Summary: Azkabam escapees, politicians, dementors, divided loyalties, difficult questions and, soul mates? Things are getting complicated. Mentions of slash & 3soms. Violence and some language.
xxcolourguardxx79: Cheers, i fixed everything i could find.
HevenSentHellBroken: :)
Firehedgehog: :)
digisammiegirl: Gojyo always struck me as an opitunist, and he spent enough time flirting with Sanzo for me to make Ron as bi. Indy isn't going to transfer.
Holysinner5527: I'm strongly anti-Twilight myself, anything involving sparkly vampires needs to die. Many frilly hugs.
Misting Rain: :)
lordamnesia: Thank you!
alchino: :) Are you using a manga names a your user name? Swear i#ve heard alchino before somewhere...
InuYasha's Fox: Once i've finished year 3. Be paitient.
Boggart and Reconciliation
"It's such a lovely morning!"
Severus was a spy, a slytherin, and had the dubious advantage of having known Albus Dumbledore for many years, and thus he knew instinctively that this was a sign of Bad Things to come.
Unfortunately he had a caffeine addiction to rival even the most neurotic and obsessive of the 7th year Ravenclaws and he hadn't had any coffee yet. He did not react in a logical fashion, reasonable, perhaps, but not logical.
The other teachers stared at the heavily chained cupboard. It had already been pretty scary, as there was a boggart that had somehow gotten into the castle trapped in it. The new addition of a paranoid potions master balanced on the top certainly wasn't helping matters.
"Severus? My dear boy, are you alright?"
The dark eyed man hissed at Dumbledore. McGonagall handed a mug of coffee up to her former student and proceeded to ignore the situation entirely.
Kingsley, who was never at his best first thing in the morning, watched in utter bafflement. There probably were stranger sights then Severus Snape drinking coffee in a strangely feline manner whilst crouched on top of a cupboard, but he couldn't imagine them right now.
McGonagall probably had the right idea about things.
Xxxxxxxx
Bellatrix Lestrange was dancing, her almost skeletal arms stretched up towards the sun, her deep sunken eyes closed in an expression of utter serenity.
Josephine Rockwood, the only other woman in the party of escapees, snorted.
"Lestrange, can't you do something about your sister in law?"
Rabastan gave her a blank eyed stare, his set response to everyone except Bellatrix these days. The loss of his beloved twin had fractured his mind, and then the dementors had shattered it entirely. He was possibly as insane as Bellatrix now, though rather less obvious about his madness.
Josephine snorted again, dismissing the two lunatics, and turned to her husband.
"My sister has raised our children. I would know of them."
"If we were discovered she would be endangered, and our children with her." Luke spook with a deep melancholy, and hugged his wife when she hissed. Wait a while, my love. Once our Lord has risen once more we shall see them again, with honourable station, and not as fugitives who would be a burden to them."
"Pah." Dag Svenson waved a hand. "You should have paid your way free, everyone else with children did."
Jacob Carrow coughed in a meaningful way. Dag grinned at him.
"You don't count."
The Rockwoods, Jacob, and even the Lestranges stared at him. The 7 foot Norseman, strangely strong and healthy after his imprisonment, gazed back unperturbed.
A doe's corpse hit the earth, the gash in its throat still seeping blood. William Trelor grinned at his fellow escapees, twirling a stick.
"Who says wand crafting is hard? Right kind of wood, strand of hair, easy."
Rabastan, the only other person who hadn't claimed one of the dead guard's wands, didn't even seem to notice. Josephine, however, eyed the doe thoughtfully.
"How long has it been, since we tasted meat? Luke, Svenson, reach firewood. I'll make a split for it. Get up, Carrow; it's time to see if you can still cook."
They obeyed.
There were few women in the ranks of the Death Eaters, but they were treated with a deference born of awed terror as each and every one of them had reached high rank through mastery in the field of battle, torture or simple mass destruction.
Death Eaters respect that sort of thing.
Xxxxxxxxx
Dumbledore was late and the classroom was locked. As Susan was looking at Yuki with an edge of desperate, uncertain apology, and this was hardly the place for such a scene, this was making Indigo cranky.
Even more cranky then normal morning crankiness.
"Good morning students!"
No-one that happy could possibly not be taking mind altering substances. There were probably happy drugs in the lemon drops.
"We're having a practical lesson today. A boggart has been captured in the staffroom closet, this way! Does anyone know what a boggart is?"
No-one raised a hand or offered an answer.
"No? Well, boggarts are shape shifters with the ability to discover, and take the form of, what you fear most. They then feed on that fear. It's also a defence mechanism. But, while rather disturbing, boggarts are not violent, there are no known cases of one attacking anyone. Now, everyone try to work out what the boggart will become for you. If there's anything to horrible, just ask to be excused."
