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Chapter 5
A Lesson on Boggarts
Needless to say, Saturday night was not an easy night. Sunday, however, was a different matter. Sunday I decided that in order to help Remus, I needed to let go of the past. I needed to forget the pain that he'd caused Kate. Kate was dead, and Katherine had no quarrel with Remus. I wasn't naïve enough to think that it would be easy to forget everything that happened. I knew it would be far from it actually. But it would be the only way this year would be endurable.
Wednesday morning I decided to work in the staff room instead of my office for a change of scenery. I was in the middle of grading Jonathan's summer assignment, despite Snape's persistent grunting as he flipped through the latest edition of Potent Potions, when the staff room door opened and the third year Gryffindors filed in. A boggart had taken up residence in the wardrobe in the back corner Tuesday afternoon, and instead of vanquishing it, Remus had asked that it be left for his third years. I had forgotten about the boggart's close proximity; otherwise I likely would have stayed in my office. I hated boggarts.
"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this," Snape grumbled as he stood to leave.
I rolled my eyes. He was so dramatic sometimes. Snape paused at the door and turned back to look at the class with a sneer.
"Perhaps no one has warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. His work is abysmal unless Miss Granger is whispering in his ear."
Poor Neville looked mortified at being called out. I thought it was more than unfair to humiliate a student in the presence of two other professors.
"Actually," Remus began without missing a beat, his eyebrows raised. "I was hoping Mr. Longbottom would be my first volunteer."
Snape grimaced and fled the room. I was boiling.
"Oh that…that…" Foul! Loathsome! Greasy! Git! I took a deep breath to keep from saying what I really wanted to say. I noticed the students had all turned their attention to me.
"Don't pay him any mind, Mr. Longbottom. He's just bitter. He wishes he could be as well liked as you. So don't listen to him… Unless," I thought. "…Of course if you're in his class, in which case his word is basically law. I'm afraid there's not much I can do for you there. Well…nothing that won't get us both into trouble." I winked.
The class laughed and the wardrobe gave a little wobble.
"And that is my cue to direct your attention back to Professor Lupin…who probably wants me to leave." I stood and began to gather my things.
"Don't be ridiculous, Professor Porter," Remus said with an amused smile. "You may stay if you like."
"Oh! Well in that case…" I pushed my papers into a sloppy pile before sitting on the table. "…Continue on."
"Right," Remus turned his attention back to the class. "So today we will be learning how to vanquish a boggart. Before we begin, who can tell me what a boggart is?"
I wasn't surprised that Hermione was the only one to raise her hand. Whether that was because no one else knew the answer, or because they simply didn't bother with Hermione in the class, I'm not sure.
"Yes, Miss Granger."
"It's a shape-shifter, Sir. It takes on the shape of whatever a person fears the most."
"Correct."
"Terribly inconsiderate, if you think about it," I said. "I mean, we fear the things we do for a reason."
"Don' worry, Professor Porter, I'll protect you," Seamus Finnegan said with a flirty grin.
"Oh, my hero, Mr. Finnegan."
"Ahem…" Remus gave a little cough.
I smiled. "Sorry, Professor; I'll be sure to raise my hand next time."
"I'm sure. Now, as the boggart is still in the dark it has yet to take a shape. But we, out here, have an advantage over it. Care to take a guess as to why that is, Harry?"
Harry seemed surprised that Remus had called on him when Hermione's hand had already shot into the air.
"Er—because there are more of us?" Harry asked as he ran a hand over the back of his head.
"Precisely! It won't know what to become. Should it be a headless corpse, or a flesh eating slug? I once saw a boggart come across that exact dilemma and turn itself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening."
I smiled fondly; I remembered that day.
XX
20 April 1978
There was a loud explosion followed by a very putrid smell and a cackling Peeves. Filch's office door flew open as he rushed out. I waited a moment for him to leave before unlocking the door and stepping in. Four sets of confused eyes turned my way but looked right through me, until I pulled off the invisibility cloak.
"Kate!" James jumped to his feet.
"Shh! Not so loud, you git. And leave my name out of it will you." I handed him the cloak. "Quickly now, we don't have much time. Where's the map?"
"Filch took it with him," Remus said sounding only slightly less surprised than James had been
"Better that than you, I suppose." We left the small office in a hurry and headed in the opposite direction Filch had gone. "He won't be able to work it anyways…will he?"
"Like we didn't prepare for something like this," Sirius said.
"If he tries to operate it, he'll get a string of insults from each of us," James said proudly.
"You prepare to get caught? I'd think it'd be better not to get caught in the first place," I said.
We stopped suddenly as Mrs. Norris darted out in front of us. Peter swore and tried to shoe her away. She didn't listen to him of course.
