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Two weeks of Christmas holiday slipped away in the blink of an eye, and the young witches and wizards were now returning to begin the second half of the school year.
By the time Sargeras arrived at the towering silhouette of Hogwarts Castle, dusk had already deepened into the dark embrace of evening. The Great Hall blazed with golden light that spilled warmly through its tall windows, casting a welcoming glow into the cold winter night. Inside, the air was alive with the hum of voices and the clatter of cutlery, for the school was holding its grand New Term Feast.
Sargeras had come at the express request of Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, whose message carried an unmistakable urgency. He was to be present without fail, for there was something new to be announced.
He did not need to guess twice what that "something new" meant. It could only be Kestrel.
Though she had graduated only a few years ago and her real-world combat experience was still somewhat limited, she was more than capable of teaching a group of students. Especially when it came to the subject of Defence Against the Dark Arts… while she was never one to relish battle for its own sake, she had an undeniable talent for defensive magic and, perhaps even more importantly, for retreating with remarkable skill. Coupled with her wand, now fully "mature" and attuned to her, the protective spells she could cast were formidable, enough to make even seasoned wizards take notice.
Still, knowing her restless nature, Sargeras suspected that she would not linger at Hogwarts for long. If he were to wager, he would say she might very well leave before the term was out.
The Great Hall was filled to the brim; students crowded along the four House tables, their robes a sea of colour beneath the floating candles overhead, while the professors sat in solemn silence at the high table. Dumbledore, seated in the centre, rose to his feet with an easy grace, and the moment he gave a light clap of his hands, the gentle murmur of conversation faded into perfect quiet.
His long silver beard shifted ever so slightly as his lips curved into a kindly smile. "Time flies so very quickly," he said, his voice warm and rich, "and I trust you have all enjoyed a most pleasant Christmas holiday…"
The old headmaster's eyes twinkled with good humour as he went on, "In the blink of an eye, half the school year is already behind us. I do hope the holiday has not 'cleared' away everything you learned so far, simply to make room for new lessons."
A ripple of quiet laughter passed among the students.
"As you are all aware," Dumbledore continued, "certain events occurred last term that resulted in our previous Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, sustaining some injuries that now require him to rest and recover at St Mungo's Hospital."
"In order not to disrupt your studies, I have taken the liberty of appointing a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor for this term…"
As he spoke, he turned slightly and gestured toward Kestrel's direction.
At that moment, Kestrel, whose full name was Iresa Lumina, was seated beside Sargeras. One hand was clamped firmly over the struggling form of the raven Noctis, who was clearly intent on escaping, while the other was prying open his beak to pour in a goblet of wine. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and mischief as she fired off question after question, utterly undeterred by her captive's flustered squawks.
The moment she heard Dumbledore utter her name in introduction, she released the now slightly bedraggled raven without a second thought, sprang to her feet in one smooth motion, and launched into her self-introduction with a confidence so solid it seemed to fill the space around her.
"Hello, everyone," she announced clearly, her voice carrying with effortless strength to the farthest corners of the hall. "My name is Iresa Lumina, a graduate of Koldovstoretz Wizarding School. It is a great honour to serve as your Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and I hope that in the coming term, we will get along wonderfully."
With that, she dipped into a graceful bow before resuming her seat, and the Great Hall quickly filled with polite yet spirited applause.
"She can't be much older than us, can she?" Percy Weasley muttered to his tablemates, his brows drawn together. "I only hope she doesn't turn out to be another Lockhart…"
"What's Koldovstoretz?" Harry turned to Ron and Hermione, curiosity bright in his eyes. "Is it another wizarding school?"
"That's right!" Hermione replied at once, her tone quick and sure. "It's a wizarding school in Russia. Hmm… I've read that their version of Quidditch is played while riding in the treetops…"
"Riding trees?!" Ron and Harry simultaneously widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at the slim figure of the new professor at the high table. "She doesn't even look as thick as a tree trunk herself!"
"Shhh! She's looking this way," Hermione murmured under her breath, her expression calm but her voice low. "You two had better behave yourselves. I don't think she's anything like Lockhart. She doesn't seem the type to bluff her way through."
"And how exactly can you tell that?" Ron asked doubtfully, leaning closer. "She looks only a few years older than us…"
"Have you ever seen anyone who can pin down Mr. Noctis and keep him from flying away?" Hermione shot back pointedly. "And she carries herself with real confidence. Don't forget, the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at this school is hardly an easy one…"
Dumbledore spoke a few more brief words before declaring the feast begun. In an instant, the long tables were covered in a dazzling spread of food, steam rising from roasts and soups, platters piled high with pies and puddings. The students wasted no time, eagerly helping themselves to heaping portions.
Sargeras, without any outward sign, quietly wove an invisible field of silence around the two of them, sealing away the noise and bustle of the hall so their conversation would be private. Turning his head slightly toward her, he asked, "Have you decided what you're going to teach yet?"
"Of course!" Kestrel replied at once, stabbing a piece of roast meat and popping it into her mouth. Speaking around the bite, her words came out muffled but brimming with confidence. "Just wait and see. I promise you'll be astonished."
