Hogwarts: I Am an Exemplary Wizard

Chapter 610: Chapter 608: He Gave Far Too Much

The first class today is Defense Against the Dark Arts, taught by Sirius.

It’s the first time Hogwarts students have encountered the same Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for two consecutive years... although this only applies to students below sixth grade.

Last year, their professor was Moody, so technically, Sirius is their sixth professor, still the annual turnover.

Nevertheless, due to Sirius’s legendary experiences, the classroom was filled early.

”I asked Justin.” Mikel, seated, eagerly took out his textbook from his bag. ”He told me Sirius’s class is quite interesting, just occasionally some unpleasant things happen.”

”Unpleasant?” Conna frowned, ”Does he assign a lot of homework?”

Although Sirius had helped Moody with a few classes last year, he was covering content that Moody had already planned, or reviewing what had been learned before.

Therefore, everyone was unaware of his personal teaching style.

”No, quite the opposite.” Mikel shook his head, ”As far as I know, he rarely assigns homework. I was envious of him for quite a long time last year.”

”Then why is it unpleasant?”

”Because you might get hurt.” Ryan chimed in from the side.

Just as he spoke, the classroom door swung open, and Sirius walked in from outside.

He looked quite pleased, showing no signs of being troubled by teaching three different grades.

”Hello, everyone.” Sirius waved his wand and opened the curtains, letting bright sunlight fill the room.

”I suppose I don’t need to introduce myself.” He said with a smile, ”Put your books away; you won’t need them for the first class.”

Everyone immediately put their books away, with Mikel being the fastest, always believing that any professor who lets you put away your books in the first class is a good one.

”I’ve learned about your progress from Professor Moody.”

Sirius continued, ”I must admit, he’s a masterful professor, and you can see it in your O.W.L. results.

”Almost everyone got decent scores, even Professor Marchbank, who was in charge of the exams, was surprised... She probably didn’t expect the usual lowest-scoring subject to have so many high scores this year.”

Everyone instinctively straightened their backs.

Though Professor Moody was strict and assigned a daunting amount of homework, their progress was undeniable.

Some even jumped straight from an A (Acceptable) to an O (Outstanding) and secured their certificates.

”However, your professor this year is me.” Sirius shifted his tone, ”And I’ve always believed that the essence of Defense Against the Dark Arts lies in practical combat, not grades.

”Dark Magic is myriad and ever-changing. When you truly face it, you’ll realize that textbook knowledge is not enough. Only instinct and remarkable reaction abilities can help you cope.”

Everyone stared at Sirius; his expression was serious, devoid of any joke.

”Therefore, before you truly encounter Dark Magic, you must know your deficiencies.”

”The quickest way... is for you to experience it firsthand.” Sirius pulled out his wand, ”Lockhart’s Dueling Club was a good idea, though it was canceled after just one session. If it had persisted until now, it surely would have greatly enhanced your skills.”

”But it’s not too late now.”

Sirius walked to the other side of the classroom, clearing away the clutter in the corner and moving everything out of the room.

”I believe practical combat is far more useful than any lecture. Hence, dueling is essential in the coming lessons, and you’d best prepare in advance.

”I will do my utmost to protect you from getting hurt, though there will occasionally be times I might not be able to. If any of you don’t wish to participate, you can say so now, and I will agree.”

All eyes were on him, with none backing down; instead, everyone grew more excited.

Seeing no one raised their hand to opt-out, Sirius nodded with satisfaction, ”Great, I knew you would make the best decision... Now, we need to make some minor adjustments to the classroom.”

He had every student stand up, then directed all the desks, chairs, and other items to queue up and fly out the window, even removing the podium.

Sirius chose the largest classroom, and now it looked even bigger after clearing it up.

Next, he used his wand to create a modestly sized platform underfoot.

”For the first class, we won’t be learning new content but rather checking your practical combat abilities.

”Each person will have five minutes, and no matter what charms you use, as long as you can make my feet leave this platform, you’ll receive a ten-point reward.”

Upon hearing about points, everyone’s eyes grew more excited, crowding forward as if afraid of not having enough time if left for last.

”Professor, pick me.”

”Choose me, Professor...”

”I’m the man who will become a Dueling Master!”

...

Amidst the lively chatter, Sirius’s gaze swept the room and finally landed on Kael.

”Kael, how about you go first?”

”No problem.” Kael stepped forward.

He glanced at the platform under Sirius’s feet, ”So all I need to do is make you fall off there, correct?”

”Precisely... but not yet.” Sirius shook his head, stepping down from the platform, ”I think it’s necessary to make everyone aware that this isn’t a game.”

”I understand.” Kael nodded, also readying his wand. ℯℯ𝑙.

Noticing this, others quieted down.

Someone dashed to the corner first, soon inspiring others, resulting in a large area cleared around the two.

Kael stood wielding his wand against Sirius, without any of Lockhart’s tedious dueling etiquette, the duel began suddenly.

A charm burst out from Sirius without warning.

Yet, in the next instant, it was reflected back at a faster speed.

”Oh, nice...”

Sirius quickly bent over to duck; truth be told, he didn’t even know when Kael cast the Iron Armor Spell.

But as Sirius bent over, a row of sharp stone cones sprang from the floor.

Luckily, Sirius reacted swiftly, tapping his wand and turning the cones to dust.

That wasn’t the end, as the stone cone fragments wriggled, morphing into various-sized hunting dogs, rushing towards Kael, aiming to bite his wand.

Unfazed, Kael retreated two steps, pointing his wand at scattered items like barrettes and Multi-Flavor Beans dropped during the desk moving.

The next moment, Sirius’s hunting dogs were blocked by a group of diminutive Norwegian Ridgeback dragons, resulting in a skirmish.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Sirius stood back up, unable to resist complimenting, ”Outstanding Transfiguration Technique... Hufflepuff gains twenty points.”

As he spoke, he didn’t forget to throw two more charms, simultaneously winking furiously at Kael when others weren’t watching.

Kael’s lips twitched; he just got warmed up, yet here this guy wanted to cheat already?

Wasn’t this a bit much?

But seeing Sirius’s exaggerated winking, Kael sighed; given limited class time, prolonging wasn’t feasible.

Reluctantly, Kael withdrew his Iron Armor Spell, getting hit by a ”Scourgify” and stumbling back several paces.

”Nice, really nice.” Sirius holstered his wand, applauding, ”I must say, you’re the most outstanding Young Wizard I’ve seen, Hufflepuff gains another thirty points.”

Amidst applause, Kael returned to the crowd.

”Can Scouring Charm be used in a duel?” Conna asked quietly.

”You noticed?” Kael responded with surprise, ”Sirius didn’t seem to incantate just now.”

”I did notice.” Conna pointed at Kael’s robe, ”During breakfast, an owl knocked over a bottle of pumpkin juice, splattering some on you.

”But now the pumpkin juice is all gone.”

”Alright.” Kael shrugged, ”The Scouring Charm typically doesn’t work, but given the circumstances, we can’t fight for the entire class.”

”So you admitted defeat deliberately?”

”No choice, he offered so much... Fifty points in total.”

”Fair enough, that’s quite a bit.” Conna chuckled.

...