Chapter 38
Draco scoffed, feigning disinterest. "Probably the half-breed's idea of a practical joke," he whispered to Crabbe and Goyle, though there was a hint of nervousness in his tone. Hagrid, overhearing Draco's comment, whipped around, his face red with anger. "Careful with yer tongue, Malfoy. If I find out someone was messin' with me creatures... well, yeh best be hopin' yeh weren't the one behind it." Draco sneered but took a step back, "Alright, yeh lot!" Hagrid called, straightening up and fixing the class with a determined look.
Harry was next, and he successfully earned the trust and respect of Buckbeak. Despite Harry's protest, Hagrid forced him to ride Buckbeak, which he did, returning without a scratch. Gray thought, "That was stupid. What if the same thing happ—" He stopped himself, thinking, "No, their target was me." He sighed. Determined to prove himself, Draco pushed forward. "Give me a go at that thing. If he can do it, it must be easy. You're not dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute—" Hagrid shouted, "Malfoy! No!" But it was too late; Buckbeak's talons flashed, leaving Draco shrieking with a bloody gash on his arm. Hermione, worried, said, "Hagrid. He's got to be taken to a hospital. I'll go with you, if you like—" But Hagrid, shaken, dismissed the class, carrying Draco to the castle.
-scene change-
That night, Draco, his arm in a sling, held court with the Slytherins in the Great Hall. "Does it hurt terribly, Draco?" Pansy asked with concern. Draco theatrically replied, "It comes and goes. Still... I consider myself lucky. According to Madam Pomfrey, another minute or two... and I could've lost the arm." From the Gryffindor table, Ron muttered, "The little git. He's really laying it on thick, isn't he?"
As the evening continued, Hermione noticed a front-page photograph in The Daily Prophet of Sirius Black. Seamus exclaimed, "He's been sighted!" Hermione whispered with worry, "Achintee? That's not far from here..." Neville, with wide eyes, asked, "You don't think he'd come to Hogwarts, do you?" Lavender replied, "With the Dementors at every entrance?" But, apprehensive, added, "He's already slipped by them once, hasn't he? Who's to say he can't do it again?" The hall was abuzz with tension as the threat of Sirius Black lingered. Meanwhile, Gray could be seen outside the Great Hall, looking at Hermione and thinking, "This has got to be some time travel shenanigan," as he knew that Hermione was currently eating in the Great Hall. "Or it's someone using the Polyjuice Potion," Gray thought logically, and the latter made more sense to him.
"It's getting weirder and weirder; this is the third assassination attempt." At this point, Gray was getting serious about this. "I need to be careful. Who knows what's going to happen next?" he thought to himself, suddenly struck by an idea related to potions. His laugh, however, unnerved some students who were already afraid of the Dementors outside.
-scene change-
The next morning in Professor Lupin's classroom, a tall wardrobe rattled violently, drawing wary looks from Harry, Ron, and their classmates. Professor Lupin's voice filled the room, "Intriguing, yes? Would anyone like to guess what's inside?" Seamus, in a hushed voice, answered, "That's a Boggart, that is." Pleased, Lupin acknowledged him, "Very good, Mr. Finnigan. Can anyone tell us what a Boggart looks like?" Hermione answered, "No one knows." Ron jumped, glancing at Hermione before whispering to Harry, "When'd she get here?" Hermione continued, "Boggarts are shape-shifters, taking the form of whatever a person fears most. That's what makes it so…" Lupin finished her thought, "Terrifying, yes. Luckily, a simple charm exists to repel a Boggart. Let's practice it now. Without wands, please... Riddikulus!" The students repeated, "Riddikulus!" but Draco muttered, "It's this class that's ridiculous." Lupin, ignoring him, continued, "Good. So much for the easy part. The incantation alone isn't enough. Laughter finishes a Boggart off, making it take on a funny shape. Neville, come here, will you?"
