After lunch, the students rushed off to their Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Professor Lupin, just as Draco had seen him on the train, was dressed in shabby robes and carried a battered briefcase. This drew disdainful murmurs from some of the Slytherin students.
Goyle and Crabbe remained silent. Draco looked at them with surprise.
"Has the sun risen in the west?" he asked them. "I did not know you would still be willing to listen to lectures."
"He can drive away Dementors, can he not?" Crabbe's round face showed a hint of respect. "He seems to have some skill."
"That is right," Goyle said. "And he does not seem like the kind of person who would bury us in textbooks."
Goyle's sixth sense was remarkably accurate. No sooner had he said that than Lupin asked everyone to put their textbooks away.
"Today's lesson is a practical one; you only need your own wands," Lupin said.
Practical lessons are rare. The last one ended with Hermione using a Freezing Charm to subdue the Cornish Pixies.
What kind of surprise or shock will this new teacher deliver?
The students, some interested and some sceptical, followed him with their wands... seeing him easily subdue Peeves along the way... and eventually entered a staff room filled with mismatched old chairs.
This lesson was about Boggarts.
The newly appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher walked to a wobbly old wardrobe, a mysterious smile on his face, and began to ask questions.
Hermione Granger certainly shone in this class... she clearly explained what a Boggart was and earned Lupin's praise.
Draco watched her jumping up on tiptoe with such enthusiasm, but another question was on his mind:
When did she get to Harry's side?
What followed was nothing new. Neville Longbottom transformed Professor Snape, who had stepped out of the wardrobe, into a cross-dressing man dressed in his grandmother's lace dress, wearing a vulture hat, and carrying a large red handbag, which caused the Gryffindors to burst into laughter.
The Slytherins did not laugh.
Neither did Draco.
He looked at Professor Lupin coldly, not understanding what benefit he gained from allowing Professor Snape to be humiliated like this.
Did he not have to rely on Professor Snape to brew his Wolfsbane Potion? Did he have no gratitude at all?
Next, the students lined up enthusiastically, waiting for their moment to confront the Boggart.
Draco glanced at the Boggart... which had become a bandaged mummy... and lazily joined the line behind Theodore Nott, at the very end of the queue.
In this way, he ensured that he would not have to confront the Boggart... he did not think it was a good idea to have his Boggart in the public eye, as it was too private.
What is Draco's own Boggart?
In his past life, his Boggart had been his father... Lucius, who stormed out in a rage... a discovery made during the final exams of his third year.
At that time, his biggest fear was making his father angry or disappointed.
But in this life, when he had broken free from the confines of that father-and-son dynamic, no longer confined to the small plot of land in his heart, and had more important things to strive for, his father was no longer the object of his fear.
In comparison, he might be more afraid of his parents dying than of them being angry.
Could it be the Dark Lord?
Yes, Draco had once deeply feared the Dark Lord. He had brought suffering to his parents and the entire Malfoy family. He had wantonly tortured and killed wizards at Malfoy Manor, right in front of Draco.
However, it was not entirely fear; it was more of an emotion that disgusted Draco.
If you ask him what he fears most, it is probably this:
Draco shook his head, giving up on thinking.
It will not be his turn.
According to his memories from his past life, when it was Harry's turn in the line, Lupin would stop the Boggart and make it disappear amidst everyone's laughter.
At this moment, the Boggart had transformed into a silvery full moon in the sky, the very thing Lupin feared most... the thing a werewolf feared most.
After the Boggart was eliminated, Professor Lupin happily assigned homework to his students, completely unaware that some of them had already discovered his secret.
"He seems like a good teacher," Draco overheard Hermione murmur beside him. "I also hope to have a chance to deal with that Boggart..."
Hermione? When did she arrive? Draco was startled by her.
This little girl is becoming increasingly elusive, appearing and disappearing without a trace.
"Then your Boggart will become Professor McGonagall and declare all your exams failed..." He could not help but tease her, seeing her interested expression.
