"Pick one, Jon!" Professor Dumbledore said with a smile, gesturing at the three boxes before him.
Jon froze for a moment, then turned back in confusion. "I don't quite understand, Professor!"
"Here's how it works. Each of the three boxes contains one of the three Magical Creatures we learned to deal with last term," Professor Dumbledore explained. "You need to choose one as the subject of your examination."
Jon nodded and pointed with his index finger. "I'll choose the box in the middle."
"Very well!" Dumbledore waved his hand, and the boxes on either side vanished into thin air.
"Then I'll tell you now that the box in the middle contains a Boggart," he explained. "Think carefully about what you learned in class about dealing with Boggarts. Let me know when you're ready!"
"A Boggart?" Jon could not help frowning.
The very first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson Professor Dumbledore had taught them had been about Boggarts. Back then, Jon had deliberately hung back at the rear of the crowd, avoiding having to face one himself... After all, a single Boggart could hardly withstand every student in the class taking a turn!
He had never expected to encounter one again during the examination.
A Boggart could reveal a person's deepest fear. What exactly it would turn into was unknown even to Jon himself.
What if it transformed into something inappropriate and aroused Dumbledore's suspicions?
Should he use Occlumency to give the Boggart a false hint?
He quickly dismissed the idea.
Jon suddenly realized that this was different from class... There was only him in front of the box now, which meant the Boggart inside had already transformed into the thing he feared. Even if he closed off his mind now, it would no longer make any difference.
After all,