October 1945
Although the return to what could be described as 'normal' was welcomed by all, it became apparent as the first month rolled by that there were some things that weren't going to change back. Though, as Minerva reflected many a time, the effects of something as massive as two world wars were never going to be reversible.
The Wizarding Wirelesses remained in all the Common Rooms, though simply reported the usual Magical news rather than the dreaded war reports. There was even the odd song amongst the talking, which always brightened everyone's moods. But performances by the new talent Celestina Warbeck often resulted in jealous looks being thrown in Ro's direction, as she started bragging about her family's free tickets to Celestina's concerts since she and Kurtis had been good friends at Hogwarts.
Being at Hogwarts and going to lessons felt almost odd during the first week, as in the aftermath of the Battle, the repair work taking up teachers' time meant that attendance hadn't been compulsory. It didn't take long to get back into the swing of things though, and Minerva enjoyed getting back into the learning side of school life. The increased difficulty of the work they were covering due to O.W.L. exams being only one year away wasn't quite so welcome. Neither was the dramatic increase in homework quantities, especially for Minerva and Irma who had agreed to use their Time-Turners against the Professors' instructions to get everything done if it became necessary. But despite their heavy workloads, there was still no shortage of enjoyment to be had.
Defense Lessons had been completely cancelled for the last few weeks of third year since Professor Merrythought had been so heavily involved in the castle repairs. To make up for that as well as their solely practical based third year, the first month of defense lessons had just been the theory behind some of the duelling spells they'd learned. However, when the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws arrived from Herbology to Professor Merrythought's classroom in the first week of October, they were greeted by an empty floor and an ominously rattling cabinet in front of the Professor's desk.
Professor Merrythought had an expectant smile about her face when the fourth years walked in and cautiously regarded the cabinet. "Leave your bags by the wall, all you'll need today are your wands," she called, taking a register as she did so. The wary murmurs turned into excited whispers as Minerva pulled her wand out of her robe pocket and put her satchel down, the whole class clearly eager to be doing practical work again.
Once everyone had gathered in a rough half-circle around the cabinet, she picked up her own wand and asked "Now I've got a Boggart in this cabinet. They prefer small, dark spaces to hide in where they won't be disturbed, so they can often sneak up on you when you're going into a cupboard or something after a while of not using it." She gave the cabinet a glowering look as she continued "This one surprised me when clearing out my office yesterday, it must have crept in after the repair work was finished. Now, does anyone know what a Boggart actually is?"
A couple of people glanced in Minerva's direction, expecting her to know the answer as per usual, but to her surprise she was beaten to it by Lyall Lupin. "Boggarts are shapeshifters, that change to look like whatever someone's worst fear is," he said promptly.
"Very good Mr Lupin, 5 points to Gryffindor." Professor Merrythought nodded, looking directly at Lyall. "I thought I might rely on your expertise today; with your father as Head of the Magical Creatures Department I expect you've heard plenty about these sorts of beasts." She paused for a moment before adding "Well they're non-beings to be exact, but I'll let Professor Kettleburn give you that lecture. I usually let him explain what all these creatures are, I just teach you how to get rid of them!"
Minerva laughed as did several other people; she had missed the Professor's sense of humour over the summer. Professor Kettleburn had already given her and the other Care of Magical Creatures students that lecture- it had been their very first lesson of third year. The cabinet shuddered violently, making the padlock clink, but it quieted down when Professor Merrythought hit it a couple of times with her wrist.
"Now, the charm to repel a Boggart is a simple one but it needs a strong mind." Professor Merrythought continued, rubbing her wrist with her other hand. "As you might have guessed from how it reacted just now, the best weapon against a Boggart is laughter. Therefore this particular charm, which I will teach you in a moment, will make the Boggart turn into a form that you find funny. There's no wand movement involved, you just point your wand at the Boggart and say the word 'Riddikulus'. Let's hear you say it now, no wands please because I don't know what might happen to me."
"Riddikulus!" The class chanted as one, before descending into laughter again. Minerva wondered what would happen if the charm was cast on something that wasn't a Boggart, making a mental note to ask Professor Aurelius in their charms lesson that afternoon.
