No Shrinking Violet

Boggart

I'm not quite sure if it was a miracle or just dumb luck that we hadn't been caught in our adventure but either way I wandered into my D.A.D.A class the next day with a queasy stomach to find Lily asleep on James' shoulder, James was gently rubbing one of his temples and Sirius was staring blankly at a wall with a look of regret, Remus and Peter were in the midst of a chipper conversation as they hadn't drunk much, or in Pete's case at all. I plopped down in my seat disturbing Sirius who waited until I had all my books on the table before resting his head on my shoulder.

'I shouldn't have taken that seventh shot of Jack Daniels.' he muttered bitterly.

'I'm not entirely sure it was just the whiskey Padfoot.' I commented wryly.

'What else could it be?' he asked in confusion.

'Well, it could have been the rum, or the vodka, or the beer, or maybe the bottle of bourbon you stole from behind the bar...'

His face suddenly cleared as he recalled the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

'Correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't hear you protesting against that bottle of bourbon. In fact, I distinctly remember the words "Padfoot, you dolt, I said get tequila not bourbon".'

'I like tequila.' I defended.

'And I like bourbon.'

'Until the morning after it would seem.'

'True. It was a fun –'

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Matt arrived and dropped a kiss on my lips, surprising me.

'Good morning to you too.' I laughed.

'Where did you get to yesterday?' he asked.

Sirius had quickly removed his head from my shoulder once Matt had come in, so I was able to turn in my seat to face him.

'It was Lily's birthday, so we stayed in our dorm to celebrate.' I lied.

My boyfriend nodded his head and kissed me again before moving to his seat as Professor Novesse entered the classroom.

'Good morning everyone, today we're going to be studying Boggart's. Who can tell me the spell to repel a Boggart?'

My hand shot into the air almost hitting Sirius as it did, he ducked his head with raised eyebrows and I shot him an apologetic look before answering when the Professor pointed at me.

'Riddikulus.'

'Very good Violet, five points to Gryffindor. Now today we won't just be learning about Boggarts, you will all be facing one.'

There were gasps and murmurs throughout the class and my stomach suddenly became a bundle of nerves, we rose to our feet and Professor Novesse used her wand to push the desks to the side in an orderly fashion. Next she moved a small trunk into the centre of the classroom and asked us all to line up, I stood in front of Sirius and behind Alice who turned to give me a nervous smile.

'Before we begin I need someone to deliver a message to Professor McGonagall for me, Remus, would you mind? It might take a while, but if you're not back before class ends I'll allow you a few minutes in between this class and the next to face the Boggart.'

Remus walked to the teacher with a grateful smile, I thought maybe she was sending him out in case the Boggart took the form of something werewolfy and alerted the class to his condition.

'Okay, Lucy, I'm going to open the trunk and the Boggart is going to come out in the form of your fear, I want you to stay calm, point your wand and say clearly 'Riddikulus', alright? Now remember everyone, laughter is what finishes a Boggart off.'