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Chapter 55: Students Always Fidget During Class
"You're probably expecting a long and useless lecture," William said, gesturing to the four sections written on the blackboard. "Tsk, four sections. That sounds like a dreary sermon of at least half an hour, doesn't it?"
A few chuckles rose from the students.
William knew very well what students of this age wanted—school had just started, and none of the Sixth Year students were over seventeen.
Sixteen-year-olds have boundless energy, a desire to show off that's several times that of an adult, and far less patience.
No matter how well a theory class was taught, they wouldn't buy it. Even with plenty of interaction, it still couldn't compare to an activity-based class where they could participate themselves—the rule forbidding students from using magic outside of school before the age of seventeen only exacerbated this.
But that was fine. William had never intended to prepare a Practice Overload Tactic for the Sixth Year students. Compared to the Fifth Year students, they had more time, which could be interspersed with countless activities.
Besides, without the cheerful classes of the upperclassmen as a comparison, where would the Fifth Year students find the courage to accept the Practice Overload Tactic?
Just like high school teachers desperately promise students they can have all the fun they want once they get to university, William was prepared to paint a similar picture for the Fifth Year kids—it's not that I'm picking on you, see how much fun the Sixth Year students are having in class? Study hard, work hard, and once you pass the exams, life will be easy.
"To be honest, to expand on these topics would take much more than a single lesson. I was even planning to spend the whole year breaking them down for you. But for now, to give you a deeper understanding of the last item, I've decided to do a little interactive activity with you all."
As he spoke, William bent down and fumbled under his desk—before class, he had asked the House-Elf Bart to bring the items to the classroom in advance.
Under the curious gazes of the students, he pulled a large sack from under the desk.
Many students had already realized that today's class would be quite interesting. One after another, they ignored their textbooks, drew their wands, and prepared for today's practical lesson.
"I see some of you have drawn your wands—a wise choice, as a wand is a wizard's best friend. However, I don't think your wands will be of much help to you. If you damage the teaching aids, I'll unfortunately have to deduct House points."
Teaching aids?
Before everyone's puzzled eyes, William began pulling things out of the sack one by one.
A worn-out photograph, a basket woven from willow branches, a bubbling potion... A wide variety of trinkets were pulled out and placed on the desk, filling the entire surface.
After taking out most of the items, the still-bulging sack was placed by William in a corner of the desk. Now, the whole desk looked like a street stall.
"A very simple but fun test. Suppose you all went traveling," William said with a smile. "For instance, to completely different magical locations in places like Egypt or India. You'd always want to bring some things back as travel gifts."
"So, let's give everyone some starting funds. We'll use points to represent Galleons. The items on the table are a mix of genuine and counterfeit—anyone who can buy a correct souvenir will earn five points for their corresponding House. For those who fail, well, one House point will be deducted."
William was generous with his offer, completely disregarding the rule that there was a limit to how many points could be awarded or deducted in a single class.
"Professor, what if we can't make a decision?" asked a very bookish-looking boy.
"Then that would be considered disrupting the class, so deducting fifteen points wouldn't be excessive, would it?"
Trying to find a bug in the game? Clever thinking. But when the damn game designer says no bugs allowed, you get your account banned if you try to exploit one.
The student who had spoken obediently shut his mouth.
"Alright, everyone, get ready—no need to form a line. All of you, gather around the desk, form a large circle, and observe and choose the item you believe to be a genuine item. Of course, to be fair, you may only pick up an item after I say 'begin'."
Although many verbally disdained this kind of interaction that didn't involve using a wand, their actions told a different story. The area around the desk was swarmed in an instant, and a few students who were a step too slow had to stand on their tiptoes behind the crowd to identify the dazzling array of items on the table.
"You may use any method you can think of to inspect the items, except for destructive magic. To lower the difficulty, I've placed a small label on each item describing its function. This should be a good basis for judgment. Alright, the game begins!"
Almost everyone immediately grabbed the item they judged to be genuine. The few with slower hands could only reluctantly shift their targets.
