Chapter 7

For some odd reason, I really enjoyed lunch. Not everyone was in the mess hall, so you could talk without having to talk over people, but if you didn't want anyone to overhear your conversation, it was loud enough to cover it up. Unfortunately, Malfoy was talking loud enough for us to hear his bragging to his friends how he almost died from Buckbeak. I turned back to my friends and asked, "Do you hear what that weasel is saying?"

"It's Malfoy, what do you expect?" retorted Rachel as she took a bite of her meal.

"Look at him! He's eating this up! I just want to go over there and wipe that smirk off of his face," I gritted.

"His father is already furious enough, don't give him an excuse to get you expelled," replied Hermione.

"Daddy's boy," I muttered under my breath as I took out my wand and gave it a little flick, causing the bit of meat on Malfoy's fork to turn into a bit of moldy cheese. And, of course, he ate it! It was hilarious to watch him choke on his food. But for some odd reason, my friends didn't find it as amusing as I did. "Why the serious faces?"

"How did you do that?" asked Amanda.

"Do what?"

"You changed something into something else without saying anything. You don't learn silent spells for another three years," stated Hermione.

"Dumb…" I began, but then remember our "lessons" were meant to be quiet, so I replied, "Dumb…dumb luck?"

Before they could say anything, Seamus came running up shouting, "He's been sighted! He's been sighted!"

"Who?" asked Ron.

"Who do you think? Sirius Black!"

Everyone ran over to us, staring at the Daily Prophet that Seamus had thrown down in front of us. Of course, leave it to Hermione to actually read the bloody article. "Dufftown! That's not far from here."

"You don't think that he would come here, do you? After all, there are Dementors at every entrance," stated Ron.

"Dementors!? He's already slipped past them once, whose to say he won't do it again?" replied Seamus.

"He's right. Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands!" said Dean.

Harry and I exchanged nervous glances as we looked down at the picture of the crazy man, screaming silently at the unknown people staring back at him. I could see the darkness in his eyes. It was nerve-wracking. As everyone else sat around discussing Black's whereabouts, we snuck from the table and headed towards Defense Against the Dark Arts, snagging the paper as we went. Rachel, Amanda and Hermione left us at the Grand Staircase, telling us they would meet up with us in the classroom. As we ascended the staircase, I continued to stare at the crazy man laughing at us from his picture. "Can you believe it? Sirius Black here?" stated Ron.

"Ron…" I began.

"I would hate to be you guys right now," he continued.

Getting angry, I rolled the paper up and hit Ron across the head with it. "OW! What was that for?" he asked with a whine in his voice.

"Stop being an idiot," I snarled at him, waving the paper in his face.

Just then, Oliver Wood stopped us at the third floor and said, "Hello you two. You ready for practice this afternoon?"

That's right! I had almost completely forgotten about Quidditch. I guess worrying about a psycho killer being after you makes you forget the finer things in life. "We've been looking forward to it," lied Harry.

"Great. When you see Rachel, let her know. I'll see you two at the pitch before supper."

And with that, Wood left. I then turned to Harry and said, "I forgot about practice! How am I EVER going to get my work done AND have practice?"

"Beats me. Come on, let's get inside before we get in trouble," replied Harry as we walked into the corridor and towards the classroom. When we walked inside, we saw a large cupboard in the middle of the room, shaking as if something were inside. All of the desks were pushed against the wall, leaving the middle of the room free. We all gathered around in the large group, a safe distance from the rattling cabinet. Professor Lupin then walked down the stairs and next to the cupboard. "Can anyone tell me what is inside?" he asked.

"That's a boggart, that is!" replied Dean as the cupboard bounced again, causing all of us to take a step back. "Very good, Mr. Thomas. Now can anyone tell me what a boggart LOOKS like?"

Suddenly, Hermione's voice appeared next to Ron, stating, "No one knows."

We turned and suddenly, where there was nothing, stood Hermione, Rachel and Amanda. "When did they get here?" asked Ron.

"A boggart takes the shape of whatever someone fears the most. That's what makes them so…" continued Hermione without answering Ron.

"So terrifying, yes. Now, there is a simple incantation to repel a boggart. Repeat after me. No wands, please. Ready? Ridikulus."

As a class, we muttered, "Ridikulus."

"Louder. RIDIKULUS!"

"RIDIKULUS!" we all shouted at him.

I could barely hear Malfoy in the back mutter, "This class is ridiculous."

"Now, the incantation alone is not enough. What really finishes a boggart off is laughter. Let me show you. Uh…Mr. Longbottom, if you would kindly join me."

I smiled as I watched Neville emerge from the group and walk towards Professor Lupin. Once he was close enough, Lupin asked, "What frightens you the most?"

Neville muttered something, but I couldn't hear it. "What was that?"

"P…Professor Snape."

We all laughed as Lupin smiled, "Yes, Professor Snape can be terrifying. Now, if I understand correctly, you live with your grandmother, correct?"

"Yes, but I don't want that thing to turn into her either."

We all laughed as Lupin replied, "No, it won't. Now, I want you to picture her clothes. ONLY her clothes."

"She carries a red…"

"We don't need to hear it. If you see it, we'll see it. Now, this is what I want you to do."

Lupin walked up to Neville and whispered something in his ear. The look on Neville's face was that of confusion as he looked back at Lupin. "Can you do that?"

Neville nodded as Lupin took out his wand and said, "Wand at the ready in three…two…one."

On 'one,' Lupin flicked his wand as the doorknob turned. Out of the cupboard came Snape, looking furious as ever. "Steady, Neville," encouraged Lupin.

As soon as Snape got closer, Neville pointed his wand and shouted, "RIDIKULUS!"

