Professor Khanna was scary. Phoebe was afraid of what they'd do if she started coughing and wheezing during the lesson, so she spent most of the first question trying to not do that. She tried to look small and unassuming and she kept her mouth shut. By the second question, she thought she could manage the dust... "You can fight boggarts with a 'ridiculous' spell. But sometimes they're just too scary-" WHEEZE- oops- sosorrydon'tbemad- "and that's when people forget to cast the 'ridiculous' spell." She glanced at her friend Brandon, who was smirking and seemed unbothered. It was strange- he'd told her he hated the idea of boggarts. And he got weird whenever she brought up the topic. She was confused by his change of heart on the subject, but decided her friend was simply faking it. She tried to fake it, too- she didn't want Mean Professor Khanna to think she was weak and a scaredy-cat, so she put on her most bravest face.

"And you have to focus on turning the boggart into something funny when you cast the spell," Hope added. "So even if you cast it correctly, if you can't bring yourself to laugh at it, the Riddikulus spell won't work. And that's hard, to laugh at something when you're frightened." Hope was dismayed to find out that yes, they were indeed going to study boggarts. She was hoping to delay the moment of truth by adding to the discussion, so that the preliminaries would take as long as possible.

Emma was confused. If ghosts were a spirit, a so-called spectral body, then didn't that technically make them non-beings? She would have argued such a point but she had the distinct feeling that Khanna wasn't going to take well to arguing today. Maybe in the Springtime she'd broach the subject matter again with him for some clarity. Sunshine had a way of bringing out more positive moods.

In the meantime, it seemed her thoughts about a boggart making the scraping noise was correct. She liked what her older housemate, Desiree, was saying about using a group of people to confuse it.

"I agree with Desiree. I think defeating a boggart is best in numbers. Especially cause some fears can be especially traumatizing." She was curious if hers would be spiders or something else. "I'm also curious though, if our boggarts can change overtime. Like I'd imagine something you're afraid of when you're a toddler is going to be different from as a teenager or adult. Or because it shows your true fears it'll be pretty constant throughout your life?"

SPOILER!!: Vera! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chelliephone

The talkative of outspoken young lady was shocked into silence was what she was. What in the world was going on? Even a bad day would have still had some type of smile from Professor Khanna... Wouldn't it? And certainly not that one that they shared when mentioning the kids would be coming up against boggarts. Having their worst fears shown in front of an entire classroom of their peers was certainly a vulnerable position to be put in, and the info that's what was expected was enough to at least get the Gryffindor focused enough to look for a point of exit from the room. Maybe if Khanna wasn't on top of their game she could just sneak away?

So in an effort to further not draw attention to herself (despite the eye contact she'd just made with Khanna), the Gryffindor stayed silent and instead looked for the easiest route to leave from the classroom without having to do the activity.

Indeed. Dhruv sometimes, like everyone else, got into a funk but they were always careful not to let damper moods affect the sessions with the students. Perhaps Vera’s shock would eventually sink in or perhaps the upcoming activity of defeating a Boggart will take over her mind that the shock would be driven away. There would be no sneaking away from the Gryffindor; despite her unusual silence, Dhruv would not easily forget she was there.

SPOILER!!: Solomon! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emzily

While punctuality was something Solomon struggled with, there were certain lessons he offered extra time to arrive for. DADA was one of those. One, because it was interesting and he didn’t want to risk being sent away, and two, he didn’t want to face a punishment from Professor Dhruv. That being said, he was here but had remained quiet until now. Mostly because he was distracted by Aurora who did not look most impressed to be here.

Weird, unusual, hmm…

Anyway.

Solomon had, of course, heard of boggarts, although had never faced one as far as he was aware. He did have a small piece of information to offer, so he raised his hand confidently. “They take the shape of what a person fears the most.” He didn’t fear ANYTHING much so he had every faith that a fight between himself and a Boggart would be dull.

Solomon, too, had been one of those who had remained quiet. Up until now, that is. “Correct,’’ the professor remarked, not bothering to hide the continued boredom they felt. The Slytherin had provided the most basic information but still, it was useful information. “So while you may have multiple fears, upon facing a Boggart, it will take the form of whatever it is that you fear the most. However, should you have multiple ‘worst’ fears, the Boggart will alternate through each of those.”

SPOILER!!: Aurora! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lottiepot

Personally Aurora thought that Boggarts were an inappropriate lesson for a group of children to be learning about. For starters, exposing their biggest fears to their peers was a ridiculous idea and could be swiftly taken advantage of by the conniving students. The unimpressed expression, complete with inward eye roll, was evident on the petite blonde’s face as she listened to the Professor drone on. Or rather not drone on, Khanna was oddly to the point today which this Aurora appreciated. There was no purpose in wasting your breath on a load of pointless rambles when you could just quickly speak and go.

She did however choose to contribute something to the discussion. “Nobody knows what they truly look like when they are alone.” Which was probably just as well considering they were likely extremely ugly but she kept this information to herself.

Also the stare from Solomon was NOT appreciated. He received a quick warning glance before she turned back to the scraping noise on the other side of the door.

