Hogwarts: A Chinese-Style Professor

Chapter 10 First Lecture
On September 2, Li Wei officially began teaching.

The thought of spending almost all his time, except for weekends, teaching for the next few years made his face look rather lifeless.

The first class of the morning was for third-year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Levi left his two assistants in his office—he was just teaching a bunch of newbies, so he didn't need them yet.

As Li Wei entered the classroom, a tremendous roar of cheers and screams immediately erupted from inside—all coming from the Gryffindor students.

Li Wei's outstanding appearance far surpassed that of any professor they had ever seen, and was a world apart from Professor Quirrell from the previous semester.

This gives them reason to believe that such a professor can bring them knowledge.

"Hello, I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Li Wei's voice rang out in front of the students, deep and slightly magnetic, but it sounded rather listless, making the students feel that the professor was somewhat dispirited.

“My name is Li Wei, and I am Chinese. You can call me Professor Li or Professor Li Wei, either is fine.”

"Logically speaking, since this is our first meeting, I shouldn't be teaching specific content in the first lesson, but rather having a good chat and getting to know you."

However, I'm sorry, I don't want to repeat this process across seven grades and twenty-eight classes, so let's find a more convenient method.

Li Wei waved his wand, and parchments flew automatically to each student.

"Please complete the questions on the parchment within three minutes."

1. When more than ten Cornish elves break free of their cages and start swooping down on you, what should your first reaction be?

A. Immediately squat down, cover your head and neck with your arms, and loudly ask the professor for help.

B. Stand still and try to use the Freeze spell on the foremost sprite.

C. He turned and ran towards the classroom door at full speed, trying to leave the scene.

D. Wield the magic wand and try to attack all the sprites at the same time.

2. A sprite has grabbed your hair and is trying to steal your wand. Which of the following actions has the highest priority?
A. He shook his head violently in an attempt to shake it off and reached out to grab it.

B. Keep your head steady, point your wand at it, and try a simple knockback spell.

C. Ignore it and continue attacking the other sprites that are destroying the classroom.

D. Ask the classmate next to you to use a spell to help you attack it.

3. (True/False) Cornish elves' teeth contain a weak toxin, and being bitten by one can cause a wound that is difficult to heal in a short time.
"Professor, I have a question!"

While everyone was carefully reading the question, a student wearing a red coat suddenly reached out his hand.

Li Wei looked at him, and the documents beside him moved without wind. One of them flew out from the interlayer and into Li Wei's hand.

"Jean-Bill, what's the problem?"

"What should I do if the option I want isn't listed above?"

"Here is the question; you only need to choose the answer that is closest to the correct one."

"What—is it just a quiz show?"

Bill muttered a dissatisfied remark, and a voice from the corner of the classroom echoed, "I know what you mean."

Li Wei knew what they were thinking, but he didn't respond.

After everyone had finished writing, he didn't collect the parchment. Instead, he clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention and then announced loudly:
"Everyone, remember your answers just now. Now, look down at the parchment. The test officially begins."

The young wizards belatedly looked down and then discovered a scene that horrified them.

The parchment before them was transforming into a dark blue, pointed-faced elf!
“Chichichichichi!!!”

A cacophony like the squabble of many budgies erupted. The next moment, the parchment in front of all the students transformed into Cornish elves, who swiftly attacked them.

The entire classroom instantly descended into chaos as the aggressive sprites hurtled towards their target like rockets.

Some students had their wands snatched away as soon as they came up, while others had their ears grabbed. Bill, who had been complaining earlier, used 'Grin Hullah' on the elf—it seems that this was the option he had wanted earlier.

Unfortunately, the results were not good.

As the spell failed, the provoked sprite became even more ferocious, smashing his nose until it bled.

Only three students who were seriously working on their problems managed to remain calm and, in a moment of panic, used a freezing spell to deal with the sprite that attacked them.

Apart from them, everyone else was thrown into chaos by the sprites.

Although he had been mentally prepared, Li Wei still couldn't help but shake his head and release the transformation spell after seeing the third-grade students' appalling performance.

"Amazing."

There was clearly no admiration in his tone.

"Even the least threatening dark creatures can cause you so much trouble."

I think I now fully understand how terrible your Defense Against the Dark Arts education has been over the past two years.

At this point, no one was in the mood to talk anymore—in fact, many people were resentful.

If it weren't for the fact that last year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was so terrible that they were complacent for a whole year, they could certainly have dealt with a few Cornish elves.

"Three people completed this simple test: Slytherin got two points and Gryffindor got one point."

"In addition, because five people had their wands taken from them, Slytherin loses two points and Gryffindor loses three points."

No one objected; they simply stared intently at Li Wei, hoping to get revenge next time.

"Given your poor performance, I think that rather than learning how to resist dark magic, what you need to address first is your own dullness and recklessness. Of course, we will also conduct lessons on understanding dark creatures in the meantime."

"So what should we do, Professor?"

"First, you need solid theoretical knowledge to understand what affects the power of a spell and how to cast a perfect spell."

Besides that, there's practice.

Practice extensively and continuously until spellcasting becomes second nature to your body.

"Is that all? It doesn't sound difficult. Professor Flitwick taught us these things too."

One student couldn't help but ask a question.

Li Wei glanced at him but did not correct his mistaken thinking.

"In the short term, I will only teach you two spells: Swift Imprisonment and Obstacles. For a long time to come, you will need to use them to deal with the dark creatures in the classroom."

By the way, the Cornish elves were just saying hello. Next class, the dark creature I've prepared for you is Red Hat. Those who underestimated the Cornish elves before, get ready to show your skills next class.

Amidst the changing expressions on the faces of some students, Li Wei continued:
"In this lesson, I will first teach you about obstacles. The spell is im-ped-i-MEN-ta, which is a spell that can delay, hinder, or even repel a target."

It has no lethal power, but it has many uses.

Li Wei looked at the group of students who were simply listening obediently and raised an eyebrow:

Why don't you write it down?

(End of this chapter)