"Very good. Then you should all learn from them and work hard," Professor Lupin said to the others.
He returned to the main topic and clapped his hands:
"You're both right."
"To defeat Boggart, the first step is to think of the funniest thing in your mind; the second step is to clearly and forcefully chant the incantation— 'Riddikulus!' If you can do these two things, you're guaranteed to succeed."
After speaking, Professor Lupin looked at Harry in the crowd:
" Harry, what about you? What's the funniest thing to you?"
Harry paused for a moment,
After thinking about it carefully, he whispered, "... Ron ate the snot-flavored candy, and his face turned green."
As soon as he finished speaking, the whole class burst into laughter.
Ron's face instantly turned green. "You! Harry, you actually think this is the funniest thing!"
I'll fight you to the death!
As he spoke, he reached out to grab Harry's neck.
Harry laughed as he dodged, "You can think of my funny stories too!"
Ron was furious. "My mind is filled with thoughts of you embarrassing yourself, I can't possibly stop thinking about that!"
Professor Lupin quickly stepped in with a smile, gently but firmly separating the two:
"Alright, alright, if you keep this up, Boggart won't even be out yet, and you two will be fighting. Don't worry, you'll have plenty of opportunities to 'get back at each other' when you're on the court later."
After calming the two down, Professor Lupin suppressed the laughter and noise in the classroom, his gaze falling on Draco in the crowd:
" Malfoy, since you've consistently been at the top of your class, why don't you give everyone a demonstration?"
The whole class fell silent instantly.
Everyone was extremely curious: what was the most frightening thing about the omnipotent Draco?
Someone whispered:
"Could it be Voldemort?"
"Maybe it's his father?"
"Could it be... Professor Snape?"
Draco stepped out of the crowd, stood in front of the wardrobe, wand in hand, and Professor Lupin reminded him:
"Open the cabinet door when you're ready."
Draco nodded.
With a wave of his wand, the wardrobe door creaked open.
The next second, the figure that Boggart had conjured slowly emerged from the originally dark wardrobe.
It's neither Voldemort nor Lucius.
It was Hermione crying. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and she was looking at him with a wronged expression, without saying a word.
This is Draco's fear. What he fears most is not danger or harm, but Hermione's sad and tearful appearance.
Everyone was stunned. No one expected that the proud and flamboyant Draco would be most afraid of this.
Hermione stood in the crowd, her pupils contracted slightly, her cheeks flushed red, and her heart suddenly raced.
Then the classroom erupted in laughter. Lavender said, "Wow, Draco, you're worried about your girlfriend feeling wronged, huh!"
"I'm speechless. I get fed dog food in class..." Ron muttered, rubbing his forehead.
The students all looked at Draco and Hermione with an "I see" expression, glancing back and forth with knowing looks.
But just then--
Boggart hadn't stopped yet; his form twisted again.
The crying Hermione turned into a bristling Hermione:
With her eyebrows furrowed, cheeks puffed out, hands on her hips, eyes glaring at Draco, and mouth opening and closing as if scolding someone, she was exactly like a fierce little tigress.
The whole class. "..."
A moment of deathly silence.
Hermione's face turned even redder, and she wished she could disappear into the ground right then and there. "D--Ra-Co--!"
She gritted her teeth inwardly, her voice almost trembling.
Ron burst out laughing, "Hahahaha!!! You're most afraid of Hermione scolding you?!"
Draco himself was stunned for half a second, but quickly regained his composure, and his mind immediately began to conjure up funny images:
This "heroine the Hermione " --
She transformed into someone wearing a huge, fluffy princess dress, with a pair of furry tiger ears on her head, and holding a carrot as a magic wand.
He pointed his wand. " Riddikulus!"
A flash of light.
Boggart has really changed!
Hermione's appearance remained unchanged, still standing with her hands on her hips glaring at people, but she now wore a fluffy tutu, had a pair of soft tiger ears on her head, and her wand had turned into a carrot.
It's both fierce and cute, and incredibly funny.
Draco laughed out loud at the sight.
That laugh was no small matter; it made Hermione so embarrassed she almost dug her toes out of the castle basement. She gritted her teeth and whispered:
" Draco Malfoy —you just wait!"
"A very successful demonstration..." Professor Lupin was also quite surprised. "It seems that Malfoy... knows very well what he fears most, and also knows very well how to make it cute."
Draco put away his wand, watched as the Boggart, turned into a comical doll, exploded and dissipated, and calmly walked back to the group.
As soon as he stood still, Hermione secretly pinched his waist hard, and Draco, caught off guard, winced in pain and groaned.
The surrounding classmates witnessed this scene and immediately burst into laughter, with some shouting jeers:
"Just as I expected! Boggart turned into Hermione tigress, Draco was genuinely terrified! He was completely outmaneuvered the moment he got down there!"
Even Malfoy has his moments of being completely subdued!
Hermione immediately let go of Draco's hand upon hearing this, giving him a somewhat embarrassed glare and muttering reproachfully, "Who told you to turn the Boggart like that? Now you're just making a laughingstock of yourself."
Ignoring his classmates, Draco said indulgently, "I may be scared, but even if you turn into a tigress, you'll still be my favorite version of you, and I'll still love you."
These words caused an instant uproar in the room. Everyone wore maternal smiles and teased the couple for openly showing affection.
Hermione's face turned completely red, and she could only lower her head and mutter softly, "Don't say anything more."
Professor Lupin quickly stopped them. "Alright, alright, stop getting carried away with the excitement, let's continue the lesson—next one."
"I propose we send Hermione up!" Lavender said.
Hermione panicked and waved her hands repeatedly:
"I... I'm not ready yet."
"No, no! It has to be Hermione!"
We all want to see Hermione's Boggart!
"See if Draco is the most terrifying person in your heart!"
The whole class almost unanimously agreed, and a chorus of cheers erupted.
"I'm really fed up with you guys... You just love eating dog food, don't you...?" Only Ron crossed his arms and complained.
Seeing the class's high spirits, Professor Lupin looked at Hermione encouragingly:
"Since there's such strong public opinion, how about... Miss Granger, you give it a try?"
Hermione froze, completely at a loss, and subconsciously glanced at Draco.
"Go ahead, I want to see it too..." Draco said.
Hermione finally stepped forward, wand in hand.
The whole class immediately fell silent, staring intently. Professor Lupin said softly:
"Concentrate, Miss Granger."
The wardrobe door suddenly swung open.
Black mist surged forth, twisting and taking shape—
Everyone held their breath.
The next second, Boggart became...