American Iaijutsu

Ron began reciting haltingly. "Cornish Pixies... uh... small in size, blue all over... skilled at pranks..."

He got stuck, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "They... they..."

"They can fly and have some resistance to simple Banishing Charms," Lin Du calmly continued. "It seems Mr. Weasley has mastered less than half the material. Gryffindor loses five points."

Ron sat down, red-faced, wishing he could bury himself in a crack in the floor.

"Mr. Potter." Lin Du's gaze shifted to Harry. "Continue."

Harry's heart skipped a beat as he slowly rose under Ron's sympathetic gaze.

He felt like a prisoner about to walk to the gallows.

"Red Caps... live in the remnants of battlefields... dye their hats red with their victims' blood..." Harry struggled to recall the information, only to find his mind stuffed with fog.

He did even worse than Ron, barely reciting two traits and missing the most crucial attack method.

"Two." Lin Du's voice remained unreadable. "Gryffindor loses another two points."

His gaze swept over Neville, who was curled up in the corner with his face nearly buried in his textbook. The boy clearly did not even have the courage to stand and recite.

Lin Du lightly shook his head and spared him.

Just as everyone thought the torment was about to end, Lin Du's gaze suddenly fixed on the Slytherin side. "Mr. Malfoy."

Draco Malfoy had been wearing a smug, amused smile, but his expression froze at once.

He rose slowly, deliberately straightening his robes as if entirely composed.

"Red Caps have the following primary characteristics." He intentionally slowed his pace. He recited the first five rather smoothly, even casting Harry a smug glance.

But the further he went, the harder it became. He started stammering at the eighth trait and ultimately failed to recite the last two.

"Eight." Lin Du calmly announced, "Slytherin loses one point."

Malfoy's face immediately flushed scarlet as he argued unwillingly, "Professor, I got almost all of them..."

"Almost does not mean all." Lin Du cut him off. "If you encountered a Red Cap on a battlefield, would 'almost' understanding its traits be enough?"

The entire classroom fell into dead silence. Then, amid that suffocating quiet, a hand rose firmly.

"Miss Granger." At last, Lin Du called Hermione's name.

Hermione stood and recited all ten traits fluently and accurately, without missing a single word. She even added two details not found in the textbook.

"Perfect." Lin Du showed a rare hint of approval. "Gryffindor gains ten points."

He looked around the classroom. Everywhere his gaze fell, students lowered their heads.

"I am very disappointed."

His voice was especially clear in the silent classroom. "You had an entire week, yet most of you failed to master even the most basic ten traits. If a real Red Cap were standing before you now, I fear you would not even know what it feared most."

The following spot checks became a disaster.

Aside from Hermione Granger, who answered every question perfectly and earned Gryffindor a valuable ten points, every other student called upon performed miserably.

That week, the House Cup scores at Hogwarts underwent unprecedented upheaval.

The gemstones in all four houses' hourglasses fell at a visible rate, and without exception, the culprit was Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Surprisingly, the heads of the other houses had no objection to this.

"Mastering foundational knowledge is indeed important," Professor McGonagall said in the staff room. "I am considering increasing regular spot checks in Transfiguration as well."

Professor Flitwick nodded in agreement. "Spellcasting cannot be separated from theoretical support. Professor Lin Du's methods may be strict, but they are necessary."

Professor Sprout gently added, "After all, none of us want our students to be unprepared when facing danger."

For a time, Lin Du became the professor who deducted points most ruthlessly in Hogwarts history, leaving even Snape, who was known for his severity, far behind.

However, Lin Du soon realized that for younger students, an excessive emphasis on punishment was indeed too discouraging.

Especially during the second-year class on Friday, when he saw Neville Longbottom's eyes redden from having points deducted repeatedly, while even Ron, who normally feared nothing, hung his head, he realized he needed to adjust his approach.

"In light of your recent academic performance," Lin Du said from the podium, sweeping his gaze over the uneasy students below, "I have decided to adjust my teaching strategy. In the upcoming Monthly Exam, the student ranked first in Defense Against the Dark Arts will receive this—"

He drew a strangely shaped metal object from inside his robes.

The item was silver-gray throughout, with smooth lines and fine magical runes carved into its grip. It was completely unlike the wands familiar to wizards.

A wave of whispers immediately arose in the classroom.

"What is that?" a Ravenclaw student could not help asking.

"It looks like a Muggle weapon," another Slytherin student muttered.

Hermione studied the object carefully, her brow slightly furrowed. "Professor, could that be... a gun?"

Lin Du gave Hermione an approving look. "More precisely, it is a magical weapon modified through alchemy. It requires no incantation. You only need to pull this—"

He lightly placed his finger on the trigger. "—and it can fire a powerful Stunning Charm. When I traveled through America, I saw Muggles' firearms and found the design highly efficient."

Ron's eyes widened. "Merlin's beard! A Muggle weapon? That thing can really use magic?"

"Of course." The corner of Lin Du's mouth lifted slightly. "I made some improvements to it. In my hometown, people call this kind of weapon 'American Iaijutsu.'"

"American... what?" Harry repeated the unfamiliar term in confusion.

"Simply put," Lin Du said, his fingers brushing the gun's body, "beyond ten paces, the gun is fast; within ten paces, the gun is both accurate and fast. Compared to casting a spell while worrying whether your pronunciation is right or your gestures are precise, this method can buy you precious time in any situation."

He looked around at the confused yet curious faces in the classroom and continued, "Imagine you are facing a vicious Dark wizard. Your opponent has already begun the first syllable of the Killing Curse, while you are still wondering how to pronounce 'Expelliarmus'—"

Lin Du suddenly raised his hand. Silver flashed, and no one even saw how he moved—

A dummy target at the back of the classroom fell with a thud, blue light appearing over its body to signify that the Stunning Charm had taken effect.

"—that is when you will understand what it means for the gun to be both fast and accurate within ten paces."

The classroom instantly erupted.

Hermione's eyes gleamed. She was clearly fascinated by this invention that combined Muggle technology with magic.

Ron and Harry stared dumbfoundedly at the unprecedented alchemical weapon, their faces full of longing.

"This is way cooler than a wand!" Ron excitedly tugged Harry's sleeve. "If we had this, we wouldn't need to recite those tongue-twisting spells the next time we ran into danger!"

Even Malfoy, who was usually so composed, could not help leaning forward to get a better look, though he still tried to sound defiant. "Hmph. Real wizards do not need to rely on Muggle trinkets."

Lin Du surveyed the suddenly lively classroom atmosphere and nodded lightly. "It seems someone has finally become interested in learning Defense Against the Dark Arts."