An excellent professor needs to possess many abilities, one of which is crucial: understanding what students are thinking and knowing how to make them listen attentively in class.
Professor McGonagall is just like that; she merely mentioned the final exams, and successfully got all the students to forget their delightful holiday life and focus on their intense studies.
As her colleague, Professor Flitwick is evidently also skilled in this regard.
"Today, we're going to learn the Softening Charm."
Professor Flitwick stood on a podium built from books, and said in a high-pitched voice, "As its name suggests, this charm can instantly soften hard objects. It's a very practical charm and is one of the most commonly used by adult wizards.
For example, in the Quidditch that you all love, you often need to use the Softening Charm to protect players who fall off their brooms.
Also, during duels, you can use it to set traps, because a softer ground makes it easier for opponents to expose openings, which would be your best opportunity to attack.
I may not have told you before, but when I was in the Duel Tournament, I used the Softening Charm to disarm the witch opposite me, winning that year's Duel Tournament championship."
The most popular game in the Magic Realm, Quidditch, combined with the heroism-filled duels, instantly aroused the young wizards' curiosity.
"Professor, have you really won the Duel Tournament?" asked Katie Bell from Gryffindor, raising her hand.
She was a bit skeptical; after all, Professor Flitwick was shorter than she was, could he really have defeated other wizards?
"That was all when I was young."
Professor Flitwick said with a bit of cheekiness, "But I indeed have won the Duel Tournament, and more than once. Students interested can look at the book 'Twenty-First Century Duel Champion,' which has detailed records.
Oh, and it's available in the school library."
"Wow..."
Professor Flitwick's words immediately elicited a gasp.
The young wizards had never thought that the unremarkable Professor Flitwick could be so impressive.
"Professor, I want to learn this," a Gryffindor student said excitedly.
"Don't worry, I will teach you," Professor Flitwick said nonchalantly, waving his hand. "And practical charms like this one often appear in end-of-term exams, so make sure you listen well and learn thoroughly. Maybe this will be on the test this year."
"Yes, Professor Flitwick!" everyone responded in unison.
In the classroom, the young wizards all studied earnestly, practicing repeatedly under Professor Flitwick's guidance, without feeling bored at all.
They seemed to see themselves as the next duel champion, with the stone in front of them as their opponent.
It wasn't until the end of the class that they reluctantly put down the stones and left the Charm Class.
Those who hadn't submitted their assignments also left.
Because there were other lessons later, their homework catch-up time was scheduled for the evening, and it would be personally supervised by the professor, who wouldn't allow them to sleep until they finished.
Kael didn't hurry to leave; he held the book he'd borrowed from the library and asked Professor Flitwick some questions.
"I read this book back then, too. It taught me a lot."
Professor Flitwick reminisced, touching the book's cover, then answered each of Kael's questions in detail.
Ten minutes later, Kael closed the book and said, "Thank you, Professor Flitwick, that's all for now; I haven't read the rest yet."
"No problem, a good book should be read slowly," Professor Flitwick said with a smile. "If you encounter anything you don't understand, feel free to come to me. My office is on the eighth floor."
"Oh, and thank you for your Christmas gift. It's been thirty years since I've received a Rowan Tree Talisman engraved with a Duel Badge... truly nostalgic."
"I'm glad you like it."
After bidding farewell to Professor Flitwick, Kael left the Charm Class.
Meanwhile, around the corner of the corridor outside the classroom, Kael's two good roommates were sneaking around in a corner.
"Mikel, are you sure Kael will pass by here?" Ryan peeked out and asked, "It's been so long, could Kael have already left?"
"Impossible," Mikel said with certainty, "Our next class is Defense Against the Dark Arts, and this is the only way to the second floor, so Kael will definitely come by."
"But..." Ryan seemed to want to say something, but Mikel interrupted him.
"Don't worry, there's definitely no mistake."
"It's not..."
"Be patient... for the sake of the homework."
"Professor Flitwick has already left!" Ryan quickly covered Mikel's mouth and said, "And he even closed the door!"
Mikel was suddenly stunned, quickly ran over, and pushed open the Charm Class door.
It was empty inside.
Mikel: "(ﾟДﾟ≡ﾟДﾟ)"
"That's weird," he scratched his head, "The corridor is indeed the only way to the second floor. How did Kael leave?
Could it be..."
Mikel subconsciously glanced at the wall opposite him and said, "Ryan, do you think Kael knows a Wall-Penetrating Spell?"
...
Today, the last Defense Against the Dark Arts class was also very interesting.
Although Professor Oren doesn't have much teaching experience, his class has always been one of the young wizards' favorites.
On the first day of school, he brought a group of Cornwall Pixies and let students use the charms they learned to tackle them.
There were no restrictions; any charm could be used.
The little badges were absolutely thrilled, as in their view, this was just another form of dueling, so they rushed forward, eager to experience being "Duel Masters."
Though most of their charms hit empty air, with Professor Oren around, those little elves couldn't do anything to the students, irrefutably shouting in the air.
The way these little creatures angrily roared in frustration filled the entire class with a joyous atmosphere.
What made the young wizards even happier was that Professor Oren hadn't checked the homework.
When class ended, the badges almost praised Professor Oren to the sky.
Mind you, more than half of them hadn't done their homework.
With this in mind, Hufflepuff essentially gained at least thirty points for nothing, so of course, they were delighted.
However, to Kael, whether Professor Oren deducted points or not was no longer so important.
After the Charm Class, Hufflepuff House's points sat firmly in the second-to-last position.
They were nearly a hundred points behind second-place Ravenclaw, and a hundred points ahead of fourth-place Gryffindor.
This position was rather awkward: advancing was difficult, and regressing was equally challenging.