A/N: Written for the Slytherin Cabal Death by Quill Competition in 2021! Thanks to the modmins for hosting this competition, it's one of my favorites!

Thank you to pet for being an excellent beta!

If you liked this (or hated it) let me know about it in a review! You can find me on Tumblr at crochetawayhpff or Facebook at Shan Crochetaway. Enjoy!

Summary: Pansy thought she was safe from her bogeyman.

Pairing: Gen - Pansy Parkinson & Sirius Black

Rating: T

Warnings: Mild Horror

The Bogeyman

Most parents used Voldemort as a bogeyman for their children, or at least, the parents who weren't also followers of the Dark Lord. Pansy's parents had been loyal Death Eaters, so they used someone far scarier, in Pansy's opinion. Someone who should have been the epitome of the pureblood ideal, but wasn't, and yet, still ended up in jail as a mass murderer.

Pansy's bogeyman was Sirius Black.

For years, she had nightmares of him crawling up the side of their manor house and into her bedroom. Sometimes in the nightmare, he was already there, hiding under her bed. Pansy quivered under the covers, squeezing her eyes shut tight, knowing that if she opened them, she'd see him: long, scraggly, dark hair, wild eyes, rags hanging from an emaciated body. Fingers that looked like they were as long as forearms, reaching, reaching, reaching for her.

It was bad enough some nights that she didn't sleep at all, just huddled beneath her blankets. Tears coursed down her face as she tried to tell herself that it was just her imagination, that he wasn't real, that he was far, far away in prison and couldn't hurt her. For some reason, she never quite believed her own words. This was likely due to the fact that any time she broke the smallest rule, made the tiniest infraction, her mother would turn to her and ask, "Do you want a visit from Sirius Black? He's mad, you know."

It was hard, at first, to remember all of the rules she was supposed to follow. But the more often the dreaded Sirius Black was invoked, the easier it became. The last thing she wanted was a visit from him.

By the time she arrived at Hogwarts, Pansy had mostly forgotten about how terrifying she found Sirius Black. She was old enough that she didn't believe in bogeymen anymore, or so she told herself. Besides, he was locked away in Azkaban, never to get out. It's not like he could hurt her. Plus, Hogwarts felt much safer than her parent's house. He would have to have the password to the Slytherin common room, he'd have to find out which dormitory she lived in, figure out which of the five beds was hers. She was safe at Hogwarts.

That was, until the summer before her third year.

At first, she hadn't known anything was wrong, though she had noticed her parents were holding more hushed conversations than usual. They always quieted when she or her younger sister, Hyacinth, were nearby. As much as Pansy wanted to know what her parents were whispering to each other, she felt she was too cool to pay attention.

It wasn't until they went to Diagon Alley that she realized what all those hushed conversations between her parents had been about. If she hadn't seen the wanted posters, perhaps she could have gone on to Hogwarts in peaceful bliss. But there, all over Diagon Alley, was his face, screaming at her, wearing the rags she had always imagined him in. His hair was long and scraggly. His eyes were wild and manic looking. He screamed and screamed and screamed in his wanted posters. If she closed her eyes, she could hear those screams in her head. Raw, wild, insane.

It was her bogeyman come to life, staring at her and screaming from every poster she passed.

The nightmares she had thought gone came roaring back in full force. That first night home from Diagon Alley, she stayed awake all night. The candle next to her bed never went out as she huddled against the headboard. Her eyes were wide and fearful, staring out at her bedroom, just waiting for him to find her.

On nights she did sleep, she woke drenched in sweat in the early morning hours, panting and breathless, sure that he was there in the room with her.

Whatever reason Sirius Black had for escaping Azkaban now, after having been incarcerated there for thirteen years, Pansy knew that it had nothing to do with her. Logically, in the cold light of day, she was sure of that fact. But the minute it got dark and she was sent to her room for the evening? Well, then it didn't matter how much logic she had at her disposal. All her brain could think about was the fact that Sirius Black wasn't locked up in Azkaban anymore. He wasn't safe behind bars. She wasn't safe from him. He was out there, somewhere, and nobody, not the Minister, not the Auror Corps, not the elite Hit Wizards, nobody knew where he was.

