Defence Against the Dark Arts ((4th-5th Years))

[Fiona O'Reilly S5]

Fiona sighed quietly and lowered her eyes at Professor Foxcroft's questions. She didn't expect him to ask her those things. What was worse was that she felt it was a little bit of all of them she feared. "I don't find it scary per se, Professor. I'm not scared of anything really, I just fear their dead faces. The way they stopped moving. The way my mother's eyes were so far away and my father's face was set in fear. You see, I was there when it happened. I watched it happened. I saw the life drain from my father and knew the instant that my mother died. It's their faces that haunt me. There dead faces," Fiona whispered as she bit her bottom lip. She wasn't afraid of anything, she wasn't, but every time she closed her eyes she saw them dead. She didn't think anything funny could be made of this situation, but she was willing to see what Professor Foxcroft could come up with.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

A rare flash of emotion showed in Julius' eyes. His heart went out to the Slytherin and he made to place his hand on her shoulder then thought better of it. "So it's everything that happened and you saw but the scariest thing is how they looked when life was taken from them," he said thoughtfully. He thought a little till he was convinced he knew the root of her fear. "In your mind you can only see how horrific their deaths were. I think you are so scared – haunted - by this because you can still see the pain in their faces. You need to reconcile yourself with the fact that once they were dead they couldn’t feel it anymore, O'Reilly, fell anything at all, and whatever horrors they'd been through before it could no longer hurt them. They're at peace in death whatever happened before that. You can’t hurt a dead person however hard you try. See if you can focus on that instead of forming a connection in your mind between the pain they were going through the instant before they died and the expression on their faces. Maybe you need to change that final expression; you need to know they finally found peace by seeing it on their faces, because they have O'Reilly," he said. He rose back into a standing position. "If you need to talk to me again please raise you hand – and think whether or not you want to face the Boggart today," he advised her.

He also had another thing to tell the girl. "Believe what you will, O'Reilly, but having a fear doesn’t mean you're weak. The real weakness is in refusing to accept that and confront it when it becomes an obstacle in your way," he said gently, obligated to say the words but realistic enough to know they would probably mean little to the Slytherin. He left the girl to her thoughts and headed towards the last Hufflepuff and student he had to talk to. "Are you afraid of breaking a limb, or are you afraid of losing your skill or what exactly? And if it's your skill how will you know? Will it be Madam Hooch informing you so? Is that how your fear will manifest itself?" he asked.

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

When she saw Professor Foxcroft moving toward her she could feel her stomach knot. He had noticed her. She was going to have to participate and talk about her fear. She bit her lip and he almost feel herself sinking in her chair when he started asking questions about her fear. She didn't know how it would work, she never thought about it. She didn't want to think about it--it was just the thing that she was most afraid of.
"I'm not afraid of getting hurt" she heard herself saying, surprised it even came out. It was true though. She didn't care about the pain. There were ways of healing, people came back from injuries. "I guess...just...not being allowed to play. Something like that." After she said it she felt like it was silly. Her greatest fear was not being allowed to play quidditch.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

She had not given him much to work with and his questions hadn’t quite resulted in any information from which he could give her some ideas. He wanted to help her but he was handicapped by her reluctance to give the matter further thought – he couldn’t even tell if it was a surmountable fear for her or not. There was only way now for him to find out: she would have to battle the Boggart. “All right. I think maybe you need to face the Boggart to find out how your worst fear will be realised. I don’t want you to be scared because remember it’s just an illusion and that I’m here,” he said encouragingly. He went over to the cupboard and once more opened its doors to the girl, his own wand at the ready in case she should need his help.

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

He seemed to think about her answer for a moment and she found herself biting hard into her lower lip. She knew she didn't really give him a good answer, but then she didn't really know what the good answer to his question would have been. Maybe he wouldn't make her do anything because she didn't know enough about her fear. She could just sit safely in her chair and class would end with out her having to go up in front of everyone. After all, she didn't know what to expect. She didn't even know what might stop her form playing quidditch, but just thinking about it made her feel like she was going to be sick.

