The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs sat excitedly waiting for their new teacher to enter, their quills and parchment were laid out neatly on their desks. The door opened and in stepped professor Lupin, his robes were faded and torn, he himself looked tired and ill, his sunken face and ringed eyes made him look at least ten years older than he really was. "Put your quill and parchment away and take your wands out, we shall be doing some practical today!" He said, opening the door once more and beckoning them to follow him.

Harry curiously followed him along with his other fellow third years, along a corridor, that led to the staff room. They entered and found themselves standing in a spacey room, with a wardrobe at one end and a low table with comfy chairs around it, but those weren't the things that caught their eyes. In the far left hand corner the stood a small cabinet, it was vibrating violently, as if something was trapped inside.

"Gather round!" Lupin said, standing a few yards away from the drawers, "Within this cabinet is a boggart, can anyone please tell me what this strange creature is?"

As usual Hermione's hand shot into the air, "Yes miss Granger!"

"A boggart is a curious magical creature, that will take the form the you are most afraid of. The shape shifter hides in dark places until it's next victim comes along. Nobody has seen its normal form before. It can only be defeated, by the laughter of its victim, which makes it confused and eventually destroys it."

"Well done Hermione!" Lupin exclaimed, "Five points to Gryffindor!"

"Now line up everyone!" Lupin instructed, "Think of something that will scare you the most, and when I open the wardrobe the first person has to shout 'ridiculous' and think of something funny."

They all lined up one after the other and thought about something that they were scared of. Next to him Harry heard Ron muttering something about spiders. Harry thought deeply about what would scare him the most, other than...

"Ready?" Lupin asked the class, they all nodded and Harry panicked, he hadn't thought of anything that scared him.

"Ok Hermione!" Lupin said, as Hermione stepped up to the cabinet, "Ready? On the count of three!"

Hermione nodded and gripped her wand tightly. She was scared about what she was going to see... but she'd have to face it. Better get it over and done with she thought. "One, two, THREE!" and Lupin pointed his wand at the cupboard, it burst open and out stummbled Eleanor, a bit of blood was trickling down her forehead, her face white as a ghost. She fell to the floor and crawled towards a pale Hermione and grasped "I tried Hermione... I tried..." before crumbling down onto the ground, dead.

"Ridiculous!" Hermione shouted and Eleanor's body stirred and stood up and shouted, "It was a joke!" the Eleanor boggart shouted spreading it's arms out, Hermione laughed weakly. "Ok! Well done Hermione!" Lupin said, "Now next person please!" Dean stepped up and the boggart turned into a banshee, the most awful noise filled the room, but Dean shouted "Ridiculous!" and she banshee started croaking and grasped its throat. Everyone roared with laughter and Lupin called the next student up. Soon the boggart was changing from a Snape in a hat with a stuffed vulture and red handbag, to a mummy, to a huge spider, who lost it legs and finally to whole room was filled with laughter, as the line shortened. Just as Ron had finished Harry got ready to face the boggart, but to his surprise Lupin shot in front of him. The boggart changed into a glassy full lunar orb.

"Ridiculous!" Lupind shouted and it fell to the ground and shattered, "Ok Eleanor next!"

Eleanor stepped in front of Harry and there was a green flash across the room. Everyone grasped and Harry saw his limp, lifeless body on the ground.

He looked at Eleanor, who's face was as pale as Hermione's boggart, she pressed her hand against her forehead and muttered faintly, "R-ridiculous!" again a green light flashed across the room and Harry's body reappeared this time accompanied by Hermione's corps. Eleanor stiffened and shut her eyes, she fell a few inches backward, Ron who was watching from a distance stepped quickly behind her and caught Eleanor, but he was too late as Hermione had already grabbed her and squeezed Eleanor's arm. Eleanor eyes opened with a shock, and looked up at Ron's face worried face, she smiled and steadied herself, grasping Hermione's sleeve. "I'm fine, Ron!" she said, "Don't worry!"

In the mean time Lupin had taken over and the class's attention was once again tuned towards the boggart, instead of Eleanor.

The class ended and the third years streamed out of the room chatting about the lesson, forgetting Eleanor's boggart.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Harry asked as they headed towards the Hall, "You look very pale, you know!"

"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine..." Eleanor lied, "I just didn't expect that to happen."

"Eleanor!" Dean shouted as he ran up to them, "Hey... um Lavender said that my girlfriend nearly fainted!" he smiled and put his arm around her waist, "Why didn't you tell me? Are you alright now?" He asked worriedly as he searched her with his eyes up and down.

"Yes! Don't fuss Dean!" Eleanor said smiling, her face lit up and Ron sped up on front of them, "I didn't faint and I wasn't going to anyway!"

"Ok, ok!" Dean said, "Just don't scare me like that!" and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.



"See you!" Eleanor said to Hermione, Dean and Ron and she and Harry went through the portrait hole to their Quidditch practice.

