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Wolf

Wolf scowled at the trunk sitting on the other side of the room. As he watched, it suddenly bounced and wobbled.

The teacher, Professor Clay, was standing next to the trunk. "I thought we would start your second week with your first practical of the year." He said. "It's all very well to study defence against the dark arts based on theory alone, but it doesn't place you in a situation where you will have to physically apply your skills. For that reason, I find theory work rather unreliable, so I generally prefer practical lessons. Can anyone tell me what today's subject will be? Mr Royal?"

Kai let his hand drop back to his side, having been called on. "A boggart Professor."

"Excellent Mr Royal! Now, does anyone know what it is about boggarts that classifies them as dark creatures? Mr Clay?"

Wolf couldn't see Jacin through the thick crowd of students, but his serious, blank voice was unmistakable as he answered.

"They shapeshift into their victim's greatest fear."

"Correct! Boggarts generally choose people who are alone as their victims. Mr Thorne, why is that?"

Thorne, who had been muttering something to the boy next to him, jumped at the unexpected address. He looked at the teacher blankly for a few moments, before tilting his head and asking, "Err, what?"

Several members of the class sniggered whilst Professor Clay raised an eyebrow at Thorne. "Why," He repeated, speaking slowly "do boggarts go after people who are alone?"

Thorne scratched his head as he struggled to think of an answer. "Uh, because they'll probably have different fears? And boggarts can only copy one fear?"

"That's right Mr Thorne. When a boggart comes across multiple people, it will try to merge their fears together in whatever form it takes. The result of this action is generally a form that is not very terrifying. I have one more question for you all before we get on with the practical: how do you kill a boggart? Miss Benoit?"

"You use riddikulus to turn it into something funny and your laughter will kill it."

"That is a very good answer Miss Benoit, but not quite correct. Any one else? Mr Kesley?"

Wolf lowered his hand and answered: "Boggarts are amortal creatures, like poltergeists, meaning they are not alive to begin with and, as a result, can't be killed. Laughter will cause the boggart to disappear, but it will simply reappear somewhere else."

Professor Clay gave Wolf an appraising look. "Brilliant answer Mr Kesley! That is correct, boggarts are, in a manner of speaking, born dead and can never be killed. Sometimes when they reappear in a different location, they will have several other boggarts with them, something you all must be careful of. Boggarts can usually be found inhabiting dark, confined spaces, such as this trunk here. They are also fond of hiding in shadowy corners. It is important for you to remember that boggarts can hide anywhere dark and confined, not just the typical places such as wardrobes. I once found one hiding in my lunchbox. It gave me a right fright when it came out! But enough chat; let's get on with the lesson. Everyone form a line in front of the trunk."

The class shuffled into a line, some jostling other students out of their way in their eagerness to be at the front, others hanging back.

Professor Clay waited until a wobbly line had been formed before speaking again. "Now, before you all face the boggart, I want you to imagine your greatest fear and think of some way to make it funny. Once you've done this, raise your hand so I can see you're prepared. Once everyone's hands are raised, we'll proceed with the practical."

Wolf closed his eyes and thought about his greatest fear. It wasn't hard. His fear usually broke into his thoughts on an almost regular basis, demanding his attention too loudly for him to ignore. Making it funny was the hard part.

Around him, Wolf could hear some of the other students mumbling to themselves as they tried to make their fears funny. He cracked open one eye and glanced at Scarlet, who was standing in front of him. What could she possibly be afraid of? She seemed like the kind of person who would punch her fears in the face rather than run away from them screaming. Wolf kind of doubted that she even had a greatest fear.

Only when she hesitantly raised her hand did Wolf remember he was supposed to be making his fear funny and he quickly shut his eyes again, screwing up his face in renewed concentration.

When he finally came up with a humorous image, he opened his eyes and raised his hand. A few minutes later, the rest of the class all had their hands in the air. Professor Clay nodded with satisfaction and gestured for the first person in line to come forward.

It was a Gold girl with blue hair tied into thin braids, dark skin and watery grey eyes. She took out her wand and resolutely faced the trunk, which gave another little bounce as if the boggart inside could sense someone standing in front of it.

Professor Clay stepped back and pointed his wand at the trunk. The lid banged open and the boggart leaped out of it. And the boggart looked like… the Gold girl.

Wolf frowned in confusion. So… the girl was scared of herself? How does that work?

