Before the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Slytherin was abuzz with speculation about the new professor, just like the other houses.
It was hardly surprising. The year before last, we had a stuttering oddball who wore a turban and reeked of garlic, and who turned out to have another face on the back of his head. Last year's teacher, while competent enough as an author, was utterly useless as a Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor.
"What do you think it'll be like this year?" Pansy asked listlessly.
Millicent shrugged."Maybe he's actually a vampire or something.""Or a werewolf.""He could even be a homunculus."
Millicent, Daphne, and I tossed out random guesses, and when we opened the classroom door, we found desks and chairs inside, along with a wardrobe for some reason.
Compared to our first year wrapped in the stench of garlic, or second year surrounded by overly assertive Lockhart photographs, the room felt extremely plain. Professor Lupin also looked healthier than when I had seen him on the train, but next to a turban or a Lockhart smile, he was decidedly unremarkable.
"This year doesn't have much impact," Millicent muttered."That's what normal is supposed to look like…" I replied.
Ignoring her grumbling, we took our seats. When the bell rang, Professor Lupin stood up and surveyed the class.
"Hello, everyone. You can put your textbooks back in your bags. Today is a practical lesson, so you'll only need your wands."
As we put our books away, Daphne whispered to me, "Pixies again?"
It seemed we were all thinking the same thing, because everyone's gaze shifted to Malfoy."W-what?" he snapped.
When the stares moved to Pansy next, she blushed and exclaimed, "Draco's getting flustered!" while hurling a wad of chewed gum at a grinning Zabini.
"All right then," Professor Lupin said, stepping in front of the wardrobe. It immediately began to rattle violently.
"Don't worry," he said calmly.
Despite his reassurance, last year's trauma lingered, and everyone looked uneasy. Draco replied with heavy sarcasm, "Shouldn't we be worrying?"
Professor Lupin shrugged and began speaking in a slow, reassuring tone."Inside here is a mimic monster, a boggart."
With the tension still unbroken, he continued."This magical creature prefers dark, confined spaces. Wardrobes, under beds, cupboards beneath sinks. I once found one inside a large grandfather clock. The one here got in yesterday afternoon. Now then, first question. What exactly is a boggart?"
"That's wha—""I'll knock you out, Daphne."
By the time I warned her, my hand had already moved. Apparently, sometimes your body acts before your mind does.
"Well then… Theodore," Professor Lupin said.
Nott, who must have had his hand raised while Daphne was being silenced, was called on."A shape-shifting monster. It transforms into whatever the person facing it fears most.""Correct."
Professor Lupin explained that a boggart's true form is unknown when it is alone in the dark, but once exposed, it immediately takes the shape of whatever frightens those present.
"So, Theodore, being as clever as you are, have you already figured out one way to deal with a boggart?""Overwhelm it with numbers.""Exactly."
The phrasing might have been a bit off, but essentially, if there are many people present, the boggart becomes confused about whose fear it should transform into.
"And there's another method. A charm that drives a boggart away. It's simple, but it requires mental strength. What truly defeats a boggart is laughter. You must force it to transform into something you find ridiculous."
Professor Lupin's smooth, unhesitating explanation held all of us spellbound. There was no stutter, no self-indulgent storytelling or bragging. This was the Defense Against the Dark Arts class everyone had hoped for.
"To start, we'll practice without wands. Repeat after me… Riddikulus, ridiculous!"
"Riddikulus, ridiculous!" the entire class echoed.
Professor Lupin smiled warmly."Very good. But the incantation alone isn't enough. As you cast it, you must imagine the thing you fear transforming into something absurd. Now then, Crabbe, you're up."
The wardrobe rattled as Crabbe approached, cracking his knuckles. Perhaps he intended to rely on brute force if things went wrong.
"Crabbe, what is the thing you fear most in the world?""…Debt collectors."
The answer was disturbingly realistic, and not something to laugh off. The ferocity of Gringotts goblins when collecting debts was said to be terrifying indeed.
