Will had only two elective classes that year: Runes and Care of Magical Creatures.
The timetable was much the same as before, and Will thought little of it.
Normally, students looked forward to Defence Against the Dark Arts. For years, the class had been a lottery. Get a good teacher, and you were set for the year. Get a bad one...
Older students usually resigned themselves to it and found tutors for the winter break, hoping to prepare for their summer exams. Not everyone could find a good tutor, though, so they still hoped Hogwarts would hire someone reliable.
Lupin was certainly "reliable" in the students' eyes. Honestly, most of them had been surprised he was staying on, but they welcomed the news.
His teaching had improved, too. Though he liked teaching students how to deal with dark creatures, his first lesson that year covered Jinxes, and he taught it well. The older students felt a little more confident.
No one knew that Lupin had spent the summer corresponding with Moody, learning from him to improve his teaching.
Lupin had missed the Quidditch World Cup partly because the moon had been waxing that night, with the full moon only days away. The other reason was that he had been preparing lessons. Yes, he had started planning the new term over the summer.
Lupin was an exceptionally dedicated professor. He deserved the job.
Of course, because Lupin had not left, Voldemort had been unable to place Barty Crouch Jr. at Hogwarts. That meant Will was relied on more heavily—or perhaps Karkaroff was.
As for Care of Magical Creatures, Harry stopped smiling the moment he saw the Blast-Ended Skrewts, just as Will had expected.
The Care of Magical Creatures classroom was still the fenced-off area outside Hagrid's Hut.
Hagrid stood in