Hecate's Realm

Boggarts

AN: This has been beta'd by the amazing xx ShamiksXa xx, so go check her out!

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"Now, then," said Professor Lupin, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall. "Nothing to worry about," Professor Lupin assured calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm. "There's a boggart in there." Professor Lupin smirked cheekily, enjoying the mix of gasps and murmurs of confusion.

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Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about. Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Seamus eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively. Frank didn't know what a boggart was, but by gauging the reactions of the other students and his fellow demigod, he felt a knot in the pit of his stomach. He also wondered what kind of creature that inspired this kind of fear could be allowed to be shown to a room of 13-year-olds.

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks; I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice. So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?"

Hermione put up her hand. "It's a shape-shifter," she said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most." She talked as if reciting lines from a textbook, a little like how Annabeth would talk, especially when explaining things to Percy.

"Couldn't have put it better myself," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione glowed, just like how Percy would when he understood whatever his girlfriend was talking about. "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, Harry?"

The boy in question took a moment before answering. "Er, because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"

"Precisely," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione put her hand down, looking a little disappointed.

'Oh yeah,' Frank thought, 'if Hermione ever discovered the children of Minerva, no, Athena, they'd be inseparable.'

"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? I once saw a boggart make that very mistake — tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening. "The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires the 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!" the class chanted together.

"Good," Professor Lupin smiled. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville." The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were headed for a firing squad. "Right, Neville," said Professor Lupin. "First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?" Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out. "Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," said Professor Lupin cheerfully.