Chapter 189 - Detention with Filch

Dinner was a rather tedious fiasco as Quyen Crowley and her posse taunted Rowan the entire meal. Severus and the others had tried to pry the truth from her, but Rowan had rather stubbornly ignored them. Either way, it was something of a feat itself to be the first student to receive detention on the first day and lose their house points in the same breath. Needless to say, the rest of Slytherin wasn't pleased and neither was Professor Slughorn.

After dinner, Rowan had ignored the rest of their questions directed at and made her way to detention. Knocking on the caretaker's door, Argus Filch's crankily says, "Come in!"

Argus Flich's windowless office was lit by a single oil lamp dangling from the low ceiling. Wooden filing cabinets stood around the walls with filing labels of every punished miscreant. As Rowan pointedly ignored the highly polished collection of chains and manacles hanging behind Filch's desk.

Not yet quite the hunched man of the future nor rheumatic, Filch sits at his desk angrily filling out some sort of form with his quill. He does not look up from his work as he angrily finishes the report on a foolish four year that thought it would be funny to plug the fifth-year toilets. It wasn't as it turned out.

On his desk curled up was the skeletal gray cat with lamp-like eyes, Mrs. Norris. Gently reaching over to rub Mrs. Norris's face, Rowan says, "I'm sorry for bothering you this evening, sir, but I've been given detention for three weeks straight by Professor Pollen."

Argus Filch pauses to glance at the detention sheet and freezes. His sunken cheeks tighten as he turns his graying, thin head towards her. His nose not yet violet from the cold flares in surprise as he glances at her. "It's only the first day of school, whatever did you do, Prince?!" Filch exclaimed.

"Professor Pollen had us facing boggart's," Rowan quietly said. "I did not care to participate in the lesson."

Filch is silent for a moment before a trace of pity crosses his eyes. "It is difficult to face one's fears in public," Filch carefully said.

"There are some fears, Filch, that should never be shown," Rowan said as she withdraws her hand from the purring Mrs. Norris. "Was it a boy or a girl?"

Filch carefully studies Rowan for sincerity in her eyes, before replying, "A boy. He was named after my brother."

"Good," Rowan said, before glancing about to the counter where the polish, rags, and brush that are kept. "I best get started now."

"Yes, that would be for the best," Filch murmured as Rowan reached for the needed items, before heading over to the trophy case to begin the arduous job of polishing the metal items by hand.

As usual, the cleaning allowed Rowan's mind to think as she pondered on the boggart of that afternoon. The boggart had been on her mind all day long but not for the reason others would assume. It was the concept of a boggart that had expander her views on apparitions and such like beings.

A boggart was theoretically a magical creature and not classified as an apparition as it could impact the physical world, but there was no actual proof as no one had ever seen a boggart in its natural form. But given on how its destruction resembled that of a Dementor, she felt that there might be a connection between the two. Both creatures fed on fear and unlike the dementor, a boggart could become terrifying enough to frighten an entire village, but not actively hurt them. But that was the tricky thing, boggarts took on the form of an individual's fear itself. Though it may not hurt a wizard, what of that of a muggle?

There weren't any real records beyond causing a normal human being to faint. But what if said, individual suffered a heart attack from having a true phobia rather than mere fear. And if that was the case, what kind of change would that cause in a boggart?

In Professor Kettleburn's class and with Lyall Lupin, they had discussed that poltergeists and other such apparitions fed on the energy that birthed them. And if boggart's fed on fear, then what if that fear took the life of another? Could it cause the boggart to evolve further and become something far more sinister?

The idea would fit as there are suggestions that is indeed the case. There are two examples that suggest that and that is of Ekrizdis and that of Raczidian. In both cases, both men were evil wizards. Not much is said about Raczidian except that Patronuses were used by wizards to defeat said, soulless creatures.

However, much more is said about Ekrizdis who lived during the 15th century. The original owner and inhabitant of the fortress of Azkaban. Ekrizdis practiced the worst kind of Dark Magic on muggles, whom he lured, tortured, and finally killed. Such a dark place would have been the perfect breeding ground for a boggart and with some such fear about all it would take is one soul to perish to a boggart.

And therefore, naturally via this dark nature giving birth into the first creature of its kind a Dementor. And from there would be no further need for boggarts to exist as there would already be worse things in existence to suck up the fear and despair in order to be born. But more importantly, providing that her own hypothesis proved true, it might then be possible to destroy a Dementor after all.

Rowan winced at poking her finger with a pointed jab, before glancing up at the time. Seeing that it was a quarter until ten, she climbs off of the cold stone floor and onto her feet. Gathering everything in the bucket, she returns to find Filch's office empty. No doubt, Filch had already started his rounds and was off searching for wayward students.

Making sure to return everything back in its place, Rowan closed the door to Filch's office as she left lest anyone come in afterward. Yawning she made her way back to the Slytherin entrance and said, "Tempus Enim Labilis." The common room was utterly empty as the usual shadows flickered across the floor to the eerie glow of the green light shining through the lake.

Heading upstairs, Rowan sighs as she climbs the extra stairs to reach her dorm. The girls were already tucked into bed with their bed curtains drawn. It was the newly added feature of their dorm. Apparently first and second years weren't seen as needing privacy as much as the older years. Which was actually a good thing for her as it would make her nightly excursions that much easier. But too tired from the first day, she wisely decides to rest for the night. There was always tomorrow or the next night to finally get started.