Slughorn's Christmas party had been like a cloying layer of sugar coating, temporarily covering the crisis simmering beneath Hogwarts.
However, on the first morning after the holiday, that coating was utterly torn apart by a sudden upheaval in Dark Magic Defense class.
When Tom Riddle and Ares Phoenix entered the classroom, they found that the man standing at the lectern was not the usual Professor Avery, with his perpetually furrowed brow, but a complete stranger.
He was tall and lean, dressed in a finely tailored dark gray robe, with an inconspicuous silver brooch at his collar resembling some ancient symbol. His dark brown hair was meticulously combed, and he appeared to be around thirty-five or thirty-six. He possessed a scholar's refined elegance, yet his light brown eyes were exceptionally sharp, as if they could pierce through appearances and see straight to the essence.
"Please take your seats, gentlemen and ladies." His voice was gentle and clear, carrying a magnetism that compelled people to focus. "I am Walton Travers. Beginning today, I will be taking over Professor Avery's Dark Magic Defense classes."
A faint stir ran through the classroom. Substitute professors in Dark Magic Defense were nothing unusual, but such a sudden replacement in the middle of the term was highly unusual.
Professor Travers paid no heed to the students' whispers. With a faint smile, his gaze slowly swept across the class, lingering briefly on Tom before finally settling on Ares. It was not an aggressive look, yet it carried a precise scrutiny, as though he were appraising an exceptionally precious work of art. Ares felt the Blood Pact Mark beneath his left eye grow faintly warm, and instinctive vigilance rose within him.
"Professor Avery is on temporary leave due to... personal reasons," Travers explained lightly. Then he shifted the subject.