Regardless of what Aurora may think, unfortunately for her, she had no say in lesson planning. If she rather not reveal what she feared the most, she may be excused; only after providing a convincing excuse, of course. “Yes, yes. What Ms. Ackerly just said,’’ Dhruv continued in the same bored tone. “Upon an encounter with someone, the Boggart shifts into that person’s worst fear like that.’’ They snapped their fingers to emphasise how quickly the transformation takes place. “In a split second.”

SPOILER!!: Sohrin! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

The thought of confronting a boggart when he had no idea what his boggart would become was unsettling. Though it wasn't as unsettling as the professor's not-so-warm smile at that particular moment. Something was definitely wrong with them, and the young Ravenclaw wondered if he had been bewitched. Or had someone used a potion to spike his drink during breakfast? Whatever it was, they were acting weird!

As the scratching at the door became more intense, Sohrin was drawn from his thoughts and took a step back, then sideways to stand behind Aurora. Not that he was nervous or anything haha! he was. But something didn't seem to add up. Boggarts were non-beings who could be 'defeated' through laughter. Happiness was an emotion so why was the professor acting like that? Shouldn't he be attempting to cheer them on at this point?

He looked down at the dusty carpet, trying to remember what he was afraid of. But he couldn't come up with anything. He disliked certain things, such as reptiles, but he did not 'fear' them. But it was this thought that worried him. If he didn't know what shape a boggart would take for him, didn't the boggart have an advantage or not?

"Professor Khanna?" he said as he raised his finger in the air. "I've never faced a boggart before so i have some questions... Does a boggart just 'know' what you're afraid of even if you don't know yourself? Does it read your mind?" He asked. "Oh also, Can you fool a boggart if you think about something you're not scared of but pretend to be scared of?"

Dhruv could tell that Sohrin was nervous but did nothing to comfort or said anything to reassure the Ravenclaw. They half expected him to sit out {figuratively speaking} of answering the next question, not asking a few of his own. Apparently Sohrin was determined to remain focused. “Yes, a Boggart would be able to turn into your worst fear, regardless if you know what that is or not. Pretending to fool a Boggart about your fear will be of no help; these Non Beings, like Dementors, are far too perceptive to be fooled. However, it has been theorised that if someone who has no fear tries to take on a Boggart, it will not be able to decide what form to take and instead will be forced to show its true form.” Again, that was only theory.

SPOILER!!: Maria! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Maria had arrived before the lesson had begun and stood with Kion and Vera as the lesson began. She was a bit confuzzled by Professor Khanna's ways. He usually was smiling and so on at them, but today he just came off as stern and cold. For the first question Maria had added with a raised hand. "An example of a non-beings are ghosts like our four house ghosts; Nearly Headless Nick, The Bloody Baron, The Grey Lady, and the Fat Friar." Was the filth, dust and everything why their professor was in such a mood.

Maria exchanged a look with Vera before raising her hand a second time. "Boggarts like hiding in dark places such as wardrobes, cupboards, under sinks and desks." At the risk of getting scolded, she took down her hand and went quiet. She wasn't going to supply that her great grandmother had a boggart that lived in her attic, and always caused a racket a if her great grandma wasn't there to play music on her radio.

Maria had been provided with the same answer that Dhruv had provided to Emma in response to that first question: Ghosts are classified as ‘Spirits’, before the reasons for this classification were given. “True. Boggarts thrive on residing in confined spaces but have been known to be found around shadowy corners.” Which is where the one the children were about to face had been found.

SPOILER!!: Kion! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charely Potter

While Kion was comforted by the prescence of his girlfriend Maria and one of his close friends Vera by his side. He still found it hard to speak up when it came to the first question. The Professor had an intimidating aura that he was not familiar with his entire time there and he wondered what was going through them. Maybe his form of boggart was bothering him?

"...I heard that this school had an invasion of boggarts when it was closed for a year." Kion said, "While rare, they can scare a person.. or more to death just by their presence if strong enough," Sneaking a chance, his free hand moved to grasp Maria's in support.

Dhruv nodded. “Quite a few years ago. If the person is ill of health, it is logical to say that they will easily die as they are already weakened. Their heart may not be able to withstand the shock and fright. It is a similar scenario to the Grim which scares some so terribly that they die.”

SPOILER!!: Desiree! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Desiree wasn't surprised to hear that today's lesson was about boggarts. Really, what other non beings made scraping noises like that? She was, however, mildly concerned about the entire class knowing her deepest fears - and about her boggart scaring the others if it turned into what she thought it would.

She considered the next question. Although she'd never faced a bogart before, she had read about them. A mildly intrigued expression crossed her face as Kion mentioned boggarts invading Hogwarts. She'd heard about that too, but she kept quiet because she didn't know much about it. All she knew about that particular incident was that Miss Tina, her dad's friend and her big-sister figure, was at Hogwarts then, and that she didn't like the way the situation was handled.

Her rambling thoughts of multiple people and multiple boggarts suddenly jogged her memory, and she raised her hand. "A group of people can confuse a boggart," she said. "If there are too many people present, it won't know what to change into."

And there it was. Desiree had hit upon an important fact. “This is the biggest advantage one can have when facing a Boggart. It would be indecisive of which of the fears to take and can result in the Boggart taking on a combination of each fear. It is said that if this happens, the effects of that combined form are not as frightening as the individual fear would have been.”

