Classes with the Masked Hero
It was interesting to see how a man who supposedly wanted to hide his true face from everyone actually had dozens of photographs of himself scattered all around the classroom.
Not only that. Every movement, every little thing this professor did, every exaggerated gesture made it seem like he was hoping someone would recognize him, sometimes even going as far as to "adjust" his mask before looking around, waiting to see if anyone had noticed so they could say his name or recognize him.
Which, at this point in daily life at Hogwarts, was becoming... really annoying. And that was despite the fact that not even a week had passed, or rather, not even three full days since classes had started.
"Allow me to introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," the Masked Hero said as he stepped out from his office. He even remained perfectly still for a few seconds, as though he were giving them time to admire him before continuing. "Me," he said, waiting for the applause that immediately came from the girls in the class.
Making the boys roll their eyes.
Though, for the most part, those boys were Harry, Percy, and Ron.
"Gilde... ah, sorry, the Masked Hero," the professor added, almost letting his real name slip for a moment, something that had actually happened several times already whenever someone happened to pass by him in the hallways and overheard him talking to himself in the third person. "Three-time Hero of the Year, founder of the Masked Heroes Society, honorary protector of magical villages, and of course: five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. But I don't want to talk about that. It wasn't with my smile that I bravely fought the being that... marked me forever," he said as his tone grew more serious and he slowly raised both hands toward his mask. They even trembled just from remembering it, making him truly look like a man burdened by tragedy.
If not for the fact that, a second later, he clenched both fists and looked off to the side as though he were posing for a photograph.
Making the girls watching the Masked Hero put on saddened expressions as they saw their hero like that, Hermione included, of course, something Harry and Percy both seemed to notice, causing the brothers to exchange a glance for a moment.
But the emotions the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor seemed to be showing disappeared almost immediately, returning to normal.
"I see you've all bought my complete works. Well done," he said with a smile. "Then today we'll begin with a little quiz to see how carefully you've read them and how much you've absorbed," he added as he pulled out a stack of papers and began handing them out as he walked between the desks, making sure to give each student a little smile as they took one.
Except when he reached the desk Harry and Percy shared, where he stared at them for a few extra seconds, as though trying to remember where he'd seen them before.
Then the professor's eyes opened just a little wider, as though he'd remembered.
Even his mouth parted slightly in surprise.
He immediately seemed to suppress whatever emotion had surfaced and gave them a smile as well, though it was different from the one he always wore, the one where he showed every one of his perfectly white teeth. This one looked almost stiff.
Harry gave the professor a nod of thanks, though the man's gaze seemed to remain fixed on him before moving on to hand out the rest of the quizzes.
Meanwhile, Percy didn't even pay him any attention as he tried to read the words printed on the page.
"Which of the following feats by the Masked Hero do you consider the most impressive? 1) Saving a village. 2) Defeating a dragon. 3) Looking amazing while saving a village. 4) All of the above," Percy read, as always struggling with the letters because of his dyslexia, a problem not even magic could heal, and to be honest, now he wasn't even sure he'd read it correctly.
Harry stopped watching the professor strut around the classroom handing out the quizzes and looked down at the questions himself.
"What is the Hero's greatest virtue?"
And the questions went on for nearly three full pages, covering everything from his favorite color and his birthday to what his ideal gift would be.
"Thirty minutes, starting..." hero said after finishing handing out all the quizzes and taking his place at the front of the classroom. "Now," he ordered, signaling them to begin, while he himself started strolling around the room as the students tried, in complete confusion, to answer the many questions, which, to be honest, not many of them had actually studied.
Though Harry and Percy could both feel the professor pass by them several times, staring intently over their shoulders.
Neither of them really paid him any attention, assuming he was simply making sure no one was cheating. Though with questions like these... who would?
Thirty minutes later, the professor was grading each student's quiz while shaking his head in disapproval.
"Hmm... it seems you all need to do a little more reading. In The Hero Versus the Yeti I specifically made it clear that my favorite color is lilac. And some of you, especially, need to read more carefully. In A Stroll with Werewolves I clearly state that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between magical and non-magical communities. Though I certainly wouldn't turn down a magnum bottle of aged Ogden's Firewhisky either," he added, giving them a mischievous wink from beneath his mask.
Percy couldn't help staring at the professor in complete disbelief, even looking to Harry for an explanation, as though all of this might somehow be some kind of illusion or prank.
Around them, Seamus, Neville, and Ron seemed to be thinking exactly the same thing.
Hermione, on the other hand, listened to the Masked Hero completely captivated, and gave a little start when he mentioned her by name.
"But Miss Granger does know my secret ambition, which is to rid the world of evil and launch my own line of hair care products. Good girl," he said with a smile, even winking at her, making Hermione let out a little sigh.
Something Harry couldn't help but watch with complete bewilderment, unable to understand how someone as intelligent as Hermione could fall for that man's charm.
"Well then, it's finally time for the exciting part of today's lesson," the professor said as he stood up from behind his desk while pulling out a cage from underneath it, covered by a dark cloth, and setting it on top of the table for everyone to see.
