The Shadow Queen | Draco Malfoy X OC

III-VII

The atmosphere in the infirmary had been tense as Marcus's booming voice reverberated off the walls, echoing his frustration and anger. Draco, his arm wrapped in bandages, sat on the infirmary bed, his expression tight with discomfort and annoyance. Despite his injury, he had been the target of Marcus's tirade for the past half-hour.

Theo and Blaise, fellow Slytherins and teammates, exchanged concerned glances as they flanked Marcus, guiding him out of the infirmary at Madam Pomfrey's insistence. The healer had intervened, recognizing that the escalating argument wasn't conducive to Draco's recovery or the upcoming Quidditch practice.

"Marcus, mate, calm down," Theo urged, his voice low but firm as they made their way out of the infirmary doors.
"Marcus is such a git, and you, my dear Draco, are an idiot," I said, playfully smacking the magazine onto Draco's head.

"Ow," he winced, but then his hand clasped mine, pulling me onto his lap.

"But you weren't saying that when I got hurt. What was it that you said?" Draco teased, pretending to ponder my previous words to Hagrid.

"Oh, right," I chuckled, recalling our earlier conversation. 

"You oaf! I'll make sure Lucius knows about this. I'll see to it that your pet chicken pays for this mess." I smirked as Draco pulled me closer. I couldn't help but smile, my heart overflowing with joy as I basked in the warmth of Draco's embrace. At that moment, everything felt right, and I knew that as long as we had each other, we could conquer any challenge that came our way.

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"Would anyone like to venture a guess as to what is inside? "

"That's a boggart, that is."

"Very good, Mr. Thomas."

"Now, can anybody tell me what a boggart looks like?"

"no one knows, Boggarts are shape-shifters. They take the shape of whatever a person fears the most"

"That's what makes them So terrifying, yes, yes, yes.  that's tight ms. Salvatore. Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a boggart. Let's practice it now. Without wands, please. After me. Riddikulus!"

"So much for the easy part. You see, the incantation alone is not enough. What finishes a boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing. Let me explain. Neville, would you join me, please? Come on, don't be shy. Come on. Come on. Hello. Neville, what frightens you most of all?"

"Professor Snape" what a pathetic fool. 

"Professor Snape. Yes, frightens all. You live with your grandmother"

"I don't want it to turn into her, either." what is he not scared of?

"No, it won't. I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes, very clearly, in your mind." As Professor Lupin opened the wardrobe, Severus emerged, Neville, seizing the opportunity, pointed his wand at Severus and cast the spell with a determined flick, causing Severus's attire to transform into the outlandish garments.

A burst of laughter bubbled up within me at the sight of Severus in his grandmother's clothes, the absurdity of the situation was impossible to ignore. Despite the seriousness of the moment, I couldn't suppress the amusement that washed over me.

Severus, with his usual scowl deepening, looked positively livid as he surveyed his transformed appearance. The mixture of indignation and embarrassment on his face only served to heighten the hilarity of the situation.

I exchanged a knowing glance with Draco, both of us struggling to contain our laughter at the unexpected turn of events. Even Professor Lupin couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight before him, the tension of the moment dissipating in the wake of Severus's unintentionally comical predicament.