"I waited outside for the boggart to come at me. I could feel my palms begin to sweat as I tried to control my fear. It wouldn't help to be afraid, the dark lived off fear; it could only make things worse. The first sign it was near was a loud thunk as a rock landed to my right. Then it threw another stone this one was much smaller slightly smaller than my fist, though it hurt as it whipped against my right cheek. The boggart then proceeded by clothing itself in the crab grass it was surrounded by. I can see pretty well in the dark compared to most people. All I can say is, it was hideous, with six arms, and two large three toed feet, though its worst feature was its face. It wasn't misshaped or anything of that sort, though it was featureless; like the basic outline without any details. At that moment a wave of fear swept through me... I was paralyzed."

What would happen if the Spook was away while a family was threatened with boggart problems? What if the only two people left to help were Tom and Alice. What if Tom was faced with the decision to risk his life to help the family, or risk their lives and wait for the spook? Tom has been a Spook's Apprentice for over a year now. That means he has spent over a year, "Capturing witches, binding boggarts, Driving away ghosts and more." No characters mentioned in this story belong to me... They belong to the author Joseph Delaney. This short story takes place between the 3rd and 4th books in the "Last Apprentice/Wardstone Chronicles" series. This fanfiction does contain spoilers. This is my first fanfiction, though feel free to critcise (it was actually a project I did in Grade 7.)

*Prologue

It was a crisp Spring night and I was sitting in the Spook's library reading up on the Pendle Covens. It was my second night alone... Well not completely alone... At that moment the candle burned out and the door creaked open. I reached for my timber box and lit the candle stub, which illuminated the face of a witch! "I finished copying another three books," she said. It was my friend Alice who was allowed to live with myself and the spook in exchange for copying the Spook's cherished books. Though she came from a family of malevolent witches, she had taken a step toward the light and is what is referred to as a benign witch. Though we couldn't seem to convince the Spook that.

"May I take a break now," Alice asked. To which I replied ", of course you can, though I would like to point out that I'm not the one making you do this." At that note Alice sat down next to me. I enjoyed Alice's company though being a Spook's apprentice was a lonely life and I didn't have much experience with people. I had only been an apprentice for a year and yet I felt cut off from the rest of the world. We sat in silence for a couple moments more when...

*1

Suddenly as if planned the bell tolled and broke the silence. No one ever approached the Spook's house, so that meant that someone needed a Spook`s help. "Sorry Alice, I'll have to go get that." Before she replied I got up and left. As I started toward the bell to see who needed our help I thought about why I was so anxious to leave: Maybe I was just nervous, or maybe I just knew that the Spook wouldn't want me getting too close to Alice... Though deep down I knew how I really felt. In the end I just bottled up my emotions and ran toward the bell.

Once I arrived I saw someone I was not expecting; a boy around my age. He had shoulder length blonde hair, green eyes much like mine, tattered clothing and a very distinct scar above his left eye. Without waiting to be asked the boy began his story, "You have to help me, my name is Simon and my family they're-they're in trouble." "My father was out harvesting crops, when, when something attacked him." "My Mother won't leave his side." "Please I need your help..."

It took me a second to digest what he said. Then without even the decency of replying I took off toward the house to fetch Alice. I knew it would be dangerous but someone had to do it.

*2

That very night Alice and I set off, leaving a note for the Spook just in case he made it back before us. I set a quick pace not even thinking about Alice until halfway through when I noticed she had fallen behind. I quickly regretted my selfishness and suggested we stop for the night. Knowing that she would never admit she was tired I in turn said that I was.

Alice and I woke up with the sun and snacked on The Spook`s favoured County Cheese. The Spook always said that it was important to fast before dealing with the dark. As such Alice and I would be eating the small reserves of cheese we had taken with us: More the reason to get this job over with. It didn`t take us long to arrive at the farm. Though when we did it was obvious something was wrong...

*3

I grew up on a farm, but I didn't need the experience to tell something was wrong. Many parts in the fence were smashed and the only livestock that remained were already dead. There were stones strewn across the land, and it was obvious what caused this; a stone chucker.

We were greeted by the same boy who I had met the night before. There was no sign of his parents and I didn't feel it was appropriate to bring that up. He had a hardened look on his face and just gestured for us to enter the small cottage that was his house. After explaining in more detail what had happened I decided on one theory. "It's a stone chucker, I explained, a type of boggart that will claim an area as its territory, then defend it by throwing stones at anything it sees..." "A stone chucker has no physical form and will instead use the objects around it to give it shape." "Unlike most boggarts after a stone chucker turns rogue you have to destroy, you can't just bind it..."

