Practical Lesson, Transfiguration Master?

Aaron ate his lunch absentmindedly, unaware that several people were sitting around him.

"What did Professor Snape say to you?" Draco asked curiously.

"You'd probably be very excited if you knew," Aaron said with a wry smile. "By the way, what's the relationship between Sirius Black Black Harry Potter's parents?"

"Huh?" Draco seemed somewhat surprised. "You really didn't know?"

"Should I know?" Aaron countered. "Mr. Lucius may often share some current events in the Magic World with you, but my parents are often away from home."

"Oh, I see!" Draco exclaimed in realization. He then cautiously looked around to make sure no one else was there before lowering his voice and saying, "The reason I know this is because my the Mother is Sirius Black's Black. Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban a while ago, and my the Mother was quite shocked. That's when I found out what Sirius Black had done."

"Everyone knows that he killed thirteen Muggle," Aaron said impatiently.

"That's not the point," Draco said seriously. "The reason Harry Potter's parents were killed by Voldemort was because... Sirius Black Black revealed their location."

Aaron's pupils contracted slightly. "So that means Sirius Black Black indirectly caused the deaths of Harry's parents."

"You could say that," Draco shrugged. "Sirius Black Black now come out of Azkaban and appeared near Hogwarts. His target is obviously Harry Potter."

Hearing this, Aaron frowned.

He felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Draco, you can't tell Harry Potter about this," Aaron said seriously, looking at him.

"Why?"

"If he knew the truth, he might try every means to take revenge on Sirius Black."

"No way!" Draco laughed dismissively. "Is he that stupid?"

Sirius Black is far more powerful than him; seeking revenge would be suicidal, especially since Hogwarts is guarded by Dementor, and he wouldn't even be able to leave the castle.

"He's so stupid, you made him go find Voldemort..."

"Don't say that name," Draco said nervously.

"All right!

He might not dare to ask the You-Know-Who, but Sirius Black is different.

If he knew the truth, he would absolutely risk everything to fight Sirius Black, and it's not impossible that he would even use himself as bait.

Gollum!

Draco couldn't help but swallow hard, feeling a lingering fear in his heart.

His provocation during Potions Class was entirely because he thought Harry Potter wouldn't dare. If Harry Potter really did seek revenge on Sirius Black, he would have to bear some responsibility, at least his conscience would be troubled.

"I understand, I promise I won't tell him."

"I know you don't like him, but this matter is quite serious."

"I know he's frivolous, but I wouldn't risk his life like that."

Aaron nodded, quite satisfied with Draco's attitude.

He turned his gaze to Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing next to Draco, and asked with a smile, "What about you? Can you guarantee that?"

The two looked at each other and nodded in unison.

"Wait a minute." Draco suddenly seemed to think of something. "We can keep quiet, but what if he finds out through other means?"

"As long as you have a clear conscience, why worry about so much?" Aaron said dismissively. They were already doing well enough to keep their mouths shut; they couldn't stop others from courting disaster.

The sky seemed to darken and become somewhat gloomy in the afternoon.

With a heavy heart, Aaron took his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook into the Potions Class professor's office.

"You arrived right on time," Snape said with satisfaction.

"Professor, I still hope you can give this matter a second thought."

"We're colleagues after all. Why can't we sit down and talk about any misunderstandings we had in the past?"

"Aaron, you're still too young." Snape patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "You'll find that some things are worth remembering for a lifetime, and I believe Lupin thinks so too."

Aaron's lips twitched slightly. If it weren't for the need to use Snape to block Dumbledore's pressure, he would never have done something so harmful to others and himself.

"Come with me."

Snape, full of confidence, led the way, but there was no Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Where are we going to get here?

"The Staff Room," Snape said enigmatically. "He just asked the principal for it yesterday."

The two arrived at the spacious room fifteen minutes early. Snape immediately pulled up a chair and sat down. "Put your textbooks away. We need to behave ourselves."

Aaron chuckled and shook his head, tossing the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook to Abei, who skillfully stuffed it into his pocket.

"See that cabinet?" Snape said, pointing to a wardrobe at the back of the room. "There's a Boggart in there. Lupin will probably use it for his practical lessons."

"Really?" Aaron became interested. "It seems this Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor is quite skilled!"

