What If? Year 2

Chapter 27

"I can't wait to see what your uncle has for his lesson today," Hermione says, as all four of us walk to Defense.
"I'm sure he knows more then Lockhart did," Ron snarls, making me giggle. Harry elbows me.
"Maybe we'll be his examples," he tells me, "I bet you'd love that!" I glare at him.
"If you're his example, you'll be the example of what not to do." Hermione laughs and Harry smacks me.
"I'd recommend that you don't smack your sister, Harry," Remus says, standing right outside of his classroom. I smile, taunting Harry.
"Yes, Professor Lupin," he whispers, rushing in to the classroom and sitting down. Ron sits besides him while Hermione and I sit at the front.
"What did we tell you?" Ron asks, angrily, "you can't sit together."
"Don't worry, Mr. Weasley," Remus says, walking down the center aisle, "the seating will not matter in this class... especially today. We're going on a bit of an adventure."
"Adventure?" Ron asks, "hope there aren't any pixies." Everyone around us giggles.
"Right then, grab you wands and follow me." I pocket my wand and we gather around the door. We follow him around a corner and see Peeves. He does not even look up at us, until Remus is two feet from him.
"Loony, loony, Lupin!" he sings, over and over. The kids around us gasp at the rudeness Peeves was showing a professor. Remus only smiles.
"I'd take that gum out of that keyhole if I were you, Peeves," he says, calmly, "Mr. Filch won't be able to get to his brooms." Peeves simply blows Remus a wet raspberry. Remus sigh and pulls out his wand.
A good time to show you this little spell. Please watch closely. Waddiwasi!" The gum goes flying straight into a poltergeist's left nostril. Curses flow from his mouth as he flies off.
"Cool sir!" Dean shouts.
"Thank you, Dean... Shall we proceed?" We continue all the way to the staff room. It is empty, except for one sneering teacher. Remus goes to close the door, but;
"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." He makes it all the way to the door, keeping his tongue bitten. Suddenly he turns sharply on his heel and sneers,
"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." I feel my fists tighten in anger as Neville's face turns scarlet. Remus raises his eyebrows. 
"Actually, I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," he says, happily, "and I am sure he will perform admirably." With a curl on his lip, Snape leaves and snaps the door shut.
"Alright," Remus continues, motioning us to the end of the room. These is a simple wardrobe that gives a sudden wobble, hitting the wall.
"Nothing to worry about," he tells us calmly, since multiple of us jumped at the movement, "there's a boggart in there." I quickly find my wand in my robes and pull it out.
"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gab beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks... this one moved in yesterday and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it for some third year practice. So, the first questions we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?" Hermione and my hand both shoot up.
"Miss Granger?"
"It's a shape-shifter," she answers, "it can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."
"Could have not answered better myself," he replies, making Hermione glow, "the boggart has not assumed a form. It does not know what will frighten the person outside. No one knows what a boggart looks like by itself. When I open the door, it will immediately shift. This means that we have a huge advantage. What is that advantage?" Hermione and my hand shoot up again.
"Harry? Have you spotted it?" I look over at my brother, whose hand is stiffly at his side.
"Umm... we have a lot of people... so, it won't know what to turn into to scare us all?" I put my hand down in frustration.
"Precisely! It is always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. It becomes confused. I've seen it happen when they get confused and meld people nightmares together. Not nearly as frightening. Now, 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. You need to think about how to change that shape into something amusing. We will practice first, without wands of course. After me, please... riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!"
"Good. That was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And that is where you come in, Neville." The wardrobe shakes again violently. I look over to Neville, who looks like he was just given the life sentence.
"Right, Neville... what would you say the thing that frightens you the most is?" Neville's lips move, but nothing could be heard.
"Didn't catch that, sorry, Neville," Remus says, cheerfully. Neville looks to me, face bright red and his hands shaking.
"P-professor Snape," he whispers. Almost everyone laughs, but I only feel anger radiating off of me. Neville smiles, shyly, making me angrier.
"Professor Snape... hmmmmm.. Neville, you live with your grandmother don't you?" My anger soon shifts into sadness, as my brain shifts to his parents.
"Er... um, yes," he says, nervously, "But... I don't want the boggart to turn into her either." Remus chuckles.
"No, you misunderstood me," he replies, softly, "come here, I'll explain it better." Remus whispers to Neville for a while, making the poor boy's eyes get wide.
"I don't know, Professor..."
"I won't let anything happen to you, Neville," Remus says, softly, "I believe in you. When the boggart burst from wardrobe and see you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape. You will raise your wand and cry 'Riddikulus' and don't forget to concentrate on what we talked about." Neville nods slowly. Remus points his wand at the wardrobe and the doors fly open. Snape walks out, staring straight at Neville.
"R-riddikulus!" he shouts, as Snape slowly walks towards us. In a spin of colors, Snape is suddenly in a long turquoise dress, a big hat with birds on it, and a bright red handbag. Laughter erupts from all of us, as Neville smiles and straightens in confidence.
"Great job, Neville," Remus exclaims, "everybody get in line!" Everyone pushes to the front, hoping to get a turn. Being the smallest in the class, I easily get filed all the way back right behind Harry and Hermione.
"Golds, why don't you go a head of me?" Hermione asks, grabbing my hand, gently and pulling be in front of her.
"Don't give me that look, Harry. She should get a turn and we both answered questions." Harry nods. We go through the line, rather quickly, with fears ranging from spiders and snakes to mummies and clowns. The whole time, I am trying to figure out what my fear is and how to make it funny.
Imagine Dad being angry with you... No, Dad and Mom being disappointed in you. What about the Chamber and Tom? Peter Pettigrew? Wait... no, those darn dementors. That thing freaked me out way more. But how do I make that funny? Maybe turn it pink or something? Turn it into a floating napkin? Shoot... it's me.
My wand is shaking in my hand as Remus flies in front of me before the boggart can even shift. The boggart turns into a moon with clouds around it.
"Riddikulus," he says, lazily, making it into a crazily deflating ballon, "Finish it off, Neville." Neville steps up and Snape reappears. The dress come flying back to him and everyone laughs. The boggart explodes into dust causing more laughter.
"That is all," Remus says, dismissing us, "for everyone who took on the dementor, five house points. Five to Hermione and Harry as well. You are all dismissed." Everyone leaves in a excited heap. Confusion and frustration fills my body, as I follow Hermione, Harry, and Ron.
Why didn't he let me face the boggart? I'm more than capable.