Harry sat at the Gryffindor table between Ron And Hermione. Nether of his two friends were talking to each other at the moment sense Ron had to make a stop at the dormitory before lunch. The boy had walked in the boy's 3rd year dorm to find Crookshanks, Hermione's pet cat, trying to eat his pet rat Scabbers. The redhead managed to save the rodent and had brought him down to lunch so he could keep him safe. After he and Hermione had an argument about their pets they both refused to talk with the other.
Harry was considering borrowing Cuddles from Willow sense he had the power to keep the cat and rat in their cages by fear alone. Nether animal wanted out of there carriers during the train ride simply because the snake was present. Fear of the reptiles eating other pets is what kept them confined to Slytherin House. Willow herself stubbornly refused to except this sense she had an in-depth conversation with both Cuddles and Sr. Huggs, and they promised not to eat anyone's familiars.
Harry looked towards the Great Hall entrance just as his sister walked through the door with Dawn. Both girls were smiling and seemed happy. Looking over at the Slytherin table he saw several of Willow's housemates shooting her angry looks as she walked up to the Gryffindor table. The most noticeable was Crabbe. He was starring across the room at Willow while seemingly grinding his fork into his plate.
The Wicca sat down in front of Harry blocking his view of Crabbe. She smiled at her brother and said. "Sorry it took so long. Me and Dawn needed to talk over somethings. So, I never got a chance to ask but how did your potion turn out Harry?"
The young Wizard told his sister. "My potion was passible. It was a little lighter in color than what Snape wanted, but I think it was alright."
Dawn looked between Ron and Hermione and noticed the grumpy faces. "What's up with the two of them?"
Harry sighed. "Crookshanks tried to eat Scabbers. Ron managed to save him, but Hermione is defending her cat's actions. Hermione claims its simply predator instinct and Ron thinks it's an unnatural sadistic desire to murder other pets, so naturally there not talking to one another."
Both Gryffindors turned to look at Harry, which means they saw each other and glared. Hermione just huffed and they went back to ignoring the other. Harry began to look more annoyed when he noticed Willow and Dawn trying not to laugh.
"So, what did Snape have to say about the explosion?" He asked out of curiosity as well to change the subject.
The young girl soon had an annoyed look on her own face. "He more or less told me to act more Slytherin as to avoid future acts of sabotage. Well he didn't phrase it like that but it's what he meant."
Hermione looked outraged. "How dare he. It wasn't your fault at all, only the student that sabotaged your potion."
"Ya,..." Ron began but got distracted by the food arriving. As everyone began to feel their plates, Neville came and sat down next to Dawn. "Hello everyone." He said shyly.
"Hey Neville, are you looking forward to Defense Class after lunch?" Dawn asked nicely.
"Not really. I've never been good with Defense Against The Dark Arts." He said sadly. "Herbology is tomorrow so that's something to look forward to." Neville finished a little happier.
As lunch progressed the three girls and Neville had a conversation regarding Herbology and Defense Class. Harry and Ron talked mostly about Quidditch and the latest broom which was called the Firebolt. The raven haired boy also watched the Slytherin table for signs of trouble and noticed Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott having a quiet argument. Though he couldn't read lips they were probably talking about Willow.
Ron noticed Harry looking across the room at Slytherin. "What's wrong Harry?" He asked in a quiet voice as not to be overheard by the rest of the table.
Harry looked back at Ron and whispered. "Just wondering what Snake sabotaged Willow's potion."
"What are you going to do when you find out?" Ron asked curiously. He had no problem helping Harry with some vengeance.
"Figured your two twin brothers might have some good ideas on how to make a grown idiot cry." Harry answered with a growl.
Ron had a wicked smile on his face as he turned back to Gryffindor table. Dawn looked at the ginger and asked suspiciously. "What are you smirking at Ronald?"
"Oh nothing. Me and Harry are just talking about Quidditch and how bad Gryffindor will stomp Slytherin this year." He said with a straight face. This caused Hermione to smile, until she remembered that Ron and she weren't talking. The smile quickly left the young Witch's lips.
"I haven't heard too much about the house teams. Who's all on Gryffindor and Slytherin?" Willow asked.
