A Boggart is a magical creature in the wizarding world, a shapeshifter that can peer into your heart and turn into the thing you fear most. The best way to deal with it is to laugh, and then chant, "Riddikulus."
If it had been nothing more than an ordinary Boggart, this class wouldn't have stayed in people's memories, nor made them smile knowingly when they recalled it years later. The key was the very first student to face the Boggart—Neville Longbottom.
Neville was no longer the little crybaby he once was, but if you asked who seemed the least like a Gryffindor, Neville would still rank high on the list.
As everyone knew, Neville was afraid of his grandmother at home, and of Professor Snape at Hogwarts.
Eda had even once suspected that Neville suffered from a kind of "Snape phobia," because whenever he was in front of Snape, Neville would make all sorts of outrageous mistakes, and then be tormented by Snape's "loving encouragement" until he was in a complete mess.
The problem lay right here: on Neville's internal ranking of fears, first place belonged to his dear Professor Snape, and second place to his beloved grandmother. Logically speaking, the Boggart's transformation should have been Snape, since he ranked first.
But don't forget this was a Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and the professor was Remus Lupin—the very man who had dragged Lockhart out and flogged him repeatedly. How could he possibly let Snape, that poisonous bat, steal his spotlight?
So, under Professor Lupin's kind guidance, the young witches and wizards of Hogwarts witnessed the birth of a legendary cross-dresser. A "Snape" appeared, Neville chanted the spell, now another Snape appeared.. dressed in a women's overcoat, carrying a lady's handbag, with a stuffed vulture perched on his head!
The classroom erupted in laughter. This was a completely new version the students had never seen before—Snape in women's clothes!
After class, the news that the Potions professor had unlocked a new "skin" spread like wildfire, and before long the entire school, teachers and students alike, knew about it.
Except for the Slytherin students, everyone was bitterly regretting why they weren't third-years. Snape had always appeared in nothing but black clothes and black robes, and they were desperate to see what this new skin of the Potions professor actually looked like.
And Eda, that heartless little thing, laughed harder than anyone. Now every time she saw Snape, she thought of the "Oriental Invincible"—ugh, the image was far too beautiful, she really couldn't bear to look.
For the first time, Eda felt that serving detention with Snape would be unbearable. She was afraid she might suffocate from holding in her laughter in that dark, lightless dungeon classroom.
It really was hilarious! We're professionals, but we truly couldn't help ourselves! Even though this joy was built on Snape's suffering, the students were genuinely happy—and deeply grateful to the two professors who had joined forces to bring them so much laughter.
Slytherin, a generation's pride—our Head of House, hair flowing to the waist;
Slytherin, king of all serpents—our Head of House, cross-dressing king!
This brand-new Slytherin recruitment slogan quietly spread during dinner. No one knew who had said it first, but protecting our Fred and George was definitely the right move.
At the teachers' table, Lupin looked perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened at all, clearly well versed in the art of moderation. When the matter was done, he brushed off his sleeves and left, hiding his achievements and fame. Professor Lupin, who spreads laughter and love—how could anyone not adore him?
Snape, on the other hand, was anything but calm. It felt as though his cheeks had swollen by a full size, his expression darker than ever—like someone had taken his shampoo and refused to give it back.
Fortunately, Professor Snape was still considerate. He didn't stay long in the Great Hall; after finishing his dinner at lightning speed, he left. Otherwise, all three long tables would surely have been covered in food sprayed out by students laughing.
This was probably the hardest dinner for Eda to swallow since she entered Hogwarts. Holding back laughter was truly exhausting. Especially when everyone was trying not to laugh, the difficulty of suppressing it increased geometrically with the number of people.
It wasn't until they reached the Room of Requirement that the members of Dawn could finally burst into laughter, venting all the pain of holding it in during dinner. By the time everyone finished laughing, they had already spent half an hour in the Room of Requirement.
The long-anticipated Patronus Charm practice for Angelina and Alicia finally began. Although Eda had brought out this spell, she wasn't optimistic—this charm was still too early for everyone.
Everyone practiced with great enthusiasm, doing their best to recall the happiest memories of the past decade or so, loudly chanting the incantation and forcefully waving their wands. The effort was commendable, but the results were far from ideal.
In the room, there was only a single silvery-white Chow Chow and two magpies flying back and forth. No one else succeeded. Even Cedric failed to grasp the spell in a short time—only a bit of silvery-white mist sprayed from the tip of his wand.
And this was in the Room of Requirement, where everyone failed. Not a single person even met the most basic defensive standard. If they were to face Dementors directly, the consequences would truly be unimaginable.
Once again, Eda felt that allowing Dementors to be stationed at Hogwarts was an extremely brain-dead decision.
Who knew whether they were doing it to catch Sirius Black, or to improve the Dementors' diet. Compared to the prisoners of Azkaban, students were obviously much tastier.
...
In the Room of Requirement, the members of Dawn were sweating buckets, but sometimes effort didn't necessarily bring rewards—like being a simp, or like the Patronus Charm.
If the Patronus Charm were something everyone could cast, it would hardly live up to its title as the most powerful and most ancient defensive spell in the wizarding world. Besides talent and perseverance, the happy memory used to drive the spell had to be strong enough. The casting requirements for the Patronus Charm could be said to be extremely demanding.
Eda never thought that giving a group of teenage witches and wizards just one hour would be enough for them to master this spell. Today was only a beginning; there would be much more practice of the Patronus Charm afterward.
Back then, when Eda trained the twins in this spell, it had taken nearly a full year before Fred and George were able to produce a complete Patronus. And Eda's attitude toward the twins was naturally different from how she treated everyone else. Those days were simply miserable for the twins—like living in a hell of fire and water.
When the time was about right, Eda called a halt to everyone's practice. Continuing to train endlessly like this was meaningless; they needed time to adjust and time to let things settle.
After practice ended, no one immediately left the Room of Requirement. Instead, they sat together chatting casually. This was something Cedric had suggested, because at present, he was the only one in Dawn who wasn't a Gryffindor.
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