SPOILER!!: Phoebe! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

Professor Khanna was scary. Phoebe was afraid of what they'd do if she started coughing and wheezing during the lesson, so she spent most of the first question trying to not do that. She tried to look small and unassuming and she kept her mouth shut. By the second question, she thought she could manage the dust... "You can fight boggarts with a 'ridiculous' spell. But sometimes they're just too scary-" WHEEZE- oops- sosorrydon'tbemad- "and that's when people forget to cast the 'ridiculous' spell." She glanced at her friend Brandon, who was smirking and seemed unbothered. It was strange- he'd told her he hated the idea of boggarts. And he got weird whenever she brought up the topic. She was confused by his change of heart on the subject, but decided her friend was simply faking it. She tried to fake it, too- she didn't want Mean Professor Khanna to think she was weak and a scaredy-cat, so she put on her most bravest face.

Dhruv’s eyes narrowed at the sound of that wheeze. They expected an onslaught of wheezes to follow but luckily for Phoebe, she managed to contain them. “Yes. Fear paralyses a person many times. That is why it is important to fight against that fear and to attempt to focus on defeating it. ‘Riddikulus’ is the incantation of the Boggart Banishing Charm indeed.’’ They did not guess that Phoebe thought the incantation was actually spelt the same as the word ‘ridiculous’.

SPOILER!!: Hope! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAlice

"And you have to focus on turning the boggart into something funny when you cast the spell," Hope added. "So even if you cast it correctly, if you can't bring yourself to laugh at it, the Riddikulus spell won't work. And that's hard, to laugh at something when you're frightened." Hope was dismayed to find out that yes, they were indeed going to study boggarts. She was hoping to delay the moment of truth by adding to the discussion, so that the preliminaries would take as long as possible.

The children really were making Dhruv’s task of teaching about Boggarts quite easy. “That is absolutely correct. A key step in defeating a Boggart is to force them into a form deemed comical. It comes back to what I mentioned to Ms. Dupont earlier: it is important to push through that fear. to accomplish your goal.”

SPOILER!!: Emma! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Emma was confused. If ghosts were a spirit, a so-called spectral body, then didn't that technically make them non-beings? She would have argued such a point but she had the distinct feeling that Khanna wasn't going to take well to arguing today. Maybe in the Springtime she'd broach the subject matter again with him for some clarity. Sunshine had a way of bringing out more positive moods.

In the meantime, it seemed her thoughts about a boggart making the scraping noise was correct. She liked what her older housemate, Desiree, was saying about using a group of people to confuse it.

"I agree with Desiree. I think defeating a boggart is best in numbers. Especially cause some fears can be especially traumatizing." She was curious if hers would be spiders or something else. "I'm also curious though, if our boggarts can change overtime. Like I'd imagine something you're afraid of when you're a toddler is going to be different from as a teenager or adult. Or because it shows your true fears it'll be pretty constant throughout your life?"

Yes, Dhruv knew that bit would be confusing. Good natured Dhruv would always be happy to explain things as much as it took for their students to understand a topic. Bad natured Dhruv? Just be careful how you approach. “As long as your worst fear changes as you go through life, so will your Boggart’s form. Only if your fear remains constant, then the Boggart’s form will remain that way.”


* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A quick look around told them that there were no more volunteers to answer the questions. This meant it was time to move on to the next bit of the lesson. “Ms, Archard touched upon the subject of laughter being a key element in defeating a Boggart. Once it has taken the form of what terrifies you, you must force it into a form you find highly amusing. Ms. Calypso mentioned that coming face to face with your fear will likely cause you to forget, in the moment, about doing exactly that. If you would like to not be defeated by the Boggart you will face shortly, and you think you might be overcome with fear, then I suggest you put into effect that Concentration Meditation technique that was taught earlier in the term.” Dhruv eyed them all as if to say, ‘Or else…’

“Before we move onto the Charm’s incantation and wand movement, take a moment to think of your worst fear. Then think of a few ways that you can turn it into something comical. For those of you unsure of your greatest fear, think of objects you may be able to use to turn your potential fear into something funny. For example, would you want to use an enormous yellow child’s play block to substitute the fear’s head or body? Would you prefer to turn it into a balloon animal?" This is where your imagination came in, children. "There will be no need to discuss this among yourself as you are to keep your thoughts to yourself.” Aside from wanting some peace and quiet before the storm, Dhruv also preferred that the children keep their methods of defeating the Boggart a secret until they faced the actual thing. You know... to keep things more interesting.


OOC: Welcome to the mini activity! This will be divided into two parts, each lasting two days. Therefore, the lesson will continue on 25th October at around 11 PM EST. Catchup is allowed so feel free to do so if needed! <3

No finger wiggle from Dhruv’s? Alright she could handle that. It was that pointed look they had given her though that caused some serious confusion to swirl in these beautiful blue eyes of hers and a quick sideways glance was cast at her bestie who no doubt was standing at her side. What was going on?! She had NEVER received a look like that before from them. Perhaps they were having a bad day? Are you alright, Professor? Maybe a nice cup of tea would help you feel better after today's lesson,” she suggested softly, having raised her hand first of course. Maybe they weren’t feeling well and they were reacting differently than others would. Sometimes she acted grumpy when she didn’t feel well.

