Camaraderie of Hellions [Tom Riddle]

XII - Our Odious Beasts

One boy jested that perhaps it was perhaps a dragon that dwelled within the compact cupboard, but as some fellow classmates snickered he pulled at his dress shirt's collar.

He had heard its unmistakable monstrous roar as if it had been right behind him.

Merrythought frowned at the boy, shaking her head as she asked the class again.

A wailing banshee.

A hissing serpent.

A displeased father.

Nothing at all.

Both the professors in the room seemed to listen to student's answers intently, glancing at one another every once in a while before Dumbledore shushed the crowd.

"What the majority of you have all shared just now, what the majority of you think lurks within this wardrobe...." The Wizard gave a soft chuckle, narrowing his eyes playfully at group of students standing before him.

"Your guesses, in a way, are all correct." He finished, and students broke out into whispered and murmurs of confusion.

Albus Dumbledore grinned at each young mind that sought enlightenment, and leaned his back against a desk as he crossed his arms and cocked his head towards the rattling wardrobe once again.

"The being locked tightly inside of this cabinet is one of the most vexatious of creatures. It feeds off of one's fear."

"Like a Dementor, Sir?" A girl clad in blue and bronze raised a slightly trembling hand.

Dumbledore shrugged slowly, contemplating her words. "Not by name, no. But it most certainly could be if that is indeed what you want." He concluded, making the Ravenclaw student tentatively nod her head, still not entirely understanding the professor's cryptic words.

From the shadowy corner of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, a brooding group of students dressed in cascading robes of ebony overtop of dazzling emerald ties, observed the lesson with languorous eyes.

Dumbledore now stood before the wardrobe, fingers gently running down the wood as he remained unmoved by the mysterious creature's incessant movements.

"A Boggart, ladies and gentlemen, is known as an amortal beast who takes the form of whatever one fears the most."

The room's scorching atmosphere seemed to lessen then, and the sounds of shaken whispers filled the room in the temperature's stead.

Many finally understood the gravity of their situation, but before sheer chaos could take hold of the reigns, Dumbledore raised a silencing hand and gently ordered everyone to meet his tranquil stare.

"I know now that many of you are taken aback, surprised even, but both me and professor Merrythought can assure you that we would never teach, or expose you to anything that would surely put your lives or mental states in jeopardy." He said sternly, and the old Witch beside him briskly nodded her head assuredly.

Only when the students had fully composed themselves, did Albus speak again.

"For today's lecture, you will be taught how to defend yourselves against these slippery creatures, and so long as you put faith in yourself and your actions, I can guarantee that you will all be just fine." His lips quirked up gently.