Suddenly, Snape was clothed in the most hideous outfit I had ever seen. It was a green dress with a red handbag, a bird hat and a weasel scarf. The sight was amazing. We all laughed hysterically as Neville stepped back as Lupin walked over to a record player and said, "Make a line and make something you fear something funny!"

Circus music began to play as Ron was the next one up. We all watched as Snape turned into a large spider. I laughed hysterically at the look on Ron's face. Ron quickly took out his wand and shouted, "RIDIKULUS!"

Suddenly, the spider began tap-dancing. We continued laughing as Ron walked away and next up was Amanda. The spider shape-shifted into Fred snogging some girl…wait…not just any girl…ANGELICA! Amanda's face grew angry as she shouted, "RIDIKULUS!"

Suddenly, her boggart self came into view and slapped Fred across the face. A few more went up and now, it was Rachel. The boggart turned into something terrifying even for myself. There, on the ground, was Boggart-Amanda, Boggart-Harry, Boggart-Ron, Boggart-Me, Boggart-Hermione…hell, Boggart EVERYBODY we knew…dead! Mangled and bloody. I could hear the Patil twins gagging in the distant. I was waiting to see something funny, but instead, Rachel just stormed out of the room, tears in her eyes. I looked at Lupin, who seemed a bit shocked. "It's alright, everyone! I was expecting a reaction like that. Uh…Miss Potter, you next."

I was pretty sure I knew what the boggart was going to turn into, but then I remembered all the horrific things. The boggart seemed to take forever to change, but finally, it turned into something that made EVERYONE gasp. It was Sirius Black and he was coming…AT ME! I could see Lupin out of the corner of my eye lunge, but I thought of something and shouted, "RIDIKULUS!"

Suddenly, Black began tap dancing with a monkey next to him. Now THAT was comedy. I didn't go to the back, I went off to the side to see Harry's and when the Boggart changed…I hid beneath a desk. It was a Dementor. This time, Lupin jumped in front of Harry, causing the boggart to change…into a full moon? Lupin muttered the curse and the moon turned into a deflated balloon, flying right back into the cabinet. We all looked in amazement as Lupin shouted, "Sorry about that. That's all the time we have for today. Class dismissed!"

I could hear the sounds of disappointment as everyone left. I didn't leave immediately, I wanted to talk to Lupin about why he was about to jump in front of me. But, he was took quick and he retreated back to his office. I wasn't about to go in there. So, I followed everyone out. When I walked out the door, I saw Fred walk up to Amanda with a smile. "How was…" he began but was interrupted when Amanda slapped him across the face.

Fred looked bewildered as we laughed and Amanda ran off. He looked at us and I just replied, "Apparently you cheated on her."

Confused, he ran after her, shouting her name. "Who was expecting that?" I asked when I saw Rachel sitting on the floor, resting against the wall.

Our faces of amusement turned into worry as we walked up to her. "Rachel?" asked Hermione as she and I knelt down next to her.

She didn't answer. Figures. "Hey, Rachel!" I shouted in her ear.

But she continued to just sit there. "Hey, you can't act like this forever! It was just a boggart. Wood will kill you if you show up to practice moping like this."

"Practice?" asked Rachel.

That's right! I had never told her. "Yeah, we have practice today. Now get up and stop acting like the world has ended. Nothing is going to happen to us."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Now, act like the Rachel I know and not this moping thing I see before me."

I had to laugh at myself. I always acted this way when one of my friends was moping. I'd be a smartass to get them to smile. That's me! And, it worked. Rachel got up and together, we headed towards the Gryffindor Common Room. As we walked up the staircase, Hermione asked, "How are you going to get all your work done and still do practice?"

With my I-Love-You smile on my face, I looked at her. "Oh no, I am not doing your work for you, Elliot."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Please?"

"NO!"

"Please?"

Hermione huffed a sigh. As she looked at me, she said, "You're not going to let up until I say yes, are you?"

I shook my head with a smile, something a 5-year-old would do. Heaving another sigh, she replied, "Alright, but just this once."

I swung my hand up in victory as Harry gave the password to the Fat Lady and we walked inside. Once inside, Harry, Rachel and I got changed for practice, bid our good-byes, and headed for the flying pitch. I was actually looking forward to this season. Once we arrived at the green field, Wood stood in front of us all and said, "Now, this season I have a very good feeling about the tournament. I've set up the practices everyday before supper and Sunday mornings. We will train longer and harder. I don't want to have to lose the Quidditch cup again. Now then, I want the three chasers to do laps and practice passing the Quaffel. Harry, you'll practice with the Snitch and Weasleys, target practice. If we're to beat the Slytherins, we'll have to play dirty. I'll be at one side of the field and I want you three to practice trying to make a goal. I'll call you all back for a break then we'll start part two."

Oh boy, tonight I was going to be sore. By the time the first break rolled around, my arms were dead weight. I didn't think I could throw or catch again. Part two was worse. For target practice for the twins, we had to try and avoid their bludgers. George missed Rachel on purpose and I ended up with several bruises. I was going to have to have a 'chat' with those two. Finally, practice was over and we immediately went to the Great Hall for dinner. I was starving. Once I sat down, I ate faster than Ron does when he's starving. All I wanted to do was get something to eat and sleep. I didn't pay attention to the conversation, I just focused on the slice of ham in front of me. Once that was over, I stumbled with everyone to the Common Room. Normally I would stay up so we could talk about things, but I ended up falling asleep on the couch and, according to Ron and Harry the next morning, Rachel and Amanda had to heave me from Ron's lap, which apparently turned into my pillow and carry me to bed. But I knew that Quidditch wasn't the only thing I had to worry about.

TBC…

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