This story takes place well after the Harry Potter and his generation of students have left Hogwarts. ElfFlame and I had created several sets of children from the various stories we've written, and since they were all around the same age, decided to throw them into school together. So this is a story, hopefully soon to be a series of stories based on several others. To help make more sense of these stories, it may help to read my story, De Die In Diem: From Day to Day, and ElfFlame's stories, Dragon's Tears, and Lost Love. Most of the kids come from those. We've also created many original kids not from our stories to help fill the ranks. Many of their last names may sound familiar to you. ElfFlame has files of the names and basic family trees of some of the children for all who are interested in finding out more background on these kids. Email her at ElfFlame@hotmail.com if you want them. We hope you enjoy these, we've been having lots of fun thinking about them!
Disclaimer: You know the usual, all of this world is JK's, and we thank her for letting us borrow it. Only the original characters are ours!
Arsinoe3: I'm glad you approve of the using of the paintings, it seemed like the logical thing to do. I agree that Remus is one of the best father's there are, though Lucius seems to have turned into a pretty good dad too. Adriana is getting a little better, she just needs to get the whole new grandmother thing out of her system. Sorry for the wait for this chapter, I've just been trying to get ahead with the next few chapters before I posted this one. I've started planning Teecie's third year a bit more extensively. Well, I hope you enjoy this one, it was hard to write in some places, and fun in others, so let me know what you think!
The Boggart Incident
James turned 13 on 18 January, and the students of Gryffindor house celebrated with gusto. Like Teecie on her last birthday, they made him stand on the table while the house sang to him at breakfast.
Teecie had gotten him a copy of Fire and Flight, the first book of her favourite comic, ElfQuest, and he'd been so excited they'd spent the entire afternoon lying on their stomachs on the floor of the common room, pouring over it. Every once in a while, when they were propped up on their elbows, one of them would lean over and kiss the other.
Sirius had purchased butterbeer and provisions during his last trip to Hogsmeade, and the Gryffindors had partied late into the night, until Professor Lupin arrived and shut them down.
The next day, Professor Lupin announced to his class that in one week's time, they'd be encountering a boggart. He was surprised at the class' reaction. Normally when he announced this, there were cheers or nervous whispers, but this year, the Gryffindors and Slytherins had responded to this revelation with complete and utter silence, glaring at one another accusatorily.
Teecie took this news as best as she could, and tried not to show the utter terror that was making her insides quake. Glancing over at Lisette, she saw her looking calmly straight ahead, as though she'd encountered hundreds of boggarts before. Teecie worried about how Lisette would react to finding out what she was most afraid of. Lisette would tease her and use it against her. Her life would be miserable. The bodyguards worked to keep her gang at bay, but they couldn't stop all the harassment that she was capable of.
Teecie had been worrying about Lisette lately. She'd been acting strangely towards Draco ever since Christmas break. Lisette had begun to stay after classes to talk and help Draco clean up. It had gotten to the point where Draco had begun keeping other students behind when the class ended, Teecie assumed, to make sure Lisette could never accuse him of doing anything inappropriate to her. He'd kept students behind to talk about homework and papers and had started giving out many more detentions in order to keep the students behind as well.
Draco had finally called both Teecie and Kali to Uncle Sev's office one afternoon, a week after the new term had begun. He looked worried and paced the floor as he told them that Lisette had found out that Lucius was his father. He didn't know how she'd found out, but he was looking into it. It was only a matter of time before she found out that they too, were his children. Draco and Uncle Sev warned both girls to never go anywhere alone if they could help it. He told them that he and Uncle Sev would be keeping a close eye on them, to make sure nothing happened to them. Draco had told the professors who had classes with the second year and fourth year Slytherins and Gryffindors together about this as well, but Snape had convinced him to not tell that small aspect to the girls.
Teecie still didn't know why it was bad for people to know that Lucius was her father, and Draco wouldn't tell her any more than that many of the Slytherins and their families felt that Lucius had turned against them by choosing not to live as a rich man as he used to. Teecie had heard about her father having a very different life before he'd met her mother, and never tried to ask him about it because he was very temperamental about the subject. Her father was such a kind and loving man, surely what he'd been like couldn't have been so horrible that people would want to hurt her for it.
After that, Teecie had begun talking to more of the paintings who supported Professor Dumbledore in her room. They promised to keep an eye out for Lisette and the rest of the Slytherins and to report anything out of the ordinary to her. Edmund Halstead, to whom Teecie referred to as "Sir Ed," was quite indignant that a girl like Lisette would be allowed to attend Hogwarts. "See, that's just another example...Dumbledore would never allow a girl like her to stay. He'd have sent her packing a long time ago!"
Sir Ed reported to Bernia Hadwin's painting each night with reports from the rest of the paintings. Sometimes he had news of what Lisette was planning, and sometimes there was nothing to report and he just came to chat. He was friendly with Patty and Paige as well, and within a couple weeks, he was reporting to them in their room or in the halls.
Teecie knew she had these protections set up for her and the other students, but still did not want to show her worst fear to Lisette, or anybody else for that matter. Her fears were just that, hers, and not for anybody else to know. How could Professor Lupin be so cruel as to make the students share those with one another?
For the rest of the entire week, Teecie fretted over the boggart. How could she get out of it? Each night, she tossed and turned, trying to think of a way out of it. She could run away again, or pretend to be ill. Maybe she could make herself ill for real. Surely there were potions out there that wouldn't kill her but would make her feel too sick to go to class. Maybe she could go to Uncle Sev and beg him to exempt her from this exercise. Or she could write to her father to get her out of it.
Teecie spent time with Stephen going over her Transfigurations homework, and she found that helped her keep her mind off of it. Stephen had finally asked Olivia Blackfell out and was excited that she'd said yes. He was having fun getting to know her and thanked Teecie for giving him the courage to ask her out.
Even though the tutoring was fun, it only helped keep Teecie's mind off her problems for a small amount of time. Classes, clubs, schoolwork, all of those helped with putting the boggart out of her mind for a time, but it always came back. It got so bad that within a couple days, Teecie couldn't eat anything. Her stomach was in a constant state of upset over the idea of the boggart.
On Saturday, after her Cooking Club meeting, in which Teecie had burnt two batches of peanut butter biscuits, she went to talk to Uncle Sev. After going into his office, Teecie sat down in the chair across from his desk and squirmed in her seat while trying to think of the right thing to say. "So...Professor Lupin says we'll be seeing a boggart in a few days," Teecie said, in hardly more than a whisper.
Snape could see that Teecie was obviously upset over this idea. "I see. That will be good for you to learn to deal with. You never know when you might run into a boggart, and knowing how to handle one is very important," He said, trying to calm her down.
Teecie's eyes grew wide and her bottom lip began to tremble. "But, but why can't he just tell us what to do so we'll know how to do it if we ever need to? We don't need to actually try it," She replied.
"You need to practice before you encounter one. They really can throw you off guard otherwise," Uncle Sev tried to explain.
Teecie looked at Uncle Sev as tears began to roll down her cheeks. She spoke no words but began to sob uncontrollably, breathing in in heaving gasps. Snape sat and let her cry until she was finished. "But, if I, then she'll see...and she'll...tease me!" She gasped in between sobs.
"Now, Teecie, we all have to deal with being teased in this life. Is that what this is all about? You can't let the fear of being teased by somebody stop you from doing your schoolwork," Uncle Sev said, frowning over the idea of Teecie being afraid of a little joking from classmates.
Teecie took all of this in without saying anything. Automatically, her hand reached up and touched the ear that Lisette had damaged. She could only imagine what kind of "teasing" Lisette would do for finding out Teecie's worst fear.
"What is your worst fear?" Snape asked her, folding his arms. Teecie hadn't even thought about that before now. She knew it wouldn't matter what it was, but Lisette would still use it against her. Thinking over what her fears were, the most prominent one she could think of was her fear of heights and flying. When she told him this, Snape explained what to do. "So, when you get in front of the boggart, and see yourself falling off a broom, just think of a way to make it funny," He instructed her.
