Then she froze.
Neville, first student who had spotted the man let out a startled yelp and nearly tripped over his own feet.
Because someone opened the door, and entered inside, Severus Snape, walking towards Lupin by window, a newspaper closed in his hands.
When he saw Lupin in the corridor entering with a group of students, his mouth twisted into something between a sneer and a smirk.
"Professor," Lucifer said, frowning slightly as he shifted on his seat, the one brave soul, "Your office is in the dungeons. What brings you to the staff lounge on the second floor?"
"I just had a chat with Professor McGonagall," Snape said smoothly, folding the paper, "About certain abysmal 'testscores. She refused, yet again to approve my request for 'corporal punishment.' A shame, really."
As he spoke, his black eyes swept slowly over the Gryffindor students one by one. Ron and Neville immediately ducked behind Harry as if that could shield them.
Lupin was about to say something, when Snape started moving his feet already, if he was just here for a mere stroll, "Don't bother," he said coolly.
"I'll spare myself the pollution of standing among 'this lot.' You'll have your hands full anyway, especially with Neville Longbottom. I'd advise you not to expect much from him. Well, forget it---you're worse than this pathetic kid anyway."
Lupin raised an eyebrow, his tone mild but firm, "Funny. I was just about to ask Neville to help me with a demonstration. I have every confidence he'll do just fine."
Snape's face darkened. "'Then I wish you luck," he said, and swept from the room, slamming the door behind him.
The whole class exhaled as one united being, Lupin didn't seem the least bit bothered, in fact he was glad to meet children of his own school friends.
xxxxxx
"Hmm, classroom needs to be a bit bigger for what I have planned, and I will need you all to stand up," Lupin brought out his wand, gave it a wave, and the room expanded by about ten feet on all four walls, "There we go."
The class was on their feet and in awe at how easily he did that.
"Now then," Lupin waved his wand againz chairs and desks flew to the edges of the room. He looked over and saw something he needed, a large Wardrobe off in the corner.
"'Wingardium Leviosa," he said with his wand pointed at it and levitated it towards the center of class.
The closer Lupin got, the more it trembled, the wood creaking and thumping against the wall.
"Don't be frightened," Lupin said, noticing a few startled gasps, "It's not dangerous. There's just a Boggart in there."
A few students straightened up again, curious despite themselves.
"Boggarts love dark, enclosed spaces," he explained with a small grin, "I caught this one last week. Our headmaster Dumbledore kindly allowed me to keep it for today's lesson...."
"Like, cupboards, or under a child's bed to eat their bodies? You remember how story goes."
Lucifer quietly whispered into his deskmate's fleshy ears, which turned pink, and Hermione shivered all over, glaring at him quietly to behavem
While Lupin had now turned back to the class, albeit in a good mood, "So, who can tell me what a Boggart is?"
Hermione's hand to no one's surprise shot up immediately, "It's a shape-shifting dark creature that turns into whatever it thinks will 'frighten' us most."
"Excellent, precise and complete."
"Two points to Gryffindor." Lupin tapped the wardrobe lightly with his wand. It began to shake again, harder this time, the doors rattling in their hinges.
"So right now, the Boggart inside has no form. It doesn't yet know what frightens us, that's one of the mysteries of Wizarding world, no one has ever seen what a Boggart looks like before it transforms."
He paced slowly before the class.
"Now then... apart from spells, what do you think is the best way to defeat one?"
Harry hesitated, then ventured, "Um... stand in a group? So it doesn't know who to scare first?"
Lupin's face lit up with a heart warming joy, that's right, he was reminded of James' instantly a few years back, "Very good, Harry, excellent instinct. That's exactly why it's safest to face a Boggart with company. When it can't decide what to become, it turns into something ridiculous instead, hardly frightening at all."
The class was quiet, waiting with bated-breath for him to just suddenly open the wardrobe without warning.
Hermione stood there in thought, 'What am I afraid of? There's failing every class... that would be absolutely terrifying. There was also that night terror I had---'
"Now, there is a simple way to deal with the Boggart, a charm that was created exclusively for this, however," Lupin paused to reiterate, "It alone is not enough to 'finish' off a Boggart. Harry, do you know what is enough?"
"Er..." Harry again paused for a moment.
Hermione knew that he knew, because he told her he'd looked over some 'DarkCreatures', and if he actually did, he should've read up on the Boggart, "Laughter is what 'finishes' it off."
