The Boggart’s Lesson
It had been three weeks since the terrible night that Professor Fig had died. Since that night, many things about it, and the events that followed it, were known publicly throughout the school. Most of the knowledges and rumors that followed after them had to do with none other than the new Fifth year student, Hans Kaiser.
It was common knowledge that the event regarding the terrible earthquakes and strange rumblings was in fact a terrible battle occurring below the castle. Students were also aware that the fight was between the staff of the school itself and the leader of the goblin rebellion, Ranrok.
Though, what was more spoken about was not how each of the professors(except Professor Black) arrived in good timing to defend the castle, but instead the involvement of Mr. Kaiser. Word got out, most likely by the mouth of a present Professor, that Kaiser was the only one present for Professor Fig’s death. It was also known that Kaiser had to be forcibly removed from the Professor, as the boy did not want to leave Fig’s side.
Though the stories of each of the professors’ feats down in the castle were enthralling, it was once more what Hans Kaiser had done that had the school talking. According to the account’s of Professor Ronen and Professor Garlick, who were the only two to discuss these things with their classes(except the one that Hans was present in), Hans had faced the goblin alone, and came out with only bruises and minor scratches.
Many students were not surprised by this, as they had seen his magical capabilities in their half year with him already. In the case of Crossed Wands, for example, where Hans took on four opponents and won with little difficulty. Hans was not one to boast about these sorts of things, but the castle sure did rumor about it.
It was also rumored the earlier that day, Victor Rookwood confronted Hans in Hogsmeade and apparated out of the village with the boy; practically kidnapping him. Despite this, however, Hans reappeared later that night to defend Hogwarts from Ranrok. The fact that Hans had killed both Ranrok and Rookwood was confirmed by the fact that it seemed many goblin and wizard camps were falling into disrepair, as they even began to fight amongst themselves or disband.
As Hans realized the rumors of his feats beneath the castle began to spread, he decided he couldn’t escape it anymore, and that his dearest Poppy’s occasional question about the events of the attack on Hogwarts could be evaded no longer.
Two weeks after they had confessed their feelings to one another, the two of them were studying in the Room of Requirement on the same couch that Poppy had fallen asleep on two weeks prior. Hans had returned the room to its normal state, removing the bed and returning the couch’s and table in the center of the room.
Poppy was laying across the couch on her stomach, a book in hand as she moved her finger across its surface, scanning it for a reference she was trying to find for her essay in History of Magic. Hans was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch at a point level with her shoulder, his head resting against her as he read. He was reading a book he borrowed from the library, reading up on lycanthropy, a topic he was mildly interested in.
At some point Poppy sighed, laying down her quill and shaking her head. All of it was getting a bit too confusing, with dragon attacks and dates, everything was getting mixed up in her head. She only had four more inches to go. Poppy looked at Hans, who was flipping through his book every once in a while, staring intently at its pages.
It was no fair. He had the spare time to read, explore, and even spend time with her, yet here she was, stuck on this stupid essay. Even being a new student, dumped into curriculums he didn’t fully understand with extra assignments dumped on top of him. Despite all of this, he still managed to blow through it like it was nothing. Then again that said something about his clever Ravenclaw mind.
Poppy moved her left arm(the one closest to the edge of the couch) and put it over Hans’s shoulder on his left side, putting it around his chest and letting her hand rest on his right shoulder. Hans raised his head from his book in surprise as Poppy bent her neck to fondly kiss him once behind the ear and twice on his temple. Hans laughed at the sudden affection Poppy was giving him, leaning his head back so he could look at her in the corner of his eye.
Poppy’s heart bloomed, and as he smiled at her she got a simple reassuring feeling. Though it was not like him telling her everything was going to be okay, it still did calm her stress and relieve the pressure a little with her essay at hand.
“How goes the essay?” He asked, closing his book and raising his right hand to rest it on the one she placed on his shoulder.
“Ugh,” Poppy face palmed with her right hand, “Tiresome. I think I’m getting it, but I don’t even know anymore. I’m almost done though, four inches left.”
“Very good!” Hans patted Poppy’s hand, before his own fell back to his side. Hans leaned his head to the right, resting his cheek on her left hand as his eyes closed for a moment.