Professor Merrythought waited until both the laughter and the cabinet's resultant rattling had fallen quiet again. "Very good, all of you. But there is another thing that will help you fight a Boggart; does anyone have any ideas?"
Minerva was yet again beaten to the post, this time by Ro who was eyeing the cabinet with an excited enthusiasm that reminded Minerva of her 'Quidditch Look'. "There's lots of us here, so the Boggart won't know what to turn into first."
"Another 5 points for Gryffindor. I presume these are commonly seen by your sister, Miss Hooch?" Professor Merrythought asked with a smile. When Ro grinned in response, she continued to the rest of the class "Miss Hooch's older sister works as a Dark Creature Catcher, and from what I know they commonly have to deal with Boggarts who are posing problems to unsuspecting Muggles."
"I didn't think Muggles could see Boggarts, Professor?" asked Mali Shafiq from the back of the room.
Professor Merrythought looked thoughtful for a moment, before answering "From what I've heard they can, but not to the same extend that we can. It might be mistaken as a hallucination of sorts, rather than a physical creature. I believe it's the same with all non-beings, but that's a question to ask Professor Kettleburn."
"Before I open this cabinet and let you all face the Boggart, there's one more thing to do. So that you're not taken by surprise, I want you to think about what you fear the very most, above everything else. Then, though it's easier said than done, try and think of a way to make it funny."
Minerva's mind was racing as she tried to think of what she was frightened of the most. The only thing that came to mind was her stupid fear of water but she couldn't think of any way that a Boggart might be able to show that. Poppy on her left was looking thoughtful and a little agitated, but on her other side there was a smile playing about Ro's lips.
Professor Merrythought clapped her hand to her wrist after a few minutes to get their attention. "I'm not going to demonstrate this time, I want to see how you all fare. Mr Lupin, would you like to take centre stage? Get ready to follow him, Miss Hooch, then I'll call you all up one by one." As Lyall stepped forward and everyone else shuffled back, Professor Merrythought moved a great distance away from the cabinet and flicked her wand at it. A yellow glimmer swirled around the padlock, before it fell away and the cabinet door swung open.
Out of the cabinet stepped what might have once been a man, but the eyes were staring sightlessly and the head lolled to one side as it stumbled forward. It took Minerva a few moments to recognise it as a zombie, remembering Lyall telling her about seeing zombies in a film over the summer. The Boggart-zombie was halfway across the room before Lyall pointed his wand, yelled "Riddikulus!" and made all its limbs fall off.
"Very good Lyall!" praised Professor Merrythought as the class laughed at the wriggling body parts. "Rolanda, up you go!"
Ro moved to stand in front of the Boggart, and when it had stopped reforming there was a universal gasp of horror. The man standing before them was instantly recognisable as Gellert Grindlewald- Minerva had seen enough pictures of him in the Daily Prophet to know his face far too well. He drew his wand at Ro and the whole class moved back as one. Ro's hands were shaking slightly though Minerva couldn't blame her in the slightest- how were you meant to make light of a world-renowned murderer?
With a shout of "Riddikulus!" from Ro, Grindlewald's formidable face turned into someone a lot more recognisable. It was Kurtis; one hand was on his hip and the other pushed his hair forward to resemble Grindlewald's curled quiff as he crossed his eyes and spoke in an attempt at a German-like accent.
Kurtis' Grindlewald impression had the whole class roaring with laughter, with Ro grinning proudly and Minerva feeling very impressed. Professor Merrythought shouted "That was fantastic Rolanda, very well done, you're next Millicent!"
Millicent still had a broad smile on her face as she marched in front of Kurtis, who transformed into a tall, slender woman with auburn hair. "Trudy," Poppy whispered next to Minerva, who was instantly reminded of the nasty-sounding women with Millicent's father on the Platform
"You'll never be part of our family," Trudy sneered, looking down her nose at Millicent who's expression was now of pure fury. "You're too abnormal, not like your wonderful father and darling sister, you could never be one of us-"
"Riddikulus!" Millicent bellowed, with an anger that Minerva had never seen her poses before. Trudy's immaculate curls turned into a frizzy mess and her perfect teeth grew so that she resembled a rabbit more than a person. She tried to continue speaking but her voice came out as only a squeak, and to Minerva's relief Millicent started to laugh.
