70 Chapter-70: Riddikulus

Professor Lupin pointed at the wardrobe, "The Boggart inside is still sitting in darkness and 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…"

Walking closer to the class, Lupin looked at Harry for some reason, "Which means that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

Ronan didnt have a lot of hopes for Potter, he was a brave one but he is a little lacking when it comes to the brain department. He thought it would be Hermione who would give the answer, considering that she was hopping up and down, trying to attract the attention of the professor. But to his surprise, Harry gave it a go, "Er… because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should take?"

"Precisely," said Professor Lupin, and Hermione put her hand down, looking a little disappointed. "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."

Then Professor further added, "The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires a 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, Neville."

The wardrobe shook again, startling Neville in the process. Seeing this Ronan couldnt help but wonder about that boy. From what he had seen so far, that boy is very timid and easily gets frightens. That is why it baffles him when he thinks about their expedition down to the Chambers of Secrets. What hell gave Neville the courage to join them in the expedition? Because of the way that the boy behaves sometimes, he truly wonders whether he has what it takes to be the protagonist of this story.

"Right, Neville," said Professor Lupin. "First things first.. what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"

Neville mumbled something that none of them could hear. "Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry," said Professor Lupin cheerfully.

Neville looked around rather wildly, as though begging someone to help him, then said, in barely more than a whisper, "My Grandma." Everyone started laughing, making even Neville smile.

"Your grandmother huh?" Professor said, thinking carefully, "Neville, I wonder whether you could picture your grandmother in the clothes of a jester. You know, the pointy hats with bells, the big shoes, baggy clothes, everything.. Can you do it?"

"I can try," Neville said.

"Try it then.. Close your eyes and picture her in those clothes. Imagine every single detail of her clothes, relax, and make sure that you have every detail of her new attire in your mind," Professor said, "Can you see them, Neville?"

Yes," said Neville with uncertainty.

"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of your grandmother," Professor said. "And you will raise your wand… and cry 'Riddikulus'… and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, your grandmother would be facing the class in jester like clothes."

Then the Professor turned towards the class, "If Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn… 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 and everyone started thinking about what they were most afraid of, including Ronan.

He thought and thought about what he thinks scares him the most, but for some reason, he couldn't come up with anything. He was scared of heights, but that would not warrant a reaction from Boggart, according to him.

"Everyone ready?" said Professor Lupin. He looked up, and saw the Professor was by the wardrobe, about to open it. He then pushed his thoughts aside for now and concentrated on the class. As far as what frightens him the most, he would just have to see what the Boggart would throw at him.

"Neville, we're going to back away," said Professor Lupin. "Let you have a clear field, all right? I will call the next person forward. … Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot…" Everyone in the class retreated, with their backs against the walls. 

"On the count of three, Neville," said Professor Lupin, who was pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One… two… three… now!" with a flick of Professor's wand, the door of the wardrobe was unlocked.

A woman came out of the wardrobe, wearing a tall hat with a stuffed vulture on it. She was wearing a long green dress, she had a fox fur scarf, and had a red handbag in her hand.

"R.. R… Riddikulus!" squeaked Neville. There was a noise like a whip crack. And Neville's grandmother turned into a jester, just like Ronan has seen pictures of in old history books.

There was a roar of laughter; the boggart paused, confused, and Professor Lupin shouted, "Parvati! Forward!"

The boggart changed its form once again and now standing before her was blood-stained, bandaged mummy. "Riddikulus!" cried Parvati. The bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet, it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off.

"Seamus!" roared Professor Lupin.

And just like that, students came forward one by one, and Boggart would change into different creatures and things. Ronan on the other hand was still thinking about what frightened him the most, and suddenly the idea of death came to his mind. And out of nowhere, the image of young Tom Riddle came rushing into his mind. He remembered the duel that he had in the Chambers, the one that he almost lost. He remembered when Ginny knocked him out, she could have killed him there and then.

And then he heard, "Ronan," Professor called him.

Clutching his wand tightly in his hand, he made his way forward. The Boggart, who was transformed into a legless spider because of Ron, instantly converted into a very familiar Slytherin boy. People were puzzled seeing the boy in front of them.

Tom passed him a smile and pointed his wand towards him. Ronan immediately raised his wand and silently casted the spell. Tom's shiny shoes changed into high heels and he fell on his face, making everyone laugh. Ronan then turned around and went to the back of the class. And stayed there till the end…

***

Ronan stayed quiet for most of the upcoming weeks. His friends tried talking to him about the boy, who was his worst fear. But he remained silent about it. Once Hermione caught up to him in the Library, she tried asking him whether he was okay, he just only nodded and didnt speak much about the topic.

And the thing was he was furious at himself. He was not furious because he was afraid of the Voldemort, being scared was the most humane thing there it is. And there was nothing to be ashamed of. The thing that made him furious was that he did not know that he was afraid of Voldemort, and now everyone knows about it. Which made him furious.

He didnt want anyone to know about his secrets and weaknesses, and now his weakness is being paraded all over the school. He had heard students of Slytherin gossiping about the possible identity of the person in question. Some were speculating that the boy was Ronan's father, and he was afraid of him. But only some knew the truth. Sometimes he wonders whether he should disclose the identity of the person, he could only speculate what would happen then.

And the thing was, teachers had taken note of it as well. He could see in McGonagall's and Snape's eyes, they pitied him. And this only fueled his frustration.

But some good things also happened in the first month of Hogwarts. He was officially selected as the chaser for the team. Draco did throw some tantrums around his being chosen, but everyone on the team was so impressed with his ability to sense his opponents and his quaffle-throwing ability. And there was no way that they could let him go. 

The Care of Magical Creatures only got better from the first class. Hagrid took notes from the class, and with some suggestions from Longbottom and his gang, Hagrid decided to introduce tame and small beasts to his students first. They had one class with small green, a small plant's stem-looking creatures called Bowtruckle. They also had a class with Nifflers, small mouse-like creatures who store shiny things in their pouch. Those classes helped Ronan get into a better mood.

Defence Against the Dark Arts classes also helped. Professor Lupin brought them live Kappa and Red Caps to show them how to defend against those creatures. And those practical lessons were a hoot and a half.

But the thing that made him smile for the first time since he saw Tom was the first meeting of Fight Club this year. People were back with more enthusiasm and most of them had even brought the first edition fighting puppets from Zonkos. The fighting, the losses, and the wins helped him move on from his sulking mood. But then his mood became sour on October once again, when the first Hogsmeade Weekend arrived…