If Love is a Game...

Lanni Weasley

Story Summary:
It's the Marauders' final year at Hogwarts and they have everything - and that includes a few big problems. James matures and finally wins over Lily; Remus falls head over heels for Lucius Malfoy's cousin; and Sirius finally gets the girls of his dreams. But that girl is supposed to marry Malfoy and her parents hate Sirius and her friends. Soon, she must choose between being the next Mrs. Lucius Malfoy or the early deaths of Sirius and her friends. Deep trouble is on the horizon of bliss.

Chapter 27

Chapter Summary:
It's James and Sirius's seventh year at Hogwarts and they have everything: brains, talent, skill, brawns, friends, and even the ladies. While James finally matures and wins over Lily, the girl Sirius has his eyes on is finally starting to realize that she has come to like him too. But what happens when Lucius Malfoy likes her, too, and her parents disapprove of Sirius and her friends intensely? SB/OC/LM, J/L, RL/OC (No Slash). Chapter 27: In DADA Class, everyone reviews over a third year subject - Boggarts. We see a Dementor, a giant cobra, a Yeti, a full moon, a mummy, Sirius's mum, death up close, and more. But the most thought-provoking one will be Lorena's Boggart.
Posted:
02/25/2005
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Author's Note:
Thanks for reviewing!


Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Boggart

When Remus gave Lorena that I'll-Tell-You-Later look, Lorena had taken that as meaning right after Potions class ended. When Remus finally told her what had set him off--what Lestrange had said in Potions class--Lorena looked slightly queasier.

"Oh, I wish I would've stayed with not knowing," Lorena muttered under her breath, disgusted.

Meanwhile, Lily had her hand dug deep in her pack, searching for something hastily. She was looking on the frightened side too. When she couldn't find whatever she had been looking for, she retracted her hand out of her bag and looked at them all fretfully.

"I don't have my Defense Against the Dark Arts book, you guys!" Lily exclaimed frantically. "It's not in my bag
, and I remember putting it in there last night! What am I supposed to do? D.A.D.A. is our next class, right? What will Professor Taylor say when he finds out that I didn't bring my book to class?"

She rarely panicked, but on the rare occasions that she did, it was terrible. She was always prepared for class and couldn't stand it when she was any shorter than that. She also had strived on the fact that telling them that Defense Against the Dark Arts was probably the most important class and that they should never be unprepared. And now she had gone against her own teachings.

"Oh, sorry, Lil, I borrowed your book for a bit of bedtime reading," James said sheepishly, pulling a book out of his pack and hand
ing it to a relieved looking Lily. Remus rolled his eyes. He knew perfectly well that James hadn't borrowed her book for "a bit of bedtime reading" because he wasn't like that. It was because Severus Snape had made his book disappear (and James had hexed him, which he didn't want Lily to find out about).

"Thank you for returning it to me, James, but next time, I would appreciate it if you asked to borrow my things before you take them," Lily noted calmly as she clutched the book tightly. James nodded his head guiltily, his eyes never wavering from her as usual.

"You know, this is fun and all, loitering in the corridors, but aren't we going to be late for class?" Sirius blurted out bluntly. Everyone stared at him for a second and Sara looked down at her watch. She widened her eyes.

"You're right; we're going to be late if we don't hurry up!" Sara gasped, looking up at them all. They rushed for class very quickly. Some of them couldn't afford to be late again, mainly Sirius and James, who had been late countless times in the past. When they entered the classroom, they found that it was quite full, but to their relief, there were just enough empty spaces on the Gryffindor side for all of them. Lorena sighed with relief; she did not want to sit by Lucius again--or any other Slytherin for that matter.

"Hey, why don't you come sit by me instead of that psychopath, Lorena?" Rodolphus Lestrange called from the Slytherin side of the room. A few girls whistled as Lorena sunk lower in her seat, her face almost as red as Remus's.

"I'll show him psychopath if he doesn't shut up," Lorena muttered angrily. Remus grinned lightly. Sirius and James looked up to shoot
Lestrange glares. Lorena looked over at him and yelled, "I'd rather barf than sit beside you!"

"Dear, you've already sat by me," Rodolphus pointed out gently, grinning largely. The Slytherins gave no hint of trying to stifle their laughs and giggles.

"And I barfed, didn't I?" Lorena snapped back. The Gryffindors, in turn, laughed back.