"Hmph!" Snape snorted indignantly. "Just a cheap trick. If I were the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, I would never waste class time like this."

Do you know what Boggart is?

"The book says that some people say he is the most powerful master of Transfiguration."

"That's true. It can become the thing you fear most, so you'd better be prepared."

Aaron raised an eyebrow, silently considering what he was afraid of.

But after thinking for a while, he was surprised to find that he couldn't seem to come up with any answers.

Voldemort? Ruled out. He killed Voldemort several times.

His parents, aside, he was never afraid of them.

A packed schedule isn't right either; he's not satisfied with this arrangement, but he won't refuse it given the future developments.

"I'm actually quite curious."

"Your curiosity will soon be satisfied," Snape said solemnly. "Don't disappoint me, except perhaps with Dumbledore..."

"Professor, when did you start threatening people?" Aaron scoffed speechlessly. "Besides, I don't like dealing with the principal, but it's not because I'm afraid. It's because I feel like I'll be taken advantage of, and that feeling is really real."

But what I didn't expect was that your presence now gives me the same feeling.

Snape's face twitched slightly, and he was a little guilty, not daring to meet Aaron's gaze, but he quickly calmed down. "Sometimes feelings can be deceiving."

Just then, the door to the Staff Room suddenly opened, and the third-year Gryffindor filed in.

Professor Snape subtly shifted into a comfortable yet casual sitting position, but the sarcasm in his eyes was almost undisguised.

Professor Lupin was the last to enter the Staff Room. He didn't seem surprised to see Snape and calmly closed the door behind him.

"Lupin," Snape sneered as he stood up. "This is your first lesson. Mind if I sit in on it?"

"If you don't mind, go ahead and watch!" Lupin said nonchalantly. "My Defense Against the Dark Arts is quite exciting."

Lupin emphasized the pronunciation of "My Defense Against the Dark Arts, as if he knew very well that this was a position Snape had applied for many times without success.

"I hope to see you again this time next year." Snape retorted, not to be outdone. The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor seemed to be cursed; people would leave for various reasons before even a year was up.

"Swords clashing!" Aaron thought to himself. The feud between Snape and Lupin seemed to run deeper than he had imagined. Their words, though devoid of a single curse word, were full of provocation and veiled insults.

"You don't need to worry about that." Lupin turned to the group of Gryffindor and led them to the old wardrobe.

Sensing someone approaching, the wardrobe suddenly shook, startling several students in the front row who backed away.

"Don't worry, it's a Boggart inside," Professor Lupin said in a gentle tone, but the students still didn't feel very safe.

Last year, Lockhart was even more confident than him when he released those House-elf, but the result... was hard to describe, it could even be described as a complete mess.

"Can anyone tell me what Boggart looks like?"

"Nobody knows," Hermione spoke up. "Boggart can Transfiguration, and they transform into whatever their target fears most, which is why they are so..."

"That's terrifying," Professor Lupin chimed in. "That's quite right, Gryffindor score of five."

Boggart prefers dark and enclosed spaces; wardrobes, cupboards, and even under the bed are its hiding places.

Its abilities are too incredible; if you can't deal with it, it will be very troublesome, and even moving house might not be helpful.

The Boggart in the cabinet doesn't have a specific shape yet, but once I release it, it will become the thing we fear most.

However, we have a huge advantage that can leave it helpless.

Harry, are you aware of this advantage?

Harry paused, wondering why Professor Lupin was calling on him to answer a question.

But he could barely guess the answer, and said somewhat uncertainly, "Because there are so many of us, it doesn't know what it should become."

"That's right, five points for Gryffindor." Lupin raised an eyebrow at Snape and continued, "This is one way to deal with Boggart: go in pairs, because it can't handle two people at a time."

"Huh!" Snape curled his lip in disdain.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Aaron asked, puzzled. "Is there a problem with what Professor Lupin said?"

"No problem, but one point is too much. If it were me, one point would be enough."

Aaron pursed his lips, trying his best to suppress the urge to laugh.

One point? That's an extremely unrealistic dream.

In his opinion, Professor Snape never gave Harry Potter a single point; instead, he constantly found fault with him for various reasons and deducted points from him in different ways.

If it weren't for Hermione Granger making up for it in other classes, Gryffindor's end-of-term grades would be absolutely abysmal.