"You two really caused a lot of trouble yesterday."
In the stone corridors of Hogwarts, three young wizards walked side-by-side. The bushy-haired girl frowned and said, "You should be glad you weren't expelled."
"Expelled?" The red-haired boy shook his head. "Harry and I almost couldn't come to school because of some inexplicable accident at the barrier."
"So, Harry, what exactly happened with that inexplicable accident?" His words made the girl raise her eyebrows and turn to look at Harry, who was walking in the middle. He seemed to be deep in thought.
"I'm not too sure either," Harry said, coming back to his senses. "Hermione, do you know of any magic that could seal the platform barrier like that?"
"I don't know." Hermione shook her head. "I'm not an encyclopedia..."
"I heard quite a few people call you a know-it-all," Ron interjected. "And don't you know all magic?"
"That might be a self-created spell, Ron," Hermione pouted. "And no one can know all magic."
"Magic isn't just spells... strictly speaking, it also includes..."
Looking at Hermione, who was seriously explaining magical theory, Ron shrugged and looked at Harry. "Is the next class Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"Looks like it..." Harry thought for a moment. "I heard it's Mr. Lockhart."
"Ah... that annoying guy from the bookstore." Ron's grumbling made Hermione immediately frown.
"First of all, Mr. Lockhart is not annoying; he is an outstanding wizard! And he has received the Order of Merlin, Third Class." Hermione sighed. "But it's a pity our Professor isn't him."
"Why?" Harry was stunned for a moment.
Ron, however, laughed. "Could it be because his smile was too idiotic, so they sent him to Azkaban?"
"Ron!" Hermione stamped her foot and glared at him. "Mr. Lockhart is in charge of teaching the older students."
"What about us?" Harry was more concerned about this. After learning that Mr. Lockhart wasn't teaching them, he actually felt a slight sense of relief.
"The one teaching us is..." Hermione paused. "Professor Hamilton."
"She is also a new Professor," she added, suddenly showing a puzzled expression.
Looking at her expression, Harry and Ron exchanged glances.
"What do you mean?" Ron asked.
"Ah... that Professor Hamilton..." Hermione thought for a few seconds. "She looks a bit strange."
"How strange?" Ron shrugged. "Is she as strange as Quirrell?"
"Uh... her strangeness is a bit different." Hermione chose her words carefully. "She wears a mask."
"That's great; we don't have to worry about her smiling foolishly like Lockhart," Ron said happily.
'Mask?' Harry was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses. He suddenly remembered exactly who this Professor was.
He couldn't help but lower his voice. "I've met Professor Hamilton."
"In Knockturn Alley."
"Yesterday?" Hermione raised her eyebrows.
"Yes," Harry said. They had arrived at the classroom, and he slowly sat down at his desk, pulling out his textbook. "I was trapped in a shop at the time."
"Professor Hamilton should have been the one who saved me."
"What do you mean 'should have'?" Ron asked curiously.
"Because I'm not sure if that door... well, it's not important." Harry shook his head, bringing the topic back. "What's important is that she's very powerful."
"Very powerful?" Hermione narrowed her eyes and asked, "Just dispelling a locking charm or something? I can do that too..."
"No, no, no," Harry shook his head and explained. "She didn't just dispel magic."
"She also defeated a dark wizard who tried to attack her with the Killing Curse."
"The Killing Curse?!" Ron and Hermione exclaimed simultaneously, drawing the attention of other students in the room.
"Cough, cough, cough." Harry quickly coughed and lowered his voice. "Hagrid told me not to spread it around."
"But it's true."
"Are you sure, Harry?" Hermione said in sheer astonishment. "I've never heard of any magic that can block the Killing Curse."
"Did the dark wizard miss her?"
"I don't know about that... I think my scar hurt and I fainted at the time." Harry scratched his head awkwardly. "But when I woke up, the dark wizard had already been defeated."
"Defeated, not..." Hermione said, looking at Ron, who slowly finished her sentence, "...Not killed?"
"Probably... probably not." Harry was also a bit unsure. How could he have thought to check for a pulse at that time?
"Tsk..." Hermione clicked her tongue and then said, "Then you two had better listen carefully in class... so you don't accidentally upset her."
"Why us?" Ron asked. "What about you?"
"Because I always listen carefully." Hermione rolled her eyes, then walked to the seat behind Harry and sat down.
However, as soon as she sat down, she surprisingly pulled something out of the drawer beneath her desk.
"What is this?" In her hand was a circular metal ring with a blue stone embedded in it.
"It looks just like a bracelet my mom used to buy. Later, after George and Fred cast an Engorgement Charm on it, it couldn't shrink back."
"This definitely isn't a bracelet." Hermione shook her head. "This should be a headband, right?"
"Did someone leave this here?"
"Probably not." Harry shook his head and replied, "It seems everyone has one." He also took an identical headband out of his own desk drawer.
Then, he subconsciously went to put it on his head.
Slap.
Hermione slapped his hand, stopping him. "Harry, don't just put strange things on... there's definitely magic on this."
"What if there's some danger..."
"You mean this is a headband that will make people's heads explode?" Ron joked. "How could anyone do such a thing in a classroom..."
"You can't say for sure." Hermione pouted and looked at the other students.
Everyone looked curiously at the headbands in their hands, but besides Harry, no one dared to put it on yet.
"This might have been left here by Professor Hamilton." Harry thought for a moment and guessed, "Is this some kind of teaching aid?"
"Possibly." Hermione carefully examined the metal band, but she didn't seem to figure anything out.
Ron, however, put it on his wrist; it seemed he really thought it resembled his mom's bracelet.
But no matter how the young wizards guessed, as the office door on the second floor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom opened, everyone subconsciously fell silent.
It was a petite figure, almost the same size as the students. A thick black robe, complete with a hood, covered her entire body. The only visible part of her face was adorned with a pale silver mask.
'It really is her...' Harry nodded slightly to himself.
Ron, however, looked at Harry with a bit of surprise.
"She really is wearing a mask..."
But just as he was about to say something else, Professor Hamilton looked directly at him.
"..."
Ron pursed his lips tightly and snapped his mouth shut.
The Professor did not walk down the stairs. Instead, she quietly leaned against the railing and raised her wand.
Buzz!
With a soft sound, all the headbands on everyone's desks slowly floated up into the air.
'This really is a teaching aid...' Just as Harry was thinking this...
Thump!
The headband suddenly clamped securely onto his head.