Where Harry receives a weird question.

HARRY XVII

In this very moment, as only five minutes were left to the lesson, Harry wished he didn't choose Study of Ancient Runes. Bathsheda Babbling had not lost time and buried them deep into the topic right from their very first lesson. Their second lesson, which was almost over, was just as intensive.

Professor Babbling had warned them early, when they first met, that she expected them to take notes during her whole class, and to note everything she said. Harry didn't suspect she meant to be taken literally. Even Transfiguration didn't require as many notes. His hand was aching from the extensive note writing. Looking aside as Babbling kept explaining them the principles behind ancient runes, he saw that many of his classmates seemed just as eager to leave and shot many glances to the clock, hoping this would all be over soon. Even Susan, who sat next to Hermione in the row right ahead of Harry, and who was very studious, looked quickly over her shoulder at this moment towards the clock. Hannah, who sat next to Harry, was no better, and looked even more often to check the hour.

Harry tried his best to focus on what Babbling was saying. It would be over soon. There were only a few minutes left. He copied the last principles of Irish Runes. Depending on where the runes came from, their translation had to be done differently in order to fully comprehend them. Just as he was writing a point to the last bullet, the bell rang. He wasn't the only one to sigh in relief.

"Lesson is over! For the next class, please prepare five examples of Scottish runes, five English runes and five Irish runes. It is forbidden to provide examples that could be runes in more than one culture. You may leave."

"Heavens! I thought it would never end!" Hannah almost shouted next to Harry.

He had to admit that he agreed with her. He used so much parchment to write down the lesson's notes that he would need to buy more very soon. Maybe he could do it during their first weekend at Hogsmeade, if the parchment he still had could last until then.

"I'm glad it is," he said. "Only an afternoon left, and then it's the weekend."

The first week at Hogwarts would finally be over.

"With some luck, the lake will still be warm enough to swim," Hannah said, hope filling her voice.

Harry remembered that Hannah indeed liked to swim, but at the beginning of September and with current temperatures, that wasn't something Harry would risk.

"Are you sure you want to try? You could catch a cold," Harry told her as he put back the book they used for the course into his bag.

She shrugged. "It may be my last chance to swim this year. And if I do get a cold, there's still the Pepperup Potion. Madam Pomfrey always keeps huge stocks of it. I took some last year, and it did marvels. Would you like to come?"

"No, I think I'll stay warm inside the castle."

"As you wish. You're missing something. What about you, Hermione?"

They just started to head towards the exit, but Hermione was already at the door and gone when Hannah finished her question. She turned to Susan.

"What about you Susan? Some swimming tomorrow?" Hannah asked as she approached her friend, who was still packing her stuff.

"Maybe," Harry heard her say as he left. "I'm not very good at swimming."

Harry looked for Hermione in the corridor, but she was gone. So Harry headed for the Great Hall. He would probably find her and Ron for lunch. He arrived there a few minutes later, and saw Ron with his brothers Fred and George, who he joined.

"Have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked them.

"No," the three answered at the same time. "I thought she would be with you," Ron added.

"She rushed out of Ancient Runes the moment the bell rang. I thought she would already be here."

Ron looked thoughtful for a moment, then his eyes widened. "There she is."

Harry turned to look on his right. Hermione was coming in her direction. She looked out of breath.

"Hermione, what happened? You left the classroom before me," Harry asked her.

She looked confused for a moment, then it was as if she realized something. "Oh. I just... I got lost," she stammered as she sat down. She looked exhausted.

"Lost?" Ron asked, bewildered. "But I thought your classroom was on the second floor, just next to where our Charms lessons take place. How could you get lost? We know this part of the castle perfectly."

"Look, Ron, you know I've got a lot of subjects. I made a mistake and headed for the wrong classroom after Study of Ancient Runes."

"But it's lunch after Ancient Runes. How could you..."

"Oh, shut up, Ron!" she snapped. "What's the matter that I arrived late anyway. It's just lunch."

She took some raw vegetables and began to eat. Ron and Harry looked at each other. Hermione was on the edge lately. Harry chose to focus on his lunch, and he finished it more quickly than usual. Then he stood up.

"Where are you going? We still have half an hour before classes resume," Ron said.

"I'm going to see Remus. There's... something I must talk with him about."

Harry left the Gryffindor table, his bag on the shoulder, and headed towards Remus' office. He noticed that he wasn't at the staff table today. There was something he wanted to ask him, something that troubled him since yesterday, after Remus gave his first lesson. Everyone had liked it. Harry did like it too. However, he wondered why Remus stopped him from facing the Boggart.

When he arrived at his destination, he knocked at the door.

"Please come in."

Harry pushed the door carefully. Remus was behind his desk, writing. But he smiled the moment he looked up at the door.

"Ah, Harry. Two visits within the same week. I'm lucky," he said.

"Hi, Remus." He closed the door behind. However, all of a sudden, he wasn't certain if he wanted to ask the question he wanted to his mother's friend.

"There is something you wanted to tell me." Harry wasn't sure if it was a question or an affirmation. "You can, Harry. Go on."

