Michael Brown
To say that I was surprised by the sight before me would be a gross understatement.
After all, I was for some reason looking at what appeared to be an almost identical copy of myself. While there were certainly some subtle differences to be found, such as slightly too perfect hair or unwrinkled clothes, it was definitely a good enough replica to fool a casual observer.
But while the copy was certainly impressive, I didn't quite understand why I was seeing it instead of, let's say, Lupin, Dumbledore or any other Ministry enforcer. As far as I knew, it was the Ministry that was the greatest and most immediate threat to my life, so I reasonably assumed that the bogart would reflect that threat. Well, I could also potentially accept the sight of my parents, shadow government agents that they were, but to see myself instead of them?
It was... unexpected, to say the least.
The strangest thing about Bogart's appearance was that it didn't even try to look different from me. If it wanted to show me the version of me that decided to join the ministry, why didn't it add some sort of sinister, dark robe or Hugo Boss uniform? Hell, the doppelganger wore the same clothes as I did, a normal Hogwarts robe with plain, simple clothes underneath!
While I was studying boggart, the boggart was studying me. At least that's what I assumed was the case, because its (my?) eyes rested squarely on me, unblinking and unrelenting. It was quite unnerving, to be honest, because there was some unexpected intensity in its gaze, some unreadable intention hidden between its eyes...
"Ehm, Mr. Brown?" A sudden cough from the side startled me, bringing me back to reality. Confused, I turned to look at the source of the noise, only to see Lupin.
While his voice sounded calm, gentle even, I could clearly hear the underlying threat there. The beast didn't like to wait, it seemed. Better not to upset it further.
Well, there was no point in prolonging it anyway, I supposed. Shaking my head to focus, I once again looked at the boggart, this time fully ready to ridicule it. As if sensing my quiet determination, the double began to shake, its entire body trembling violently, as if exposed to a frosty wind. Its mouth slowly opened, seemingly preparing itself to say something, but then...
"AAAAAAAAARHHGGHH!" It shrieked like a dying animal, its agonized howl causing everyone in the classroom to jump up in shock and look at it in horror. Heedless of their reaction, the doppelganger clutched its head in its hands and fell to the floor, its body twisting and turning in unexplained agony.
Whatever was happening to it must have been truly horrible, because it eventually rose to its knees and began violently banging its head on the floor, apparently trying to escape the agony by rendering itself unconscious. Unfortunately, given the immaterial nature of the monster, it was unable to do so, forced to endure unknown torture.
Disturbed by this bizarre display, I looked to Lupin for guidance, hoping the man would tell me what to do in such a situation. Unfortunately, he seemed as freaked out as the rest of us, though surprisingly he didn't look at the boggart on the floor, his shocked eyes resting on me instead.
Seeing that I would get no help from anyone else, I finally pulled myself together, intending to finally overcome my... fear, I supposed? Filled with newfound mercy, I again aimed Kenny at the screaming avatar of fear. It seemed to understand my intentions, because it slowly rose from its kneeling position and stared at me, trembling. I didn't know what it saw when it looked at me, but it suddenly leapt to its feet in panic and... ran to the wardrobe, closing the door behind it.
Silence reigned in the classroom. The eyes of every other student, previously focused on the boggart, suddenly landed on me, their gazes burning holes in my head.
Hesitantly, I turned to Lupin to see his reaction, but the man was still looking at me, his gaze indecipherable.
"...Did I pass?" I asked quietly, unable to think of anything else to say in this bizarre situation.
"...Yes, sure." Lupin replied, his voice similarly quiet.
Unsurprisingly, the class was cut short after that. Apparently, Lupin decided that it might be difficult for the students to have fun after such a startlingly graphic spectacle, and felt that it would be prudent to continue the class at another time.
I couldn't entirely blame him for this decision, as I, too, was shocked by the experience.
I mean, who would have thought that my greatest fear was actually being subjected to excruciatingly painful torture?
XXXX XXXXXXXX
The moon was shining brightly in the night sky when it happened.
The wardrobe, previously motionless and forgotten, began to shake, moved by some unknown force. The initial tremors were fairly subtle, but they quickly grew in intensity, soon threatening to knock over the entire piece of furniture with their force.
Various screams and growls could be heard from inside the wardrobe, accompanied by sounds of breaking, fraying and tearing. It was impossible to see what was happening there, but whatever it was, it was not pleasant.
The thing inside was thrashing around like a wild animal trapped in a cage, looking for a way to escape. This desperate struggle continued for the next few minutes, but after a while the shaking began to diminish, eventually ceasing altogether. Silence returned to the classroom for a moment, making it seem as if nothing had happened, but then...
...the lock to the wardrobe began to move, eventually unlocking the door with a distinctive click. The door then began to slowly open, revealing... something.
No one was around to see what came out of the wardrobe that night. But if they were, they probably would have said that it looked deceptively similar to a certain Ravenclaw boy...
...At least until they saw the thing suddenly change shape, its body twisting and warping with blinding speed, only to return to the shape of a boy seconds later with an expression of pain on its face.
No one was also around to see the thing slowly walk into the night with its gaze filled with hatred and Michael Brown's name on its lips.
Truly, it was quite a shame that no one was there.
Maybe if they were, things would have turned out differently.
So, we didn't learn about Michael's greatest fear in this chapter. Sorry for that. Don't worry though, I promise that you'll find out before the end of this school year. Maybe it will even be accompanied by some character development?
Anyway, I finally got around to introducing one of this year's three antagonists. Michael didn't really have one during the last year, so I want to overcompensate. The second antagonist is probably obvious, but the third one will be quite...unexpected.