Neville stepped forward hesitantly, his eyes on the rattling wardrobe. "What frightens you most?" Lupin asked. Neville stammered, "Prof—Professor Snape." Laughter rippled through the room, and Lupin asked, "Hmm… yes. Neville, you live with your grandmother?" Neville nodded nervously, "Yes, but I don't want the Boggart to turn into her either." Lupin smiled, "It won't. Just picture her clothes, only her clothes, very clearly in your mind. Can you do that?" Neville closed his eyes, "She carries a red handbag…" Lupin whispered a few instructions in his ear. With a deep breath, Neville nodded, wand ready.
With a flick, sparks from Lupin's wand hit the wardrobe's doorknob, and it burst open, revealing Snape, terrifying as ever, stalking forward. "Think, Neville. Think!" Lupin urged. Neville stammered, "R-r-riddikulus!" In a flash, Snape stumbled, reappearing in a long, lace-trimmed dress, with a towering, moth-eaten hat and crimson handbag. The class roared with laughter, except for Draco and his fellow Slytherins. Lupin, with a grin, dropped the needle on an old gramophone, filling the room with a scratchy rumba. He pointed to Ron, "Ron! Forward!" Snape vanished, and a giant spider took his place. Ron gasped as Lupin steadied him, "Riddikulus!" With a crack, roller skates appeared on the spider's legs, and it shuffled crazily, drawing more laughter.
Lupin turned to Parvati, who stepped up as the spider spun into a dizzying blur before reappearing as a vampire. "Riddikulus!" Parvati commanded, transforming the vampire into a Carmen Miranda lookalike, dancing unwillingly to the laughter and claps of the class. Dean took his turn as the vampire morphed into a cobra. "Riddikulus!" he cried, and the cobra transformed into a jack-in-the-box. But when Gray stepped up with his cane out, Malfoy said, "Careful, Grandmother, don't fall," as his goonies laughed. Gray sighed as he said, "Careful, Malfoy. Unlike Buckbeak, I might just rip that hand." He tilted his head suddenly, like he was in a horror movie, before the Boggart turned into an identical version of Gray.
except it took the shape of a shorter, extremely skinny, almost malnourished figure with white hair. The Boggart didn't move; it just looked down in shame, quivering as though it didn't have the courage. "Huh, that is unique," Lupin said aloud as he inspected Gray's deepest fear. That's when Ron actually laughed, "Gray, your greatest fear is being a Malfoy," which got a chuckle from some of the students as Malfoy snapped, "Shut up, weasly."
While Gray approached the Boggart, Lupin warned, "Mr. Knight, I suggest you don't approach the Boggart. Despite how it looks, it's still a dangerous creature." Gray continued despite the warning, saying, "It's fine, Professor." Gray actually lifted the chin of the Boggart wearing his face as he said, "It appears that my deepest fear is actually being powerless, to the point where I don't even dare to look at what I'm supposed to scare." This disgusted Gray to no end, in actuality, he hated feeling powerless, though he hadn't realized that hatred had turned into fear. "Hmph, I am actually scared of being powerless. Me?" This irked Gray to no end as he looked at the Boggart, trying to suppress his urge to squash it with his present superhuman strength, but Lupin stepped in.
"Mr. Knight, why don't you try the charm?" Lupin suggested, making Gray sigh as he cast the charm, chanting, "Riddikulus." This changed the Boggart into a well-fed Gray who still retained the white hair but now wore posh clothes, with a monocle, holding his cape and a hat while he smoked a pipe, making Gray chuckle softly. "Now he looks like a proper Malfoy," he said, which made the class laugh a little and infuriated Malfoy.
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A/N: Yes, Gray has fears, and that's okay. I know he is said to be fearless, and that is true—no ghost or powerful being can scare him, even if he's about to die. But fear comes in different forms. (Take mine, for example—I hate small spaces and centipedes.) So, yes, Gray is afraid of being powerless, and that fear is intentional.