"Please put your textbooks away, grab your wands, and follow me."
Remus smiled at the excited whispers from his first Ravenclaw-Gryffindor class as they followed him to the staff room. Riddikulus was a perfect first lesson for the third years to learn. He would have saved it for their final class before Christmas break, as a treat, but when Albus told him that Argus found a boggart in the wardrobe it seemed to work out much better this way.
When they entered the staff room only Severus was inside, pouring over a Muggle book with an irritable scowl on his face. As Remus made to close the door behind the class, Severus said, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this."
He got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him. At the doorway he turned on his heel and said, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Seamus Finnigan. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless you wish for an explosion."
Seamus Finnigan went scarlet and Remus raised his brows. Apparently Seamus would be his first student of the day.
"I was hoping that Seamus would assist me with the first stage of the operation," he said, "and I am sure he will perform it admirably."
Seamus' face went, if possible, even redder. Severus curled his lip, but he left, shutting the door with a snap.
"Now, then," Remus said, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where he stood beside the wardrobe that gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.
"Nothing to worry about," said Remus calmly, after noticing the agitated jumps from the class. "There's only a boggart in there."
Most of the students seemed to feel that this was something to worry about. Neville Longbottom looked terrified, and Seamus eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively.
"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," Remus said, hoping to implant the creature theory in to the students' heads. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks — I once 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.
"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?"
Hermione Granger, Harry's Ravenclaw friend from the train, who Remus saw sitting with his odd group every meal, raised her hand immediately.
"It's a shape-shifter," she said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."
"Couldn't have put it better myself," said Remus. "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.
"This means," said Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's small sputter of terror, "that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Lavender?"
Lavender Brown, a Gryffindor girl, looked hesitantly at Hermione before answering.
"Uh, maybe because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"
"Precisely," Remus praised her. "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 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.
"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please... Riddikulus!"
"Riddikulus!" said the class together.
"Good," said Professor Lupin. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Seamus."
The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Seamus, who walked swallowed hard before walking up beside Remus.
"Right, Seamus," said Remus. "First things first: What would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"
Seamus turned bright red once again and closed his eyes briefly before whispering something inaudible.
"Sorry Seamus, I didn't catch that," Remus said cheerfully. "Don't be embarrassed- everyone's fears will be shown today."
Seamus took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling as he muttered, "Potter."
Harry?
"Your classmate, Harry Potter?" Remus asked, wondering if perhaps there were another Potter in the students life that terrified him.
Seamus nodded. Remus blinked heavily at Seamus for a moment. He glanced at the class and saw that nobody had laughed, save for a giggling Hermione Granger, which must mean it wasn't a joke.
"Alright then," he said, deeply hoping that the boggart that emerged did not take the shape of his best friends son. "Can you think of a way to make Mister Potter less scary and more amusing?"
Seamus stood and thought for a moment before shaking his head.
What on Earth.
"I'll help you," Remus said bemused. He looked around the room for inspiration. "What if Mister Potter was wearing Miss Parvati Patil's dress and hair ornament?"
A few students chuckled at that and Seamus nodded slowly.
"Yeah, that would be funny, I suppose," he said.
"Right then," said Remus. "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Seamus? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"
"Yes," said Seamus uncertainly, plainly wondering what was coming next.
"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Seamus, and sees you, it will assume the form of Mister Potter," said Remus. "And you will raise your wand — thus — and cry 'Riddikulus' — and concentrate hard on Miss Patil's clothes. If all goes well, Mister Boggart Potter will be forced into that red dress and golden hair ornament."
There was a great shout of laughter, though Remus saw that neither Hermione nor Neville appeared even remotely amused. In fact, Hermione was glaring rather darkly at Seamus and Remus both. The wardrobe wobbled more violently.
"If Seamus is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn," Remus told the class. "I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical..."
The room went quiet as Remus hoped the students were imagining their fears. He gave them a couple of minutes until most of the students were nodding and looking eager.
"Everyone ready?" Remus called.
"Seamus, we're going to back away," Remus said as the students began rolling their sleeves up in preparation. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward... Everyone back, now, so Seamus can get a clear shot —"
They all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving Seamus alone in front of the wardrobe. He looked pale, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand steady.
"On the count of three then Seamus," said Remus, pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One — two — three — now!"
