The Wind and the Wings of Hogwarts

Scott shook hands with him.

"I've always wanted to thank you in person. Was it you who noticed something was wrong with that mouse?"

When he mentioned Pettigrew, an expression of extreme disgust appeared on his face.

"What a pity! Everyone was watching me, they all tried to stop me from killing that rat!" He lost control of his emotions for a moment.

Scott looked at him with feigned surprise, but Blake quickly recovered.

"Oh, sorry." He took a few deep breaths. "I got too excited."

“It doesn’t matter. After all, that person did something unforgivable, didn’t he?” Scott said understandingly. “I was there when Professor Snape gave him the Truth Potion.”

Black's expression changed again when he heard Snape's name, but he quickly smiled again. "I know."

He patted Scott on the shoulder.

He said, "Anyway, thank you, you're a wonderful student. Harry is also very grateful to you; he said you're a genius."

Scott laughed. "You're welcome. It's just a coincidence. I only have a talent for magical perception and transfiguration."

“Better than I was when I was young,” Black said. “You remind me of James, oh, James is Harry’s father, and he was also very good at Transfiguration.”

He couldn't help but show a nostalgic expression.

Upon seeing this, Scott immediately changed the subject and started talking to him about the Defense Against the Dark Arts course.

When talking about the course, Blake appeared confident and eager to try it out.

At this point, students began to enter the classroom one after another, and Scott ended his conversation with Blake, turning to walk towards his student seat.

At the same time, he also thought that his 12 years in prison, living under the constant threat of Dementors, had ultimately had a profound impact on Blake.

Although he seemed normal, Scott could sense after talking to him for a while that his emotions were somewhat unstable and more prone to fluctuations than the average person.

Such people are probably more prone to losing control of their emotions than the average person.

However, on the other hand, such a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is much better than the targets of the undulating earth demons and the fraudsters who only know the Oblivion Charm.

Given the nature of this position, we can't ask for too much.

Class time had arrived, and the students stared at Black with curiosity, all wondering if this new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would really be any better than the previous ones.

Ravenclaw students, in particular, no longer dare to have too many expectations for the professors of this course.

"Hello everyone?" Black greeted the students with a smile. "I'm Sirius Black, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I think you all know me, don't you?"

He acted very enthusiastically, even to the point of seeming a bit overdoing it.

"I've looked into the teaching quality of this course in previous years, and to be honest, for some well-known reasons, it seems that none of you have learned very well?"

He paused and looked at the students' reactions.

Seeing that everyone was listening attentively to him, he relaxed a little.

"As far as I know, starting from the end of the school year, the Wizard Examinations Bureau of the Department of Magical Education under the Ministry of Magic reformed the teaching of Defense Against the Dark Arts, adding a practical component."

He shrugged.

"Personally, I think this is probably the wisest decision the Ministry of Magic has ever made since its founding."

Many students laughed.

Blake laughed along, then immediately said seriously, "It's a pity, especially for you fifth graders. You'll be facing your OWLs at the end of the school year, so our task is a bit heavy."

The Defense Against the Dark Arts class proceeded smoothly, and Black's teaching career seemed to have gotten off to a good start.

After the reform, this course was changed to be taught in two sessions at a time.

One section is theoretical, and the other is practical.

Scott thought Blake's theoretical part was also quite well explained.

Although he is often easily agitated and his thinking can be somewhat muddled at times, he at least has extensive practical experience in dealing with dark magic, which is much better than rote teaching.

During the break, he also carefully inquired about the students' feedback on his teaching.

The students present all gave him good reviews, which made him very happy.

“Professor Black should be glad that his first students were us, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.”

Roger said to Scott.

"If the students in the first class were Gryffindor and Slytherin, he certainly wouldn't have had it so easy."

“Who knows, maybe Snape will come and audit the class?” Scott said with a smile. “For the sake of the Slytherin students, to confirm whether the professor has a reliable teaching ability.”

Roger raised an eyebrow. "Oh... Snape, if he wants it, he can do it."

After the break, the practical lesson begins.

Black waved his wand, and a door appeared behind the podium.

"Come with me." He pushed open the door and walked in. "This will be your assigned practical training classroom!"

Scott and his companions went inside out of curiosity and found that the classroom that had suddenly appeared was surprisingly large.

