Defense Against the Dark Arts was Tuesday morning. Wade arrived just on time, finding the Slytherin and Ravenclaw students crowded in the hallway, chatting. The classroom door wasn't even open.
"What, is the door locked?" Wade walked over and asked. "Or has the class location changed?"
"No," Padma, who was talking to Lisa, turned around and said with a troubled expression, "It's just... you know... we have Professor Moody teaching us now..."
Compared to the kind and approachable Professor Trocar, the new professor was such a drastic change that Padma felt she couldn't accept it just yet.
But Wade didn't pick up on the others' apprehension and fear. He saw Moody often whenever he went home for the holidays. Once he got used to it, that face didn't seem so scary anymore.
So Wade casually remarked, "Yeah, I've been looking forward to learning a thing or two from him for a while now."
Wade weaved through the students in the hallway and pushed open the oak door.
"Screech—"
Moody was already sitting on a high stool at the front of the classroom, hands on his cane. His grizzled hair was a bit disheveled, and his scarred face was expressionless.
His one normal black eye stared at the doorway as if facing a dangerous enemy, while his other large blue eye rolled around wildly, up, down, left, and right, before suddenly retracting into his head, leaving only a white eyeball visible to everyone.
The students who had been chatting outside immediately fell silent, following Wade quietly into the classroom.
Just then, the class bell rang, and several slightly tardy students quickly hurried back to their seats.
Moody was indifferent to the students' covert glances of scrutiny, fear, and aversion. He pulled out the roll call and began calling names.
When he called Draco Malfoy's name, Moody paused for a moment, his eyes scanning up and down, but said nothing before moving on to the next name.
After roll call, Moody stood up with difficulty, leaning on his cane. He glanced at the textbooks on the students' desks and said, "Put them away. No theory today."
Everyone put their books into their bags. Moody waved his Wand, and the open door instantly slammed shut with a *bang*, the huge impact startling several people.
Then, he shook his Wand again, and all the desks and chairs seemed to sprout legs, quickly moving to the corner of the room. Only a group of students standing with their Wands remained in the center of the classroom.
Moody dragged his wooden peg leg down from the platform and walked among the students, his magical eye spinning wildly as he scanned everyone.
He said in a gruff voice, "Defense Against the Dark Arts isn't about memorizing! What you need to learn is how to deal with Dark Magic, to save your lives in front of a real Dark Wizard."
Moody suddenly waved his Wand. Goyle, who was secretly stuffing food into his mouth, didn't even let out a scream before he was sent flying, only letting out an "Ah!" when he hit the wall.
The students were startled. Those closest to Moody scrambled to get away.
A bad feeling suddenly rose in Michael's heart. He looked at Wade, as if to say, Why do you always like professors like this?
Evidently, Moody's actions reminded him of Abigail; both had a tendency to lose their temper and attack students without warning.
Wade smiled and mouthed silently, "Stay alert."
"See?" Moody sneered. "Dark Wizards won't warn you beforehand, won't abide by dueling etiquette—they won't wait for you to be ready, they'll only strike when you least expect it! You must be prepared, raise your guard!"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly gave a slight flick of his Wand. A red light knocked Michael away, and another red light shot towards Wade, but it was blocked by an invisible shield.
The Spell ricocheted and hit Pansy. After the girl shrieked, there were two more people lying on the classroom floor.
Moody looked at Wade with some surprise, his magical eye fixed on him. After a moment, he said, "A fine Shield Charm."
Wade bowed slightly, saying nothing, but he no longer dared to whisper.
His gaze fell on Moody's hand. He felt that the two Disarming Charms had been cast in quick succession, and the casting motions were very subtle. This combat technique alone was worth learning.
"Good, someone blocked my Spell, but the others clearly don't have that ability..."
Moody saw the students who had picked themselves up from the floor looking at him accusingly, especially Pansy, who was clearly annoyed. He grinned.
That expression on his face was rather frightening.
"What, you think it's unfair?" Moody turned to the Slytherin side, looking at Pansy, and asked, "Do you think I should count to three, two, one, and wait for you to be ready before casting a Spell, as a proper professor would?"
"Shouldn't you?" Pansy said, stifling her anger. "You're a professor, not a Dark Wizard, which is why we weren't on guard!"
"Good point..." Moody didn't get angry. Instead, he said in a gruff voice, "But this is the first lesson I'm teaching you: remember... always stay alert, no matter who the opponent is!"
Moody then walked over to Draco Malfoy and looked at him, asking, "I remember you went to the Quidditch World Cup final too. Tell me—when the Leprechauns attacked the campsite, were you prepared beforehand?"
All the students in the classroom turned their gaze to the two, and the classroom was silent.
Malfoy looked at him expressionlessly, his face stiff as he said, "No, sir."
"And were you hurt?" Moody asked again.
"No, sir," Malfoy said.
"Why?" Moody leaned in, his scarred face rapidly enlarging in Malfoy's vision. He asked, "Did the Leprechauns go easy on you?"
"No." Malfoy's face was tight, and he said dryly, "We hid in the forest."
"See, if you were like Malfoy that night at the campsite, you wouldn't be spouting nonsense like 'Why the surprise attack'!"
Moody withdrew his gaze from Malfoy's face and continued to pace among the students, growling,
"Real attacks always come out of nowhere, and so does death! But you might not have his luck to survive that kind of attack!"
Wade glanced at the pale-faced Malfoy, feeling that Moody's "luck" should perhaps be more accurately replaced with "parents."
"You can't always learn Magic by the book; you need to learn how to deal with the most dangerous, most chaotic situations!" Moody said. "Now, pair up and start practicing Defensive Charms... Let me see what you've got!"
He waved his Wand again, causing dozens of thick, soft mats to appear around the classroom, then returned to the podium and turned around, seeing that most of the students were still standing foolishly, seemingly waiting for instructions on how to group.
"Get moving!" Moody roared. "The enemy is right beside you! Are you going to wait for them to make the first move?"
"Whoosh—"
With a flash of Spell light, Wade sent Michael, who was next to him, out of the game first.
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