Chapter 449: Harry's Training (Edited)

It was Lupin who stopped them, his face looking as sickly as it did when they first met, as if the recent Christmas holidays had taken a toll on his health.

Hermione remembered that Lupin hadn't been around when Hacker visited Hogwarts.

Where had Professor Lupin gone for Christmas? A hint of confusion crossed Hermione's mind.

"Hello, Yodel, Granger. I hope you had a happy Christmas," Lupin greeted Tom and Hermione.

"This has been the best Christmas I've had. Professor, how did you spend your Christmas? Tom observed Lupin's demeanor and noticed that his mood wasn't entirely good. He felt curious about how he had spent the holidays.

"I had a rather busy Christmas too," Lupin said with an ironic smile. "Professor Dumbledore gave me many tasks, so I was busy running around without a moment's rest. I returned from Africa the day before yesterday..."

"Africa?" Tom was a bit confused.

"Yes, I went to gather some magical potion ingredients. But getting back to the point, Yodel, do you remember what I asked you to do for me?"

"To be Harry's practice partner?"

"That's right. Thursday night, at eight o'clock, in the History of Magic classroom. Do you have the time?"

Tom checked his schedule and realized he had no classes on Thursday nights, so he gladly agreed.

"Professor Lupin, can I join as well? I think I need some extra practice too," Hermione suddenly interrupted.

"Of course," Lupin accepted without hesitation. "Having such an intelligent girl as Miss Granger as a practice partner will surely help Harry improve quickly."

Hermione lowered her head in embarrassment.

"So it's settled. I'll prepare the material for my next class. See you on Thursday," after agreeing to the practice schedule, Lupin hurriedly left.

As she watched Lupin's figure receding, Hermione pondered, "Tom, something isn't right about this. Why is Professor Lupin the one collecting magical potion ingredients? Isn't that Professor Snape's job? And what kind of materials are so rare that he needs to search for them personally? Isn't there a delivery service in Diagon Alley?"

"They must be very rare materials originating from Africa," Tom replied, as he already had an answer in mind.

The new semester of Care of Magical Creatures class was exciting, while Divination class turned out to be boring. Professor Trelawney was now teaching everyone to read palm lines, and whenever she had the chance, she would tell Harry that his lifeline was extremely short. In a way, she wasn't entirely wrong.

The rest of the classes were more or less the same as at the beginning of the school year, with the professors sticking to the curriculum.

For Harry, the biggest surprise was that Professor Lupin kept his promise. He could now learn to defend himself against Dementors. The Ministry of Magic had removed all Dementors from around Hogwarts, but Harry still vividly remembered his horrifying experience with them.

¿How could he pretend that the problem didn't exist just because he couldn't see it? Harry was eager to solve this problem, and now Professor Lupin not only planned to help him but also brought the most skilled student in Patronus Charm to assist in the practice. How could he not be excited? Moreover, perhaps he could also learn something beyond the Patronus Charm.

The appearance of the Dementors had ignited a sense of urgency in Harry. He wished to learn some personal defense spells to become stronger.

Thursday arrived quickly.

Harry left the Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom, and when he arrived, Tom was already waiting in the classroom. To his surprise, Hermione Granger was also there.

"Buy one, get one free," Tom joked.

After waiting for just a few minutes, Professor Lupin appeared with a large box in his hands. After entering, he placed the box on Professor Binns' desk and told the three of them in the classroom that they could start the extra class.

"Harry, before we begin training, I want to ask you a question. Besides the Patronus Charm, do you want to learn other magical spells? Because, to be honest, it would be a waste to bring Yodel and Granger if I'm only going to teach you the Patronus Charm," Lupin suddenly asked before starting.

"Of course! I'm very interested in learning other magical spells," Harry responded excitedly. He had long wanted to learn some spells that could save his life.

"Excellent. First, we'll focus on training against the Dementors, and then I'll teach you some spells," Lupin placed his hand on the box he had brought.

"What's this?" A bad feeling arose inside Harry, and he felt inexplicably nervous.

"I found another Boggart. I can't bring a real Dementor here, but..." At that moment, Hermione glanced at Tom strangely. She knew that Tom could transform into a Dementor, and as for real Dementors, he could also arrange their presence.

But all of this, Lupin didn't need to know, and it wasn't impossible for Harry to use the Boggart as a simulation.

"...I hope this Boggart works as I hope. By the way, Yodel, stay away from it. If this Boggart explodes, I won't be able to get another one quickly." Meanwhile, Harry was already prepared. Before starting, Lupin warned Tom.

After Tom obediently took two steps back, Lupin opened the box, and a Dementor slowly emerged from it.

"I didn't expect Dementors to cause Harry so much psychological harm, even what he fears most has turned into a Dementor," Hermione whispered softly near Tom as she watched the Dementor, which looked very real.

The Boggart Lupin had encountered earlier in class had been blown up by Tom. Although Lupin had brought another Boggart, he hadn't allowed Harry to participate in the confrontation. Therefore, this was the first time Hermione saw what Harry feared most.

However, what Harry feared was not really the Dementor. Before seeing the Dementor, he thought that his greatest fear should be Voldemort, but then he changed his mind and thought he should fear the Dementors... In the end, the Boggart turned into a Dementor. Therefore, what Harry was actually afraid of was fear itself. Simply, the way the Boggart behaved made others think he had a special fear of Dementors.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry shouted loudly, and from the tip of his wand, a flash of white light shot out. The Boggart transformed into a Dementor paused for a moment, and in the next second, the white light disappeared, and it lunged at Harry...

"Riddikulus!" Lupin intervened just in time and returned the Boggart to the box. At that moment, Harry was already sitting on the floor, drenched in sweat and panting.

"Very well!" Lupin exclaimed excitedly. "Just as I thought, the Boggart turned into a Dementor, so our training can continue smoothly!"