As for that first question, well, so many of her fellow peers gave great answers to it.. Why should she risk repeating herself and making Dhruv’s angry. It was better for her to keep her mouth shut right now. Anyhow it seemed like they were moving on already. And Boggarts were indeed the topic of the day's lesson and there was at least one inside that room. Bryony honestly wasn’t sure how she felt about this. Being only twelve years old, she had never really given much thought into her deepest darkest fear. Now in only a few minutes time it was going to be revealed to their entire class.

What did she fear? Truthfully, she didn’t have a clue. Bugs and other creepy crawlies didn’t bother her. The dark didn’t either. Heights weren’t an issue. Things most kids her age wouldn’t want to try, she didn’t back down from. It wasn’t that she was ‘fearless’. She just wasn’t sure what scared her. So that had her thinking about what she would turn the Boggart into when it took the form or whatever it became when it was her turn. What did she find funny? Oh, so so many many things! There were the ideas that the professor had given them but she didn’t want to copy their ideas. She could easily come up with a bunch of her own. Like ummm, an adorable stuffie, a board game of some sort or colorful bubbles would be hilarious!

So after all that, the current task was just to stand here and think deeply about what they were afraid of? Was the professor actually broken, or did it just seem that way? Mercer's face took on that small crease between the eyebrows that meant he was thinking intently, but mostly he was thinking about professors being broken and not sneezing and what was for dinner and whether he could go outside later and not freeze his toes off.

Oh, but right... what was he afraid of? Not an animal or the dark or being underwater... oh, but how interesting would it be for a boggart to try to turn into deep water. That would actually be dead interesting. Not small spaces, not too much attention, not... oh. Hm. Actually. Maybe he could convince himself he was afraid of rats in the next 30 seconds.

Well, that look from Aurora was uncalled for. Solomon raised an eyebrow which turned into a frown. He would have to catch her up after class, OR he could be totally stubborn and ignore her until she sought him out. The latter sounded more likely.

The Professor really did sound bored today, but Solly wanted to hide when a younger student suggested they had a cup of tea to feel better. Sometimes it was best to not say anything at all about someone’s bad mood, he thought so anyway.

He was very observant today, clearly.

There was no doubt in Solomon’s mind that he wasn’t correct, but it still was nice to hear it from the Professor. As for the next part of the lesson, thinking of a fear. Well, that was tricky.

He supposed his biggest physical fear was clowns. But he tried with all his might to think of something else in fears that the boggart would turn into one. Because how could you make a clown comical when technically they already were?????!!!

AHHHH - PANIC ENSUES.

So a boggart couldn't be tricked. That was unfortunate because he would have tried to trick it into thinking he was afraid of something cute. But, if he could pull it off, his classmates wouldn't know, and they'd probably pick on him after class.


The Ravenclaw frowned, deep in thought, not knowing what he was afraid of. He'd never been in a situation that made him fearful; in fact, he was usually the result of his mother's boggart. With all of his bad luck and minor mishaps, his mother's worst nightmare was seeing him in a hospital bed.

A wave of dread washed over him as an image flashed before his eyes, prompting him to blink. He had suppressed that image for so long that he had forgotten about it. He was seven years old and couldn't sleep, so he crept downstairs where his parents were watching a documentary. Sohrin, who was hiding next to the refrigerator, could see the television screen from there and decided to watch it with them in secret.

As he saw a pale-eyed giant sea monster with long sharp crooked teeth swimming around in the darkness of the ocean, a shiver ran down his spine. It was just swimming around, minding its own business, but a seven-year-old's imagination had run wild. For days, he had nightmares about that creature.

Sohrin scratched the back of his neck. How was he going to make a monster into something amusing? And how would it change? Was the entire room going to be flooded?!

'Think Sohrin! Think!'

Well, this class took a turn! Desiree expected that they would be facing a boggart at some point in the lesson because really, where else could it go? What she didn’t expect was that set of instructions! Why was Professor Khanna eyeing everyone like that? And what did they mean, ‘or else’? Surely they wouldn’t leave someone who was struggling at the mercy of a boggart, no matter what kind of off day they were having! Right?

Still thoroughly confused, she tried to put the professor’s odd behavior out of her mind and focus on her fears. She wasn’t afraid of bugs or spiders or reptiles or any animal… except possibly a wombat. And she wasn’t exactly afraid of wombats; it was more that they were a bad reminder of her randomly turning into one for the better part of a year. Maybe that was the form her boggart would take… herself permanently disfigured or turned into a hideous beast like her favorite Disney prince. Probably that or a dead family member, she reasoned.

So how could she defeat it? Off the top of her head, she could think of a few ideas to turn her boggart into something silly. Make it sing or speak in a funny voice? Make it do the chicken dance? Turn it into a DIsney character? Ooh, that gave her an idea! She remembered the walk-around characters at Disneyland Paris with their funny-looking oversized heads that always made her giggle. That was it! She’d turn her boggart into one of those!

