(y/n) - your name

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The doorknob of the wardrobe unlocks with a loud click, the door slowly swinging open. Instantly, Snape appears, eyes flashing hideously as he stalks forward and Neville backs away in fright.

"Think, Neville. Think!"

"Riddikulus!" the boy waves his wan and Snape stumbles back as his clothes transform into a long, lace-trimmed dress with a towering moth-eaten hat and crimson handbag. The class bursts out into laughter, the boggart looking at itself in pure embarrassment.

Neville blinks, amazed, then slowly, grins himself. "Wonderful, Neville, wonderful! Incredible!" Lupin smiles and asks the class to form a line, the kids bustling to push to the front so they could have a go. Draco walks off and shoves a kid with his injured hand, (y/n) scoffing but taking this chance to go to Harry as he pulls her into the line in front of him. One of Draco's goons suddenly shoves the entire class forward, (y/n) gasping as she gets squished between Harry and another student.

"Sorry!" Harry quickly apologises, taking a step back as he held her shoulders softly. Ron at the front suddenly takes a couple steps back making the class shove (y/n) into Harry and he quickly catches her as they both laugh. "Are you ok?" he smiles down at her, helping her up and putting her glasses straight on her nose. Draco grinds his teeth when he saw the Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor being so close to each other.

"Form a line!" Lupin commands, going over to a gramophone. "I want everyone to picture the thing they fear the very most... and turn it into something funny." he drops the needle on the old gramophone, a scratchy rhumba filling the room before he points to Ron. "Ron! Forward!" (y/n) taps her foot to the catchy upbeat song, leaning her head over with Harry to watch as their friend steps towards Snape who dissolves into a mad whirling mass, then mutates into a giant spider.

"It's your old buddy Aragog!" (y/n) muses out, Harry laughing with her as Lupin asks Ron to concentrate and face his fear. Ron whimpers seeing the giant spider and he quickly takes out his wand to cast the spell.

"Riddikulus!" the class laughs as roller skates materialize on the spider's hairy feet and it begins to shuffle crazily in place. Lupin praises Ron who relaxes, genuinely enjoying himself and giving the next student a go at the Boggart.

"Nice going Ron!" (y/n) says, her hand out to give him a high-five and he claps her hand with his, grinning at Harry and Hermione before moving to the back. Each student takes their turn, the Boggart turning into a vampire to Carmen Miranda, a cobra to a Jack-In-The-Box and so on and so forth. Soon Harry and (y/n) stepped forward, the boy giving her the chance to go first before him. "Thanks..." she whispers to him, looking at the Boggart warily cause she couldn't pinpoint a single fear, she had many and the Boggart reflected that as it twisted and swirled with a loud cry of pain. The class's laughter soon dies down with fear as the Boggart shrieks and dives into the cupboard, as if to hide from the Hufflepuff. 

"Is that normal? Is that supposed to happen?" a random student asks and Draco watches with concern towards the back when loud howling and cracking could be heard from inside the cupboard. (y/n) watched warily, wondering what would come out when the door opens. Sharp black claws curled around the edge, digging into the wood as the cupboard opens. The students all gasp and step back when a woman appears, a flaming red dress covering her stone silhouette like a marble statue come to life. (y/n) breathes heavily when she recognised the woman as an older version of her, maybe 3-4 years older but her full powers were on full display as the red lightening streaks cracked through her skin and splintered across her body.

"(y/n)..." Lupin warily stands up as the older woman walks towards the girl slowly, her eyes burning red as she howled at the student.

"YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!" the boggart screamed out, a red glow bursting from her as her body slowly turned black like ink crawling up her body. "YOU DON'T BELONG ANYWHERE!" her voice made the cracks in her body spread out more, crumbling like stone and the students scream out as she lunges forward to grab (y/n) by her throat.

"(y/n)!" Lupin gasps out as the girl claws at the woman's hands, struggling to breathe. Her wand had fallen to the floor and Draco shoves forward against the students to help her but there was a blinding red glow that bursts from the two girls in front of him. The students gasp and quickly cover their eyes, slowly turning back when the Boggart starts screaming at (y/n) but she started turning into stone against the Hufflepuff's hands that were glowing.

