Hearing Remus say he was surprised by the Patronus he had summoned; Harry couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Why?"
"I thought your Patronus would be the same as your father's or mother's—a stag—but now it seems... it's not."
"My mother's Patronus was also a stag?"
During the winter holiday, Harry had already learned from Sirius about his father's Patronus.
A stag with antlers.
Perfectly matching the nickname "Prongs."
But he hadn't expected his mother's Patronus to also be a stag.
"Yes, James and Lily, your parents—their Patronuses were a stag and a doe respectively."
Lupin said with considerable emotion.
Stag and doe didn't refer to any specific species of deer.
Put simply, they were just the general terms for male and female deer.
From appearance alone, male deer were slightly larger with antlers on their heads, while female deer were slightly smaller without antlers.
So, the two could be easily distinguished.
Hearing that his parents' Patronuses were a stag and a doe, Harry froze.
"Dad... Mum..."
Sherlock also showed a thoughtful expression.
"Alright, continuing to practice like this won't be very meaningful anymore. Next, we'll prepare to practice with a Dementor."
Lupin put away his memories about Harry's parents, and his gaze became serious.
"Casting the spell into empty air is completely different from facing a real Dementor. I think you both understand this very well.
When the surrounding environment is normal, recalling happy things and successfully casting the spell is quite easy.
But when you face a Dementor directly, it will drain all the happiness from the surroundings.
Combined with that cold, damp environment, you'll often find it very difficult to recall happy things, thus making the Patronus Charm difficult to cast successfully."
After seeing both Sherlock and Harry nod, Lupin's gaze moved back and forth between them before finally speaking.
"Harry should go first—the boggart will only transform into a Dementor when it sees you.
After Harry, Sherlock will take over."
Harry naturally had no objection.
Sherlock also thought this arrangement was reasonable—even if Harry fainted again like the previous times, he could still use the boggart for practice.
However, since it was a Dementor transformed from a boggart, Harry wouldn't faint again, would he?
At this moment, Lupin turned to Harry and, looking into his green eyes, asked. "Harry, are you ready?"
"I'm ready."
Harry nodded, gripped his wand tightly, and walked to the center of the empty classroom.
He tried hard to think only of the image of flying into the sky for the first time, but he just couldn't concentrate.
Because as long as he faced a Dementor directly, he could hear his mother's voice.
Professor Lupin had just informed him of his mother's Patronus, which made Harry's longing for his mother even stronger.
'So, I'll be able to hear Mother's voice again...'
But he immediately realized he shouldn't think this way.
Even if he wanted to hear his mother's voice, it should be her gentle whispers to him, not her agonized cries before death.
Just then, Lupin grabbed the lid of the trunk and yanked it open.
A Dementor slowly emerged from the box.
It was tall, gripping its cloak with a hand that gleamed with a cold light and was covered in scabs.
Sherlock in the distance narrowed his eyes and frowned at the sight.
Because this Dementor transformed from a boggart was nearly identical to a real Dementor.
Similar appearance was one thing—after all, that was the boggart's magical nature.
But when its hooded face slowly turned toward Harry, the classroom lights flickered several times and went out.
Then a damp, cold atmosphere began spreading through the classroom.
This was what surprised Sherlock.
A Dementor transformed through a boggart could affect the surrounding environment to this extent?
At this rate, Harry might really faint.
The Dementor had now completely emerged from the box.
As if sensing Harry's fear, it accelerated its gliding motion toward him, while making a low, rattling wheezing sound.
At the same time, Harry felt a bone-penetrating cold envelop him.
He immediately sensed something was very wrong.
Harry had long forgotten that the monster before him wasn't a Dementor but a boggart.
He only knew this was the closest he had ever been to a Dementor.
Whether on the train or on the grounds, he had never been as close to a Dementor as he was now.
He reflexively waved his wand and shouted loudly.
