Anyway, so I noticed no one responded to the last chapter. Do I have to hurt ya'll now? -.-
Chapter Ten
Harry waited in his classroom, watching as students filtered in, all of them about third years. He apparently had the Gryffindor class that day. One of the girls was eyeing him carefully. He blushed faintly and pushed the fringe in front of his scar, getting very self conscious from the now several students staring at him.
He stood up and walked around the front of his desk, sitting on it. "As you probably have already figured out, my name is Professor Harry Potter. I would appreciate it if you didn't stare at me like I was a part of the circus." A few of the students blushed and looked away. "Now, you may call me Professor Potter or Mr. Potter, if you wish."
"I've been reviewing the notes of the teacher that left, a Mr. Licht. Well, he seems to think everyone in this class is hopeless and could stand to be flogged. I however, don't think so. If you give me reason to think so, I may just carry out that order." He smiled as the students straightened uncomfortably.
He picked up a book off his desk and opened it. "He says you lot left off at boggarts." He grinned; glad to finally have something easy to teach. He remembered Remus' teachings well and took out his wand. "Well, I think I can drum up a boggart easily enough. There's usually one in the teacher's lounge. Come with me." Then, he stood up and started for the door.
The students looked as though he was daft. Without looking over his shoulder at them, he said, "I did say follow me, didn't I?"
There was a scuffle as the children got out of their seats and went after him. He grinned to himself as he felt a sudden surge of power at having their attention. He wondered if this is how Remus felt when Harry was only a third year and wanting to learn everything he could from the werewolf.
They reached the teacher's lounge and Professor Stark was in there, sipping tea and talking to her husband, the red haired Kennedy Stark. Harry blinked. He hadn't seen Kennedy since his own wedding. However, Avalon looked up at him and Kennedy looked to him with a tired smile. Harry frowned. Kennedy was never tired. He was as clueless as a doorknob, but he was never tired.
"Professor Stark. I'm sorry to intrude. We're here to—"
Avalon gazed at him for a moment with those black emotionless eyes. She stood and took Kennedy's hand and started for the door, wiping her hand over her eyes as she passed. Harry frowned at the motion. He'd never seen Avalon crying when he had come in.
"Professor Potter, sir, what are we doing in the teachers' lounge?" asked one of the boys.
There was a wardrobe shaking in the corner. He walked over to it and grinned. "We're going to deal with a Boggart."
He raised his wand and made a motion. "Boggarts thrive on scaring humans, on their fear, so they become what you fear most. So, to combat that fear, you need to imagine what you fear most and then change it so it will no longer be scary, but funny while saying this spell: ridikulus. Everyone say it with me."
"Ridikulus!" the class said enthusiastically.
He smiled broadly at them and looked to the door of the Teachers' Lounge. He would have to ask Avalon what was wrong later, he thought. "Good. Now, when you say that, make sure what you turn the boggart into will be funny so you will laugh at it. Laughter makes it lose its power on you and it will move onto the next person."
He walked to the wardrobe and grinned over his shoulder at the students. "Ready? First up!" Then, he opened the door and out came a giant Venus Flytrap with vines flailing about. He looked over his shoulder to see a girl with blonde hair, staring at it as though transfixed.
"Ri… Ridikulus!" she squeaked and the Venus flytrap gained a top hat and a can and started dancing and singing. She started giggling and then backed away. He had never seen anyone get that sort of boggart change before and it almost startled him. He wondered where she might have seen such a thing for her to be afraid of it as he watched a boy with black hair come forward.
The Boggart wavered a second before changing into a giant Jack in the box. The Jack in the box wasn't so much frightening as disconcerting. Something about that face popping out of nowhere was rather creepy. At least it changed into a broken jack in the box when the boy started laughing at it after he did his spell.
The wavering boggart walked around in a dazed and confused manner and rounded on him. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what was going to happen if he didn't some how make the situation stop. He felt a chill and heard the scream of the children as a dementor appeared before them. No, it was a different sort of scream. It was feminine and screaming his name.
"PROFESSOR!" cried one of the girls.
He hadn't dealt with a dementor in so long, he'd almost forgotten how. Before he could black out, he shoved all of his energy into his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" he called out into the black.
There was a scream and his eyes focused on one of the girls. He ran at her as he directed the fake dementor away with the stag patronus. When it was a safe distance, to what he could tell, he called back his patronus and shouted. "RIDIKULUS!" The Dementor suddenly appeared in a ballet tutu and started doing a dance.
He sighed as he patted the poor frightened girl on the head and kicked the dementor on the rear back into the wardrobe. "Get back in there!" he grunted. He slammed the door shut and locked it, leaning on it as he let out a sigh of relief.
"Is… is that what you are afraid of, Professor?" asked one of the boys, looking at him oddly.
Harry nodded, though reluctantly, and stood up again. "Have been ever since I saw one in my own third year. My defence against the dark arts teacher at the time said it was a good thing because it meant I was afraid of fear itself."