"Didn't the Crabbe family go bankrupt once?" Daphne asked."Yes. My father bought them out when they were being chased by goblins," Draco boasted smugly.
The Goyle family was apparently similar. Their business had collapsed and was acquired by the Malfoys, restoring it just enough to establish the current power dynamic.
"All right. I'll count to three. One, two, three, go!"
The wardrobe flew open, and a grotesque goblin debt collector appeared, with a hooked nose, sharp fangs, and long claws, eyes gleaming menacingly.
"This is a problem, you know… Your repayment deadline passed ages ago. How about signing on with a kraken fishing boat?""R-Riddi—""Get out here now! Sell your brats or your wife if you have to and pay up, you little punk!"
The goblin's realism overwhelmed the students who had been snickering earlier. Crabbe faltered at first, but then steeled himself.
"Riddikulus!"
As he roared the spell, the snarling goblin was suddenly entangled from behind by massive octopus-like tentacles, silencing it.
"Next, Millicent!"
Millicent stepped forward with determination. The goblin transformed into a massive snake, a basilisk, hissing as it lunged to swallow her.
"Riddikulus!"
At her shout, the basilisk began eating its own tail, turning into a gigantic green doughnut.
"Draco, step forward!"
When Draco approached, a hooded figure appeared, its head completely hidden. It was the same mysterious creature I had seen with him in the Forbidden Forest two years ago. When it turned toward us, silvery blood dripped from beneath the hood.
"Riddikulus!"
As Draco shouted, the hooded monster stumbled forward as if someone had cast a leg-binding curse on it, crashing face-first into the floor. I couldn't help wearing a smug grin.
"Pansy!"
Pansy hurried forward, and a ferocious hippogriff appeared. Draco inhaled sharply as she shouted, "Riddikulus!"
The hippogriff's feathers fell out, leaving it bald, its limbs bound and tagged with a shipping number. The industry's dark side felt oddly deep.
"Blaise!"
Zabini sprang forward, and a Dementor emerged. He cast the spell at once, causing it to trip and lose its hood. Inside was Draco Malfoy, perched on Goyle's shoulders, flailing as he tried to take off his robe.
Laughter echoed throughout the room as the real Malfoy snapped angrily, "Do you have some kind of grudge against me or what?!"
"Theodore!"
When Nott stepped up, the fake Dementor transformed into a werewolf. The instant Nott cried, "Riddikulus!" it was caught in a steel trap and let out a yelp.
For some reason, Professor Lupin looked as though he were in pain, as the trapped werewolf shrank and transformed into a small beagle dog.
"Next, Elaina!"
Now then, everyone, here's a question. What do you think is the thing that a perfect, breathtakingly beautiful witch like me, with ash-gray hair and lapis-blue eyes, fears the most?
Yes, of course. It's me.
"Ugh! That black dragon sealed within my eye is about to attack everyone! Get back!"
What appeared was me, wearing an eyepatch and suffering from full-blown chūnibyō. It was painfully embarrassing and, in its own way, absolutely terrifying.
"R-Riddikulus!"
With a sharp snapping sound, the scene changed, and next appeared a me with half-lidded eyes and a lovestruck expression.
"Saya-san♡ Ufufu, Saya-san…♡"
Why Saya-san?
"R-Riddikulus!"
After I banished my lovestruck self with the spell, the next thing to appear was me as a ghoul. Why?
"Ahh… uh… ah…"
Even when I cast "Riddikulus!" again at ghoul-me, this time an overexcited, brainless version of me appeared instead, and the mimic monster stubbornly refused to retreat.
Why was this happening? This was strange. All I had to do was turn myself into a ridiculous version of myself.
And then it hit me. This was a serious problem. Yes, the reason a mere mimic monster was giving a genius, beautiful girl like me so much trouble was—
"What should I do… I can't possibly turn myself into something ridiculous in front of everyone! That's far too terrifying!"
