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Dudley walked up to the lectern and stood where Professor Lupin usually stood.
"Professor Lupin is feeling unwell today, so I will be covering this lesson for him."
Professor Lupin's monthly illness had arrived.
He was a werewolf. Every month, around the full moon, he became unwell; on the night itself, he transformed against his will. After transforming, a werewolf lost control of himself. For most werewolves, this was the time they hated most. Fortunately, there were ways to deal with that condition, such as taking Wolfsbane Potion.
At the moment, Hogwarts had two wizards capable of brewing Wolfsbane Potion. One was Potions master Snape. The other was his proudest student, Dudley Dursley.
And so Dudley naturally became Lupin's temporary Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor.
The students had absolutely no objection to Mr. Dursley taking the lesson. As early as first year, he had already fully demonstrated his abilities.
Quite a few students were even faintly excited.
Just as the students in the classroom began cheering, another figure appeared at the classroom door.
"Quiet. Five points from Gryffindor."
That familiar tone. That familiar point deduction. That familiar habit of deducting points from Gryffindor in particular.
Snape walked in. His expression looked extremely unpleasant. By normal logic, if Lupin needed a substitute teacher, the best choice should have been him.
Yet Dudley had been chosen as the substitute instead.
Severus Snape, meanwhile, had been assigned as Dudley's assistant to help complete this Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.
He could have washed his hands of the matter completely, but once he thought of Dudley teaching the class, he had still come to take a look.
'I did not come here specifically for Dursley. I simply do not want him embarrassing me.' That was how Snape explained it to himself.
Dudley flipped through the small booklet Professor Lupin had given him. It contained the lesson plan Lupin had arranged.
"You have already studied Boggarts, Red Caps, Kappas, and Grindylows. In that case, today's lesson will be..."
"I have a suggestion."
Snape interrupted him. Undisguised malice showed on his face.
"I believe they should learn how to deal with werewolves. What do you think, Mr. Dursley?"
Dudley naturally knew why Snape had chosen werewolves.
"Professor Snape, I have no objection."
Dudley nodded in agreement.
Werewolves were among the most common Dark creatures in the wizarding world. They were also among the most widespread and dangerous. The students would have to face them sooner or later. Whether they learned about them early or late, they still had to learn.
Besides, Dudley happened to have an experiment he wanted to try.
"Professor Lupin usually teaches practical lessons. As his substitute, I naturally cannot be an exception."
"I heard there are werewolves in the Forbidden Forest. I will go catch one."
The moment he said this, not only the students, but even Snape stared at him in astonishment.
Their eyes seemed to say one thing.
'Are you serious?'
Snape had meant that they should study the theory.
But Dudley did not see it that way. No matter how one looked at it, this was the first public lesson he had ever taught. It might also be the last. In any case, he could not simply coast through it.
"Then I will ask Professor Snape to briefly explain werewolves to everyone first. Give me an hour. I will be back soon."
Dudley had always preferred swift, decisive action. He gave Snape no time to refuse at all. By the time Snape reacted, Dudley had already vanished at the end of the corridor.
Fast, forceful, and somehow bewildering.
'It is not the full moon tonight. Even if you catch one, it will be useless.'
Snape did not have time to say that.
Inside the classroom, Snape looked at the students, and the students looked back at Snape.
For a moment, they simply stared at one another.
Snape was still Snape. He recovered very quickly.
"Now turn your textbooks to page three hundred and ninety-four."
That page contained the textbook's section on werewolves. Snape remembered it perfectly.
There were werewolves in the Forbidden Forest. Dudley had known that for a long time. However, the Forbidden Forest was enormous. Finding a werewolf inside it was more difficult than finding a dragon.
Recently, though, through a certain dragon, he had discovered traces of that werewolf.
To outsiders, the Forbidden Forest was terrifying. In Dudley's eyes, it was no different from his back garden. One hour was already an overestimate.
A giant serpent made of earth was moving through the Forbidden Forest at tremendous speed.
Dudley could not fly, so this was the fastest way to travel.
Magical creatures, like ordinary creatures, had territorial instincts. In fact, those instincts were often even stronger than those of ordinary animals. Such a reckless charge would normally cause a huge disturbance. Yet the moment the magical creatures sensed that aura, whether strong or weak, they immediately hid far away.
Because they knew that person had come.
The thousand-year-old basilisk on the high ground was his mount. The dragon and unicorn on the other side were his pets.
Last year, the memory of him wiping out half an Acromantula colony in the hollow with a single slap was still fresh. That overwhelming strength had taught the magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest a lesson.
They were magical creatures and did not have much intelligence, but that did not mean they were stupid.
Do not provoke him. Do not provoke him. Absolutely do not provoke him.
As a result, Dudley's path was completely unobstructed. That made him feel somewhat regretful. He had originally planned to catch a few magical creatures along the way.
The tyrant of the Forbidden Forest was out making his rounds.
Soon, he reached his destination: a hollow in the hills.
"These are werewolves. Among Dark creatures, they are also creatures that pose a serious danger to wizards."
Snape himself was not especially suited to reading from a textbook, but his unique tone, combined with the air that could frighten students to tears even when he simply stood still, made the werewolves in his description sound exceptionally terrifying. They loved killing, thirsted for blood, took pleasure in tormenting people, and were hundreds or thousands of times more evil than the Dementors outside.
After listening, many students could not help developing an instinctive disgust toward werewolves.
"Now, who can tell me the difference between a werewolf and an ordinary wolf?"
Unsurprisingly, Hermione was the first to raise her hand.
"Miss Granger, answer."
Seeing the students' reactions, Snape was clearly in a much better mood.
"Their muzzles are slightly shorter, their pupils are slightly smaller, and they look closer to humans. Sometimes they can walk upright. The fur on their tails forms tufts. Most importantly, they are far more aggressive toward humans than real wolves."
"Correct."
Snape nodded with great satisfaction.
"Far more aggressive toward humans than real wolves. So remember this. They are extremely dangerous."
"A perfect answer. Ten points to the disciplinary group."
Snape would not award points to Gryffindor, but he would award points to the disciplinary group. Whenever he did, the minimum was usually five points.
What Hermione had said was the wizarding world's common impression of werewolves. Because some werewolves attacked indiscriminately, their reputation was far worse than that of vampires, whose history was just as long.
Vampires and hags had already been classified among beings and could live normally alongside wizards. Werewolves were still treated as a special case.
"Now..."
Just as Snape was about to continue the lesson, the classroom door was pushed open.
"Sorry, Professor Snape, everyone. I am late."
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