Her last few weeks before the school year started were some of the most stressful of her life. She was barely sleeping, which led to barely eating. As much as she wished she could tell her parents what was bothering her, when it came time to try on her uniforms once more, her mother commented that she was proud of Pansy for looking after her figure. Her mother was so blind, she didn't see that Pansy was losing weight, not because she was looking after her figure, but because she wasn't eating. That one comment circled Pansy's brain for weeks after returning to Hogwarts.

Despite Black being on the loose, she did feel a little better when she got to Hogwarts. With the Dementors circling the place, Black would have to be mad to show up there. And honestly, a person didn't escape from prison to show up at a boarding school. But then she heard Draco talking about Black to Crabbe and Goyle. She'd been minding her own business in the common room, and Draco was always a loud, braggadocious boy. Him having even a bit of information on the escaped convict made him feel important.

"Heard from my mother that he'll come after Potter for sure," Draco told his friends. "She thinks he's aiming to finish the job."

"What job?" Crabbe asked.

Pansy rolled her eyes. She had no idea how Draco put up with those two. Neither were very sharp, and Crabbe picked his bogeys and then ate them.

"The job the Dark Lord botched, obviously," Draco hissed to him. "Honestly, Crabbe, I think you get dumber by the day. Black was the one who betrayed Potter's parents, after all. Was best friends with his father, the filthy blood traitor, but Black came around in the end."

Pansy's blood ran cold. If what Draco said was true, and Black was really after Potter then… She packed up her books quickly. The common room no longer felt cozy and safe. It felt too open, too easy to get into. Hogwarts suddenly felt like the least safe place in the country.

All she could think that night, as she tossed and turned, was that she hoped Draco was wrong.

Despite how good of a teacher Professor Lupin was turning out to be, she was dreading their lesson on Boggarts. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors had been talking about it all week. The Gryffindors all found it brilliant, of course. The Hufflepuffs were slightly more circumspect, but Pansy was still half-terrified of the lesson. She knew exactly what her Boggart would be.

It was bad enough seeing him in wanted posters, hearing the other students and the professors whisper about him, and having her nightmares back. But to come face to face with him, in any capacity, was more than Pansy thought she could bear. If missing the lesson entirely wouldn't mean an automatic note home to her parents, she would have considered it. The last thing she needed was her mother breathing down her neck. She definitely would not understand why Pansy had skipped class, and worse, her mother might deem it necessary to come up to Hogwarts to talk to her. No, Pansy was going to have to go to class.

Supposedly, Lupin had stepped in before Potter could see his greatest fear, perhaps he'd do the same for her? Although it was unlikely, she wasn't special like Potter, it was a hope that she clung to.

She was sorely disappointed then when Lupin waved her forward first.

"Now remember, the spell is Riddikulus. Whatever your fear is, you'll have to acknowledge it, then think of something funny happening to the apparition. Are you ready, Miss Parkinson?"

Pansy shook her head. "Can't someone else go first?"

"It's alright, Miss Parkinson," Lupin said soothingly. "You're safe here. If it gets to be too much, I'll step in. Alright?"

Pansy sighed and gave the tightest nod as she gripped her wand at her side. The cupboard that the Boggart had taken up residence in was rattling ominously.

Lupin edged to the side, pulled the cupboard open, and there he was. Pansy froze at seeing him. His clothes were in tatters, hanging from his body, he looked just as he did in the wanted posters. She could just make out the tattoos on his chest beneath the grime from prison. His hair hung in tangles to his shoulders and the grin on his face was quite manic.

"Pansy Parkinson," he sing-songed as he advanced toward her. His voice was rusty from disuse, but she could hear the menace in it. Her palms were sweaty and when she lifted her arm to point it at him, her entire arm trembled.

"R-r-riddikulus," she mumbled. She never mumbled with spell-casting and felt like that dullard Longbottom as Sirius Black crept ever forward. She took one step back, and then another. He kept advancing toward her, lifting his own arms and reaching. His fingers were impossibly long and all thought left Pansy's head as she continued her slow retreat across the classroom. Her wand clattered to the floor at some point and Black tossed his head back in a cackling laugh. Finally, finally, Lupin stepped in front of her, blocking her from view.

