Rewrite the Stars
Summary: "Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." – Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land. FemHarry.
Just a warning: FemHarry, AU, Language, Clichés, Age Difference, Messed Time Line, More in the Future
Just so you know (Name): FemHarry's name is Charis Aster Potter. In Greek mythology, a Charis is one of the Charites or "Graces"; goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. This name comes from a Ancient Greek word meaning "Grace", "Kindness" and "Life". Aster is a Ancient Greek word for "Star" while the meaning of the flower Aster can differ depending on the presentation, my favorites being "Elegance", "Patience" and "Daintiness". Also, the Ancient Greeks used to burn aster leaves to ward off both snakes and evil spirits.
I don't own anything related to Marvel or Harry Potter!
Chapter 10. Maps and Boggarts
"I told you to not come back to my domain until after your first Quidditch match!"
"Ouch, ouch!" Harry yelped, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Her words didn't matter to Poppy. The older witch pulled her ear a little more, twisting it for a bit longer before letting the girl go.
Teary eyed, Harry rubbed her ear and said, "It wasn't my fault."
"And my name's Morgana Le Fay." Poppy gave her look, handing a vial with red potion to the small girl. "Now, drink your Potion."
The thirteen years old stared, immediately recognizing it. That was the Potion Poppy liked to give to her worst patients. Oh, don't get her wrong. The Potion worked just fine; closing wounds and repairing any kind of internal bleeding. But it tasted like dirty socks mixed with spoiled milk.
"Can't you use a spell?" Harry pleaded, pressing her hand against the wound on her side.
The thirteen years old knew very well that there was a spell for to deal with this kind of wound. There was no need for the Potion. Poppy was just being mean.
"Drink your Potion, Miss Potter." Poppy repeated dangerously.
"Now." Her Great-Uncle hissed from beside her.
Grimacing, Harry obeyed and drank the Potion in one go. The girl shuddered before handing the vial back to Poppy. With a hint of green on her face, she leaned back against the pillows on what could very well be called her bed by now (She always used the same bed when she ended in the Hospital Wing).
"I think I'm going to be sick." The raven haired witch moaned.
Poppy nodded, "Good, it means the Potion is working. I'll back to check on you in two hours." The woman's honey brown eyes narrowed dangerously, "Don't try to escape."
Harry wanted to laugh. As if escaping was possible with James there. The ice-blue eyed man won't let her get out of that man.
The long haired man under her Invisibility Cloak waited until Poppy left before he pulled the hood down and took off the fabric. Harry stared at her hands as he sat beside her, crossing his arms and staring at her with narrowed ice-blue eyes.
"Explain to me," He started, "why did you decide to incorporate Steve?"
The witch opened her mouth to argue but decided against it. Instead, she shrugged a little. In a way, he was right; she had acted just like his old childhood friend.
"Malfoy angered Buckbeak deliberately." Harry explained, turning to look at her Great-Uncle. "If he had gotten hurt then his father would fire Hagrid, maybe even kill the hippogriff while he was at it." She bit her bottom lip and admitted, "I wasn't really thinking at the time. But I couldn't let Malfoy ruin Hagrid's life or break his heart with the death of one of his creatures…"
There was a moment of silence before James sighed. Harry blinked as he patted her head with a small fond smile.
"I get it." He said, "Just try another alternative next time – Especially one that won't end with you in the Hospital Wing."
She smiled back, "I'll try."
"Good." James ruffled her hair before leaning against the chair, looking more relaxed. "I'll be dealing with the Malfoy boy soon, so don't worry about the brat."
The green eyed girl gave him a suspicious look.
She didn't bother asking for him to elaborate. Harry really didn't want to know what he meant.
With a sigh, the small girl started talking about her Transfiguration and Arithmancy classes when James asked about them. The conversation drifted after that and only stopped one hour or so before Poppy would be coming to see her.
They would kept talking but it didn't happen.
At first, Harry had been confused when her Great-Uncle cut off his tale about her Grandmother Rebecca by reaching out for her Invisibility Cloak and putting it on. It wasn't until she heard footsteps approaching the Hospital Wing that she understood the reason behind his actions.
The green-eyed girl turned toward the double doors, waiting.
"Hey, Harrykins!" Fred greeted her as he George stepped into the Hospital Wing and approached her.
George smiled, "Fancy seeing you here."
Harry stared, slightly arching her eyebrow. The witch didn't answer, not really wanting to have a small talk with the duo.
What did they want?
