Professor Boggart Snape
Beth woke up very early and looked over at Susan who was snuggled under the blankets next to her. They were in Beth’s bed this time rather than Susan’s.
It was only five o’clock in the morning, but she couldn’t get back to sleep.
Beth clamoured out of bed and pulled out one of her sketchbooks. This was the sketchbook where she drew the pictures of her and her friends, there was also the sketchbook labelled Marauders, and another where she drew illustrations for her favourite books.
She found herself drawing a picture from her memory from yesterday.
They were all working in the library together.
Ron was trying to crack jokes to cheer up a frantic Hermione, Beth and Theo were trying to explain Arithmancy to a confused Ernie, and Susan was listening interestedly with her hand slightly bent. Theo’s eyes were lit up, surprised at the fact that they actually wanted to spend time with him, and he may have actually made some friends.
“Morning Beth,” yawned Susan as she woke up.
“What you doing?” she muttered.
“Drawing,” she muttered.
Susan looked at Beth’s drawing curiously.
“I presume you don’t have a photograph of that?” said Susan raising her eyebrows.
Beth had just finished sketching a black and white drawing of Remus and Sirius.
Remus was sleeping by the fire in the sitting room back home, but also curled up on the rug by his feet was a wolf who was also sleeping peacefully.
“Well no,” chuckled Beth, “they’re not in the same place at the same time.”
“Have you seen his wolf form!” breathed Susan.
“Only when he’s had wolfsbane,” shrugged Beth, “he usually just lies on the rug by the fire and stares into the flames all night.”
Susan looked really confused and slightly shocked but decided to just leave it.
“What we got today?” asked Susan.
“Um, double potions this morning and then Defence.”
“Thank Merlin it’s Friday,” muttered Susan, who had been looking forward to the weekend.
Beth and Susan both got up and headed downstairs with their textbooks.
Beth’s fan club was still very popular, about twenty first years congregating in the Hufflepuff Common Room every night to study or play exploding snap.
They were just being regular first years apart from the fact that about half the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors joined them.
There was a steadily growing list of Beth’s Words of Wisdom on the wall including things such as, It’s Never Wrong to Ask for Help.
Beth and Susan settled into their favourite armchair by the fire and pulled each other in close.
“You’ve changed your shampoo,” muttered Beth as she smelt Susan’s hair which now smelt floral rather than like strawberries.
“It’s rose,” blushed Susan, “you don’t mind, do you?”
“It smell’s beautiful,” sighed Beth who had thought that Susan couldn’t get even more beautiful and perfect.
Beth pulled Susan in for a deep kiss, and her body was filled with warmth. This was Beth’s favourite part of the day when Susan and Beth were alone together without being disturbed.
But as always, their bliss always came to an abrupt end.
“Good morning ladies,” beamed Ernie as he and Justin came downstairs.
“Morning Ernie,” said Beth smiling as she and Susan broke apart.
“I’m very excited,” said Justin beaming, “we’re going to have our first class with Professor Lupin!”
“He’s been preparing all Summer,” said Beth, “he loves teaching.”
“Speaking of Defence, when are we going to start our defence group back up?” asked Zach as they sat down for breakfast.
“You mean the one where we all ran around the boys dorms aiming hexes and jinxes at each other?” asked Hannah.
“Not that wasn’t amazing,” said Artie, “it was so much fun!”
“Why do we still need a Defence group?” asked Neville, “we’ve got Professor Lupin.”
“Yeah but it was fun,” sighed Artie.
The Hufflepuffs had potions with the Slytherins that morning and Beth noticed that Theo was avoiding her eye for the whole double period, keeping his head bent over his cauldron and not looking at any of the Hufflepuffs, not even Ernie who he had started to become very close to over the last week.
After class, Ernie, Beth and Susan tried to corner him before lunch.
“Theo,” said Ernie catching up to him by running, “have I said something wrong?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” muttered Theo.
“Then why have you spent the whole of potions glaring at me, whilst Blaise and Draco glared at me?”
“Blaise told Draco about me spending time with you and the others,” sighed Theo as Beth and Susan caught up with them.
“Why would there be a problem with that?” asked Susan.
“Draco says I’m not allowed to spend time with you guys anymore, not even in the library.”
“Why not?”
“Because he doesn’t understand why I want to understand why I want to socialise with non Slytherins outside of class.”
“But why should Draco’s opinions affect the way you think about us?” asked Susan confused.
“Didn’t you tell us the other day that you weren’t like the other Slytherins?” said Beth, “I thought that meant you didn’t share Draco and Blaise’s bigoted opinions.”
