Chapter 10
September 2nd, Lucian formally began teaching.
The thought that, for the next several years, nearly all his time except weekends would be spent giving lessons made the expression on his face turn somewhat lifeless.
The first class of the morning was for third-year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Lucian left both of his assistants in the office—he didn't need them to teach a bunch of novices.
As Lucian entered the classroom, a thunderous wave of cheers and whoops immediately erupted—all coming from the Gryffindor students. Lucian's outstanding appearance far surpassed any professor they had ever seen, and compared to last term's Professor Quirrell, the difference was like night and day.
This gave them reason to believe that a professor like this could actually impart knowledge to them.
"Hello, I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
Lucian's voice rang out before the group of students—deep and slightly magnetic, though it seemed to lack energy, making the students instinctively feel that this professor appeared rather listless.
"Normally, since this is our first meeting, I shouldn't teach specific content in the first lesson. Instead, I should get to know you all through some good conversation; But unfortunately, I don't want to repeat this process across seven year groups and twenty-eight classes, so let's use a more efficient method instead."
Lucian waved his wand, and sheets of parchment automatically flew to each student.
"Please complete the questions on the parchment within three minutes."
1. When more than ten Cornish pixies escape from their cage and begin collectively diving toward you, what should your first reaction be?
A. Immediately crouch down, protect your head and neck with your arms, and loudly call for the professor's help.
B. Stand in place and attempt to use the Freezing Charm on the pixie in the front.
C. Turn and run full-speed toward the classroom door, trying to escape the scene.
D. Wave your wand, attempting to attack all the pixies at once.
2. A pixie has grabbed your hair and is trying to seize your wand. Which of the following actions has the highest priority?
A. Violently shake your head to try to fling it off, and grab it with your hand.
B. Keep your head steady, point your wand at it, and attempt a simple repelling spell.
C. Ignore it and continue attacking the other pixies that are wrecking the classroom.
D. Ask the classmate next to you to use a spell to attack it for you.
3. (True/False) Cornish pixies' teeth contain a mild toxin; being bitten by one will cause the wound to be difficult to heal in a short time. (True/False)?
"Professor, I have a question!" While everyone else was seriously reading the questions, a student in a red robe suddenly raised his hand.
Lucian looked at him. The materials beside his hand flipped automatically on their own, and one sheet flew out from the folder into his hand. "Yeah, What is your question?"
"There's no option I want to choose up there—what should I do?"
"This is a question; you only need to select the answer closest to correct."
"What—it's just a knowledge quiz?"
The guy grumbled in dissatisfaction, and from the corner of the classroom came an echoing voice: "I get what you mean."Lucian knew what they were thinking and did not respond.
After seeing that everyone had finished writing, he did not collect the parchments. Instead, he clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention, and announced loudly:
"Everyone, remember your answers from just now. Now, look down at your parchment. The test officially begins."
The young wizards belatedly lowered their heads, only to witness a horrifying scene. The parchment in front of their eyes was transforming into sharp-faced, iron-blue pixies!
"Seep seep seep seep!!!"
A noise like a flock of quarrelling budgerigars filled the air.
The next moment, the parchments in front of every student transformed into Cornish pixies, swiftly launching attacks at them. The entire classroom instantly descended into chaos. The aggressive pixies shot like rockets toward their targets.
Some students had their wands snatched right away; others had their ears grabbed. The previously complaining guy used "Peskipiksi Pesternomi" on a pixie—apparently, that was the option he had wanted earlier.
Unfortunately, it didn't work well.
As the spell missed, the provoked pixie became even more frenzied and smashed directly into his nose, drawing blood.
Only three students—who had taken the questions seriously—managed to remain relatively calm, using the Freezing Charm amid the panic to deal with the pixies attacking them.
Everyone else was thrown into utter disarray by the pixies.
Though he had been mentally prepared, seeing the third-years perform so poorly still made Lucian shake his head involuntarily. He dispelled the Transfiguration.
"Truly astonishing." there was clearly no admiration in his tone.
"A dark creature with the bare minimum of threat can cause you this much trouble. I think I now fully understand just how abysmal your Defense Against the Dark Arts education has been over the past two years."
At this point, no one was in the mood to respond—in fact, many felt indignant inside.
If it hadn't been for last year's utterly incompetent Defense Against the Dark Arts professor causing them to slack off for an entire year, mere Cornish pixies would of course have been no problem for them.
"Three people passed this simple test: Slytherin gains two points, Gryffindor gains one point. Additionally, because five people had their wands taken, Slytherin deducts two points, Gryffindor deducts three points."
No one objected. They simply stared at Lucian with burning eyes, eager for the next chance to redeem themselves.
"Given your dismal performance, I believe that before learning to defend against dark magic, you first need to address your own sluggishness and recklessness. Of course, we will also cover lessons on recognizing dark creatures concurrently."
"So what should we do, Professor?"
"First, you need solid theoretical knowledge: understand exactly what factors influence the power of a spell and know how to perform a perfect cast. Beyond that, it's practice, vast amounts of uninterrupted practice until casting becomes an instinct of your body."
"Is that all? It doesn't sound difficult. Professor Flitwick taught us these things too." A student couldn't help but ask.
Lucian glanced at him but did not correct the misconception in his thinking.
"In the short term, I will only teach you two spells: Immobulus and Impedimenta. For a long time to come, you will need to use them to deal with the dark creatures in class. By the way, the Cornish pixies were just a greeting. For the next lesson, I've prepared red caps for you. Those who didn't take the Cornish pixies seriously earlier can look forward to showing off their skills next time."
Amid the changing expressions of some students, Lucian continued:
"In this lesson, I'll first teach you Impedimenta. The incantation is im-ped-i-MEN-ta. This is a spell that can slow, obstruct, or even repel a target. It doesn't have much offensive power, but it has many uses."
Lucian looked at the group of students who were obediently listening and raised an eyebrow "Why aren't you writing this down?"