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'I will count down from 3, and you will all cast your spells together.' Dracula stood on the podium, his voice cold. 'Anyone who does not want double homework or detention—give me your best shot!'
'3,' he said indifferently.
The young wizards looked lost. Most of them glanced helplessly at their classmates, hoping to find some sort of united plan.
'2.'
Spurred on by Fred and George's expressions of mock righteousness, they gradually made up their minds. Each student picked up their wand, looking slightly flustered.
'1.'
As Dracula's voice fell, the Weasley twins—as the ringleaders in this "attack the professor" exercise—took the lead. They unleashed their signature move:
'Mucus ad Nauseam!'
Dracula's eyes twitched slightly. With a disdainful flick of his hand, he fanned the disgusting snot spell straight back at the 2 of them. Fred's and George's identical noses immediately began to run profusely.
The twins looked at each other, sniffed in unison, and then—with great enthusiasm—started smearing the snot all over each other's clothes.
The remaining young wizards, seeing someone take the lead, gradually mustered their courage. Also, under the pressure of doubled homework and detention, they began to cast various spells at Dracula one after another.
Seeing this, Dracula did not dodge or avoid. Instead, he smiled and spread his hands, even closing his eyes, using his body to absorb all the spells.
The next moment, the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom fell into silence.
'Professor? Professor?'
Seeing that Dracula was not moving, Cedric—who had not had the heart to cast a spell—called out softly.
'Professor, are you alright?'
Seeing this scene, the other young wizards also began to panic. The classroom immediately became noisy.
The twins, who were rolling on the ground, wiped away some snot. They stopped messing around and looked at Dracula on the podium.
'Professor Dracula, are you really in trouble?' An undisguised look of joy appeared on their faces.
Dracula, who was analysing the strength of the young wizards' spells, frowned when he heard the chaotic sounds in the classroom.
'Silence!' He opened his eyes and tapped the desk heavily with his pointer.
'The calculation results are out. The spells I just received did not exceed Mr Diggory's. So, Mr Diggory does not have to do this assignment,' Dracula said. 'The homework for the following 5 people whose names I call will be doubled. And you will have detention in my office tonight!'
Dracula pointed out the 5 students who had not dared to cast a spell at all. He singled them out to practise on their own and told them they were not allowed to leave until they cast a proper spell.
The task for the others was to read the textbook themselves. In the next class, they had to master the theoretical content of the first part of 'Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Defence'.
After arranging these things, Dracula leisurely strolled around the classroom. He quickly browsed through the students' textbooks, thereby quickly understanding the first part of the content that the 3rd-year wizards had to learn. He successfully managed to lecture without having brought any teaching materials.
When he turned to the Weasley brothers, Fred weakly raised his hand.
'What's wrong?' Dracula asked curiously.
'Professor, you have been hit by so many spells. Do you really not feel any discomfort?' Fred asked, a streak of snot still on his face, unwilling to give up.
George also nodded in agreement beside him.
'Do not worry, I will be fine.' Dracula showed a malicious smile. 'You two should hurry up and save money during this time. I am waiting for you to pay me back those 40 Galleons!'
The twins lowered their heads at the same time, their faces long and mournful.
After class, Dracula went to the Headmaster's office as soon as possible.
'I think there is a problem with Hogwarts' teaching.' Dracula sat casually in front of the wall full of portraits. He had a Honeydukes blood-flavoured lollipop—just delivered—in his mouth. 'How can there be students who have studied magic for 2 years but cannot even cast a single spell? Dumbledore, what do you want the 4 founders to think of you?'
'Professor Dracula, the 3rd-year students are all wizards who have passed the 2nd-year final exams. It is impossible for them not to be able to cast a single spell.' Dumbledore was not offended. He smiled and comforted Dracula. 'I think it is possible that your teaching style has frightened them.'
'It is not me who frightened them, but their own mentality. The students at Hogwarts are all spoiled!' Dracula bit the lollipop into pieces. He subconsciously wanted to throw the stick out the window.
But he immediately thought of Professor McGonagall pursing her lips seriously. He silently pulled back his outstretched hand and threw the stick towards Fawkes's claws.
'Help me clean up the rubbish, Fawkes.' Dracula stroked the phoenix's golden-red feathers and continued, 'If it were a few centuries earlier, students like this would not be able to survive in society after graduation.'
Fawkes gave him a disgusted look. But because the vampire's powerful dark power put a lot of pressure on the bird, Fawkes still spat out a ball of fire and burned the stick to ashes.
'Professor Dracula, times are changing.' Dumbledore gently adjusted his glasses and said to the old antique—Dracula—in front of him. 'In fact, even if current wizards do not have such strong magical strength after leaving school, they can still live very well.'
'Just among the students I have taught, I can list many wizards who are not magically powerful, but live very well—such as the famous witch singer Celestina Warbeck; Devlin Whitehorn, who founded the Nimbus Racing Broom Company; and Glenda Chittock, the famous host of the wizarding radio show "Witching Hour"…'
'In this era, everyone can always find their own shining points in different fields.'
A gentle smile appeared in Dumbledore's eyes as he stared into Dracula's wine-red pupils.
Dracula was silent for a moment.
'Perhaps you are right.' He looked deeply at Dumbledore and said in a deep voice, 'But the curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts post is still there. Which means that Voldemort has not completely passed away.'
'A new round of war is not far away, right? What self-preservation abilities will those wizards who excel in other fields have at that time?'
Dumbledore was stunned for a moment. Then he sighed softly and shook his head. He took off his glasses and wiped them carefully.
'Sometimes, what people say—"the Dark Lord is dead"—is just self-deception. In fact, many people understand, but more people forget under this self-deception,' he said after a long while.
'The decline of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts in the past few decades has indeed had too much of an impact on the magical world here.'
'That is why Hogwarts needs a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor like you, Professor Dracula.'
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