In the time that followed, Willy was like a wound-up top, spinning from one classroom to another. Facing batch after batch of excited, nervous, or bewildered faces, he taught five consecutive Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.
The effects of the lessons and the reactions of the young wizards were largely within his expectations. However, what surprised Willy somewhat was that there was actually a brave soul who dared to skip his very first class.
Thinking back to his own days, even though he had broken nearly every school rule in the book, he had never outright skipped class. At most, he would forge a sick note to get out of it.
The main reason was that there were only so many students in a class; a professor could tell at a glance if someone was missing. Skipping directly was no different from openly provoking the professor.
The last period of the afternoon was Defense Against the Dark Arts for the seventh years.
Due to the screening threshold of the O.W.L. exams, many students had been weeded out from the originally large cohorts, so even though the class was a combined session for all four houses, the classroom did not feel crowded.
Standing on the podium, Willy merely swept his gaze casually around the room and immediately noticed someone was missing.
"Nymphadora Tonks of Hufflepuff."
After calling the roll, Willy closed the register and calmly read out the name of the absentee. "Does anyone know where she went?"
The classroom was quiet for a moment, then, amidst some whispering, a hand went up.
"Professor, Tonks went for off-campus training," a Hufflepuff boy answered somewhat nervously. "This was specially approved by Professor Sprout and Headmaster Dumbledore."
"Very well."
Willy nodded, his face betraying no emotion. "But the problem is, Miss Tonks did not ask for leave from me. As her direct subject professor, I have not received any formal notification regarding her absence from this class."
"Ten points from Hufflepuff."
A slight gasp rippled through the classroom. The seventh-year students clearly hadn't expected this seemingly amiable new professor to be so strict, decisively deducting points even for something specially approved by Dumbledore.
However, they also understood that procedurally, Willy was indeed in the right.
Ignoring the pained expressions of the Hufflepuff students below, Willy waved his wand just as he had in the previous classes.
Rustle.
A thick stack of parchment flew automatically onto everyone's desk. It was a selection of N.E.W.T. questions Willy had compiled.
"Before formal teaching begins, I need to get a general idea of your level."
Willy placed the familiar hourglass on the podium, then waved his wand again.
Accompanied by a puff of black smoke, a large, spirited black raven appeared out of thin air. Flapping its wings, it landed on the edge of the desk, its bright eyes scanning all the students below.
"I need to step out for a moment to verify the situation. In the meantime, this 'teaching assistant' will supervise you in my stead." Willy pointed at the raven. "No opening books, no whispering."
"Trust me, its eyesight is better than mine, and its temper isn't great. If it catches anyone cheating, it will peck the back of your hand without hesitation."
"I hope that when I return, I won't find anyone with injuries on their hands."
With that, Willy turned the hourglass over, ignored the eerie atmosphere in the classroom, and walked straight out the door.
He headed directly for the Herbology office next to the greenhouses. Luck was on his side; Professor Sprout didn't have a class this period. Wearing soil-stained gloves, she was pruning a Venomous Tentacula that was baring its teeth.
Seeing Willy enter, she was somewhat surprised. "Oh, Willy? I remember you have a class right now. Is there something urgent?"
Willy got straight to the point and explained the situation regarding Tonks skipping class.
"Oh dear, that child..."
After hearing this, Professor Sprout slapped her forehead helplessly, leaving a few more muddy handprints on her already dusty hat. "That's right, Tonks did go to participate in the Ministry's pre-Auror training."
"The girl is determined to become an Auror. Considering her excellent grades and the fact that seventh years have more free time, Dumbledore and I agreed to grant her special permission to leave school at fixed times each week."
At this point, Professor Sprout explained somewhat embarrassedly, "But I specifically told her that if there were any schedule conflicts, she must ask the subject professor for leave in advance. It seems she got too excited with the start of the term and had another one of her clumsy moments."
"The girl is very smart and extremely talented. You might not know since you just arrived, but she's a natural Metamorphmagus. She's just too rash in her actions. Sometimes she's scatterbrained and manages to make a mess of things," Professor Sprout added protectively. "When she comes back tonight, I'll definitely make her apologize to you in person."
"It's fine, Pomona. I mainly wanted to confirm the situation and ensure it wasn't an accident," Willy nodded. "Since the procedure is compliant, then there's no problem."
Having clarified the situation, Willy bid farewell to Professor Sprout and returned to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
The sand in the hourglass had just run out. The raven was standing on the head of a Slytherin boy who had tried to peek at his neighbor's answers, pecking his skull mercilessly with its beak, eliciting snickers from those around him.
Willy collected the papers and graded them on the spot.
The results were fairly satisfactory. As expected of the elite students who had already passed the O.W.L.s screening, the level of this group of seventh years was generally above passing. Several of them, such as Charlie Weasley of Gryffindor and Robert Hilliard of Ravenclaw, had solid theoretical knowledge.
After a simple dinner in the Great Hall, Willy returned to his room.
Although the daytime classes were over, he had no time to rest. Next up were the four Alchemy classes scheduled for the evening.
He took out the alchemical teaching aids he had prepared from his ring, ready to check them one last time.
Knock, knock, knock.
There was a gentle knock on the door.
Willy stopped what he was doing and glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Looks like she's here to apologize."
He naturally assumed it was the clumsy Tonks sent over by Professor Sprout, so he casually straightened his robes and walked over to open the door.
"Come in, Miss Tonks. Next time remember..."
Mid-sentence, Willy's voice cut off abruptly.
Standing outside was not the brightly-haired witch, but a man wrapped in black robes.
Severus Snape.
As soon as the door opened a crack, Snape's gaze subconsciously traveled over Willy's shoulder and fixed on the center of the room.
The first thing that caught his eye was a humanoid puppet about half the height of a person. It seemed to be made of some unknown silver-gray material, with complex alchemical patterns flowing across its surface—clearly an alchemical golem.
However, what subsequently drew Snape's gaze like a magnet was the object held in the puppet's right hand.
A tubular object gleaming with cold metallic light, runes faintly visible upon it. To Snape, the appearance of such a thing at Hogwarts seemed somewhat out of place.
That was... a gun?