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Today, I woke up feeling villainous, so if you want the next chapter, you'll have to reach 200 power stones—otherwise… *muahahaha!* If tomorrow I wake up in a good mood again, I'll go back to normal chapters, but if not… *muahahaha!
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"Mad-Eye and the Dragon of the North"
Einar moved silently through the darkest corners of the castle, wrapped in shadows like a lone wolf patrolling its territory. It was his turn to keep watch"a task he accepted with stoic indifference. Yet everyone knew that students caught by him were luckier than those caught by any other professor. With just a stern gaze, as cold as the winters of his homeland, he would send them back to their dormitories.
No yelling. No excessive punishment. Just the firm authority of someone even the ghosts avoided crossing.
As he neared the main staircase, a raspy screech shattered the night's silence.
"Peeves! What's all this racket?! Trying to wake the whole castle, are you?!" shrieked Filch's sharp, grating voice, sounding like nails scraping stone.
The caretaker's hurried steps echoed up the stairs, and soon his hunched silhouette appeared at the top, panting. He halted suddenly, spotting something on the floor.
"What... is this?" he muttered, awkwardly crouching. He picked up the golden object, eyes lighting up with a mix of greed and surprise. "An egg... A Tournament egg!" he said, his voice shifting to a more serious tone. "One of the champions' puzzles!"
He scowled, clenching his fists in anger.
"Peeves! Stealing again, you incorporeal pest!" he shouted, turning his head wildly. His voice trembled with fury. "Hiding, are you? I'll catch you! Thieving menace! Dumbledore will throw you out of the castle for this, you miserable little rat!"
From the shadows, Einar had already started moving toward the commotion. His senses were alert"but it wasn't Filch's scream that drew him. It was a presence.
One he knew very well.
Harry Potter.
He could feel him a few steps above, cloaked under the same Invisibility Cloak he had tried to use the last time Einar caught him.
His labored breathing gave him away.
"Good thing Cedric chose the path of stealth and not Potter…" Einar thought dryly as he ascended the stairs in silence. "Even with that enchanted cloak, he still makes more noise than a pack of Skeever."
He stopped beside Filch, whose expression changed instantly at the sight of him. Fear jolted through the man like a bolt of lightning. He knew the young Dragon of the North well. He'd heard what Einar had done to Snape for daring to mistreat students. Since then, Filch had avoided him, and in his presence, he was the model of courtesy and obedience.
"Oh! I'm terribly sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to make such a fuss... Peeves stole one of the golden eggs, and I was trying to track him down..." Filch stammered nervously, clutching Mrs. Norris as if she could protect him.
Einar narrowed his eyes.
"That poltergeist... Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him since the first day."
"Well… er… it seems he's quite afraid of you, Professor. These days, the ghosts and students don't just use the Bloody Baron to scare him… they use your name too." Filch lowered his voice, as if afraid of summoning Einar a second time.
"I see… Then if I'm here, he has no reason to come near." Einar crossed his arms patiently. "You can return to your rounds. I'll handle the egg."
"But Professor... this is the perfect chance for Dumbledore to expel him! Stealing from the champions... That's a serious offense..."
Einar raised a hand. His presence was as imposing as a mountain.
"You can speak with him without the egg. The student it belongs to is probably searching for it... if they haven't yet uncovered the task it conceals."
Filch swallowed hard. He hesitated for a moment, but Einar's aura left no room for argument.
"...Yes, you're right. Here." He handed over the egg with trembling hands, gave his cat a pat, and vanished down the stairs like he was fleeing a storm.
As Einar stepped toward Harry, he noticed something else"a scroll near the edge of the stairs. He raised an eyebrow and, with a small flick of his hand, summoned it with telekinesis.
At that moment, Harry pulled off the cloak, revealing himself fully. His face was twisted in pain"his foot trapped in a trick step.
Without taking his eyes off the scroll, Einar murmured,
"What's this?"
"A map... A map of the castle," Harry replied through gritted teeth, trying to free his leg.
"Mmm… interesting. It shows every corner of Hogwarts. Even the people… This would have been useful during my explorations," Einar said, studying the parchment with genuine interest.
"Professor… could you help me?" Harry asked, wincing.
"Oh, of course."
Einar crouched down and, with the strength of someone who had hauled logs since childhood, lifted Harry with one hand, freeing his foot with ease.
The map still floated before him, his gaze growing even more focused.
"It even shows my name… Though it doesn't seem to recognize my surname. Curious."
To Einar, who was used to building mental maps of the places he traveled, this kind of tool was unusual… but dangerous. If it fell into the wrong hands, it could cause absolute chaos.
Even Dremora Dren was visible on it.
"This would be a problem if Dumbledore had something like it…" he thought.