Remus shot an unlocking spell at the wardrobe door handle with a jet of sparks. The wardrobe burst open. Despite Remus' hopes, a small, skinny, and scarred Harry Potter stepped out. He had a cruel smirk on his face as he stepped towards Seamus.
Remus thought this might be the oddest boggart he'd ever witnessed, and that included Peter's fear of being eaten alive by a Chimera.
Seamus backed away, reaching his empty hand up to rub at his shoulder. Harry reached in to his trouser pocket, still smirking cruelly at Seamus.
"Riddikulus!" Seamus roared, his eyes hard.
There was a noise like a whip crack. Harry stumbled; he was wearing a red dress, the same gold hair ornament as Miss Patil, and even had on what appeared to be lipstick.
There was a roar of laughter, from everyone aside from Hermione or Neville; the boggart paused, confused, and Remus shouted, "Lavender! Forward!"
Lavender stepped forward, biting her lower lip. Boggart-Harry turned to her and with a crack! there was a giant Nundu, breathing it's toxic breath in Lavender's direction.
Thank Merlin it wasn't Harry again, Remus thought with relief.
Harry had seemed much colder and more cynical than James had been at his age, but if the Daily Prophet was to be believed, then Harry had earned that right. Remus just wasn't sure how he'd earned the pleasure of being Seamus Finnigan's worst fear.
"Riddikulus," Lavender said, flicking her wand just the way Remus himself had.
The Nundu squeaked and sat down on its hind legs, panting like a dog.
"Very good!" Remus praised her. "Parvati now!"
Parvati walked up, her face set. The now docile Nundu rounded on her. There was another crack, and where the Nundu had stood was now a blood-stained, bandaged mummy.
The mummy's sightless face was turned to Parvati and it began to walk toward her very slowly, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising —
"Riddikulus!" cried Parvati.
A bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off.
"Excellent! Hermione!"
Hermione stepped forward and the mummy turned to her before turning in to... Albus Dumbledore.
"There's been a mistake Miss Granger," Boggart-Albus said harshly. "You aren't a witch after all. You're expelled."
"Riddikulus!" Hermione yelled, looking disproportionately angry.
Albus' beard abruptly burnt up and he stood there looking rather ridiculous with his chin now bald and shining.
Remus chuckled just a little at the sight.
"Wonderful! Padma now!"
Remus was interested to see that, although it took her slightly longer to dispel it, Padma shared the same fear as Parvati. He wondered if it was a twin thing or if they had a shared childhood trauma involving a mummy.
Crack! The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle, then — crack! — became a rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed before — crack! — becoming a single, bloody eyeball.
"It's confused!" shouted Lupin. "We're getting there, only a few more! Dean now!"
Dean hurried forward.
Crack! The eyeball became a severed hand, which flipped over and began to creep along the floor like a crab.
"Riddikulus!" yelled Dean.
There was a snap, and the hand was trapped in a mousetrap.
"Excellent! Neville, you next!"
Neville leapt forward.
Crack!
Severus Snape.
One thirteen year old student, one Headmaster, and one Potions Professor. What has been going on in this castle?
"Get out," Boggart-Snape hissed. "Do you really think I care about finding-,"
"R-r-r-riddikulus!" Neville stammered, interrupting whatever his Boggart had been about to taunt him with.
Boggart-Snape was now strutting around in a vulture stuffed hat, green frock, and carrying a large red purse. Remus' lips twitched at the sight, despite his best efforts to remain neutral.
"You're a dunderhead," Boggart-Snape now drawled. "You're all dunderheads."
Remus had no idea why Neville found this phrase amusing but the boy gave a weak laugh and retreated back to Hermione Granger's side.
"Everyone's safe now," she whispered to Neville, too quietly for the students to hear but seemingly loud to Remus' sensitive hearing. "You know he's here."
"What if he hadn't found him though?" Neville whispered back. "I'd just be a loser, all by myself."
"He did though," Hermione squeezed Neville's hand. "You're not a loser and you wouldn't have lost the rest of us- we're all your friends, not just Harry."
"Thanks Mione," Neville whispered with a smile.
Remus couldn't even begin to interpret that conversation.
"Anthony, come finish it off!" Remus said to the quiet Ravenclaw boy standing as far away from the boggart as he could.
