The young wizards left the Castle under the two professors' guidance, drawing looks from other wizards who had no classes.
Su Er heard Malfoy saying sinisterly in the crowd that Black was planning to take them into the Forbidden Forest to feed the werewolves.
But apart from a few rather timid witches, no one believed Malfoy's claims. Clearly, nobody was stupid: this was plainly the way to the Quidditch Pitch.
"That little pest Malfoy is at it again..." Ron "the snarker" Weasley curled his lip in disgust amid the crowd.
Sure enough, many of them had guessed correctly. Their final destination was the Quidditch Pitch.
But why had this new Professor Black brought them here?
"To be honest, I was very surprised that Headmaster Dumbledore would let me return to this Castle as a teacher."
Black stood at ease, drew his newly purchased wand, and gave it a casual flick.
"Before coming here, I kept thinking about what I should teach you."
"It was a headache, until I saw the lesson plans left by your Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts from last year."
"I asked a lot of people what he taught you." Black gave a derisive snort at this point. "In my opinion, apart from proposing one good initiative, he had nothing to recommend him."
"He had an excellent teaching method at his disposal, yet abandoned it. I think many of you should have guessed what I mean by now."
"That's right, the Duelling Club. I intend to get it running again."
The young wizards immediately began whispering among themselves, but without exception, there was doubt in their eyes. Lockhart really had left them with an extremely bad impression that day.
Black gave Lupin a meaningful glance. Lupin nodded slightly, walked over, and stopped a little farther