A/N: Tom faces a boggart.
Submission for:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments): Speed Drabble - sigh, shudder, "Please don't kill me!"
My Boggart...My Patronus Competition: Tom Riddle Jr
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
The waxing moon cast an eerie light on the forest floor. The gnarled hands of the trees around him clawed at the starless sky, but he was not afraid. He was here on a mission, and he would find the object of his desires soon enough.
He followed the ghost woman's instructions perfectly, taking the almost invisible path through the trees to the one she had hidden her mother's treasure. It was no different than any other, trunk just as thick those around him, but he could feel a thrumming from inside and change in the air as he neared it.
He reached into the small hollow of the tree, his fingers feeling around for his treasure, before he recoiled, pulling his hand back quickly. A dark shadow jumped out of the tree and the world around him grew dark as its form began to change shape, size and colour. He drew his wand, holding it out towards him as he waited for the creature to stop. This was obviously the work of a boggart that had taken residence in the old tree. He had learnt about boggarts during his school days but he had never faced one before.
"Please don't kill me!" he heard his own voice shout, a shudder running through his body at the amount of terror laced in his words. The boggart took his form, the face wearing a mask of pure fright as it held its hands up for protection. Its eyes were wide, staring at some invisible assailant as it begged for its life, practically pleaded like a commoner for mercy.
Then the boggart was engulfed in a flash of bright green light before it fell, his body still on the forest floor. His mouth was open in the silent scream and his eyes stared up into the night sky. He scowled as he pointed his wand and uttered the spell, driving the boggart away from this place.
A sigh slipped over his lips as the moonlight shone through the trees once more, the boggart's illusion now gone. This was greatest fear: his own death and demise, his body left in a state of pure shock and vulnerability for all to see just how far he had fallen.
He reached into the tree once more and quickly retrieved his treasure. The diadem glinted in the light and he let the corners of his mouth curl upwards. With this, he would never see his fear realized.
