The Defense Against the Dark Arts course finally became somewhat normal, although each professor liked to teach students in their own habitual ways.
For instance, Professor Flitwick taught various magic spells, Professor McGonagall taught them to use Transfiguration techniques to handle dangerous creatures, Professor Sprout liked teaching students to identify various dangerous plants, and Professor Snape always said:
"If you have a bottle of XXX potion with you, you can solve this problem without any effort."
The Defense Against the Dark Arts class seemed like an extension of other courses.
And when Lockhart was teaching, he liked to leave irrelevant assignments, and students could easily get high scores by making up some flattering statements.
But after switching to other professors, their assignments seemed to suddenly double, with none of the professors assigning tasks shorter than a foot.
"You've been deprived of too much knowledge in this class!"
Almost every professor said: "To at least pass the final exam, you'll need to put in more effort!"
A mountain of homework weighed down on them, and every student cursed Lockhart; despite having the Most Charming Smile Award in all of the United Kingdom, the blond professor lost all female student fans at Hogwarts.
What made it even more painful for students was that the books they had bought at high prices had become trash, and there were no new textbooks.
The professors all agreed that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor should decide what textbook they should use.
So in every class, the professor wrote down the key points on the blackboard, and not only did students have to copy them all down, but they also had to go to the library to research and write essays afterward.
Finally, on a weekend evening in early March, the dinner that day was more lavish than usual. Professor Dumbledore, who hadn't been seen for a while, appeared at the faculty table, sitting next to a stranger witch.
The person wore a black wizard robe trimmed with deep blue and gold stripes. She was about thirty, with dark skin and sharp, angular features that carried a wild beauty.
The students were all drawn to her, engaging in lively discussions. The witch, however, did not shy away from their gazes and instead looked at the many students with interest.
Her gaze swept across the Great Hall like a hunting lioness, briefly locking with the Weasley Twins' excited faces, then glanced at Harry Potter beside them, and finally settled momentarily on Vid.
After dinner, Dumbledore tapped his glass with a fork, the clear sound spreading throughout the hall, and the students immediately fell silent.
"Good evening, children, I hope you're all well-fed."
The students responded enthusiastically, and Fred called out, "The strawberry cake was excellent today, Professor!"
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley, I think so too."
Dumbledore said with a joyful smile, "Allow me to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor - Professor Serra Abigail from the United States."
The students warmly applauded, some even whistling loudly.
But Professor Abigail did not intend to speak; she only lazily raised her hand and waved to everyone.
The students began to feel this professor might be a bit difficult to get along with.
"In addition -"
Dumbledore continued, "The Board of Governors has generously donated funds to purchase a batch of Defense Against the Dark Arts textbooks for all students..."
"Really?" a student asked in surprise.
"Of course." Professor Dumbledore said, "The new textbooks have been sent to the common rooms and will be distributed by the prefects. So, what are you waiting for? Go see what you'll be learning next!"
The scraping of chairs and the clang of movement filled the hall as students left, many turning back to glance at the new professor.
"She's really charming, isn't she?"
Michael said while peeking, unable to resist speaking to Vid.
"Humph!"
A cold snort suddenly came from beside them as Padma forcefully bumped into Michael, holding her head high as she strode out with her housemates.
"I dare say, she's the most charming professor at Hogwarts!" Terry added, "I really wish we could take the Defense Against the Dark Arts class tomorrow."
"Our class is on Thursday," Vid said, "Be patient."
"Oh, no..." Terry said exaggeratedly, "Vid, you didn't have to remind me."
The group, chuckling and chatting, returned to the common room and received their new textbooks from the prefect.
"Defense and Deterrence Spell."
Opening the cover, a line of bold words was printed on the title page -
"Attack is the best defense!"
"It seems our professor is quite different, doesn't she?" Michael murmured.
The students' faces were almost all filled with excitement - from the choice of textbooks, the new professor's style was already very evident.
Before Vid and others had their class, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had theirs first. Of course, other grades also had their Defense Against the Dark Arts class in succession.
Students who had taken the class had mixed reviews.
"The best defense class I've ever taken!"
"She's absolutely insane!"
"Can Professor Abigail continue to teach us Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"How could Dumbledore allow her to teach like this? It's even worse than Lockhart's theatrical performances!"
Students who attended the class, to some degree, carried some injuries. Madam Pomfrey was even rumored to have had a row with the new professor and then stormed out of the professor's office in a huff.
Padma nervously asked Hermione about her class experience.
"Well... how to put it?" Hermione thought for a moment and said, "It's interesting, it's dangerous. In any case... bring some Dittany Essence to class with you."
"Brilliant!" Harry strongly recommended the new professor's class, "I really wish she had taught us from the start."
"Harry, your nose is bleeding," Padma quietly reminded him.
"Oh, darn, it's happening again."
Harry quickly plugged his nose, and Vid gave him a Healing Spell, finally stopping the bleeding.
"Thanks, Vid," Harry said, then explained sheepishly, "I got my nose hit."
"We could all see that," Michael said. "So, what did you learn?"
"Dueling,"
Harry smiled happily, "Real wizard dueling."
"It's a bit too thrilling, to be honest," Fred grinned, "but for us, it's practically heaven!"
"What are you afraid of?" George said, wrapping an arm around Michael's shoulder, "Think about it, how many times have you been through the maze? Why fear dueling class?"
Michael thought it made sense but also felt like they were pulling his leg.
Amid the Ravenclaw students' trepidation, Thursday finally arrived.