Alexandra Dursley {Golden Trio}

Chapter 18 - The Boggart

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 Al was actually a pretty good flier, and she could catch, so Quidditch training with Draco was so much fun. She loved trying to catch the Quaffle from down below or when he threw it. Maybe trying out for the team wouldn't be so bad. Arithmancy and Ancient runes were proving to be fascinating - more so than Divination or Care of Magical Creatures from Draco's reports. Theo and Daphne were spending more time with Draco and Al, and Crabbe and Goyle were finally learning to entertain themselves. So it was really just the four of them.

 Al was sat with Daphne and Theo one lunch when Draco came into the Great Hall with a sling on his arm and a smug face. "What's up with you?" Daphne asked him as he plopped down next to Al.

 "Some great beast attacked me in Creatures," he said sorrowfully.

 "Did Madame Pomfrey not fix it for you?" Theo asked before taking another bite of his sandwich.

 "Well...yes. But it still hurts," Draco replied. Al burst out laughing and Daphne and Theo began to giggle. "What?" he asked them offended.

 "Stop being so dramatic," Al told him, "Madame Pomfrey could have that fixed in a second."

 "Flint told me to keep it up so we don't have to play in bad weather," he hissed at the three of them, "So stop laughing or everyone will be suspicious." The three of them quieted down after that, with only the occasional snicker. That was, until Pansy swanned over.

 "Oh Draco," she shrieked, "what happened to you? Does it hurt? Can I fetch you anything?" Al didn't dare look up for fear of what she might do if she made eye contact with anyone else.

 "I'm fine Pansy. Really," Draco promised her, also not looking up, but not because he might laugh.

 Al took a deep breath and looked up, "Are you sure Draco? It was only a minute ago that you were telling us how much it hurt!" Theo and Daphne snickered, and Draco glared at her.

 "Oh how strong of you!" Pansy exclaimed, sitting down next to Draco, "You don't need to worry now, I'm here!"

 "I think we should leave you two to it," Daphne suggested, standing up. Theo and Al followed suit.

 "Yeah, I need to go to the library before Defence," Theo piped up, and the three of them left the great hall in fits of giggles.

*****

 They arrived to Defence Against the Dark Arts just in time to see Pansy trying to lean on Draco's unarmed shoulder and pat his hair. "Help me," he mouthed and so they wandered over.

 "Uh Pansy, I think Zabini's looking for you," Al mentioned casually.

 "Oh, OK then," she said, looking a little disheartened, "See you later, Draco," and she flounced off, blowing a little kiss at him as she went.

 Before anyone could laugh, Draco glared at them all, "Not a word," he threatened.

 Lupin was nowhere in sight so the class sat down and unloaded their things. Then he entered suddenly, "Books away please, and follow me. Today's lesson will be a practical lesson." Everyone mumbled in confusion at what a practical lesson could be, but followed him out the classroom and into the staffroom, where Snape - who left hurriedly - was sat grading essays.

 "Now," said Lupin, "who can tell me what a boggart is?" Hermione raised her hand so fast Al was sure she could hear it. Honestly, that girl annoyed her more than most of her classmates.

 "A shapeshifter, Sir," she said, "A boggart takes the form of the thing a person fears the most."

 "As quoted from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Al mumbled to her friends, who snickered quietly around her.

 Lupin started lecturing about how to tackle a Boggart, which Al zoned out because she'd covered it last year in the extra reading that Snape had set her. Eventually they all formed a circle and the boggart was released from the wardrobe in the form of Snape. That was Neville's biggest fear - really? It then transformed into Snape in drag, including a vulture topped hat, which did make Al laugh.

 The boggart whirled around the circle, turning into mummies and banshees and snakes, and then it reached Al. She didn't know what her biggest fear was but she raised her wand ready anyway.

 And then, where there had been a clown, was a stationary cloud of black swirling smoke. "I...what?" she said out loud.

 "Your fear is smoke?" A Gryffindor boy jeered from across the room.

 "No, it isn't. It's not even remotely frightening," Al responded, somewhat calmly. What was going on? Slowly, she stepped forward towards the small cloud, her hand reaching out in front of her. She was just about to touch it, when it darted away towards Harry, where it turned into a dementor and Lupin jumped in front of it.

 Now it turned into a glowing white orb, before Lupin turned it into a balloon, which flew around the room before exploding into sharp wisps of smoke that dissipated into the air, "OK, class dismissed," Lupin announced, "and five points to everyone who tackled the boggart."

 Al strode across the room to collect her things, trying to ignore all the stares, "What was that about?" she muttered to Draco, who only shrugged in response.

*****

 It was the first Saturday at Hogwarts and instead of keeping her promise to Draco and practising Quidditch, Al had gone straight to the library after her post-breakfast run. She was going to find out about all this Voldemort nonsense if it took her a lifetime.

 She'd decided to start with a list on what she did know.

1. Voldemort had failed using the killing curse.

2. Basilisks had little to no effect on her.

3. Dementors had a very weird effect on her - research the dementor's kiss.

4. The boggart didn't show her biggest fear.

 It was a small list, but it was a start. Try as she might, she couldn't find any books at all on the killing curse. Which meant she had to ask the librarian. "Do you have a note?" Madame Pince asked without looking up.

 "A note?" Al asked.

 "The book you want is in the restricted section. It's called facultates artium obscurorum excolant. I'll need a note from one of the Professors before I can give it to you." So Al really had no information at all so far. There were no recorded cases of people not dying when they looked at a basilisk, and the same applied for the dementors kiss, and the boggart not transforming.

 She headed back down to the dungeons instead to find Draco when she had an idea. Snape had been out of the hospital wing the same evening he'd gone in and had come down to the dungeons to brief the first year Slytherins. She knocked on his office door, "Enter."

 He looked up as she entered and sighed, "Miss Dursley. What can I do for you?"

 She placed her note down on the desk, "I'd like to get this book out for some advanced reading. I need you to sign this note please."

 He peered at the note before a thin sneer crossed his face, "The headmaster specifically asked that I don't sign this note for you when you came to me with it. So, no, I can't." She huffed and left the office. Great, she thought, her head of house was Dumbledore's puppet.