“Thank you,” Poppy smiled, turning onto her right shoulder and reaching her right hand over to Hans, beginning it play with his black hair. A moment of silence followed as Hans rested his eyes, his cheek on Poppy’s hand while she played with his hair using her other hand. Eventually, Poppy broke the silence, “Hans?”
“Mmm?”
“Will you tell me about Professor Fig?” She asked softly, continuing to mess with Hans’s hair, “I mean I knew him, but not like you knew him.”
Hans opened his eyes, staring at the foot of the table in front of him. For a moment he didn’t answer, and soon Poppy filled the silence once more, “You don’t have to- I just- you don’t talk about it. Any of it. You can trust me, Hans. I worry about you.”
Hans continued to stare at the table, considering his words carefully, before speaking. “Professor Fig was a good man. A powerful wizard. A brilliant mentor. But mostly he was my friend.” Hans said quietly, keeping his gaze locked on the table.
“I’m sorry, Hans,” Poppy whispered, leaning forward and planting a kiss on the top of his head, before turning her head and resting her cheek on his head, taking in his strong evergreen scent.
“It’s okay,” Hans said, “it’s best you hear all the details. People are starting to put things together, it’s only a matter of time that you do know. I’d rather it come from me, not anybody else.” Poppy was slightly confused, but not for much longer as her beau continued to talk, “It started when the dragon attacked us at the carriage. That night Professor Fig was given a portkey of some strange importance. The portkey, which was quite literally a key, had accidentally fallen out of its container when the dragon attacked. Professor Fig and I somehow managed to grab onto each other and then the key just before the dragon got us, and we were taken to, not directly, but eventually, to Gringotts.”
Poppy nodded, Hans’s hair rubbing against her cheek as she did, “I heard rumors of that. What happened next?”
“We found something at Gringotts just as Ranrok arrived. He wanted it for himself, but we refused, and ended up fleeing. After that, Ranrok was after me. That was why the trolls attacked Hogsmeade, it was by Ranrok’s orders. They were wearing similar collars like that one we found with the dragons in the poached camp,” Poppy remembered the collars, and how horrendous they were to those poor dragons.
“Ranrok sent the trolls?”
“Yes, so that Victor Rookwood could get to me, because by then they were working together. Anyways, after that I found out this whole thing was because I was seeking repositories of some strange dark and powerful magic, created by taking somebody’s emotions and storing them. This magic is powerful, and highly dangerous. That was what Ranrok was after, that was what he already had. There were many repositories of this magic, one of them was under Rookwood castle. That was where Ranrok killed Professor Fig’s wife, when he opened that repository.
“Long story short, I’m the only one who is able to see traces of this magic that I know of, which means I’m capable of wielding it,” Poppy recalled the few times she saw Hans summon lightning or cause things and people to simply explode into flakes of black and purple ash, realizing now what that was, listening as he continued, “because of my ability, I had to go through a bunch of trials set up by those who made the repositories to be able to gain access to them.”
“Why did they make these trials?” Poppy asked curiously.
“Because this magic is dangerous, and they wanted to see somebody capable and wise enough to be able to handle this magic, not somebody like Isidora,” Hans answered.
“Isidora?”
“Sorry. Isidora was the one experimenting with this magic hundreds of years ago. The others killed her because she was going to far, extracting emotions from even students. After that they locked the magic away, hoping that if anybody were to come across it, they would use it wisely, if at all,” Hans said slowly.
“Oh,” was all that Poppy answered with. This was an awful lot to take in.
“Yeah. Anyways. The last trial I had completed was actually the reason I found the Lord of the Shore, because I needed him to unlock a gate. Thought you might want to know that.”
Poppy smiled slightly; so there were some good parts to this story.
“After I completed the four trials, I was finally allowed access to the final repository. The one underneath Hogwarts. This one was the largest, and the strongest. I completed the last trial on a time crunch, since Ranrok knew where the last repository was. He learned it from his brother, Lodgok, who he killed,” Hans stopped, taking in a deep breath.
“Did you know Lodgok?” Poppy asked tentatively.
“I did. He was a good goblin. I was there when Ranrok killed him,” Hans said shakily, but even before Poppy could say she was sorry, he was continuing through the story, “Professor Fig had been helping me with these trials, teaching me how to perform more complex magic and being my mentor for completing these tasks. That’s why we spent so much time together.”
