p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"strongDisclaimer: I don't own emHarry Potter/em./strong/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"strongA/N: 'It' is used when the boggart is in it's natural form./strong/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"strongThe Lonely Boggart /strongby ANP/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Once upon a time, there was a boggart. It lived in a crate. The boggart wanted a friend, but every time the lid of the crate was opened, the boggart found itself changing, frightening the person away. The boggart could do nothing to make a friend, and disheartened, it would retreat back into the crate./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Time passed, and the boggart grew very sad. It didn't think that it would ever be able to make a friend, because it seemed that everyone who saw it, was scared of it./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"But one day, a little girl found a crate on the shore near her uncle's home, one that happened to be the very crate the boggart was in. When she opened the crate, immediately, the boggart found itself turning into something that it had never become before./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"A little boy./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The little girl let out a shriek at the sudden appearance of a boy, but swallowed, summoning her courage and looking at him boldly./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""H-hullo. Who might you be?"/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The boggart, who was actually quite a polite creature, replied. It extremely overjoyed and wondered at this girl, who seemed to have not a fear in the world (other than little boys, it seemed.)/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""I am boggart."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The girl was curious. She'd come from a family of wizards, who'd specifically told her never to open any old furniture, for fear that a boggart would take her. She'd assumed that this meant the boggart would eat her up./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"But the boggart in front of her just looked like a lonely boy./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"In truth, the little girl was scared of him. Just not very much. You see, her real fear was of strangers, but this boy, though a stranger, looked nice./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Doubting very much that he could possibly eat her, she straightened herself up to the boggart-boy's height (he was only a bit taller than her), and reached out to shake his hand, just like she'd seen her father do./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""My name is Lily Potter. Pleased to meet you, boggart."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The boggart, who was now immensely overwhelmed at this development, this situation (that would never ordinarily occur to a boggart), immediately gave his small human hand to the girl, whom he now knew as Lily./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""Pleased to meet you too."/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The two played together that afternoon, and made a sand castle, decorating it with the shells they found on the shore. Before they knew it, the sun was almost setting, and Lily declared that she'd have to go home./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The boggart was devastated. "You'll come again tomorrow, won't you?" He asked her, voice tinged with hope./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Lily just smiled. "Of course I will!"/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The boggart waited, and to it's joy, tomorrow came sooner than it thought. emWhy, if this goes on, I might even have a friend!/em/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Lily was back, and upon seeing her, boggart changed into another person, a taller boy, one with sun-kissed hair and a dark tan. Lily shrieked again, but soon realised that this boy was the boggart from yesterday. And hesitantly, she smiled at him. The boggart used his new mouth to grin back./p
hr style="color: #000000; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;" noshade="noshade" size="1" /
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Years passed, and the boggart was very much surprised. Lily visited it almost every time she visited her Uncle Bill. Of course, the boggart was never in the same shape, sometimes it was an old crone, sometimes a clown, but it seemed that Lily could always tell it was the boggart, despite appearances. This easy companionship was something both sides adored very much, and the boggart had never been happier./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The boggart was content, but of course, life was not so easy. The day of the fifth year since the boggart and Lily had met, the boggart found that Lily could not see it./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""Boggart? Boggart! Where are you?" Lily cried out, her voice slowly trembling, echoing across the lonely beach. Lily's accidental magic pulled the crate's lid clean off, but still, she could see nothing, hear nothing, sense nothing./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The boggart didn't understand; it was right there!/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"It tried to shout out, but it could not – it had no shape. Why? Why? Willing itself directly in front of her, the boggart was devastated that Lily was seemingly staring straight through it./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"What was wrong? The boggart wondered. Why did Lily not notice it?/p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"And then sense shook in, as most unpleasant things do, and the boggart realised with dawning horror (and sadness, and a horrible, emhorrible/em joy) that what Lily feared most was the boggart's not being there./p
p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The boggart cursed, listening to sound of Lily's cries. It was alone again./p