Chapter Four

She barely left me alone throughout the months after that day. The only time I was really alone was when I was asleep. Every other time she was there, breathing down my neck, throwing insults my way every five seconds. Due to her constantly being around, I never got the opportunity to go through with my plan to leave. She never went out anymore and I wasn't allowed to go back to school. Instead, she taught me magic. It was a shock at first, to discover that magic really exists and isn't just something from fairytales and Disney movies. I can still remember the day I discovered magic clearly. It was as if it were only yesterday.

3rd of June 1995

I rubbed my eyes sleepily, dragging my feet to the kitchen for a glass of water. Turning the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks. Vanora was standing behind the old wooden kitchen table, staring at me expectantly. On the table was a pile of books, a polished stick, a pot thing and several plants and other funny looking stuff. I stared at Vanora confusedly, frozen in my standing position in the doorway. "Uh...what's all this about? Why have you got a polished stick?"

"It's not a polished stick, Alexia. It's called a wand. You use it to cast spells, enchantments, hexes and whatnot." She pulled out a chair and beckoned me to join her. It's a wand? Either she was playing a joke on me or she was losing her mind. Wands are something from fairytales, not reality. I eyed her cautiously as I sat in the chair opposite hers. "Before I begin, do you remember that day when you made those spiders float in the air?"

"Of course, how could I forget it?" I nodded, wondering what this was all about and why she brought that day up. I was six years old when it happened and was playing in the garden when I tripped and somehow made two spiders float in the air. The sight of the two spiders suspended in mid air gave me the creeps and I had run into the house, telling Vanora what had happened. She ran out to investigate afterward.

"Do you know how you did it?" I shook my head. That was something I was still trying to figure out. She continued. "I do. You were using magic."

I laughed at what I thought was her silly idea of a joke, but she wasn't laughing or anything to say that it was a joke. "You can't be serious?! Magic doesn't exist, you know that."

She shook her head. "But it does exist. I'll show you."

She grabbed the polished stick, the thing she called a wand, and flicked her hand around. Green sparks shot out of the end of the stick and flew up to the ceiling. I gaped at it in awe, not believing that magic truly existed. Vanora was smiling smugly at me, the wand now resting on the table once again.

After that, she taught me everything about magic from potion making to transfiguration. I was no longer concerned about going back to that muggle school. I had something infinitely better. Magic was like a release for me, an escape. I still thought of my mother and was still looking for the opportune time to leave. But Vanora never left me alone. So I had no choice but to stay and bide my time.

It was now the first of July, only six days till my sixteenth birthday, which I doubt Vanora even knew about. Vanora had only just finished teaching me about summoning charms, watching me carefully as I made several objects float to me.

"Okay, now that you know all the basics. I'm going to teach you how to use the unforgivable curses," Vanora instructed one afternoon. "Hopefully, one day, we'll be able to go to England and join my master, the Dark Lord."

"Who-who's the Dark Lord?" I asked cautiously, biting my bottom lip. I wasn't sure I liked the sound of this 'Dark Lord'. He seemed a bit...weird to me. I mean, who calls themselves a dark lord?

"Lord Voldemort; he's a genius. He only just came back to power over a year ago," she answered, frowning deeply. "It's been so long since I have seen him, fifteen years in fact. That's when that bastard, Harry Potter destroyed my master. Well, he'll rue the day he ever destroyed my master. Oh, he will."

"I feel sorry for Harry Potter," I mumbled, looking away from her awkwardly. I could feel her eyes on me as I summoned a glass cup over to me. I froze in my position, the glass falling to the floor and smashing into a million pieces. I'd heard that name somewhere before. I swear I had. Not Harry Potter, but Voldemort. It took me a few moments to remember exactly where I had heard it from. My mother—my biological mother—wrote about him in her journal. He had murdered her parents because they wouldn't join his side in whatever was going on back then.

"What the hell?! What do you think you're playing at?" Vanora snapped, bringing me back to reality. I turned, staring at her wide-eyed. She was a follower of this Voldemort? Why would anyone want to follow a murderer? It only took me a few seconds to realise that she was a murderer. My mum's journal was testimony to it.

"I didn't mean to do it, it was an accident!" I snapped, waving the wand she had given me to clean the mess. Vanora sneered at me, her eyes narrowing.

"Don't you use that tone with me! Go to your room! We'll finish this lesson once you've learnt to respect your elders." She pointed to the door, her cold gaze watching me pass through it. I already knew that I should respect my elders, but after learning who she truly was, I didn't want to respect her any more than I would a cane toad. I was glad to be out of the room anyway. It was about time I planned my escape.

