Bucolic- RBR Book 3

Bucolic || 4

Chapter 4: Coming Out of the Cupboard

Malfoy was attacked on Monday during Care of Magical Creatures, a class that I was not taking (which I severely regret now that Hagrid's teaching it (I hear it's boring now that DM's been attacked though)). He didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning in Double Potions with my favorite Professor ever. He waltzed into the dungeon- he reminded me a bit of Filch with his cat- with bandages on his arm, acting as though he had finally been potty trained.

Puggy Parkinson wasn't helping. She simpered to him all class period, hanging off of him like a pug bred with a sloth whose fur was mixed with super glue. Snape wasn't helping much either, which is a shame, he may be demoted from favorite professor rank. When Malfoy "swaggered" into the dungeon, all Snape said was settle down. Settle down I tell you! If it had been one of us Griffies, he wouldn't have said "settle down". He'd have given us detention. Well maybe not me. After my detention, he told me to remind him never to put him in detention with me again. I told him that he wasn't the one in detention. He looked at me like he felt like it was.

Today, we were making a new potion- a shrinking solution. Guess what it does? It shrinks! Malfoy had set up his cauldron next to Harry and Ron, so that they shared the same table to prepare ingredients. I was forced to sit at the back, but I was never told where in the back, so I sat right behind them and talked to them while I worked.

"Sir," Malfoy drawled, "I can't cut up these roots because of my arm-"

"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," Snape said without looking up from his wizardly candy crush.

"There's nothing wrong with your arm," Ron hissed.

"Yeah, Malfoy, you're a cow, you're milking this so much. You should hook up with Puggy over there," I said cheerfully, not caring if I was overheard. I threw a thumb at Parkinson. Malfoy grinned.

"Thanks for the advice, 'Stormhenge'," he said cockily. I rolled my eyes and focused in my potion. Malfoy and I had... An interesting relationship with me. He was terrified of me, because he knew I could snap my fingers and have everyone he knew be dead, but he hated me because I hung around "filth". So he liked to sass me, but never went too far, because he was a prissy little bitch, if you will pardon my French. I finished with my potion, so I put it in the container and threw it at Snape.

"Catch, sir!" I said. He surprisingly did, without breaking it. "Cool, sir!"

"Ten points to Gryffindor," Snape muttered examine the potion. A hush fell over the room. In all of his fourteen some odd years of teaching at Hogwarts, he had never, I repeat never, given Gryffindor points.

"Why sir? You hate me!" I exclaimed loudly. He sighed, defeated.

"Miss Stormhenge, sit down. You were the first person to finish the potion, and it is regrettably perfect. I suppose-" Snape choked a little- "you are not that much of a dunderhead."

"You hear that! Not much of a dunderhead! HELL YEAH! I knew you couldn't resist this fabulousness, Snape!" I danced up and down.

"Just get out of my classroom, Rumor," he sighed. I gladly stood up and left. I wandered the halls until I got to Lupins classroom. I poked my head in. He was in there, but no one else was.

"Hello, Professor Lupin," I said pleasantly, plopping down in one of the chairs. He turned around, smiling.

"Hello. I don't believe we've met yet," he said.

"No. I know who you are of course, Professor Remus John Lupin," I said.

"How do you know my full name?" He asked suspiciously.

"I'm Rumor Bella Stormhenge. I pranked Snape for a summer because I was bored, and raided the headmasters supply of lemon drops twice. You can find out anything," I smiled. His eyes widened.

"Stormhenge? Like Catherine? Catherine Stormhenge?" He asked wildly.

"Bingo."

"She was my friend in school."

"I know."

"You're very much like her. She was well known throughout the school for breaking up a particular person with all of his girlfriends- and one boyfriend too- in wildly dramatic ways."

I just smiled as he remembered.

"So why are you in here anyway? Class doesn't let out for another 15 minutes," he raised an eyebrow.

"Snape told me to leave," I shrugged my shoulders. He chuckled and shook his head.

"What did you do?"

"I think just my general presence was honestly enough for him to kick me out, sir. He has s very anti me stance on his world," I smiled. "The bell's going to ring soon."

"Indeed."

"Well, seeing as I have your class next, I'll just stay here then, yeah?"

"Sounds like a wonderful plan."

Our silence was punctuated by the ringing of the bell and the bustle of students moving about outside. Students came into the classroom noisily chatting with their friends, taking their books out. I didn't take mine out, it didn't seem right.

"If you will all follow me please, we're having a bit of of a practical lesson," Professor Lupin said from the front of the classroom, leading us out.

We reached the teacher staff room. Inside of the room was a wardrobe cupboard closet thingy. It was rattling violently. Snape was also in there, he made a little noise of dissatisfaction when he saw Lupin and rolled his eyes when he saw me.

"DON'T BE SO JUDGY SIR, I KNOW YOU LOVE ME!" I shouted at him. He stood up.

"Leave the door open, Lupin. I'd rather not see this. Longbottom's in this class, he can't even stand a cauldron up straight unless someone's whispering die toons in his ear. And then there's Stormhenge, but then again, you might just feel sentimental," Snape sneered, standing up like a bipedal bat.

Say that three times fast.

"Actually, I was hoping Rumor and Neville would assist me," Lupin replied, his face looking ever so slightly more lined. I swear I saw Snape roll his eyes as he walked out of here. I'd call him a teenage girl, but then I'd be insulting myself, and you should love yourself.

"Now, who can tell me what's in that cupboard?" Lupin asked. I raised my hand because I actually knew. "Rumor?"

"A boggart, sir," I said excitedly. I wanted to see what my greatest fear is.

"And who can tell me what a boggart does?" Lupin asked. Hermione's fist shot up in the air, nearly giving Harry terminal velocity. "Harry?"

"Er, well, it- it shows you what your afraid of?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Precisely. That is exactly what a boggart is. When I open this door, it will turn into whatever it's target's greatest fear is," the professor smiled and turned to the rest of the class. "Now, to defeat a boggart you must concentrate as hard as you can on something amusing and say Ridikulous. The only way you can kill a boggart is through laughter. Rumor, if you'll come here."

"Yes, sir?" I asked.

"What are you most afraid of?"

"That's a good question," I mused. "I suppose... Myself."

"Do you know how to make yourself funny?" The professor smiled like he already knew what I was planning on doing.

"Oh yes sir, I do. Now bring that boggart out of the closet!"