DADA

With reluctance I walked into the classroom. I was not sure what to think of the professor. Severus showed clear contempt for him. He leaned relaxed against the wall. He wore shabby, old robes and looked just as worn as his clothes did. Not as much as on the train though. He hardly looked dangerous. Still, it was clear he was an able wizard to fend of the dementors on the train. Besides, Severus said we'd at least have a decent teacher, not something he'd say lightly. The professor had a kind smile. He must have noticed me staring. Embarrassed I look away.

I look at the closet that stands in the middle in the classroom. It is clear that something is in it. The students seem to have surrounded it. I did not notice the professor had walked to the front. "Welcome to defence against the dark arts," the professor says, "Do not fear the creature in the closet." He says with a wave of his hands. "I am professor Lupin. I have heard from professor Dumbledore that your previous teachers were not very good, so do not be afraid to ask for help, even for things you should have already been able to do."

The closet rumbles again. "As for today," professor Lupin says, "Can anyone tell me what creature is in the closet?"

Immediately Granger sticks up her hand and professor Lupin gestures her to answer. "A boggart, professor Lupin," Granger answers, "They hide in dark places and feed off people's fears. They turn shape into whatever a person fears most."

Lupin takes his wand. "I couldn't have put it better myself. Very good miss.."

Granger smiles. "Miss Granger, sir."

"Ten points to Gryffindor," Lupin then says. "It is indeed a boggart in this closet. Mr. Filch found one near the beginning of the school year and I asked him if I could use it for classes. Mr Potter, boggarts have an disadvantage when faced with a crowd. Could you maybe tell me what that disadvantage is?"

Harry scrunches up his face thinking. "Maybe it doesn't know what to turn into? Since not everybody fears the same."

"Very good," Lupin says. He looks strangely at Harry. "Ten points to Gryffindor. Miss Brown, can you tell me how you beat a boggart?" I see on her face she doesn't know. I stick my hand up, annoyed. You cannot just give questions to Gryffindors, I think angrily.

"I don't know, sir," miss Brown answers.

Lupin looks at me curiously. "Mister Malfoy, do you know the answer?"

"Laughter, sir," I say a bit louder than I meant to.

Lupin looks at me with a raised eyebrow. "Indeed, mister Malfoy. Ten points to Slytherin." He then looks through the whole class. "Everyone take your wand and say after me: Ridiculus."

"Ridiculus," we echo.

Lupin smiles. "Very good. I want everyone to line up and to think about their worst fear. When you encounter the boggart, you will try to think of something funny and say ridiculus, then the next student will try." Everyone lines up, just like we were ordered to. Most Gryffindors seem excited to find out what their boggarts shape into. I am not sure if I want all these student to find out what I fear most. I do not even know what it would turn into. Theo stays with me behind in class. He then looks searchingly through the class, his eyes then fall on Longbottom. "Mister Longbottom, why don't you.."

Professor Snape then smoothly cuts in. He is looking with contempt to professor Lupin. "I wouldn't use mister Longbottom as an example. He'll probably set the classroom on fire."

Professor Lupin looks mildly irritated. "Thank you, professor Snape, for your advice, but I am sure that mister Longbottom will perform just admirably. If you'll come to the front."

Professor Snape then scowls and walks away. Longbottom walks to the front, albeit slightly reluctantly.

Professor Lupin looks kindly at him. "Do you know what you fear most?" Longbottom mumbles an answer that nobody quite got. "I'm sorry I did not get that. Can you speak up a bit?"

Longbottom reddens. "Professor Snape, sir."

Severus really is quite terrible to Longbottom, I realise then yet again. How come it is so easy to ignore and to forget how awful the people you care about can be?

Professor Lupin looks a bit contemplative and then smiles. "Doesn't your grandmother wear those old-fashioned hats?" He then asks.

Longbottom looks awfully confused. "I don't want professor Snape to turn into my grandmother either, sir."

Professor Lupin chuckles and bows down to whisper some words into Longbottom's ear. "Ready?"

Longbottom looks like he is going to say no, but Lupin already swishes his wand. Out of the closet comes professor Snape. He looks contemptuous at everyone. I feel strangely hurt, seeing him look at me like that for a second, even though this is not Severus. It is merely a boggart. Well, this is how everyone outside of Slytherin sees Severus, isn't it? This is how he wants people to see him.

