Professor Vampire.

Chapter 12: A brief talk in the principal's office

"On my count of three, cast your spells all together," Professor Dracula said sternly from the podium. "If you don't want to double your homework or be put in detention, then give it your all with your spells!"

"Three." He said indifferently.

The young witches and wizards looked uncertain, most of them glancing helplessly at their classmates, seeking a unified stance.

"Two."

Encouraged by Fred and George's "heroic" expressions, they gradually made up their minds, nervously raising their wands one by one.

"One."

As Dracula's voice fell, the Weasley twins, leading the charge against the professor, unleashed their signature spell—

"Endless Dribble (Muauseam)!"

Dracula's eyes twitched slightly as he disdainfully deflected the unpleasant snot curse back at the twins. Fred and George's identical noses immediately started to drip profusely.

The twins looked at each other and, in unison, sniffled before engaging in playful bickering, gleefully wiping their snot on each other's clothes.

Seeing someone take the lead, the remaining young witches and wizards gathered courage, pressured by the prospect of doubled homework and detention, and began casting various spells at Dracula.

Dracula remained unfazed, instead smiling lightly, spreading his arms, and even closing his eyes, taking all the spells head-on.

In the next moment, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom fell into silence.

"Professor? Professor?"

Seeing that Dracula was unresponsive, Cedric, who had been reluctant to cast his spell earlier, called out softly.

"Professor, are you okay?"

Seeing this, the other young witches and wizards began to panic. The classroom quickly became noisy.

The rolling twins wiped their noses and stopped their roughhousing, looking at Dracula on the podium.

"Professor Dracula, are you really hurt?" The twins' faces showed unmistakable delight.

Hearing the commotion in the classroom, Dracula frowned as he analyzed the strength of the students' spells.

"Be quiet!" He opened his eyes and sharply tapped his wand on the desk.

"The results are in. The spells I received were not stronger than Mr. Diggory's, so Diggory's homework will be exempted this time." Dracula said, "The five names I call out will have their homework doubled and will be in detention in my office tonight!"

Dracula pointed out the five students who hadn't dared to cast spells, isolating them to practice on their own and not allowing them to leave the classroom until they cast spells.

The rest were tasked with reading their textbooks and mastering the theoretical content of the first section of "Defense Against the Dark Arts: A Guide to Self-Defense" by the next class.

After assigning these tasks, Dracula leisurely walked around the classroom, quickly reviewing the students' textbooks to familiarize himself with the first section of the third-year curriculum, successfully teaching without referring to the textbook.

When he reached the Weasley twins, Fred weakly raised his hand.

"What's up?" Dracula asked curiously.

"Professor, with all those spells hitting you, don't you feel any discomfort?" Fred asked, still with a strand of snot on his face, persistently.

George nodded in agreement from beside him.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Dracula replied with a mischievous grin. "You'd better start saving up because I'm expecting you to pay me forty galleons!"

The twins simultaneously lowered their heads, their faces filled with sorrow.

...

After class, Dracula went straight to the headmaster's office.

"I think there's a problem with Hogwarts' teaching," Dracula said casually while sitting in front of the wall filled with portraits, sucking on a honey-flavored lollipop recently delivered by the Duke of Blood. "How can there be students who have studied magic for two years but still can't cast a single spell? Dumbledore, what do you think the founders would say about you?"

"Professor Dracula, third-year students are all witches and wizards who passed their second-year final exams; they shouldn't be incapable of casting a spell," Dumbledore said, unfazed, smiling and trying to reassure him. "It might be that your teaching style frightened them."

"That's not my fault but their own mindset. Hogwarts students have been spoiled!" Dracula bit down on the lollipop, instinctively wanting to throw the stick out the window.

But he immediately thought of Professor McGonagall, who was sternly pressing her lips, and silently retracted his hand, placing the stick beside Fawkes instead.

"Help me clean up the trash, Fawkes." Dracula patted the phoenix's golden-red feathers, then continued, "If these students graduated and entered society a few centuries earlier, they wouldn't be able to survive."

Fawkes gave him a disdainful look, but due to the powerful dark aura of the vampire, the bird felt pressured. Fawkes let out a burst of flame, turning the lollipop stick to ashes.

"Professor Dracula, times are changing," Dumbledore gently adjusted his glasses and addressed the old-fashioned figure before him. "Nowadays, witches and wizards can live well even without strong abilities after leaving school."

"Among the students I've taught, there are many who aren't exceptionally powerful but are doing well—like the famous sorceress singer Setina Wobek, Devlin Whitehorn, who founded the Quidditch broom company, and Granda Chitok, the famous host of the wizarding radio program 'Magical Time'..."

"In this era, everyone can find their own shining points in different fields."

Dumbledore's eyes showed a warm smile as he gazed at Dracula's crimson eyes.

Dracula was silent for a moment.

"Perhaps you're right," he said, looking deeply at Dumbledore. "But the curse of the Dark Arts still exists, which means Voldemort hasn't truly perished."

"A new round of war is imminent, right? What self-defense capabilities will those who excel in other fields have then?"

Dumbledore paused, then sighed and shook his head, removing his glasses and carefully wiping them.

"Sometimes, what people say about 'the Dark Lord being dead' is just self-deception. Many understand this, but more forget it under self-deception," he said after a while.

"The decline of Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts over the decades has indeed had a huge impact on the wizarding world."

"So, Hogwarts needs a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor like you," he added.