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Norman fidgeted as he looked around the room nervously. It would be his turn soon to face the boggart in his Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and to say he was unprepared was an understatement. Facing his worst fear? Yeah, no thanks.
Eggs, who was ahead of him, noticed his distress. “You okay, Norman?”
“Totally! A-ok! Never been better!” He laughed nervously, trying for a smile, but he could tell it was shaky.
“It’s okay to be nervous. I mean, we are facing our greatest fears. Those things that we try to never, ever think about. The parts of us we hide from everybody, even ourselves. And here, they’re personified. Actual, physical things we have to face.” Norman worried that maybe Eggs was spending too much time with Winnie. Eggs continued with a bright smile, “It will help us be better wizards to know exactly how to stay cool under pressure. If we can handle this, we can handle anything! I have complete faith in both of us!”
Norman stared at him, pale and wide eyed. He did not have faith in himself. At all. Eggs might be able to handle his fears, but Norman wasn’t entirely sure he could. He watched Eggs walk forward as his name was called.
Eggs stared at the wardrobe, prepared for whatever came his way. That determination faltered a bit though as the headmaster, Mr. Snatcher, of his orphanage stepped out.
“You insisted on going to that silly school of yours. Those friends you claim to love? The ones you call ‘family?’ Well, you abandoned them. And they paid the price!” He sneered before quickly morphing and shifting into different kids from the orphanage, all in various states of anguish.
Eggs stood, having to watch as each member of his family looked to be in pain. His greatest fear; knowing he was the cause of his family’s pain. That he abandoned them, leaving them to fend for themselves. What kind of person did that make him? He shut his eyes tightly, tears threatening to spill out.
No, Eggs. This isn’t real. Your family is fine, they encouraged you to come here.
With these thoughts, he shakily lifted his wand, trying to get some control and concentration back. He opened his eyes, new determination flaring in them as he practically yelled, “Riddikulus!”
With a whip crack sound, the boggart ceased its shifting, and in its place was instead Fish, wearing his costume from when they all dressed up as grown ups. Badly drawn mustache on his face and wearing an ill fitting suit, Fish looked annoyed but still had a fond look when they were all standing together like in a quartet seen on one of the records Fish had found. Eggs couldn’t help the smile forming on his face, though he did feel a greater ache for his family. He missed them so much. He took a moment to recollect himself while the professor complemented him. Shaking his nerves and fear off, Eggs turned back to Norman. He had to try to make him feel better before he went.
“You can do it, Norman. It’s difficult, but just remember, it’s not real.”
Norman gave a weak nod as he stepped forward, staring at the wardrobe.
It’s not real. It’s not real.
He kept repeating it as a chant to himself. Confusion took over as Coraline stepped out. He knew she could be scary but he wasn’t actually afraid of her, right?
Coraline glared at him, hands on her hips. “You didn’t actually believe we were your friends, right?” Quickly, she changed into Eggs, hateful look taking over his features. “Everyone hates you. How do you not know that?” Finally, he changed into Kubo, hatred burning in his eye. “We would never be friends with a freak like you. You’re such a pathetic loser.”
With each word out of his friends mouths, Norman felt as if he was cut deep. They stung, making him want to curl into a ball and never resurface. He thought he was past this fear.
How
was he not past this?
Just think rationally. These are your friends. Eggs is standing right beside you!
He knew all of this logically, but it was so, so difficult to actually listen to logic right now. He was always afraid his friends would just leave him; that one day, they would all realize how
terrible
he was.
Concentrate, focus. Drown in self pity later.
He just wanted all of this to be over with. In one fluid motion, he lifted his wand and cast Riddikulus.
The boggart transformed into a zombie. Jaw loosely hanging from a rotting head. Worm poking out of an empty eye socket. Bloated, decaying corpse shuffling in place.
Norman felt a small smile form as he let out a sigh of relief. He slightly jumped though when he felt a hand clap his back.
“Good job, Norman! You did it!” Eggs smiled at him before turning his attention to the zombie. He cocked his head to the side as he turned thoughtful. “Although, I'm not entirely sure how a zombie is amusing.”
“I used to watch these cheesy horror movies, and they were some of my favorite to watch. So, I don’t know. That's what.... popped in my head, I guess.” He shifted from foot to foot.
Why am I so weird?
Eggs just shrugged, letting it go. “If it makes you amused, I guess. I'm just proud of you for getting past it! Conquering your fears!”
“Thanks, Eggs. You did a good job too. Though you’ll have to explain the story behind what the boggart transformed into when you casted Riddikulus.”