“I don’t,” stammered Theo looking her in the eye, his eyes were red, and it was clear that he had been crying.
“Draco says if I continue to hang out with you guys, he’s going to write to my father and tell him I’ve been befriending blood traitors and mudbloods.”
“If my Dad finds out about any of this, he’ll pull me out of school. Without school my life would be over!”
“Won’t you Mum have anything to say about any of that?”
Theo shook his head and bit his lip.
“I’m the last Nott,” he muttered, “Mum died giving birth to me.”
“So we can’t hang out in the library, because Draco and Blaise would find out,” said Beth.
“An empty classroom?” suggested Ernie.
“They’d find us too easily,” muttered Theo.
“Theo,” said Beth, “if we can find anywhere, where nobody would be able to find us, would you still want to hang out with us?”
“Of course,” said Theo, “why wouldn’t I?”
“You guys are the only friends I’ve ever had,” he said shyly.
“I’ve got to go,” he said looking around nervously making sure no one had seen them, “if you figure anything out let me know.”
“I told you Slytherins were gits,” muttered Ernie as they walked to lunch.
“You can’t say that about all of them,” said Susan, “Theo’s nice.”
“Yes but Draco, Blaise and Pansy aren’t,” finished Ernie.
“Well at least we know what the plan for this weekend is,” sighed Beth, “we’ve got to try and find somewhere private.”
“Hey if you can find somewhere you can kiss Susie in private!” exclaimed Ernie.
“Screw you,” said Beth slowly.
They had a quick lunch of sandwiches and then headed up to the Defence classroom where the Ravenclaws were already waiting.
Beth sat down at a desk in front of the classroom with Susan and waited for Remus to arrive.
“Good Afternoon class,” said Remus with a twinkle in his eyes, “I am Professor Lupin.”
Beth waved at him briefly and he winked back at her.
“You wont be needing your books today,” said Remus leaning against the table at the front of the classroom, “we’re going on an excursion.”
“We’re what?” asked Padma Patil as Terry and Michael looked at each other their eyes full of excitement.
“We’re having a practical lesson,” explained Remus, “but to do that, we have to go to the Staff Room.”
“Why the Staff Room?” muttered Lisa Turpin as they all picked up their bags and followed him from the classroom.
Beth had no idea what they were supposed to be doing, but this certainly the strangest Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson they’d had in three years.
They reached the Staff Room where there was a wardrobe rattling slightly in the corner of the room.
Susan and Hannah flinched away from the wardrobe which was rattling.
“Don’t worry,” said Remus, “that’s a boggart.”
“Boggarts like to hide in dark enclosed spaces such as wardrobes or gaps under beds. They are shape shifters and will take the shape of whatever frightens a person most.”
“We have an advantage though, because we are working in a large group, so we can confuse the boggart.”
“There are two things that can finish a boggart, one is the charm riddikulus, and the other is laughter.”
They practised the charm without wands quickly.
“Well done everyone,” beamed Remus, “now then Neville, could you help me with a demonstration?”
Neville bit his lip, he hated being called on in class.
“You’ll be fine Nev,” said Zach patting him on the back as Hannah nodded encouragingly.
“So Neville, what would you say is your greatest fear?”
“Professor Snape,” mumbled Neville.
“I’m sorry?” asked Remus hoping that he had misheard him.
“Professor Snape,” he said slightly more audibly.
“Professor Snape,” chuckled Remus, “right, you live with your Grandmother don’t you Neville?”
“I don’t want her to show up either!” gasped Neville.
“It’s alright Neville,” said Remus gently, “I want you to picture her clothes in your mind. Can you see them?”
“Yes,” muttered Neville now very confused.
“What I want you to do is to try to imagine Professor Snape in your grandmothers’ clothes, when the boggart comes out of that wardrobe Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into her clothes.”
Neville still looked slightly nervous but nodded his eyes full of hope.
“Take it away then Nev,” beamed Remus opening the wardrobe.
Professor Snape came creeping out of the wardrobe glaring down his hooked nose at Neville as he walked towards him.
“Riddikulus,” stammered Neville pointing his wand firmly at the boggart.
Beth blinked and when she opened her eyes and Professor Snape was wearing a lace trimmed dress and a vulture topped out.
The Staff Room was filled with laughter as the boggart tripped over his long dress.
“That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen!” struggled Ernie as he laughed.
They all took it in turns to face the boggart, Ernie’s boggart turned into a rattle snake, which he gave an actual rattle to its tail.
