Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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Like finding a perfect toy, Kyle had a blast playing in the Room of Requirement.
With a flick of his finger, the rain instantly turned to heavy snowfall, and with another, it became hail the size of eggs.
Honestly, the feeling of being able to change the surroundings with a wave of his hand was simply exhilarating.
After enjoying himself enough, Kyle suddenly remembered that he had more important things to do, so he reluctantly returned the room to sunny weather.
Never mind, there would be plenty of time later.
Kyle squatted on the ground and carefully pulled two bean-sized seeds from his pocket, afraid to crush them.
The main reason was that the seeds were so precious, and they weren't his, but rather... picked up in Herbology class.
Seriously, picked up.
Coincidentally, in Herbology class just now, a young Gryffindor wizard, excited about successfully answering Professor Sprout's question, had thrown his shovel at the biting cabbage across from him.
As expected, the shovel was instantly reduced to a pile of scrap metal, and the young wizard was deducted a point.
The incident might have been over, but Kyle stumbled upon the fact that the biting cabbage pot had, not long after spitting out the remains of the shovel, actually spewed out two more seeds.
Professor Sprout was looking for a new shovel at the time and hadn't seen anything.
As a good Hufflepuff, Kyle naturally wanted to help his Head of House, so he spontaneously picked them up for her.
However, he later forgot about it because he was obsessed with white mulberry.
Kyle dug two appropriately sized holes in the soil, placed the seeds in them, and covered them with a thin layer of soil.
After completing this, Kyle nodded with satisfaction.
"Very good, I'll keep them for now and bring them to Professor Sprout during my next class."
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After leaving the Room of Requirement, Kyle returned to the common room and then went to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with the Hufflepuff first-years during the afternoon class.
On the way, everyone was excited. It wasn't clear if they were anticipating Defense Against the Dark Arts or simply intrigued by the legendary professor.
Or perhaps it was a combination of both.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was on the second floor.
When they pushed open the door and walked in, they found that the once neatly arranged desks had been moved to the walls, leaving the room feeling quite empty.
Professor Oren had already arrived, standing behind the podium, fiddling with a covered cage.
Kyle was somewhat surprised to see this scene; he hadn't expected their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to be as practical as Lupin.
"Good afternoon, everyone,"
Professor Oren said gently after everyone had arrived. "Put away your books. We won't need them for just this class, or for every class from now on."
With just one sentence, Professor Oren won the hearts of many young wizards.
Is there anything more satisfying than not having to bring books to class? If so, it would have to be not having to bring books to every class.
And Professor Oren, as it happened, had achieved both.
"This professor must be quite capable," one young wizard exclaimed immediately
"He'll definitely be re-elected!"
"Thank you for your words, Mr. Borg, but unfortunately I can't give Gryffindor extra points for this."
Professor Oren smiled and continued, "In my opinion, theoretical knowledge is always the easiest part of this course. You can learn it on your own without taking up precious class time.
In class, I'd rather teach you how to protect yourself from danger.
This danger could come from unknown Dark Arts or dangerous magical creatures. Either one could be fatal."
Seeing the atmosphere grow more solemn, Professor Oren continued, "But at your age, it's too early to introduce yourself to the Dark Arts, and the headmaster wouldn't allow it.
So let's start with the simpler ones: magical creatures."
With that, Professor Oren gently nudged the cage. A dull buzzing sound erupted from within, and the cage cover swayed from side to side, as if it might fall at any moment.
Some of the young wizards standing closer to the front stepped back in fear.
"Don't worry. Although this little creature is dangerous, as long as I'm here, you won't be harmed," Professor Oren said seriously. "I only ask you to remain calm and remember everything I say next."
With that, Oren lifted the cloth cover, revealing the contents of the cage.
...a blue insect, barely an inch in size. The buzzing sound just now was the sound of its wings flapping.
But unlike other insects, its wings grew on its head. When it flew, it looked like a dragonfly, its body swirling with movement.
It looked quite adorable.
Katie Bell couldn't help but scoff. "Professor, it doesn't look as...dangerous as you say."
In her opinion, Professor Oren's words were clearly exaggerated. She didn't even need a wand to kill such a tiny creature; she could kill it with a single slap. How could it possibly be dangerous?
"Is that so... I hope you'll still be so confident later, Miss Bell." Professor Oren smiled faintly and asked, "So, does anyone know what it is? The first one to tell me gets five points for their house."
In the crowd, Mikel suddenly heard a faint voice, a name.
Enticed by the extra points, he blurted out without hesitation: "Billywig!"
"Excellent, Mr. Mikel," Professor Oren said happily. "Five points to Hufflepuff!"
"That's right, Billywig, a Level 3X magical creature," Professor Oren explained. "Look, everyone! It has a long, thin stinger at the base of its body. Anyone stung by a Billywig will feel dizzy and then start to float.
Repeated stings can even leave you floating uncontrollably for days."
Professor Oren turned his gaze to Katie Bell. "Now, do you still think it's not dangerous?"
Katie Bell turned her head away, silent. But judging by her expression, she didn't seem entirely convinced.
"Professor..." At this time, a young wizard asked eagerly, "So our class is about dealing with this Billywig worm?"
"Not entirely," Professor Oren shook his head. "Before that, you must first learn the spell to deal with it. Only when I'm sure there's no problem will we start the actual combat."
[End of the chapter]