DADA for Muggles [Wednesday, January 27]

[siriuslyscarred.livejournal.com]

When students came into the classroom, they'd find that desks were pushed to one side of the room, a smallish cupboard at the other end.

"Today," Remus greeted the class, "you will be facing a boggart -- a magical creature from our world. No one knows what it looks like in its natural shape, because when it's faced with a human, it will take the shape of your greatest fear, though generally in an accessible form -- spiders, ghouls, jack-in-the-boxes. It feeds off your fear. We aren't simply trying to scare you, though. Today's lesson is about facing fear and dread in a very concentrated and raw form."

"And a controllable form," Sirius added. "Professor Lupin and I have faced our fair share of boggarts: they like to take up residence in closets and cupboards and desk drawers in wizard homes. The secret to defeating them is laughter. So take a moment now to think of your greatest fear, and then make it ridiculous."

"And," Remus added, pulling out his wand with a flourish not dirty, "Professor Black and I will be performing a spell when each of you faces the boggart. However, you will need to be envisioning its absurdity, not us. It's not our boggart."

Remus opened the cabinet then, making sure to stand where the boggart would see him first and foremost. What sprang out of the cabinet looked like nothing so much as a crystal ball, or a large, glowing, white orb. Intuitive students could make their guesses, but Remus yelled with a jab of his wand, "Riddikulus!" and the orb popped like a balloon.

If Sirius was at all concerned about facing his greatest fear in a room full of students, he wasn't showing it other than in a slight tightness around his eyes. He let out a bark of laughter at the orb, drawing its attention, and the boggart immediately shifted shape into a black shadowy figure which appeared ready to suck every good feeling out of the room. Sirius glared up at it and waved his wand. "Riddikulus," he snapped, and the dementor was immediately wearing an extremely stupid hat.

Sirius's answering laughter sounded more genuine this time.

As soon as the hat appeared on the Dementor's head, Remus laughed and flicked his wand, and a simple black curtain divided the room, with the cupboard (and the boggart) on one side. Remus followed it with another charm to quickly soundproof a bit, as well. "For your privacy, as our fears are not everyone's business, you'll be facing your boggart over here, and we'll be asking you to wait your turn on the other side of the curtain, if it's quite all right with you," he said, peering around the curtain. "Please form a line, starting with...you." He pointed to a student at random. "This thing won't wait long, unfortunately."

[radio squirrels: les boggarts for the students, they are NFB. ETA: Also Dru and Remus's conversation. TY!]

Comments

Re: Talk to the Teachers [1/27]

[svetocha-blooms.livejournal.com]

Humor wasn't quite the reaction Dru had expected, mostly because of the dealings she'd seen with other hunters, were stories where shared with bravado and tough guy pride. Once she thought about it for a second, she was fairly sure she got the joke.

Glancing towards Sirius, Dru raised her eyebrows. "Oh..." The mistake could be understood given that werewolves in her world were usually quite healthy and didn't suffer anything other then an increasing hunger as the full moon approached.

Re: Talk to the Teachers [1/27]

[lycanthromoony.livejournal.com]

Remus caught the look and sobered immediately. "Oh, no. No, no -- Professor Black is not a werewolf." He weighed his words carefully, and finally said, "But I am. I was bitten when I was a very young child." If there were others here, he should be safe enough.

Re: Talk to the Teachers [1/27]

[svetocha-blooms.livejournal.com]

She'd heard there was a demon on the teaching staff, why shouldn't there be a werewolf?

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "That has to be difficult. Is that why you don't look so good right now?" Questions might be rude, but she was filing the information away. It could come in useful someday when dealing with some other werewolf.

Re: Talk to the Teachers [1/27]

[lycanthromoony.livejournal.com]

"It is. The week of the full moon is never an easy one, and the potion I take to help the transformation doesn't do me any favors, either," Remus said easily

He gave her a level look. "I truly hope I can count on your discretion. I was all but asked to leave my last school because of this, because there are some severe prejudices in our world. And I hope you understand that it's not a choice, and that those who are lycanthropic were usually forced into it, and most do everything they can not to harm humans during their transformation." Fenrir Greyback being one large exception.

Re: Talk to the Teachers [1/27]

[svetocha-blooms.livejournal.com]

"I certainly understand that," Dru replied seriously. "Where I'm from we call all the supernatural or magical stuff the Real World. My dad and I deal with it on a regular basis. I understand about shades of gray, and how not everything that's different is a threat. I won't say a word."

Unless people started turning up injured or dead. Then there might be a problem.

Re: Talk to the Teachers [1/27]

[lycanthromoony.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," Remus said gratefully. "And I promise you, I wouldn't be teaching this class if I weren't putting every precaution between the wolf and you students."

[so errands turned into total AFK for the afternoon...]

Re: Talk to the Teachers [1/27]

[svetocha-blooms.livejournal.com]

"I believe that," she said sincerely. "Thank you for trusting me."