Chapter VI: The Ultimate Fear

As the days came and went, Susan adjusted fairly well to her classes... With the exception of Defence Against The Dark Arts class. Ever since she faced her boggart, things haven't been the same.

"Alright class. Remember, the trick to defeating a boggart is laughter." declared Lupin. "Now, without wands, repeat after me. Ridikulus!" Romilda rolled her eyes. "This class is ridiculous," she muttered. "Shut up, Romilda." said Cassandra, offhanddedly. "Why don't you go first, Romilda?" asked Lupin. Romilda knew that he heard her comment, but he wasn't one to call out a fight with a student over things like this. Romilda stepped up to the wardrobe. There was a loud ungodly rumbling, and then out came... A mouse. A tiny pink-eared grey mouse. The mouse only had time to scratch it's adorable little face before Romilda shrieked in fear. "A rat! A filthy, ugly beast. It's so disgusting! Get it away from me!" Lupin shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "It's only a mouse, Romilda. Now focus. Riddikulus! Say it." he instructed. "The diseases it carries!" shrieked Romilda as she took out her wand. "That's the spirit! You're doing good! Now say it! Riddikulus!" said Lupin. Romilda raised her wand, avoiding sight of the mouse while doing so. "Riddikulus!" she cried out, pretty much only wanting to get rid of it. Suddenly, the little mouse became a fat kid in an obvious costume. "Hmph! Child's play!" scoffed Romilda while holding up her prominent chin as she walked back to Susan's side. "Why don't you go next, Susan?" asked Lupin.

Truthfully, Susan didn't want to face her boggart. She knew that the boggart would change into what she fears the most. Her specific fear. Whatever that was. Susan stood in front of the boggart awaiting the change. Suddenly, the overweight mouse boy became a shadowed figure. A man? No. Suddenly it got on all fours and opened its mouth revealing glittering fangs. It has thick brown fur and frisky ears. Was it a wolf? No, it was a werewolf. Susan stood there paralysed in fear. "Go on, Susan! Say it! Riddikulus!" said Lupin. But Susan remained frozen in her place. "Susan, Snap out of it! It's only a boggart!Ridikulus!" Lupin's words, again, did nothing and now the boggart looked like it was going to pounce. Lupin took quick action by standing in front of it, leaving it to turn into the moon. "Riddikulus!" he said, and it turned into a popped balloon. Susan was still shaking and even began to cry. Since people weren't used to Susan being scared of anything, they were taken aback by it. "What did you do to her?" demanded Romilda, whom had seen the whole thing herself. Lupin also looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Class dismissed." he quickly said. But why would Lupin end class over this? That was the real question.

Once class was over, people quickly began to hound Susan to see if she was all right, but Romilda swiftly turned them away. The poor girl could barely stand on her own two feet because she was shaking too hard. She barely ate lunch that day, and could barely function in her classes without thinking about it.

Later that day, once classes were over, Susan went to go apologise. "May I come in, Professor?" she asked. "Ah yes, come in. Come in," he said. Susan hesitantly walked in. "Err... Sorry about making a scene in class today," she said. "It's all right, Susan," reassured Lupin. "Some of us have frightening boggarts." Susan nodded her head and there was a slight drawl of silence. "Have a seat," said Lupin, gesturing to a chair across from him. Susan hesitantly took a seat in the chair and noticed once again that Lupin looked slightly uncomfortable. What in Merlin's name was wrong with the guy?"Tea?" he asked. "Yes, please... So... I noticed your boggart turned into the moon. Does that mean you're afraid of the dark or something?" asked Susan. "You could say that," said Lupin with as he handed her a steaming cup of tea. "It's okay. I used to be afraid of the dark, too," said Susan as reassuringly as she could, which wasn't much considering she had been over that fear since she was about seven. "Again, I'm really sorry for making a scene," she added. "Don't worry about it. Things went much worse today when your sister was facing her own boggart," Lupin stated. "My sister got scared?" Susan asked. "Of course. Everyone get scared of something," said Lupin.

