HP: Professor From Azkaban

"Penelope, I have an idea. See that bag on the table?"

In the corner of the podium, a pair of young students whispered to each other, completely unaware that the Professor was standing in the distance, smiling at their antics.

"The bag?"

"Yes, the bag the professor used to take out the items. I suspect most of the genuine items are still inside, and the ones on the table are just imitations based on them."

The two pointed cautiously at the bag, quietly agreeing to grab something from it later.

"Alright, there's one-minute left. Everyone, decide on the item you want to pick and wait for the scoring."

The pace in the room immediately quickened as all the students, after moments of hesitation, quickly settled on their chosen items and held them in their hands.

"Don't take that! I saw it first!"

"Fine, then you take that one!"

Amid the commotion, the final seconds ticked away.

A student closest to the bag swiftly set down the item they had initially chosen and reached into the bag to grab something directly.

Following this, the couple William had been quietly observing quickly each took an item from the bag as well. Only then did the rest of the students realize what was happening.

When the last lucky student close to the bag retrieved an item, those behind him weren't as fortunate. Before they could reach in, William stepped forward and blocked them.

"Time's up."

William grabbed the bag with one hand and opened it. With the other, he began slowly gathering the items scattered across the table.

"The game is over. Everyone, line up and hand over your chosen items for scoring."

The last student who managed to grab something from the bag stood proudly at the front of the line.

"Tsk, counterfeit," William said, shaking his head with a regretful expression.

"Unfortunately, I must inform you all that, to increase the challenge, I specifically put several fake items back into the bag. So, would those who took items from the bag please come forward, hand them over, and give me your house names for point deductions."

Though his tone was apologetic, every student in the room felt the new Professor had done this on purpose.

The once smug students, who had been so certain they had discovered a loophole, shuffled dejectedly to the front of the line and handed over their items.

"Look at this charm, made from a wolf fang. It's supposed to be from Africa. But African wizards don't use wolf fangs for charms. Over there, werewolves have nearly devolved into kobolds, and African wolves don't even live as well as hyenas."

William patted the student on the shoulder, then took the item from his hand and placed it into the burlap sack.

"Now, look at this potion. Looks flashy, doesn't it? Hopefully, no one thought to taste it. It's like that because I added dragon dung to it; it won't last more than a few days."

"And this magical artifact. Why would any of you think I'd bring out a genuine magical artifact? This was a freebie question, and you still managed to get it wrong?"

The student William addressed lowered his head, unsure where to direct his gaze.

"Next. This one is authentic, the most valuable item in the entire batch. Congratulations. Which house are you from?"

Finally, a student managed to earn points, and the Hufflepuff crowd erupted into cheers.

"A rare success! And it doesn't feel like a lucky guess. How did you figure it out?"

"Willow twigs aren't worth much. Making a fake out of them would be pointless."

"A wise choice. Even as a genuine item, it's practically useless and not worth counterfeiting. There may be counterfeit galleons, but you'll never find fake knuts. Five points to Ravenclaw."

"..."

"…"

After going through all the items, two houses managed to earn points. Ravenclaw had one student succeed, while Hufflepuff had two. The rest of the students didn't find a single genuine item.

"Alright, the items have been identified. But remember, we're not here to study magical item appraisal. Everyone, return to your seats."

The students sighed as they dispersed from around the podium. Despite not using their wands, the class was undeniably engaging.

The only downside was that most students not only failed to earn points but also lost house points in the process.

"Hey, don't be so downhearted. Even though we're about to move on to a lengthy lecture, there's still another fun game before that."

"Next, I'll call the names of a few students. Come up to the podium to collect something."

Collect something?

The students exchanged curious glances. Is the professor planning to hand out the fake items as souvenirs?

That was too cruel. Who would want to keep a memento of their failure?

"Percy Weasley," William called out, opening the burlap sack once again. This instantly dampened the enthusiasm of most of the students.

They weren't children. Did he think they'd treat these fake items as toys?

However, when the item was pulled out of the burlap sack, Percy, whom everyone present recognized, immediately turned red; it was a wand.

"My wand!" He frantically patted his pockets, but they were empty.

The item on the podium was no counterfeit. In Azkaban, learning useful skills was difficult, but picking up bad habits was all too easy. Theft, counterfeiting, smuggling, black market dealings, fraud; you name it, Azkaban had a criminal who specialized in it. With little to do in the prison, inmates eagerly shared any tricks or skills they found novel or entertaining.

During William's routine of collecting items and helping with identification, he had taken advantage of the distraction. While everyone's attention was fixed on the artifacts, he'd managed to lift a few items from nearly every student.

"Mr. Weasley, you'll write a report on the history of wizards whose wands were stolen. Turn it in before next week's class. No objections, I assume?"

"Penelope Clearwater."

Another wand was pulled from the sack.

The remaining students began frantically checking their belongings; but unfortunately for them, when their attention had been focused on identifying the items, their possessions had likely gone missing as well.

"A report?"

"Yes, Professor."

As the burlap sack was repeatedly opened, the students sitting in their seats seemed to shrink lower and lower.

This, however, didn't stop William from cheerfully handing out items to the class one by one.

"I believe everyone has now retrieved their wands, and I've confirmed this personally," he said, smiling.

"In fact, I noticed that many of you had placed your wands in the wrong spots. Don't stick your wand in your back pocket; not only does that risk blowing a hole in your backside, but it also makes it no better than leaving your wand out on the street for anyone to take."

"While it's true the wizarding world is relatively peaceful these days…" William suppressed a pang of guilt at the lie, "it's still crucial to keep your wand in a safe and accessible place. After all, even your cauldrons could explode in your face. What isn't possible?"

"Alright, everyone, cheer up. Class is dismissed. Aside from the assigned essay, there's no additional homework. However, I hope each of you finds the best possible placement for your wand before our next class."

Were the students happy?

William wasn't entirely sure. But as he laughed to himself, he was the first to step out of the classroom.