It was just another day of Defense Against the Dark Arts as third years sat in their desks after going over some of the material they were required to be taught. The blue eyed Salvatore sat at his desk, casually skimming the page that caused him dread. The chapter they were currently going over discussed Boggarts, shape-shifting creatures that turned into your worst fears. Just the concept of it sent shivers down the Gryffindor's spine as he inhaled sharply, turning the page to continue reading.
Of course, the Salvatore knew about Boggarts. He hadn't been brought up by muggles, after all. However, he had never been in a situation where he needed to face one. Though he doubted they would make third years face boggarts. It seemed a bit young too. He continued skimming the pages, getting lost in thought as his mind drifted to life at home. At least until a paper ball hit him and landed on his desk. Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he opened the note and read what it said.
Hey, Salvatore, I wonder what you're afraid of. What skeletons are in your closet?
His heart pounding nervously, he glanced around, only to spot Tyler's smug expression, knowing he had gotten under Damon's skin at the words. Damon scoffed and crumbled it back up and throwing it at Tyler Lockwood. Just as Professor Lupin turned back around to face the class.
"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to take ten points from Gryffindor, Damon. Please do not throw things in my class" the Defense Against the Dark Arts said. "And that will conclude our lesson for today. Tomorrow we will each be facing a boggart in order to learn how to defend ourselves against one"
Suddenly, Damon's blood ran cold as he heard the words Professor Lupin spoke, his heart racing a bit as thoughts and fear ran through his head. Suddenly, he heard a laugh from beside him,
"What's wrong, Salvatore. You look as though someone told you Quidditch was banned" Tyler Lockwood grinned, noticing the expression on Damon's face.
"Yeah, and what would you be seeing tomorrow, Lockwood? An ugly face in the mirror? You should be used to that already" Damon remarked, covering his fear with sarcastic remarks.
"Damon... He's not worth it" Enzo said softly from beside his friend in his rival house.
Damon let out an irritated sigh, trying to control himself.
"Oh look, your mommy is here to calm you down" Tyler said sarcastically with a laugh.
Enzo's eyes narrowed as Damon growled at the Lockwood. "Too bad nobody can be around you to keep you from doing something stupid."
"At least I'm not betraying my house" Tyler shot a sour look at Enzo.
Enzo scoffed. "I'm not 'betraying my house', I can have friends in whatever house I want, so for the love of Merlin, just leave us the bloody hell alone"
Tyler rolled his eyes and left the classroom. Damon looked over at Enzo. "I'll meet up with you later"
"Alright, mate" Enzo agreed with a nod before grabbing his bag and leaving the classroom.
Damon inhaled sharply, his heart racing. He slowly approached the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher. Thoughts ran through his head about the horrors of tomorrow. He knew exactly what the Boggart would form, and the last thing he wanted was for the rest of the class to see his greatest fear. Word would spread. People would talk. And he would probably end up homeschooled just to recover from the cause of the potential headline of the Daily Prophet.
"What is it?" Professor Lupin questioned, looking at Damon in concern. He was not usually one to stay behind after class and talk. He was usually one of the first out of the classroom door.
"It's about the lesson with the boggart tomorrow" Damon began
"Yes, you have to participate," Lupin said, having already guessed that someone would be reluctant, but he didn't think it would be the Salvatore
"I understand that," Damon said, "but do I have to participate during the class with everyone there? If there is any way I could do it outside of the classroom, in your office perhaps, I would be greatly appreciative." The older Salvatore looked at the professor pleadingly, hoping that by some miracle Professor R J Lupin would agree to what he has requested.
Professor Lupin watched Damon for a long silent moment before finally inhaling sharply and nodding. "Very well. I suggest you stand in the back of the classroom to observe, and I will meet with you tomorrow at 5 pm in my office if that works for you"
The Salvatore nodded quickly, looking at the teacher, willing to take anything except being in the classroom when facing that boggart. "Thank you, Professor," he said gratefully. He then excused himself and left the classroom. He saw Enzo waiting outside for him and grinned. "I hope nobody gave you grief for lurking outside of a professor's classroom." He teased with a chuckle.
"Like that's likely. The only people likely to are the Weasley twins, Malfoy and Lockwood and their cronies." Enzo said casually.
"I might be miscounting, but I think you just listed most of your house," Damon said, a smirk spreading across his face.
"Shut up," Enzo said, though a grin formed.
"Well, I should probably get to herbology," Damon said, rolling his eyes. "It is a surprise Professor Sprout hasn't kicked me out yet. Considering every plant I ever touch seems to die on me"
"I wish you luck," Enzo said. "I don't want to be in your shoes"
The Salvatore winked at his friend before heading to class, trying to get his mind off of tomorrow.
The next day, the class itself was miserable. He had to watch as people experienced fear after fear as he lurked in the back of the line. His eyebrows raised as he witnessed Harry Potter's boggart reveal itself as a dementor, causing the Salvatore to become intrigued. He got along with the Potter, but he hadn't suspected of what his boggart would be.
Then Professor R J Lupin stepped in front of the Boggart, causing it to turn into the moon. Damon suddenly straightened up, intrigued. He glanced around and noticed Tyler wasn't in class. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before shrugging and watching as Professor Lupin turned the moon into a balloon and dismissed the class.
Damon Salvatore left the classroom quickly, ignoring Enzo who tried to catch up with him. He inhaled sharply and ran a hand through his dark hair. He needed to be alone right now. To prepare for what was to come later that day. He knew what his boggart was. He wasn't stupid. And he also knew what he would probably have to explain to Professor Lupin when the Professor asked why this was his boggart
He found the hallway that never had students in it, and he sat against the pillar, clutching some of his hair with his hands. He knew he was overthinking everything, but he also knew that he had a reason to be stressed.
