With his escape route blocked, Harry's face turned ashen as he silently shuffled back into the protective circle of his friends, withdrawing into himself.
Lupin caught sight of Harry—now in his transformed state—and his expression first showed surprise, then shifted into something far more complex and sorrowful.
He'd only known that Snape had punished Harry with a potion that could alter someone's gender, but he'd never actually seen Harry as a girl before.
Now he had.
It was... uncannily familiar.
He suddenly understood why Snape had chosen this particular form of punishment.
When Snape saw Lupin enter the classroom, he let out a cold snort and shot him an icy glare before turning his attention back to the crowd, his gaze settling on a certain "little girl" trying to hide herself. Beyond that, Snape made no further moves.
"Professor Snape, I believe this isn't Potions class, is it?" Lupin stepped in front of Snape, blocking his line of sight.
"I'm here to supervise you. After all, no one knows what... accidents might occur when a professor with zero teaching experience conducts a practical Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Should someone suffer serious injury or find themselves on death's door, I might be able to provide some emergency assistance."
"Now get out of my sight and do your bloody job!" Snape snapped irritably, glaring up at him.
"So Professor Snape and Professor Lupin really do know each other... and they clearly don't get along," Hermione observed astutely.
"Their relationship might be even more complicated than we initially thought. Perhaps we should—" She left the rest unspoken: ...go ask Professor Snape directly.
"No rush. Let's just observe for now. Besides, Snape wouldn't appreciate anyone prying into his personal affairs," Glenn replied quietly. Snape's emotional state seemed rather unstable lately, and he was naturally the type who kept his secrets closely guarded.
It would be wiser not to meddle in their business.
Moreover, Glenn wasn't particularly interested anyway. With Snape already keeping a watchful eye on Lupin, it saved him most of the trouble of monitoring whether this new professor posed any problems.
Professor Lupin raised his eyebrows at Snape's words but ultimately said nothing. Snape's attitude was rather extreme, but it fell within his expectations.
After all... well, best not to dwell on it.
Snape fell silent, sitting quietly in his armchair. Lupin stepped away and gestured for the entire class to follow him to the far end of the staff room.
There was nothing there except an old wardrobe—originally used by staff to store surplus robes, but abandoned at some point and left to gather dust in the corner.
Was Professor Lupin really going to use this wardrobe to teach them practical Defence Against the Dark Arts?
That was the collective question on every young witch and wizard's mind.
Glenn, however, noticed that the dust around and on the wardrobe itself seemed somewhat inconsistent, showing signs of recent movement and opening.
Could it be...
He extended his extrasensory perception to probe inside, and sure enough, the wardrobe contained exactly what he'd suspected—something peculiar.
And whatever this thing was, the information Glenn's enhanced senses fed back to his mind about its form was... indescribable.
No, "indescribable" wasn't quite accurate—it was more like "impossible to define."
"What is this...?" Glenn pondered silently.
When Professor Lupin approached and positioned himself beside the wardrobe, it suddenly began shaking violently, as if sensing someone's approach, and started banging against the wall with tremendous force.
This startled several students at the front, who quickly retreated a few steps, instinctively raising their wands and staring at the trembling door handle with a mixture of fear and nervous alertness.
"Everyone, there's no need to worry," Lupin said calmly, then began introducing what was contained within the wardrobe.
"Inside this wardrobe is a Boggart."
As Professor Lupin spoke, the Boggart inside seemed to "cooperate" by shaking even more violently and clawing at the interior, producing an unbearable screeching sound that made all the students take another step backward.
"Boggarts prefer dark, enclosed spaces—wardrobes, gaps beneath beds, cupboards under sinks. I once encountered one hiding inside an old grandfather clock."
He paused briefly, then continued:
"This particular one was moved in just yesterday afternoon. I sought permission from Headmaster Dumbledore and asked the staff not to disturb it, so my third-year students could have some practical experience."
"So the first question we must ask ourselves is: what exactly is a Boggart?"
While everyone was still stunned by the wardrobe's commotion, a small hand shot up from the back of the group, bouncing eagerly as its owner clearly jumped to get noticed.
At a time like this, who else could react so quickly but our dear Hermione!
"Excuse me, pardon me, thank you..."
After being called upon, the crowd parted, and a bushy-haired figure squeezed through with a dark-haired companion in tow—Hermione had pulled Glenn to the front of the group and began answering Professor Lupin's question.
"A Boggart is a corporeal shape-shifting creature that constantly changes its appearance. When observed, it can transform into whatever the nearby observers fear most in the depths of their hearts. Because of this characteristic, no one has ever been able to determine this creature's true form."
Hermione delivered her answer with confidence.
Visible amazement appeared on Professor Lupin's face.
Are Hogwarts students really this exceptional these days?
"I don't think even the textbooks could describe Boggarts better than you just did. May I ask your name...?"
Lupin looked at Hermione inquiringly.
"Hermione Granger, Gryffindor House, Professor," Hermione replied proudly.
Hehe Points My precious points~
"Excellent. For Miss Granger's outstanding answer, I'll award ten points to Gryffindor," Professor Lupin announced with a smile. Being a Gryffindor alumnus himself, he naturally felt a special fondness for the house's young lions.
Then he looked up at the other students.
"As Miss Granger explained, at this very moment, the Boggart sitting in the darkness inside the wardrobe hasn't taken any particular form, because it doesn't yet know what could frighten the people outside."
"But once I release it, it will immediately transform into whatever each of us fears most."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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