“That makes sense, I’m sorry, Hans,” Poppy whispered.
Hans didn’t even make any verbal recognition to her words, only continuing with his story. His voice was growing shakier and shakier, with his breathing becoming more ragged, “So there we were. Beneath Hogwarts looking for the repository, and we found it, but with Ranrok right behind us. Ranrok used Miriam’s wand which he took from her at Rookwood Castle to activate the repository and unlock his power. After that I was separated from Professor Fig.”
Hans signed, bowing his head as he remembered all of these things, “I had to fight Ranrok on my own, while he was connected to the repository. He set the magic lose, and only a small part of it could he control. Though, even with just a small part of it, he took on the form of a giant dragon, which I of course had to fight. The rest of the magic was attacking the chamber the repository was kept in, that was why the castle was shaking that night.
“I defeated Ranrok, but then when he went down none of the magic was being controlled. It was blindly swirling around, smashing into rock and breaking the chamber apart. Professor Fig, though, had found his way back to me, and just in time he helped me keep the entire chamber from collapsing, and Hogwarts with it. He told me that I needed to contain it, the magic, since only I could.”
“And you did, right?” Poppy asked.
Hans did nothing for a moment, before nodding, the nod was small and short, but his words gave more explanation, “I wasn’t fast enough. If I had only been a few seconds earlier- Professor Fig- it’s all my fault-“ Hans once more broke down, putting both his hands up against Poppy’s left arm, which was still over his chest and hugging her arm against him.
Poppy wrapped her right hand around his chest, pulling him into a tight embrace as she rocked side to side, listening to his ragged sobs and whispering softly to him, “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay. I’m here, I’m right here. It’s okay.”
Eventually, Hans’s sobs calmed down, and Poppy slid from the couch to the floor, level with Hans. He looked at her with red eyes and a tear-streaked face, something that pained Poppy to see.
She put one of her hands on his cheek and wiped away the tears, giving him a soft reassuring smile, “Hans, listen to me. It wasn’t your fault. You did everything you could. You saved so many people-“
“But I didn’t save him! He was right there, so close to me! I-“ Poppy put a finger to his lips, leaning forward and pressing her forehead to his.
“Maybe he wasn’t meant to be saved. I’m sure he’s with his wife now, and he’s happy. I’m sure he’s glad you’re here, here to save so many more people. You saved me from doing something stupid I couldn’t get myself out of. You saved me from a life without you. I’m glad you’re here with me, and I don’t blame you for his death, and you need to stop blaming yourself,” Poppy whispered, staring into his eyes with something of a stern gaze, but one that was still loving and caring. “Do you understand?”
Hans nodded, closing his eyes and leaning into her, “I’m sorry, it’s just-“
Poppy tilted her head back so their foreheads were no longer connected, instead pushing her lips against his and silencing him with her lips. Both of their lips reaming in that tingling position, before pulling apart as Poppy stared at him, her gaze far stronger than before, “Don’t be sorry. Don’t. Or I’ll have to shut you up with another kiss”
Hans gave a weak chuckle, “That wouldn’t be so bad.”
And so it was, Poppy kissed him again, crawling into his lap and resting against him. The two were silent once their lips pulled apart, and they only threw their arms around one another and sat their on the floor, with Poppy in his lap and her head resting over his left peck. It had become a sort of habit for her to listen to his heartbeat, something about his life force just gave her a great comfort, and so she did for as long as the curfew that day would permit.
That day was like many others, but in the following days did it become common knowledge that Poppy Sweeting and Hans Kaiser were courting. The two of them had discussed public displays of affection, and both of them agreed that they were alright with it.
It at first was mostly Poppy initiating kisses and reaching for Hans’s hand to hold, as the boy was far too nervous and scared he would push her boundaries if he did anything of such sort. However, in time, he too had grown comfortable with it, and now they were both equally finding themselves starting a kissing session in the halls or grabbing the other’s hand as they walked to class.
Many had taken notice to the blossoming relationship between Hans and Poppy, but mostly girls. Poppy knew from the very beginning that she was lucky when she managed to receive Hans’s reciprocated feelings, but it took Hans a long while to realize that every other girl in the school had something for him. What was there not to swoon over with a guy who could fly a broom exceptionally well, duel basically anybody in the school and win by a long shot, take down a fully grown troll in a few seconds, help anybody and anyone who asked, got perfect scores in class, and saved the castle from total destruction?
