"Ah?" Riddle froze in his tracks. "Isn't this... inappropriate?"
The Killing Curse is one of the most dangerous dark spells in the history of the entire wizarding world. Any carelessness during the demonstration may result in fatal consequences.
Because of this, even wizard families who have been immersed in the dark magic environment for a long time rarely use themselves as the target to demonstrate when teaching their younger generations to practice the Killing Curse.
Most dark wizard families prefer to use some small animals to demonstrate this most dangerous unforgivable curse.
The young wizards in the audience also heard Dracula's instructions to Riddle to use the Killing Curse on him, and they couldn't help but be shocked.
"Professor, don't do this!" a little wizard near the dueling stage shouted.
"Professor, don't forget the final fate of your previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professors!" The smarter little wizard chose to persuade from another angle.
Even the slowest little wizards in the auditorium gradually reacted, and then more little wizards joined the team to persuade Professor Dracula not to take the risk.
"Professor, this is too dangerous!" Harry had not yet recovered from the fatigue of constantly resisting the Imperius Curse. He stood up despite the fatigue. "It's just a class. There's no need to put yourself in danger, right?"
Unlike many other young wizards who were learning about the Unforgivable Curse for the first time, or even if they had learned about it but were seeing it for the first time, Harry could be said to be an expert in the Killing Curse.
In the previous school year, he was fooled by Riddle, who only appeared in front of him in the form of a diary, into learning the Killing Curse for a long time. He even almost lost control of his emotions and used the Killing Curse to break through the window bars that the Dursleys used to imprison him.
Although Harry and Riddle's relationship was restored thanks to Riddle's deliberate efforts, he still felt a little scared every time he thought of how he almost cast the Killing Curse.
This spell can take a person's life if one is not careful!
However, Dracula on the duel stage didn't care at all about the almost chaotic environment.
He raised his hand indifferently, interrupting the little wizards' intense emotions.
"Be quiet!" His voice reached the ears of every little wizard, "As your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, I still have some sense of propriety."
"Don't worry. If I can't even stop Riddle's killing curse, I won't be able to continue being your professor. Just let him be your professor!"
Dracula's tone seemed extremely conceited, even arrogant.
Of course, he had the capital to be so conceited. After all, not everyone had a physique like him that was almost impossible to die, and not everyone had lived for more than a thousand years and had grown tired of living countless times during that time.
Faced with the Killing Curse cast by Riddle, a wizard who was far less powerful than Voldemort, Dracula could even take the curse with his bare hands!
If Dracula hadn't been worried that taking the Killing Curse head-on would be too shocking and would easily expose his identity as a vampire in front of all the students, and if he hadn't also had to teach the young wizards some tricks on how to deal with the Killing Curse, he wouldn't have bothered to take action to resist it!
"Hurry up. I called you here to cooperate with my lecture. Just let it go if I tell you to. Don't worry about taking responsibility." Dracula looked at Riddle and said impatiently.
"But..." Riddle was still a little hesitant.
"Am I the professor or are you the professor?" Dracula said coldly, "Hurry up and don't hesitate!"
Under Dracula's repeated urging, Riddle finally made up his mind, took a deep breath, and slowly raised his wand.
"Avada Kedavra," he whispered.
A very thin and dim green light was emitted from the tip of Riddle's wand. It looked like a green light bulb leaking some weak electric sparks, and it struggled to move towards Dracula in the air.
Dracula: “…”
He casually swung his wand and dropped the green spell, which had not yet sparked, onto the ground.
The infinitely weakened version of the Killing Curse immediately disappeared in the blink of an eye like a piece of ash falling on the ground, without leaving any trace.
Riddle's eyes widened as he watched Dracula deflect the Killing Curse. The expression on his face perfectly defined the word "stunned".
In his opinion, no matter how weak the magic power used by the caster in the Killing Curse was, the characteristics of this most dangerous Unforgivable Curse would not change at all, and there would still be no magic that could resist it.
However, Dracula simply moved his wand and sent this weak but real killing curse flying aside, destroying it on the dueling stage.
This is simply unreasonable!
Using a wand to cast a spell is an exclusive skill of powerful wizards. Normally, this combat technique is only used when facing wizards who are many times weaker than oneself.
This is because opponents with similar magical powers will cast spells of the same level.
When faced with spells of the same level, it is difficult for wizards to easily resolve the attack. Usually, it is a better option to choose to dodge or use defensive magic to fight back.
