On Thursday afternoon, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived early at the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class classroom.
Professor Lupin sat behind the podium, next to an old wardrobe that kept shaking.
Harry smiled and stepped forward to greet him, "Professor Lupin, are you adapting well to teaching at Hogwarts?"
Professor Lupin had a gentle smile on his face as he said to Harry, "To be honest, it's a bit more tiring than I imagined."
"When I was a student, we only had one long class per subject a week. Now that I'm a Professor, I realize that 12 long classes a week is quite challenging."
"Thinking about it now, I was quite ignorant back then. Professor McGonagall was so tired, and we kept causing her trouble."
Hermione asked, "Professor, why are all the desks and chairs put away in the classroom? How are we going to have class today?"
"Oh, today's class is a practical lesson on dealing with Dark creatures. As for the specifics, let me keep you in suspense for a bit."
While they were chatting, more and more students entered the classroom. Seeing this, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood aside, waiting for the class bell to ring.
"Today, we are going to learn about a very interesting Dark creature," Professor Lupin stood at the front of the podium. "Everyone, put away your textbooks and get your wands ready."
A Dark creature?
In that shaking cabinet?
The Little Wizards took out their wands one after another, looking at Professor Lupin excitedly.
This was a practical class, much more interesting than simply learning knowledge from textbooks.
He surveyed the classroom and slowly said, "There's a Boggart inside the old wardrobe."
He walked towards the old wardrobe and gently patted the cabinet door: "This creature likes dark, confined spaces, like old wardrobes, cupboards under sinks, and so on."
"So, who can tell me what a Boggart actually looks like?"
Hermione immediately raised her hand and said, "No one knows what a Boggart looks like, Professor. It's a shapeshifting creature that always turns into what people fear most in their hearts."
"Very well said," Professor Lupin praised. "No one can know what a Boggart looks like when it's alone."
"Professor, I have a question." Harry raised his hand high.
"magic cameras have been invented now. If we put a camera inside the cabinet, would we be able to observe what a Boggart looks like when it's alone?"
Upon hearing this, the students were astonished and began whispering among themselves, discussing the feasibility of this method.
Ron poked Harry with his elbow: "Harry, you have such a wild imagination. How did you even think of that?"
"To be honest, I can't judge whether a camera can capture what a Boggart looks like when it's alone," Professor Lupin frowned slightly. "Harry, that's a very good idea."
"Alchemy changes lives. We can conduct an experiment later; maybe we can really solve this age-old mystery."
"Now, let's get back to the Boggart."
Professor Lupin raised his voice slightly, drawing the Little Wizards' attention back.
"When dealing with a Boggart, it's best to go in groups, so the Boggart won't know what form it should take."
Professor Lupin continued to explain, his voice calm: "Also, a Boggart's power comes from fear, but fortunately, it also has a weakness—laughter."
"To deal with a Boggart, we need to make it look ridiculous. In the face of laughter, its power will be broken."
"The spell we're going to use is 'Riddikulus,' and you need to pronounce it clearly."
After the students repeated it twice, Professor Lupin pointed at the cabinet and said.
"In a moment, I will let the Boggart out. Each of you will have a chance to face it, but don't be afraid. The key is to use your imagination to make it into something you can laugh at."
After speaking, Professor Lupin waved his wand, and the cabinet's latch fell open.
He motioned for the first student to come forward: "Alright, Neville, why don't we start with you?"
Neville's face instantly turned pale. Under Professor Lupin's encouraging gaze, he nervously walked to the center of the classroom.
Professor Lupin gently patted Neville's shoulder and said kindly, "Neville, what do you fear most?"
Neville lowered his head and said in a voice almost inaudible, "Professor Snape."
Upon hearing this, the students burst into laughter.
Harry also laughed along; he understood perfectly why Neville feared Professor Snape.
In Potion Class, Neville always teamed up with Seamus. The combination of the 'Explosion Prince' and the 'Master of Forgetting' was incredibly powerful, and they often caused class-wide incidents.
Whenever this happened, Professor Snape's face would turn terribly dark. Eventually, he would simply stand directly behind them, personally supervising their Potion brewing.
Over time, it was not surprising that Neville feared Professor Snape the most.
"Well..." Professor Lupin said kindly, "Why don't you imagine Professor Snape wearing your grandmother's clothes? Isn't that much funnier?"
Upon hearing this, the classmates burst into laughter.
Harry didn't laugh; he felt extremely uncomfortable.
Professor Snape was one of the Professors he respected most. Making the Boggart turn into Professor Snape wearing women's clothes didn't feel right at all.
If that really happened, Harry could guarantee that for the next two weeks, Professor Snape would become the laughingstock among his classmates.
He would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen!
Seeing Neville already trembling in front of the cabinet door, Harry quickly shouted, "Neville, I have a better idea."
"You can imagine Professor Snape constantly praising you."
Just then, the cabinet door opened, and a blurry black shadow immediately shot out, twisting and transforming into the likeness of Professor Snape, his face grim, staring coldly at Neville.
Neville gasped and shouted, "Riddikulus!"
Something wonderful happened: Professor Snape's face broke into a brilliant smile no one had ever seen before, and he gestured wildly, praising Neville.
"Well done, Longbottom, you are the smartest student I have ever seen. Ten points to Gryffindor."
The students burst into laughter; they had never seen Professor Snape with such a rich facial expression.
Harry suddenly let out a sigh of relief.
That's great; Neville listened to his suggestion.
As long as it wasn't Professor Snape in women's clothes, it was fine.
Otherwise, Neville would definitely be targeted by Professor Snape.
Professor Lupin really shouldn't joke about Professor Snape!
"Excellent, Neville!" Professor Lupin smiled contentedly, as if he hadn't taken the small interlude to heart at all.
"Everyone, line up, one by one."
Under Professor Lupin's encouragement, the students came one by one before the Boggart, confronting their fears.
Under the effect of the spell, the Boggart sometimes turned into a mummy tripping over its own bandages;
At other times, it transformed into a giant spider wearing roller skates.
The Little Wizards used their imagination to turn the Boggart into various amusing forms.
When it was Harry's turn, the Boggart shifted its form, and finally, the figure of a Dementor appeared before him.
A cold sensation washed over him, and Harry immediately felt a little breathless.
Why is it a Dementor?
Shouldn't it be Lord Voldemort?
The dizzying sensation returned, and Harry struggled to cast the spell.
Professor Lupin stood to the side, and seeing Harry swaying, he immediately stepped in front of him.
The Boggart changed again, becoming a silvery-white ball.
"Riddikulus!" Professor Lupin waved his wand, and the silver ball turned into a deflated balloon, zipping back into the cabinet in a flash.
"Alright, that's all for today's class," Professor Lupin locked the cabinet door and instructed the students, "Everyone performed very well."
"For homework, please read the chapter about Boggarts and write a short essay, due next class."
The Little Wizards who hadn't had a turn groaned; they also wanted to try.
There was nothing they could do; the dismissal bell rang, and they could only pack their bags and leave the classroom.
Everyone was very excited, constantly discussing the Boggart's transformations.
Harry walked at the back, feeling sullen and very frustrated.
His resistance to Dementors was too poor; he almost fainted even against a fake Dementor.
If it weren't for Professor Lupin, he would have made a fool of himself in front of everyone.
Harry secretly made up his mind.
Tomorrow night was Duelling Club, and Professor Swan would teach them how to deal with Dementors.
No matter what, he had to master the Patronus Charm as soon as possible.
He would go to the library now and look up information about the Patronus Charm.
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