“I swear, if this is what Defense Against the Dark Arts is like, I’d rather listen to Professor Binns drone on about the History of Magic.” Ron spoke with deep disappointment.
The circle of young wizards around him deeply agreed, chiming in with their own complaints.
It was too boring!
Among the seven core subjects, History of Magic was universally acknowledged as the most boring class, with Professor Binns’s monotonous, droning voice being an absolute torture.
In contrast to History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts had been the class the young wizards looked forward to the most, because it offered the chance to learn offensive magic to ward off the Dark Arts.
Who could refuse the thrill of flicking a wand to summon fire or lightning?
Yet Professor Quirrell, entirely on his own, had successfully shattered all the young wizards’ illusions.
If Professor Binns’s class was boring and torturous, Professor Quirrell’s was both hypnotic and agonizing.
His voice put people to sleep, and his garlic-reeking turban made them wish they could stop breathing entirely.
Ethan’s expression wasn’t great either.
Though Quirrell acted weak, he was still a certified Hogwarts professor.
No matter how bad he was, teaching first-year students should have been a walk in the park.
Yet he behaved like a hypnotic repeating machine, reading directly from the textbook without adding or omitting a single word.
It was like a soulless text-to-speech voice reading a thick dictionary—and one that smelled of garlic, no less!
This also meant Ethan gained very little from the entire class.
Compared to Professor McGonagall’s first lesson, the difference was like night and day.
*If it’s just learning textbook knowledge, why don’t I just read the book myself?* Quirrell was doing this on purpose.
Ethan left with his books.
At this moment, he truly detested the man.
Before they could complain too much, the Gryffindor students hurried downstairs.
Hogwarts’ schedule was tightly packed; when two classes were back-to-back, the break between them was only fifteen minutes.
To make matters worse, Herbology was held in the greenhouses located at the back of the castle.
There were seven greenhouses in total, numbered one through seven, and the higher the number, the more dangerous the plants inside.
The first-years were headed to Greenhouse One.
The teacher in charge was Professor Pomona Sprout, who was also the Head of Hufflepuff House.
Unlike the strict Professor McGonagall, she was incredibly fond of her Hufflepuff badgers.
She was a very genial witch, and she looked at everyone with a smile as she called out, “Before we begin our class, there are a few things you must keep in mind!
First!
You are strictly forbidden from entering any greenhouse other than Greenhouse One!” “You might lose your way and wander into Greenhouse Two, but you had better not make that mistake!
Greenhouse Two is home to the Mandrakes!
The cry of an adult Mandrake can be fatal!
That’s a lesson for our second-years!” The young wizards all looked terrified.
Harry felt even more uneasy; he had just gotten lost not too long ago.
“Second of all…” Professor Sprout told them, “Before we begin, you must put on your dragon-hide gloves!
The herbs we are tending to are toxic.
Even the young seedlings are enough to knock any of you flat.” “In this lesson, we will learn how to care for the Hyona Tree.
The leaves of the Hyena Tree can cause hysteria and uncontrollable laughter, and the honey produced by Glumbumbles is its antidote…” While listening, Ethan examined the small, thin, black plant in the pot before him.
Its leaves were as small as a dog’s paws and rather wrinkled.
Professor Sprout wasn’t one for asking questions.
She covered the theory in one breath, demonstrated the process twice from start to finish, and then began walking around the greenhouse to correct the students’ mistakes.
Ethan had memorized *One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi* quite thoroughly, so the practical work wasn’t difficult for him.
However, he didn’t rush to finish.
Instead, he waited until Hermione successfully completed hers and received the professor’s praise before finishing his own steps to care for the Hyena Tree.
This lesson went reasonably well.
Ethan gained a total of 9 experience points.
It didn’t compare to Transfiguration, but it was 3 points more than Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Potions was the final class of the day, followed by homework in the evening.
Today, Ethan had earned a total of 11 + 6 + 9 = 26 experience points from classes, plus 3 points in the morning and 5 points in the library at noon, which met his expectations.
But Defense Against the Dark Arts had severely held back his progress.
At the end of the lesson, as requested by the professor, each young wizard took three Hyena Tree leaves as a gift from their first Herbology class.
A group of Gryffindor students caught up with Ethan from behind.
Harry looked at him a little nervously.
“White?
What are you going to do now?” Ethan looked around at them.
Just about all his fellow housemates were here, even the girls standing nearby.
He considered his words.
“Do my homework, then maybe read some books, or perhaps wander around the school…
Do you need some help?” Harry looked a bit embarrassed and stammered.
Ron couldn’t wait to chime in: “White, in Transfiguration this morning, only you and Granger managed to turn your matches into needles.
We were hoping you could give us some pointers.
Professor McGonagall said she’d check our progress before the next class, and if we still can’t do it, we’ll have to stand as punishment.” The young wizards all looked anxious.
They were, after all, fresh-faced first-years.
Give them six months to a year, and they probably wouldn’t take this kind of threat seriously anymore.
“Of course,” Ethan agreed immediately, a warm smile spreading across his face.
He turned to look at the other Gryffindors who hadn’t shown him their acceptance letters yet and said loudly, “We’re all Gryffindors, so of course we should help each other out.
If there’s anything you don’t understand, come along too!
We can study together!
Beautiful ladies, don’t be shy either!” The boys and girls who hadn’t spoken to Ethan before suddenly looked delighted.
“Thanks, White!” “You’re so nice, White!” Ethan quickly glanced over at the Hufflepuffs.
The little badgers were watching them with great curiosity.
Seeing their reaction, Ethan understood immediately.
Hufflepuff didn’t have Transfiguration today!
He called out warmly, “Hey, Hufflepuffs!
If you run into any trouble in tomorrow’s Transfiguration class, feel free to come find me too.
I’ll help you out!
Just don’t forget to bring your acceptance letters when you do!” “This is brilliant!” Ron shouted excitedly.
“Harry, I told you White would say yes!
Not like Granger—” “Cough, cough, cough!” Ethan hurriedly interrupted Ron, raising his voice even louder.
“We have Herbology tomorrow afternoon, so let’s finish the homework the professor assigned first, and then we’ll practice Transfiguration!” The thoughtless Ron said happily, “Great!
Shall we head to the Great Hall then?
Once we finish our homework and have dinner, we can practice Transfiguration right away!” Naturally, the other young wizards agreed without hesitation, and they threw their arms around each other’s shoulders, heading toward the Great Hall on the first floor.
Since their next Transfiguration class wasn’t until Thursday, with Ethan’s help, they had plenty of time.
A little further away, Hermione looked at Ron in confusion.
She thought she had just heard her name.
Ethan also looked at the excited Ron from time to time, sighing inwardly.
*Damn, what a terrible teammate.*