While the same case was not for Poppy, Hans still felt quite lucky with her, as in his opinion, she was the best out of any girl in the school, and to him, the entire world. Poppy thought he was simply saying it because he was trying to win her favor, but Hans honestly believed that he was the luckiest guy in the school.
It was a nice Wednesday in the middle of March. The snow had all melted away, and spring was now coming around. The leaves on the trees were starting to bloom, flowers were starting to return, and students could now be found taking strolls around the castle grounds.
The fifth years were making their way toward Defense Against the Arts from Lunch. Natsai, Sebastian, and Ominis were walking together, each of them talking excitedly as they moved toward the classroom. Poppy and Hans followed shortly behind them, arm in arm as they did.
As they walked toward the classroom, moving up the stairs towards its placement, Poppy and Hans were discussing their OWLS.
“I think I’ll get an O in Beasts, but I’m not sure if there’s anything else I would be able to,” Poppy exclaimed.
“I think you’ll do well in Charms and DADA,” commented Hans as they approached the door to the class.
Poppy smiled, “Well, not outstanding.”
Hans chuckled as they entered the class, moving to sit down at his desk. Poppy sat behind Hans in this class, this was arranged in their seating arrangement from the beginning of the year.
The class fell silent as Professor Hecat began to descend the stairs, clasping her hands together and looking around at all of the students. “Good afternoon, class.”
There was a murmured response to her words as the rest of the class greeted her, awaiting the lesson of the day.
“Today we will be reviewing on Boggarts, as I’m sure with most of you the last time you encountered one was in your third year,” the professor said, moving in front of the class, “so up from your desks, you won’t be needing them today.”
The students all stood up, moving to the side as Professor Hecat waved her wand, and in an instant the desks were gone. Professor Hecat pointed to the back of the room, and all of the students turned to see a familiar wardrobe sitting near the back wall.
“Now let’s review what we know about how to defeat a boggart. First, who knows what a Boggart is and does?” The professor scanned the classroom, “Mr. Thakkar?”
Amit had raised his hand, evidently ready to answer, “The Boggart is a dark creature that hides in dark spaces. Nobody knows what the Boggart actually looks like as it takes the form of the fears of whatever person they’re facing.”
“Very good, Mr. Thakkar. Ten points to Ravenclaw,” the professor nodded to Amit, before addressing the rest of the class, “Mr. Thakkar is correct, I hope that was enough of a reminder to what you are all about to face. Now, while I am sure many of you remember how to repel a Boggart, it may be best to review for those of you who have not. Who can tell me how to repel a Boggart? Yes, Mr. Sallow?”
“Laughter repels the Boggart. The only way to defeat a Boggart is by making whatever it turns into funny to you, and using the spell Riddikulus on it,” Sebastian answered Professor Hecat’s question.
“Yes, Mr. Sallow. 10 points to Slytherin,” Professor Hecat nodded to the Slytherin student, before addressing the class once more, “each of you will get a turn facing the Boggart. Remember, laughter is the key, and the incantation is Riddikulus.”
The students all exchanged looks with one another. None of them were exactly comfortable with revealing their greatest fears with one another, but certain individuals like Everett Clopton were grinning from ear to ear once they realized they would get a crack at their classmates fears.
Poppy thought about what her greatest fear was. Her first thought was that she would break up with Hans, or maybe he would die, but she quickly shook that off, she couldn’t have her classmates seeing that. As she thought about this, two particular faces appeared in her mind. Her parents. She shuddered, realizing she feared confronting them, and confronting the reality of their relationship anytime soon.
The small girl looked at Hans out of the corner of her eye, noticing his emotionless expression. She wondered what the Boggart would become for him, partially hoping it was something to do with her, but at the same time not. At the very least, Poppy hoped he would be able to handle what he faced. She knew that he had been struggling recently, anyone would be if they had to face what he had. He was strong, but a person could only be so much of a machine; they had to be human.
