Remus Lupin joined Hogwarts on the second Monday of November, taking over the position of Greaves, who, according to the statement officially hung up on the Gryffindor common room noticeboard, had left the school because of a desire for ‘*a quieter posting elsewhere*’.
Ron, who had heard half a tale from his elder brothers, stated the posting Greaves found was a job at a Ministry desk, whereas Harry, who had heard another half-tale from a different source, reported Greaves had requested to leave voluntarily.
Cael kept his theory to himself, though.
For what it’s worth, he believed someone else had finally provided the motivation for Greaves’ decision, someone high enough up to be able to influence the professor’s decision, and he was probably right about the reason: the fact that Cael had managed to attract some attention because of a gap in his curriculum over the past four weeks probably played a role, though Cael was humble enough to believe this had not been the sole factor contributing to Greaves’ departure from Hogwarts.
In the end, Greaves had been a faint flicker of a person for years now; it just took someone some time to discover the reason for putting this flame out for good.
Lupin was different.
First of all, he was thin.
Secondly, he was a bit shabby, the way it happens to men after many years of owning a few decent clothes which eventually get worn out in the cuff area.
Thirdly, he seemed a bit tired, tired like it was his usual state of mind.
Finally, after only ten minutes of their first lesson together, Cael realized Lupin was paying *serious attention* to his surroundings: he was studying the classroom, its students, and, more specifically, the way each student entered the class.
Lupin stood in the front of the class and waited until the third-years appeared before making the mental inventory Cael knew so well from Flitwick’s lessons and McGonagall’s office: *Who are you, what can you do, what do you need*?
He greeted Cael as if Cael was nobody special; indeed, apparently, someone had filled him in on the details concerning his case, which Cael was grateful for.
However, Lupin was neither avoiding nor singling him out, which, in fact, made Cael even more grateful.
In particular, he welcomed Cael by shaking his hand in the same precise manner he shook hands with every other student, once, quickly, with eye contact and a polite phrase: “Mr.
Mourne.
Pleased to meet you.” Again, like everybody else.
That day, Lupin taught them about Boggarts.
His explanations were concise and effective: Lupin had undoubtedly done this hundreds of times before.
Nevertheless, he demonstrated his small sense of humour here by using Riddikulus, showing how he transformed his own robes into a bright purple dressing gown in the matter of a few seconds.
The students loved this approach: the age-appropriate jokes did help build rapport with the new teacher.
Not to mention the fact that he simply invited, rather than lectured, everybody to join him during the practice session, where the real fun was supposed to take place.
Afterwards, Lupin took a wardrobe from the storage closet and placed it in front of the class.
Cael knew this was what was keeping the Boggart from entering the classroom, though this piece of knowledge did not help him in any way.
At least, it made him aware something was about to happen.
The class, having understood the meaning of this particular wardrobe, started laughing almost immediately.
This was why the next sequence surprised Cael: he could see Lupin, as if on purpose, giving the assignment to Neville, who managed to make the Boggart of Snape, which was nothing more than the embodiment of this young man’s nightmares, transform into a ridiculous old Snape in his grandmother’s wardrobe — dressed in a green dress with the vulture hat on.
Then, the class roared with laughter and Cael observed for the second time in two weeks how the young man’s cheeks flushed with joy.
Lupin, whom Cael liked immediately because he was clever and perceptive, made Neville the first one on purpose to help him win.
Cael memorized this detail in his mind: *Lupin pays attention*.
The practice continued.
Each student was trying to make the Boggart reveal its worst fears.
Hermione’s turn was to see Professor McGonagall holding a piece of paper stating “FAILED ALL EXAMS”.
Ron faced the Giant Spider again and succeeded in making it look like nothing.
Harry faced his own Boggart: Cael did not even manage to find out what it actually was before Lupin smoothly headed it off, waving his wand.
Cael’s turn came.
The Boggart emerged and faced Cael, pausing for nine seconds.
Boggarts did not usually do this, at least Cael had not heard or seen about such behaviour yet.
Boggarts usually locked on their target instantly, assembling the form of the worst nightmare before completely breaking the connection with the previous victim’s mind.
Yet, this Boggart paused for nine seconds and then assembled a very strange form.
