Thomas was not exactly looking forward to his first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the year. He had heard rumors about the new professor, Remus Lupin, and he was not impressed. Then again, the man was at least more knowledgeable than his predecessors, that much Thomas could admit.
Thought, he still hoped that Lupin would be better than the last two D.A.D.A. professors they had. In his first year, they had Quirinus Quirrell, who turned out to be a stuttering coward who had the noseless bastard attached to the back of his head. In his second year, they had Gilderoy Lockhart, who turned out to be a vain, incompetent fraud who had erased the memories of the real heroes he had claimed to be. Truth be told, Thomas and his friends had learned more from their own books and experiments than from those two charlatans. Not to mention that his past lessons with Snape were not exactly only restricted to Occlumency as the headmaster thought. No, the not-so-easy-impressed professor had, for reasons unknown to Thomas, decided to improve both his potion making skills as well as his combat spell work. Something that Thomas couldn't be happier about.
Shaking his head, Thomas quickly fell in pace beside James as the four boys made their way to the D.A.D.A. classroom, which was on the third floor.
When they reached the classroom, they found the door open and the room empty. There was no sign of Professor Lupin, though most of the Ravenclaws were already in the class waiting for him, which prompted Thomas to check his watch and saw that they were not early. The class was supposed to start in five minutes.
"Where is he?" Adam asked, looking around. "Did he forget about us?"
"Maybe he's running late," James suggested. "Or maybe he's hiding somewhere, waiting to surprise us with some kind of test."
"Or maybe he's busy with something important," Thomas said, giving him the benefit of the doubt. Despite what happened on the train, Thomas didn't know too much about the new professor. And like many other, he too hoped for at least a decent professor.
"Maybe he's sick, or he had an emergency," Michael said, echoing Thomas's thoughts. "He's a good man, I'm sure of it. Besides, if not for our King Arthur in making over here, he would have taken care of the Dementor in the train."
Thomas scratched his head in embarrassment, knowing very well that he had a way of putting himself in harm's way for the good of his friends. Damn his hero complex.
"But seriously, Tommy boy, are you feeling alright after that?"
It didn't took a genius to understood what James was referring to, and while Thomas would rather not think too much about whatever that woman had saw in his tea, he knew things were not so calm as he would have hope. That and the fact that a certain, Dragon was being awfully silent made Thomas think that Trelawney might have seen a future.
"No, but there's no point thinking too much about such things." Thomas answered with a strained smile on his face.
Just as Michael was about to say something, the door to the classroom opened once more and their professor walked inside.
As soon as he walked inside, Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the teacher's desk. The man was as shabby as he was when they met him for the first time, but he looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had had a few square meals.
"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."
A few curious looks were exchanged between the Ravenclaws, especially between Thomas and his friends as the class put away their books. They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts before, thought Thomas didn't knew if this would be a good or bad thing for him.
"Right then," said Professor Lupin, when all of the kids were ready. "If you'd follow me."
Puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed Professor Lupin out of the classroom.
The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty except for one teacher. Professor Snape was sitting in a low armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in. His eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth. As Professor Lupin came in and made to close the door behind him, Snape said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this."
He got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him. At the doorway he turned on his heel and said, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains a certain student who's not normal by our standards, not even yours back in the day. I would advise you not to tempt fate. Not unless you wish a disaster to befall this class."
Lupin smiled at Snape, unfazed by his words. "Don't worry, Severus. I'm sure nothing will happen that you can't handle. After all, you're the bravest man I know."
Snape scoffed at him, his face contorted with disdain. "Save your flattery, Lupin. You know as well as I do that you're playing with fire. And you'll get burned sooner or later."
Snape then walked out of the staffroom, slamming the door behind him. All that while Lupin shook his head, amused by Snape's theatrics, before turning to the class, who were watching the exchange in surprise. A second later, he clapped his hands, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it? Now, who wants to see something really interesting?"
Lupin said, gesturing to a large wooden wardrobe in the corner of the room. "Come on, don't be shy. This is a practical lesson, after all."
The professor gave them a smile before continuing.
"Now, then," said Professor Lupin, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.
"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly because a few Ravenclaws had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a boggart in there."
The moment they heard that, almost all of the Ravenclaws gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, while James looked at his professor like he was a god.
"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks. Let me tell you, I once met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice.
"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?"
One of the braver girls raised her hand shakily.
"It's a shape-shifter. One that can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."
"That's correct, Mrs. Lumpafily" said Professor Lupin, and the girl glowed. "Meaning that this particular boggart has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. This means that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have any of you spotted it?"
For the first time, James was the first one to raise his hand. "Since there are so many of us here, the boggart will have a hard time picking the right form to scare us?"
"That's correct… James am I right?"
James only nodded in response.
"That's why it's always better to have at least another person beside you when you are facing a boggart. There have been cases of people dealing with one single handily, but those are pretty rare, mostly because no one really likes to deal with their fears alone. Nevertheless, there's a simple way of dealing with them. The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires some use of our minds. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. "
"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please . . . Riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!" Everyone repeated after their professor.
"Good," said Professor Lupin. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where I need a volunteer."
The wardrobe shook again, and before Lupin could pick anyone, James, wearing a devilish smile on his face, walked forward without a care in the world.
"Right, James," said Professor Lupin. "First things first: What would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"
"Clowns, professor." James answered, surprising Lupin slightly.
"Clowns?"
"Well, professor, I've seen worse things than, but clowns… these things aren't normal." The boy said while shivering.
