Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 303 Funny
"Don't close the door, Lupin."

Professor Snape said coldly, "I think it's better if I don't witness this."

After saying that, he strode past his classmates like an old bat.

Watching Snape's departing figure, the lion cubs all showed disdainful expressions.

"What's with the attitude!"

“I must remind you, Dean, it’s not right to talk about the professor behind his back.”

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir."

“It’s alright,” Lupin said with a gentle smile. “I just hope that one day you won’t talk about me like this behind my back.”

"That's impossible! Sir, you're not like Snape. Your performance just now was brilliant!"

I don't know if it's because he practices rap a lot, but whenever Dean speaks fast, his speech has a rhythmic melody, like he's singing, which is very interesting.

"Before we begin the lesson, I must thank one of you students. It was on his suggestion that I prepared this practical lesson for today."

While everyone was wondering who had given Professor Lupin the advice, he gestured for the students to look at the other end of the room.

The students' attention was immediately drawn to an old wardrobe that the teachers used to change their robes.

When Professor Lu Ping walked in front of the wardrobe, the wardrobe suddenly began to shake violently.

The movements were extremely violent; it even started banging its head against the wall.

Upon seeing this, several young wizards were terrified and immediately backed away in fright.

Professor Lupin frowned slightly upon seeing this, but recalling Sherlock's account of Lockhart's first lesson, he calmed himself and said in a composed manner:
"Don't worry, it's just a Boggart."

However, his words had no effect, especially on Neville and Seymour.

The main problem is that this situation is too similar to the first lesson in second grade.

Neville was timid to begin with, and Seamus was even more so. Last year, he was lifted up by the ear and hung on a chandelier by a little elf, an incident that left an indelible impression on him.

"Boggart likes dark, enclosed spaces; wardrobes, gaps under beds, and cupboards under sinks are places where they often appear."

I was originally wondering where to find one, but unexpectedly, one moved in yesterday.

So I asked the principal to let the teachers keep it so that my third-grade students could use it for practical lessons.

So here comes the problem.”

After giving a brief introduction, Professor Lu Ping glanced at the whole class and asked, "Who can tell me what a Boggart is?"

A series of swishing sounds rang out, and several hands were raised in the classroom.

Harry's glasses were almost knocked off, but luckily he had trained with Sherlock to be agile enough to dodge to the side.

Professor Lu Ping was somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected the lion cubs to be so proactive.

"Miss Lavender."

Hermione was visibly disappointed that Professor Lupin hadn't called her name.

"I don't know."

She whispered in Sherlock's ear, "What's wrong with everyone today?"

"Professor Lockhart's last class."

Upon hearing Sherlock's words, Hermione immediately remembered.

Before Lockhart was completely controlled by Voldemort, he had said that he would bring a magical creature of the spirit class, namely the Boggart.

Although that class didn't actually take place, judging from the current situation, it was indeed equivalent to previewing the material in advance.

"Boggarts are shapeshifting creatures that transform into whatever frightens them the most."

Hermione frowned. Lavender's answer was too colloquial and not the standard answer found in textbooks.

But Professor Lu Ping nodded, "I can't explain it any more clearly myself."

Lavender was so excited she almost jumped for joy; this was the first time she had ever received such high praise from the professor.

Previously, this kind of treatment was almost exclusively reserved for her roommate Hermione.

"As Lavender said, the Boggart doesn't have a concrete shape yet because it doesn't know what people outside are afraid of."

In fact, no one knows what Bogut is like when he is alone.

But the moment it's released, it will instantly become the thing we all fear most.

"Professor, I have a question."

When Sherlock raised his hand, not only Lupin, but all the other students in the class were stunned.

What's going on?
Apart from the period at the beginning of first grade, Lion King hasn't asked any questions on his own initiative for a very long time, right?
"Since Boggart can transform into the form that people fear most, can we observe it without touching it?"

For example, what if we could observe its true shape from a distance using a telescope?

“A very interesting question, Sherlock.”

Professor Lupin smiled and said, "As I just said, Boggart prefers dark and enclosed spaces, so achieving the premise you mentioned is not an easy task."

