Chapter 138: The First Class

Originally, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was shrouded in gloom. Because that fellow Quirrell was controlled by Voldemort, he had grown accustomed to hiding himself in the shadows, which gave him a semblance of peace of mind.

Now, however, the classroom was flooded with sunlight.

All the curtains had been pulled back, and warm beams of light filled every corner of the room.

Students trickled into the classroom and noticed that the desks had all been pushed against the walls on either side, leaving a vast, wide-open space in the middle.

The students already knew this subject would be taught by a new professor, one who was absurdly young. Fortunately, his reputation was big enough that everyone had heard his name, more or less.

Many female students were quite fond of this professor's appearance, as his sharp, rugged features and tall, imposing stature gave them a reassuring sense of security.

The students eagerly anticipated some change in this class. At the very least, they had all grown thoroughly sick of Professor Quirrell. His classes were always reeking of garlic, and his monotonous lectures were even more sleep-inducing than Professor Binns's History of Magic.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin students attended this class together. No matter the occasion, those two houses loved to clash, and the seating arrangement catered wonderfully to their competitive nature.

Among all the students, Harry was the happiest. He considered Jun Ma to be a dear friend, and having such a good friend teach his classes was simply wonderful.

Therefore, Harry arrived very early. Unlike for other subjects, he came along with Ron and Hermione. When they reached the classroom, Jun Ma was not yet there.

"Harry, do you really think Professor Jun Ma has what it takes to teach us Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Ron asked doubtfully. "After all, he looks much too young."

"Of course he does!" Harry hastily insisted with absolute certainty. "He's exceptionally capable! Haven't you read his travel journals?"

"Hmph..." At that moment, a mocking voice chimed in. "Just another attention-seeker. I could write those travel journals myself! Just you wait and see, he won't even last a year before getting kicked out!"

"What are you saying, Draco?" Harry snapped at the fellow.

Tilting his head up high, flanked by his two bulky bodyguard-like sidekicks, was Draco Malfoy, Harry's arch-nemesis. Ever since the term began, Draco had resented Harry for soaking up all the glory, refusing to believe that Harry had done anything worthy of a savior.

"Ha..." Draco sneered. "He didn't even make us buy any textbooks—what gives him the right to teach? Is he just going to tell fairy tales? Dumbledore must be losing his mind in his old age to hire such a young professor!"

"Draco, you bloody bastard, are you saying *you* could be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?" Ron demanded angrily. Draco looked down his nose at the Weasley family, deeming them traitors and scum among pure-blood wizards, so Ron never missed a chance to get into a shouting match with him.

"Anyway, he's bound to be completely useless. Just you wait and see!" Draco sneered, turning his back and walking off to the side.

***

Class time arrived, and all the students—showing at least a shred of respect—had gathered. They stood around the classroom in small groups, chatting about the new professor.

"Hello there, children!" At the front of the classroom, emerging from the small office staircase, Professor Jun Ma appeared with a gentle smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I am deeply honored to become your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I suppose you all know who I am by now; I am Jun Ma. Headmaster Dumbledore just introduced me not long ago at the Welcome Feast."

"Hello, Professor Jun Ma!" Harry cheered the most enthusiastically, grinning broadly.

The Gryffindor students joined in with eager cheers as well; they were a crowd that loved to play along and support someone. As for the Slytherin students, they were much quieter.

Particularly Draco, who stood with his arms crossed in the distance, wearing a look of utter disdain, as if someone owed him a hundred Galleons.

"I chose not to make you buy textbooks, saving you a bit of money. Surely you ought to applaud for that at least?" Jun Ma said with a chuckle.

"Hahaha..."

A burst of laughter rippled through the students.

"Right then, let's get down to business!" Jun Ma cleared his throat and wiped the smile from his face.

Being a teacher at Hogwarts had one marvelous perk: how you taught your classes, what materials you used, and how you conducted examinations were entirely up to you. There was no rigid, uniform mold to follow.

"This subject is called Defense Against the Dark Arts!" Jun Ma swept his gaze across the crowd, speaking in a deep voice. "Can anyone tell me, what is it that you are defending against? And what is the purpose of your study?"

The students looked at each other in blank dismay. Hermione was the first to shoot her hand into the air eagerly, terrified that Jun Ma might not call on her.

"Miss Hermione Granger!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Hermione rattled off her answer like firecrackers: "Learning how to deal with evil dark curses and malicious dark creatures! The purpose of studying it is to protect oneself!"

"Well said!" Jun Ma smiled and continued pressing, "Then, what... is the most evil creature of all?"

"A Boggart?"

"Dragons, they're terrifyingly powerful!"

"Giants!"

"No, Dementors! They're the guards of Azkaban, and they feed on human happiness and life force!"

...

At this, the students descended into a chaotic, competing flurry of shouts.

"Quiet!" Jun Ma effortlessly produced his wand, placed it against his throat, and cast a Sonorous Charm. The deafeningly amplified voice instantly brought the students to a hush.

"It seems you know quite a few dark creatures, and I am quite pleased!" Jun Ma put away his wand and said, "However, you failed to name the most evil creature of all!"

"Professor Jun Ma!" Suddenly, as if a sudden realization struck her, Hermione Granger blurted out, "Humans!"

"Ten points to Gryffindor!" Jun Ma gave her an encouraging smile and nodded. "Spot on! The most evil creature of all is the human being! Because the human heart is endlessly fickle, and people are all around you everywhere you go! Mr. Draco Malfoy, do you think I am wrong?"

Draco had been wearing a sneering expression. When his name was suddenly called, he froze for a second before sneering coldly, "Of course you're wrong. You're talking absolute rubbish!"

"Oh, is that so?" Jun Ma's smile grew even brighter, to the point where his eyes crinkled into crescents. Suddenly, his wand materialized in his hand out of thin air. "Imprison!"

Countless slender ropes erupted into existence, instantly binding every single student in the room.

While everyone stared in shock, Jun Ma maintained his genial smile and pointed his wand at Draco, who was hoisted straight up into the air. "You see, humans are prone to casting magic at the drop of a hat, plunging you into an abyss at any moment. Surely you don't believe that all dark wizards have been safely locked away in Azkaban, do you?"

As soon as Jun Ma finished speaking, all the ropes vanished into thin air, and Draco dropped heavily onto the floor.

"Whoa! Professor Jun Ma managed to instantly strip all of us of our ability to move!"

"Professor Jun Ma is amazing! I reckon he's every bit as good as Dumbledore!"

Instead of being terrified, the students began chattering excitedly, thoroughly awed by Jun Ma's display of power. They unanimously decided that this professor was more than qualified to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts!

Only Draco sat on the floor with a resentful scowl, glaring murderously at Jun Ma, though he dared not utter another word.