Faced with Snape's sarcasm, Neville's face flushed again, but surprisingly, his expression wasn't one of frustration; he even bravely stared intently at Snape.
His gaze made Snape feel extremely uncomfortable, intensifying his resentment.
Damon didn't rush to speak; he knew Lupin could handle everything.
"Tap."
Professor Lupin placed his hand on Neville's shoulder and patted him.
"I'm preparing to have Neville as my assistant for the first phase of my operation; I believe he'll do a good job."
Neville clenched his fists even tighter until he met Snape's gaze, then lowered his head.
Snape's lips pursed, and he slammed the door shut and left.
"Now, like this," Professor Lupin said, gesturing for the class to walk to the far end of the common room. There was nothing there except an old wardrobe, where the faculty kept their surplus robes.
Professor Lupin stopped beside the wardrobe, which suddenly began to shake and bang against the wall, as if a giant beast were trapped inside.
Many people remembered Hagrid's incident the day before and jumped back in fright.
"Don't worry, it's a Boggart inside."
"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces.
Wardrobes, gaps under beds, cupboards under sinks—I once found one hidden inside an old ancestral clock.
This one was moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the teachers could leave it undisturbed so my third-year students could have some hands-on experience."
"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?"
Hermione raised her hand.
"It's a shapeshifting magical creature that can take on any form it deems most frightening."
"I couldn't have described it better myself."
Professor Lupin nodded approvingly, which pleased Hermione.
"So, the Boggart sitting in the dark inside the wardrobe hasn't taken on any form yet.
It doesn't know what can scare people outside. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when it's alone, but once I let it out, it will immediately become what each of us fears most."
"That means, before we even begin, we have a huge advantage over the Boggart."
"The best way to deal with a Boggart is to have a large group of people; it gets confused.
What should it become? A headless corpse, or a carnivorous slug? I once saw a Boggart make that mistake—trying to scare two people at once, it turned itself into half a slug, which wasn't scary at all."
Damon stood in the crowd listening to Lupin's explanation, a sudden chill creeping into his heart. He seemed to truly know what he feared. Probably a deep, dark well.
Harry and Ron noticed Damon's silence and wondered what someone like Damon could be afraid of.
"The spell to repel the Boggart is simple, but it takes willpower. You know, what really scares the Boggart is laughter. All you have to do is force it into what you find laughable."
"Let's say the spell without wands first. Repeat after me... Hahahaha!"
"Hahahaha!" the whole class shouted in unison.
"Good, very good, but simply mastering the spell isn't enough. You must also possess sufficient courage—that's up to you, Neville."
Neville's body trembled uncontrollably, but his expression was resolute, his fists clenched tightly. His appearance made Malfoy in the crowd twitch.
"Alright, Neville, first thing—tell me, what are you most afraid of in the world?"
"Professor Snape."
When Neville gave his answer, the Gryffindor students gasped, while the Slytherin students' faces darkened—they disliked anyone insulting their Headmaster.
Ignoring the students' commotion, Lupin asked gently,
"Neville, do you live with your grandmother?"
"Oh—yes," Neville said nervously, "but—I don't want Boggart to become like her."
"No, no, you didn't understand me," Professor Lupin continued, still smiling. "I wonder if you could tell us what your grandmother usually wore?"
Neville seemed surprised, but answered anyway,
"She always wore the same hat, the tall kind with an old eagle on top. And a long, green dress. Usually… sometimes she'd wear a fox fur scarf."
"And a handbag, right?" Professor Lupin encouraged him.
"A big red handbag," Neville said.
"Good," said Professor Lupin, "can you describe these clothes in great detail, Neville? Can you see them in your mind?"
"Yes."
"When the Boggart bursts out of the wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will take the form of Professor Snape.
You, on the other hand, will pick up your wand—like this—and yell 'Funny! Funny!'—and try to concentrate on your grandmother's clothes.
If all goes well, Professor Snape will be forced to become a man with a hat topped with an old eagle specimen, wearing green clothes and carrying a large red handbag."
The class burst into laughter.
The wardrobe shook even more violently.
"If Neville succeeds, the Boggart might turn his attention to each of you in turn."
Their laughter stopped.
"Is everyone ready?" Professor Lupin asked.
Damon felt a little nervous, but he quickly thought of something, hastily pulled out his wand, and conjured a makeshift magical camera—his Transfiguration wasn't powerful enough to create a magical camera on the spot, but he could use Transfiguration to create a shell and then use a spell to replace the required function.
"Neville, we need to back up," Professor Lupin said. "How about I give you some space?
I'll call the next person forward. Now, everyone, step back and give Neville some room—"
Then Damon saw the menacing Snape, who screamed 'Funny, funny!' and transformed Snape into a woman—a long, lace-embroidered dress, a top hat with a worm-eaten old eagle specimen on top, and a huge scarlet handbag dangling from his hand.
"Click, click—"
Amidst the class's uproarious laughter, Damon captured the scene perfectly.
"Not bad, I'll show it to Snape after class."
Damon blew on the woman in the Snape image, quite satisfied.
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(End of Chapter)