HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
December 17th, 1943
The Scottish Highlands
WARNING: Descriptions of a panic attack, brief description of a corpse, and squids squelching?
An odious beast slammed its weight against a wooden pair of locked cabinet doors.
It did not make a sound, did not scream or howl with rage and anguish as it sought freedom, it instead simply pounded on the doors with loud slams of loose flesh hitting lumber as students stood stock-still and circled around the rattling wardrobe.
Many watched with intrigue, flinching only slightly at the occasional clamorous bangs that the creature made, whereas others quivered with trepidation, hands pressed hard to their ears as they spoke of the foreboding wails of agony that had planted themselves into the psyche, stimulating the delicate nerves and causing an override of one's logical and calm reactions.
The only problem was that this creature was soundless.
Shined-up boots clicked against wooden flooring, and heads turned to meet kind cobalt eyes that skimmed across the spacious classroom.
Albus Dumbledore laced his hands behind his back, sending his pupils a bright smile as he moved through the parted crowd to the front of the room, leaning to whisper into professor Galatea Merrythought's ear.
The old Witch seemed to agree with Albus's words, and as she turned to face the class once again, the same bright smile that Dumbledore had somehow managed to muster had graced her features.
"In case you have not yet noticed the rather large wardrobe stood before you, I implore you all to take a careful look at it now and tell me what creature might reside in it's interior." Merrythought spoke with a rasp, pushing up circular spectacles as she hurriedly moved to stand with her sixth years.
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.
"Now, our dear professor Merrythought has asked me to assist you this morning. It is known that if facing a Boggart alone becomes too strenuous, it is best to have another by your side to confuse the creature." Dumbledore now moved to the side of the classroom, back against the brick walls as he gestured to Merrythought, who stood by her grand oak desk with papers in hand.
"Whilst your Defence Against the Dark Arts professor stands to the side with some evaluation papers, I shall be ready to assist anyone who should need it. There is no need to fear."
As professor Merrythought tucked a quill behind pale ears, she explained the simple incantation used to effectively banish the Boggart back to its spirit realm. However, such an accomplishment was rare, and most times the charm simply morphed the Boggart's harrowing forms into something less grotesque. Only if the caster was able to laugh out loud at the Boggart's new form, would it be eradicated entirely.
"Now, I want you all to pull out your wands and follow my movements!" Merrythought chirped, and students flicked their wrists with wands in hand as their professor explained the rules once again.
"Just pronounce the spell Riddikulus as loud as you can, point your wand directly at the Boggart, and watch it shift into a hilarious new form!" She spoke excitedly, beaming from ear to ear as the class began to form a line before the wardrobe.
"Remember, my children, that laughter is the only thing to obliterate this creature! Give it your all, and laugh your throat dry! No— Mister Thompson I did not mean literally."
A boy scoffed as he got up from his spot in the corner of the classroom, glancing at his acolytes with dismay.
"This is ridiculous, if you ask me." Abraxas Malfoy hissed, dragging his heels on the floor as he stood near the end of the line.
A beautiful girl flipped her darkened locks of auburn to the side as she snickered at the Malfoy Heir, nudging him with her elbow harshly. "Just admit you're afraid for the whole class to see your fear of living in squalor, Malfoy." She smirked pleasantly.
Abraxas sneered, "Watch your mouth, Sallow." He retorted darkly, and the two continued to bicker at the end of the line as other students moved right past them.
A girl sneaked past the two bickering students, taking her place in front of them as she placed cold hands in the pockets of her robes. Her gaze remind downturned as she drowned out her professor's words and simply stared at her slightly dirtied shoes.
Someone laced their arm through hers, and she glanced at the Gryffindor girl standing by her side.
"Are you alright, Alena?" Meena Darwish whispered, placing her free hand atop of her cousin's arm, squeezing it lightly.
Alena Sarbani merely shrugged, making Meena's grip loosen as she did so. "Why wouldn't I be?" She questioned, and Meena sighed before shaking her head.
"I'm sorry...you're right. After all, Dumbledore said he would be here to assist us." She smiled brightly, taking her place behind Alena and eyeing Abraxas Malfoy and Licinia Sallow with distaste as they glared at one another.
As her cousin's analyzing stare left Alena's face, the girl could not help but frown.
Truthfully she did not know what she had to be worried about. As soon as Dumbledore had begun to inform the other student's of Boggarts and their proclivities, Alena had tried to prepare herself for her Boggart's harrowing form by wracking through her brain and trying to decide what it was that she truly feared the most.
Her search came back empty.