Hannah’s boggart was a vampire, but he had gummy teeth, like the kind of muggle sweets Justin had shown her once.
Beth flinched slightly as she saw that Mandy Brocklehurst’s boggart was a werewolf. Mandy got the wolf to chase its tail like an excitable puppy.
Beth went up after Susan and took a deep breath, she knew what her worst fear was, dementors.
She took out her wand and shuddered slightly as she walked into the middle of the room.
A black hooded creature appeared in the middle of the room and glided towards her, breathing raspeley.
Beth covered her ears as the loud screaming started to fill her head again.
Remus leaped in front of her and pointed his wand at the boggart which had turned into a full moon.
“Riddikulus!” said Remus firmly.
The full moon burst like a balloon and went back into the wardrobe.
“I think that’s enough for today,” said Remus running his fingers through his hair, “I hope you all have a good weekend.”
The Ravenclaws shrugged and picked up their bags, they had just had their most informative and exciting Defence lesson ever.
“Beth do you want to talk for a moment?”
Beth nodded slightly as she took her fingers away from her ears.
“She’ll be fine,” said Remus to Ernie, Susan and Justin who were still there waiting for her.
“Beth will see you all at dinner in a few minutes alright?”
“Ok,” muttered Ernie putting an arm around Susan as they left.
“Come on Beth,” he sighed putting an arm around her as they walked to his office.
“You do know that having a dementor for your boggart is a good thing?” he asked as she sat down and he riffled in his desk for a bar of chocolate.
“How?” she muttered looking at him incredulously.
“Well dementors represent fear itself, it reminds a person of their worst memories.”
“This means that what you fear most is fear itself.”
Remus handed her a large piece of chocolate and she nibbled at it slightly.
“Remus,” she muttered.
“Hmm?” he said as he ate his own chocolate.
“You said it’s my worst fear, but I don’t know what it is, all I can hear is a woman screaming.”
“Screaming?” asked Remus nervously.
She nodded shakily.
“Do you think it might have anything to do with your Aunt and Uncle?” asked Remus his eyes full of the usual rage when he was thinking about the Dursley’s.
“No it wasn’t a child screaming, it was a woman.”
Remus sat down next to her and pulled her in for a hug.
“I’m sure whatever it is, we can work through this together alright?”
“Ok,” she muttered as she finished her chocolate.
“Now then little one, I’ve got some marking to do and you need to go find your friends.”
Remus gave her huge hug before letting go.
“Don’t forget if you ever need to talk, I’ll either be in here or my rooms alright?”
“Thanks Remus,” said Beth before getting up to go and find her friends.
She had some pasta for dinner and then joined the others in the Library.
“Hi guys,” said Beth sitting down at the table where they had been waiting for her.
“Where’s Theo?” asked Hermione.
“He’s not coming anymore,” said Susan.
“Good,” beamed Ron.
Ernie and Susan shot daggers at him.
“Right,” sighed Beth, “what have we got tonight?”
“Snape wants us to read up on swelling solutions, and Remus wants an essay on how to handle boggarts,” said Susan.
Beth finished off her homework and looked across at Hermione and Ron who were having an argument in furious whispers.
“You need to keep that thing away from Scabbers,” he scowled.
“He is a cat,” emphasized Hermione, “cat’s hunt rats it’s what they do.”
“He’s ill,” said Ron stroking Scabbers who he had started to carry around in his pocket, “and your cat is making him worse!”
“Will you two stop arguing,” muttered Beth packing away her books and running off to the dorm.
“Beth!” called Susan running after her.
Susan knelt down and peeked under Beth’s bed.
“What’s up?” she giggled as she saw Beth’s eyes peering at her from under the bed.
“Hermione and Ron were fighting,” she muttered, “I hate people fighting, and Theo’s not allowed to be our friend anymore.”
“We’re working on the Theo problem, and Hermione and Ron always bicker about something.”
“Hmm,” muttered Beth climbing out from under the bed and lying on it as Susan snuggled in next to her.
“There something else worrying you?”
“The dementor,” sighed Beth, “its meant to be my worst memory but all I hear is screaming.”
“That must be horrible,” said Susan kissing Beth on the forehead.
“The worst part is,” she sobbed, “I don’t even know what the memory’s about!”
“Well,” said Susan stroking Beth’s hair and holding her close, “the Theo thing we’re going to figure out tomorrow, and as for the memory, whatever it is it’s in the past.”
“Thanks Sus,” muttered Beth drowsily as she fell asleep in Susan’s arms.