Defense Against the Dark Arts Substitute Lesson

When Skylar opened his eyes, it was still not fully light, probably between four and five in the morning. Most of the students in the Great Hall were still fast asleep, it seemed that the late-night conversation had really taken a toll on their energy.

Daphne lay beside him, her arms tightly wrapped around his left arm, her pretty face pressed against his chest, her warm breath tickling his left ribs. Her silky blonde hair covered his chest, a few strands playfully trying to sneak into his nostrils, making him want to sneeze.

To his right, Meredith occupied his right arm, sleeping peacefully. Upon closer inspection, the once proud little girl had gradually revealed her unparalleled beauty, with delicate features and a touch of allure amidst her heroic spirit.

Both girls were excellent life partners; to have either one would be a blessing from a past life. The thought of having two women by his side filled Skylar with a sense of satisfaction. He felt he hadn't wasted the chance to be given a second life, and a happy smile appeared on his face.

He heard movement inside the Great Hall, and not far away, Dumbledore was speaking. It must be because he was worried about the safety of the place and had come in to patrol again in the early morning.

Seeing Dumbledore approach Percy, Skylar quickly cast a "Ear-Clearing and Eye-Brightening Charm" on himself. This spell is one of the Lestrange family's inherited spells, which can enhance the sharpness of the senses. Lestrange's spells are generally related to the five senses and six perceptions, which may be related to their family's penchant for using spells to torture people.

"How is it here, Percy?" Dumbledore gentle voice.

"Very good, sir, everything is under control." Percy's voice was slightly sharp, clearly excited to be reporting directly to the principal. "Nothing has happened since last night."

"Very good, thank you for your hard work." Dumbledore was probably nodding to Percy. "Severus?"

A hurried footstep approached, a long robe rustling in the wind, carrying a slightly spicy scent. Skylar recognized it as the aroma of sliced Wolfsbane. This person must be Professor Snape.

"Headmaster, I've searched the entire fourth floor, he's not there. Filch has also checked the underground classrooms, but he wasn't there either." Snape's voice sounded weary, likely from the all-night search.

"Very well, then what about the Astronomy Tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery? The Broomstick Shack? Have you checked those places? Has Hagrid contacted his friends to check the Forbidden Forest?" Dumbledore's voice wasn't loud, clearly not wanting to wake the sleeping students.

"We've checked, he's not there."

"Very good, I always thought he wouldn't stay." Dumbledore's voice clearly began to carry a sense of relief.

"So, Headmaster, what's your opinion on how he got into the school?" Snape's voice carried a hint of anger.

"There are many possibilities, Severus. They are not the same, but I think the one you're thinking of is absolutely wrong." Dumbledore's voice was extremely serious.

"Remember our conversation, Headmaster—" Snape's voice was even lower, and Skylar had to concentrate hard to make out. "At the beginning of the school year, I objected to your appointment—"

"Alright, Severus!" Dumbledore interrupted him.

"But without inside help, he can't get into Hogwarts..." Snape seemed determined to stick to his point.

"Alright, Severus. I don't think anyone in the castle will help him get into the school. That's it, I'm going to find the Dementor now." Dumbledore raised his voice slightly.

Then the talking fell silent, as if Snape had left as well, leaving only Percy still patrolling. It was a wonder he had such good spirits.

When the professors announced that the search was complete and Black had already left the castle, the three women thought of Skylar's deduction from the previous night, and their gazes towards Skylar began to become very strange.

Dumbledore wasn't disappointed at all—he was already quite pleased that he had ensured the intruders hadn't remained in the school; eliminating the dangers lurking within was the most important thing right now.

In the days that followed, the only talk at school was about Black. The stories about how he got into the castle grew increasingly fantastical— Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff heard that Black could transform into a flowering bush!

Besides the increasingly outlandish rumors, many other things within the castle have changed.

For example, the damaged portrait of the Fat Lady had been taken down from the wall and replaced by a portrait of Sir Cadogan in full armor and his fat grey pony.

The Gryffindor lion cubs were very unhappy about this. Sir Cadogan spent half his time provoking people to duel him, and the other half pondering ridiculously complicated passwords, changing them at least twice a day. This greatly troubled Neville, whose memory wasn't very good, so he had to write all the passwords down on a small piece of paper to avoid being unable to enter the common room.

For example, Harry is now under close surveillance. The professors follow him in the corridors for all sorts of reasons and excuses; Percy follows him everywhere, like an extremely smug guard dog.

Of course, none of these things really had much to do with Skylar.

Since the Patronus Charm exchange meeting, Skylar's popularity has reached a new level.

Many Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students developed a fondness for this highly skilled yet approachable underclassman. As Skylar walked down the corridors, he would often encounter students from both houses who would greet him warmly and proactively. Consequently, the entire Slytherin House seemed less unpleasant—the young Slytherin wizards began to interact amicably with their Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw classmates.

Another thing that boosted Skylar's popularity was something else.

Skylar's "Me and the Basilisk at Hogwarts" was successfully published at the end of September, and within a month it climbed to the top of the wizarding novel sales charts. This not only earned Skylar a considerable amount of Galleon, but also added a lot of fame to his Skylar, making it a win-win situation.

Many people knew that Skylar had killed the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets last year, but they didn't know the details or the danger involved. Only after reading this novel did they truly understand how remarkable it was that Skylar, as a second-year student, was able to successfully kill the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.