"Mrs. Norris," I said firmly. "Leave us and don't tell Filch. Now."
The shabby cat trotted on by with its tail held high. The guys looked at me in wonder.
"She recognizes the superior feline. That's how I don't get caught."
"Bleeding brilliant, you are," Sirius said.
"Tell me something I don't know. This way."
I turned sharply down an unused corridor and ducked behind a large tapestry. The tip of my wand was lit instantly as we began to climb a set of narrow stairs.
"I must admit, I'm a little surprised, Kate. I didn't think you'd care enough to break me out," James said.
"Break you out? I came for Remus; you're just a collateral escapee. Next week is the last Hogsmeade week before the end of term and I thought we could…well…I'm sure you can sort the rest out for yourself."
My cheeks burned and my heart skipped madly at the thought of our last visit to Hogsmeade just three weeks ago. I recalled how his kisses made me soar and his touch sent me spiraling. We'd spent the week together at the Hog's Head, but it still didn't seem to be enough.
"Ugh…I thought we had an agreement not to talk about that sort of stuff," Peter grumbled.
"James had the agreement," Remus said as he slid his hand in mine; I knew he was thinking of our last trip too.
"Remus and I never agreed to anything," I said.
We were coming to the end of the passage where there was a dark little nook. As we came up on it there was suddenly a loud crack and someone stepped out in front of me. I froze as I found myself staring into the eyes of my father. Flashes of our last encounter a year ago passed through my mind.
Before I could do anything, James and Sirius jumped in front of my while Remus pulled me behind him. There was another loud crack as the image of my father changed and I realized it was only a boggart. With James and Sirius standing so near each other in the tight space, the boggart didn't know what to turn into. So it became a combination of the two fears. A half of a slug dropped to the floor with a plop.
"Eww," I said.
Before we could do anything more, we heard a distinct grumbling coming from the other end of the passage. Filch was coming.
"Quick! Hurry! I'm not going to get caught with you lot." I pushed James and Sirius forward gently.
We stepped over the boggart before it had a chance to change again. We sprinted down the hall and we were about to go into another passage when Filch let out a terrifying scream. I knew I shouldn't but I laughed.
Then I used the distraction of Filch's scream to pull Remus away from the others.
XXX
8 September 1993
"Riddikulus!"
"Good, very good. Neville, please step forward."
While I was lost in my memory, Remus had carried on with the lesson. When he called Neville to the front, though, he regained my attention.
"Neville, can you please inform the class what most frightens you?" Remus asked.
There was a slight pause during which there was a very vague, very indistinct whisper.
"I'm sorry, Neville, I didn't catch that."
"P-P-Professor S-S-Snape," Neville trembled.
"He frightens us all," I said. Remus shot me a look. I mouthed sorry and he smiled.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Remus said. "But I believe you live with your grandmother."
I laughed loudly; I couldn't help it. I knew where he was going with this. The class looked back at me again. "Blimey that's brilliant!"
Remus smirked knowingly, but the class just seemed more confused.
"Y-y-yes," Neville said. "But I-I don't want that boggart to turn into her either."
"It won't, but here's what I want you to do." Remus turned his back to the class and spoke softly with Neville telling him the plan.
"Everyone needs to be ready now," Remus said stepping back and addressing the class once more. "Think of what you most fear and then be prepared to make it amusing. Are you ready, Neville? Remember what we discussed. I'm going to open the wardrobe on the count of three."
Remus stepped back so that the boggart would encounter Neville first.
"One…two…three…"
On three, Remus directed his wand at the wardrobe and unlocked it. There was a silent pause as the copy of Professor Snape stepped out, right down to this sneer. Snape slowly advanced on Neville. I have to hand it to Neville, though; like his parents, he stood his ground. Snape began to reach inside his robes.
"Now, Neville," Remus instructed.
Neville raised his wand, his hand was shaking but his voice was clear. "Riddikulus!"
There was a small pop and suddenly Snape was dressed in an ivy green dress with a vulture hat and a bright red hand bag. The laughter was instantaneous. The thought of seeing Snape in Neville's grandmother's clothing was funny enough, but to see it in person was almost too much. And I think Remus and I enjoyed the sight a little more than we probably should have.
"Pavarti, you're next," Remus called.
One after the other Remus called a student to step forward to combat the boggart. Pavarti, Ron, Dean, and Seamus were all among those called forward. When Seamus finished his banshee boggart by making her voice disappear, he turned to me and flashed me a smile. That made Remus look my way too. His smile was a familiar one, and it made heart do a strange little flutter.
