 out 
there looking for him." 


"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" said Ron roughly. 
"Don't you know, Potter?" breathed Malfoy, his pate eyes narrowed. 
"Know what?" 
Malfoy let out a low, sneering laugh. 
"Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck," he said. "Want to leave it to 


the dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him 


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down myself." 

"What are you talking about?" said Harry angrily, but at that moment 
Snape called, "You should have finished adding your ingredients by now; 
this potion needs to stew before it can be drunk, so clear away while it 
simmers and then we'll test Longbottom's... " 

Crabbe and Goyle laughed openly, watching Neville sweat as he stirred 
his potion feverishly. Hermione was muttering instructions to him out of 
the corner of her mouth, so that Snape wouldn't see. Harry and Ron 
packed away their unused ingredients and went to wash their hands and 
ladles in the stone basin in the corner. 

"What did Malfoy mean?" Harry muttered to Ron as he stuck his hands 
under the icy jet that poured from the gargoyle's mouth "Why would I 
want revenge on Black? He hasn't done anything to me -- yet. 

"He's making it up," said Ron savagely. "He's trying to make you do 
something stupid...." 

The end of the lesson in sight, Snape strode over to Neville, who was 
cowering by his cauldron. 

"Everyone gather 'round," said Snape, his black eyes glittering, and 
watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a 
Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, 
he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned." 

The Gryffindors watched fearfully. The Slytherins looked excited. Snape 
picked up Trevor the toad in his left hand and dipped a small spoon into 
Neville's potion, which was now green. He trickled a few drops down 
Trevor's throat. 

There was a moment of hushed silence, in which Trevor gulped; then there 
was a small pop, and Trevor the tadpole was wriggling in Snape's palm. 

The Gryffindors burst into applause. Snape, looking sour, pulled a small 
bottle from the pocket of his robe, poured a few drops on top of Trevor, 
and he reappeared suddenly, fully grown. 

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"Five points from Gryffindor," said Snape, which wiped the smiles from 


every face. "I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed." 
Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed the steps to the entrance hall. Harry 
was still thinking about what Malfoy had said, while Ron was seething 
about Snape. 


"Five points from Gryffindor because the potion was all right! 


Why didn't You lie, Hermione? You should've said Neville did it all by 
himself!" 
Hermione didn't answer. Ron looked around. 
"Where is she?" 
Harry turned too. They were at the top of the steps now, watching the 


rest of the class pass them, heading for the Great Hall and lunch. 
"She was right behind us," said Ron, frowning. 
Malfoy passed them, walking between Crabbe and Goyle. He smirked at 


Harry and disappeared. 
"There she is," said Harry. 
Hermione was panting slightly, hurrying up the stairs; one hand clutched 


her bag, the other seemed to be tucking something down the front of her 
robes. 
"How did you do that?" said Ron. 


"What?" said Hermione, joining them. 
"One minute you were right behind us, the next moment, you were back at 
the bottom of the stairs again." 


"What?" Hermione looked slightly confused. "Oh -- I had to go back for 
something. Oh no --" 

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A seam had split on Hermione's bag. Harry wasn't surprised; he could see 
that it was crammed with at least a dozen large and heavy books. 

"Why are you carrying all these around with you?" Ron asked her. 

"You know how many subjects I'm taking," said Hermione breathlessly. 
"Couldn't hold these for me, could you?" 

"But --" Ron was turning over the books she had handed him, looking at 
the covers. "You havent got any of these subjects today. It's only 
Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon." 

"Oh yes," said Hermione vaguely, but she packed all the books back into 
her bag just the same. I hope there's something good for lunch, I'm 
starving," she added, and she marched off toward the Great Hall. 

"D'you get the feeling Hermione's not telling us something?Ron asked 
Harry. 

Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defense 
Against the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their books, 
quills, and parchment, and were talking when he finally entered the 
room. Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the 
teacher's desk. He was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he 
had on the train, as though he had had a few square meals. 

"Good afternoon," he said. "Would you please put all your books back in 
your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your 
wands." 

A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books. 
They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts before, 
unless you counted the memorable class last year when their old teacher 
had brought a cageful of pixies -to class and set them loose. 

"Right then," said Professor Lupin, when everyone was ready. "If you'd 
follow me." 

Puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed Professor 
Lupin out of the classroom. He led them along the deserted corridor and 

105 



around a corner, where the first thing they saw was Peeves the 
Poltergeist, who was floating upside down in midair and stuffing the 
nearest keyhole with chewing gum. 

Peeves didn't look up until Professor Lupin was two feet away; ,hen he 
wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into song. 

"Loony, loopy Lupin," Peeves sang. "Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy 
Lupin --" 

Rude and unmanageable as he almost always was, Peeves usually showed 
some respect toward the teachers. Everyone looked quickly at Professor 
Lupin to see how he would take this; to their surprise, he was still 
smiling. 

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves," he said 
pleasantly. "Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms." 

Filch was the Hogwarts caretaker, a bad-tempered, failed wizard who 
waged a constant war against the students and, indeed, Peeves. However, 
Peeves paid no attention to Professor Lupin's words, except to blow a 
loud wet raspberry. 

Professor Lupin gave a small sigh and took out his wand. 

"This is a useful little spell, he told the class over his shoulder. 
"Please watch closely." 

He raised the wand to shoulder height, said, "Waddiwasi! "and pointed it 
at Peeves. 

With the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the 
keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril; he whirled upright and 
zoomed away, cursing. 

"Cool, sit!" said Dean Thomas in amazement. 

"Thank you, Dean," said Professor Lupin, putting his wand away again. 
"Shall we proceed?" 

106 



They set off again, the class looking at shabby Professor Lupin with 
increased respect. He led them down a second corridor and stopped, right 
outside the staffroom door. 

"Inside, please," said Professor Lupin, opening it and standing back. 

The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was 
empty except for one teacher. Professor Snape was sitting in a low 
armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in. His eyes were 
glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth. As 
Professor Lupin came in and made to close the door behind him, Snape 
said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." 

He got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing 
behind him. At the doorway he turned on his heel and said, "Possibly no 
one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I 
would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless 
Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear." 

Neville went scarlet. Harry glared at Snape; it was bad enough that he 
bullied Neville in his own classes, let alone doing it in front of other 
teachers. 

Professor Lupin had raised his eyebrows. 

"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the 
operation," he said, "and I am sure he will perform it admirably." 

Neville's face went, if possible, even redder. Snape's lip curled, but 
he left, shutting the door with a snap. 

"Now, then," said Professor Lupin, beckoning the class toward the end of 
the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers 
kept their spare robes. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the 
wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall. 

"Nothing to worry about," said Professor Lupin calmly because a few 
people had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a boggart in there." 

Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about. 

107 



Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Seamus Finnigan 
eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively. 

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, 
the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks -- I've even met one 
that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in 
yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave 
it to give my third years some practice. 

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?" 

Hermione put up her hand. 

"It's a shape-shifter," she said. "It can take the shape of whatever it 
thinks will frighten us most." 

"Couldn't have put it better myself," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione 
glowed. "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet 
assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on 
the other s