Thanks to the students' extensive word-of-mouth promotion, "Me and the Basilisk at Hogwarts" became the hottest topic in the entire school, even overshadowing Sirius Black's story. Everyone was worried about not being able to fit in, so they all ordered the book from Diagon Alley, making it almost a must-have for everyone at Hogwarts.

On Friday, during Defense Against the Dark Arts, the students were surprised to find that Professor Lupin was absent due to illness, and Professor Snape would be teaching in his place.

The students were in an uproar—this was probably the first time since they entered the school that they had heard of their professor's absence due to illness. The medical room, overseen by Madam Pomfrey, was renowned for its formidable power, rarely failing to cure any ailment. There were even rumors that its level of expertise rivaled that of St Mungo's Hospital. As a distinguished adult wizard, the professor rarely suffered from such illnesses. And according to students who had visited the school medical room just yesterday, Professor Lupin was not there.

"What's wrong with Professor Lupin?" Dean Thomas asked anxiously.

"Perhaps I should teach you how to respect a professor, Mr. Thomas." Snape wore that chilling smile. "I'm not Professor Lupin; I don't have such a good temper. For disrupting class and disrespecting a professor, Gryffindor loses ten points."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Hermione said, realizing her mistake. "We're so sorry, we were just worried about Professor Lupin's condition."

"No danger to your life..." he said slowly, but his tone was so cold it seemed to freeze solid. "Now, back to your class. Professor Lupin didn't leave any notes on what you've learned..."

"Excuse me, sir, we learned Boggart, Red Cap, Kappa, and Grindylow (Grindylow was learned a few days ago, after Halloween)," Hermione said quickly, "and we were just about to start learning—"

"Quiet," Snape said coldly. "I didn't ask any questions. I was merely criticizing Professor Lupin's teaching for its lack of structure."

"But he's the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" Seamus Finnigan exclaimed. He greatly admired Professor Lupin 'Professor Lupin usual skill and was a staunch supporter of him.

"That's all you've seen, Mr. Finnigan." Snape's face remained expressionless. "You're far too easily satisfied. You know, I've always considered dealing with Red Cap and Grindylow to be the level of a first-year student. Well then, today we're going to talk about—" He opened his textbook, searched for a while, and then softly uttered two words: "Werewolf!"

"Excuse me, Professor," Hermione stood up again, "According to the schedule, we should be learning about Hinkypunk."

"Miss Granger, are you the teacher, or am I?" Snape pressed his thin lips together. "I'm speaking to all of you!" He glared fiercely at the entire class.

"Well, can anyone tell me the difference between a real wolf and Werewolf?" Snape asked, a strange light gleaming in his eyes.

Everyone sat motionless and silent, except for Hermione, who, as usual, suddenly raised her hand high.

"Could it be—" Snape's voice began to sneer, "That Professor Lupin hasn't yet explained the difference between the two to the third-year students?"

"We told you," Parvati suddenly said, "we haven't even gotten to the Werewolf chapter yet, we're still learning—"

"Quiet!" Snape snapped. "Yes, what a sight to see a group of third-year students who can't even recognize Werewolf. I must tell Professor Dumbledore how backward you all are..."

"Please, sir," Hermione said, still holding her hand high, "there are a few subtle differences between Werewolf and real wolves. Werewolf's muzzle—"

"This is the second time you've spoken without permission, Miss Granger," Snape said coldly. "For an intolerable know-it-all, Gryffindor loses another five points."

Then he turned to her and said, "Skylar, you speak!"

To be fair, Skylar thought Snape was actually in the right, although the little lions were also quite innocent—how to identify Werewolf was actually a first-year lesson, but unfortunately, Quirrell ruined such an important lesson. With Quirrell's stammering explanation, most of the young wizards were probably daydreaming, with only extremely studious students like Hermione being the exception.

Skylar first took the Silver Fang out of his pocket, then used Transfiguration to turn the table into a motionless Werewolf, making the two stand side by side, pointing out the subtle differences between them while explaining in detail.

Skylar's explanations were vivid and engaging, captivating even the Gryffindor lion cubs. Hermione couldn't help but admire him—she herself could never have done it as well as Skylar.

Snape hadn't expected Skylar to pull this stunt, but it suited him perfectly, so he added fifteen points to Slytherin. This time, the extra points didn't upset the little lions, since they did understand Skylar's explanation— Ron did complain a few times about "showboating," but no one paid him any attention, making him feel quite bored.

Before class ended, Snape gave homework on Werewolf —a paper on how to identify and Werewolf, at least two pages of parchment.

Just as students were complaining about their homework, the first Quidditch Match of the semester was about to begin the following day.

Originally, the opening match was between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but Slytherin's captain, Marcus Flint, didn't want to play against Gryffindor in the bad weather, so he made an excuse to switch the match order with Hufflepuff —making the match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. This infuriated Gryffindor, and even Hufflepuff was quite unhappy with Slytherin's actions.

Cedric, the new Quidditch captain of Hufflepuff, complained to Skylar about this more than once. Flint's actions had truly drawn a lot of hatred from Slytherin, enough to negate all the goodwill Skylar had worked so hard to gain for Slytherin.

Skylar didn't take it to heart. Flint was a Pure-blood, and he and Skylar had ideological conflicts. Skylar also knew that a conflict between them was inevitable sooner or later, so he chose to watch Flint's self-destructive behavior with indifference.