Chapter 121: Defense Against the Dark Arts Class

A new day dawned, and Damocles Belby had his breakfast, heading to his first class with a cheerful disposition.

Following Felix Harp's advice and after a discussion with Dumbledore, he had visited twelve wizards who had previously taught the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. This gave him firsthand information about the rumored curse.

According to these predecessors, the curse's effects were exceedingly subtle, almost imperceptible. However, after about six months, hidden things started to influence them, often encountering seemingly coincidental accidents.

As time went on, these accidents would multiply.

Their advice to Belby was, "When one day, while brewing a potion, you encounter a failure that shouldn't happen, it's time to start preparing to leave."

Belby held onto these words dearly in his heart.

In the remaining days, he began earnestly preparing his lesson.

...

"Today's lesson is for the second-year students. They should already possess the skills to handle Red Caps. Nevertheless, I better be cautious," he thought. It was his first class, and Belby's heart raced with excitement and anxiety.

As he arrived at the classroom door, the chattering young wizards focused their gaze upon him.

The professor appeared rather ordinary, tall and lean, seeming somewhat delicate. Yet, he used magic to levitate two large cages draped in cloth, sparking a hint of anticipation among the students.

Under the circumstances, their expectations were already quite low.

The professor stood at the door and beckoned, "Follow me, young wizards. Today is a practical lesson, and I need to assess your combat proficiency." He commanded the floating cages to vanish into the doorway. "Oh, and don't forget your wands."

The young wizards hurriedly gathered their belongings, exchanging amazed glances.

It had been quite a while since they had a practical class on Defense Against the Dark Arts, unless one counted that memorable lesson from this year. During that class, Gilderoy Lockhart had brought a cage of Cornish Pixies, throwing the classroom into chaos.

"Do you know what this reminds me of?" Ron asked suggestively.

"Those little blue-faced creatures certainly won't be this quiet," Harry wryly responded.

In fact, that practical lesson was the aftermath they, along with Hermione, had dealt with – recapturing the Cornish Pixies. Hermione's Freezing Charm had been a tremendous help.

They walked through the corridors and entered a quiet, empty classroom.

Belby placed the metallic cage in a corner, emitting a faint, "Squeak, squeak" sound from within. Neville, who was walking in front, involuntarily shrunk back a little, fearing that something inside might grab his ear and take off to the ceiling.

"What do you think it might be?" Harry wondered aloud.

"From the sound, it's somewhat like a Kneazle," Ron speculated.

"But Kneazles should appear in Care of Magical Creatures classes. They're not dangerous," Hermione pointed out.

"I just hope it's not an Acromantula," Ron said hopefully, thinking of Hagrid's collection of giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest. He often wondered about Hagrid's thought process.

This piece of information about Hagrid's collection of creatures came from their investigation into the Chamber of Secrets monster. When he later saw the photos and information that Hermione had found about Acromantulas, Ron couldn't help but feel bothered by it.

"He even gave it a name—Aragog!"

Belby looked sentimentally at the classroom, reminiscing about his own school days—a period that wasn't particularly rosy because he didn't quite fit in back then.

He reintroduced himself, "Many of you might not be familiar with me. I am Damocles Belby. While I have a certain expertise in potion-making, I am also fully qualified to teach you Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"To some extent, I have an advantage. I've looked through the second-year curriculum, and you need to learn some counter-curses and how to handle low-risk magical creatures properly. Interestingly enough, my extensive knowledge of potion-making coincides with them..."

He told a dry joke, and by its effect, the young wizards indeed seemed frozen.

Ron whispered to Harry, "I guess Hagrid won't be fond of him." But he suddenly had a thought—he really wanted to introduce Aragog to this new professor.

Harry agreed; anyone who dared to treat Hagrid's "darlings" as potion ingredients would surely drive Hagrid mad.

After finishing his introduction, Belby called out names from his list, remembering each young wizard's name.

"Mirison Berstede."

"Navi Longbottom."

...

"Ronald Weasley."

After calling out all the names, the young wizards raised their hands curiously, having received various true and false rumors beforehand:

"Professor, did you receive the Order of Merlin?"

"Yes, just this month."

"Are you a Master Potioneer?"

"That's how others have described me."

"What's Wolfsbane Potion?"

"A potion that alleviates the symptoms of lycanthropy during a full moon."

"Who's stronger, you or Professor Snape?" This was a Gryffindor asking, while the Slytherins gave him hostile stares.

"Well... our research focuses are different, so there's no meaningful comparison."

After a few minutes, Belby realized he couldn't let these wandering young minds keep bombarding him with questions. They seemed to want him to challenge Snape to a duel, fighting for the title of Hogwarts' top Potion Master.

Clearing his throat, Belby said, "Today, we'll review what you've learned so far. Red Caps. I'll ask a few questions, and if you answer correctly, you'll earn points—"

"Professor!"

A young wizard interrupted him, "What's a Red Cap?"

Belby was momentarily taken aback, "Um... a Red Cap is a magical creature similar to gnomes. They're found in the Northern European region, and, uh..." He looked at the puzzled expressions below, "You haven't learned about Red Caps?"

In response, there was a synchronized shaking of heads and sighs.

Belby halted, sensing something amiss. He called on a student, "What have you all been studying?"

Seamus Finnigan stood up, uttering bewildering words, "Professor, we've been learning to play vampires." He unbuttoned his outer robe and draped it over himself like a cloak, baring his teeth and striking an aristocratic pose.

Many of the young wizards burst into laughter.

"That's amusing, but it's not the answer I was looking for."

Finally, Hermione raised her hand to explain their year's curriculum to this bewildered new professor.

"So, apart from the first class with the Cornish Pixies, you've had no practical lessons?" Belby was thoroughly dumbfounded.

He had indeed inquired about the course and prepared himself mentally, but nobody had told him that the illustrious Defense Against the Dark Arts class had no practical component?

After about half a minute, he managed to gather his thoughts, "Alright then, we, um... let's learn about Red Caps today."

He waved his wand, unveiling the cage's curtain.

The creature in the cage startled them—it was a small, emaciated creature with a layer of red fur on its head, the rest of its exposed skin giving off a dirty, tawny color.

"You can come closer to observe," Belby said.

The young wizards cautiously approached, observing the intimidating creature—

Curled within the cage, the Red Caps bared their teeth, one of them suddenly striking the magically reinforced metal cage with its claw.

"Boom!" The bars of the cage emitted a loud noise but remained unscathed.

The young wizards were still taken aback.

Harry clearly saw that the creature's claws were disproportionately exaggerated compared to its body, its nails measuring at least an inch and a half.

Belby's explanatory voice reached them, "Have you noticed their claws? I believe someone has. Their forelimbs are incredibly agile, allowing them to use rudimentary tools like twigs, sticks, and stones."

"Red Caps are attracted to blood. Apart from their normal hunting, if they encounter lone Muggles or young wizards in the wild, they ambush from behind. Today, we'll learn how to deal with them—"

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