He got his answer soon enough. The boggart-girl's skin rippled, hard red and black scales sprouting from the flesh. Tusks sprouted from beneath her bottom lip and twisted horns emerged from beneath her blue braids.

The real girl thrust the tip of her wand at the boggart and shouted, "Riddikulus!"

The monster-version of the girl morphed into a tiny kitten doing a little dance on a ball. A chorus of giggles erupted from the class and the girl flipped her braids over one shoulder proudly.

Professor Clay beamed and applauded the girl's performance. "Well done Iko! Very amusing!"

As Iko made her way to the back of the line, Wolf could have sworn that her eyes had become molten gold. Weren't they grey before?

The next student to go up was one Wolf actually knew. He was a Regolith boy, Kinney. Wolf didn't really know that much about him, other than that he was a prefect.

Kinney faced the boggart resolutely and it switched from a dancing kitten to a girl's dead body. Her long, dark hair was tangled and matted with dried blood. Her empty eyes were staring up at Kinney, looking almost accusatory. Kinney tensed at the sight before pointing his wand at the body. "Riddikulus."

The body sprang to its feet, but her hair was now clean and neatly braided, and her eyes were bright and happy. The girl started twirling a pirouette, going faster and faster until her braid smacked her in the face. This elicited a few chuckles.

Wolf glared at Roland as the boy eagerly stepped up to the boggart. He still felt unsatisfied with the stinging jinx he'd cast on the obnoxious Gold last week. Everyone else thought it had been too harsh, but Wolf wasn't convinced. He'd deserved worse. Far worse. He insulted a teacher for no good reason other than her supposed "bias". He'd poked fun at Scarlet when she tried to defend her grandmother and even tried to jinx her. Roland definitely deserved worse than a stinging jinx.

Wolf glanced at the boggart and his eyes widened at the form it had taken. Snorts of laughter sprouted from the line of students. The thing standing in front of Roland, the thing he feared the most… was Wolf.

Boggart Wolf looked coldly down at Roland and tugged a wand out of its pocket. It pointed it at Roland and opened its mouth just as Roland cast riddikulus. Boggart Wolf immediately screamed in pain and dropped its wand, covering its face with its hands. As it dropped to its knees, it removed its hands, revealing that its face had swollen up like a balloon.

Professor Clay gave Roland a heavily disapproving frown. "You executed the spell just fine, but ten points from Gold for wishing something like this on your classmate."

"He did it to me first!" Roland protested.

"Yes, yes, I heard the whole story from Professor Benoit. You were insulting her behind her back, were you not?"

Wolf suppressed a smirk as Roland gaped at Professor Clay, looking remarkably like a goldfish.

Finally, face flushed red, Roland shuffled to the back of the line and let Thorne take his turn.

Like Iko, Thorne's boggart turned out to be himself. Boggart Thorne wore handsome formal robes and stood pencil straight. His normally tousled hair had been combed completely flat. His eyes were missing their typical mischievous glint and his mouth was set into a thin line as opposed to his usual lopsided grin.

When Wolf figured out Thorne's fear, he couldn't stop the snort of laughter that followed. Thorne was afraid of becoming boring! It surprised Wolf that Thorne even thought he could become boring! In the week Wolf had known him, Thorne had already released nifflers into the trophy room, put fever fudge in Professor Torin's porridge, and even hid devil's snare in the potion's cupboard.

Thorne, seemingly unaffected by seeing this bland version of himself, waved his wand with a flourish. "Riddikulus!"

What Thorne turned his boggart into made the whole class erupt into laughter. It was Jacin, with his long blonde hair done up with pretty pink ribbons and wearing a poufy, sparkly pink dress covered with lace and bows.

"Mr Thorne, I believe I have made clear my opinion of my students acting towards each other in this manner?" But even as he scolded Thorne, Professor Clay's mouth twitched with suppressed laughter.

Wolf shot a glance over at Jacin to see how he was taking the image. Judging from the look on his face, Thorne had just declared war.

Kai was the next student in line. He was still laughing as he stepped up to the boggart.

However, all laughter in the room quickly died at the sight of Kai's boggart. Like Kinney's, it was a dead body. This person was broad-shouldered and tall. His hair was black, like Kai's, and his eyes were grey. He looked like he'd been a powerful man when he was alive, though now he appeared thin and weak. Lavender splotches covered his body. His skin held a yellowish tinge. His nails were chipped and crusted, and his fingertips were shrivelled and blue. This man, whoever he is, was a letumosis victim.