"Exactly! You need to force the Boggart to take a form you find amusing, and when it's turned into it, you will laugh, as will your classmates I'm sure. Now the charm is Riddikulus, okay? Repeat after me, without wands first, 'Riddikulus," Lupin said to them.
"Riddikulus," said one, not so in unison class.
"Very good, but that was the easy part... 'Neville," Lupin startled the poor boy, "could you come here, please?"
Neville nervously walked up to Professor Lupin, he desperately wanted to refuse, but due to the steady insistence, made his way up to the center of class.
Lupin was about to guide him through the steps when he suddenly felt a gaze on him, sharp, almost tangible. It made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He looked up, a boy named Lucifer was watching him, calm-faced, unreadable.
The warmth of the room seemed to vanish, Lupin tugged threadbare robes tighter around himself, the chill settling deep into his bones.
"....How are you, Neville?"
Lupin asked him.
"Fine..." Neville squeaked.
"Good, good, so tell me, who or what are you afraid of?"
"Prof... Sn..." he mumbled.
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Professor Snape..." he said to humorous laughter.
"Yes, yes, Professor Snape. Scares the lot of us, now it's my understanding you live with your grandmother?"
"Yes, but... I don't want it to turn into her either!" Neville said suddenly.
"Don't worry, it won't. Now I want you to picture what your grandmother wears," Lupin instructed.
"Okay, she always wears the same hat----"
"No no, don't say it, we will see what you see when you cast the charm at the Boggart. Okay, now I'm going to release the Boggart, and when it emerges, it should take the form of Professor Sna----"
Then an intense pressure, like a hand pressed on the back of Lupin's neck, who stopped his words.
'People are strange creatures', Lucifer thought to himself, full of double standards and divided loyalties. Right and wrong didn't matter half as much as where you stand.
His relationship with Snape was complicated. Teacher, business partner, occasional co-conspirator, they had mutual interests, if not mutual trust. Lupin, by contrast, was an outsider.
....And Lucifer had no intention of letting him humiliate Snape in front of the whole class. At least Lupin had picked up on his silent warning. If he hadn't... might have 'felt' compelled to remind the new Professor more directly, and whatever followed after would have been Dumbledore's mess to clean up, not his.
"Everyone, take a few steps back," Lupin instructed, wand at the ready, he released the Boggart, "On the count of three. One... two... three!"
A 'flash' of sparks shot from his wand, the wardrobe doors burst open, and out stepped a tall, thin witch with pale, waxy skin and long, tangled hair. Her features were sharp and unpleasant, her thin lips drawn into a cruel sneer.
Gasps rippled through the class.
"Wait--what?" someone whispered. "Isn't that the crazy witch? Why in Merlin's name would she be what 'Neville fears most?"
Everyone in the room recognized the face immediately. They'd seen it so often they were sick of it, Bellatrix Lestrange, whose photo had dominated the 'Daily Prophet's' front page for weeks below Sirius Black, as the Dark Lord's most loyal servants.
Lupin froze for only a heartbeat before understanding dawned. His expression softened with something like pity as he turned toward Neville.
The boy was rooted to the spot, eyes wide, pupils dilated, staring blankly as Bellatrix stalked toward him.
"Neville!" Lupin called sharply. "That's not the real Bellatrix! It's just a Boggart! Use the spell--just like I showed you!"
Neville's lips trembled, but the sound of his name seemed to pull him back to reality. He stumbled a few steps back, raised his wand, and squeaked, "R.. Riddikulus!"
With a loud crack, like a whip snapping in midair, Bellatrix stumbled and began twisting in on herself. Her form shrank rapidly until, with another pop, she became a squat black-haired toad.
"Trevor?" Neville blinked, recognizing his pet immediately.
Laughter erupted through the room.
"Brilliant, Neville!" Lupin cheered. "Alright, next up--Parvati, your turn!"
Parvati stepped forward, wand raised. The Boggart swelled again, morphing into a blood-soaked mummy. Parvati didn't flinch.
"Riddikulus!" she shouted, and the mummy's wrappings tangled together like ribbons, making it topple clumsily onto the floor.
"Seamus!"
"Goyle!"
"Crabbe!"
Each name was called, each student faced their fear, but the funniest moment came when the Boggart turned into Draco Malfoy--twice!'
One Goyle-faced Malfoy became a clown in oversized shoes, while the other Crabbe-faced Malfoy turned into a squat goblin with his hair sticking up like horns.
