Fifth Year IV.
That evening Rhea sat in the Great Hall with Angelina on one side and George on the other. Alicia Katie and Lee were seated opposite them. Fred was nowhere to be seen which was slightly irritating Rhea since she knew where he was and with who. But when she was alone in her dorm she gave herself a pep talk, trying to remind herself that she shouldn't be bothered just by the fact that Fred went out with someone. She shouldn't be selfish when it came to her friend.
George also didn't look quite pleased when Rhea told him she saw Fred with Lydia. However, it wasn't the same sense of anger that Rhea felt. George was truly pissed at his brother for some reason. To the sense that when Fred finally made it into the Great Hall and went to sit in his usual spot, he got ignored by his twin completely. Fred remained standing noticing that his seat next to Rhea was occupied by his brother while the other side was already taken by Angelina.
"Oi mate, move it. You're in my seat." Fred stated matter of factly tapping George on the shoulder to which the other ginger just groaned. And turned his head to glare at his brother who stood behind him with arms crossed.
"What, Lydia is already preoccupied for the evening?" George asked snarkily taking Fred by surprise. The other twin usually wasn't so harsh. But now the rage seemed to be spitting out of his every word.
"Excuse me?"
"You should find a different spot to sit," George said back. Turning around to reach for his drink which the group snugged into the study session.
"Look the Slytherins still have a few seats open, for the slimy snake like yourself," Angelina said in fake enthusiasm pointing towards the Slytherin table. Fred feeling verbally attacked by his friends didn't know what to say.
"What did I do?"
"Don't play dumb," Lee said shaking his head. Rhea now feeling the same confusion Fred did earlier. She didn't know what exactly Fred did to make the group so angry. She was just displeased that he didn't tell her about his date with the Ravenclaw girl.
"You broke the bro code...did I say it correctly?" Alicia asked Lee quietly. The dark-skinned boy nodded, patting her on the back encouragingly.
"Bro code? We have some code?" Fred asked confused.
"For example don't ask the girl your brother fancies on a date," Angelina said, a cold glare aimed in Fred's way. His eyes suddenly widened in realisation.
"I...that wasn't a date..." He tried defending himself but no one was listening anymore. Everyone turning rather towards their books or papers. Fred sighed and crashed down into a seat next to George trying to talk to him about what had happened.
The whole Great Hall was so busy today that no one paid attention to the drama of the group of fifth years. The group of Hufflepuffs were having a rousing discussion about the new plants in Greenhouse four. Ravenclaws were infuriated by the unorganised state the library was currently in since Madam Pince has decided that the students serving detention would be organising all the books. Fred and George were trying not to get detention this month just because of this cruel punishment.
The Gryffindor table was unusually invested in divination. For the first time, Rhea saw someone from Gryffindor genuinely interested in the subject as she watched Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil hunched over the teacup, discussing what they saw in it. But their conversation of the future was tuned out by Malfoy theatrically complaining about his newest injury from the Care of the Magical Creatures class. The girl was quite sure that Draco was the one at fault if some creature attacked him. But the boy was making such a big deal about it, proudly showing his arm in the sling to every person that passed by.
"He's laying it on thick, isn't he?" Angelina whispered to Rhea, nodding towards Malfoy who was being worshipped by Parkinson. Rhea just nodded in agreement. Angelina turned her goblet towards her and they both clicked them in agreement before downing down their drinks.
"He's been sighted!" Rhea spilt a bit of her drink while Angelina almost choked on it when Seamus Finnigan rushed into the Great Hall. Slamming the papers on the table where already a big group was forming. Luckily it was just next to where Katie was sitting so the group could see and hear everything clearly. Harry, Ron and Hermione also rushed over.
"Who?" Someone from the crowd asked. Kids of Gryffindor bunching over the little spot around the table. Everyone intrigued by what was written in the Daily Prophet which made Seamus practically sprint inside the Great Hall.
"Sirius Black..." Rhea's eyes widened at the name of her father. She even stood up to see the paper a bit better. Only to see the crazed face of her father. Screaming and yelling whilst being held down by the workers of Azkaban. His eyes held nothing but pure lunacy in them. It was hard to imagine that this man was supposed to be related to her. But Rhea knew better than to judge a person based on the picture in news. But still, chills run down her spine when she stared into his eyes. A wave of whispers sounded around the table.
"Dufftown? That's not far from here..." Hermione commented scanning the papers. Dufftown wasn't that far from Hogwarts indeed. On foot, it was not even a full day of travelling.
"You don't think he'd come to Hogwarts, do you?" Neville's voice trembled as he asked the question. The terrified look in his eyes almost made Rhea coo at how cute he looked.
"With the Dementors at every entrance?" Lavender asked sceptically, fully believing in the defence system of the school. But the boys mainly frowned at her believing nature.
"Dementors? He's already slipped by them once, hasn't he? Who's to say he can't do it again?" Seamus said with an eye roll. Eyes boring into the piece of paper.
