later. I promise."

"Well, you better," said Hermione.

Someone took a seat beside Harry. A round-faced boy whom he recognized really well, someone he held in the highest regard just like his two best friends.

"Hey, Harry."

Harry smiled. "Hey, Neville. Have a good summer?"

"Well, mostly," replied Neville nervously. "You probably don't know what it feels like living with someone who expects only the best coming out of you. But mostly, yeah, I had a good time."

"Someday, your granny will see the real you, Neville. I'm sure of it."

Neville shot Harry a look that said, "Are you making fun of me?" "You're kidding, right? This is the real me, Harry."

Harry nearly gave himself a slap on his forehead. Of course, how could he forget? Back in his old timeline, Neville only showed his potential when he was in his fifth year and it didn't stop since that. But in this timeline, the boy in front of him was still a boy who had zero confidence, was prone to nervous wrecks, and it may be rude to say this, a little bit of cowardice.

Harry put a hand on Neville's shoulder. "This is not the real you, Neville. You just haven't found your own true calling. Not yet anyway. But someday you will. Just be patient. Try to find confidence in yourself, be bold, and stand your ground."

Neville shook his head. "It's impossible for me to do that, Harry. You know that."

Harry gave him a smile. He patted the boy on the shoulder and said, "For now." If only Neville knew that he bravely faced Voldemort back in his old timeline.

He then turned his gaze towards the teachers' table. Albus Dumbledore was sitting there chatting merrily with Professor McGonagall. His eyes continued to travel along the teacher's table. Professor Sinistra, Professor Babbling, Professor Burbage, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Professor Hooch, Professor Vector, Professor Trelawney—they were all there. His eyes finally landed on a man famous for his greasy hair and his ruthlessness. He would have hated Professor Snape back then, but this time around, knowing what Snape did, he hardly felt the same way.

Their eyes met. Harry gave Snape a curt nod and turned his attention elsewhere.

He observed that there were two empty chairs along the teachers' table. One must have belonged to Hagrid. He must have been still battling the rain to get the first years safely to the castle. The other one would belong to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He racked his brain, trying to think who would fill the chair in their fourth year. He knew that he already had that information. He just couldn't get it out. The forced and fully unexpected time travel must have muddled his memory quite a bit. He gave up moments later and decided to wait. One way or another, he would know in the end.

"I heard that you attacked a ghost just now."

Harry turned to see Seamus Finnigan, looking at him with wide eyes. "Did Peeves really deserve it?" Seamus asked.

Harry laughed. "He was going to drench us with water balloons. I just stopped him."

"Blimey, Harry, you didn't have to curse him that many times," said Dean Thomas, who was sitting across from them.

"He'll be back to his tricks soon enough," said Harry. "No harm done."

As the evening progressed, Harry felt the weight of his situation lift slightly. He was among friends, in a place he loved. For now, that was enough.

Dumbledore stood, and the hall fell silent. "Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts. Before we begin our feast, I have a few start-of-term notices. First, the Forbidden Forest is, as always, strictly off-limits. Second, Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you all that no magic is to be used in the corridors between classes. And lastly, I am pleased to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Alastor Moody."

There was a ripple of whispers throughout the hall as Moody, the ex-Auror known as "Mad-Eye" for his magical eye, stood up and gave a curt nod. Harry felt a jolt of recognition. Of course, Moody would be their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year. He had been pivotal in many events during Harry's fourth year.

That voice took Harry by surprise. It was Nearly Headless Nick who was floating nearby. Harry fully expected the Gryffindor resident ghost would be mad at him. But the look on the ghost's face told him otherwise.

"Well, yes," answered Harry sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Really didn't mean to."

Nick somehow waved him away. "It's about time someone else put that ghost's feet on the ground, so to speak. Peeves only respects the headmaster, you know. It's good to know there is someone else he would fear. By the way, how did you do that? You know spells and curses usually fly through a ghost."

Brain racking resumed, and lucky for him, this time a name came out easily. "Professor Lupin. He did something similar once. Remember last year?"

Nick tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Professor Lupin, you say? Yes, yes, I heard the story of how he jammed Peeves' nostril with a wad of gum. But spells and curses are different, Harry."

"Nick's right, Harry," Hermione cut in. "I have never seen a ghost injured from a spell before."

"What about Nick?" asked Ron. "Remember our second year? He got blasted from the basilisk and remained petrified like the rest."

"Yes, that!" said Harry with relief. "Thank you, Ron."

"But that's different, Ron!" interjected Hermione. "That was done by a basilisk, not a wizard."