Teecie thought for a moment. "I know! I could pull out an umbrella and float back to the ground just like Mary Poppins! That'll work!" Teecie felt a little better, and thanked Uncle Sev before leaving his office.
As she walked to her dormitory, Teecie thought about her new strategy. It was a great plan, but it still wouldn't stop Lisette from seeing it. And that was the real problem. So, nothing really had been accomplished at all. Teecie's stomach fluttered again as she started dreading the class.
That afternoon, during her tea with Professor Lupin, Teecie was once again anxious and clumsy. "So...we'll be doing boggarts next week, eh?" She asked quietly, before taking a sip of her chamomile tea.
"Yes, it should be very interesting," He replied, taking a bite out of his tea biscuit.
"So, we're all going to just go together? First a Gryffindor, then a Slytherin, and so on?" Teecie's hand was shaking so much she had to set her teacup down in order to not drop it on the floor.
"That's how I've always done it before. There's something unifying about going through an experience like this together with a group of people," the professor replied.
Teecie realized her professor was being much too simplistic about this. That had to be the worst reason to do that as a group that she'd ever heard of. But how could she tell him of the error of his thinking?
"There's nothing you could ever do to unify us! Why even bother?" Teecie asked, frustration overwhelming her.
"Teecie! I'm surprised at you! Usually you have a better attitude about my class. You're just nervous about seeing your greatest fear, but once you do, you'll feel much better. Sometimes it's good to face one's fears," Professor Lupin replied.
"Then why don't you just do it and show us how it's done? That way we don't have to!" Teecie said, sounding angry.
"I have to face my greatest fear each month, remember?" the professor replied, folding his arms.
"Then you won't mind doing it once more, now, will you?" Teecie said cheekily.
Professor Lupin leaned forward, looking into Teecie's eyes. "Now Ticia, let's not ruin a perfectly good tea together. Why don't you just calm down? The boggart will be over soon enough, and then the class will move on to other creatures. Don't fret about it so much," He said.
Teecie stood up, a look of fury on her face. Her worries about Lisette were overwhelming. It was too much pressure for her. Lisette knew about Lucius being Draco's father, it was only a matter of time until she found out that he was her father as well. When Lisette found that out, and knew Teecie's worst fear, she'd be unstoppable. Teecie's life would be a living nightmare. She began pacing the room angrily as she spoke, more to herself than to the professor. "Don't fret? Don't fret about it? How can you say that! You're not the one who has to deal with everything that will come of this! I do! I have to make this all work! Do you even know how much work that will take? It's not easy, you know."
Professor Lupin wasn't really listening to what she was saying, but was growing concerned for Teecie's mental well-being. Poor kid was losing it! He didn't want to upset the students so much that they started to go crazy. "Teecie, are you all right? Why don't you drink some more tea. It's chamomile, it's very soothing, and calming," He asked, trying to get her to sit back down.
"How can I calm down when she's out there? She's going to find out and then what will happen to me? I'm tired of it! I hate her!" Teecie yelled, continuing to pace the floor, stamping her foot in frustration with the last few words.
Professor Lupin stood up and walked over to her. Putting his arm around her shoulder, he tried to get a good look at her. She seemed to have lost her mind. He knew this school demanded a lot from its students, and occasionally it grew to be too much for some of them. "Teecie? Are you feeling all right? Let's go for a walk, OK? Do you want to go for a walk with me?" He asked, leading Teecie towards the door.
Teecie took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. "I suppose so," She replied, quietly, feeling exhausted as she walked out the door with him.
After several minutes, Teecie found herself being led into the hospital ward. "What are we doing here?" She asked the professor.
Professor Lupin called out to Master Wilkes, who walked over to them, smiling at Teecie. "Can I talk to you alone for a moment?" Lupin asked Wilkes. Wilkes nodded and the two of them walked away, leaving Teecie standing and waiting for them to finish. While they talked, she thought about what she'd said in Lupin's office. She couldn't believe how close she'd gotten to telling him about Lisette and the bodyguard business! She'd really have to be more careful. She was just so upset over what was going to happen that she'd gotten hysterical for a moment.
After a few moments, the men walked back over to Teecie. "Teecie? I'm going to go and let you talk to Master Wilkes for a while. I think it'll help your mood. I'll talk to you later, all right?" Professor Lupin said as he squeezed her shoulder and walked away from her, leaving Teecie looking up at Master Wilkes.
Once Professor Lupin had left the room, Master Wilkes guided Teecie over to a bed and sat down next to her. Looking at her with knowing in his eyes, he said, "So...Lupin tells me you were upset over what some girl was going to do to you. Let me ask you, how's your ear doing? You know, the one that the earring ripped out of after you fell and got all bruised?"
Teecie sighed and looked away from him. Busted. She'd known it was only a matter of time before somebody figured it out. There must be a way to tell the truth, but not the whole truth. And where to begin, and when to stop? Teecie opened her mouth and began to talk. "All right, I didn't fall. There's this girl...and she and her friends bully me sometimes. She's the one who did that to my ear and hit me that day. But it hasn't been so bad lately, but I'm scared she'll do something when she finds out what I'm afraid of when we see the boggart in a couple days. It's been upsetting me all week. I can't eat, or sleep," Teecie sighed again, and rubbed her eyes in exhaustion.
Master Wilkes put his hand on Teecie's shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. "Teecie, you really shouldn't keep such things bottled up like that, it isn't healthy. Now, I respect your right to keep the identities of the girl and her friends to yourself, but you must know that there are people here who would protect you from such bullying. And please, the next time you get so upset over something, come to me. Talk about it. It really does help. And you know, that as a healer, I cannot divulge anything we talk about to anybody else.
"You know, you might do better to write out your troubles, so you can talk to your professors in a calm, mature way. That way you can tell them what you need, and they might take you more seriously. Do you think you could do that? Write down what you need to have happen for the boggart, so that you could present it to Professor Lupin in a better way? He might listen to you, you know," Master Wilkes smiled kindly at Teecie while he spoke.
Teecie began to feel better. She could try that. But what to say to Professor Lupin? How could she get him to understand that he had to not go through with the boggart?
After she left the hospital ward, Teecie returned to her dormitory to do some homework, feeling a little better. She listened as Paige practiced her lines for the play. Teecie must have memorized Hermia's part by now. Paige went over the lines every day. Several minutes passed after Teecie opened her Potions book before she slammed it shut. "O spite!" She cried out, quoting one of the lines. When Paige stopped practicing, Teecie asked her about the boggart and if she was nervous about it. Both Paige and Patty were nervous. Not only did they have to face their greatest fears, but they had to do it in front of all the Slytherins too.
Teecie was relieved to find out she wasn't the only one losing sleep over this. The girls went down and found the boys sitting on the sofa talking. Teecie sat down next to James and wrapped her fingers in his. It turned out that the boys were scared too. They talked about how to deal with it. James told them it was impossible to get his father to change his mind about the boggart. There was nothing to be done but to go through with it. They tried to come up with ways to get out of it anyway.
Teecie thought to herself about what to do. She had a twinkling of an idea. Kern had told her no less than one hundred times how the Balrog from the Lord of the Rings movies was the scariest thing he'd ever seen in his entire life. He'd even had nightmares about it when he was a child. If the boggart was anything like she'd read about, it would grow to be whatever size the fear of the person was. And a Balrog would be one heck of a big creature to face. That might just clear the room...send all the students scattering throughout the school, fearing for their lives. That might buy them one class time at least.
When everybody had grown silent again, Teecie spoke up, "Kern? On Monday, when we go to Defense Against the Dark Arts, would you be willing to volunteer to go first? Please?" She looked knowingly at him as she asked this.
Kern looked into her eyes. "But...but," He sputtered.
Teecie could almost see the monster forming in his mind. "Please? I think it might be just what we need to get out of it, if you volunteered to go first," She said slowly and carefully.
Kern seemed to understand. "Oh...right. Sure, I'll go first. Good idea!"