"That's right. Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands." The talk made Rhea feel uneasy. They were talking about her father after all. The ragged breath that she gave out was enough to gain the attention of the students around the table. Suddenly many eyes were glued on her making her even more nervous.
"I...I think I'm done studying for today." Rhea said, grabbing her parchment with notes and leaving the Great Hall in a haste to get away from the stares of people.
***
The whole class of fifth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins stood in the DADA classroom for their last lesson of the day. Looking at the giant wardrobe that stood at the far back of it with professor Lupin next to it. To everyone's surprise, the wardrobe was shaking quite furiously. It almost looked like it would tip over any time soon.
"Nothing to worry about," Professor Lupin explained calmly because a few people had jumped backwards in alarm when the wardrobe started wobbling about. "There's a Boggart in there." Rhea nodded, already knowing what that meant. But most of the other students were still confused and feeling terrified. "Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks...I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice. But because someone mentioned to me that you skipped the study of boggarts in your third year. I decided that you should give it a try as well."
Remus looked over at Rhea who gave him a satisfied smile. She was complaining about not having any experience from school about boggarts because, in her third year, Professor Quirrell was mainly invested in killing Harry and getting the sorcerer's stone. So there wasn't much education that year.
"So, I hope everyone will know the answer to the first question, what is a Boggart?" The amount of raised hands was far less than Remus had expected. In reality, only Rhea's hand shot up high and proud in the air. Ready to answer the question. She didn't mind how some Slytherins snickered at her eagerness. "Yes, Miss Black?" Professor Lupin was having a hard time not to laugh audibly. He was so proud of her.
"It's a shape-shifter," she said quickly. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most," Rhea explained, the last part coming out of her a bit quieter when she heard the teasing voices of Slytherins. She wasn't intimidated by them. If something she was annoyed that they were disturbing the lesson with their childish behaviour. If her uncle wouldn't be in the class she would have already jumped at them with a few chosen spells.
"Well done Miss Black." Remus praised, turning back towards the wardrobe and gently hitting the side of it. "So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears." The professor explained.
"Oi George, better be careful or everyone will see your absurd fear of the dark." Fred teased nudging his brother in the ribs. A mocking laugh escaped his lips rather loudly even if he wanted to keep silent.
"Shut it mate, you are afraid of mum." George shot back.
"You both are afraid of your mum," Rhea stated matter-of-factly not even looking back at them. The twins shared a look, silently agreeing that it was true. Their mother was a scary woman when she was angry.
"But you are more afraid than me," Fred couldn't help but have the last word in the pointless argument which didn't go unrecognised by the Professor.
"Ah Fred, I see you have an answer to my question." The young Weasley boy stopped all his actions. All of a sudden feeling like a deer in headlights since he didn't recall any questions being asked. He was too occupied teasing his brother to pay attention.
"Um of course...But for academic purposes, you might need to repeat the question. Just so the students that weren't paying attention could catch up," Fred managed to get out of himself. In his mind, the excuse sounded far better than when he blurted it out loud. But Professor Lupin was a cool teacher so...
"How remarkable of you to be looking out for the other students Mr Weasley." Professor Lupin sarcastically praised but proceeded to repeat the question. "What advantage do we have over the Boggart right now?" Fred was left wondering whether it was better if he didn't even know the question. Since the answer to that seemed to be hidden better than the answer to the question why was Percy such a humongous bighead.
"Oh um...I...Isn't it because there's too many of us?" Fred tried the shot in the dark hoping that his ginger luck didn't leave him quite yet. And it appeared he still had quite a lot of it.
"Excellent," Professor said walking in front of the wardrobe. "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake, tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening. The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires a force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a Boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing." Remus explained, the class for once completely silent. An unusual thing when you have both Gryffindors and Slytherins in the same room. "Let's practice it now, shall we? Without wands, please...Riddikulus!"
The whole class repeated after him without the usage of wands. Some Slytherins were muttering under their breaths how stupid this was. Fred and George were joking around for a bit until Remus chastised them with a stern look. Soon the whole class was repeating the spell with the correct pronunciation.
"Now who would like to step forward and perform the spell for us?" The Professor asked. No one was willing to openly show their biggest fear in front of the whole class. Rhea wasn't even sure what her biggest fear was. She was anxious about so many things that she wasn't sure which one it would choose.
"I can try," A male voice sounded from the back of the class. When Rhea looked there she saw Edmund's determined expression as he stepped out of the crowd of Slytherins. Some even patted him on the shoulder for such a bold move. When he passed by Rhea she gave him an encouraging smile which he returned.
"Well done Mr Pevensie." Remus beamed when the tall young man stood in front of the wardrobe. "You are familiar with what you need to do?" Edmund only nodded, already glaring daggers at the wardrobe, his wand held tightly in his right hand like a sword that he was about to use to defend himself. "Very well, the floor is yours." The Professor stepped to the side. A jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open.
