Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0668 The Next Phase

Bryan entered his cold office room, set down his briefcase on the floor with a soft thud and let out a long, contented sigh as he surveyed the office.

While most of his colleagues and countless other wizards across Britain were indulging in various activities during the Christmas holiday—visiting family, traveling to exotic magical locations, or simply enjoying the comforts of their home by a fireplace—he was putting in considerable overtime.

Throughout the past half a month, he spent at the orphanage, Bryan had been busy dawn until dusk. Each day had been filled with tending to the children's daily needs alongside the staff there. Now that he had finally returned to Hogwarts, he still had a pile of things to do, though these were relatively less physically taxing than managing dozens of energetic children.

As he had anticipated, during his absence, letters from throughout the wizarding world—mainly from various European countries had accumulated on his bed into what resembled a small mountain of parchment. Some envelopes had even fallen onto the floor near the edge of the bed.

Most of these were enthusiastic fan letters. Unlike Lockhart, who had responded to every piece of correspondence with autographed photographs, Bryan didn't have such a thorough attitude. He typically would select only a handful of the most interesting or important letters to respond to when he had free time.

Once the comforting, radiating heat from the newly lit fireplace had successfully dispelled the room's chill, Bryan swiftly went through the pile of letters to check if any letters had arrived from people he personally knew or from official magical organizations. The rest were "shelved" in a magically expanded cubby concealed below his bookshelf.

With a weary movement, Bryan shrugged off his traveling coat and carelessly tossed it onto the unmade bed. He then dramatically "collapsed" into his comfortable office chair with an exaggerated sigh of relief, stretching his long legs forward until his feet were comfortably propped up on the surface of his messy desk.

Holding a cup filled with steaming, fragrant tea that he had conjured with another subtle wand movement, he stared blankly at the rough, centuries-old stone slabs that formed the ceiling of his office, his mind lost in deep thought.

Professor McGonagall's offhand comment about his physical education class had indeed given him considerable food for thought.

From the very beginning of planning this course, Bryan had intended to establish it as a permanent, regular part of the Hogwarts curriculum.

Of course, unlike the truly foundational magical subjects such as Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration—all of which young wizards and witches dove first into immediately upon entering Hogwarts as first-years—his physical education course required students to possess a certain established theoretical foundation and basic spellcasting ability before they could safely participate.

The course needed a level of magical control and maturity that first and second-year students simply hadn't developed yet. Therefore, it couldn't realistically become a core subject required for all students from their first year, but rather would be more appropriate as an elective option like Divination and Ancient Runes subjects traditionally available only to third-year students and above.

In Bryan's detailed vision for the class's future, students would begin the class' specialized training starting from the third year and continue systematically through until their fifth year— a complete span of three consecutive years during which they would complete the entire class trainings and finally take the Ordinary Wizarding Level examination in the subject, alongside their other O.W.L. courses.

As for whether to provide more advanced classes beyond that point for sixth and seventh-year students, Bryan hadn't made up his mind yet.

Naturally, the current batch of students enrolled in his physical education course couldn't possibly spend three full years through the training routine he planned.

Their training class had been essentially compressed into a much shorter timeframe due to the urgency of current events. In fact, their intensified training was already officially entering its final.

This group of young witches and wizards had grown and developed their skills entirely under Bryan's nearly ruthless urging—his demanding expectations and sometimes brutal training methods that occasionally left even the most dedicated students sprawling across the classroom floor, gasping for breath or tending minor magical injuries.

Once the official curriculum was launched for future students, he couldn't possibly require those newcomers to become accustomed to unpredictable Dungbomb attacks within a month or two as he had done with his current class.

Nor could he make his method of taking young wizards into his spiritual world—thus artificially extending training time and making potentially dangerous injuries more controllable—the primary teaching practice for general students. These unorthodox approaches had been urgent, necessary safety measures implemented during an exceptional time, not sustainable educational practices for the long term.

By the time the regular program was properly established, the normal pace of physical education instruction would certainly become much more "humane" and planned, with safety protocols and gradual progression replacing the intense, accelerated training.

As for the current students, their training was actually rapidly approaching its logical conclusion. As the ancient wizarding saying goes, "You can lead a Hippogriff to water, but you can't make it drink."

Bryan had shown them the path to self-improvement and self-protection; how far they could ultimately walk along that road would depend entirely on their own insight, dedication, and continued practice after his formal teaching ended.

So, during the Friday's physical education class, when Bryan told the students that their training and PE would end at the end of the current term, the classroom fell silent for few seconds.

Every young face among the group had a look of bewilderment, disappointment, and helplessness. Over the past year, they had gradually become accustomed to suffering through a particularly grueling bout of physical and magical torment in this classroom every week before dragging their utterly exhausted, occasionally bruised bodies away to recover.

Now, suddenly and unexpectedly, Professor Watson had announced that the course was about to permanently end, and they clearly couldn't emotionally accept this abrupt conclusion.

Some of the more sensitive girls in the class, particularly among the Hufflepuffs, even began to sniffle softly in the back row.

"Are you giving up on us, Professor?" Fred cried out with indignation, while, Harry stood rigid behind him clenching his fists and lips tightly.

"I assure you, Mr. Weasley, that is most certainly not my intention—"Bryan responded in a deliberately light-hearted tone to calm the tension permeating the room, though in fact, he wasn't feeling particularly cheerful himself.

He looked thoughtfully at the group of young people standing attentively before him, each now appearing remarkably capable, confident, and resolute compared to their former selves.

Recalling how just ten months ago these very same students would be utterly exhausted after running just two laps around the Quidditch pitch, howling dramatically in exaggerated pain after being struck by even a single Dungbomb, Bryan's expression softened.

