The Chosen One [#Wattys2016]

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

For the rest of the holidays, Neville was oddly jumpy. He got startled at the smallest noise and stayed inside most of the time.

Neville had often cursed his poor memory, but he would have given anything to forget the dream. As it happened, it refused to budge and had gotten stuck to his head with a Permanent Sticking Charm.

Once at Hogwarts, he lost no time in telling Avaline the dream. Although annoyed that Neville hadn't sent letters, Avaline quickly overlooked it in face of his difficulties.

"Don't worry Neville. Nothing is going to happen to you with Dumbledore around," she replied, "And I'm there with you, whatever happens."

Even though he had never met Dumbledore, the way everyone talked about the Headmaster was enough to induce a sense of confidence in Neville. As long as Dumbledore was around, no one could touch him.

They passed Draco Malfoy on their way to the Great Hall on their first morning after Christmas break had drawn to a close and school restarted in full swing. Malfoy smiled hesitantly at them, to which Avaline responded with one of the filthiest looks she could muster.

"What's up with you two?" Neville asked once the disheartened Malfoy was out of earshot.

"Nothing," she said a little too quickly.

"Doesn't seem like nothing to me."

"Fine, if you're so interested, he told me to stay away from you," Avaline said as she stomped inside the Great Hall.

"Shouldn't he have said that to me?" Neville said once he had caught up with her.

"He reckons something bad will happen if she stays with you," Jennifer said, then promptly turned her face and started talking to Seamus, who grinned, ignoring the evil eye that Avaline was giving her.

Neville couldn't help think that Malfoy was right. If something was going to happen to him, Avaline would be stuck in it simply because he cared about her.

"Avaline -?"

"No, Neville. I know what you're going to say, so don't. Whatever happens, I'm with you. Till the end," she said and left her breakfast unfinished as she ran off to their first class of the day.

Neville stared at his plate, unable to eat. He wished she hadn't said that.

Professor Lupin greeted Neville and Harry as the first years entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. As the class settled, Professor Lupin announced –

"I hope you all had a good Christmas. I trust that you all do remember all the dark creatures that we had learnt before the holidays. From doxies and gnomes to bowtruckles and Grindylows, we have covered fifteen creatures till now and I trust you all to remember what they are.

"Now, you won't be dealing with spells until the next year and since we are going to be dealing with creatures that are highly more treacherous, I want you all to stay alert and not bombilate in the classroom."

Professor Lupin took the roll call after his proclamation. Some students, like Harry, appeared excited while others, like Neville, seemed nervous.

The cupboard in the classroom gave a sudden wobble as Professor Lupin went and stood next to it, startling the class.

"Nothing to worry, nothing to worry, it's just a boggart," said Professor Lupin calmly.

Neville noticed Hermione and Avaline exchanging looks that meant that this was something to worry about. He swallowed and looked around. More than half the class was eyeing the cupboard apprehensively now.

"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 was kindly supplied to me by a friend," said Professor Lupin and winked at Harry.

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?"

Hermione put up her hand almost instantly.

"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 Professor Lupin, and Hermione glowed. "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," said Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's small sputter of terror, "that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Neville?"

Terrified at being called upon in class, Neville answered hesitantly –

"Uh, because it doesn't know what we fear, it won't know what to become?"

"Precisely," said Professor Lupin and Neville sank in his seat in relief.

"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?

"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.

"Good," said Professor Lupin. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. You need to imagine how to make your fear less frightening."

The room went quiet. Neville thought . . . What scared him most in the world? Multiple scenarios swirled in his head, but he couldn't decide on one.

"Ready?" asked Professor Lupin. The class nodded. Neville glanced at Avaline, bewildered. Her face was set and she looked determined, nowhere close to hoe he himself felt.

"Seamus, forward!"

Looking determined, Seamus strode forward as Professor Lupin tapped his wand to open the cupboard.

At once, a woman with floor length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face — a banshee –came out of the cupboard. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly wailing filled the room that made the hair on Neville's head stand on end.

"Riddikulus," shouted Seamus. The banshee clutched her throat and fell down on her knees, coughing.

One by one, the first years tackled the boggart until –

"Neville!" shouted Professor Lupin. Feeling queasy, Neville stepped forward, as the legless spider that had been Ron's boggart turned its attention to him, and squeaked –

"R — r — riddikulus!"

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I absolutely love cliffhangers, don't you too?

Next update will be tomorrow, so you won't have to wait too much to know about Neville's boggart. What do you expect his boggart to be? 

Enjoy reading!