"Yesterday... with the Boggart..." Then words poured out of his mouth. "Why didn't you let me fight it?"

Harry wasn't angry, not really. He was just disappointed, wondering if somehow Remus thought he wasn't strong enough to face his greatest fear. But Remus only raised his eyebrows in a surprised expression.

"I would have thought that was obvious, Harry."

"Is that because... you don't want to show favor..."

"Oh, not at all. It has nothing to do with the fact that we know each other, Harry."

"Why then?"

"Well, I assumed that if the Boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort." Remus then sighed. "Though the Boggart did assume his shape all the same."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, confused all of a sudden.

"Your friend from Hufflepuff, Susan Bones. The Boggart turned into Voldemort when it rolled in her direction." Harry's heart jumped. So that was why he was so afraid and felt that this cloaked figure was familiar when the human shape appeared. "But luckily for us, it faced Miss Bones in such a way that it had its back turned on everyone else, and Miss Bones was the only one to see his face. Anyway... I didn't think it was a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialise in the staff room. Not again, and not facing everyone. I imagined that people would panic."

"I did think of Voldemort first," Harry conceded. "But then I... I remembered those Dementors."

"I see. Well, I'm impressed." Harry expected any comment but this one. "That suggests that what you fear most of all is fear. Very wise, Harry." He made a pause. "I hope you didn't think that I believed you unable of fighting the Boggart. Not after everything you went through these last two years."

"Well... it crossed my mind."

Remus smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Harry. Believe me, from what your professors and Lily told me, you may be the best student in my class."

Another comment Harry wasn't prepared for. Another question he tried to ask the last time he spoke with Remus but he couldn't express came to him.

"Remus… you know… for the Dementors. Why did I faint on the Hogwarts Express? Why didn't the others faint as well?"

There had been Ginny too, and Harry thought about asking her how she came to lose consciousness just like he did, but he wasn't convinced this was a good idea, considering Ginny had a very bad habit of losing control and was barely able to say anything to him. And even though Ginny fainted as well, according to Ron, she fell on the floor after him.

"If you think that this is about weakness, Harry, then let me reassure you right away. Well, maybe not reassure you, but I can assure you that you are not weak in any way. The Dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don't have."

Harry let Remus' words creep into his mind. Horrors in my past that others don't have. He remembered very well the screams he heard before everything went dark. They were the screams of a woman. A woman he knew only too well. His mother. It was her that he heard screaming. He heard her begging for his life.

"I think... I think I heard Mom screaming when the Dementors were there. It think it was the night my father died."

Remus looked down. He took a deep breath. "You should write to her, Harry. She told me that she's worried, ever since that accident on the train. I think it would reassure her to know that you're fine, and from your own hand."

Harry nodded, writing in a small part of his mind to do this in the evening.

"Look, Harry. Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth," Remus told him. "They drain peace, hope and happiness out of the air around them. If someone gets too close to them, every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of him, whether he's a man or a woman, an adult or a child, a wizard or a Muggle, a... giant or a human. It doesn't matter if your name is Albus Dumbledore or Gellert Grindelwald or Gilderoy Lockhart or Rubeus Hagrid. The effect they have on you remains the same, until you're left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. And the worst that has happened to you, Harry, is enough to make anyone black out."

Harry wasn't sure whether he should feel reassured that Dementors didn't affect him because of any weakness, or more distressed as he discovered the profound effect these creatures could have on everyone.

"So... what can we do? Just... stay away from the Dementors?" he asked.

"That's probably the best thing to do." Remus sighed.

"Do you have any idea about how Peter Pettigrew managed to escape Azkaban? If the Dementors cause such despair in someone, how could he escape?"

Harry remembered the frail little man at the trial, cowering in his own chains. He couldn't imagine someone like him standing against the Dementors.

"I don't know," Remus confessed. "I wish I knew. Dementors drain wizards of their powers if they are left with them for too long. Peter must have found a way around it."

"What's the use to have Dementors at Hogwarts then?" Harry wondered aloud. But before Remus could answer, someone else knocked on the door.

"Come in," Remus said aloud.

Harry turned to see who had knocked, and he wasn't delighted, quite the opposite in fact, when Snape walked in, carrying a fuming goblet. When he noticed that Harry was present, Snape stared at him with nothing that suggested kindness.

"Ah, Severus," Remus said on a welcoming tone, which surprised Harry considering what he heard about how Snape hated Harry's father and his friends back when they were students at Hogwarts. "Thank you very much. Could you leave it on the desk for me?"

Without a word, Snape put it on the desk. "You should drink that directly, Lupin," Snape said flatly.

"I will. Thank you."

With a last hateful gaze at Harry, the professor Snape turned on his heels and left the office. Once the door was closed, Harry looked at the fuming goblet.

"What is that?"

"A potion that allows me to feel better," Remus simply replied while seizing the goblet.

"Are you sure..." Harry started, feeling something was terribly wrong as Remus brought the cup to his lips.

"It helps me feel better," Remus cut him as he took a first sip. "But my next lesson will start soon, and I reckon you have one coming as well, Harry."

