Alec's family
That Friday morning, Kate was late for Herbology. They didn't see the time go during her extra-lesson with Dumbledore. The young witch apologized to Professor Sprout, who knew she was working with the Headmaster before and made no difficulties letting her in. Kate joined her usual group, Alec was not looking great. He was pale, not focused on what was happening and awfully silent. The three other students tried to make him talk, but to no avail. They were all worried. Kyle explained that Alec was mute since he received a letter that morning. He didn't let anyone read it and didn't want to talk about it. Professor Sprout was obviously worried as well, she came twice around asking the young boy if everything was all right, he nodded in agreement each time.
Once the lesson was done, the group left the greenhouses. They were surrounding Alec as they could, Kyle trying to convince himself that his friend would feel better after eating, but Kate was sure that wouldn't help. Before parting ways in the Great Hall, she hugged Alec, then held him shortly by the shoulders, looking at him. He briefly stared back, she saw how distressed he was. But Kyle started pulling him away before she could say something, so the girl went sitting with Fred, George and Lee. The three of them asked immediately why she looked so worried, she shortly ex-plained that Alec wasn't doing great and nobody knew why. She kept an eye on him during the whole lunch, and when she saw Kyle pulling his friend up and leading him away, the young witch stood up and joined them.
- 'What class do you have now?' asked Kate.
- 'Charms, with Slytherin,' answered Kyle.
- 'I'm walking with you there. Alec is in no way ready for a class.'
- 'What do you want to do then?'
- 'I'll have a word with Professor Flitwick before you start. I think he'll see Alec should not be in class right now. I'm free this afternoon, I'll take care of him.'
They walked slowly to the classroom, most students were already there when they arrived. The trio let all the others go in, then Kate called the tiny professor out for a minute. He joined her in the corridor, but his smile disappeared when he saw Alec. - 'Professor, Kyle told me during Herbology that Alec was like this since he received a letter this morning. He didn't say a word since, he's obviously distressed, he doesn't look fit enough to be in class I believe. I'm free this afternoon, I would like to have the chance to try to talk with him in private, and if I can't get a word out of him, I would bring him to Madam Pomfrey. Maybe she'll know how to help him.' - 'I agree with you, he should not be sitting in my class, he looks dreadful. He seems in shock. Try what you can, but if you see no change, I urge you to accompany him to the Hospital Wing.'
- 'Thank you, Professor.'
- 'Good luck, Labelle. Mister Hadleigh, you should come in, now,' said Flitwick, pushing Kyle inside the classroom.
Kate took her friend by the arm and lead him to the classroom where she was always going to practise, knowing that no one would come there. She closed the door once they arrived, locked it and put a spell to make sure no one could hear through it. She then conjured two comfortable armchairs and made Alec sit in one of them. - 'All right, no one can come here and no one can hear what you'll say. You know I won't say anything of what you'd tell me. What was in the letter you received?'
The boy didn't move nor said a word, he was staring at his feet. - 'I guess it's coming from your parents, am I right?' He looked at her, tears in his eyes. - 'What did they say? Don't make me look inside your mind, please. I'm super worried for you. You told me why you stayed here for the holidays, you told me they didn't send you anything, not even a letter for Christmas, I'm sure it's linked. But I can't help if you don't say anything.' The boy started crying, he pulled out the letter from his pocket and gave it to Kate. She looked at him briefly, making sure he wanted her to read, then she opened it.
"Dear Alec,
I'm sorry. Your father said he can put up with a lot of things, but not 'having a faggot as a son', to use his terms. He said when you'll come back, he'll 'beat this crap out of you'. I tried to argue with him, but then he beat me up. Today is the first day I can use my hand properly again, that's why I'm finally writing. I had to sneak out of the house unnoticed to send this letter. I don't want you to come back home, I'm afraid he will kill you. I hope you can find a friend with whom you can stay during the summer holidays, I don't have any family left where you could go, and your father's brother is even worse.
I hope you'll find a way, I need to know you're all right. It's really not safe for you to come back.
Take care of you.
I love you.
Mum."