The combat skills of the flying spell are actually divided into two types:
One is to wrap a variant of the Armor Charm around your wand, thus preventing the opponent's spell from touching your body and ensuring optimal safety;
The other method is to use superior understanding of magic and quick reaction to find the attack path of the opponent's spell at the moment the spell strikes, control it in time with the spellcasting material at the tip of the wand, and instantly knock the spell away.
The latter method is much more difficult to accomplish and more dangerous than the former, so most wizards will use the former in combat.
However, the method used by Dracula is undoubtedly the latter.
Riddle stared in amazement at the place where the Killing Curse he had cast disappeared, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses.
Just then, Dracula became impatient.
"Assistant Coach Riddle, you dare to tell me that what you just cast was a killing curse?" He looked at the handsome face opposite him with a half-smile, and said in a cold tone, "Be serious if you come to be an assistant coach, or you won't get your salary."
Riddle, who was just a Horcrux and had no property, had no other source of income. He really needed the salary as an assistant teacher.
So Riddle finally made up his mind, gritted his teeth, and raised his wand again -
"Avada Kedavra!"
Unlike the weak sound made when he chanted the spell last time, this time, Riddle's voice was full of energy, and his eyes were filled with the murderous intent necessary to cast the Killing Curse.
A dazzling green light flashed across the dueling arena and shot in front of Dracula in an instant.
The young wizards in the audience closed their eyes out of fear, unable to bear to see Dracula being hit by the Killing Curse.
"Open your eyes and watch my movements carefully!"
Dracula did not open his mouth, but his voice suddenly appeared in the ears of every little wizard who closed their eyes, as if it was even faster than the green beam cast by Riddle.
"Look carefully, I won't demonstrate the same coping method a second time!"
At the same time, Dracula raised his spooky wooden wand—
"Avis."
One bird after another flew out from the front of Dracula's wand, and rushed towards the green beam of light like moths to a flame.
Every time a bird was hit by the Killing Curse, it turned into a point of light and dissipated, and the green light representing the Killing Curse became a little fainter until it disappeared completely.
The little wizards in the audience watched this magical scene with wide eyes, and the auditorium, which had been a little noisy, fell into silence unknowingly.
"Did you see it?" Dracula took back his wand and said to the young wizards present, "This is a more advanced application of Transfiguration - the Summoning Spell. I just used the Bird Summoning Spell."
"Although the creatures transformed by the summoning spell are somewhat different from real life, there are still certain characteristics in the bodies of these summoned creatures that only real life possesses. There is a high probability that they can deceive the Killing Curse that is not strong enough, thereby weakening or even completely dissolving the curse." Dracula explained.
Riddle's face froze when he heard Dracula's comment.
The killing curse that I was very satisfied with was described as "not strong enough", which made me unhappy no matter how I thought about it.
"Not only the bird summoning spell I just cast, other types of summoning spells can be used as well." Dracula continued.
He looked at Draco Malfoy from Slytherin College, "Mr. Malfoy should have some knowledge of this. The snake summoning spell you cast in the Dueling Club can also be used to resist the Killing Curse."
As he spoke, Dracula waved his wand and demonstrated the snake summoning spell to the young wizards.
"The incantation for the snake-summoning spell is Serpensortia."
A huge snake fell to the ground, but before it could react, Dracula used the Vanishing Spell to lift the curse.
"This is the first way to deal with it," he said to the young wizards.
"Riddle, keep casting the Killing Curse on me." Then, Dracula waved his hand at Riddle again, "Don't show mercy. Cast a few more, the kind that chases me and hits me. This way, the students can see it more vividly."
Riddle's face immediately fell.
It was already difficult to overcome the heavy psychological pressure and use the Killing Curse on Dracula, so why let a few more of them chase him... He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to be hit!
"What are you waiting for? Why don't you do it?" Dracula urged again, "Do you still want your salary?"
Riddle's expression changed again.
'Well, for the wages!'
He silently hardened his heart and swung his wand violently—
A dazzling green beam suddenly shot out, followed by two other beams that shifted to the left and right, blocking Dracula's escape route.
Riddle has fully demonstrated his strength, and the casting of spells seems to have some of the flavor of Voldemort at his peak.
Looking at the three killing curses that were cast almost in the same order, Dracula nodded with satisfaction.
"Keep your eyes open and watch carefully." He explained, while calmly pointing his wand at the ground.
"The house collapsed and the ground sank (Deprimo)."
As the spell was cast, a large hole was blown open on the solid dueling stage.
Dracula fell into the big hole and dodged three killing curses. Riddle's next killing curse followed closely, but it hit the solid duel stage and had no chance to touch Dracula's body.
"This is a magic spell specifically used to change the terrain. It is quite useful sometimes."
