Boggart Banish PV Kit Closed

At 190.5 cm (6'3") tall, the caretaker was difficult to miss, even through a crack in the door. He stared at the cringing student in the then-open doorway, the feline ears at the sides of his head perking at the sound of its squeaking hinges. Then, expression as impassive as a stone, he turned back to the girl, picked her up, and shoved her into the open cabinet behind her before shutting the door and leaning his back against it to face the fourth year.

"Hello," he greeted with a grin so sudden that it seemed impossible it could have been sincere. "Can I help you, kiddo? It's rather rude to eavesdrop and spy on people, you know; particularly your elders. Doubly so if those elders are strangers to you."

His mismatched eyes regarded the young man intensely as he inclined his head slightly toward him, his tufted tail twitching absently in the manner of any anticipating cat's.

"...Aren't causing any trouble, are we?" Though his tone was light and his manner superficially cheerful, there was an underlying hint of warning beneath it all. "I'd hate to have to give a detention for the mere crime of curiosity. However...there have been worse consequences for such a crime. And if a detention is what is necessary to dissuade future repeat offenses..."

His grin darkened. "...perhaps it would be in your own best interests for me to keep from letting this slide."

@Alan Vanes

Alan of course was caught as the door creaked open and froze in his spot as he stared at the caretaker, eyes wide as he watched in shock as he shoved that little girl into the cabinet behind him and not too gentle either. What? Yet before he could do or say anything the fourth year was met with a grin that had resemblance with how a shark would probably look when smiling, it didn't look natural and installed a worry in the fourth year as he stumbled back slightly and he wanted to flee in the first moment, hoping that the man would maybe forget his face again but then he remembered the girl in the cabinet and noticed that he could not just leave. "I'm s-sorry sir, but-" the fourth year continued to stare, stare into those mismatched eyes and couldn't shake off the waves of fascination that came crashing down. He shook his head, ripping away from those distracting thoughts as he tried a more determined face. He could ask about that later... he hoped. "Sir, what did you do to the girl? Why is she in the cabinet?" he would ask, his voice slightly trembling as he was a little nervous. He had never spoken to this man before and while one side wanted to listen no questions asked since he was staff and an adult, the stronger side of the Gryffindor was curious and had a dozen of questions to the man in front of him and he wanted answers to them as well.

When he mentioned detention the fourth year could not help but narrow his eyes indignant at the mere thought, "I've done nothing though. I just came by and then... well I saw you and you know..." he grew quiet and his thought process was almost visible as he tried to build together words in his head until they made sense as he tried to find an explanation. It wasn't that he had no explanation he just was not sure how to actually put it into words. "It was... I was just curious and that's not a crime!" he tried to explain at last but was sure that this was not exactly what he had been meaning to say. He took a deep breath as he tried to relax before pointing at the cabinet, once again putting it into the focus of attention. "Who's in there?"

At the mention of 'the girl', the caretaker paused, blank-faced, as if having no idea what the student before him was talking about. Then realization seemed to dawn on him and he glanced behind him at the cabinet door. Despite his best efforts to pin his weight against it to keep it as tightly shut as possible, someone - presumably the girl - seemed to be fighting to get herself out again.

"Ah...so you saw it," the tan-skinned adult answered, his cat ears pressing back a little as his grin turned sheepish. "Not that it's any of your business...but that's not a girl in there," he explained. "I wouldn't worry about it. Anyway, 'sir' is way too formal for my taste. Just call me Kit." He swayed a bit as another bump from inside the cabinet impacted the doors and, by extension, him. Kit ignored it.

"Your turn, kiddo. Name and house?"

When the fourth year narrowed his eyes, claiming he had done 'nothing', Kit's tail lashed and he sneered.

"Curiosity is most definitely a crime," he countered with the casual air of a man speaking of the weather. "One many pay for with their lives. Innocence too, can be considered a crime, and ignorance, depending on who you ask. For some, it's a mere crime to even exist, so don't tell presume to tell me what is worth punishing and what isn't, young wizardling." He waved his index finger whimsically while speaking, casting his addressee a wry smile.

"If not curiosity, then disrespect, backtalk, and insubordination are all reasons enough for me to give you a detention. And I'm sure I can come up with a dozen more if those don't satisfy your or anyone else's justifications. Especially if you keep. This. Up."

The banging from within the cabinet was not letting up. Sighing, Kit shook his head, still doing his best to keep the doors closed with the weight of his back. Eventually, he curled his tail around the handles as if for extra security.