He thought that his head might actually split open from a headache when the posturing Severus instantly transformed into... a Harry who was hissing like a snake.
Two for Harry, one for Albus, and one for Severus.
"Riddikulus," Anthony said softly, though strongly enough to put Harry back in Parvati Patil's dress for a split second before- Crack! -the boggart stumbled down and curled in a ball. Remus easily picked it up and shoved it back in the wardrobe to use again for his other defense class.
"Excellent!" Remus praised the class, despite his own confusion.
"Well done, everyone... Let me see... five points to every person who was able to tackle the boggart today — ten for Seamus because he went first... and five extra to Hermione and Lavender for answering my questions correctly.
"Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for me... to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."
As the students left the staff room, whispering excitedly, Remus heard Neville whisper harshly to Anthony, "Serves you right for calling him evil."
Remus desperately hoped that his Slytherin-Hufflepuff class would go over much better than this one had.
He was also undeniably curious what the boggart of the source of two of his classmates fears would be.
Remus smiled at the new set of students scattered among the staff room that afternoon. He tried not to watch Harry, but his eyes kept drifting to him in the back where he was whispering with Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Susan Bones. Theodore Nott and Ronald Weasley were standing close by, interjecting the discussion occasionally with their own input.
Remus went through the introduction of the boggart again, allowed the students to practice the incantation, and asked for a volunteer to go first.
Harry snorted lightly and backed up until his back was completely flat against the wall.
"What was that Harry? You volunteer?" Remus said, knowing full well that it was more of a snort of disdain than an eager offer to go first.
"Not a chance," Harry said flatly. "I'm not doing this."
Susan glanced up at Remus before quickly leaning over to whisper in Harry's ear.
"What's going on?" she breathed.
"Show everyone my worst fear? No. You know they'd just use it against me," Harry whispered back.
Remus cleared his throat and smiled gently at Harry.
"Everyone will go today- you cannot learn the spell without testing it."
"1 galleon Harry can do it in his sleep," Blaise whispered to Ronald, who rolled his eyes and declined the bet.
"I'm not doing it," Harry said, his jaw set stubbornly, much like Lily's always had.
"Harry, I don't want to punish you, but if you refuse to participate in class then you leave me no choice," Remus warned him.
Surely this defiant boy wasn't the 'sweet, brilliant, polite' pupil that his coworkers raved over to him.
Remus had chalked up Harry's previous attitude with him to unneeded embarrassment at Remus witnessing him in a vulnerable moment. Harry didn't seem like the type of kid who wanted pity or to be coddled. Now he wondered if he alone had somehow earned Harry's disdain before they had even officially met.
Clearly changing his nappies as an infant didn't endear Remus to Harry.
"Punish me then," Harry sneered at him, abruptly going from looking like a determined Lily to resembling a derisive Severus.
"Okay," Remus said lightly. "Detention tonight."
Harry scoffed and leaned against the wall, reminding Remus painfully of the arrogant way James often stood.
"Alright, who volunteers to go first then?" Remus clapped his hands and looked around at the wary students.
"I'll go," Hannah Abbot, a soft spoken Hufflepuff girl offered.
"Excellent, thank you Hannah!" Remus praised her. "Now- what would you say is your worst fear?"
"The Bloody Baron," Hannah said with a little shudder.
Some of the students, mostly the Slytherin's, chuckled at that. Remus saw Harry and Susan roll their eyes almost simultaneously.
"The Baron freaks me out too," Remus told Hannah with a reassuring smile. "Can you close your eyes now and think of a way that the Baron wouldn't be so frightening? A way that he would be funny instead?"
Hannah closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them with a giggle.
"Got it," she said, now grinning.
"Okay keep that picture clear in your mind when the wardrobe opens. The Baron will come out and you'll need to clearly imagine that comical sight as you say the spell, alright?"
Hannah nodded eagerly and stepped up in front of the wardrobe.
"Three- two- one!"
Remus unlocked the wardrobe and watched as the Boggart Blood Baron floated out silently towards Hannah.
"Riddikulus!" Hannah yelled, laughing when the chains fell off the Baron to reveal polka dotted pajamas and fuzzy bunny slipppers.
"Wonderful! Draco now!"