Kate let the letter fall and rushed to her friend who was still crying, hugging him tightly. She only whispered 'I'm so sorry, Alec,' while stroking his hair. After a few long minutes, he started to calm down. The young girl sat down again, keeping her hand on her friend's. - 'Are your parents Muggles?' she asked. - 'Only my father,' he answered in a broken voice. - 'Why does your mother stay with him?' - 'He's dangerous. Whenever she disagrees with him, he's beating her up.'
- 'But if she's a witch, she has a wand, she could defend herself.' - 'She doesn't have one any more. Shortly after I was born, some magical stuff happened. He didn't know she was a witch, but as I couldn't control my magic, unexplainable things happened. So she had to tell him, he was super angry, he broke her wand. She told me that was the first time he beat her up.' - 'That's horrible. Did he already hit you?' - 'Yes,' whispered Alec, looking at his feet. 'Each time something happened that was beyond his understanding.' - 'I'm sorry. I feel bad for both you and your mother. But we need to find a solution for you, you obviously can't go back there.' - 'What solution do I have?' he cried. 'None! You saw how my father reacted, I can't tell this around me. People will hate me.' - 'You saw how I reacted, Alec! Not everyone is like your father. Maybe before trying to talk to friends, you could talk to a professor.' - 'Are you mad? They'll throw me out of here.' - 'I don't think so. Professor Sprout is your Head of House, she's there for you, and she's really nice and friendly, I'm sure she'll be at least supportive if she can't help. And I start to know Professor Dumbledore quite well, I'd say it won't be a reason for him to kick a student out of school. But they are adults, maybe they already faced this kind of situation and they would be able to help you. It's worth a try, and this way you don't have to talk to more friends for now, if you are scared of their possible reaction.' - 'I'm terrified, Kate. I have the feeling I'm stuck, there's no solution. I can't go back or he'll kill me, I have parents, so I can't go to an orphanage, I'll end up living on the street, at least during summer, if they keep me in here when they discover how weird I am.' - 'No, you won't. We'll find a solution. But that's why you should talk to a professor. I'll come with you if you want, so you won't be alone. Sadly I can't tell you to come to my place because I don't have one.' - 'And if they react as badly as my father?' - 'They won't. Trust me! Let's go seeing if Professor Sprout has some time right now. Come on!'
They both stood up, Kate took care of making the armchairs vanish and reopened the door, then they walked down to the Greenhouses. Kate gave Alec back the letter on the way, she was holding his hand, as to make sure he wouldn't turn around and run away. Once outside, Alec stopped, staring at the snow-covered grounds. - 'We can't find a solution by ourselves, we need help. We'll check if she's not busy with a class right now. If she's free, we talk to her.' - 'And if she's not?' - 'We'll ask when she has time to talk with us.' - 'I can't…' - 'Then I'll ask. You have to explain to her, but I can ask her if she has time. I bet she's hoping for you to talk, she saw you weren't doing well this morning.'
The boy nodded, they continued. All Greenhouses were empty of students, so Kate looked for a sign of activity. At the third one, she saw someone moving inside. She knocked at the door, Professor Sprout's voice invited them in. - 'We're sorry to disturb you, Professor, but Alec needs some help with a huge problem.' - 'What is it, boy? You're not doing well since today morning,' said the witch on a friendly tone. Alec tried to say something, but words didn't want to come out of his throat. He looked at Kate in panic, with a sign she made him think of the letter. He pulled it out of his pocket and gave it to his professor. - 'I received this during breakfast,' he whispered.
The round witch read quickly, her mouth opening wider with every word she was reading. - 'Oh dear, I understand why you're feeling so bad. We need to find a solution for you. Let's go to Professor Dumbledore, we'll need his authority to act. Can I keep the letter to show him?' Alec nodded, Sprout pushed them out of the greenhouse, which she closed behind them, and they walked together to Dumbledore's office. Kate knew the way perfectly now. She was holding Alec's hand again, trying to give him some confidence. - 'I'm really sorry you have to go through that, boy. This shouldn't be a big deal, in our world it's well accepted, but these Muggles,… Calling his son with such a horrible word… And your poor mother… We're there now.'