The uncleanliness around the classroom was bad enough…the continuing chill was threatening to get her. Thankfully her scarf had been stashed in her bag from a wander outside so opted to add it to her uniform when it had gotten to much. Especially seeing as the professor not only wasn’t interested in doing anything to help, but was annoyed by their sneezing and overall discomfort. What was up with Professor Khanna? Not exactly one to have to worry about being on the wrong side of like some of the professors they had heard about from their dads or any current ones for that matter.

Nadia did her best to pay attention but she wasn’t much up to contributing answers. The sounds from the spare room had gotten interesting to her though. Which putting it into the connection of the topic of non-beings, it finally clicked just before the professor confirmed it. Boggarts. That’s what they would be learning about. What they would be contending with for today’s lesson. And no, she had no experiences with said beings before to tell the tale.

Her worst fear…

Not something one would ordinarily want to think about. Gryffindor or not, thrill-seeker or not, there were still things that Nadia could see herself being concerned about in the fear department. Courage wasn’t the complete absence of it after all. Narrowing it down to the ultimate greatest fear that the boggart would be able to pick up on….well, they would have to just wait and see what it would turn out to be when it was her turn. Good thing she wasn’t afraid of Professor Khanna eying her though, since he was already doing it.

Seriously…what was the deal?

It was nice that Dhruv could surprise the children once in a while, wasn’t it? It was just dreary to carry out a lesson in the same pattern and the DADA professor was bored today enough as it is. They were rather busy enjoying the silence {save for the repetitive scraping from within the Spare Office}; how nice it was that their ears were not bombarded with chatter. To ensure it continued, they continued to eye the young witches and wizards sternly. Most like Mercer, Solomon, Sohrin, Desiree and Nadia were clearly thinking hard, which was excellent. Dhruv even thought they recognised other emotions like panic, fear and confusion in the mix.

And then…

It was time to break this lovely peace.

“I trust that you have been successful at following the instructions given to you by now.” If this wasn’t the case, then Dhruv could not help them there. “For the next few minutes, our focus will be on the Boggart Banishing Charm, the incantation is Riddikulus. Ri-di-KULL-lis. Repeat after me: Ri-di-KULL-lis. Ri-di-KULL-lis.”

The children were given ample time to get the pronunciation correct for the final aspect of this activity. “The wand movement resembles a cursive V, but with a curved base. Like so.” The demonstration was made a slowly a few times: a short straight line, downward into a curved base, upward then another short line. “Please note that the wand movement does not contain any sharp points as each curve is smooth and flowing. You may practice with your wands but there should be no incantation involved whether it be verbal or non-verbal. Carry on.”


OOC: hallo! Thanks for sticking with Dhruv and I! Making this post a little under the stipulated 48 hours because I don't think I can stay awake for another hour Please have your students carry out the above instructions. Feel free to have you kiddo ask Dhruv for help of needed and if they feel brave enough xD We shall commence the main activity in 48 hours {that is, Friday 27th October at 11 PM EST}; catch up is allowed.

Bryony was trying her best to consider as many different options for her possible Boggart she she could. Whatever she settled on was going to have to be funny enough to make the spell work and cause the Boggart to disappear. Maybe she could turn it into a Ninja Warrior Princess like her! Now that would be silly! This would be so much easier if she already knew what it was going to turn into.

Deep in thought, or as deep in thought as a twelve year old could get right about, Bry almost didn't hear Professor Khanna when he decided to move on with the lesson. Almost. Those focusing skills she had been learning were slowly coming in handy, it was still very much a work in progress. She was trying though and that was something.

Riddikulus. Yes. Got it. It sounded very much like ridiculous, probably done on purpose she thought. Pretty clever. "Ri-di-kull-us. Ri-di-kull-us" she repeated. Before crinkling up her nose and listening again. No, no, that didn't sound right at all. "Ri-di-KULL-lis. Hmm, that sounded better now. Once, twice and then over again a few more times until it was able to be said effortlessly.

Once she was able to recite the incantation comfortable it was time to move on to the wand movement. The small snakette removed her wand from its holster and tried her best to imitate the non-pointed 'v' like symbol with it's short lines on both sides. If she had it exact, she had no idea but she thought it looked correct.

Huh. So one's boggart could change throughout life. This was actually interesting and definitely made a lot of sense. Emma nodded at the Professor's instructions even if Khanna did seem rather stoic today. She was just going to try her best though to concentrate on the task and not make a fool of herself. She considered what she thought might her greatest fear and contemplated how she might make it humorous. Perhaps she could turn their 8 legs into something crazy like octopus arms ? Octopus were kind of cool creatures. Although she wasn't sure that 8 arms was better than 8 legs but it would be 8 arms on a spider body ... so uh, maybe she just needed to do something different. Maybe something involving dance...

Time to practice the incantation though.

"Ridd-ick-kull-is?" Was that right? Maybe? "Ridd-ick-kull-is"

Dhruv sighed inwardly. There were clearly a lot of mispronunciations happening at the initial stage. However, as the repetition of the incantation continued, it became clear to hear that the pronunciation greatly improved. Of course, one or two of said pronunciations were still off. “Ri-di-KULL-lis,’’ the DADA professor repeated loudly and clearly one last time for the benefit of the children. They would not be saying it again.