Riddle retracted his wand, and Dracula then jumped lightly from the big hole and landed on the dueling stage again.
"Similarly, there are other magics that change the terrain, such as lifting a piece of ground to form a wall to block the attack of the Killing Curse."
Dracula waved his wand and part of the dueling stage rose up, forming a wall.
"It is true that the Killing Curse cannot be blocked by protective magic, but the terrain factor is not included in it." He said, "But the premise is that you have not encountered a powerful enough dark wizard-"
Dracula raised his hand and cast a killing curse. This bright and dazzling green lightning was like a blasting spell. It instantly broke through the wall formed on the duel stage and hit the wall of the auditorium from a distance before finally losing all its power.
"Professor, what should we do when we encounter such a powerful dark wizard?" Fred suddenly raised his hand and asked loudly.
"There shouldn't be many dark wizards in the magic world who have such powerful strength." Dracula glanced at Fred and sneered, "If you are unlucky enough to encounter one, I suggest you don't resist and surrender directly."
Listening to Dracula's words, Hermione, who was standing next to Harry, showed an incredible expression.
"I was totally wrong," she murmured.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked curiously, "There are things you would say wrong?"
"Not only is it wrong, it's totally wrong." Hermione covered her face with her hands. "I used to think that Professor Dracula was an honest wizard, and that his dark magic would not be any better than that of a dark wizard. Now that I think about it, it's really ridiculous..."
"He is clearly the most powerful dark wizard!" Hermione exclaimed.
…
On the devastated duel arena, Dracula was still emphasizing the precautions on how to resist the Killing Curse.
"Although these little tricks can increase your chances of survival when facing the Killing Curse, don't think that after learning these things, you will be able to face the dark wizards directly." Dracula swept his eyes across all the young wizards present and said coldly.
"The prerequisite for using these skills is that you have a quick enough reaction ability and a fast enough casting speed."
"If you can't stay calm when facing a dark wizard, think of the most appropriate spellcasting technique as quickly as possible, and successfully cast it at the critical moment, then all the knowledge you have learned today will be meaningless!"
"To be honest, the peaceful environment of the magic world now has great dangers lurking. One day, a large number of dark wizards will sweep across the entire magic world... This is also the real purpose of why I want to teach you how to deal with dark magic today."
"Compared to successfully using the methods I taught you today in front of dark wizards, I actually hope that none of you will ever have the opportunity to use these methods."
"You are my first and so far only batch of students. I sincerely hope that you can encounter fewer dangers and live well in the wizarding world..."
Dracula sighed softly and turned to look at the clock hanging on the wall of the auditorium.
"It's getting late. Since this duel club session was delayed for a few minutes and took up everyone's rest time, all Defense Against the Dark Arts written assignments this week are cancelled."
"get out of class dismissed!"
Dracula didn't care what the students thought of this Defense Against the Dark Arts open class, nor did he pay attention to those students who wanted to ask questions they didn't understand, and he didn't even bother to care about the duel stage that was torn beyond recognition...
The moment he announced the end of get out of class, he turned into a few flying bat shadows and disappeared in the center of the auditorium.
…
That night, the candlelight in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts was quite bright.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk as usual. From his movements, he seemed to be processing some documents related to the school's operations, but his eyes were always wandering.
At a certain moment, Dumbledore's vision suddenly came into focus.
He raised his finger, and the window of the principal's office quietly opened a crack.
The next moment, a silver-haired figure suddenly appeared at the office window, leaning against the bookcase by the window, looking at Dumbledore behind the desk.
"You seem to be enjoying your lecture today, Professor Dracula." Dumbledore looked up at the silver-haired figure with a teasing smile, "How about it, how do you feel about teaching the dark arts to students?"
"Don't accuse others of anything, Dumbledore." Dracula chuckled, "I didn't teach my students to use dark magic. I just taught them some ways to deal with it."
"I don't mean to blame you," Dumbledore smiled and shook his head, "I was just a little surprised by what you said at the end, Professor Dracula. I feel... this is not your style."
"Really? Then tell me what my style is?" Dracula curled his lips.
"After the incident last semester when you gave yourself a holiday without permission, I almost thought I had to recruit a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." Dumbledore spread his hands, "I thought Hogwarts could no longer keep you, the Earl..."
"Who would have thought that our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor not only returned to school, but also seemed to have a stronger sense of belonging than before he left. What you just said seemed to be from the perspective of a conscientious professor, and you no longer considered yourself an outsider."
Dracula fell silent after listening to Dumbledore's comments.
"But I am not an outsider..." After a moment, he suddenly laughed, "Hogwarts is my territory."
…
…