We Are Stars || Hufflepuff X Gryffindor

The Boggart

Just three short hours after their time at the lake, Stella and Erik found themselves in their first DADA class with the new professor, Mr. Remus Lupin. And from the moment the friends walked in the room they could tell they were going to like this new professor.

There by the door, he sat on his desk welcoming each student to his classroom. Upon entering Stella dreaded having to tell him her name, mainly her last name. Little did she know that the professor knew exactly who she was.

"And you must be Severus's nephew! I've heard all about you from the other professors," Lupin said cheerily as he shook Erik's hand. Erik looked horrified at the thought of other teachers knowing personal things about him.

"And you must be Stella. I doubt you'll remember it, but we've met before."

"Wait a moment -- Uncle Remus?! I thought that you were in America, studying wolves!"

"Who told you that?" Remus asked obviously surprised that she remembered him. She had been only four that last time she saw him, Remus was the one to help with her adoption process. He wanted to adopt her himself, but due to some disease he had been suffering from he was found unfit.

"Mary did, she said you wanted to stay as far away from Azkaban as possible," Stella said softly. She had to keep herself from shuddering at the thought of what was locked up in there, or what had been locked up in there.

Remus looked at the young woman in front of him. She had grown up so strong, she seemed completely unaffected by what happened a few months prior. He could tell just by looking at her that she was one of exceptional kindness and positivity, just like her mother. He made plans to sit down and talk to her and tell her the sides of her parents that no one else would, but for now he had a class to run.

The class period was one of the most enjoyable they had had in a long time. Instead of learning the theory behind defensives spells, the student's found themselves casting spells they had only just heard of. Laughter flowed through the air, creating its own sort of magic. But their time still passed and soon the bell sounded for lunch.

Stella and Erik quickly filed out, hungry from the day's excitement. Halfway down to the Great Hall, Stella realized she had left her Care of Magical Creatures book back in the classroom. "Erik, I'll meet you at lunch. I have to go get something."

He paused and smiled, Stella was forever forgetting things. "Alright, just promise me you won't leave me with your Hufflepuff friends again. I'm still recovering from the time they magicked my hair into a different color."

"What are you talking about? We are sitting at the Gryffindor table. I want to have a few choice words with those Weasley twins." Stella replied as she walked back to the DADA classroom.

A few minutes later Stella was standing outside closed classroom. Attempting to be polite, Stella knocked lightly on the door. No reply. Sighing she resolved to just go in, thinking it would only take a second to find her book.

The door creaked loudly as the fifth year opened it. Stella, now a little frightened, made her way across the room. Upon reaching the desk she had sat at, she found her book lying on the floor next to it. She grabbed it and was about to leave when a thumping noise from a nearby closet stopped her.

It sounded like something was trapped in there, so Stella opened hoping to find an unfortunate first year or a small animal. What she found was much worse. A gust of wind exploded from the cabinet, one with enough force to knock down the terrified girl. She stared in horror at the sight before her.

Erik, her Erik, was teetering on the edge of extremely tall building. He looked confused with a dazed expression on his face. And in one swift motion he tumbled off the ledge. Stella erupted into terrified shrieks with hot tears pouring down her face. No! Not him, not again! I can't lose anyone else. Those thoughts ran through her head over and over again. Until the scene changed, instead of the awful sight of her best friend falling to his death, it was the moon. It was a full moon to be exact, bright and welcoming, at least to her. The moon suddenly became a balloon and flew back into the closet.

"Stella, my dear, are you alright?" a concerned voice asked from behind her. Stella turned to see Professor Lupin standing behind her wand pointed at the cabinet.

"That was just a boggart wasn't it?" She asked in a trembling voice.

"Yes, it's alright. It wasn't real I promise you Mr. Snape is perfectly fine. But he is waiting for you if I'm not mistaken."

"Professor, I don't think I can face him after what I've just seen," she responded breaking down once more into to tears.

The man's expression softened at the girl before him. He knew why her greatest fear was losing her loved one to a great height. She was strong to continue after the escape, but she was still a fifteen year old girl. "I know but you can't let the fear of losing someone be the reason you don't embrace them. It's that fear that turns your life into a meaningless, lonesome night."

Stella was slightly shocked at the teacher's words; he must have his own secret. As she looked at his scared face and remembered what the boggart had taken shape of, she had a pretty good idea what that secret was.

...

Erik, upon sitting at the Gryffindor table, was stared at like he was an animal in the zoo rather than a fifth year. It was true that he hadn't sat at this table for a regular meal without Stella since first year, but he wasn't sure that so many people would've instantly recognized the Hufflepuff's absence. Erik wanted to hide away in the shadows but he was reminded of his best friend's smile and began serving himself some food.

"Erik! Just the man we wanted to see!" Fred exclaimed popping up from seemingly nowhere. "We're going to have to take a rain check on the Hogsmeade trip. Jordan's got a date and George saw that he was going to be sick in Divination."

Erik, secretly ecstatic, had a hard time pretending to be sad. "Oh, alright then." Okay, so maybe he didn't try all that hard. This was great, he would be able to just spend some time with Stella.

"But I was wondering if I might join you anyway. You know how much it would mean to your pretty Hufflepuff."

"I'll ask her about it," he growled, angry at the words Fred had used to describe his friend. He turned back to his food and began wondering why he was so angry. Surely when Stella got a real boyfriend he would be happy for her. But the boy in question would need to meet certain criteria to be worthy of his friend. He was so busy brooding, it took him awhile to realize he was halfway through his meal and there was no sign of Stella.

Worry flooded over him as he remembered that there was a mass murder on the loose and that mass murderer had a very good reason to seek Stella out. He was about to go search for her when he caught sight of messy blonde hair. As Stella neared he noticed her eyes were red and puffy, like she had been crying. So, being the good friend he was, he rushed up to her and demanded what was wrong.

"Stella! What happened? Are you alright? Was it that Slytherin again? I swear I'll kick his..." He was interrupted by a pair of short arms being thrown around his neck.

A little unsure of what to do, Erik wrapped his arms around Stella's waist and brought her close. He could smell the forest and brown sugar on her hair. He could feel the wetness of her tears on his shoulder. But this thing that broke him was her voice shaky and vulnerable saying, "Please, promise you'll never leave me."

Before he could stop himself, he pressed his lips to her forehead, finding he liked the way her skin felt beneath them. "I swear, Stella, I will never leave you