A response to the 29th October Prompt of the Day on the Hogwarts Online Forum.
Prompt: Scared.
He was different. No weakness ever held him back from greatness.
He despised them all, the whole world – for weakness was everywhere and he couldn't escape it.
Love.
Fear.
At first he despised everything and everyone. He kept to himself and was hated for that. He was bullied; the children of the orphanage, they almost managed to hurt him.
Then he changed his strategy.
Weaknesses, he thought, were afterwards too wide and way too useful to be neglected.
His reign was based on love and fear. He relished it. Killing people's loved ones made him feel most powerful. Two quick words, a flash of green light and souls were broken. It made him want to laugh.
Fear built and disciplined his army. Fear stood its ground as his throne rose higher and higher. He never felt fear.
And then he encountered one-year-old Harry Potter.
This day he learned what it was like to be ripped apart. This day hopelessness and helplessness became his companions for a long road ahead.
This day he met fear.
Oh, he came back. Stronger than ever, some said. Stronger maybe, certainly even harsher, unforgiving.
He crashed his allies down at the slightest mistake, as he tried to conceal and fix his own. Lord Voldemort wasn't born a deluded man, but some things he just wouldn't be able to stand.
The fear was always there, a distant pressure into his twisted mind, a weight on his chest. The fear chanted Potter Potter Potter into his head, and he wanted to scream.
He kept in control. Even while facing the boy, he kept in control.
Embodiment of all the fears he had ever held back, Harry James Potter stood before him with a defiant glint in his eye. He kept a straight face. His voice was filled with disdain, the cracks in his façade kept to a minimum.
He never really believed it could end.
Death came for him so fast he didn't have time to scream.