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A Boggart fed on fear. A Dementor fed on happiness. In a certain sense, the two were similar.
Both fed on human emotions.
To be honest, Dudley was rather curious about what he feared.
But he was even more curious about something else: was there any difference between the thing a Boggart transformed into and the actual person or creature it copied? Or was it only an empty imitation?
For example, if a wizard who feared Voldemort encountered a Boggart, then what would the Boggart's Voldemort be?
Would it be a Boggart with Voldemort's power, or only a Boggart with Voldemort's shape?
If it had the power, even only a small part of it, that would be a disaster.
Imagine hundreds of Voldemorts appearing in front of you. That would be like handing out Voldemorts for free.
Ron stood in front of the wardrobe.
With a swirl of black smoke, a gigantic spider crawled out of the wardrobe, exactly as expected.
Eight legs, eight eyes, a body covered in fine hairs, and two enormous fangs.
But the most eye-catching part was still the spider's head. It was not an ordinary spider's head at all. It was half rat and half human: a sharp-mouthed, long-toothed rat face combined with a fat, pustule-covered human face.
Most important of all, this thing had eight legs planted on the ground, its abdomen raised, and the half-human, half-rat face was puckering its lips at Ron.
In that instant, goose bumps erupted all over Ron's body. Every part of him rejected it. Of course, at that moment, he also wanted nothing more than to find a crack in the floor and crawl into it.
'What exactly has Ron gone through?' Harry thought.
'I should treat him a little better in the future,' Draco thought.
'Robin Hood's fear is really twisted,' the students thought.
Dudley: "..."
Lupin stared at that face and felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, but he could not remember where he had seen it. It was simply too abstract.
"Incendio!"
Ron raised his wand and cast the spell with all his strength.
Red flames immediately surged from the tip of his wand and surrounded the giant spider.
If it had been an ordinary spider, it would already have burned to death. But this giant spider not only showed no sign of injury, it even seemed to be enjoying itself.
"Stop. Stop. Ordinary spells cannot hurt a Boggart," Lupin said at once, stopping Ron from continuing to set fires.
In this respect, Boggarts were also very similar to Dementors. Ordinary magic could not affect them.
"Students, the spell used to deal with Boggarts is very simple. Please remember it carefully."
Lupin took out his wand and stood beside Ron, ready to provide help in time if Ron's spell failed.
"Rashomon, say it with me. Riddikulus!"
After being called by the wrong name again, Ron forgot his fear for a moment and treated the Boggart as an outlet for his frustration. He pointed his wand.
"Riddikulus!"
There was a bang, and the Boggart changed. It was no longer a giant spider. Instead, it became... Snape dressed as Lockhart? Not only that, there was a long tail dragging behind him.
When he saw the other students, the tail suddenly spread open.
Yes. He spread it like a peacock.
Ron: "..."
Lupin: "..."
Dudley: "..."
Harry: "..."
Neville: "..."
Draco: "..."
The other students: "..."
"Ahem. Well done."
Lupin quickly coughed twice to hide his embarrassment, then casually waved his wand. The peacock-displaying Snape turned into a roly-poly toy.
If Snape found out, Ron would be finished in the next Potions class.
"Now, the next person."
Lupin immediately changed the subject and had someone else come forward. By coincidence, he chose Draco.
Draco stood at the front, and the Boggart immediately began transforming.
Then an unexpected scene appeared. A pale-faced man with long platinum-blond hair emerged, holding his distinctive cane.
Lucius.
The Boggart had actually taken Lucius's appearance.
Did this mean Draco feared his father?
Just as everyone was puzzled, "Lucius" spoke in a stern tone.
"Draco, I am the head of the family. Matters of the Malfoy family are decided by me."
Without a second word, Draco raised his wand at "Lucius."
"I have wanted to do this for a long time."
What a devoted son.
"Riddikulus!"
"Draco, you will regret this!"
With Lucius's unwilling scream, there was a bang, and he vanished from the spot. The next instant, "Ron" stood there in an old-fashioned blue swimsuit, staring blankly.
"Hm. That outfit suits you."
Draco looked him up and down for a moment, then turned to Ron with malicious amusement.
His original intent was to prank Ron, and most of the students did indeed burst out laughing at the sight.
However, a few students exchanged looks, clearly inventing gossip already.
Harry stepped forward as the third challenger before anyone else could step forward.
Then the Boggart began transforming again. This time, it turned into a baguette.
"Potter, why would you be afraid of that thing?"
Not only the other students, but even Draco and Ron, who knew Harry best, were completely confused.
Only Dudley knew why, because he saw the obvious bite mark still left on the baguette.
This was his obsession over failing to protect his food back then.
Rather than fear, it was more accurate to say Harry felt guilt.
"Riddikulus!"
Harry had no intention of explaining anything to anyone. Those who understood would naturally understand. He threw the spell directly, and the Boggart changed again.
This time, it was... Draco in a dress.
Draco's face went red in an instant.
Of course, not from shyness. Purely from anger.
This scene drew another round of laughter from the students. The students who had been gossiping earlier exchanged another round of knowing looks over Harry, Draco, and Ron.
A few odd giggles slipped out before they could stop themselves.
Next was Neville.
Neville was quite honest. Unlike the first three, he did not produce anything strange. The Boggart simply turned into a ball.
"Very good, very good. Everyone has done quite well. Now, if anyone else wants to try, please line up. Everyone may have a turn."
This time, everyone's interest was much higher than before. They began lining up to cast spells at the Boggart.
"I heard about your arrangement with Snape. You were very brave." Seeing that the students were no longer afraid and that the Boggart could not absorb the slightest trace of fear from them, Lupin relaxed considerably and walked to Dudley's side. Dudley was the only one not lining up.
The arrangement Lupin mentioned was naturally the matter of improving the potion.
"Professor Lupin, I do not think that was a wager."
Dudley corrected him, emphasizing each word. "It was only a student completing an assignment given by his professor."
"Oh, forgive me. So that is how you see it." Lupin answered at once.
He had not expected anyone to speak up for Snape.
Before long, the students had all taken a turn. Only Dudley remained.
Hermione had gone quite early. The Boggart had turned into Dudley telling her that she had failed every subject, which had made her so angry that she nearly dismantled the Boggart on the spot.
"Then it is my turn at last."
At that moment, the Boggart looked like a hand caught in a mousetrap.
Dudley walked forward.
The mousetrap and the hand remained silent. Nothing happened.
Seconds ticked by. The Boggart still kept its original appearance, as if Dudley did not exist.
Dudley also noticed this. At first, he thought he might simply end things there. But then a thought occurred to him.
'I can use this chance to run an experiment.'
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