Draco stepped forward and the pajama clad Baron turned into a swirling tornado of what Remus was fairly sure was dozens of inferi.
"Riddikulus!" Draco cried, retreating quickly once the tornado stopped and became filled with adorable meowing kittens now instead.
"A tornado of kittens would not be as useful as inferi," Harry whispered to Draco as Remus called up Gregory Goyle.
"Your mad ideas are terrifying," Draco whispered back.
With another sharp crack! the meowing tornado of kittens turned in to a cackling Goblin holding an axe.
"Pft, what a tosser," Harry whispered.
Remus thought it was rather rich of Harry to critique his classmates fears when he was unwilling to face his own.
After Gregory turned the cackling Goblin in to a winged Cupid, Remus called up Ernie MacMillan.
Sweet Merlin, not another one.
The Cupid turned to Ernie and immediately changed in to an angry Harry, his green eyes flashing darkly as he pointed his wand at Ernie.
Remus glanced back at Harry, to gauge his reaction, and saw that Harry and his friends were all looking smugly at Ernie's boggart.
"R-riddikulus!"
Harry's black hair became hot pink and ridiculously curly.
Not a soul laughed, as the earlier class had at the image of Harry in a dress. Remus thought it had something to do with the way Harry was staring calmly at Ernie with his wand now out and twirling in his hand.
"Tracey!"
Tracey Davis stepped forward slowly and watched as the Boggart-Harry turned in to a fanged Vampire.
"Riddikulus!"
The vampire took his fangs out with a smile, revealing them to be a common plastic Muggle toy.
"Wonderful job! Millicent!"
Crack!
The vampire was briefly an impossibly tall mountain before Millicent shouted out the incantation and shrunk the mountain to a pocket size miniature.
"Very good! Next- Blaise!"
Crack!
The boggart cracked in to an image of a beautiful woman laying peacefully in a coffin that Blaise Zabini stared at silently for a moment before- crack! -the woman stood up and began dancing.
Remus felt a pang of sympathy for Blaise Zabini. Even though his boggart took on the shape of the full moon, he too had worried about life without his mother.
"Excellent Blaise! Justin now!"
Justin Finch-Fletchey stepped forward and crack! a giant, black scaled, snake reared its head, fangs aimed right at Justin-
"Riddikulus!"
The fangs fell off and the snake let out a soft squeak.
"Why didn't you try that?" Ronald whispered to Harry in the back of the room.
"Took one fang off, didn't I?" Harry whispered back with a cocky grin.
"Good work Justin! Theodore now!"
The Slytherin boy that was a part of Harry's group of friends stepped forward, his face pale and his hands slightly shaking.
The snake quivered for a moment and then- crack! -a man roughly Remus' size, though much older, with brown hair and eyes that matched Theodore's, held his wand high.
"What have I told you?" the man, that Remus would wager is Theodore's father, thundered. "You were raised better than that!"
Theodore held his own wand up slowly, his wide eyes trained on the Boggarts raised wand.
"R-r-riddikulus," he whispered.
The Boggart just laughed and Remus stepped forward lightly, allowing the man to change in to his full moon before deflating it.
When Remus had learned this lesson, in his own third year, the Gryffindor's had shared it with the Ravenclaws, a schedule that remained the same today. He had never stopped to wonder what the Slytherin students feared. Never considered that the legacy Slytherins who were raised in traditional pureblooded families may have much more realistic and immediate fears than goblins and severed hands.
"It's okay Theodore. Good job," he said quietly to the shaken boy. "Ronald now," he said louder. "It's weakened, we're almost there!"
Remus watched sadly as Theodore quickly returned to his friends and Susan Bones quickly grabbed his hand.
"You're okay," she murmured softly.
Remus nearly missed seeing the Boggart take on Harry's form, once again, while he watched Theodore out of the corner of his eye.
For the love of Merlin... What is that? Four Harry Boggarts now?
"You're out of the gang," Boggart-Harry sneered, pointing a large blood covered sword at Ronald.
Remus was incredibly confused as it had seemed to him that Harry and Ronald were close friends. They sat together on the train and had played cards together and laughed together. Why would someone's deepest fear be one of their closest friends?
Remus recognized the irony of that thought almost immediately. But Sirius would hardly have been one of his fears when they were classmates and friends.