"Ooh, crash and burn!" the Gryffindors chanted, the girls giggling girlishly afterwards and the boys
busting out with loud guffaws. Lestrange frowned while Remus's grin broadened, unbeknownst to Lorena and the rest of them. After a while, the laughter and giggles stopped and they sat in silence, no one speaking at all, but just waiting for their professor, who so far never failed to be late.

Indeed, their professor arrived promptly five minutes late as usual, stumbling into the classroom out of a closet door. Everyone gaped in amusement as he closed the closet, eyebrows raised. He turned around, smoothed his robes, and smiled. A Slytherin boy, Lucas Flint--the boy who hexed Lorena
last year on the Hogwarts Express--raised his hand in the air.

"Please, sir, why were you in that closet?" Lucas asked calmly, stifling any sniggers he had. All of the Slytherins were trying hard not to snicker at what they had just seen. However, their professor looked unabashed by the question.

"My dear boy, that is no ordinary closet you see; it's full of Dark Magic!" he exclaimed ludicrously, waving his arms in the air as if telling a wild fairytale. "Before you lot came in, I was merely speculating its danger when the closet doors flung open"--he made a wide gesture--"and the robes inside of it sucked me in"--many girls gasped and jumped back at this--"before I could Stun them and escape!"

"Robes attacked you?" Lucius blurted out, failing miserably
to control his sniggers. Their professor gave Lucius a look of pity, almost.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, robes--infested with Dark Magic, no doubt--'attacked' me," he replied
coolly, pushing his disheveled brown hair down a little. Lucius sniggered; Lorena shot a glare at him. "Would you like to see for yourself, Mr. Malfoy? I'm sure some people in this class would gladly like to see me toss you into the closet for the robes."

This immediately stopped Lucius's sniggers when he paled slightly. His immediate reaction was to go silent and look over at the Gryffindor sections where our favorite eight Gryffindors were all grinning at him evilly. He shook his head and looked back down at his desk. Severus Snape rolled his
eyes and shook his head at his friend.

"Well, c'mon now, chaps, let's skedaddle on out of here!" Professor Taylor, the D.A.D.A. professor, rang loudly, moving his hands around. "Grab your wands, leave your stupid textbooks, and get a move on! Out, out with you all now!"

Truth be tol
d, Professor Taylor could be...a little out there sometimes. He was obviously stranger than the rest of their professors at Hogwarts, very unorthodox, but rather exciting, nonetheless. Every class was filled with new adventures it seemed. He could make the most boring thing on the planet seem one of the most enticing things in the world. He'd been teaching for seven years so far. Remus supposed that was why he liked the class so much; he could never get bored.

The students, Seventh Year Gryffindors and Slytherins, all got up from their seats. They grabbed their wands and left their books sitting on their desks or in their packs. They formed a large mob, rather than a line, and slowly shuffled out of the room.

"See, Lily, you wouldn't have needed your book anyway," James pointed out unneces
sarily. Lily gave him The Look, and he immediately closed his mouth. They slowly got out of the room and the doors shut behind them by themselves.

"Bloody hell, when did doors learn to do that?" Lorena muttered quietly, clearly bemused. No one really knew how, so no one answered her. They just continued to follow Professor Taylor down the empty corridor. Soon, some people began to realize where they were heading: The Staffroom. Those "some" just so happened to be James and Sirius, who so far had been the only ones to break into it.

Indeed, they stopped at the door that was labeled "Staffroom". The pupils either stared at a lightly smiling Professor Taylor or at the large oak door. He looked at them all, noticing that he was barely taller than
them. Most of them were seventeen or eighteen, after all.

"Now, as you all should know, we are reviewing over your Third Year, at the moment," Professor Taylor began, slowly watching them all. "Behind this very door, lies an old, dark wardrobe. Behind the wardrobe doors, you will find your very worst fear. Last night, while searching for my lost pocket watch, I came across that very wardrobe and found my worst fear waiting inside. What I found yesterday, my students, was a Boggart."

Many of the girls gasped while the boys looked at each other. Krystyna shifted her weight uneasily next to Sirius. What was her fear? They hadn't dealt with a Boggart since their Third Year and four years was a long time. Some of their fears had changed, growing into much more frightening things. Professor Taylor watched their expressions and then unlocked the door, letting it swing open dramatically, letting the wardrobe come into view.