Draco was glaring daggers at his two henchmen, it was obvious someone was getting hexed later.
Lucifer and Daphne were unfortunate enough to get the 'far' back of the line. Hermione was even a few places ahead of him, and no one else was budging to make room anywhere.
He lamented his luck and carefully moved up with everyone else. Eventually he got close enough to see Dean's Boggart be that of a 'Severed Hand,' which crawled around like a Crab.
It was creepy, but not really scary.
Lucifer then began to wonder just what his Boggart was going to be.
"Riddikulus!" Dean shouted and the hand became caught in a Mousetrap. The line moved farther and it was eventually Hermione's turn.
When Boggart came out of the wardrobe again, it was a tall, masked 'figure' with a bloodied knife. Hermione felt her heart rate quicken as she backed up into the person behind her.
She raised her wand, "Riddikulus!" yelled and the masked figure suddenly became a Bedsheet with holes for eyes and it was suspended from the ceiling by a wire. She smiled to herself, thankful she was able to handle the Boggart well enough.
Then, went to the back of class and saw there were four more people ahead of Lucifer, after being high on doing well on her turn, she beamed at him.
Unfortunately, she now bumped into Harry because of her attention elsewhere, and when the Boggart saw Harry, the 'figure' it took the shape of was a Dementor.
Professor Lupin had jumped in front of it seconds after it changed, and it suddenly turned into the Moon, which she found bizarre, as she couldn't understand why he would be afraid of the moon.
"Riddikulus," he said lazily, and it turned to a balloon and flew back into wardrobe. He helped Harry up off the floor and told him to go to the back of class.
It eventually got to Lucifer.
The last person had the Boggart retreat into the Wardrobe.
All eyes turned to him. Would he even be afraid of anything?
To most of the students, Morningstar was a mystery, too composed, too perfect, almost untouchable. Teachers spoke to him differently, and no one had ever seen him truly fail.
Could someone like that 'even' feel fear? Lucifer walked forward calmly. The Boggart, which had gone into the wardrobe came out crawling across the floor as a harmless turtle, quivered as he approached.
Even he himself was curious. What would it show him? Beside him, Hermione 'flinched' when Daphne suddenly squeezed her hand so tightly it hurt.
"Daphne! What are you doing? You're going to break my fingers!"
"Sorry," Daphne murmured, not sounding sorry at all, "I just need to know what Lucifer's afraid of. Then I can use it later to scare him into my arms. You know, so I can comfort him properly."
Hermione stared at her, speechless, and truly could not follow Slytherin' girl's train of thought. 'Merlin's beard, she's insane.'
The air grew heavy.
Lucifer stopped in front of the confused turtle. The Boggart gave a sharp crack and began spinning wildly, its 'form' warping and twisting like liquid shadow. But this time, it didn't settle right away. It spun and spun for nearly ten seconds, then slowed.
"Wait... 'is it confused?" someone whispered, "Even the Boggart doesn't know what Morningstar fears?"
A ripple of nervous laughter went through the class, Lucifer frowned slightly. 'So even this thing can't figure me out? Disappointing.'
He was just about to turn away when the Boggart suddenly froze in midair. Its body stretched and flowed downward then solidified into the shape of a.....
His head started to pound, his breathing quickened; a pair of hands came out and were on either side of the wardrobe, and the 'figure' pulled himself out into the open.
A moment later Lucifer was face-to-face with... himself?
The other teens began whispering from behind as the original spoke up, "Curiouser and curiouser..."
"We are right..." his doppelganger called out, earning silence from the others. "We were always right..."
"Oh?"
"It is just us, it has always been just us. There is no one else, there will never be anyone else."
Lucifer merely stared on, while the other students, along with their professor, attempted to figure out what they were missing in the conversation.
"We are alone, and always will be. Everything has been 'futile... no one will ever understand."
Suddenly the original Lucifer roared out in laughter, the echoes filling the room and sending chills down the spines of the other occupants.
"This is it? This is my 'greatest fear', being correct? What utter nonsense. I do not fear being correct, I am merely disappointed by it. If this is the best you can do then you are dismissed, go back to scaring children with images of spiders and other creatures."
The figment disappeared seconds later, causing Lucifer to shake his head. "How incredibly disappointing, and here I was hoping for some deep revelation or hidden psychological fe---" he decided to move back, only to be spoken with that name again.
"Do you really think, you are invulnerable, 'Samael?"