Sargeras narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. The last thing he wanted was for her to 'astonish' him.
"And how exactly do you plan to teach it?" he pressed, unable to stop himself.
"That," Kestrel said with a sly wink, her tone dipping into mock secrecy, "I can't tell you. Right now, we're colleagues, after all, and this is… a trade — oh no, a professional secret!"
Looking at the other party's sparkling eyes and the mischievous curve of her lips made something deep in Sargeras' chest tighten. A faint sense of foreboding stirred within him.
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By the following noon, his unease was proven entirely justified. Word reached him of the Kestrel's rather unorthodox "teaching method." She had, without the slightest hesitation, marched the entire fourth-year classes of Gryffindor and Slytherin straight out into the freezing, snow-blanketed grounds beyond the castle walls.
There, in a world muffled under silver and white, she had organised a most unconventional event… something she called the "Castle Snowman Battle Royale."
At first, she had instructed each House to work together in building the tallest snowman they could possibly manage. The students, intrigued by the unusual task, quickly threw themselves into the challenge. Laughter rang out as snow was packed and shaped, and in no time at all, two towering figures stood proudly in the winter sunlight.
But just as the snowmen took their final form, Kestrel flicked her wand toward the two bulky, cheerful giants.
"Snowmen, Attack!"
In an instant, the hulking figures shuddered, and then — impossibly — they began to move. With no pause for thought, they turned and charged straight toward their unsuspecting creators.
Under the Kestrel's skilful control, the two snowmen unleashed a storm of snowballs at the fleeing students. They hurled them in rapid succession, great round arms scooping and flinging with startling precision. Some snowballs were so large and compacted they could have knocked a full-grown man off his feet, while others, disturbingly, curved in midair, subtly bending their path to follow their chosen targets.
What had begun as a playful scene quickly descended into chaos. Students from both houses scattered in all directions, arms thrown over their heads as if their lives depended on it.
The towering snowmen, each nearly three meters tall, were like rolling fortresses, thundering across the white expanse with surprising speed. They barreled after the young wizards, sending them leaping and stumbling out of the way. Yet even those who managed to dash back into the safety of the castle found no relief. The snowmen simply began rolling fresh snow where they stood, and under the steady force of magic, the balls grew larger and larger until they were massive enough to swallow any unfortunate student who couldn't get away in time.
Screams rose and fell in waves, echoing against the castle walls. The snowmen hurled their enchanted snowballs like tireless siege engines, each shot whistling through the air in rapid, unbroken succession, more like a storm of cannon fire than a harmless winter game.
Perched high on the seat of a chair she had dragged outside, Kestrel shouted gleefully over the chaos, her voice brimming with excitement.
"The core of Defense Against the Dark Arts… do you know what it is? It's defense!"
She cupped her hands around her mouth, calling out to the scrambling students, "Don't just run for your lives — defend yourselves! Use Impedimenta, Protego, anything! Wands up! You're in fourth year, where's your Shield Charm?"
Snowballs thudded heavily into the ground, bursting into sprays of powder, but Kestrel was clearly having the time of her life.
Little by little, amid this 'hail of magical fire,' the students began to steady themselves. They started using Impedimenta, summoning protective wards, and casting Shield Charms to blunt the snowmen's relentless assault.
Kestrel's voice never stopped, her wand a blur as she shouted instructions. The snowmen, their round bellies bobbing, hurtled across the snow in dizzying arcs, slamming into students with enough force to send them tumbling head over heels. Each time they rolled, they greedily packed on more snow, constantly replenishing their "ammunition."
"No hiding back in the castle!" she called sharply. "If you can't even manage a Impedimenta properly—" she drew out the words deliberately, tapping her wand with theatrical flourish, "—then the big snowman's going to give your butts a good solid kick!"
Even before her voice had finished echoing across the grounds, the two enchanted giants charged again, pounding toward the crowd with fresh, unstoppable energy.
A few braver students began to fight back. They scooped up handfuls of snow, fashioning quick snowballs to hurl at the towering figures. The effort was admirable, but the results… negligible.
Someone, thinking bigger, shouted an incantation for "Incendio," hoping to melt the creatures down to harmless puddles.
But Kestrel was not about to be undone so easily. Her wand flicked upward, and under her command, one massive snowman bent its knees, leapt into the air with startling agility, and came crashing down squarely on the flames, smothering them in an instant beneath its enormous bulk.
Some students, abandoning subtlety, decided to target the commander herself. A volley of snowballs shot toward their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, slicing through the cold air in a perfectly aimed arc.
Instead of being offended, Kestrel's lips curved into a pleased, almost proud smile. "That's it!" she called, her voice ringing bright over the mayhem. "Go straight for the root of the problem! Smart thinking!"
Her praise was still lingering in the air when she added, "But don't go thinking I'm that easy to take down!"
With a single graceful motion, her wand swept forward, and an invisible shield shimmered into existence. Every incoming snowball struck the barrier and rebounded instantly, spinning back toward its senders.
Then, as if her approval had only fueled the chaos, the snowmen's assault surged to an entirely new level of ferocity!
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[Chapter End's]
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