The professor approached the cabinet, raising her wands and exclaiming to its lock, “Alohomora!” The lock jiggled, before falling to the floor as the cabinet began to shake, the doors rattling. “Mr. Prewett, you first. Remember what we discussed.”
Leander stepped toward the cabinet, gulping as he stared with a determined expression at the cabinet. The cabinet rocked for a moment, before bursting open. Out of the cabinet slithered a great snake. The snake was as thick as a man’s torso, with great big yellow eyes and a flickering tongue. The snake’s eyes locked with Leander’s, and it stared, a high pitched hiss escaping its mouth.
Leander raised his wand and cried, “Riddikulus!”
The snake paused, before with a loud crack and a cloud of dust, it was tangled up in its own body, hissing violently and trying to extricate itself. “Very good, Mr. Prewett! Miss Onai, you’re next,” Professor Hecat called, clapping her hand as Leander moved out of the way for Natsai.
Natsai stepped forward, and in a swirl of smoke, the Boggart had turned into a dark-skinned robed man. None in the room could figure out who this man was, except Hans, of course. Hans’s best guess was that the Boggart had taken the shape of Natsai’s father, as he knew the regret she felt over his death.
The girl defiantly stood before the man, raising her wand and calling out the incantation, and in a sudden swirling motion the man had shrunk into a small black cat with bright green eyes. Natsai moved aside, this time allowing for Samantha Dale to approach the Boggart.
Crack! The Boggart quickly shifted its attention to Samantha, swiftly changing itself into a large spider that moved toward her with gleaming black eyes. The spider raised its chelicera right as she cried, “Riddikulus!”
In the next instance, the spider collapsed to the ground, crunching on the floor as if a giant boot had stepped on it. Samantha laughed, before jumping to the side and allowing the next person in line to approach the Boggart. Poppy.
Poppy gulped, moving in front of the rest of the class before the crushed spider. With a puff of smoke and a swirling motion, like that of an apparating wizard, the spider vanished. Left in its place was a witch and wizard, each wearing black robes and sneering.
The wizard opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Poppy cried, “Riddikulus!”
With the same crack, the wizard and witch disappeared, replaced by a pair of Puffskiens that were rolling around on the floor. A ripple of laughter ran across the room as the Puffskiens looked up at Poppy with curiosity. Poppy smiled, relieved that she managed to succeed.
Poppy moved out of the way, beaming at the person behind her and mouthing, “Good luck!”
Everett Clopton was next, and so he approached the Boggart, looking at it with a nervous grin. With a crack, the Boggart shifted into a large humanoid, growing and growing as it became a green color with a rocky texture. A troll. Everett gave a gasp of surprise, stepping back, before raising his wand and setting his face, “Riddikulus!”
The troll looked down at Everett, cocking it’s head to the side and raising its club just as the spell hit its chest. The troll was blasted back as the Boggart was forced to shrink, turning into a small infant. The baby was still very large, and it became quite apparent that Everett turned the troll into a baby. He laughed, jumping into the air and pumping his fists.
Everett moved toward the others who had already defeated the Boggart, grinning at them as they congratulated him. The others turned their eyes to the next in line, who just so happened to be Hans.
Hans stepped toward the Boggart, gripping his wand tightly with sweaty hands. In truth he dreaded this moment, not because of what he feared, but because he did not know what he feared the most. The boy gulped as the Boggart shifter it’s focus to him, and so, it shifted forms
Left in the infant troll’s place stood Professor Fig, his hands held to his stomach as he stared at Hans with sad eyes. The professor began to stumble toward Hans, his hands falling from his stomach to reveal a gaping hole in his chest. Blood was leaking from this hole, blood that stained his robes purple.
As the professor advanced on Hans, he gasped, blood bubbling from his mouth, “I- I th-“ the professor coughed, and Hans took several steps back, his hands shaking, “-thought you were capable enough.”
“Mr. Kaiser,” Professor Hecat warned from the back of the class, noticing Hans had yet to react.
“Ri- Riddikulus!” Hans raised his wand, slashing through the air as the Boggart stumbled back and it shifted into something else, though, it seemedby Hans’s recoiled reaction, not what he intended. Hans’s voice did not sound joyful and strong, but defeated and timid, and it was too that his mind was in such a state.
