"Peeves, I'm sorry—"

Professor Lupin sighed slightly and took out his wand.

Since he and Sirius Black had returned to Hogwarts, most of the ghosts, professors, and portraits had welcomed them both. Only this "little guy," with whom they had once had a good relationship, had changed.

In fact, compared to Sirius Black, who was moonlighting as a castle caretaker, this was still considered polite.

At least it wasn't like when he met poor Padfoot; he was immediately greeted with a barrage of old chairs, water balloons, blackboards, and other debris thrown at his head.

As if they were mortal enemies, Peeves wouldn't say a single word of nonsense to him.

As one of the former Marauders of Hogwarts, Lupin certainly knew the reason for Peeves's change.

Perhaps in Peeves's eyes at this moment, he and Sirius Black had both become the most disgraceful traitors?

As time went on, Peeves's expression gradually became ferocious.

Remus Lupin knew very well that this was a sign that Peeves was about to mobilize his magic and launch an attack—which was not just a simple prank, but usually a dangerous act of aggression.

"I didn't have a choice before, but now I'm a professor, please forgive me..."

Lupin sighed again and turned to the class.

"Watch closely, here's a very simple spell—"

He raised his wand to shoulder height, ready to cast the spell.

Just then, a small figure with long silver-white hair darted out from behind him, standing between Professor Lupin and Peeves, interrupting the spell in Lupin's mouth.

"Don't do that, Professor... leave this to me..."

Elena stood in front of Peeves, looking at the special "ghost's" tightly flared nostrils.

Of course, she knew why Peeves hated Lupin and Sirius Black so much.

It was as if the classmates you were skipping school with yesterday suddenly became the head of the disciplinary department, or as if an ex-girlfriend suddenly ran away one day and reappeared as the spitting image of your mortal enemy...

Considering the principles behind Peeves's formation, this anger might be even more intense.

"You can't beat them now, Peeves... times have changed."

Elena narrowed her eyes and whispered, using a voice only they could hear.

"All those pranks you know and are so proud of are just things they've already done. When a hero becomes a new dragon, he will inevitably be stronger than the previous generation—temporarily submit to me, and I will teach you how to defeat those traitors who betrayed the student class, and then... hehehe..."

"Peeves will never—"

"But, please... you're really weak and childish right now."

Elena looked at Peeves sincerely, her lips moving, her voice like a sharp blade piercing his heart.

Since last year, the title of Hogwarts's strongest troublemaker had changed hands.

In the beginning, Peeves could find reasons to comfort himself, such as—Elena could freely enter and exit Hogwarts Castle, but he couldn't.

But as the changes in the castle occurred, the joy in his heart quickly disappeared like a punctured balloon.

Compared to a certain young demon king who mortgaged the castle, made a scene in the Headmaster's office, threatened the Sorting Hat, instigated inter-house fights, blew up professors' offices, looted the kitchen, occupied the Slytherin common room, tampered with the Eagle Ring, beat up faculty and staff, set dogs on people, turned Professor Binns into a ghost, kidnapped preschool girls, and injured people with Quaffles...

He lost—

He lost completely.

Most importantly, he didn't even have his last shred of dignity left.

In the chalk war leading to the Hufflepuff common room, he had personally witnessed how this little demon king dismantled Hogwarts Castle with a smile, a bold act he had never even dared to imagine.

"Think about it, Hogwarts elf... your thousandth birthday is coming up soon. It's time to welcome a new journey—if you've made up your mind, go to the kitchen to find me, I'll know..."

"B-Birthday?"

A dazed expression appeared on Peeves's cunning, clownish face.

"Hogwarts calendar, Peeves calendar, this is now a calendar that is gradually being recognized by everyone in the magical world—"

Elena reached out and patted his shoulder lightly—unlike other incorporeal ghosts, Peeves felt springy and cool to the touch, like an iced jelly—and said softly.

"In short, you've seen my sincerity, now it's your turn..."

