Everyone knew that due to the Dark Lord's curse, it was incredibly hard to find a suitable professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class each year, let alone improve the quality of teaching.
After seeing everyone's reactions, Alex nodded with satisfaction.
"Alright, given this major challenge, I'll prepare a brief report for the deans about the main content of the new subject so everyone can understand it well.
Of course, some details will depend on the help of a few deans."
Seeing how humble and polite Alex was, no one could say no, not even Snape.
If Snape opposed now, it would seem like he was just making things difficult.
Once he confirmed everyone agreed, Alex gently set down the stack of parchment he was holding and handed out a few sheets to those in front of him.
"For next year's Tactical Training course, here's how I plan to organize it," Alex began.
"I'll divide students from years one to seven into three groups: a basic group for years one and two, an intermediate group for years three to five, and a professional group for years six and seven."
"In the basic group, the focus will be on 'training methods' that improve magic sensitivity and physical fitness.
At this young age, wizards don't have a strong sense of magic yet."
"And their potential is still developing. So, I'll have them do a foundational high-intensity workout."
"This kind of training has clear pros and cons. The advantage is that it quickly boosts young wizards' magical activity, making them more sensitive to magic, improving their perception, and greatly increasing their chances of successfully casting spells. The results are quite impressive."
"But at the same time, this training can cause some side effects.
The young wizards will likely feel very tired, sluggish, and experience symptoms like lethargy, especially during the first two months.
So, I hope everyone understands that laying a strong foundation often comes with some growing pains."
Hearing this, Snape frowned.
"So, you're saying these young wizards can't handle regular classes at all during those first two months?
What happens to our lessons then?
We can't just stop teaching all subjects to make room for your training."
"You'll have to adjust accordingly," Alex replied.
"My suggestion is to slow down the pace of teaching during those first two months. Otherwise, the students might just fall behind given their condition."
Speaking confidently, Alex said, "But I can assure you that after the initial adjustment period, the young wizards' abilities will improve significantly.
Then, everyone can speed up their progress to make up for the lost time, and their performance might even surpass expectations."
Snape shot Alex a cold glance and said nothing more.
Having dealt with him before, he knew the kid often spoke boldly, and sometimes, surprisingly, it turned out to be true.
The other heads of houses didn't object to Alex's explanation, probably because they had no idea how tough the early stages could be for the students.
"And there are two things that will require the school's cooperation for the basic group of young wizards," Alex added, pulling out a few parchment sheets and handing them to Dumbledore.
"First, the foundation stage needs to provide adequate nutrition for all the younger students."
Dumbledore looked over the recipe and raised an eyebrow.
"It seems to call for a lot of magical creatures as ingredients. Won't that be too expensive to supply regularly?"
Alex smiled thoughtfully.
"You don't need to provide magical animal ingredients every meal, just once a week is enough. There are plenty of recipes using common ingredients on the following pages."
"By the way, I have a reliable source for Tepo wart pork and Riem beef. Would Hogwarts be interested?"
Dumbledore politely declined, "No, thank you. Hogwarts is mostly self-sufficient when it comes to food."
After all, when Alex had introduced a bunch of magical creatures to the Forbidden Forest three years ago, the population had nearly exploded.
Although some were relocated, the forest was still nearly at capacity.
So using some of the excess for meals wouldn't hurt.
"Alright," Alex said without dwelling on the failed offer.
Then he turned to Professor Flitwick and said, "Also, for the new students, it's important to teach them the Levitation Charm as soon as possible. Ideally, everyone should be able to cast it fully, that's the most crucial skill in the early stages."
"No problem," Flitwick said, clearly understanding Alex's plan.
"I'll adjust all the first month's Charms lessons to focus on learning and practicing the Levitation Charm. With that much time dedicated, the students should have no trouble mastering it."
Alex nodded, ready to respond with a single point.
"Very well. The next step is the improvement group for grades 3 to 5.
For these young wizards, besides the usual basic training, I want to introduce combat training.
This will include learning basic self-defense spells, fundamental combat movements, spell-casting techniques for both offense and defense, drills, first aid, and skills for both fixed-point and mobile spell-casting in battle."
"Of course," Alex continued, "the early stages of this training will be quite intense, so the students will go through a sort of adjustment period. But since they're already familiar with their magic, this 'labor pain' phase won't last long, probably about a month."
He paused, then added, "Because this training involves a lot of practice, some injuries are unavoidable.
That means we'll need more healing potions in the infirmary, and I've prepared a list of the medicines we'll require."
He pulled out two parchments and handed them to Snape and Madam Pomfrey.
Snape scanned the lists and looked at Alex as if he'd seen a ghost.
"These potions cover everything from burns and frostbite to petrification, broken bones, blood loss, exhaustion, fainting, and even mental breakdowns.
This is an excessive amount.
What exactly do you intend to do? Are you planning to take these kids into battle?"
"No," Alex replied firmly.
"Battlefield training is for the professional group, and the improvement group hasn't reached that level yet.
These are just basic supplies, it's better to have more than not enough when needed."
He fixed Snape with a serious look.
Snape stared wide-eyed at Dumbledore, as if he'd just heard something unbelievable.
Dumbledore, though slightly doubtful himself, reminded Snape that Alex had promised full cooperation and decided not to argue.
"Alright, let's go with Alex's plan for now. I trust he's thought this through."
Alex smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry. If you train under my guidance, injuries are bound to happen, but I guarantee no one will die."
"I've trained countless Aurors for the Ministry of Magic, and haven't they all made it through? What exactly do you think I'm going to do to these kids? Have some confidence," Alex said, trying to reassure Snape.
'Did I hear that right? Did you just say the Aurors "toughen up"?'
Snape's eyes twitched involuntarily at the remark.
'Even Aurors have to "toughen up" to get through their training. Do you really think these young wizards can handle that?'
Alex continued as if he hadn't noticed Snape's sharp gaze on him.
"Finally, there will be a special group for students in sixth and seventh year, the professional track. The arrangements for these students will be more tailored."
He explained, "As we all know, students in years six and seven are already halfway through their education.
Some have even started internships or interviews outside of school after passing their Ordinary Wizard Level (OWL) exams."
"For the fifth years, we'll only accept those who scored at least an E and set up special classes to help them prepare for the ultimate wizard exam."
"Since the tactical training program is only just beginning next school year, there won't be any assessments for the fifth years yet.
So, I want to give students in years six and seven the chance to choose whether they want to take this course."
With that, Alex pulled out a large stack of parchment divided into quarters and handed them to the four deans.
"These are application forms to express interest in tactical training. Please inform the sixth and seventh years after the semester starts so they can decide if this is something they want to pursue."
Mag looked skeptical.
"What about the selection criteria? Can anyone sign up, or is there a way to help them decide if they should take this course?"
Alex replied with a blank expression, "The tactical training for years six and seven will be tough.
I'll be teaching standard tactical subjects: deception, intense battlefield simulations, conventional tactics, maneuvers, coordinated combat, survival skills, and how to use tactical equipment.
Simply put, I'm training them to meet the standards of reserve Aurors.
So, if any of them are aiming to become Aurors or consider that as a career path, they should consider signing up."