the twisted witches trio ♢ h.potter fanfic

41. Ella and the Boggart

Warnings: Fear, mentions of specific character's fears, feelings of panic, panic attack (this is in no way meant to romantize panic attacks), language?

"Right! Good afternoon students, we will be starting our practical application portion of Boggarts today." Lupin said as he waltzed into the room. For two days now we had been learning about them and their history and I suppose now was the time we actually had to display what we learned. 

I was preoccupied biting at my nails and avoiding Lupin's eye contact as to not be picked. 

"Ella!" 

"Fuck." I muttered. 

"Why don't you come up and show us first?" Lupin said with a smile.

"I can think of several reasons." I sighed, walking to the cleared space. I honestly couldn't pinpoint exactly what would come out as there were a couple of things that rattled me but I attempted to keep my cool.

"Right, so as we practiced, Riddikulus!" Lupin reminded. I nodded, feeling nervous with 25 sets of eyes watching me. Lupin went about opening the locked cupboard and I held my breath. I didn't realize I had closed my eyes until I gasped at the startling crack of thunder. 

My face flushed as I could hear some snickers from farther back in the room. I opened my eyes slowly, watching as the room had been overtaken by storm clouds. I stood, frozen, watching the billowing cloud get closer, striking down lightning and booming thunder. My mind fought to remember the phrase Lupin taught us to rid ourselves of the Boggart. 

As various laughs continued to pop up, I stumbled backward a bit as a loud crack of thunder distracted and startled me. I grew frustrated quickly, clearing my throat and taking a stance to combat it. 

"Riddikulus!" I shouted and watched as the storm clouds melt into a light sky with an echo of a rainbow shining through. I sighed, smiling. 

"Very good, Ms. Quincy. Very good." Lupin said, smiling. I nodded, taking a step back towards the group.

"So thunder and lightning, huh?" George bent down, whispering in my ear. I tried to ignore the goosebumps erupting on my skin. 

"Shove off, Weasel." 

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Peaches, everyone's afraid of something." I turned to him glaring. 

"Yeah? If you're so tough and mighty what would your's be then?" I snapped. 

"You'll just have to wait for class to see, Doll." I groaned, fed up with him. 

~

I hadn't seen Fred, George, or Lee for a couple of days. Normally I wouldn't really pay much mind, but I was growing concerned as Pippa nor Marnie knew of their whereabouts either. Forgetting about it, as I circled my sector of Hogwarts on Prefect rounds, I overheard a conversation that strangely caught my attention. 

"We shouldn't do this." 

"Why not? You're always up for a prank."

"This is much more than a prank, this feels like it's going too far."

"Oh please, she's scared of the most idiotic thing ever. I mean, seriously? Merlin's beard." I stood, frozen in the shadows. I could've sworn it was the Weasley twins but their voices were different. It wasn't them. They didn't mention who was afraid of what but I pitied the poor sap that had to fend off whatever these gits were planning. 

A few days later, it turned out that poor sap was me. I was sitting in a quiet corridor reading a new book Madam Pince had recommended to me when two Ravenclaw boys from our Defense Against the Dark Arts class came casually waltzing down the corridor. 

It happened quickly but I watched curiously as they sauntered by me with stupidly large smiles, smirking at me, muttering charms. Then just walking away. I sat in confusion as nothing happened. Looking up, I saw a little light grey cloud hovering above me. It did nothing, no rain fell or anything strange, it just loomed above me. 

"Well, that's peculiar," I muttered to myself. After a while more reading, I grew tired as the sun sank into the horizon. I made my way back to the common room, stepping through the portrait door. My friends were scattered through the common room, glancing at me and my new accessory. 

"El, what in Merlin's name is that?" Marnie asked. I sighed, looking up at it.

"Haven't got the foggiest-" I shrieked as it suddenly rumbled with thunder, striking lightning down next to me. My friends jumped as it repeated and I shrieked again. I attempted moving, seeing if it wouldn't follow me, though that failed to be successful. 

 The stupid little cloud suddenly starting downpouring on me whilst firing a lightning storm at me, surrounding me with horrid claps and roars of thunder. I couldn't catch my breath as I stumbled back out of the common room, ignoring my friend's calls after me. I ran, crying and gasping for breath, falling into a panic-stricken state. Those gits from the other night must've been talking about me, who else? I didn't stop until I got to the empty Astronomy Tower, curling into myself as I tried to shrink away from the cursed cloud. 

My chest felt heavy while I sucked air in, unable to find any and watching as my line of sight narrowed into dreaded tunnel vision. I heard faint footsteps but I couldn't lift my head to see, feeling too afraid to move. 

The deep voice muttered something under their breath and the rain and thunder ceased. Though, my panic attack didn't. 

"Ella, hi, Love, hi, can you look at me?" It was the infamous George Weasley. I tried to lift my head. Slowly and very carefully, he reached for my hand, which I let him take gentle hold of and he placed my palm over his heart. I was very faintly able to feel his heartbeat but we more able to feel his chest rise and fall with steady breaths. 

"Can you breathe with me, El? We'll start slow, ready, Love, just look at me, look at my eyes, don't worry about anything else." He said with a tiny smile. I nodded, focusing all my attention on matching George's breathing. In and out, slowly and consistently until I could easily take deep breaths. 

He didn't pull my hand away as I leaned towards him, hugging tight. George didn't question anything, just wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. I felt safe and I felt at home. George softly ran his hand up and down my back. 

"Thank you." I croaked, wincing at the sound of my voice. 

"Of course, Ella." George's voice was impossibly soft as I squeezed my eyes closed, basking in the warmth radiating from him. 

"You are completely soaked, Doll. Why don't we get you some dry robes and some tea, perhaps?" I sniffled, wiping at my eyes. 

"Yes, please."

~

i feel a little more like writing which is always great lol i had a hell of a time moving past some of the earlier chapters but now i feel good about moving forward. don't forget to like/comment/share! update soon! word count: 1180