Defense Against the Dark Arts

Voldemort and Quirrell's killing of dark wizards during their holiday wasn't for nothing; while being hunted, they encountered Fudge, a candidate for Minister of Ministry of Magic.

He also heard Dumbledore's shocking secret from Fudge, and to confirm it, Voldemort even sought out Minister Bano, whose term was about to end.

After promising to help Minister Bano escape to the United States Wizarding World, Minister Bano revealed Dumbledore's true identity: a Dark Lord hidden deep within!

"Quirrell, your next step is to extend goodwill to the descendants of the Order of the Phoenix and gain their trust."

Voldemort said coldly, "Bano told me that Dumbledore secretly took his right-hand men to the Muggle Prime Minister a few months ago to purchase a considerable amount of building materials."

"He must be secretly building his own base, and the Hogwarts teachers have all joined that organization."

"Build good relationships with those teachers, infiltrate this organization, gather information about it, and once it's done, you'll be my most loyal servant!"

In fact, Voldemort's original goal in infiltrating Hogwarts was to steal the Philosopher's Stone to resurrect himself.

In his view, as long as he could be resurrected, he could easily raise a powerful army with his reputation and strength.

Ten years ago, Dumbledore was no match for him. Now Dumbledore even older, while he is still very young. Dumbledore is definitely no match for him.

But now, Voldemort lacked confidence, especially after hearing that Dumbledore launched a surprise attack on the three Pure-blood families; he was utterly panicked.

He was terrified that Dumbledore would discover his identity the next day and then come to ransack his house that night with a large group of powerful wizards.

Quirinus Quirrell, the nemesis of dark wizards, became a prominent figure as soon as he arrived at Hogwarts.

The young wizards of Gryffindor and Slytherin, in particular, became the envy of everyone.

Because their first class in the afternoon was Defense Against the Dark Arts taught by Quirrell himself.

Even though there were still 10 minutes until class started, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was already full of students, each one staring expectantly at the professor's door, waiting for Quirrell to arrive.

One against ten, single-handedly suppressing the dark wizard of Knockturn Alley —there are countless legends about Quirrell in the Wizarding World.

Everyone was very curious about Quirrell, but unfortunately, Quirrell was either being killed or killing others, which meant that no one in the entire Wizarding World knew anything about him now.

Now, the opportunity has arrived! Quirrell becoming a professor at Hogwarts is absolutely thrilling!

Soon, the school bell rang, and Quirrell walked in just as it rang.

"Hello students, I am your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I will be teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts for the rest of this semester."

Quirrell's voice was soft, but every student could clearly understand what he was saying.

"Now, I'd like to ask some pre-class questions to check everyone's learning progress," Quirrell said with a slight smile.

As soon as he finished speaking, many young wizards eagerly raised their hands, wanting to answer Quirrell's question.

Hermione, in particular, has returned to normal, though she still has tear stains on her face, and there are no classmates around.

Ignoring the other students raising their hands, Quirrell called Harry's name directly, "Harry Potter, you answer the first question."

Harry was extremely nervous. Snape's pre-class question had left a very bad impression on him, making him terrified of pre-class questions.

"Everyone knows that Ghoul are extremely pesky creatures, so, Potter, let me ask you, what are Ghoul most afraid of? And what should you do if you encounter Ghoul?"

"Ghoul? What do we do?" Harry was completely bewildered. Good heavens, he was just a young wizard who had only just begun to learn magic; he didn't even know what Ghoul were!

Harry blushed and whispered, "I'm sorry, Professor, I don't know!"

He was prepared to be criticized by Quirrell.

To his surprise, Quirrell not only didn't criticize him, but encouraged him instead. "Haha, it's alright, Potter. You come to Hogwarts to learn, and our job as professors is to teach you. If you knew everything without me teaching you, wouldn't I be out of a job?"

Harry smiled knowingly at the witty remark, and his fondness for Quirrell skyrocketed.

"Then, Mr. Potter's classmate," Quirrell called out dramatically, "Do you know the answer to this question?"

Ron Weasley was ecstatic. He happened to know what Ghoul were most afraid of, and he also knew how to deal with Ghoul.

Because a Ghoul lived on the top floor of the Burrow year-round, the Weasley twins, as children, locked themselves in the Ghoul's house as a prank.

Later, the Weasley twins were severely reprimanded by their father, and then Ron Weasley was also told about the characteristics of Ghoul and what Ghoul are afraid of.

In fact, in the Wizarding World, Ghoul are not dangerous at all; they just have a scary name but pose almost no threat.

"Ghoul usually live in the attic or barn of a wizard's house; they are most afraid of light."

Ron Weasley was very excited and shouted, "The way to defeat them is simple, all you need is a simple Lumos!"

As he spoke, Ron Weasley, in a state of excitement, took out his wand, wanting to demonstrate the Lumos.

"Swallowing Wright!"

Excitedly waving his wand, Ron Weasley thought he could finally show off, but to his surprise, the Lumos failed to work!

"Pfft!"

Many people unconsciously laughed out loud, especially the young Slytherin wizard, who blatantly gave Ron Weasley the middle finger.

Malfoy shouted, "Weasley, you're just a stupid idiot who only knows how to bully girls! You can't even use the Lumos! Go back to your the Burrow!"

Ron Weasley's face turned pale. He hadn't expected that he wouldn't even be able to cast a Lumos at this crucial moment.

Just as Ron Weasley was so ashamed he wanted to bury his head in the ground, Quirrell said gently, "You're Weasley family, aren't you?"

"I've heard Arthur Weasley mention you. Your name is Ron Weasley, right?" Quirrell smiled warmly and said gently, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be the wand your father used to use."

"Yes, sir," Ron Weasley said, his face flushing with embarrassment.

Everything he owned was secondhand, even third or fourthhand; even his wand had been used by his father and brothers.

Father, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Percy Weasley, George Weasley, Fred Weasley —generation after generation, the Elder Wand has been a constant presence throughout the entire Weasley family.

Years of use had left the wand looking extremely worn and dilapidated, with even a small section of the core sticking out.

Normally, Ron Weasley was ashamed to take out this wand, because he considered it a disgrace and that others would laugh at him if they found out.

"Ron Weasley, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. This wand is very historically significant, isn't it?"

Quirrell said very gently, "And from your answer just now, I can tell that you are a very hardworking and talented child."

"Wands are the most important items for wizards; a wand that doesn't suit a wizard will be very difficult to use."

"So, you're already quite impressive, managing to keep up with the Hogwarts curriculum even with a wand that doesn't quite suit you."

Ron Weasley, who was initially quite embarrassed, became a little shy after being praised and lowered his head in embarrassment.

Seeing this, Quirrell burst into laughter and whispered in his ear, "Arthur Weasley and I are good friends. Come to my office after class, I have a gift for you!"

Although the sound was very soft, the Gryffindor wizards near Ron Weasley still inexplicably heard it.

Professor Quirrell is actually going to give Ron Weasley a gift! How enviable!

Even Harry looked at Ron Weasley with envy. He didn't want the gift, but he envied Ron Weasley for having the opportunity to spend time with Quirrell.

He liked the professor very much; he was gentle, understanding, and very friendly to students.

"A gift!" Ron Weasley was overjoyed. He knew what the gift was without even thinking—it must be a brand new wand!

In this way, Professor Quirrell's status in Ron Weasley's heart was instantly elevated to the level of Dumbledore.