The wand movement aspect was just as bad, in their opinion, but naturally {and thankfully} this too improved as time progressed. “That’ll be enough practice. Just remember…” Dhruv repeated the movement’s demonstration one last time before reupholstering their wand. They had noted the hard work of the children like Bryony and Emma but there was no acknowledgement of this on the professor's part.

“Now, we move onto the main activity.” Were they excited? No? Yes? Once could say that Dhruv did not care. “Follow me. No pushing, no shoving, no chattering.” With a wave of their hand, Dhruv opened the door to the Spare Office and stepped in. They made sure to stay out of the way of the entrance so that the children could file in smoothly. This particular furniture-less Office, like everywhere else in the Castle was quite dirty. Layers of dust, cobwebs and Merlin knew what else were present. The scraping sounds had ceased for the moment, as though the Boggart could sense the children and was anticipating the amount of fun it could have with them. “Gather just before me.” The professor was standing about seven feet from the door, facing that direction so that as the students came into the room, they would all be face to face.

“Directly behind me...” Dhruv jabbed a thumb over their shoulder. “Is a nook nestled against the corner of the walls. Within that nook lives a Boggart.” Right on cue, there was another scrape which reverberated around the room and seemed twice as loud now that they were in the room. “You each will take a turn to face it. As you step up to do so, it will take the shape of your greatest fear. This is when you will say the incantation and perform the wand movement while picturing your fear in that amusing form that you were asked to come up with earlier. The key to successfully getting through this activity is to follow these instructions one at a time. One, face your fear. Two, utter the incantation and perform the wand movement. Three, focus on making your fear amusing. When I call your name, step forward to have a go.”

With that, they called out the lucky number one student.

OOC: Hihihiiii! We start the main activity here. You do not have to wait for me to post; you can pretend Dhruv called upon your student to face the Boggart. Please do NOT roleplay for the Boggart, other than the Boggart taking the form of your student's fear, as there will be an account doing so. This Boggart account will detail the rest of your student's interaction with the Boggart within the nook. This activity will last until Monday 30th October at 11 PM EST, when the lesson will come to an end.

It was restless. The most restless it had been. This was why it had been scraping the walls so often. It became alert now as humans so many delicious humans with so many delicious fears to feast upon, made their presence known.

Yes, come nearer, humans. Come nearer. This Boggart lived to terrorize you…

Scrape.

Scrape.

Scrape.

Maria blinked and swallowed, they clearly were going to be facing a boggart in the next couple of minutes. What was her worst fear? How did one know what they feared the most? She wondered thoughtfully. She disliked some creatures more than others Maria admitted to herself like seagulls, but if she feared them more than say losing a family member she didn't know.

Maria kept trying to figure out what her worst fear was as they moved on to practicing the wand movement and incantation for the boggart banishing charm. "Ridik-kull-us, Riddi-kul-lis, Rid-di-kull-lis!" she kept repeating to herself over and over. Then she unholstered her wand to practice the wand movement. Maria did her best to imitate the non-pointed cursive v symbol with two short lines on both sides like she had seen professor Khanna demostrate. She practiced it over and over until she felt she had a hang on it.

Taking her place in the line behind professor Khanna, Maria nervously licked her lips as she awaited her turn to face the boggart. "Maria!" Hearing her name, the fifth year badgerette stepped up to face the boggart gripping her wand tightly as she did so. In a matter of seconds she feared she'd be face to face with an enormus seagull.

Thinking about his fear, Kion had a few up there. Mixed with his insecurities that he sometimes relied on friends and family for support. But his worst fear? It was hard to think as other than the Professor being intimidating for once he felt fairly comfortable where he resided and now had to feel uncomfortable. Though that was the point of the class to learn how to handle situations.

Quiet as ever to where he neglected the previous question, Kion imagined one of the few nightmares he had since his childhood years. During a magical history lesson, the Professor at his primary school introduced them to moving images of dangerous creatures and one of them settled into his dreams ever since. Though extremely rare, the thought of encountering this creature had goosebumps forming under his cloaked self. Erm.... But how to make a Nundu funny? Kion considered some thoughts, the spikes falling off, giving them a breath freshing pill, something... but the thoughts were interrupted as he had to practice the spell now.

Riddikulus.. okay, that sounded easy. Others mentioned it before. Kion first drew with his finger to trace out the shape. It sort of resembled a shrug but without the head and body to match it. Which made it easy for him to trace it out with his wand after while pronouncing it aloud. Though the Professor shouting at the students for mispronouncing it.... Hopefully, some boggarts didn't appear as him.


Now it was time to face the boggart. Kion blinked rapidly as he heard his girlfriend get called first. Where they had to unlink hands now. Maybe the Professor did notice how close they were for his name, "Kion Ingebretson" to be shouted next. So he gripped his wand trying to think about what he would do in the situation before stepping forward for his turn.

