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—"AVA?" WHISPERED HARRY POTTER, LOOKING AT HIS BOGGART. Ava Potter's lifeless eyes stopped on Harry. "You said you'd help me." She croaked out, her voice raspy. "You said you'd find me. But you didn't. You said you'd save me—"
Alexandria rushed out of the line and rushed over to Harry, standing in front of him. "Here!"
The boggart started changing.
Everyone stood up straighter, all wondering the same thing: what was the Slytherin heiress most afraid of?
But before they could get that answer, Professor Black rushed over, too, stepping in front of his goddaughter. "Here!" shouted the Professor suddenly.
Crack!
It changed into Sirius Black's dead body, and Alexandria Slytherin's dead boy also laying next to him.
Just before anybody realized who the dead girl was, Remus pointed his wand at the boggart and said, "Riddikulus!" almost lazily.
Crack!
"Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" said Remus, as the Boggart landed on the floor as a cockroach.
Crack!
Snape was back.
This time Neville charged forward looking determined. "Riddikulus!" he shouted, and they had a split second's view of Snape in his lacy dress before Neville let out a great 'Ha!' of laughter, and the Boggart exploded, burst into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke, and was gone.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Professor Black, as the class broke into applause. "Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone. Let me see... five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the Boggart – ten for Neville because he did it twice – and five each to Daphne and Harry. 20 to Alexandria for saving Harry and stepping in front of him, too."
Alexandria silently walked away, picking up her bag.
"But I didn't do anything," said Harry, although his eyes were on the girl.
"You and Daphne answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, Harry," Remus said lightly. "Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on Boggarts and summarise it for me... to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."
♡
"Why did you try to save Potter?" asked Pansy immediately as soon as they left the classroom.
Alexandria let out a disbelieving huff. "I didn't save him! I just didn't want the boy breaking into tears in front of everyone. Think of the humiliation he would've gotten."
"That was very nice of you, Dria," said Daphne, looking proud. "I'm proud of you."
Alexandria rolled her eyes. She didn't want to be nice.
"Did you see me take that banshee?" shouted Seamus.
"And the hand!" said Dean, waving his own around.
"And Snape in that hat!"
"And my mummy!"
"I wonder who the girl was in Professor Black's boggart?" said Lavender thoughtfully.
"That was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?" asked Pansy, finally changing the subject.
"He seems a very good teacher," said Daphne approvingly. "But I wish I could have had a turn with the Boggart—"
"What would it have been for you?" asked Pansy, sniggering. "Not being nice to some first years?"
"Shut it!" Daphne grumbled, but there was a faint blush across her cheeks.
"Slytherin," a voice said, making the trio stop and turn around.
"Potter," greeted Alexandria with a nod, motioning for her friends to leave, who did so reluctantly. "What do you want?"
Harry Potter sighed. "Can we talk? In private?"
"No—"
"Why'd you help me?"
"I didn't help—"
"Yes, you did and you know it." He cut her off, letting out a shaky breath as he remembered something. "Please. Help me. I don't want to find her like that. I need to save her.."
"Why do you insist that she's in danger? For all you know, she could be happily living her life."
"By getting kidnapped?"
"Precisely," she nodded and turned around, trying to leave him.
"I need to hear that from her." Harry said, catching up to her. "So, all I need to do is find her. Doesn't mean that she has to come back with me."
Alexandria frowned in thought.
Can she just tell him who she really is, so he could leave her alone?
..No.
Not only would that creat several unwanted problems, but it'd raise suspicions into who Thomas Slytherin actually was.
"Goodluck with that," mumbled the girl next to him just before walking away.