When Professor Foxcroft said that she would have to go up and face it to see her stomach knotted. She didn't know what to do, or what to expect. She couldn't even think for a moment. She didn't want to go up. She didn't want to face it, especially not here. Not with everyone watching. She could barely gather herself to stand, and she pulled her wand awkwardly out of her pocket as she made her way to the front of the room, her eyes never leaving the floor right in front of her feet. When she got to the front she force herself to take a deep breath and she repeated in her head what the professor had said. It was an illusion. It wasn't real. When she reached the spot in front of the cupboard she lifted her gaze to it for a moment, finding herself biting her lip again as she waited.

A moment later the cupboard was opened and the boggart came out, appearing for her as a very official man dressed in the Irish quidditch colors. She didn't really know him or who he was, but she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that he was in charge of it all. He ran the team, ad he chose the players. He seemed huge standing before her, and he looked angry. All she could do was stand there, staring at him, her wand half raised. As she stood, staring at the man before her, he pulled something out from behind his back, and she recognized it immediately. It was her broom--the old Clean Sweep that while only a few years old now already looked heavily worn and beaten. He held it up in front of her, holding it with both hands. For a moment she didn't understand, but then he moved quickly, banging the wood against his leg and snapping it in two.
She felt like someone had punched her in the stomach and her wand slipped form her hand and hit the floor by her feet. Maybe it was silly to other people, but it wasn't to her. They wouldn't understand. To them it was a broom, and brooms could be replaced, but to her, it was the Irish team breaking her broom. They didn't want her. She thought for a moment she would be sick, and she found it hard to balance or even think straight. She tried to force herself to take a deep breath and get her mind to focus again. It was a boggart. It wasn't real. Her broom was still safe with the rest of her quidditch things. She was still at Hogwarts, and the Irish hadn't said no to her yet. She lifted her gaze to look firmly at the boggart as she tried to raise all the courage she had. Carefully she reached down and picked her wand back up, her gaze never leaving the boggart in front of her. Once she had it firmly in her hand she took a breath again, everything now seeming to move almost in slow motion.

"Ridikulus!"

She watched for a moment, as the Irish man holding her broom twitched and squirmed before transforming into one of the leprechauns that danced before Irish matches.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

For a moment Julius wondered if the girl had been mistaken about her worst fear as it turned into a rather formidable very official-looking gentlemen that he couldn’t recognise, and then he pulled out a broom and snapped it in half. It was a proof of the fact that you could create your own fear that Nokomis should visualise being told to stop playing Quidditch in this manner for Julius had never heard of players' brooms being snapped in half before, though he could see that it was indeed a dreadful image that was more than well-portrayed by the Boggart. Yet she reacted before it was too late and Julius was impressed that she managed to do so even though she hadn’t known exactly what she would see before hand, focusing and casting the spell correctly. "Well done! 10 points to Hufflepuff!" he said to Nokomis giving her a small smile. "Tunstall, you next please," he said, again slowly pushing away one or two students to give her some space to deal with the Boggart.

[Ivy Tunstall]

Ivy nodded at the advice Professor Foxcroft had given her, swallowing nervously as she thought over it. He moved on fairly quickly, returning to teaching the class, but she couldn’t help but be slightly distracted. She was left pondering over what he’d said. It sounded sensible to stop feeling threatened; as for feeling amused she didn’t have many ideas of how it could be made funny. The danger not being real would most likely not leave her giggling at how stupid it all was, but just feeling slightly numb and confused. If anything the Professor had just made her feel more worried though. How would the Boggart manifest itself? He’d just brought to light a whole lot of uncertainties that the situation presented, and now as he demonstrated the spell to them she couldn’t help but feel slightly apprehensive. But she imitated his wand movement and murmured the pronunciation to herself as well, keeping that in her mind as she watched the first student step up to face the Boggart.

It was no easy feat even watching other people face their Boggart. The first person to face the Boggart, another Gryffindor in her year, didn’t seem to cope very well and Ivy could see how unsettled she was after it. Cassandra Blackfire usually seemed to do quite well too from the other lessons she’d had with her. The Slytherin boy that followed dealt with the Boggart really well. She wasn’t sure whether that was any better - if anything it made her more nervous about whether she would manage. Ivy bit her lip as Professor Foxcroft asked them to think about their fears. She had been doing that. In fact, since he’d recalled her memory, her disquiet and fear of the situation had only been growing. She didn’t think she really had anything to add. She had other fears and she wasn’t sure which one was the worst but that would depend how you defined ‘worst’. But she could recall the terror she’d felt, and she could feel that now. It should be sufficient for the Boggart to pick up on. At least with this amount of worrying she wasn’t likely to underestimate the Boggart as much as Cassandra Blackfire had. Ivy continued to think over it while she watched Noko face her Boggart, giving her friend a smile once she’d finished. Dealing with your worst fear couldn’t be an easy thing.