The twins sighed when she didn't sat anything. The duo exchanged a look, doing that twin speak of theirs that never failed to drive some of the other students crazy.
"Look, Harry," Fred started, uncomfortable. "we wanted to apologize."
She blinked.
Wait – What?
"It's just…" George seemed to search for the right words to explain their thought process but e he grimaced. The red haired boy had been successful. "Ok, we have no excuse aside from the fact that we were being idiots."
Fred nodded, "We shouldn't have ignored you or let the others treat you like thrash."
"We should have stopped them." His brother added, looking ashamed of himself.
"Can you give us another chance?" They asked – pleaded really. "We would really like to be your friends – real friends, not just acquaintances."
Harry blinked once more, feeling surprised. Despite her wishes, she hadn't expected to hear a apologize from anyone, much less the twins who were known to be stubborn. From the moment she had started going to Hogwarts, Harry had never heard them apologizing to anyone, even when they were clearly in the wrong.
Green eyes observed the red haired boys for a moment, staring at their faces. Just as they started squirm under her intense gaze, the thirteen years old witch smiled lightly.
"I forgive you." She said, giggling at the expression on their faces, "Thank you for taking the time to apologize."
Fred relaxed, "We knew that now would be the best time. Because, you know… with you being in the Hospital Wing and all that." He admitted.
"Not that you being here is a good thing." George added quickly, "But here you won't be able to avoid us like you have been doing with pretty much everyone since last year."
Harry shrugged.
"I have my reasons to avoid people." She pointed out.
The twins winced a little, "We know."
"So," Harry said after a moment of silence. "Did you guys just come to visit to ask my forgiveness or there's something else?"
They perked up.
"Actually, we wanted to show you something, Harry," George said.
"As well, ask you something." Fred added as he pulled a large, square, very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it from inside his cloak.
With a flourish, he offered it to her.
Harry, wondering if this was one of Fred and George's jokes, stared at it.
"What's that supposed to be?" She asked slowly.
"This, Harry, is the secret of our success," George cooed, taking the parchment from his brother and patting it fondly.
"We had never showed it to anyone else before," Fred informed her, "but we decided this morning that we would have to do just that if we wanted to be honest with you and get an honest answer in return."
Harry poked the parchment, "Ok…? And what's so special about a piece of old parchment?"
Even though she couldn't see him, the small witch could feel James curiosity and interest.
"A piece of old parchment!" Fred gasped, closing his eyes with a grimace as if Harry had mortally offended him. "Explain, George." He said dramatically, "I just can't right now!"
George patted his twin's shoulder as he spoke, "Well, Harry, you see… when we were young, carefree, and innocent first years –"
The raven haired girl snorted, "I don't think that any of you had ever been innocent."
She was ignored.
"– well, more innocent than we are now –" Harry snorted once more but George kept going, "– we got into a spot of bother with Filch."
Fred nodded, "We had let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason –"
"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual –"
"– detention –" George held a hand out to start listing some of Filch's favorite methods of punishment.
Not that the man actually did some of those things. The Headmaster would never let him.
Fred made a motion with his hand, "– disembowelment –"
"– torture –"
"– not necessarily in this order –"
Harry heard a growl and twitched a little.
Filch better look out because she was pretty sure he was just added to her Great-Uncle's hit list (Not his shit list, there were other requirement to get on that list).
"– and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous." Fred continued their tale.
"I caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb while Fred whipped the drawer open, and grabbed – this." George gestured to the parchment.
Fred said, "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."
"So I presume it actually does something? Harry asked, curious.
"Oh yes," Fred smirked. "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."
The thirteen years old processed that piece of information before looking at the parchment with interest. It wasn't difficult for her to come to the conclusion that it had something to do with how the twins knew the school better than the staff.
A thought hit her and Harry wondered if the parchment also explained how they had known about James as well they knew how to find him last night.
"Watch," George said as he handed the parchment to her. The blue eyed boy took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched; they joined each other, crisscrossed and fanned into every corner of the parchment. Then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed:
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present
THE MARAUDER'S MAP
Harry gasped when she saw that the previous empty parchment was now a map that showed every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But that wasn't what surprised her, not truly. What made her gasp and stare in disbelief and astonishment were the tiny ink footprints moving around it; each labeled with a name in minuscule writing.
Harry paled as her eyes traveled up and down the familiar corridors until she stopped in the Hospital Wing.
Uh-oh, the witch thought when she noticed exactly where her Great-Uncle's name was positioned on the map.
