Week 7 Storytelling: Defense Against the Dark Arts Lesson: Bogarts

Ron thought about yesterday how he, Hermione, and Harry all got detention for using magic on Professor Snape. They were all punished because he and Hermione got Harry out of detention so he could study for the Triwizard tournament.

Ron shook his head. He knew that if they used magic on a professor again, they would all get banned from Hogwarts.

He heard Snape's voice in his head say, "If you do it again, you all will be EXPELLED!"

Ron couldn't allow himself to get banned from Hogwarts. His mum and dad would be so disappointed in him.

Today in his Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, Ron was going to have to face a bogart. A bogart is a shape shifting creature and will turn into the thing you are the most afraid of.

Ron just hoped that it wouldn't be a spider. He hated spiders, and if the bogart turned into one he wasn't sure what he'd do.

He caught up with Hermione and Harry right before class.

"Hermione, I'm scared for today's lesson...what if the bogart turns into a spider when I approach it?," Ron asked as he sounded frightened at the thought.

"Oh, Ron! You can't just live your life in fear! You're going to have to face your fears eventually.," Hermione said.

"Yeah Ron, who knows what the bogart could turn into for me, but I'm just going to have to face it when I get there.," Harry said.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione took their seats in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Ron felt his palms start to get really sweaty at the thought of that bogart turning into a spider.

("Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom" Source: Flickr)

"Alright, class as you know today we will be practicing with bogarts. Everyone please stand up and form a line," Professor Lupin said.

Ron kept on thinking about the bogart turning into a spider. It couldn't be that bad. He could do this.

"When you face the bogart, I want you to all say, 'RIDICULOUS!' But you must think of the bogart turning into something funny. Otherwise it won't work," Professor Lupin said.

Neville Longbottom was first. Professor Lupin released the bogart from the closet and the bogart turned into Professor Snape. Neville's eyes got big and he waved his wand and shouted, "RIDICULOUS!" and Professor Snape was suddenly wearing Neville's grandmother's clothes. The whole class including Lupin laughed.

Ron was next. As he approached the bogart, it turned into a huge black widow. The large spider scrambled across the floor towards Ron. The whole class laughed at Ron because they all knew how afraid he was of spiders. They knew Professor Lupin would probably have to interfere because fear would get the best of Ron.

But Ron knew he could do this. Ron took a step closer to the bogart and pulled out his wand.

"RIDICULOUS!", Ron shouted as his voice echoed in the room.

("Ron Weasley" Source: Flickr)

The laughter from his classmates came to a halt. They had never heard Ron have so much confidence, including Harry and Hermione.

The spider instantly was given a pair of tap shoes as it stumbled around on the floor.

The whole class erupted in applause.

"Well done, Ron!", Professor Lupin said as he patted Ron on the back. Ron joined the rest of his classmates in the back of the classroom.

And all of a sudden, Ron didn't feel afraid anymore. He felt like he could overcome anything now.

Author's Note: What inspired me to write this story was Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength from Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings by Joel Chandler Harris (1881). In Mr. Terrapin Shows His Strength, Mr. Terrapin, a turtle, tells Brer Bear that if he pulled on a rope that Mr. Terrapin was attached to at the bottom of the river that Brer Bear wouldn't be strong enough to pull him out. Brer Bear, as well as all the other animals, laughed at this thought. Sure enough, Brer Bear wasn't strong enough to pull him out of the river. I also related this story to Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban because there was a lesson in the students' Defense Against the Dark Arts class where they all had to face bogarts. Everyone knew how afraid Ron was of spiders but just like Mr. Terrapin, I wanted Ron to show everyone that he could do something they think he couldn't: face his fears. I did change this story from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban a little bit. In the original story, Professor Lupin never told any of the students ahead of time that they would be facing bogarts that class. Also, no one doubted Ron that he would be able to change the bogart.