He truly needed to discuss these Boggarts with Harry's 'guardian' tonight.
He watched as Ronald shot a panicked look over his shoulder at Harry, who shook his head slightly at him, a calm expression on his face. Susan Bones was giggling quietly at his side, though Draco Malfoy appeared to be as pale at Ronald's Boggart as he had his own.
"Riddikulus!" Ronald yelled.
The sword in Boggart-Harry's hands sagged limply, causing the Boggart-Harry to look comically surprised.
"Good, Pansy now!"
"2 galleons it's Harry," Ronald whispered to Theo as he returned to his friends. Theo let out a small chuckle and shook his hand.
And sure enough... The Boggart barely had to change shapes, merely losing the limp sword for a red pocketknife.
"Whose not special now?" Boggart-Harry hissed with a mean smile.
"Riddikulus!"
Remus shook his head as he heard the clink of coins that indicated Ronald had just pocketed his winnings from Theo.
"Vincent," he called, feeling exhaustion beginning to creep in to his bones. He hoped that Severus would give him a pain relieving potion with minimal resistance when he went to speak with him after Harry's detention tonight.
He mentally crossed his fingers that this would not be a sixth Harry Potter when- crack!-
Wonderful.
A much exaggerated mythical version of a werewolf appeared.
Remus held himself still, trying to not react since he knew that at least a quarter of the class was aware of his... affliction.
"Oooooow," Harry howled suddenly from the back of the room. Remus looked sharply at him, planning on scolding him for, once again, mocking his classmates fear. Instead he found himself chuckling lightly as Harry winked cheekily at him, the first friendly gesture he's gotten from James' son.
Defender of werewolf rights and feared by his classmates- who is this kid?
After Vincent turned the werewolf in to an adorable puppy, Remus eyed the room for anyone who had yet to face the Boggart.
"Daphne, then we'll have Susan finish it off," he called.
Daphne Greengrass stepped forward and gaped, horrified, when the puppy turned in to a young blonde-haired girl, lying on a bed, pale faced and silent.
Remus recognized the girl as Astoria Greengrass, one of his quiet Slytherin first year students.
Everyone watched silently as Daphne just stared at the Boggart. Her eyes filled with tears and her chin quivered slightly.
"Astoria," Daphne breathed before abruptly turning and retreating to the very back of the classroom.
"That's alright," Remus said gently. "Last one now- Susan."
Susan squeezed Theodore's hand before stepping up confidently.
The corpse of the young girl turned in to... the corpse of Harry.
At least this isn't Harry with a sword... or a pocketknife... or his wand... or hissing, Remus thought.
Though this Boggart was nearly as disturbing- apparently Harry being bloodily slashed to death was Susan's deepest fear. Remus would wager, based on the look of surprise, fear, and agony on Susan's face that this wasn't what she expected.
Susan stared at the corpse, and just as Remus was about to step up and put an end to the whole lesson- crack! -corpse Harry was now the corpse of Amelia Bones.
Remus gently moved Susan to the side as he stepped in front of the body. After once again deflating his moon, he shoved the Boggart back in to the wardrobe and took in the sight of his class.
Many of the students were teary eyed. Tracey was consoling a full on crying Daphne as Harry was squeezing Susan's hand and glaring at Remus accusingly.
As if Harry himself isn't the most commonly feared thing in this room.
"Good work everyone," Remus said weakly. "Ten points to everyone who faced their fear. For Monday-" he faltered as he saw the defeated looks on the majority of the students faces.
"Never mind," he sighed. "Just... have a good weekend."
He called out a reminder of the nights detention to Harry, who stormed out of the classroom with his arm now wrapped consolingly around Susan's shoulders.
"Brill," Harry growled back at him.
Apparently Susan's Boggart had taken away any goodwill Harry had previously felt towards him.
Remus put his head in his hands as he considered the disaster this lesson had caused. He swore that he would never teach boggarts again. Certainly not to the Slytherin's at any rate. Severus could do it next year.
At six that evening Harry knocked on Remus' office door. Remus was disheartened to see that Harry looked tense, all of his muscles were coiled tightly, and Lily's green eyes flickered around the room warily before he stepped inside.
He was clearly terrified of being alone with Remus. Despite Harry's own defense of werewolves on the train, it must bother him more to actually be alone with Remus.