Each student performed the charm admirably and the laughter stayed full. It didn't take long for the boggart to become confused. It changed several times back to back before flying around looking for a new victim. It landed in front of Harry; my smile faltered slightly as I wondered what form his boggart would take. Before it could change however, Remus suddenly jumped in front of Harry.
"Here!" he called. The boggart zeroed in on Remus and without pause it took shape. A silvery-white sphere floated in the air. I recognized it at once for what it was, but before the class really had time to contemplate it, he held up his wand.
"Riddikulus!" he said lazily.
The moon became a deflated balloon that whizzed around the room. The class laughed hysterically at the noise it made. I found it quite humorous too, until it made its way to the back of the room. It was coming right at me. I could see the image it would take in my mind, and I knew Remus would recognize it too. That wasn't what suddenly made my blood turn cold though; his face was a face I hadn't seen in years.
As the boggart took shape, I slid off the table clumsily, knocking my papers to the floor. I, unlike the class, was not anticipating facing a boggart and thus I did not have my wand out. While I fumbled in my pockets looking for it, I saw Dean nudge Seamus forward. The boggart, meanwhile, continued its progression in is long black robes and hooded face.
At last I pulled my wand out and directed it at the boggart's face. He reached to remove the ornate mask he wore, and I could already see clearly in my mind's eye the pale twisted face that lay beneath. I struggled to conjure a new image. My hand shook and my voice caught in my throat.
"Ri…Riddik…Riddikulus."
Instantly the mask snapped back onto his face; it was now a bright pink and bore a comical smile. The boggart donned a pink tutu as well and twirled around uncontrollably. I was too terrified to laugh, but the class laughed enough for me.
"Quickly, Neville, finish him off!" Remus called curiously.
Neville leapt in front of the boggart. With one last crack it became Snape again before once more donning the clothes of Neville's grandmother. Neville gave a great laugh and the boggart exploded into a whiff of smoke. The class cheered.
I remained where I was, pale and shaking slightly. My heart was racing. Had Remus somehow seen his face? Did he know my secret? And why, after so long, did the face of my father still torment me so?
"Professor Porter?" Seamus said softly, pulling me out of my daze.
I tried to smile convincingly. "Sorry, Mr. Finnegan, it looks like Neville is the hero this time."
"Excellent! Well done, everyone!" Remus said. "Let's see…five points to Gryffindor for everyone who tackled the boggart, ten for Neville since he did it twice, and five each to Harry and Hermione for correctly answering my questions at the start of class. For homework, please read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me, to be turned in next Wednesday. Thank you. Again, excellent job today. You may precede back the classroom for your books."
I still hadn't really moved, and I still hadn't looked in Remus' direction. I was worried about what I might see there. I bent down to pick up my papers. Seamus bent to help me, and when they reached me so did Harry, Hermione, and Ron. My hands were still shaking slightly when they each handed me my things.
"Professor?" Harry asked, but in that moment all I heard was James' voice. I exhaled through my mouth slowly before smiling again.
"I'm fine, Harry. Really. You should all head on now. I wouldn't want you to be late for your next class on my behalf."
"You could always write us a note," Seamus said.
My smile became more genuine. "I could. Goodbye now and thank you for your help. Five more points for Gryffindor."
As they walked away, I made myself busy with stacking and organizing my papers. I was hoping that Remus would follow after them quickly, but, of course, he didn't.
"Were there many Death Eaters in America?" he asked, a mix of concern and curiosity in his voice.
Death Eater? So he thought it was only a Death Eater? I studied his face for any sign that he may have seen what lay beneath the mask, but there were none.
"Not many, no," I replied slowly. "But just because Voldemort didn't hop the pond, doesn't mean that rumors of what he did hadn't. The MACUSA didn't want to get involved, but there were those of us who didn't think Voldemort's reign of terror would end with the British Isles. I was a member of a special task force after leaving school."
"Fear of the Death Eater, but not the name?"
"I fear what the Death Eater represents. Besides, the use of a name can give power; the fear of a name takes power away. I made the decision long ago that I wouldn't give Voldemort power over me."
"That is very admirable," he said with a pleasant smile as we turned to leave.
I shrugged off the compliment. "It is what it is, but that back there…" I pointed behind us trying to change the topic. "That was an excellent lesson. I'm glad they finally have a defense teacher who knows their stuff and knows how to get through to them."
"Oh that? That was nothing."
"Nothing? Did you hear their laughter? I'm going to have to watch my back, lest you replace me as their favorite teacher."
"Well I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to Mr. Finnegan," he teased.
I rolled my eyes. The poor kid had a hopeless crush. "Alright, that's enough of that, thank you."
Remus laughed.
"I'll let you get to class now. See you around."