Chaser 2 of Magpies;
Prompt: A fluffy story using the prompt 'sad' (word) OR an angsty story using the prompt 'happy' (word)
Optional Prompts: (location) Leaky Cauldron; (scenario) a deeply religious Muggleborn discovers they're a witch/wizard; (object) telephone
Disclaimer: I still don't own it
Word count: 1000+ as stated by Google docs.
A/N: Picking prompts because you think they seem fun or easy to work with may cause feelings of regret and frustration.
Anne was born to a perfectly normal Christian family.
They went to church every Sunday, they prayed before every meal, they followed the Ten Commandments and they planned to bring up their child to do the same.
Anne was not a normal child.
She did seem normal at first—people even said that she was the cutest baby on the block—but that didn't last.
She was only four years old when she started using magic.
It was small things at first: making the toy across the room suddenly appear at her side, using magic to get rid of food she hadn't liked when no one was looking, and a number of other small instances.
Anne started repressing her magic at the age of five.
Her parents, being the deeply religious people they were, hadn't reacted too favorably when their five-year-old daughter showed them a trick that made her doll fly through the air. They were more than a little frightened and started calling it the work of the Devil. Anne hadn't understood what that meant at the time; she could sense that it upset her parents but was too young to understand why.
Her life was very different from then on, filled with fearful glances and almost daily visits to the church.
She quite liked going to the church at first, was amazed at how pretty the light looked when it went through the stained windows, but even that hadn't lasted.
Her parents made frequent appointments with the priest, where they told him what horrifying thing had their daughter done that week.
Anne often heard sentences like: "She made her dolls fly in the air!" and "She appeared on the other side of the house even though we locked the door of her room!" and even "She changed the colour of fur on the neighbours' dog!"
"She must be possessed by the Devil," he replied.
The older Anne got, the more frightened she became. She quickly learned the meaning of the words the Devil, evil, and fear.
The priest said there was nothing they could do for her but pray and hope the Lord would help her get rid of it.
So they prayed and prayed and prayed, and slowly, her bouts of magic became less and less frequent until they completely stopped happening.
Or so her parents thought.
Anne never fully stopped using her magic, even though she tried really hard to never let it out. Thankfully, no one was around when she used it. Sadly, that didn't leave her feeling any less frightened.
Her parents never fully stopped looking at her in fear—they tried to hide it, but she had spent too long observing them not to notice the signs.
Their life continued like that for a while. They went to church every other day, they prayed at least three times per day, and they did their best to appear to the world as a perfectly normal, happy family that had no reason to be worried or afraid.
Everything changed one sunny day when the telephone rang.
Knowing her mother was preoccupied with cooking dinner, Anne answered the phone.
Anne was nine years old when her aunt called her to tell her that her father had died in a car crash.
She had little memory of what happened afterwards. She only remembers dropping the phone and then everything turning dark.
When she came to, she was laying on a soft bed in an unfamiliar room. It was not an overly large room, but it was bigger than hers and was filled with polished oak furniture and had a fireplace across from the bed.
Anne found that odd; why would anyone put a fireplace in a bedroom?
She got up and had just started to walk towards it when a door on her right opened to show the smiling face of an oddly dressed man.
"Oh, good, you're awake! We were afraid we'd have to take you to St Mungo's if you didn't wake up soon," the man said.
She continued standing there as he fully entered the room.
His clothes were still odd, but they seemed to have an official look to them.
"Who are you and where am I?" she asked him.
The man put on an obviously fake smile and answered her. "My name is Auror Williams, but you can call me Jim. You're at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley."
Seeing her confused expression, he hastened to further explain.
"Ah, right, you probably don't know where that is, do you? We're in a wizarding street in London. Oh, and wizards and witches are what we call people who have magic, such as you and me. You're a witch, congratulations!"
Anne felt her face pale as she took in his words. Her, a witch? A person with magic? No, no, she couldn't be! Magic was the work of the Devil, and she couldn't—
She slowly became aware of the hands on her shoulders and her irregular breathing and the man's voice telling her that it was all going to be alright and that she had nothing to fear.
Nothing to fear? This man didn't understand; she had everything to fear!
"No," she whispered, and then loudly repeated, "No! I can't be a witch — you're lying!"
She shoved the man away from her and backed up against the wall.
"Hey, calm down. It's alright; there's nothing to be afraid of here," he said, trying to placate her.
"No, no, no! Stay back! Where are my parents? I want my parents; I want to go home!"
She was panicking and looking around the room for possible exits.
The man took a cautious step forward and tried to get her to calm down again.
"I'm afraid your parents aren't here right now, and I promise to answer all your questions once you calm down. Can you do that for me, sweetie?"
Anne took a deep breath and tried to calm her breathing.
The Auror smiled as her breathing became more regulated and even.
"That's it, in and out, in and out. See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now, why don't we sit down at the desk in the corner, have some tea and talk a little? Or better yet, I'll order you the Leaky Soup House."
"The what?" Anne asked, puzzled.
"The Leaky Soup House. It is one of the dishes they serve here. They also have Soup Leaky House and House, House Soup, if you want?"
"Just tea will be fine."
"Alright. Wait here, then; I'll be right back!"
She sat there, waiting for him to come back. Leaky Soup House? This place was too odd for her.
Auror Williams came back after a while and gave her an—unusually normal for this place—cup of tea.
He watched drink the tea and waited for the Calming Draught to start working before speaking.
"I see you're having trouble accepting that you're a witch and I'm not really the right person for doing this, but I need you to accept that fact. I'm sure you have noticed by now that you are not like others and that you can do things that others can't. What you have been doing is using magic, and I know some Muggles—sorry, non-magical people—have trouble accepting magic and magical children, which I assume is what happened with your family, based on your previous response."
She gave a small nod and looked away.
"That is alright. There's no need to be ashamed; it happens. Now, I'm afraid that that was the reason your magic reacted the way it did earlier. You have been suppressing it, haven't you?"
"Magic is the work of the Devil," she answered.
"Now, I have to stop you there. Magic is not the work of the Devil or any other 'evil' creatures. It simply is. Now, I need you to tell me what happened to make your magic react the way it had earlier. Please answer as this is very important."
"The telephone rang and I went to answer it and it was my aunt and she said—she said— She said Father—"
He thought about going to her and hugging her but thought better of it.
"Why don't you have some tea, it will help you feel better," he suggested and waited for her to comply.
"I think that's enough for today. We can talk more tomorrow after the Healers finish with your mother."
"The Healers?" she asked, confused. "My mother! Is she alright—what happened?"
"You mother is alright now. It seems like she came to check up on you after the phone call and your magic pushed her away, causing her to hit her head and blackout. She's going to be alright now; it's all going to be alright."
She didn't believe him but had no choice but to take his words as truth.
"What happens now?" she asked, feeling small and tired.
"You should get some sleep; it has been an exhausting day for you. Like I said, we will talk tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I shall take my leave now. Goodnight and goodbye."
He left then, leaving her to her thoughts.
She went back to bed, hoping that things would be better tomorrow.