CHAPTER SIXTEEN
the boggart
act three, year three
•••••.*.•••••
THE FOUR FRIENDS WERE EATING BREAKFAST WHEN SEAMUS CAME RUNNING TO THE GRYFFINDOR TABLE. Y/n immediately stops eating to look at what got the boy so worried.
"He has been sighted! He has been sighted!"
He put the journal on the table. The girl tried to get a better look at it, but there was too many people in front of her.
"He is not far from here." Hermione commented
Yet again Y/n tried to have a look at the paper, but more people seemed to put themselves in front of her.
"I don't think he will come to Hogwarts." Neville said
"I'm not so sure about that. Black can be anywhere, it's like trying to catch smoke."
Finally being able to move forward, Y/n picked the newspaper up and finally got to meet Sirius Black.
The people around her saw as the color from the girl's face vanished. Her mouth was now opened and it seemed like she had seen a ghost.
"Are you okay?" Neville asked
Her eyes moved from the paper to Seamus.
"Are you sure this is Sirius Black?" She asked quietly
"Yeah, that's him."
Hermione got close to her friend.
"Is everything alright, Y/n?"
The Wintergreen remembers. When she was younger, she used to play hide and seek with her aunt, she remembers that she used to hide in Crystal's bedroom. She remembers how the room used to be so dark. The curtains always closed.
But she also remembers the picture that was hidden inside her aunt's wardrobe. The same one that had her aunt and a man on it.
Two people that seemed crazy in love.
But it wasn't just any picture. It was a wedding picture.
"This man can't be Sirius Black."
"Why?"
"Because......Because this is my aunt's husband."
Silence overcome the whole table until Seamus and Neville screamed.
"Your aunt is Crystal Black?!"
"No, my aunt is Crystal Wintergreen."
Seamus shook his head.
"I cannot believe that you're the niece of the widow."
"The what?"
"Well, my mother told me that, after Sirius was arrested, all that Crystal Black used to do was cry, so people start calling her the widow."
Y/n felt her heart breaking because of that information. People really can be mean.
This is unbelievable. How many more secrets does her family have?
•••••.*.•••••
"Intriguing, isn't it?" Professor Lupin said "Anyone has any idea of what is inside that wardrobe?"
"That's a boggart."
His eyes searched in the crowd of students before stopping on the person who spoke.
"That's correct, Ms. Wintergreen." He praised "Now can anybody tell me what a boggart looks like?"
"Nobody knows." Hermione appeared by Y/n's side making the girl jump a little bit "Boggarts take the chape of whatever particular person fears the most, that's what make them so terrifying."
"That's correct. Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a boggart. Let's practice it now. Without wands, please. After me ..........Riddikulus."
"Riddikulus."
"Very good, a little louder."
"Riddikulus!"
Y/n could hear Draco from behind her saying something.
"This class is ridiculous."
The teacher didn't seemed to listen, though.
"Very good! Well, so much for the easy part, you see the incantation alone is not enough, what really finishes a boggart is laughter. You need to force it to assume a shape you find truly amusing, let me explain........Neville would you join me?" He asked
Neville hesitates a little but finally went close to the teacher.
"Neville, what frightens you the most?" Professor Lupin asked
"Professor Snape."
Everybody starts laughing.
It's true that Professor Snape can be a little bit scary, but Y/n believes that he has something good inside his heart.
"And I believe you live with your grandmother?"
"Yes, but I don't want the boggart to turn into her." Neville quickly said
"No, it won't. I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes very clearly in your mind."
"She carries a......." Neville started but Lupin interrupted him
"I don't need to hear it, as long as you see it, we'll see it." The teacher said "Now, when I open that wardrobe here's what I want you to do."
Professor Lupin went close to Neville and start whispering things to him.
"Wand at the ready. One. Two. Three."
The wardrobe door opened and Professor Snape came out of it.
"Think Neville! Think!"
"Riddikulus!"
Professor Snape was now wearing feminine clothes making all the students laugh.
"Wonderful Neville!" He praised again "Okay to the back Neville. Everyone form a line."
Everyone went close to the wardrobe and saw their boggart.
Ron's boggart was obviously a spider but he dealt with it.
Then it came Harry's time. For him it was a dementor, which kinda of surprised Y/n. The most powerful wizard is after him, but the boy is scared of something he only met a few days ago?
Harry was also able to fight the boggart.
Now, it was her time.
The Wintergreen, slowly, approached the wardrobe. She stood there all nervous for the outcome.
Sometime passed and nothing came out of the wardrobe. Y/n looked at Professor Lupin for help.
The moment he opened his mouth to speak, the wardrobe's door opened. The whole class went silent when the figure in front of her appeared.