William clearly saw that, while everyone was grabbing items, a red-haired boy, taking advantage of the distraction, hid behind the crowd and secretly took the hand of a brown-haired girl.
"Hey, Penelope, which one do you think looks more real?"
"Keep your voice down, the Professor is still behind us."
"Don't worry, this is a blind spot. He can't see us."
Could the two of you give it a rest?
In any case, the two of them weren't disrupting the class, and William couldn't be bothered to reprimand them—a couple interrupted during a rendezvous can be fiercer than anyone.
If this had been the William from before Azkaban, he would have smashed their little lovey-dovey moment to pieces. But ever since getting out of that godforsaken place devoid of positive emotion, he couldn't bring himself to interrupt such a scene filled with happiness.
By now, the young wizards who had started using various kinds of magic to inspect the items had already noticed something was wrong—it seemed as though everything everyone had grabbed was genuine.
But that was obviously impossible. Five House Points per person, how many points would he have to give away?
Some students began to turn their heads, trying to read William's expression, but William just watched them with a smile, not saying a word.
If they were this easy to identify, how would those fellows locked up in Azkaban have made a living?
That pile of items on the table had cost him a full seven Galleons—and that was at a wholesale price he got through an acquaintance.
He was using them now to give these students a rude awakening, and he planned to use them as teaching aids in the future. Although the magic on them wouldn't last long, he could still replenish the concealing spells to make them look convincingly real.
Watching the students weigh the items in their hands, hold them up to the light to find loopholes, and even secretly try to test the material with their teeth, William chuckled to himself and didn't stop them.
He had to make these kids accept their defeat wholeheartedly before he could continue with the lesson—if he couldn't get a handle on them in the first class, how could he possibly teach them?
After about five minutes, all the students started to look a bit desperate. They knew the items in front of them were most likely counterfeits, but they had no way of telling for sure. Even when they tried to verify the effects according to the hints on the cards, the results were still inconclusive.
(end of chapter)
"You're probably expecting a long and useless lecture," William said, gesturing to the four sections written on the blackboard. "Tsk, four sections. That sounds like a dreary sermon of at least half an hour, doesn't it?"
A few chuckles rose from the students.
William knew very well what students of this age wanted—school had just started, and none of the Sixth Year students were over seventeen.
Sixteen-year-olds have boundless energy, a desire to show off that's several times that of an adult, and far less patience.
No matter how well a theory class was taught, they wouldn't buy it. Even with plenty of interaction, it still couldn't compare to an activity-based class where they could participate themselves—the rule forbidding students from using magic outside of school before the age of seventeen only exacerbated this.
But that was fine. William had never intended to prepare a Practice Overload Tactic for the Sixth Year students. Compared to the Fifth Year students, they had more time, which could be interspersed with countless activities.
Besides, without the cheerful classes of the upperclassmen as a comparison, where would the Fifth Year students find the courage to accept the Practice Overload Tactic?
Just like high school teachers desperately promise students they can have all the fun they want once they get to university, William was prepared to paint a similar picture for the Fifth Year kids—it's not that I'm picking on you, see how much fun the Sixth Year students are having in class? Study hard, work hard, and once you pass the exams, life will be easy.
"To be honest, to expand on these topics would take much more than a single lesson. I was even planning to spend the whole year breaking them down for you. But for now, to give you a deeper understanding of the last item, I've decided to do a little interactive activity with you all."
As he spoke, William bent down and fumbled under his desk—before class, he had asked the House-Elf Bart to bring the items to the classroom in advance.
Under the curious gazes of the students, he pulled a large sack from under the desk.
Many students had already realized that today's class would be quite interesting. One after another, they ignored their textbooks, drew their wands, and prepared for today's practical lesson.
"I see some of you have drawn your wands—a wise choice, as a wand is a wizard's best friend. However, I don't think your wands will be of much help to you. If you damage the teaching aids, I'll unfortunately have to deduct House points."