"What's a good idea?" Daniel asked.
"You'll see on Monday," Teecie said, grinning.
Teecie spent the rest of the evening with James. They ate a pleasant pork chop dinner together, then walked hand-in-hand around the school, chatting and laughing together. While walking, they found a dark corner of the hallway. James led Teecie into it and kissed her. Teecie put her arms around him and felt his body press against hers. James put his hands on her hips and held her close to himself. They remained like this for some time, sometimes kissing, sometimes Teecie leaning her head against his shoulder. Teecie felt safe in his embrace and wished she could stay that way forever.
James looked at Teecie and wished he could get his father to not go through with the boggart lesson. He knew how much it was upsetting her, and didn't want her to have to go through that. He knew that the Slytherins would make all their lives miserable after this and she'd have to do a lot of work with her business to make sure they were all protected, and that was making her really upset and stressed out. James did what he could to help, acting as a spy whenever he could, but he wished he was strong enough to just beat up all the bullies for her, and keep Teecie safe that way. He tried very hard in his Dueling and Fencing club meetings to beat his opponent, and sometimes he did. Maybe in a couple years, he'd get bigger and would be able to win more.
The pleasant evening had to come to an end, unfortunately. Together, James and Teecie walked back to their tower. They kissed before leaving for their dormitories, and spent the next day studying together. James insisted on escorting Teecie to and from her afternoon tea with Professor Longbottom. She'd told him about Lisette knowing about Draco and Lucius. She'd sworn James to secrecy, but felt safe telling him about that. James felt he was protecting her somewhat, because most likely the girls wouldn't try anything if they saw Teecie was with a boy. He made sure not to say that to her though.
That evening, the second year Gryffindors ate dinner in silence, and sat at the table together long after the rest of the students had left the hall. Tomorrow they'd be going up against the boggart. Nobody else had come up with any good ideas for getting out of it, besides the one Teecie and Kern were planning. It seemed there was nothing else to do but to endure whatever the bullies would do to them afterwards.
The next morning arrived all too quickly, and Teecie was too nervous to eat much breakfast. They had Charms class first, which also flew past in what felt like a couple minutes. As a group, the Gryffindors walked towards their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They sat down as closely together as they could, while the Slytherins sat across the room, as far from them as possible. Everybody looked sober and nervous over what was to come.
When Professor Lupin arrived, even he seemed somewhat quieter than normal. As class started, the professor reviewed boggarts and how to deal with them. Next he rolled out a cupboard that he explained contained a boggart that he'd caught a week ago in the library. Turning to look at the students, he said, "Are there any volunteers?" The class remained still and silent. Teecie was careful not to look over at Kern. She didn't want Professor Lupin to see her trying to prod Kern on. She breathed a sigh of relief though, as she saw him raise his hand timidly. "Kern? Wonderful! Step up here, and stand right in front of the cupboard, OK?" Professor Lupin was happy to see the first volunteer walk over to him.
Under her desk, Teecie crossed her fingers. Please be life size, please be life size, she repeated silently to herself. Her stomach was fluttering with nerves as Professor Lupin walked over to the cupboard and slowly opened the door. Even though she'd seen the movies countless times, she'd never seen the balrog up close and personal before. Within a second, a life-size balrog filled the first half of the classroom. It was the most terrifying monster Teecie had ever seen. It had horns and wings, and its body was made of lava that cracked at different spots, showing the glowing red flames underneath the surface. It was so large that it had to bend over to keep from hitting against the ceiling. It roared and breathed its fiery fumes on the students while cracking its whip and brandishing its sword of flame high above their heads. The students were rooted to the spot in sheer terror until the balrog took a step towards them. With the step, the balrog covered every surface with dust and ash, causing the students to cough, and shook the floor beneath their feet.
Teecie was much more frightened of it than she thought she'd be. One student, she couldn't tell who, screamed, setting off the rest of the students. In a flash, the class had stood up, screaming and began running to the door to escape the balrog. "It's gonna get me! It's gonna eat me!" Paige screamed, tears flowing down her face as she ran blindly towards the door before tripping over a desk and flying to the ground. Daniel and Robert were behind her and bent down to pick her up and help her out of the room.
Patty stood looking at it in awe. "Wow, that has to be the scariest thing I've ever seen," She said to herself while slowly walking backwards towards the door.
Teecie watched as Lisette shrieked in terror and jumped onto Zeren's lap, but was dropped on the floor as he stood up and backed away from his desk and turned to run out the door. Zeren knocked over two other Slytherins on his way out. Lisette scrambled up and ran towards the door.
Carl was standing still with his mouth open, looking up at the balrog in wide-eyed terror. Rey was trying to get out of the maze of desks and chairs, looked up and saw Carl, ran over to him, grabbed his hand, and pulled Carl behind him, out the door. Teecie didn't see where they went afterwards.
Teecie opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She tried to remember the words to make the balrog go away. The one's from the book and the movie. "Go back to the shadow," She whispered to it while taking a few steps backwards towards the door. It didn't work. "You shall not pass!" She squeaked, but again, nothing happened. When the balrog took another step, Teecie screamed, turned and fled from the room. She did permit herself to look over her shoulder as she ran out the door. Kern was following closely behind her. She could see Professor Lupin looking somewhat overwhelmed by what he'd just seen as he watched the kids run away, helplessly.
Professor Lupin hadn't seen anything this big created from a student's mind before. He watched as his kids fled from his room. There'd be no getting them to come back in today. Remus dreaded what the rest of the teaching staff would say to him for losing control of the class like this. After the last student had left the room, Remus turned to the boggart, which immediately changed its shape. It only took a few seconds for him to put the boggart back into the cupboard, and lock the door. Sighing, Remus ran his fingers through his gray hair, sat down at a desk, and tried to figure out how to get the students to come back to his class.
Once outside the room, students scattered everywhere. James grabbed Teecie by the hand and quickly led her down the stairs and outside to get some fresh air. Together they sat on the front steps, Teecie with her head on James's shoulder, trying to calm down. James's eyes were wide, he was still in shock as he slowly said, "I see what you meant now about letting Kern go first."
They stayed out on the stairs until the class period ended, then walked into the Great Hall to eat. All the second year Gryffindors sat huddled together, talking about what had happened. Rey was sitting with them, next to Carl. "I've never been more scared in my entire life!" Robert Bones exclaimed.
"Me too!" Paige said, nodding her head.
Patty put her arm around Paige's shoulders. "Not me! I thought it was cool!" She said, grinning.
"Hey, me too!" Daniel said, smiling. He held his hand out, and Patty reached over and gave him a high five.
When the chatting had died down and the students were eating in silence, Professor Lupin walked over to them, and sat down next to James. "So, I thought we should talk about what happened," He began. "Now, I realize that...creature, was very large and frightening, but it was still something that could have been dealt with. This is exactly why you kids need to learn to control boggarts. You never know when you might run into one of them, and you sure don't want to be facing that again, now, do you? So, why don't we go back to class on Wednesday, prepared to face our fears, and stay facing them, until you conquer the boggart? All right?"
The students looked at one another in silence. They all knew what would happen if the Slytherins saw their fears. Suddenly, the one person who feared Professor Lupin more than anything else in the world, decided to face her fear earlier than she had to. "Professor?" Paige whispered, her mouth dry and feeling like it was full of cotton.
Professor Lupin looked shocked as he turned to look at Paige. He knew how afraid she was of him. "Yes Paige?" He asked, not wanting to sound too eager over this opportunity to speak with her.
"I...I...well...," Paige stammered, her lips quivering and her entire body shaking as she looked at the professor. "I was wondering if we might...," Her voice trailed off.
"Might what?"
"Maybe we could...do the class with just the Gryffindors and just the Slytherins," She whispered. "One of us could go the first hour, the other the second hour."
"Why do you want to do it that way?" Lupin asked, leaning forward.
"Well...why...why should we see what they're afraid of? It's really embarrassing to have to show others what you're afraid of, why do we all have to do that?" Paige asked, her face completely drained of all colour.
