Chapter 165: The Boggart That Knew When to Back Down (Patreon)

“Everyone, line up. I want you to think carefully about what you fear most.”

Lupin’s voice pulled Wade back to reality. Before he could even react, Daphne grabbed him and pulled him into the line—and to make matters worse, their position was near the front.

Damn it! Couldn’t I have been given a little more time to think?

“Er… I think I’d be more comfortable at the back.”

Wade awkwardly pointed toward the end of the line, where Draco and his usual group were standing around discussing the situation as though they had no interest in the lesson whatsoever.

“If you want to go there, you can,” Daphne said playfully, “but first, you have to tell me what you’re afraid of.”

Trying to run? Not a chance.

Wade: “…”

“Parvati, you’re up.”

Lupin called out.

Parvati walked forward a few steps. The moment the Boggart saw her, Professor Snape disappeared.

Another sharp whip-like crack echoed through the air, and Snape transformed into a bloodstained mummy wrapped tightly in bandages.

Parvati was much calmer than Neville. She immediately drew her wand and pointed it at the mummy.

“Riddikulus!”

The bandages wrapped around the mummy loosened, tangling around its legs and sending it crashing to the floor.

“Your turn, Ron.”

As Parvati stepped aside, Ron moved forward.

The fallen mummy transformed again, this time into a six-foot-long Acromantula.

“Riddikulus!”

The Acromantula suddenly found itself wearing shoes, with rollers attached to every one of its spider legs. It flailed helplessly, looking like a drowning child desperately trying to stay afloat.

“Excellent. Next.”

Daphne took a deep breath and stepped forward.

The struggling spider suddenly stopped.

Its body seemed to be sucked into a grey vortex. In the blink of an eye, it vanished, replaced by Astoria, silently floating in midair.

She didn’t move.

She wasn’t breathing.

There was no expression on her face.

She looked as though she had been dead for a very long time.

Daphne, who had been brimming with confidence just moments earlier, froze.

She stared blankly at the image of her sister’s corpse and staggered backward, tears involuntarily streaming down her cheeks.

“No… No, no, no…”

“Miss Greengrass, don’t panic. It’s only a Boggart. Focus your mind and face your fear…”

Before Lupin could finish, Wade stepped forward and stood beside her.

Faced with two people at once, even the Boggart seemed confused.

Astoria’s form gradually became blurred and abstract.

It turned into a mass of rapidly spinning black gauze, with fleeting images of the things it had previously transformed into appearing within it from time to time.

“That scene won’t happen. I promise.”

Daphne looked at him, and an unprecedented sense of peace and warmth filled her heart. Her emotions gradually settled down.

“But the best way to overcome fear is to face it. I can give you a suggestion.”

Wade thought for a moment.

“How about Gilderoy Lockhart? He’s the funniest clown I’ve ever seen.”

Daphne couldn’t help laughing.

She drew her wand and pointed it at the constantly shifting Boggart.

“Riddikulus!”

Bang!

Lockhart ended up sprawled awkwardly on the floor, wearing his trademark smile—only this time, it was exceptionally stiff.

“Very good. Excellent.”

Lupin applauded before turning his interested gaze toward Wade.

“Mr. Moria, is it? I noticed you on the train. There aren’t many third-years who can cast a Patronus Charm.”

Damn! Is this some kind of compliment designed to set me up?

Wade silently complained.

He deliberately put on a somewhat dejected expression.

“Professor Lupin, I’ll take that as a compliment.

“I’ve been practicing the Patronus Charm for two years, but I still can’t summon a corporeal Patronus. At most, I can only produce a thin layer of white mist.”

Lupin’s mouth twitched slightly.

He had seen people who were modest before, but he had never seen anyone so modest that they sounded downright self-deprecating.

He gave an awkward laugh.

“Miss Greengrass looks a little tired. Why don’t you take her over to the side and let her rest for a while?”

“No, Professor. I’m not tired.”

Daphne immediately perked up.

“The next one is him.”

Lupin smiled knowingly and gestured invitingly.

“Mr. Moria, it’s your turn to perform.”

Wade sighed wearily before drawing his wand.

If it’s a blessing, I’ll accept it. If it’s a disaster, there’s no escaping it.

Unless he killed the Boggart, avoiding it this lesson wouldn’t help him avoid it next time.

However, there was still a way to minimize the impact.

Just before the Boggart transformed into whatever he feared, Wade should be able to sense what it was about to become.

If it turned into someone like Albus Dumbledore or Quirinus Quirrell, that wouldn’t be a big deal. He could still come up with an explanation.

But if it became Voldemort’s lingering soul fragment, sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle, or Nicolas Flamel…

Then he would have to strike first.

In short, he absolutely could not allow any of those people to appear in this class.

Lockhart disappeared.

The Boggart returned to its abstract form, constantly shifting in midair.

Wade’s nerves tightened.

He gripped his wand firmly, ready to strike at any moment.

A Fire-Making Spell mixed with a little Fiendfyre would be enough to turn it into ash in a matter of seconds.

However, the next moment, Wade suddenly sensed something.

The skin on his face twitched uncontrollably, and his wand nearly slipped from his hand.

The Boggart completed its transformation.

And the moment that person appeared, the atmosphere in the classroom became strangely awkward.

“Her?”

“Hermione Granger?”

Daphne stared in disbelief.

“The person you’re most afraid of is Hermione?”

You've got to be kidding me.

Is this Boggart broken?

Boggart: “…”

Never underestimate a magical creature’s instincts.

It had indeed sensed a whole group of people that it could transform into.

But among them, it hadn’t found a single one that truly made Wade afraid.

Some of those people, however, made it feel extremely dangerous.

So dangerous that its instincts were screaming at it, warning it that the moment it transformed into one of them, it might be destroyed.

Therefore, from among all those possibilities, it had chosen the one that posed the least threat.

The safest option.

The other students began whispering among themselves, their expressions filled with curiosity and amusement.

“Why is it Hermione?”

Harry asked.

“I… I want to know that too.”

Hermione frowned in confusion.

Her relationship with Wade was more than simple friendship. There was also a subtle, indescribable feeling between them—a trace of affection that even she herself was unwilling to acknowledge.

But she had never imagined that she could be someone Wade feared.

It was simply absurd.

“I think I understand.”

Wade let out a helpless laugh and casually glanced at the Boggart wearing Hermione’s appearance.

It knows when to back down.

Exactly.

Knowing when to back down is how you survive.

“Riddikulus!”

With another sharp whip-like crack, the Boggart transformed back into Lockhart.

His trademark smile was still plastered across his face, but now he looked utterly weak, helpless, and pathetic.

“I don’t understand. What exactly about me are you afraid of?”

Hermione asked directly.

Then she hurriedly added,

“I can change.”

“You can’t change it. What I’m afraid of is…”

Wade paused before pointing at his own temple.

“This.”

“You’re too smart. You notice details that other people overlook. It may sound a little rude to say this, but I feel like it would be difficult for me to have any secrets around you.”

Hermione finally understood.

She folded her arms proudly across her chest.

“If that’s how you see me, there’s nothing I can do about it.”