The two-week Christmas holiday ended, and the Young Wizards were about to begin their second semester.
It was already dark when Sagres returned to Hogwarts Castle. That night, the Great Hall was brightly lit for the new semester's feast.
Sagres had received a special notice from Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, instructing him to attend without fail—because a new colleague would be joining.
He knew full well that the "new colleague" referred to Miss Kestrel.
Although she had only graduated a few years ago and her combat experience was somewhat lacking, she was certainly capable of teaching a group of students.
Especially for Defense Against the Dark Arts, she herself wasn't fond of fighting, but she had made significant achievements in defensive magic and evasion. Combined with her now fully "mature" wand, the protective spells she could cast were astonishingly powerful.
However, Sagres estimated that with the Kestrel's restless nature, she would probably leave by next semester.
Inside the Great Hall, the four House tables were full of students, and the Professors at the staff table looked solemn. Headmaster Dumbledore stood, clapped his hands softly, and the buzzing discussions immediately ceased.
His silver beard swayed slightly as he smiled kindly.
"Time flies. I hope you all had a pleasant Christmas…"
He went on, still smiling: "In the blink of an eye, half the school year has passed. I hope the holiday has not 'emptied' the knowledge you have learned, so there is room for new knowledge."
The students let out a knowing chuckle.
"As you all know, some incidents occurred last semester, which left our former Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor—Professor Gilderoy Lockhart—injured and in need of treatment at St. Mungo's Hospital."
"And in order not to delay your studies, I have specially appointed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor—"
With that, he gestured toward Miss Kestrel.
Kestrel, or Iresa Lumina, was at that moment seated beside Sagres, one hand pinning down Noctis the raven, who was trying to escape, while she attempted to pry open its beak to pour a cup of drink down its throat, all the while chattering enthusiastically.
At the sound of Dumbledore's introduction, she immediately released the slightly ruffled raven, stood up with a flourish, and launched into her self-introduction with complete confidence.
"Hello everyone, I am Iresa Lumina, a graduate of Koldovstoretz School of Magic. It is a great honor to serve as your Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, and I hope we can all have a pleasant time together this semester."
After speaking, she gave a graceful curtsy, sat back down, and polite, enthusiastic applause rippled through the Great Hall.
"Looks like she's not much older than us," Percy Weasley muttered to his companion with a frown. "I just hope she's not another Lockhart…"
"What's Koldovstoretz?" Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. "Is it also a school of magic?"
"That's right!" Hermione immediately confirmed. "It's a wizarding school in Russia. Hmm… I heard their Quidditch is played on trees…"
"Riding trees?!" Ron and Harry exclaimed at the same time, both staring incredulously at the slender new Professor at the staff table. "She doesn't even look as sturdy as a tree stump!"
"Shh! She's looking this way!" Hermione quickly warned, lowering her voice. "You'd better take this seriously. I don't think she's as easy to fool as Lockhart."
"Where did you get that from?" Ron muttered skeptically. "She looks only a few years older than us…"
"Have you ever seen anyone pin Mr. Noctis down and stop him from flying away?" Hermione shot back. "And she seems very confident. You know, the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts is never an easy one…"
Dumbledore said a few more words, then announced the feast. At once, the long tables filled with an abundance of food, and the students eagerly dug in.
Sagres quietly cast an invisible silence field around them, cutting off the surrounding noise, then turned to her.
"Have you decided what you're going to teach in your first class?"
"Of course!" Kestrel said with full confidence, forking a piece of pudding into her mouth and speaking indistinctly. "Just you wait, I guarantee I'll surprise you!"
Sagres narrowed his eyes—what he feared most was her idea of a "surprise."
"And how exactly will you teach?" he pressed.
"I can't tell you that," Kestrel winked slyly, her tone deliberately mysterious. "Now that we're colleagues, this is—business… oh no, a professional secret!"
Looking at the sparkle in her eyes and the cunning smile at the corner of her mouth, Sagres felt a faint unease stir in his heart.
…
By noon the next day, Sagres heard about Kestrel's unique "teaching method."
She had led the fourth-years from Gryffindor and Slytherin straight out of the Castle and into the snowy grounds.
There, in a world blanketed with silver, she organized a "Castle Snowman Battle Royale."
First, she instructed the students of both houses to build the tallest snowman they could. The task seemed fun, and they all threw themselves into it with enthusiasm, soon producing two towering figures.
The moment the snowmen were complete, Kestrel raised her wand toward the clumsy giants.
"Snowmen—attack!"
At once, the behemoths lurched to life and immediately turned on their creators!
Under Kestrel's command, they hurled enormous snowballs at the students, swung their heavy snow-packed limbs, and even conjured colossal snow bombs.
More dangerously still, the enchanted snowballs curved in the air, locking onto targets and pursuing them.
Within moments, students from both houses were running in panic, shielding their heads as the towering snowmen barreled after them like moving fortresses.
The nearly three-meter-tall constructs rolled through the snow in pursuit, refusing to spare even those who had fled into the Castle. On the spot, they gathered more snow, the balls swelling larger and larger with magical force, until they engulfed any unfortunate student too slow to escape.
Screams rang out one after another as the snowmen became two relentless catapults, snowballs whistling through the air in a ceaseless barrage.
Perched high on a chair, Kestrel shouted with excitement, "Defense Against the Dark Arts—what's the core principle? Defense!"
Her voice carried over the chaos as she pointed her wand and bellowed, "Don't just run—defend! Use Impedimenta! Protego! Wave your wands! You're fourth-years—where are your Shield Charms?"
Snowballs crashed down like artillery fire, and Kestrel looked as if she were enjoying herself immensely.
But gradually, amidst the storm of attacks, the students found their footing. With clumsy starts and nervous shouts, they began raising Shield Charms and casting Impedimenta, learning to block the assault instead of fleeing blindly.
Kestrel's commands and wild gestures never paused. The snowmen rolled across the grounds on their massive round bellies, bowling students over like pins and greedily scooping up more snow to replenish their endless ammunition.
"No hiding back in the Castle!" Kestrel called gleefully. "Block with spells! If you can't even use Impedimenta properly—" she flicked her wand, drawing out her words, "—then the big snowmen will give your butts a good kicking!"
At her cue, the towering snowmen surged forward again, charging headlong into the scattering crowd.
Some of the braver students had begun to counterattack, pelting the giants with snowballs of their own—but the flimsy volleys barely left a mark.
Others, more desperate, resorted to "Incendio," sending flickering jets of fire against the snowmen in hopes of melting them down.
But Kestrel was not so easily challenged. With a flick of her wand, one of the towering snowmen leapt high into the air and came crashing down, sitting squarely on the roaring flames to snuff them out.
A few daring students even turned their wands on Kestrel herself. Several snowballs whistled toward their Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor—but instead of anger, an approving smile curved her lips.
"Very good! You've learned to strike at the source of the problem!" she called out in praise. "But don't underestimate me!"
Before the words had even left her mouth, she swept her wand again. An invisible barrier shimmered into place, rebounding every snowball aimed at her. At once, the snowmen's onslaught grew fiercer, their attacks doubling in speed and force.
[Kestrel's img]
_________
Read 12 Adv chaps—Patreon/DarkDevil1