Professor Vampire.

Chapter 11: First Defense Against the Dark Arts Lesson

September 2, 1991, was a Monday.

Today, Dracula was about to teach his first class as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the start of Hogwarts' first class was signaled by the tower bells ringing across the campus.

At the exact moment the bells rang, Dracula pushed open the side door of his office and walked down the marble steps from the right front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Below the podium, a portion of the students wore red-collared robes, while most wore yellow-collared robes, clearly indicating that they were from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff houses.

At this moment, they were all seated neatly, eagerly watching their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff students wondered whether this distinguished-looking professor would have teaching skills as exceptional as his appearance or if he would be as disappointing as the previous professors.

"Good morning, everyone," Dracula greeted the students briefly.

He stood at the podium, scanning the faces of the students below. He spotted two familiar figures—the Weasley twins from Gryffindor.

"Good morning, Professor!" the students said in unison.

Dracula nodded and continued, "After yesterday's feast, you should know that I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. You can call me Professor Dracula."

"I hope that the coming time will make me happy... ah, I mean, I hope you all will have a good time."

Without missing a beat, Dracula quickly got to the point, "Alright, let's not waste any more time. We'll start this semester's first class right away. Today's topic is..."

At this point, he glanced at his empty hands and the smooth podium with just a teaching wand, and hesitated.

Dracula realized that his textbook, "Dark Magic: A Self-Defense Guide," and the thick teaching materials painstakingly prepared by his assistant Quirrell were still left on the desk in his office.

In other words, he had come to class empty-handed...

Although the Defense Against the Dark Arts office was very close to the classroom and Dracula could easily summon the materials with a snap of his fingers, it would make him appear unprofessional for his first class.

He couldn't let his first class start like this!

So, Dracula smiled calmly and said, "...We'll start with a spell proficiency test!"

Seeing the confused faces of the students, he gave a malicious smile.

"Each of you, in turn, will use your most proficient spell on me," Dracula said. "You've been students here for two years now. Let me see what you've learned!"

Before the students could react, he walked straight down from the podium to the front row and stood in front of a Hufflepuff student.

"Let's start with you, young man from Hufflepuff," he said to the yellow-collared student.

Dracula looked at the somewhat youthful yet already quite handsome boy with a hint of appreciation, noting his aristocratic vampire-like demeanor.

"Professor Dracula, this doesn't seem appropriate," the Hufflepuff boy hesitated.

"There's no need to be timid in class," Dracula said with a smirk, challenging him. "If you don't have the courage to cast a spell on a professor, how will you ever become a great wizard?"

Hearing this, the boy nodded heavily, "I understand, Professor."

He gritted his teeth and raised his wand toward Dracula—

"Stupefy!"

Dracula smiled slightly and gently raised his hand, catching the Stunning Spell with his palm.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that when the spell hit Dracula's palm, it flowed away like water over a rock, the magical force spreading across his skin before dissipating into the air, causing him no harm.

The students in the classroom gaped in disbelief at this scene.

"That was a cleanly cast spell. For your age, it's quite good," Dracula said, nodding in satisfaction despite the students' shock. "What's your name?"

"Cedric Diggory, Professor. My name is Cedric Diggory," the Hufflepuff boy said.

"Good, a nice Stupefy, Mr. Diggory," Dracula praised. "Let me think of what reward the professor should give... Ah yes, five points to Hufflepuff!"

Dracula was very pleased with Cedric's spellcasting.

The first student to be tested had such skill, which gave him some confidence in Hogwarts' teaching standards. At least it hadn't disappointed the hopes of his four dear friends from a thousand years ago.

Next, Dracula eagerly tested other students' spell abilities, hoping to see what surprises they would bring.

However, the students did indeed bring many "surprises."

The more he tested, the darker his expression became.

Until he reached a Hufflepuff student who couldn't cast any spell, Dracula finally lost his patience.

"What have you been doing for the past two years at Hogwarts? Hmm? Have you only learned to eat?!" he said coldly. The cloak behind him fluttered without wind, and a hint of a terrifying atmosphere filled the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

The young wizards were petrified, not daring to move, and some of the more timid ones even started crying.

"Forget it, I'm tired of wasting time like this," Dracula said impatiently, pointing at all the students. "Everyone, cast your best spell on me together!"

"The strongest spell gets no homework, while the weakest five will have their homework doubled and detention in my office tonight!"

Upon hearing Dracula's words, Cedric stood up in alarm.

"Professor, don't be impulsive! Defense Against the Dark Arts professors easily get into trouble!"

"I'm not being impulsive, just tired of wasting time," Dracula said indifferently. "Your spells are so weak they don't even tickle."

For a moment, the students were stunned by his arrogant remarks.

In the classroom, only Fred and George Weasley exchanged excited glances.

The twins were overjoyed. Could it be that this year would be so explosive? Was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor going to be dismissed right in the first class of the school year?

That would mean they had earned twenty Galleons for free!