章 95: Chapter 95: "A Defense Against the Dark Arts Class with Professor Lupin"
"What are you most afraid of, Draco?" At the Slytherin table, Pansy looked bored as she toyed with the food on her plate. She was full, so she decided to have some fun. They were about to go to their first Defense Against Dark Arts class of the semester. According to the Gryffindor students, the teacher this time was very powerful. The first lesson was going to be on how to deal with a Boggart. This type of magical creature can become the most feared thing in a person's heart, so she decided to ask this question.
"Of course it's you," Malfoy gave Pansy a blank look and a perfunctory answer. "If you want those Boggarts to turn into you and blow up into smoke in front of me, you can keep asking such silly questions."
Pansy immediately shut up and watched as Malfoy walked away, but she was still a little unconvinced and put on a sad expression, silently looking at him.
"What one is afraid of changes over time. Maybe you can temporarily defeat your fear with humorous spells in Professor Lupin's class today, but there will be more fears in the future," Malfoy looked at Pansy's expression and could only helplessly explain.
"With all due respect, this class doesn't seem to make much sense," Malfoy lifted the teacup in front of him and took a sip.
"But I'm still very curious," Pansy changed her grinning expression again and said, "I basically haven't seen any scared expression on you. It was the same when I met the Dementor last time."
"Maybe," Malfoy lowered his teacup gently.
"By the way, it's rumored that the little fat Gryffindor turned Bogut into Professor Snape's appearance and then beat him up personally, giving him a bruised nose and swollen face," Pansy couldn't help but laugh. "Even though Professor Snape has always been partial to the students in this college, to be honest, not many students here actually like him. He's just unpleasant."
"Professor, please forgive her for her lack of restraint. I will educate her well," Malfoy said, looking at Snape and pretending to see someone behind Pansy.
Pansy immediately changed her tune. "If I get the chance, I'll take care of him for disrespecting our esteemed Dean," she said, turning around to look for the person Malfoy had pretended to see. When she realized there was no one there, she blushed with embarrassment and anger at being tricked by such a simple ploy.
"Okay, no more joking around. We should go to class," Malfoy said sternly. "It's not a good habit to be late."
"I'll turn you into a plume of smoke," Pansy threatened, grinding her teeth as she watched Malfoy's back. She then followed him to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Despite her anger, she couldn't help but smile at the corners of her mouth.
In private, Pansy had thought about it for a long time and decided that maintaining the status quo was the best course of action for her. She still has time, and that's her greatest advantage. She believes that as long as she changes something about herself, Draco will definitely like her. She just didn't realize that the person walking in front of her had no idea he was being calculated.
The two of them arrived at the classroom, where the students were already seated. Malfoy and Pansy found their seats and sat down.
"Draco, what's in that closet? Is it Bogut?" Pansy asked in a low voice.
"It should be," Malfoy said, looking at the podium where Professor Lupin stood. Lupin appeared tired and his clothes were patched. It was clear that he wasn't wealthy.
The class fell silent when the bell rang.
"I believe you have already met me at the entrance ceremony, or perhaps you saw me on the train earlier," Lupin said, glancing at the students in the classroom. His eyes lingered on Malfoy for a moment, and he smiled and nodded. He had a good impression of this student, who was able to use the Patronus Charm at such a young age.
"I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this semester," Lupin said, closing his eyes. "I hope we can have a happy and cooperative semester. You may call me Professor Lupin," he added with a smile.
There was a commotion in the class as many Slytherin students looked down on this shabbily dressed, old-looking teacher. However, someone had warned them to maintain a certain level of respect for him, so they refrained from booing or acting conceited.
Lupin didn't seem to care about the awkward atmosphere and said, "You should have learned what you're supposed to know today through other channels. Fortunately, I found some new material in other places, or we wouldn't have a class today."
He pointed his wand at the old closet next to him and said, "This is our focus today: Bogut."
"You may already know what I covered in class through your Gryffindor classmates, but I still need to repeat it. Please pay attention," Lupin said, clearing his throat.
"What is Bogut?" Lupin asked and then immediately answered his own question. "It is a shape-shifting creature, and I must emphasize that it has almost no attack power, so don't be afraid. And, don't be so nervous, classmate on the right. Your legs are shaking so much that you're about to overturn the table," he said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood in the classroom.
"Because Bogut in the closet hasn't seen any of us, it doesn't currently have a specific form. It doesn't yet know what can scare us. Nobody knows what Bogut looks like when it's alone, but when I let it out, it will immediately become the thing each of us fears the most."
"But what if it faces many people at the same time?" a student asked bravely.
"That's a good question. Sometimes a good question is more important than the answer. Ten points to Slytherin," Lupin said, clapping. The rest of the class followed his lead and began to clap.
The students felt that the gruff old man in front of them was becoming friendlier and was not as difficult to communicate with as they had thought.
"For example, like this," Lupin said, suddenly opening the closet door. Bogut rushed out, but it looked very amusing as it constantly changed shape. It seemed unable to comprehend the situation of many people's fears at the same time, so it looked like a mess.
The students saw a mass of black mud swaying on the ground and expressed disgust, but there was no fear.
After that, Lupin taught the students step by step how to deal with Bogut, including using funny spells and trying to add some humorous imagination to the things they feared the most. They spent some time practicing before Lupin asked the students to go up one by one and face the test.
"What's wrong? Are you still scared?" Malfoy noticed something was off about Pansy, who was sitting next to him. One of her hands was clenched into a fist and her forehead was sweaty. She looked pale and seemed to be recalling something that frightened her. The other hand was gripping his sleeve tightly.
"Yeah," Pansy nodded. She was actually quite brave and her fear of the dark had disappeared with age. But when Lupin asked everyone to recall the things they feared the most, Pansy immediately thought of the illusion brought on by the Dementors. She couldn't help feeling cold all over her body. Even though she managed to learn the Patronus Charm through "cheating," she couldn't erase that memory.
"Then you don't have to go up," Malfoy said lightly. "Not everyone is willing to reveal their scars in front of everyone, and the professor wouldn't force you."
In fact, Malfoy wasn't prepared to expose what he truly feared either.
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