"Well you know I'm the Seeker and Fred and George are the Beaters. Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet are the Chasers. Oliver Wood is both Keeper and Captain." Harry explained.
"As for Slytherin, Marcus Flint is Captain and Chaser. Graham Montague and Cassius Warrington are the other two Chasers. Peregrine Derrick and Lucian Bole are the Beaters. Miles Bletchley is the Keeper and Draco Malfoy is the Seeker. The little git bought his way onto the team last year and is really horrible." Ron said.
"Yeah," Hermione said smiling. "He lost to Harry last year. At the time, an enchanted Bludger was trying to knock your brother of his broom by focusing solely on him. It managed to break his arm, but Harry still caught the Snitch which was right next to Malfoy's head."
Harry focused back on the Slytherin table to see Malfoy and Nott still arguing. They were speaking in low voices so as not to be overheard. Nott shot Willow a cold look and began to stand up. Crabbe said something to the taller lanky boy, and he sat back down looking paler than usual. "Looks like all is not well in the Snake Pit." He said.
Ron and Hermione looked over at the table. "Nott does not look happy. I wonder what there arguing about?" The bushy haired girl wondered.
"Draco is reprimanding Nott because he sabotaged my potion. I'm guessing Slytherin attacking Slytherin is frowned upon." Willow said in a bored tone.
Harry focused back on his sister. There were quite a bit of violent acts running threw his mind at the moment. The most terrible was possibly setting Nott on fire. Now that he knew the one responsible for his sister's potion explosion, he just need a little help with some revenge. He quickly shot a look down the table at Fred and George Weasley.
Willow could practically see the wheals in her brother's brain turning. She was about to tell him to stay out of it, but Dawn kicked her shin. She turned to glare at her friend, that hurt, but noticed Dawn giving her a pointed look and then glancing at Harry. "We just talked about this Will." She said.
The redhead sighed; she didn't need Harry to come to the rescue but her brother was dead set. She could take care of it herself but maybe letting Harry have his day wouldn't be so bad. This also went back to what Dawn said about not shouldering all the burden herself.
Hermione gave the girls a confused look. "What's wrong Dawn?"
"Nothing really, just Willow falling into old habits that need to be broken." She said cheerfully. Willow gave her a mock glare and stuck out her tongue. All three girls cracked up.
Lunch soon ended and everyone got up to leave. Harry hugged Willow and asked her. "What class do you have next? We're headed for Defense Against The Dark Arts with Professor Lupin."
"The wonderful and happy house of Slytherin will be headed for Transfiguration." Willow said sarcastically. "I heard Professor McGonagall plays favorites with the Gryffindors and hates Slytherin."
"That's outrageous, Professor McGonagall treats everyone the same and demands more from her own house than any other." Hermione said angrily.
"Judging by the fact Slytherins told me this, I didn't think it was true." Willow said. She waved good bye as she left.
The Gryffindors all headed to their next class together. They sat in the front and waited patiently for the Professor. Lupin came in five minutes after the bell in a hurry.
"Sorry I'm late everyone but something came up." He turned and looked at the class and saw they had already gotten books out. "Oh, you won't need your books today, just your wands. We're going to go to the Teachers' Lounge, so pack your bags because we won't be back."
Everyone became excited about a practical lesson as they hadn't had one ever seen the Pixie incident last year. It didn't take long and out the door they went.
As they made the trip down the hall, they crossed paths with Peeves the Poltergeist. He was stuffing bubblegum in the Broom Cupboard doorknob lock. Some fancy wand work from Lupin that shot the gum through Peeves' face and they continued to the Staff Lounge.
The room was completely empty except for Snap who was setting in an armchair by the corner. He looked up as the class walked in. He sneered at the Gryffindors as the grouped up to the side of the entrance. The Potion Master then looked at the Defense Professor when he began to close the door. "Leave it open Lupin, I'd rather not witness this."
As he made to leave, Snape turned back and addressed Neville with his custom sneer. "Try not to blow your own foot off Longbottom. If your spell casting is as bad as your potions work the whole class is in danger."
Neville shrunk back a little at the Professor's words. Harry and his friends were angry, Ron was about to tell Snape of when Lupin beat him to it. "I'm sure Neville will do fine; in fact he is going to help me with an opening demonstration."