Suddenly, a fifth year Gryffindor sat beside him and looked at him in concern. Damon hesitated before meeting Alaric's gaze, letting go of his hair. "Is something on your mind?" Alaric asked though the answer was obvious.
"We are covering Boggarts in Defense Against The Dark Arts" Damon replied hesitantly, unsure of why he was telling him.
"That bad, huh?" Alaric asked. He hesitated before pulling out a bottle and offering it to Damon.
Damon eyed the bottle warily, wondering what it was. "What is it?" he asked, his tone one of caution.
"Firewhiskey. Only permitted for older students, but I suppose we could make an exception" the older Gryffindor grinned at the younger one.
"How did you sneak it in?" Damon questioned. "Don't they have a detector you walk through when coming back from Honeydukes?"
"Lets just say I know Fred and George. There is no way you can spend five years sharing a dorm room with the Weasley twins without learning a few secrets"
Damon paused before taking the bottle and taking a swig. He then coughed hard, not expecting the alcohol to burn in his throat as it had at that very moment. The Salvatore made a face before looking at Alaric. "That was disgusting. But somewhat pleasant" He added after some thought.
"You'll adapt to the taste when you're older," Alaric said, taking the bottle from him once more and taking a swig of his own. He coughed just slightly, not nearly as much as Damon had. "Most likely. Boggarts are always a tough lesson to learn. After all, having to face your worst fear? It's not exactly pleasant for anyone"
Damon nodded in agreement. The two Gryffindors proceeded to spend the next few hours isolated from the rest of the castle. They neglected the one last class they had for the day and instead spent the afternoon bonding. Soon, it was 5:00 pm.
Damon sighed and stood up, grabbing his bag from beside him. "I should go. I still have my boggart to face"
The Saltzman nodded. "I wish you good luck, Damon"
Damon threw the Gryffindor a grin before heading to Remus Lupin's classroom. He knocked softly before walking inside and looking around curiously.
"Ah, hello," Professor Lupin greeted as Damon entered, looking at the Salvatore with a friendly smile.
"Hello, Professor" Damon said, speaking in a tone he only held for professors that he very much respected. Such as Professor McGonagall.
"Are you ready?"
"Is that even a question? Is anyone ready to face their worst fears?" Damon raised an eyebrow, looking at the professor.
"I suppose not" Lupin said. "Place your bag up against the wall, so we can begin"
Damon hurried over to the wall and placed his bag down against it. Then he backed up and took a position in front of the wardrobe, his heart pounding.
"Wands at the ready" the professor warned before opening the cabinet door.
The boggart exited the wardrobe before morphing into Giuseppe Salvatore, causing Damon to inhale sharply and tense up. It slowly approached Damon, carrying the elder Salvatore's dark and disappointed gaze.
"Look at you. Poor Damon, so afraid of what can happen to you. Pathetic" the voice of his father rang out from the shapeshifting boggart.
Damon flinched at the words and stepped back, keeping his eyes on the chest, not able to look him in the eye.
"Look at me when I speak to you, Boy" the cold voice caused Damon to force his gaze to meet the soulless eyes. "You think you were smart, going into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin? In reality you were foolish and betrayed your family. And because of it, not only will you receive consequences, but your brother will as well."
"No..." Damon wimpered. He could take what was to come for himself, but he had no idea what to do if Stefan was hurt.
Words and phrases that the real Giuseppe Salvatore had used came pouring out of the boggart's mouth, causing Damon to weaken.
Damon pulled a wand out and said, "Riddikulus" However, the Gryffindor could not conjure anything that caused him to genuinely laugh, rendering the spell uselessthing that made him
When the Boggart pulled out a fake wand to utter a curse the being couldn't perform, Professor Lupin's eyes widened as he heard the spell and stepped in front of the Boggart, causing it to turn into a full moon once more.
Damon Salvatore slid to the ground and didn't say a word. His mind just kept repeating the words over and over and over again. He inhaled sharply and closed his eyes. Beside him, Professor Lupin took a seat and looked at the young teenager in concern, a frown apparent on his face.
"You know... I've come to learn that chocolate always helps in times of distress" the professor told his student, passing him a chocolate bar.
"Thank you" Damon said, weakly opening it and taking a small bite.
"That spell he was going to use, it was a lesser known torture curse" Professor Lupin stated.
Damon shifted uncomfortably and looked down at the candy bar. "Please don't tell anyone. It won't do any good anyways"
"Why wouldn't it do any good?" He asked, frowning
"My father is very popular in the ministry. People would overlook it. He would still be glorified. Meanwhile my punishment would get worse. I think you're aware of how twisted the Ministry of Magic is" The Salvatore stated.
"What makes you say that?"
"Your Boggart is a full moon, Professor. I apologize if I'm strolling out of line here, but I suspect you are a werewolf " the Salvatore looked at the scarred man.
Professor R J Lupin tensed up as he looked at the Salvatore. "Yes I am" he admitted. "Dumbledore was very generous in offering me this job"
"I don't see what is wrong with werewolves getting jobs wherever they would like. I suppose I understand night jobs, but there are plenty of jobs in which you should be able to obtain. Also, I won't tell anyone"
"That is very kind of you. I wish more of the magical community shared your perspective"said the professor.
The two continued to talk before Damon finally left the werewolf's office.