Gray eyes stared outside at a flower bed filled with tulips. These deep wells stared as the tulips of varying hues of yellow swayed with the wind against a backdrop of green grass. The sun shone brightly onto the yard, casting a warming glow, turning it into a perfect day.
The gray eyes belonged to a young girl, no older than 8 years old. She was a very pretty girl. Auburn hair and deep penetrating eyes that were full of innocence. Her skin was of a very fair complexion. The girl's name was Ariana Dumbledore.
"Ari," came a voice as the door to the room opened slowly. "Ariana, why are you sitting in here all by yourself? It's a beautiful day, you should be outside." The voice had come from Ariana's mother, Kendra.
Kendra Dumbledore was an exceptionally beautiful woman. She had auburn hair just a few shades lighter than her daughter. Her eyes were of the palest shade of blue, but were always shining with the brightness of the ocean. People often commented on how they seemed to get lost in her eyes. Kendra Dumbledore was an exceptionally warm woman whose heart was always open. She was a great mother and wife to her family.
"I know mum. I am going. I'm just waiting for Albus to come back. He said he was going to go outside and play with me when he came back from Diagon Alley," explained Ariana.
"Sweetie, Albus should be back in a little while. You should be outside. It's nice outside."
"Okay mum," Ariana agreed. "When Albus comes in, could you just send him outside with me?"
"Sure, he'll be out there as soon as he comes in," Kendra said. "Do you want to take your toys out with you? Daddy just bought you a new Hover-Broom."
"Sure," Ariana said.
The little girl went out the back way to go play in her back yard. It was a rather large space. There was a square area with nothing but grass and farther back there were some trees with a small pond in the center.
Ariana looked around to make sure no one could see her, as he mother always told her to be careful of muggles watching. "Muggles don't understand magic," her mother would always say.
It was safe, so the girl sat down on her magically enchanted broom and kicked off the ground hard. The broom was enchanted to fly no more than five feet off the ground. Its speed was never too fast, just fast enough to induce a little thrill in the rider.
Ariana hovered around in the back yard. She then let the broom go up to its maximum height of five feet. She whizzed and whirled around the backyard, having fun. She flew to the pond the dipped low, letting her hand skim across the top of the pond, watching the pond ripple. Her brothers had always said that when she got to Hogwarts, she would be a shoe in as a Chaser, because her flying skills were so great.
After about an hour, or so, she grew tired of the broom and took it back inside. Albus had not yet come back. She ventured back outside and sat down. She wanted another toy, but she didn't know what. She decided that she would have some fun with one of her toy wands. Her father had bewitched one to make things hover. It did not register with the Ministry of Magic because she was not casting a spell. He had also cast a safety spell on it, very similar to the one on the Hover-Broom.
She brought the broom outside and began to find small items to levitate and make fly a few feet around the back yard. She took a rock and made it hover. It went a few feet in the air, and she sneezed. The rock went flying far away in the wrong direction. Quickly she chased after it, just to make sure it didn't land on anyone.
The rock landed with a small thud in the front garden. She turned around and walked back to the backyard, satisfied with where it landed.
"Hey you," came an unfamiliar voice.
Ariana turned around to see three boys. One of which she knew lived near her, and the other two she had never seen before. They appeared to be about 12 or 13 years old. The tallest one had dark brown hair. One was short and fat with dirty blonde hair. The one that appeared to be the oldest had jet black hair and cold eyes.
"Yes?" asked Ariana nervously.
"What did you do with that rock?" asked the short fat one.
"What rock?" she replied. She took the wand behind her back and stuffed it hard into her pockets, hiding it from view.
"The one you just came over here to look at," the fat one continued.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I have to get back inside, my mum will be worried."
"Wait," said the oldest one. He bent down and picked up the rock that she had just launched. "You did something to this rock, something to make it fly."
Ariana looked at the rock and quickly thought. "Oh, that rock. Yes, I remember now. I threw it across the yard, and then I came over to make sure it hadn't hit anyone. That's all," she explained quickly. A line of sweat formed across her forehead.
"You're lying," said the brown haired one, speaking for the first time. "My friends and I were watching you from my garden shed window. You had some kind of stick, and you made the rock move. Where is the stick?"
"What stick?" she asked nervously. There was a little more desperation in her voice. She wanted to be back inside with her parents.
"You've got the stick. We didn't see you put it down," said the brown haired boy.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm going back inside now," Arian said. She turned on her heel and tried to walk away. One of the boy's grabbed her arm, and she felt the wand lifted from he pocket. She spun around quickly.
"Give that back," she demanded.
"Give what back?" asked the blonde haired boy. "The stick you said didn't exist?"
Ariana watched as the boys passed the wand between them, flicking it at rocks, trying to make them move. She knew nothing would happen, as it was charmed to only work in her hands.
"Give it back," she demanded once more, this time a little louder.
"Give it to her," the oldest one said. The boy holding the wand gave it back to Ariana. "Now, little girl. I want you to show us how you made the rock fly." His cold eyes were focused on her bright gray eyes.
"I can't…I didn't…" she stammered as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Come on freak, make the rock fly," said the brown haired boy.
Ariana stood there, dumbfounded. She was wishing with all her might that Albus would return and save her from these boys. She didn't know what they would do to her if she didn't do something for them.
"Go on freak, make the rock fly," said the oldest boy with a little more authority in his voice.
For the next ten minutes or so, they boys yelled at Ariana, ignoring her tears. They tried as hard as they could to make her use the wand, but she would not budge. It would have been simple to use the wand, but her father and mother told her never to use magic in front of muggles.
"Fine, since the freak doesn't want to use her freak stick, how about me make sure she won't do anymore of her freak tricks," said the oldest boy. He snatched the play wand from her hands. "If this stick can make you do tricks, maybe it can make you stop doing them." The boy took the wand and swung hard, hitting Ariana in the side of her face. The girl screamed in pain, wondering where her mother was, and why Albus had yet to show up.
"Shut up freak, it's for your own good," said the brown haired boy. "We're trying to stop you from being a freak." He shoved her hard to the ground, and she hit her hair on a rock. She continued to cry.
"Freak! Freak! Freak!" the three boys began to chant. The blond haired boy scooped up a handful of small pebbles and began to throw them at her. The brown haired boy spat on Ariana's face. The oldest continued hitting her all around her body with the wand. Tears streamed down her face.
Where is Albus? She thought to herself. He said he would only be gone a few minutes. Mum…where did mum go? Why isn't she here?
"Ari?" came a voice. The three boys heard it and dropped the wand and the pebbles and set off down the lane. "Ariana, what happened?" came the voice of her mother. "Percival!" she called. "Something is wrong with Ariana"
No more magic, the girl declared to herself.
Inside the little girl's head, she barely registered what was going on. She was looking up at the sun, barely noticing anything around her. Tears streamed silently down her face. She felt herself being lifted and placed in her bed.
This day had changed the little girl forever. Ariana Dumbledore was now little more than a shell of what she had been on any day before. Her eyes focused on the door to her room and she watched her big brother Albus enter. She wanted to talk, but no words would form. Her mouth barely moved.
He was supposed to be outside with me, the girl thought to herself. Anger welled up in the girl. Somewhere downstairs in the basement, away from anyone, a vase broke of its own accord and exploded across the floor.
No more magic.