Chapter 5

Grace felt excited for the next class, Defense Against The Dark Arts with Professor Lupin. This time, she resolved to learn more from Professor Lupin, as it was only reasonable for a student to be curious and seek knowledge.

She arrived in class a little earlier than the others, so there were many vacant seats. She looked around and saw some Slytherin students already present, for example, Daphne Greengrass. Grace looked around again and decided to sit next to Greengrass, who was in the second row to the left, near the window.

Daphne glanced at Grace but didn’t say anything.

Grace once again felt again that the characters in Harry Potter were not exactly the same as the actresses or actors who portrayed them.

For instance, Harry, who looked handsome and frail, wasn’t as energetic and not so smart in other subjects as often depicted, he could certainly handle assignments without their group having to depend on Hermione.

Ron, with his red hair, was also handsome, more like a playboy, though he was truly weak.

Then there was Hermione, who was depicted as a “Miss Know-It-All” in fact, she wasn’t. She resembled Emma but looked taller and was also brave, with just a little push from Harry and Ron, she would put down her book and run with them.

Now, Daphne Greengrass had wavy, long brown hair and light green eyes, with a refined aura about her. In Grace’s view, she was like a potential business partner. Aside from different looks nothing seems different.

Grace wanted to make some connections with Greengrass, but it seemed pointless to make a move right now, as she had nothing to offer. While lost in thought, other students finally arrived. Hermione was so excited to see Grace, as she hadn’t seen her the whole day since their Care of Magical Creatures class.

“Grace!” Hermione greeted excitedly.

“Good afternoon, Hermione,” Grace replied, then invited her to sit.

Malfoy, on the other hand, upon seeing Grace, wanted to settle the score, but unlike in the morning, he was calmer now. Although he truly wanted to argue with Grace, knowing that she had saved him made him stop for causing trouble for the time being. He felt frustrated, he didn’t like owing anything to anyone, especially a Gryffindor.

He sat behind Daphne, while Pansy sat next to Daphne. A few moments later, Professor Lupin finally entered.

” Alright everyone, I’m Remus Lupin, your new Professor in Defense Against The Dark Arts. Put down your books, you won’t need them,” Lupin paced back and forth slowly. ” Today, we will have a practical lesson. Take your wands and follow me.” After saying that, he led the students into a staff room.

The students looked around and saw a mirror that was a little taller than them. It kept shaking as if something wanted to come out. For some reason, Grace swallowed, there was some kind of eerie feeling about it. However, she knew she wasn’t the only one who had the same feeling.

” Intriguing, isn’t it? Would anyone like to guess what is inside?” Lupin asked with interest, enjoying the students’ reactions.

“BThat’s a Boggart,” Thomas, one of the Gryffindors, answered.

” That is correct, Mr. Thomas.”

” Can somebody tell me what a Boggart looks like?”

” No one knows,” Hermione answered, making Ron flustered again as he saw Hermione just beside him.

” When did she get here?” Ron asked Harry quietly.

Hermione just gave Ron a side-eye, then she continued, ” Boggarts are shapeshifters, they take the shape of whatever a particular person fears the most. That’s what makes them so—”

” So terrifying, yes,” Lupin continued. ” Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a Boggart. Let’s practice it now, without wands, please. Repeat after me… Riddikulus! Riddikulus!”

Lupin stood at the front and taught everyone the charm Riddikulus. ” Very good, a little louder and very clear.”

” This class is ridiculous,” Malfoy murmured, while Goyle and Crabbe nodded.

” Very good, well, so much for the easy part. See, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a Boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing. Let me explain. Uh, Neville, will you join me, please? Come on, don’t be shy. Come on, come on.”

Neville hesitated out of fear but still went to the front.

Lupin asked, ” Hello, Neville, what frightens you most of all?”

” Professor Snape,” Neville whispered, which Lupin didn’t hear.

” Sorry?”

” Professor Snape,” Neville repeated a little louder. Other students laughed when they heard what he feared.

” Yeah, he frightens all. And I believe you live with your grandmother.”

” Yes, but I don’t want that Boggart to turn into her either,” Neville said nervously.

” No, it won’t. I want you to picture her clothes, only her clothes, very clearly in your mind.”

” She carries a red handbag,” Neville said.

” We don’t need to hear, as long as you see it, we’ll see it. Now, when I open that wardrobe, here’s what I want you to do.” Then he whispered to Neville, ” Imagine Professor Snape in your grandmother’s clothes. Can you do that?”

” Yes,” Neville looked at Lupin’s face before he nodded.” Wand at the ready- one, two, three!”

Then a Boggart showed up in Professor Snape’s form.

Grace watched everything from behind and finally relaxed. ‘It’s not that scary at all.’

With Neville as the start, Professor Lupin asked everyone to fall in line. Although it was a little chaotic, everyone seemed more energetic. Until it was Grace’s turn.

Grace faced the Boggart. She was a little nervous, as she didn’t know what she feared the most because having a weakness was not good. She wanted to know her weakness or what she feared so she could deal with it as quickly as possible.

The class quieted down as they saw a tall, blond girl standing in front of a Boggart that slowly transformed into something they didn’t understand, but it was definitely not a creature or something scary.

Hermione’s eyes widened, and some Muggle students seemingly familiar with Grace’s Boggart were dumbfounded.

It wasn’t a monster with fangs or a shadowy figure. It was a gleaming, executive desk, polished mahogany, vast and imposing, flanked by three state-of-the-art computer monitors, each displaying terrifying data. On the central screen, a stock market graph was plunging, a blood-red line plummeting into oblivion.

Grace finally couldn’t smile, she became visibly shocked as she watched the data. Living in another world while dedicating her life to something she learned to love, and seeing it just plummet, made Grace angry. She wasn’t scared at all, she just wanted to destroy it.

Lupin seemed a little shocked, as he didn’t understand Grace’s Boggart. But seeing Grace getting serious, scared, angry and seemingly determined to just destroy it, he quickly reminded her, ” The charm spell, Grace.”

Grace narrowed her eyes at Professor Lupin for disturbing her analysing, but she quickly snapped out of it and knew she had lost her composure.

“Riddikulus!” Grace chanted. ‘I really want to destroy it. How dare it show my money just crashed like that?!’

Grace turned the Boggart into Scooby and Shaggy with funny expressions running around the room. She went to the back when she saw Harry step forward.

Hermione wanted to talk to Grace, but seeing Harry’s turn, she stopped.