Chapter 449: Chapter 449: Harry's Training (Edited)
It was Lupin who stopped them, his face looking as sickly as it did when they first met, as if the recent Christmas holidays had taken a toll on his health.
Hermione remembered that Lupin hadn't been around when Hacker visited Hogwarts.
Where had Professor Lupin gone for Christmas? A hint of confusion crossed Hermione's mind.
"Hello, Yodel, Granger. I hope you had a happy Christmas," Lupin greeted Tom and Hermione.
"This has been the best Christmas I've had. Professor, how did you spend your Christmas? Tom observed Lupin's demeanor and noticed that his mood wasn't entirely good. He felt curious about how he had spent the holidays.
"I had a rather busy Christmas too," Lupin said with an ironic smile. "Professor Dumbledore gave me many tasks, so I was busy running around without a moment's rest. I returned from Africa the day before yesterday..."
"Africa?" Tom was a bit confused.
"Yes, I went to gather some magical potion ingredients. But getting back to the point, Yodel, do you remember what I asked you to do for me?"
"To be Harry's practice partner?"
"That's right. Thursday night, at eight o'clock, in the History of Magic classroom. Do you have the time?"
Tom checked his schedule and realized he had no classes on Thursday nights, so he gladly agreed.
"Professor Lupin, can I join as well? I think I need some extra practice too," Hermione suddenly interrupted.
"Of course," Lupin accepted without hesitation. "Having such an intelligent girl as Miss Granger as a practice partner will surely help Harry improve quickly."
Hermione lowered her head in embarrassment.
"So it's settled. I'll prepare the material for my next class. See you on Thursday," after agreeing to the practice schedule, Lupin hurriedly left.
As she watched Lupin's figure receding, Hermione pondered, "Tom, something isn't right about this. Why is Professor Lupin the one collecting magical potion ingredients? Isn't that Professor Snape's job? And what kind of materials are so rare that he needs to search for them personally? Isn't there a delivery service in Diagon Alley?"
"They must be very rare materials originating from Africa," Tom replied, as he already had an answer in mind.
The new semester of Care of Magical Creatures class was exciting, while Divination class turned out to be boring. Professor Trelawney was now teaching everyone to read palm lines, and whenever she had the chance, she would tell Harry that his lifeline was extremely short. In a way, she wasn't entirely wrong.
The rest of the classes were more or less the same as at the beginning of the school year, with the professors sticking to the curriculum.
For Harry, the biggest surprise was that Professor Lupin kept his promise. He could now learn to defend himself against Dementors. The Ministry of Magic had removed all Dementors from around Hogwarts, but Harry still vividly remembered his horrifying experience with them.
¿How could he pretend that the problem didn't exist just because he couldn't see it? Harry was eager to solve this problem, and now Professor Lupin not only planned to help him but also brought the most skilled student in Patronus Charm to assist in the practice. How could he not be excited? Moreover, perhaps he could also learn something beyond the Patronus Charm.
The appearance of the Dementors had ignited a sense of urgency in Harry. He wished to learn some personal defense spells to become stronger.
Thursday arrived quickly.
Harry left the Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom, and when he arrived, Tom was already waiting in the classroom. To his surprise, Hermione Granger was also there.
"Buy one, get one free," Tom joked.
After waiting for just a few minutes, Professor Lupin appeared with a large box in his hands. After entering, he placed the box on Professor Binns' desk and told the three of them in the classroom that they could start the extra class.
"Harry, before we begin training, I want to ask you a question. Besides the Patronus Charm, do you want to learn other magical spells? Because, to be honest, it would be a waste to bring Yodel and Granger if I'm only going to teach you the Patronus Charm," Lupin suddenly asked before starting.
"Of course! I'm very interested in learning other magical spells," Harry responded excitedly. He had long wanted to learn some spells that could save his life.
"Excellent. First, we'll focus on training against the Dementors, and then I'll teach you some spells," Lupin placed his hand on the box he had brought.
"What's this?" A bad feeling arose inside Harry, and he felt inexplicably nervous.
"I found another Boggart. I can't bring a real Dementor here, but..." At that moment, Hermione glanced at Tom strangely. She knew that Tom could transform into a Dementor, and as for real Dementors, he could also arrange their presence.
But all of this, Lupin didn't need to know, and it wasn't impossible for Harry to use the Boggart as a simulation.
"...I hope this Boggart works as I hope. By the way, Yodel, stay away from it. If this Boggart explodes, I won't be able to get another one quickly." Meanwhile, Harry was already prepared. Before starting, Lupin warned Tom.
After Tom obediently took two steps back, Lupin opened the box, and a Dementor slowly emerged from it.
"I didn't expect Dementors to cause Harry so much psychological harm, even what he fears most has turned into a Dementor," Hermione whispered softly near Tom as she watched the Dementor, which looked very real.
The Boggart Lupin had encountered earlier in class had been blown up by Tom. Although Lupin had brought another Boggart, he hadn't allowed Harry to participate in the confrontation. Therefore, this was the first time Hermione saw what Harry feared most.
However, what Harry feared was not really the Dementor. Before seeing the Dementor, he thought that his greatest fear should be Voldemort, but then he changed his mind and thought he should fear the Dementors... In the end, the Boggart turned into a Dementor. Therefore, what Harry was actually afraid of was fear itself. Simply, the way the Boggart behaved made others think he had a special fear of Dementors.
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry shouted loudly, and from the tip of his wand, a flash of white light shot out. The Boggart transformed into a Dementor paused for a moment, and in the next second, the white light disappeared, and it lunged at Harry...
"Riddikulus!" Lupin intervened just in time and returned the Boggart to the box. At that moment, Harry was already sitting on the floor, drenched in sweat and panting.
