The Defense Against the Dark Arts course had finally started to normalize, though each substitute professor brought their own unique teaching style to the classroom.
For example,
–Professor Flitwick focused on teaching various spells.
–Professor McGonagall emphasized using Transfiguration to deal with dangerous creatures.
–Professor Sprout taught students to identify dangerous plants.
–And Professor Snape often remarked, "If you have a bottle of XXX potion on hand, you can solve this problem effortlessly."
The class had essentially beco an extension of other subjects.
And when Lockhart was teaching, he liked to assign trivial howork that only required students to concoct exaggerated praises to earn high grades easily.
But after changing to other professors, the workload seed to have doubled overnight. None of their assignnts were shorter than a foot in length.
"You've missed too much critical knowledge in this subject!"
Almost every professor said sothing along these lines: "To at least pass your end-of-year exams, you'll need to put in extra effort!"
As the mountain of assignnts grew, every student cursed Lockhart. The golden-haired professor, despite holding the title of Britain's Most Charming Smile, had entirely lost his fanbase among Hogwarts' female students.
To make matters worse for the students, their expensive textbooks were now useless, and no replacent books had been provided.
The professors agreed that the choice of a new textbook should be left to the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
As a result, every class involved copying notes from the blackboard and supplenting them with library research and essays after class.
…
Finally, on a weekend evening in early March, the Great Hall's dinner was more lavish than usual. Professor Dumbledore, who had been absent for a while, made an appearance at the staff table. And sitting beside him was an unfamiliar witch.
She wore black wizarding robes adorned with deep blue and gold trim. She looked to be in her thirties, with dark skin and angular, lean features that gave her a striking, wild beauty.
The students were imdiately captivated and whispered excitedly among themselves. The witch, far from avoiding their scrutiny, seed to enjoy observing the crowd with curiosity.
Her gaze swept the hall like a hunting lioness. She lingered briefly on the excited Weasley twins, then looked at Harry Potter beside them, before making a full circle and locking eyes with Wade for a fleeting mont.
After dinner, Dumbledore tapped his glass with a fork, and the clear sound echoed through the hall, silencing the students at once.
"Good evening, children. I trust you've all had your fill," Dumbledore said warmly.
The students responded enthusiastically, with Fred Weasley shouting, "The strawberry cake was excellent, Professor!"
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley, I quite agree," Dumbledore said with a cheerful smile.
"Allow to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—Professor Sierra Abigail, from the United States."
The students broke into enthusiastic applause, with a few even whistling loudly.
However, Professor Abigail didn't seem inclined to speak. She simply raised her hand lazily and waved to the students.
The students began to suspect this professor might not be the easiest person to get along with.
"And one more thing," Dumbledore continued, "the Board of Governors has generously donated funds to purchase new Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks for all students…"
"Really?" a student asked in surprise.
"Of course," Dumbledore said. "The new textbooks have already been delivered to your common rooms and will be distributed by the prefects. Now, what are you waiting for? Go and see what you'll be studying next!"
The sound of chairs scraping the floor filled the hall as the students rose and made their way out, and many turned to steal another glance at the new professor as they left.
"She's really impressive, isn't she?" Michael whispered to Wade, still glancing back at her.
"Hmph!"
Padma suddenly let out a cold snort from nearby. She pushed past Michael with a deliberate shove, her head held high as she strode off with her friends.
"I'd say she's the most fascinating professor Hogwarts has ever had!" Terry chid in. "I really hope we have Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow!"
"Our class is on Thursday," Wade reminded him. "You'll have to be patient."
"Oh no," Terry groaned theatrically. "Wade, you really didn't need to remind of that."
The group laughed as they made their way back to the common room, where the prefects were already handing out the new textbooks.
The title read: "Charms of Defence and Deterrence"
Opening the cover, the students saw a bold statent printed on the front page:
"The best defense is a strong offense!"
"It seems like this professor is really sothing special, doesn't it?" Michael murmured.
Excitent lit up nearly every face in the room. The choice of textbook made it clear that the new professor had a distinct style.
Before Wade's house had its turn, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had their lesson first, along with other grades starting their Defense Against the Dark Arts sessions.
Students who had attended the new class had mixed opinions.
"The best Defense class I've ever had!"
"She's completely insane!"
"Can Professor Abigail teach Defense Against the Dark Arts permanently?"
"How could Dumbledore allow her to teach like this? It's worse than Lockhart's theatrics!"
Most students left the class with so sort of minor injury. It was rumored that Madam Pomfrey had even argued with the new professor, and stord out of her office in a huff.
Padma nervously asked Hermione about her experience in the class.
"Well... how should I put it?" Hermione considered before replying. "It's interesting. Dangerous. Just make sure to bring so Dittany essence with you."
[TN: Dittany is a magical plant used in potion-making. It is a powerful healing herb and restorative.]
"Fantastic!" Harry enthusiastically recomnded the new professor's class. "I wish she'd been teaching us from the start."
"Harry, your nose is bleeding," Padma reminded him in a low voice.
"Oh, darn, not again."
Harry quickly tried to stop the bleeding, and Wade cast a healing spell to halt the relentless flow.
"Thanks, Wade," Harry said, before sheepishly explaining, "I hit my nose."
"We could tell," Michael said dryly. "So, what did you learn?"
"Dueling," Harry replied with a broad grin. "Real wizard dueling."
"It was a bit over the top, to be honest," Fred said with a grin. "But for us, it was absolute heaven!"
"What's there to fear?" George slung an arm around Michael's shoulders. "Think about it—you've been through the maze so many tis already. What's a little dueling compared to that?"
Michael wasn't entirely convinced, and felt both reassured and like he might be getting tricked.
As the Ravenclaw students wrestled with their nerves, Thursday finally arrived.
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