Audrey flicked her wand upward with a sharp movement, and a pair of sunglasses appeared in front of every young wizard.
"Put them on; they will protect your eyes."
The young wizards curiously inspected the sunglasses—these were styles from twenty years in the future. Even in the trendiest parts of the Muggle world at this time, only aviators were in fashion.
It was time to give them a little fashion shock.
"Audrey, aren't you wearing them?" Hermione asked curiously.
Audrey shrugged. "Did you see Snape's spell work on me? My constitution is a bit special, so don't worry. But thank you anyway, Hermione."
Hermione nodded, her face slightly flushed, and put on the sunglasses.
"Alright, on my mark. Everyone, cast the spell together!"
"Lumos Maxima!"
The classroom immediately turned into a blinding white blur. Dozens of powerful light sources were no joke.
"Very good," Audrey said. "Just like that. But to achieve a surprise effect, you all need to practice hard. Only non-verbal casting can truly catch someone off guard!"
Boom!
An explosion rang out. The young wizards followed the sound and looked over.
Unsurprisingly, Mr. Seamus Finnigan had caused another blast. However, the unlucky victim this time was Neville, who was sitting in the row in front of him. Neville's hair was on fire.
"No, no! It's hot, it's hot!"
Neville jumped from his seat, throwing his wand onto the table as he slapped his head frantically with both hands, trying to put out the flames.
Suppressing a laugh, Audrey waved her wand. A stream of clear water poured down, extinguishing the fire on Neville's head. She followed up with a healing spell to fix the burns on his scalp.
Unfortunately, his hair did not grow back.
"Mr. Finnigan, your talent for explosions is unparalleled, but I personally hope you do not point your wand at anyone unless they are a Dark wizard."
Seamus nodded awkwardly. Audrey continued, "I won't dock points since it was an accidental mistake."
She then looked at Neville.
"Neville, you'd better visit Madam Pomfrey after class. Otherwise, people might start thinking you're the Fat Friar's brother."
The Hufflepuff students burst into laughter. They were very familiar with the Fat Friar, as he was Hufflepuff's resident ghost—that shiny, bald pate was hard to miss, much like Neville's current state.
Neville rubbed his bald head, looking miserable. He only hoped Madam Pomfrey had a potion for hair growth, or he'd be forced to wear a hat for quite some time!
Audrey suddenly felt that teaching the younger students wasn't so bad. At least from her perspective, the class was actually quite interesting.
...
When the second-year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs appeared in the Great Hall wearing trendy sunglasses, everyone was stunned.
The news after they were questioned was even more shocking.
The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was actually Audrey Astley? Her teaching level far exceeded Lockhart's and Quirrell's? She even gave away beautiful sunglasses?
The young wizards immediately became filled with anticipation for their upcoming Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
Isaline and Kamo Tsuruko looked toward the staff table, but Audrey was not sitting there.
So, that girl was hiding in her dormitory eating alone again!
"Audrey didn't come to the Great Hall to eat again," Isaline complained. "She really has too few friends!"
Tsuruko shook her head. "Senior Astley was never an ordinary person. Tigers don't befriend sheep. Besides, now that she's become a high-and-mighty professor, making friends will be even harder."
Isaline pursed her lips. The research article she had read over the summer about depression popped back into her mind. But thinking about Audrey's personality, depression seemed completely unrelated...
Still, she was really looking forward to the afternoon Defense Against the Dark Arts class! What would Audrey teach them?
Two hours later, watching the high-spirited Professor Severus Snape on the stage, Isaline fell into deep thought.
"To be honest, your Defense Against the Dark Arts grades are a complete mess. But that is not your fault; over the past five years, not a single one of your professors has been useful!"
"Now that I am here, I will teach you the methods to combat Dark wizards and dark creatures. I hope you study hard, lest I read your obituaries in the Daily Prophet in the future!"
...
The rainy weather around Hogwarts finally stopped, but the temperature continued to drop.