"This is your last chance, kid," he told the boy. "Listen to me and get out of here now or suffer the consequences of sticking around. I don't have time to argue with you at the moment. There's no one in there worth you knowing, so do us both a favor and leave."

@Alan Vanes

"With all due respect, s- Kit, but whoever is in the cabinet looked very much like a girl to me," he explained and he felt uncomfortable and the unease was showing in his expression. He didn't like to backtalk especially if he knew he was talking to someone who was an adult or someone else he was meant to respect. So this was a little worrisome for him but then again he had clearly seen that there was a girl in the cabinet but the caretaker was denying such a thing and despite the worry Alan couldn't help the feelings of curiosity and the fact that if there was a girl in the cabinet clearly trying to get out, from the sounds of it, he needed to do something, right? But whatever could it be that he could be doing?

"Alan, Alan Vanes and I'm in Gryffindor, see, I'm not trying to cause any trouble but I am very sure I saw you with a girl right now," he muttered and hearing the repeated noise of someone trying to break free from the cabinet made him worry as well. Shouldn't that be painful? Who was that girl and why had she been talking to the professor in the first place? He wrinkled his nose when the man in front of him labeled curiosity a crime but couldn't help to agree with some of what the man was saying. The fourth year wasn't sure what the man meant when saying that he was keeping something up, he wasn't was he? He was just worried, concerned...

The fourth year backed away a few steps but couldn't bring himself to exit the doors completely. Not knowing what was going on, the lack of explanations and the fierceness and threats of the caretaker seemed suspicious. Alan had to challenge his mind to stay in control, scared to show signs of distress in his own appearance.

The boy's insistance that whoever was in the cabinet looked very much like a girl to him caused Kit to sigh. His smile was sardonic as he shook his head slowly; pityingly. Perhaps disappointedly.

"She might have looked like a girl," he replied, "But things are rarely what they seem. Especially at this school. Or didn't you know that?" The caretaker cocked a brow. "You seem a bit big to be one of the newer students here. I would have thought you'd have learned by now not to take anything at face value."

"If you insist on trusting your eyes more than you trust me, however..." Removing his tail from the way of the handles, Kit gently eased his weight off the doors and took a simple step to the side. Then he bowed and extended his arm. "...then by all means. Please...be my guest."

As if on cue, the girl burst out with a final shove at the cabinet doors and stood there before looking around. Kit was still bent in a bow, not looking up at her. Then, turning, she noticed Alan watching and stared at him for a split second before beginning to approach him with slow steps. Her blank expression didn't change, but the rest of her did. By the time she stood before Alan, she - it - was something else entirely.

@Alan Vanes

At this point the fourth year was pretty much confused by the adult's words, casting a curious yet suspicious glance at the older man as he scrunched up his nose ever so slightly in an attempt to make himself focus on the bigger meaning behind those words. He was at first quite relieved that he would let that poor girl out of the closet but something within him kept urging him to turn around and run. It was like, as soon as the doors of the cabinet swung open with a force a young girl should not possess, that the air in the empty classroom grew cold and heavy. The girls eyes seemed to be searching and they seemed to find as soon as the girl would lock eyes with the brave little Gryffindor. Then the oddest thing in the whole world would happen as the girl would lose shape and form as it expanded around him with a sensation that sucked the area dry of all happy emotion and Alan would lose sight of Kit even though the other man should have still been there. But Alan would not be able to see as he was in a crowd of awfully ordinary people all staring an whispering, pointing and murmuring; muggles. The fourth year would feel a cold as he tried to push to the crowd, the scene oddly familiar as he caught sight of shopping bags and the quiet melody of a muggle shopping mall in the back. All those muggles had gathered for a reason and he knew why but something propelled him to push forward and once he reached the front of the gathered circle that murmured words he hoped he would never have to hear again, he would see what caused this ruckus or rather, he would see who.

A young boy, probably not older than five years of age stood in the middle, his auburn hair slowly turning black from tip to root as his forest green eyes slowly lost their shine as they scurried around looking for a way to escape this madness, but finding none. Alan would freeze at the familiarity of the little boy, he knew who the little boy was, knew it exactly and it terrified him, made him freeze in place as he stared at the little boy who would curl up on the ground as if that could help him hide. But the little boy vanished and Alan could feel the shift in the air as he felt all those dozens of eyes upon himself instead, burning into him as he heard whispers about how abnormal he was. "N-No..." a whisper would leave his mouth as he could hear all kind of slurs about witch craft as he, like the younger version had before, would squat down on the ground as he wrapped his arms over his head, feeling once again weak and small as he had those many years ago. His hair would flash into an icy blue as all color drained from his skin and.... did he appear a bit shorter than he had before? All in all, Alan was nothing but a frightened boy at the very moment, covering in fear at the memory he wish he could leave behind once and for all.

