"This..." Dudley frowned, looking at the chaotic mess in the classroom, falling into contemplative silence.
"Dudley, why don't you teach us? After all, you're doing exceptionally well in your studies," Neville suggested hopefully.
"That's absolutely right! You fought dark wizards last semester. You must have extensive experience. Teaching us would definitely be no problem," Seamus immediately added with enthusiasm.
Others quickly echoed their support.
If it were any other student, they definitely wouldn't accept such an arrangement, but if this person was Dudley, they were actually looking forward to it with genuine anticipation.
Because Dudley's academic performance was outstanding, and last semester, the Dragon Knight's battle against the dark wizard was still vivid in everyone's memory. Under such circumstances, they felt there would be no problem with Dudley temporarily serving as their professor.
"Very well," Dudley said after a moment's consideration, no longer hesitating.
They were just second-year students. Teaching them really wouldn't be much pressure for someone with his experience.
However, Dudley wasn't clear about what to do regarding other classes' Defence Against the Dark Arts courses. Would he also be expected to teach the upper years? He'd need to ask Professor McGonagall about this later.
"Speaking of which, our last Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was killed by Dudley," Ron whispered to Harry in lowered tones.
Harry nodded thoughtfully, then after a moment asked Ron quietly, "Do you think Professor Lockhart will survive until next semester?"
Ron pressed his lips together, considered the question seriously for a moment, then replied, "Given the current situation, it might be somewhat difficult."
"What are you two whispering about?" Hermione poked her head over with obvious curiosity.
"We're discussing whether Professor Lockhart can survive until next semester under Dudley's instruction," Ron explained matter-of-factly.
"Oh!" Hermione immediately made the connection and showed a genuinely terrified expression.
Meanwhile, Dudley looked at the time. There was still plenty of time before class ended. He needed to think about what to teach everyone during the remaining period.
After considering his options for a moment, he had a clear idea.
"Since this is Defence Against the Dark Arts class, let's teach everyone some practical defensive spells," Dudley announced.
"Expelliarmus. Does anyone know this particular spell?" he asked the class.
Hermione immediately raised her hand eagerly.
"Excellent, Hermione, please explain it to everyone."
"This spell can disarm an opponent's weapon, mainly their wand. Once a wizard loses their wand, their magical strength will be dramatically weakened," Hermione explained clearly.
"Very good explanation. Unfortunately, I can't award points to Gryffindor in this capacity," Dudley said with mild amusement.
"Today I'll teach everyone how to cast this spell properly."
The Disarming Charm was quite practical and could handle most dangerous situations effectively. However, Dudley rarely relied on it because as a Beyonder, he possessed more devastating abilities like Mental Piercing and Whip of Pain. He basically didn't need conventional spells.
"Since we're not following the textbook approach anymore, everyone pair up and practise together," Dudley instructed.
As his words concluded, he directly waved the wand in his hand and cast a complex spell.
In an instant, all the desks and chairs in the classroom levitated gracefully, quickly moving toward the back of the classroom and stacking together in perfect order, clearing a substantial practice area.
"Wow! That's amazing!" several students exclaimed with genuine admiration.
Dudley's control over magic was remarkably precise and appeared effortlessly elegant.
This spell seemed simple enough, and many people appeared capable of attempting it, but to accomplish moving all the furniture according to one's exact will in such a short time while arranging everything neatly together required exceptionally advanced magical skills.
This was also Dudley demonstrating his capabilities to everyone, proving his strength was more than sufficient to teach them effectively.
Then Dudley positioned himself in the centre of the group, allowing everyone to clearly observe him.
"Everyone watch my wand movements carefully. They must be very precise," he instructed.
"Then chant the incantation clearly: Expelliarmus!"
Everyone followed Dudley's example, waving their wands while carefully reciting the spell.
"For the specific casting technique, it works like this," Dudley demonstrated, waving his wand and aiming at Harry.
"Expelliarmus!"
A brilliant red light flashed, and Harry's wand flew out in response, spinning through the air.
"Incredible!" everyone exclaimed with obvious enthusiasm.
"Now you can try it with each other," Dudley told the class.
Hearing this instruction, everyone began practising with eager determination.
This method of teaching was far more engaging than the previous approach of simply reading textbooks.
Moreover, since Dudley was their classmate after all, everyone didn't feel intimidated around him and could learn this spell in a relaxed and natural atmosphere, making the process much more efficient than before.
Dudley moved through the practising pairs, checking everyone's learning progress and correcting problems they encountered when casting spells.
"Ron, there's an issue with the angle of your wand movement. It should be positioned like this," Dudley said, demonstrating the proper technique.
Suddenly, his senses sharpened with alertness. He felt like something was observing him intently.
After considering the sensation for a moment, Dudley quickly located the source of that surveillance. He looked up toward a window and happened to see a familiar cat elegantly passing by the opening.
"Professor McGonagall still can't rest completely easy," Dudley smiled to himself and withdrew his gaze.
After more practice time had passed, Harry made his breakthrough.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry waved his wand with focused concentration, and a red beam of light shot out, striking Ron directly. The next moment, Ron's wand suddenly flew out and landed in the distance with a clatter.
"Harry succeeded!" others called out, gathering to observe.
Harry was the first person to successfully cast this spell with full effect.
"Not bad at all. You seem quite naturally gifted at casting this particular spell," Dudley said to Harry with an approving smile.
"You taught it very well," Harry replied with obvious gratitude.
"Alright, you two are being quite enough," Ron couldn't help but complain, though he was smiling.
By the time class was about to end, Hermione and several other students had also successfully cast the spell, though their results were still somewhat inconsistent. The spell worked sometimes and failed at others, requiring significantly more practice to master.
"Alright, class is dismissed," Dudley announced.
"Thank you, Professor Dursley," someone said with obvious amusement.
Dudley smiled at the joke. After most people had departed, he used magic to restore all the desks and chairs to their original positions, then left the classroom with Harry and the others.
In the corridor outside, Ron brought up an interesting question.
"Do you think, since Professor McGonagall asked Dudley to temporarily teach our Defence Against the Dark Arts class, that means Dudley should also have the authority to award and deduct house points?"
"It's only temporary. I probably don't have the right to award or deduct points," Dudley replied thoughtfully.
"Not necessarily. After all, you also have some prefect privileges," Harry pointed out reasonably.
Hermione considered this for a moment and said practically, "What's the use of speculating here? It's best to verify it directly."
"Follow me!" Hermione led everyone through the castle corridors with obvious purpose.
Dudley quickly realised where they were heading.
Soon, they arrived at an alcove where four huge hourglasses stood prominently, each one representing a different house's point total.