Defense Against the Dark Arts Must Be Defensive

At lunch, the Hufflepuff first-years were visibly excited. That afternoon, they would finally have the Defense Against the Dark Arts class that had seemed the most novel thing at school these past few days.

Roy's mind was full of the fifth-year war god Professor Binns had just mentioned, and he seemed remarkably distracted during lunch.

Roy kept replaying the details of the story in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more things seemed unreasonable.

Even Professor Binns's reaction had been strange. Why had he acted as though he had crashed the moment the discussion turned to the student's specific details?

The only person Roy could rely on to solve this mystery was Dumbledore. He planned to visit the Headmaster's office on the Seventh Floor after today's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

But before that, he still had to finish the day's final lesson. Standing outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Roy was rather curious himself. Just how novel could Professor Thorne's class be, if every student called him a good teacher?

The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on the third floor appeared to have undergone major changes. The dozens of desks that had originally been inside had all been removed, making the room feel exceptionally spacious.

Many training dummies and mats had been placed along both sides of the classroom, though they were not for this lesson.

Hufflepuff was once again sharing the class with Slytherin. By the time Roy arrived, many students were already standing inside.

Forty-something Elias Thorn stood in the center of the classroom, with long gray-black hair and stubble covering his face. Compared to his travel-worn appearance at the start-of-term feast, Professor Thorne had dressed himself up properly today. He wore a gray-white wool sweater that showed off his well-built muscles, making him look like a refined and handsome middle-aged man.

Many of the young wizards and witches who had arrived early had formed a circle around Professor Thorne, chattering away as they asked the charismatic professor all sorts of questions.

Faced with so many enthusiastic young wizards and witches, Professor Thorne merely wore a kind smile and patiently chatted with them about all manner of topics.

At the moment, Professor Thorne was recounting his experiences studying at Ilvermorny in America and how he had become an Auror after graduation. Roy listened from the side with great interest.

"All right, everyone. It's time for class."

Seeing that the time was about right, Professor Thorne squeezed out from among the young wizards and witches and walked to the lectern at the front of the classroom.

"I suppose I should introduce myself first."

Thorne cleared his throat, swept his gaze over the students standing in two rows below him, and tapped the blackboard with his wand.

The name Elias appeared on the blackboard in ornate script. Thorne gracefully gave the students a slight bow.

"I am Elias Thorn, a senior operative of the Auror Office of the American Ministry of Magic. At the request of the British Ministry of Magic, I will be teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."

Loud applause rang through the classroom. With a confident smile, Thorne began introducing the course.

"I imagine you have all heard some things about my classes. That's right—in my teaching, practical combat always comes first. Yesterday, I briefly assessed our upper-year students' level in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the results were very disappointing. Many of them could not even properly cast the most basic defensive spells."

As he said this, Thorne shook his head slightly, his expression grave.

"Think about it. If students like that encountered danger after graduation, how could they protect themselves? During my years as an Auror, I have seen countless tragedies caused by inadequate skill. So, for your safety, this year's lessons will place special emphasis on practical combat."

Having said that, Thorne yanked away the red cloth concealing something beside the lectern, revealing the main subject of the lesson.

"Can anyone tell me what this is?"

Many young wizards and witches raised their hands. After looking around, Thorne finally chose a young Hufflepuff girl in the front row.

"It's a Hinkypunk, Professor."

"Very good. Two points to Hufflepuff. Now, who can introduce this creature's habits?"

Professor Thorne smiled at the student who had answered, then continued questioning the class.

Far fewer hands went up this time. In the end, Cedric answered the question. He recited, word for word, the textbook's description of this one-legged dark creature that loved deceiving humans.

Professor Thorne was very satisfied and awarded Hufflepuff three points before continuing from Cedric's answer.

"The book classifies Hinkypunks as XX-level magical creatures, so you may not think much of them. But I want to tell you that during my Auror career, I truly encountered wizards who were lured into swamps by Hinkypunks and trapped to death there."

After warning the students, Thorne began explaining how to deal with this weak creature. It was simple: the most basic Knockback Jinx could subdue it.

Thorne asked who among the young wizards and witches could cast the Knockback Jinx. Only a few Slytherin students raised their hands, while on the Hufflepuff side, only Roy and Cedric did.

Faced with this result, Thorne decided to call up a student who knew the spell to demonstrate.

"Miss Grindelhill, would you come up and give us a demonstration?"

Thorne looked around, then chose Aisling, who stood at the front of the Slytherin line.

Aisling did not refuse. Maintaining her elegant bearing, she walked to the front of the classroom.

"Since a single Hinkypunk cannot withstand too many Knockback Jinxes, we'll first practice against one another this lesson."

Thorne motioned for Aisling to cast a Knockback Jinx at him. Aisling drew her wand, assumed a stance, and cast an exceptionally standard Knockback Jinx at Thorne.

A red beam shot from the tip of Aisling's wand and sped toward Thorne. The spell's execution exceeded Thorne's expectations, forcing him to draw his wand in response.

With a flick of his wand, an invisible wall blocked Aisling's Knockback Jinx. However, the lingering impact still pushed Thorne back two steps.

Is this a child of the Grindelwald family? Her strength really is extraordinary.

Thorne grumbled inwardly, but his face still bore an easy smile as he praised Aisling's spellwork.

"Excellent. Five points to Slytherin. Miss Grindelhill has demonstrated skill far beyond her age. Let's give her a round of applause."

The entire class broke into enthusiastic applause, especially the Slytherin students.

"Who else would like to try?"

Thorne looked toward the Hufflepuff students. Only Cedric and Roy had raised their hands earlier. After considering it for a moment, Thorne chose Roy to demonstrate.

Roy, having been called on, looked excited. He high-fived Cedric beside him and ran eagerly to the front of the classroom while the Hufflepuff students continued cheering him on.

"Keep your spirits up, Roy! Don't lose us points! Show them what Hufflepuff can do!"

As Aisling returned to her line, she saw Roy coming up and gave a displeased snort loud enough for the entire class to hear.

By now, most people knew that Roy and Aisling had some sort of conflict, though only a handful knew exactly what it was.

The Slytherin students began jeering. Roy did not even know how he had offended them.

Thorne watched it all with an enigmatic smile.

"Interesting..."

Roy ignored the people below and asked Professor Thorne somewhat nervously.

"Can we begin?"

"Go ahead."

Thorne pulled out his wand and prepared himself.

Roy chose his dogwood wand, held it in his hand, and assumed a slightly improper stance. He stepped forward with his left foot and pointed his wand ahead.

"Holy crap!"

A green spell as thick as the mouth of a cup, wreathed in white mist, shot rapidly toward Thorne. It was so fast that Thorne nearly failed to react in time.

Both its power and speed far surpassed those of an ordinary spell. Thorne hurriedly drew upon all his strength and cast a Shield Charm to defend himself.

The spell slammed fiercely into the Shield Charm, releasing a powerful shockwave. The enormous force sent Thorne flying backward, and he only stopped when his back struck the classroom wall.

The entire class fell silent. Then, suddenly, some young wizard or witch shouted from the crowd.

"Oh no, Roy killed the teacher!"