The head of Hufflepuff gave the password, the door opened, she asked the children to step in and followed them as the stairs started to go upwards. Kate smiled seeing that three chairs were waiting in front of Dumbledore's desk. The Phoenix flapped his wings as they walked pass him, Kate looked at him and bowed her head slightly to greet him. The bird reciprocated the move. - 'What is it, Pomona?' - 'This boy received this letter today,' she said, handing it over to the Headmaster. 'I was wondering why he was looking so bad this morning, I was worried, but he didn't say anything. I believe it's Miss Labelle who managed to make him talk about the problem and she brought him to me. Read, we ought to help him.'
Dumbledore opened the letter and read it, his traits hardened as he was reading. - 'Indeed, we ought to help. Alec, do you still have belongings at your parents?' The boy nodded. 'Well, then we should go picking them up. Kate, where is your backpack?' - 'On my bed, Professor. Should I go –' - 'That won't be necessary,' he said, flicking his wand, the backpack appearing on his desk. 'Where do your parents live?' he asked, looking at the young boy. - 'Fearn Hill, on Rhynie Road, a bit outside of the village, a small shack in the woods.' - 'Let's go then.' - 'Wait, Professor, isn't it a Muggle area?' - 'Indeed, it is.' - 'Then maybe we should avoid going there with our robes and hats.' - 'Well thought,' he said, removing his hat and blue robes, letting him in an odd combination of clothes. - 'Put your robes in my backpack, Alec.' - 'But we have to put all my belongings in there. It's not that big.' - 'There's an extension charm on it, don't worry, there's plenty of space inside. I guess that's why Professor Dumbledore wanted to have it.'
The old man winked at Kate, who was now wearing quite normal school clothes, just as Alec was. Professor Sprout was wearing dark brown trousers and a maroon jumper. The dirt spots were not so easy to see on this colour. - 'Hold on to my arm you all,' said Dumbledore. They did as they were told, then he called Fawkes, who flew straight to him, and at the moment the Headmaster grabbed Fawkes's leg, a golden flash appeared, Kate closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, they were in a forest. - 'This was the fastest way to arrive,' smiled Dumbledore. 'We will use a more traditional way to go back to school. Let's go.'
He took the lead, Alec seemed hesitant, Kate linked his arm, Professor Sprout was bringing up the rear. After a few minutes, they could see an old shack, not in very good shape. The Head-master walked straight to the door and knocked. After a moment, a frail woman opened the door. A part of her face was swollen, her left eye was black, she was obviously in pain. Kate held Alec's arm stronger. - 'Mrs Benson? We received notice that your son is no longer welcome nor safe at your house, we are here to gather his belongings and keep him safe.' The unswollen part of her face gave a hint of a smile when a loud voice thundered behind her. - 'What the hell is this about? Who's there?'
A tall fat man arrived behind the woman. He was, of course, not as tall as Hagrid, but something like six feet seven tall, rather tall for a normal human. He had a mean expression on his face. He looked at the people in front of the door, a bit surprised, then saw Alec among them. - 'What's that faggot doing here? I said he shouldn't come here any more!' he shouted. - 'That's the reason why we're here. We want to gather your son's belongings and we will make sure that he's safe and doesn't have to come here again. Can we come in?' asked Dumbledore. - 'I have no son!' he shouted. 'But I want to get rid of this boy and his crap.' Professor Sprout was right behind the children, her hands on their shoulders, as if she was trying to protect them. A bad snare appeared on the man's face. - 'He can come in, but no wands inside, I don't want any magic shit happening. She'll go with him,' he said, pointing at his wife. 'You stay outside of my house,' he added, looking at the professors. - 'Maybe I can go with him, that would be faster to pack his stuff if we are two,' Kate said quickly, looking at the man.
He nodded, she gave her wand to her Headmaster, Alec did the same, and they entered the house together. Mister Benson slammed the door behind them, shouting at his wife to hurry with the children. She had difficulties to climb the stairs, so he threw a log of wood at her because she was too slow. Once they arrived in the room, Kate took off her backpack, gave it to Alec and they started packing his belongings inside. - 'Why aren't you done already?' screamed the father from downstairs after a few minutes. - 'Hurry, please, he'll come. You have to hurry,' moaned Alec's mother who was shaking in a corner of the room.