It didn't take me long to form a plan. It wasn't my first time dealing with a stone chucker. I had helped the Spook deal with one a year earlier in Anglezarke. Though that time the Spook who had spent years dealing with problems like this had been badly injured. I could only imagine how hard it would be for just me and Alice.

The year before me and the Spook had taken on a stone chucker like this one. We had first located and destroyed its temporary home (in that case an old dying tree.) After that it moved from the quarry it was at to a farm. At the farm the spook used himself as bait to lead the boggart into the house where I could finish it off with salt and iron filings without interference from the wind; iron to bleed away its strength, salt to burn it.

It didn't take much to locate this boggart's "home." It was storing its power at the roots of a thorn tree on the edge of the farm's boundaries. It was not a very big tree and I figured it wouldn't take much to take it down. As part of the payment I sent Simon out to buy a small hatchet and shield at the nearest blacksmith. I would have to cut down the tree using the hatchet as Alice would protect me from the stone chucker's wrath using the shield.

*4

While Simon was busy at the Blacksmith's I began to tell Alice what she would have to do. "You'll be protecting me using the shield today, but also you'll be the one who will have to destroy the boggart in the end," I explained. "You'll do what I did when in Anglezarke." "I'll be the bait and you'll have to finish it off with salt and iron." I began to teach her how to throw the salt and iron so that it would connect with the boggart in a white and black cloud.

When Simon came back we wasted no time. Alice was given a wooden shield with a metal rim, and I was given a small hatchet light enough for me to use with ease but still strong enough to take down the small thorn tree. Alice and I wasted no time. We walked slowly toward the thorn tree carefully trying to edge are way over. I knew that the stone chucker would have no problem seeing us but at the same time I still felt safer moving at this pace. It was a while before the first stone was thrown, though like the way a spark starts a fire the amount of stones began to increase rapidly. At that point we started running toward the thorn tree. The closer we got to it the harder it got for Alice to hold up the shield. At one point I heard her grunt when an especially large stone ricocheted off the shield, but I had no time to worry about it.

As soon as I was in range I began to hack at the tree. I was unable to see over the shield and at one point I missed the tree and hit the ground beside it. I didn't let that discourage me though. I continued to hack at the tree until finally I felt it give way and fall to the left. As if nothing happened the stones stopped falling from the sky... The stone chucker had disappeared.

"Is that it, asked Alice, is it over?" A grin creeped across my face when I realised that was exactly what I asked the Spook the year before. So I replied as he did, "Don't be daft it`s only just begun."

*5

We got message the next day that the boggart had moved to another farm, the family that lived there had already left before the boggart had the chance to harm them. Me and Alice had arrived that very night at the farm and got started right away.

I waited outside for the boggart to come at me. I could feel my palms begin to sweat as I tried to control my fear. It wouldn't help to be afraid, the dark lived off fear; it could only make things worse. The first sign it was near was a loud thunk as a rock landed to my right. Then it threw another stone this one was much smaller, slightly smaller than my fist, though it hurt as it whipped against my right cheek. The boggart then proceeded by clothing itself in the crab grass it was surrounded by. I can see pretty well in the dark compared to most people. All I can say is, it was hideous, with six arms, and two large three toed feet, though its worst feature was its face. It wasn't misshaped or anything of that sort, though it was featureless; like the basic outline without any details. At that moment a wave of fear swept through me... I was paralyzed.

Then my life began to flash before my eyes. Not in the way it does when you feel your about to die, but rather like a reassuring memory. I remembered when I had taken on Mother Malkin the malevolent witch and the Bane in Priestown. If I could take on them alone I could take on one stone chucker. I felt like it would be pathetic if I couldn`t take on one rogue boggart. If I was going to be a Spook I would have to control my fear... I would have to own it!

I then regained the ability to move, and time seemed to slow down for me. I dodged the stones the boggart thrust at me with ease and lured it inside where Alice was waiting. The salt and iron she hurled at the boggart hit it straight on.

Alice and I stood there for a moment just staring at where the boggart stood a second earlier. Giddy with relief we began to laugh... It was over!

*Epilogue

We made it back to the Spook's Chipenden house to find that he had made it back before us. He gestured for me to join him in the Southern Garden. Expecting a scolding I hung my head in shame. What he really said surprised me, "I'm happy to know that when I pass on I'll be leaving the County in your protection." I looked up to see a rare grin plastered on his face. "So tell me every detail."

After reciting word for word what happened, to the Spook, I joined Alice in the Western Garden. This time I didn`t need the bell to save me...