twilight - boa✦°

°✦'your feelings and mine are all lonely, and dawn comes, you're there lying with me'

↯↯↯

MALFOY DIDN'T REAPPEAR IN CLASSES until late on thursday morning, when the slytherins and gryffindors were halfway through double potions. he swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting stupid. seriously, listen to the guy!

"how is it, draco?" simpered pansy. "does it hurt much?"

"yeah," said malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace but y/n saw him wink at crabbe and goyle when pansy had looked away.

"settle down, settle down," said professor snape idly. they were making a new potion today, a shrinking solution. malfoy set up his cauldron right next to y/n, which she thought was a very bold move, considering the amount of times she had embarrassed him in the past two years they'd known him.

"sir," malfoy called, "sir, i'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm --"

"weasley, cut up malfoy's roots for him," said snape without looking up. 

ron went brick red. "there's nothing wrong with your arm," he hissed at malfoy.

malfoy smirked across the table."weasley, you heard professor snape; cut up these roots."

ron seized his knife, pulled malfoy's roots toward him, and began to chop them roughly, so that they were all different sizes.

"professor," drawled malfoy, "weasley's mutilating my roots, sir."

snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, then gave ron an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair.

"change roots with malfoy, weasley."

"but, sir --!"

ron had spent the last quarter of an hour carefully shredding his own roots into exactly equal pieces.

"now," said snape in his most dangerous voice. ron shoved his own beautifully cut roots across the table to malfoy, then took up the knife again.

"and, sir, i'll need this shrivel fig skinned," said malfoy, his voice full of malicious laughter.

"l/n, you can skin malfoy's shrivel fig," said snape

"no." she replied.

"what do you mean, no?" said snape, infuriated.

"i mean no, merlin. i'm not doing anything for this slime ball." as she spoke, she felt a sharp kick on her shin, making her suck in a breath. she looked up and saw harry, eyebrows raised, expression screaming stop y/n you'll be in trouble!  harry knew deep down she wouldn't listen to him, but a guy can try, right?

"detention, then l/n." he said, his voice raising steadily.

"better believe i won't be turning up then."

snape burst, which was exactly what she had been counting on.

"GET OUT OF MY CLASS YOU ROTTEN CHILD!"

"ok! leaving! bye!" she said happily, packing up her stuff and exiting the classroom. snape was a useless teacher anyways. all these years and y/n still didn't understand potions. besides, being a fashion designer had nothing to do with potions. y/n just needed to be good at charms and transfiguration. once y/n had left the classroom, she realised it was stupid because she had nothing to do. she decided to go to the great hall and maybe read or hopefully bump into someone else. y/n had tried to surround herself with people since mcgonagall's lesson; she was scared that she would wind up in the dream again and that fear wouldn't help her understand what was happening to her. her unusual power of fire was enough for her to be tired of herself.

✩✩✩

at lunch, y/n met up with harry, ron and hermione, considering it was right after potions, and they had come into the great hall and found her. they sat down at the table with her and started plating their food.

"hey y/n." said hermione. "where did you go."

"oh, i just sat in here and read an old newspaper. i got to the food first though, which was such a plus." 

as they ate, they overheard malfoy soaking up the attention over his arm again.

"god, he's really laying it on thick, isn't he?" complained ron.

"well i'm just glad hagrid's not been fired." answered y/n. harry nodded, agreeing.

"his father's really furious though, i heard." said hermione. "we haven't heard the end of this."

"HE'S BEEN SIGHTED!" says seamus, rushing into the hall. and setting a newspaper down by y/n. 

"who?" says ron, alarmed.

"sirius black." replies seamus. harry gets up, around the back of y/n with his hand on the table next to her and the other dragging across her shoulder as he looked over it, at the newspaper.

"dufftown? that's not far from here..." y/n says unsurely, glancing up at harry.

"you don't think he'd come to hogwarts, do you?" says neville, looking very shaken up.

"he's slipped past the dementors once, who's to say he won't do it again?" seamus states.

"that's right. black could be anywhere. it's like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."

"no." says y/n firmly. "don't worry, nev he's not getting in, it'll be fine." 

the moving picture of sirius black, glared back at y/n, but she was determined not to be scared of him. after all, she had faced voldemort twice. black can't be any worse. 

✩✩✩

professor lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first lesson. they all sat down, took out their books, quills, and parchment, and, much to y/n's annoyance, harry turned to her. she already knew what he was going to ask.

