Lilium
DADA Classroom, 2013.
"Now," Lupin turned to the class, a mischievous expression on his face. "Today we will be covering Boggarts." He paused for a moment to let that sink in.
"Can anybody tell me what a Boggart is?" He questioned. Hermione, eager as ever, was waving her hand in the air excitedly. Lupin pointed to her, as it seemed no one else was knowledgeable in the subject.
"A Boggart is a shape-shifting dark creature capable of turning into one's fears. No one knows what a Boggart looks like in its natural form." Hermione, for once, have the short answer. Lupin nodded and gestured to a cabinet, which rattled slightly.
Lupin explained the lesson and the counter charm, and thus people began to line up, almost eagerly. One by one people confronted their fears, from Professors to giant pests, until it was Harry's turn.
Lupin debated with himself whether or not to bring Harry forward. Coming to a decision, he took the shoulder of Harry, guiding him forward to the cabinet. Harry was hesitant, but he stepped forwards anyways.
The room was hushed in silence, each student curious about what the glorious Boy-Who-Lived would fear.
The cabinet door creaked open, and a pale womanly leg stepped out. Harry held his breath, unsure what his Boggart's form would come out to be. Another leg followed the other, the foot making an audible sound on the stone floor.
An eerie humming filled the room, and Harry shuddered as he recognized it. It was a grim melody, one that sometimes haunted him in his sleepless nights. It was Lilium. He shivered as he recalled his horrible decision to watch that show when he was ten.
Soon the figure had fully emerged from the cabinet. It was a woman, with all expected shapely curves. A downpour of pinkish-red hair fell from a bowed head, loosely covering a pair of breasts. Any facial features were hidden by it, but Harry knew exactly who it was.
Rivers of blood ran down the form, red as it's real counterpart. Blood red handprints were appearing on the floor, as well.
A pair of bone white horns jutted from the head of hair. Harry was struck by the realism, and for a moment imagined that it was just real. He looked downwards, shuddering at the realization that he was only about two and a half metres away, close enough to die in just a stride.
He backed up suddenly, bumping into the people crowded behind him, as he nervously palmed his wand, mumbling out a quiet 'Ridikulus'.
The figure burst into a swarm of small pink petals, and on the floor, the handprints vanished and were replaced by a music box, open and playing the same melody that had been hummed moments before.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and darted to the side, his body tingling nervously as he reinforced the fact that it wasn't real. He went to go lean against the wall with Hermione, ignoring the odd looks cast his way.
The music box vanished as another student strode up to confront their fears. He sighed and leaned heavily against the stone wall. Hermione was watching him concernedly, but he waved her off, mutter, "Bad memories and scary cartoons, that's all."
He waited patiently against the wall, as the class finished up, and went off with his friends to the next one.
He stayed a pace behind Ron and Hermione, reflecting on the show that he'd watched when he was younger, and the disturbing thoughts it brought about. He didn't even realize as he began to hum a soft and melancholic tune.
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione questioned again. He resurfaced from his thought, gave her a hesitant smile, and matched his pace with them.
"Just thinking, that's all."
It had a sort of horrific beauty, Lilium.
AN: Just finished re-watching my favourite show.
Some of you may say that it's a sort of stupid fear to have, and I think this Harry sort of realized that as well. He wasn't really afraid of the show itself, but the ideas it brought about. Well, and the prospect that magic had made something that was so cemented as unreal, real in his mind.
To Harry, I think it would've almost felt like a close encounter with death. Elfen Lied is a very thought-provoking show, indeed. You can even compare the Diclonius and Wizards, though I feel like the Diclonius have a tendency to create much more gory scenes.