A/N: This is my first Fantastic Beasts fic, and a story for the houses competition. I hope you enjoy it, and credit to JKR. Also, credit to Ezra Miller (the actor who played Credence), whose words inspired this story.
House: Ravenclaw
Category: Themed
Prompt: As he walked into his former childhood bedroom
Theme: Security
Word count: 675 words (without A/N)
'As he walked into his former childhood bedroom' I repeated this line over and over in my head wondering what will happen, what will happen when I walk in. I felt scared, more scared than he had felt in his entire life. Coming back here after a year was almost a guaranteed repeat of my previous anxiety attacks. I felt insecure, and unsafe walking back into that house. Where so many memories lie, so many bad memories, so many memories that make me feel insignificant, unsure and small. It looked the same, as it did the last time I was here. The only thing that had changed was a thick layer of dust everywhere due to it being vacant for a year. The sparse furniture with a dirty window off to the side and a small amount of clothing in the wardrobe all the same.
I freeze.
No.
Anything but that; I should have known I silently scold myself. My knees sink to the ground and all my secure barriers I had put around myself since the incident fell apart.
The pure anger on her face as she reaches for the belt. The swift move of her hand, and the flick of her wrist, then the cracking sound. Then pain, all I can feel is excruciating pain, the kind of pain that makes you wish you were dead. I am on the floor writhing, and I barely register when she flicks her wrist again, although this time harder, a lot harder. I squirm, and wither as the pain rushes through me until every part of my body aches from the head to the tip of my toes. The pain gets worse and worse, until I cannot take it any longer and I stop moving. You can hear a drop of blood hit the floor- then I see darkness.
I am jerked out of my memory a cold droplet of water falling through the tiny hole, in the old wooden ceiling. Against my better judgement, I reach up for the belt. The cracked brown leather is soft under my hands, and the metal of the buckle cold and smooth. I hear a crack, I spin around quicker than I thought possible, and sigh in relief. It is not her, she is gone. Gone and I will never see her again. I think I should be feeling sad but I am not, just guilty. Guilty of killing all those people.
I was mad, furious and I flew directly to the house, and she immediately got knocked over onto the floor. I kept thinking of the pain on my back and hands, of Modesty and I did it. The monster inside of me took over and I killed her. I observed her, and saw the horrid marks on her face, the ones I put there. They have an odd swirled patterned, are slightly darker, redder than the rest of her skin and have a slight indent. Her facial expression was as always serious, but had a tiny hint of fear I had never seen on her face before, exactly what her expression was like when I entered the room.
I lay on the floor, and thought about everyone else I had hurt, the Senator, Chastity and so many others. I had always thought that she was the monster, hurting me Chastity and even Modesty, one of the only people who truly cared about me. Hurting us when she felt we did something wrong, or when someone mentioned magic. But I had ruined it, my bond with Modesty she is scared of me and now I realise now.
I realise that know after all the terrible things I have done, I have lost my security in being the victim. Lost my security in being the one hurt, victimised and pitied. Lost my security in being able to hate her. Being able to feel angry at her for all the things she has done. Now that is just purely hypocritical, she is not the monster anymore.
I am the monster.