Peeves zapped away from the door as soon as he saw Dumbledore, and they filed into the staffroom.
The closet rattled threateningly, and Dumbledore gave them all a comforting smile.
"Boggarts fear laughter. The spell 'Riddikulus' and an image of something amusing, a way of turning something frightening into something funny, will drive them off."
There was a long, thoughtful silence. Then Hannah slowly raised a hand.
"What will happen, if you don't know what you're scared of?"
"Well, it will be more difficult to ward against it, but don't worry. A boggart faced with several people will be distracted and confused."
A few students relaxed. Dumbledore beamed.
"Are there any volunteers to go first?"
Susan stepped forwards, Dumbledore opened the cupboard, a Death Eater charged out-
"Riddikulus!"
-and was mauled by a swarm of chipmunks.
"Excellent! Next!"
Millicent stepped up, and, disregarding the spell, gave a clown a hard kick to a sensitive area.
The line moved onwards. A Huffelpuff boy revealed himself to be scared of snakes, Yuki froze a huge swarm of flies, Flare blew up a giant jack-in-the-box and Hannah found out that she was scared of rats. Then it was Neville's turn.
Indigo's corpse fell out of the cupboard.
-I am here.-
"Riddikulus."
Harry and Ron's mangled bodies hit the floor.
-They can look after themselves.-
"Riddikulus."
A pile of severed heads, with Madame Longbottoms on top.
-Half of them are here. Our friends are strong.-
"Riddikulus."
Bellatrix Lestrange skipped out, glanced around and giggled. Half of the class screamed, and a warm hand settled on Neville's shoulder.
"You've done enough."
The shaken Huffelpuff retreated to Hannah's comforting presence, and Indigo faced the illusion of his aunt.
"You are not really. You cannot hurt me. Also, she is unlikely to hurt me."
Bellatrix frowned and became a huge angry bear.
"No, bears like me. Most animals do."
A pile of battered bodies.
"They aren't real."
Ukkouto Sanzo, sutra reaching out for the students.
"You cannot touch me. You cannot touch them." Indigo tipped his head, a dark glitter in his eyes. "But, and this is important dear, I can touch you."
The cupboard door slammed shut.
Indigo's smile was rather scary.
"Um…" the snake phobic Huffelpuff shifted uncomfortably. "What side are you on, and can I join?"
"I am a side, and maybe if you're very, very good."
Xxxxxxxx
Susan stared at Yuki. The Slytherin Ice Princess gazed back with glacial calm.
Their friends shared a look, then turned and left the scene, Neville being dragged by Millicent as he hadn't quite grasped the situation.
Susan took a deep breath, tried to organise her thoughts, and began.
"I am sorry for what I said, about my parents and…"
She trailed off as Yuki raised a finger, an unspoken request for silence. Her eyes were unreadable.
"You apologised to Isabella and Charles Rockwood, in public, before witnesses."
Susan nodded, and Yuki lowered the finger.
"Nobody likes to admit when they are wrong, and you are proud enough to find it particularly hard. But you apologised, even when they didn't know why." Millicent ruled the deadpan stare, but Yuki was undisputed champion of the enigmatic smile. "I accept your apology, Susan Bones, on the grounds that you didn't have a clue what your parents had done, what they were like, and that you are sometimes stupid. But, and I am not asking for this Susan I require it of you, no more believing things because you want to believe them, and no more judging people on different standards because of how you feel about them. Are we clear on that?"
"Yes. Yes, totally."
"Good." Yuki turned to go, beckoning Susan to follow her with one finger. "Now, what do you think about that essay McGonagall set? Is she being needlessly complicated or am I just missing something?"
Susan was caught totally off guard.
It couldn't be that simple, surely?
Xxxxxxxx
"Boggarts. Interesting." Harry scowled into space. "They can change into anything?"
"No, they're illusionists, not actual shape shifters. Though I have to say, seeing my own corpse was, disorientating." Indigo shrugged as everyone gave him odd looks. "It was just weird, okay? Like seeing the back of your own head."
Susan shook her head in disbelief.
"Only you, Indigo, would class that as 'disorientating'. But, really Yuki, flies?"
"They crawl up your nose and then buzz around in your nasal cavity."
Ron and Tracy made almost identical noises of distress. Tracy was immediately offered support by a sympathetic Hermione. Ron was just poked by Hazel, who had never seen him creeped out before.
"I have potions in 5 minutes." muttered Harry, looking slightly mournful.
"6th year work getting too much for you?" Ron smirked.
"You have Care of Magical Creatures, where something may eat you."
"Reading you loud and clear boss."
"I feel strangely obsolete." mussed Indigo as everyone dashed off to their respective lessons. "What is troubling you Ari?"
"You have Arithmancy with Hermione the lesson after next, is this correct?"
