The Prisoner of Azkaban | Hermione Granger x Male Reader (Book Three)

7. The Boggart

Y/N's POV

We had Potions, then lunch and finally Defence Against the Dark Arts in the afternoon, Malfoy reappeared in Potions and caused a scene. Finally, it was over.

We marched off to the Great Hall, ready for lunch. Once we finished, we headed straight to our DADA classroom.

Professor Lupin wasn't there when we arrived. We all sat down, took out our books, quills, and parchment, and were talking when he finally entered the room. Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the teacher's desk.

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

A few curious looks were exchanged as we put away our books. We had never had a practical Defence Against the Dark Arts class before, unless you counted the memorable class last year when stupid Lockhart had brought a cageful of pixies to class and set them loose.

"Right then," said Professor Lupin, when everyone was ready, "if you'd like to go to the back of the classroom please."

Lupin then waved his wand and all the chairs and desks flew to the side, leaving a space in the middle of the classroom, Lupin then brought out what seemed to be a wardrobe.

The wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.

"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly because a few people had jumped backwards in alarm, "there's a Boggart in there."

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin, "wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks, I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice."

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?"

Hermione put up her hand.

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

"Couldn't have put it better myself," said Professor Lupin, "so the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. It does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when it is alone, but when I let it out, it will immediately become whatever each of us most fears.

"This means," said Professor Lupin, "that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Y/N?"

Trying to answer a question with Hermione next to me, with her hand in the air, was very off-putting, but I answered calmly.

"Because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be."

"Precisely," said Professor Lupin, "it's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart. It becomes confused. Which should it become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake, tried to frighten two people at once and turned itself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening.

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 assume a shape that you find amusing.

We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please...riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!" we all chorused.

"Good," said Professor Lupin, "very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."