Wolf felt several students take instinctive steps away from the blatant signs of the disease, as if the mere mimicry of its effects by a boggart will lead to their infection.

Kai couldn't tear his gaze away from the boggart. From behind, Wolf could see that Kai was shaking.

Professor Clay came up behind Kai and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. As Kai looked up at the teacher, Wolf noticed that his eyes were shimmering with tears.

Kai raised his wand and pointed it at the body, whispering, "Riddikulus."

Just like with Kinney's boggart, Kai's jumped up, all signs of its death gone. The lavender splotches had faded and his skin had a healthy tinge as opposed to its former yellow pallor. The boggart grinned and waved energetically at Kai, who offered no reaction. He walked to the back of the line in silence, his copper gazed fixed firmly on the ground.

Professor Clay gestured for the next person to come up.

Jacin stepped forward and stood in front of the boggart, doing nothing, saying nothing.

The happy man switched into a breathtakingly beautiful girl with three bleeding cuts running down her face. The hem of her white dress was stained dark red with blood. Tears flowed from her golden-brown eyes and she reached out to Jacin with one hand.

"Jacin… please…" she begged helplessly, desperately. "The walls… they're bleeding… Jacin please, help me!"

Wolf saw Jacin clench his jaw before pointing his wand resolutely at the girl. "Riddikulus."

The desperate girl became Thorne wearing a shimmering cocktail dress and glinting diamond jewellery. Just like when Thorne showed Jacin in a dress, the class erupted into laughter, though it was noticeably less boisterous this time, due to the still-present horror at seeing a letumosis victim.

Next up was Scarlet.

Wolf's eyes widened with interest as the red-haired Gold stepped up. Unbidden, the memory of her joking with him and helping him during herbology rose up. Her amused grin at his utter incompetence, the rage burning in her brown eyes as Roland insulted her grandmother, the way she defended him when Roland tried to get him in trouble…

Wolf forcibly shook these thoughts out of his head. They'd been cropping up a lot lately. It was actually quite confusing.

Thorne-in-a-dress morphed into another corpse. This one lacked any gruesome details like blood or letumosis. It was just a dead person, with pale skin and glassy eyes. And it was Professor Benoit, Scarlet's grandmother.

Wolf felt like a fool for not considering the option. Of course Scarlet would be worried for her grandmother's health. She was a strong old woman, yes, but still an old woman. Nobody lasts forever, and with Professor Benoit already being old… well, Wolf could hardly blame Scarlet for worrying. Especially when Scarlet seemed so helpful, and kind, and-

Ugh, there he goes again. For Merlin's sake, what is wrong with him?

Scarlet's voice rang clearly as she spoke: "Riddikulus."

The boggart became Roland, tottering around unsteadily with a gigantic pumpkin on his head.

Finally, it was Wolf's turn.

"Good luck." Scarlet grinned at Wolf as she passed. Wolf had to resist the urge to smile back.

He stepped forward and glared at the boggart. He knew what it would turn into. He could see it, every little detail in his mind. He knew what to expect, and he was ready.

He watched as the boggart grew in size so that it was equal to his height. Its body covered itself with coarse, brown fur. Instead of a pumpkin head, it now sported slavering jaws, giant fangs, and burning green eyes. Its arms and legs grew long, its nails became sharp, and it sprouted a bushy brown tail.

Behind him, Wolf heard a low whistle, followed by Thorne's voice. "Man, that's not a face you'd want to see on a full moon."

Facing his werewolf boggart, Wolf couldn't agree more.

But for Wolf, it wasn't the teeth, or the fur, or the claws that made this creature so terrifying. What scared him was the madness and hunger glowing from the depths of its eyes, the saliva dripping down from its jaws, and the blood stains on its teeth and claws.

The werewolf growled and barked, sending spittle flying into Wolf's face. He wiped the drops off with his sleeve before raising his wand against the werewolf. "Riddikulus."

The class dissolved into giggles as Wolf's poodle bounced around happily.

A/N: The first DADA class we've seen so far! Bet you all thought I'd forgotten that letumosis was in this story, didn't you? A bit of context into how this disease works in this AU will come later on, but for now, what did you all think of the characters' boggarts? More importantly, which of you imagined Thorne and Jacin in their respective dresses and laughed, or despised me for putting the images in your heads? Please review!