Professor Lupin remembered how upset Teecie had been on Saturday. He'd spoken to Master Wilkes later that day and had been assured that she was not in fact insane, but only horribly stressed over the prospect of the boggart. Looking around at the students, he asked, "Do you all feel this way? Daniel, how about you?"
Daniel fidgeted with his fork, playing with his food. "Well...it would be nice to do it without the Slytherins watching..." He said quietly.
"Patty, how do you feel?" Professor Lupin asked.
Patty didn't want to show her fear to anybody, let alone the Slytherins. Trying to sound nonchalant, she replied, "I hope I get to see what all of the Slytherins are afraid of, so I can tease them forever!"
"Well, there should be no teasing of anybody," the professor replied, disapprovingly.
Teecie had listened to all of this with trembling hands and lips. This was their only chance. There would be no way to get out of it, but if they could do it away from Lisette and her followers, it would be all right. Finally unable to hold herself back any longer, Teecie began to speak. "But professor, that won't stop them from doing it to us! All we want is to do it in the privacy of our own group. Please?" Teecie's voice broke and tears spilled down her face before James reached over and drew her into his embrace. As he held Teecie, James shot an angry glare over at his father.
Remus knew he'd been beaten. And when he thought about it, it really wasn't that big of a deal. All the students would have their turn, and he'd be overseeing it, they'd just be doing it separately. Looking at his son's angry expression as he tried to comfort his distressed girlfriend, Remus realized he couldn't take that hate from James for the rest of the year if he didn't let them do this. Sighing, Remus nodded his head. "All right...I'll split the class up. The Slytherins will go first, while you work on your papers in the library, then after the first hour, you'll switch places and take your turns in front of the boggart. I'll go tell them about this now," Professor Lupin said, standing up to leave.
Once the professor left, the students breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe from the ridicule and danger of the Slytherins. The rest of the day passed pleasantly after that. Life seemed to be much more livable. Teecie felt so relieved she was finally able to eat dinner that evening.
As she ate her plate of roast beef and roasted potatoes, Snowflake, her owl arrived with a letter for her. It was from her mother, telling her about what was going on back at the property. Reni was tired all the time, but Adriana had volunteered to look after Hunter to let her get some sleep. Hunter was adorable. Hunter was also, it seemed, a genius. Even though he was only a couple weeks old, Adriana could already tell he'd be the smartest boy she ever knew.
Lucius had been in bed for the past few days with some type of fever. Adriana thought it was the flu, and had made him drink lots of water and juice until he'd felt better. Teecie thought of her father being sick and felt upset that she couldn't have been there to tend to him. She hated to hear about her father being sick or in pain, it scared her.
Teecie thought about her father quite a bit during the next day. She missed him and wished she could see him soon. Teecie thought about the end of the school year in June, and realized that was a long way off before she'd see him again.
Tuesday passed with relative ease, and the students were prepared for the next day's task. They spent the first hour in the library working on papers about boggarts before walking as a group to the classroom.
After waiting outside for a few minutes, the door opened, and the Gryffindors watched as the Slytherins walked out of the room. They were all somewhat subdued, having been through a scary situation. Lisette made eye contact with Teecie for a few seconds before walking up to her. "Well, it's too bad I won't get to see what you're afraid of! It wasn't so bad, the boggart. I'm not afraid of anything!" Lisette said before knocking her shoulder against Teecie's while walking away.
Rey walked over to Teecie as soon as Lisette was out of earshot. "That's not true, she's afraid of butterflies!" He whispered, smiling evilly. Teecie giggled, who'd be afraid of butterflies? "Good luck," Rey whispered as Teecie and the rest of the class walked into Professor Lupin's room.
Once in their seats, the professor told the students that they'd be lined up to go before the boggart, until it got so confused it was destroyed. Teecie ended up in the middle of the line, with James in front of her, and Paige behind her.
When everybody was ready, Professor Lupin opened the cupboard door, and watched the boggart come up the first student: Daniel. Daniel stood before the boggart, which had taken the shape of a very large frog. Daniel was sweating as he waved his wand and cried, "Riddikulus!" The frog was suddenly impaled on a stick and rotating over a fire.
Professor Lupin looked oddly at the spinning frog before calling out for the next person to come forward as Daniel stepped to the end of the line. Carl was next. The boggart changed into a frightening looking mummy, although not an ordinary looking mummy, but what a mummy must look like under its wrappings. Carl's hand shook as he waved his wand. "Riddikulus!" He cried and the class watched as the mummy was suddenly made over with a trendy new outfit and make up.
James was next. The boggart turned into a great big snake with hideously long fangs. James's lips were white, "Riddikulus!" he said as the snake tied itself into a bow.
Teecie went up to the boggart, ready to see herself falling off a broom, and prepared to turn herself into Mary Poppins, but what she saw was not that at all. Teecie stood motionless, as though entranced by the sight before her. Her father was standing before her. At first he seemed fine, but a couple seconds later, he was bent over and writhing in pain, crying out to her to help him. "Daddy!" Teecie screamed before launching herself towards him.
Professor Lupin grabbed hold of Teecie just in time to keep her from touching the boggart. "Teecie, no! We don't know what happens if you touch it, it could be dangerous," He said. In the time it took Lupin to say that, the figure of Lucius had fallen to the ground and was now motionless, not even breathing.
"Daddy!" Teecie screamed again, struggling against the professor to get to her father.
Professor Lupin held Teecie by the arm tightly, gently shaking her out of her panic. "Teecie, this is what the boggart wants, it's winning. You have to think of something to make what you see funny," He said firmly.
How could she make her father dying into something funny? Or even pleasant? He looked as though he was asleep. Slowly, Teecie raised the wand in her left hand. "Riddikulus," She croaked.
Suddenly her father woke up, stood up before her, smiled and said, "It was just a joke, baby! I'm alive! I'm fine!" Teecie frowned as she stepped out of line to walk to the back. She couldn't stop thinking that this was a sign, that her father really needed her to be with him. She needed to go home.
Looking up, Teecie watched as Paige encountered the boggart, which turned into Professor Lupin, with a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, and wild hair all over his body. Blood dripped from his teeth as he howled loudly. Teecie saw that the real Professor Lupin had his hand over his mouth and his head bent down in a sad manner. "Riddikulus!" Paige said quietly. The werewolf professor turned into a wiggly, adorable puppy.
Patty was next, the boggart turned into an image of herself...only, more like a girl. Her hair was tied in pigtails and she wore a pink ankle-length dress. The class laughed as Patty cried, "Riddikulus!" Her image turned into the normal Patty, scowled at all the students laughing at her, and shouted, "Hey, shut up!"
Robert saw a tiger about to pounce on him before turning it into a tame cat lying on its back, waiting to have its stomach patted.
Last up was Kern, who saw the balrog once again. He faltered for a few seconds before casting his spell. The balrog suddenly had pink bows on its horns, and was wearing a pink tutu. It did a pirouette while the entire class laughed.
The boggart started turning into several random monsters: a vampire, a slimy creature that reached out to them, and a hermit crab just to name a few. "All right, it's almost finished! One more should do it! Who wants to go again?"
Daniel stepped forward and the boggart turned into a frog. "Riddikulus!" He cried, and the frog was once again on the spit for a couple seconds before bursting into a million pieces, and leaving only air behind.
Once the students had calmed down from having successfully beaten the boggart, they sat down in their chairs to talk to the professor about it. "So, what did you all learn today?" He asked them.
Patty called out without raising her hand, "That you'd better poke holes in a frog before roasting it or it might blow up!" The entire class was overcome with laughter, Lupin included.
Most of the students were excited over their experience. Paige and Teecie, however, were much quieter than the other kids. When the class ended, they walked out together, talking quietly. "I didn't want to show him that. I didn't want to hurt him. I hope he's not too upset," Paige said, sniffling at the thought of hurting Professor Lupin's feelings.
"I'm sure he's not upset. But maybe you could go talk to him sometime," Teecie replied encouragingly. She was thinking about seeing her father lying dead in front of her. She needed to write to him as soon as possible, to make sure he was all right.