Calmly, he rolled up the map and the egg, handing them both back to Harry as if they meant nothing to him"though his mind was already calculating how to mask his presence in the future. Maybe he could even borrow it from Harry during training. He wasn't foolish enough to take it when it was clearly useful to the boy.
"Have you figured out the egg's secret?" he asked in a relaxed tone.
"Yes, Professor. I submerged it in water and could hear the real voices of the mermaids. They said a precious item would be hidden… and I'd have one hour to retrieve it."
Einar smiled"a rare, warm smile.
"Well done."
He gave Harry a firm pat on the shoulder.
"But it's late. Go get some rest. And this time… try not to get caught again."
Harry nodded, and as he descended the stairs, Einar remained a few moments longer, gazing at the map, the cold night wind brushing against his face.
...…..
Einar walked out of the library with a couple of books under his arm. His eyes, calm and sharp, reflected a mind immersed in ancient knowledge. Ever since he had seen Harry's map, his curiosity had led him to study a troubling subject: taboo names.
However, he didn't get far. As soon as he crossed the door, a raspy voice"like the edge of a blade dragging across stone"stopped him.
"How did you do it?" asked Mad-Eye Moody, emerging from the shadows like a seasoned hunter. His magical eye spun restlessly, but his normal eye drilled into him with intensity.
Einar raised an eyebrow, unhurried. Calmly, he began storing the books he carried, without even looking at Moody.
"What are you talking about?" he asked in a serene, almost bored tone.
"Don't play with me, boy. I'm talking about those bloody purebloods... the ones who sent assassins after you." Moody's voice dropped low, like a restrained growl. "How did you get one of them to turn on his own? How did you make him attack them without mercy?"
A mocking half-smile appeared on the Auror's face, as if he were enjoying the chaos Einar had unleashed. He looked like he wanted to dissect his soul, to understand every dark corner of his mind.
Einar stared at him in silence for several seconds. His gaze was that of someone who had walked the edge of death more times than he could count. And he saw it in Moody too: that same aura of a man who lives distrusting everyone, burdened by old wounds and ghosts that never let him sleep.
Between warriors, many words were often unnecessary.
"Cursed sword," Einar answered laconically.
To many, that wouldn't have meant anything. But to Moody… it was enough. A deep, dry laugh rumbled from his throat.
"Ha... Wonderful. For a curse of that level to slip in among those idiots and go undetected… it must be a gem. A gift straight from hell."
Moody spat on the ground, as if purging the disgust he felt toward former Death Eaters. He despised them more than anyone: the rats who escaped punishment by lying, betraying their own allies, manipulating the system. He had made a list of their names, of course, even if he no longer had the power to go after them.
And indeed, the ones Flint had slaughtered that day… every single one was on that list.
"Too bad not all of them went down. But wiping out an entire family… Left only the brat, and that's just because he's at Hogwarts." His tone carried no sorrow, only the weight of justice fulfilled.
He paused and then, with his usual gruffness, offered something unexpected.
"Wanna grab a drink? My treat."
"Fine," Einar replied without emotion, as if it wasn't the first time someone had invited him to a tavern after a massacre.
They headed to the Hog's Head, where the air smelled of smoke, dust, and secrets. Each of Moody's steps made the floor tremble with his wooden leg. At the table, he inspected every drink like it was a ticking bomb: he sniffed it, examined it from every angle, and then drank with visible distrust.
The conversation was anything but casual.
Moody didn't talk to entertain. He spoke of the enemy. Of Death Eaters, of dark wizards, of the horrors he had faced. Each story was a warning, a brutal lesson about what unchecked power could do.
Einar listened closely, understanding what was truly happening: Moody was testing him. Or perhaps... guiding him. It was as if he wanted to make sure that this boy"so strong, so relentless"didn't fall into the same darkness he had fought against for so long.
"I know what you're doing," he said at one point, his magical eye locking onto him. "And I'll say this: I'm not going to stop you. But stay on the line, boy. Stay on the line."
Einar nodded with respect. Nothing more was needed.
"Ever thought of becoming an Auror?" Moody asked suddenly, as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"No."
"Good," Moody said, taking a final swig. "The job's not what it used to be anyway."
Not long after, he left. His steps echoed as he walked away, disappearing into the shadows. He wouldn't be watching anymore. His mission for Dumbledore had ended. He thought it had all been a waste of time… but deep down, Einar knew Moody didn't see him as a threat"but as a dangerous hope.
Dumbledore, of course, wouldn't be pleased that Moody had left just like that. Maybe that's why the invitation to drink… like a farewell between two men who knew the world wasn't made for the just.
The month flew by.
The second task of the Tournament was drawing near, hiding a secret so deep that once Einar uncovered it… it would turn the entire castle upside down.
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N/A: I like Moody. I had several plans for him, but in the end, I've decided to set them aside and let him enjoy a well-earned rest. Moody is a fantastic character, full of charisma and unique essence, and I want to preserve that brilliance we all love.