When I entered my bedroom, I pulled out the bag I had packed months ago and hid it underneath my bed so I could easily retrieve it when I was making my escape. I wouldn't be able to leave immediately as it was still daylight and I would be discovered easily. But I was determined to leave as soon as I could.

Once the bag was well hidden behind a cardboard box, I laid on my bed, waiting for the moon to rise. I could hear Vanora moving around in the living room, probably doing more damage to the house. As the afternoon wore on, the sky turning a reddish-orange, I continued to listen to Vanora's movements and guessing what was going to happen next. At a quarter past five, she opened my door and asked me to return to the living room, the argument seemingly forgotten.

"The first of the unforgivable curses is the Imperius curse. It causes the victim to be completely under control by the caster, who, in turn, can make the victim do anything they wish," Vanora began once we'd returned to the living room. I listened intently to her, wanting to know what to look out for if I ever came across any bad witches and wizards. "The second curse is the Cruciatus curse. It causes the victim to suffer terrible pain. Some people have even been driven insane because of it. Then there is the last unforgivable curse: the killing curse. Only one person has ever survived it and that was Harry Potter."

I nodded, taking the wand out of her outstretched hand. She pulled out a red-back spider out of a glass jar that she had captured some time that afternoon. She released it onto the back of the lounge, where it scurried off, looking for a hiding spot. "I want you to perform each of the curses on this spider. For the Imperius curse, you say 'imperio'. Now do it, before it escapes."

I gulped loudly, pointing the wand nervously at the spider, which was now slowly cascading down the side of the lounge on a strand of spiders' silk. "I-imperio!"

The spider stopped, dangling in mid air right where the wand was pointing. Vanora began to clap loudly, cheering me on. "Good, good! Now drag it to that corner cupboard over there."

I made it move to the cupboard and then let it go, turning to Vanora. "Can we do the rest tomorrow? I'm tired."

"Okay, bright and early though," she sighed, looking disappointed. I put the wand on the corner cupboard and sat on the lounge, watching the spider working its way to the open window. Vanora disappeared into the kitchen, I suppose, to prepare dinner. It was time for me to make my escape. I had it planned out. I knew what I was going to do.

I eyed the wand on the cupboard, planning on stealing it. I had to be careful. I had to make sure she was out of sight, otherwise it wouldn't work. That was one of the reasons why I said I was tired. I stood up and tiptoed to the kitchen door, looking in to see if Vanora was watching or not. She was turned away, chopping something up in cubes. Sure she wasn't going to turn away anytime soon, I snuck over to the wand, slipping it into my front pocket. I then walked casually out of the living room to my bedroom to retrieve my bag.

"Alexia, come here!" Vanora called, sounding angry. I sighed, dropping my bag and pushing it back under my bed. I took the wand out of my pocket and hid underneath my pillow so it wasn't obvious. I then made my way out to her in the kitchen. She must have known I was already there because when next she spoke, it was quieter. "Where is the wand?"

She was facing me, her expression cold and hard as stone, the food cooking on the stove forgotten. One look at her told me that she knew I had taken it. She knew I had stolen the wand and hidden it. "I'll be back."

I returned to my bedroom to get the wand. I wouldn't be able to steal the wand again. It was pointless now. She would keep it on her person from now on. I would have to escape without using magic. I returned to the kitchen, showing her the wand.

"I put it on that cupboard in the hall," I lied, putting the wand onto the table. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me, making me panic. I didn't think she believed me, but she snatched the wand out of my hands and turned back to the stove anyway, not saying a word to me. I exited the kitchen through the living room door and went to retrieve my bag. When I had closed my bedroom door and went to exit through the front door, there was a loud rumbling coming from the living room. I dumped my bag and ran to the living room to investigate.

Dirt and dust was erupting from the fireplace, making it barely visible. But from what I could see through the dust, even with my eyes squinted into slits, was a small figured lying on the now-brown carpet. Vanora was standing in the kitchen doorway, her eyes narrowed into slits as well. I guess she saw the girl, who was now clambering awkwardly to her feet, as well, because she began to walk forward, looking confused and angry. I rushed to the girl, helping her balance herself, before Vanora could get to her and harm her in any way.

"Uh...it's okay Mother. I'll um, sort her out," I said loudly to Vanora. She stared at me sceptically before nodding, figuring she could trust me with this. To the girl I muttered, "Come with me. Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you or anything."

She nodded, walking by herself now. I took her to my bedroom and sat her on my bed, before running to the bathroom to get a towel for her to clean herself off with.