“Definitely! Let’s do lunch and I’ll tell you all about it!”
Norman flashed him a stronger smile, finally feeling the tension leave his body. “Sounds like a plan.”
-------------------
Coraline was next to face a boggart, also in her Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She crossed her arms, giving off an air of nonchalance. Inside though, she could admit to herself that there was maybe, possibly, the tiniest little hint of nervousness. It was barely noticeable. Well, okay, maybe it was more than barely, but she could push past it. She heard from Norman and Eggs how intense facing their fears were, and while she was sure it was difficult, she could handle it. While she did love her nerds, there was a reason she was the protector of the group. So, she had to be willing to face frightening things. This was one of those things that she would overcome. Not to mention the fact that she had a reputation to keep.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward as her name was called. She uncrossed her arms and began passing her wand back and forth between her hands, trying to get out some nervous energy she hated to admit she felt. As the wardrobe door opened, Coraline stilled, taking on a determined stance.
“Oh my twitchy, witchy girl, I think you are so nice,” a voice sang out from the door.
Coraline’s eyes widened as she recognized the voice. “D-dad?”
The door opened further as Charlie Jones emerged, limping from the wardrobe. Blood was steadily dripping from a wound on his chest. He collapsed to his knees as he tried for a smile. “I give you bowls of porridge, and I give you bowls of ice… cream.”
Tears welled up in her eyes; the song her parents would always sing to her reverberating in her ears. Before her eyes, her dad changed into her mom, also bleeding, life slowly leaving her eyes as she weakly sung out, “I give you lots of kisses, I give you lots of hugs, but I never give you sandwiches with grease and worms and mung… beans.” As she sang the last lyric, she fell forward, eyes closing as she hit the ground.
Coraline stared at her mom, horrified. She could tell her mother was no longer breathing. Shakily sucking in a breath, she stood watching as the boggart shifted between both of her parents dead bodies. After what felt like years, she lifted her wand and cast Riddikulus.
Before she even fully registered what had happened, the boggart changed into a banana slug. She let out a teary laugh. Of course that would be what it turns into for her to laugh at. It just reminds her of Wybie, her friend never failing to get her to laugh. She kind of wanted to step on it though. She hated banana slugs. Instead, she quickly wiped at her eyes and went back to a confident, nonchalant demeanor. Turning back to the rest of her classmates, she had her arms crossed and her signature smug smirk on her face. “Nothing to it!” She shrugged and stepped back away from the wardrobe. Everyone stared at her, obviously not believing her, but no one said anything about it. After all, she had a reputation.
-------------------
“What!?”
Kubo looked pleased with himself. He was sitting in the Great Hall with Coraline and Norman, telling them about his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. “Yeah, I know! It’s awesome.” He could put off facing his fears for another day.
Norman stared at him as if he was crazy. “How is getting attacked by a Dementor awesome?”
“Oh, that’s what you took out of my story? That was nothing. It attacked Harry more than anything and the professor was right there.” He shrugged as he took a bite out of his biscuit.
“I am so envious of you right now. I hated facing the boggart.” Coraline shivered but quickly recovered as she fist bumped Kubo. “Congrats.”
Now, Norman was staring at both of them, starting to wonder if he was the only sane one. “Even if the Dementor just attacked Harry, you still didn’t learn how to defeat a boggart.”
“That’s true, but I have you! You can teach me. You are Ravenclaw after all, which means you’re studious, and knowledgeable, and… stuff.” Shrugging again, he reached for a muffin. “Besides, when am I really going to face a boggart out there in the real world, caught off guard?”
“The point is to be prepared! We don't know what could happen! And besides that, I'm not a professor. I'm still learning myself.”
Kubo raised an eyebrow. “How do you defeat a boggart?”
“With a strong mind and concentration, you use the Riddikulus charm to transform the boggart into an object of amusement, replacing the fear with fun. If you laugh aloud at it, the boggart will disappear at once.” Norman blinked and his cheeks pinkened as he realized that he kind of just proved Kubo’s point. He hated when he did that.
“See? That sounds knowledgeable enough to me.” He grinned at Norman, which just made the other boy stutter and blush harder.
“Well- but I- You haven’t practiced at all!” He stared at him in disbelief, knowing he was losing this battle, but not wanting to admit defeat.
“Practice what?” Wybie asked as he walked up to them with Eggs and Winnie. He took a seat next to Norman and reached for an apple.
