Peculiar ~A T.R fanfiction~

Chapter 10 ~The patronus~

Students continued to perform against the boggart. Maria saw a dog, an animal that she was deathly allergic to. Jezebel saw the ones she loved dying. Eileen saw giant needles as she hated them with a passion. Everyone's fears were mundane until Tom Riddle stood up, ready to face the boggart. Now Tom Riddle would have seen himself lying there dead but that was no longer his greatest fear. In time it would once again become his greatest fear but as of this moment, it was dementors. 

So the boggart shifted between shapes for a few minutes before settling on a dementor. It automatically felt colder in the room and some student began shaking in fear. It had hands that looked like bones covered in a thin black skin. It was covered by a black coat that seemed to defy the laws of gravity as it moved with the creature. It looked like a pile of black rags had been thrown in water in Julietta's mind. The rest of the children were to busy being scared to truly look at the creature. Before Tom Riddle could make a move in the few seconds since the boggart had appeared, it felt more like minutes. Julietta had shouted "Expecto Patronum". Out of her hand came a large patronus shaped like a thestral. 

The thestral walked around for a few moments before walking over to the dementor and pushing it back into the closet. Student watched in awe as the animal of death itself fought off a dementor. The teacher was shocked at such a young person could produce such a powerful patronus or a patronus at all. He was also shocked that someone so young could be so deep and intelligent to have a thestral patronus. Tom Riddle was shocked the most out of all of them, though you couldn't see it on his face. Even Tom Riddle himself couldn't produce a Patronus.

You see to have a thestral patronus you must have accepted death. Julietta welcomed her last breath with open arms. She is reserved and mysterious just like the animals she loves so much. She smiled softly at the form her patronus took as it flew around the room. She had always been fond of the creatures and was not surprised when her patronus took that form when she first performed the spell as a child. Her patronus took this form not only because she had a connection with the animals or because she had accepted death. It was because she understood the difference between death and evil, unlike many people who feared the gentle creatures. She was deeply philosophical and intelligent which put her above the others who had accepted death.

The class watched as it danced around before it fizzled out like it was never there in the first place. Now, most classes would have stopped and broken out into havoc at someone producing a patronus. This was not most classes and by now they had learned to expect great things from the young Goldwood girl. The entire school and staff had learned to expect great things from Julietta Goldwood. They allowed themselves their few seconds of shock before the next student stepped up to face the boggart.

The class ended and Julietta's friends began their interrogation. "You never told us your patronus was a thestral. Heck, you never even told us you could produce a patronus." declared Jezebel and Julietta just retorted "You never asked." Maria nodded in agreement causing Jezebel to slap her shoulder. "Look Bel she is right. We never asked if she could produce a patronus. We also never asked her if Grindleward is her godfather so we can't actually get mad that she didn't tell us. Plus she has never lied to us. Also, don't slap me." ordered Maria and while those to fought Julietta walked down to the lake. Eileen left to go to Gobstones club and when the two finally stopped fighting they noticed their friends missing. 

Julietta wandered around the lake for a while until she stumbled across a group of Slytherin boys. She saw them before they saw her and she automatically recognized some of them as the pureblood Slytherin boys she saw at the events of the upper class. She also saw Tom Riddle who saw her long before his friends did. Their eyes met and they gave each other their usual nod. Then his friends saw her and were rather taken aback. "Would you walk with me Goldwood?" asked Tom Riddle and Julietta nodded. This only took his loyal servants aback more. 

They walked side by side for a few minutes before Tom broke the silence "Please indulge me in the simple pleasure of knowledge and please tell me about your patronus." Julietta smiled at how charming and sneaky he was. "Well Mr. Riddle, A patronus is a magical charm. It is a projection of your inner self. It is a projection of your soul itself. It takes the shape of the animal whom you share the deepest affinity. If you can conjure a patronus you can protect yourself against the world. You see a patronus is the very thing a dementor feeds upon. Hope, happiness and the furious desire to survive but a patronus isn't a human. Meaning it can't feel despair and it can't feel helpless or afraid so the dementors can't touch it. Mine just so happens to be a thestral."

Her eyes shined at the thought of her patronus and Tom Riddle noticed this. In the milliseconds before Julietta composed herself, he saw the expression of pure admiration in her eyes for her patronus. She said only things he already knew but he had never seen that look in someone's eyes before that moment. "Goodbye Riddle, I hope you will one day learn to cast a patronus. I hope that one day you like your patronus the same way I love mine," she said and she left him standing there. His eyes followed her as she walked away. He was curious and wanted to know exactly how she knew he couldn't produce a patronus.