"Step inside," he said quietly. All of them sauntered inside of the dimly lit room, making it seem more alarming than it should be. He waited until they formed a tight knit group, all of their gleaming eyes on the wardrobe apprehensively, the candle light reflecting off of their eyes. "Now, do you remember the incantation and the wave of the wand?"

"Ridikulus," they chanted in a low rumble. Everyone glanced at each other nervously and then back at the wardrobe, which shook a little at their words.

Professor Taylor nodded his head slowly. "Exactly," he said lowly. "Now, think about what your fear is and then concentr
ate on what you want it to do."

Everyone pictured what they were most afraid of, some were thinking harder than others. James looked a little pale as he thought with his eyes closed, but held a grin on his face. Lily started to snap her fingers as a nervous habit, though no one paid attention to it. Some of the Slytherins shifted their positions to move farther back into the group.

Lorena tried to think of something else. She didn't like what had first come to mind. She didn't want the Boggart to turn into what she had first thought of. She had first thought of Marcus, however hilarious that might seem to Lucius,
but she realized that she wasn't afraid of him as much as she used to be. Still, she didn't want it turning into him. Finally, she decided it would turn into a large tarantula spider. Spiders freaked her out beyond reality. She was scared to death of them. Yes, it would turn into a spider; she was so sure of it. For once in her entire lifetime, she hoped to see a spider.

Krystyna knew what her fear was, however much she wished it wasn't. It was the one thing that she was afraid of seeing. It wasn't like any childish fear; it would frighten anyone. It was also ironic; how the one thing she was afraid of happening, she was going to see. Irony was so cruel to her, she found herself thinking again and again.

But maybe no one looked as frightened as Remus did. He completely blanched when he heard the word "Boggart". He knew exactly what he was going to see, but he didn't want anyone to see it. They would all look at him strangely, ask him odd questions, and wonder about it. Those were exactly opposite of what he wanted to happen.

"Are you all prepared?" Professor Taylor asked softly, bringing them all out of their reverie. They looked up at him and nodded their heads. He smiled lightly. "Good. Mr. Potter, why don't you take the first hit of the Boggart?"

"Sure thing, Professor," James replied
, still managing to sound cocky. Lily touched his arm comfortingly and he smiled back at her. He stepped up to the front of the crowd, still managing to smirk. He knew perfectly well what was coming out of that closet.

"Ready?" Professor Taylor inquired, looking at James. He nodded his head and looked at the wardrobe defiantly. "One--two--three!" He flicked his wand and the wardrobe door unlocked. Ever so slowly, it opened up.

The air they were breathing suddenly became as cold as winter nights, the floor began to freeze with ice forming underneath their very feet, and the remaining lit candles slowly began to fade away. Krystyna exhaled and she could see her breath in front of her, very unpleasant memories swarming through her mind as if they were playing like a tape recorder.

13

"Please, I didn't mean to break it, I promise! I promise, I didn't mean to break it, dad... Please, forgive me...forgive me..."

"You broke it on purpose, you insufferable child! You never pay attention to me or the house rules I have set for you! You're just a disobedient idiot!"

"Please, forgive me... Samuel, please tell him I didn't
do it on purpose... tell him...please...I didn't do it on purpose... I'm sorry! I'm sorry..."

"Come here!"

"It was an accident! Please
, forgive me, father! Please...it hurts! Please, stop, it hurts! It hurts!" The girl, whoever she was, began to sob like mad and continued to cry out for mercy...

13


Krystyna stumbled backwards and slipped on the ice, regaining the conscience of reality. Sirius caught her from underneath her arms and raised her back to her feet limply. He continued to hold her, just in case she slipped again. What came out made everyone gasp and fall into their own bad memories. Draped in a mess of shredded black robes with its scabby hand outstretched for James, swooping down on him quickly, its hood retracted over its face, was a Dementor.

A few people whimp
ered as the Dementor neared them; James held a face of determination as the lights dimmed even further on them and the air chilled even more. Ice could be seen forming on the rims of James's glasses and raised wand.

Lorena almost stopped breathing as she continued to back away from the looming Dementor. She backed into Remus, who was controlling his terrible memory. He felt Lorena bump into him and groped for her hand until he finally found it. He gave it a gentle squeeze to let her know that someone was there.

"
Ridikulus!" James yelled, moving his wand swiftly. Suddenly, all of the robes wrapped themselves around the Dementor and it fell to the ground where it writhed and jumped. Immediately, the warm air returned and happiness coursed through everyone's veins at the sight. The laughed at it profusely. James walked back to them, smirking, and Lily walked up. Immediately, the Boggart transformed into a enormous black cobra, hissing acidly in Lily's frightened face. Many girls squealed.

