22 The Curse of the Dark Arts Defence Class.

When it comes to learning classroom knowledge, most people become drowsy. But when it comes to gossip, everyone's interest suddenly peaks. Ron excitedly said, "George and Fred told me the position of the Dark Arts Defence professor is quite ominous!" This class is taken by both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, so he, along with Kevin and the others, gathered together.

This kind of talk easily piqued their interest, prompting Steve to ask questions immediately. Even the usually simple-minded Neville joined the discussion. Seeing that his news was met with such enthusiasm, Ron felt proud. "I heard about it too. It's said that this position is extremely ominous. For the past thirty years, every professor in the Dark Arts Defence class has had an accident within a year, and not a single one has taught for more than a year! Some even died while holding the position. People say that this position has been cursed by You Know Who!

When Ron spoke, his surroundings immediately fell silent. Even the young wizards who were chatting nearby closed their mouths. Kevin looked around; everyone was all ears, and as soon as they heard the keywords "You Know Who", "death," and "curse," it sparked a heated discussion. Some had already started betting on whether Quirrell could teach until next year. Hermione, however, had a different opinion. "'Hogwarts: A History' doesn't mention this!" Kevin smiled and said, "Books are only references; the contents in books aren't necessarily true. Even Newton's three laws of physics were eventually overturned." He paused and analysed, "But I think this is real because in the past thirty years, the Dark Arts Defence class at Hogwarts has indeed changed professors every year. This matter is easily clarified by just asking an older student."

His words were convincing, and Hermione seemed to be somewhat convinced and curious as well. "Even Dumbledore couldn't break this curse?"

"That's probably the case; otherwise, Dumbledore would have solved this problem a long time ago. Every year, they have to recruit new professors; it's as if Hogwarts has to 'consume' a professor every year!"

In fact, from what Kevin understood, this curse was more terrifying than imagined. The endings of the former professors of the Dark Arts Defence class were not good. Those who actively resigned due to accidents were the lucky ones. Some unfortunate souls experienced various accidents that left them unable to teach, with many ending up in St. Mungo's Hospital. This directly led to the position's reputation souring, making it difficult to find anyone to fill it.

But this wasn't even the most horrifying part. After Harry Potter's enrollment, the terrifying aspect of this curse reached its peak. Looking at the Dark Arts Defence professors who had taught Harry Potter, besides Quirrell and Lockhart, who had gone mad or died during their tenure, even Lupin, Moody, and Snape, who had "safely" made it through their teaching years, all ended up dead in the seventh book—even Voldemort himself died!

The only one who fared slightly better was the toad, Umbridge; she didn't die but ended up in Azkaban instead.

After the class, Professor Quirrell predictably disappointed the young wizards. As a Dark Arts Defence professor, Quirinus Quirrell showed no authority; he looked ridiculous, wearing a comical purple turban on his head and exuding a strong odour of garlic. Even speaking made him stutter, "H-h-hello, I-I'm the Dark Arts Defence professor, Qu-Q-Quirinus."

From what Kevin knew about him, Quirrell wasn't teaching at Hogwarts for the first time. He had been a decent Ravenclaw graduate, specialising in Muggle studies. However, his dream was to become a Dark Arts Defence professor. He had very solid theoretical knowledge, but Dark Arts Defence emphasised practical experience, so he applied to gain experience in the field of Dark Arts Defence.

In simple terms, he just wanted to test his skills on some dark creatures and dark wizards. Unexpectedly, in his first practise, he ended up in the dark forest in Albania and encountered the Dark Lord Voldemort. Speaking of which, when Voldemort originally applied to be the Dark Arts Defence professor and failed, it was then that he cast a curse on this position. Now, he possessed Quirrell and infiltrated Hogwarts to become the Dark Arts Defence professor. It was considered fulfilling his dream in a sense.

In the first class, Professor Quirrell was going to teach them how to deal with Inferi.