With a loud crack, Professor Fig swirled in that same apparating manner, shifting now into a cloud of black fog. The fog looked as if it was mixed with grains of falling black sand that swirled about in its clouds. Flashing between the “black sand and fog” were strange orange lights. This fog, however, seemed strangely sentient, seething and lashing out tendrils toward Hans.
Most students were confused by this creature’s sudden appearance, wondering what it was. But a gasp from Poppy and a darkened look from Professor Hecat entailed knowledge of what it was. Why did the Boggart choose to become that before Hans?
The sand began to change shape, its tendrils sucking into its center, swirling and taking a small humanoid shape. As the smoke from the sand disappeared, and the human dropped to their feet, Poppy saw Hans tighten his grip on his wand.
It was a small girl, no older than eight or nine, who had long blonde hair. Poppy noticed that she had the same silver eyes of Hans’s, and Poppy realized the two must have been related. The girl wore a long skirt that was shredded and torn, and she had silent tears rolling down her face as she stared at Hans, and he stared back.
In the center of the girl’s forehead was a single hole. She stood there, trembling as blood leaked out of this hole, rolling down her forehead and in between her eyes as she whispered softly to Hans in a terrified voice, “What have you done?”
Hans let out a cry of rage and fear, trying again with his wand to dispel the Boggart. This time the Boggart took the shape of a short goblin with white hair and kind eyes. The goblin was looking all at Hans with a sad expression, his bottom lip quivering as a single tear ran down his cheek. “I was bringing it to you…”
With another flourish of his wand, Hans tried again. Crack! Now there stood a bearded man with a sharp and angry expression. To Poppy’s surprise, she watched both Hans and Sebastian recoil at the sight of this man, who opened his mouth to speak, but Hans tried again. Crack! Now standing in front of Hans was a man with his hard jawline and black hair. The man had a broken arm and was heavily scarred, his clothing practically falling off with the degree to which it was shredded. His veins were showing as black veins on his face and skin.
“Riddikulus!” Hans cried one last time, his voice straining as he struggled to keep his composure. Still, the Boggart did not change to Hans’s will, and turned once more.
This time, standing before Hans, the Boggart took the shape of… himself. A younger Hans was standing before the wand wielding one, who surprisingly hesitated as his eyes widened in surprise by the Boggart’s new choice of scare. Hans, for a moment, lowered his wand, staring at himself, who could not be more than 13 or 14, in the eyes.
His younger self was holding in his left hand not a wand, but a revolver. The revolver was glinting silver, and was gripped tightly by the younger Hans’s left hand. It appeared to be quite fine, with a black handgrip and a silver barrel. This younger form of Hans was wearing a dirty pair of slacks, a white button-up, and dirty black slacks. The black leather gloves the young Hans wore were stained in blood, a blood that was still wet, and dripping to the floor.
Most surprisingly, the younger Hans smiled, a cold emotionless smile like that of a villain. “Good job, you’re a killer now, Hans.”
No more could Hans take this, as with a mighty and ragged cry, Hans drew his wand back, covering the tip of it with his wand as he did when fighting his first troll in Hogsmeade, a white light appearing at the tip. The sound of rushing air surrounded the room, and the light at the tip of his wand began to grow, flashing purple and blue. Natsai, Poppy, and Sebastian covered their eyes as they knew what to expect, having seen Hans use his ancient magic many times before.
“Mr. Kaiser-“ Professor Hecat began, but it was too late as the boy lashed out his wand and a blinding light filled the room. A bolt of powerful lightning flashed from the wand and struck his Boggart self directly in the chest, forcing it to rise in the air. The Boggart turned back into its shapeless form, swirling in the air as the lightning continued to burn into the Boggart.
Then, as the light faded, Sebastian, Natsai and Poppy lowering their hands, the Boggart was no more. Only in its place were floating flakes of ash, falling into a pile in the place where the young Hans once stood. The ash was fading to black, a strange purple color fading from the pieces.
Hans as breathing heavily, his heart racing as he looked around the room, taking in the terrified, worried, and shocked looks about. The boy looked down at his wand, seeing its tip smoking, and dropping it to the ground. The wand clattered on the ground, and Hans stood there for a moment, staring at his empty palm. Then, without meeting Poppy’s eyes, Hans turned, rushing for the door, and before anyone could stop him, he was gone.