Nobody remembered what exactly this form had looked like, including Lupin, who mentioned this phenomenon in his personal diary that night.
The professor described his observation in the following terms: *’I cannot give an exact description of this Boggart’s form.
It was definitely not something recognizable.
The form was *not* a creature; it also did not remind me of any person or threat in general.
I believe this particular Boggart assembled the shape of the opposite of what Mr.
Mourne was afraid of*.
This was not an ideal reaction of Boggart: since it has not brought any kind of fear, the Boggart did not even try attacking the student.’* This strange object hovered above Cael’s face for three seconds before it finally decided to escape, backing into the wardrobe which, consequently, slammed shut.
Then, the rocking stopped.
Nobody understood what the heck happened.
The class stared at the wardrobe, the teacher at the wardrobe, while Cael slowly lowered his wand which, in fact, he had never managed to raise.
He simply stood rooted to the ground and observed.
Lupin, having recovered his ability to speak in less than a second, declared: “*All right*, that will be all for today.
*Excellent* job, guys.
Mr.
Mourne, I suggest we talk alone for a while”.
“Yes, sir.” “You’ll wait, please?” Lupin watched his students leave the classroom in silence and disappeared behind the closing door.
Cael remained the last one standing.
“Are you all right?”, Lupin finally said after some silent moments.
This was what the Head of the House had said in the Great Hall, which Cael did not like in the least.
Still, this time, Cael answered immediately.
“I’m all right.”, he said.
“And this is not the main question I am interested in, although I had to ask it.” “Yes, sir.” “Well, what did you see?” For a moment, Cael pondered on his answer.
His notebook was ready to accept a few lines of text and he started thinking.
“I didn’t see any fear”, he said.
“It looked like you faced *something* that cannot be recognized or described.
It was not a creature, it was not a person.
It just looked like…
it looked like *an anti-Boggart* — a Boggart assembled out of the anti-fear.
Since it’s impossible to form an image based on something that does not exist, this Boggart had no choice but to improvise, and it did not do that too well.
And then, it gave up.” Cael felt Lupin examining him with interest.
“Yes…”, the professor said thoughtfully.
“Yes, this is *very* close to what I saw.
You must be a good observer, Mr.
Mourne”.
“As a rule, I take notes.” “I’ve heard.
May I…no, it’s not going to bother you.
May I ask you to do something?” “Yes, sir.” “Cael, what I’m going to tell you now may sound crazy and, to be honest, it sounds this way even to me, but still, I believe it’s true.
I think your magic is extremely important, so important that it deserves your attention and efforts.
I have never said that before to anybody, including other professors, but this time I want you to pay a little more attention to your magic and your practice.
Write everything you think of down.
And, I believe you do not rush yourself.
So, continue, do not stop, and, please, don’t listen to anybody telling you to.” Lupin was looking directly into his eyes while saying it.
“Yes, sir.” “Good.” Now it was Lupin’s turn to say goodbyes.
Cael followed his movements, watching how Lupin straightened his robes and then glanced at the wardrobe.
Cael could feel Lupin’s attention as soon as the teacher left and continued his observations, mentally forming the pages of his journal: “Boggart: no form, no fear, escaped.
Needs to be further examined”.
After saying that to himself, Lupin left the classroom, leaving Cael wondering whether his teacher really believed everything he said.
In any case, Cael was grateful to him.
Then, he went to lunch quietly.
In his personal notebook Cael wrote that evening, this way: *Anti-Boggart hypothesis: Boggart could not lock on the subject.
No form.
Fled from the classroom.
Hypothesis: a practitioner with inverted magic may not serve as a source of fear.
Need to test it on Dementors if possible.* Cael studied it for a minute or two.
For the first time, he did not mark any line, realizing the significance of the entries he had written in the notebook.
Later, after gaining more confidence, he would probably return to those lines and draw the conclusions, but he needed a couple of years before doing this.
In the end, Cael closed the book and went to bed.
Above him, a ceiling painted sky was rolling gently somewhere deep in the night; somewhere very far away, in a castle’s second floor gallery, the knight had a discussion with his horse.
Cael slept peacefully, and did not dream, but the night kept flowing around him anyway.