It confused her. After all, Alena was not one to boast about her alleged dauntlessness, but a branch of her psyche was closed off, and even she did not understand why.
Or, perhaps, she did.
But she would be damned if she was to let that wretched creature ever take on that form.
The first student now stood at the ready, wand held firmly in his grip, though even near the back of the classroom could Alena see the way his hands had paled to a sickly, bloodless white.
The knob of the wardrobe screeched as it slowly turned to the side, and the lock clicked out of place as the rusted old chains circling the furniture fell to the floor with the loud sound of metal striking wood.
Droplets of water poured onto the floor and seeped into the cracks as an almost sickening squelch sounded from within the cupboard.
It slid and fell onto the ground with an odd gurgling splash, and many students groaned with disgust as a large red squid convulsed on the damp wooden floors of the classroom, it's tentacles leaving ring-shaped stains and sticking and sucking on the ground as it tried to make its way towards the boy.
Dumbledore hummed from the side, "Tell me, what is it that you fear, Mister Baird?" He questioned gently, eyes skimming the boy's almost green face.
Baird seemed to swallow bile back down his throat as he chanced a glance at Dumbledore with squinted eyes. "T-The Giant Squid, Sir....in the Black Lake."
He seemed embarrassed, a slight shade of pink taking the place of the green on his cheeks as he averted his gaze to his feet.
Dumbledore nodded, "Many, I am sure, do fear the beast." He admitted, trying to ease the student's fright.
"Though they are...unpleasant to look at, especially when out of the water, I say try to imagine it in a top hat." The Wizard chuckled, and Baird seemed to gain more confidence in his stance as he lifted his wand up to the squid's head, and uttered 'Riddikulus!' With a shaky breath.
Sure enough, the class broke out into cheers and rapturous laughter as a ginormous top hat grew out of the creature's scarlet flesh, and it seemed to deflate into a mess of sludge as the next student stepped forward, ready for combat.
One after the other, the sixth year students fended off their feats with simple flicks of their wands. Albus Dumbledore stood to the side, offering support and inspiration, as was always the case. Galatea Merrythought applauded her pupils with joy after every noble defeat.
As the bespectacled Witch checked off names on her papers, she looked up and squinted at the tall young man who grabbed onto his wand with ease and stood at the ready, staring down the Boggart with apathetic eyes of azure.
"Mister Riddle! Stand and deliver!" Merrythought exclaimed, evidently leaning forward in anticipation as she gazed at the perspicacious boy with a prideful glint in her eyes.
She was not alone, the whole classroom seemed to still as they watched Tom Riddle's every move with wide, calculating eyes.
Albus Dumbledore shifted in his spot, crossing his arms as he leaned his back against the wall again, eyes narrowed.
The sconces on the wall as began to darken almost as if blown out by an invisible wind, and from the shadows came a blurred silhouette of a body, rotted and pale.
But then it vanished.
The body burst into a flurry of obsidian feathers, and from the overwhelming stir emerged a wild crow, surging up to the roof with a mournful cry.
Students gasped as the bird sung a tune of solemnity, and ducked their heads as it glided through the air, ebony wings spread beautifully.
Professor Merrythought gasped as the creature made its way towards Alena Sarbani, and Dumbledore pushed himself off the wall and ran over to the girl, but the crow merely hovered in the air just before her petrified face, dark eyes blinking rapidly as it cocked it's head to the side.
Alena held her breath as it let out a loud caw, and it turned and flew away from her, the Witch turned to glance at Riddle, who still stood near the wardrobe with his wand hanging loosely from his finger's tight grip, but he did not gaze back at her.
Beside Alena, Meena Darwish screamed.
It was akin to the crow's foreboding cry and Meena gasped in terror, hand flying to her mouth as she backed away.
As Alena turned to face the crow, she was met with a different, much more harrowing sight.
Her heart stopped.
She felt bile rise to her throat, felt the sharp sting of raw, salty tears forming in her wide eyes.
She did not know who it was that grabbed her after her knees gave out.
She did remember screaming, she remembered sobbing, but her throat was dry and barren.
She did remember being pulled out of the room as Merrythought ordered her other students to look away.
She remembered firm hands on her tear-stained cheeks, a loud voice telling her, ordering her to breathe.
She could not breathe.
She did not want to. Not ever again.
As Albus Dumbledore's worried face came into view, his words echoed in her mind.
"Do not run from this, Alena." He urged, hands on her cheeks trembling as her body wracked with sobs.
"Do not run from your demons."
* * *
This chapter is a whole flashback chapter, yes, but I can assure you that this is a very important chapter for many, many reasons! We'll be back to the present next chapter!!