The students playing outside the castle felt especially lucky. They were glad they hadn't spent their Sunday afternoon cooped up in the common room, wrestling with piles of boring homework, but were instead out playing and wandering through the snow. After all, they had just encountered a particularly cheerful Professor Fawley!
It all began with an upper-year student who noticed Professor Fawley walking briskly toward the castle. Judging by his light steps, she boldly guessed he was in a good mood. Encouraged by her friends, she gathered her courage and called out a question that had been on her mind for a long time.
"Professor, could you teach us some spellcasting techniques? Even a practice duel would be fine!" she asked eagerly, clasping her hands over her chest.
Tver paused, surprised by the sudden appearance of this group of young witches. But since he was indeed in a good mood, he stopped and smiled.
"It's Sunday. Don't you plan to enjoy your rare bit of free time? The winter sun doesn't come out often."
Seeing that the professor wasn't refusing outright, the girl's excitement rose.
"But no sunlight could ever be as rare as seeing you, Professor!" she exclaimed.
Lately, the professor hadn't been seen outside of class, and yesterday he hadn't appeared at all. Her friend chimed in, braver now, "Wouldn't spending this lovely afternoon learning from you be the best way to enjoy it?"
Sensing his hesitation, the witches started pouring out compliments as if they cost nothing. Students nearby caught the excitement and quickly ran over, chatting noisily about their hopes of learning from the professor.
Looking at their eager faces, Tver let out a helpless laugh and raised his hand to quiet them.
"Alright then—but no dueling. I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt."
His magic was surging, strong as a Fire Dragon's. One careless move, and even a simple Pressure Charm could be fatal.
The young witches cheered, their faces glowing with happiness. Finally! Professor Fawley had been at Hogwarts for over three months. They had begged him for three months and endured Professor Quirrell for just as long. Now, at last, they would get a lesson from him!
Only the girl who'd asked first looked slightly annoyed.
Damn it, why couldn't the sky have a ceiling!
...
It didn't take long for word to spread that Professor Fawley was giving a lesson to upper-year students. Unfortunately, it was only open to those in fourth year and above. If too many students showed up, even three Tvers wouldn't be enough to handle them all.
Wait—could there really be three of him?
He gave everyone twenty minutes to gather and cleared a patch of snow for the class. Once everything was ready, though a few stragglers were still running over, Tver officially began.
With a flick of his wand, a vast golden barrier spread around the group, separating the students in the lesson from the onlookers.
Laughter and cheerful chatter filled the inside of the barrier, while outside, disappointment and envy spread across every face.
"I told you to hurry over, but you had to drag a few books along!" Ron grumbled at his two companions.
Hermione flung her bag in front of her with exasperation. "Even if we'd been here first, the professor is teaching the upperclassmen—it's got nothing to do with us!"
Then she pulled a thick book from her bag, one that could easily double as a weapon. "We should've brought relevant books instead—they might help us understand the senior class better."
The surrounding young wizards' eyes lit up, though it was too late to dash back to the library now. But they had a Locomotor library right beside them!
So the younger students who'd missed class, along with the seniors who'd arrived later, all gathered around Hermione and the other top students. Small circles formed outside the golden membrane.
As for the students attending class inside, they naturally gathered around Tver.
He cast that roll-call spell again, though this time with a slight twist. Names still appeared above each person's head, but now the golden light coalesced into little imps, forming neat rows in the air. They looked exactly like the imps seen during Halloween.
"Everyone, stand beneath your own little figure and form your lines!" Tver commanded, pressing his wand to the base of his neck to amplify his voice.
Nearly a hundred students were present. At first, they were puzzled—how could these imps with their brightly colored hair possibly recognize them?
The imps soon provided the answer.
"Prefect, stop looking around. Your little imp is right above your head."
"Flint, I'm right here, you idiot!"
A boisterous imp bellowed. Though barely audible in the noisy crowd, the voice still reached Flint's mind.
At that moment, Hermione outside the barrier let out a delighted gasp.
"Do you remember the professor's roll-call spell?" She flipped open a book to a page explaining magical energy. "I've long suspected the golden light above our heads isn't the professor's magic. It's actually our own magic—the magic of those being enchanted—and…"
Hermione frowned, hesitating whether to reveal the rest.
Ron looked completely lost. His curiosity had been stirred, only for the explanation to abruptly stop.
[This is worse than the author hitting writer's block!]
"Go on!" he urged.
Glancing at the eager stares around her, Hermione finally relented. "It might also be connected to our souls!"
"So those little creatures are probably made from our magic and souls, and they're constantly linked to our bodies?" an upperclassman quickly deduced.
"Does that mean Professor Fawley can just siphon souls at will and kill us?" his friend asked in horror.
"If the professor wanted to kill us, he wouldn't need such fancy magic…" a young witch muttered softly.
Tver was thoroughly satisfied with the spell's effect. He certainly wouldn't use such a spell offensively. Even though his magical power was stronger than before—and still growing—attacking by extracting souls was far less efficient than simply learning Voldemort's Killing Curse.
In truth, this spell was built on a concept inspired by the Dark Mark. Through a link to the students' souls, it allowed him to convey information directly.
Soon, guided by the imps, the students all took their places, forming a 10x10 grid.
"Excellent," Tver said, scanning their eager faces. "Since there are many of you, the imps will provide some additional guidance during today's lesson."
"You're all upperclassmen with your own academic responsibilities, so I won't be teaching anything straight out of the textbook today."
"In other words, we'll be going a little beyond the syllabus."
The students suppressed their cheers, exchanging delighted looks with one another. They would have been happy enough with a regular lesson from the professor—but what they truly looked forward to were those brilliant spells that went beyond anything in the curriculum.
"Before we begin, I have a question for you," Tver said. "Do you remember my evenly matched duel with Professor Flitwick?"
Every student, including those outside the barrier, shouted in unison without hesitation, "Yes!"
It was the first duel they had seen in years. Even if the details were hazy, the dazzling magic from that day was unforgettable.
"Then, do you remember Professor Flitwick's Double Charm?"
The students immediately fixed their eager gazes on Professor Fawley—they already had a good idea what was coming next.
"Today, I will teach you—"
Tver paused, letting their anticipation peak.
"Magic against magic!"