HP: Wormwood and Lightning Wood

When everyone arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Lupin was already there. His worn-out suitcase was on the lectern, and the shadows on his sunken cheeks were deep, but he looked much healthier now than he had on the train, when he looked sallow and weak.

Lupin told everyone to put their books away, "Today is a practical lesson; all you need are your wands."

This surprised some students, to be honest.

The students followed Lupin out of the classroom, walked down the deserted corridor, and turned a corner.

In the corridor, Pippi was hanging upside down in mid-air, stuffing chewing gum into the keyhole closest to him.

Upon seeing Lupin, he immediately perked up and shouted, "Stupid and muddle-headed Lupin, stupid and muddle-headed Lupin—"

Pee-Pee was always rude and difficult to manage. Lupin smiled, about to teach Pee-Pee a lesson, when Pee-Pee suddenly stared intently at the red-haired boy at the end of the line, like a rooster being choked.

With a shriek, Pikachu dashed through the ceiling and fled.

Harry chuckled and nudged West with his elbow. "You've finally gotten your hands on Peeves."

Lupin was puzzled, but didn't delve into it. He then led the students forward into an empty faculty lounge.

At the far end of the lounge stood an old wardrobe. Lupin stopped beside it, and the wardrobe suddenly began to shake violently.

Several students were startled and took a few steps back. Pansy, her high heels nearly stepping on Crabbe's foot, turned to Hermione and complained, "Merlin's beard, what's that?"

"It's the Boggart," Hermione whispered to Pansy.

"That's right, there's a Boggart in there." Lupin seemed somewhat surprised, whether by Hermione's extensive knowledge or by the friendly interaction between the students of the Gryphon and Serpent houses, "Does anyone know what a Boggart is?"

Hermione raised her hand. "It's a shapeshifting creature that can take on any form it deems most frightening."

Lupin awarded Gryffindor three points, then explained Bogut's characteristics, and then told the students how to defeat Bogut.

"Defeating it is simple, but it takes willpower. You just need to force it into the form you find ridiculous."

"Let's recite the spell without using our wands first—hilarious!"

"Okay, Neville, you give it a try," Lupin said.

Neville took a shaky step forward.

"Navie, what are you most afraid of?"

Neville spoke in a barely audible voice, "Professor Snape..."

The Gryffindor students burst into laughter, and even the Slytherin students nodded in agreement. Neville grinned apologetically—except for West.

He was holding Ilora, who had followed him into the classroom, and stroking the proud little black cat's fur.

Lupin seemed to be deep in thought. "Professor Snape... um... Neville, I suppose you live with your grandmother?"

Neville, puzzled but still nervous, replied, "Yes."

"Think about what kind of clothes your grandmother usually wore?" Lupin laughed.

West paused in his petting of the cat, frowning with a sense of foreboding. Ilora nudged his hand in dissatisfaction, meowing softly.

Neville seemed quite surprised. "Well...Grandma always wore a tall hat with an old eagle figurine on top, and a long green dress, and sometimes...a fox fur scarf..."

"Okay, now imagine... Professor Snape wearing your grandmother's clothes, and then saying 'funny funny'—Professor Boggart Snape would be forced to become a person wearing an old eagle taxidermied hat and a green dress," Lupin said.

Gryffindor chuckled softly, but upon noticing the sinister expressions on the faces of the Slytherins around him, his laughter abruptly subsided.

"Is it funny?" West suddenly asked, his voice low. "Professor Lupin, is this how you teach your students? To teach them to disrespect other professors, is that right?"

The atmosphere froze for a moment.

Lupin paused, then said, "Sorry, did I make you uncomfortable? I was just trying to make a joke..."

"Does anyone find this funny?" West asked.

"Slytherin doesn't find it funny anyway," Draco said.

"This is a blatant insult to Slytherin, Professor Lupin," Blaise said, his face darkening.

The whole class fell silent.

West stepped forward and said to Neville, "Don't think about these trivial things. It's disrespectful to your grandmother and Professor Snape."

All you need to do is firmly demonstrate your courage as a Gryffindor, okay?

Neville's face flushed red, and his voice was barely a whisper, "Okay..."

West waved his hand, and the wardrobe door opened. Professor Snape, with a gloomy face and a dignified demeanor, walked out, his eyes fixed intently on Neville.

Neville couldn't help but back away.

"Raise your wand, Neville Longbottom," West's icy voice came from behind.

Professor Snape approached menacingly, and Neville gritted his teeth, shrieking, "Hilarious! Hilarious!"

With a burst of noise, the scene before him changed. Professor Snape's face was flushed, and standing in front of him was West, who was taking his hand.

A commotion erupted in the class; both colleges were now overjoyed.

Draco laughed so hard he collapsed onto Harry, Ron choked on his own saliva and coughed, Hermione bit her lip to stifle her laughter, and Pansy and Blaise began exchanging glances that no one else could understand.

Neville, his face flushed and trembling, stammered, "I'm sorry..."

West's lips twitched; he didn't mind, just somewhat surprised. Severus knew he would kill him. West thought expressionlessly.

With a flick of his wand, Wester sent Boggart flying into a cloud of black mist, which was then locked back into the cupboard.

Lupin had lost his composure; his expression was complex, showing some remorse. He stepped forward and said, "I'm very sorry. I didn't consider the inappropriateness of that joke and offended you. I sincerely apologize."

The Slytherin students' expressions softened, and the class was able to continue.

West had already carried Ilora out of the lounge. It was truly a waste of his time to come to Lupin's class.

The sunlight turned the Black Lake water golden, and Ilora had jumped out of West's arms and was now lying on the shore fishing with her tail.

West leaned against the willow tree, channeling a wisp of magic into the patriarch's ring.

The snake's eye on the ring glowed eerily, resonating with the other ring. Sensing that Snape was giving a lesson, West unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

He sat by the Black Lake until the Defense Against the Dark Arts class ended.

"Wester! You're here!" Harry, Draco, Hermione, and Ron came looking for them.

"Are you alright, West?" Hermione asked. "Professor Lupin really did something wrong."

The remaining three nodded in agreement.

"Um...and also, we want to learn the Patronus Charm, West," Harry said. "The Dementors have taken over Hogwarts, and we want to learn more magic to protect ourselves."

He exclaimed excitedly, "The guardian spirit you used on the special train is so cool!"

"Ron told me that this is the first time I've ever heard of a Patronus having a physical form..." Hermione said.