"Good job Millicent," Professor Merrythought called as Trudy started pulling desperately at her hair, "Septima, your turn!"
Septima nodded at Millicent as she stepped forward, and Trudy was replaced with an enormous grey wolf with slavering jaws and glinting red eyes. "Riddikulus!" Septima shouted with only a hint of fear, and the wolf was replaced with a tiny silver puppy that made several people gasp with delight. It ran round Septima's legs a couple of times before tripping over its tail to roll onto the floor, sticking its tongue out comically.
"Well done Septima, Minerva lets have you next!" shouted Professor Merrythought, clearly enjoying herself just as much as the class were.
Minerva's misgivings rushed back to her as the puppy disappeared, reforming into a massive tidal wave that rushed towards her. She flinched on instinct, before remembering it was just the Boggart and brandishing her wand. "Riddikulus," she said with forced confidence, and the water that was seconds away from crashing over her head transformed into a flurry of tiny snowflakes. Minerva giggled as the snowflakes danced around her, moving back to allow Poppy to take her place.
Poppy looked nervous as she stood beneath the snow cloud, though let out an alarmed gasp when the Boggart finally took shape. There was a body lying on the classroom floor, covered in blood and an expression of fear frozen on its face. Minerva instantly recognised it as Poppy's mother, and Ro's sudden grip on her wrist told Minerva that she had too.
"Riddikulus," Poppy said, though her voice was quiet and unconvincing. Mrs Pomfrey disappeared in a swirl and Minerva hoped for a second that she had been successful, but its new shape was exactly the same as before but with Poppy's father instead. "Riddikulus!" Poppy cried again, a hint of desperation in her tone, and when the Boggart reformed Minerva felt her throat clench up. This time it was Ro's body, looking exactly how she had done after her terrifying fall through the Greenhouse roof.
The whole class had fallen into a still silence. Poppy's shoulders were shaking as she stared at Ro's body, and Minerva had to concentrate hard to prevent those awful memories flooding her mind. The real Ro had gone rigid, her eyes wide as she looked at her unmoving form and her grip on Minerva's arm intensifying.
"Poppy," Professor Merrythought called, her former amusement replaced with deep concern, "Poppy, are you alright?"
"I..." Poppy trailed off, before wrenching her gaze away from Ro to look back at the Professor, "I can't, I can't do it."
Professor Merrythought hurried forward, standing in front of Poppy so that the Boggart changed away from Ro's body. But what it reformed into did nothing to help Minerva's uneasiness, as the roar emitted by the Boggart was one that had haunted her nightmares for more than two years. Despite its shapless, shadowy form, the sound combined with the yellow eyes was enough to send Minerva's mind catapulting back through time to that fateful night when the Professor had lost her hand.
Professor Merrythought didn't even try to face the Boggart; her pale face had turned even whiter than usual and she clutched her wrist stump with her remaining hand. "Are you alright?" she asked Poppy quietly, flinching as the Boggart roared again.
The feeling of Ro tugging her arm made Minerva look down to meet her shocked gaze. "Did I really look like that?" she asked in a strained voice. Minerva could only nod, not trusting her voice to stay steady enough for words.
"Hector, you're up next!" Professor Merrythought said in a shallow voice, standing back in the far corner of the class with her hand resting on Poppy's shoulder. Still feeling a little shaken by her two unwelcome trips into the past, Minerva stayed quiet as the rest of the class tackled the Boggart. As the last few people had their turn it seemed to get confused, cycling randomly through a few of its previous forms, before finally bursting into nothing after Joseph Kennedy turned it from a swarm of wasps into a cloud of fireworks.
"Very good everybody, that was a fantastic lesson." Professor Merrythought called over the class' excited chattering. "25 points each to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for some fantastic wandwork, and you're all free to go. Except could I hang on to Septima and her clique for a few minutes?"
