The Most Fearing Thing

"Come here, all of you!" Lupin quickly composed himself and led the young wizards to an old wardrobe.

As they approached, the wardrobe suddenly began to shake violently, and the doors banged as if something were trying to get out.

Neville and the others were so frightened that they took several steps back and stared at the cupboard in bewilderment.

Lupin smiled at this, patted the old wardrobe and said, "Don't worry, that's what you're going to have to deal with for this lesson, a boggart!"

"Bogart liked dark, enclosed spaces! He used to hide in old wardrobes, spaces under beds, cupboards under sinks… I once ran into one living in a grandfather clock," Professor Lupin explained to the wizards.

"This Boggart was moved in yesterday afternoon. I asked the Headmaster to let the professors keep it for our lessons!"

"So who knows what a boggart is?" Lupin asked, looking around the room.

Hermione raised her hand high on her toes, and as Lupin was about to ask her to answer, a voice rose from the crowd.

"Professor! Boggart is a magical creature capable of transfiguration! It can see into your heart and become what you fear most."

"The best way to deal with them is to laugh! But few people can laugh in the face of fear, so it usually requires the aid of a spell — funny! — that turns a boggart into what you'd think would be the funniest!"

"It is also worth noting that a boggart is not aggressive, but rather intimidating, so its presence can be ignored if one has the mental fortitude to do so… and if there are too many people around, it can throw the boggart into chaos and make it wonder what to expect."

Ivan went on and on about Boggart's peculiarities until he finally looked at Lupin and said, "Am I right, Professor? I don't suppose there's anything more to add?"

"Ah! Yes… you said it very well! Ten points to Gryffindor!" Lupin was stunned for a while, his expression strange.

Ivan had said all that he wanted to say about this class, so what should he say later?

"But I must warn you, Hals! Please remember to raise your hand for the next question," Lupin said rather helplessly.

"I don't think you can stop a student from wanting to answer a question!" Ivan looked at Lupin very seriously, not backing down.

Lupin was speechless and was about to say something when Ivan spoke again, sounding apologetic.

"I'm very sorry, Professor! As you should know, I accidentally deducted all of Gryffindor's house points yesterday, so I wanted to work harder and earn back all the house points I lost…"

When Ivan finished speaking, Lupin swallowed his words and looked at him with understanding. 'I see. No wonder…'

Behind him, Harry and the others rolled their eyes. It didn't matter if Ivan had points deducted before class, he always found a way to answer the first question and leave the teachers helpless…

Lupin cleared his throat and said to Ivan, "In that case, you'll be the first to deal with Boggart and give everyone a demonstration! If you can get a good start, I'll consider adding ten points!"

Ivan nodded happily. He did not expect that his random nonsense would have such an unexpected reward. It seemed that he would be able to gain a lot of marks from this lesson.

With that in mind, Ivan went to the old wardrobe, which began to shake even more violently, as if it sensed that there was someone outside.

The young wizards and witches who were watching the proceedings were eager to see what Ivan's worst fear was, as he had made a name for himself in school over the past few years, as if there was nothing he could not do.

Hermione found it hard to imagine that there was anything in the world Ivan feared…

"You've just said the spell against Boggart, but I'd like to remind you again that it's funny!"

Lupin waved his wand to show Ivan how to cast the spell, then waved his hand to clear the way, equally interested in what Boggart was about to change.

Ivan had already activated Occlumency to see if it would affect Boggart's judgement!

More importantly, it occurred to Ivan that what he feared would not be easy to reveal.

If Boggart were to turn into Alicia in front of everyone, lying in a pool of blood, Dumbledore might guess something.

Ivan's calm demeanor was beginning to falter, but he managed to keep his composure.

"Now then!" Lupin did not give Ivan time to think. The wand in his right hand fired a stream of sparks at the handle of the cupboard.

The wardrobe door burst open and a dark, twisting shape-shifter burst out, startling everyone, including several young witches, who screamed in terror.

"Don't panic! Let's move back a little more. Boggart just hasn't figured out what to change into yet. It seems to be a little confused and can't find what it fears!" Lupin shouted to reassure the crowd, looking puzzled. It was the first time he had seen such a situation.

Ivan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Occlumency had worked better than he thought!

However, Ivan soon found that as the Boggart got closer to him, it began to change shape, slowly, as if disturbed by something.

From a strange sphere, Boggart took on the appearance of a human, looking more and more like Ivan, and within moments, another Ivan Hals had appeared before them.

There were looks of astonishment on everyone's faces, as they couldn't quite understand why Ivan's worst fear was himself.

Boggart, in his blond form, stood opposite Ivan, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry, actually, I…" It opened its mouth, and its body became unstable, as if it was about to change again.

However, Ivan, who had guessed what it was going to say, did not give Boggart a chance to continue speaking or to change shape.

"Hilarious!"