Kate heard that the man started to climb the stairs, she softly closed the door, there was no key, but a key hole. She put her hand in front of it, focused a second, and a little click was heard. The door was locked. - 'That's a few seconds won,' she whispered. 'What do you still need, Alec?' He showed his clothes and his few books. The man was now at the door, trying to open it. - 'Why is it closed? I removed the key years ago! Get out of there or I'll break the door!' The children threw the clothes in the backpack as fast as they could. The man started to hit the door with his shoulder. Kate pulled the woman away, as she had approached the door and was standing right in front of it. When he managed to break it down, he stared at the three of them, look-ing angry and madly happy at the same time. The children stepped back further in the room as the man came in.
- 'Please, don't hurt him, don't hurt them, they're just children,' begged the mother, he threw her aside, she fell with a scream of pain. Alec stepped in front of Kate. - 'You have a problem with me, not with her, let her go,' he whispered. - 'Don't touch him,' said Kate in a roar of fury, as the man already held his fist high. The father didn't listen, he hit his son in the face, Alec fell on the ground. That was too much for Kate, with a move of her hand, she sent the man flying through the room, turning on himself. He landed in the opposite wall. The young witch wanted to take care of her friend, but his father, angrier than ever, stood up again and rushed towards the children. - 'STUPEFY!' shouted Kate, extending her hand toward him, the man was thrown back and fell lying on the ground, unconscious.
The girl helped Alec to stand up, his lip was bleeding, she rubbed her hands together and healed him. She then asked him to pack his books and she walked to his mother. She took care of the woman's face and asked where else she was hurt. The woman showed her hip, Kate shortly checked with her hands. - 'It seems only displaced, not broken,' she muttered. Then she focused a bit harder, sending all her energy in her hands while picturing a fully functioning hip. A small 'clock' was heard coming from the joint, then she helped the woman to get back on her feet. - 'How is it now?' she asked. - 'Much better, thank you so much,' said the woman, making a few steps in the room. - 'You shouldn't stay here, it's dangerous for you too,' Kate said. - 'I have nowhere to go, my wand is broken for years now, I don't have any money. I don't see how I could get out of here. I know he's dangerous, but if I try to leave he'll kill me.'
Both professors arrived in the room. - 'We heard screams and loud noises, we thought we should check if you are doing okay,' said Dumbledore. 'You look much better,' he added, looking at Alec's mother. - 'He broke the door that I locked to give us some time, he threw her aside and punched Alec in the face. I had to do something.' - 'What's that?' asked Professor Sprout, showing at the mark in the wall where Mister Benson landed the first time. - 'It's after he punched Alec. I was really angry, I blasted him away. When he tried to attack again, I stupefied him.' - 'Are you hurt, Alec?' asked Sprout. - 'Kate took care of me, I'm all right now.' - 'Are you done packing?' casually asked Dumbledore. The children nodded.
- 'All right, then maybe we should leave. Mrs Benson, do you want to leave with us?' - 'I can't. He'll find me back and kill me. I don't even have a wand to defend myself, I don't have money, I have no family. How could I?.' - 'These are only organisational problems that can be solve. And there are many magical places that no Muggle can find. Think of Diagon Alley for example. Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, … I believe it would be important for your son to know that you are safe.' The woman nodded and left the room. She came back a few minutes later with a suitcase. Dumbledore smiled. He gave the children their wands, sent everybody outside except for Kate. - 'We're going to give them a bit more safety. We will remove from the house all signs of a wife or a child, then we will wake him up and change his memory. He will forget he has seen wizards and that he had a family,' he explained.
They went in every room, first upstairs, then downstairs to remove all traces of the man's family. Then they brought him downstairs and installed him on an armchair. - 'Rennervate!' said Dumbledore. The man woke up, still in a state of anger, he was about to stand up when Kate conjured ropes to bind him to his seat. - 'Thank you, Kate,' smiled the Headmaster. 'Obliviate!' He said, looking at the man. They used this moment Mr Benson was confused, as his memory was trying to adapt, to remove his bounds and leave the house. - 'Pomona, will you take Mrs Benson with you, I'll take Kate and Alec, we meet at Hogsmeade Station!'
