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Harry was probably the most exited for his Defense against the dark arts lesson. He was going to be first in line so that he could face a Boggart; would it still be a dementor? He felt he needed to know.

Harry stayed close to Lupin as they walked into the staff room.

"Professor?" Snape was reading a potions journal in the staff room.

"Hello Professor Snape, I'm needing my third years in here. You're welcome to stay."

"Actually Lupin. I find screaming students distract me from my reading." The professor stood up and tucked his journals under his arm. "Good luck Lupin. I'm sure you'll need it."

That was not very civil but Harry was distracted by the lesson before him.

"There is a Boggart in that wardrobe." The professor explained. "Boggarts like dark enclosed spaces. Cupboards, Under the bed. I once encountered a Boggart who had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved himself in yesterday afternoon." He pointed to the moving wardrobe. "Now who can tell me what is a Boggart?"

"A Boggart is a shape shifter sir. It manifests into the thing it believes you fear the most."

"Well done Miss Granger."

"Now against this particular Boggart we have an advantage. Who can tell me what that is? Harry?"

"There are tons of us. It won't know what to change into."

"Right you are. I once encountered aBoggart with my three best friends; I was only a little older than you are. It transformed itself into a fat woman with wolf paws as hands; a horse head and a clown horn. We laughed for about twenty minutes."

The class looked at him quite confused.

"See Boggarts exist to scare you; defeating them requires a simple thing- laughter. The spell to defeat a Boggart is quite simple. You force it to become amusing by casting the spell Riddikulus."

"Now that is the easy part. It takes deep concentration. Let's see; Mr Weasley what is the thing that scares you the most."

"Umm…. Spiders sir."

"Arachnophobia." Remus Lupin nodded. "Well how would you make that funny?"

"Well I don't like the way the legs move." Ron shuddered.

"Okay Ron- imagine it learning to roller-skate." Ron sniggered slightly. "Exactly Ron. Now I'm going to let the Boggart spider out. You cast the spell and imagine the spider rolling away in the skates."

"Umm okay."

"Right everyone in line." Harry slid into line behind Hermione; Lupin frowned at this.

The giant spider came out of the wardrobe; many people screamed or went stiff. "RIDDIKULUS!"

The spider did begin rolling away. "Right Now Draco go."

Draco stood forward and the spider morphed into an image of Lucius Malfoy. Many people gasped. "Father- right Riddikulus." Draco's father shifted ever so slightly; a fuzzy hat appeared on his head. 'I love Harry Potter.' Draco and his friends gave a small laugh. Hermione saved the day.

She moved forward and declared Lucius a "Bastard! How dare you. Your wife and child you Bastard!" She seemed to really enjoy shouting at the Boggart. More people laughed but the Boggart shifted.

Hermione's fear. Three people stood but only their backs could be seen. One had red hair, one black, the other blond.

"Guyys?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Can't you take a hint?" Boggart Draco turned a scowl on his face. "Go away Mudblood!"

Hermione squeaked; tears beginning to fall.

"OY." Draco moved forward rolling up his sleeves. "You take that back- apologies to her this instant!"

"Yeah we would never say that to Hermione." Ron came forward insisting.

"Draco, Ron- the Boggart can't understand you."

The Boggart shifted so Draco held Lucius' face and the other two boys had spider legs coming out of their heads.

"Ewww." Everyone moved back; that was weird.

Harry pushed past both of the friends so he was facing the Boggart. "Do your worst."

It shifted again. It became a strange hairy creature with huge eyes. It looked confused and just snarled at Harry.

"Sir what is that? I'm not in the least bit scared of it."

"It seems scared of you." Lupin looked confused as the bogart locked itself back in its cupboard. "Are you scared of anything Harry?" Lupin asked as the lock fell down loudly.

"Sir I'm afraid of Voldemort obviously, My uncle. I'm claustrophobic. I have nightmares every night. I'm afraid of losing my friends- of them dying you know. I'm scared of Dementors. I'm scared of failing, I really don't like being alone. I'm not fond of fire at all. Rats freak me out like hell well I don't mind the white ones as much…"

"Okay Harry I get it."

"What do you mean sir?"

"You don't have a dominant fear. The Boggart didn't know what to do with itself."

"Oh so that was what the Boggart actually looks like?"

"I suppose so. Yes." Lupin looked fascinated.

"Wow."

"Harry I think you should go and sit this out. I'm sorry."

"Its fine, Professor." Harry watched the rest of the class from the back. Harry watched with glazed eyes. It was surprising that was probably the last thing he expected when he faced the Boggart.

Then he thought of Hermione's fear. She must know they would never turn their backs on her; she was part of their group. They were the new Maunders; a team. Maybe he should tell her that.