Although Desiree wasn’t keen to see herself as a hideous beast or a dead relative, she had to admit she was rather eager to learn the Boggart Banishing Charm. Of course she’d read about the spell before but had never had a reason to use it. She listened intently, copying down the spell information in her notes. “Ri-di-KULL-lis, Ri-di-KULL-lis,” she practiced, trying to copy Professor Khanna’s pronunciation exactly. “Riddikulus…”

Then came the wand movement: the cursive V sort of shape. She thought it also looked a bit like an upside down shield or like a pair of arms about to give the boggart a hug. She wondered if either of those designs were intentional; some spells had wand movements that hinted at what the spell did. She might’ve asked Professor Khanna about it, had they seemed in a better mood, but she could always research it on her own later.

Desiree filed into the spare office with the rest of the group, her bright blue eyes darting toward the nook Professor Khanna pointed out. She gripped her wand tightly, mentally repeating the professor’s instructions as she awaited her turn. Face your fears, incantation and wand movement, make the fear amusing…

“Desiree Marchand!” She stepped forward at the sound of her name, mentally preparing to face herself as a monster or a family member’s corpse. What she saw instead was like a terrifying combination of the two! Her boggart took a gaunt, skeletal form with pale skin and telltale cloudy white eyes. An Inferius. It was tall and dark-haired with scars across one side of its face, and Desiree noticed a familiar chain tattoo on its arm. If an Inferius wasn’t scary enough, her blood ran cold as she realized who it was: her dad, Gaston Marchand, in Inferius form!

Vera wasn't all that looking forward to potentially making a fool of herself in yet another one of her favorite Professor's lessons, but she also really really did not want to face a Boggart. Especially not a Boggart with current Professor Khanna instead of the usual kind, encouraging soul she was used to encountering with them. And as they were released to think about what their fears would be, she was left pretty blank.

Not because she didn't know what her fears were... she was more self aware than she generally led people to believe. But she didn't know HOW her fears would manifest into a Boggart so then she also didn't know how she could picture that... thing and turn it into something funnier - less scary. She wished for a brief moment she was scared of snakes instead of such a big fan - at least that would be easy to KNOW. She didn't love spiders, but she also knew they weren't her greatest fear and she doubted if she concentrated a ton on those that that was what the Boggart would transform into. Or did even a Boggart have limitations and it couldn't represent concepts? Because it was the concepts of loneliness or change (definitely change being the biggest) that really scared her. She was comfortable with the way life was, and as much as she fantasized about wanting changes in this form or that... they scared her a lot by being something new.

She supposed in addition to that, she was also scared that if she walked up to a Boggart it would change into Raju as a representation of changes. Considering he and Papa had just gotten back together, she wasn't really looking forward to having that particular image show up and cause misunderstandings that could potentially get to her siblings and then her father. She wasn't scared of Raju - he was nice as far as she could tell from the limited time they'd had thus far, and Papa was happy. But the change to the family dynamic was still... new and she was getting used to it and there were a lot of internalized insecurities that came with that.

... She was so lost on considering the things and having her own internal crisis, she entirely missed the spell direction process. In fact, she didn't pay attention again until she heard "Thanatos, Vera" called out which meant it was - unfortunately - her time. And she still had NO idea what to expect, and NO plan on how to get rid of it.

Lovely.

She considered telling Khanna no, she refused to participate. But then she was pretty sure she wouldn't know if the disappointment from them would be reality or Boggart because she didn't really like genuinely disappointing people either. So... instead she just stalled for a minute, taking a few deeeep breathes before starting towards where they were instructed to be. Standing as tall as she could, her shoulders squared back in an effort to look as brave as the Sorting Hat had seemed to think she could be, she waited.

What she definitely hadn't been expecting to see as her fear: was her therapist But then again, she supposed that was the room she was the most vulnerable and she did HATE that so... maybe that wasn't so far fetched. She quickly tried to scramble to find an image she could use to make this funny while anxiously awaiting to see what the Boggart would do. Or say.

The first human to face it and it sensed her fear. All the onlookers would see in this moment was the tip of a feathery wing poking out of this homey hidey-place. The full wing emerged at the same time as a foot. The beak and torso squeezed its way grotesquely out. The gigantic seagull now emerged and began advancing on the girl. Its eyes were fixated on her. It flared its wings to its magnificent length, each a span of eight feet. Without warning Boggart-Seagull lunged forward in an attempt to peck at the human with its beak.


It changed immediately into a Giant Nundu the moment the boy approached. The great beast snarled ferociously and loudly enough for anyone to go weak in the knees. It’s eyes surveyed its prey with such cunning that it became quite clear the beast was deciding how best to scare the living daylights out of the boy. The Nundu took two steps forward. It basked liberally in the fear it absorbed from the human and from the sheer power it wielded. Without warning, the Nundu lunged. While it did so, it raised a front paw. The thing was ready to strike and to maul.


It felt your fear, human. It saw your fear, even if that fear was not one you expected to see. The Boggart-Inferius form of your beloved father stood before her. The Boggart twisted its sunk, gaunt face in an unpleasant manner: a leer of pure evil. Never in a million years did you think your father would look at you in such a manner, did you? Much like a Muggle zombie, the Boggart-Inferius stuck its arms out. It inched towards the human, quite intent on grabbing her.


