So Elise had been procrastinating this long enough. Why? The answer should be obvious enough. She was supposed to encounter a boggart and she simply didn't think herself ready enough to do it and remain emotionally stable. She still didn't think herself emotionally stable enough but the report was due the next day and she had yet to open the cupboard. So with heavy feet and a pounding heart, she made her way to the Defense classroom and made sure that it was absolutely empty before she entered. She didn't need everyone else in the school knowing what form her boggart took.

Her fingers gripped the wood of the trunk tightly and against every fiber of instinct telling her not to open it, prised the lid open and stepped away from it. Elise made sure to keep her eyes on the ground as she pulled her wand out of its holster and went over the incantation in her head. Riddikulus.

“Elise.” said a cold voice, sending a chill up her spine as it registered almost immediately. No, no. Anything but this. Biting her lip, she kept her eyes trained on the ground and tried her hardest to block out the sound and the picture that was starting to form again in her head. It couldn't be him. He couldn't be here. He was supposed to be dead, the healers said so!

“Look at me, you useless child.” His voice was almost a sneer, she could hear it before she foolishly looked up. Her fingers gripped the wand tighter, shakily raising it to the level of his chest. It was him, there was no denying it anymore. He was her greatest fear and somehow, the Ravenclaw wasn't all that surprised. She'd known, subconsciously that he would always terrify her. The things he'd done to her and her mother, they would never go away. They'd simply haunt her and she didn't know anymore if it would ever get better.

“It's your fault, Elise. All your fault. You did this to our family.”

“Riddikulus,” she said, her voice close to a sob, cracking and a lone tear streaking down her cheek. Her lower lip trembled so violently that she had to bite it to keep from all out sobbing. “It wasn't me. It was a backfire! You know this!” It wasn't her fault her mother had died, it wasn't! All this wouldn't have happened anyway, if he hadn't been so absorbed into a bottle that he couldn't be bothered to help. She was done blaming herself, even if everyone else in her family still blamed her. Maybe she should try that laugher yoga that Professor Romanos had taught her. “Ha, ha.” Clap, clap. “Hohoho.” Clapclapclap.

“Lies,” he sneered, nostrils flaring slightly as he drew nearer. “You liar.”

“You're the only one who's lying!” Her wand hand finally steadying, she tried to visualize what the spell would do. Though, anything would work now. Anything. She just wanted him to leave, to never come back to haunt her past the grave. “Riddikulus!”

“Me? Ridiculous? Never. I don't joke, Elise.” Another step closer to her. Even wandless, he was terrifying.

“NO.” She wasn't going to let him hurt her like he had all those years. He was dead now, and this was nothing but a boggart. Just a boggart. Boggarts could be defeated and she was not going to be scared of a dead man. For now, at least. “Ho, ho.” she tried. Laugh until you mean it. “Hahaha.”

“Riddikulus,” she all but shrieked, finally convinced that she could beat the boggart. Conquering her fear. She'd semi-successfully done it during her DADA OWL and she could do it again. Just watch her.

And with that confidence, the Boggart's hair started to grow out a little, changing from a sandy blonde to bright blue, nose reddening and his clothes growing baggy and colourful. Then, her clown!father!boggart started to dance, putting his arm in and out and shaking it all about. What in the name of Merlin?

“Ho, ho” she said, actually giggling this time. “Hahaha.” After a few more giggles, she was alone in the room. Well, at least she'd conquered the boggart, eh?

Now, it was time to write her report.