A/N: Written for XxXRegretXxX's The Start and Stop Challenge over at the HPFC forum. Prompt given to use in the first and last line: Under my bed.

DISCLAIMER: Yeah, I don't own the characters you recognise.

Diary entry:

It's under my bed. The monster. I know it is, but Daddy's not going to come rescue me from it. He never does. Mummy used to come and reassure me and check under there for me, then Daddy told her I needed to grow up. He's always saying that, and I don't understand why. I'm seven, why do I need to grow up? Can't I stay young forever, like Peter Pan? Oh no, I shouldn't have written that. I'm not allowed to talk, write or even think about Peter Pan, Daddy says so. It's a Muggle thing. He yelled at my babysitter for reading it to me. It's my fault, but Mummy says it's not. Daddy just has a bad temper, she says. I know he does. He's always yelling at me. I think I'm a bad boy. I do a lot of things wrong.

It's still under my bed. I can't stop shaking. I have nightmares about it all the time. I just woke up from one, and I'm feeling sick. Mummy worries that my nightmares aren't normal for someone my age. Daddy says I should just be a man and live with them. How am I supposed to do that when I always die in the nightmares?

Diary entry:

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote in here. Weird, I swear I wrote more in here, didn't I? No, it's mainly pages of doodles. I guess I am an artist. Dunno why I brought this diary with me. I just thought I should have something of home with me here at Hogwarts. The one pitiful entry kinda makes me laugh at my own silliness. I remember when I used to be scared of monsters. I still have the nightmares... I guess I've learnt to live with them, now. Sort of.

I got Sorted into Slytherin, thank Merlin. I think Dad might have disowned me if I hadn't been. Well, Mum said he was joking, but he didn't confirm or deny that. Oh, well... I'm sure he was joking...

Diary entry:

Why do I always leave it years before finding this? Ah, guess it's only been 10 months this time, not four years. Still, though... It's meant to be a diary, not something I write in whenever I find it! Might throw it away...

Although then I'd lose all the drawings, doodlings... Sigh. Drawings are for writing in.

My first year at Hogwarts went well, though! I made several friends, including – isn't it odd? – Albus Potter. We promised to write to each other this summer. He's my best friend, actually, really nice and he's protected me from some of the bullies at my school. Yep, there's bullies there.

Sorry about the awful handwriting just there. Al tried to steal my diary.

Who am I apologising to? No-one's ever going to read this!

(Hopefully.)

Diary entry:

I topped my previous score, didn't I? Four and a half years since the last entry. It's kind of worrying, really. My amazing skills at keeping a bloody diary. Sheesh.

Well... I should be writing news in here, I suppose. But I heard a quote the other day: "We stopped looking for monsters under our beds, when we realised they were inside of us." Or something like that. Made me think of my first entry in here, when I was a scared kid.

Oh, I still have nightmares, but they're more scary now. Way more scary.

Al disagrees, and says I'm a wimp, but I know he's joking. He just likes to wind me up. He's really gotten confident, no longer the kid I first met.

I have this funny feeling that this is going to be my last entry in this diary. Shame. Al's reading over my shoulder, and flipping through the other entries. Makes it a little hard to write. Oi, gerrof.

He says I was a sweet seven year old. Merlin, I'll never live this one down.

No, you most certainly will not, Mr. Malfoy, dear.

Oh shit, you're coming around. I need to work on my ability to perform magic, since that knocked you out for what, 3 seconds?

One last thing –

I'm under my bed, Mr Malfoy: Come get me.