The Head of Hufflepuff agreed, asking the other woman to take her arm while the children grasped Dumbledore's. Kate already travelled that way, she knew how uncomfortable it was, but this was a first time for Alec. They arrived soon after in Hogsmeade, Alec seemed ready to vomit. That made Kate smile. After the two witches arrived, Dumbledore shortly gave instructions. - 'You don't have to worry for this man to find you again, I modified his memory, he forgot every-thing about a wife and a child. Pomona, would you accompany Kate and Alec back to school. You can wait with them in my office, I'm coming. I will organise a place to sleep for Mrs Benson.' Alec's mother came to Kate, she took her hands, she was still shaking. - 'Thank you! Thank you for protecting my son, for being there for him. You saved him. I don't know how I can thank you enough for this.' - 'It's what friends are for, don't you think?' asked the young witch. It was quite uncomfortable. - 'I don't know, maybe. I wish I could be as strong as you are.' - 'You can work on that. And if you want to thank me, try to find the strength to be the mother you'd like to be.'
She nodded as Professor Sprout started to lead the children towards Hogwarts. - 'Goodbye Alec,' said his mother as they started walking away. Her voice was shaking, the boy didn't answer. - 'Are you mad at her?' asked Kate softly. - 'Yeah, a bit. I mean, she always was terrified of him, she let him break her down, she never tried to defend herself. Even now, she didn't want to leave.' - 'She was feeling stuck, just like you earlier today, you had the feeling there was no solution. The main difference is that she had no one to help her.' - 'You're twelve, and you weren't scared. You managed to get rid of him without a wand.' - 'It's safe to say that your friend is way above the average level of a twelve years old, Alec,' said Professor Sprout. 'Or even above the level of many adult wizards or witches.' - 'I learned recently that really few people in Europe can do wand-less magic. It's easier when you are under heavy emotions, even if less controllable. I was so angry and scared for you, I had to do something. But that's easier with a wand, really, and more precise as well. And don't forget I'm in the House where the brave at heart lies,' Kate said with a wink. - 'Maybe. But she's my mother, she should have tried to protect me, no?' - 'She did today. She was not much of an obstacle, but she's terrified by your father, so it probably was all she could do. I'm sure if she had to face a Boggart now, she'll see him. Some people can fight their fears, some are paralysed. And she was alone, without friends or family, it's difficult to find strength in these conditions.' - 'Why do you keep finding excuses for her? You're not so kind with your own mother.' - 'True, but I guess my mother telling me that she wished I would have died instead of my sister didn't help having a healthy bound. She clearly didn't like me.' - 'You had a sister?' - 'Oh right, you don't know that. I avoid talking about it usually. I had a twin sister, she died when we were nine. That's maybe why I get along so well with Fred and George. Don't talk about it at school, please.' - 'I won't. But same for you, don't tell anything.'
- 'I promise, you'll tell the people you trust when you'll be ready, no one will learn what happened from me.'
They kept quiet while crossing the school, Professor Sprout made them enter the Head-master's office again. She made them sit down, then she stood beside the desk, staring at them. - 'Listen, Alec… We solved a part of your problem already. But there's something I would like to address with you. I know what this word, 'faggot', means for Muggles. I have to tell you some-thing. It's okay if you like boys. Like it's all right when a girl prefers girls, or if someone likes both. There are also people who don't have this kind of feelings at all, and that's also perfectly okay. For whatever crazy reason, Muggles have troubles with that, but in our world, it's fine. It's not shameful to love, Alec, remember that. Of course, not everybody will love in the same way, and sometimes feelings will not be reciprocated, but it doesn't make them less valid. And all that can change with the time. Some people will have periods of their life when they prefer girls and other periods when they prefer guys,… There are plenty of possibilities. All what matters is to respect the others and their preferences.' - 'Professor Sprout is perfectly right!' said Dumbledore's voice from behind them.
