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"Professor Lupin, Dementors are not magical creatures in the ordinary sense. They are unwilling to obey humans, even wizards. Their relationship with the Ministry of Magic is more like cooperation."
To make his explanation more convincing, Dudley gave an order.
"Pour me a glass of water."
The Boggart, which Professor Lupin saw as a suspected Dementor, obediently floated aside, poured a glass of water, and handed it to Dudley.
Dudley took the cup but did not drink. He placed it to one side.
"You see? This really is a Boggart."
Lupin completely ignored Dudley's explanation. His gaze remained fixed on the cup. The water inside visibly began to foul. In only a few seconds, it had already become murky, and a layer of frost had formed on top.
Lupin stared at it, baffled.
'Are you joking with me? Those are clearly Dementor traits.'
"Professor, the Dementors are all outside the castle searching for Sirius Black. It is impossible for them to appear inside the castle, and they have no reason to do so."
Dudley's sudden words made Lupin freeze.
After many years wandering outside, he understood what Dudley meant.
Indeed, Dementors could not appear inside Hogwarts Castle. There were supposed to be no Dementors in the castle, so for the purposes of this lesson, this was a Boggart.
In truth, whether its essence was a Dementor or a Boggart did not matter. What mattered was what the Defense Against the Dark Arts class needed.
"Can it really do the job? It will not attack on its own?"
Lupin looked at the "Boggart" with some concern.
Dudley answered with complete confidence.
"Do not worry. It will be a qualified teaching aid."
The unqualified ones had already become Philosopher's Stones.
During the Quidditch match, Dudley had caught more than thirty of them. Those things were not magical creatures in the usual sense. Although he could not tame them through the system's skill, Dudley had used the most primitive and straightforward method available: brute-force conditioning.
This was the only one left of the many he had caught that day.
Facts proved that limited intelligence also had its advantages. At the very least, after that kind of brute-force conditioning, it was unlikely to betray him.
Dudley named this sole remaining one Sableye.
Yes. A Boggart named Sableye that had been hit by a Confundus Charm and stuck in a Dementor shape.
"As long as it cooperates, I believe our teaching progress will be much faster."
Lupin nodded.
Actual combat was always the best and fastest way to learn.
"Then who is willing to be the first challenger?"
Lupin turned to look at the other students.
He needed a demonstration. Preferably, it would be a student whose Patronus Charm was close to taking shape.
The students looked at one another. No one stepped forward first.
A Dementor. Even if it was supposedly a Dementor-shaped Boggart, it was absolutely not something that could be casually dealt with.
There was some risk. It was more dangerous than the Dark creatures in Professor Lupin's previous practical lessons.
Draco glanced around. He felt that he should step forward. His Patronus Charm was very close to taking shape. Among the students present, who could be more suitable?
This first moment of glory belonged to Malfoy.
So Draco cleared his throat and was just about to speak.
"Ahem. Professor, I..."
"I will do it."
Harry stood up first, beating Draco to it.
Like Draco, Harry's Patronus Charm had also nearly taken shape.
Lupin chose Harry without thinking.
"Very good, Harry. Then you will give everyone a demonstration."
Lupin paid particular attention to James's son.
Harry was very good at dealing with Dark creatures. In every Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, he mastered the content second only to Dudley.
"Stand there."
Lupin cleared a space for Harry, leaving enough room.
"Remember, Harry. When casting the Patronus Charm, you must concentrate your thoughts and do your best to recall one happy memory."
After repeatedly emphasizing how to cast the Patronus Charm, Lupin stepped aside so Harry could face the Dementor.
Dudley nodded. The Dementor floated forward. The moment it came in front of Harry, the lights around the classroom suddenly flickered and went out. The students held their breath and stretched their necks, staring at Harry.
'Having Mr. Potter, a Dark wizard, cast magic like the Patronus Charm is truly making things difficult for him. If this were changed to the three Unforgivable Curses, Mr. Potter would absolutely succeed without fail.'
The Slytherin students all thought the same thing.
Harry took a deep breath. Bone-deep cold rushed toward him, and the breath he exhaled began turning into white mist.
'Think of something happy.'
Harry repeated it silently in his heart and slowly raised his wand.
He slowly closed his eyes. His mind raced, and his memories flashed before him like photographs.
In the end, they froze on several scenes. At that moment, Harry shouted the incantation of the Patronus Charm.
"Expecto Patronum!"
The first scene.
When he had been squeezed into that broken little house with other kidnapped children and felt despair, Dudley had kicked open the door and come before him like a hero.
The second scene.
The small house newly redecorated, and the room that belonged only to him.
The third scene.
The zoo when he was eleven, the sweet chocolate-flavored ice cream, and Dudley dressed as a gorilla. Those had been his happiest days.
The fourth scene.
The hut by the sea, being held by Aunt Petunia and feeling the warmth of a mother.
The fifth scene.
Dudley choosing to build a castle on the old Potter estate, with a room inside the castle that belonged to him.
There were many similar scenes.
With every scene that appeared, more silver threads emerged from the tip of Harry's wand. The shape formed by countless silver threads became more solid, and the image of the Patronus grew more specific.
The students stared at Harry without daring to blink. This was the first time they had seen the true form of a Patronus so close up.
Harry was completely immersed in those memories.
"Stop for a moment, Harry. Stop for a moment."
A slightly anxious voice seemed to ring by his ear.
Harry ignored it completely.
'This must be the Dementor's trick.'
He knew Dementors could absorb happiness and make people remember unpleasant things.
So not only did Harry fail to stop, he poured even more power into the spell instead.
Only when someone shook him hard several times was he pulled back from his memories.
"If you do not stop, the Dementor... cough, the Boggart, is going to be beaten to death."
It was Lupin. Professor Lupin looked at Harry helplessly.
He truly had not expected Harry to succeed on his first try. More than that, his Patronus was fierce enough that it had nearly blown the Dementor apart.
This practice partner had not even been used by anyone else yet.
Harry's fully formed Patronus stood in front of the Dementor.
A huge silver gorilla.
It was exactly the same as the one he had seen at London Zoo when he was eleven.
As for the Dementor that had originally stood directly in front of Harry, it was now being held in the hand of Harry's Patronus. One hand gripped the tattered cloth around the Dementor's body, lifting it as if by the collar. The other hand was raised in a fist, while the Dementor weakly tilted its head to one side.
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