Nightmare (Harry Potter OC Fic)

5. Fear

"I swear on Merlin's grave, Snape is trying to kill us with the amount of work he's given!" Kei groaned as she and Tiberius walked from the Muggle Studies classroom down to the Defence Against the Dark Arts room.

"Not to mention Professor Burbage's new project assignment on electricity," Tiberius added.

"Well, at least we've got some advantage on that. My house is full of it, as is yours."

"But how're we going to find examples of electricity in Hogwarts?"

Kei slowed their pace and huffed, not liking the fact that Tiberius was right. Their slight advantage of knowledge didn't seem to help them much on the practical portion of the assignment.

"So Defence," Kei said, addressing their next problem. Every year Hogwarts had a new professor for the subject, one crazier than the next.

"Alastor didn't tell me much about him, but all I know is he's pretty decent– attended Hogwarts not too long ago," Tiberius shrugged. "Reckon we'll find out, yeah?"

Kei only hummed in response as they made their way into the classroom. The new Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first lesson. Taking their normal spot in the class, Kei and Tiberius sat together with quills, books, and parchment at the ready.

"Good afternoon," a voice boomed from the back, causing all of the students to turn to face him as he walked in. "I understand that this is a fifth year class but I do believe there is nothing like a good refresher on old lessons."

All of the students looked at each other, Kei giving Tiberius a confused look at the idea of going back and addressing old lessons.

"I have come across an opportunity to showcase a practical lesson. Would you please put all of your belongings into your bags? You will only need your wands."

This caused a slight murmur in the classroom. There had never been practicals in previous Defence Against the Dark Arts classes– no reason to have any as there were no dark objects or creatures to defend against.

"Right then," said Lupin once everyone packed away their things. "If you'd all follow me."

Kei linked arms with Tiberius as they followed the crowd of fifth years to the empty staffroom with nothing but empty chairs and a large cabinet in the middle of the room.

"Now, then," said 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 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 backwards in alarm. "There's a Boggart in there.

"As you all know, Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," he continued. "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 a demonstration to a few of my classes.

"So, as a refresher, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?"

Everyone seemed to look around at each other, no one wanting to answer, though it was obvious the fifth years already knew.

"C'mon, I know you know it," he encouraged.

Cedric Diggory slowly raised his hand and the teacher called upon him.

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

"Precisely," 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 fears the most. This means that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. And can anyone give me the reason as to why?"