"You see," Fred started. "We were looking at the map last night –"
"We wanted to come to see you after we learned that you would be staying in the Hospital Wing." George explained.
His brother continued, "– when we noticed a unknown name next to yours."
"James Buchanan Barnes." George informed her.
"We, of course, wanted to know who this man was and why he was with you." Fred said, running a hand through his hair, "So we spoke to him."
"He said that he was the Uncle James you," George made a pause, debating if he should continue. He did so after a moment, "The Uncle James you called out for at the train."
The twins looked at her, "Is he really?"
"Yes…" Harry nodded after a moment of hesitation, eyes flicking to the tall, long haired man standing behind the twins with his arms crossed.
They hadn't noticed him yet.
"Oh," They relaxed and exchanged a look. "That's cool."
Both James and Harry arched their eyebrows at this.
Had the Twins just come to her to confirm James status? There was nothing else? Seriously?!
Curious, she asked them so and they shrugged, smiling at her.
"We trust your instincts," They said. "If you trust this man then there's nothing for us to worry about."
"Well, aside for the fact that he is very scary." George said.
Fred shuddered, "Terrifying really."
"I know," The two blue-eyed boys screamed like little girls and jumped before turning around to stare at James. The man stared back with one of his dangerous smiles, "But thank you."
Harry giggled when the twins didn't even twitch. They were completely frozen in place.
"Fred and George," Harry gestured with her hand, believing that maybe now would be the best time to introduce the trio properly. Even if they had already meet before. "This is my Great-Uncle James. Uncle James, those are Fred and George Weasley."
They waved shaky hands, still looking a little dazed.
James didn't look like he cared as his eyes grew colder and his smile got more predatory (If such thing was even possible) before he said, "Betray her again in any shape or form and die."
Fred and George looked at her, their skins a few shade paler.
"He's messing with you." Harry assured them with a small, nervous smile.
James wasn't, in fact, messing around with them. Actually, Harry recognized the signs showing just how serious he was.
Not that she would tell the twins that.
Much to James's approval, Neville didn't immediately accept the twins when the duo joined them for dinner. The chubby wizard gave them distrustful looks but decided to give them the benefit of doubt. Until they betrayed or turned their backs on Harry, he would be friendly with them.
Harry smiled with fond exasperation, having long since come to accept that she seemed to attract people who took her happiness and safety more serious than she did.
Aside from all the excitement of her first day on Tuesday, nothing more happened until late Thursday afternoon, when the Gryffindors had their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson… Well, Malfoy had been trying to bother her more often than usual, mostly because he hadn't been too happy with her saving him and ruining his plans, but James was always to introduce the bleached blonde's face to the nearest wall or to trip him.
Professor Lupin wasn't there when the Gryffindors arrived for their lesson so they all sat down and took out their books, quills, and parchment. When he finally entered the room, The scarred man smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the teacher's desk. He was as shabby as the last time she saw him but at least now he looked healthier, as if he had had a few square meals.
Good for him, Harry thought.
"Good afternoon," Professor Lupin said, not waiting for a answer before he continued, "Would you please put all your books back in your bags? Today will be a practical lesson." Harry perked up a little as did others. "You will need only your wands."
A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books.
They never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts before. Well, that was if you didn't count the ridiculous class last year when Lockhart brought a cage full of pixies to class and set them loose.
"Right then," Professor Lupin said after everyone was ready. "If you'd follow me."
Harry and Neville shared an puzzled look but got to their feet alongside the others and followed Professor Lupin out of the classroom.
"I wonder where we're going?" Neville asked.
Harry shrugged a little and said, "Maybe he has a monster caged somewhere and we'll have to fight it."
"I-I hope not," The baby-blue eyed boy shook his head, looking a few shades pale. "I'm not good with spells."
The small witch itched to point out that it wasn't his fault, it was Grandmother's fault. He would have been doing better in class and his spells would have been stronger if the old witch wasn't forcing him use his father's old wand.
But she kept her mouth shut; Harry knew that Neville won't believe her. So, with a weak smile, she said, "Don't worry, I'll have your back."
Neville grinned at her.
"Uh," Her Great-Uncle muttered from her side, sounding amused, "Déjà vu…"
The raven haired witch sent a curious look in his direction but the man didn't say anything else. With a sigh, she focused her attention back on Professor Lupin as he led their class along a deserted corridor and around a corner, where the first thing they saw was Peeves the Poltergeist.