As if struck by a Petrificus Totalus charm, the originally lively and outrageous Peeves suddenly fell silent.

Elena gently nudged him, moving him away from the middle of the corridor, pushing him towards another fork in the road. That way, nothing would continue to block the students' path forward.

"Incredible, Miss Kaslana."

Lupin said in surprise, looking at Elena thoughtfully.

"Thank you for the compliment, Professor." Elena smiled shyly and said modestly, "It's just a small advantage, I've always been committed to getting along with everyone in the castle, Peeves is no exception."

"Oh, I've noticed... quite, remarkable..."

Remus Lupin nodded meaningfully, recalling Dumbledore's request.

He glanced at the beautiful Veela, and his heart was on alert.

If their Marauder group could gain Peeves's friendship in their student days, it was conceivable how terrifying this little witch who could gain Peeves's respect, or even obedience, was.

Fortunately, at the suggestion of Dumbledore and Scamander, he had made some preparations.

Lupin led everyone further down the corridor.

A few minutes later, he led them into the second corridor, stopping outside the staff room.

"This is it, please come in."

Lupin added, opening the door and stepping back.

The staff room was a long room filled with mismatched old chairs, with two old wizards sitting in it. Dumbledore and Grindelwald were sitting side by side on a low, old sofa. When Elena and the others entered, they both stopped talking at the same time and turned to look over.

Professor Lupin seemed to know something already. After he came in, he closed the door behind him directly.

This was a set-up...

Elena raised her eyebrows, looking at the two old men lingering in the room as spectators.

As the two most powerful wizards in the magical world today, there was only one reason for these two old men to appear in the classroom at the same time and patiently observe the teaching—the education of the third generation Dark Lord.

"Now, uh, this way."

At this moment, Professor Lupin walked to the end of the staff room.

Lupin nodded to the two old men in greeting, then turned around and beckoned for the students to come over.

At the end of the staff room was an open space, which looked like it had just been cleared out with magic. Besides an old wardrobe where the staff usually stored their robes, there was nothing else.

Lupin walked to the wardrobe and stood still. The wardrobe suddenly began to shake, banging against the wall.

"Don't worry."

Professor Lupin said calmly, as some students stopped in fright.

"There's a Boggart inside."

Sure enough.

Elena glanced at the old potatoes and old carrots beside the staff room, her eyes full of amusement.

Obviously, this was mostly prepared specifically for her, right?

According to the normal teaching progress of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Boggarts should be something that Hogwarts third-years would come into contact with, but she was just a pitiful, weak, and harmless second-year student.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," Professor Lupin said.

"Wardrobes, gaps under beds, cupboards under sinks—I even encountered one living in a grandfather clock once. This one was just transported from outside the castle yesterday for practical study in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Now, the first question we need to ask ourselves is: what is a Boggart?"

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Hermione raised her hand.

.

.

Professor Lupin said, Hermione's face lighting up with joy.

.

.

.

The pre-class Q&A for Defense Against the Dark Arts class was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Elena wasn't too interested in this scene recreation full of déjà vu. On the one hand, Professor Lupin didn't seem to be paying special attention to her, and on the other hand... she was a little distracted.

It had to be admitted that Boggarts were very magical creatures.

When they appeared in front of people, they would turn into the image that each person feared the most.

This also meant that every Boggart was a natural Legilimens—and also immune to Occlumency, because even Dumbledore and Snape didn't seem to be able to trick it.

Dumbledore and Grindelwald's purpose was simple: they wanted to know what Elena was afraid of.

This was an open conspiracy.

However…

"Come to think of it, it seems I don't have anything I'm particularly afraid of..."

Elena frowned slightly, quickly going back and forth in her mind several times.

As a fairy queen who didn't belong to this era, the third generation Dark Lord with wisdom, power, and luck, anything that could be categorized as "can, good, how" she should have no reason to fear.

If there really was, she would have ordered it to be destroyed long ago, right?

At the same time, Professor Lupin's teaching introduction was also coming to an end.