Professor Foxcroft called on her next and Ivy sat still for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, her mind still lingering on the terror she’d felt when she’d nearly drowned. Then she stood up, giving Charles a brief smile as she went and taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. They should go away when she actually had to deal with it – at least then actual fear rather than nerves would be her problem. Ivy stepped forward, her eyes on the leprechaun in front of her, but her mind still on the experience she’d had last year which had left a memory of fright and a big ‘what if?’. The Boggart seemed to know what worried her, because with a sudden crack it transformed into a weed and grabbed hold of her ankle, pulling her down to the floor abruptly. A particular weed, in fact – Devil’s Snare. Ivy didn’t react but pulled out her wand as quickly as she could. The last thing she needed was to be incapacitated. That movement though alerted the Devil’s Snare to the fact her arm was not yet trapped and soon it was winding up her arm, getting tighter and tighter. Ivy tensed immediately as she heard the roar of approaching water and it restricted her movement still further. Where could there be room for that anyway? It was almost as though the Boggart had managed to change the dimensions of the room; the rest of the classroom seemed very far away and Ivy felt isolated, scared, as though there was no one to help her.

She mustn’t get trapped here by the Devil’s Snare and underwater, Ivy decided, feeling fear stab at her as her sense of frantic urgency rose unchecked. ‘Just get the Devil’s Snare off,’ she thought to herself, forcing logic and reason there for just a moment. They weren’t usual visitors to her mind anyway, and having thought that she started worrying more again. But she fought it and shouted, “Ridukulus!” with all the strength she could muster, just as the water crashed over her head. The wand movements had been slightly jerky due to the restriction of the Devil’s Snare but she’d focused very hard on taking away the threat and now the Devil’s Snare around her crumbled into small polystyrene packaging pieces, and the water hit her on the head as a more solid piece of foam. Ivy had always liked playing with the packaging which came with more fragile items. She’d made a Mother’s Day card out of polystyrene pieces once. Ivy wasn’t sure that made the fear seem completely solved, but right now she didn’t feel quite as frightened as she had when she was about to face the Boggart. Just a bit bemused, and a little shaken. Ivy lifted the big piece of solid foam off her head and stood up quickly, moving away from what she’d left. She hadn’t lingered there too long. It might start trying to find something else to frighten her. Ivy looked to the Professor for confirmation she was finished before she returned to her seat next to Charles and sat down, glad she hopefully wouldn’t have to do that again for a while.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

"Well done!" said Julius, pleased to see the young Hufflepuff manage to deal He had been afraid she wouldn’t act at the right moment, for while he was confident in her skill, he had noticed the expression on her face as she watched the others, and hadn’t been sure she had come up with a plan of action and felt that even if she had she might not have enough self-confidence to pull it off. Yet she surprised him with her creativity and self-control and his voice showed his pride in her as he said "Another 10 points to Hufflepuff!" The nearest person to the Boggart now was Charles Driscoll, and Julius beckoned him to the front of the class. "Driscoll, go ahead," he said encouragingly.

((5 more points for your detailed description Ivy.))

[Charles Driscoll H7]

He was glad he had been picked after several other students, because now he felt he was ready to face the Boggart. He kept remembering the pain, the Death Eater and the expression on his face, so devoid of any kind of mercy or humanity, and Samantha finally saving him. He pulled up his sleeves and headed to the front to of the class. It was the thought of Samantha saving him that was at the surface of his mind when he stood before the Boggart, and he suddenly felt taken aback – he couldn’t see the Boggart. In fact he couldn’t see anyone or anything right now, for he was completely stunned by the sight before him.

