Snape II

"Professor Quirrell had changed so much. When he was a Muggle Studies professor, he was always so cautious, but yesterday at the High Table, he looked completely at ease."

In the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on the second floor of the castle, the students were discussing their teacher.

"Of course he's changed. I heard he spent a long time in the Forbidden Forest."

"At least a year. Goodness, I wouldn't dare go there. It's too dangerous."

"Robert, you went to the teaching assistant interview. How did it go? Did you get the job?"

"Carrow, I don't know," Robert replied. "They haven't announced the results yet, and Ellie went too."

"I'm sure I won't get it. The professor wasn't very impressed with my defensive spells. He told me so at the time." The sixth-year female Prefect sighed.

"Seventh-years don't have much of a chance either. The professor said he wants a lower-year student as his assistant, so he won't have to choose again next year," the seventh-year Prefect said.

Robert nodded, feeling a little excited, though he didn't let it show.

"What do you think the professor will teach us?" Carrow picked up the textbook in her hands. "Just what's in the book?"

"Probably not. Isn't there a Maple Training Ground in the Forbidden Forest?"

The topic got everyone excited, and they began chattering about what might be inside the training ground.

But before they could figure it out, Quirrell appeared in the doorway.

"Ravenclaw has gotten this lively too?"

Voldemort walked into the classroom and said with a displeased expression, "I thought this was a Gryffindor classroom."

A suffocating pressure instantly filled the entire classroom. It was the oppressive force of Voldemort's Soul Fragment, and the young eagles were powerless to resist it.

Immersed in books and driven by a thirst for knowledge, he had easily broken the [Lin Zuo Moment] skill. Now, he was no longer under the control of Lin Zuo's dominant consciousness.

"Let me review your Ordinary Wizarding Levels exam results."

Voldemort picked up a stack of papers and flipped through them quickly. "Last year's question: 'What are the five characteristics of a werewolf?' The year before that: 'How can you tell vampire factions apart by examining their cochleae?'"

"With questions like these, some Ravenclaws still couldn't answer? Thank goodness they can't take my class. Otherwise, I'd hang them upside down. They're a disgrace to Ravenclaw."

To take Defense Against the Dark Arts in sixth or seventh year, students needed to achieve at least an Exceeds Expectations on their fifth-year Ordinary Wizarding Levels exam. That was one reason why the class was so small.

"Now let's look at your practical work: counter-curses for Dark Curses, defensive spells, Boggart-banishing spells... Have Ordinary Wizarding Levels exams become this lax?"

Faced with Voldemort's questioning, the students fell silent. They hadn't set the exam. How could this be their fault?

"And the bonus spell, the Patronus Charm—not one of you can cast it properly. What have you been doing all these years?"

He slammed the thick stack of papers onto the desk and swept his cold gaze across the more than twenty students, giving them not the slightest hint of leniency.

"If you were fourth-years, I'd be pleased with what you've achieved. But you're already in sixth and seventh year. Damn it, you've disgraced Ravenclaw."

Not a single student dared to argue with him. It wasn't just the oppressive force of Voldemort's Soul Fragment at work. A large part of the reason was Quirinus Quirrell's identity.

He was a top graduate of Ravenclaw, and soon after graduation, the school had hired him as a Muggle Studies professor. After going off to see the world for a while, he'd returned as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

With a record like that, he was certainly qualified to lecture his Ravenclaw juniors.

"Open your textbooks to the first chapter and take careful notes."

As he spoke, Voldemort picked up his textbook—[Encountering Faceless Monsters].

[Encountering Faceless Monsters] was a top-tier Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. If they mastered it, they would have no trouble with the written portion of the Ultimate Wizarding Levels exam.

"Eek, eek, eek..."

The chalk squeaked unpleasantly against the blackboard. Voldemort glanced at his heavily annotated book as he wrote down the material he had planned in advance:

The differences between female ghosts and ghosts...

The reasons for the zombie-like appearance of female ghosts...

The dangers of a female ghost's deadly scream and how to resist it...

The huge blackboard, made up of four sliding boards, was soon covered in dense writing. The whole process took about twenty minutes.

Throughout that time, no one spoke in the empty classroom. Every student was scribbling away at their notes, but when Voldemort finished writing, not one of them had managed to keep up.

"This is what we'll cover today. It's all on the blackboard. I want you to write a ten-inch essay analyzing the principles used to banish the Bandon Female Ghost in Gilderoy Lockhart's book Breaking Up With Female Ghosts."

At Voldemort's words, the students looked utterly miserable. They had to read a book before they could write an essay?

"You don't have to read the whole thing. Most of the book isn't credible. The strategies for dealing with female ghosts are the only parts that seem decent."

Voldemort's words eased their misery a little, but what he said next plunged them right back into despair.

"Besides that, you'll need to propose your own solutions based on the battle in the book. Listen carefully: I don't want you to tell me which spells to use. I want to hear your strategies."

Groans filled the room, but Voldemort didn't care. These were sixth- and seventh-year students; there was no need to slowly nurture them. They were nearly graduated, mature fruit ready to be picked.

"Part."

Voldemort waved his wand. His rough magic sent desks and chairs flying to either side, clearing a large space in the center of the classroom.

"The key points are on the blackboard, and the details are in the book. If you don't understand something, study it yourselves. If you still can't figure it out, come ask me in my office."

As the students stared at him in confusion, Voldemort continued, "Next, practice the Patronus Charm. I don't want to waste time on a long-winded lecture."

His words left the students looking at one another...

So the professor considered writing the key points on the blackboard the same as teaching the lesson?

Never mind that they had to teach themselves the details—he wanted them to practice the advanced Patronus Charm during class, too?

Professor, are you even human?

"What are you still standing around for? Do I have to ask you?"

Voldemort's roar finally jolted the students into action.

No one dared protest. They all got to their feet and began trying the Patronus Charm.

For sixth- and seventh-years, the Patronus Charm was nothing new.

Back in their fifth-year Charms class, Professor Flitwick had thoroughly explained the wand movements, incantation, and emotions needed to cast it.

But... this was Defense Against the Dark Arts, not Charms.

"Find the source of your happiness. You're not supposed to just grin foolishly..."

"Dementors won't wait for you to cast a spell. Move faster, and be more decisive."

"Enunciate the incantation. A muffled spell won't work. Do I have to remind you of that too?"

His harsh reminders rang out from time to time, and the Ravenclaw students trembled.

Before class, they'd made countless guesses about what the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would be like. But they'd never expected...

"Senior, are you trying to become Snape II?"

"Good heavens, did you really graduate from the wise house of Ravenclaw?"