Speaking of which, Inferi in the Harry Potter world were incredibly pathetic compared to their counterparts in other worlds. They didn't paralyse their enemies through attacks, nor did they gain health by cutting down trees or eating corpses. They couldn't even perform simple arithmetic calculations like 1000 minus 7. These poor creatures, though they looked fierce, only resided in attics or barns in wizards' homes and fed on spiders and moths.

Because of this, many wizards even consider Inferi pets. Ron's family has one, and it starts knocking on pipes whenever it feels the house is too quiet. Kevin also couldn't understand why these creatures with extremely low danger would appear in the Dark Arts Defence class. Or rather, Kevin fundamentally questioned the concept of the Dark Arts Defence class at Hogwarts. The so-called Dark Arts Defence, while it claims to be a defence against dark magic, actually teaches how to resist dark creatures. It doesn't mention anything about genuinely dangerous dark wizards or dark magic. What kind of dark magic could this defend against?

In fact, Kevin was sceptical even about the definition of "dark magic." The definition of dark magic in the Harry Potter world is very vague. It seems that all spells that can harm others are considered dark magic, but that's not accurate. As long as used properly, the [Levicorpus] spell can also be deadly, and the [Lumos] spell can blind someone. Even the famous [Rectum Expeller] curse in dark magic was actually invented for rectal surgery. The portrait of its inventor is now hanging on the wall of St. Mungo's Hospital.

Some say that using dark magic requires malevolence, but human nature inherently contains both good and evil. To require someone to use only white magic without using dark magic is equivalent to demanding that a person's inner self is purely good without any evil, which is entirely unrealistic. In Kevin's view, dark magic is just one form of power. Its existence is reasonable, and it's worth studying as long as it's appropriate. Individuals like Dumbledore, who hope to turn everyone in the magical world into saints by banning dark magic, are purely wishful thinkers based on moral purity.

If this continues, it will only lead to stagnation and backwardness in the wizarding world. In fact, the magical world in the Harry Potter universe has been stagnant for a long time. Their so-called 'International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy' doesn't protect Muggles but rather the wizards themselves. Kevin, with memories of his previous life, was well aware of how far Muggle technology would advance in the next few decades.

As a wizard who could perform magic, his interests naturally aligned with the wizarding world. After attending this class, he understood that Hogwarts was even hiding from teaching a simple Dark Arts Defence class, and they didn't even dare to teach real dark magic. If the wizarding world continued down this path, it would spell trouble sooner or later.

Soon, Kevin also understood why Hufflepuffs said that Professor Quirrell was even worse than Professor Binns. In terms of teaching style, Professor Quirrell was identical to Professor Binns: mechanically reading from the textbook. Professor Binns, although dull in tone, could at least recite the material fluently, to the point of reciting it backward. Occasionally, when he was in a good mood, he would share some interesting historical anecdotes. As for Professor Quirrell? He couldn't even read the text fluently. Because of his stuttering, listening to his lectures was a disaster.

Kevin seriously doubted that Dumbledore was willing to hire Professor Quirrell purely because nobody else applied. Because of this, Professor Quirrell became the target of ridicule from the young wizards. They all said that the garlic smell on Professor Quirrell was there to drive away a vampire he encountered in Romania. Even at Hogwarts, he was afraid the vampire would come back to get him.

Quirrell attempted to explain, saying that his large turban was a gift from an African prince, a prince who wanted to thank him for helping him get rid of a mummy's curse. However, no one believed his story. Simon Fignan eagerly asked Professor Quirrell how he defeated the mummy, and the professor turned bright red and stuttered through his response.

Even the most respectful Hermione couldn't help but complain, "It seems like Professor Quirrell isn't very good at teaching? Is it because he's nervous as a first-time professor?"

She didn't believe her own words, but she didn't want to speak ill of the professor. Kevin shattered her illusion: "Quirrell isn't a first-time professor. He previously taught Muggle Studies at another school." Hermione's face fell, becoming more disappointed with this class's future. Thinking about enduring seven years of Dark Arts Defence class like this made her see black.

Kevin, on the other hand, was quite optimistic. His skills were at least higher than Gilderoy Lockhart's.