Early the next morning, when William pushed open the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, he was greeted by an atmosphere of irrepressible enthusiasm and excitement.
The fourth-year students from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had already filled the seats. Dozens of eyes focused on him in unison, shining with excitement and curiosity.
Rumors that the new professor was a former high-ranking Ministry official had spread to every corner of the castle the previous night. This morning, news broke from Ravenclaw claiming that William had graduated from Hogwarts with top marks across the board.
After suffering through the devastation wrought by previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, the students had unprecedented high hopes for this handsome new professor with a glittering resume.
They yearned for a teacher who could truly teach them real skills, and William currently seemed to fit that expectation.
"Good morning, Professor!" a few bold Gryffindors shouted first.
"Good morning, Professor Shafiq!" The Ravenclaw students also chimed in, their voices full of anticipation.
William nodded at this enthusiasm. Carrying a thick stack of parchment, he walked up to the podium, placed the papers on the desk, and raised a hand, pressing it downwards to signal the young wizards to be quiet.
"Good morning." His voice was gentle, making him sound quite agreeable. "In theory, as this is the first class, I should spend some time getting to know you and chatting about what we'll roughly be learning this term."
Hearing this, relaxed smiles appeared on many students' faces.
"However..."
William changed the subject, the smile on his lips remaining.
"Given that I looked into your education over the past few years in advance and found the situation truly unoptimistic, out of responsibility to you, I believe it is necessary to conduct a small test before we begin teaching to gauge your true foundation."
As soon as he finished speaking, before the students could react, William waved his wand lightly.
Rustle.
The parchment on the podium seemed to grow eyes, flying precisely to land in front of every student. Immediately after, William took out a palm-sized brass hourglass and placed it on the desk.
"Forty minutes. No opening books, no whispering." William turned the hourglass over, and fine golden sand began to flow. "Begin now."
The students were dumbfounded.
The exciting demonstration and opening remarks they had anticipated were nowhere to be found; instead, they were hit with a surprise exam right off the bat?
Someone tried to say something, but looking at the silently flowing hourglass on the podium, they could only swallow their words, grab their quills, and look down at the questions.
William didn't stand on the podium to supervise; he conjured a comfortable armchair at the back of the classroom and sat down.
This method of proctoring undoubtedly increased the psychological pressure on the young wizards. Everyone felt the professor's gaze boring into the back of their heads, but no one dared to turn around to check, let alone cheat.
The classroom was filled only with the scratching sound of quills on parchment and occasional sighs.
Forty minutes passed quickly.
As the last grain of sand fell in the hourglass, it emitted a crisp ding.
"Pencils down."
William stood up, ignoring the few students still scribbling frantically in an attempt to salvage their work. With a wave of his wand, all the parchments instantly flew from the students' hands, returning neatly to the podium and stacking themselves automatically.
William walked back to the podium and began to look through the papers.
His reading speed was extremely fast; often, a single glance was enough to finish a page. There was not a trace of a smile on his face, making the onlookers feel a bit creeped out.
The young wizards below didn't dare breathe loudly, staring eagerly at the new professor like prisoners awaiting judgment.
Five minutes later, William put down the last paper. He looked up, his gaze slowly sweeping across the class, and let out a deep sigh.
"If you were to take your O.W.L.s in this state right now," William's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to every corner, "then in this entire classroom, fewer than five people would earn a certificate, let alone hope for an 'E' or an 'O'."
"But Professor, our O.W.L.s aren't until next year!" a Gryffindor boy couldn't help but retort in a whisper.
"The scope of my test questions only covered content you should have learned in the previous three years." William looked at him calmly. "If your foundation is as crumbly as tofu dregs, do you expect to build a skyscraper in just one year next year?"
"Some of this content wasn't covered by previous professors..." another student muttered.
"All of this content appears in your textbooks." William's voice grew colder. "If you can't even remember the verbatim text from the book and only expect the professor to chew your food and feed it to you, then I suggest you simply give up on taking the O.W.L. for this subject right now."