"Clowns, eh?" Lupin said, nodding sympathetically. "I can see why you'd find them scary. They have those creepy smiles, those weird costumes, those big shoes. But remember, James, they're only people in disguise. And you can make them look even more ridiculous with a bit of imagination. For example, you could imagine them wearing a tutu, or having a rubber duck on their head, or tripping over their own feet. Anything that makes you laugh, really. The key is to focus on that image, and say the charm with conviction. Riddikulus. Do you think you can do that?"
James nodded, before taking a deep breath, and stepped in front of the wardrobe. Lupin opened the door, and out came a clown. It was a tall, lanky clown, with a red nose, a white face, and a green wig. It had a yellow suit with red polka dots, and a pair of oversized shoes. It grinned wickedly at James, and reached for a balloon animal. Upon seeing the unholy sight, James flinched in fear, but he quickly pushed it aside. Instead, he focused on the image he had in his mind and pointed his wand at the clown, "Riddikulus!"
The clown's suit suddenly changed color. It became pink, with purple hearts. The clown's wig turned into a rainbow mohawk. The clown's shoes shrank, making it stumble. And the balloon animal popped, revealing a tiny mouse that squeaked and ran away. The clown looked horrified, and tried to cover itself. James burst out laughing, and so did the rest of the class. The clown turned and ran back into the wardrobe, slamming the door behind it.
"Well done, James! That was brilliant! You see, everyone, that's how you deal with a boggart. You make it look ridiculous, and you laugh at it. Who's next?"
And just like that, the rest of the class took turns trying their luck fighting their fears. The whole class, all kinds of things emerged from the wardrobe, but in the end, Lupin's lesson was a success. Of course… there was a single person who hadn't tried his luck.
"Mr. Grayson, any particular reason you haven't joined your housemates?" Lupin asked with a smile on his face.
Truthfully, Thomas wasn't not eager to face the boggart, mostly because he wasn't sure what might appear out of the wardrobe. Sure, he had faced and killed before, but there were three beings he didn't exactly want to face anytime soon. One of them was his sacred gear, Bahamut. The second one was that annoying devil woman and finally, the last one… was that strange vampire Thomas met a while ago. Out of the three of them, Bahamut was the only one Thomas was pretty sure won't come out of that wardrobe, mostly because, despite how scary he looked, the dragon was not all that bad.
"Professor, I can't…"
"Come on, Mr. Grayson, don't be shy. Everyone has to face their fears sooner or later. It's part of growing up. And you have nothing to be ashamed of. Whatever comes out of that wardrobe, we'll deal with it together. Trust me, it's not as bad as you think."
Thomas looked at Lupin with a defeated look on his face. He knew that Lupin was a good teacher, and that he meant well, but the man had no idea what he was dealing with. Thomas had seen things that most people would never believe, let alone understand. Things that could make even the bravest wizard cower in fear. Things that could endanger the whole school, if left roaming free.
"Please, Professor, can we just skip this? I don't think it's a good idea. I don't know what might come out of there, and I don't want to risk it. Can't you just give me a different assignment, or something?"
Lupin shook his head, and gave him a stern look. "I'm sorry, Mr. Grayson, but no. This is a mandatory lesson, and you have to participate. It's for your own good, and for the good of the class. You can't let your fear control you, or hold you back. You have to face it, and overcome it. That's the only way to grow as a person, and as a wizard. And I'm sure you have the potential to do great things, if you only give yourself a chance. Now, come on, don't be afraid. I'm here to help you, and so are your friends. We're all in this together."
Thomas sighed, and realized that he had no choice. He had to face the boggart, whatever it was. Giving a short prayer to God, he hoped that it would be something harmless, or at least manageable. Something that he could laugh at, or fight off. But he had a bad feeling about it.
"Professor, please, can you at least move everyone away from the wardrobe? As far as possible? Trust me on this one at least."
Lupin stood silent for a second before nodding his head having the whole class move close to the entrace. Thomas took a deep breath and walked forward, opening the wardrobe with trembling hands. He expected to see something horrible, something that would make his blood run cold. But what he saw was worse than anything he could have imagined. It was the familiar face of Dieter Febel, the vampire he had met a while ago while he was at his grandparents' home in the countryside. But unlike the last time, this Dieter looked… ancient. His skin was pale and wrinkled, his eyes were sunken and bloodshot, there was no longer hair on his head and above all, the man looked like he was ready to kill anyone.
"Hello, Thomas," he said in a raspy voice. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Before he could even say or do anything, Thomas heard Lupin's words.
"That's not a boggart… What are you?"
The being looking like Dieter turned his head towards Tom's professor, smilling at him. "I take it this is Hogwarts then? I have to say kiddo, you have some guts to summon me in this place when the old cog is still alive. Nevertheless, as you might have realize, dear professor, I'm one of the ancient ones."
"A strigoi…"
"That's our original name, but I prefer an ancient one. Girls like it." The strigoi said with a wink before turning back towards Thomas.
"Still kiddo, what in the seven hell is wrong with you, using such a creature to summon me? Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to be away from hunting stray vampires and keeping the peace in Romania between the clans, but still, this… is too sudden."
"Well…" Thomas stopped pointing at Lupin. "My teacher decided to teach us how to deal with a boggart and…"
"You are scared of me... No, of what I can do. I have to say, this is a first even for me. Well then, professor, would you be a dear and get the old man down here? I need his permission to return back to my home, unless of course he wants me to remain here."
< Just change "3" with "e" Patr3on Link : https://patr3on.com/meatbunkun>