Walden watched as a fat fly beat futilely against the glass of the window. It buzzed incessantly as it tried in vain to return to the outside world, throwing itself at the pane repeatedly until it dropped stupidly to the sill where, stunned, it twitched helplessly on its back, wriggling its little legs in the air.
Levelling his wand at the tortured thing, he hissed the killing curse through his teeth and watched as the tiny spark of green extinguished its life. The legs stopped wriggling, the body stopped twitching, and it became just another empty vessel.
Walden was largely misunderstood by both those that knew little of him, and those that claimed to know him well. Violent they said. Bloodthirsty. This, in fact, was not strictly true. Certainly, Walden Macnair had a propensity for killing and torture to rival that of Tom Riddle himself, but it wasn't death or pain that made his blood run hot in his veins and heart race with glee, but the fight for life. Something that earned the right to be alive, that strived for a place in the world – that was what Walden coveted most. That, he could respect.
Walden Macnair had learned from a young age the importance of fighting for survival. It is not true that everyone is born equal in the world, when some children come with prophecies, a loving family and a bright future, and others with nothing at all. When everything you've ever owned was earned by inches of blood, it's hardly surprising to find that you measure the value of things by how well they stand up to death.
So equally as unsurprising was the fearful and freakish craving that was born in him the night Harry Potter survived the killing curse. He had never felt so alive as he did when he heard of the child that had spat in the face of death. A life like that would be worth knowing, and fight or fall as it might, he burned to watch it struggle.
Written for: the 'NEW Triwizard Tournament' Competition. Task One: Choose Thy Dragons! Character prompt: Walden Macnair.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
CC cover image (untitled) courtesy of galaxies and hurricanes on Flickr.
A/N: Wow this was so much fun to write! Hope it turned out okay. Please don't hesitate to review (especially if you think it sucks! I love con-crit). Thanks! GG x
