Chapter 521: Hurry, Run Along
Chapter 521: Hurry, Run Along
Sirius Black was well-received at Hogwarts. As he entered the Great Hall, all eyes turned to him, and the once-boisterous hall fell into a brief silence before erupting into fervent discussions.
Harry looked thrilled. He usually strolled into the Great Hall fashionably late, but today he had arrived half an hour early, at eight o'clock sharp.
Upon spotting Sirius, he excitedly waved.
However, as expected with any new professor, there were those who embraced Sirius' arrival and those who did not.
A few Slytherins sneered as they walked past.
"Looking pleased, Potter?"
Malfoy couldn't resist a jab. "You'd better start praying he makes it to next year... Things don't tend to end well for Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, you know."
"Don't worry, Malfoy. He'll be fine," Harry said confidently. "If your father can get away with everything, then Sirius can certainly escape the so-called curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts position."
"Oh, speaking of which, I heard your family had to sell your shop in Diagon Alley. Must have cost you a pretty galleon," Harry added casually.
Malfoy's pale face flushed, and he instinctively reached for his wand.
"How dare you bring up my father, Potter!"
"You started it by talking about Sirius," Harry countered, his wand also at the ready.
"What's going on here?" Sirius, who had been nearby, immediately intervened.
"Professor!" Harry quickly explained, "It's Malfoy. He was badmouthing you."
"Oh?"
Sirius turned to Malfoy. "Didn't Snape teach you not to speak ill of your professors behind their backs?"
"I didn't!" Malfoy protested, his neck stiff with indignation. "It was Potter who slandered my father..."
"Five points from Slytherin for disrespecting a professor," Sirius said, raising an eyebrow. "Now, unless you want detention, get back to where you're supposed to be."
Malfoy was seething, breathing heavily in anger. "I'll be reporting this to Professor Snape, telling him about what you..."
"You'd better go now," Sirius interrupted with a derisive laugh. "Hurry, run along. Don't keep me waiting."
Malfoy stormed off in a huff.
The next second, a cheer erupted from the Gryffindor table. Several students stood on their chairs, jubilantly celebrating the turn of events.
Up until today, whenever there was a conflict between Gryffindor and Slytherin, it was always the former who ended up being punished.
But things were different now.
Sirius had just done exactly what Snape would have done, but this time, it was a Slytherin on the receiving end of the punishment.
Even after Sirius left, the students around them continued to discuss the intriguing incident.
"Don't talk to me," Ron whispered excitedly to Harry and Hermione. "I'm going to remember this forever. It's about time we had a professor who's on our side."
"Yeah," Harry agreed, equally delighted. He had been on the receiving end of Snape's punishments more times than he could count, often bearing the brunt of the consequences whenever there was a clash with a Slytherin, regardless of who was at fault.
But those days were over... Harry watched Sirius' retreating back, feeling a surge of excitement.
Hermione was the only one near them who wasn't joining in the celebrations. She sat quietly, staring at the bowl of cornflakes in front of her, seemingly lost in thought, even as Harry and Ron tried to engage her in conversation.
After this incident, many students found themselves eagerly anticipating Sirius' first lesson.
"We don't have Defense Against the Dark Arts until Wednesday," Ron said, looking at his schedule with a hint of disappointment. "Why couldn't he have come a week earlier..."
Similar sentiments were echoed by many others.
However, this didn't concern the fifth-years.
Professor Moody strode into the classroom, his wooden leg clunking with each step, as if the arrival of Sirius Black had no impact on him whatsoever.
"Absolutely correct," Professor Moody said. "In my opinion, the effect of this spell is no less useful than the Killing Curse. When a wizard loses his wand, he also loses the ability to fight back. Of course, I'm referring to a situation where the skill levels are roughly equal."
"Let me tell you something you won't like," he continued, "even without my wand, I could easily take on... well, most of you."
His magical eye seemed to linger on Kyle for a moment before he went on. "Expelliarmus, Stunning Spell, and Binding Spell are the three most commonly used spells by Aurors and Hit Wizards.
"And I can tell you in advance that Expelliarmus will definitely appear in your upcoming O.W.L. exams."
At the mention of exams, everyone straightened up in their seats. They had been driven nearly crazy by the exams lately, dreaming about scores every night.
Even Trelawney's daily prophecies had transformed into symbols of failing grades, which were far more effective than before. Whoever had their name called would be nervous for days afterward.
This gave Professor Trelawney a great sense of satisfaction, and she started making prophecies more frequently.
Naturally, everyone paid close attention when it came to an easy question in the exam.
"Speaking of Expelliarmus..." Professor Moody's magical eye swiveled, "I understand that you were introduced to this spell in your third year. Let's see how much you've learned. Come on, show me."
He took out his wand and gestured for the students in the front row to cast Expelliarmus on him.
"Ha, I just happen to remember the incantation," a Ravenclaw boy stood up and confidently jabbed his wand forward, "Disarm!"
"Pfft..." Sparks flew from the tip of his wand and flickered out after a few flashes, but Professor Moody still held his wand firmly in his hand.
"That's a wand, Mr. Thomas, not a rapier," Professor Moody said calmly. "You're not planning to poke my hand with it, are you?"
Laughter erupted around the room, while the boy lowered his head in silence.
"Take your seat," Professor Moody said. "Next..."
The next student to stand up was also from Ravenclaw. His performance was slightly better, but he missed and blew a hole in the window behind him.
Laughter filled the room once more.
But it quickly died down as Professor Moody decided to call out names directly instead of checking by seating order.
Not a single person who had been laughing their hearts out earlier escaped being called, and they soon became the butt of everyone's jokes.
"Looks like I overestimated you," Professor Moody said after calling out a third of the class. He then abandoned this idea.
"How did you learn it? You've forgotten it so quickly."
Umm...
Everyone looked at each other. They couldn't very well say that when they were learning this spell in the third year, they were all busy watching Lockhart make a fool of himself, could they?
And the Duelling Club had only been held once. Afterward, neither Lockhart nor any other professor had mentioned Expelliarmus again.
It was normal that they hadn't mastered it.
"All right, I understand,"
Professor Moody seemed to see through most people's thoughts and continued, "Now, everyone put down your wands and turn to page one hundred and sixty-five in your books. Copy down everything related to the Expelliarmus spell... Let me remind you once again, this spell is important, and it will definitely appear in your O.W.L. exams."
Soon, the only sound in the classroom was the scratching of quills on parchment as Professor Moody stood at the front, observing everyone's movements with his magical eye, muttering softly,
"That fraud Lockhart, his only contribution to Hogwarts is probably letting you learn about the Expelliarmus spell in advance."
(End of Chapter)
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