What was Samantha doing here? And why was she looking so desolate? He'd imagined she would look like that but she seemed inconsolable. In shock he watched as Samantha turned to him and brought her wand to her heart, and he was suddenly aware of what she was about to do. She was going to take her own life in front of him, and he was going to be haunted by that look of despair forever because there was nothing he could do, she hadn’t let him save her, yet he should've anyway, it was his fault that she opening her mouth and going to utter the spell that would mean –

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

"Driscoll!" Julius' voice was louder than it had been all through class, sharp as it cut through the air in an attempt to wake the boy from his daze. He had wanted to give the boy a chance with the Boggart, but he realised that he should've known from the first moment that Charles wasn't going to be able to do that, the look in his eyes said it all. Yet Julius had mistaken Charles' not knowing that what was before him was only a Boggart for surprise at his fear having not been what he expected but he stood between the boy and the Boggart as he soon as it became clear to him that the Boggart had been too much for the boy. He placed both of his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Go to Professor Sprout, I believe she has a free period now," he said, leading him to the door. There was a prefect patrolling the corridor outside the classroom and Julius beckoned him over and asked him to go with Charles. He would have sent him to the Hospital Wing but he knew his sister was there and now would not be a good time for them to see each other. That meant two of his students he was going to have to talk to later he thought as he went back to his classroom. Julius composed himself and called on the next student. "Salah!" he said, his wand at the ready once more.

((10 points to Hufflepuff for Charles))

[Nasser Salah G6]

He watched as one by one the students faced the Boggart, and it was interesting to see how each of his fellows dealt with their fear, and rather an eye-opener for Nasser that Cassandra hadn’t been able to identify her own fear. He himself had had very little contact with death – if he was right in assuming that that was indeed Cassandra's worst fear. He wondered who the Slytherin who had come to her aid was – Cassandra certainly had a lot of friends he didn’t know about. He handled the Boggart with little trouble, and Nasser hoped he would be as adept. Then two young Hufflepuffs dealt with their fears and Nasser tried to learn as much as he could as he watched them. And then it was his turn.

He moved to face the Boggart, jaw set and wand at the ready. It was rather sudden even though he had bracing itself for its attack. It was like a tight rope tightening around his neck, steel bands around his chest; yet the pain was familiar to him and the helpless feeling that came with it was too. He was suffocating and he almost panicked – then he kept imagining the weight in his head, and he closed his eyes for a moment, not surrendering to the pain but simply telling himself it was nothing but a weight. He opened his eyes and pointed the wand at his chest and chanted "Riddikulus" and his voice was not breathless as he had been half-afraid it would be, instead it was low and determined. They were not bands of steel, he was not helpless, it was simply a weight that he could push off his chest and onto the ground, and that was how he conquered his Boggart. The weight fell to the ground with a resounding crash, and shattered into a million little pieces. Pleased but more than a little tired, Nasser went back to his seat, still interested in watching the rest of the class face their fears.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

"10 points to Gryffindor!" said Julius as soon as the Gryffindor was done. Julius was glad to see he'd succeeded, as those who had yet to fight the Boggart would see that most of the class had come out of the battle with it victorious. Next was another Gryffindor, Catherine Dumas, who feared the Dark Mark. He wondered what her reaction would be and whether she would be able to confront her fear – she had never actually seen a Dark Mark before and that meant it could turn out worse than it was in reality. Imagination was often far more terrible than redality. "Dumas!" he called.

[sammy]

As she watched other students face their fears, the icy feeling of what had to come began to wear off. Surely if everyone else could do it with some success, she could too, right? Nevertheless, her hands began to get sweaty and more then a few times she felt like she was going to be sick. One by one her peers stepped up to face the boggart. Their fears were of some interest to her, but more then anything she was worried about what she would do. Riddikulus, she had that part down. She had the movement down - she had practiced it under her desk. The only thing missing from her perfection was the boggart itself, and as proved by fellow students - it was the part that separated whether you would fail or succeed. She gave some of the more ashen faced students a weak smile as they walked by her. What would she look like after the procedure? A certain Charles Driscoll seemed to have trouble over his fear, which to Cathy was quite a fear. She recognized the girl that appeared to be his sister - the one sent to Askaban. The others were also interesting, especially that of a gentlemen snapping a broom. Cathy couldn't understand the fear behind it; brooms were easily replaceable, but then again she wasn't very fond of them. Perhaps to the Hufflepuff it meant much more.

