A/N: This story will be a oneshot/drabble and it's for Care of Magical Creatures Assignment 1 on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry forum! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own HP!
Brief Lesson: Basilisks are classified as XXXXX in the Ministry classification system, meaning that they are incredibly dangerous. They can reach fifty feet in length and possess extremely venomous fangs, but the thing that makes them truly dangerous is their eyes. Their yellow gaze can cause instant death if looked into directly, but it is possible to survive if you look into the eyes via a reflective surface or something in between your eyes and theirs, such as a ghost or a camera.
Task: A Basilisk stare, with protection, can freeze a person in a petrified state. You are to write about someone who has frozen in fear due to a near death experience.
Extra Prompts: Character – Marcus Flint
Location – France
Dialogue – "Are you sure you're okay? You're scaring me."
Word Count: 786 words
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Marcus Flint was walking down a sidewalk in France looking for a particular café that he was due to meet some friends at. When his eyes landed on the café he started walking faster, but just as he was crossing the street to get to the café it blew up. He was only ten feet away when a small secondary explosion happened and he froze in fear and couldn't even duck the tables that were flying towards him at a fast speed.
He staggered when two tables slammed into him, but he still couldn't force himself to move. All he knew was that he had just come close to dying. The screams he could hear made him remember the Battle of Hogwarts, but he shook his head to clear it of the memories. He knew that he should move, but he couldn't get his feet to move no matter how much he tried. He heard someone yell his name but couldn't tell who it was. Just then another explosion happened and it blew him back onto his ass ten feet away. He could hear the ringing in his ears and knew that it was possible that another explosion could happen, but he couldn't make himself stand up.
All he could think about was that he just about died. He was frozen to his spot even though he knew that he should get himself away from where he was. When he felt hands on him he followed the hands up to who they belonged to and his eyes widened in shock. "Granger?"
Hermione Granger looked at the man in front of her on the ground and shook her head. She could see that he was bleeding and that he had a couple broken bones, but right now she just wanted to get him out of the way like she already had his friends with Harry's help. She pulled on him again and finally got him to stand up. "Come on, Flint, let's get back across the street. I promise you that your friends are alright. They are with Harry around the corner being treated for cuts and scrapes. I promised them that I would check to see if I could find you. Are you able to walk?"
Marcus nodded dumbly. "I froze, Granger. I tried to move and it was like I couldn't."
Hermione sighed. "Fear can do that to a person, Marcus. You survived so that is all that matters. You were closer to the blast site than the others. Come on let me look at you." She quickly checked to make sure nobody was looking and whipped her wand out and quickly healed Marcus. Once she finished she looked at him again with narrowed eyes when she saw that he was staring straight ahead. "Marcus? Marcus? Flint? Hey, Flint! Are you sure you're okay? You're scaring me."
Marcus shook his head to clear it and looked at Hermione. "I'm alright now that you healed me. You said that Blaise and Theo are okay? Where are they? I think that I want to get out of here."
Hermione nodded. "They are fine, Marcus. Come on and I'll take you to them. I think Harry was having Madam Pomphrey brought here so I'm going to have her take another look at you. You got some burns, but I don't have any burn paste on me. You came really close to dying, Marcus. You froze completely and I barely got a shield up in time around you when the last explosion happened. I was lucky that I am able to make my shields transparent or we'd be getting visits from the Ministry. Are you okay to walk now?"
Marcus took in a breath and let it out as he nodded. "I think that I am alright to walk. How far do we have to go?"
Hermione smiled slightly. "Just around the corner actually. I have a flat here in Paris so we will have all the privacy that we need away from prying eyes. Can I ask why you froze like that?"
Marcus sighed. "I flashed back to the Battle of Hogwarts at the first explosion. The sound of the café exploding me made me think of back then and I just couldn't move. Then I couldn't move because I realized just how close I had come to dying just then. I don't want to die, Hermione."
He walked beside Hermione and thought about how lucky he was to be alive after what he just went through. He spared a thought to those who had died in today's explosion because he knew it very easily could have been him since he had frozen completely.
A/N 2: So here is this little oneshot/drabble... Hope you all enjoyed it! Click the button and let me know what you think!