Sixth-Year Provocation

By the afternoon, things seemed to have changed slightly.

When Li Wei entered the classroom, the second-year little lions were already itching to try, their excitement plainly visible on their faces.

It seemed they had learned about the morning's lesson from the upperclassmen and guessed what was about to happen.

In stark contrast, the little snakes of Slytherin were clearly still completely unaware of the situation.

Li Wei had no intention of changing anything because of it.

The usual opening remarks were followed by sheets of parchment fluttering through the air.

When Ron Weasley saw that the questions were the same, he could not help laughing out loud.

He could already imagine how awful Malfoy's face would look when every Gryffindor gained points and every Slytherin lost them.

Harry Potter met his gaze, and the two exchanged knowing smiles—it seemed they had thought of the same thing.

Hermione Granger glanced at them, speechless at their pathetic behavior. The moment she heard over lunch that the Weasley twins were going to leak the questions to them, she had immediately left.

The new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed extremely reliable. Cheating on questions he had worked hard to prepare would not only waste his effort, but was also beneath her contempt.

"They're all such simple questions."

Hermione muttered to herself as she quickly finished the three questions. When she looked up, she found Harry and Ron gripping their wands tightly and staring fixedly at the parchment before them as though some monster were hiding inside.

Hermione quietly shifted her gaze toward the professor at the front. He was currently leaning against a bench—where had that bench come from? Had he Transfigured it?—staring blankly at the ceiling.

As if sensing Hermione's gaze, he turned his head and looked directly into her probing eyes.

!!!

Hermione hurriedly looked away, her heartbeat unconsciously quickening.

This new professor was far too handsome. For a moment, she could not tell whether she had been startled by his appearance or frightened by being caught staring.

"Alright, time's up."

Li Wei clapped his hands, and everything proceeded as usual.

Although the second-year little lions had already known the parchment would turn into pixies, the outcome did not change much.

Understanding it in theory was one thing; facing it for real was another.

Ron was so nervous while casting the Freezing Charm that he mispronounced the incantation and used the wrong wand movement.

Not only did he fail to freeze the pixie in front of him, but he also caught Harry in the spillover. Risking frostbite, Harry desperately gripped his wand and wrestled with the pixie, giving everything he had to stop it from snatching it away.

Although Neville Longbottom knew what would happen, he still screamed in panic when he saw the pixie before him, with no intention of fighting back at all.

The facts proved that even with mental preparation, lacking knowledge and wisdom meant these students still could not handle the simplest pixies.

"Other than showing off how incompetent they are or suddenly pulling through at the last second, do Hogwarts students have no other options?"

Li Wei watched the farce unfold with a blank expression. A minute later, Hermione finally recovered her wits and used the Freezing Charm to help all the little lions out of trouble.

As for Slytherin, it was an even greater disaster.

They were supposedly the house known for cunning and ambition. When had they fallen to such a state?

Li Wei expressionlessly ended the Transfiguration, awarded Gryffindor five points, chose Hermione as class representative, and continued the lesson.

Friday.

As the final class ended, Li Wei unconsciously sighed after walking out of the classroom.

Hogwarts's condition was even worse than he had imagined.

After wasting an entire year, the third-years had returned most of what they had learned in first year, joining the first- and second-years in the blank-slate category.

The fourth-years performed fairly well and were also the most suitable year for Li Wei to test his hypothesis.

They possessed a certain theoretical foundation and practical combat ability, while not having to worry about the fifth-years' O.W.L. examinations. They were at their freest stage.

With a certain amount of training, they could barely meet Li Wei's requirements for beginning his experiments.

As for the fifth-years, there was nothing more to say. Li Wei was already prepared to drown them in an ocean of questions.

Over the coming year, this would probably be the year with the hardest time.

As for the sixth-years, their course structure had changed. Students needed to pursue advanced studies in subjects suited to their future career paths.

It was worth mentioning that to enter an advanced class in a given subject, students generally needed at least an E on their O.W.L. examinations. Snape, in particular, required students to receive an O in Potions before they were qualified to continue studying under him.

Since there had been no handover, the school had defaulted to setting the requirement for advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts at E. There were eight students across the four houses who met the standard. Li Wei had reviewed their files, and seven came from pure-blood families.

For these students, before beginning instruction directly, he needed to spend some time determining their direction.

"Your foundations are fairly solid. If you start working hard this year, then depending on your efforts, getting an E or O in next year's N.E.W.T. examinations will not be difficult."

"Oh, spare us, Professor."

A young man with light blue hair waved a hand.

"Who doesn't know that Hogwarts changes its Defense Against the Dark Arts professor every year? Even if we study under you this year, won't we just get another professor next year?"

"Besides, we don't trust you yet."

Severus scrutinized the professor before him.

"Professor Li Wei, forgive me for being blunt, but you clearly came from Slytherin, yet none of our fathers remember you.

During your time at school, you left behind no achievements worth noting, and you do not seem to have made any name for yourself in the wizarding world.

Although you earned eight Os in your O.W.L. examinations, you did not take the seventh-year N.E.W.T. examinations."

"What are you trying to say?"

"We already had an entire year wasted by Professor Quirrell. His teaching was useless, yet he would not allow us to use class time to study other knowledge on our own, as though that would somehow interfere with something. If you are like Professor Quirrell, then I hope that, at the very least, you will not waste our time."

"Perhaps... would you mind showing us what you can do?"

Li Wei did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at the others. "Is that what all of you mean as well?"

Everyone nodded. Only one witch standing at the back remained silent, her hands clenched tightly.

Li Wei shook his head and said calmly:

"With your foundations, even if I let you study on your own, quite a few of you should still be able to pass the N.E.W.T. examinations next year with around an E. I would also be happy to lighten my teaching load.

"Unfortunately, I would have no way to answer to Professor McGonagall that way. To keep her from worrying that there might be a problem with the quality of my teaching—"

Li Wei drew the wand at his waist and slowly pointed it at them.

"How about this? I'll give you three minutes. The eight of you can attack me together, with no restrictions on spells or methods.

"I will only defend and will not counterattack. As long as even one of your spells affects me, all your sixth-year classes from then on can be self-study."