Chapter 8:

Lupin's classroom was only lit with several candles scattered around the room. The five teenagers walked into the mostly dark room, looking around at the sight before them. Lupin stood at the front of the classroom as if he was about to do a lecture. Perhaps he was. He stopped them when they went to take seats at the front of the room.

"No, no, remain standing." he says. "Today we are going to work on conquering our fears. I've captured a boggart that was hiding in the East Wing. With what is to come, it is best to know what our darkest fear is."

They all took a moment to think on that. Ron and Neville were quite certain on what they feared the most. The others not so much. Voldemort was known for using your fears against you. He'd pull out every little detail of your life and make you watch it crumble around you. Lupin's objective was to get them to be not so fearful, to be able to put on a brave face with what was to come.

"Any volunteers?" Lupin asked.

"I'll do it." Neville said, though there was uncertainty lacing his voice.

Neville took a step forward as Lupin went to open the moving trunk on the floor. Lupin carefully opened the trunk. A large mass of blackness slipped out. It shook for a moment before shifting forms. They all watched as it turned into a familiar face. There stood Professor Snape, glaring at Neville who whimpered a bit.

Lupin tried to hide his grin. "Now I want you to look at it, point your wand and say 'Ridiculous.'"

"Ri-ri-ridiculous." Neville stammered. Still the boggart remained the same. Boggart Snape took a step towards Neville. "Ridiculous!"

That did the trick. The boggart remained in the shape of Snape, but his attire changed. Instead of the usual black robes, he was now wearing a hideous green dress and hat with a large dead bird on it. The teenagers couldn't help but bust out laughing. Lupin couldn't even stop himself from laughing as well.

Hermione stepped up next. The boggart waisted no time in transforming. A giant pile of essays were stacked in front. Her name across every single one. A large failing grade written all over it marked in red. She did not hesitating shouting the spell. All the paper turned to confetti, making her smile brightly.

With a deep breath, Ron made his way to the front. A large spider crawled towards him. He whimpered, muttering about why did it have to be spiders. He stuttered the first couple of times, as did Neville. Finally he managed to say it as well. The spider then sprouted roller skates at the end of it's long legs, struggling to stand up properly. They all laughed again.

"All right, who's next?" Lupin asked.

Esme took a step forward. She had no idea what to expect, no one was quite certain what it would change to. Her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for something. The boggart spasmed for a moment, deciding on what to do. Then there was a figure laying on the floor before her. First it had the face of Sirius Black laying there, dead. It changed again to the face of Marlene, then James, then Lily, Lupin, Peter, going on to the faces of her friends next. Then it stopped on the face of a dead Harry Potter laying in front of her. His lifeless eyes, staring at her. Mouth open.

Lupin moved in front of her. The boggart quickly transformed into the full moon. "Ridiculous!"

No one said anything as Lupin moved to put the beggar back into the trunk. They all just stood there in complete silence. Lupin pulled out a chocolate bar from his robes, handing it off to his niece. She took the chocolate, nibbling on the end of it as she stared at the spot that she'd seen all of her loved ones lying dead.

"Fear can drive us to do things that we believed were impossible," Lupin said. "It's better to know what we are afraid of. Voldemort has a way of getting inside of your minds, weakening you by using those fears against you."

"I'm not afraid of dying," Esme spoke up in a quiet voice. "I'm afraid of being the one that's left behind."

Remus Lupin wrapped an arm around her. "Then that's what you will fight for. You will fight to make sure that no one dies, and if they do, that they don't die in vain. With what's coming, we can't expect for all of us to make it all out alive. During the first Uprising we lost many members of the Order. People that were our friends. War is coming and there will be casualties, but that cannot stop us from fighting."

"We have to stick together." Hermione echoed on the thought. "We're stronger together."

Ron wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer. Hermione leaned into him, relying on his strength.

Lupin dismissed them back to their dormitories. They silently made their way back. Harry laced his fingers with Esme's, trying to comfort her. She was still completely out of it, eyes widened as if she just kept seeing their dead bodies on the floor. Her hands were frightfully cold. He didn't quite know what to say to her. Her fear made him realize something. It was likely that someone that they cared about wasn't going to make it through this war. They were going to accept that fact.

The girls went to the boys dorm. No one wanted to be alone after seeing the last thing that the boggart had transformed into. Esme lit up a fag as soon as she entered into the dorm. No one stopped her. Not even Hermione who typically got onto her for smoking. Harry took one from her as well, hoping that would calm his nerves a bit.

"I don't want to die." Neville spoke up after a moment.

"Then we just have to make sure that we're ready. We have to practice every chance we get." Hermione said. "I'll be heading to the library tomorrow morning to check out every book on defensive spells that I can get my hands on."

"I'll go with you." Neville responded.

"We could just go away. Run away from it all." Ron said. "I know it's stupid, but we could just try to get away."

"We can't though." Esme shook her head. "We have to prepare ourselves. They are going to hunt us down and take us out one by one."

She didn't have to say it, they all knew what she wasn't saying. Voldemort was going to hunt them down because of Harry. They were those closest to him and he would use them against him. Harry Potter knew that his friends were in danger because of him. He was going to be the reason that they didn't make it through this alive.

"Get out of your head," Esme nudged him. "You aren't going to stop us from being close to you so don't even let that get into your head."

"I'm not going to let you guys die because of me." Harry said.

"We'll your stuck with us, Potter." she sighed. "We're all in this, as much as you are."

They were all changing. As they looked around the room at each other they realized that they weren't just six teenagers anymore. No, instead they had suddenly become adults with the weight of the world on their shoulders. The war was brewing outside of the safety of Hogwarts. For now, they just had to cling to one another and embrace every moment that they had with one another. The future was uncertain. The only thing that they were certain about was that they had to rely on one another if they wanted to live through it.