The Disgraced of the House of Black - A Multi-Character Fanfiction - Part One

19. The Curious Nature of Fear

Amara was curled against a tree, her frame thinner even than she had been before. Food was hard to come by while on the run. She had, however, finally convinced herself that Sirius could not be hiding in the forests to the north. Turning her sights south, she wondered again what condition she would find him in, whether he had gone mad in his cell or if she would find a man, admittedly changed, just fundamentally the very same man she had grown to love all those years ago.

.

"Good afternoon," Professor Lupin called cheerfully as he entered the classroom to find his waiting students, each with their book, quills, and parchment in front of them. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

Sharing excited looks with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Althea obeyed, stowing her things in her bag before joining the class in following behind Professor Lupin. Before long, the four of them quickly found themselves nearer to the front. Smiling, Althea gently nudged Neville. He smiled shyly at her before shifting his focus back to Lupin, who had led them down the corridor and around a corner. The moment they turned, none of them were very surprised to see Peeves, carefully stuffing a piece of used chewing gum into the keyhole of one of the broom cupboards.

Catching sight of Lupin, Peeves broke out into song with the words, "Loony, loopy, Lupin, loony, loopy, Lupin-"

Unfazed, Lupin remarked, "I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves. Mr Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms." When he got nothing more than a blown raspberry in reply he took out his wand, adding to the class, "This is a useful little spell. Please watch closely. Waddiwasi!"

Faster than light, the gum bolted out of the keyhole and soared directly into Peeves' nostril, causing him to instantly howl with pain.

"Cool, sir!" Dean exclaimed as Peeves soared away, cursing.

"Thank you, Dean," Lupin replied courteously. "Shall we proceed?"

They kept walking until they reached the entrance to the staffroom, which Lupin quickly opened, gesturing them all inside. Sitting in a low armchair, just beyond a rattling wardrobe, sat Professor Snape, staring with his glittering, black eyes at the class.

When Lupin moved to close the door, he said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." When he had reached the door, however, he turned, remarking, "Perhaps no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Black is hissing instructions in his ear."

Neville went scarlet. Even Althea, who Harry, Ron, and Hermione rarely saw truly embarrassed, had turned pink even as she turned to Neville with a sympathetic look on her face.

Raising his eyebrows, Lupin said, "I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation, and I am sure he will perform it admirably."

Although Neville went somehow more scarlet, Althea couldn't help but feel a rush of gratitude toward Professor Lupin. It was rare for any teacher other than Professor Sprout to show such confidence in him.

"Now, then," Lupin said once Snape was gone, gesturing them all closer to the rattling wardrobe. "Nothing to worry about," he added with a smile, catching sight of the many concerned faces.

Althea raised her hand.

"Yes, Althea?" Lupin said.

"Is that a boggart, sir?" she asked softly.

"Yes, it is," he said with a pleased smile. "Five points to Gryffindor. Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces. Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboard 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?"

It was Hermione who raised her hand this time, although Althea smiled knowingly. "It's a shape-shifter. It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself," Lupin praised. "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 that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

"Er...because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?" Harry guessed.

"Precisely," Lupin agreed. "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. Can anyone tell me how to fight a boggart?"

This time, both Althea and Hermione raised their hands. Lupin called on Althea.

"It's a simple charm, but it requires force of will," she explained. "The incantation is riddikulus, but the caster must transform the boggart into something they find funny in order to vanquish the boggart."

"Very good," Lupin praised. "Now, Neville, if you please."

With a pleading look at Althea who gently pushed him forward with a half-amused, half-encouraging smile, Neville stepped forward.

"Right, Neville," Lupin said. "First thing's first: what do you say is the thing that frightens you the most in the world?"

In a voice so quiet Althea barely heard it, he admitted, "Professor Snape."

Nearly everyone laughed at that, but as even Neville grinned slightly at it, no one felt too meanspirited.

"Professor Snape," Lupin mused. "Hm...Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Er - yes," he said awkwardly. "But - I don't want the boggart to turn to her either."

"No, no, you misunderstand me," Lupin said with a pleasant smile. "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother wears?"

Looking startled, Neville explained, "Well...always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress...green, normally...and sometimes a fox-fur scarf."

"And a handbag?" Lupin prompted.

"A big red one."

"Right then," Lupin said. "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"

"Yes," Neville said in confusion.

"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape. And you will raise your wand - thus - and cry 'riddikulus' and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with the big red handbag."

The entire class burst into laughter.

"Now, I would like each of you to think of what frightens you the most," Lupin said. "Imagine what it would take to make it comical."

Althea frowned. Then, almost like it had been waiting in a back corner of her mind for access, a single fear sprang into her mind, but she had no idea how to make it funny.