"Is this a clock?" Trelawney looked at Harry's tea leaves and shook her head repeatedly. "You might have time problems from now on."
She turned the teacup around and continued, "This looks like Muggle plane. You must be careful when you're flying through the sky."
"An eye patch? There's someone who's been dormant for a long time and wants to oppose you."
Everyone looked at Professor Trelawney, who turned the cup one last time, then suddenly gasped and screamed.
"Oh God, the black dog in the cemetery!" Trelawney's hand slipped, shattering her favorite pink teacup on the floor. "Child, this is Grim."
Ron had long since lost his pre-class respect. He randomly picked a bystander and complained to her, "From the moment she entered the classroom, she hasn't said a single kind word."
Professor Trelawney packed up and ended the class early, leaving a bewildered Harry in a state of confusion. He didn't even know what the so-called ominous meaning meant; he just felt his heart pounding whenever the word was uttered.
The subsequent Transfiguration lesson, with its exchange between Hermione and Professor McGonagall, brought him some peace of mind.
Hermione raised her hand. "Professor, we just had our first Divination, interpreting tea leaves, but I feel—"
"Ah, I see," Professor McGonagall frowned. "No need to say anything more. She must have said something incoherent again. Don't worry, every year on the first day of class she picks a student and says he's Grim and will die this semester."
Professor McGonagall shrugged. "They're all alive and well to this day. I don't mean to speak ill of anyone, but Divination is really a rather unscientific discipline. If possible, the General Affairs Office should be willing to handle complaints related to Grim."
Professor McGonagall and Trelawney were not on good terms as colleagues. As the vice principal, Professor McGonagall disapproved of Trelawney scaring children with death Prophecy in class, especially since most of them had not come true.
Moreover, Professor Trelawney enjoys drinking sherry, often hides in the North Tower and rarely comes downstairs, is emotionally unstable, prone to tears, and has an exaggerated teaching style, making it difficult for Professor McGonagall to appreciate such a colleague.
Apart from that, they had no other conflicts.
On Friday, the highly anticipated Defence Against Dark Magic Class made its debut.
" Hermione, isn't there only one class this afternoon? Why are you carrying such a big backpack with so many books?" Harry and Ron asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, why carry so many books?" Hermione's eyes darted away. "Oh right, I have to go to the library after class."
"She's hiding something from us," Ron concluded bluntly.
Harry nodded. Hermione had been acting strangely lately, but they didn't have time to speculate. Professor Lupin had already walked into the classroom with his tattered box.
Today, Professor Lupin looked very healthy, with a rosy complexion, unlike his emaciated appearance on the train.
"Good afternoon, students. Put your textbooks away. Today we're having a practical lesson; all you need is your magic wand."
The students looked at each other in dismay. Ever since Lockhart released the Cornish Pixies, they hadn't had a practical lesson. Thinking of last year's tragedy, they all took a step back, afraid that a group of House-elf would also crawl out of their cages, grab them by the ears, and hang them from the ceiling.
In the center of the classroom stood an old wardrobe. Professor Lupin tapped it with his wand. "Don't worry, there's a Boggart inside."
Harry's lips twitched. "That's what we should be worried about."
" Boggart likes dark, enclosed spaces," Professor Lupin said. "Wardrobs, gaps under beds, cupboards under sinks—this one was just moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the principal to let the teachers keep it for my third-grade students to use in practical lessons."
"Now, the first question is, what is Boggart?"
Hermione raised her hand and answered, "They're Transfiguration things; they become whatever we're most afraid of."
Lupin smiled slightly, " Gryffindor gets five points."
"But we have so many of us, and we don't know what Boggart might become. This shows us the first way to deal with Boggart —go in groups. But what if we're alone? How do we deal with him?"
Lupin deliberately kept everyone in suspense. He knew many students present already knew the answer, so he didn't ask any questions and went straight to the answer, "Laughter. We need to make the Boggart look funny. This requires a spell. You can try it without your wands first— 'Riddikulus.'"
The students immediately began training, Lupin had each of them try it out. Neville transformed Boggart into Snape dressed in his grandmother's clothes, which drew laughter from the audience.
Parvati imagined a mummy tripping over the bandages on her body, Seamus turned it into a choking ghost, Dean turned it into a severed hand caught in a mousetrap, and Ron, though startled by the giant spider that Boggart had turned into, quickly cast a spell to put roller skates on all eight of its legs.
An enraged Boggart fixed his gaze on Professor Lupin, transforming into a pure white light ball, like the moon, which Professor Lupin casually swatted aside with a " Riddikulus."
Harry was eager to try. He felt that whether it was Voldemort or the Dementor, he was well-prepared and would surely be able to use a spell.
Professor Lupin suddenly withdrew his reply to Boggart, "Time's up. We'll come again next time. Everyone did a great job today."
Harry and Hermione looked shocked. "But it's not our turn yet."
"Next time," Professor Lupin winked playfully, "There will also be Red Cap, Kappa, and so on. Any dangerous Fantastic Beasts mentioned in the textbook will be put into practice."
After returning to school, Lorne didn't keep up with the classes, but he used his spare time during class breaks to catch up on a lot of the game content.
He plans to save them up and release them all at once during Halloween events, so he won't have to rush to finish them then.
During this time, Sirius often stayed in his office studying the Magic Power Matrix, and giving Peter a good beating made him feel incredibly good. Sometimes he would even transform into human form and whistle.
Lorne, handling official business. "Many students have written to say that the Defence Against Dark Magic Class professor is very interesting; it seems Professor Lupin is working very diligently in his position."
Sirius casually remarked, " Moony can be a bit of a taciturn guy sometimes, but his abilities are undeniable."
"Here's another one. He suggests that the General Affairs Office should also have the authority to sign off on passes to Hogsmeade," Lorne said, looking at Sirius who had stopped. "Guess who wrote it?"
Sirius quickly stepped forward, snatched the letter of suggestion from Lorne's hand, glanced at it briefly, and asked doubtfully, "You'll agree, won't you?"
" The General Affairs Office doesn't have that authority," Lorne waved his hand. "However, I have other methods, but I might need you to work for me in advance."