Of course, extreme situations are not impossible, such as when changes in the surrounding environment cause it to happen to be in a location that we can observe.

But what I'm saying is, even if you're far away from Boggart, it doesn't mean Boggart hasn't noticed you.

Seeing the surprised looks on the students' faces, Professor Lu Ping continued to explain with a smile:

"Simply put, the Boggart's logic of existence is entirely based on the materialization of fear. When it senses the presence of a human, it instantly reads the other's deepest fears through magical resonance and materializes them."

To put it in an even more extreme way, you can think of a Boggart as blind; it's not looking at us with its 'eyes'.

This instantaneous transformation mechanism ensures that Boggart always presents himself as the embodiment of the observer's fear, whenever someone is present.

That is why no one has ever been able to witness its true form in its natural state.

I want to emphasize that even with the Invisibility Cloak or Disillusionment Charm, a Boggart can still detect the observer's presence through magical fluctuations or emotional remnants.

Sherlock nodded.

He got it.

Ultimately, I was still relying on a non-magical perspective to think about problems.

"Seeing" does not necessarily require the use of both eyes.

"Sherlock's question is an excellent one. I hope that students can learn from him and not just passively accept knowledge, but actively think about it."

My second question is about a significant advantage we have against Bogut. Have you all noticed this advantage?

Hermione raised her hands high again and jumped up and down on tiptoe.

This made Sherlock and Harry, who were standing next to her, feel a little awkward.

Fortunately, a strong hand landed on Hermione's shoulder, preventing her from jumping up again.

"Calm down, my dear Hermione."

Hermione's face immediately turned red, but fortunately it wasn't noticeable because of her skin tone.

This time, only Hermione raised her hand in the classroom, so Professor Lupin gave her the opportunity.

"Because we have a large number of people here, Boggart doesn't know what kind of appearance he should take."

“Excellent, this is exactly the best way to deal with Boggarts – go together.”

This will put it in a dilemma, unsure whether to become a giant skeleton or a tiny centipede.

I once encountered something like that; Boggart tried to scare two people at once, but ended up turning into a caterpillar with a skull head—which, of course, wasn't scary at all.

The whole class immediately burst into laughter.

Next, Professor Lupin taught everyone how to deal with Boggarts and led them in an exercise.

This spell is very interesting.

"Let's practice the spell without wands for now. Repeat after me—funny funny!"

"Funny!"

After practicing several times with the whole class, Professor Lu Ping was very satisfied with everyone's performance.

"Of course, this is only the simplest part. Incantations alone are not enough; we also need strong willpower."

Teaming up to deal with Boggart is only a temporary solution; what can truly defeat him is laughter—a hearty, genuine laugh.

So when you're dealing with Boggart, you need to force him into an image that you find hilarious.

So, let's start by asking..."

Professor Lu Ping's gaze swept over the entire class once again, and he quickly locked onto one student.

"Neville Longbottom."

"what?"

Neville almost shrank behind Sherlock's tall body, but he was still called out.

"Navie, you're shaking so badly."

Harry, standing next to Sherlock, kindly reminded him, "So no matter how much you hide, it's no use."

Thanks to Harry, Neville finally understood why Professor Lupin had approached him.

Unfortunately, he found out too late.

Under Professor Lupin's encouraging gaze, Neville reluctantly walked step by step toward the wardrobe.

When he stopped in front of the wardrobe, Boggart inside seemed to sense something and began to shake violently once again.

Amazingly, Neville was shaking even more violently than the wardrobe; no one knows how he managed to do it.

Seeing this, Professor Lupin knew that Neville couldn't complete the practical course on his own, so he spoke in as gentle a tone as possible:

"Navie, tell me one thing first: what are you most afraid of in this world?"

Neville's lips moved, but no sound came out.

"I'm sorry, Neville, I didn't hear you."

Professor Lu Ping didn't seem to mind and maintained his amiable demeanor as he spoke.

Neville looked around in a panic, as if begging someone to help him.

When he looked at Sherlock, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he stared intently at Sherlock.

Professor Lupin was somewhat surprised. "Sherlock, do you know what Neville is most afraid of?"

The whole class looked at Sherlock with curiosity.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't know."

(End of this chapter)