Moody's magical eye whizzed around wildly while his normal eye narrowed, his face contorting into an unsettling smile.
He offered Harry a parting reminder. "Do not forget to come to my office this afternoon."
"I won't, Professor," Harry nodded.
Satisfied, Moody hobbled away, the heavy clunk of his wooden leg slowly fading down the corridor.
Ron turned to Harry, his face a picture of suspicion. "Professor Moody seems to be seeking you out an awful lot lately. What exactly are you two doing?"
In Ron's eyes, Moody was an absolute lunatic. What kind of normal professor would demonstrate the three Unforgivable Curses to a classroom full of students?
"He is helping me prepare for the Triwizard Tournament," Harry whispered. "Moody is a brilliant professor."
Ron remained unconvinced.
Maurise listened quietly from the side. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was a distinct dissonance surrounding Moody, though he couldn't quite articulate what it was. Especially recently.
---
Christmas arrived quietly.
Hogwarts had been completely transformed. Perhaps because they wanted to show off to the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, the decorations this year were exceptionally lavish. Overnight, garlands of holly and mistletoe had sprouted along the walls of the corridors; even the most remote, unused passages were not spared.
The Ravenclaw common room was equally festive, adorned with several massive Christmas trees dripping with sparkling ornaments.
The Yule Ball was scheduled to begin promptly at eight o'clock.
As evening approached, the Ravenclaw students returned to their common room early, immediately descending into a chaotic flurry of preparation.
Professor Flitwick, sporting a set of brand-new, impeccably tailored dress robes, stood on his tiptoes and called out, "Everyone, please go and change into your dress robes! There is no need to rush, but do ensure you present your absolute best selves tonight!"
Maurise was already fully prepared and was currently chatting idly with Kyle.
He hadn't bothered buying a specialized set of dress robes. Instead, he had simply transfigured his everyday school robes into a more formal style. There were no flashy embellishments; it was understated, elegant, and entirely faultless.
Kyle, on the other hand, was a completely different story. His dress robes were a vibrant crimson and gold, the collar adorned with a dense ring of intricate golden embroidery, and his hair was slicked back with a copious amount of styling gel.
Maurise thought he looked a bit like a peacock. "I always took you for a modest, low-profile kind of guy, Kyle."
Kyle sighed heavily and tugged at his collar, looking as though the ornate embroidery was choking him. "My father absolutely insisted I wear this," he grumbled. "It was completely non-negotiable. If you ask me, he is just too much of a control freak..."
As Kyle continued to complain, Maurise walked over to the fireplace and sat down in an armchair, watching the colorful array of students scurrying back and forth.
He imagined the common rooms of the other Houses were currently experiencing a similar level of chaos.
"Meow!"
A sudden, sharp cry interrupted his thoughts.
It was Tin.
The cat came bounding over to Maurise, dropped the crystal ball it had been carrying in its mouth at his feet, and meowed urgently a few more times.
"You saw something unusual?"
Maurise immediately leaned down, picked up the crystal ball, and peered into it.
It was the scene of a crime.
Through the crystal ball, he saw that the door to one of the cabinets in the Potions ingredients storeroom was wide open. The contents were currently floating in mid-air, looking as if they were being plucked by an invisible hand and meticulously stuffed into a small pouch.
There was no visible culprit, indicating the use of a Disillusionment Charm.
Maurise narrowed his eyes. This was obviously not Snape. At this hour, the Heads of House should all be in their respective common rooms, preparing for the ball. Furthermore, Snape had absolutely no reason to sneak around his own storeroom.
Maurise stood up.
"What's wrong?" Kyle asked.
Maurise answered briefly, "I need to go check on something."
"Go where?" Kyle gave him a strange look. "The ball is about to start."
Maurise glanced at the clock on the wall. "I should have time." He had plenty of it.
With that, he headed for the exit. Tin instantly puffed up its tail and trotted closely behind him.
Kyle didn't press further; he needed to apply another layer of hair gel anyway.
Maurise made his way toward the dungeons.
The corridors were entirely deserted and eerily quiet. Tin stalked silently in his wake.
Soon, Maurise arrived at the entrance to the storeroom. Without hesitation, he pushed the door open.
The storeroom was equally silent. Everything appeared completely normal. It was obvious the uninvited guest had already gotten what they wanted and slipped away, cleaning up the scene perfectly.
Maurise walked over to the cabinet he had seen open in the crystal ball and inspected it.
It was the cabinet containing the Boomslang skin. He didn't know the original inventory count, so he couldn't confirm if anything had actually been taken.
Afterward, Maurise took two laps around the immediate vicinity of the storeroom. Unfortunately, he found no sign of anyone suspicious.
Having done all he could, he returned to the main corridor and pulled out his pocket watch. The Yule Ball was starting in ten minutes.
'Whatever. I'll just report it to Snape later.' There was nothing more he could do at the moment.
Maurise put his watch away and turned to head toward the Great Hall.
His footsteps and Tin's occasional meows echoed softly down the empty corridor.
Clunk! Clunk!
As he rounded a corner, he suddenly heard a strange, heavy rhythmic thudding coming from ahead.
Upon drawing closer, he realized it was Professor Moody.
Moody, likely also making his way to the Great Hall, was wearing a set of voluminous, severely cut black dress robes. As he walked, his head was on a constant swivel, his eyes darting around suspiciously as if expecting a lethal ambush at any moment.
Moody spotted the rapidly approaching Maurise almost immediately.
"Good evening, Professor Moody," Maurise greeted politely.
"Black!" Moody barked, his voice urgent. "What are you doing skulking around down here?! The ball is about to begin!"
"Indeed it is, Professor," Maurise replied. "I am on my way to the Great Hall now."
He covertly observed Moody.
Truth be told, Moody was definitely on his list of suspects. There was no specific reason other than the fact that he was the Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Past experience had taught him that whoever held this position was highly likely to be hiding a dark secret.
"I asked what you are doing down here?!" Moody took a step closer, his tone adopting a distinctly interrogative edge.
"Just taking a stroll," Maurise said evenly.
His gaze casually swept over Moody's waist. Due to the man's wide stride, the front of his voluminous black robes had parted slightly, revealing a flash of something underneath.
Tied to his belt was a drab, nondescript object.
A pouch.
In that instant, Maurise became almost entirely certain that Moody was the intruder in the storeroom.
'Moody? Stealing potion ingredients? Polyjuice Potion?'
Maurise felt he had stumbled upon something extraordinarily significant.
Moody subconsciously clapped a hand over the pouch at his waist. His magical eye spun around wildly before locking dead onto Maurise.
"You saw it, didn't you?"
His voice had changed, becoming colder, far more raspy.
'Alright, then.'
Maurise offered a faint smile and nodded calmly.
"Yes, Professor Moody. I saw everything. Professor Snape assigned me to guard his storeroom."
He was highly curious to see how the man would react.
Moody narrowed his normal eye and suddenly broke into a ghastly grin.
"Do not mention this to Snape," he said with forced joviality. "Do me a favor, Maurise."