Cassia's POV

The next day, we had a free period first thing in the morning, so all four of us (Me, Harry, Hermione, and Ron) went into the Great Hall to study. Unfortunately, the table we chose was the one right next to where Malfoy was sitting, and we had to listen to him rambling on and on about him supposedly 'almost losing his arm'.

"Look at him. He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?" Ron asked.

"That's an understatement. He's such a drama queen!" I jumped in.

"Yeah. Well, at least Hagrid didn't get fired," Harry pointed out.

"Thank Merlin," I agreed.

"Yeah, but I hear Draco's father is furious. We haven't heard the end of this," Hermione warned us.

Cedric came over to us. "Hey, Cassia," he greeted me.

"Hi, Cedric," I returned the greeting. But then I remembered Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't met him before, so I introduced them. "Cedric, you know my brother Harry. These are our friends Ron and Hermione," I said, gesturing to the other three members of our 'Golden Quartet'. Cedric waved to them and shook each of their hands.

"Hello," Hermione said.

"Hi. Nice to meet you," Harry added.

"Hey," Ron jumped in.

"So what's going on?" Cedric asked.

"Well, Malfoy's complaining about something that happened in Care of Magical Creatures class yesterday- Hagrid brought in a Hippogriff and then Malfoy, being the idiot that he is, decided to provoke it. And then it attacked him and now Malfoy keeps saying that it almost took his arm off," I explained.

"I never liked the Malfoys. Neither does my dad. He told me they're bad news," Cedric admitted.

Ron grinned at this. "Well, he's right," he agreed.

"He's been sighted! He's been sighted!" we heard Seamus exclaim. He set a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of us.

"Who?" Dean asked.

"Sirius Black!" Seamus replied. Everyone at the Gryffindor table -- the five of us included -- gathered around him to read the paper. Apparently, Sirius had been spotted in Dufftown.

"Dufftown? That's not far from here," Hermione remarked.

"You don't think he could get into Hogwarts, do you?" Neville asked.

"With Dementors at every entrance?" Dean added.

"Dementors? He's already slipped past them once. Who's to say he won't do it again?" Seamus pointed out

"That's right. Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands," another boy jumped in.

Harry and I stared at the mad man in the moving photograph. He looked so scary. And the fact that he was after Harry and I made him even scarier.

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Defense Against the Dark Arts was our last class of the day. Professor Lupin had us put our things in the back of the room. Looks like today's a hands-on lesson. Fun! We all stood in front of a wardrobe that rattled every once in a while, making some of the other students flinch.

"Intriguing, isn't it? Would anyone like to venture a guess as to what is inside?" Professor Lupin asked, walking slowly around the room.

"That's a Boggart, that is," Dean answered, without raising his hand.

Professo Lupin nodded. "Very good, Mr. Thomas," he praised, "Now, does anyone know what a Boggart looks like?"

"No one knows," Hermione blurted out, making us all turn to look at her.

"When did she get here?" Ron asked.

"Boggarts are shape-shifters. They take the shape of whatever a particular person fears the most. That's what makes them so-" Hermione continued.

"-so terrifying, yes," Lupin finished her sentence as the wardrobe rattled again. "Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a Boggart. Let's practice it now." We all started to reach in our robes for our wands, but Lupin stopped us. "Without wands, please. Now, after me: Riddikulus," he instructed us.

"Riddikulus," we all repeated.

"Very good. A little louder, and very clear," Lupin corrected us, "Listen: Riddikulus."

"Riddikulus!" we all repeated, enunciating better this time.

"This class is ridiculous," I heard Malfoy mutter, making me roll my eyes once again.

Lupin nodded once again. "Very good. Now, the incantation alone is not enough. You see, the thing that really finishes a Boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find truly amusing," he explained. "Neville, would you join me, please?" He stretched an arm out, beckoning Neville to come up.

Neville obeyed.

"Now, what frightens you most of all?" Lupin asked.

Neville muttered something so quiet that it was unintelligible to anyone in the room.

"Sorry?" Lupin questioned, beckoning him to speak up.

"Professor Snape," Neville spoke up. The whole class broke into laughter at his answer.

Even Lupin couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Professor Snape...ah, yes. Frightens all," he agreed, "And I believe you live with your grandmother."

"Yes, but I don't want that Boggart to turn into her, either," Neville replied.

"No," Lupin assured him as the wardrobe rattled again. "It won't. I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes. Very clearly, in your mind."

"She carries a red handbag," Neville started to say.

Lupin put a hand up to stop him. "We don't need to hear it. As long as you see it, we'll see it. Now, when I opened that wardrobe, here's what I want you to do," he instructed. He came around to Neville's other side and whispered something in his ear. "Can you do that?" he asked.

Neville nodded.

"Wand at the ready. One...two...three," Lupin said, pointing his wand at the wardrobe.

Instantly, the knob turned and Professor Snape came out.

"Think, Neville. Think," Lupin urged. Snape started walking towards us.

"Riddikulus!" Neville said, pointing his wand at the Boggart.

Boggart Snape's black robes changed into a very bizarre outfit. The room erupted with laughter at the Boggart, which was now wearing an outrageous outfit, complete with the red handbag Neville mentioned and a hat adorned with a gigantic bird. I was laughing so hard that I had to lean onto Harry for support.

"Wonderful, Neville! Wonderful!" Lupin praised, laughing hysterically. "Everyone form a line. I want everyone to picture the thing they fear the very most, and turn it into something funny," he instructed, "Next! Ron!"

We all formed a line, with some of us pushing and shoving (*cough* Malfoy *cough*). Some loud music started playing, and Ron stepped up.

"Two Galleons says it's a spider," I whispered to Harry.

"You're on," he whispered back. We shook hands.

"Concentrate. Face your fear. Be brave," Lupin encouraged.

The Boggart morphed into a spider, making Ron whimper in fear.

Harry sighed and handed me my two Galleons. "You win," he huffed.

I shrugged. "Call it intuition..."

"Wand at the ready, Ron. Wand at the ready," Lupin instructed.

Ron pointed his wand at the spider and said, "Riddikulus!"

Roller skates suddenly appeared on the spider's feet. It kept trying to stand up, but failing, striking up another round of laughter from everyone in the room. Ron then made his way to the back of the line, giving Harry and I each a high-five on his way.

Next up was Parvati Patil.

"Show us what you see," Lupin said.

The boggart morphed into a giant snake. Brought back some memories...like helping Harry kill the Basilisk last year.

"Riddikulus!" Parvati shouted.

The snake turned into a jack-in-the-box. Everyone laughed at the Boggart once again. Class: 3, Boggarts: Zip.

Now it was Harry's turn. He stepped up. At first, I thought it was going to be either You-Know-Who or me dying, or something. But to my surprise, it turned into a Dementor.

Suddenly, Lupin jumped in front of Harry. "HERE!" he shouted.

The boggart turned into a full moon. Wait, a full moon? That doesn't make any sense.

"Riddikulus!" Lupin said, pointing his wand at the boggart, which turned into a rapidly deflating white balloon. He directed the balloon around the room once and then back into the wardrobe, the door magically shutting behind it. "Sorry. That's all for today. If you would all collect your books at the back of the class. Thank you. That's all for today," Lupin apologized.

We all walked out of the classroom, some a little more disappointed than others.

"Are you okay?" I asked Harry as we linked arms.

"Yeah. I'm fine, Cass. Just a little shaken," he replied. He stayed kind of quiet for the rest of the evening, especially at dinner. Maybe the Dementors still scared him. And why did Lupin stop him from repelling the Boggart? I pondered this as we went up to our dorms to sleep.