The atmosphere in the next day's Defense Against Dark Magic class had changed completely.
With the weight of the monthly exams lifted, the air was filled with the relief of having survived a disaster.
No longer tense, the students whispered in twos and threes, chatting about the Three-School Dueling Tournament or cursing the sheer insanity of Snape's exam questions.
Amid the noise, Professor Holmes walked into the classroom.
Instead of carrying a lesson plan, he was smiling as he pushed a large trolley covered with a thick black cloth, its wheels rumbling.
Every eye in the class was immediately drawn to it.
"Professor, what's that?" a bold Gryffindor asked.
Douglas did not answer. He pushed the trolley into the middle of the classroom, wearing his signature harmless smile.
"Thank you for your hard work on the monthly exams, everyone." His voice was as gentle as ever. "Today, we won't be having a theory lesson."
At his words, the students' hearts leaped into their throats.
So polite-something was up!
Douglas caught a corner of the black cloth and whipped it off.
"Wow!"
A chorus of amazement filled the classroom.
Beneath the cloth were more than a dozen glass tanks of varying sizes.
Each glass tank was a miniature ecosystem.
The tanks contained dead branches and fallen leaves, yellow desert sand, and jagged gray rocks.
The tanks appeared empty, but the students all knew that Professor Holmes's lessons were never simple.
"As you can see," Douglas swept an arm over the glass tanks, "these are home to Hogwarts's finest masters of disguise."
He tapped a tank filled with green leaves lightly with his wand.
An unremarkable twig suddenly moved, extending two branchlike arms as two tiny brown eyes blinked warily.
"A Bowtruckle. It can blend into tree bark."
He pointed to the