***Annie's hairstyle for Professor Lupin's class*** 

"Does it hurt terribly, Draco?" Pansy Parkinson, a fellow third-year Slytherin, simpered. 

"It comes and it goes," Malfoy answered casually. "Still. I consider myself lucky. Another move, and Madame Pomfrey said that I could have lost my arm. Don't touch, please! It's still sore!" 

Annie, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Dante were watching from the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Annie shook her head in disbelief. Even Ron did not look too pleased. 

"Listen to the idiot," Ron grumbled. "He really is laying the thick off of it, isn't he?" 

"Yeah, but at least Hagrid didn't get fired," said Sera in relief. 

"But I hear that Draco's father is furious," said Hermione anxiously. "I haven't heard the end of this." 

"He's been sighted, he's been sighted!" said Seamus Finnegan from nearby. 

"Who?!" Dante insisted, his interests peaking. 

"Sirius Black!" 

At once, there was a mad scramble to where Seamus and Neville sat. Hermione grabbed the Daily Prophet before anyone else could. 

"Dufftown?!" she exclaimed in fear. "That's not far from here, is it?" 

"You don't think that he'll come to Hogwarts? Do you?" Neville asked anxiously. 

"With dementors at every entrance?" Dean Thomas scoffed. "That's very likely." 

"Dementors?" scoffed Seamus. "He may have managed to sneak past them once. But who agrees with me and says that he won't get past them again without being caught?" 

"That's right," Bem jumped in. "Black could be anywhere. It's like trying to catch smoke. It's like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands." 

****

Annie and Hermione were a few minutes late to class. But no one seemed to bother at this point. This has been going on since day one. While it was unlike the two girls to be late, they just shrugged it off. 

". . . . Can anyone please tell me what a Boggart looks like?" Professor Lupin asked as Annie and Hermione took their place in the crowd near Ron, Dante, and Harry. 

"No one knows," Annie quipped at once. "Boggarts are shape-shifters." 

"They take the fear of whatever a particular person fears the most," Hermione added. "That's what makes them so —" 

"So terrifying," Professor Lupin finished for them with a bright smile. "Thank you, Miss Potter and Miss Granger. Ten points to each of you. Now, there is a simple way to get rid of the Boggart — a simple charm. Um, without wands, please. Repeat after me: Ridikulus!"

"Ridikulus!" everyone chorused. 

The armoire that the Boggart was kept in shook violently at the term. 

"Very good. A little bit louder this time, if you will. Repeat after me — Ridikulus!" 

"Ridikulus!" everyone chorused. 

"This class is ridiculous," Annie heard Malfoy grumbling in the background. 

"Excellent! Now, I need a volunteer. Neville, can you join me, please? Don't be shy." Neville looked very hesitant before coming forward. He avoided Professor Lupin's gaze, even though Professor Lupin was being perfectly friendly towards him. "Hello. Neville, what frightens you the most."

Neville muttered his answer, but it was too quiet for everyone to hear. 

"Sorry? Didn't catch that," said Professor Lupin lightly. 

"Professor Snape," Neville answered, his voice stronger. But Annie could still sense his nervousness. 

Everyone laughed, though not in a mean way. Even Neville managed a shy smile in return. 

"Yes," Professor Lupin agreed. "Professor Snape frightens all. And I believe that you live with your grandmother?"

"Yes," Neville answered hastily. "But I don't want that boggart to turn into her, either!"

The armoire shuddered deeply again. Everyone went quiet at the noise. 

"No. It won't. Here's what I want you to do, okay?" He walked towards the nervous boy and whispered, "I want you to picture Professor Snape in your grandmother's clothes. Can you do that for me?" 

The boggart's armoire shuddered again. Professor Lupin took out his wand, giving Neville a reassuring glance. 

"Ready? One. Two. Three." 

The lock clicked, unlocking itself. The door slowly opened to reveal the boggart-form of Professor Snape. The boggart slowly began to make its advance on Neville 

"Think, Neville! Think!" Professor Lupin encouraged.

