Cornish Pixies

The entire classroom erupted into chaos.

Dozens of iron-blue Cornish Pixies let out shrill, piercing cackles and shot toward the nearest students like arrows released from a bow.

"My wand!"

A Hufflepuff girl cried out. She had barely raised her wand when a pixie seized its tip with lightning speed and gave it a hard tug. The wand flew from her hand, arcing through the air before another pixie caught it and waved it about triumphantly.

"Let go of my ears! That hurts!"

Another Ravenclaw boy screamed as two pixies grabbed his ears from either side and yanked hard. The pain made him grimace as he flailed his arms wildly, trying to drive them away.

Michael Corner, who had complained earlier that the questions were too easy, had gone pale. He shouted at the pixie flying straight at his face, "Vera Verto!"

A faint beam of light shot from his wand and struck the pixie.

However, the pixie merely paused, rubbing its iron-blue skin in confusion. Then it realized it was completely unharmed and was only enraged by the foolish spell.

It let out an even sharper shriek, accelerated abruptly, and slammed headfirst into Michael Corner's nose like a tiny cannonball.

"Argh!" he cried out in pain. Warm blood immediately poured from his nose, staining his lips and chin red.

Panic spread like a plague.

Books were torn apart, quills snapped, and ink splattered everywhere.

Most of the students ran about like headless flies, either waving their arms uselessly or scrambling beneath their desks in panic, exposing their backs to the little demons.

Yet amid the chaos, a few sparks still shone.

A Ravenclaw girl near the window quickly calmed down after her initial fright.

Gripping her wand tightly, she fixed her eyes on a pixie trying to overturn her textbook and clearly, steadily recited, "Glacius!"

A blast of icy white mist struck the target precisely. The pixie, still frozen in its flailing pose, turned into a lump of ice and dropped onto the desk with a thud.

Not far away, a Hufflepuff boy also successfully used the Freezing Charm to deal with a pixie attempting to attack the student beside him.

Another Ravenclaw boy used the Obstruction Charm to briefly block a pixie's charge, buying himself enough time to cast the Freezing Charm.

Apart from these three students, who could barely remain calm and fight back effectively, everyone else was left in a miserable state by the iron-blue little monsters. The classroom was filled with screams, cries of pain, and the sounds of things breaking.

On the platform, Lin Du stood with his hands behind his back, calmly observing the chaos before him.

Though he had expected it, he could not help shaking his head when he saw how poorly these fourth-year students handled the least threatening of Dark creatures.

"Impressive," he said flatly. There was no hint of pleasure or anger in his voice, but its implication made many of the struggling students' cheeks burn.

"Just Cornish Pixies have left you this helpless. I believe I have now fully appreciated the 'solid foundation' you built in Defense Against the Dark Arts over the past three years..."

Quite a few students felt indignant. If Professor Quirrell had not been so unreliable last year, how could they have become so rusty?

They were only pixies. They should not have been...

At that moment, Lin Du lightly raised his wand and gave it a casual flick.

The pixies still wreaking havoc seemed to be seized by an invisible force, their movements instantly freezing.

Then, like fading portraits, they rapidly shrank and flattened, ultimately turning back into ordinary sheets of parchment. They drifted gently back onto their owners' desks, as though the chaos had never occurred.

Only the wreckage throughout the classroom and the students' disheveled, frightened appearances proved that it had all happened.

The classroom held nothing but the sound of heavy breathing.

Lin Du's gaze swept across the room before finally settling on the three students who had successfully used the Freezing Charm.

"Miss Penelope Crivat of Ravenclaw, Mr. Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff, Mr. Terry Butt of Ravenclaw," he said, calling all three by name without error. "You successfully subdued your targets. Your performance was acceptable. Four points to Ravenclaw, two to Hufflepuff."

He paused, turning his gaze toward those who looked especially miserable and had even lost their wands.

"As for the rest of you... five of you lost your wands in that simple encounter." His voice cooled. "Three points from Ravenclaw, two from Hufflepuff."

Some students showed resentment, but beneath Lin Du's calm yet immensely oppressive gaze, no one dared argue.

They merely clenched their fists or lowered their heads in shame. Yet a stubborn fire burned in their eyes as they stared at the new professor on the platform, as though saying, We'll win them back next time.

"Given your regrettable performance," Lin Du continued, "I believe that before we delve deeper into defending against complex Dark Magic, what you need most is to make up for your sluggishness, panic, and severe lack of control over basic spells. Of course, lessons on Dark creatures will proceed alongside that."

"What exactly do we need to do, Professor?" Cedric Diggory asked seriously, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Although he had been among the best performers just now, there was not the slightest trace of pride on his face.

"First, thorough theoretical study—so thorough that it may even be called demanding," Lin Du answered. "You need to truly understand what determines a spell's power, precision, and stability, and what constitutes a casting that approaches perfection. It is far more than simply memorizing pronunciations and wand movements."

"Second, practice." He emphasized the word. "A great deal of repetitive, uninterrupted practice. Until casting becomes muscle memory, an instinctive response requiring no thought. In real danger, your enemies will not give you time to slowly recall the key points of a spell."

"Is that all?" a Ravenclaw boy muttered quietly, apparently finding the method too basic. "Professor Flitwick emphasized those things too..."

Lin Du glanced at him coolly and did not bother correcting his contempt for the basics.

Practice would teach them.

"For the time being, I require you to master only two spells: Immobilus and Impedimenta," he announced. "For a long while to come, you will primarily rely on these two spells to deal with the various Dark creatures that appear in class."

Then his tone shifted, carrying an almost imperceptible chill. "By the way, today's Cornish Pixies were merely a 'friendly' greeting. The opponents I have prepared for you next lesson are Red Caps."

He saw the expressions of several students who had seemed dismissive of the "little pixies" change instantly.

"For those students who believe Cornish Pixies are beneath notice," Lin Du said, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth, "next class will be your chance to show what you can do."

Amid the suddenly pale faces of some students and their sharp intakes of breath, Lin Du raised his wand and pointed it at the blackboard.

"This lesson, we will first learn Impedimenta. The incantation is: Impedimenta. It is a spell capable of slowing, obstructing, or even knocking back a target. Its offensive power is limited, but it has many flexible tactical applications..."

He paused and looked at the students below, most of whom still appeared bewildered or shaken. His brows lifted slightly.

"What are you waiting for?" he said dryly.

"Why aren't you writing these key points down?"

The classroom fell silent for a second before erupting into a flurry of frantic movement—

The students hastily grabbed their quills, pulled over their parchment, and began writing furiously.