After lunch, there were still three classes left: Flying at 3:00 PM and, at the end of the day, History of Magic, the last class being the most special. The first one was taught by Professor Binns, a ghost who had died in his sleep and continued to teach to this day. The second one was led by Madam Hooch, a woman with piercing yellow eyes, reminiscent of a hawk's eyes.
The flying class itself didn't catch Asterion's attention; he could fly on his own without any problem. But as a man, he felt particularly revolted sitting on those broomsticks. Even after years living in the magical society, he still didn't understand how witches and wizards could sit on those brooms without hurting their private parts. That was the first flying class and the last one he would attend because he would never sit on a broom again.
Instead of hurting himself by sitting on a broom, he would rather ride Nidhogg and fly on top of a damn dragon!
As for what the school would think of him skipping classes, Asterion couldn't care less. If anyone complained, Baskerville was especially hungry those days, and he wouldn't mind feeding his faithful companion.
The penultimate class of the day was History of Magic, during which Asterion nearly dozed off while hearing about the Goblin Rebellion and the Giant Wars, topics as antiquated as Professor Binns himself. The ghost seemed to have a strange enthusiasm for history, something the Black heir couldn't comprehend.
After the end of the History of Magic class, it was time for the class Asterion was slightly interested in: Defense Against Cursed Spirits, taught by Edward Milleton, a veteran Auror from the Ministry of Magic.
This class was one of the two that were exclusive to the reality of this magical world, the other being Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training.
Edward was a middle-aged man, around forty years old, with partially gray hair and cold gray eyes. A scar marked his face below the eyes, extending to the jaw. He wore black trousers and a gray vest over a white shirt.
His posture was firm and imposing, like someone who had witnessed many things and faced many challenges.
The Defense Against Cursed Spirits class took place in a vast open space, with students from all four houses present, hundreds of teenagers nervously watching the professor.
Asterion's small group was in the front row of Slytherin members.
"Are we going to face cursed spirits on the first day?" Tracey murmured, clearly nervous, as she looked at the cages behind the professor with a hint of fear in her eyes.
No one responded to her; even Daphne seemed nervous. Perhaps the only people who appeared perfectly calm were Asterion and Rose, and as for the reason for this calmness, it didn't need explaining.
Edward looked at all his students in silence and began to speak, his voice reaching everyone present effortlessly. "I am Professor Edward Milleton, the instructor for Defense Against Cursed Spirits."
He paused to let everyone process the information and continued, "Unlike Defense Against the Dark Arts, which specializes in combating Dark Wizards and shadowy creatures such as Vampires, Werewolves, and others, this class is exclusively focused on efficiently combating Cursed Spirits."
Walking across the floor covered in brown tiles, he gestured towards the huge cages covered with white sheets behind him.
"Some of you may have noticed the cages behind me, and as you might imagine, they contain Cursed Spirits."
As he said this, all the students became agitated, and not without reason. Regardless of their background, they were, after all, just teenagers and had never seen a particularly fierce Cursed Spirit without parental supervision.
"Silence," Edward frowned, speaking coldly. His rough, cold voice made the agitated teenagers fall silent.
"In this class, we won't be fighting Cursed Spirits. The goal is simply to get you accustomed to seeing them, which will help prevent you from freezing completely when encountering them on your future missions."
His words alleviated some of the tension in the room, but only slightly; everyone was still nervous.
That said, he waved his wand and removed the sheets covering the cages, revealing the Cursed Spirits.
In the four cages made of a special alchemical material, four Cursed Spirits appeared, all four of them as grotesque as possible, clearly chosen to make a significant impact on the new students.
"Disgusting."
That was the sentiment shared by everyone as they saw the grotesque monsters writhing in the cages.
Some, with more sensitive minds, bent over and vomited immediately. No one blamed or mocked these teenagers; the Cursed Spirits in the cages were truly disgusting, with a repulsive mass of fat and eyes that twisted grotesquely.
Edward spoke calmly, his gray eyes observing everyone with serenity. "Some of you are here to determine whether you will be assigned to the Exorcism Course or the Auxiliary Course. Although the school may make this choice based on your performance at the end of the school year, it respects your opinions. Therefore, you can choose now whether you want to remain in the Exorcism Course or switch to the Auxiliary Course."
He continued calmly, "There is no shame in being in the Auxiliary Course. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. If you believe you will do better in the Auxiliary Course, do not hesitate to make that choice. But it's not necessary to decide now; you have until the end of the school year to choose. Otherwise, the school will make the decision for you."
Every word from Edward had a profound impact on the hearts of these teenagers, who expected a world full of brightness and magic. However, reality was cruel: they were not just students but soldiers in training.
"Let's begin," he said. "Unlike humans, cursed spirits can regenerate infinitely as long as they have negative magical energy, so the easiest method to kill them in most cases is to cut off the head and destroy the body."
"But it's not a mandatory rule. Some may still survive even with their body cut into four parts."
Edward continued his lecture regardless of what the students were thinking. To provide an example, he drew his wand and incanted a spell towards the cursed spirit in the cage.
[Bombarda!]
A red flash appeared at the tip of Edward's wand and struck the cursed spirit, exploding a significant portion of the creature, splattering purple blood to the sides, staining the ground with a purple hue, and a putrid smell hung in the air.
Such a bloody scene left all the students pale, but they all looked with a certain curiosity as the monstrosity regenerated extremely quickly, and within seconds, it seemed intact again, as if nothing had happened.
Indifferent to the bloody scene, Edward lowered his wand and explained sternly, "That's the healing factor of Cursed Spirits, so when you're on a mission, never let your guard down under any circumstances, as like any living creature, Cursed Spirits also have a basic instinct for self-preservation."
Listening to the entire lecture and vivid example, Asterion nodded in satisfaction. Edward was worthy of being a veteran Auror; the man knew how to teach survival without kind and flowery words—the reality was much crueler, as the man personally demonstrated.
"He's a good teacher, not a charlatan with blonde hair and impeccably white teeth," Asterion said to his small, private group, not forgetting to ridicule a certain plagiarizing writer.
Though they didn't quite understand the second part, everyone nodded in agreement with his words. They could also see that Edward was a good teacher; he didn't hesitate to expose cruelty and blood to the new students, shattering the beautiful illusion that teenagers had about the wizarding world.
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Author's Thoughts: Some of you might find these classroom chapters boring, but to make the world more coherent, I have to do this. I hope that you enjoyed
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Next Chapter: Chapter 49 - First Class of Defense Against Cursed Spirits (2), Chapter 50 - Request (1), Chapter 51 - Request (2), Chapter 52 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (1), Chapter 53 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (2), Chapter 54 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (3), Chapter 55 - A Treacherous Game of Chess (4), Chapter 56 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (1), Chapter 57 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (2), Chapter 58 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (3), Chapter 59 - Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Class (4), Chapter 60 - School Council, Chapter 61 - Mission (1), Chapter 62 - Mission (2), Chapter 63 - Mission (3), Chapter 64 - Mission (4), Chapter 65 - Mission (5), Chapter 66 - Consequences of the Attack (1), Chapter 67 - Consequences of the Attack (2), Chapter 68 - Invasion of Hogwarts (1), Chapter 69 - Invasion of Hogwarts (2), Chapter 70 - Invasion of Hogwarts (3), Chapter 71 - Invasion of Hogwarts (4), Chapter 72 - Invasion of Hogwarts (5), Chapter 73 - Invasion of Hogwarts (6).