Longbottom whimpers, then strangely determined the raises his wand and closes his eyes in concentration. "Ri- Ridiculus!" He shouts.

Oh, well Severus will definitely not be amused. He did not take well to these sort of things. He only took well to jokes from well, me and my mother.

I snort. Maybe this was a little funny. I mean, this was definitely Severus own fault. He acted so horrible to students as a teacher, it was no wonder Longbottom was scared of him.

I carefully soak it in. Severus wearing Longbottom's grandmother's clothes. O god, he even had a vulture on his head. I stifle my laughter, unlike the Gryffindors, who are loudly laughing and cheer on Longbottom."

"Excellent, mister Longbottom," Lupin proudly states, "Twenty points to Gryffindor. Come on, why doesn't the next in line give it a try?"

Crack. It turns into a banshee. Seamus puts a step back. "Ridiculus." The banshee looks ready to start screaming. I put my hands on my ears. No sounds comes. I laugh relieved.

Patil is up next. Crack. It turns into a giant cobra. "Ridiculus," she sounds fairly confident. Now its a jack-in-the-box.

Dean Thomas steps up forward. Crack.. It is a disembodied hand with a pencil in it. He looks shocked at it. The pencil falls on the ground. The hands looks kind of dead. He seems to snap out of it. "Ridiculus!" The hand is trapped in mousetrap.

Mostly Gryffindors give it a try, but Potter and his friends seem to be near the end of the line too.

Pansy is up. Crack! In front of Pansy stands a girl strangely alike to her. Pug-nosed. Fat. Horrible hair. Looking like she just smelled some dragon dung. She looks horrified. I heard her talking about how it would probably turn into some hippogriff and how they were terrible creatures and mumble something about how Hagrid should have never become a teacher.

Then I hear Weasley joke to Potter. "Well, I can't see the difference between them, can you?" I want to hex them, but my eyes are glued to Pansy. Come on, Panse, you can do it.

I hear Harry warily react to Weasley. "That's a bit harsh, Ron."

Professor Lupin seems to hesitate if he has to step in. "You can do it, miss Parkinson," he softly encourages. "The incantation is ridiculus."

She looks ready to cry. Why is Lupin just waiting there? Then before I can do something like jump before her to make the boggart change, she raises her wand. "Ridiculous," she says softly. I stare at her. She looks great. I can barely look away.

Crack! Daphne walked up. I hear Lupin kindly say to her. "Very impressive, miss Parkinson. Turning it into a veela, was very smart of you." Maybe Lupin was not so bad.

I walk up to Pansy and give her a hug. She sniffles a bit. "I didn't see a difference between you and the veela," I say confidently to her. She blushes.

We look at Daphne. She is looking strangely at the puking women before her. Then the women looks up to her, no eyes, with a heart in her hand, covered in blood. She looks disgusted. "Ridiculus," she says. It turns into a juggler.

Crack! Brown is up. She is faced with a grim. Then it shrinks, becoming a cute puppy chasing its tail. I laugh. I realise I want to have a go, just not necessarily with people around.

Greg's turn. Crack. A beheaded buckbeak. Ridiculus- then buckbeak is engorged in eating meat. Gross.

Vin's up. Crack. God no- Ginny. She's writing in the diary again. Her eyes look vacant. The book falls down. Her body goes slack. Vin tries to take her hand.

"Miss Weasley is fine, mister Crabbe," Lupin reminds him.

Vin still looks shaken up. "Ridiculous." The bleeding diary appears. Not exactly funny- but not scary either.

Ron's turn. Crack! A giant spider. Ridiculus! It is tripping over roller skates.

Then Potter steps up. I feel curious. Would it turn into Voldemort? Now professor Lupin steps in. Crack! A silver glowing orb. "Ridiculus," he says lazily. It turns into a deflating balloon. As the air escapes it makes a fartlike noise, making everybody laugh. He forces the boggart back into the closet.

"Ten point to everyone who has faced the boggart," Lupin says. "You've done very well." He ends classes. I somehow feel I need to face the boggart. On my own. I don't want anyone to see. What if I hesitate?

I decide to sneak out. Maybe Ginny will go with me, I decide. She is not one to chicken out. I look at Greg, who is waiting for me. We head to the library.