Harry Potter: Dudley From LOTM - 355

Chapter 355: Lupin's Answer

Lupin had clearly not expected anyone to ask such a question. He paused, visibly taken aback.

Usually, when students faced a Boggart, they either panicked or wanted to know how to defeat it. Dudley, however, had gone straight for one of the trickiest angles imaginable.

If Lupin had not already known that Dudley was exceptionally gifted, he might have thought the boy was deliberately trying to make him look foolish.

"That is an excellent question," Lupin said after a moment's thought. "I confess I have never really considered it before."

"However, we can make some assumptions and work backwards from there."

At that, everyone's eyes widened. They all wanted to hear how Lupin would answer.

Dudley, too, looked genuinely interested.

"First, when a single person faces a Boggart, it will turn into whatever that person fears most," Lupin began. "From that, we can infer that your fear is what feeds it."

"To defeat a Boggart, we must take that fear and twist it into something ridiculous, all while casting the charm: Riddikulus."

"To some extent, we can control our own imagination. We can make the Boggart take a shape we choose."

"Following that logic, I believe Boggarts can read what is currently in our minds. They can also sense our fear and use that emotion to make themselves more vivid and terrifying."

"That said, they cannot reach into your deeper memories."

"In truth, the most frightening thing in the world is fear itself."

Lupin spoke confidently. Though he did not know exactly what answer Dudley was looking for, his method of reasoning backwards gave a thoughtful and meaningful response.

"Mr Dursley, does that answer satisfy you?" Lupin asked with a smile.

"Absolutely," Dudley said, nodding.

Lupin's explanation made sense. Put simply, Boggarts could access the shallow layers of a wizard's fear but could not fully invade their thoughts.

If that was the case, Dudley could test the theory easily enough.

All he had to do was face the Boggart himself.

If it exploded on the spot, that would mean it could read memories in depth, sifting through everything to find what the wizard feared most.

If it did not explode and simply turned into something he was afraid of, then its ability to read minds was relatively crude and would not reach the deeper, more fundamental parts of memory.

"Right, let us carry on," Lupin said. "In fact, I have already told you how to deal with a Boggart while we were talking just now."

"The incantation is Riddikulus..."

Over the next few minutes, Lupin explained the principle behind defeating Boggarts in detail, then selected Neville as his first volunteer.

To everyone's amusement, and yet somehow complete understanding, Neville's greatest fear turned out to be Professor Snape.

Lupin guided him step by step, asking him to imagine what Snape would look like dressed in his grandmother's clothes.

Once Neville had the image firmly in mind, Lupin flicked his wand and opened the wardrobe.

The door swung wide. A figure stepped slowly out.

It was Professor Snape.

The moment Neville saw him, terror flooded his face. He took an involuntary step back. Then he remembered: this was not the real Snape.

"Riddikulus!" Neville shouted, waving his wand.

In an instant, Snape's robes vanished, replaced by the flowered hat, fox‑fur stole, and vulture‑topped handbag of Neville's grandmother.

The room exploded into laughter. Even Dudley could not help grinning.

He knew it was not really Snape, but the sight of the Potions Master in full elderly witch attire, complete with a hideous old handbag, was too absurd not to enjoy.

"No wonder Snape said he did not want to see this. He must have known what Neville would do. Oh, Merlin, I am going to die laughing," Ron gasped, tears streaming down his face.

"If Snape ever actually saw himself like that, he'd explode on the spot," Harry wheezed, doubled over.

"Excellent. Very well done," Lupin said warmly. "Next, please."

Parvati had been standing behind Neville. She stepped up at once.

The bewildered "Snape" turned its gaze on her. Its eyes sharpened, locking onto her with eerie intensity.

A moment later, Snape vanished. In his place stood a bloodstained, bandaged mummy, arms outstretched, lurching towards her.

"Riddikulus!" Parvati cried, face pale, wand shaking.

The bandages unravelled in a rush and tangled around the mummy's legs, sending it toppling to the floor.

More laughter rippled through the room.

"Continue."

One by one, students stepped forward to confront their fears.

Dudley watched from the side, observing the Boggart's behaviour closely.

"From what I have seen so far, it really does only access surface‑level fear. It cannot dig deeper into memory. That should mean there is no real danger," he thought. "I could use it to find out what I fear most."

While he was still thinking, Ron reached the front of the line.

The Boggart, which had been a giant rattlesnake a moment before, twisted and swelled into an enormous black spider.

When Harry, Hermione, and Dudley saw it, they exchanged glances.

It was Aragog. The very spider they had faced in the Forbidden Forest.

Even though the real Aragog was dead, it still lived on in Ron's nightmares as his deepest terror.

"Good thing Hagrid is not here," Harry muttered.

Ron stood alone before the giant spider, face drained of colour. Even though he had been preparing himself, panic still flickered across his features.

"Reduc—" he began, wand twitching upwards.

He had almost cast a Reductor Curse.

Then he caught himself. This was not the real Aragog. It was only a Boggart.

He cut the spell short.

"Riddikulus!"

The charm worked. In a flash, every one of Aragog's legs sprouted a roller skate. The spider flailed and tumbled, unable to stand, looking utterly ridiculous.

"Well done," Lupin called.

"Next."

Ron stepped back, satisfied, making way for Harry, who had been standing behind him.

Without hesitating, Harry walked forward, wand in hand.

Lupin's expression shifted the moment he saw Harry step up. He looked as though he wanted to stop him.

But after a moment's hesitation, he chose to watch and wait.