The practical class continued, with the Boggart frantically shifting between various forms, each transformation accompanied by the students' screams and laughter, turning the entire staff room into chaos.
The Boggart moved through the crowd, gradually approaching Harry.
Harry gripped his wand, his palms slightly sweaty; he took a deep breath, preparing himself.
He wondered what the Boggart would turn into—Lord Voldemort? A Dementor?
Just as the Boggart was about to reach Harry, Professor Lupin suddenly rushed forward.
"Look here!" he shouted, pointing his wand at the Boggart.
The Boggart spun around sharply, meeting Professor Lupin's eyes.
Its body transformed, its outline blurring and twisting, and a full moon appeared out of thin air.
Charlie raised an eyebrow; Professor Lupin was afraid of the moon? That was a bit strange.
Ron muttered, "What's so scary about the moon?"
Professor Lupin calmly raised his wand.
"Riddikulus!"
A white light shot out.
The full moon instantly turned into a lightbulb, swayed in the air, and then flew back into the wardrobe.
"Bang!" The wardrobe door closed.
The staff room was silent for a few seconds, then erupted into enthusiastic applause.
Professor Lupin turned around, a smile returning to his face.
"Excellent, everyone performed very well," his voice returned to its gentle tone.
"Especially Neville, for your outstanding performance, Gryffindor gets five points."
Neville's face instantly flushed, and he lowered his head shyly.
Professor Lupin looked around and added:
"That's about it for today's class. The homework is to write an essay about Boggarts, a foot long will do. Class dismissed."
The students packed up their things and left the staff room, the corridor filled with excited chatter.
"Did you see that mummy? Wearing a ballet skirt, hahahaha."
"And that Acromantula, falling over in roller skates, it was so funny."
"Neville just kicked the Boggart, that was brutal."
Everyone chattered away, but Harry was dejected.
He walked at the very back of the group, head down, his face gloomy.
Professor Lupin deliberately didn't let him face the Boggart. Was it because he fainted on the train, thinking he wasn't capable? This made Harry feel very frustrated.
Hermione was also unhappy; she and Harry were among the few who didn't get a chance to face the Boggart.
"I wanted to try facing a Boggart too," Hermione muttered.
Charlie, walking beside her, turned his head when he heard this.
"Then it would probably turn into a library with no books."
Hermione imagined the scene and shivered.
"That would be terrifying."
Soon, the weekend arrived.
Everyone in the school had taken Defense Against the Dark Arts Class once, and this class became the most popular course in the entire school.
In the corridors, at the dining tables, everywhere, students could be heard excitedly discussing the Boggarts' transformations and Professor Lupin's teaching style.
However, there were exceptions.
A portion of Slytherin students had quite a few complaints about Professor Lupin.
Draco sat at the dining table, poking his steak with a fork, his tone full of disdain.
"Those robes are all patched up, like a beggar's," he rolled his eyes.
"When did Hogwarts get so poor that it can't even afford to buy a new robe for a Professor?"
Pansy nodded, agreeing, "Exactly, it's embarrassing to look at."
Goyle and Crabbe ate in silence, not joining the conversation.
They actually found Professor Lupin's class quite interesting, but they didn't dare say so in front of Draco.
Even more displeased was Snape.
He heard from somewhere that Neville had kicked him in the groin during class, even though it was a Boggart transformed into him.
This made Snape's face even gloomier than usual, and his entire being exuded an aura that warned people to stay away.
Also because of this, during Potion Class, he went out of his way to make Neville's life difficult.
Neville was powerless against his oppression, only able to suppress all his anger, preparing to unleash it all on Professor Snape during the next Defense Against the Dark Arts Class.
Besides targeting Neville, Snape was also full of hostility towards Lupin.
Whenever he heard someone mention Lupin's name, he would glare fiercely.
It was clear how deeply Snape hated Professor Lupin, even temporarily surpassing his hatred for Harry.
Hagrid's days were not easy either.
Because of the Acromantula incident, Professor McGonagall called him to her office and gave him a stern warning.
This led to the next few days of classes becoming very conventional.
He no longer took students to see dangerous magical creatures, but instead lectured on relatively docile animals like salamanders and Flobberworms, following the textbook content.
Students reacted differently to this.
Ron breathed a sigh of relief, finally not having to see Acromantulas anymore.
But Fred and George were greatly disappointed.
They had been very much looking forward to what Hagrid would do in the fifth-year Care of Magical Creatures Class, but now it had become as unremarkable as before.
In the Great Hall, Charlie walked up to Harry and gave him a look.
Harry immediately stood up, a flicker of excitement on his face.
He glanced at Ron and Hermione, who quickly understood and followed suit.
As the four had just stepped out of the Great Hall door, footsteps sounded behind them.
Harry looked back, his face instantly falling.
Draco had also followed them at some point, leaving Goyle and Crabbe in the Great Hall.
Ron's brows furrowed, and he muttered, "What's he doing here?"
Hermione was also a bit surprised, but she didn't speak, only looked at Charlie.
Draco walked up to them, his chin slightly raised, his gaze sweeping over Harry's face with a hint of provocation.
Harry stared at him, clenching his fists.
Their eyes met in the air, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
"Malfoy," Harry's voice was cold.
"Potter."
Draco's lips curved into a smirk, and just as he was about to open his mouth to taunt, Charlie had already turned and walked deeper into the corridor.
"Keep up," Charlie said without looking back.
Harry gritted his teeth, suppressing the anger in his heart, and quickly followed.
Ron and Hermione also followed.
Draco was at the back, the sarcastic words stuck in his chest, making him extremely uncomfortable, but he still followed.
The corridor was quiet, only the sound of their footsteps echoing.
A few days ago in the Great Hall, Charlie said he had a way to catch Sirius, but he didn't say how exactly.
So Harry was very eager, catching up to Charlie and asking in a low voice, "What's your plan?"
Charlie's steps didn't stop.
"It's simple, you'll be the bait."
Harry was stunned: "Bait?"
"Yes." Charlie turned his head and glanced at him.
"Sirius wants to find you, doesn't he? So let's go with the flow. Spread rumors of your presence in Hogsmeade to lure Sirius into the trap."
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