That made a halt to his Lucifer's body, his eyes glanced backwards only to see a figure pointing his wand over Hermione's terrified crawling figure, he started to curse, "Avad---"
His eyes widened at what he was now seeing, that made Lucifer wanted nothing else to get rid of the threat in front of him. She could feel the power exuding.
He was going to lose control soon. She saw his Boggart be shoved back by a 'force' unseen, closing off the illusion entirely.
Still... the Boggart's precision intrigued Lucifer, it had somehow sensed the disturbance in his mind, the shadow of something deeper. 'Could it read thoughts? Or was this an instinctive gift?'
"What? Daphne, now it's your turn."
Ignoring the curiosity of students, of why was he so irritated with being called Samael, or the bushy-haired girl's whimpering running away from a masked man, he stood aside.
"Lucifer, who was that?" Daphne called bluntly, ignoring the awkward tension. She was convinced whoever this was must've bullied him as a child.
"Just an older blood relative."
He waved off dismissively, while the blonde girl had unknowingly tiptoed for her turn, Daphne stood in front of open wardrobe, mildly curious.
The Boggart suddenly 'came back in midair. Its body stretched and molded into the shape of a tall woman in ancient robes, a crown of 'flowers' resting on her head. Her face was hazy, wrapped in mist, impossible to make out.
Everyone stared in stunned silence.
A woman? Daphne's greatest fear... was a woman?
"Who is she?"
It was the none other the girl herself who asked such a graceful question, even Professor Lupin was left shocked, and didn't know whether to cough or the Boggart had somehow gotten affected by Lucifer, and couldn't function properly.
"This is absurd, I thought it would turn into Mother's scolding for cleaning the room without magic..."
Daphne had no idea.
For the 'first' time, Lucifer considered Boggarts worth studying, maybe he'd capture a few later to experiment on.
She lifted her wand, preparing to cast the spell, which itself came out wrong, cause she herself found it ridiculous, Daphne cleared her throat, when feeling stares. Suddenly, the entire castle trembled. A surge of magic gathered from all directions, converging violently, it pierced through the roof and slammed down upon the 'woman's head!'
She heard a screaming, coming from right where the wardrobe was. It wasn't high pitched, but loud and forceful. The Boggart managed only a single wail before bursting like an overinflated balloon, vanishing from existence without leaving the slightest trace.
The young witches and wizards were stunned.
Lupin was equally dumbfounded.
"Salazar! That wasn't me, alright!"
There was a sudden explosion, smoke covered the classroom, Hermione began coughing, as did everyone else. Professor Lupin called out through a coughing fit, "Is everyone alright?"
Soon the smoke cleared, Daphne was left standing near the center, clutching at Lucifer's arm tightly. First, the 'Boggart' and now even wardrobe were both gone; the 'Boggart' was blasted to smithereens, and the Wardrobe had splintered, wooden pieces lay all in a bubble composed by him just in time.
xxxxxx
In the Headmaster's office, Albus Dumbledore lifted his head from the Pensieve, confusion etched across his features. Just moments ago, the castle's magic had bypassed him, its Headmaster, and erupted into unrest.
Who had done it?
And what had happened?
Dumbledore's brows drew tightly together as he rose at once and strode out of his office.
xxxxxx
And just like that, 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' class was over.
Without a teaching aid, there wasn't much Professor Lupin could do, even the cleverest witch RavenClaw herself could not produce rice out of thin air.
Finding another Boggart on short notice was nearly impossible, so the students who wanted to 'face' it again bravely this time were disappointed, though didn't complain.
Lucifer, on the other hand, felt a flicker of bright gleam, he hadn't yet deciphered what Daphne 'feared' most. Right now just like him, everyone was buzzing with questions. What exactly had happened earlier? Why had that strange surge of magic blasted the Boggart? And who in the world was the mysterious woman that appeared when Daphne stepped forward? Why was Lucifer of all people afraid of himself?
Still whispering to each other, students 'followed' Lupin's wand movements, rearranging the desks back to make a proper classroom.
Once they sat down, Hermione leaned closer and whispered, "So who was that woman?"
Daphne shook her head slightly, "I'll let you go to the Hogsmeade village 'first' with Lucifer if you told me."
Listening to being treated as a girl's accessory, Being air-headed was one of her best qualities, or so he thought.
"Oh..."
The bushy-haired girl nodded with a crease of her brows forming, doing her best to remember anything that could match the spectral figure. 'Since Greengrass said she didn't have a clue, well... there wasn't much point in asking more.' Something about the woman's clothes and presence 'felt' familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen it before.
