"Perhaps when your strength has grown and you begin to form your own combat styles, you'll be able to decide where to position your wand, how to grip it, and what kind of stance suits you best, based on the spells you're most proficient with. But right now, you have no real combat experience at all—and you've only just come into contact with magic a few days ago…"
"So today, what we'll be learning is the most universally applicable, most standard stance—one that even quite a few Aurors are willing to use: the 'sword-holding stance.'"
"Hook your thumb over the wand. Curl your index finger slightly to rest it forward. Grip the wand with your remaining three fingers. Keep your shoulders relaxed, lower your wrist…"
"Feet shoulder-width apart. Knees slightly bent. Shift your center of gravity onto your left leg. Let your left palm rest loosely at your waist so you can easily perform auxiliary gestures…"
"Tuck in your chin. Keep your eyes level, looking straight ahead. Hunch your back just slightly…"
Professor Baker moved the lectern aside and demonstrated a perfect stance himself. "This posture ensures that you can move flexibly at any moment and maintain control over the distance between you and your opponent…"
Like a fencer, he performed several light, nimble hops. "It also allows you to quickly cast spells that don't require long preparation, giving you the initiative in combat. And once you've mastered spell deflection techniques and the Shield Charm, the wand extended in front of you will become your best shield. Even if your opponent strikes first, you'll still be able to defend effectively."
"Now then—"
He returned to a normal standing posture and flicked his wand. In an instant, all the desks in the classroom vanished.
"Everyone, take out your wands, space yourselves apart from those around you, and begin practicing this stance!"
"I know this may feel a bit dull compared to other classes, but it's something you absolutely must master—the foundation of all foundations. How about this: if your performance this lesson satisfies me, I'll consider speeding up the curriculum and sharing some simple but practical minor spells with you ahead of time…"
Looking at the eager young witches and wizards, Professor Baker smiled and continued tempting them. "Some of those spells even played a significant role in the duel I demonstrated earlier."
There was no longer any need for Professor Baker to urge them on. With a whoosh, the students scattered, their eyes fixed firmly on the stance diagram Baker had left on the blackboard, carefully comparing themselves to it as they practiced. Professor Baker stepped down from the platform and began pacing around the classroom, correcting students from time to time.
"Your hand is too high—your entire right side is exposed!"
"Relax your shoulders! This stance is meant to let you move freely, not turn you into a stone pillar!"
"You don't need to grip the wand that tightly. Your wand is your assistant, not your mortal enemy!"
"Don't twist your waist like that—you'll end up getting winded in real combat!"
"Shift your center of gravity back. That stance of yours looks like a horse stance!"
…
Once practice began, Professor Baker immediately became strict. The slightest deviation from the standard was instantly spotted and corrected by him. Everyone—Avada included, as well as Cho, who had outstanding athletic talent—was corrected several times.
After everyone was finally able to assume the correct stance, Professor Baker began leading them through combat movements. Forward jumps, retreats, dodges, attacks, defenses… After running through the full sequence, even the energetic young witches and wizards were sweating and panting.
At last, with only ten-odd minutes left before the end of class, Professor Baker flicked his wand again, restoring the desks and signaling them to stop.
"Very well done. Your rate of improvement exceeded my expectations!"
Once all the students were seated, Professor Baker clapped his hands in satisfaction and said with a smile, "I originally thought it would take you a full lesson to grasp this stance. I didn't expect that with ten minutes still left, you'd already meet the standard."
"There's clearly not enough time to teach any new spells now… In that case, if you have any questions about Defense Against the Dark Arts, you can ask them. I'll answer all of them."
The moment he finished speaking, nearly every hand in the classroom shot up at once, faces full of anticipation.
"Hmm…"
Professor Baker casually pointed to a Hufflepuff student near the front row. "Mr. Summers, what's your question?"
"Professor, I'm curious—since you're an adventurer and a director of the International Dark Magic Defense Alliance, you already have your own work, right? Why did you still choose to come to Hogwarts to teach?"
He asked somewhat awkwardly, as the question had little to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Professor Baker didn't scold him. Instead, he replied with a smile, "The main reason is that I felt my own growth had reached a bottleneck. So I decided to temporarily set aside my adventures and my work as a director, and thoroughly sort out and review my magical foundations. Being a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is undoubtedly the most suitable job for me during this period—it allows me to go through my knowledge again, step by step, using the textbooks, and also contribute to education. There's a saying for it, isn't there? Teaching and learning benefit one another."
"Even a powerful wizard like you can hit a bottleneck, Professor?" Summers asked again.
"Of course. Everyone encounters bottlenecks—even Dumbledore is no exception." Professor Baker smiled, gesturing for Summers to sit, then pointed to another student. "Miss Chang, your question?"
Cho stood up, her face slightly flushed. "Professor, may I ask—do you know Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart?"
Professor Baker paused for a moment before answering, "I've never met him in person, but I've long heard his name and read quite a few of his books. I have to say, they're remarkably engaging—both practical and literary. Quite a number of the techniques he mentions benefited me greatly."
"Then, Professor… between you and Mr. Lockhart, who is stronger?"
"Hmm…"
Professor Baker hesitated for a moment before carefully choosing his words. "He and I… could be said to each have our own strengths."
"Although I haven't seen him with my own eyes, from his books one can infer that Lockhart is the type of person with extensive knowledge, quick reactions, and mastery of many obscure yet practical bits of lore. He excels at using his intellect to survive in all kinds of dangerous situations and among wild magical creatures—a textbook adventurer."
"As for me, I'm less of an adventurer and more like a field Auror, or perhaps an ancient dark wizard hunter—someone who deliberately goes into dangerous areas to combat Dark wizards and dark creatures. Compared to wilderness exploration, I'm better at fighting in various man-made hazardous environments. Of course, I do occasionally visit wild places as well, purely to relax and enjoy the scenery."
"Then, Professor, do you also have many exciting adventure stories?" another girl asked curiously.
"Me?"
Professor Baker gave a wry smile. "All I can say is that if I were to write my experiences into books and publish them, the sales probably wouldn't even reach one-tenth of Lockhart's. The things I deal with require extremely high professional expertise—laypeople wouldn't understand them at all. And the stories wouldn't be nearly as dramatic. Most of them are convoluted… or rather, downright bloody."
"Take Lockhart's new book from last year, A Year with the Tibetan Yeti, for example."
"That book roughly tells the story of how Lockhart, while adventuring on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, accidentally fell into a glacial crevasse and discovered a hidden world beneath the ice. His wand was broken, his supplies nearly exhausted. Relying on Transfiguration, simple potions, and his extensive knowledge of magical creatures, he disguised himself as a Tibetan Yeti and joined a local tribe to survive while searching for a way out."
"During an accident, his true identity was discovered by one of the Yetis. But through his wisdom and experience, he befriended it. That Yeti helped Lockhart conceal his identity, beginning a remarkable period of coexistence between man and Yeti."
"But later, as the glacier shifted, the crevasse began to close, and the Yetis' habitat was about to collapse. Working together, and with a bit of luck, Lockhart and the Yetis successfully escaped the under-ice world and returned to the surface. Lockhart then bid farewell to the Yetis and returned to human society. Something like that, I believe?"
Professor Baker paused again, choosing his words carefully, as though trying not to shatter the dreams of the girls who were clearly idolizing their hero.
"If it had been me in the same situation… uh…"
"I probably would have climbed out of the crevasse on the very first day. Wandless magic isn't particularly difficult for me."
(End of Chapter)