The annoying ghost was floating upside down in midair and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum. He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn't look up until Professor Lupin was two feet away from him. When he noticed the man, the jester ghost cackled and wiggled his curly-toed feet as he broke into song.
"Loony, loopy Lupin," Peeves sang. "Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy Lupin –"
Harry blinked, surprised at the action. Peeves was known to be rude and unmanageable, especially to Hagrid, Filch and the students, but he usually showed some kind of respect toward the teachers.
Green eyes looked quickly at Professor Lupin, observing the smiling teacher with growing suspicion.
What was so different about Professor Lupin to cause Peeves to treat him like that?
"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves," The teacher said pleasantly. "Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."
Peeves paid no attention to Professor Lupin's words and blew a loud, wet raspberry.
Professor Lupin gave a small sigh and took out his wand. He looked over his shoulders at his students, "This is a useful little spell. Please watch closely." They leaned forward as he raised his wand to shoulder height and pointed it at the laughing Peeves as he said, "Waddiwasi!"
Woosh! With the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril. The ghost yelped as he whirled up-right and zoomed away, cursing.
"Cool, sir!" Dean Thomas grinned in amazement.
"Thank you, Dean," Professor Lupin smiled, putting his wand away. "Shall we proceed?"
"Sir," Hermione raised her hand as they set off again. "What does that spell do exactly?"
Some of the others looked curious to know the answer as well. Professor Lupin smiled at them and started explaining. He spoke about it as well other interesting prank spells until the class stopped, right outside the staffroom door.
"Why're we here?" Seamus Finnegan hissed to Ron and Dean.
The boys shrugged and shook their heads, looking just as confused as him.
"Inside, please," Professor Lupin requested, opening the door and standing back.
The staffroom was a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs. It was empty except for one teacher.
Neville whimpered while Harry narrowed her eyes.
Professor Snape was sitting in a low armchair, looking around as the class filed in. His onyx eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth.
As Professor Lupin came in and made to close the door behind him, Snape said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this."
He got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him. At the doorway he turned on his heel and said,
"Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you to not entrust him with anything difficult."
Harry clenched her fists when Neville bowed his head, flushing with embarrassment.
Snape never missed any kind of opportunity to bully or humiliate his students. Honestly, Harry would never understand why Dumbledore kept that horrible man in the school. Aside from his Slytherins, the man treated all the other students like trash (Especially Harry and Neville).
Professor Lupin raised his eyebrows, "I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation," The amber eyed man said, "and I am sure he will perform it admirably."
Neville's face went, if it was even possible, even redder. Snape's lip curled but he left without a word, shutting the door with a snap.
Harry patted her friend's shoulder as he sighed in relief.
"That man shouldn't be a teacher." James commented, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.
The small thirteen years old girl hummed in agreement to her invisible Great-Uncle's words.
"Now, then," Professor Lupin beckoned the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes.
As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall. Harry and the other Gryffindors jumped little at the suddenly movement.
"Nothing to worry about," Professor Lupin assured them. "There's just a boggart in there."
That just made some of her year mates to step back, making it clear that they thought that this was clearly something to worry about.
Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror while Seamus eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively.
"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," Professor Lupin informed them. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks, old chests – I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock." He knocked on the side of the wardrobe which moved again, "This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it here so I could give my third years some practice." He made a pause before he went on, "So, the first question we must ask ourselves is; what is a boggart?"
Hermione's hand immediately flew up, shaking a little to call for Professor Lupin's attention.
The man waited to see if anyone else wanted to answer before he made a motion toward the bushy haired witch.
"A boggart is a shape-shifter," She said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."
"Couldn't have put it better myself," Professor Lupin said and Hermione glowed smugly at the praise. "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. It does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when it is alone, but when I let it out, it will immediately become whatever each of us fears the most."
He scanned their faces to see if they were paying attention before continuing.
"With this in mind," Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's small sputter of terror, "who can tell me the best way to deal with a boggart?"
Hermione bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet with her hand in the air but, this time, she wasn't the only one who knew or wanted to answer.
"Harry." Professor Lupin nodded at her. Hermione put her hand down, pursuing her lips with disappointment.
The green-eyed girl blinked when she noticed the strange glint in his eyes when he looked at her but she decided to ignore it for now.
"With more than one person in the same room as the boggart, it'll get confused and won't know what shape it should take." The witch replied.
"Precisely," Professor Lupin smiled widely. "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. It becomes confused. Now – The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. To truly finish – Yes, Parvati?"