Class time was nearly over anyway, so Lupin simply told everyone to read quietly until the bell rang. When it did, he began packing up, but just as he was about to leave.
Professor McGonagall appeared at the door, "Remus," She said briskly, clutching a stack of textbooks, clearly fresh out of her own class, "the Headmaster would like to see you in his office."
Lupin paused briefly, then nodded, "Understood, Professor."
He made his way up the moving staircases, mind turning over possibilities. 'Did that surge of magic reach Dumbledore too?' He didn't have to wonder long. As it turned out, his guess was correct.
"Remus, have a seat," Dumbledore said warmly, gesturing toward a chair. The Headmaster had already poured tea, "I hear you had quite an... eventful lesson today. Would you care to tell me how it went?"
Lupin could tell exactly what the old man wanted to hear, so he skipped harmless bits and went straight to the important part: Lucifer's weird encounter with the Boggart. He described everything in detail, the Boggart's hesitation, a twin's figure.
Then, came Daphne's, the woman it eventually transformed into, and the powerful magic that came down out of nowhere to destroy it.
Dumbledore listened intently, nodding every so often, his half-moon glasses glinting in the firelight.
When Lupin 'finally' finished, he leaned back, thoughtful for a long while, then he smiled faintly.
"Mr. Morningstar possesses nearly everything he could possibly desire, and will likely gain even more as time goes on. To be honest, I couldn't imagine what he fears. At the very least, I knew it would not be me..."
He chuckled softly.
"If he doesn't fear me, there can't be much left in this world capable of frightening him, but himself, whether he would ever be consumed by it. As for Miss Greengrass, I have a few clues about her identity, but not exact situation what led it to be her...."
Lupin hesitated, then blurted out, his inner cursed Gryffindor self couldn't stop it, "What about you, sir? Is there anything you're afraid of?"
Dumbledore's eyes flickered with something unreadable. Instead of displeasure, there was a trace of amusement, "Remus, next time you come across a Boggart, bring it to me. I must admit, I'd be rather curious... to see what it shows me."
"I'll... see what I can do," Lupin said awkwardly, standing. "I should get going, I still have a class to teach."
"Of course."
Once Lupin had closed the door behind him, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
"What would I see?"
For him, if he ever face a Boggart would likely take one shape, Ariana. But Daphne's fear... Ravenclaw? From Lupin's description and the magical disturbance that had rippled through the castle, Dumbledore had already guessed who that mysterious woman was.
And that was what puzzled him most.
Still, he wouldn't ask Miss Greengrass directly. Everyone has their secrets. The stronger the wizard, or witch, the deeper those secrets go, and prying into them was the surest way to make an enemy.
Besides, at Hogwarts, nothing stayed secret for long.
xxxxxx
"You remember what Professor Trelawney called him, right. 'The Harbinger of Destruction---?
Hermione heard Ron ask Harry,
"If you think even for a second, Ronald," She had stood up and marched her way over to him, "That Trelawney is correct on this, then I don't want to see you right now. Everyone in this room is aware of 'Lucifer's ancestry', and we all know what kind of power he is capable of, so don't you think even for a second that Trelawney calling him such nonsense is going to go over well with me around!"
She was fuming as she stood less than a foot away from him, daring him to say anything more.
Hermione saw his ears turn red and he made a face of 'frustration' before stomping out.
"Don't mind Ron, after that business with Trelawney seeing the Grim in my teacup, he kind of has it in his head that she's right about a lot of things."
"He just better watch what he says in front of me from now on, or we will have a problem," She looked at Harry without shifting her head, and he nodded and walked out to follow.
She turned around and went back to Lucifer, "Sorry about that." her voice immediately turned very gentle.
Harry who saw the difference.
"No need to be sorry... it's Weasely, I expect it..." Lucifer said, his breathing was slow and steady.
"But you shouldn't have to---"
"Hermione," he cut her off, "how much homework did we have to get done before next week?"
"Quite a bit, why?"
She was now confused.
"You want to go ahead and get started?"
"Of course," Hermione smiled at him warmly and got her stuff out, him getting his own things out and they happily got to work. She did notice that Lucifer's writing was a bit off, and the only explanation she could think of was the power he let out earlier, must be 'feeling' drained.
She felt a pang of anguish in her heart, 'Don't worry, Lucifer, whatever you need, whenever you need it, I'll be here for you, always.'
xxxxxx
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