"y/n? what happened in transfiguration the other day?"

"why are you asking now?" she replies, in a way she thought was smart.

"don't try change the subject with me, sweetheart, i'll just keep pestering you." 

"it's not like you ever give me a straight answer!" 

"that isn't the point!"

"jesus! fine! i had a like- i don't know. like a dream i think. or maybe a vision. i'm not sure yet, ok!"

"what did you see." he asks quietly, in a tone that did not make it seem like he was asking, but rather demanding, which y/n found very attractive, but she quickly shook the thought out of her head, as she realised what he was saying. she quickly explained the pearly silver, liquid pool from her dream. he furrows his eyebrows, making her sigh, because neither of them had a clue about what had happened to her.

"have you told anyone else about this?"

"you know i haven't, har."

it was no surprise that the two told everything to each other first - they were the best best friends.

lupin finally entered the room at that exact moment, smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the teacher's desk. he was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had had a few square meals.

"good afternoon," he said. "would you please put all your books back in your bags. today's will be a practical lesson. you will need only your wands."

a few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books. they had never had a practical defense against the dark arts before, unless you counted the memorable class last year when their old teacher, lockhart, had brought a cageful of pixies to class and set them loose.

"right then," said professor lupin, when everyone was ready. "if you'd follow me."

puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed professor lupin out of the classroom. he led them along the deserted corridor and around a corner, where the first thing they saw was peeves the poltergeist, who was floating upside down in mid-air and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum. peeves didn't look up until professor lupin was two feet away, then he wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into song.

"loony, loopy lupin," peeves sang. "loony, loopy lupin, loony, loopy lupin-"

rude and unmanageable as he almost always was, peeves usually showed some respect toward the teachers. everyone looked quickly at lupin to see how he would take this; to their surprise, he was still smiling.

"i'd take that gum out of the keyhole if i were you, peeves," he said pleasantly. "mr. filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."

however, peeves paid no attention to professor lupin's words, except to blow a loud wet raspberry. professor lupin gave a small sigh and took out his wand.

"this is a useful little spell," he told the class over his shoulder. "please watch closely." he raised the wand to shoulder height, said, "waddiwasi! "and pointed it at peeves. with the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight down peeves's left nostril; he whirled upright and zoomed away, cursing.

"cool, sir!" said dean thomas in amazement.

"thank you, dean," said professor lupin, putting his wand away again. "shall we proceed?"

they set off again, the class looking at shabby lupin with increased respect, much to yn's delight. he led them down a second corridor and stopped, right outside the staffroom door.

"inside, please," said professor lupin, opening it and standing back. the staffroom, a long, panelled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty except for one teacher. snape was sitting in a low armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in. his eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth. 

as professor lupin came in and made to close the door behind him, snape said, "leave it open, lupin. i'd rather not witness this."

he got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him. at the doorway he turned on his heel and said, "possibly no one's warned you, lupin, but this class contains neville longbottom. i would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. not unless miss granger is hissing instructions in his ear." neville went scarlet. "and you also have y/n l/n, who has never been able to bite her tongue to this day and has no respect whatsoever for her elders."

harry glared at snape; it was bad enough that he bullied neville in his own classes, let alone doing it in front of other teachers. not to mention dragging in y/n, who was now staring into snapes soul, possibly calculating her moves for her next potions lesson. 

professor lupin had raised his eyebrows.

"i was hoping that neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," he said, "and i am sure he will perform it admirably."

neville's face went, if possible, even redder. snape's lip curled, but he left, shutting the door with a snap.

"now, then," said professor lupin, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes. as professor lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall. 

"nothing to worry about," said professor lupin calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm. "there's a boggart in there. boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks -- i've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. this one moved in yesterday afternoon, and i asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice. so, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?"

hermione put up her hand.

"it's a shape-shifter," she said. "it can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."

"couldn't have put it better myself," said lupin. "so the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. he does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when i let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. this means that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. have you spotted it, harry?"

"er -- because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"

"precisely," said lupin. "it's always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. he becomes confused. which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? i once saw a boggart make that very mistake -- tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. not remotely frightening. the charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. 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 amusing. we will practice the charm without wands first. after me, please ... riddikulus!"

"riddikulus!" said the class together.

"this class is ridiculous." muttered malfoy.

"yeah, just like you." sneered y/n. she couldn't stand him to say the least.

