The Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training Room shared many similarities with the Cursed Spirit Defense Classroom. Both were open spaces, however, the environment differed due to the presence of an immense ring drawn on the smooth marble floor.
In charge of teaching this class was Professor Irene Dragnell, a tall woman in her thirties, with flaming red hair and piercing green eyes. Her beauty was marked by strong and sharp features like a knife, and her gaze denoted an unwavering intensity.
She stood at around 190 cm tall and wore black leggings and a black sports bra for her medium-sized breasts while proudly displaying her beautiful abdominal muscles.
The girls followed a similar style of attire to the professor, replacing the sports bra with a tight-fitting t-shirt. All the teenagers complemented the outfit with MMA gloves.
The boys, on the other hand, wore similar ankle-length male leggings. For their upper bodies, they opted for long-sleeved shirts made of the same stretchy fabric as the leggings. Like the girls, they wore MMA gloves.
Among the group of boys, Asterion stood out with his perfectly symmetrical and impressive abdominal muscles, an achievement he had dedicated years of effort to, even at just thirteen years old.
Theodoro watched Asterion's muscles with envy and asked, "Lord Asterion, could you tell me your training routine?"
All the other boys, including Draco, listened attentively. No matter who they were, all the boys wished to have muscles like Asterion's, most of them hoping to impress the girls with them.
"Another time I'll tell you, for now, focus on the class." Putting on the MMA glove, Asterion shook his head and replied.
Suddenly, his gaze fell on the group of skinny boys in Gryffindor, though one boy in particular stood out with a swollen thumb in his group. He was tall for his age, surpassing Asterion, the teenager stood at around 184 cm tall, he had blue eyes and black hair.
He possessed an enviable physique for any man with perfect muscles in every corner of his body, almost as if he was born for it – fighting.
Asterion recognized the boy.
- Neville Longbottom.
It wasn't surprising that this was the only class he could enjoy without needing magical energy.
Looking at Neville, Asterion showed a cold smile, he especially remembered the insult his grandmother made against him, now was a good time to return the favor from three years ago.
As Asterion plotted his malicious plan, the eyes of almost all the boys focused on the professor. Mainly fixated on certain parts of her body that were accentuated by the leggings and sports bra.
Some even secretly fell in love with the teacher, after all, what teenager has never fallen in love with that beautiful teacher.
In the girls' group, Tracey glanced at Asterion and swallowed hard, feeling a wave of heat that made her use her hand as a fan. It wasn't just her; all the girls were peeking at some particularly muscular boys. Although the Slytherin girls were only looking at the Slytherin boys.
Considering their age and natural interests in boys, it wasn't surprising that they acted this way.
"I already love this class," Tracey murmured, displaying a mischievous smile on her lips.
Noticing her friend's behavior, Daphne spoke coldly: "You can stop staring at my husband."
"Don't be selfish, Daph. We're just looking," Tracey replied, indifferent to her friend's discomfort, and continued with a mischievous smile.
She continued speaking, but with a touch of envy in her voice. "But honestly, I envy you, Daph. If it were me, I'd be touching those muscles all the time."
Daphne snorted coldly but remained silent, though she glanced at Asterion while biting her lower lip.
She didn't need to look around to know that all the Slytherin girls and girls from other houses were stealing glances at Asterion. Having a handsome husband was very dangerous in an environment full of girls with constantly flourishing hormones.
Giving a resentful look at Asterion, Daphne focused on the class, seeing that the professor was about to speak.
"Good afternoon, students," she spoke, her voice echoing for all regardless of distance.
"I am Irene Dragnell. As the name of this class indicates, you will be learning to fight with me," she said, looking at everyone with a calm and confident gaze. She ignored the not-so-discreetly excited looks from the boys falling over her body; it was no news to her that she was quite an attractive object for teenagers.
For some reason, boys always seemed to be interested in older women. Although she thought it might partly be because of her mature body...