She recoiled as the Professor called upon her. Must she do this? Hoping she didn't look like she felt, Cathy approached the middle of the room. The last student had exploded their boggart into tiny pieces, and as she stood there, mumbling to herself all the things she must do, they began to gather up. Slowly, and very quietly. It took a bit for Cathy to see the movement, and when she did... her mind blanked. Fear seized her stomach; she felt like she had to heave. The pieces weren't forming her fear; what would come next was. With a sudden noise; the small pieces exploded in green sparks, lighting the ceiling with the glow. Cathy jumped back, not expecting such a thing. The sparks circled in the air for a bit before turning into one solid mass. It didn't look at all like a Dark Mark... in fact it looked like a persons face. Cathy was confused as to what was happening. The face began to take on a more defined shape. Hair was there now - brown hair with shocks of gray here and there. The eyes were also brown and wrinkles of many years of stress appeared on the face. The lips were in a tired smile and the nose became shaped so that... with a surprised squeak from Cathy - the face became her Daddy. His face circled on the spot, his smile becoming more livelier as his gaze found hers'. Cathy smiled a bit - she hadn't seen Daddy for a long time. The classroom faded in the background as well as her sense of anything else - the room, the Professor, everything seemed to be lost. Daddy's face hovered above her, grinning from ear to ear - the eyes brimmed with tears as they always did when he saw her back from school. Cathy felt her heart warm - she felt safe. Fear leaked away from her and she felt relieved. It didn't last long. Daddy's mouth opened and distorted so it could allow something to come through.... a snake. With a sharp intake of breath, Cathy was brought back to the classroom.

"No!" She whispered frantically as the snake hissed at her through Daddy mouth. But now - something was happening. Cathy watched, frozen to the spot, as the face distorted even more so that the eyes were now just holes in the face, the face itself shed its skin and became a skull, a skull that was grinning down at her, the snake slithering around its face. Daddy dead... no, it couldn't be! Cathy recoiled away from it, stepping back... faster and faster... until she tripped over herself, hitting the floor hard. Her wand rattled away on the floor. The skull laughed at her; inside the dark holes that were now its eyes, a red light flickered, watching her with amusement. A shiver shook Cathy, she jolted and without realizing what she was doing, she rolled over and grabbed up her wand. The touch of the cool wood brought her back to everything: She saw the Professor and her peers, she saw the desks and saw the cabinet in the background. The skull was hovering closer to here, but for once her mind was clear. It was just a boggart, pretending. Pretend. Cathy took a deep breath, scrabbled to her feet, extended the wand before her like a sword. "Ri...Ri..." What was the charm again?! She fought to remember as the skull took up a spot right above her head. With a squeak of fear, she jumped back. The snake was descending from its mouth... "Riddikulus!" She screamed, focusing on one thing - anything that would help her. The skull burst into a rose which drifted to the floor, and everything was quiet. The blanket of ice was lifted off Cathy as she watched the roses. A smile of both relief and weariness. She had done it. The nightmare was over. Cathy looked at the Professor, just to make sure, before she walked to her seat, still a trembling a bit in her legs.

((I know it seemed like it happened rather slow for Cathy, but it was really all rather fast-paced. Just thought I'd make a note. ))

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Yet another mixed up student – yet she wasn’t as mixed up as the others and she had managed to deal with the unexpected, and Julius gave her a reassuring little smile and squeezed her shoulder as he went back to her seat. He saw some resemblance between the girl and the man she had seen and then even he let out a little gasp at the gruesome transformation! It was one of the most fearsome Boggarts he had seen yet in his opinion, but the Gryffindor had lived up to her house’s reputation and been brave enough to confront and defeat it. “10 points to Gryffindor!” he said. He wondered what exactly was going on in Cathy’s life and whether she needed to talk about it to anyone, but now was not the time to probe further into the matter and he would have to think how and when it would be best to discuss it with her. It was time to move onto the next student. “O’Reilly,” he called, calling the proud Slytherin to the front of the class.