Parvati Patil lowered her hand, "Can we just watch if we don't want to go against the boggart?"
Neville looked hopeful at this as did Ron.
Professor Lupin looked at her with a smile, "You could, but this is a great opportunity. Being able to recognize and confront your fears will help you a lot in the future."
"He's right," James muttered, placing his arm around Harry.
The small girl frowned a little, thinking about everything that she had just learned.
"Now," Professor Lupin went on, "as I was saying, to truly finish a boggart, your greatest weapon is laughter. All you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing." He said. "We'll practice the spell to deal with boggarts without wands first. Repeat after me, please; riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!" The whole class said.
Professor Lupin asked some of them to repeat it again so he could correct their pronunciation and then took out his wand.
"Good," He said. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville." Amber eyes turned to look at the blonde haired boy.
The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he was heading to his execution.
Harry shook her head, feeling a little amused.
"Right, Neville," Professor Lupin said kindly. "First things first: what is the thing that frightens you the most in the world?"
Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out.
"Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," Professor Lupin said cheerfully.
Neville looked around rather wildly, as if he was begging someone to help him. When his eyes landed on her, Harry decided to give him a hand.
"It's Professor Snape." She said.
Nearly everyone laughed. Even Neville grinned apologetically as he nodded in agreement.
Professor Lupin, however, looked thoughtful, "Professor Snape, huh... Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"
"Er – yes," Neville replied, half confused and half nervous. "But – I don't want the boggart to turn into her either."
Some of the other Gryffindors chuckled.
"No, no, you misunderstand me," Professor Lupin smiled. "I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?"
Neville looked startled but said, "Well… always the same hat – a tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress… they are usually green and… and sometimes a fox-fur scarf."
"And a handbag?" Professor Lupin prompted.
"A big red one," Neville nodded a little.
"Right then," Professor Lupin clapped his hands. "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"
"Yes," Neville said uncertainly, plainly wondering what was coming next and why the man kept making those strange questions.
"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape," Professor Lupin informed him. "And you will raise your wand and cry 'Riddikulus'. I want you to concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes when casting the charm. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag."
There was a great shout of laughter from the class at the mere thought of Snape using such thing.
The wardrobe wobbled more violently.
"If Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn," Professor Lupin said. "I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical…"
The room went quiet.
Harry looked at her feet. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't think about what scared her the most. To be honest, a lot of things scared her… It difficult to pick only one fear and hope that the boggart would turn into it…
Sighing, she decided to waited until she had to face the boggart. She won't get anywhere by thinking about it.
"Everyone ready?" Professor Lupin asked.
Harry took a deep breath as she leaned slightly against James while everyone else was nodding or rolling up their sleeves up.
"Neville, we're going to back away," Professor Lupin pulled the shaking boy with him. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward… Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot –"
They all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving Neville alone beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand ready.
"On the count of three, Neville," Professor Lupin said, pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One, two, three – now!"
A jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand, hitting the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open and the familiar hook-nosed Professor Snape stepped out, his malicious eyes flashing at Neville as he sneered.
Flinching a little, her blonde haired friend backed away, his wand up as he mouthed wordlessly. Snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes for his own wand when the boy finally reacted.
"R-Riddikulus!" Neville squeaked.
There was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled. Suddenly his black robes were replaced by a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture and, in his hand, he was holding a huge crimson handbag.
There was a roar of laughter while the boggart seemed to pause and look down at his clothes.
Professor Lupin shouted, "Parvati! Forward!"
The desi girl walked forward, her face set. Snape turned to look at her and – Crack! Where Snape had stood was a blood-stained, bandaged mummy. Harry grimaced at the horrible smell coming from the mummy. With a sound similar to a grunt, it began to walk toward her very slowly, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising –
"Riddikulus!" Parvati screamed.
The mummy stopped, twitching until it exploded; filling the space where it had stood with colorful confetti and smoke.
"Seamus!" Professor Lupin called for the Irish boy, waving his hand.
After getting pats on the back, Seamus darted past Parvati and stopped in front of the mummy's remains.
Crack!
The confetti was replaced by a woman with floor-length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face. It was a banshee.
Harry and Neville immediately covered their ears as the woman opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room; a long, wailing shriek that made the windows of the room shake.
"Riddikulus!" Seamus shouted.
The banshee made a rasping noise and clutched her throat; her voice was gone.
Crack! The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle, then – Crack! – became a rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed before – Crack! – becoming a single, bloody eyeball.