Snape just gave Lupin a meaner looking sneer and left the room. The door closed with more needed force as he slammed it hard.
"Well then let's begin." The Werewolf started. He walked up to a rattling wardrobe in the back and asked. "Can anyone tell me what is inside of here?"
Hermione raised her hand. "It's a Boggart Professor Lupin. A Dark Creature that can assume the thing that it's victim fears most. You can find them in small dark spaces like wardrobes, closets, under the bed, and so on.
"Excellent Ms. Granger, I couldn't have put it better myself." Lupin said. "So, this Boggart is sitting in there right now in its natural state. No one knows what the creature looks like because no one has found a way to see it in its true form. Can anyone tell me one advantage we have over this one? Harry?"
Trying to thank of an answer with an eager Hermione next to him was a little difficult. Finally coming up with one he said. "Ah, there's a lot of people here so he won't know which form to take."
"Excellent Harry good answer. It's always good to have more people with you when taking on a Boggart." Lupin said. "I once saw one try and scare two people at once. It became half a Slug and wasn't very frightening at all."
"Now the most important thing to remember is laughter. Laughter is what finishes a Boggart. The way to accomplish this is to force the creature to become something that you find humorous. The way to accomplish this is a Charm called Riddikulus." The Professor explained.
"Now we will practice saying the Charm. Everyone after me. Riddikulus!" Remus said.
Everyone. "Riddikulus!"
"Very good everyone. Neville please come forward." The boy walked towards the Professor nervously. He would love to be anywhere else but here.
Harry watched as Lupin gave Neville instructions. He had to admit that a cross dressing Snape would be hilarious. Lupin thin instructed the class to think of the thing they fear most and make it funny. Harry's first thought of a fully revived Voldemort and couldn't really come up with another thing. How the hell did you make Voldemort Funny? 'Maybe dress him like Dumbledore or Santa Claus.' He pondered.
Of to his side he heard Ron saying. "Take away it's legs. Take away it's legs." Harry knew this was because the boy was terrified of spiders. He couldn't help but smile at his friend's phobia.
"All right everyone are you ready?" Lupin asked. After getting nods from the nervous class he waved his wand at the wardrobe causing it to open. He took a step back so Neville was in front.
The class looked on as Boggart Professor Snape crawled out of the wardrobe. He was a little stiff as he advanced towards Neville. The boy shakily raised his wand and cried. "Riddikulus!"
Instantly Boggart Snape became dressed in Augusta Longbottom's finest clothes complete with a stuffed Vulture hat. The whole class began to laugh hysterically as the Boggart looked around confused.
"Well done Neville, well done. Alright everyone let's keep it going. Mr. Weasley step forward please." Lupin said.
Everyone watched as Ron walked up to the Boggart. Snape looked down at the boy and quickly became a giant spider. The ginger didn't hesitate as he raised his wand and said. "Riddikulus!"
The spider quickly fell to the ground as its legs disappeared from underneath. Ron quickly stepped back as Professor Lupin called Parvati Patil to step forward. The helpless spider quickly turned into a blood stained Mummy and advanced towards the girl. Parvati quick raised her wand and said the Charm. The bandages around the legs came unraveled and tripped the monster. This was how it went for several minutes as one student after another fought the Boggart.
Harry and Hermione were last. The black haired boy walked forward as Lupin was distracted complementing Seamus Finnigan. The Boggart, in the form of a giant Jack-In-The-Box, took one look at Harry and transformed into a dead Willow lying on the floor. Her green eyes were wide open, and it looked like her throat had been cut, blood was pooling underneath her dead body.
The young Wizard froze as the class went deathly quiet. Lupin came over as fast as he could and stood in front of Harry to get the creatures attention. The Boggart became a glowing full moon in the air as the Professor waved his wand saying the Charm. The moon deflated like a balloon and went back into the wardrobe.
"Thank you everyone. I think ten points to everyone who fought the Boggart and another ten to Ms. Granger for her answering my question. Mr. Potter also gets another ten for answering my second question. Class is dismissed everyone so have a good day." Lupin said with a little nervous laughter. It was a quiet Gryffindor Class that gathered their things and headed for the next lesson.