As Teecie walked into the Great Hall for lunch, she thought of how good it was that Lisette hadn't seen Lucius. She wasn't supposed to know about him. Teecie could only imagine what would have happened if Lisette had seen him. Breathing a sigh of relief over that, Teecie sat down next to James, and enjoyed her meal.
Disclaimer: You know the usual, all of this world is JK's, and we thank her for letting us borrow it. Only the original characters are ours!
Arsinoe3: I'm glad you approve of the using of the paintings, it seemed like the logical thing to do. I agree that Remus is one of the best father's there are, though Lucius seems to have turned into a pretty good dad too. Adriana is getting a little better, she just needs to get the whole new grandmother thing out of her system. Sorry for the wait for this chapter, I've just been trying to get ahead with the next few chapters before I posted this one. I've started planning Teecie's third year a bit more extensively. Well, I hope you enjoy this one, it was hard to write in some places, and fun in others, so let me know what you think!
The Boggart Incident
James turned 13 on 18 January, and the students of Gryffindor house celebrated with gusto. Like Teecie on her last birthday, they made him stand on the table while the house sang to him at breakfast.
Teecie had gotten him a copy of Fire and Flight, the first book of her favourite comic, ElfQuest, and he'd been so excited they'd spent the entire afternoon lying on their stomachs on the floor of the common room, pouring over it. Every once in a while, when they were propped up on their elbows, one of them would lean over and kiss the other.
Sirius had purchased butterbeer and provisions during his last trip to Hogsmeade, and the Gryffindors had partied late into the night, until Professor Lupin arrived and shut them down.
The next day, Professor Lupin announced to his class that in one week's time, they'd be encountering a boggart. He was surprised at the class' reaction. Normally when he announced this, there were cheers or nervous whispers, but this year, the Gryffindors and Slytherins had responded to this revelation with complete and utter silence, glaring at one another accusatorily.
Teecie took this news as best as she could, and tried not to show the utter terror that was making her insides quake. Glancing over at Lisette, she saw her looking calmly straight ahead, as though she'd encountered hundreds of boggarts before. Teecie worried about how Lisette would react to finding out what she was most afraid of. Lisette would tease her and use it against her. Her life would be miserable. The bodyguards worked to keep her gang at bay, but they couldn't stop all the harassment that she was capable of.
Teecie had been worrying about Lisette lately. She'd been acting strangely towards Draco ever since Christmas break. Lisette had begun to stay after classes to talk and help Draco clean up. It had gotten to the point where Draco had begun keeping other students behind when the class ended, Teecie assumed, to make sure Lisette could never accuse him of doing anything inappropriate to her. He'd kept students behind to talk about homework and papers and had started giving out many more detentions in order to keep the students behind as well.
Draco had finally called both Teecie and Kali to Uncle Sev's office one afternoon, a week after the new term had begun. He looked worried and paced the floor as he told them that Lisette had found out that Lucius was his father. He didn't know how she'd found out, but he was looking into it. It was only a matter of time before she found out that they too, were his children. Draco and Uncle Sev warned both girls to never go anywhere alone if they could help it. He told them that he and Uncle Sev would be keeping a close eye on them, to make sure nothing happened to them. Draco had told the professors who had classes with the second year and fourth year Slytherins and Gryffindors together about this as well, but Snape had convinced him to not tell that small aspect to the girls.
Teecie still didn't know why it was bad for people to know that Lucius was her father, and Draco wouldn't tell her any more than that many of the Slytherins and their families felt that Lucius had turned against them by choosing not to live as a rich man as he used to. Teecie had heard about her father having a very different life before he'd met her mother, and never tried to ask him about it because he was very temperamental about the subject. Her father was such a kind and loving man, surely what he'd been like couldn't have been so horrible that people would want to hurt her for it.
After that, Teecie had begun talking to more of the paintings who supported Professor Dumbledore in her room. They promised to keep an eye out for Lisette and the rest of the Slytherins and to report anything out of the ordinary to her. Edmund Halstead, to whom Teecie referred to as "Sir Ed," was quite indignant that a girl like Lisette would be allowed to attend Hogwarts. "See, that's just another example...Dumbledore would never allow a girl like her to stay. He'd have sent her packing a long time ago!"
Sir Ed reported to Bernia Hadwin's painting each night with reports from the rest of the paintings. Sometimes he had news of what Lisette was planning, and sometimes there was nothing to report and he just came to chat. He was friendly with Patty and Paige as well, and within a couple weeks, he was reporting to them in their room or in the halls.
Teecie knew she had these protections set up for her and the other students, but still did not want to show her worst fear to Lisette, or anybody else for that matter. Her fears were just that, hers, and not for anybody else to know. How could Professor Lupin be so cruel as to make the students share those with one another?
For the rest of the entire week, Teecie fretted over the boggart. How could she get out of it? Each night, she tossed and turned, trying to think of a way out of it. She could run away again, or pretend to be ill. Maybe she could make herself ill for real. Surely there were potions out there that wouldn't kill her but would make her feel too sick to go to class. Maybe she could go to Uncle Sev and beg him to exempt her from this exercise. Or she could write to her father to get her out of it.
Teecie spent time with Stephen going over her Transfigurations homework, and she found that helped her keep her mind off of it. Stephen had finally asked Olivia Blackfell out and was excited that she'd said yes. He was having fun getting to know her and thanked Teecie for giving him the courage to ask her out.
Even though the tutoring was fun, it only helped keep Teecie's mind off her problems for a small amount of time. Classes, clubs, schoolwork, all of those helped with putting the boggart out of her mind for a time, but it always came back. It got so bad that within a couple days, Teecie couldn't eat anything. Her stomach was in a constant state of upset over the idea of the boggart.
On Saturday, after her Cooking Club meeting, in which Teecie had burnt two batches of peanut butter biscuits, she went to talk to Uncle Sev. After going into his office, Teecie sat down in the chair across from his desk and squirmed in her seat while trying to think of the right thing to say. "So...Professor Lupin says we'll be seeing a boggart in a few days," Teecie said, in hardly more than a whisper.
Snape could see that Teecie was obviously upset over this idea. "I see. That will be good for you to learn to deal with. You never know when you might run into a boggart, and knowing how to handle one is very important," He said, trying to calm her down.
Teecie's eyes grew wide and her bottom lip began to tremble. "But, but why can't he just tell us what to do so we'll know how to do it if we ever need to? We don't need to actually try it," She replied.
"You need to practice before you encounter one. They really can throw you off guard otherwise," Uncle Sev tried to explain.
Teecie looked at Uncle Sev as tears began to roll down her cheeks. She spoke no words but began to sob uncontrollably, breathing in in heaving gasps. Snape sat and let her cry until she was finished. "But, if I, then she'll see...and she'll...tease me!" She gasped in between sobs.
"Now, Teecie, we all have to deal with being teased in this life. Is that what this is all about? You can't let the fear of being teased by somebody stop you from doing your schoolwork," Uncle Sev said, frowning over the idea of Teecie being afraid of a little joking from classmates.
Teecie took all of this in without saying anything. Automatically, her hand reached up and touched the ear that Lisette had damaged. She could only imagine what kind of "teasing" Lisette would do for finding out Teecie's worst fear.
"What is your worst fear?" Snape asked her, folding his arms. Teecie hadn't even thought about that before now. She knew it wouldn't matter what it was, but Lisette would still use it against her. Thinking over what her fears were, the most prominent one she could think of was her fear of heights and flying. When she told him this, Snape explained what to do. "So, when you get in front of the boggart, and see yourself falling off a broom, just think of a way to make it funny," He instructed her.
Teecie thought for a moment. "I know! I could pull out an umbrella and float back to the ground just like Mary Poppins! That'll work!" Teecie felt a little better, and thanked Uncle Sev before leaving his office.
As she walked to her dormitory, Teecie thought about her new strategy. It was a great plan, but it still wouldn't stop Lisette from seeing it. And that was the real problem. So, nothing really had been accomplished at all. Teecie's stomach fluttered again as she started dreading the class.
