Professor Oren not only skipped checking the first-years' homework, but he didn't check any year group's homework at all.
This decision made him overnight the most popular professor at Hogwarts, without a doubt.
"He must be able to break that curse and become the first Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in nearly fifty years at Hogwarts to be re-elected."
Famous Quidditch enthusiast, second-year Gryffindor student Lee Jordan, openly stated in the auditorium, "If someone as excellent as Professor Oren can't break the curse, then this class really has no hope. We might as well cancel it early."
His statement garnered support from both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.
Of course, where there is support, there will be opposition.
Just as Lee Jordan was speaking passionately, a sneering sound suddenly came from the Ravenclaw table.
"Tsk, does not checking homework make you that happy?"
A slightly handsome Ravenclaw student gave Lee Jordan a dismissive glance and said, "In my opinion, this decision is extremely irresponsible, and could even be considered negligent. We have already discussed it and plan to jointly complain to Headmaster Dumbledore about his behavior."
"What did you say?"
The young lions of Gryffindor looked unfriendly at the person who said this.
You should know that a professor who doesn't check holiday homework is rarer in Hogwarts than a troll dancing ballet. Now that we've finally found one, those bookworms not only don't cherish it, they actually want to complain?
What kind of behavior is this?
The Gryffindors were furious, and immediately slammed the table and said, "Do you dare to say that again?"
"I remember you, Roger Davis from Ravenclaw." Lee Jordan, hands in pockets, tilted his head back, looking at the other person with his nostrils, said: "You're the one who mocked our Gryffindor in Charm Class recently…
Tsk tsk, you're quite bold, kid. You'd better be careful when walking at night."
Seeing their academy's student being so openly threatened, Ravenclaw couldn't sit still either.
"Roger, don't be afraid." A senior student with a Prefect Badge on his chest stood up and said to Lee Jordan with a cold smile, "Gryffindor, are you trying to start a fight?"
"Prefect, don't make baseless accusations." Fred shook his finger and said, "My friend is just worried your new student might trip and fall, how is that starting a fight?"
"Oh, I see." George said, "You want to report to Professor McGonagall, falsely accusing us of wanting to fight so she can deduct our points."
Fred raised an eyebrow and said, "That way you can win the House Cup."
"And no one can stop you from complaining about Professor Oren."
"That's how it is." Lee Jordan's eyes rolled, quickly joining in.
"No wonder the cleverest Ravenclaw has so many bad ideas."
Listening to the trio harmonizing, the Prefect's face turned green.
House Cup... you're in last place, do you have a right to say such things? And with that two-digit house score, he'd have to be crazy to scheme against Gryffindor.
"We won't go to the professors." The Ravenclaw Prefect took a deep breath and said, "I mean, the paths at Hogwarts are flat, Roger won't fall, but if anyone has bad intentions, we won't sit idly by."
His words boosted Ravenclaw's morale.
"Yeah, we're not afraid of Gryffindor."
"Go ahead, whoever reports to the professor is a Crup."
"Roger, don't worry, with Edward the Prefect here, they can't do anything."
...
With the support of others, Roger Davis also stiffened up, lifted his head, and stared at Lee Jordan, with the tension between the two sides escalating.
"What do you think, Kael?" Cedric asked worriedly over on the Hufflepuff side, "They won't really start fighting, will they?"
"I'm just watching."
Kael popped a piece of steak into his mouth and said leisurely, "As long as they're not stupid, they won't start fighting."
Arguments happen all the time between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and we've never seen them actually throw down.
Besides, Ravenclaw doesn't want to lose their second-place house point position, and Gryffindor doesn't want Slytherin to benefit for nothing.
So a couple of jabs are all that will be said.
As for whether they'll do something underhanded in secret... Kael thought it was unlikely, unless they're really looking to get detention.
After all, the whole castle knows about this, the target is too obvious, and going for the sacks again isn't possible.
Of course, this is how it is for Ravenclaw, if it were Slytherin, it might be different.
"What are you all doing!"
Just then, Professor McGonagall suddenly walked in, pressing her lips together and scrutinizing the people at the center of the conflict.
"I hope you're not arguing, gentlemen, or else..."
"Of course not, Professor McGonagall." Fred was the first to react and said, "We were just discussing Quidditch."
"Yes." George quickly added, "We all think it's such a pity that Ireland lost to Canada this year."
Lee Jordan was the slowest to respond, hurriedly and poorly said only after George kicked him, "They can definitely win the championship in four years."
…
"Heh, that's the stupidest opinion I've ever heard."
Who knows if he was deliberately playing along or actually thought so, but Roger Davis said immediately, "Bulgaria Team is the strongest, and Ireland isn't even worthy of lacing up their boots."
"Ha, and what achievement did your Bulgaria Team get this year, then..." Fred inquired.
George said snidely, "Did you forget, Fred? They didn't even make it to the semifinals!"
"That was just because their Seeker was too lame!" Roger Davis shouted hoarsely, "If they could get a different Seeker, they'd be the strongest team."
Kael wondered if it was his imagination, but he thought Roger looked a lot angrier than before.
...
This whole kerfuffle ended in confusion; in the end, Professor McGonagall didn't deduct any points, but just reminded them not to make noise in the auditorium before walking over to Kael.
"Dumbledore wants to see you." Professor McGonagall signaled unobtrusively in Mikel's direction, "If you're done eating, could you please head to the Headmaster's Office?"
"Sure, Professor McGonagall."
Kael swallowed the last bit of steak and left the auditorium with her.
As they exited through the gates, Kael clearly heard Professor McGonagall mumble quietly, "These young Wizards nowadays... obviously, the Scotland Team is the strongest."
...