"
Ridikulus!" Lily shrieked, waving her wand quickly. Abruptly, the large cobra was tied into an undoable knot, making odd squeaking noises. Many people laughed at the sight. Lily jumped back to them, looking rather triumphant.

Jessie went up; her Boggart turned into an old mummy, arms outstretched for her and groaning lowly and then suddenly spinning around in a furious tornado, becoming untangled. A few Slytherin girls went up and had their turn with it.

Then suddenly, someone bumped into Sirius, causing him to be pushed in front of the crowd. He looked back to glare at Lucius, who was leering at him, and then looked back. The disgusting severed finger that lie on the floor in front of him, flopping around, turned into a woman with an ashen face and long flowing black hair. Krystyna's first thought was a banshee, but it was immediately tarnished when she began screaming about how he was an insult to the family and he was dirt. It was Sirius's own mother! But unlike everyone else who had encountered the Boggart, he was grinning wickedly.

"
Ridikulus!" Sirius laughed, waving his wand around. An apple was immediately placed in his Boggart mother's mouth and she couldn't scream anymore, her muffled cries barely heard. Everyone started to laugh again as he flounced away from the front.

"I'm telling your mum about this!" Narcissa Blac
k, his cousin, shouted angrily. Sirius looked at her and continued to let out his bark-like laughter. James was rolling with laughter. Krystyna had to admit, that was rather hilarious.

A few more Slytherins went up. Sara went up and her Boggart turned into Professor Lector. After turning him into a cross dresser (her Aunt Eldora's hideous clothes), she walked back to the rest of them, looking rather embarrassed while everyone roared with laughter. Marissa's Boggart changed into a zombie (ew, that's sickening) that turned into an idiotic-looking clown.

And before he knew it, Remus was unwillingly pushed in front of the laughing crowd, his heart hammering in his chest and feeling like it was going to pop out. His head felt like it was going to explode. Their laughs began to slowly fade away as the clown took him in its sight. He didn't want it to turn into what it was going to turn into. He hoped against hope that it wouldn't.

It'll turn into something different. It's going to be something different. And if it isn't, you'll wake up from this nightmare and find yourself still in Ancient Runes, Sirius prodding you in the back. It'll be something different. It'll turn into something else, Remus thought, telling himself over and over again that it wasn't going to turn into what he feared the most.

But, the Boggart had other thoughts. It turned into exactly what he didn't want to see. The Boggart changed into a full moon, just behind a few gray clouds. Everyone stopped laughing and took a deep intake of breath, staring at it like they were mesmerized by its beauty while Remus was staring at it in pure terror. He raised his wand slowly.

"
Ridikulus!" Remus said, sounding very distant to himself. The moon exploded into a thousand pieces and everyone laughed and cheered gleefully. He stepped back into the crowd, feeling as if he would have liked to just fade away into thin air. He really wished he had James's Invisibility Cloak right now or that it was possible to Apparate in Hogwarts so he could just disappear. He felt a hand on his shoulder as he watched as Lucas Flint stepped up.

"Don't worry about it, Moony," Sirius mumbled lowly. Remus nodded his head and looked down at his feet, determined to ignore Lorena's watchful eyes. Krystyna glanced at Remus oddly. Why was he so afraid of the full moon? What was so scary about it?

But she had no time to ponder this because at that very moment, someone pushed her in front of the crowd. Krystyna thought her heart almost stopped beating for a second. She somehow lost the ability to breathe, realizing that everyone was going to see what she feared the most. The Boggart took one quick look at her and knew what she was thinking. It transformed.

The laughter abruptly ceased. Everyone stared at the Boggart's new form in horror. There was nothing funny about this at all. There couldn't possibly be anything funny about it. A few people took a step back out of habit. Lily gasped softly and squeezed James's arm tightly. In front of a horror- struck Krystyna lied the cold, dead body of Lily.

Sirius stood up straight and wanted to get by her side, but the group of students closed in so tight he couldn't move. CRACK! It was no longer the dead body of Lily, but now of James. CRACK! It was a dead Sara. CRACK! Dead Peter. CRACK! Dead Andrew. CRACK! Dead Sirius.

