Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments) forum - Charms, #5
Prompt: Consider the charm (the Bond of Blood) and write your story based on it.
Word count: 1171
Merope Gaunt stumbled into the Muggle hospital.
"Baby!" she muttered, frantic. "I'm having a baby!"
"Madam!" a nurse cried, running over. "Please, madam, sit down!"
Struggling, Merope collapsed on the floor. Her body convulsed.
"I need emergency help!" the nurse called, steadying Merope's prone form.
Immediately, four nurses rushed over and helped lift Merope onto a bed. Together, the five nurses helped Merope bring a beautiful baby boy into the world.
"His name is Tom," Merope said. "Tom, my darling. I'm here. I'm with you." Merope's head fell back as she went unconscious.
"She's not coming around!" the first nurse whispered, waving her hands around Merope's head. "What do we do now?"
"Well, we have her baby, Tom. Does anyone recognize this woman?" One of the oldest nurses asked, holding up the baby to clean him off.
"No, no, we don't recognize her," everyone said of Merope.
The old nurse sighed. "Very well, we shall have to inform her next of kin." Walking into her office, the oldest nurse closed the door. Once she was sure she was alone, she took out an old and battered wand. Waving her hands in complicated motions, she finally found the information she sought.
"I wish to speak with Albus Dumbledore," she spoke into the fire. When Albus's head appeared, the nurse wasted no time in getting to the point. "Do you, Albus Dumbledore, accept the Bond of Blood charm for this child, Tom?" the nurse asked a confused Albus.
Albus took one look at the boy and nodded his head in assent. "But he cannot live with me," Albus said.
"I know," the nurse acknowledged. "I know a place that will take him. A place where he will be safe from the Muggles. And the war."
Albus nodded. "Yes, the war is very important. Keep him safe. Keep him ignorant. For now. Soon enough he will know. Do you know who the father is?"
The nurse shook her head.
"Very well." Albus performed the Bond of Blood charm. As they were both pure-bloods, the bond held, although it was weak.
"He shall need to see me and meet me properly," Albus warned the nurse. "I must recharm the bond when we have a better understanding."
"Of course." The nurse sighed. "I am so glad it worked."
Albus looked at her suspiciously.
"I was afraid he was all Muggle," she explained.
"Oh, I see. Yes. Do you know who his mother is?"
The nurse shook her head. "No, I don't. She's - she's dead." A single tear slid down the old woman's face.
"Oh, my dear, I am so sorry." Albus was speaking to the child. The nurse held the child closer to the flames so Albus could see him better.
"Ah, he is beautiful. A beautiful baby for a beautiful woman, no doubt."
The nurse snorted. "If you had only seen her!"
Albus glared at the nurse. Startled, the nurse felt put in her place.
"Ah, I mean, oh, my! I must contact the orphanage!"
Albus sighed. "My dear," he told the baby, "I hope you will not have a hard life."
Each year, Albus visited the orphanage to renew the charms and protections placed around the building. Each year, he avoided seeing the boy.
Finally, Albus felt the pull of the bond. He could avoid the visit no longer.
"I am here to see Mr. Tom," Albus said, presenting himself as an old uncle, a long-time friend of the family.
"Very well," Mrs. Cole, the matron, said, allowing Albus inside. "I will get the boys ready."
"Alright," Albus said, content to wait.
"Thomas," Mrs. Cole said, separating the rowdy boys. "Tom, get your room ready for inspection."
"Yes, ma'am," Tom said, running to obey at once.
"He is ready," Mrs. Cole informed Albus, once Tom had cleaned his room.
"Very good. Leave us for a few minutes? I have some confidential information regarding the family. As I am not a legal guardian, I cannot take the boy, you understand."
"Of course," Mrs. Cole said firmly.
"But I do have news to tell him he would love to hear." Albus's blue eyes twinkled. His auburn hair gave him a handsome appearance that flattered Mrs. Cole.
"Very well, sir, you're all his today." She pampered and primped herself while Albus talked with Tom. My, what a handsome fellow, Mrs. Cole thought.
"Tom," Albus greeted the boy.
"Hello, sir," Tom said stiffly.
"I am here on a particular errand, Tom."
"Is it about the - the voices?" Tom whispered.
"Yes," Albus said vaguely.
"I can hear them. They tell me to do things. They tell me about things. I listen and I hear." The boy's eyes moved quickly around the room, darting back and forth as he spoke.
"What do they say?"
"Terrible things. About me and others." Tom frowned as he concentrated. "I can also talk to animals. Make them do things."
"What types of things?" Albus asked, concerned for the first time.
"All types of things. But, sir, is it normal?" Tom looked at Albus fully for the first time. "Is it normal to have these things happen to someone?"
"Well, Tom, did you mean them?"
"Mean what, sir?"
"Don't play dumb with me, lad. I know what you've done to those children."
Tom's eyes went wide with fright. "I didn't -"
"Yes, you did, Tom. You meant it."
"I-I thought they were going to hurt me," he confessed.
"Tom, you are powerful. You have powers none of the rest of the children here have. There is a safe place for you where you will find others like yourself. However, you must promise me this. You are NEVER to torture a fellow child or student at the school. Do you understand? School is a place for learning, not torture."
"Yes, sir."
"Very good."
"But, sir, who are you?"
"Oh, didn't I say?" Albus glanced casually around. He flicked his hand and lit the wardrobe on fire. Only the wardrobe burned. When he extinguished the flame, not a single burn mark was evident on the wood. Where scorch marks should be was plain wood. The wardrobe had remained unharmed.
"What was that?" the boy breathed, hardly able to contain his glee.
"That, my boy, was magic. And if you practice hard and learn control, you, too, can do that."
"You think so?"
"I know so." Albus smiled at the boy.
Tom, eyes shining, stared up at Albus, his hero.
"Thank you, sir," Tom said, shaking Albus' hand.
Albus surreptitiously conferred the Bond of Blood charm, securing it more firmly around Tom.
"Of course, Tom. Now, I will be back in a few weeks to escort you. Here is your letter. I will alert Mrs. Cole. Be ready by September."
Tom smiled at the parchment in his hand.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, sir," he said as Dumbledore left the building.