Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor

"Of all the feline creatures capable of passing through a perfectly sealed cat cage without damaging it, I only know of one... a Zouwu!" Professor Kettleburn said with a frown.

"But that can't be right. How could a Zouwu be as small as your cat?" He shook his head. "And it doesn't look the same, either."

"Could it have some Zouwu blood, but inherited its size from a Kneazle?" Xiwen asked.

"That's not impossible. The world is so vast that all kinds of magical creatures could be born." Professor Kettleburn spread his hands, his eyes taking on an almost obsessed look.

"Don't worry. As long as you treated your cat well, she'll come back to find you sooner or later. Cats with Kneazle blood are still very attached to their owners!" he added.

Xiwen could only thank the professor and prepare to return to the dormitory to wait for Little Cat to come back on her own.

"Wait!" Professor Kettleburn suddenly called out.

"What is it, Professor?" Xiwen turned around and asked in confusion.

"You'll serve detention here every weekend this month." He smiled slyly and winked at Xiwen. "No matter what, breaking school rules must be punished!"

By the time Xiwen returned to the dormitory dejectedly, it was nearly three in the morning. His three roommates were all sleeping soundly, and someone was even snoring.

He did not even change out of his clothes before collapsing heavily onto the bed. The moment he closed his eyes, he fell into a groggy sleep.

He slept deeply, only regaining a vague sense of awareness when he felt someone shaking him.

"Xiwen! Xiwen! Wake up! There's less than half an hour before class starts!" Abraxas shook Xiwen hard from beside the bed.

"What time is it?" Still not fully awake, Xiwen asked groggily.

"Eight-thirty!" Abu shouted.

"What?!" Xiwen instantly woke up and sprang out of bed, only to bang his head against the luggage rack directly above the bed with a thud.

That woke him up completely... Rubbing the head that had suffered so much these past two days, he never expected that he had not only missed his biological clock, but had also achieved the oversleeping feat his three roommates had completed yesterday.

Accio Textbooks!

Without time to sort them out, he stuffed all his textbooks into the Pocket Watch Space and rushed out of the dormitory.

Fortunately, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was on the second floor of the Main Tower.

After climbing the spiral staircase outside the Slytherin Common Room to the Entrance Courtyard, they could see the covered walkway outside the Great Hall straight ahead. They only needed to run over, make a slight turn, and go up the marble steps beyond the walkway to easily reach the corridor outside the classroom.

Because they moved quickly and the classroom was nearby, Xiwen and Abraxas still had a few minutes before class began when they arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was arranged somewhat like the Transformation classroom. Rows of two-person desks were set up in three columns, with the young wizards of Slytherin and Gryffindor clearly seated on opposite sides.

At the front of the classroom stood a teacher's desk and a bookshelf. What made it unusual was a flight of stairs on the right, curving upward to a wooden door nearly as high as the third floor.

"Xiwen, over here!" Elshiona waved at Xiwen as he entered the classroom.

Xiwen saw that she was sitting alone behind a desk in the first row on the right, while Mobley and Gomez, who had arrived earlier, were seated in the third row on the right.

Giving Abu an apologetic look, Xiwen silently walked toward Elshiona.

"Hey! You can't do this—you're choosing a girl over your friend!" Abu said indignantly.

Hearing the phrase "choosing a girl over your friend" come from an eleven-year-old wizard's mouth, Xiwen, whose mental age far exceeded that of his peers, found it inexplicably amusing. He glanced back at him and said, "Do you expect me to leave a lady alone in the first row for class?"

Abu said, "Then why don't you sit in a row by yourself?"

"That could work," Xiwen replied, then actually started walking toward the second row.

However, just as Abu began to grin happily, Elshiona stood up as well, apparently intending to move to the second row too.

"Fine, fine, I give up on you two. You two can have your first row. Leave the second row to me." Abraxas gritted his teeth resentfully, drove Xiwen away, and sat alone in the second row.

Seemingly oblivious, Xiwen sat back down beside Elshiona in the first row, took out the textbook needed for Defense Against the Dark Arts, placed it on the desk, and yawned tiredly.

"The dark circles under your eyes are awful." Elshiona looked at him worriedly. "So how late were you out wandering last night?"

"I don't know. Really late, anyway." Xiwen yawned again.

Just as he wanted to put his head down on the desk and catch up on some sleep, the class bell rang most unfriendly.

A young man with prominent eye bags pushed open the wooden door at the front right of the classroom as the bell rang and walked down the stairs to the podium.

Seeing the young man with light brown hair, Xiwen's eyes widened.

"What's wrong?" Elshiona noticed Xiwen's reaction and asked in confusion.

"That's Professor Lore. I ran into him while I was out wandering last night, and he nearly caught me!" Xiwen covered his mouth with his hand and replied in a low voice. He now deeply regretted sitting in the first row.

"You actually got away from a professor?" Elshiona asked in shock.

Xiwen raised his index finger to his lips and shook his head at her, signaling for her not to let it slip.

Professor Lore had already reached the front of the classroom and began introducing himself.

"Good morning, everyone. I am Claude Lore, and I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for this school year."

He counted the students and smiled slightly. "It seems everyone is here. Very good! However, I noticed that two students do not yet have desk partners. I think you two could form a pair. What do you think?"

Abu, seated behind Xiwen, turned around in astonishment and saw that there was indeed a Gryffindor wearing a red-collared uniform sitting alone among the desks in the middle column.

"I object, sir!" Abu shouted.

"I don't think that's necessary either!" the Gryffindor boy said coldly.

The Gryffindor boy had light blond hair and a round face, but what should have been an honest, guileless-looking face instead seemed fierce and rugged on him. His mismatched eyes, one blue and one black, gleamed sharply.

"And your names are?" Professor Lore asked with interest.

"My name is Abraxas Malfoy." Abu was the first to answer, his tone proud. As he spoke, he shot the Gryffindor student a disdainful glance.

The Gryffindor boy ignored him and merely answered the professor's question coldly. "Alastor Moody, sir."

"So, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Moody." Professor Lore said, "I need to make it clear beforehand that my class requires a great deal of cooperation between teammates. Everyone needs a partner."

"So now, follow my order. You two, come sit in this row!" he said firmly.