"It is."
"I have DADA with her at the exact same time. "
"Yes, her time table is rather interesting isn't it. "
Xxxxxxxxxx
"Good afternoon students!"
"Good afternoon Professor Dumbledore."
He beamed at them. Apparently a morning of watching young people face their worst fears had put him in a good mood. That probably said something about him as a person.
"This way, this way. We're having a practical. What can you tell me about boggarts?"
Hermione did not raise her hand. Harry did, and was not called on.
"Yes Miss Davis?"
"They are ever shape shifters or extremely good illusionists. They have the ability to read minds and feed on fear. "
"Excellent, 5 points to Ravenclaw. Everyone please consider carefully what the boggart is likely to turn into for you. It became Bellatrix Lestrange and I would rather not have a repeat of the incident."
A few people gave Harry worried looks. He blinked at them.
"I am not going to conjure Voldemort."
"Don't say the name."
"He's not going to drop from the ceiling and eat us just because I said his name. He's probably not even called Voldemort anyway. Who would call a child Voldemort?"
"…Luna might." said Dean, and then glared when everyone gave him shocked looks. "She might, okay? If there is anyone in this world who would call their child Voldemort it is Luna!"
Dumbledore's expression was, interesting. To say the least.
The cupboard rattled at them threateningly.
"Now, the spell to ward off a boggart is 'Riddikulus', used in conjunction with a humorous image. Has everyone got that?"
Slowly, they nodded.
"Wonderful! Ah, Miss Davis, would you care to start us off?"
Tracy did not look happy to be singled out.
A big purple and green dinosaur danced out of the cupboard wearing the bright, fixed smile of a true psychopath.
"Riddikulus!"
It was violently dismembered by a chainsaw wielding redhead in a frock coat.
"Oh my, how gory. Next!"
A Patil twin proved herself to be scared of wasps, Hazel was furious to be presented with a corpse he didn't recognise, Hermione forwent magic in favour of punching the image of Madame Price that declared her barred from the library, Dean went all most cationic when all colour leached from the room and had to be rescued by Seamus Finnegan, who was apparently scared of dogs.
Ron stepped forward.
The dog stared at him for a long moment, and then rippled like a mirage to become a new figure.
It was a little taller than Ron, rather bony and not wearing a top. Beyond that description was impossible, because it kept changing. One moment there would be glittering scales, the next fur or cracked skin, tentacles to raged wings to multiple arms, mismatched eyes to flat black to no eyes at all.
It appeared to be highly disgruntled, and glared at Ron constantly; even when it didn't have eyes it was still, somehow, glaring.
"Wwwwwwhat, isssss wrong wwwwwith you?"
"Um, sorry?"
"You havvvve nooo fear centrezzzzz! Alllll things fear! Yooou fear! Wwwwwhy izzz there no focccccussss?"
"Well, I think actively fearing something takes quite a bit of forethought and concentration, and I'm not real good at those." Ron scratched the back of his head, blushing slightly. "Sorry about that."
"Aiiiiiiirhead."
"I am not! Neville's the airhead!"
"Wwwwwhich isss he?"
"He's about this high, brown hair-"
A limb that started out as a talon and turned into a tentacle during the gesture was waved dismissively.
"Wwwwwe do not ssssssee asss you do. Have the one who fears the greyness to describe him. He sssseesss."
Dean was stared at by everyone who could stop staring at the boggart.
"Neville is, yellow, and orange, nice orange. And he glows, though not much. He's linked to the electric blue-grey burning one by purple and gold. The one who thinks in mazes."
The Hit Squad collectively wondered how Indigo would feel about being called 'the electric blue-grey burning one' and the boggart took their leaders shape for a moment before coming out in green scales.
"That one has no air, the heat has stolen it. Go awwway, aiiirhead. You trouble uzzzz. "
Ron backed up, looking rather embarrassed, and Harry moved into the vacated space.
Dumbledore, who had watched the conversation in total fascination, suddenly looked a lot less awed and a lot more focused.
The boggart shimmered into a large pile of corpses, all of them easily recognisably, and when Harry opened his mouth to be logical at it, turned into a very clearly dead-but-walking girl that Harry didn't recognise.
"No! Enough! No more! I hate doing dementors! Dementors are nasty! I'm on strike!"
The way the cupboard door slammed shut was distinctly similar to the way sulking teenagers slammed doors.
"Well, that was interesting. And the boggart is clearly much more intelligent than we had previously assumed." Hazel frowned thoughtfully. "Given this discovery, should it not be released immediately? It is not morally correct to force an intelligent being to participate in a demonstration against its will."
Dumbledore's expression was something the Harry would remember, and find amusement in, for quite some time.
Next time: Fanghouls and the Planning of Weddings