𝔅𝔢𝔞𝔲𝔱𝔦𝔣𝔲𝔩 𝔓𝔞𝔦𝔫

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔗𝔴𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔶-𝔰𝔦𝔵

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𝔗𝔬𝔪'𝔰 𝔭𝔬𝔳

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"Locomotor," I say, my wand pointing at the boggart. I move the dark creature directly in front of Kritana, her eyes widening into saucers when she sees the figure in front of her. The boggart shifts from the cloaked figure in a tutu to what looks to be a live-action play or some type of vision. When I look closer at the boggart, I see Kritana laying naked on a wooden table, strapped down with chains, and with runes written in blood covering her pale body. Her eyes are wide and stricken with fear. When my eyes travel to the left, I see Rhysand screaming next to her from unimaginable pain, no doubt from a curse. The cruciatus curse perhaps. I also see a dark-haired woman with glowing white eyes holding an oddly familiar dagger in the air, both hands wrapped around the hilt. The strapped-down Kritana lets out a blood-curdling scream just before the woman with the dagger plunges it into her heart.

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Though I want to see more of what her fear is, my attention is drawn away from the scene before me when I hear a loud thud. I turn my head and see Kritana on the ground, her hair falling over her pale face, and her eyes closed.

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She's unconscious.

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That scared her so much that she fainted. That is not normal. Not even first years. Nobody faints because of a boggart unless their boggart is Grindelwald. Even then, most people don't faint. I have only heard of one person fainting because of a boggart in my five years at Hogwarts, and it was a first year.

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"Someone take her to the hospital wing!" Professor Merrythought orders. I walk over to Kritana and pick her up with ease. I haul her into my arms, her light weight making it easy. "I'll take her."

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Multiple students follow me out of the classroom, so I turn around, snarling at them. "Get back to class or you will all get a month's detention." They quickly scurry back into the classroom like the little rodents they are.

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Merlin, I hate children.

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Looking down at Kritana, my eyebrows furrow at what exactly it was that I saw. She was being killed, yes, but I don't understand how being killed could make someone faint when they know it isn't real. I can understand the mortal fear of death as most weak mortals are afraid of their inevitable end, but I don't understand why seeing what she saw affected her so much.

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Thinking back to the vision, I remember the blood runes covering her naked body. Runes are typically used in rituals—sacrificial rituals especially.

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Could her greatest fear be to be sacrificed?

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No, that doesn't make sense. Nobody's greatest fear is being sacrificed. That's an oddly specific fear. And her blond dog was in the vision. She knew him, so it is safe to assume she knew the woman that killed her in the vision as well. Our brain cannot create faces. The faces we see in our minds are only those we have seen beforehand. Even in our dreams, all the faces we see are the ones we have seen at least once in our lives, even if it was the face of a fleeting stranger.

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Could that be who she is running from? Who they are both running from?

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I thought she was running from something like her parents who were too strict or perhaps a crazy ex-lover but this... This is something I did not expect.

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I knew she had secrets hidden deep within her, but I never thought they included her getting sacrificed like a goat on an altar.

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Entering the hospital wing, I get the attention of the nurse on duty. "She fainted in class," I tell her, gently setting her down on the nearest bed. I absent-mindedly push a lock of her almost-black hair out of her face. "Why did she faint?" the nurse asks, walking over to her. "Boggart. It frightened her," I answer. She nods and brings her hand to Kritana's forehead, most likely checking her temperature. "She should wake up in a few minutes. It doesn't look like she hit her head, and she isn't running a fever. Is fainting common for her?" the nurse asks. I shake my head. "Not that I know of, ma'am, but when she gets up too fast, I have noticed that she may grab onto something as if to steady herself. And her eyes sometimes flutter as if she felt dizzy. Anemia perhaps?"

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"It is possible that she does have that, and that could be why she faints so easily," the nurse says, looking at her body, making mental notes of what she observes in her mind. She looks back at me. "You seem to know a bit about medicine. Have you ever thought of becoming a healer?" she asks. I give her a charming smile. "I am aiming to be the minister of magic or perhaps the dark arts teacher here at Hogwarts. Healing others was never really for me."

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She smiles. "Well, if you ever feel that change and are interested in becoming a healer, come speak to me." I smile and slightly bow my head in thanks. "Should I wait for her to wake?"

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"You can if you want to, Mr. Riddle. I'm going to get some food for her when she wakes. It's always best to have food after you faint to prevent it from happening again," she tells me. With that, she walks out of the hospital wing.

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Looking around, I spot a chair. I move it over until it is next to the hospital bed Kritana lays in, and I take a seat in it.

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Looking at her pale figure, I continue to wonder why she was so afraid. I suppose I could ask her once she wakes, but I doubt she will be forthcoming. She hasn't even told me her last name of all things. I suppose I could always threaten her or blackmail her, but then any chance of gaining her loyalty would go out the window. If I expect her to help me reach my goal, loyalty will go far more than an unbreakable vow.

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I suppose I will have to gain her trust. We have been at each other's throats for months now, and it has gotten me nowhere. I still don't know how to make a horcrux, and I still don't know anything about her or her blond dog. Perhaps I should try a different approach. I doubt she will be susceptible to my charm as she wasn't that night on her balcony when I pretended to care for her. She has feelings for the blond and not for me, so trying to appeal to her nonexistent feelings for me will do me as much good as blackmailing her. I shall try a different approach. Perhaps I could try being a friend. Or at least someone who doesn't bait her and make arrogant remarks every ten seconds.

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