On Wednesday morning, after breakfast, the Gryffindor students finished their food and headed to the greenhouse with their Herbology.
The first lesson was, as usual, Professor Sprout's Herbology.
After finally getting through the Herbology, a group of little lions excitedly headed to the Defence Against Dark Magic classroom, clutching their textbooks.
After all, this new course sounds incredibly exciting—fighting against Dark Magic and honing Auror skills—which Gryffindor wouldn't be excited?
Lavender, who was walking ahead, muttered to Parvati:
"He's definitely a battle-hardened Professor Luo, maybe even a former Order of the Phoenix. He might even teach us the practical application of the Disarming Charm!"
"It would be best if you could teach me some methods to fight against dark Magical Creatures!" Parvati also fantasized.
"Don't get your hopes up too high!" Draco poured cold water on everyone's enthusiasm.
He knew that Voldemort was possessing Quirrell, so he had to appear incompetent to reduce Dumbledore's suspicion of him, so that he could secretly search for the Philosopher's Stone.
Secondly, most Hogwarts students become Voldemort's adversaries after graduation. Wouldn't teaching them how to defend against Dark Magic be like shooting yourself in the foot?
Hearing Draco's words, Lavender, who was walking beside him, asked doubtfully, "Are you serious?"
"You'll find out in class," Draco, giving her a dismissive glance.
Lavender's face fell immediately, and he groaned softly, "That's it! I won't learn anything! I wanted to learn some real skills!"
" Malfoy, stop pouring cold water on me. He might be an incredibly brilliant professor, knowing way more than you!"
Ron scoffed, continuing to contradict Draco.
He was filled with expectations for Professor Luo, so he didn't believe Draco's words at all.
" Ron, don't say that! Draco would never talk nonsense!" Neville immediately defended Draco.
"Don't act impulsively. If he didn't have some basis for his opinion, why would he say it? It's better than you just having unrealistic expectations and ending up disappointed."
Hermione's words unconsciously sided with Draco.
Ron's face flushed bright red instantly after being teased by the two.
He glared at Neville, then at Hermione, and said defiantly, "He just got lucky! And you two, you're both taking his side!"
Hearing this, Draco's lips curled up, and he suggested, "How about this, buddy, let's make a bet."
After a moment of hesitation, Ron immediately retorted, "What are we betting on?"
"I'll bet on whether Professor Quirrell's teaching is good or bad. I bet he teaches nothing but useless superficial knowledge, and doesn't reveal any real skills."
Ron gritted his teeth and pressed on, "What about the stakes?"
Draco glanced at the wand in his hand, which clearly didn't fit, and said calmly:
"You win, I'll give you a brand new wand—this broken wand of yours is completely unsuitable for you, a complete waste of your talent."
These words struck a chord with Ron. He tightened his grip on his wand and asked again, "What if I lose?"
Draco's smile widened. "You lost," he said. "So you'll be my lackey. From now on at Hogwarts, you'll have to obey your boss's every word."
Harry quickly grabbed Ron's arm and urged him, "Don't be impulsive, Ron."
But Ron, enraged by the suggestion of being a lackey, refused to back down. "Let's bet! Who's afraid of who!"
"Don't try to cheat if you lose; the new wand won't be a penny less!"
Despite his tough talk, Ron felt a strange pang in his heart.
But swayed by the commotion around him, unwilling to back down, and tempted by the matching wand, he finally agreed.
"Don't worry, my family has plenty of everything, except money," Draco shrugged.
Hermione shook her head helplessly; Ron was about to follow in her footsteps.
Lavender covered his mouth and laughed, saying to Parvati, "This is going to be interesting. It'll be fun to think about Ron calling himself 'boss' if he loses!"
" Draco's too confident, but with Ron's temper, he definitely won't admit defeat," Parvati muttered under her breath.
Ron was already having doubts when he heard Parvati's words and instantly exploded. "Who would deny it! I understand the principle of honoring a bet!"
Provoked by Parvati, Ron now truly had no way back.
Harry quickly caught up with the sulking Ron, put his hand on his shoulder and patted him gently, softening his voice to soothe him:
"Don't be angry, don't be angry. Parvati was just saying it casually. Nobody really thinks you'd deny it."
" Harry, even you don't think I'm good enough..." Ron looked at him dejectedly.
Harry paused, then hurriedly waved his hand:
"I... I didn't mean that! It's just... I was afraid you'd get taken advantage of..."
He scratched the back of his head, his gaze drifting to the side, unable to think of a more suitable way to smooth things over, so he could only add in a low voice,
"But, maybe he's misjudged! Professor Quirrell might be hiding something, you definitely have a chance!"
"That's more like it." Ron glanced at him sideways.
Olivia shook her head helplessly. "Alright, stop fooling around. Let's go into the classroom and see what's going on."
The crowd surged into the Defence Against Dark Magic classroom, with Draco and Hermione once again taking their seats in the front row.
Draco leaned back lazily in his chair, elbows propped on the table as he watched Hermione study, his fingers casually twirling the ends of her hair.
Hermione paused, glanced sideways at Draco, lightly swatted away his mischievous fingers, and scolded him playfully:
"Stop fooling around, you're preparing for class. What will you do if you can't keep up with the professor's lecture?"
"It's alright, my wife's got your back," Draco whispered in Hermione's ear.
Whether it was Draco's warm breath or his shameless words, Hermione's ears instantly turned bright red.
She reached under the table, embarrassed and annoyed, and gave Draco a light pinch on the side.
The blow wasn't light; Draco winced in pain, quickly releasing his hand from her hair and rubbing his lower back as he muttered, "Do all girls do this...?"
"Serves you right, you're never serious." Hermione didn't look at him, but simply smoothed the messy ends of her hair with her fingers.
Neville and Olivia, who were pretending to study in their notebooks behind them, heard the two bickering and their shoulders trembled as they tried to suppress their laughter.
" Professor McGonagall asked me to supervise you. Hurry up, let's preview the material together." Hermione wiped the blush from her face and turned to urge him on.
"No way, Professor McGonagall was talking about Transfiguration. I have no interest in Defence Against Dark Magic."
Hermione pushed the Defence Against Dark Magic textbook towards Draco: "Even if you don't have a cold, you have to study it. What if the professor calls on you? You can't just stand there in class unable to answer."
At that moment, Draco glanced at the podium, tugged at Hermione's arm, and whispered, "The professor is here."
Hermione looked in that direction and saw a figure slowly emerge from the shadows behind the podium.
It was Professor Quirrell.
He looked even thinner than he did at the freshman welcome dinner in the Great Hall.
His greasy black hair lay limply on his forehead, and his faded wizard robe hung loosely on his thin body.
The most eye-catching thing was the thick scarf wrapped around his head, layer upon layer, completely covering Professor Quirrell's forehead.
A pair of timid, round eyes darted around, occasionally glancing nervously at the Defence Against Dark Magic chart behind her.
They looked as if they were afraid something was hidden behind the poster.
He exuded an indescribable panic.