"good," said lupin. "very good. but that was the easy part, i'm afraid. you see, the word alone is not enough. and this is where you come in, neville." 

the wardrobe shook again, though not as much as neville, who walked forward as though he were heading for the gallows.

"right, neville," said professor lupin. "first things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"

neville's lips moved, but no noise came out.

"didn't catch that, neville, sorry," said lupin cheerfully.

"professor snape."

nearly everyone laughed. even neville grinned apologetically. lupin, however, looked thoughtful.

"professor snape... hmmm... neville, i believe you live with your grandmother?"

"er -- yes," said neville nervously. "but -- i don't want the boggart to turn into her either."

"no, no, you misunderstand me," said professor lupin, now smiling. "i wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?"

neville looked startled, but said, "well... always the same hat. a tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. and a long dress... green, normally... and sometimes a fox-fur scarf."

"and a handbag?" prompted lupin.

"a big red one," said neville.

"right then," said lupin. "can you picture those clothes very clearly, neville? can you see them in your mind's eye?"

"yes," said neville uncertainly, plainly wondering what was coming next.

"when the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of professor snape," said lupin. "and you will raise your wand -- thus -- and cry 'riddikulus' -- and concentrate hardon your grandmother's clothes. if all goes well, professor boggart snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag if neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn," said professor lupin. "i would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical...."

y/n had no clue as to what scared her most. she wasn't afraid of voldemort or sirius black. she wasn't afraid of the dark, or spiders like ron. she wasn't afraid of heights, considering she was a chaser and loved the thrill of being on the broom high in the air at unbelievable speeds. she just didn't know.

many people had their eyes shut tight. ron was muttering to himself, "take its legs off " which made y/n laugh at him.

"everyone ready?" said professor lupin. "neville, we're going to back away, let you have a clear field, all right? i'll call the next person forward.... everyone back, now, so neville can get a clear shot --"

they all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving neville alone beside the wardrobe. he looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand ready.

"on the count of three, neville," said lupin, who was pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "one two -- three-- now!"

a jet of sparks shot from the end of lupin's wand and hit the doorknob. the wardrobe burst open. hook-nosed and menacing, professor snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at neville. neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes.

"r -- r -- riddikulus! "squeaked neville. there was a noise like a whip crack. snape stumbled; he was wearing along, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag. there was a roar of laughter; the boggart paused, confused, and lupin shouted, "parvati! forward!"

parvati walked forward, her face set. snape rounded on her. there was another crack, and where he had stood was a bloodstained, bandaged mummy; it's sightless face was turned to parvati and it began to walk toward her very slowly, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising --

"riddikulus!" cried parvati. a bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off.

after parvati, seamus had his go, then dean and ron. it was entertaining to say the least but once it was y/n's turn, she felt her stomach drop in dread and anticipation. ron's spider rolled through the mirror of the cupboard, disappearing as the boggart, so obviously analysed y/n, taking her in, peeling each of her layers back to see what she truly feared. 

almost on queue, a silver hand reached out of the mirror, feeling out, as if waiting to hold something. or someone. 

she wasn't scared. she told herself so anyways. and they always say fake it till you make it, right?

"riddikulus." she whispered. y/n knew exactly what she had just seen. 

the hand stopped and instead a bouquet of unnaturally dark red roses sprouted from it's palm before it dropped it and went back in the closet, leaving the bouquet on the floor, in front of harry, who was next in line.

he raised his wand, ready, but-

"here!" shouted lupin suddenly, hurrying forward. the roses had vanished. for a second, everyone looked wildly around to see where it was. then they saw a silvery-white orb hanging in the air in front of lupin, who said, "riddikulus!" almost lazily. it turned into a balloon and whizzed around the class, before going back into the cupboard.

"excellent!" cried lupin as the class broke into applause."let me see... five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the boggart -- ten for neville because he did it first... and five each to hermione and harry."

"but I didn't do anything," said harry. 

"you and hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, harry," lupin said lightly. "very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me... to be handed in on monday. that will be all."

talking excitedly, the class left the staffroom. y/n, however, wasn't feeling cheerful. 

what did it mean?

"that was the best defense against the dark arts lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?" said ron excitedly as they made their way back to the classroom to get their bags.

"he seems like a very good teacher," said hermione approvingly. "but i wish i could have had a turn with the boggart --"

"what would it have been for you?" said ron, sniggering. "a piece of homework that only got nine out of ten?" 

word count: 3169