It was quiet for a second. Nothing was happening, the students didn't even dare to breathe in the tense situation. Suddenly a terrifying sound of something falling was heard and a body appeared on the floor. Rhea recognised the sandy blonde hair of the former Gryffindor student. It was Peter Pevensie. Edmund's older brother. But now he looked lifeless. Just laying there. Blue eyes glossy with a fog covering the previous beautiful azure orbs. Blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth leaving his younger brother to just stare at the terrifying sight in front of him.
Until the boggart changed into a tall beautiful woman. Brown wavy hair tangled and spread around her lying form on the ground. Cuts and bruises littered her pale face and her eyes closed. But Rhea could still recognise her. It was Susan Pevensie, another one of the siblings. Her chest wasn't rising and falling with the steady breathing, she just lay there lifelessly. Edmund was biting onto his bottom lip anxiously, almost tasting the metallic flavour of his blood.
Yet again the boggart changed shape. This time a shorter girl appeared. Light brown hair falling just past her shoulders with small braids at the sides. Her eyes were opened, dried trails of tears on her rosy cheeks. She looked utterly frightened of something. Lucy Pevensie, the youngest of the Pevensie children. The future healer and someone that Edmund felt closest to out of all of his siblings. The state that the young boy was in seemed to be his breaking point. His hands were shaking and his breathing came out as ragged. But that was before the boggart took another form.
Rhea was surprised to see herself lying down on the ground in a pool of blood. It was such a strange feeling seeing herself in such a state while well knowing that she was standing right there just a few steps away completely fine and healthy. A warm hand landed on her shoulder, pulling her back into someone's body. Fred put his arms around her shoulders, connecting them in front of her chest, just pulling her closer. As if afraid she was dying for real. Rhea didn't mind the affection, she was enjoying it for the time being.
The final form that the boggart gained seemed to break Edmund. Because the moment he saw Althea on the ground, tossing around in obvious pain as if cursed by a cruciatus curse, Edmund shouted the spell to get rid of the haunting image.
"Riddikulus!" Edmund shouted, his wand pointed at the boggart. The thing turned into a puppy that started yapping about and wagging its fluffy tail. There was a laugh of adoration from mostly the girls but it was enough to confuse the boggart.
"Alicia, come on." The Professor ordered. Alicia walked past Edmund in a haste. The boggart suddenly transformed into Katie, laughing at Alicia in quite a mean way while pointing a finger at her. The Boggart was about to open its mouth but Alicia quickly whipped out her wand.
"Riddikulus!" Alicia shouted almost immediately, Katie turning into something different.
"Excellent, Alicia." Professor Remus called forward another person, this time from Slytherin. Probably trying to mix it up a bit. After a few more students Remus looked over at Rhea. "Rhea, you're up." Rhea nodded, pulling her wand out and walking in front of the boggart that was now a dancing snake. When she approached it the boggart turned into smoke. Swirling around, trying to figure out what form to take. Rhea was at the second thinking about so many things that it was hard to figure out which one to take upon.
But after a few agonising minutes of waiting the boggart took a form of a man in ragged clothes, long, tangled hair, and madness in his eyes. In front of her stood the most wanted man in England. Sirius Black, her father.
"D-dad?" Rhea whispered softly, not believing her eyes. The person in front of her sneered taking a wobbly step forward.
"I'm not your dad you stupid child. I would rather rot in that cell than be with you, you pathetic excuse of a witch." Rhea felt like she wasn't even breathing. So far the boggarts didn't speak in full sentences. And even if she knew that this was all a boggart's doing, it felt so real. Like her real father was abandoning her all over again. This time explaining his reasons, he didn't want her.
The boggart then transformed into tall ginger. His usual smile that he always wore on his face was now gone. instead replaced by a scowl as he glared down at Rhea. It was impossible. The real Fred stood behind her. In the crowd. He wasn't the one that was now glaring at her.
"Never speak to me again you bloody traitor." The room got filled with the voices of all her friends. Angelina, Alicia, George, Lee, Katie, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Edmund. All of them yelling insults at her at once. Telling her she wasn't good enough and that they wanted her dead. Out of nowhere, Rhea was pushed to the side and Remus stood in front of the boggart which immediately turned into a moon. But Remus was quick to cast it away and lock it back into the wardrobe.
"Well done, everyone. I think that's enough excitement for today. Class dismissed." Remus said quickly, finishing the class. The students were maybe a bit confused but left the classroom. The group of fifth years stayed behind and intensively watched Rhea. The girl was slightly shaking from the earlier experience. She tucked her wand safely away before taking a deep breath. "You okay?" Remus asked coming over to her and inspecting her carefully for any injuries.
"Yeah, I think I'll live." She answered shakily, gently nodding her head. Her uncle looked down at her with sad eyes. He knew she was in shock now. Overwhelmed by everything that happened. He looked up to see the well-known group of friends waiting by the doorway. Remus smiled, knowing that Rhea would be in good hands. And that what she saw as her boggart would never come true.
"You do well to get some rest, Rhea. I'm sure your friends will make sure you're all right." The group nodded. Fred already stepping forward to give Rhea a hand. And carefully they escorted her to her dorm. All the way there ensuring her that they would never turn their back on her.