Soon, it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts class this week, and Allen decided to ask Professor Quirrell for guidance today, so Allen, for the first time, sat in the front row, which earned him a strange look from Hermione, who always sat there.
Harry and Ron probably also sensed that Allen's behavior today was quite unusual, and they were very loyal friends, surprisingly following him and sitting behind him. You should know that Harry and Ron usually sat further back in class.
The class quickly began. When Professor Quirrell entered the classroom and saw the three of them sitting in the front row, he paused, and for some reason, his expression became a bit stiff. He started speaking even more stammeringly than usual, though a positive note was that the garlic smell in the classroom wasn't as strong today.
As a result, classroom order once again spiraled out of control. Students were all doing their own things: some were chatting softly, some were openly passing notes across their desks, and some had started to snore loudly.
Allen heard his two friends behind him quietly discussing Quidditch, and then suddenly, they went silent, which piqued Allen's curiosity. He turned around and found that the two had made two "swords" out of parchment and were fencing back and forth! Soon, Harry lost the "duel" due to too many "hits." He clutched his chest, feigning being struck, and "difficult" uttered his "dying words."
It made Allen want to join in. But Allen knew he had a task today, so he forced himself not to pay too much attention to what was happening behind him and tried to focus on Professor Quirrell, listening to the lecture as attentively as possible.
However, Allen soon couldn't listen anymore, because he found that Professor Quirrell was even more stammering than usual for some reason, and no one was paying attention to him! Everyone was busy with their own affairs, and Allen couldn't understand why Professor Quirrell could stammer so much even when reading from a book.
"Maybe it's late-stage social anxiety, he just gets like this in crowds!" Allen thought, coming up with an excuse for Professor Quirrell.
Since Allen put most of his energy into Professor Quirrell today, he noticed that Professor Quirrell would occasionally glance in his direction, then quickly look away, which greatly invigorated Allen.
"It seems my attentiveness has caught Professor Quirrell's eye; I'm already on his radar!" Allen thought with a hint of secret delight, then straightened his back even more...
But Allen had a vague feeling that Professor Quirrell wasn't glancing at him, but rather at something behind him, but Allen quickly pushed that thought out of his mind.
"There are just two unstudious slackers behind me, why would Professor Quirrell pay attention to them? Professor Quirrell must be paying attention to me. It seems my plan will make great progress today!" Allen quickly convinced himself.
Then, the next time Professor Quirrell glanced in his direction, Allen felt he should respond to Professor Quirrell's attention, so he put on what he considered his most brilliant smile and nodded in greeting to Professor Quirrell...
But Allen never received a response from Professor Quirrell, and their eyes never met. Allen always felt that Professor Quirrell was playing hide-and-seek with his gaze, and in the end, Allen could only sheepishly drop his smile.
"It seems Professor Quirrell's social anxiety is very severe! I need to work even harder to gain his favor!" Allen thought to himself.
The class quickly passed. The bell rang on time. Professor Quirrell, who was not fluent in lecturing, was very quick to leave class. Before the bell had even finished ringing, he had already packed up his books and teaching materials and was ready to go.
Allen quickly got up and chased after him, and his two friends, who didn't understand the situation, surprisingly followed him as well.
Unexpectedly, Professor Quirrell walked quite fast. Allen had to jog to catch up with him, but Professor Quirrell ignored Allen who had caught up and instead walked even faster.
Allen had no choice but to call out to Professor Quirrell: "Professor Quirrell, I have a question about Defense Against the Dark Arts that I'd like to ask you!"
Professor Quirrell couldn't ignore Allen this time, so he stopped, looking at Allen with shifting eyes.
At this point, Harry and Ron also caught up, panting. If they were facing Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape, they would probably be quite nervous and wouldn't dare to approach, but facing Professor Quirrell, who usually didn't inspire much awe, they approached out of curiosity.
Professor Quirrell couldn't help but take a step back, clutching his books tightly to his chest, and stammered to Allen: "Is... is... there... anything...?"
"Well, I've been previewing the Petrification Charm recently, and I've encountered a few questions I'd like to ask you about…" Allen said quickly.
"Petrification... Charm... Charm... we... haven't... haven't learned it yet, wait... wait... until we learn it... then we'll talk!" Then he turned and left.
Allen watched Professor Quirrell leave helplessly, feeling a bit frustrated, and even began to doubt his decision.
At this moment, Ron leaned in: "Why are you starting to learn the Petrification Charm? That's for next year!"
Allen thought for a moment and decided to reveal some of the information he had, whispering: "I always feel like something bad is going to happen at Hogwarts, so I want to strengthen myself and make some preparations."
"Hogwarts is the safest place in the world, nothing bad can possibly happen!" Ron scoffed at Allen's statement.
Harry, however, had a different idea, reminding Ron: "Don't you remember the three-headed dog on the fourth floor? I think Allen's worries are somewhat justified."
"Don't overthink it. If we really encounter an event of that magnitude, one more spell or one less spell won't make any difference," Ron said, shrugging.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he hugged Allen and whispered, "Are you trying to learn the Petrification Charm to deal with Malfoy?"
Allen scratched the back of his head, feeling like he couldn't explain it to Ron, and said helplessly, "No way, the Malfoy thing is over!"
Ron, however, didn't want to drop the topic and said excitedly, "Actually, the spells we cast now aren't very powerful. Why don't you just go up and punch Malfoy while he's chanting a spell?"
Harry, on the side, indicated that this tactic was very feasible, and he was also very interested in dealing with Malfoy.
Meanwhile, Allen looked at Professor Quirrell's receding figure, at his conspicuous purple turban, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Suddenly, Professor Quirrell turned his head, their eyes met, and then he quickly winked at him.
Allen almost thought he was hallucinating and wanted to confirm it again, but Professor Quirrell had already disappeared lightly down the corridor.
Allen looked in the direction Professor Quirrell had left, feeling a little excited, and thought to himself:
"It seems I still need to visit Professor Quirrell's office!"