That afternoon, during her tea with Professor Lupin, Teecie was once again anxious and clumsy. "So...we'll be doing boggarts next week, eh?" She asked quietly, before taking a sip of her chamomile tea.
"Yes, it should be very interesting," He replied, taking a bite out of his tea biscuit.
"So, we're all going to just go together? First a Gryffindor, then a Slytherin, and so on?" Teecie's hand was shaking so much she had to set her teacup down in order to not drop it on the floor.
"That's how I've always done it before. There's something unifying about going through an experience like this together with a group of people," the professor replied.
Teecie realized her professor was being much too simplistic about this. That had to be the worst reason to do that as a group that she'd ever heard of. But how could she tell him of the error of his thinking?
"There's nothing you could ever do to unify us! Why even bother?" Teecie asked, frustration overwhelming her.
"Teecie! I'm surprised at you! Usually you have a better attitude about my class. You're just nervous about seeing your greatest fear, but once you do, you'll feel much better. Sometimes it's good to face one's fears," Professor Lupin replied.
"Then why don't you just do it and show us how it's done? That way we don't have to!" Teecie said, sounding angry.
"I have to face my greatest fear each month, remember?" the professor replied, folding his arms.
"Then you won't mind doing it once more, now, will you?" Teecie said cheekily.
Professor Lupin leaned forward, looking into Teecie's eyes. "Now Ticia, let's not ruin a perfectly good tea together. Why don't you just calm down? The boggart will be over soon enough, and then the class will move on to other creatures. Don't fret about it so much," He said.
Teecie stood up, a look of fury on her face. Her worries about Lisette were overwhelming. It was too much pressure for her. Lisette knew about Lucius being Draco's father, it was only a matter of time until she found out that he was her father as well. When Lisette found that out, and knew Teecie's worst fear, she'd be unstoppable. Teecie's life would be a living nightmare. She began pacing the room angrily as she spoke, more to herself than to the professor. "Don't fret? Don't fret about it? How can you say that! You're not the one who has to deal with everything that will come of this! I do! I have to make this all work! Do you even know how much work that will take? It's not easy, you know."
Professor Lupin wasn't really listening to what she was saying, but was growing concerned for Teecie's mental well-being. Poor kid was losing it! He didn't want to upset the students so much that they started to go crazy. "Teecie, are you all right? Why don't you drink some more tea. It's chamomile, it's very soothing, and calming," He asked, trying to get her to sit back down.
"How can I calm down when she's out there? She's going to find out and then what will happen to me? I'm tired of it! I hate her!" Teecie yelled, continuing to pace the floor, stamping her foot in frustration with the last few words.
Professor Lupin stood up and walked over to her. Putting his arm around her shoulder, he tried to get a good look at her. She seemed to have lost her mind. He knew this school demanded a lot from its students, and occasionally it grew to be too much for some of them. "Teecie? Are you feeling all right? Let's go for a walk, OK? Do you want to go for a walk with me?" He asked, leading Teecie towards the door.
Teecie took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. "I suppose so," She replied, quietly, feeling exhausted as she walked out the door with him.
After several minutes, Teecie found herself being led into the hospital ward. "What are we doing here?" She asked the professor.
Professor Lupin called out to Master Wilkes, who walked over to them, smiling at Teecie. "Can I talk to you alone for a moment?" Lupin asked Wilkes. Wilkes nodded and the two of them walked away, leaving Teecie standing and waiting for them to finish. While they talked, she thought about what she'd said in Lupin's office. She couldn't believe how close she'd gotten to telling him about Lisette and the bodyguard business! She'd really have to be more careful. She was just so upset over what was going to happen that she'd gotten hysterical for a moment.
After a few moments, the men walked back over to Teecie. "Teecie? I'm going to go and let you talk to Master Wilkes for a while. I think it'll help your mood. I'll talk to you later, all right?" Professor Lupin said as he squeezed her shoulder and walked away from her, leaving Teecie looking up at Master Wilkes.
Once Professor Lupin had left the room, Master Wilkes guided Teecie over to a bed and sat down next to her. Looking at her with knowing in his eyes, he said, "So...Lupin tells me you were upset over what some girl was going to do to you. Let me ask you, how's your ear doing? You know, the one that the earring ripped out of after you fell and got all bruised?"
Teecie sighed and looked away from him. Busted. She'd known it was only a matter of time before somebody figured it out. There must be a way to tell the truth, but not the whole truth. And where to begin, and when to stop? Teecie opened her mouth and began to talk. "All right, I didn't fall. There's this girl...and she and her friends bully me sometimes. She's the one who did that to my ear and hit me that day. But it hasn't been so bad lately, but I'm scared she'll do something when she finds out what I'm afraid of when we see the boggart in a couple days. It's been upsetting me all week. I can't eat, or sleep," Teecie sighed again, and rubbed her eyes in exhaustion.
Master Wilkes put his hand on Teecie's shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. "Teecie, you really shouldn't keep such things bottled up like that, it isn't healthy. Now, I respect your right to keep the identities of the girl and her friends to yourself, but you must know that there are people here who would protect you from such bullying. And please, the next time you get so upset over something, come to me. Talk about it. It really does help. And you know, that as a healer, I cannot divulge anything we talk about to anybody else.
"You know, you might do better to write out your troubles, so you can talk to your professors in a calm, mature way. That way you can tell them what you need, and they might take you more seriously. Do you think you could do that? Write down what you need to have happen for the boggart, so that you could present it to Professor Lupin in a better way? He might listen to you, you know," Master Wilkes smiled kindly at Teecie while he spoke.
Teecie began to feel better. She could try that. But what to say to Professor Lupin? How could she get him to understand that he had to not go through with the boggart?
After she left the hospital ward, Teecie returned to her dormitory to do some homework, feeling a little better. She listened as Paige practiced her lines for the play. Teecie must have memorized Hermia's part by now. Paige went over the lines every day. Several minutes passed after Teecie opened her Potions book before she slammed it shut. "O spite!" She cried out, quoting one of the lines. When Paige stopped practicing, Teecie asked her about the boggart and if she was nervous about it. Both Paige and Patty were nervous. Not only did they have to face their greatest fears, but they had to do it in front of all the Slytherins too.
Teecie was relieved to find out she wasn't the only one losing sleep over this. The girls went down and found the boys sitting on the sofa talking. Teecie sat down next to James and wrapped her fingers in his. It turned out that the boys were scared too. They talked about how to deal with it. James told them it was impossible to get his father to change his mind about the boggart. There was nothing to be done but to go through with it. They tried to come up with ways to get out of it anyway.
Teecie thought to herself about what to do. She had a twinkling of an idea. Kern had told her no less than one hundred times how the Balrog from the Lord of the Rings movies was the scariest thing he'd ever seen in his entire life. He'd even had nightmares about it when he was a child. If the boggart was anything like she'd read about, it would grow to be whatever size the fear of the person was. And a Balrog would be one heck of a big creature to face. That might just clear the room...send all the students scattering throughout the school, fearing for their lives. That might buy them one class time at least.
When everybody had grown silent again, Teecie spoke up, "Kern? On Monday, when we go to Defense Against the Dark Arts, would you be willing to volunteer to go first? Please?" She looked knowingly at him as she asked this.
Kern looked into her eyes. "But...but," He sputtered.
Teecie could almost see the monster forming in his mind. "Please? I think it might be just what we need to get out of it, if you volunteered to go first," She said slowly and carefully.
Kern seemed to understand. "Oh...right. Sure, I'll go first. Good idea!"
"What's a good idea?" Daniel asked.
"You'll see on Monday," Teecie said, grinning.
Teecie spent the rest of the evening with James. They ate a pleasant pork chop dinner together, then walked hand-in-hand around the school, chatting and laughing together. While walking, they found a dark corner of the hallway. James led Teecie into it and kissed her. Teecie put her arms around him and felt his body press against hers. James put his hands on her hips and held her close to himself. They remained like this for some time, sometimes kissing, sometimes Teecie leaning her head against his shoulder. Teecie felt safe in his embrace and wished she could stay that way forever.