Physical education would undoubtedly exist at Hogwarts for generations to come if he had any say in the matter, becoming part of the school's tradition, and this particular group of young people standing before him would be the very first class to officially graduate from his course.

"I didn't mean the course would end immediately, right at this moment, Mr. Weasley—"

Bryan clarified with a reassuring smile that visibly relaxed the tension in many young shoulders around the room.

"And even when the formal conclusion eventually arrives, I still hope you won't simply forget the skills you've mastered after going through so many challenging trials. I require you to diligently maintain your physical conditioning even after the official course ends, and to faithfully return to this classroom every fortnight for continued agility training.

As for the advanced dueling techniques we've practiced, I will similarly conduct regular comprehensive assessments."

Hearing Professor Watson's clarification, the students finally felt slightly better about the situation. However, they still clearly had numerous unanswered questions in their hearts.

"Go ahead, Miss Patil—" Bryan gestured encouragingly toward Padma Patil from Ravenclaw House, who had enthusiastically raised her hand high amidst her fellow housemates.

"Professor Watson—" Padma inquired widening her eyes, "What should we focus on now, then?"

"An excellent, thoughtful question, Miss Patil—" Bryan responded appreciatively as he casually leaned against the edge of a nearby student desk, his gaze deliberately swept across the young faces that were clearly eager for a satisfying answer.

After an intended moment of suspense, he said with a knowing, faint smile:

"With this course having progressed successfully until today, I believe each of you should have already noticed the changes in yourselves."

The group of students all began nodding vigorously in enthusiastic agreement.

Wayne Hopkins from Hufflepuff House excitedly whispered to his close friend Ernie Macmillan beside him, "During the holiday break, I successfully took down both my parents in a practice duel all by myself!"

Meanwhile, across the room, Draco tilted his head up slightly with pride flashing in his gray eyes as he recalled his own holiday accomplishments.

Ever since the physical education class had initially began, Draco had written detailed letters to his father about the unorthodox training, describing the unusual methods and occasional injuries.

However, other than expressing concern or ordering him to withdraw as Draco had half-expected, Lucius immediately warned him that regardless of whatever unconventional techniques Professor Watson might be teaching, he was absolutely not allowed to abandon this particular course under any circumstances. He also instructed Draco to write a letter every month, informing him of the course's teaching progress.

And since they had begun learning dueling theory during the second half of the previous year, his father had paid even more intense attention to Draco's progress reports. Sometimes in his reply letters, Lucius would give some advice on advanced dueling strategies and mail rare, valuable books from the Malfoy family collection that were particularly relevant and valuable for Draco's current studies.

Just like Hopkins from Hufflepuff, his father had requested a practice duel over the recent Christmas holiday when the family had gathered at Malfoy Manor. The final result of this match had left Draco incredibly excited.

Of course, despite his remarkable progress, he couldn't possibly defeat his father in direct combat. However, the man he had always perceived as brilliant and apparently all-powerful since earliest childhood was also, surprisingly, not able to overwhelmingly overpower him with casual ease as he had consistently done since Draco was small enough to hold his first training wand.

Instead, Lucius seemed genuinely confronted and momentarily at a loss during several exchanges.

Flashback:

After overturning several patches of lawn in the manor gardens with deflected spells that left smoking craters in the frost-covered grass, the two Malfoy finally ended their duel, both were panting heavily in the cold winter air that turned their breath to mist.

When Draco caught sight of the genuinely stunned expression on the face of his mother, who had been anxiously watching to ensure he wouldn't be accidentally injured by one of his father's more powerful spells, he couldn't help but grin proudly.

"Absolutely incredible, truly incredible—" Narcissa repeated twice in disbelief. She stared at Draco, who was sitting proudly on the lawn, thoroughly drenched in sweat despite the winter chill.

"This remarkable transformation all comes from...Bryan Watson's specialized training?" she questioned, her voice tinged with a mixture of admiration and lingering suspicion.

Draco nodded vigorously in confirmation, too breathless to verbally respond but eager to attribute his success to his professor's methods.

"Dear—" Narcissa turned her gaze toward Lucius.

Lucius visibly struggled to suppress his instinctive urge to openly praise his son's surprising accomplishment. He had expended considerably less physical strength, mainly because for most of the extended duel, he had been focused on suppressing Draco.

Nevertheless, he had not just been unable to successfully disarm his son within the first few exchanges as he had anticipated.

Faced with his wife's knowing stare that demanded honesty, Lucius reluctantly shook his head slightly, silently indicating that contrary to what she might suspect, he hadn't been deliberately going easy on their son to boost his confidence—well, that wasn't completely true, he silently said to himself, but he certainly couldn't use lethal curses like Avada Kedavra and some of the more cruel and powerful dark magic against his own son.

"I told you, Narcissa—" Lucius said with quiet satisfaction as he elegantly accepted the supportive arm his wife offered, deliberately gesturing with his meaningful eyes at the hidden location of his tattooed Dark Mark hidden beneath his sleeve.

In a hushed voice that Draco couldn't overhear from his position, he added, "Watson is our potential way out of what's coming—"

Flashback Ends:

Back in the present moment, Bryan's voice drew Draco from his recollection as he continued talking to the class.

"Each of you has undoubtedly realized you've become different than the students who first entered this classroom months ago,"

Bryan observed, his voice carrying to every corner of the room. "Throughout this course, we've learned how to effectively protect ourselves when inevitably finding ourselves in conflict with others, how to strategically subdue them using a combination of magical skill and physical ability.

But this doesn't mean you're suddenly invincible or can handle any potentially dangerous situation without risk. In the next crucial phase, which is the fifth and final stage of our physical education curriculum, I believe we should focus intently on teaching you how to get yourselves out safely from particularly unfavorable environments—"

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