"Elaina, you're seriously such a pain!"
As the entire Slytherin table shouted back in unison, Professor Lupin made a face like he wanted to say "Oh dear," but quickly instructed us to move on to another student.
"All right, Daphne!"
Daphne stepped forward hesitantly, and a bed covered in a pure white sheet appeared. The sheet was noticeably raised, as though something were lying beneath it, and Daphne involuntarily sucked in a breath.
"Ah…"
Seeing Daphne completely freeze and turn deathly pale, Professor Lupin hurried forward.
With a loud snap, a silvery-white orb floated up in front of him. Muttering "Riddikulus!" in a weary tone, Professor Lupin dispelled it, and the last student, Goyle, stepped forward.
"Riddikulus!"
As Goyle laughed loudly while inflating his enraged father like a balloon, the mimic monster burst apart, dissolving into thousands of fine wisps of smoke before disappearing entirely.
"Astoria…"
Only Pansy and I, standing nearby, barely caught Daphne's faint, almost vanishing voice.
"Well done, everyone! For each Slytherin student who faced the mimic monster, I'll award five points."
With the students still buzzing from the excitement of actually defeating a boggart, Professor Lupin assigned the homework and brought the lesson to a close.
After class, as many students excitedly began boasting about how cool they had been while defeating the boggart, one familiar blonde girl who would normally be at the center of the commotion was nowhere to be seen.
"Elaina."
It was Pansy who grabbed the hem of my robe and yanked it.
"Go bring that idiot back."
There was no need to think about who she meant.
"…Wouldn't it be better to leave her alone?"
"It's fine. She's probably past that stage already."
Her words and attitude were harsh, but all the same, Pansy clearly cared about the people close to her.
"Use that silver tongue of yours and do something. I'm counting on you."
＊＊
When I finally found her, Daphne was gazing absentmindedly out at the courtyard from an empty classroom. It was the very room the Slytherin first-years had been using while we were in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Milady, I've come to fetch you."
When I spoke from the side like that, Daphne tilted her head slightly and met my gaze.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you not to let go of a woman who's running away?"
"Unfortunately, I do have a replacement woman lined up."
"I've decided. One day, I'm stabbing you from behind."
I deliberately tossed out some light banter, and Daphne, having recovered a bit, gave me a vague smile.
"Hey, Elaina… can I ask you something? Just a little?"
Her usually cheerful expression turned serious, and she took a deep breath as if bracing herself. Even if she thought she had struggled through it on her own, there was probably something she still wanted someone to hear, something she had kept buried inside, unable to talk about with anyone until now—
"Sorry, forget it! Never mind!"
She abruptly cut herself off and stepped back. As I stared at her clearly suspicious behavior, she flushed red and finally spoke up.
"I mean, I get what you're saying, but once I calmed down, I realized that going into that kind of dramatic flow right now would've been kind of cringey."
"Well, in novels or movies it's a classic trope, but in real life it does make you squirm a bit."
"Right?"
We both let out small laughs. Somehow, this felt much more like us.
"Thanks. I feel better now."
"Oh?"
When I asked, Daphne smiled as if she had finally let something go.
"I'm glad it was you who came after me, Elaina."
"I just came after you, that's all."
"That's exactly why it's good."
After saying something unusually poetic, Daphne looked at me with a slightly serious expression.
"Elaina… you'll let me keep my secrets, won't you?"
"Secrets are part of being beautiful."
"I see. That might be true."
Daphne chuckled softly, her face looking more at ease.
"But when I finally decide to talk about it properly someday… will you stay by my side then?"
She didn't need to face it yet. She didn't need to acknowledge it yet. She just wanted someone to stay with her. Meeting Daphne's earnest green eyes, I replied, "Yes."
"Then at least cover the drinks when that happens."
"You're so stingy."
The pout Daphne gave me was completely back to her usual bright, lively self.
(End of chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09