"Expecto Patronum! Expecto Patronum! Expecto—"
However, before he could summon a Patronus, he found the classroom and the Dementor slowly disappearing, and he himself, as before, once again fell into thick white fog.
"Riddikulus!"
Seeing Harry collapse to the floor with a thud, Lupin roared the incantation and rushed forward.
Sherlock raised an eyebrow.
With a loud crack, the Dementor in front of Harry disappeared directly, transforming into a full moon.
Lupin first drove the boggart back into the trunk with his wand, then while relighting the lamps with his wand, he said anxiously to Sherlock.
"Sherlock, quickly check how Harry is!"
Just like last time on the train, Sherlock crouched down for a careful examination, then quickly stood up.
"Same as last time, shock, nothing serious. I brought brandy..."
"No, I brought chocolate!"
Lupin said firmly, "Hard liquor isn't suitable for the upcoming training. When Harry wakes up, having him eat some chocolate will be better."
"Alright."
Since Lupin insisted, Sherlock didn't object.
However, he glanced at the other man and said quietly. "Professor, you seem a bit too anxious."
"Uh, that's true," Lupin smiled bitterly and shook his head. "I'm not even as calm as you. It's quite embarrassing."
"Concern leads to confusion—that's human nature, nothing strange about it."
A hint of inquiry appeared in Sherlock's gaze.
"What I find strange is that a Dementor transformed from a boggart actually possesses some of a Dementor's characteristics.
Just now, even I, as an observer, could feel happiness being stripped away. And the classroom lights went out too."
"Mm, the moment the transformation is complete, we can actually treat the boggart as a Dementor.
However, it's ultimately not a real Dementor, so when I appeared before it, it immediately changed form.
I must thank you, Sherlock. Thanks to you thinking of using a boggart to substitute for a Dementor in practice, otherwise this really would have been difficult."
"Nothing difficult about it. Just have the Ministry send over a Dementor to cooperate."
"..."
'Is that something you can just cooperate with whenever you want? Do you think the Ministry of Magic belongs to your family?'
Lupin barely stopped himself from saying this aloud, managing to maintain his professorial image.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Sherlock's words almost made him lose his composure.
"So... can it also suck out people's souls?"
Lupin looked at Sherlock in shock. "What did you say?"
"You just said that the moment the transformation is complete, the boggart becomes a Dementor."
Sherlock looked at the still-shaking trunk, the inquiry in his gray eyes growing more intense.
"From its performance when it first appeared, it indeed seemed no different from a real Dementor.
So does that mean it can also suck out souls through the so-called Dementor's Kiss, just like a Dementor?"
Lupin was silent for quite a while before shaking his head.
"You've really stumped me, Sherlock.
I've never thought about this question—in fact, there are very few people who can make a boggart transform into a Dementor. I've only seen it happen with Harry.
However, I think its ability to simulate the cold and sense of despair brought by Dementors is already its limit. The Dementor's Kiss is a Dementor's core ability. I don't think it can do that... probably..."
"Then a question arises, Professor."
Sherlock said calmly.
"To what degree does a boggart's transformation achieve perfection?
It simulated the cold, despair, and even the core trait of draining happiness from Dementors.
So, as a Dementor's most core power, its most fundamental purpose—the ability to devour souls through a kiss—has it truly fully simulated that?"
The muscles on Professor Lupin's face tightened all at once.
His usually gentle eyes became alert, staring intently at Sherlock as he asked incredulously.
"Sherlock, what do you mean by asking this? You're not planning to experiment on Harry, are you!"
The air seemed to freeze. The classroom lights that had just been relit seemed to become unstable due to Lupin's tension, casting ominous, wavering shadows on the trunk.
Harry still lay unconscious on the floor, unaware.
"Absolutely not!"
Lupin's voice was adamant. "Harry is not an experimental subject! How could you think of verifying your hypothesis by risking his soul's safety?
Sherlock, I'd rather you were just joking! This idea itself is as dangerous as dark magic!"