((5 more points for the detailed description Cathy))

[Fiona O'Reilly S5]

Fiona didn't say anything further, but acknowledged Professor Foxcroft's words with a nod of her head. She wasn't sure if she would be able to face the boggart today, but she wasn't going to let anyone else see her wimp out. On the other hand, her parents faces stood out vividly in her mind and she couldn't help but tremble in fear out of what would come next. She tried to focus her mind on something funny. Some kind of face or happy memory of her parents that would make her laugh. Maybe she could think of the time her da taught her to fly. That was a happy time, but would she be able to replace her father's face or her mother's? She shook her head to clear her mind as she realized she was next. She stood uncomfortably and then slowly walked to the cupboard.

Fiona stood in front of the door breathing hard. She tried to calm herself and calm her mind. She needed to focus. She needed to relax so she could cast this spell as quickly as she could so it could all be over with. She closed her eyes took two deep breaths and when she reopened them the cupboard door was opening. Fiona bit back her stomach which seemed to have found it's way into her mouth. She watched as the 'boggart' that exited the cupboard form into her father's body. The look of absolute shock on his face. The look of anguish at the realization of who it was behind the wand. Fiona turned away. She couldn't look at it. The body was silent. No word or sound came from it and it was stationary, but yet it's distant dead eyes were fixed on her and she could feel it.

Fiona's body shook from terror and pain. She didn't look at the 'boggart' as she pointed her wand shakily at it and whispered, "Ridikulus." She hoped her feeble attempt would work, but when she turned to look she saw her mother's dead body. The blood and deformity shook Fiona and she cried out. "No!" she said as she turned and looked to Professor Foxcroft with pleading eyes. She couldn't take anymore. She was within an inch of bolting from the room. Her heart was beating quickly and sweat was pouring from her. She just wanted to leave quickly.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

"Riddikulus! Riddikulus!" said Julius determinedly again making his way to Fiona, the Boggart had been enjoying frightening her too much to realize another person was now before it and it hastily changed to the sound of the suffering students but Julius had dealt with it in the space of two seconds and the defeated Boggart surrendered and staggered backwards into the cupboard, which Julius slammed shut and turned to the shaking girl before him. Before thinking he had reached out to her and his hand was on one of her shoulders and he squeezed it and then turned to the class to look for any of her fellow Slytherin.

"Fi – O'Reilly – Valak please take O'Reilly to your common room. Give her something to eat and drink and stay with her till she has regained her spirits. O'Reilly, I will see you tonight in my office," he said. Apparently either his words had fallen on deaf ears and she had thought his approach useless or she was simply not ready to deal with her fear. This was a serious matter and Julius felt it was affecting her deeply. He would have to find that out later if he could, reluctant as Fiona was to discuss the matter. He went back to the cupboard. All the students that had raised their hands had taken their turns. "If any else wishes to face the Boggart, please come to the front of the class," he said, opening the cupboard once again, wand in hand and a grim expression in his eyes. He was still thinking about Fiona.

((10 points to Slytherin for Fiona.))

[kris]

((Really, Foxie, you won't get rid of me that easily. *pokes* I'd give an huggle too but coming form Kris it would look just weird next to his avatar. ))

Kris wrapped his arms around Cleo’s waist and lowered his head a little inhaling the fresh scent of Cleo’s shampoo. The Ravenclaw fit so perfectly into his lap that Kris didn’t want to move. He didn’t even want to think or pay any attention to the class, yet the suspicious Slytherin part in him demanded that he stay alert towards any attack no matter from where it might come. “Think of how much blackmail material I’m missing out,” Kris murmured into Cleo’s ear his fingers digging into her ribcage prompting out a chuckle before Cleo intervened her fingers with Kris’s therefore effectively stopping the movements of his hands. Cleo sighed and nestled closer to his chest so Kris figured that his light comment had worked and redirected Cleo’s train of thought about her greatest fear for at least a moment. “But as I can see them, you’ll have to come to me if you need blackmail material meaning you will owe me a favour. Works for me,” Cleo hummed back to Kris softly and for a while they just stayed quiet.

“I will,” Cleo stated calmly as professor Foxcroft asked if anyone else wanted to try their hand. Kris didn’t show any emotion as he Kris unwound his arms letting Cleo stand before standing up himself as well and picking up his walking cane. With Cleo still being attached to his wrist by the handcuff there wasn’t really much chance for Cleo to go to the front of the classroom on her own. The tip of his walking cane made small clicking sounds as it touched the floor as Kris very politely held Cleo’s elbow as they walked to the front of the classroom for Cleo to face the boggart. Kris gave a comforting squeeze to Cleo’s elbow before taking a step back to leave Cleo plenty of room to deal with her fear. A moment later he heard the click of heels and a yank on his right hand that was caught in the handcuffs as Cleo jumped backwards behind his back at the same moment when Foxcroft once again released the boggart. Kris hadn’t expected this but he didn’t move a muscle other than flickinghis right wrist and catching his wand before taking it into his left hand, being perfectly able to use both of his hands equally well for both writing and using his wand.