Smiling somewhat coldly, she continued. "Unfortunately, today we will not be using Reinforcement Magic. I don't want to see any broken bones on this first day."
Upon hearing about the possibility of breaking bones, most students showed a fearful look, remembering they would have the second Cursed Spirit Defense class next week.
"Some of you may be thinking that learning to fight is useless since you are wizards and can use magic, but you are completely wrong," Irene spoke as she walked to the center of the ring.
"I want you to understand that Cursed Spirits and Dark Wizards won't stand still waiting for you to hit them with your spells. They move swiftly and can kill you with the smallest of mistakes. Cursed Spirits, in particular, have always engaged in physical fights due to their low intellect, and their bodies are hard, resilient, and regenerate quickly," she continued explaining, disregarding the students' feelings.
Irene looked at everyone and spoke with a smile. "So it's essential that you specialize in hand-to-hand combat, especially those who wish to become Aurors. It's an important requirement to score at least an O in Magical Self-Defense Tactical Training to qualify for the chance to participate in the Ministry of Magic's exams."
With these words, most of those who dreamed of being an Auror became extremely excited and serious, listening to every word of the professor as if they were hearing sacred words.
Holding the box, she continued, "In my class, you will fight against each other. Your opponents will be randomly drawn, so line up and come draw your opponents."
Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff lined up in four rows and drew one by one.
First were the girls from each House, and none of the boys seemed to mind much, although they were excited to fight.
"Tracey Davis from Slytherin VS Hermione Granger from Gryffindor," announced Irene loudly, watching Tracey pull the paper containing the Gryffindor girl's name.
In the Gryffindor girls' group, Hermione suddenly felt nervous; she really didn't expect to be the first one to be drawn!
"Kick that arrogant snake's butt, Hermione!" cheered Lavender Brown, one of the girls she shared the dormitory with.
"I've never fought anyone," Hermione said with a worried expression.
"Your opponent doesn't either, or I hope not..." Rose comforted her friend with a smile, though she was worried about Hermione taking a beating... Slytherin students had many advantages over Muggle-borns, whether in knowledge, wealth, or training.
Rose noticed this by observing the upright posture of almost all Slytherin students; she just hoped Hermione wouldn't take too much of a beating.
"Mione, remember, keep your focus and pay attention to your surroundings, punch when necessary, and dodge when you think you'll get hit," she advised Hermione, looking at Tracey approaching in the center of the ring.
Hermione nodded and took a deep breath, casting one last glance at her friends and receiving encouraging looks from all of them.
Gathering courage, she walked toward the center of the ring with steady steps.
In the center, the two teenagers stared at each other.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet the famous Hermione Granger; you're quite well-known in Slytherin for keeping up with Asty and Rose Potter in earning points," Tracey spoke amiably. As a half-blood, she didn't possess the pride of a pure-blood, something that certainly surprised Hermione.
"I didn't know I was that famous," Hermione replied, somewhat shy and surprised; she had expected the classic Slytherin arrogance.
"You're adorable." Seeing her expression, Tracey chuckled shrewdly.
Observing the two girls speaking amicably, Irene approached and spoke with a stern voice, "Girls, remember, this is a friendly competition, so no hits to the eyes, hair, or stomach. Whoever knocks down the other first wins."
"Yes, professor!" Both girls responded simultaneously.
Irene nodded satisfactorily and stepped back enough to arbitrate the fight. Instead of teaching the students how to fight first, she wanted to see each student's proficiency in combat before creating an individualized training regime. Thus, this first class was just for her to assess each student's abilities.
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Next Chapter: 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), Chapter 74 - Invasion of Hogwarts (7), Chapter 75 - Invasion of Hogwarts (8), Chapter 76 - Invasion of Hogwarts (9), Chapter 77 - Invasion of Hogwarts (10), Chapter 78 - Invasion of Hogwarts (11), Chapter 79 - Post-War (1), Chapter 80 - Heir of Salazar Slytherin (1), Chapter 81 - Heir of Salazar Slytherin (2).