This lesson.
Vinson Wright listened very attentively.
Professor Amelia Bones did not introduce methods for defending against dark creatures or anything of the sort. Perhaps she felt that the first lesson should leave a deeper impression on the students.
This new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor spent the entire first lesson introducing the evil history of Dark Wizards and explaining the harm Dark Magic had inflicted on the entire Wizarding World.
Even...
She did not shy away from mentioning Voldemort, the Dark Lord.
"When the Dark Mark appears in the sky above a house..."
Amelia Bones frowned slightly as she spoke of this, then continued, "People already know that only a pile of corpses remains inside that house. The Dark Lord and his Death Eaters did it. They took pleasure in killing without restraint."
"In that dark age, every wizard worried that the Dark Mark might appear above their home whenever they went out. Every day, they feared that when they returned home, they would find only the cold corpses of the family members they had cheerfully bid farewell to that morning..."
"..."
A group of young wizards trembled in fear.
This was the first time they had heard anyone speak of that brutal history. Several young wizards had family members who died at the hands of the Death Eaters, and they even began to cry openly.
However, what these young wizards did not know was that when this Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor spoke of that history, she felt even more sorrow than they did.
Professor Amelia Bones had lived through that dark age. Even her elder brother Edgar Bones and his entire family had died at the hands of a group of Death Eaters.
That was right.
The story this female professor told was based on her own experience.
Back then, when she and her younger brother hurried to their elder brother's home, they saw the enormous Dark Mark floating in the sky above it. All they found were the corpses of her brother's family.
That grief and helplessness...
Professor Amelia Bones had experienced all of it herself.
Yet this female professor was extraordinarily strong. She did not reveal the slightest trace of weakness or sorrow, merely continuing calmly, "Whether it is to protect yourselves or to protect your families and the friends you cherish, I hope every new student here can learn how to resist Dark Wizards through Defense Against the Dark Arts..."
"..."
The young wizards immediately raised their heads.
Although Amelia Bones's teaching methods were somewhat ruthless, that did not prevent this professor—who was soon to become a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic—from possessing considerable teaching ability.
At the very least...
No one would think Defense Against the Dark Arts was unimportant anymore.
Perhaps this had been Professor Amelia Bones's purpose for her first lesson. Her teaching had been remarkably successful. Even Vinson Wright had been captivated by her way of teaching.
The difference was that...
The other young wizards trembled in fear.
Vinson Wright was seriously absorbing experience.
The evil deeds Voldemort and the Death Eaters had committed were all lessons Vinson Wright needed to remember. A Dark Lord who only knew how to spread terror was doomed to fail.
As a Dark Lord...
He could not act recklessly. He had to make plans without leaving anything to chance.
At the very least, he had to be like Peter Pettigrew, whom Vinson himself was impersonating, right?
With the end of the first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, all the young wizards had realized the importance of studying this subject, because it was the only class that taught them to fight like wizards.
Perhaps this was the difference between people.
Some had only just realized the importance of learning, while others had already learned from the mistakes of their predecessors and turned them into experience for becoming a failed Dark Lord.
This was not merely a difference in their understanding of the world. It might also be a difference in moral character. Who else would have a thought process like Vinson Wright's?
Compared with Amelia Bones's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, looked much more like a learned wizard.
Professor Flitwick was the head of Ravenclaw House.
This Charms Professor was actually extremely short, only about a meter tall. He was somewhat similar to a dwarf, with a head of fluffy gray-white hair and a beard. He had taught at Hogwarts for many years.
Even throughout Hogwarts...
Professor Flitwick was greatly respected.
Of course.
That did not mean this professor was boring. In fact, Professor Flitwick had been a Wizard Duel champion when he was young, something the students of Ravenclaw House had always loved to discuss.
Quite a few people at Hogwarts School knew that...
The Sorting Hat at Hogwarts was not omnipotent. It had once spent a full five and a half minutes unable to decide which House was suitable for two new students.
One of them was Professor Flitwick.
The other was Professor Minerva McGonagall.
When they were young, the Sorting Hat had believed that both possessed the qualities of Gryffindor House and Ravenclaw House. Professor McGonagall had been sorted into Gryffindor House, while Professor Flitwick had been sorted into Ravenclaw House.
That was the most interesting part.
If they had happened to be sorted into the other House back then, perhaps their positions as Heads of House could have been exchanged.
This also proved that Professor Flitwick was not lacking in courage.
But...
Professor Flitwick still had to stand on a stack of thick textbooks while teaching. Otherwise, most students might not have been able to see him at all.
If nothing unexpected happened...
Vinson Wright felt that he would win Professor Flitwick's praise in Charms. He might even help Hufflepuff House earn quite a few House Points.
Before the school year began, Vinson Wright had stayed at home and painstakingly copied and memorized the spells hundreds of times. He had learned most of the spells a first-year student was supposed to study.
Why had he worked so hard?
Wasn't it all for this moment?
Vinson Wright planned to leave Professor Flitwick with a good impression during the very first lesson. That way, he would have a chance to build a good relationship with the Head of Ravenclaw House. Perhaps in the future, he might even get a few less widely circulated spells from Professor Flitwick.
However...
Something still went slightly wrong.
"What does a successfully cast spell involve?"
Professor Flitwick stood atop a stack of thick textbooks and waved his wand, writing a line on the blackboard: "A precise wand movement, a spell incantation chanted with perfectly correct intonation, and magic guided by your intention. When these elements come together, a spell has been cast successfully. Let us begin by practicing wand movements..."
"..."
Vinson Wright felt completely dumbfounded.
Why did casting magic require such attention to the exact movement of the wand? He had never deliberately studied any of this!
Besides, wasn't magic something that could be done by simply moving your fingers? Why did it have such exacting requirements for the movement of the wand and the intonation of the incantation?
This sort of thing...
It was simply making things difficult for Vinson!
Professor Flitwick truly was not deliberately making things difficult for Vinson Wright.
The learned Head of Ravenclaw had heard about Vinson Wright's method of studying and had even praised him lavishly.
"Perhaps everyone can learn from Mr. Wright..."
Professor Flitwick looked at Vinson Wright and did not hold back in his praise. "As long as everyone can be like Mr. Wright and, through extensive memorization, turn the movements of the wand and the intonation of the incantation into skilled subconscious instincts, then you can become proficient. For example, the Levitation Charm and Fire Charm he uses are both extremely practiced..."
"..."
Vinson Wright's gaze was slightly blank.
No.
You're mistaken, Professor Flitwick.
Vinson naturally could not tell Professor Flitwick that he had always been pretending, wildly waving his wand and shouting whatever came to mind...
Why did wand movements have to be so precise?
Wasn't it enough to just wave the wand a couple of times?
Why did incantations have to be chanted with a specific intonation?
Wasn't it enough to open your mouth and casually recite the words?
Why were there so many steps to casting magic?
Wasn't it enough to move your finger or blink your eyes?
To be honest...
When he seriously tried to be a proper wizard...
Vinson Wright suddenly felt that this path was rather difficult...
A wizard who cast spells by pretending...
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