James looked at Teecie and wished he could get his father to not go through with the boggart lesson. He knew how much it was upsetting her, and didn't want her to have to go through that. He knew that the Slytherins would make all their lives miserable after this and she'd have to do a lot of work with her business to make sure they were all protected, and that was making her really upset and stressed out. James did what he could to help, acting as a spy whenever he could, but he wished he was strong enough to just beat up all the bullies for her, and keep Teecie safe that way. He tried very hard in his Dueling and Fencing club meetings to beat his opponent, and sometimes he did. Maybe in a couple years, he'd get bigger and would be able to win more.
The pleasant evening had to come to an end, unfortunately. Together, James and Teecie walked back to their tower. They kissed before leaving for their dormitories, and spent the next day studying together. James insisted on escorting Teecie to and from her afternoon tea with Professor Longbottom. She'd told him about Lisette knowing about Draco and Lucius. She'd sworn James to secrecy, but felt safe telling him about that. James felt he was protecting her somewhat, because most likely the girls wouldn't try anything if they saw Teecie was with a boy. He made sure not to say that to her though.
That evening, the second year Gryffindors ate dinner in silence, and sat at the table together long after the rest of the students had left the hall. Tomorrow they'd be going up against the boggart. Nobody else had come up with any good ideas for getting out of it, besides the one Teecie and Kern were planning. It seemed there was nothing else to do but to endure whatever the bullies would do to them afterwards.
The next morning arrived all too quickly, and Teecie was too nervous to eat much breakfast. They had Charms class first, which also flew past in what felt like a couple minutes. As a group, the Gryffindors walked towards their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. They sat down as closely together as they could, while the Slytherins sat across the room, as far from them as possible. Everybody looked sober and nervous over what was to come.
When Professor Lupin arrived, even he seemed somewhat quieter than normal. As class started, the professor reviewed boggarts and how to deal with them. Next he rolled out a cupboard that he explained contained a boggart that he'd caught a week ago in the library. Turning to look at the students, he said, "Are there any volunteers?" The class remained still and silent. Teecie was careful not to look over at Kern. She didn't want Professor Lupin to see her trying to prod Kern on. She breathed a sigh of relief though, as she saw him raise his hand timidly. "Kern? Wonderful! Step up here, and stand right in front of the cupboard, OK?" Professor Lupin was happy to see the first volunteer walk over to him.
Under her desk, Teecie crossed her fingers. Please be life size, please be life size, she repeated silently to herself. Her stomach was fluttering with nerves as Professor Lupin walked over to the cupboard and slowly opened the door. Even though she'd seen the movies countless times, she'd never seen the balrog up close and personal before. Within a second, a life-size balrog filled the first half of the classroom. It was the most terrifying monster Teecie had ever seen. It had horns and wings, and its body was made of lava that cracked at different spots, showing the glowing red flames underneath the surface. It was so large that it had to bend over to keep from hitting against the ceiling. It roared and breathed its fiery fumes on the students while cracking its whip and brandishing its sword of flame high above their heads. The students were rooted to the spot in sheer terror until the balrog took a step towards them. With the step, the balrog covered every surface with dust and ash, causing the students to cough, and shook the floor beneath their feet.
Teecie was much more frightened of it than she thought she'd be. One student, she couldn't tell who, screamed, setting off the rest of the students. In a flash, the class had stood up, screaming and began running to the door to escape the balrog. "It's gonna get me! It's gonna eat me!" Paige screamed, tears flowing down her face as she ran blindly towards the door before tripping over a desk and flying to the ground. Daniel and Robert were behind her and bent down to pick her up and help her out of the room.
Patty stood looking at it in awe. "Wow, that has to be the scariest thing I've ever seen," She said to herself while slowly walking backwards towards the door.
Teecie watched as Lisette shrieked in terror and jumped onto Zeren's lap, but was dropped on the floor as he stood up and backed away from his desk and turned to run out the door. Zeren knocked over two other Slytherins on his way out. Lisette scrambled up and ran towards the door.
Carl was standing still with his mouth open, looking up at the balrog in wide-eyed terror. Rey was trying to get out of the maze of desks and chairs, looked up and saw Carl, ran over to him, grabbed his hand, and pulled Carl behind him, out the door. Teecie didn't see where they went afterwards.
Teecie opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She tried to remember the words to make the balrog go away. The one's from the book and the movie. "Go back to the shadow," She whispered to it while taking a few steps backwards towards the door. It didn't work. "You shall not pass!" She squeaked, but again, nothing happened. When the balrog took another step, Teecie screamed, turned and fled from the room. She did permit herself to look over her shoulder as she ran out the door. Kern was following closely behind her. She could see Professor Lupin looking somewhat overwhelmed by what he'd just seen as he watched the kids run away, helplessly.
Professor Lupin hadn't seen anything this big created from a student's mind before. He watched as his kids fled from his room. There'd be no getting them to come back in today. Remus dreaded what the rest of the teaching staff would say to him for losing control of the class like this. After the last student had left the room, Remus turned to the boggart, which immediately changed its shape. It only took a few seconds for him to put the boggart back into the cupboard, and lock the door. Sighing, Remus ran his fingers through his gray hair, sat down at a desk, and tried to figure out how to get the students to come back to his class.
Once outside the room, students scattered everywhere. James grabbed Teecie by the hand and quickly led her down the stairs and outside to get some fresh air. Together they sat on the front steps, Teecie with her head on James's shoulder, trying to calm down. James's eyes were wide, he was still in shock as he slowly said, "I see what you meant now about letting Kern go first."
They stayed out on the stairs until the class period ended, then walked into the Great Hall to eat. All the second year Gryffindors sat huddled together, talking about what had happened. Rey was sitting with them, next to Carl. "I've never been more scared in my entire life!" Robert Bones exclaimed.
"Me too!" Paige said, nodding her head.
Patty put her arm around Paige's shoulders. "Not me! I thought it was cool!" She said, grinning.
"Hey, me too!" Daniel said, smiling. He held his hand out, and Patty reached over and gave him a high five.
When the chatting had died down and the students were eating in silence, Professor Lupin walked over to them, and sat down next to James. "So, I thought we should talk about what happened," He began. "Now, I realize that...creature, was very large and frightening, but it was still something that could have been dealt with. This is exactly why you kids need to learn to control boggarts. You never know when you might run into one of them, and you sure don't want to be facing that again, now, do you? So, why don't we go back to class on Wednesday, prepared to face our fears, and stay facing them, until you conquer the boggart? All right?"
The students looked at one another in silence. They all knew what would happen if the Slytherins saw their fears. Suddenly, the one person who feared Professor Lupin more than anything else in the world, decided to face her fear earlier than she had to. "Professor?" Paige whispered, her mouth dry and feeling like it was full of cotton.
Professor Lupin looked shocked as he turned to look at Paige. He knew how afraid she was of him. "Yes Paige?" He asked, not wanting to sound too eager over this opportunity to speak with her.
"I...I...well...," Paige stammered, her lips quivering and her entire body shaking as she looked at the professor. "I was wondering if we might...," Her voice trailed off.
"Might what?"
"Maybe we could...do the class with just the Gryffindors and just the Slytherins," She whispered. "One of us could go the first hour, the other the second hour."
"Why do you want to do it that way?" Lupin asked, leaning forward.
"Well...why...why should we see what they're afraid of? It's really embarrassing to have to show others what you're afraid of, why do we all have to do that?" Paige asked, her face completely drained of all colour.
Professor Lupin remembered how upset Teecie had been on Saturday. He'd spoken to Master Wilkes later that day and had been assured that she was not in fact insane, but only horribly stressed over the prospect of the boggart. Looking around at the students, he asked, "Do you all feel this way? Daniel, how about you?"
Daniel fidgeted with his fork, playing with his food. "Well...it would be nice to do it without the Slytherins watching..." He said quietly.