Annie thought that Neville had frozen. Then, finally —

"Ridikulus!" 

At once, Professor Snape went bent and suddenly wore the clothes Neville's grandmother would wear. The whole class roared with laughter. Even Neville looked more pleased with himself. 

"Excellent, Neville! Five points to Gryffindor. Alright. Head to the back. Everyone else, form a line. Next up. . . . Ron!" 

Ron came up next. Annie knew that this would most likely not go well for Ron. When Professor Snape turned into Aragog, his hair stood up on all ends as they did when he got scared. 

"R-Ridikulus!" Ron squeaked. 

At once, the spider had roller blades on its spindly legs, causing the spider to frantically try get to his victim. Everyone roared with laughter. Next, it was Dante's turn. 

Annie was more nervous for Dante than she was for Ron. She didn't know what Dante's fear was. It could range from anything — the Basilisk or reliving a traumatizing memory from his past. But she did not expect to see a woman with wild, curly black hair, deathly pale skin, and dark, evil eyes glaring at him. She had a silver dagger in her hand, poised. 

Annie wanted to shout. Dante still stood there, fear in his eyes. His jaw was clenched. His hand tightened around his wand, not moving at all. 

It suddenly felt eerily quiet. 

"Mr. Knightley! Professor Lupin finally called. 

Dante jumped and yelped, "Ridikulus!" 

To everyone's delight, the evil lady suddenly had a bright smile on her face and she began to dance, much to everyone's amusement. 

Everyone's amusement except for Dante's. He still looked pale, his expression blank. 

The person in front of him prodded him in the back so that it could be their turn. But Annie didn't pay anymore attention to their fun project. When she caught Dante's eye as he headed to the back of the line, she could see tears starting to form in his eyes. 

Annie's throat began to close. She wanted to cry for him. 

What did that innocent boy have to go through? 

The lesson ended when Harry's Boggart turned into a dementor. When Professor Lupin dismissed everyone, Dante was the first one to leave without a word. She didn't blame him for leaving in a hurry.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Ron asked as they stood there. "Do you know who that woman was, Annie?"

"No, I don't," Sera answered with a heavy sigh. "But I'm going to go find him. You three go on and head to History of Magic. I'll catch up with you later." 

The three of them glanced at each other before leaving. Annie went the direction Dante had gone, only to be stopped by someone gripping onto her wrist. Her immediate reaction was to pull her wrist out of the person's grip. But when she saw Malfoy, she was surprised that he, too, looked disturbed. 

"What do you want, Malfoy?" she spat. 

"A word with you. About my cousin," Malfoy answered at once. 

The urgency in his tone surprised Annie. Usually, Malfoy was so cocky and acted as though he knew better than everyone else. 

"If you're going to talk bs about your cousin, I don't want to hear it," Annie sighed, walking away. "He's already heard enough." 

"It's actually about his fear," Malfoy called after her. 

Annie stopped again. Her heart pounded in her chest. She turned to the blonde-headed, snarky Slytherin boy she loathed so much. 

Why was she so suddenly interested in what Malfoy had to say? If he wasn't going to throw insults about his cousin in Annie's face, what was he here to tell her? 

Malfoy sucked in a breath. "Listen, Potter. I know we're not friends. Not even close. But Dante. . . . he seems to be really close to you. I've never seen him look so happy. I might not trust you, but I trust you with Dante. I told Dumbledore in our first year that my cousin went through h3ll while he lived with us after his parents' deaths. Professor Dumbledore agreed with me that no one should pressure Dante into telling anyone about his past. It's . . . It's traumatized him. So I must tell you, please respect my cousin's space. When he's ready to tell you what happened in his past, I promise, he'll tell you."

Before Annie could say anything else, Malfoy turned on his heel and left, leaving her standing there in the middle of the empty hallway. She pondered over his words as she watched his back retreating from her.