HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 94 Boggart 1

礼堂

"Eat quickly, or we'll be late. Don't let the new professor catch us doing anything wrong in the first class."

"Draco, you eat too, Ron, hurry up."

A touch of green mixed with red, and although they ate at different tables every other day, Draco was still a little unaccustomed to it. He couldn't help but eat with the most elegant manners, which looked beautiful but was very slow, so much so that he never felt full at each meal.

Harry considered not changing his table; eating at the Slytherin long table all the time wasn't so bad. But Draco told him he couldn't do that, or he'd become estranged from his friends. So every time they ate in Gryffindor, Harry would pack something for Draco to eat secretly after class.

"Come on, stick close to me, and don't tell anyone else, especially you, Weasley, keep your mouth shut."

Draco led Harry, Ron, and Hermione out of the Great Hall, and the four of them walked to a secluded corner. With a knock, a crack appeared in the wall, revealing a path.

"Let's go. This is a Malfoy family secret. You can use it, but you can't let anyone else know."

With a touch of pride, Draco held his head high like a little peacock, looking absolutely adorable. Harry was mindful of the other two's presence, otherwise he would have wanted to hug Draco and cuddle him right now; he was just too cute.

The proud little peacock led the three out of the secret passage and they appeared in a dead-end alley not far from the classroom.

"Walk to the left for two minutes and you'll reach the classroom."

"Thank you, Draco, this will save us a lot of time."

Hermione was sincerely grateful to him; the time he saved each day was enough for her to read half a book, and he could also ensure that they wouldn't be late.

When they got into the classroom, they found that most of the seats were still empty; they had arrived quite early. As usual, they found their favorite seats and sat down, and Draco began eating Harry's takeout.

Professor Lupin arrived at the classroom five minutes before class started. He saw Harry looking very excited, as if he had seen a familiar face.

"Child, are you Harry?"

"Yes, Professor."

"You look just like your father."

Draco slowed his chewing and listened intently to their conversation. It sounded like the professor and Harry's father were friends, and on a pretty good level.

Why would Emerick tell him to be wary of this professor? Draco wondered. He couldn't quite figure it out—was it the professor himself who had a problem, or was it related to Harry's father?

After Professor Lupin left, Draco winked at Harry, signaling him to come closer so he could say something.

"Be careful of Professor Lupin."

"What's wrong?"

"Don't ask too many questions, just be careful."

Although he didn't quite understand, Harry did as he was told; protecting himself wasn't anything heinous. He was a little curious and planned to ask his mother about the relationship between Professor Lupin and his father after class.

"Good morning, children. I'm your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for this school year. You can call me Professor Lupin. For our first lesson, we'll learn something interesting, like... Boggarts."

As soon as he finished speaking, a wardrobe appeared in the center of the classroom. Lupin pointed to the wardrobe and said, "Inside is a Boggart, which will reveal everyone's greatest fear. Can anyone tell me what the counter-spell is?"

"Miss Granger, you answer this."

"Thank you, Professor. It's just funny."

"Good, Gryffindor gets a point."

Lupin was pleased with Hermione's answer, and he continued.

"The Boggart will transform into the creature you fear most, so you need to use your imagination to make it look ridiculous and laughable in order to drive it away. Now that I've explained the principle, we'll start practicing. First, everyone, say 'ridiculous' five times to make sure you don't make any silly mistakes like mispronouncing the spell."

"Hilarious, hilarious."

Lupin walked among the students, stopping briefly as he passed Harry. He was pleased to hear the standard "funny funny," nodded to him, and then continued in another direction.

"Great, you're all great. Who can share what they're afraid of?"

Lupin's gaze swept over the young wizards below, finally settling on Neville in the corner. He was curious about what this timid little wizard might be afraid of.

"Mr. Longbottom, you answer this."

"It's...it's Professor Snape."

Upon hearing this answer, Lupin paused for a moment, but a smile quickly spread across his face as he began to coax Neville into speaking.

"Professor Snape? Don't be afraid, he won't come here. Can you tell me why you're afraid of him?"

"Because...because I keep making mistakes in class, and I don't want to."

"Okay, child, is there anyone who stands out in your memory? What kind of clothes does this person usually wear?"

"Some of the professors were my grandmothers. She often wore long green dresses, hats with big feathers, and sometimes... a woolen scarf," Neville said somewhat uncertainly.

"Will there also be a handbag?"

"Yes, yes...yes, Grandma often carried a small, big red bag."

"Very good," Lupin encouraged Neville, and then said, "Next, visualize these clothes in your mind, the more detailed the better."

"When Boggart bursts out and transforms into Professor Snape, you raise your wand and shout 'Funny, funny!' If all goes well, you'll see Professor Snape dressed in your grandmother's clothes."

Lupin's smile grew wider and wider. He didn't notice the ghosts standing at the door and the surprised expressions on the faces of the young wizards below. He still thought Hogwarts was the same as before.

"No...you can't...Professor."

Neville wanted to refuse the offer, feeling that if he did, neither the ghost at the door nor Emeric would let him go.

"Nothing is impossible, come on, child, you have to overcome your fear, don't you?"

Lupin pulled Neville to the wardrobe, eager to see Severus in his green dress and lady's hat.

As they passed Harry, they overheard someone say, "Why aren't you afraid of Emerick?" Lupin didn't think much of it, but Neville suddenly shuddered; he felt that Emerick was far more terrifying.

So when Boggart rushed out, Lupin didn't see what he wanted to see; Neville was trembling with fear at Emeric's presence.

Emeric Bogut approached Neville with a smile, his mouth opening and closing without making a sound. He bent down slightly in front of Neville and tilted his head to look at him.

"Slippery...slippery...hilarious!!!"

Neville was so frightened that his voice cracked as he screamed the spell.

With a "bang," Emeric Bogut appeared in a long green dress, an oversized hat, and a bright red handbag. Surprisingly, it looked quite good on his refined features.

"Well done, Neville. Next, beat him."

"Really? Professor Lupin, could you explain why I became Neville's Boggart?"

Emeric leaned against the classroom doorframe with a smile, and only walked in slowly after noticing Lupin looking at him.

"I'm not blaming you. Go back and sit down, and have some cookies."

He casually slipped Neville a small bag of biscuits, telling him to go back and sit down; the rest was between him and Lupin. Halfway through McGonagall's Transfiguration class, a ghost came running over to complain, urging him to come over immediately. Especially after hearing Peeves's exaggerated words, his anger flared even more.