"NO! I'M NOT GOING BACK AGAIN! I JUST WANT THIS HEARTACHE TO END!" The boggart was screaming out inconsistent sentences that didn't make sense to anyone, her ripping her jaw open as black ink-like canines snapped out but she was stuck frozen in time as her entire body turned to marble, snuffing out her powers before she could escape.

"(y/n)!" the girl was staring still at the marble statue in front of her, noticing the tears that fell from its eyes before it crumbled into pieces before her. 

She fell to the ground as the statue, broke to pieces, reaching out as if asking for help and fell into a pile of dust before her. She didn't hear the yells and screams of the students, of her friends and the professor rushing to her and asking if she was ok. She didn't feel their hands shake her to focus on them as her world spun, the sounds around her mute. She was frozen herself like the statue, staring at the single hand reaching out for her. She couldn't hear anything, couldn't feel anything as her the professor picked her up to set her back on her feet.

"(y/n)!? Are you ok!?"

"Her neck! It's blistering!"

"She killed the Boggart!?"

"What was that red glow!? Was that from the Boggart!?"

"(y/n)..." Harry whispers as he and Ron held (y/n) and walked her out of the classroom. They couldn't let anyone see the red streaks on her shaking hands. Draco watched with worry, noticing how the Gryffindor boys covered her hands from everyone's view and he knew they knew as well.

~~~~~~~~

"How is she?"

"Not good Ron. She hasn't moved from in front of the fireplace. Hagrid has been looking after her, making sure she eats but she hasn't touched a thing. But weirdly enough, she isn't malnourished." Draco hides behind Hagrid's hut as he listens into Harry's and Ron's conversation, hoping to hear some good news about (y/n) but a sinking feeling settles in his stomach. "Let's go before we get in trouble."

"Shouldn't we stay? Hagrid isn't here."

"There's not much we can do Ron... I just hope she's ok..." the boys walk away and Draco sneaks into the hut quickly, slipping inside and closing the door quietly.

"(y/n)?" he whispers, seeing her bundled up in his blanket he had gifted her, sitting in front of the fireplace. She didn't make a move to acknowledge him and he walks up to her carefully before sitting down next to her, seeing Loki nestle against her on the floor. "(y/n), come one... look at me please..." She was stuck like a statue, unmoving and still and Draco gingerly went to hold her hand. She suddenly breathes out, almost gasping for air and squeezes his hand back when she comes back to the present. The boy rubs her hand gently, coaxing her out of her head as she closes her eyes, opening them again to look at him with fear.

"Draco...?"

"Everything is ok, no one knows except Potter and Weasley and me." he frowns seeing her visibly relax, slouching against his shoulder and he wonders how scared she might have been if someone she didn't trust knew about her powers. Draco pulls (y/n) closer to him, letting her lean her head against his shoulder as he tried to warm up her cold hands. She was sitting in front of the fireplace but she was freezing, like cold stone.

"What did the professor say?"

"He didn't say anything. He's just worried about you as well as everyone else." the Slytherin boy says, glancing down at the Hufflepuffs hands that were pale but slowly regain their colour again. He wanted to know what happened, to understand who that woman was and why she looked liked (y/n) but different.

"I'm not human Draco..." she says, breaking him out of his thoughts as he looks at her with wide eyes.

"Of course you are. How else are you here?"

"That woman was me... I turn into her... I'm a monster..."

"You're not a monster, you never will be. Whoever that was, is not you."

"How do you know? I have her powers, I could end up becoming her in a few years!" Draco purses his lips, holding (y/n)'s face and turning her so she could look at him.

"I've known you the minute you got off that train. I knew you were different but that doesn't change anything. You're a good person (y/n) and I completely believe that. I know I'm a pompous git and an annoying asshole by your words, but I know a protector when I see one. You're like a guardian for lost souls." Draco jokes lightly, smiling when he sees (y/n) smile up at him.

"I guess that's true, I keep you out of trouble and make sure Hary doesn't die on his life-threatening adventures."

There she is...

Draco eases hearing her laughter, seeing her doe eyes shine with happiness again. "Thank you, Draco..."

"What are friends for...?" he grimaces at the word internally, a pit in his stomach when (y/n) leans into his arms.