Severus stepped away from him. "Your breath stinks."

Park frowned at him but continued to whisper. "Seriously, what was it? First it was just a wolf, which is kinda scary, but Desiree was all sorts of freaked out. Then it turned into Leatherface, I did see that. Greg and Kimmy were both there afterward, they told the rest of us all about it, including what happened when you showed up and it turned into a dead woman...What happened to it?"

This was annoying.

"As I told them, I have no idea what it was, and it disappeared shortly after they left." Severus whispered in return.

"What did you do to it? How could it just disappear?"

Technically, he laughed at it...

"I didn't do anything to it. It disappeared; vanished, like some sort of bad magic trick."

They were both silent as Mrs. Macgyver entered the shop. Severus helped her since Jethro seemed a bit out of it.

When she left, he was on him again. "Why did it change into a dead woman?"

Severus sighed. "I. Don't. Know."

His expression turned thoughtful. "Are you sure you don't know what it was?"

"Why would I know what it was? I saw the same thing your friends did."

"I don't know! You're weird and that thing was pretty weird. I thought maybe one of your weirdo books would say something about monsters in them."

Severus knew most muggles thought he was strange, most wizards thought he was pretty strange too, but they didn't need to say it to his face.

"It had to be a prank. There's no other explanation."

"There is though: Monsters are real!"

He frowned at the boy. "Leave me alone, Park, I can't help you."

He continued talking despite himself.

"It's got to be a shapeshifter of some kind, obviously. It wanted us to be scared, but then why would it turn into a dead woman? That's just sad, not scary." He looked to Severus again. "Are you scared of a woman's corpse?"

I'm scared of losing my best friend...again. "Comedy does not suit you. I also thought I told you to leave me alone?"

"...What are you afraid of, Snape?"

This kid was wearing on Severus' nerves.

"I'm not afraid of anything. It had to have been some illusion. Were you lot getting high? I'm pretty sure the air smelled weird near your little campsite."

"Desiree is terrified of wolves, she was attacked by one when she was little, has a nasty scar on her shoulder. I know I've had nightmares about Leatherface. All of us had to have, or it would have turned into something else, like it did with you and Des-...maybe since it couldn't scare you, it tried to make you sad?"

"Is this going somewhere? Have you magically discovered through theory what this monster is?"

"It's a nightmare, a living nightmare."

No, it's just a boggart.

"Nightmare's are just fictions our brains create while we are asleep, they have no physical form."

"How can you say that when you saw it too! We have to find it and catch it. Maybe even kill it!"

Severus rolled his eyes.

You can't kill a boggart. And good luck finding it since it's living happily undisturbed in my school trunk.

The boy grabbed him by the shoulders. "We have to! It's killing all of those poor defenseless creatures in the woods! We're the only ones who have seen it and lived!"

Boggarts don't generally kill animals, and if this one somehow managed to develop a habit of it, it was safely locked away. He couldn't help but think that there was something else in the woods...and he didn't really want to find it. Although, with all of these muggles trying to get themselves killed by 'saving the bunnies,' he probably should at least try to figure out what it is.

Severus removed the boy from his person. "You and your buddies can do whatever you want, but leave me out of it. I may be 'weird' but I'm not stupid."

Mr. Courtney returned then.

"You boys didn't have too much fun without me I hope?"

"On the verge of exciting, sir." Severus said.

The man grinned at them. "How do you think our new guy is doing, Jethro?"

He and Severus exchanged a look. "Honestly, sir, I think he was made for this job."

Mr. Courtney made a sound that Severus could only describe as a cut off cackle.

"I was just having that thought earlier! I think young Severus will do just fine here." He clapped Severus on the back as he spoke.

He tried not to grimace. He was mostly successful.