"Now, be careful. It is my mission to equip you with defenses against the most horrifying creatures in the magical world. Creatures that could drive you mad with nothing more than a single glance. And right here in this very classroom, you'll even come face to face with the things you fear most. But know this: nothing bad will happen while I'm here. It wasn't for nothing that they called on me personally to become your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," he said as he placed a hand on top of the cloth covering the cage, which began shaking the moment he touched it, as though whatever was inside was genuinely excited to get out.
Making quite a few students unable to stop themselves from feeling a little nervous.
"You'd better not scream... you might make them angry," the professor said in a somewhat darker tone, adding even more drama to the moment and making the students swallow almost in unison just as the Masked Hero pulled away the cloth.
The instant they saw what was inside the cage, every student jerked back in their seats, until they got a proper look at what was actually in there.
"Pixies," Seamus said, unable to stop himself from bursting into laughter, which quickly spread throughout the classroom as everyone looked at the tiny gray Pixies fluttering around inside the cage, letting out noisy little screeches. They looked restless, but not dangerous in the slightest.
If Percy and Harry had still held onto even a little hope that this class might teach them how to fight creatures they knew nothing about, or at least learn some of their weaknesses, even if the professor was a complete clown, that hope completely vanished right then and there.
The professor looked around at the expressions of disdain, amusement, and mockery on every student's face, but it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. If anything, he might even have been enjoying the attention.
"Now pay close attention. The spell I'll be teaching you today is used to petrify Pixies, making them much easier to catch," the professor said as he raised his wand.
For the first time, it actually looked like he was about to teach them something. At least, that's what Harry and Percy thought as they watched him prepare to act. It was a start, even if these were only Pixies.
But as he stepped too close to the cage, one of the Pixies seemed to slip a hand into the professor's pocket, reaching directly for what was inside.
The key to the cage.
The masked professor seemed to notice, but it was already too late, because by the time he spotted the Pixie holding the key, it was already unlocking the cage.
"Oh, Merlin," the professor muttered just as the door swung open.
Immediately, the Pixies spread their wings and shot out like rockets in every direction, sending the very students who had been laughing only moments ago into a panic.
Dozens of them suddenly swarmed Neville, pecking at him from every angle before grabbing hold of his robes and lifting him into the air.
Percy reacted just in time when he saw his friend floating behind him and grabbed hold of his legs, desperately trying to stop them from carrying him away.
"How are things this small so strong?" Percy said as, for a moment, it even looked like they were about to lift him up too.
Others stole Dean's wand, which, even out of its owner's hands, started firing blasts in every direction.
Sending the students running for their lives beneath the barrage of magical blasts, turning the classroom into a battlefield.
Harry grabbed his copy of The Masked Hero's Biography and smacked one of them with it, sending it flying, while his eyes swept across the room, taking in the chaos the Pixies were causing as they tore the classroom apart. They spilled ink everywhere, ripped apart photographs of the Masked Hero professor—
"My promotional photographs!" the professor cried out in agony at the sight of his pictures being torn to pieces, sounding more concerned about them than about his own students.
While every student desperately tried to take cover beneath their desks, the professor shouted excitedly,
"Fear not! Your beloved professor is here... ready to save the day!" he declared as he dramatically drew his wand, Perhaps finally ready to prove all the stories he'd spent the entire class telling. But almost immediately, he froze with a confused look on his face. "Ah, this..."
At that exact moment, the bell signaling the end of class rang, and the classroom door swung open. Without thinking twice, the students bolted out as though their lives depended on it.
"Well, that was a fun lesson," the professor said as he watched them flee while crouching down to shield his hair from a possible attack.
Then he looked toward Percy, Harry, and Ron, who were trying to help Neville, as dozens of Pixies tugged at him from above, trying to carry him away while Harry, Percy, and Ron held onto his legs with all their strength to stop them, and Hermione tried to smack the Pixies with her book.
"Percy, cut them down with your sword!" Ron shouted, struggling to keep hold of Neville.
"Do you think I'm some kind of monster?" Percy shot back immediately.
"Yes," Ron answered, making Percy shoot him an annoyed look for a moment before continuing to keep their friend from being carried away.
"Well, you all seem to know what you're doing. This was a test to evaluate your reflexes. Make sure you catch every last one of them. I... have other matters to attend to," the professor said before immediately taking off, disappearing straight into his office.
Percy blinked.
"...Did he just abandon the class?"
"Of course not," Hermione said as she smacked another Pixie with her book, unable to believe what had just happened right in front of her eyes.
But this wasn't the time to talk about it.
"Harry!" Percy shouted immediately.
Harry let go of one of Neville's feet while simultaneously pulling out his magic tome and raising his wand.
"Freeze," he murmured at once.
A wave of freezing wind burst outward with him at its center, and the completely crazed Pixies were all frozen at the same time, instantly coated in frost, turning stiff before dropping from the air like a hailstorm of Pixies.
Neville fell to the floor right on top of Ron and Percy, just before the Pixies that had been carrying him landed on top of all three of their heads, while Hermione covered her own head with her book.
At last, everything fell silent.
The classroom, which only seconds earlier had been complete chaos, was now filled with nothing but little blocks of ice scattered all over the floor.
"I don't know how, but you'll have to teach me that spell someday, Harry," Hermione couldn't help adding with great interest as she looked at the ice cubes with Pixies trapped inside them.