#para 05

Pokemon Tower was a lot darker than Madison imagined. She wasn’t sure what she had in mind, since it’s a place that hosts predominantly ghost Pokemon, but since Madison had been given a magnifying glass of sorts to search for the ghosts with, she’d just assumed that it would be a little better lit. The candles around her were eerie and kept casting shadows everywhere that had her totally on edge, and though she liked to act brave, she didn’t feel it in this moment.

She wished Mason was here, but he’d been so busy since they got to KIP, and left alone so often, Madison started to feel a little bit lost. So much of her life was spent trying to be strong and brave so she could protect and take care of her brother, and now the first time out on her own, she felt jumpy every time she heard a noise or saw a shadow she didn’t recognize.

Madison’s eyes were peering into her Silph Scope, thinking if she focused on looking ahead of her she couldn’t freak herself out by looking to the sides and behind her... but that was probably a bad call, because the next thing she knew, a loud bang behind her had her practically jumping out of her shoes. Should she run away? Should she turn back and go see if it was just a door? She hadn’t decided yet when suddenly there was a loud ‘thwack’ as something hit her in the back of the head.

Madison tumbled to the ground, but she cradled her Silph Scope close to her to make sure she didn’t break it while she fell. Rolling to the side quickly to try and get back up and get away, she paused when she heard flapping wings and recognized the creature floating in midair before her.

“Woobat!” she squealed, delighted. Madison felt like she’d just been telling Mr. Elliott all about how cute they were and how much she wanted one, and now one was right here in front of her. “Oh my Arceus, aren’t you just the cutest? I could just give you a huge hug right now, but I’m probs not allowed to do that until I catch you, right?”

Madison immediately fished for the Pokeballs she wore on her belt, not wanting to give this Pokemon a chance to get away when it was so adorable and would make a great addition to her team. She finally settled on the Pokeball in the middle, figuring that a fight in the dark against a flying Pokemon was best left for her Hoothoot.

“Tootsie, Peck!” she ordered, watching her Pokemon fly through the air towards the Woobat. It’s beak collided, but not a particularly solid hit, and the Woobat barely recoiled. “Drats,” Madison whispered, not wanting to throw a Pokeball and waste it so early on when Tootsie had hardly even gotten a solid hit in. She watched as the Woobat tried to retaliate with a tackle of its own, but fortunately Tootsie dodged, and was ready for another move. 

“Tootsie, Confusion!” Madison called, and watched as he obeyed her for once. She was so grateful for Santana and the help she’d given in getting Madison’s pesky Pokemon under control, and psychic ripples floated through the air, sending Woobat reeling. It tried to attack again, but it ended up hurting itself in confusion after Tootsie’s last show.

Figuring the time was right, Madison drew out her Pokeball and threw it the Woobat’s way. It was too confused to even swat off the ball, and Madison jumped up and down and clapped as the ball closed around the cute little bat once and for all.

There was a reason this was done in third year, Hunter grumbled to himself as he made his way to the front of the classroom. 

When he’d first faced a boggart his deepest fear had been so simple. A zombie had come tumbling into view, which had been expected after he’d discovered horror films and had nightmare after nightmare about flesh falling off of bones and sickly yellow teeth coming after him. Three years later and he had no clue what his biggest fear was. His parent’s disapproval had faded to a dull roar in his head and he didn’t think he had any other fears tucked away anywhere.

Sucking in a deep breath Hunter tumbled towards the front of the classroom and waited in front of the cabinet, knuckles white and hands shaking as the door to it slowly creaked open.

When the boggart first started forming into Sebastian Smythe’s figure he almost wanted to laugh and call the whole thing a failure. Then the voice spoke and it was Sebbie the child in front of him, the first person to truly give a shit about him outside of what he could become one day, leaning in with a menacing tone that belied the sweet features. “You’re going to be nothing,” it - he whispered.

“You’re already so unimportant. When you leave the castle, who will remember you? When you enter the real world, what wizard will know who you are besides Cubicle #4? You have nothing special. You are nothing special.”

Toddler Sebastian swirled into Clara, and then Marley, and Roderick, and Albus James and Gracie and everyone who’d ever mattered chanting the same words in his face. “You were never more than a name,” and that was his parents, his mother’s somewhat kind face twisted into an ugly smile and his father’s usual condescending stare turning downright disgusted. Then back to Sebastian, the face he loathed (the face that drove nails in his heart everytime he saw it), flickering for a few moments before settling on his image.

Every word the boggart spit out was a hit straight to his heart. When he finally managed “RIDDIKULUS!” and Sebastian turned into a monkey-version of himself clanging away on toy symbols, Hunter only managed a sharp bark of laughter before pushing his way back to his seat.