To Have A Twin--- A Harry Potter Fan Fiction

Chapter 22: Wake Up

Chapter 22: Wake Up

"Boggarts!" Professor Lupin exclaims as he paces the centre of the room. His eyes land on Harry and Harley, honestly still wrapping his head around seeing the two.

"Good afternoon, class," Remus's shoulders relaxed as he saw the class of 3rd years in front of him, a small smile on his face, happy to be back in his alma mater. He scans the class and it lands on two Gryffindors, something oddly familiar with the two. "My name is Professor Remus Lupin," he continues to slowly pace the front of the classroom to look at his new students, "Your new Defence Against The Dark Arts professor," he finishes introducing himself. His eyes land on the two Gryffindor students again. The young girl looks at him and it clicked. An image of his dear friend flashed before his eyes. But no, it can't be, Remus thought to himself.

"We first start on page 10 of your books. Ready your quills and parchment as well, I want you to take note of a few terminologies," he says as he makes his way to his desk to get his own copy of the book.

"Harry, have you got a spare quill?" a red-headed boy leans over his desk to ask the boy wearing glasses and Remus slowly lifts his head to look at the talking students.

The girl next to the spectacled boy handed the redhead one and he smiled as he accepted the quill, "Thanks, Harley."

Harry. Harley. Remus goes to look for the class list. Harley Potter, Harry Potter. He couldn't believe it. He knew Harry was alive but Harley? He hasn't seen the child since the twins had to be separated. He never knew what had happened to her.

His thoughts were running faster than he could properly catch and organise them. But then he realised he was still in class and was just about to start his lecture. He was going to have to pay Professor Dumbledore a visit later.

The wardrobe in the middle of the front of the classroom rattled and growled. "Now, don't be scared," he tells the class.

"Nothing to worry about. There's a Boggart in there. 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 moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice."

After a quick background on what Boggarts were and how to effectively combat them, the tables and chairs were moved to the side as the looks at the frightened children gathered at the centre of the room. Professor Lupin tried to ease their unease, "The Boggart isn't the real thing you fear." He saw the students nod their heads, some still gulping as they move back. "Right. We start with Mr. Longbottom!"

Neville hesitantly moves forward.

"Hello," Professor Lupin softly says, trying to ease the child's nerves. "What do you fear the very most?" He asks, his tone light as if this was an everyday conversation starter.

"Pr-professor Snape, Sir," Neville confides.

Professor Lupin lets out a small sigh, what has his old classmate done to instill such fear in an innocent child? "Right, well," he looks at the rest of the class, "Think of the thing you fear the very most, and turn it into something funny," he reminds everyone as he returns his gaze to Neville. "Wand at the ready. Remember: Stupify."

"Ready?" Professor Lupin asked again, as he stood next to the wardrobe and when Neville nodded, wand at the ready, he opened the wardrobe and the Boggart quickly shifted to Professor Snape, sneering as he walked towards Neville, "S-Stupify!" the young boy exclaimed and the Snape looking figure shifted to dawn old maid's garbs and the whole class giggled as the Boggart retreated to the wardrobe.

"Wonderful!" Professor Lupin said with a proud smile, patting the boy on the shoulder. "Good work, Neville! Next," he scans the room ready to drop the needle of his record player, "Ron!"

Everyone took turns. Everyone's fears were morphed by the Boggart, from large spiders to oddly abstract things like darkness and the deep unknown ocean. Harley thought Boggarts were fascinating creatures. Until it was her turn to step in front of the wardrobe.

She looked at Professor Lupin, her expression straight and hard. She was ready. Professor Lupin could not help the corners of his mouth turning up to a small smile, she looked just like Lily, even down to her eyebrows furrowing. "Ready?" he asks as he saw Harley raise her wand. She nodded and he saw her grip on the wand tighten. He released the latch and the Boggart sprung forward and lurched towards her, quickly morphing into an old woman with grey hair pulled tightly to a bun. Her black pantsuits crisp. A menacing, magenta-lipstick smile on her wrinkled face.

Miss Madel. The old woman towered over Harley and crouched as if trying to envelop her. She sneered as her voice rang loudly, "Wake up!" she boomed. "Wake up!" She shouted again. The woman was reaching out to her, ready to grab her as she yelled at Harley again to wake up. "Stop with this pathetic dreaming!" The old woman stomped as she screeched.

"Harley!" someone called out and brought the young girl back to the task at hand. The fear in her eyes still apparent but remembered this wasn't the real Miss Madel. No. No this wasn't. She thought of a large yellow rubber duck, that quacked when you squeezed it. It always made her laugh.

"Stupify!" She yelled, her wand pointing at the old woman. Then as quickly as the creature shifted to the old woman, it started growing an artificially orange coloured beak, its eyes confused before it turned into the blank stare of a blue-eyed rubber duck, and as its body morphed to a yellow rubber duck body, it let out a "honk" before it sulked back inside the cupboard.

Everyone in the class let out fits of giggles, the honking sound of the rubber duck echoed around the room, it was a very funny sound indeed. Professor Lupin's face softened as he saw the tinge of fear still swimming in the young witch's eyes. "Good job, Harley," he assures her then looks at her brother. "Harry, you're next!"

Harry had a similarly hard look on his face as he had his wand at the ready. The Boggart lurched forward and unlike the other forms the Boggart took, there was an eerie mist before it started materializing a black-cloaked form, a bony hand reaching forward to the boy. Professor Lupin realized what the Boggart was and stood in front of Harry. The Boggart quickly turned into the full moon, and with a confident "Stupify!" from the professor, it quickly deflated to a balloon and hid in the cupboard again.

"Right," Professor Lupin faced the class, a few of them stunned from Harry's Boggart. "Well, I believe we've exercised the poor creature to its limit," he says, his cheery tone pulled the students out of their shock. "Homework!" He exclaims as he walked back to his desk. The class let out a soft collective groan making the professor chuckle to himself.

Both Potter siblings sat in their common room, just silent. Ron and Hermione looked at each other unsure of what to say. After their Defence Against the Dark Arts class, the four walked to their common room silently, all admittedly a little bit shaken. Even if it wasn't real, they still had to come face to face with the things they feared the very most.

"So... the old lady...?" Ron started and got an elbow to the ribs by Hermione, who gave him a stern look. "Sorry," he let out the meek apology, rubbing the sore area.

Harley blinked a few times, "Oh," she took in the change in her surroundings, the fireplace warming up her side closest to it. She looked at Ron and Hermione and then turned to her brother, giving him a little nudge, "You okay?" she asks, seeing him snap out of his own thoughts.

"Yeah," Harry sighed as he tried to push away the sight of the Boggart-Dementor's bony hand reaching out to him during class. "How about you?"

"Alright, it's not real," Harley said, trying to assure her brother and herself.

"It's not," Harry agreed. "It's not."