Atelophobia

15_ boggart

Theo

"Alright class, in preparation for your N.E.W.T.s we are going to work with boggarts today, which you should remember from third year," says Lupin.

Ah yes, I remember those little shits. Mine turned into a gnome, and Blaise never stopped making fun of me.

Those things are deadly—my mom used to have them in her gardens.

We line up, and I head towards the back with the rest of the Slytherins.

Dalton was just a couple people in front of us, which caught be my surprise.

I wonder why she doesn't want to show off for once—what is she afraid of?

One by one, we go through the line. I don't even pay attention to everyone else's, I just let my mind wander about other random things.

"Mr. Nott," Lupin motions to the cabinet with his hand, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Right, sorry sir."

I step forward as the boggart comes out, expecting to see another gnome or something dumb, but when the boggart transforms into a small girl crumpled on the floor, it feels like my chest is going to collapse.

"Ce-Cecilia," my voice breaks, and I rush to my knees beside her.

She's bleeding out, so, so much.

"Theo—" she mutters.

"I'm here, Celia," I choke, trying to stop her wounds from bleeding more.

But there's so much.

My hands are drenched in red; I can see her face going purple. My heart is pounding so fast that it feels like it's going to burst.

But I need to stay strong for her.

"It hurts, Theo," she whimpers.

And that's when I lose it. I fall to the floor beside her, clinging onto her body like my life depends on it.

"I'm sorry, Cecilia, I'm so sorry I didn't protect you—" I sob.

I can feel the life draining out of her. And my life, along with it.

I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't do as I promised.

But all of a sudden, the body disappears, leaving me still on the floor.

The trance disappears as soon as it began, hot tears still streaming down my face.

It dawns on me that this wasn't real, that it was just a boggart, but I'm still so shaken that I can't even turn to face the professor.

At some point, he had dismissed the rest of the class, leaving just us in the room.

"You are strong, Theodore. Even if you don't see it," he finally says.

"I don't need your pity," I say as I storm out of the room.

Why he decided it would be a good idea to do face our worst fears in the first place, I have no fucking clue.

I head straight to my bed, sighing as I lay down on my back.

It wasn't real, I try to tell myself. But it felt like it.

And if it did happen, it would be all my fault.

I reach into my drawer for a cigarette, but as I do I hear a knock on the door.

"Who is it," I say sharply.

"It's me, Cecilia."

My heart swells in relief, but I still don't want her to see me in such a mess.