"Very well!" Lupin exclaimed excitedly. "Just as I thought, the Boggart turned into a Dementor, so our training can continue smoothly!"
Chapter 450: Chapter 450: Talking Too Much (Edited)
Harry sat on the floor, panting heavily, and Lupin approached him, patted him on the shoulder, and handed him a piece of chocolate.
"Eat it, you'll feel better."
Harry obeyed and swallowed the chocolate.
"We're lucky, just as I expected," Lupin seemed as happy as if he had found a hundred Galleons. "At first, I was a little worried that the Boggart would transform into the appearance of Voldemort when it saw you, but I prefer to believe my other assumption."
Harry was surprised because Lupin had openly mentioned Voldemort's name. So far, only Professor Dumbledore and Sirius dared to do so... oh, it seems that Yodel also dares to say his name.
"At first, I thought the same, but then when I was in front of the box, I couldn't help but remember the Dementors," Harry honestly admitted that they had all come close to facing Voldemort's true appearance.
"So my assumption was correct. Your greatest fear is fear itself, just like your father, Harry," Lupin smiled slightly. "Your performance was fantastic, excellent. Shall we continue?"
Tom and Hermione watched Lupin open the box again and again, and Harry falling to the ground repeatedly. But Harry's progress was visible to the naked eye, from being defeated almost instantly at the beginning to being able to resist for a few seconds afterward, each time enduring longer in front of the Dementor.
In the last attempt, the flash of Harry's wand even made the Boggart transformed into a Dementor step back two paces.
Hoo... hoo...
Harry sat on the floor, tears flowing from his eyes, mixing with sweat, covering his face. His father's voice before he died had just come to his mind.
After sharing what he had heard with Lupin, Lupin's expression became somewhat strange.
"Listen, Harry, I think we should stop here for tonight... at least, let's leave the learning of the Patronus Charm here."
"Let me try one more time!" Harry begged.
Lupin pondered for a moment and nodded as if he had made a difficult decision. "Get ready..."
Harry began to search his memories, looking for one that was especially pleasant. At first, he remembered the feeling of flying for the first time, then the moment he left the Dursleys' house and arrived at Hogwarts... that memory was pleasant, but it lacked something. Now, he remembered Sirius, he remembered the Christmas they spent together, he remembered Number 12 Grimmauld Place... it was quite dirty, but he could consider it his "home."
If memories of being with Sirius weren't considered pleasant, then he didn't know what would be. Harry focused and strained to remember what it felt like to ride on Sirius's motorcycle.
Soon, he felt he was ready. Once again, he stood in front of the box.
"Let's start!"
Professor Lupin opened the lid again, and the Dementor emerged from it once more. The classroom grew cold, and the light dimmed...
In Harry's mind, the screams echoed again, men, women, and malevolent laughter...
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry shouted, at that moment, the voices in Harry's mind became strange, like a radio with poor reception, the voices became blurry, and there was an unpleasant noise. A large silvery shadow shot out from the tip of Harry's wand and collided violently with the Dementor, causing it to stagger.
In that instant, the cold and darkness around him disappeared completely. The Boggart transformed into a Dementor lost its power, and there was no longer that oppressive feeling from the beginning.
"Riddikulus!" Lupin ran and trapped the Dementor in the box. Harry slumped into a nearby chair, panting heavily. At that moment, he felt completely drained, as if the shadow that had emerged from his wand had sapped all his energies.
"Amazing, Harry!" Lupin exclaimed excitedly, pulling out a large piece of chocolate.
"Don't even think for a second that..." Harry began to say something, but Lupin interrupted him as if he were reading his thoughts. "That's enough for tonight. Now we can learn something else... Yodel, Granger, come closer. You've waited long enough..."
Lupin called Tom and Hermione as he cleared an area with his wand.
"Harry, before we start teaching other spells, I want you to see how the best wizards your age fight. Yodel, you can start."
Upon hearing Professor Lupin's praise, Hermione shyly lowered her head.
When Hermione timidly raised her head, Tom saw an opportunity and swiftly drew his wand. "Expelliarmus!"
Dueling protocol? Nonexistent. Surprise attack? Forget about it. Didn't they hear what Professor Lupin said, "You can start, Yodel"?
A dazzling red light entered Hermione's eyes, and suddenly a transparent shield appeared in front of her, blocking Tom's spell.
The transparent shield shattered in the air, and Tom's spell dissipated.
Tom: ...
Damn it! He forgot that he had created several defensive accessories for Hermione, just to protect her from potential villainous attacks...
But who would have thought that today he would fall into that trap himself?
A look of bewilderment appeared on Hermione's face, as if she hadn't understood what had just happened. In the next moment, when she realized what had happened, her eyes showed a flash of indignation. Someone needed a good lesson.
"Avis!" A group of birds flew from Hermione's wand tip and swooped toward Tom. Tom rolled on the ground to avoid the birds.
The next second, a red bolt flew toward his face.
A real fight isn't a turn-based game. There's no need to wait for your turn. After using "Avis," Hermione quickly cast another Disarming Charm, not giving Tom a chance to counter.
"Protego Diabolica!" Tom rolled several times to evade some of Hermione's spells before finding an opportunity to counterattack. First, he created a barrier of blue fire between him and Hermione, blocking her spells, and then protected himself with the Protego Charm.
"Hermione, give up. Against Protego Diabolica, all spells are ineffective," Tom confidently said after shielding himself with "Protego Diabolica."
"The bell hasn't rung," Hermione said disdainfully.
She took two steps, waved her wand, and the birds that had just touched the ground flew toward Tom. But as soon as they hit the wall of fire, they turned into fireballs and fluttered to the ground.
"I told you, it's useless—" Tom tried to say something but was hit by a gust of wind and then felt something collide with him, sending him flying through the air.
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