Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 204, Question 202: What are you most afraid of?

Defense Against the Dark Arts class, this is the first class of the year.

Aside from whispering about Dudley and Snape's "bet," the young wizards were also discussing what kind of person Professor Lupin was.

Especially today, the young wizards present are all from the same cohort as Dudley.

Before this, they had encountered the garlic-smelling professor (Quirk) who wore a cloth bag, and the peacock professor (Lockhart) who was self-important but not very capable.

I wonder what kind of person this year's professor will be.

I just hope it's not too bad, at least it should be better than Lockhart's.

Lupin arrived late, just as class was about to begin. He first smiled slightly at the young wizards below the stage, then placed his tattered briefcase on the lectern.

Compared to the previous professor's "flashy" attire, Professor Lupin's clothing was much simpler. Perhaps "simple" is not quite the right word; "ragged" would be a better description, as his wide robe was covered with many patches.

This might still be his best piece of clothing.

Clearly, this professor's daily life was not very fulfilling.

"Everyone, please put your books back in your drawers and take out your wands. Today's first Defense Against the Dark Arts class is a practical activity."

Practical activities?!

The young wizards' eyes lit up at the news. They had never taken a practical course on defense against the dark magic, if the previous professor's "Cornwall elf incident" counted.

"Please follow me, everyone. I think we should go somewhere else."

While the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom is fixed, there are actually many empty, spacious activity rooms nearby, usually used for practical courses on Defense Against the Dark Arts. However, ever since someone cast a curse on the course, the professors who have served in the course over the years have rarely used those activity rooms.

It's been six or seven years since I last used it.

Pushing open the door, a musty, rotten smell wafted out. Lupin simply raised his wand and waved it lightly, and a small whirlwind mixed with water appeared out of thin air, sweeping away the dust, garbage, and some unknown insects in the room.

The activity room was immediately transformed.

If wizards were to work in the domestic service industry, they could absolutely wipe out all the domestic service companies in England—they're fast and clean.

Spell: Clean and Fresh, a household spell that can be used to clean and maintain hygiene.

Don't underestimate this spell just because it's a housework spell. Although most wizards, especially housewives, know it, most wizards can only cast it and find it difficult to clean the target thoroughly. Therefore, this spell is generally only used for shallow cleaning.

For someone like Lupin to clean such a spacious classroom in one go would require master-level skill.

"I saw my mother use it; she can't even clean the kitchen utensils properly."

"My dad once tried to sweep the floor with this spell, and he made a complete mess of the house. It took my mom and me three whole hours to clean it up. It was a disaster."

"."

The young wizards chattered excitedly as Lupin showed off his skills, impressing them with a simple spell.

This also subtly established the professor's authority.

Once a person succeeds, everything he says becomes reasonable.

What do you mean by being destitute?

That's called being diligent and thrifty.

Haven't you heard it? New for three years, old for three years, and patched up for another three years.

Look how thrifty Professor Lu Ping is.

"He's got some skills," Ron whispered in Harry's ear. "At least he's more reliable than someone like Lockhart."

In their discipline group, probably only Dudley and Hermione could do that.

Hmm. Maybe that guy named Cedric could do it too.

Although Cedric joined the Discipline Group, he rarely participated in its activities this year because he needed to pass the OWLs exams. However, his occasional appearances had already made the other members of the Discipline Group aware that he was an excellent wizard, a very excellent one.

Harry nodded in agreement: "I bet no Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is any worse than Lockhart."

However, Harry was still too young.

That statement was made too early.

"Now, everyone come to my side," Lupin said, pointing ahead where there was nothing.

With another wave of the wand, an old wardrobe appeared.

When Lupin walked up to the wardrobe, it suddenly started shaking and making banging noises.

The sudden sound startled the young wizard standing in front.

"Don't worry, don't worry about the children."

Lupin clapped his hands to get everyone's attention, then calmly knocked on the door of the old wardrobe: "There's a Boggart inside."

Boggarts are magical creatures (dark magic creatures) that can constantly change their appearance. They are said to be close relatives of the devil. They are usually invisible, but sometimes appear in the form of humans, animals, skeletons, or devils. They love to play pranks and feed on human fear.

It's worth mentioning that Boggarts also appear in ordinary people's records, as mythical creatures. However, in these records, Boggarts are described as ugly, black humanoid beings with large hands and feet, wearing tattered clothes.

"There used to be quite a lot of these, but recently there have been fewer and fewer of them. I only caught this one not long ago."

"They originally planned to drive it into the forbidden forest, but I kept it, so it's perfect for everyone to use for practical activities."

Clang, clang, clang.

At this point, the cabinet shook even more violently.

Lupin glanced at it and continued, "So, the first question of the first lesson is, what exactly is a Boggart?"

Hermione, the top student, was the first to answer.

"It can transform into terrifying forms."

Lupin was very satisfied with Hermione's answer and generously added points to the discipline team's score.

Before class, Dumbledore specifically told him that Hogwarts now has a disciplinary committee in addition to the four houses, which is graded separately.

"The first thing we should do to deal with Boggart is to face the fear, to smile at the fear, and not to be intimidated by it."

"Think back, what are you most afraid of?"

"In what form will Boggart appear this time?"

Lupin gave everyone a few minutes to think.

"Remember that laughter is the best way to defeat Boggart, and willpower is the key to defeating Boggart."

"If anyone is ready to be the first to challenge Bogut, please step forward."

Lupin looked around, but no one stepped forward, so he turned his attention to one of them.

"Robin Hood, you go first."

"Heh heh heh, who would call someone with such an old-fashioned name as Robin Hood?"

Ron looked around with a grin, wanting to see what Robin Hood looked like, and then he saw Lupin staring straight at him.

"Damn! Could they be calling me?!"

(End of this chapter)