Teaching aids?
Before everyone's puzzled eyes, William began pulling things out of the sack one by one.
A worn-out photograph, a basket woven from willow branches, a bubbling potion... A wide variety of trinkets were pulled out and placed on the desk, filling the entire surface.
After taking out most of the items, the still-bulging sack was placed by William in a corner of the desk. Now, the whole desk looked like a street stall.
"A very simple but fun test. Suppose you all went traveling," William said with a smile. "For instance, to completely different magical locations in places like Egypt or India. You'd always want to bring some things back as travel gifts."
"So, let's give everyone some starting funds. We'll use points to represent Galleons. The items on the table are a mix of genuine and counterfeit—anyone who can buy a correct souvenir will earn five points for their corresponding House. For those who fail, well, one House point will be deducted."
William was generous with his offer, completely disregarding the rule that there was a limit to how many points could be awarded or deducted in a single class.
"Professor, what if we can't make a decision?" asked a very bookish-looking boy.
"Then that would be considered disrupting the class, so deducting fifteen points wouldn't be excessive, would it?"
Trying to find a bug in the game? Clever thinking. But when the damn game designer says no bugs allowed, you get your account banned if you try to exploit one.
The student who had spoken obediently shut his mouth.
"Alright, everyone, get ready—no need to form a line. All of you, gather around the desk, form a large circle, and observe and choose the item you believe to be a genuine item. Of course, to be fair, you may only pick up an item after I say 'begin'."
Although many verbally disdained this kind of interaction that didn't involve using a wand, their actions told a different story. The area around the desk was swarmed in an instant, and a few students who were a step too slow had to stand on their tiptoes behind the crowd to identify the dazzling array of items on the table.
"You may use any method you can think of to inspect the items, except for destructive magic. To lower the difficulty, I've placed a small label on each item describing its function. This should be a good basis for judgment. Alright, the game begins!"
Almost everyone immediately grabbed the item they judged to be genuine. The few with slower hands could only reluctantly shift their targets.
William clearly saw that, while everyone was grabbing items, a red-haired boy, taking advantage of the distraction, hid behind the crowd and secretly took the hand of a brown-haired girl.
"Hey, Penelope, which one do you think looks more real?"
"Keep your voice down, the Professor is still behind us."
"Don't worry, this is a blind spot. He can't see us."
Could the two of you give it a rest?
In any case, the two of them weren't disrupting the class, and William couldn't be bothered to reprimand them—a couple interrupted during a rendezvous can be fiercer than anyone.
If this had been the William from before Azkaban, he would have smashed their little lovey-dovey moment to pieces. But ever since getting out of that godforsaken place devoid of positive emotion, he couldn't bring himself to interrupt such a scene filled with happiness.
By now, the young wizards who had started using various kinds of magic to inspect the items had already noticed something was wrong—it seemed as though everything everyone had grabbed was genuine.
But that was obviously impossible. Five House Points per person, how many points would he have to give away?
Some students began to turn their heads, trying to read William's expression, but William just watched them with a smile, not saying a word.
If they were this easy to identify, how would those fellows locked up in Azkaban have made a living?
That pile of items on the table had cost him a full seven Galleons—and that was at a wholesale price he got through an acquaintance.
He was using them now to give these students a rude awakening, and he planned to use them as teaching aids in the future. Although the magic on them wouldn't last long, he could still replenish the concealing spells to make them look convincingly real.
Watching the students weigh the items in their hands, hold them up to the light to find loopholes, and even secretly try to test the material with their teeth, William chuckled to himself and didn't stop them.
He had to make these kids accept their defeat wholeheartedly before he could continue with the lesson—if he couldn't get a handle on them in the first class, how could he possibly teach them?
After about five minutes, all the students started to look a bit desperate. They knew the items in front of them were most likely counterfeits, but they had no way of telling for sure. Even when they tried to verify the effects according to the hints on the cards, the results were still inconclusive.
(end of chapter)