"Furthermore," William's voice became softer, "I do not wish to be interrupted again. Judging by the level you just displayed, you are not yet qualified to question me. Is that understood?"
The classroom fell deathly silent. The young wizards shrank back in their seats, suddenly realizing that this professor, who had previously seemed amiable, was not someone to be trifled with.
Seeing no one dared to speak again, William casually picked up the top paper.
"The questions on the test were all taken from past O.W.L.s exams."
"Question one: List the three classifications of Dark Charms in order of severity from low to high, and give three examples for each. This is a question from 1985; these are free points."
William shook the paper. "The answer should be Jinxes, Hexes, and Curses. Yet less than half the class got full marks. Someone even classified 'Petrificus Totalus' as a Curse. Do you think the school would let you practice Curses casually?"
"You can't even guess correctly."
"Look at the final question's second part: How to deal with a Kappa? This is a medium-difficulty question from the '89 exam." William held up two fingers. "But only two people in the entire class scored points."
"One is Miss Penelope Clearwater from Ravenclaw."
William looked at the long-haired girl in the front row, who straightened her back nervously.
"You wrote 'throw a cucumber carved with your name at the Kappa.' This method is indeed effective; Kappas love cucumbers."
"But you only received half marks because, compared to cucumbers, most Kappas are more interested in human blood. This method carries significant risk."
"The other is Mr. Percy Weasley from Gryffindor."
William's gaze shifted to the other side, where Percy was sitting ramrod straight, unable to hide the pride on his face.
"Trick the Kappa into bowing, which causes the water in the hollow of its head to spill out, thereby draining its strength."
"This is the standard answer. Full marks. Excellent."
Seeing William's gaze sweep over him, Percy immediately raised his hand high to acknowledge it, his face flushing slightly with excitement.
William nodded. "Five points to Gryffindor."
Percy pushed up his glasses excitedly, and the surrounding Gryffindor students cast envious glances his way.
"Although this question is a bit obscure, I didn't expect to see that kind of answer."
William suddenly sneered and pulled a paper from the pile.
"Most people got points for the first part, but someone actually wrote 'The Kappa originates from Mongolia and is commonly found in the seas surrounding Mongolia.'"
Roaring laughter filled the room.
Even in this high-pressure atmosphere, the students couldn't hold it in.
"Quiet." William rapped on the desk, a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth. "Even if I tried to get it wrong on purpose, I couldn't come up with an answer that ridiculous."
"Japan! The Far East! Freshwater environments! Is this not common sense? I hope this is the last time I see such bizarrely stupid answers."
No one made a sound; it seemed no one was willing to claim such an embarrassing answer.
"Alright, now for the review."
William turned around and tapped the blackboard lightly with his wand.
As he explained, pieces of chalk flew up automatically and began writing rapidly on the board... Soon, the blackboard was filled with dense, clearly organized notes.
William's explanation was profound yet simple, without any wasted words. His job was to point out errors, emphasize key points, and dissect the exam topics.
When he finished explaining the last question, William stopped.
He turned around and gazed at the students in the classroom.
The young wizards looked at him eagerly, seeming to expect the professor to summarize or assign a light essay before class ended, like other teachers did.
Seeing some remain indifferent, William sighed again.
"I was observing out of the corner of my eye just now." William's voice revealed disappointment. "Only 12 people in the entire class wrote down what I just said. The rest of you... are you waiting for me to turn knowledge into a potion and pour it into your brains?"
The students' expressions changed. They glanced at the blackboard filled with notes, then at William, suddenly realizing something, and frantically grabbed their quills to copy.
Ring—!
Just then, the bell rang on time.
"Time's up."
William didn't give them even a second's chance. He waved his wand expressionlessly.
In the next moment, the board full of precious exam analysis and standard answers instantly turned into a cloud of chalk dust and vanished completely.
"No!" many students wailed in despair.
"Next class, I will be spot-checking the content of this lesson one by one. Those who cannot answer will face the consequences."
William organized the papers and walked toward the door amidst the students' despondent gazes.
"Class dismissed."