CHAPTER THREE

Laurie was so paranoid about being pranked that she completely forgot what her first lesson of the year was. Standing awkwardly outside of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, she fiddled with her robes as she watched her classmates enter the room. After a deep breath, Laurie forced her feet to walk her into the classroom.

She kept her eyes down and sat at a desk in the back of the room. Laurie was usually the type to sit at the front of the classroom, eager to participate in the lesson. This year, however, she wanted to keep as much of a distance between herself and her father as possible.

As Laurie reached into her bag to grab her quill, a flash of red hair caught her eye. She immediately tensed up when the Weasley twins sat either side of her.

"Joining the cool kids at the back of the classroom, little fibber?" the one on her left grinned.

"Never thought I'd see the day!" the other twin added, shaking his head playfully.

Laurie was not quite sure which twin was which. Whilst she had noticed individual dividing features on both of them, she was still unable to put a face to the name. It didn't help that Laurie was absolutely terrible when it came to faces.

"I'm already missing my seat at the front of the classroom," Laurie grumbled, looking longingly at the desk she had sat in since first year. It was now occupied by an eager looking Hufflepuff student that Laurie did not recognise.

"Don't worry, little fibber!"

"It's much more fun in the back."

Laurie was saved from replying when Ella entered the classroom. Ella did a double take when she spotted her friend sitting between the Weasley twins and immediately walked over.

"Move, Weasley!" she said, glaring at one of the twins, "I want to sit next to Laurie."

The twins shared a mischievous look, making no move to obey her order.

"Well, we want to sit next to Laurie too, isn't that right, George?" the twin on the left grinned.

"That's right, Freddie." George replied, leaning back in his chair and resting his feet on the desk.

Ella's eyes flared with irritation and Laurie sent her an apologetic look as she settled into the desk directly in front of hers.

"You're popular today." George mused, raising his eyebrows at her.

"You better not let it get to your head!" Fred added.

"What are you up to?" Laurie asked skeptically as she looked between them.

They didn't get a chance to answer because her father walked into the classroom at that precise moment.

Remus scanned the students with a frown before his eyes settled on his daughter and he visibly relaxed. Remus was surprised to see his daughter at the back of the classroom since he knew that Laurie adored lessons. He was even more shocked that she was sitting between the troublemaking Weasley twins. Remus sincerely hoped that his daughter had not been drawn into their rule breaking. He made a mental note to keep an eye on the situation.

"Mr Weasley, please kindly remove your feet from the desk." Remus told George with a tense smile.

"Sorry, Professor!" George said cheerfully as he let his feet drop to the floor.

"Good afternoon," he said to the class. "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today’s lesson will be practical. You will only need your wands."

Ella looks around her shoulder at Laurie and they exchanged confused shrugs as they put away their books. Practical Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons on the first day of school were a rarity. Usually the teachers preferred to discuss the theory behind any spells beforehand.

"Right then," her father said when everyone was ready, "Please follow me."

With a long sigh, Laurie and her classmates got to their feet and followed him out of the classroom. Ella made a point to walk directly next to Laurie, sending reproachful glares at the Weasley twins. Remus led them along the deserted corridor, around a corner and eventually to the staff room.

"Wicked!" the twins murmured, excited at the prospect of entering a room that was usually forbidden to students.

"Inside, please," said Remus, opening the door. He stood back as the students eagerly filed into the staff room. The room was thankfully empty of all teachers. Remus led the class towards the end of the room, where there was nothing except an old wardrobe. "Now, I understand that your education in this subject may have been somewhat rocky due to frequent changes of teacher. For this first lesson, I think it best that we go back to the basics."

The wardrobe gave a sudden wobble and Laurie jolted backwards, colliding into one of the twins.

"Careful, little fibber!" Fred grinned and Laurie felt her face flush red.

"Now, I believe that you learnt about Boggarts in your third year- is that correct?" her father asked and several students nodded, "But have any of you ever faced one?"

"No." several students chimed.

"My uncle had one in his office once!" the eager Hufflepuff said and Remus nodded thoughtfully.

"This one moved in today, and I thought it a wonderful opportunity to give my students some practice." he said with a soft smile. "The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. Can anyone tell me the thing that really finishes a Boggarts off?"

Several students raised their hands but Laurie kept her arm firmly at her side, which was very unusual for her. Normally her hand constantly flew into the air during lessons.

"Laughter." a student answered.

"That is correct, Miss Wilkins!" Remus smiled widely, "What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please … riddikulus!"

‘Riddikulus!’ the class chanted, holding their wands out.

Laurie hung at the back as everyone eagerly lined up to face the Boggart. She did not feel equipped to handle such a creature today. Laughter seemed impossible at that moment.

‘Everyone ready?’ her father and everyone nodded.

Ella was the first to face the Boggart and she did so quickly and efficiently. Laurie hadn't had time to even see what her Boggart had been. One by one, all of her classmates successfully faced it until it was Laurie's turn.

Remus frowned in concern as his eyes settled on his daughter, who stood at the back of the room with her arms crossed over her chest. Laurie made absolutely no move to walk forward to face the Boggart. She just adamantly remained where she was and kept her eyes fixed on the stone floor.

"Are you alright, Laurie?" he asked, "Do you not wish to face the Boggart?"

Laurie shook her head and her father nodded in acceptance. Remus was rather confused by his daughter's behaviour, after all, all the teachers claimed that she was a bright and eager student. Perhaps his daughter feared whatever form the Boggart might take?

"Very well, class dismissed!" Remus said everyone hurried out of the staff room. "Laurie, can you stay behind for a moment?"

Laurie ignored her father's request and promptly hurried out of the classroom.

"Got selective hearing, little fibber?" George asked with a smug grin.

"Shut up Weasley!"

Defense Against the Arts was followed by potions. Professor Snape was as uncharismatic as usual and the dull tone of his voice nearly sent half the class to sleep. Fred and George spent half the lesson making faces behind his back and the other half getting told off. Despite her usual disapproval of that sort of behaviour, Laurie had to suppress a smile at their antics. The twins had successfully managed to cheer her up.

Laurie's mood was sullied once more when a first year student approached her in the corridor after potions concluded.

"Professor Lupin told me to give this to you." the timid girl said before scampering off.

Laurie glanced down at the note that was handed to her. She let out an audible gasp when she realised what it was and several heads curiously turned her way. She glared at the nosy students until they looked away, anger boiling in her blood. She tightly gripped the slip of paper as she looked down at it again to make sure that her eyes had not deceived her.

Laurie Lupin had just received her first ever detention from her own father.