Just like that, Black disappeared and a yellow orb took its place.

"Riddikulus!" Lupin shouted, and the orb rolled around back into the cupboard.

The professor gave her a strange look. "Alright, Miss Parkinson?"

She nodded shakily, though there was no relief now that Black was gone. He was just a Boggart away and that terrified her perhaps more than the thought of Black trying to get into Hogwarts.

Who knew how many Boggarts were in the castle? And each one of them, a replica Sirius Black, was waiting for her.

Pansy looked forward to the Halloween feast, just as she did every year. They'd been at school for two months and other than the Boggart lesson, there hadn't been a single sighting of Sirius Black. She was starting to feel a little better. Professor Lupin had assured their class that the Boggart would remain locked up in his office.

Perhaps Draco was wrong and Black wasn't after Potter anyway. He'd just escaped prison, there was no way he cared about a skinny thirteen-year-old boy.

She did forgo the trip to Hogsmeade on Halloween, though. Hogwarts may have proven safe, but there was no telling about the village and Pansy wasn't going to be putting herself at risk just for the chance to get some candy. She'd ask her mother to owl her some if she really wanted it.

The feast was amazing, as it usually was, and Pansy walked back to the Slytherin dormitory happier than she had been in weeks. She was feeling so full and sleepy that she felt sure, tonight, of all nights, she would get a good night's sleep. She was excited to go to bed for the first time in ages.

It wasn't to be, though. She had just started getting changed into her pajamas when a fifth-year prefect barged into her dormitory telling her to hurry up. They all had to go back to the Great Hall. A sinking feeling in Pansy's stomach made her wish she hadn't eaten quite so well at the feast. Whispers abounded as the entirety of Slytherin house made its way out of the common room and back to the Great Hall. The rest of the houses were present and the rumor was that Sirius Black had tried to break into the Gryffindor dormitory. None of the teachers confirmed this, though. Dumbledore just made some vague remarks about needing to stay in the Great Hall for their safety.

The headmaster conjured sleeping bags for them all and Pansy settled into hers, knowing there was no way she was going to get any sleep now. The hall wasn't completely silent, murmurs gave way to soft snores as the night wore on. The professors all patrolled and gathered in small groups to whisper together. All the while, Pansy's eyes were wide open and focused on the main doors of the hall. She knew there were other ways to get into the Great Hall, but the main doors were the only ones she could see from where the Slytherins had decided to camp.

It was late, or early, when suddenly her bladder made itself known. Pansy wasn't quite asleep, more like dozing or sleeping with her eyes open. She slowly sat up and looked around her. Everyone else was asleep. Even Snape, sitting up in a chair near the rest of the Slytherins, had his chin on his chest, his eyes closed. She couldn't see anyone awake.

If the professors were all back in the Great Hall, and it looked like they were, then they hadn't found Black in the castle. Using that logic, Pansy very carefully made her way out of her sleeping bag and over to the main doors of the Great Hall. She pushed on the right one and it opened silently as she slipped out into the corridor beyond and hurried toward the girl's lavatory near the Entrance Hall. She was nervous, her heart beating fast in her chest, but logic told her it had to be safe. The professors all wouldn't have fallen asleep if it weren't safe.

Black may have broken in if the whispers were true, but he must be gone by now. It had been hours. And the professors had done a thorough search of the castle. Of that, she was sure.

So despite her nerves, she pushed open the door to the lavatory. It was dark, all the torches were out and there was just a little moonlight filtering through the window for her to see by. She did her business, but just as she was washing her hands, she made the mistake of looking up into the mirror and met the eyes of the madman standing directly behind her.

"Hello, love," Sirius Black said. He looked just as he did in his wanted posters, as he did as her boggart: scraggly hair, scruffy beard, rags hanging from his body, worn and threadbare.

She screamed, her voice pitched high and echoing around them as he threw an arm around her shoulders and put the other hand over her mouth and nose, muffling the scream and cutting off her air supply.

"Quiet now," Black said in her ear. "I'm not here to hurt anyone. Just tell me where Harry is."

Pansy was shaking too hard to answer. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she did the most embarrassing thing she could do: she fainted.

~Fin~