Harry stared at it, wondering if the shapeshifting creature was starting to get confused because of all those Ridikkiculus thrown in its way or if there was something wrong with it.
"It's confused!" Professor Lupin shouted, "We're getting there! Dean! You're next!"
The mocha skinned boy hurried forward with a wide grin on his face.
Crack! The eyeball became a severed hand, which flipped over and began to creep along the floor like a crab.
"Riddikulus!" Dean yelled with a slightly tremor to his voice.
There was a snap, and the hand was suddenly dressed with in a frilly dress as it started to do something akin to a tap dance.
Professor Lupin looked a little bemused as he clapped, "Excellent! Ron, your turn!"
Ron leapt forward, gulping.
Harry grabbed Neville's arm and gave a step back to distance themselves from the Ron and the boggart as much as possible. She knew what the red haired boy's boggart would turn into.
Crack!
Neville moved close to her and quite a few people screamed as a monstrous, six feet tall spider covered in hair started advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers menacingly.
Ron froze for a moment, his hand shaking as he hunched his shoulders. Professor Lupin took a step forward, as if to intervene but then –
"Riddikulus!" Ron roared.
The spider's legs vanished, causing its body to fall on the floor. Lavender Brown squeaked in disgust as Ron stepped aside so she could have her turn.
Crack!
The body of the spider disappeared before it was replaced by a copy of Lavender. This one though, looked horrible; there were dark bags under her eyes, pimples and blackspots on her face, her hair looked like it hadn't been washed in a long time and her clothes seemed to be thorn in several places.
The honey brown girl wailed almost as loud as Seamus's Banshee, fat tears falling from her eyes as she shook her head and ran to the back of the room. Professor Lupin frowned a little with a kind look on his face as he moved to talk to the inconsolable girl, trying to convince her to give another go and face her fears.
"Who's next?" Fay Dunbar, a girl with an Australian accent and curly blonde hair, asked. "Because I'm going last."
Fay looked at Hermione and Harry. The older bushy haired witch shook her head, sending not so discretely glances toward Lavender's boggart. Sighing Harry stepped forward.
"I'll go." She said.
Harry wasn't all that enthusiastic to let everyone know about what she feared the most, but she was rather curious to know what it actually was.
"You can do it, Harry!" Dean cheered for her along Seamus. Parvati also clapped a little to give her own form of encouragement, although she kept looking back at Lavender with worried eyes.
Professor Lupin's head whipped in their direction, amber eyes widening when he saw who was going to try facing the boggart next. Quickly, he left Lavender and started moving toward them.
Harry took a deep breath, stepping in front of the Lavender copy –
Crack!
Someone screamed and Professor Lupin stopped when he saw saw Harry's boggart. His expression twisted, as if he was thorn between surprise and horror.
Invisible arms warped around her but all she could do was stare at the dead body of her mother, which was sprawled on the floor; lifeless but familiar green eyes – identical to Harry's – staring at her.
All the air seemed to vanish from Harry's lungs and her eyes burned. Her heart started beating painfully against her chest and her body felt heavy as she pointed her shaking wand at the body.
"R-Ridikulus!" Harry sobbed. This class wasn't interesting as before, not anymore.
She wanted to leave.
Crack!
Lily Potter's body turned into her husband's, which was spread-eagled on his back, his hazel eyes wide open and empty behind broken glasses.
James pulled her against his chest, "It's ok, doll." He whispered. "It's ok. They aren't real, Charis."
"Riddikulus!" She sobbed again.
Crack!
Her Great-Uncle's body replaced James Potter's body, his gun on his hand and a trickle of blood running down his face.
Harry shook her head as her ears started ringing. The spell wasn't working. Why wasn't it working?!
Feeling like she was ready to panic, the small girl tried to regain her breath. Just as she lowered her wand, Professor Lupin finally reacted. Pulling out his own wand he said, his nothing more than a whisper,
"Riddikulus…"
Harry sobbed a little more as James's body vanished. A silvery orb hung in the air over the spot where it had lain. Professor Lupin waved his wand once more and the orb vanished in a puff of smoke.
There was a tense moment of silence; no one spoke or moved. Harry could feel their eyes on her but she didn't acknowledge them, trying stop crying.
"Homework," The amber eyed man said, his voice weak and trembling slightly. "kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me. It's to be handed in on Monday."
He took a deep breath, turning to look at her with intensity. There was some kind of emotion in his eyes but she didn't even try to understand what it meant.
"Class dismissed…"
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