The students below recited loudly from their books.
Douglas sat at the front, marking their homework.
He made a rough comparison and found that, apart from Hermione, who had handed hers in very early,
the other students had indeed been very literal: however many inches he had asked for, that was exactly how many they wrote.
A few clever ones had even deliberately enlarged their handwriting and widened the spacing between lines.
Ha, those were all old tricks from his school days.
Douglas generously gave each of them a P.
Looking more closely at the content, he found that he really could not expect too much from second-year students.
Especially since, once Hermione had handed in her homework, they had no one's work to consult.
Their answers could be said to have shot straight into the clouds.
Their answers about Boggarts were particularly uniform.
They were basically all copied from the textbook.
When there was half an hour left in the lesson,
Douglas lifted the spell around his ears.
Then he had everyone quiet down and stop reciting.
"Miss Granger, record the marks on the homework, then hand it back.
"Those students who received a P must redo their assignments.
"Hand them to Miss Granger before the next lesson!"
Once Hermione took the homework down to the students, a hubbub broke out.
Ron said to Harry, very worried,
"Harry, do you think I'll get a P on my homework?"
Harry Potter pulled a long face.
"If yours gets a P, then I think mine will probably be much the same!"
Douglas tapped his textbook against the lectern.
"Quiet!
"Let's first discuss some problems with your homework!
"Could Mr. Longbottom tell me where he came across this technique of getting a Boggart drunk on beer,
"hmm?"
Douglas looked at Neville after speaking.
Earlier, while marking the homework, after seeing that answer,
he had glanced at the name as well.
He had never expected Longbottom, that bushy-browed, wide-eyed, most honest of students, to have such wildly divergent ideas.
Hearing his classmates laughing around him, Neville stood up, blushing with embarrassment.
"P-Professor Holmes, a cousin of my father's told me about this method before.
"He said... he once told me that he'd encountered a Boggart that turned into Gran.
"Then he dragged the Gran the Boggart had turned into off to keep drinking with him, and finally got the Boggart drunk!"
Douglas shrugged and regretfully explained that a Boggart would only turn into whatever a person feared most.
Just think: who would invite the object of their fear for a drink?
His father's cousin must have used a spell to turn the Boggart's version of his grandmother into a drunkard.
Seeing Neville's unconvinced expression,
Douglas suddenly thought of something amusing.
"Neville, we'll have practical lessons later where you'll face a Boggart.
"Personally, I think your idea is very interesting. When the time comes, I'll be sure to bring you something from my private collection.
"You can test whether you can get a Boggart drunk!"
The sixth-year practical classroom was in the basement.
It was not far from Professor Snape's Potions Classroom.
Unfortunately, every time Douglas came, Professor Snape was hard at work teaching.
The two had never run into each other.
When Douglas arrived outside the sixth-year practical classroom,
a dozen or so students were already there.
Seeing the parchment in their hands, and even books about Inferi that some had borrowed from the library,
Douglas collected all the parchment and books straight away.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to review your homework this lesson.
"But I think you've already guessed what the practical lesson coming up will involve.
"As I said before, whoever scores highest in this lesson will be the sixth-year class representative."
Hearing Douglas's words, everyone felt fortunate that they had not treated their homework carelessly.
At least they had diligently memorized the material about Inferi.
Before Douglas could call a name, a student in Slytherin House robes, Roda Dolohov, stepped forward.
"Professor, could I go first, please?"
Douglas nodded.
Then he stepped aside, indicating that he could begin.
Seeing the iron padlock hanging on the door,
no one had expected the first challenge to be opening the door.
A scornful smile curled Roda Dolohov's lips.
Then he pointed his wand at the lock. "Alohomora!"
The lock did not react at all, and the students from the other houses behind him smiled as though watching a show.
Even the fourth-year material had contained so many traps. How could the sixth-year lesson possibly be that easy?
Roda Dolohov immediately looked rather embarrassed.
He raised his wand and kept casting the unlocking charm at the door.
Despite his repeated wand movements, the large padlock did not react at all.
At that moment, a student wearing Ravenclaw House robes stepped forward.
"Professor, since Dolohov can't open it, why don't I try?"
Before Douglas could answer, Dolohov said roughly,
"Andrei, do you think you're better than me?
"Hmph! I don't believe you can open it!"
The Ravenclaw named Andrei snorted, drew his wand, pointed it straight at the door, and shouted,
"Open Sesame!"
Open Sesame could shatter a lock, though it sometimes left a smoking hole in the keyhole. This spell had been in use earlier than Alohomora.
Compared with Alohomora, it was rather crude, so hardly anyone used it anymore.
Unfortunately, even this spell failed to budge the door in the slightest.
Ignoring Dolohov, who was likewise mocking him from the side, Andrei looked at Douglas in astonishment.
Douglas merely shrugged and gave him an encouraging smile.
At that moment, another Ravenclaw student reminded Andrei,
"Why don't you try an even older unlocking charm?"
Andrei steadied himself and silently took a few steps back first.
Then he pointed his wand at the door, concentrated, and shouted,
"Open Sesame!"
But after he finished reciting the spell,
he found that the door still had not moved at all.
Dolohov mocked him from the side.
"Heh, I thought you were so impressive.
"Who knows whether you just made those two spells up?"
The other Ravenclaw said bluntly,
"Hmph! What do you know? Open Sesame is an even older unlocking charm than Open Sesame. You're ignorant!"
Dolohov saw Douglas standing to one side, watching them with interest.
He immediately fell silent.
When the others heard that even ancient unlocking charms could not open this door,
what other way could there be to open it?
At that moment, a Muggle-born Gryffindor suddenly recalled what Fifth-Year Prefect Percy had once told him about Douglas.
His eyes immediately lit up. First, he looked around, only to find nothing he could use.
Then he asked Douglas sheepishly,
"Professor Holmes, could I borrow a book?
"I promise I won't open it. I just need to use it!"
The corners of Douglas's mouth lifted slightly in a satisfied smile.
Had someone finally spotted his trap?
So he handed over a book very generously.
The others had no idea what he intended to do. They watched as the Gryffindor student named Oliver Wood placed the book on the floor.
Then he pointed his wand at the book and chanted, "Axe-to-Tree!"
The textbook rapidly transformed into a large woodcutting axe.
Steven excitedly picked up the axe from the floor, then walked to the door.
At that moment, both the Slytherin and Ravenclaw students wore disdainful smiles.
He actually expected to open a door that magic could not open with some lousy axe!
Gryffindor students really were brutes.
But to every student's surprise, when Wood slammed the axe hard into the lock,
a snapping sound rang out, and the lock fell.
Douglas led the applause and praised him.
"Very good, Mr. Wood. Ten points to Gryffindor!"
Seeing the others' incredulous expressions, Douglas said gravely,
"That's right. You're all excellent Hogwarts wizards, so you've grown accustomed to it:
"Whatever problem you encounter, you choose to solve it with magic.
"Likewise, as wizards, when they set defensive traps, they instinctively think of using the corresponding counter-jinxes.
"But you've forgotten that, besides magical attacks, there are also physical attacks in this world..."
This might have been a common failing in the wizarding world: choosing to solve everything with magic.
But they had already forgotten that magic was only a tool.
Before you continue