The golden fog gate swirled.
For some reason, it exuded an inexplicable aura of danger.
It stood like a natural barrier, blocking all the students outside and completely obscuring the situation within the Great Hall.
Someone tentatively fired a spell at it, but it only caused a few ripples in the thick mist.
"What's going on? Is this new professor planning to give us a surprise?" Michael Corner joked.
"Maybe it's a riddle," Mandy frowned, trying desperately to squeeze through the crowd.
It wasn't just the students.
Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick...
Many professors, driven by curiosity to attend this public lesson, were also blocked outside the door.
With the exception of Professor Snape and Mad-Eye Moody, Dumbledore hadn't told anyone else that Ethan was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
This led to a situation where even the faculty members harbored a strong interest in this mysterious "Vortex Man" of unknown origin.
Professor Flitwick had even been bold enough to stammer out a request after the welcoming feast, asking to study that swirling vortex face. He wanted to know exactly what kind of magic had created it.
Unexpectedly, the new professor had agreed quite easily.
His temper was so good that it completely contradicted his terrifying appearance.
"He really is mysterious," Professor Flitwick said with a chuckle. "Although our new colleague's appearance is... a bit strange."
"His personality seems quite nice, though."
"Look, isn't he seriously preparing to teach the students right now?"
After surviving the devastation wrought by previous eccentric colleagues, their tolerance for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had reached sky-high levels.
As long as he taught the class normally, that was enough.
Please, we beg you, just don't let it turn out to be related to the Dark Lord again!
Hearing this, the skin on Snape's face twitched violently.
His expression twisted to the extreme, as if he had swallowed Neville's toad raw.
Ethan? Good personality?
Pinocchio's nose could solve the world's desertification problem if that were true.
Professor McGonagall maintained a cautious attitude, her face taut as she said, "We shall see."
As she spoke, she gazed at the unknown golden fog gate.
In her heart, a tiny spark of expectation emerged.
She hoped this new professor could actually teach the students some real skills.
Connie and Yaxley, sent by the Ministry of Magic, were also waiting not far away.
They were pushed around by the crowd, making it difficult to move.
In the crushing heat of the throng, Auror Connie felt her bangs sticking wetly to her forehead.
She stared intently at the golden fog gate, making a secret vow in her heart:
"I will definitely reveal your true colors and protect Ethan's innocence!"
Meanwhile, her colleague—the hidden Death Eater Yaxley—was watching the mysterious professor just as closely, though his goals were different.
What he was thinking was:
"If this weirdo really has a connection to Ethan... then I have to deal with him first..."
Amidst the convergence of countless thoughts, the class bell finally rang.
Clang, clang, clang.
The deep and melodious sound of the bell echoed through the castle.
At the same time, three lines of glowing words rose from the fog gate:
[Boss Ahead]
[Traverse the mist?]
[PS. Not entering will be automatically regarded as forfeiting this semester's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.]
"'Boss Ahead'?"
"Aren't we going to class? What does 'Boss Ahead' mean?"
Before the students could react, a cry of alarm came from the front.
The barrier had dissipated, and a student leaning against it, caught off guard, stumbled forward.
He tumbled right in!
He was instantly swallowed by the swirling golden mist.
Now that there was a "leader," and because no one wanted to establish a baseline for failing the final exam on the very first day, all the students rushed in with a clamor.
"Charge!"
The Weasley twins, wearing soft Quidditch helmets and clad in soft leather armor, looked excited, as if they were charging onto a battlefield.
They completely ignored the laughter of the other students and the heckling of "You guys aren't even fifth years!"
"Here we go! I must successfully analyze the teacher's magic!"
Mandy's eyes lit up as she moved forward with the flow of people.
"Whatever," Michael yawned, showing no fighting spirit. "I never thought we could actually learn wandless magic anyway."
"Heh, unless we die if we don't learn it Just kidding" Michael laughed.
Curiously, he stepped into the surging golden mist.
The moment he entered, it felt like passing through a film of water.
The scene inside the Great Hall gradually unfolded before his eyes.
"Whoa—wh—where is this?"
Everyone looked around in astonishment.
The original Great Hall had completely vanished.
Replacing it was an incredibly vast, rocky terrain.
White mist permeated the air. In the distance, they could see towering cliffs and the faint outlines of ancient ruins and broken walls traversing the landscape.
It was as if they had been instantly transported from the school to a hidden ancient ruin isolated from the world.
"It's space-displacement magic!" Hermione screamed.
Her eyes flashed with a mix of shock and excitement.
"It's magic that swaps the original space with another location!"
She paused, then smiled. "It's possible that a Muggle survey team is currently amazed to find a modern Great Hall suddenly popping up in the middle of ancient ruins."
"Not only that, but this place also incorporates the Undetectable Extension Charm... Such a large-scale modification is simply incredible!"
"A perfect explanation, Miss Granger. Five points to Gryffindor."
Professor McGonagall looked like a proud cat, nodding approvingly at her student.
Michael muttered, "That's amazing... Why didn't Granger come to Ravenclaw?"
He looked around, scratched his head, and said in confusion, "But how are we supposed to have a public lesson here? Haha, it looks like we're about to have a fight or something—"
hardly had the words left his mouth when suddenly, a powerful sound rang out!
Dun-dun-thud~
The next second!
BOOM!!!
Two massive figures slammed down from above!
Like meteors falling from the sky!
Instantly, the earth shook and the mountains trembled!
"Wh—what's the situation?!"
"What happened?!"
"Cough, cough, my eyes..."
In the thick smoke that rose like a wall, two enormous and hideous silhouettes gradually revealed themselves.
——Gargoyles!!
But compared to the gargoyles that acted as decorations in Hogwarts Castle, their bodies were simply colossal.
Their noses were long and pointed, with tusks protruding from their mouths.
Their grey stone skin was covered in dark green moss and reddish-brown corrosion, making their faces look even more ferocious and terrifying.
In their long, spindly, and sharp hands, one held a giant axe, and the other wielded a twin-blade halberd.
Every weapon looked like it could send ten Hagrids flying with a single strike.
They already looked beyond standard specifications.
But on their backs... they actually had a pair of wings!
They can bloody fly!!
Is this reasonable?!
"Merlin's beard, I've never seen such powerful gargoyles..." Professor McGonagall murmured, stunned.
Even with her profound knowledge of Transfiguration, it would be difficult to create such massive creatures that moved so freely!
They were simply creatures out of fantasy!
"What the bloody hell is that..."
Ron delivered a precise evaluation.
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