As the aftershocks of the first week's assessment tests gradually subsided, the new week marked the commencement of William's formal teaching duties.
This also caused a subtle warming of Professor Shafiq's reputation among the middle-year students. Previously, the third, fourth, and fifth years—who had been tormented by the surprise tests—harbored huge resistance toward William, complaining privately that this new professor didn't "play by the rules."
Some even questioned his professional competence, suspecting he could only lecture from standard answers.
However, as William began his formal lectures, these doubts quickly vanished into thin air.
Whether it was his dissection of Defense Against the Dark Arts theory or the precise spells he cast with a casual wave of his hand, the new professor demonstrated convincing professional expertise.
His lectures were logically clear and highlighted key points. Moreover, he was able to combine dry theory with thrilling practical combat examples, which was undoubtedly the essence of the Defense Against the Dark Arts course.
As the students' attention was gradually drawn to the high-quality content of the classes, the bad impression left by the assessment tests faded, replaced by a sense of awe that "this professor really knows his stuff."
At the same time, however, a new descriptor was added to William's general reputation across the school: "High Pressure."
From first years to seventh years, almost all students began to feel unprecedented academic pressure.
This was because William had set an unbreakable rule: the first five minutes of every class would be dedicated to random questioning on the content of the previous lesson.
Although this didn't sound complicated—just setting aside some time to review—for the little wizards of Hogwarts, who were accustomed to slacking off in class, cobbling together essays from various sources for homework, and only frantically memorizing books a week before final exams, this rhythm of "every class feeling like a quiz" was agonizing. They simply couldn't adapt to it immediately.
Actually, the lower-year students—the first and second years—were aware of this from the start.
Since they didn't have assessment tests, their formal instruction began early. At the end of the first week's last class, William had smiled and told them, "There will be questions next class."
But at the time, the young wizards' attention was entirely focused on the dark creatures and spells William had demonstrated. Coupled with William's gentle and refined demeanor during the lecture, they naively thought this was just a polite remark from the professor and tossed it to the back of their minds.
Until Monday morning.
In the Defense Against the Dark Arts class for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw first years.
When William walked into the classroom right as the bell rang, the young wizards still looked relaxed and happy. Many outgoing students even waved actively to greet William, looking forward to what fun things the professor would show them today.
William, as usual, flashed them a kind smile and nodded in response.
However, just as the young wizards were looking eagerly at the podium, waiting for an exciting opening, William merely swept his gaze lightly across the classroom, as if searching for something.
"Mr. Hopkins."
William suddenly called out the name of a Hufflepuff boy.
The boy, Wayne Hopkins, froze for a moment, then stood up with surprise and a trace of inexplicable apprehension. "Professor?"
"Please answer this," William's voice was gentle but clear. "If you encounter a mischievous Imp while camping in the wild, how should you deal with it? List two methods: one using a wand, and one without."
The classroom fell silent. Wayne opened his mouth, his mind a blank.
They seemed to have covered this in the last class, but everyone had been excitedly gathered around the cage, examining the chattering greyish-brown Imps inside. Later, when William lectured, they hadn't brought their attention back.
"Uh... use... use the Stunning Spell?" Wayne stammered. "Without a wand... run?"
The smile on William's face didn't change, but a hint of regret appeared in his eyes.
"Imps are not dangerous; a Stunning Spell is somewhat of an overreaction. As for running... they will chase after you and throw stones."
William gently gestured for him to sit down. "After this class, please review your notes from the last lesson properly, Mr. Hopkins."
Before Wayne could sigh in relief, William's voice rang out again:
"Two points from Hufflepuff."
"I recall explicitly mentioning before the end of the last class that there would be questions today. But evidently, some people did not take my words to heart."
Only then did the young wizards suddenly wake up to the reality. The phrase "questions next class," which they had automatically filtered out and ignored, was not a polite remark, but a solid ultimatum.
Rustle—
The sound of frantic page-turning immediately filled the classroom. Everyone scrambled to cram the content of the previous lesson into their brains within seconds.
Snap.
With a light wave of William's wand, all the textbooks in the classroom seemed to be pressed down by invisible hands, snapping shut in unison.
A few young wizards were not quick enough to pull their fingers away and got pinched, eliciting several suppressed cries of pain.
"Isn't it a bit too late to be opening your books now?"
Hands behind his back, William paced unhurriedly down the aisle between the desks.
"Miss Smith... please tell me..."
"Mr. Boot... please explain..."
He called several names in succession. Some answered but stumbled over their words; others simply lowered their heads, faces flushing red.
The atmosphere in the classroom instantly shifted from the initial relaxation to suffocating tension. Everyone shrank into their shoulders, praying the professor's gaze wouldn't land on them.
"Miss Edgecombe."
When William stopped beside a group of young eagles, he suddenly halted.
Marietta Edgecombe trembled. Under the encouraging gaze of her best friend, Cho Chang, she stood up shakily.
"Please answer the question Mr. Hopkins failed to answer just now."
"Y-yes, Professor." Marietta took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "To deal with an Imp without a wand, you can pick up the Wizard Crackers or stones it throws and throw them back; they will be scared off."
"If using a wand, you can use the Knockback Jinx to stun or knock it back, then take the opportunity to throw it into the nearest cage or gnome hole."
William nodded, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. "Correct answer. Please sit."
After sitting down, Marietta felt her palms were sweaty.
She patted her chest with lingering fear and whispered into Cho Chang's ear, "Merlin bless me. It's a good thing I listened to your advice last night and reviewed this part, otherwise I would be dead too."
Watching William's back as he walked toward the podium, she muttered somewhat indignantly, "But... Professor Shafiq should have given Ravenclaw two points, right? I got it right."
"Don't think about it." Cho Chang shook her head and analyzed in a whisper, "Look at the professor's attitude. He probably thinks these are basic questions we should be able to answer. Doing it is just doing our duty; failing to do so is negligence."
On the podium, William turned around and looked at the young wizards below, who were cowering like quail.
"Since the results of the questioning in this class were truly poor, and your grasp of basic knowledge is not firm..."
William sighed and announced ruthlessly, "Next class, I will conduct random checks on this content along with the new knowledge covered in today's lesson."
"I hope that when the time comes, you will give me some pleasant surprises, rather than shocks."
Seeing the questioning session finally end, the young wizards let out long sighs of relief, their tense shoulders slumping.
Great, at least they wouldn't have to stand up and embarrass themselves, losing house points in the process.
However, just as William was about to open his textbook, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He paused, and turned back around.
"Oh, right."
William looked at the faces below that had just relaxed and, with a smile, delivered the finishing blow. "If memory serves, the practical spell practice taught in the last lesson... hasn't been checked yet, has it?"
A wail of despair instantly erupted in the classroom.
William turned a deaf ear to this and continued on his own, "Red Sparks. An excellent spell for emergencies. When you are in danger and cannot escape, firing it into the air is one of the most effective means to attract rescue. This is very important."
"Everyone, stand up. Wands out."
Two minutes later.
Amidst a chaotic flurry of waving motions, the tips of several wands merely sputtered a few pitiful wisps of black smoke or a few fleeting sparks, failing completely to meet the standard for sending a distress signal high into the sky.
Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, the already shrunken piles of gems in the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw house point hourglasses dropped a little further, making a melodious clinking sound.