"Wizards have a fundamental flaw," the dark haired man said as he walked around the room. The students listened with rapt attention, it wasn't everyday someone attacked them like that.
"Would anyone mind telling me what that issue is?" Ever the star student, Hermione Granger's hand was immediately thrust into the air, reaching towards the ceiling. The teacher simply pointed at her, the unspoken message clear.
"We'll Sir, wizards have a magical core, greatly inhibiting their ability to cast magic for prolonged periods of time. Based on a report made by Alfred the Annoying in 1649, the conservation of magical energy inside our bodies is relatively low. This along with…."
The student droned on for a while longer before the teacher cut her off, stopping the ongoing lecture.
"That will be all Miss Granger. Thank you for your rather detailed yet ultimately wrong explanation." Hermione looked upset, downtrodden.
"Miss Granger, despite being a muggleborn, has fallen into a very simple trap that the Wizarding World has unintentionally laid for her. She believes that, like everyone else, magic is the answer. Miss Granger has tried stating to us that our most glaring issue, as a species, is with our magic. What Miss Granger did not realize is that while there is an issue with our magic, it is not one that stems from its very nature. Rather, the issue is with our nature, human nature. We as an organism are programmed for survival. I realize that most of you don't realize what I am referring to, but the simple explanation is that we're lazy."
The class looked at him in confusion. How were they lazy? They were constantly doing thing to improve or better themselves at all times, a majority of them anyway. Who was this teacher, someone who looked barely older than them, to say that.
"Mr. Potter here has just recently defeated the most prominent Dark Lord your country has ever seen. They fought at this school one year ago, right in the heart of this school. You would be lead to believe that Mr. Potter is the greatest fighter in this world at this point in time, and rightfully so. Why should you not believe it, Mr. Potter here has slayed someone who even the late Professor Dumbledore couldn't, shouldn't he be the best?"
The man stated this while looking around the classroom. The last vestiges of inattention had been thoroughly dispersed, everyone focusing on the Professor.
"However, if you that I could not only beat Mr. Potter here in a duel, simply, and without magic, how would you react?"
The reaction was quite obvious. The faces of the students stared at him in disbelief, chuckles rising from around the room. The chuckles grew, turning into laughter bubbling across the room, seeping into others to form more laughter. The very thought was hilarious to the students, idiotic some would say. As the professor had quite rightfully pointed out, Harry Potter was the strongest fighter in the world! How could this man be so full of himself as to think that he could beat the Chosen One?
Harry Potter sat in the middle of the room, he too was finding the idea laughable. Harry wasn't at all vain, he did not believe himself the best, but he was a damn prodigy. He alone was able to kill Voldemort, who had decades more experience, where many others had failed. Why should he fear the tall and muscular man?
"As I thought, you would not believe me. Why not a little demonstration to show you otherwise?" The man clapped his hands twice and the room began to change. The walls expanded outwards, the floor and furniture turned into sand, the students' supplies appeared on a table near the front of the room, and stands raised up from the ground. The room appeared like a mini colosseum. The students walked over and sat down the stands, cheering on their resident hero.
Harry Potter stood at one end of the room, wand drawn and pointed at the Professor. He was confident in his ability to win, although aware that his opponent should put up a fair fight. The Professor walked over to the other side of the room lazily, not seeming to have a care in the world.
"Now for the sake of spectacle, shouldn't we spice things up?" The students watched, enraptured, as the Professor tapped the bronze watch on his wrist. The watch unfolded into sheets of metal that, through a series of mechanical wirls and shifting plates, formed into a bright, bronze shield. The Professor slipped a pen out of his pocket and twirled it around in his free hand, watching it intently.
"Looks can be deceiving, can't they?" The Professor clicked the button on his pen as he spun it back around in his grasp. A three foot long, leaf shaped blade extended in his hand. The blade gave off a small bronze glow, slightly illuminating the area around it.
At this point, Harry was confused. This was almost the epitome of bringing a knife to a gunfight, except with magic and swords. Sure the sword and shield would be dangerous upclose, but Harry had him out-classed in range and destructive power. Harry believed that, while the sword and shield were cool, they were little more than party tricks.
However, the class looked on in slight fear. Ginny Weasley was now concerned. Beforehand, when the teacher said that he could beat Harry, she found the idea laughable. That was before the Professor pulled out a sword and shield from nowhere, there were now multiple unknown variables in play. Seeing the look of concern on the students faces, the Professor reassured them that all was okay.
"There's nothing to worry about, these weapons can't even harm Mr. Potter. Not shouldn't, they literally can't. Now, when I say begin me and Mr. Potter would commence our duel. There's nothing to worry about as you're safe, Mr. Potter is safe, and I'm safe."
Switching his gaze onto Harry, the Professor began the count.
"3, 2, 1, begin!"
Harry started casting spells at a swift pace, various curses and charms whistling through the air. The Professor ran at the spells, running at nigh-superhuman speeds. Ducking, slashing, and blocking spells as he made his way towards his opponent. Harry began conjuring granite slabs as defensive bulwarks, entrenching them deep within the arena in an attempt to slow down the Professor.
The Professor was undeterred however, jumping over the defenses like hurdles. A blasting curse was launched at the Professor, crackling like a dying fire. The Professor slid underneath the attack and launched his shield at Harry. He was steadily gaining ground, moving closer and closer to Harry. The wizard conjured a pale, translucent wall, causing the bronze shield to ricochet off in a different direction.
As close as twenty feet, the Professor continued his change. No matter what Harry threw at him, he was simply unstoppable. Harry grew more and more panicked as time went on, he didn't know what to do! He wasn't prepared for this, wizards didn't fight this way! Launching more and more curses in a feeble attempt to stop his opponent, Harry grew more and more panicked. The Professor jumped over the last granite slab and kicked at Harry's wand hand, which was raised to cast another spell. Raising the leaf shaped blade under Harry's throat, the message was clear. Retracting the blade and turning to face the awestruck class, the Professor talked to the class.
"Mr. Potter, like a great many wizards, has fallen into the trap I discussed earlier. This trap is something that I wish to dispose of by the end of this school year. Humans only need to maintain the status quo to survive, we don't need anything special. It is our inherent nature to be content with normalcy. Mr. Potter, when we dueled, was repetitive and easy to predict. He did nothing unexpected, he only did what he was taught to do. Being unexpected and unpredictable is the way to win a majority of fights. Throughout this course I will teach you…."
A noise blared throughout the room, it was the dismissal bell. The man glared at the ceiling before sighing.
"Well, we will cover the course aims next class, have a good day.
The students got up from the stands as the arena reverted back to the classroom it once was. Picking up their things, they left the classroom. A few cries of "Have a good day, Professor Jackson," rang throughout the room.