The human may have thought the therapist her father ensured she chatted with often was scary during a one-on-one session but now? The Boggart transformed smoothly into the lady therapist who the young witch feared so much. Why though? Wasn’t her father only trying to help her overcome her discomforts? This wasn’t the Boggart’s problem. All that mattered was the fear it sensed. So. Much. Fear. The Boggart-Therapist’s mouth twisted into an unpleasant smile. “Now that Renner has found Raju, he doesn’t need you. Say goodbye to the family you know.” The voice seemed to echo eerily throughout the spare office in a very menacing manner.

While the first year concentrated on practicing the incantation, he couldn't stop thinking about the sea monster he was about to confront. Those white eyes, and sharp crooked teeth made him shiver even at the thought. He wasn't even sure how big it was as it had been surrounded by darkness but he imagined that it was big. He'd always convinced himself that because his fear was in the deepest parts of the ocean (or was it the sea? he honestly didn't know), he'd never have to face it. Yet here he was, in a school, about to experience his worst nightmare. One that he had forgotten over the years by the way!!


"Solberg, Sohrin" the Ravenclaw jumped and looked behind him. How quick was he really? He could still flee, right? He REALLY didn't want to confront his fear. Not now, not ever. But would the others mock him for fleeing? Others had faced their fears before him... With his heartbeat racing and trying his best not to cry, the eleven-year-old took a step towards the nook of the room.

'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry'

She was not ready. Even though Professor Khanna had said enough practicing, Emma didn't feel ready to confront her fears. She knew she had a fear of spiders, but she also wasn't convinced it was her ultimate fear and the more she concentrated and focused the more she realized that it wasn't what her boggart was going to take the shape of. Which almost saddened the hufflepuff. She was okay with being called 'spider girl' even if it felt embarrassing in the moment, at least she knew how to handle that.

But as her peers went before her to approach the boggart, she knew then that her greatest fear was loneliness. It was strange then how the feelings resurfaced every time her father was called away for a medical emergency. How every year up until this year, the aches she felt deep in her heart and soul when her brothers boarded the Hogwarts Express. The feelings of people talking around her and exclusion. She always strived to be friends with everyone but she also knew that she wasn't everyone's cup of tea and those feelings hurt. She wanted to be friends with even those who disliked her. She wanted connection with everyone, and the fears of not meeting those expectations were raw and painful.

But the thing that troubled her now, was how did a boggart showcase loneliness? Was it going to show her in a locked room by herself? With everyone around her in another room at a party? Did she make it funny by removing everyone's pants? Putting them in clown attire?

No time to consider too much, as she heard "Montgomery, Emma" and the twelve year old took a step forward, hoping more than anything that it would just be spiders but knowing it wouldn't be....

With remarkable swiftness that the humans would now become accustomed to seeing, the Boggart shifted its shape of the greatest fear of the young human. It was now the mirror image of that image the boy had seen when he was quite younger: a giant sea monster with long, sharp, crooked teeth and pale eye. It stood there, quite still for a moment, as though sizing the human up. Then, without warning, it opened its mouth and bellowed a roar directly in his face. Was the boy going to cry now?


The girl approached and the Boggart wasted no time in altering its shape. It became a mirror image of the first year. Boggart-Emma was alone on the floor, curled up in the fetal position. Her fist was stuffed in her mouth, an effort to muffle the sobs that threatened to become loud. Her face was streaked with tears. “N-no one lo-loves me,’’ Boggart-Emma sobbed pitifully, he body shaking from those sobs. “Th-ey all le-left m-me.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by BOGGARTS!

It felt your fear, human. It saw your fear, even if that fear was not one you expected to see. The Boggart-Inferius form of your beloved father stood before her. The Boggart twisted its sunk, gaunt face in an unpleasant manner: a leer of pure evil. Never in a million years did you think your father would look at you in such a manner, did you? Much like a Muggle zombie, the Boggart-Inferius stuck its arms out. It inched towards the human, quite intent on grabbing her.

Dad?

The thought of her father not only dying but turning into a monster like the ones that gave him the scars across his face was enough to bring tears to Desiree's eyes. But now wasn't the time to get emotional! She took a deep breath, willing herself not to look away as the Dad-Inferius-Boggart leered at her.

It's not really him, it's not real, she kept reminding herself. Her dad would never look at her that way, no matter what happened to him!

She racked her brains for something funny to turn the Dad-Inferius-Boggart into, but there wasn't time to think. It was coming toward her. Okay, Des… funny things, singing, dancing, Disney characters…. She had it!

"Riddikulus!" She cast, making the cursive "v" sort of shape as she envisioned a dancing Minnie Mouse mascot. Did it work?

Phoebe was pretty sure she was just bad at magic. Her pronunciation was abysmal, and also she consistently messed up the wands movements. But she was too afraid to ask her scary professor for more help than she already had (she had asked several times), and it was her turn to see the boggart, so...

Wand out, Phoebe stepped forward, trying not to be afraid. Her greatest fear was probably just snakes, or spiders, or creepy crawlies, right? Wrong. Phoebe's fear was being alone forever, without a family, and being totally unloved until she got all resentful and became like her mother and turned into a pureblood supremacist who went to Azkaban.

She coughed a little. She was super brave and strong. She could do anything, right? Even use her subpar spellwork to turn her unknown worst fear into something funny, all while being nervous and scared and confused. No pressure.