The next time Jenna's class had DADA they entered the classroom slowly, with wary glances, making sure there was nothing around that might attack them. Professor Potter sat at his desk, reading a book and massaging the back of his neck with one hand, a steaming cup of tea that smelled suspiciously of firewhiskey by his side. He looked distinctly mellower today, but the students knew better than to relax just yet. By that point every student at the school was aware of his unorthodox teaching methods. They just sat straight in their chairs, exchanging glances, until the bell rang.

The door slowly closed itself with the eerie sound of creaking hinges.

"Take out your textbooks and read chapter three," the professor said, not looking up from his book.

The students hesitatingly did as he said. From the rumours floating around, Professor Potter's classes did not involve any reading. Sylvia Malone raised her hand, but the professor, engrossed in his book, could not see her.

"But, sir, we didn't read chapters one and two yet," Sylvia said.

The professor looked up from his book with a scowl. "Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh?" he said.

"N-No, s-sir—"

"Stop wasting my time and read, then."

Another student raised his hand, which the professor saw, and ignored. "Don't chapters one and two contain important warnings about the practice of jinxes and counter-jinxes, professor?"

The professor just waved his hand irritably. "Worthless legal disclaimers. Do you think I would not tell you to read them if they were important?"

"No, sir—"

"Are you suggesting that I don't care for the safety of my students?"

"Err..."

"Exactly. Now shut up and read. Your house-elf voice is making my hangover worse."

For the next five minutes, the class sat in silence and did as he said. Jenna snuck furtive glances at the professor. She would not tell it to anyone, but for quite a few years she nursed a crush on the famous hero. The third time she raised her eyes to look at him, his gaze was on her. She froze. He winked.

Next thing she knew, the professor lifted his wand from the desk, and began hurling a series of red beams at the students, who fell down lifelessly one by one.

Once again, pandemonium erupted, as students hit the furniture painfully in an attempt to dodge his spells. Jenna dove down and hid behind the body of her stunned classmate. She watched, wide eyed, as all her fellow students fell to the floor unconsciously in less than a minute.

The sound of gasps and groans still echoed in her ears even though the class was deathly silent. She peered from behind the table. The professor still sat at his desk. Her mind raced. Was this a test? Did she pass it? should she try to attack him in order to impress him?

Just as the thought went through her head, the professor stood up and paced across the classroom slowly, his Dr. Martens boots meeting the floor with loud conks. Her breath was heavy, and she had to completely cut it in order to prevent him from noticing her. She was quickly running out of air. When the professor came just two chairs away, she ever so slightly moved her wand towards him, but before she could utter a spell, a beam of red light engulfed her and she fell into unconsciousness.

When her eyes opened again, the class was full with the sounds of students groaning and grumbling, and the professor was walking away from her to his desk.

"Well? What do you all have to say for yourselves?" he asked, taking a sip of his tea. The students glared at him mutinously. "I mean, if I were someone a little less nice, you would all have been dead in less than a minute. Absolutely pathetic."

"But you told us to rea—"

"So what if I told you? My ex told me that she loved me, before she went and cheated on me with a goddamn centaur. Are you under the Imperius to do only what you're told, Weatherby?"

"No—"

"Remind me what I taught you in the previous lesson, Mr. Weatherby."

"Umm, watch your surroundings?"

Professor Potter sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be harder than I thought. You dolts have already managed to forget your most important lesson. ALWAYS BE PREPARED FOR AN ATTACK!" he yelled, making the student whose name wasn't really Weatherby fall back in his seat.

"We couldn't possibly expect a teacher to attack us!" Melinda Malfoy cried.

"No?" the professor quirked an eyebrow. "Five of my defense teachers attacked me unexpectedly. Do not be so naïve. Lesson number two!"

The students jerked back instinctively as the professor raised his wand, but he simply pointed it back at the board, where three words appeared. "Trust no one!" he spat, scowling deeply. "In the wizarding world, your best friend might just be your worst enemy under Polyjuice potion, or Imperiused, or simply a traitor. Appearances mean nothing! Write that down."

The professor paced back and forth restlessly while Jenna began filling her parchment hastily, but she barely managed to write ten words before he continued.

"The only exception to your poor performance was Miss Granger here, who showed that her head is not completely vacant, by utilizing her classmate as a human shield," the professor pointed at Jenna with his wand. "Good thinking, Granger, though it would be wiser to play dead then to try and attack me. Fifty good-boy points to... forget it, I don't even care what house you're in."

The dazed students took a few seconds to ponder that before they went back to scribbling.

"Now, for homework..." Professor Potter gazed at the ceiling in contemplation, slowly tapping his wand on his palm absentmindedly, before he froze and smiled. "Oh, you'll see."

Just to accentuate the ominous statement, the bell rang for the end of the lesson.