"Well duh. A basilisk is a magical creature. It's, well, magical," said Ron.

"The boy's right," said Nick, much to Hermione's chagrin. "If only our dear Harry would tell us what his secret is," he continued while looking intently at Harry.

Harry sighed. They were really not going to let this issue go, he thought. "Alright, fine. What if I tell you guys that I'm not from here? What if I tell you that I came from the distant future and in that future I am the best Auror ever? Or so they told me. I was trained to handle both human and magical creatures such as ghosts as well?"

Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Nick went quiet.

"If you didn't want to answer our questions in an honest and truthful way then just say it," said Hermione moments later. "You don't have to blurt out all those crazy things just like what you did on the train."

"But I'm not."

"Save it!" cut in Hermione. "You're going to the hospital wing after the feast, AND you're going to see Dumbledore. End of story!"

Harry looked to Ron for help, but Ron simply said, "I'm with her, Harry. Sorry."

Great. Just great, Harry thought. Now they would suspect that he was mad. He sighed. But on the bright side, they stopped asking questions. Going to the hospital wing might not yield any results, he believed. Physically, he was fine. He just hoped that Hermione wouldn't suggest that he be transferred to the St. Mungo's psychiatric ward.

A highly excited and breathless voice called from down the table. "Hiya, Harry!" Harry immediately recognized who it was. He smiled at the boy, "Hi, Colin."

"Harry! Guess what? Guess what, Harry? My brother's starting! My brother Dennis!"

"Well, good to know."

"He's really excited!" said Colin, practically bouncing up and down in his seat. "I just hope he's in Gryffindor! Keep your fingers crossed, eh, Harry?"

Harry gave the excited young boy a thumbs up. His previous self would never have approved of Colin. He was too eccentric in his own way. Just like Luna. Luna Lovegood.

Harry slowly turned his gaze towards the Ravenclaw table and he found her. At this point, Luna had yet to become his friend. In the old timeline, they would only meet at the start of his fifth year. Like Luna, Colin managed to change Harry's perceptions about him.

Colin was a brave young kid. He fought together with the freedom fighters in the Battle of Hogwarts when he wasn't supposed to. He died in that fight. Even until now, Harry did not know what or who killed him.

Suddenly, his smile faltered. Everything began to fall into place. As he continued to look at Colin, memories of his past life replayed in his mind.

Colin Creevey, George Weasley, Professor Lupin, Tonks, Sirius, Albus Dumbledore, Snape. All of them and many others were among the casualties of war back then. It may not be that different this time around. The only difference would be that he already knew what their fate would be, and he will be forced to relive it all over again.

And it will begin with Cedric Diggory.

Harry slowly cupped his face. He did not know how he would go through all of this. He did not know if he would be strong enough to see his friends all around him die. They died for him and in the name of freedom. This time around, they will do so again.

"You okay, Harry?" asked Neville.

Harry hastily rearranged his features. "Yeah. I'm okay, Neville. I'm good." He then immediately turned his gaze to the front of the table.

The hall fell into an eerie silence as the stranger approached the head table. Harry's grip tightened around his wand as he studied the new arrival. The man's appearance was both strange and unsettling, from the weathered wood-like face to the unnerving eyes that darted about.

Dumbledore, always the epitome of calm, smiled warmly at the newcomer. "Ah, our guest of honor has arrived. May I present to you all, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year, Professor Mad-Eye Moody."

Moody gave a curt nod to the students and then turned his attention to Dumbledore. Harry noticed that Moody's gaze constantly shifted around the room, his electric-blue eye scanning every corner of the Great Hall. It was both impressive and disconcerting.

"Professor Moody is a retired Auror," Dumbledore continued. "He has kindly agreed to come out of retirement to teach at Hogwarts this year. I'm sure you'll all benefit greatly from his vast experience."

Hermione leaned closer to Harry, her voice barely a whisper. "This is the famous Mad-Eye Moody? I've read about him. He was known for his work against the Dark Arts."

"Yeah," Harry whispered back. "He's got quite a reputation. I just didn't expect him to be quite so—" Harry searched for the right word, "—intense."

Moody's arrival had stirred up the students' curiosity, and the chatter resumed, albeit with a nervous edge. Fred and George were already exchanging speculative glances, their entrepreneurial minds undoubtedly already at work.

As the feast continued, Harry's thoughts kept drifting back to the peculiar man. The scars, the unsettling eye—Mad-Eye Moody was a figure that commanded both respect and caution. Harry was aware of Moody's history from his previous experiences, and he knew that his presence at Hogwarts was bound to bring a new level of intensity to the school year.

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