Both students were surprised, they didn't hear him arrive in the room. - 'Do you know anyone who… doesn't love in the usual way?' Alec asked. - 'Well, I already fell in love with both women and men,' Professor Sprout said. 'Not that my private life should be known by our students, but you might understand now that I have quite a good understanding about these matters.' - 'Back in the time when I had love interest, I preferred men. Now I prefer a quiet night with a good book beside the fire. Our preferences might change with time, but it doesn't matter. Love is the strongest power in this world.' - 'Thank you,' whispered Alec. - 'As Pomona told you, this should stay between us, students don't need to know about the private life of their Professors. We hope you can respect that.' Both children nodded. 'For the rest, your mother is for now staying at the Hog's Head Inn, I will go with her tomorrow trying to find her a workplace in Hogsmeade. Ideally, she will have a place to live for next summer, but if she doesn't manage, I will personally write to one of your friend's family to ask them to take care of you over the holidays, explaining that, because of some difficulties in your family, you can't go back home this time. No one will have to know what happened as long as you are not ready to talk about it. But we will not let you sleep on the streets.' - 'Thank you very much, Sir,' said Alec, visibly moved. - 'Well, you still have a bit of time before dinner, you should enjoy some fresh air, I think,' said Dumbledore, showing the door.
Alec, Kate and Professor Sprout started walking away, but before leaving, Kate turned back. She ran to her Headmaster. - 'You apparated in your office,' she whispered, 'although there's supposedly security to avoid app-arition in Hogwarts. How did you do that?' - 'I'm the Headmaster, I can do what I want,' he winked. 'Maybe I will tell you another time, that might be useful some day.' Kate left and hurried to join Alec and Professor Sprout. - 'We should go to Alec's dormitory so we can empty your backpack from his belongings,' the Herbology Professor proposed.
The students agreed and followed her through the castle once again. She opened the Common Room door, it was the first time Kate was going inside. The room was round and cosy, with a low ceiling, tables and doors made of honey coloured wood, the whole room being in yellow and black colours. Many plants and flowers were decorating the room, and the windows were at the level of the Hogwarts ground, giving a view on the snowy park. Even though the windows were really low, the room seemed bathed in sunshine. But that's all what Kate had time to notice, as they directly continued to the dormitory. When Alec opened his trunk, he realised he would not have nearly enough space to store all his belongings. Kate proposed to put an extension charm on his trunk. Professor Sprout was hesitant for a moment, then agreed. The young girl gave her backpack to Alec, telling him to take out his belongings while she started working on the spell. But as she was preparing to work, she saw the boy half inside her backpack, trying to reach his stuff. Kate laughed and extracted him out of it.
- 'I'll show you a neat trick,' she said. She took her wand, waved it above the backpack and said 'Accio Alec's books.' A pile of books jumped out of the rucksack. 'You think you'll get it? Accio is the summoning charm, you just need to specify what you want to summon. If you just ask for clothes, you'll get mine as well as yours. Maybe you can try.' Professor Sprout was smiling at these friends, she helped Alec managing the spell as Kate was putting the extendable charm on his trunk. They were done nearly at the same time.
- 'We'll let you organise everything now, Alec. I will bring Kate outside, to avoid any questions.' - 'Thank you, Kate, for everything,' said Alec, hugging the girl. 'I'm happy to have you as a friend.' - 'You're welcome, I'm happy we're friends. You're great,' she said before following the Herbology professor out of the dormitory.
As they exited the Hufflepuff Common Room, Kyle arrived, still worried. He asked the young witch how his friend was doing, she said better, telling he was in his dormitory. The boy rushed inside. Professor Sprout asked Kate to follow her for a last word. Once she was sure to be unheard, the Head of Hufflepuff started talking. - 'All right, Kate, I wanted to thank you for making Alec talk to us. I don't think he would have managed without you. Thank you for your help this afternoon, and for being such a good friend. You seem extremely loyal, you could have done great in my House as well. But I can't deny the courage you displayed this afternoon, going wand-less with your friend in front of danger, you're fitting in Gryffindor very well. Anyway, I wanted to award you a hundred points, for all of this.' - 'Thank you, Professor, but that's not necessary. I did it for my friend. He needed help, I tried to be there as much as he needed.' - 'I insist. Such a behaviour should be encouraged and rewarded. I wonder what happened during the Holidays, you had troubles together before, and now you seem so close,…' - 'I made him talk to me. On the twenty-fifth, in the evening, after he left the Great Hall, I followed him. I started to understand a bit why he was angry at me all the time, as I was really close to the truth, he told me everything, that he thinks he prefers boys and it was the reason why he was not going back home, and he made me promise not to tell anyone. That brought us closer. When Kyle told me he was mute and livid after receiving a letter this morning, I thought that was probably linked. After dinner, I talked to Professor Flitwick so Alec didn't have to go to Charms, and well, the rest, you know more or less.' - 'You are a good person, Kate. Really. And so talented. I still can't believe how you neutralised his father without having your wand. I mean, already your healing skills were impressive, but this,…' - 'Professor Dumbledore asked that this ability stays secret. I would be grateful if you don't talk about it.' - 'Of course, my dear. Now dinner time is about to start, maybe you should join your friends.'
