Year Three - Chapter Six

The Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson came with the gentle realization that we would meet our very first Boggart. The cupboard stood in the room, and professor Lupin looked at us with a tranquil expression. The Hufflepuffs were more than willing to give it a try, and we Ravenclaws didn't seem worried about it at all. If anything, Amanda was awkwardly looking between the cupboard and the professor, as if waiting anxiously for it to open.

"So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears," Professor Lupin explained. "Since there are many of us, it will confuse it. Boggarts are amortal, in that they are neither alive nor dead, and thus there is little to worry about harming it. The only way to defeat it is through the Riddikulus spell, which requires concentration, and strong will." He neared the cupboard, which rattled as if sensing his presence.

"You will need to make the boggart, materialized as your worst fear, into something funny," professor Lupin said. "Laughter weakens the boggart," he continued. "So try to think about something funny, will you?"

A neat line formed in front of the cupboard, myself amidst the last students. Some fears were utterly amusing to behold, since they amounted to a cowl-wearing wizard that was meant to represent Voldemort. The poor boggart stumbled, sneezed, turned its dark and shady robes bright pink with yellow dots, and all things considered most of the fears were awkward to even call such.

One feared giant man-eating spiders, another was afraid of a buzzing swarm of bees and insects, and Megan's greatest fear was to blow up while making a potion. It was understandable, and she dealt with it magnificently by making the cauldron turn into a firework-sparkling pyrotechnic show. Wayne's own fear was ironically something that made me actually bend nearly in half from sheer laughter. The poor kid was afraid of 'Diabetes' which in his mind came out as some form of monster that would steal all of his chocolate and candies away from him.

He solved it by turning the monster into a hand-less thing that couldn't take his candy away anymore. Poor kid, his parents must have traumatized him so much with their warnings.

Amanda's turn came soon after, and she grinned brightly, expecting to get a thrill out of the boggart, I reckoned.

That was when I saw my face half caved-in by a bludger, the iron ball still stuck halfway into the cracked skull.

There was blood, there were screams, and I barely realized the boggart had taken the form of Amanda's greatest fear. A friend hurt because of her. It was sweet, but at the same time it had reached into the nightmarish fuel levels that could all too easily traumatize the youngsters around me. Amanda fumbled with her wand, teared up, tried to stammer the words out, and then started to cry.

"Miss Brocklehurst-" Professor Lupin began to near, but since I was closer, I took a couple of steps forward and shook her shoulder.

"Hey," I said with a dreadful sigh, "It's all right," I pulled her slightly back, my eyes glancing at the boggart's swift shapeshifting. What would it become for me, I wondered? Would it become Lord Voldemort? Would it turn into a wretched alien monster from a sci-fi or a horror flick? Would it become some sorrowful memory? What kind of monstrosity would the boggart turn into? Perhaps it might even transform into the basilisk, all things considered. It didn't need to be something traumatic, but merely my greatest fear.

Would it become a Dementor? Those had been pretty scary, all things considered.

It shifted forms, a blur became another, and then a third too. It seemed to stretch and snap back, as if unsure itself of the form to choose. I saw glimpses of an Alien from the famous franchise, but then it snapped into the form of Lord Voldemort, but only ever so briefly before swishing back and forth, as if frustrated itself. Come on, even the Acromantulas in the forest and the Trolls were dangerous and scary in my humble opinion, so what was the difficulty in picking one of those?

The ball of lightning I had conjured had scared me too, and I watched as it seemed to fluctuate into that form, but only ever just for a split second, before again starting to shift.

"Professor?" I asked, puzzled. "Is the boggart broken or what?"

"It is trying to pick your fear, Mister Umbrus," Professor Lupin said, having meanwhile neared to console the still sniffling Amanda. "It might settle for a lesser one if there are multiple of those and none greater," he continued, glancing at the still shifting boggart.

Ever so briefly, the boggart took on a form.

That made my breath hitch, and the creature took that as the cue to solidify into said form.

It was Dumbledore's form that the boggart took. It was his elderly, kind shape that the boggart took, a sad look on its face as it shook its head with a grimace, an ugly scowl on its face. My heart drummed in my chest as I dimly realized what the boggart was showing me. It was the sight of Dumbledore's trust being misplaced once more. That was what I feared the most, I realized. To have the trust put into me betrayed. Just as I didn't wish to have my trust betrayed, that which I feared the most was betraying someone else's trust.

I shuddered as the realization hit me, as the sight of Dumbledore's disappointment solidified, so too did I know what I had to do.

"R-Riddikulus!" I snapped, thrusting my wand towards the boggart. The headmaster remained where it was, but soon clapped its hands and offered me a sherbet lemon, making a smile return on my face. It wasn't something to laugh at, but it still did defeat the boggart technically.

"Well, disappointing the headmaster is something quite hard to achieve, Mister Umbrus," professor Lupin said, having caught on to the boggart's swift change in expressions. "But I suppose...well," he coughed, "The next in line, please."

I moved aside, letting someone else go after me. I shifted right next to Amanda's still sniffing form. "Hey," I said, "Still upset for the Hippogriff thing?"

Amanda looked away, not wishing to answer me. "As professor Flitwick would say," I continued offhandedly, "silly raven, have a dancing cupcake and cheer up. It's a problem we can fix, we just need to charm it right up," as I made my best interpretation of Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice when excited, Amanda's lips began to twitch in an upward smile.

"Want to go try again, Amanda?" I continued, pointing my head towards the cupboard. "I'm sure you can do better than that, sheesh. Come on, I won't be able to sleep at night if you don't at least make me look like a cool guy capable of surviving bludgers to the head. Think of my reputation, will you?"

"Fine," she mumbled, "But-"

"Ah, ah, ah, no buts," I shook my head. "Go get the boggart, and don't you worry about a thing. I'm made of tough stuff, even if one hit me, it would just bounce away from my incredibly awesome charismatic self," I passed a hand through my hair, mimicking Lockhart's twirling of hair locks, though I didn't have any of those since my hair was cut short to begin with, it was still something that made Amanda smile a bit more.

Thus, Amanda returned to her spot in the line and got boggart-me to take a deep breath, pop the bludger out of his head, and then charmingly hop on its back to surf on it while on the spot. It was an amusing sight, all things considered, and I laughed at that.

My laughter came less at the sight of the lightning ball crackling nicely in a corner of the Room of Requirements.

I have given onto you the gift of life...

...now witness as I take it away with the might of squeaking rubber gloves!