Audrey had grown accustomed to the rhythm of teaching a few classes a week. As compensation, she increased her daily sleep from ten hours to fourteen. Aside from eating and teaching, she spent most of her time sleeping.
She once wondered if her excessive sleepiness was a health issue, but her magic was abundant and her body strong; she didn't look sick at all.
Today was the first-year class for Slytherin and Ravenclaw.
When Audrey entered the classroom, all the young wizards were wearing sunglasses, making it impossible for her to tell who was who—except for a young wizard named Du-hua Saiban.
"Professor Astley!"
Young Saiban raised his hand. Although Audrey was the youngest professor and supposedly only a sixth-year student, most lower-year wizards respected her greatly.
"My sunglasses were stolen. Could you give me another pair?"
Audrey was a bit surprised. Every student from first to fourth year had a pair of sunglasses; why would someone steal something so common?
An upper-year student?
Nonsense. Everyone knew the sunglasses were a signature of the students fourth-year and below. If an upper-year student wore them, any normal person would think they were crazy.
"Are you sure they were stolen?"
"Yes, Professor. I wiped them carefully before going to bed the night before last and put them on my bedside table. But when I woke up the next morning, they were gone!"
Audrey's sunglasses were produced by the factory she had opened in China. She had intended to promote them during her summer concert. Unexpectedly, before the promotion could even start in the Muggle world, they had become a trend at Hogwarts. Students wore them all day long, even at night...
But this was good. Viggars Carrow was being controlled by the diary and lurking in the shadows with the Basilisk's eyes. Giving the students glasses provided an extra layer of safety.
It seemed she would need to give a batch to the upper-year students later—no, not give! They weren't her students; they would have to buy them!
Audrey waved her wand, and a brand-new pair of sunglasses appeared before Du-hua Saiban. The boy snatched them up and stroked them gently, his joy clearly visible.
"Alright, let's begin class!" Audrey said. "Today, I will teach you the Fire-Making Spell. You might find it strange why such a simple spell for lighting fires is being taught in Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Audrey paused. "In reality, any spell can become a powerful tool against the Dark Arts."
Astoria Greengrass raised her hand. "Professor Astley, can the Scouring Charm also be used to fight the Dark Arts?"
Audrey glanced at the little challenger and noticed she had a very severe blood curse.
"Miss Greengrass, that's a good question." Her gaze toward the girl was profound. "The reason curses are so troublesome is that there are far too many mediums to transmit them, making them impossible to guard against."
Audrey summoned a puff of dust from a corner. "For example, this dust. If I placed a curse on it and let it float in the air, what do you think would happen?"
She smiled. "The best way to resist a curse is to stop it before it touches you. When facing a Dark wizard skilled in curses, remember to use the Scouring Charm frequently to remove any filth from your body."
Greengrass nodded. Her family's curse was brought back by her great-grandfather while exploring a ruin. Perhaps that mysterious curse had been attached to a grain of sand that stuck to his shoulder?
"Alright, back to the point." Audrey tapped the lectern with her wand. "Back to the Fire-Making Spell. Its power isn't great, and countless spells can counter it. But in combat, these simple and fast spells often play a major role."
"Take Professor Snape, for example. In 1989, his robes were set on fire with a Fire-Making Spell by the then-professor, Patricia Rakepick."
"In a wizard's duel, having your robes suddenly catch fire is very troublesome. You must use a Flame-Freezing Charm or a Vanishing Spell to prevent it from getting worse. But such actions do nothing to help the fight. While you are dealing with your burning robes, others will have countless ways to attack you!"
The young wizards nodded one after another. That made so much sense! If their robes suddenly caught fire while they were fighting, they would likely panic.
"Tricks!"
A voice suddenly rang out. A young wizard in the back row stood up. "Astley, is this all you know how to teach? Just small tricks?"
Audrey looked over. The boy's complexion was extremely pale, sickly so. Half of his face was covered by sunglasses, making his features hard to discern, but his thin, cruel lips left a deep impression.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]