After the spell class, everyone headed to the great hall.
Lunch time was in ten minutes, and if you went early, you could choose your favorite foods to your heart's content.
Turning the stone corridor, the nearby staircase creaked, with long steps extending from upstairs.
A group of upper-grade students came down the stairs, each looking droopy, like eggplants hit by frost.
"Hey, Matt!"
Michael raised his hand in greeting and asked, "What happened to you all?"
Vid also recognized them as fifth-year Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students.
The boy named Matt glanced at Michael and Vid beside him, walked over, and sighed before speaking.
"We just had a Defense Against the Dark Arts class."
Michael understood: "Did you all get beaten up too? Professor Abigail does hit hard."
"I'd rather be beaten!" Matt said sullenly.
The young wizards all looked puzzled.
"Vid Gray?" A Gryffindor girl coming from behind pushed Matt aside, saw Vid, and said, "I heard you fought with the new professor yesterday?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the conveyor belt-like crowd in the corridor paused briefly, and many people turned their heads to look at Vid.
"No, just got beaten up," Vid said expressionlessly.
"That's right, he got beaten up badly, he just came out of the hospital ward this morning," Padma chimed in.
Hearing this, several of the fifth-year students sighed in disappointment.
Matt explained to them, "I heard Professor Abigail's classes are actual sword fights, and we've been looking forward to it for a whole week."
"But when we finally had the class, it was no different than any other," Matt said disappointedly, "Exams, exams, endless exams!"
He said with deep resentment.
Another Ravenclaw girl said helplessly, "There's no way around it — this is OWLs year for us."
The results of the OWLs exam will affect the future of all young wizards unless they are as wealthy as the Malfoy family or don't care about their future at all, otherwise, they must take this exam extremely seriously.
And there's basically no chance to retake the exam, it's a once-in-a-lifetime test.
Therefore, throughout this year, they, like those high school seniors in Vid's previous life, spent a whole year memorizing, reviewing, training, and completing a large amount of homework, honing their knowledge and skills through countless tests in hopes of getting a good grade.
The pressure is imaginable.
So, they might be the only students who still look forward to Professor Abigail's classes, even if getting beaten is more interesting than doing exercises.
If they get beaten up badly, they might be able to smoothly skip a class or two and the corresponding homework.
Unfortunately, in today's class, Professor Abigail didn't activate her unique teaching mode.
Everyone sighed in unison, then continued dejectedly toward the great hall, while Vid and the others quietly distanced themselves from these energy-draining individuals.
"OWLs year is terrifying!" Michael said quietly, "I hope I won't be like them three years later."
Vid quoted what his high school teachers often said in his past life: "As long as you prepare well usually and take your studies seriously, there's no need to panic during exams. They are just too careless usually, that's why they feel time is tight and pressure is big now."
Michael scratched his face, feeling as if he had been scolded too.
Padma walked over and said quietly, "Do you guys think… Professor Abigail changed her teaching style not just because it's OWLs year for them, but also because she quarreled with Madam Pomfrey yesterday?"
Michael was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Possibly — I remember Fred and the others also have a Defense Against the Dark Arts class this afternoon, so we can ask them about their class situation to find out."
Vid was listening on the side, suddenly thinking: Could it be that after teaching for a few weeks, Professor Abigail might get scared away by the overwhelming workload?
Because the school only has one Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, the class hours each week are high, and they're all long sessions, with at least five or six hours of classes daily.
Previous Quirrell had ulterior motives, and was a dual-core version; Lockhart didn't teach serious content and treated the class as his stage, wishing class time to be longer.
But with Abigail's "energized" teaching style, it would be normal if she couldn't persist for long.
After lunch, Vid bid farewell to Michael and the others and went alone to the headmaster's office.
"Strawberry ice cream."
Upon hearing the password, the statue jumped aside, revealing the entrance. Vid ascended the spiraling stairway. At the top, he found the oak door slightly ajar.
"Honestly, Dumbledore, Professor Abigail's teaching methods are very problematic!"
Madam Pomfrey's indignant voice came from above:
"Do you know how many students have been sent to the hospital ward these past few days? I just sent off a dozen, and soon a whole bunch can be lying in again! There aren't enough beds, I had to put poor Ogden in the hallway!"
Vid didn't expect Madam Pomfrey to actually come to complain. The staircase had already risen to the top, so he had to wait at the entrance.
"I think Professor Abigail just isn't quite used to the students' level, she used to face more brutal battles and dark wizards running amok around the world."
Dumbledore said gently, "Once she assesses the students' level and understands her duties, I believe her teaching methods will become more appropriate."
"She's like a lion just entering a new territory, wanting to hunt every kind of animal! But to be so heavy-handed with second-year students, it's really too much!"
Madam Pomfrey wasn't convinced by Dumbledore's vague words, and she even issued a threat in anger:
"If she doesn't know how to restrain herself, I'll be sitting in on Defense Against the Dark Arts classes from now on!"
"I don't think that will be necessary, I'll have a talk with her." Dumbledore said.
"Don't wait until later, do it today!" Madam Pomfrey said firmly.
"Of course," said Dumbledore, "but Mr. Gray is waiting outside for me. How about you see if Professor Abigail changes her approach, and then we can discuss it further?"
Vid stepped aside and soon saw Madam Pomfrey come out.
She was still wearing what looked like her nurse's uniform, with a faint smell of magic potion.
"Mr. Gray, are your injuries all healed?"
"Yes, Madam," Vid bowed slightly and said, "Thank you for your care, the magic potion you used was very effective."