Chapter 11 — Defense Against the Dark Arts
September 2nd, 1991, was a Monday.
Today, Dracula also welcomed his very first class as Hogwarts' Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Nine o'clock in the morning was the time when the first class of the day began at Hogwarts. The bell in the tall tower rang precisely on time, its chime echoing across the entire campus under the influence of magic.
At the exact moment the bell sounded, Dracula pushed open the side door of his office and stepped down the marble staircase located at the front-right side of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Among the students seated below the podium, about half wore robes with red-trimmed collars, while most of the rest wore robes with yellow-trimmed collars. It was easy to tell that the class consisted of young witches and wizards from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.
At this moment, they sat neatly in their seats, watching their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor with bright, attentive eyes.
Whether they were lions of Gryffindor or badgers of Hufflepuff, each student secretly wondered the same thing—would this professor, whose appearance and bearing were so extraordinary, possess teaching ability just as impressive as his looks? Or would he turn out to be all style and no substance, just like several of the previous professors?
"Good morning, everyone," Dracula greeted the class briefly.
Standing firmly behind the podium, he swept his gaze across the students. Among them, he spotted two familiar figures—the Weasley twins from Gryffindor.
"Good morning, Professor!" the students replied in unison.
Dracula nodded, then continued,
"After yesterday's feast, I believe you already know that I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. You may call me Professor Dracula."
"I hope that during the time ahead you can make me happy… ah, no—I mean, I hope everyone has a pleasant time."
Having almost blurted out his true thoughts, Dracula kept a perfectly straight face and smoothly shifted to the main topic.
"Well then, without further ado, let's begin the first lesson of the term. Today we will be discussing…"
At this point, he glanced at his empty hands and the smooth lectern that held nothing but a single riding crop. For a brief moment, he paused.
Dracula suddenly realized that, in his usual lazy fashion, he had selected the textbook Dark Magic: A Guide to Self-Defense—and the thick stack of lesson plans painstakingly written by his teaching assistant Quirrell—only to leave both of them sitting on the desk in his office.
In other words, he had come to class completely empty-handed…
Although the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office was very close to the classroom—and although Dracula could summon the textbook with a snap of his fingers—doing so would make the new professor appear rather unprofessional.
He absolutely refused to let something like that happen in his very first class.
So Dracula smiled calmly and changed his words.
"…the topic is a spellcasting ability test!"
Looking at the puzzled expressions on the students' faces, he revealed a smile full of barely concealed mischief.
"Each of you will take turns casting the spell you're best at—on me," Dracula said. "You are already third-year students. Let me see what you've learned during your two years at Hogwarts!"
Before the students could fully react, he walked straight down from the platform and stopped in front of a student sitting in the first row.
"We'll start with you, young man from Hufflepuff," he said to the boy with the yellow-trimmed collar.
Looking at the young student before him—whose face still carried a trace of youthful innocence but who was already quite handsome—Dracula's eyes showed a hint of appreciation. The boy had a certain air about him, reminiscent of a vampire noble.
"Professor Dracula… isn't this a bit inappropriate?" the Hufflepuff boy hesitated.
"There's no need to be timid in the classroom," Dracula said, curling his lips slightly as he challenged him. "If you don't even have the courage to attack your professor, how will you ever become an outstanding wizard?"
Hearing this, the boy nodded firmly.
"I understand, Professor."
Gritting his teeth, he raised his wand at Dracula—
"Stupefy!"
Dracula smiled faintly and lifted his hand slightly, catching the Stunning Spell with his bare palm.
If one observed carefully, it could be seen that when the spell struck Dracula's hand, it was like flowing water colliding with solid rock. The magic attached to it split across the surface of his skin, spreading outward before dissipating into the air, leaving him completely unharmed.
The young witches and wizards in the classroom all stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"A clean and decisive cast. For someone your age, that's quite impressive," Dracula said with a satisfied nod, paying no attention to the students' shock. "What's your name?"
"Diggory, Professor. My name is Cedric Diggory," the Hufflepuff boy replied.
"Very good. A fine Stunning Spell, Mr. Diggory," Dracula praised him. "Let me think about what reward a professor should give a student… Ah, that's right—five points to Hufflepuff!"
Dracula was quite pleased with Cedric's performance.
The very first student he tested had already demonstrated such a level of spellcasting. This gave him a certain degree of recognition for Hogwarts' teaching standards—at the very least, the school had not disappointed the expectations of the four close friends he had known a thousand years ago.
Next, Dracula began enthusiastically testing the spellcasting abilities of the other students, curious to see what surprises they might bring him.
And the students certainly did bring him plenty of "surprises."
The more students he tested, the darker his expression became.
When he finally reached a Hufflepuff student who could not cast even a single spell successfully, Dracula's patience finally snapped.
"What exactly have you been doing during your two years at Hogwarts? Hmm? Did you only learn how to eat?!" he said coldly.
The cloak behind him began to move without wind, and a faintly terrifying atmosphere spread throughout the entire Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
The young wizards froze in place, too frightened to move. Some of the more timid students were even scared to the point of tears.
"Forget it. I can't be bothered wasting time like this anymore," Dracula said impatiently, pointing at the entire class. "All of you—cast your best spells on me at the same time!"
"The one with the most powerful spell gets no homework. The five with the weakest spells will have their homework doubled—and you'll report to my office tonight for detention!"
Upon hearing Dracula's announcement, Cedric suddenly stood up in alarm.
"Professor, don't act rashly! Defense Against the Dark Arts professors have a tendency to get into accidents!"
"I'm not acting rashly," Dracula replied indifferently. "I'm simply too lazy to waste time."
"With spells at your level, you wouldn't even be able to tickle me."
For a moment, the young wizards were stunned by his outrageous confidence.
Only Fred and George, sitting together, exchanged excited glances.
The twins were practically overjoyed.
Was this year really going to be this explosive? Was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor about to get himself sent away on the very first lesson of the term?
Wouldn't that mean they'd earn twenty Galleons for free?!
…
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