Kate nodded, she walked away slowly while focusing on Alec to tell him to not talk about her wand-less magic, she forgot to tell him before. He said there was no risk he would say some-thing as he didn't want to talk about what happened to anyone. Kate thanked him, then ran to the Great Hall to join her friends. When they asked her what she had done in the afternoon, all she could say was that she took care of Alec, who seemed to feel much better now. It was somehow frustrating to not be allowed to tell what happened that afternoon, but she had to respect her friend's wish, even though she felt the need to talk about the feelings she experienced during the afternoon.
As the group was about to leave the Great Hall, Alec arrived running and asked to talk to Kate briefly. The young witch agreed and told the others she would join them soon after. The two of them left the castle. It was already dark and pretty cold, what was perfect to be sure they would meet no one. - 'Kate, I wanted to thank you again. I don't have the feeling I did it properly. I'm glad you made me talk to Professor Sprout. I was so scared of the reaction they could have. I grew up in a Muggle environment, and you saw my father, I'm not used to kindness or acceptance. I don't think I would have dared telling anyone else, so really, thank you.' - 'Thank you for stepping forward to prevent your father to hit me. It was really brave.' - 'It was useless. With one hit I was on the ground, you neutralised him.' - 'You didn't know I can do magic without a wand. No one should know actually. Dumbledore wants it to stay secret. Anyway, you did what you could to protect me. I appreciate.' - 'It will stay secret, don't worry. I don't know what I would have done without you.' - 'And I'm glad you don't have to find out. You know, if there's anything you need to talk about, you can come to me, right?' - 'Yeah, I think I know that now. I'm lucky to have you as a friend. I'm lucky you ran after me at Christmas and put me in front of facts, so I had to talk. And lucky that you were so awesome and understanding.' - 'I just wanted to understand why you were so lunatic with me. Now I get it. It's good that you trusted me enough to talk. I don't really get why it should be a big deal. And you heard what Sprout and Dumbledore said earlier, right?' - 'Yes, but you saw my father… I might need a while to fully understand that it's not the same here.' - 'That's okay, you have time. But there is something I wanted to ask you. When I sat with my friends for dinner, I was feeling like I need to talk about what happened this afternoon to someone who wasn't there. As you don't want anyone to know here at school, I was wondering if it would be all right if I was writing to Charlie about what happened. Of course, if you agree, I won't tell him what you think of him, and I'll let you read the letter before I send it, so if there's something bothe-ring you in it, you can tell me and I'd change it, or burn it if you prefer I don't send it. But I need to get this experience out to someone else. Tell about my emotions, all what I was feeling, and it's better to someone who wasn't there as they won't have their own emotional load about it. Charlie is really kind and empathetic, he helped me out with quite bad emotions I was carrying, and as he's far away, I thought he could be a possibility.' - 'Are you sure he won't talk about it to his brothers? And you'll really let me read the letter before you send it?' - 'Yeah, I'm sure, and of course. It's also about you, I don't want to say anything that could hurt you.'