"We won't be having detention here," Remus said lightly, getting to his feet and grabbing his wand.
Remus went to walk past Harry to leave the office and Harry flinched away from him.
"Follow me," Remus said, maintaining his polite tone despite his own disappointment.
Of course he's terrified of you. You're a monster.
Harry followed behind Remus, albeit several feet away, as he led him to the staff room.
"What are we doing?" Harry asked once he recognized the doorway.
"You face your Boggart, your detention is over," Remus said, holding the door open for him. "Between you and I, this spell will be on your final exam and it's important that you learn it now."
"N-no," Harry said, stepping away from the office door. "I'm not doing it."
"Then we'll be here all night tonight and every other night until you do," Remus said with a pleasant smile.
Harry glared at him defiantly, no doubt mentally rearranging his schedule to fit this in.
"Harry, I will not tell anyone what your Boggart is," Remus said softly. "I understand if you want to keep it private."
Harry continued to stare silently at Remus. He could practically see Harry's thoughts whirling behind his eyes when Harry blinked and seemed to adopt an uninterested mask.
Severus is clearly teaching him occlumency, Remus thought as he witnessed the masterful shutdown of visible emotions.
"Fine."
Remus gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he gestured towards the opened door.
"After you then."
Harry slowly inched around him, keeping his eyes trained on Remus' hands as if worried he would suddenly claw him.
Damn you Severus.
Remus would never be able to build any semblance of a relationship with James' son if being alone with the 'big bad werewolf' had Harry this much on edge.
"Do you know what your fear is?" Remus asked him.
Harry shrugged, quirking his lips up slightly in a look that was entirely his own.
"Probably seeing my Boggart in front of you," he drawled.
Remus sighed and fought down the headache that had been building ever since he saw Seamus Finnigan's boggart.
"You know, you featured in quite a few fears today," he said conversationally, watching Harry closely. "Any idea why that might be?"
"Suppose it means I'm scary, sir," Harry said in the same drawling tone he used before. "Can we do this so I can go, please?"
"Alright, then, wand ready?"
Harry shook his head and flicked his right hand, releasing a burst of purple lights in to the air beside him.
"No thanks," he smirked. "I don't really use one, do I?"
Remus resisted the urge to laugh.
More arrogant than you ever were buddy, he thought, picturing James' smug look if he could see his son now.
"As you please," Remus said. "Three- two- one- go."
Remus unlocked the wardrobe and stepped back as Harry stepped forward.
Remus felt his hackles rise as Severus Snape stepped out of the wardrobe and sneered at Harry.
If he's been hurting Harry I swear to Merlin...
"You're not special," Boggart-Snape sneered at Harry. "You're disgusting. A monster. A nobody. You're worth less than the trash you slept on."
Remus watched as Harry lost his previous smirk and turned a horrible shade of white with his mouth open in a perfect 'o' of surprise.
"Focus Harry," Remus encouraged him quietly. "Come on now, 'Riddikulus'."
Harry didn't even tear his eyes off of the Boggart who was now right in his face.
"Nobody cares about you. You're worthless. You don't matter. You're a monster. A freak."
Harry stumbled backwards from the Boggart and Remus felt guilt washing over him as Harry fell to the floor. Harry had his eyes clenched tightly shut, clearly trying to avoid looking at the Boggart-Snape who was now calling him a variety of vulgar names.
Remus darted forward just as Boggart-Snape was calling Harry a whore, of all the random insults to use. He finished off his own Boggart, shoving it back in to the wardrobe, and frowned sadly down at the frozen Harry.
"Harry," he called gently. "Are you alright?"
Harry continued to sit silently, his eyes closed, and Remus was startled to see his lower lip began trembling slightly.
"Hey, it's okay," Remus knelt down and placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's just-"
"Don't fucking touch me," Harry yelped, cringing quickly away from Remus. "I don't know what your game is- g-getting me alone and p-pulling that-" he pointed at the wardrobe. "But I'm not fucking falling for it. Don't touch me ever again," he hissed before scrambling quickly to his feet and frantically running out of the room.
Remus sat on the floor and stared sadly in his own lap for a few minutes.
He made his way to his own feet as he felt anger replacing his guilt and remorse.
Severus was now the Boggart of two students and he was going to answer some damn questions.