Assuming that the Professor meant her, Minerva hung back along with Septima, Ro, Poppy and Millicent as the rest of the class collected their bags and left down the corridor. Once it was just them left in the classroom, they all gathered around Professor Merrythought who was still looking lost in thought.
Poppy was still trembling slightly, clutching her wand so hard that her knuckles had turned white. "I'm really sorry Professor," she said in a broken sort of voice, "I didn't think it would be that, I didn't know what do to."
Professor Merrythought silenced her by placing her hand over Poppy's. "Don't you worry about it dear, there's nothing to feel ashamed about. Facing your worst fear is never going to be easy, especially when it's tied to a terrible memory." A second's hesitation, then "I can't face my Boggart either. Professor Aurelius had to come and rescue me when I first found that one. That night is not one I'll be able to forget in a long while." She fell quiet then, a look of dark reminiscence in her eyes.
"Are you ok, Professor?" Millicent asked after a few moments, voicing the question that had been on Minerva's mind.
"Hmm?" Professor Merrythought said, shaking her head slightly, "oh yes, don't worry about me. I just thought I ought to let you all know that your sister-" she looked directly at Septima "- reacted to the Boggart very much like Poppy did in their lesson before yours."
Septima frowned, looking as worried as Minerva was feeling. It wasn't like Irma to lose her composure, so whatever her Boggart was must have really unsettled her. "Is she alright?" asked Septima.
Professor Merrythought sighed. "She seemed quite badly shaken, but assured me she would be fine. Though I think she'll need some consoling when you see her, it was the comments of a few other people that upset her just as much as the Boggart itself did and she'll have been with them for this lesson too." Her voice had taken on a harsh tone, and Minerva knew instantly exactly who the Professor was referring too. "Go on now, she'll need you with her."
Bidding the Professor a hasty goodbye, they quickly collected their bags and ran down the staircases to the ground floor. On the way to the back entrance they passed several Hufflepuffs in their yeargroup, reassuring them that Irma would already be on her way out of Herbology. But when they tried to get out into the grounds, to their despair the doorway was blocked by Abraxas Malfoy, Druella Rosier, Owle Bullock and Apollyon Pringle.
"Come to find your sister?" Druella asked, sneering at Septima. "She didn't cope with the Boggarts very well, Professor Merrythought had to come and rescue her."
"Spent the whole of Herbology sniffling too." Abraxas taunted, "Pathetic really."
Druella nodded, a look of haughty disdain on her face. "Though it's only her own fault. If her mother had made a proper marriage than she would never need to be afraid of her mudblood father."
Minerva froze, her mind trying to process what Druella had just said. Irma's Boggart was... her father?
Septima's lip curled. "Mind your own business, and stop clogging the doorway. Haven't you got someone better to taunt."
Druella laughed, a harsh, cruel sound that set Minerva's teeth on edge. "Watch it, Vector. Remember who your superiors are."
"Don't waste your time on them," Abraxas sighed with a note of mock resignation. "They're just a bunch of mudbloods, blood-traitors and Muggle lovers. We could never impress our values onto them."
Ro growled under her breath, reaching for her wand. The Slytherins all laughed, though moved out the doorway and continued down the corridor towards the Dungeons.
Before their jeers had faded out of earshot, Alphard Black had appeared in the door and hastily whispered "She's under the tapestry that hides the secret passage." Without waiting for a response, he had run down the other corridor which lead to the Great Hall.
"The nerve of them!" Ro spat, her yellow eyes blazing with fury.
"But at least we know where Irma is." Minerva said, laying a hand on Ro's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "The secret passage we used with Larry and Nancy during the battle, you remember?"
Sure enough, when they found the tapestry they could hear the sound of quiet whimpering coming out from behind it. Minerva stepped back to let Septima go first, who lifted up a corner of the tapestry to reveal Irma sat with her knees pulled up to her chest and head in her hands.
"Oh Irma," Septima whispered softly, moving forward to let everyone else in. It was a tight squeeze with all six of them in the tiny alcove, but they were just about able to sit down comfortably. "Professor Merrythought told me what happened."
