In the midst of dead silence.
Suddenly.
An elegant and rich voice rang out from beneath the gargoyle:
"Welcome to my first open class, my dear everyone!"
Their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Mr. Ann Norn, walked out gracefully from the front.
First, he bowed politely to the other professors.
Then.
Wearing that face comprised of a swirling vortex, he proceeded to be decidedly impolite:
"These are the 'Twin Gargoyles,' created by combining the physique of giants with the artistry of Transfiguration gargoyles."
"When one of them is beaten into a crippled state, the other will enter a berserk mode. Its attacks will become more diverse and ferocious."
"Isn't that incredibly user-friendly?"
Everyone: "..."
Don't apply 'user-friendly' design concepts to monsters!
Michael's smile froze on his face.
He thought of a certain possibility, and his eyes slowly widened in horror:
"Wait, this guy isn't planning to—"
They only heard the Swirl-Face Professor say:
"I have thought long and hard about how to enable everyone to master wandless magic."
"After careful deliberation, I finally reached a conclusion—"
He threw his arms open wide with a whoosh.
With obvious excitement in his tone, he shouted:
"That is practice! As the old saying goes, true knowledge comes only from practice."
"99% practice combined with 1% theory. In a life-or-death situation, I believe everyone will surely grasp the true essence of wandless magic!"
???
The students looked at the self-aggrandizing Professor Swirl as if looking at a madman.
He was speaking English.
But when the words were strung together, why couldn't they understand them?!
Michael regretted it. He regretted it deeply.
He wished he could travel back in time a few minutes and slap himself hard across the face!
That's what you get for jinxing it!
Great, now we're really done for!!
Connie stared in shock at the two terrifying gargoyles.
Then she looked at "Professor Swirl," who was spouting ravings.
A small question mark suddenly popped up in her heart:
Why does it feel like... this Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, hand-picked by Dumbledore...
Has a red enemy marker glowing over his head?
He's automatically entered the wanted list, hasn't he?!
On the other side.
Even the professors were dumbfounded.
An indescribable stifling sensation exploded in their hearts.
It made them want to tear at their hair and roll around on the ground throwing a tantrum like a child!
Why is it another weirdo?!
We just wanted normal teaching! Just normal teaching!!!
The Defense Against the Dark Arts position hadn't just been cursed; it was practically hexed with voodoo!
This familiar taste of torture...
Why did it feel so déjà vu?!!
Professor McGonagall was the first to react.
Her face pale, she stepped forward under the hero-worshipping gaze of the crowd.
She spoke sternly:
"You cannot do this! Professor Norn! Making these children face gargoyles that even adult wizards would find difficult to handle is simply too ill-considered!"
Her voice fell.
Professor McGonagall secretly tightened her grip on her wand.
She was already prepared for the other party to get angry.
But she didn't expect it.
What greeted her was a sentence of agreement:
"You are right, Professor McGonagall. It was thoughtless of me."
The Swirl-Man spoke in a sincere tone.
He even nodded earnestly.
There was absolutely no sign of annoyance at being offended.
This reaction.
Instead, it stunned Professor McGonagall, who had braced herself for a fight.
...What is this? This guy with the bizarre image surprisingly listens to reason.
The Swirl-Man continued: "Since the goal is to learn wandless magic, I should have taken away their wands."
The grooves on his face twitched, as if the corners of his mouth were grinning.
He spoke in a soothing voice, like a cello:
"Haha, you have indeed reminded me."
Professor McGonagall: ???
Under the shocked expressions of Professor McGonagall and everyone else—expressions that screamed "What the hell are you talking about?!"—
Their dear Professor Norn raised his hand and waved.
A pitch-black mist covered the students from above!
No.
It wasn't "mist."
It was a fluctuating water surface!
Pitch black and lightless, reflecting the terrified and sluggish appearances of the crowd, rippling with tiny circles.
"...Mandy," Michael said dully, "didn't you say you wanted to analyze the magic system the professor uses? What system is this?"
Mandy's mouth was also wide open, her eyes behind the thick lenses staring round and wide.
It took a long time.
