Chapter 33 of NoFP: Destructive Impulses

Is now being uploaded. However, given the delays a certain site is experiencing, I thought I’d give you all the first bit below:

In Harry’s defence, it could be said that familiarity with his nightmares had worn some of the corners off of them. When one has the same dream repeatedly over the course of a couple of years, some details tend to become slightly blurred. But the Boggart’s magic didn’t care about familiarity and didn’t care about the passage of time. The creature’s unique magical defence seized on the strongest negatively-associated image in Harry’s mind and reproduced it in exquisite, loving detail for its victim.
 

Harry’s breath froze in his lungs as he saw an older Ginny sprawled dead on the desk. Details that hadn’t consciously registered that horrible day were reproduced down to the last spatter of blood. The artificially pale face, robbed of all circulation; the bones protruding from her wand arm, the stub of wood still clenched between two fingers; the broken and bent legs; the shredded and burned robe. Glimpses of torn underclothes.
 

Harry’s wand was in his hand, but it was shaking so hard he couldn’t raise it. He knew he was supposed to come up with a way to make this humorous, to laugh at it, but there wasn’t anything remotely funny in his mind right now. He clamped down on his Occlumency shields, trying to rob the Boggart of any input. The image wavered slightly as he heard the scrape of desks around him beginning to move.
 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Professor Lupin lunge towards him, clearly trying to distract the Boggart. He’d taken two steps, dodging around the desks moving away from Harry. He almost reached the Boy Who Lived before something unseen flung him toward the doorway with stunning force.
 

Suddenly Ginny was replaced by a sprawled corpse, mangled beyond recognition, only a few tufts of short red hair visible through the blood and gore that covered the head. Harry gritted his teeth as Ron’s corpse was replaced with an older version of Hermione, face deathly pale, but with her throat a red ruin that cascaded down to cover her blouse. It took a moment for Harry to realize that the animal growl he heard was coming from himself. Then Luna and Neville appeared in quick succession, their eyes glassy from the Killing Curse. Then a final figure that wasn’t dead.
 

The red-slitted eyes locked onto Harry’s as Voldemort’s victorious smirk spread across his features. The red silken robes rustled as the Dark Lord almost lazily raised his wand, the green glow of the Killing Curse already lighting the tip.
 

“I’ve already won, Potter,” it seemed to hiss as Harry’s scar exploded with well-remembered pain.
 

“NO!” Harry screamed at the top of his lungs. “Singularis Nex!”  he roared, the simple Boggart-banishing hex forgotten. The much-abused student desks, already pushed back to the walls, shattered to kindling behind him as a mote of pure darkness shot from his wand. Half-forgotten reflexes came to the fore and he dived and rolled to the side to avoid the counterstroke, coming up on one knee to blast Voldemort when he dodged Harry’s initial strike…
 

Only to watch the ersatz Dark Lord stare in confusion at onrushing doom. The pulsing ball of blackness travelled far slower than most curses, but that didn’t matter if its target didn’t move. When it struck the transformed Boggart it exploded with mind-numbing force and Harry had to shield his eyes with his hand.
 

When Harry lowered his arm, the Boggart was gone. As was the packing case, Professor Lupin’s desk, the bookshelves, and all the other furnishings at that end of the room. Not even dust remained on the scorched stones, some of which showed hairline cracks.
 

Harry swallowed and turned, still on one knee, toward the entrance to the classroom. With a quiet groan, Remus Lupin sat up, blinking owlishly and rubbing at the back of his head.
 

Harry froze in place for a moment, heart pounding, as the rage in his heart was abruptly replaced by chagrin.
 

This has gone utterly pear-shaped.
 

And I suppose that partially explains the title, eh?