Irma lifted her head and nodded, wiping her tear-stained cheek with the sleeve of her robe. "I didn't think it would be him," she said hoarsely, not meeting anyone's gaze. "But then he appeared and said I was a disgrace of a daughter and wished he only had one." She broke off sobbing; Septima looked both stunned and a little guilty, so it was Poppy who pulled her into an embrace.
"I couldn't do it either." Minerva heard Poppy whisper, as she leaned back on the wall and closed her eyes briefly. It wasn't just Irma and Poppy who were suffering; seeing Ro's broken body on the floor and hearing that grating roar outside her nightmares had taken its toll on her too.
After a minute or two, the comfortable silence was broken by Ro's voice. "We need a break," she said, and Millicent made a noise of agreement. "Who fancies a trip down to the lake?"
"Yeah," Septima said, finally shaking away her staggered expression and putting her arm around Irma's shoulder. "We've got all of lunch, let's get out of this castle for a while."
"Though only if you're alright with the water," Millicent suddenly said, eyeing Minerva. "I had no idea it bothered you that much."
Minerva sighed; she had often wondered why she was so wary of water, but never to any avail. "I don't know why it does, but it always has done. Sitting by the lake will be fine though." She paused for a moment, then laughed. "As long as you don't expect me to get in it!"
Author's Notes:
Surprise! A wild author has appeared!
Ok so I know I wasn't supposed to update until next week or so, but guess who went to the Warner Bros Studio Tour last Friday and got filled with Harry Potter excitement? That's right, it was me. Seriously, if you ever get the chance to go then you really must. It was absolutely incredible. I was grinning like an idiot when I walked through the Great Hall and realised I was literally standing inside my own fanfic. I won't go on about it too much here (though if anyone's curious, shoot me a message!) but I'll say just one thing: riding a broomstick wearing Hogwarts robes feels absolutely incredible.
Onto the chapter notes. I didn't imagine that the Boggart scene was going to be anywhere near this long! xD I wrote up to when Prof Merrythought asks them to stay behind, checked my word count and nearly had a heart attack. I was hoping to get the Quidditch tryouts in here too. They might not actually be shown as a result, because there are three specific things that need to happen next chapter so if I don't have room for the tryouts I'll have to leave them out. And the reason that they're studying Boggarts and dark creatures now rather than in third year like in the series is because last year had to be devoted solely to dueling techniques.
I spend a very long time thinking about what everyone's Boggart would be. Lyall Lupin's is more random, I got the idea from the fact that the 1930s-40s was the beginning of the zombies in films era. (I wanted Lyall to have a central role here because I've really neglected him in this story, he was originally going to be the sixth main character but Irma stole his place!) Ro's just couldn't be anything else in my opinion but thinking of how to make it funny was harder, though I like what I came up with. Minerva was a tricky one, as I couldn't think of how a Boggart could represent a fear of drowning. Septima's was again more random but I liked the idea of the little puppy. Millicent's was fairly easy, as was Irma's (poor darling). With Poppy's the reason it cycled between the bodies was because she couldn't cast the Riddikulus curse, the same as what happened with Molly Weasley in OotP.
With Professor Merrythought I was originally going to have the body of her husband (see ch 31 if you've forgotten) but then remembered the Basilisk. Though they don't know it was a Basilisk, hence the shadowy form. I think hearing that roar would be enough to frighten anyone, let alone someone who actually had a run in with the creature like she did. I thought it would be interesting to see a teacher not being able to defeat their Boggart, but at the end of the day they're as human as the rest of us.
The Slytherin bullies actually make a comeback after a very long time away! I didn't realise how long it had been since they'd last caused problems, though I suppose with all the Grindlewald drama even they had other things on their minds. They'll be making a comeback in fourth year though, and I don't think it'll reveal too much to say that they'll be playing a role in the shenanigans of the next chapter...
Speaking of chapter 34, it will probably be out in about a week and a half's time at an estimate. It's a seriously fun one, one I've been looking forward to it for ages. And this is where things start to pick up, because I know these past two chapters haven't really had a big plot behind them like third year had. But let's be honest here, how could I write a full Hogwarts fanfic without including a Boggart class?