Third Years, Lesson Three

THIRD LESSON​

Noel had something else in the classroom today. Instead of his desk in the middle at the front in the classroom now stood a large wardrobe that rattled and rumbled at the sound of their voices. He stood beside it and welcomed the third years with an friendly smile. Some seemed curious to the wardrobe, but some also kept their distance. Most of them must be wondering why this wardrobe was in the room. They would not fit any clothes today for sure. He gestured the students to come standing with him and as the last student entered he closed the door with an wave of his wand.

He ignored the rattling and rumbling that came from within the wardrobe and had made sure that the desks and chairs were to the side of the room, so he had the space. As he walked towards the front of the group again he turned around to them, looking over with his friendly brown eyes and smirked. '' Can anyone guess what might be inside of this.'' He than pointed at the wardrobe with his wand. And wondered who might be well prepared. He hadn't asked them to read about this before, so it was just fun to see who were showing motivation. Noel than saw an student raise their hand and smiled, giving them a chance to guess. ''Very good! Now, can anybody tell me what a boggart looks like?'' Another student raised their hand so Noel called on them next. He smiled at the answer and nodded approvingly '' Good, good.'' He than replied back excitingly.

He than moved around and looked at the group of student. ''You'll get to see one in action today, but don't worry, you'll also learn how to defeat them.'' It was kind of personal to show his students his biggest fear, but he would see the ones from them too so it was fair enough. ''Stand back, please. I still need this boggart and it might get confused if too many people are around.'' He waited for the group to take a few steps back and went standing in front of them, making sure they were all set. He than turned his back to the group and looked at the wardrobe from an bit of distance. '' Pay attention, everyone.'' Taking an deep breath he unlocked the wardrobe from where he stood, and hold his wand in front of him. The doors opened slowly and the classroom darkened. Two persons stepped outside the wardrobe, his parents and they reached for him, looking desperate. But they were not themselves, they were ghosts. Noel sighted and tried his best to concentrate on what he needed to do next. But it was horrible seeing this, his parents death in front of him. He raised his wand a moment later and said, ''Riddikulus!'' Almost immediately, his parents started to get more colour again, more alively and started dancing crazy with eachother and laughing. An smile appeared on Noel's face and with a flick of his wand pushed the boggart back into the dark wardrobe and locked the door.

He rolled up his sleeve, before he turned his attention back to the students again, facing them. Continueing like nothing had happend. ''A boggart is a shape-shifting creature that will take on the form of whatever frightens the person who encounters it the most. You could see that, what frightens me the most is losing two people I really love.'' He than explained. And was open about himself in this. '' But since you and I are entirely different people, it would likely take on a different form for you. You might not even know what your deepest fear is until you encounter this particular creature.'' He paused. Seeing some scared faces. But he would make sure they were safe here. '' Thankfully, there is a very simple yet tricky charm to repel a boggart. It is the Boggart-Banishing Spell and the incantation is Riddikulus - ri-du-kull-lis.'' He than repeated more slowly.'' The thing that banishes a boggart is laughter, so what you need to do is force the creature to take a shape of something that you find amusing. Something that makes you laugh.'' The crazy dancing of his parents was funny to him. '' You will be given the opportunity to practice with the boggart in the upcoming lesson, as it will also be featured on your exam. These creatures can be found anywhere so it is important to know how to deal with them. They love to hide in dark and confined spaces like wardrobes, underneath beds or couches, in cupboards and so on.''

Noel knew that not every student was waiting for the opportunity to come face-to-face with what essentially would show them their greatest fear. He figured it was difficult for some, who perhaps knew what their biggest fear was, and didn't want others to see. So he would make sure it was an safe space. ''If you would rather prefer to interact with the boggart in a private setting then please come to me after class so that we can arrange a separate appointment.'' He then walked around the classroom to answer any questions the students might have on boggarts and the Boggart-Banishing Spell. He did not want to frighten any of them but couldn't help but think that some were not looking forward to this. He was sure that they'd be alright in the end, though. If they defeated their biggest fear, it would feel great.

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- Roleplay your character's reaction to the lesson. The first two students to answer the professor's question will receive extra credit. Please one question for one student!
- In Lessons Five and Six, your character will have the opportunity to practice with the Boggart. If you want your character to practice with the boggart privately or even with a smaller group, you may start a roleplay during week five in the forum Professor Noel Waldgraves office, which I will respond to. Please PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Sofi Ayre]

Sofi knew what was coming as Professor Waldgrave introduced the lesson, "A boggart" she answered, listening to the instructions and watching the demonstration with sadness, she admired the professor showing the class his vulnerability but it looked terrifying. She wondered what on earth her boggart would look like. She took down notes including the spell and that she needed to laugh. She left the classroom dreading the next lesson.

 

[Magne Kleos]

Magne had had a great time at the halloween feast, it was always such a good time. He never had much time for costumes, but he had long since learnt that he didn’t need a costume to have fun at the celebration and it took the pressure off trying to find one, or find something to wear for it. He liked the way this world celebrated halloween. It wasn’t something he had experienced before hogwarts but he never wanted to go back, celebrating it was so much fun. Magne put the thought of halloween aside and how good it had been and just gathered up the last few things that he needed before heading out of the dorm room.

Magne walked into the defence against the dark arts classroom and took his usual spot in the room. He didn’t know what a boggart was but the other students did. The fact it showed itself as a fear was something he was a little surprised by. That was quite a creature. He watched closely as the professor demonstrated the spell for them, it was a pretty impressive creature and spell, as it was banished and made into something objectively pretty funny. He was surprised that they would be facing off with it. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to do it in front of everyone else, he was also just trying to figure out what his fear was really. What he would see. The professor then wrapped up the lesson and Magne headed out of the room.

 

[Sunday Weeks]

Halfway through the semester and with some successful spellwork under her belt, Sunday was feeling fantastic. She woke a little earlier in the mornings, spent a little less time studying, took an extra walk in the afternoons. She hummed as she got ready, brushing her hair an extra time before walking to class.

She took her seat, smiling at the Professor. She had been waiting for this lesson, and already knew she'd take the option of a private lesson instead of the classroom setting. She made sure to let the Professor know as they were dismissed, before heading out, trying to figure out what her fear could be so she could react accordingly.

 

[Camille Carter]

Camille made her way into the classroom and as she stepped in she noticed the desks were all pushed aside and she saw an single cabinet. And her heart raced a bit. She knew what this was, and she wanted to run away. But thankfully they didn't had to face their boggart yet but would just see. She noticed Sofi answering and doubted to speak in front of everyone, she knew the answer what it would look like. Not to hers specificly but had an feeling. She stepped back and looked as the cabinet opened. It would be strange to see her cousins fear, but she figured she would feel for him as well. Camille had an strong sense of emotions and felt that in this room was a lot of fear now. And kept breathing to make sure she was not gonna faint. She remembered the incantation of the spell and had to print that in her mind for later on. When the boggart of Noel came out she noticed her uncle and aunt, which was strange to her seeing them. She hadn't seen them in a while. A tear rolled from her eye slowly as she saw the ghostly people in front of her. That was terrible. Thankfully Noel managed to make it something funny with the spell and she quickly dried her tears and smiled shortly. Camille knew for certain she was gonna make an appointment alone with Noel for this, she would already stress out by standing in front of everyone with her biggest fear. She would never succeed in that, it was scary enough. Once the lesson was over she left the room.