It wasn't a spider. It wasn't Tom. It wasn't a dementor.
It was her.
Y/n looked at herself. Was she scared of her own self?
The boggart looked at her up and down. Testing her. Judging her.
"What happened to you?" The boggart asked repeating the same words that Professor Trelawney had told her.
Y/n was taken aback. Should she answer?
"What happened to you? You used to be so strong and now......you've basically given up."
"Y/n!" Professor Lupin said
She looked right into the boggart's eyes. She looked into her own eyes.
"You don't fight back?! There's no wonder that everybody leaves you. Your father, your grandfather.......everybody, Y/n!"
She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. She barely could breathe on her own.
Professor Lupin took a step forward.
"It's not real, Y/n." He said "You can do it."
The boggart wasn't over.
"You're weak, Y/n! You're not good enough!"
Seeing that his student wasn't going to do anything, Lupin decided to help.
When he put himself in front of Y/n, the boggart changed its figure. Now, in front of the whole class, was a full moon.
"Riddikulus."
Nothing was heard in the classroom. Some were in shock, others were looking at Y/n for some reaction, and few actually thought what the girl was feeling.
Professor Lupin turned to look at her. When he saw the look of pure terror on her face, he nodded to himself.
"Ms. Wintergreen, you can go outside for a moment if you want to."
Without any word, the heir of the Wintergreen family ran out of the room not even looking back.
Now everything made sense in her mind. She wasn't terrified of a spider, or the dementors, or even Tom.
No. She was terrified of herself.
Y/n Wintergreen's worst fear was not being good enough.
•••••.*.•••••
What the girl didn't know was that someone ran after her.
As she walked outside the school and sat down on the grass, far away from everybody, the girl cried. She cried for as long as she could.
That was until something fluffy made contact with her skin. When the girl looked up, she saw a dog sitting right in front of her.
The dog lowered its head, it seemed like it was waiting for her to pet it.
Y/n put her hand against his head.
"Hi, boy." She said "How did you got here, uh?"
The dog only got close to her.
"You are a lucky boy, did you know that?" She laughed through the tears "You don't have any problems to deal with."
He laid completely on the floor now while staring up at her.
"My life is so complicated right now. I'm trying so hard to understand everything that is happening to me, but.....I can't. I just can't."
The dog closed his eyes as she pet his head again.
"I need to give you a name. How about.....Nighty?" Y/n asked liked the dog could actually answer "Yes, Nighty because you remember me of the night."
She was so distracted with the dog that didn't saw someone approaching them.
"Talking with dogs now, Wintergreen?"
Y/n quickly looked up and saw Draco. Without saying anything else, the boy sat down by her side and start petting the dog as well.
The silence between them wasn't awkward. They understood the other even without words.
Draco got out of the classroom after Y/n. For some reason, he needed to make sure that she was alright.
"I have the same fear."
"You do?"
He nodded
"Yes, it always feels like a challenge. I've to prove myself to the others so I can be someone."
Another tear got down her face.
"We shouldn't do that. We should be able to be ourselves." Her eyes stared into his blue ones "Don't you think?"
The blond boy shrugged.
"It doesn't work that way. This is not a fairytale, Wintergreen. Life is a lot more harder than that."
At this point Nighty sat down by her other side.
Y/n smiled at Draco.
"You're not as bad as they say you're, Malfoy."
"I try sometimes, Wintergreen."
Their conversation was interrupted by someone else.
"Malfoy. Wintergreen. What are you two doing here?"
Professor Snape stood before them with his normal melancholy tone.
Nighty quickly got up and ran away.
Y/n watched as her four legged friend went away from them.
"We're just talking, Professor."
He nodded before looking at Y/n, who still looked at the direction where the dog went.
"If you need anything, Ms. Wintergreen, you know where to find me."
He hesitated before speaking again but quickly saw that there was only one way of cheering the girl up.
"Would you like to help me with the making of the potion for the next class?"
Y/n was sure she never raised her head as quickly as this before. The Wintergreen got up and nodded her head.
"Yes, thank you."
He nodded before looking down at Draco.
"Do you want to join us, Mr. Malfoy?"
"Yes."
Snape would never admit that aloud, but he had favorites.
Seeing that the two were still in the same place, the potion's teacher spoke.
"Why are you two still here, then? The Antidote to Uncommon Poisons will not make itself. Let's go before I change my mind."
And with that, all the sadness she once felt went away. It was still there somewhere, but she wouldn't worry about that for now.
•••••.*.•••••
Cute Draco and Snape moment.
Also, Crystal and Sirius are married!
Love you all,
Bye!