No wonder Lupin would think this way. Because Sherlock's words were logical, calm, and clear, stripped of all emotional coloring, leaving only naked inquiry.
In this suffocating confrontation, the mask of calm on Sherlock's face finally showed a crack.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, and the corners of his mouth curved up in an arc tinged with mischief.
"Ha..."
A brief, light laugh escaped his mouth, breaking the frozen air.
"Relax, Professor. Your nerves are about to snap."
Lupin froze, not immediately understanding. But he continued staring warily at Sherlock, as if not comprehending what he was saying.
"Professor, I never knew you had such a leaping thought process.
Life and souls have never been experimental materials that can be casually manipulated in a cauldron. And..."
Sherlock shrugged, his gaze naturally sliding from Lupin's tense face to fall on the unconscious Harry.
Lupin noticed that the casualness was instantly mixed with unfeigned concern.
He was too familiar with this kind of look—he used to look at James and Sirius the same way.
"I would never put my friend in danger."
Lupin was somewhat confused by Sherlock's sudden relaxed attitude and clear positioning, his expression turning puzzled.
"But you just seriously asked whether a boggart could..."
"Ha! That was merely pure curiosity.
I pressed on about the limits of a boggart's simulation ability only because I was shocked that its replication of Dementor characteristics went so deep.
This indeed merits deep understanding of its mechanism, but...
The premise of all inquiry is that no one can be placed in uncontrollable risk."
Sherlock shook his head somewhat helplessly.
"Remember I said concern leads to confusion?
You were too anxious and acted too quickly.
The moment you saw Harry fall, you immediately rushed forward to intervene, but you forgot that Harry isn't the only person learning magic with you today."
This time, Lupin finally understood what Sherlock meant.
The taut strings of his heart completely relaxed. Thinking of his rash action just now, he felt embarrassed as his doubts dissipated completely.
"Sorry, Sherlock."
Lupin's voice carried apology as he scratched his hair embarrassedly. "I was too impulsive. You're right, I completely forgot about that."
However, even though standing before him was merely a fourteen-year-old boy, just now he had truly believed Sherlock would have such an idea.
The oppressive presence emanating from Sherlock was so strong that even now, thinking back, he found it somewhat unbelievable.
Sherlock watched Lupin's embarrassed yet relieved expression, his smile deepening, that relaxation regaining the upper hand.
"Professor, have some confidence in yourself. I'm just a fourteen-year-old boy.
Even if I really wanted to do something, you could stop me instantly."
"Sherlock, I'm not Fudge. I've never regarded you as an ordinary boy."
Lupin said seriously.
Sherlock smiled slightly, his gaze returning to the floor. "Harry's awake."
Hearing this, Lupin immediately bent down and crouched, gently calling Harry's name.
White mist shrouded Harry's consciousness. Around him moved large, blurry shapes. A man's voice was calling out tensely.
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off—"
Someone stumbled out of the room. A door burst open, followed by piercing, cackling laughter.
"Stand aside—stand aside, you foolish woman—"
"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please—I'll do anything—"
"Harry—Harry!"
When he heard someone continuously calling his name, the white fog before Harry's eyes dispersed and he suddenly came to.
He lay on his back on the floor and found the classroom lights were on again.
Without asking, he already understood what had just happened.
"Here!"
Lupin quickly handed him a piece of chocolate. "Eat this first, then we'll try again.
I never expected you to succeed on the first try—honestly, if you had actually succeeded, I would have been shocked."
Harry took the chocolate from Lupin's hand but didn't immediately eat it.
Cold sweat streamed down from his glasses, mingled with his tears.
"This time I heard Mum's voice louder, and Voldemort, and...
I heard my dad's voice. This is the first time I've heard his voice.
He wanted to hold off Voldemort by himself, to give my mum time to escape..."
Harry murmured.
At this moment, tears streamed down his face.
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