Rebecca Weasley and the prisoner of Azkaban

Boggart

Rebecca's pov

A few days after Malfoy's injury we had our first Defense against the Arts class, we all went in and took our seats and placed our books, parchment, ink and quills on our desks. We all waited for a few minutes before professor Lupin entered in his scruffy robes and placed his tatty briefcase on the teacher's desk.

"Good afternoon. Will you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson, you will only need your wands." Professor Lupin said.

We had never had a proper practical lesson before so I was pretty excited to see what we were doing. We all put our things back in our bags.

"Right then, if you'd follow me." Professor Lupin said.

We all got up from our seats and followed him out of the classroom and down the corridor. He led us round the corner and past Peeves who was shoving gum in a keyhole and into the staff room. There was a wardrobe in the back of the room that was wobbling and banging against the wall.

"Nothing to worry about, There's a Boggart in there." Professor Lupin said. "Boggarts like dark enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards beneath sinks - I once key one that had wedged itself into a grandfather cloak. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff could leave it to give my third years some practice. So the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?"

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

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Professor Lupin said. "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's alone but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fear. This means that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it Harry?"

"Er - because there are So many of us, it won't know what shape it should be." Harry said.

"Precisely. Its always best to have company when dealing with a Boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corps or a flesh eating slug? I once was a Boggart make that very mistake - tried to frighten two people at once and turned into a half slug. Not remotely frightening." Professor Lupin said. "The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a Boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to take a form you find amusing. We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please... riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!" The entire class repeated.

"Good, very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And that is where you come in Neville." Professor Lupin said. "Right, Neville, First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?... Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry."

"Professor Snape." Neville replied making everyone burst out laughing.

"Professor Snape... hmmmm... Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?" Professor Lupin said.

"Er - Yes, but - I don't want the Boggart to turn into her, either." Neville said.

"No, no, you misunderstand me. I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?" Professor Lupin asked.