The Secret Relationship: The Angelic Witch and Draco Malfoy (Book 3)

Lupin And The Boggart

Heroneka knew that Hermione was hiding something from them. Since the classes had begun, Hermione had been acting strange, always watching her surrounding, as if she knew someone would see her.

"You can tell me about it!" Heroneka said to Hermione. "I know you're hiding something. C'mon, Mione! Tell me the truth!"

"No, I can't!" Hermione looked at her helplessly. "Snitchy, do you really think that if it was something I could have told you about, I wouldn't tell you by now?"

"But it's me!" Heroneka insisted. "We tell each other almost everything."

"This time, I can't!" Hermione walked ahead. "I promised that I won't."

Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their books, quills, and parchment, and were talking when he finally entered the room.

"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags? Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

Lupin guided them out of the class and straight into the staff room. Snape had to leave, advising Professor Lupin about how bad Neville was at Potions. But Professor Lupin assured Snape that Neville would do alright in his class.

After Snape had left, he glanced at a wardrobe that stood away from everything else in the room.

"Now, then," said Professor Lupin, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.

"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly because a few people had jumped backwards in alarm. "There's a Boggart in there."

Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about. Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Seamus eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks -- I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved into the staff room yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice."

Heroneka nodded approvingly at the old wardrobe, which was noticed by Professor Lupin as he smiled at her.

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?" He looked around the class.

Hermione put up her hand.

"It's a shape-shifter," she said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione glowed. "So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears."

Heroneka shifted back, behind Seamus. She didn't want the entire class to know what her biggest fear was. But... What was it? Even she didn't know what was her biggest fear.

"This means," said Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's small sputter of terror, "that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

Harry glanced at Hermione as her hand shot up, but he chose to answer. "Er -- because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"