“Norman’s worried because I didn’t face a boggart.”
“I forgot that was today! Why didn’t you have to face it?” Eggs asked as he sat down next to Kubo.
Kubo smiled. “Dementor.” He purposefully didn’t elaborate, loving the shocked looks on his friends faces. It even got Winnie to break her glaring at Coraline to look over at him in surprise, which quickly shifted to awe.
“You saw an actual Dementor? What was it like?! Were you allowed- I mean, forced to watch as it sucked the soul out of a fellow classmate!?” Winnie started bouncing in place, grin curving her lips.
Coraline rolled her eyes. “Calm down, Portley-Rind. It just attacked Harry.”
Winnie turned back to glare at the other girl. “No one asked you, Jones.”
“She is right, though. It went after Harry, that Patronus charm was used, and class was dismissed, leaving me to not have to face the boggart.” And the pleased look was back.
“Well, that’s disappointing,” Winnie stated with a pout as she dropped in the seat on the other side of Norman.
Kubo laughed out, “Sorry to disappoint, but I'm pretty happy. I didn't have to go against a boggart. And really, what are the odds I would ever face one out in the real world? I'm totally in the clear!”
He was very wrong.
----------------------
It happened when he was staying with Norman over the break. The two boys were sitting in Norman’s house, bored with the house to themselves, when Kubo had the bright idea of exploring. He really just wanted to find some old photo albums maybe, embarrassing pictures. Things like that. But of course, things can never go the way he wants them to.
It was all fine at first. They explored the whole house, even Courtney’s room after Kubo was able to open the door with his lock picking skills. Norman had just stared at him in wonder as he whispered out, “You have to teach me how to do that.” There was nothing really of interest in there, but Norman would still love to have that power over his sister.
Finally, by the afternoon, the only place they had left to explore was the attic. Once in there though, it was just a bunch of old junk, covered in dust. Norman kept sneezing so he excused himself to go get some tissues. Kubo continued to look around before spotting an old trunk. He opened it but jumped back as his grandfather, Raiden, rose from the trunk.
“Hello, Kubo.”
Kubo continued to back up, staring wide eyed at his grandfather, but ended up tripping over a fallen coat rack. He began crawling backwards as his grandfather stalked toward him. “H-how-" He could barely form words, let alone full sentences or questions. The fear was gripping him, seeming to squeeze the air out of his lungs. His brain was just not working with him either, thoughts clouded and muddled with dread.
His grandfather tsked. “Now, now. You should be happy to see me, Kubo. I thought you cared about family. Aren’t I family?”
There had to be something he was missing. His grandfather couldn’t be here. In Norman’s attic of all places. Think, Kubo. Think. What could this be? Wait. Dark, enclosed space. Manifested as his worst fear... A boggart! What was the spell Norman had said? Kubo pulled out his wand.
“R-riddikulus!” He shouted out, pointing his wand at the boggart. There was a whip-crack sound.
Kubo watched as his mother was now standing before him in the same state he sees her in each time he visits her at St. Mungo’s. He paled as sadness mixed in with his fear, remembering that his grandfather did this to his mother. Took his eye. There was a reason he feared the man so much. He tried to cast Riddikulus again, but had to continue to stare as it changed into his father’s corpse instead. Feeling wetness on his cheek, he quickly wiped at his face. His grandfather took
everything
from him, yet he still wanted more. He wouldn’t rest until Kubo joined him.
“You don’t scare me. I'll never join you!” The protest sounded weak even to his own ears. He was terrified, and knew that he couldn’t hide it. He tried one last time, yelling out, “Riddikulus!”
Raiden was now standing before him once again, this time in his Moon King form. In a deep, gravely voice, Raiden yelled out, “Give me your eye, Kubo! Join me in the heavens above!”
Kubo wrenched his eye shut. It didn’t work. He tried to cast that Riddikulus charm and
it didn’t work.
His grandfather was still standing before him. Not knowing what else to do, he braced himself as best he could, curling up into a little ball. He buried his face in his knees.
I'm sorry I failed you, mom and dad. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me.
“Riddikulus!”
With a whip crack noise resounding throughout the room, Raiden transformed into a fake looking plastic spider, straight out of those cheesy horror films Norman loves so much. Carefully, Norman picked up the spider before throwing it in the trunk, and closing it. He locked it before turning around to face Kubo, still curled up on the floor, head still buried in his knees. Norman picked his way over to him, kneeling in front of him. He reached out a hand, but as soon as his fingers brushed Kubo’s shoulder, the other boy flinched. Norman quickly withdrew his hand as he asked in a soft voice, “Kubo?”
