At the entrance to the Great Hall, a man and a woman stood whispering to each other.
"Umbridge read your letter, Harry. There's no other explanation."
"Do you think Umbridge actually intercepted Hedwig?"
"Ever since Filch said you ordered Dungbombs, I've suspected it. That was obviously a ridiculous lie," Hermione Granger whispered. "If Umbridge caught Padfoot last night—"
"Don't say it!" Harry Potter shot Hermione a warning look.
He'd just spotted the Slytherin, Christopher Patrick, hurrying toward the castle from the direction of the Quidditch pitch.
Could he have joined the Slytherin Quidditch team too—Malfoy's secret weapon? Harry wondered silently.
After all, he'd seen Patrick hanging around with Malfoy several times before; and in just a few days, the Gryffindor–Slytherin match would begin.
Jon climbed the steps, shot Harry a brief, surprised look, nodded politely, and walked into the castle.
"He knows you?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Barely met once," Harry replied curtly. For some reason, his mind drifted back to the prophecy Patrick had made during their last conversation.
"Stop thinking about it," he muttered, shaking his head. "He's just another fraud like Trelawney… Malfoy's friend? No way he's a good person."
...
The weather throughout October had been dreadful—howling winds and torrential rain almost nonstop until the final days of the month.
Then the temperature suddenly dropped. The air turned bitterly cold, and each morning a layer of frost coated the windows.
The arrival of Halloween basically marked the start of winter.
When everyone stepped out of the Slytherin common room the day before Halloween, they couldn't help but pull on thick coats, bearskin top hats, and dragon-hide gloves.
As Jon entered the Great Hall for breakfast, he noticed at once that it was far noisier than usual.
What's going on? Could the twenty-fifth Educational Decree have just been issued? Jon wondered silently.
Students at all four long tables—upper and lower years alike—had gathered in small clusters, all speaking in urgent tones.
Jon noticed that every group had a copy of the Daily Prophet.
Could it be that the Ministry could no longer suppress it, and the Prophet had reported Voldemort's return?
Otherwise, he couldn't imagine what kind of news could have caused such an uproar.
When he reached the Slytherin table, an owl happened to deliver his own copy of the paper. Jon paid it five Knuts, took the newspaper, and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice.
He opened the front page, intending to read as he drank—then froze. It took all his effort not to spit pumpkin juice across the paper.
"Bloody hell," he muttered.
The headline screamed:
"Former Auror and Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Alastor Moody Revealed to Be a Death Eater!"
...
Jon immediately understood why the hall had been buzzing so loudly.
Mad-Eye Moody might have had a rough reputation, but when it came to fighting dark magic, he was one of the most respected names in the wizarding world. For the Ministry to officially declare him a Death Eater was beyond shocking.
But… that didn't make sense. How could the Ministry possibly know Moody was a Death Eater? It didn't add up at all.
Jon's expression tightened as he kept reading.
Former Auror Alastor Moody, commonly known as "Mad-Eye," has long appeared before the public as an enemy of dark magic. However, Hogwarts High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge has confirmed that his true identity is that of a secret follower of the Dark Lord—a Death Eater hidden among us.
Madam Umbridge, ever devoted to eradicating dark magic, discovered soon after her arrival at Hogwarts that someone within the school was attempting to contact the notorious Death Eater and Azkaban fugitive, Sirius Black.
After two months of investigation, she uncovered the method of communication and identified the culprit as none other than Mad-Eye Moody.
Last night, while Moody was secretly in contact with Black, the resourceful Madam Umbridge led a team of Aurors and Dementor guards into Hogwarts ahead of schedule, attempting to capture both Black and Moody.
However, the cunning Moody escaped mere minutes before the operation and even warned Black, allowing him to flee as well.
Both fugitives are now subjects of a full-scale manhunt by the Ministry of Magic.
For her bravery, Madam Dolores Umbridge will be awarded the First Class Order of Merlin.
According to Dark Magic experts, Moody and Black's meeting was likely intended to revive the cause of their late master, You-Know-Who, and they may already be rallying his former followers.
Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge assures the public that everything is under control and their plot will not succeed.
Alastor Moody has now been listed as a high-risk fugitive. His bounty matches Black's—ten thousand Galleons. The Ministry welcomes any citizen to report information eagerly!
...
Jon stared at the paper in disbelief.
Well, at least it wasn't what he'd feared—he'd thought Barty Crouch Jr.'s identity had been exposed.
But now the situation made a twisted kind of sense.
Harry Potter, foolish as ever, had been corresponding with his godfather, Sirius Black, by letter—only for Umbridge to intercept it.
She had tried to capture Black but failed, and in her frustration, she fabricated charges to frame Moody, planning to send him to Azkaban—or even let the Dementors finish him off.
However, the Death Eaters learned of the plot, contacted Moody through the parchment Jon had given him, and warned him about the Ministry's real plan.
Forewarned, Moody escaped before Umbridge could act.
Umbridge really had gone mad… Mad-Eye Moody was a man of considerable standing, and to slander him without evidence—twisting the truth to brand him a "Death Eater"?
Did the Ministry really not fear a backlash from the wizarding world?