Serendipity [Book 2]

The Only Thing to Fear is Fear Itself

“Elle!” Remus greeted with a smile as his friend dipped her head into his classroom during her second period free time. The third years turned to the blonde with mixed expressions. The Gryffindor potion of the class smiled while the Slytherin portion sneered. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw simply smiled.

“Hey Remus. You doing the boggart?” Ariella asked as Remus nodded. She smiled and easily slid into the room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione along with a few other Gryffindors congregated around the blonde woman. Remus smiled before flicking his wrist. A large trunk moved to the front of the classroom and the students stared at it in fear as it groaned and rocked back and forth.

“A boggart isn’t a truly threatening creature. What makes the boggart so feared is its ability to turn into the thing you fear the most. However a simple spell casts the boggart defenseless. Ridikulous. I want each of you to confront the boggart and use the Ridikulous spell. Alright now, line up,” Remus ordered as he moved to lift the lid of the trunk up. Ariella smiled as the students left her side to do the assignment. Ariella, herself, contemplated stepping into the line. She wasn’t quite sure what she was most afraid of at the moment. Of course, the boggart would sense her disillusion and simply shift between the multiple forms. Neville Longbottom cowered as he neared the front of the line. Ariella had always had a soft spot for Neville. He was often mistaken for an idiot, but she knew he was nothing of the sort.

“It’s alright, Neville,” Remus consoled the trembling boy as the boggart turned to him and shifted into his greatest fear. Ariella fought back a laugh as she stared at the boggart’s form. Severus Snape glowered at the child and Remus had to remind him to use the spell. Suddenly Severus Snape was dressed in an old woman’s clothing and Ariella couldn’t hold back any longer. Soft giggling erupted from her corner of the classroom as all of the students and Remus turned to her. Remus smiled as some of the students joined in her laughter.

“Professor Cross, would you like to try out the boggart?” Remus asked as the remaining students nodded, eager to give up their turns to face the boggart. Ariella thought for only a moment before nodding.

“Remember, students, Professor Cross can be frightened just as well as you can, so try and be supportive,” Remus remarked as Ariella rolled her eyes and moved to the front of the line. Harry and the others stood behind her as the boggart turned to face her. Slowly the form of Severus Snape was replaced with one of Sirius Black with bodies littered at his feet. Ariella’s heart raced as she heard several of the students scream and scurry away. Remus’ eyes widened as he and Ariella remembered she no longer had her wand. Before he could mutter the spell, the bodies around Sirius’s feet changed into people both of them knew. Harry, James, Lily, Peter, Snape, and Remus’s face stared at Ariella in fear as she felt the tears well in her eyes.

“Ridikulous!” Remus shouted as the boggart screeched and disappeared back into the trunk. Ariella fell to her knees. Harry, Ron, and Hermione dropped down beside her as Remus steadied the rest of the class.

“Professor, are you alright?” Harry asked softly as Ariella turned to him. His emerald eyes were filled with worry and consolation, much like his mother’s had been the last time Ariella saw her. She nodded blankly.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied. Remus bent down in front of the blonde with a look of sympathy.

“Elle, come on, I’ll take you back to your class,” He offered. Ariella again nodded blankly. Before she was aware of it, Remus had lifted her to her feet and was leading her to her classroom.

“Elle, I’m sorry,” Remus muttered lowly as Ariella turned to him with a frown.

“For what? I knew what would happen if I faced the boggart. I just wasn’t fully aware of what I was afraid of,” Ariella confessed. Remus turned to her in surprise.

“You didn’t know you were afraid of Sirius?” He asked, concerned. Ariella shook her head.

“It wasn’t Sirius I was afraid of, Remus. It was the destruction he could cause,” Ariella clarified. Remus opened his mouth to say something, but as they turned the corner, Snape appeared in front of them.

“Severus!” Ariella exclaimed softly as the Potions Master frowned.

“You weren’t in your office,” He remarked as she shook her head.

“I went to Remus’s third year class for the boggart, remember?” She replied easily as Remus watched her worry dissipate in the taller man’s presence. It was almost as if Severus Snape provided Ariella with some un-thought-of protection. Remus frowned at the thought. While Ariella may have forgiven him for his betrayal in sixth year, Remus wasn’t so apt to do the same.

“Indeed, and if I remember correctly, that class is still happening,” Snape drawled as he turned to Remus expectantly. The werewolf chuckled awkwardly.

“So it is. Elle, I’ll leave you to Snape then,” Remus excused himself from the pair before heading back to his students. Ariella sighed as Severus quirked at eyebrow at her. He could see her trembling.

“Did you face the boggart, Cross?” He asked with a frown. Ariella looked up at him in surprise before nodding her head. A soft smile settled across her countenance as Severus scowled.

“Without a wand?” He growled. Ariella shrugged.

“I didn’t think that would matter so much,” she answered carelessly.  

“It was fine. Remus helped me,” she finished. Severus looked skeptical. He could see the tears she held back and the fear that sparkled in her amethyst orbs.

“What did it turn into?” He inquired quietly as he noticed a few students in the hallway. They stared for a moment before disappearing into a sprouting hallway. Ariella followed his line of sight and saw nothing.

“It doesn’t matter, Severus,” she replied. Severus felt rage fill his system as he pinned the blonde to a nearby wall.  Ariella’s eyes widened as Snape bent his face close to hers and slammed his hands onto the wall on either side of her head.

“It does matter, Ariella. Tell me,” he growled lowly.

“Or I will find out myself,” he warned. Ariella stared at him, unsure of whether to believe him or not. The determination that lit up his onyx eyes told her he’d do it. It also told her to kiss him.

“It was Sirius,” she admitted quietly as her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

“It turned into Sirius killing everyone I care about,” she growled. Before either one of them realized it, Severus captured her lips with his own and Ariella tangled his fingers in his ebony tresses.  When Severus pulled away, Ariella sighed against his chest.

“We should really talk about this,” she whispered. A blush spread across her cheeks. Snape quirked an eyebrow before he brushed a stray curl away from his companion’s face.

“When?” The word escaped his lips just as the bell for the next class echoed through the castle.

“Now,”