"Yes, but..."

"You better leave, then. I wouldn't want you to be late. As a teacher, I cannot encourage this. Leave now," Remus said as he emptied the goblet.

Harry left, uncertain. He wasn't sure if Remus knew what he was doing. Accepting to drink something that Snape brought, even prepared for him was not something he would classify as being wise. But Remus was right. His lesson for the afternoon was about to begin, and it was another one of Remus' lessons in Defence Against the Dark Arts. He better hurry and make sure he would arrive before his professor, as much as a friend he could be.

He walked through the corridor and turned to his right. A moment later, a voice called for him.

"Hey, Harry." He stopped and turned to see that Susan Bones was heading in his direction.

"Hi, Susan. I was heading for Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Yes, me too." She looked at the corridor from which Harry just came. "You saw Professor Lupin?"

"Yes."

There was a strange expression on Susan's face. Harry wasn't really sure what it was, but for some reason she almost looked... afraid.

"Harry... There's something I wanted to ask you. Professor Lupin... I heard that you know him... quite well."

"Yes. He's a friend of my mother."

"And you see him often?"

"A few times per year. Mostly during the holidays."

"Hmm... Tell me, Harry... Is he... dangerous?"

Harry was quite surprised by the question. He could expect any question about Remus. He expected someone to ask whether Remus was living in the streets, even whether he was dating his mother, but that? Remus, dangerous? Never. That was the last impression he could give.

Harry couldn't stop himself from laughing. "Dangerous? How can you think he is dangerous?"

Susan looked just as surprised by his reaction as he had been with her question, but she reacted quite differently, being quite serious. She reminded him of Hermione this way. "Well, come on, you know..." And then her features softened. "You know, don't you?"

"Know what?"

Harry was still smiling from the laugh he just had. Susan's brown eyes had turned round and wide. "I... I thought you..." She then shook her head. "I'm sorry... Forget what I said... It was a stupid question..."

And she left on this, heading in the opposite direction to where their lesson in Defence Against the Dark Arts was supposed to take place. Harry looked at her walking away, wondering why she thought that Remus was somewhat dangerous. The mere idea of it simply looked ridiculous to him. Perhaps that would have been a good idea if he had faced a Boggart taking the appearance of a Dementor. Harry could have given him a similar face to that of Remus.

He headed to the classroom, thinking about a Dementor with the funniest face instead of its hood, while reminding himself to write to his mother this evening. He soon realized that it had been stupid to think he should hurry. Despite his short conversation with Suzanne, he arrived almost before everyone else. There were only Hannah and Neville who were present at his arrival.

"Hey, Harry," Neville welcomed him, a large smile upon his face.

"Hi, Neville," he replied.

"What do you think he's going to show us today?"

"No idea," Harry honestly replied as he put down his bag next to Neville.

"I've been looking through our book. There are really interesting creatures. Sometimes, they make me think of the plants we study in Herbology. Some have feathers, furs or even bones that are used to prepare potions."

Herbology was Neville's favourite subject. Once he was set on it, he couldn't be stopped.

"I would like it if we continued with Boggarts," Hannah said, right when Ernie and Justin walked into the classroom. "I mean, some of us didn't face it. I'm wondering what other fears we would see. Harry, what appearance do you think yours would have taken?"

"I... I'm not sure," he replied, not wanting everyone to know that he feared Dementors more than anything, right after he fainted in their presence. And since Hannah was there when it happened, and considering her predilection for gossiping, he would rather not say it to her.

"What about Hermione?"

"I don't know," Harry sincerely replied.

"Well, I'd be curious to see it. And I'd like to see Susan's again. I mean, I didn't even get a look at it."

"It's true," Justin said. "Whatever it was, it had its back turned on us. And Susan didn't want to tell us what it was."

Considering what Remus just revealed to Harry, he could understand very well that anyone who would see Voldemort as his greatest fear would not want to talk about it.

"Hey, Hannah," Harry began to deflect the conversation, "why is Darth Vader your worst fear?"

Hannah turned immediately red. If she was a Metamorphmagus like Tonks, Harry was quite sure that her hair would have turned redder than those of her best friend. Justin, behind her, was trying to contain his laughter.

"Well... My mother brought me to see the movie one day and... I was very young... I must have been seven-years-old. Maybe six. I did nightmares for weeks afterwards."

She looked quite uncomfortable, saying that. Harry thought that it made her look cuter. But she averted her eyes and sat down.

"Who's Darth Vader?" Neville asked.

Harry had to explain to Neville a few things about the Star Wars trilogy. Sadly, he lost Neville when he tried to explain that the first movie was listed as the fourth, and anyway Remus just arrived and began their lesson. It was about Boggarts again, but this one was only theoretical. No practical lesson today. Still, Remus managed to make their time very interesting, making jokes and giving them actual examples like no other teacher did before. Even when Susan arrived ten minutes after the class began, out of breath, apologizing without end about her lateness, Remus only told her to sit, and without removing points to her house, he resumed his lesson as if nothing happened.

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