The class ended and everyone got points for facing the Boggart. Harry pulled his friends to hang back.

"Uncle Moony?" Harry asked the professor. Calling him by this name made the man smile.

"Yes Harry."

"Umm… I want to become an Animagus. Like my dad and Uncle Padfoot. Could you help us please?"

"Harry?" Hermione questioned. He had mentioned this to them a few times before but she was shocked he was asking a teacher.

"Why do you want to become an Animagus Harry?" Logically he would ask Professor McGonagall, she was the transfiguration teacher. This would mean that Harry had no intention of registering with the ministry.

"Well I want us all to be Maunders like you were. I want to bring honour back to the name." Harry smiled across at his friends. "I want us to be as close as you guys were."

"Harry I'm a professor I can teach you that. You're supposed to learn under the ministry."

"Oh-"

"Harry I'm so sorry but I can't tell you and your friends that your father learnt how to do it from a book in the restricted section of the library."

"Well…"

"I also can't mention that it's a dark coffee coloured book; with Animal transformations as the title. Its written in black." Remus let out a grin at the eager children; Professor McGonagall was an amazing woman. She told them exactly the same.

Ron nudged his friend and they both smiled at the professor. "Okay professor Lupin we completely understand." Draco told him as Hermione noted the instructions down. If it was a teacher was giving the information; well who was she to argue.

"It was quite surprising; there is a room in the school. The room of requirement. It's the only place teachers cannot find you when you are practicing. James and Sirius hid from me as they did it; it was intended to be a surprise." He explained. "I found the book though; it was from stack twenty-seven, Shelf B." Lupin winked.

"Uncle; did you know I have my father's invisibility cloak? And the map you guys made."

"Really?" Lupin didn't look surprised. "Well I'm sure you want to get off to your common room or the library or something."

"Thanks Uncle Moony."

"Thank you for what Harry?" He smiled.

"For an enlightening lesson sir."

They were in the common room as Harry ran up to find his cloak. "I can't believe he told us all of that." Hermione stared at the piece of parchment Lupins words were written on.

"No He didn't Hermione he didn't tell us a damn thing." Ron grinned.

"Right you are Ron." Draco agreed. "Right you are."

"Okay I got it." Harry had the cloak folded in his arms and a cat at his heals.

"Will it fit all of us?" Hermione asked.

"I think so- I know it comfortably fits three…" Harry explained. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Hermione looked around the common room. "Maybe I should stay back."

"Hell no. If we're doing this, we're doing it together." Ron insisted.

"All for one and one for all." Harry gave the muggle reference.

"The three musketeers?"

"Hermione; you of all people should know. In the original story… there were four." Harry smiled between his friends.

"I don't understand a word you just said." Draco shook his own head. "But it sounded about right. Hermione; we'd never turn our backs on you."

"Yeah." Ron agreed. "We wouldn't last two days without you. We'd all go to pot."

The only girl smiled. "Yeah you would."

"Come on let's go down and get that book." Harry petted the head of his cat. "See you soon baby girl."

She made an unhappy sound at being left but curled up by the fire to sleep. Harry pulled his friends down secret passageways; directly to the library.

"That map is brilliant." Ron exclaimed. Harry had showed his friends all the bells and whistles of the map what felt like forever ago.

"I know right." Harry pulled up the cloak so it covered all four of them. "Are we all covered?"

"Yea." Draco said.

"Got me." Hermione told him.

"I'm having a bit of a foot problem." Ron's shoe was poking out.

"Come a bit closer?" Draco pulled the red head closer to him. "Yeah?"

"Okay I'm in."

"We need to be quite." Harry explained. "This doesn't stop us from being solid or having a voice."

They moved slowly in unison through the library and into the restricted section. As they grew further in Hermione began counting the shelves. "Twenty-six. That one's twenty-seven." Hermione pointed between Harry and Ron.

Harry shrugged the cloak off. "Right so we're on these two shelves."

They scanned the cover of every book on the shelves. "Hey do we really have to miss lunch for this?"

"Ron imagine how cool it would be to turn into something; like a bird or something that can fly." Draco told him; he wanted to be a bird.

"That does sound pretty cool- but so does lunch."

"Hey here it is." Hermione lifted the book. It was tiny, only a few pages. Coffee brown with black words on the hard back cover. "The secret to Animagus transformations." Hermione read the first page.

Draco leaned over to look at the book. "What does it say?"

"The first two pages are warnings- which we will read."

"Yes ma'am." Ron rolled his eyes.

"Then instructions; and the last one, two." She counted the pages. "Five pages are just notes, looks like it's been added too back here."

"So…"

"I'll read through it for you and see what we come up with."

"You're amazing."

"So you keep telling me." She rolled her eyes. "Let's go and get food."

"Yes. I love you."

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