"Patty, how do you feel?" Professor Lupin asked.
Patty didn't want to show her fear to anybody, let alone the Slytherins. Trying to sound nonchalant, she replied, "I hope I get to see what all of the Slytherins are afraid of, so I can tease them forever!"
"Well, there should be no teasing of anybody," the professor replied, disapprovingly.
Teecie had listened to all of this with trembling hands and lips. This was their only chance. There would be no way to get out of it, but if they could do it away from Lisette and her followers, it would be all right. Finally unable to hold herself back any longer, Teecie began to speak. "But professor, that won't stop them from doing it to us! All we want is to do it in the privacy of our own group. Please?" Teecie's voice broke and tears spilled down her face before James reached over and drew her into his embrace. As he held Teecie, James shot an angry glare over at his father.
Remus knew he'd been beaten. And when he thought about it, it really wasn't that big of a deal. All the students would have their turn, and he'd be overseeing it, they'd just be doing it separately. Looking at his son's angry expression as he tried to comfort his distressed girlfriend, Remus realized he couldn't take that hate from James for the rest of the year if he didn't let them do this. Sighing, Remus nodded his head. "All right...I'll split the class up. The Slytherins will go first, while you work on your papers in the library, then after the first hour, you'll switch places and take your turns in front of the boggart. I'll go tell them about this now," Professor Lupin said, standing up to leave.
Once the professor left, the students breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe from the ridicule and danger of the Slytherins. The rest of the day passed pleasantly after that. Life seemed to be much more livable. Teecie felt so relieved she was finally able to eat dinner that evening.
As she ate her plate of roast beef and roasted potatoes, Snowflake, her owl arrived with a letter for her. It was from her mother, telling her about what was going on back at the property. Reni was tired all the time, but Adriana had volunteered to look after Hunter to let her get some sleep. Hunter was adorable. Hunter was also, it seemed, a genius. Even though he was only a couple weeks old, Adriana could already tell he'd be the smartest boy she ever knew.
Lucius had been in bed for the past few days with some type of fever. Adriana thought it was the flu, and had made him drink lots of water and juice until he'd felt better. Teecie thought of her father being sick and felt upset that she couldn't have been there to tend to him. She hated to hear about her father being sick or in pain, it scared her.
Teecie thought about her father quite a bit during the next day. She missed him and wished she could see him soon. Teecie thought about the end of the school year in June, and realized that was a long way off before she'd see him again.
Tuesday passed with relative ease, and the students were prepared for the next day's task. They spent the first hour in the library working on papers about boggarts before walking as a group to the classroom.
After waiting outside for a few minutes, the door opened, and the Gryffindors watched as the Slytherins walked out of the room. They were all somewhat subdued, having been through a scary situation. Lisette made eye contact with Teecie for a few seconds before walking up to her. "Well, it's too bad I won't get to see what you're afraid of! It wasn't so bad, the boggart. I'm not afraid of anything!" Lisette said before knocking her shoulder against Teecie's while walking away.
Rey walked over to Teecie as soon as Lisette was out of earshot. "That's not true, she's afraid of butterflies!" He whispered, smiling evilly. Teecie giggled, who'd be afraid of butterflies? "Good luck," Rey whispered as Teecie and the rest of the class walked into Professor Lupin's room.
Once in their seats, the professor told the students that they'd be lined up to go before the boggart, until it got so confused it was destroyed. Teecie ended up in the middle of the line, with James in front of her, and Paige behind her.
When everybody was ready, Professor Lupin opened the cupboard door, and watched the boggart come up the first student: Daniel. Daniel stood before the boggart, which had taken the shape of a very large frog. Daniel was sweating as he waved his wand and cried, "Riddikulus!" The frog was suddenly impaled on a stick and rotating over a fire.
Professor Lupin looked oddly at the spinning frog before calling out for the next person to come forward as Daniel stepped to the end of the line. Carl was next. The boggart changed into a frightening looking mummy, although not an ordinary looking mummy, but what a mummy must look like under its wrappings. Carl's hand shook as he waved his wand. "Riddikulus!" He cried and the class watched as the mummy was suddenly made over with a trendy new outfit and make up.
James was next. The boggart turned into a great big snake with hideously long fangs. James's lips were white, "Riddikulus!" he said as the snake tied itself into a bow.
Teecie went up to the boggart, ready to see herself falling off a broom, and prepared to turn herself into Mary Poppins, but what she saw was not that at all. Teecie stood motionless, as though entranced by the sight before her. Her father was standing before her. At first he seemed fine, but a couple seconds later, he was bent over and writhing in pain, crying out to her to help him. "Daddy!" Teecie screamed before launching herself towards him.
Professor Lupin grabbed hold of Teecie just in time to keep her from touching the boggart. "Teecie, no! We don't know what happens if you touch it, it could be dangerous," He said. In the time it took Lupin to say that, the figure of Lucius had fallen to the ground and was now motionless, not even breathing.
"Daddy!" Teecie screamed again, struggling against the professor to get to her father.
Professor Lupin held Teecie by the arm tightly, gently shaking her out of her panic. "Teecie, this is what the boggart wants, it's winning. You have to think of something to make what you see funny," He said firmly.
How could she make her father dying into something funny? Or even pleasant? He looked as though he was asleep. Slowly, Teecie raised the wand in her left hand. "Riddikulus," She croaked.
Suddenly her father woke up, stood up before her, smiled and said, "It was just a joke, baby! I'm alive! I'm fine!" Teecie frowned as she stepped out of line to walk to the back. She couldn't stop thinking that this was a sign, that her father really needed her to be with him. She needed to go home.
Looking up, Teecie watched as Paige encountered the boggart, which turned into Professor Lupin, with a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, and wild hair all over his body. Blood dripped from his teeth as he howled loudly. Teecie saw that the real Professor Lupin had his hand over his mouth and his head bent down in a sad manner. "Riddikulus!" Paige said quietly. The werewolf professor turned into a wiggly, adorable puppy.
Patty was next, the boggart turned into an image of herself...only, more like a girl. Her hair was tied in pigtails and she wore a pink ankle-length dress. The class laughed as Patty cried, "Riddikulus!" Her image turned into the normal Patty, scowled at all the students laughing at her, and shouted, "Hey, shut up!"
Robert saw a tiger about to pounce on him before turning it into a tame cat lying on its back, waiting to have its stomach patted.
Last up was Kern, who saw the balrog once again. He faltered for a few seconds before casting his spell. The balrog suddenly had pink bows on its horns, and was wearing a pink tutu. It did a pirouette while the entire class laughed.
The boggart started turning into several random monsters: a vampire, a slimy creature that reached out to them, and a hermit crab just to name a few. "All right, it's almost finished! One more should do it! Who wants to go again?"
Daniel stepped forward and the boggart turned into a frog. "Riddikulus!" He cried, and the frog was once again on the spit for a couple seconds before bursting into a million pieces, and leaving only air behind.
Once the students had calmed down from having successfully beaten the boggart, they sat down in their chairs to talk to the professor about it. "So, what did you all learn today?" He asked them.
Patty called out without raising her hand, "That you'd better poke holes in a frog before roasting it or it might blow up!" The entire class was overcome with laughter, Lupin included.
Most of the students were excited over their experience. Paige and Teecie, however, were much quieter than the other kids. When the class ended, they walked out together, talking quietly. "I didn't want to show him that. I didn't want to hurt him. I hope he's not too upset," Paige said, sniffling at the thought of hurting Professor Lupin's feelings.
"I'm sure he's not upset. But maybe you could go talk to him sometime," Teecie replied encouragingly. She was thinking about seeing her father lying dead in front of her. She needed to write to him as soon as possible, to make sure he was all right.
As Teecie walked into the Great Hall for lunch, she thought of how good it was that Lisette hadn't seen Lucius. She wasn't supposed to know about him. Teecie could only imagine what would have happened if Lisette had seen him. Breathing a sigh of relief over that, Teecie sat down next to James, and enjoyed her meal.