The class stared at him silently as he got a hold of himself. Wiping his forehead, he gave a weak smile at the class. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Is everyone all right?"
"Professor! Anne's fainted!" cried one of the taller boys, his brown hair getting in his face as he bent down to pick up a red haired girl.
Harry was at her side in an instant. "I doubt it's the boggart that did this. Does anyone know this girl, her friend perhaps?"
The blonde haired girl that had a fear of giant Venus Flytraps came over quickly. "I'll take her to the nurse," she said quickly and helped the girl up onto her feet and walked off.
Harry frowned, watching the two girls walk off quietly. "Class, I want you to read the chapter on boggarts in your school book. Leave when class is over. I'll be back in a little while." Then, he followed the two girls out, picking up the little red haired girl Anne.
Anne squeaked and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck as she looked around at her suddenly above ground surroundings. "Don't worry, I'll get you to the hospital wing more quickly than if you walk."
The blonde haired girl blushed. Harry tried to remember their names from the role call sheet, but he couldn't bring them up. 'What are your names?"
"Jennifer Moon and that's Anne Cobble," said Jennifer Moon.
Anne looked about ready to faint again. Harry hefted her up again, trying to get a better hold on her. "Do you know what caused you to faint, Miss Cobble?"
She blushed. "I… saw my granddad…die.. in my head."
Harry frowned. "So it was the fake dememntor?"
She blinked. Jennifer answered for her though. "We haven't read anything on dementors yet, sir. Well, I have, but everyone else hasn't."
Harry nodded. "Yes, I suppose that would be a bit more advanced than what you lot are used to. Look, I don't have any chocolate on hand, but I'm certain Madame Pomfrey does. She'll take care of you both, make sure you two are all right and not hurt or anything."
Anne blushed crimson as Harry put her down on a bed. "Th-thank you.. Mr. Potter."
Harry chuckled. "It's all right. It's my duty as your teacher to take care of you, right?" The girl was acting like Ginny did when she was around him. It was almost comical, to say the least. Madame Pomfrey came out and looked at him quizzically.
"Boggart… me.. fake dementor," he said as he sat down in a chair.
Madame Pomfrey looked like she could kill him. He almost leapt out his chair when she stomped over to him and put that weathered old face in his. "You should know better, you great oaf, than to do that same lesson with YOU as the teacher! Think of what might have happened if you hadn't stopped the preceedings as I know you did!"
He was suddenly reminded very much of Mrs. Weasley with her ire directed at him. "Er—s-sorry, Madame Pomfrey," he squeaked.
Madame Pomfrey grunted and pulled out a bar of chocolate, giving it to the two girls and then shoved a great block into his mouth. "Now eat!" she growled before sitting back to watch him. The girls were giggling at him and he suddenly felt very much like a third year all over again.
When he finished the chocolate bar, Madame Pomfrey seemed satisfied enough that she went over to Anne Cobble and started checking her. "You're all right, dearie. Just don't let that idiot try to teach that lesson by himself ever again," she said with a grunt and then walked to the back of the room into her office.
Anne blushed as she looked at Harry and then looked quickly at her lap. Again, he was reminded of Ginny and a sudden longing for his wife swept over him. He smiled, feeling better, and stood up, stretching. "I hope you two are feeling better. You may stay here as long as you feel you have to."
Jennifer Moon ran over to him and hugged him around the waist. He chuckled and wondered if this was what he looked forward to when his daughter Lily would grow up. He patted her on the head and winked at Anne. "Especially you, Miss Cobble. I wouldn't want any of my students to get hurt on my watch, all right?"
She nodded hesitantly as Jennifer Moon let go of him and sat down onto the bed with Anne, hugging her. Then, he walked out. He found Astra with her face buried in a very old book. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. "What's going on?"
He took her elbow and led her away from the infirmary doors. "Boggart," he said.
"Let me guess. Voldemort showed up and suddenly everyone started screaming, eh?" she said. He forgot that she didn't know he was deathly afraid of Dementors. She had only arrived in his fifth year, when things were getting steadily worse.
"No. The boggart turned into a dementor and made one of the girls in my class faint. I just took her and her friend to the infirmary and had a massive talking to by Madame Pomfrey."
Astra coughed. "Pomfrey's still here? I thought she would've gone on vacation or something by now. The woman's got enough stress to die of a perforated stomach!"
Harry grinned faintly, but it disappeared quickly. "I think something is wrong with your sister or Kennedy."
Astra frowned. "Something wrong with Kennedy?" She knew her sister better than to think the woman would get hurt all that easily. She may have been more frail than Astra could ever be, but she did take of herself. Kennedy was another matter. He could be hurt easily. "I'll look into it," she said and then walked off quickly.
Harry sat back and watched her leave, sighing to himself once again. This was going to be tough on Astra if something was wrong with either her sister or her close friend. Kennedy had been there from the beginning, unlike him or any of his other friends. Kennedy knew what Astra had been through more than anyone else save her sister and her best friend Nevaeh. He walked back to his class and decided he would have to talk to Avalon later.