While the creature changed to accomodate Alan's fears, Kit had straightened back up and watched. A lesson needed to be taught, there, but he wasn't about to let things get out of hand, either. And, in all honesty, he was curious. Boggarts and what they reflected of other beings had always fascinated him. It was why he had worked so hard to track some down all around the castle and capture them when he could. They were so delicate, after all.

What the boggart's transformation suggested to him about the Gryffindor boy did not disappoint. Hair that had been auburn a moment before soon became an icy blue and skin paled visibly. Once Alan was curled up on the floor with his arms over his head, curled up as small as he appeared to be able to make himself in something of a fetal position, Kit finally decided the boy had had enough.

The caretaker walked over to the boggart and saw the crowd and the small changing boy all turn to him as one being. Then all of them merged together into the small girl in the pirate outfit that Alan had seen with him before. She stared at him, eyes bright with tears before her eyebrows narrowed. Suddenly, she ran at him with an almost inhuman cry of fury, rage, and pain. Kit stared at her, body tense, and sighed, taking out his wand to aim in her face.

"Immobulus."

The girl froze up mid-run, falling over as she lost balance, and Kit caught her. He placed her carefully in the cabinet, propping her up like an unstable statue against the back wall of it, and closed the doors. Then, with another deep breath, he turned and approached the student still curled in on himself. Leaning down, he gently reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.

"It's alright now," he assured the boy in soft tones. "It's gone. You're okay."

@Alan Vanes

The figures around the boy would vanish and so did his lack of control over his appearance, after the first shock subsided. But for the longest of time the fourth year would not even notice and the spell cast on the boggart sounded far away as if Alan was in his own bubble and nothing could get to him. At least that was until he felt something reach for him and touch his shoulder, making him flinch drastically as his eyes snapped up to look the caretaker in his face. Alan felt slightly nauseous, still shaken to his core as he forced himself to stand up, fumbling to press Tiger against his chest, hearing the little complaint voiced in a mewl, making Alan carefully lighten his grip and apologize to the feline. "Why would you do that? What was the point of this, this was horrible! Why would you let a boggart attack a student like this?", he had to ask weakly, but nonetheless managed to sound somewhat demanding in a way. He wanted answers and he also wanted to get rid off those horrible feelings. He never wanted to be reminded of that moment again, the moment he realized that people saw him as a monster because of how different he was. He wasn't just a wizard, he was weird even for being a wizard and that would attract attention; attention Alan was not sure he was ready to accept yet. It just felt so difficult, so wrong!

He could still feel the rushed heart beat as little tremors shook his hands as he held Tiger close , the feline resting its head over his shoulders as Alan could not bring himself to avert his eyes from the professor, who obviously, like himself, had to be a metamorph as well with how he shaped his body to fit his taste. "How do you do it, Sir? I mean... K-Kit." he had to ask, his voice still trembling ever so slightly, slipping up on every few syllables he spoke out loud.

When Alan pushed himself to stand, Kit took a step back to give him space, watching him to make sure he didn't need additional assistance and wasn't going to fall over or collapse. A small mewl of protest drew the caretaker's attention to a cat he hadn't really noticed before when its owner hugged it. Suddenly said owner was pelting Kit with questions.

Calmly holding up his palms in surrender, he waited for Alan to finish speaking before attempting to reply.

"I did try to warn you," he answered in casual tones, the slightest hint of a smirk quirking up one corner of his mouth. "I told you to listen to me and leave or suffer the consequences. You chose the latter because you trusted what your eyes told you over me. But appearances can always be deceiving. And I warned you of that too."

He moved to lean against a wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know I threatened you with detention, but a detention from me would have equated to much the same thing as what you just experienced, so I thought we might as well just get it over with. One can learn a lot about oneself - and others - by what their boggart transforms into. I'd like to think we're both a little closer now that we've seen each other's. Wouldn't you?"

Kit then pushed off the wall and began to walk toward the door of the room. He gestured to Alan gently. "Come. Perhaps we should see if the house elves won't be able to get us a pair of nice, warm drinks. Maybe that'll help. Oh - and perhaps something for your little friend, there, too."

He turned to smile at the cat in Alan's arms when the student spoke up once more with a new question. "Hmm?" Kit's smile broadened as he corrected himself about using the caretaker's name instead of the formal address of 'sir'. "Do what?"

@Alan Vanes