"...The spell to repel a Boggart is very simple, but it requires a certain amount of willpower. You know, what really scares away a Boggart is laughter. All you need to do is force it to become a ridiculous image."

"Let's practice this spell once without using our wands first. Please say with me... Riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!" the whole class answered in unison.

"Good," Lupin nodded with satisfaction. "Very good, but that's just the easiest part. Obviously, just saying the spell is not enough. Now let's try it directly."

Then, Professor Lupin began his final explanation.

As in the original story, he still chose Neville as his first-stage assistant this time.

The only slightly different thing was that in today's Hogwarts, Professor Snape, although strict, was not the person Neville feared the most—the person in women's clothing eventually turned into Neville's uncle Algie.

In fact, Elena wasn't too surprised by this change.

According to Neville, before he showed magical talent, his Uncle Algie would always try to force Neville to show a bit of magic when people weren't paying attention—for example, pushing him off the Black Lake pier, hanging him upside down out of the window... Elena always felt that the wizard's brain wasn't quite right.

"Rid-Riddikulus!" Neville cried in a shrill voice.

A noise, like the sound of a whip cracking.

The middle-aged wizard who looked a little dangerous tripped and changed into a frilly women's dress that was the same style as Neville's grandmother. Accompanied by the whole class bursting into laughter, the originally tense atmosphere instantly relaxed.

…

Hogwarts, staff room.

Professor Lupin instructed the students to come forward one by one and try.

"Riddikulus—"

"Riddikulus—"

The female ghost turned into a mouse spinning in place, the shark turned into a cartoon buoy, the zombie head turned into a pumpkin face, and the vampire turned into a rabbit with small buck teeth...

Laughter came one after another.

Soon, Elena appeared at the front of the line.

Is it finally starting?

Not far away, Grindelwald and Dumbledore exchanged glances.

The two drew their wands at the same time, focusing all their attention on the Boggart that was still transforming.

Different wizards would reflect different fears, some would be more ordinary, but some would be particularly terrifying... especially powerful wizards full of imagination, their Boggarts might get out of control.

This was also why they were in this "temporary classroom" today.

Of course, before Elena, there was another little wizard.

"Alright, Harry. Be brave, come forward!"

Professor Lupin shouted loudly.

It was Harry's turn, but he didn't move, he looked very scared.

As Harry hesitated, a low discussion and laughter gradually rang out in the staff room.

"Harry, it's just a Boggart, it can't hurt you."

Lupin frowned slightly, encouraging him in a friendly and gentle voice.

"Everyone has things they're afraid of, but in this classroom, they're all non-existent... there's nothing embarrassing or awkward about it, remember the spell, just make it ridiculous—come on, be brave."

"Go, Harry! I'm here, there's nothing to be afraid of—"

Elena patted the little boy in front of her on the shoulder, encouraging him with a gentle smile.

Harry trembled all over, revealing a smile that was uglier than crying.

Harry walked forward, gripping his wand tightly.

"Don't... don't... please don't let it be..."

He muttered in a low voice, nervously looking at the ridiculous "banana severed hand" in front of him.

Snap.

The "banana severed hand" that was still jumping disappeared.

The next moment, all the discussions and laughter in the classroom disappeared.

Silver, waist-length hair, and an "Elena" with a delighted, deranged expression appeared in place, tossing a red ball up and down in her right hand, a... bleeding Quaffle!

Harry took a step back subconsciously.

His wand was raised, speechless, unable to say a word.

It's over, it's over…

This time, he was definitely doomed…

Harry Potter's heart tightened suddenly, and his breathing seemed to stop.

The thing he was most worried about had finally happened.

Professor Lupin was a liar! Who said that the things they were most afraid of wouldn't appear in the classroom!

Harry didn't even dare to glance behind him. Compared to the Boggart in front of him, the "original" behind him who had suddenly fallen silent was even more terrifying—and... if he chanted the spell now, he would definitely, definitely die, right?!