"To deal with Billywig bugs, the charm is very simple, but it requires concentration. When you cast it, you must focus completely on your target. You can't afford to be distracted for even a moment.
"Remember, Billywig bugs fly very fast. They won't give you a second chance to cast the spell."
After Professor Oren finished explaining what they needed to watch out for, he continued, "Let's practice the incantation without our wands first. Repeat after me—Slack-Force Charm!"
"Slack-Force Charm!" the young wizards chorused.
"Very good." Professor Oren nodded in satisfaction. "Next, we'll test how well you can cast it."
He had the whole class line up, then called them forward one by one to cast the charm at the Billywig bugs in the cages.
Kanna was first in line.
She had originally been somewhere in the middle, but the Gryffindor fans had quickly crowded around her and pushed her to the front.
Ever since Professor Oren had called her name, the young lions had been eager to see what made this little witch so special that she had managed to win Snape over.
"Such a brave girl." Professor Oren smiled. "I remember your name is Kanna, right?"
"Yes, Professor."
After a couple of tries, Kanna was much better off than before.
She was still nervous, but at least she could hold a normal conversation now. And her first instinct was to answer the professor's question, rather than turn around and run.
"Don't be afraid. It's just a simple charm." Professor Oren spoke patiently. "Remember what I said. Concentrate. You can do this. Believe in yourself."
Kanna took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and thrust her wand forward with all her might.
"Slack-Force Charm!"
"Whoosh!" The air split with a sharp hiss.
Professor Oren instinctively took a small step back.
To be fair, if you were close enough, she could have stabbed the Billywig bug to death with that much force without using a spell.
Fortunately, the result was good.
As the incantation ended, the Billywig bug in the cage dropped to the ground.
"Very good. One point to Hufflepuff!" Professor Oren called out, as he brought over a second cage.
The previous day, lacking experience, he had brought only three Billywig bugs to his classes with Ravenclaw and Slytherin.
He had thought that would be enough, but it had turned out to be nowhere near enough. Sometimes, the first bug hadn't recovered before the third one was already lying down.
And whenever that happened, the young wizards from both houses would stare straight at him. It was incredibly awkward.
To keep anything like that from happening again, he had brought ten bugs today. That would definitely be enough.
"Next, Santos, you're up."
Santos hurried forward when his name was called and began reciting the spell.
"Slack-Force Charm..."
Nothing happened. The Billywig bug in the cage kept happily spinning in circles.
"Relax. Don't be so nervous." Professor Oren went over to him and spoke gently. "Make sure you say the incantation clearly. You were too quiet on the last syllable. Let's try again."
Santos nodded and raised his wand once more.
"Slack-Force Charm!"
This time, he succeeded.
"Very good. Next..." Professor Oren brought over another cage.
After two people succeeded in a row, the others grew more confident. They were eager to give it a try.
But that confidence got the better of some of them. They completely forgot what Professor Oren had said and, when their turn came, cast the spell at the cage without even looking.
The result was that the Billywig bug was unharmed, while the cage fell apart.
After that, Professor Oren had to stay on high alert, ready to repair the cages the moment they were damaged.
But before long, he realized he had underestimated the situation.
A Gryffindor first-year near the back of the line saw how many people were ahead of him and began quietly practicing the incantation.
He had only meant to get some practice in ahead of time, so that when his turn came, he could amaze everyone... But he forgot he was holding his wand.
By the podium, Professor Oren was reciting the Mending Charm when his legs suddenly went weak and he collapsed to the floor.
If he had merely taken a fall, it wouldn't have been much of a problem. Professor Oren was a strong, healthy adult wizard, after all. At worst, he'd have scraped himself up, and a Dittany bandage would have fixed that.
The problem was that his Mending Charm had been interrupted.
A Billywig bug broke free and angrily charged at the young wizards in front of it.
It had wanted to do this for ages. Since yesterday, it had been left completely weak again and again. Now it was going to get revenge, no matter what!
Faced with the situation, some of the young wizards panicked and ran around the classroom, while others raised their wands.
"Slack-Force Charm!"
"Slack-Force Charm!"
More than a dozen spells flew past each other. Although none hit the Billywig bug, they did manage to stop it from moving forward...
The young wizards seemed to have discovered a whole new world. Even more excited, they raised their wands again, ready to take another shot at the moving target.
"Everyone, stop!" Professor Oren suddenly shouted from the floor.
He took out his wand and, as the Billywig bug flew over his head, called out,
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Professor Oren caught the Billywig bug as it fell, put it back in its cage, then shakily got to his feet.
He rubbed his lower back with a pained expression.
No wonder people said being a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts was a miserable job. They were absolutely right.
Suppressing the pain, Professor Oren looked at the young wizards with concern. "Is everyone all right? Did anyone get stung?"
"No, Professor," they all said, shaking their heads.
"Good." He let out a sigh of relief. After repairing the podium, he said, "Let's continue with the lesson. Oh, and everyone except the person at the front, put your wands away."
Everyone obediently did as they were told.
They were still a little disappointed, but after seeing Professor Oren's furious expression, they didn't dare mess around again.
After all, no one wanted a Petrification Spell cast on them.
With that in mind, almost everyone succeeded on their first try, and the lesson progressed much faster than before.
But Professor Oren didn't look any less tense. If anything, he seemed even more nervous.
By the time class ended, he hadn't even assigned any homework. He simply left the classroom without looking back.
The lesson had worn him out. He really didn't want to stay another minute.
Back in his office, Oren drew the curtains and took a satisfied sip of tea.
At least it was finally over. There had been a little accident, but he'd managed to keep things under control, and all ten Billywig bugs were... Hm?
Wait, why were there only nine?
Oren hurriedly put down his teacup and counted them carefully twice more.
There was no mistake. One was missing.
One of the cages was empty, with a fist-sized hole in it.
"Merlin's beard..." Oren rushed back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, but he couldn't find anything there.
"One of those first-years' spells must have hit the cage!"
Oren looked at the open classroom window and said ruefully, "Fifty Galleons, gone just like that!"
Before you continue