These young wizards, every time they saw him, would either timidly greet him and run away, or immediately turn around and hide; sometimes he would even deliberately approach them and educate them with a very creepy gaze.
But how did these students all change in just two or three days? Suddenly, each of them became incredibly well-behaved, so much so that he couldn't find any fault.
And when night fell, and he finally had time to patrol the castle, upon entering the dungeon stone hall, he found that the entire common room had changed; the original leather sofas and solid wood coffee tables were gone, and the girls who were always happily playing Mahjong and the card tables in the back were also gone.
Even the tapestries on the dungeon walls, which depicted famous Slytherin adventures, had been taken down. Now, hanging there were rows of silver-lettered banners on a green background. They all bore motivational quotes like "Study until you drop!" and "Details determine success, attitude determines everything!"
These banners made Snape feel a bit unsettled, and when he looked down to find the young wizards of the House, what met his eyes was a group of people sitting neatly at long tables, either quietly doing their homework or holding notebooks and asking their seniors questions. Snape could only hear the rustling of turning pages, the scratching of quill pens on parchment, and low, quiet question-and-answer voices.
Suddenly entering such a quiet place with such a strong learning atmosphere made him feel immense pressure. Snape didn't even dare to make a sound, as if disturbing these children would be a crime. At this moment, after scanning the room, he found that he seemed to be the only superfluous person in the entire common room. This made him helplessly curl his lips, then silently leave from the entrance, and the people in the dungeon didn't even notice that the Head of House had been there.
Since that night, after severely punishing these young wizards, they indeed became much more well-behaved. Regardless of what they thought internally, their behavior and conduct were certainly standardized, which is the beginning of forming good habits.
In these two days, even Hog, who was constantly monitoring the magic monitors, could only catch two or three offending young wizards each day, so Alan didn't punish them during evening self-study anymore.
The study groups for these two days also started in an orderly manner under the organization of the subject representatives. After 9 PM, the representatives kept the young wizards from years one through five who had poor scores in the diagnostic test and divided them into three groups. The subject representative was responsible for tutoring the fifth-year group, while the two sixth-year assistants guided the other two groups, which were combinations of years one and two, and three and four respectively.
By the third day, the Defense Against the Dark Arts study group personally guided by Alan officially began. However, today was different from usual; in addition to the students with poor academic performance, many others voluntarily stayed to observe, with those remaining accounting for almost seventy percent of the entire House.
The main reason was that too many people had poor grades in this subject; almost half of them either barely passed or failed this course. Another reason was that many people knew there would be practical learning tonight, and they all wanted to learn a skill from the Chief, as he was a world-renowned combat hero after all.
Seeing so many people remaining on site, Alan rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, deciding to use today's tutoring time to conduct a public lesson. It would also be a good opportunity to test their practical abilities.
"Louis, Leo, please help put away the chairs and stack them in the corner. Since many people stayed today, I'll teach them all at once." Alan looked at his two original assistants. "Since you are all so interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts, then listen up." Alan faced the crowd and commanded loudly, "Everyone, move back, and those who are shorter stand in front, arranged in staggered rows."
After Alan busied himself for a while, the space in the stone hall was finally cleared. He stood in the center of the hall, while everyone else formed a U-shape around him. Looking at the curious eyes of the people around him, Alan drew his wand and began his professional guidance.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts is a subject that teaches how to deal with evil Dark Arts spells and dark creatures. Many of you should have followed the textbooks and learned some knowledge about magical creatures. Today will primarily focus on practical application, so I will skip the theory."
As Alan explained, the students around him nodded in agreement, as theoretical knowledge could indeed be solved through rote memorization.
"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point." Alan waved his wand, and a dummy appeared out of thin air in the open space in the distance—his new teaching aid. "The spells included in Defense Against the Dark Arts are mainly self-defense spells and counter-spells. These spells actually have no fundamental difference from ordinary magic. All wizards who wish to cast a spell are actually determined by three basic qualities," Alan said calmly.
However, the onlookers looked at each other in confusion. Three basic qualities? This was the first time they had heard of such a concept.
"The first quality, which determines how many spells we can use, is... magic!"
As soon as Alan finished speaking, a wave of profound magical fluctuations emanated from his entire body. This wave pressed down on everyone without restraint, bringing a suffocating feeling of dread. But this feeling only lasted for an instant before Alan promptly reined in the magic.
Just experiencing it for a few short seconds made the surrounding students gasp. This desperate sense of oppression, like a tsunami rushing toward them—was this the true strength of their Chief? This was also the first time they had personally witnessed Alan display his power.
"The second basic quality…" Alan paid no attention to the gazes of the surrounding people. He simply maintained a humble and confident tone: "Magic sensitivity. Most people superficially understand it as 'magic perception,' but there are some fundamental differences. Magic sensitivity is a form of perception, but it influences more than just sensory awareness. It can directly influence our perception, affinity, and control over magic."
Alan put away his wand and lightly waved his hand. From the inner pocket of his robe, a dozen copper Knuts slowly floated out. These Knuts then arranged themselves in a string, passing through his arm and wrist, weaving up and down between his fingers like living sprites.
This scene captivated the surrounding people; the ordinary copper Knuts seemed to come alive in Alan's hand. One must know that this was accomplished with wandless magic. Even many senior wizards who were about to graduate felt inferior upon seeing this.