No, no, no, no... Not this, anything but this, Krystyna thought, petrified out of her wits as she stared into the cold, dead, empty eyes of the Dead Boggart Sirius staring at nothing. She raised her wand high in the air and swished it around.

"
Ridikulus," Krystyna said softly. The Boggart Sirius disappeared and turned into smoke, a few people giving out nervous laughs to lighten the mood. Narcissa immediately went up, pushed Krystyna out of her way harshly. Krystyna stumbled and Sirius caught her again, lifting her up and looking into her blue (yes, blue, lol) eyes.

"Why would ever think of something like that?" Sirius asked her in a whisper. There was another loud crack, telling him that Narcissa's Boggart had changed.

"Wit
h everything that's going on...I don't want to lose any of you," Krystyna said in a barely audible whisper, looking back up at him. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, wishing that she wouldn't have to feel like that.

Narcissa started weeping out loud, tears streaming down her face as she flicked her wand in the air. Her Boggart had turned into a large paper with large, bold, black print on it telling her that her family was "flat broke and was in debt largely". It rolled up and kept rolling and rolling until it came to a stop and blew a loud raspberry. Boys guffawed loudly while girls giggled, just trying to forget what they had seen.

Two people were left and neither of them wanted to go up: Peter and Lorena. Lorena was thinking about how scary a spider would be when Narcissa suddenly grabbed her shirt collar and jerked her up front and out of her daydream at the same time. Peter sighed with relief; he would be going last.

Lorena froze and concentrated on a spider. When the Boggart finished its changing, everyone gasped and stepped back all of the way to the wall. It was just Lorena and her Boggart with Professor Taylor standing to the side. He stood up straight and raised his eyebrows, watching Lorena and her Boggart very curiously indeed. Lorena didn't move or blink at all.

Cloaked in a large black robe, its body was completely hidden, its hair concealed by a large black hood lying over top its head, its face was veiled by a white mask, Lorena's Boggart was unmistakably--and terrifyingly--one of Voldemort's Death Eaters.

A few girls shrieked while some gasped; boys yelpe
d while others swore loudly. But they had no idea what was going to happen next. Lorena's hands began to shake, her wand held loosely in her hand that lay limply at her side; her eyes began to widen with fear.

The Death Eater raised its arms and let the black sleeves roll back
to expose pale fingers and hand. It grabbed the edge of the hood and pulled back the hood to uncover sleek, shiny, blond hair. Lorena's grip on her wand tightened, her eyes fixated on the Boggart Death Eater with terror. The pale fingers touched the white mask and let it slip off of its face and come into its hands only to reveal the identity of the Death Eater was none other than...Lorena, herself.

"
Ridikulus!" Lorena screamed, angrily. The Boggart Death Eater disappeared immediately from her livid sight. Professor Taylor had jumped up quickly while his students yelled stuff out of reaction.

"
Mr. Pettigrew, get up here now!" Professor Taylor snapped, not meaning to sound so agitated. Lorena took a few steps backward, huffing exasperatedly, as Peter ran up to the front hastily. She turned around and trudged for the exit, heat in her eyes.

Everyone cleared out of her way, making a line for her to the wooden door. She pushed Lucius ou
t of her way harshly and wrenched it open, letting the door smack against the stone wall. Everyone looked back at Peter and began to laugh. She turned around just in time to see Peter's Boggart turn into the large, white Yeti of the Himalayas before she slammed the door shut. Many people laughed as Peter cowered under the towering beast and fumbled with the incantation. When he finally got it right, the Yeti became bald and started to bawl. Even more people laughed, just trying to forget what they had just witnessed.

Krystyna glanced to her left and saw no one where Remus had been moments ago. She whipped her head back around to the door and saw the hem of his robes billowing out of it before it closed shut. She leaned into Sirius's embrace a little more as the laughter continued. She would've laughed herself if she didn't feel so guilty and depressed.

She really knew that she ought to have talked to Lorena more than she had this pass month. After all, Lorena would be going through the same thing probably soon. She hadn't even known that that was about to happen. She hadn't known what she'd been going through. Lorena was afraid of succumbing to what her family wanted and becoming a Death Eater. She was afraid of losing a battle she had started fighting since she was twelve. Krystyna closed her eyes and wondered if she had lost her own battle.

Oh, I'm so sorry, Lorena, for everything, Krystyna thought as she let Sirius hold her still, wishing that she could tell it to Lorena face-to-face. I'm sorry everybody for what's going to happen.


Author notes: Thank you for reading and please review!