"I wonder what Oliver has in stall for us this year!" Eleanor mused as she carried her broom.

"Wow!" Harry said forgetting her remark and staring at her broom it was transparent it looked like someone had frozen a piece ice and carved it to the shape of a broom. "What's that? It's not made out of wood is it?"

"No,"

"What is it then?"

"It's the Ice-Glider, it'd made out of a Andorium."

"What?"

"It's a special type of crystal that is very light can be easily airborne."

"Where did you get it from? Surely it was very expensive!"

"I inherited it from my parents."

"But your parents are muggles..."

Eleanor looked shocked at the mistake she made, but was quick to cover it up, "My real biological parents were a witch and wizard." She said abruptly.

"Oh...how were they..."

"Look Harry, I really don't want to talk about that now OK?" Eleanor snapped.

"Sure... I'm sorry..."

"It's ok, I... I shouldn't have snapped."

"Hurry I think we might be late!" and they out of the entrance into the sodden grounds, rain pouring down in bucket loads. By the time they entered the changing rooms they were soaking wet.

"Finally!" Oliver said crossly, "We've been waiting for TEN WHOLE minutes!"

"Hey relax Oliver!" Fred said, "Give them a break! We have the whole evening!"

"Yeah but this is my last year at Hogwarts!" Oliver protested, "And I would really like to see Gryffindor win the cup! I had a plan against the Slytherins, but now they are saying that they can't play us, because their Seeker has an injury."

"What!" Harry said angrily, "That git's arm is fine! It's been a month in bandages, and Madame Promfey can heal wounds like that in minutes!"

"They're just playing dirty!" Eleanor said, "I mean they don't want to play in this weather, it's just a lame excuse!"

Oliver told them a new plan he had thought of and they went out to try it. Eleanor and Harry just practiced chasing the Snitch around the pitch in the rain and wind. Harry was the active Seeker and Eleanor the reserve. Even tough Eleanor and Harry were equally good, Eleanor had insisted on being reserve.

"Harry!" Oliver shouted, "Come here! I want you to try something!"

"OK!" Harry shouted back through the gush of the wind and rain.

Eleanor aimlessly flew around the pitch, it was no point catching the Snitch is was hovering above Oliver knee and she would disturb them if she caught it. She just passed the goalposts as she saw a small back figure run along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, could it be? She looked down, and saw her teammates busily trailing Oliver new tactics, they wouldn't notice her.

She flew towards the small figure sitting down at the edge of the forest waiting for her. She dismounted and ran towards it, she was excited and scared at the same time. Was it really he? After all this time? As she got closer she saw the black dog run toward her, she sighed of relief, it really was him and she stooped down and embraced it.

"It was about time!" Eleanor said sitting down next to it, "I never thought you'd come!" The dog cocked his head and licked her face, as if he was saying "Of course I came! I promised right?"

"Well..." Eleanor said looking at her watch, "I better go, or the other will miss me. You better hide well! Don't let me see you here again!" the dog nodded its head and she picked up her broom and flew back to the pitch.



"Hey how was the practice?" Hermione asked as the entered the Common Room, leaving wet tracks all over the floor.

"Good!" Harry said exhausted, "We're playing against Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin, so Oliver had to change the whole plan."

"Why?" Ron asked and they boys went into deep conversation about Quidditch. Eleanor saw her chance and pulled Hermione aside.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked anxiously, as she saw her sister's worried face.

"I saw him!" Eleanor whispered, "In disguise..."

"What?" Hermione exclaimed, "Here at Hogwarts?"

"Shhh! Of course here! In the grounds!"

"Wouldn't he get caught?"

"No, nobody knows. Except..."

"Hmmm... but it's not like he's going to change form and tell Dumbledore. He'll think there's something very wrong, he's meant to be dead!"

"Well... I'm not sure, there are lots of other ways of doing it, I'd rather you get Crookshanks to get rid of him!"

"Eleanor!"

"Hey it's his fault fifteen people died! And that Snuffles was in Azkaban! Besides, everyone thinks he's dead anyway, they won't miss him."

"Ron would!"

"Just do it!"

"Yeah I will try... but Ron!"

"What about Ron?"

"When Ron finds that Scrabbles is gone and finds blood all over his bed sheets and Croakshanks with a rat-tail dangling from his mouth, wouldn't he have the slightest suspicion that Crokkshanks might have eaten Scrabbles?"

"Well, we'll tell him some time, just not now, he told me not to tell anyone, not yet."

"But there won't be any evidence that he's innocent!"

"Hey! I'm here!"

"Ok, I'll see what I can get Crookshanks to do!"

"Good, but don't make it messy, the less blood and tail-dangling from mouth the better!"

"I see what I can do! Ok!"

"Yes! Just be quiet!"

"I really think it's safer that you go to Dumbledore you know!"

"NO! I swore not to tell anyone! It's too risky! We'll just have to wait for the time!"

"Fine!"