"No way!" Hermione blushed, glared at him, and puffed out her cheeks like a guinea pig.
"And you? What is Draco Malfoy most afraid of?" After a pause, she looked at him with her defiant brown eyes and asked.
"Maybe it is you," Draco said, a shadow crossing his pale face as he adopted a nonchalant air. "Then I would rather never meet my Boggart."
Hermione was genuinely angry now. She said sternly, "Draco, I do not like your weird sense of humour! It is not funny at all!"
After saying that, she opened the classroom door without looking back and walked away as the bell rang for the end of class.
"Why is she angry with me?" Draco asked Crabbe and Goyle innocently, watching her huffing and puffing as she walked away. "I am telling the truth."
Crabbe and Goyle just grinned at him dumbly, offering absolutely no constructive advice.
In the second practical lesson, the students followed Professor Lupin into the castle's dark dungeons to learn how to deal with Red Caps... ugly dwarf-like creatures that lurked in places stained with human blood.
"Students, be careful, they could appear at any moment!" Lupin said cheerfully at the dungeon entrance, watching the group of students gradually scatter, their faces wary.
The Red Caps had set out.
"Hermione, do not be angry. I take back what I said, all right?" Draco waved his wand, sending a little Red Cap wielding a large club flying against the wall, and then spoke to her.
"All right," the girl said, glancing back at the large club lying on the ground, still shaken. "I will let you know you saved my life."
Draco thought everything would return to normal, and they would still be the most compatible study partners.
However, she hesitated and was not very enthusiastic about "partnering with him."
Given other options, she would still choose someone else first... often the most helpless person in the whole classroom... instead of sitting directly next to him as she used to.
This is not right... how long has it been since she ignored him like this?
Draco felt a little disappointed and resentful. What had he done wrong?
In the third practical lesson on Defence Against the Dark Arts, Professor Lupin directed the students to take turns wading across the shallow pond beside the Black Lake to practise their skills and methods for dealing with Kappas.
When it was Hermione's turn, she jumped into the water first; Draco pulled Longbottom aside with a glare. "You go to the next group, Longbottom."
Neville, his eyes wide with terror, was startled by the sudden, deathly gaze. He took a few steps back on the shore, stammering, "Okay... okay..."
"Why did you come down here?" Hermione walked several steps into the water before belatedly realising that her partner behind her had changed.
"Longbottom is scared and does not dare go into the water," he said calmly, wading towards her. "What, afraid I will hold you back?"
"Of course not." She blinked, standing in the middle of the pond, feeling flustered.
"Speaking of which, how did you restore that cauldron of ruined Shrinking Solution back to the correct state?" Draco's eyes flickered, sensing her unease, and he tried to change the subject.
As he spoke, he kicked away the Kappa that had leapt up and tried to grab her neck with its webbed hands... a scaly, monkey-like water demon... and pulled her over.
"Oh, Draco, thank you, but that is not the right way!" Hermione tossed a small cucumber with her name inscribed on it to the snarling Kappa... immediately attracting its attention... and gasped, "He had just added too much, making it too acidic. I added the other ingredients in equal proportions, neutralised the acid with the alkaline, and then diluted it proportionally..."
"That requires very precise proportions! You worked it out without even using a piece of parchment?" He roughly pressed down on the Kappa's head, which was looking down at the cucumber, and tipped the water from the hollow atop its head... the little monster immediately went limp and slid back into the pond.
"Yes," she said casually, as if it were no great matter.
Using her amazing mathematical talent to alleviate poverty is simply a waste of talent!
He thought with a frown.
"It must have taken quite a while, surely?" He strode onto the bank of the pond, pulling her, dripping wet, up after him. He asked in confusion, "How did you still have time to brew your own potion? And even earn an 'O'?"
She shrugged, preoccupied with listening to Professor Lupin loudly announcing from the other side of the pond that their group of students had "successfully passed the test," and did not answer Draco.
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