Kris felt nothing even though he knew that the boggart should be before him by now. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. You had to see a boggart, see and thereby understand the fear it created. Being blind Kris couldn’t. Blindnes made him pretty much… immune… to boggarts. The boggart seemed to understand his lack of fear too as Kris could soon start hearing cracks that got louder and louder as the boggart obviously tried to find a shape that would work on Kris. Kris could hear chair-legs scratching the floor as people probably inched back when they saw something that reminded them of their own fears. Even Cleo swallowed rather nervously and tried to pull back a little bit more at some sight making Kris wonder lazily what they saw. Kris had seen some rather gruesome things so his fears were rather gruesome too.

Yet it didn’t matter to Kris right now. This boggart was just an other cruel reminder of how much he had lost. An other loud crack sounded and Kris could feel the handcuff on his right hand tightening as Cleo inhaled and pulled back sharply. The wind rose howling around Kris pulling at his clothes and hair, loosing the black bangs from the restraining strip of black cloth they had been tied back with. A harsh gust pulled off Kris’s glasses throwing them somewhere and Kris could feel the harsh slap of sand in his face, the small grains getting caught in his mouth, nose and eyes, scratching even the liquidy black cover over them painfully. A sandstorm. A moving pillar of sand closing around you, cutting off your airways, suffocating you, leaving you alone… Kris didn’t think that anyone with some sanity would not be afraid of it.

Kris raised his head and almost welcomed the feeling of pain in his already wounded eyes. What more did he deserve than this constant pain? He had been too slow. Incompetent, unable to protect both Dana and himself. He had failed in so many ways. Maybe he deserved the punishment? Death even. A chance. One word, with so many layers or meanings. Kris had lost his chance and he would have to pay the price for the rest of his life. One more burden on his shoulders and one that just might break him one day.

[cleo]

Cleo felt paralyzed as she watched Kris being enveloped by the sand-storm the boggart had started. The sand was flying so quickly and there was so much of it that it hid his figure completely. Cleo raised her hand to cover her eyes as she felt like weeping. She had gotten scared even though she had bravely agreed to take on the challenge. Scared of facing the man of her fears, scared of failing and being one more disappointment to her ancestors, to herself… to Kris even. But she hadn’t thought how much harder it would be for Kris and he hadn’t even been given a choice as to whether or not he would want to face a boggart. Cleo had put him into this tight spot. And the worst was that he didn’t make a sound. No voice, no nothing. Only Morrigan meowed once and Cleo felt a chill going down her back at the sound. It was almost a good-bye of sorts. Kris’s kitten showing that she would willingly follow him even to death. The sound awaked Cleo however as she found Kris’s fingers and tied the fingers of their cuffed hands together again.

Drawing strength from Kris through their connected fingers Cleo stepped closer forcefully squinting before drawing her right hand back and harshly slapping Kris over his cheek. Cleo noticed Kris’s head flying to the side and a moment later the sand-storm burst open with Kris’s wand raised. He hadn’t used Riddiculus, but it had rather been an explosion of pure force that threw the boggart over the classroom until a wall stopped it’s flight. The rather good-looking wardrobe in which Foxcroft had kept the boggart exploded into splinters and Cleo heard the almost musical clatter as the windows shattered obviously also being affected by whatever spell Kris had used. Cleo winced at the trickle of blood at Kris’s mouth-corner where her knuckles had obviously made contact. Kris looked terrifying this way. The black cover over his eyes made him seem heartless and cruel, his wand raised to hurt and the now messy hair giving off a warning. At this moment Cleo could see him killing, slaughtering without a problem, casting the unforgivables and enjoying it. Yet his hand was warm and Cleo squeezed it. “Kris,” she half-groaned out with tears raising into her eyes as she swiftly switched into French. Cleo doubted anyone else in the class spoke it so freely – though she didn’t have a clue about Foxcroft – and she knew Kris would appreciate the small privacy it allowed when he regained control over his hurt again. Still Cleo almost whispered her plead out to him with one tear rolling down her cheek: “If you can’t cry for yourself, then let others do it.”

