Ari was eager to find out if his new defense teacher was any good. He didn't look like the type to make a good teacher with his overall shabby appearance, but he looked so different than Lockhart that Ari couldn't help feeling hopeful.
During the first defense class, Ari's class learned about boggarts. First, Professor Lupin asked some questions about boggarts which the Ravenclaws were eager to answer. Next, he told them the spell for repelling boggarts, explaining that boggarts are repelled by laughter. He asked Padma to go first and asked what she is scared of. When Padma said a snake, Lupin asked how to make a snake funny.
As other students were taking their turns, Ari wondered what animal his boggart would turn to. He also tried to think of how to make any animal funny. He didn't even pay attention to his classmates' fears, as he was so scared of what he would see.
"Anthony," Professor Lupin called.
Ari stepped forward and the boggart turned into a lion.
"Riddikulus!" Ari screamed trying to think of the cowardly lion from The Wizard of Oz.
Instead of acting like a cowardly lion, the lion changed to a tiger.
"Riddikulus!" Ari screamed again, only thinking that he doesn't want to be the tiger's supper.
The tiger turned into a bear. As the bear ran towards him, Ari focused very hard on Mordechai Ben David's mashiach song, and this time when he did the spell, the bear began singing and dancing. Ari breathed a sigh of relief that he finally mastered the spell.
After everyone had a turn, Lupin put the boggart back in the wardrobe.
"Can anyone tell me why Anthony's boggart had three forms?" the professor asked.
"It should have had four," Terry teased. "I was waiting to see the cat."
"Lions and tigers are both in the cat family," Ari countered.
"Fine," Michael said teasingly. "A toad or a mouse."
"So it looks like you're scared of animals," Lupin said.
Ari blushed and looked down at his shoes.
"It's nothing to be ashamed about," Professor Lupin said. "Some animals are very dangerous, and some of your classmates had specific animals that they feared. What were you thinking when you faced the lion?"
"I was trying to think of the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz," Ari explained sheepishly.
"Were there any other thoughts in your head?" Lupin asked.
"I didn't want to be the lion's next meal," Ari whispered.
"I wouldn't want to be eaten by a lion either," Lupin agreed. "So instead of keeping the funny thought in your mind, you let your fear cause the boggart to change. Why was it easier once you go to the bear?"
"It usually takes me a few times to get a spell correctly," Ari told him. "It makes sense that it would take me three tries on a boggart."
"Also, the animal forms your boggart took are extremely dangerous," Professor Lupin tried to reassure him. "It makes perfect sense that you were trying to act fast before the animal gets to you, as all three animals have caused the deaths of innocent people."
Professor Lupin awarded everyone points and dismissed the class.
The next class was Transfiguration. After talking about animagi, McGonagall turned to a cat before everyone's eyes. While the rest of the class cheered, Ari screamed, causing everyone to laugh at him.
"Are you scared of cats?" McGonagall asked him, after turning back.
"He's scared of all animals," Terry teased. "Didn't you ever notice that when we transfigure mice, tortoises, or beatles, Anthony stays as far away from the table as possible?"
"That does explain things," McGonagall agreed. "I'm sorry I frightened you, Mr. Goldstein. I think you are the first student I encountered who is scared of cats, but since you know an animagus is actually a person, there's no reason to be scared."
Ari was embarrassed for the second time in one day. He wondered if his friends will ever let him forget about today's events.
During the first Potions class, Ari had to make the shrinking potion that he wrote an essay about. He did the potion correctly and waited for Snape to see it before asking, "What would happen if I would add another spleen and some more leech juice?"
"You would fail," Snape said bluntly.
"The potion would probably be a different color, right?" Ari asked. "Would the change in color affect the strength of the potion?"
"If you could brew a potion correctly, there's no reason to do it wrong," Snape said firmly, walking away before Ari could ask anything else.
"I wonder if adding baking soda would provide an antidote to the potion," Ari said to Terry. "Baking soda fills things with air, just like yeast. They're both useful when trying to make explosions."
"Five points from Ravenclaw!" Snape snapped. "I told you there are no explosions in my class!"
"How does he hear me from the other end of the classroom?" Ari wondered.
"Bats have excellent hearing," Terry whispered back.
Somehow, Terry didn't get in trouble for his comment. Ari wondered if the word explosion triggered something for Snape. He decided to try to suppress his urge to explode things as much as possible, but he couldn't help wondering how muggle ingredients would react in a potion.