Golden Girl: The Missing Piece (2)

10- Our Worst Fears Live in Dusty Cabinets

Ember didn't know whether she wished she could devote all of her time to solving the mystery of the monsters at Ilvermorny, or if she wished she didn't have to solve it at all. Because she really did love school. She loved learning about magic, loved the satisfaction that came when she finally got a spell correctly. 

So when Professor Vane lined up a whole class of Horned Serpents and Wampus students before a dusty old cupboard, Ember was fully committed to putting aside her mystery for the time being. The classroom had been cleared of the tables that normally took up the space, an arrangement that usually meant Professor Vane had a practical lesson prepared for the day. Even the normally stone-cold teacher looked mildly excited about something, Ember noted as she and her friends took their places in the line. 

"Now," Vane clapped his hands together, then pointed at the cupboard, "Normally this is a lesson I like to save for third year and beyond, but I just couldn't pass up the marvelous opportunity that presented itself when I found this guy in my spare supply closet yesterday."

The cupboard shook, rocking up to one side before it fell back down. Most of the students shrunk away in hesitation and fear, Ember leaned forward in curiosity. Closets, dark spaces, magical creatures that were involved in Dark Arts Defense... apparently furies weren't the only bad-intentioned creatures that the messed up shields were doing favors for. If this creature had gotten through the wards, it only confirmed the theories that Ember and her friends had been building on.

"Can anyone tell me what creature this is?" Professor Vane asked, looking out over the crowd of second year students. 

A couple people raised their hands, but it was a Wampus boy who didn't raise his, that said excitedly, "That's a Boggart!"

Professor Vane didn't chastise the boy for speaking without being called on, just nodded with a barely perceptible smile, "That it is, ten points to Wampus. Now, can anyone tell me a couple things that can help you recognize a Boggart? What sets it apart from other creatures?"

Again, several hands went up into the air, but this time, Professor Vane pointed to someone behind Ember, "Mr. Ogdan, how about you?"

Ember and her friends didn't spend much time with the boys of Horned Serpent that were in their year, but she knew who Timmy Ogden was. An exceptionally smart no-maj born student, Timmy was always tucked in a corner with his nose in a book somewhere. But it paid off. In every class except Potions, the boy consistently raised his hand with the correct answer to whatever question got asked. 

"Boggarts are shape-changers," he said confidently, "they hide in dark spaces, usually unused dark spaces, and they take the form of whatever you fear the most. So, no one really knows what it looks like."

Vane's near-invisible smile persisted, "That's right, Mr. Odgan. Ten points to Horned Serpent. So, as a Boggart becomes whatever you fear the most when you encounter it, you can imagine that combating such a creature could be harrowing. They feed on fear and terror, on screams. So what do we do to beat it? We laugh."

Professor Vane stepped out to the side of the line, "There's a very simple charm that is used for this instance. Everyone repeat after me! Riddikulus!"

The students chorused back at their professor, "Riddikulus!"

They battered the name of the charm back and forth a couple times before the Professor started to demonstrate the wand movement, which also got mirrored by the students. Eventually though, another student raised their hand, a Wampus girl near the front of the line.

"But Professor, you said to beat a Boggart you have to laugh, so how does this charm do that?"

Ember could feel the Professor's enthusiasm, "Great question, Ms. Marks! And the answer is that it doesn't! The charm alone isn't enough to stop a Boggart. While you cast the charm, you must force a change in your mind from whatever you fear, to something you find amusing. I'll go first, as to set an example. Step back, now."