Kris didn’t respond for a moment but then moved his wand again casting “Riddiculus”. Cleo gasped but this time there wasn’t fear in it as the sunrays hit the small golden unicorn foal now standing between the splinters left of Foxcroft’s closet. The foal raised it’s hind leg for a moment, shook it’s mane before prancing forward a little. Maybe not an overly funny view but no one could look at the completely pure creature and not feel the burden on their shoulders lifted. Cleo glanced back at Kris only to froze again as Kris had moved his legs and bowed to her. A full-fledged bow, as he bent his upper body parallel to the floor. There could be no greater sign of respect and for a Slytherin to humble himself like this publically while leaving his head and neck completely vulnerable. “My liege,” Kris murmured softly as he straightened a moment later and pulled Cleo closer before bending his head and covering her lips with his. It wasn’t Cleo’s first kiss, far from it. But it was the first one that made her forget about her surroundings and the only one that left it’s burning mark on her lips when Kris raised his head about five or six seconds later, while for Cleo it seemed to last a life-time. It was as if Kris had claimed her with this kiss but… also given part of himself for her to hold with it.

The handcuffs erupted in a shower of sparks that rained down disappearing before hitting the floor and Cleo’s hand flew to her lips almost automatically as she stared with wide eyes at Kris’s back as he walked away with his regular saunter even though he wasn’t wearing the sunglasses that had became so regular for him. Cleo heard a warning call and barely glanced to the side to see her boggart advancing towards her. It had been as she had guessed. A bulky figure of a man – tall, strong and without a face. Cleo was afraid of the father she had never seen. Would she be a disappointment? Right now the feeling of Kris’s kiss still carried her so Cleo gave an almost lazy flick of her wand towards the boggart while off-handedly stating “Riddiculus.” The boggart was pushed back and Cleo grimaced at the mime it had turned too. She didn’t find mime’s particularly amusing either, but it had worked and that was all that had been required.

“I swore never to run after any boy,” Cleo murmured to herself as she glanced back at the door discarding the mime-boggart from her mind. Then again Kris wasn’t just anyone. Without a glance either way Cleo waved her wand towards her things to make them float behind her as she rushed after Kris who had reached the classroom door. Ducking under his left arm Cleo placed her own hand around his waist leaning her head against Kris’s shoulder. Kris placed his arm calmly around Cleo’s shoulder while dropping a calm kiss on her temple: “May I interested you in some pancakes, Cleopatra?” “That requires skiving off next class so you’ll have to protect me from Dana when she finds out. But sure. Kris, could you please not bleed on me?” Cleo asked while pulling out her wand and tapping Kris’s mouth corner with it before the classroom door sung closed behind them locking the rest of the conversation outside.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Cleo Hardwick came to the front of the class, Kris still bound to her. Julius had given them little of his attention; all his concentration had been on the students who had asked for his advice, and he was still rather annoyed to see them bound to each other but he didn’t comment. The Boggart would only choose one of them to try and frighten, and if one was stranded by the other, it was by their choice and not his. But what happened was the complete opposite. From the moment the fierce whirlwind of sand engulfed them he faded into the background, watching them attentively leaving them in a world of their own. Julius knew better than to interrupt for it coon became apparent to him that all they needed right now was each other. It had been his idea for them to face their fears, so he had to let them do it and do it their own way, and in the end all he cared about was their own benefit, despite the extremely unorthodox method Cleo and Kris were going about it. And even when his cupboard burst into splinters and Julius still did not react.

He watched them in silence and they each faced the Boggart and defeated it, and before he knew it they had left. After their dramatic performance there were no words to say, nothing came to his mind that he could imagine saying to his students now. Besides, he was more than a little rattled by all that had happened though he kept his composure and nothing showed on his face. "I'll see you all next week," he said and with a curt nod at the class he gathered his books and quills and other stationery then left the classroom.

((I know better than to think that. 15 points to Slytherin for Kris and 15 points to Ravenclaw for Cleo.))