Scared was an understatement. When Rosemary faced her boggart, she was terrified. As soon as the boggart came out of the wardrobe, it took a very grim form. It was a little girl with a chubby figure and short, boyish hair. It was Susan Henkel, but something was different. She was soaked in blood and had no whites in her eyes. They were completely black. Rosemary's face turned white in shock and then, it spoke. "Why didn't you save me, sis? I died because you left me all alone. You left me all alone and now I'm dead." The other students looked disgusted at the sight. "Damn..." muttered Katie Bell, a Gryffindor in the class. Rosemary could barely hold her wand straight let alone cast the spell. "They got me, Rosemary. They cut me up, and they ate me and they-" "RIDDIKULUS!" shouted Rosemary with her wand. The boggart then turned into a clown on a unicycle. Rosemary was still shaking holding her wand. "It's okay," said Lupin. "Put the wand down now, Rosemary."

But Susan would never hear about that terrifying endeavour. Lupin wouldn't allow it. Suddenly, Susan heard a munching sound in her book back. She looked over and saw Scabbers, Ron's rat, which she had heard about through Hermione, eating her potions homework. Now, Susan had been in Snape's class long enough to know that unless she were a Slytherin, Snape wouldn't hesitate to fail her on this assignment. Besides that, Susan was very irritated at Scabbers as it were for rifling through her clothes one morning. "You little pest!" she shouted. "Oh dear..." said Lupin quietly, but then he noticed something. Lupin immediately recognised him as someone familiar, but he scurried off before Lupin could confirm his suspicion. Lupin's eyes grew kind of large, and he began to stand up, but stopped himself. If he was who Lupin thought he was, and Susan caught on to his suspicion, she wouldn't back off and it would end painfully for her. "Mark my words Ron!" yelled Susan as she made a violent gesture in the air. "You're dead! I'll fucking kill you and-" "Susan!" Lupin interjected as she turned to him. "Calm down," he said. "I'll be fine once I flatten Scabbers like roadkill. That'll teach Ron to-" "Susan, I will take points away," interjected Lupin once again. "But what about my assignment. That took me hours to do. I'll never have it redone in time!" Susan whined. "No problem!" stated Lupin and with a wave of his wand and an uttering of the word "restorius", the homework was crisp and good as new. "There you go, Susan," he said. "Thanks Professor," said Susan. "Now just...head to your dorm," he said suddenly. This came almost out of nowhere for "Professor, it's only-" "Go," he interjected. And this wasn't going to be the last of it.

For some reason or another, for the next few days, Lupin was constantly thinking of ways to convince her to stay in her dorm once classes were over, but she vowed to kill Scabbers in retaliation for what he did to her assignment in one way or another... despite getting a fairly decent grade on it. In fact, she began routinely carrying around a mallet ready to draw when Ron couldn't find the rat. She even went to the library in her spare time to study rodent traps. One time, during her studies, she noticed Rosemary talking with Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe, whom, just like her, were fourth year Ravenclaws.

Normally, Susan would eavesdrop on this conversation, but she was to indulged in her studies. Killing Scabbers was her top priority at the moment. "Hard at work?" Susan looked up and noticed a slender woman with shoulder length scarlet hair, beautiful green eyes, ruby red lipstick and a prominent baby bump. It was her mother, Ezsmarelda Henkel. The reason her mother didn't see her off at King Cross station was revealed. It was because she was visiting her doctor regarding her pregnancy. "Yes, I am," said Susan as she was looking at her mother's baby bump. It was still very small, but very prominent. She probably conceived her and her husband's anniversary. 7 July. Susan remembers that day every year like the back of her hand. Little did she know, it was the only time her mother and father ever made love anymore. What tore them apart? Since Susan didn't even know where babies came from, she obviously was left in the dark.

"So is it a sister or a brother, or do you know yet?" she asked. "Not yet, Susan," said her mother. It was another thing Susan was very excited over. Soon she would no longer be the youngest, and she'd have a little brother or sister to tell her exciting story of "Scabbers' Vanquish" to. That's right. Susan was preparing three makeshift children's books for her baby sibling. Her enthusiasm has taken a lot of worry off of her mother's shoulders. With that, her mother left, and Susan resumed her diabolical planning