"Does it hurt terribly, Draco?" Pansy Parkinson asks him as we sit in the great hall.
"It comes and it goes. Still, I consider myself lucky. Madam Pomfrey said another minute and I could've lost my arm. I can't do homework for weeks."
"Listen to the idiot. He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?" Ron says.
"He's completely fine! Madame Pomfrey healed him in minutes! He doesn't even need the sling." I exclaim, fed up with it.
"At least Hagrid didn't get fired. I hear Draco's father's furious. We haven't heard the end of this." Hermione says.
"He's been sighted!" Dean Thomas exclaims, bursting into the great hall.
"Who?" Harry asks him.
"Sirius Black!" He slams the newspaper down on the table in front of us. Hermione leans over.
"Dufftown? That's not far from here. You don't think he'd come to Hogwarts, do you?" She questions.
"With dementors at every entrance?" I ask.
"Dementors? He slipped past them once. Who's to say he won't do it again?" Ron suggests.
"That's right." Dean starts. "Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."
—————————————————————————
"Intriguing, isn't it?" Professor Lupin says, standing in front of a wardrobe that won't seem to stand still. "Would anyone like to venture a guess... as to what is inside?"
"That's a boggart, that is."
"Very good, Mr. Thomas. Now, can anybody tell me what a boggart looks like?"
"No one knows." I state.
"When did she get here?" I hear Ron ask Hermione and Harry.
"Boggarts are shape-shifters. They take the shape of whatever a person fears the most. That's what makes them so..." I trail off.
"So terrifying, yes, yes, yes..." Professor Lupin goes on. "Luckily, a very simple charm exists to repel a boggart. Let's practice it now." We take out our wands. "Without wands, please." We put them back away. "After me. Riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!"
"Very good. A little louder and very clear. Listen: Riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!"
"This class is ridiculous." Malfoy mutters under his breath. I turn around and give him the finger.
"Very good. 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, please?" Neville looks to him with wide eyes. "Come on, don't be shy. Come on. Come on." The boy walks up to him. Hello. Neville, what frightens you most of all?"
"Professor Snape." He mutters inaudibly.
"Sorry?"
"Professor Snape." He says a bit louder and the whole class laughs.
"Professor Snape. Yes, frightens all. You live with your grandmother?" He questions.
"I don't want it to turn into her, either." Everyone laughs again.
"No... it won't. I want you to picture her clothes. Only her clothes, very clearly, in your mind."
"She carries a red handbag..." Neville trails off.
"We don't need to hear. As long as you see it, we'll see it. Now, when I open that wardrobe... here's what I want you to do." He steps out of the way. "Imagine Professor Snape in your grandmother's clothes. Can you do that?" Neville nods. "Yes. Wand at the ready. One, two, three."
He unlocks the wardrobe and Snape walks out.
"Think, Neville, think."
"Riddikulus!" Old, grandmother looking clothes appears on Snape and everyone around the room laughs.
"Wonderful, Neville, wonderful! Incredible! Okay... to the back, Neville. Everyone, form a line! Form a line!" We all push to get up first, but the first person is Ron. I'm next, and then it's Harry.
"I want everyone to picture the thing they fear the very most... and turn it into something funny. Next! Ron!" Ron steps up. "Concentrate. Face your fear."
The boggart turns into a giant black widow spider. I recall back to last year when we fought off Acromantulas. That was not a fun time.
"Be brave! Wand at the ready, Ron."
"Riddikulus!" Roller skates appear on the spiders right legs and it falls on its stomach, having a hard time getting back up.
"Yes! You see? Very good, very good! Marvelous! Absolutely, very, very enjoyable! Amelia! Next! Show us what you see."
I step up and picture my fear. At first I think of Voldemort. I mean, he did kill my parents, and then almost my brother and I last year and the year before. But as I think about last year, I remember the basilisk. As my mind lands in that, a smaller version of the terrifying beast appears.
"Keep your nerve. Steady."
"Riddikulus!" I say the incantation and the snake smushed itself down like a large accordion. Bobbing up and down like it's being played. Everyone around me laughs.
"And next! Step up, step up! Wonderful, wonderful!"
Harry steps up and the boggart turns into a dementor. Professor Lupin jumps in front of Harry, trying to protect the class. The boggart then transforms into a full moon.
"Riddikulus!" The Professor says and the moon deflated like a balloon. He then directs it back into the wardrobe. "Right. Sorry about that. That's enough for today. Collect your books from the back. That's the end of the lesson."