"Isn't this great?" Black said with a smile. "This classroom was renovated with Dumbledore's help, using the Unseen Stretching Charm!"

Roger looked around. "I think we can ask Professor Black to move the Duel Club here."

Milton nodded in agreement. "Professor Black is very experienced in actual combat. After all, he has fought many Death Eaters. Perhaps he would be willing to become an instructor at the Duel Club."

Scott thought their idea was pretty good. "Professor Flitwick doesn't have much time, Professor Black is a good choice, and Harry is in the Dueling Club, so I think he'll definitely agree."

Chapter 280 Practical Lesson in Defense Against the Dark Arts

"It's a pity I couldn't see your duel practice test in June at the end of the last semester."

Blake casually tossed his hair.

"Everyone knows that I was still imprisoned in Azkaban at that time."

Scott felt it might have been a mistake to mention Azkaban so casually, because he had underestimated the curiosity of the Ravenclaw students.

If Black hadn't brought it up, the students wouldn't have been so tactless as to reopen his wounds, but once he acted as if he didn't care, more than one Ravenclaw student immediately took the initiative to ask questions—

"Professor Black, is Azkaban really as terrible as the rumors say?"

"Professor, what exactly are Dementors? Are they magical creatures or true demons?"

"If Dementors are as terrifying as the legends say, how did you manage to survive for 12 years?"

As several Ravenclaw students asked questions, the Hufflepuff students also stared at Black with curious eyes.

But Scott noticed that Blake was clearly a bit bewildered by the barrage of questions from the students.

He clearly saw Blake's expression turn troubled for a moment.

But the newly appointed professor clearly wanted to make a good impression on the students.

He forced himself to speak, but seemed to suddenly fall into terrible memories.

"Well, Azkaban... I have to say, it's definitely not a good memory."

He spoke haltingly, a fleeting look of pain crossing his face.

"Dementors...yes, they are a bunch of demons. They bring only coldness and darkness, yet they can easily take away all happiness, leaving behind endless pain..."

Judging from his behavior, the short two months since his release from prison are far from enough for him to shake off the effects of his 12 years in prison.

Seeing that he was acting strangely and that his classmates were also looking surprised, Scott quickly stepped forward.

There was no way around it; things he could have ignored in the past were now things he, as the prefect, had to deal with.

"Thank you for your answer, Professor Black."

He smiled and said to Blake.

"This makes us even more excited for the upcoming practical lessons. We really hope to hear more about your past experiences fighting against dark wizards."

Scott deliberately slowed his speech considerably.

“A wizard with your extensive combat experience is the right person to teach this course. I think perhaps Headmaster Dumbledore has finally made the right choice.”

After Scott spoke, the classmates surrounding Blake immediately fell silent.

As Scott slowly finished speaking, Blake gradually came to his senses.

He gave Scott a grateful look, then put on a calm smile again.

"I heard from Professor Flitwick that you formed your own dueling club last semester."

He brought up the dueling club, glanced around at the students, and shook the parchment with the student list written on it.

"Can anyone tell me who among the students here performed the best in the dueling club activities?"

"Scott!"

"Cedric!"

The Ravenclaw students elected Scott, while the Hufflepuff students called out Cedric's name.

“Oh, very good! Mr. Trollope.” Black glanced at the parchment in his hand. “And, Mr. Diggory.”

He glanced at Scott. "I would like to ask the two gentlemen to give us a demonstration duel so that I can see the level of your best students!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the other students from both colleges immediately took several large steps back, leaving only Scott and Cedric standing in place.

Cedric turned around and glanced at his classmate with some surprise.

“I’m sorry, Professor Blake,” he said to Blake, “I’m clearly not good enough compared to Scott.”

"No need to be modest, Mr. Diggory, your grades are also quite excellent."

Black waved his wand, signaling the other students to retreat to the side of the classroom, and began to direct Scott and Cedric to their positions without giving them a chance to speak.

Scott and Cedric could only stand facing each other at a distance.

Blake decisively announced the start of the duel.

"Except your weapons!"

"Smoke swirling around!"

Cedric began with a disarming spell, but Scott, using his magical senses, easily dodged it and immediately concealed himself in thick smoke.