Before she said weakly:
"Probably... some kind of otherworldly magic..."
The gargoyles could barely be explained by Transfiguration.
But now, this water surface hanging upside down in mid-air, with absolutely no indication of its purpose.
What kind of treacherous magic was this?!
"The world is so big, and what I know is still so very, very little..."
Mandy made a sound of sudden enlightenment.
A light of worship flickered in her eyes.
...Mom, I want to drop out.
"This is a magic I drew—er, created—inspired by the beautiful scenery of the Black Lake at Hogwarts."
Ethan almost let it slip.
After all, this painting magic was unique to him.
He curled the corners of his mouth and said proudly:
"I have named it—The Ferryman of the Styx."
As his voice fell.
Ripples suddenly appeared on that vast, black water surface.
A dark shadow gradually approached the surface.
Getting bigger, and bigger...
Gulp.
The students swallowed their saliva.
The tension and unease in their hearts.
Increased gradually with the expansion of those ripples and that shadow.
—S-Something is coming!
"Oh."
Accompanied by a few splashing drops of water.
What was reflected in everyone's eyes was a pair of grey-black arms slowly reaching out.
Quiet. Deathly still.
Their movements were so graceful and light, slowly stirring the lake water.
As if they were fish swimming in mid-air.
Or like slowly blooming flower buds.
Wrapped in a smoke-like, faint silver gauze.
However.
They also looked like corpses buried in a coffin.
Withered as dry wood, yet incredibly huge.
One could clearly see the shape of the tendons attached to the bones, as well as the growing sores and rotting flesh.
Students, professors, and Aurors.
All froze again.
Heads tilted back.
Staring blankly at the giant hands slowly reaching towards them.
As the palms flexed and extended.
It seemed they were about to usurp their sanity and souls.
"I-Is this a magnified Dementor..."
Connie murmured, her red lips parted in a circle.
As an Auror, she often had to work with those scary things.
But how could a Dementor get into Hogwarts, which claims to be the safest place in Britain?!
And magnified dozens of times, dozens of times more terrifying!!
The Death Eater Yaxley had a different thought:
Professor Ann Norn... could he be a fellow Dark Wizard compatriot?
Otherwise.
How could he possibly master such wicked magic!!
Is Dumbledore really in league with Dark Wizards... Is this match actually an easy win for us? What exactly are they trying to do?
As a card-carrying member of the villainous faction.
Yaxley felt the "good guys" were acting a bit too demonic.
"I need to make deeper contact..."
Yaxley narrowed his eyes, pondering secretly.
On the other side.
Ethan looked at their appearance of being "immersed in appreciation."
He curled the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.
It's a pity, this mask has no "facial expression function."
Otherwise, maybe I should add a mouth separately?
Ethan imagined a mouth grinning on the fleshy skin, smiling happily.
Hmm...
That looks a bit like a Halloween pumpkin.
Let's discuss it later.
"Expelliarmus."
Ethan very politely did something very offensive.
As his voice fell.
The two giant hands of The Ferryman of the Styx grabbed casually.
Amidst a chorus of exclamations.
Countless wands flew into its palms!
"No—my wand!!"
Some students howled, falling forward in despair.
"Don't worry," Ethan comforted gently, "they will be returned to you intact after the open class ends."
Holding the wands, the giant palms slowly retreated into the pitch-black water curtain.
Together with the water curtain.
They gradually vanished.
Seeing this.
Ron widened his eyes, unable to stop himself from complaining:
"Making such a big fuss and setting up this whole scene, just to 'confiscate' our wands?"
"T-That's just too... much!"
He racked his brain.
But he couldn't think of the right word to describe it.
If he had studied Modern Muggle Slang, he would know there is a word that accurately describes this behavior—
"Flexing."
"Alright! Everything is ready!"
Ethan 'The Drama King' Vincent shouted loudly.
Happily facing his steadfast believers, his steadfast students.
He opened his arms wide.
Behind him, the two gargoyles stood on the left and right.
Majestic and imposing.
He enunciated every word:
"It is time to begin our first lesson of the school year~"
Start the term without causing a scene?
That would be a disgrace to art students everywhere!
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