Keeping his eye shut, Kubo flinched again at the gentle voice of his friend. He didn’t want to look up and see Norman’s decaying corpse, or hear harsh, but true words come from him. He just wanted this nightmare to be over. He just wanted some peace.
“Yeah, we’re fine. It was a boggart. It looked like this big scary dragon thing too.”
At that, Kubo tentatively lifted his hand, wondering who Norman was talking to. Kubo saw him staring above his right shoulder off to the side, though once his head was raised, Norman quickly turned his attention back.
“Are you okay? Where did that thing even come from?
“F-from the trunk. Are you… real? Please, tell me you’re you.” His expression was pleading, hoping that this wasn’t another cruel trick. He didn’t think he could take another one. He couldn’t handle seeing another person he loved dead, or in pain.
Norman wanted to reach out, touch him, assure him that he wasn’t facing a boggart anymore. But he didn’t want to make things worse. Instead, he nodded. “I’m real. I’m here and I’m real. It’s gone, Kubo. You’re alright.”
Kubo hesitantly reached out a hand, fingers gently touching Norman’s cheek. He surged forward, dragging him into a hug. A tear escaped as he sniffled out, “I was so scared. My grandfather was here and then my mother. I had to see my father’s dead corpse just
staring
at me. He… he won’t stop until he takes everything from me, Norman! And I tried, I tried the Riddikulus charm and it just
didn’t work
. I j-just-" Words were lost to him again as he hiccupped out another sob, clinging to Norman as if he would disappear as suddenly as he appeared.
“Shh, it’s okay. I'm here, I'm real. You’re okay.” He let Kubo cling as he wrapped his arms around him in return. He began rubbing small circles in Kubo’s back, hoping it was soothing. It seemed to work as, after a few more moments, Kubo had quieted and seemed a bit more calm. He looked up at his grandma as she spoke again.
“We need to talk to your parents. That thing should not be in here.” She was staring at the trunk, but turned to lock eyes with her grandson. “Will you two be alright?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Kubo leaned back, fixing Norman with a quizzical, yet still teary gaze. “Who are you talking to?”
Norman looked back at his friend with apologetic, but nervous look. “Sorry, my, um, grandma is here. She was asking if we were okay.”
“Oh!” He blinked, wiping at his face before looking around the room. He wasn’t sure where she was, but now he felt embarrassed that she just witnessed him blubbering and clinging to her grandson. Color seeped into his cheeks as he stuttered out, “N-nice to meet you.”
“She said you don’t need to be embarrassed. She understands how terrified you must have been.”
“Right… it was, uh, pretty… frightening.” He let out a nervous chuckle before looking around the attic once more. “Can we get out of here? It’s kind of giving me the creeps now.”
Norman nodded as he stood up, holding a hand out to Kubo to help him up. “Want to go watch some bad movies and make fun of them?”
Kubo grabbed his hand, standing up with a small smile, feeling some tension finally leave his body. “That sounds pretty great. Will your grandma be joining us, though?” Realizing how that sounded, he quickly sputtered out, “It’s fine if she does! I wouldn’t mind. Not that spending time with just you would be bad either. I mean, I didn’t even know she was here before. And now I feel I should stop talking but I can’t? Because now I’m kind of really nervous? And I’m not entirely sure why, it’s just you. Which isn’t a bad thing! Oh, man. Please stop me.”
Laughing, Norman gave his hand a squeeze before letting go. “It’s fine. You’re fine.” His cheeks colored at his grandma’s comment. “She said she would leave us alone.” He left out the lovebirds part.
“Cool! Great!” He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, considering something before grabbing Norman’s hand again. His expression turned a bit more serious as he said, “I’m really glad you’re here, and real.” He squeezed Norman’s hand again as he still felt that need to reassure himself Norman was real. And if his hand was nice to hold, who really needed to know that? Before he let it linger too long, he began dragging Norman towards the attic door, leading the way out.
Norman let himself be led, staring in awe at their linked hands. He felt a big smile form on his face as he lifted his gaze to the back of Kubo’s head. It seemed like the afternoon was going to get better, especially if Norman had anything to say about it. He was going to help Kubo get away from his fears and problems for just one day. The boy deserved that much, after all. Well, he deserved more than that but there was only so much Norman could do. And he would do whatever he could. If that meant letting Kubo squeeze the life out of his hand, and watching bad movies all afternoon, he was not about to complain.