Given
Wanda: (standing in the middle of a deep, smoking crater; leaning heavily on a sword and looking as if the whole life had been spent fighting.)
Tyene: (examines the place warily) Did we kill it?
Wanda: (sighs and collapses) God, I hope so.
Tyene: Fucking writer's block and plot bunnies - they're always so resilient.
Wanda: Ideas are hard to kill. They're the most resiliant parasites the world knows.
Tyene: And now you're quoting Inception. Tell you what, you go and watch it and I'll deal with the chapter. JK Rowling still owns Harry Potter as last I checked.
Chapter 15: What Do You Fear?
"A curse placed on the mind will play on the psyche of the victim. The Nightmare, as it's name may imply, places the victim in a comalike state and manifests itself as his or her worst nightmares. To conquer the curse and escape its influence without outside help, you must conquer your fears. It's speculated that the source of the nightmare's power is connected to the Boggart and Dementor lines – some have even gone as far as to suggest that the creator of this curse was born with Dementor magic."
Artemis flicked her wrist, arranging the books and potion containers on her desk. "Obviously this claim is heavily disputed, however the power of the curse itself cannot be denied. By the end of this year, it is my goal that each of you will be able to resist the curse at the least, and escape it at best."
The class shuffled nervously. "This lady doesn't mess around, huh?" Amber murmured uneasily.
I nodded and swallowed. Already I didn't like the look of this lesson.
"For a start, think on your fears." Artemis said. "Today we'll be looking at Boggart theory. Perhaps make a list of them in your book...and consider ways you might confront them."
Everyone did so without saying anything. That was the influence Professor Targaryen had over the classroom in that moment.
I grimaced as I put my pen to paper. What are my worst fears...? ...Yeah, there's a lesson suitable for first years. She's may be a good teacher, but doing this right out of the gate...! How would I even put this into perspective?
hm...maybe I should think of it like its one of those simulators in Dauntless, from the Divergent series...what would my number be...what would I see?
...Drowning...
...Buried Alive...
...Small, enclosed spaces...
...Wasps...
...Falling from Great Heights...
...Freezing to Death...
...getting lost in a strange place, unable to find my way home...
... ...Dying Alone... ...
...What else could I think of...?
Being attacked by an enemy, either a death eater or run out of the mill criminal... Voldemort himself, perhaps...being crushed (though that probably falls under claustrophobia)... maybe being ventilated into space...? Gravity certainly scared the shit out of me the first time I saw it...
But would all fears manifest as an event?
Something physical, that could be dodged, could be outwitted or destroyed?
What about fear of other people? Fear of the future? What do I do then? How do I respond? How do I beat it?
Think of the Dauntless simulation. When Tris had to pretend to not be divergent.
She was afraid of drowning too...she thought up a scarf to choke off the water flow before it got above her head. In Tobais's fear simulation she made the space smaller to stop thinking about how small it really was. When the birds attacked her, she went underwater or swung a burning branch at them.
Is fear all in my mind? Is that how I fight it?
Somehow force myself to stop feeling it, find a way to force it back and free myself?
I tapped my quill against my textbook, absently wishing that wizards had discovered pens. This was so much messier.
Then again, boggarts probably act differently from a simulation. With boggarts, it was about making things funny.
Great. Just great. How does someone go about making drowning funny? Or being buried alive funny? Or how about freezing to death or being burned alive, how's that supposed to be funny if you aren't a very disturbed individual?
"Oh, I'm going to die in a small dark box six feet under! This is a frickin comedy goldmine! Hey, maybe I'll asphyxiate before I dehydrate/starve to death! Won't that be fucking hilarious!?"
My eyes glazed over as I stared at the pages of my textbook, the words blurring together as I grew more and more lost in thought.
Okay. Think about the things that you may be able to turn funny. Birds...hey, maybe I could turn them all into Big Bird? That ball of yellow feathers is as far from intimidating as you can get.
Wasps...I shuddered convulsively. My phobia of wasps had begun when one flew down my shirt and stung me in the chest when I was eight. ... ...maybe I could turn them into gold nuggets? Oh, but how would that be funny...? ...maybe I could sic them on something else, maybe someone I don't like...
I imagined Dudley disappearing under a horde of furious golden monsters and smiled slightly. That might just work...or make everyone think I'm a psychopath. Whatever. That's the best I could think of.
As for a strange place...I could try to turn it into a fun house. Wait, those can be creepy too.
I snapped my fingers. If I get lost, I could just sing "The Yellow Brick Road!" Yeah, that would do it.
"Now, who would like to demonstrate?" Artemis's voice floated from the front, causing my head to snap up.
Tessie, bold as always, immediately put her hand up. I swear our teacher looked impressed for a moment before gesturing for her to come forward.
"What's your name?"
"Tessie Pettigrew." Tessie said confidently, rocking up on her toes as she tried to contain her excitement. I dearly wished I could share her confidence.
"You're brave, Tessie." Artemis smiled slightly. "Marshall all your courage – you're going to need it."
End Chapter
I hope the personal way I discussed a number of my fears (which are consistent with real life, for the most part) makes up for how short this chapter is. I promise, the next one will be extra long to make up for it - the Voldie Plot part of this year will be triggered there.
Read and Review please.