- 'You can write, I'll read it and then we see if it's okay to send it. I understand what you mean with wanting to talk about what happened to someone who wasn't there, I still don't know how to deal with that myself.' - 'As long as you're not ready to talk, maybe you can try writing a diary. I know Charlie helped me with some of the heaviest feelings I was experiencing, I trust him fully.' - 'Nice. Do you want to make snow sculptures again tomorrow? As long as there's snow. Who knows how long it will last.' - 'After lunch maybe? I still have homework to do. If you bring Kyle and I bring Fred, George and Lee, we can make a huge snowball battle!' - 'Sounds nice. Let's go back inside now, I'm getting cold.' They walked back inside, talked a bit longer in the Entrance Hall, then hugged each other before going to their respective Common Room.
- 'What did Alec want?' Fred asked when Kate joined them. - 'He just wanted to thank me for taking care of him this afternoon. He proposed to enjoy time outside tomorrow afternoon, would you like joining for a snowball battle? He'll try to bring Kyle along, we could make three against three, first year against second year.' - 'Sounds like fun, I'm in,' said George.
- 'Me too,' said Lee. - 'Me too,' said Fred. 'I'd like to go back to the forest, any ideas how?' - 'Disillusionment spell!' Kate said. - 'What do you mean?' asked Lee. - 'The spell I used to make us all leave the secret passage unseen when we went to Hogsmeade.'
- 'Where could we learn about that?' Fred asked. - 'I can teach you. You'll first practice on objects, then on each other, then on yourself. Depending how fast you are, it can take anything from a few weeks to a few months,' she said with a grin. - 'Can't you just use it on us again?' George asked. 'You did it on Charlie in December so he wouldn't be caught by Filch.' - 'I could. But I also would like you to know exactly what you're looking for, have a list, and go only once back there, so you don't enter in the Centaurs' territory too often. Learning the charm would give you time to be prepared. And I used this charm on Charlie to avoid him being caught by my fault. The only reason he was out of bed was because he was scared for me.' - 'Why do you always have good reasons to make us work?' laughed Fred. - 'I'm the brain,' she winked.
Kate talked with her friends until half past ten, then went to bed. She wanted to write a letter to Charlie, so she prepared herself to sleep, closed the curtains around her bed, took some parchment, ink and a feather, made some light and started writing. Katie arrived soon after in the dormitory and asked Kate if everything was all right. - 'Yeah, don't worry, I just wanted to write to Charlie.' - 'Why don't you do that in the Common Room?' - 'Because I need to talk about things that no one at school should know, so I prefer writing away from Fred and George, to be sure they aren't tempted to read over my shoulder.' - 'Oh, all right. Have a good night then.'
- 'You too Katie.'
* After the events of the previous day and a morning spent doing her homework, Kate was really happy at the idea of an afternoon of fun in the snow. After lunch, the four Gryffindor met Kyle and Alec in the Entrance Hall when Katie, Angelina and Alicia walked by.
- 'What are you doing?' wondered Katie. - 'We're going to have a snowball battle, as long as there's snow,' answered Lee. - 'That sounds cool, can we join?' Alicia asked. - 'Sure, if you want to,' said Fred.
The nine students went to the practice fields and enjoyed a few hours playing in the snow together. Snowball battle, snow sculptures, sliding down the grounds, … the young students had fun the whole afternoon, until the day went dark. All cheeks were red, laughter was permanently heard, it was a great time for all of them. As they started to make their way back to the castle, Kate held Alec a bit aside, gave him the letter, told him to read it when he'd be alone and tell her the next day what he thought of it. The boy agreed, hid the letter in an inside pocket and linked Kate's arm to finish the way to the school. In the Entrance Hall, Kyle took Kate apart.
- 'What happened with Alec yesterday?' he asked - 'What did he tell you?' - 'Nothing, he said he doesn't want to talk about it.' - 'I fear you'll have to wait, I promised I won't say anything. It's his decision if he wants to talk about what happened or not.' - 'But you know, right?' - 'Sure, that's why he's doing better. Listen, we got to know each other better during the Christmas holidays, we created a closer bound. There are some things he's not ready to share yet, you'll have to respect that.' - 'Is that bad?' - 'I guess most of us have gone through difficult experiences, some harder than others, and we're not ready to share all that with everyone.' - 'Can't you just give me a tip, a hint?' - 'Show him that he can trust you, be a good friend, don't press him with questions when he says he doesn't want to talk, and when he'll be ready, he'll tell you. I have to go, Fred and George are waiting for me,' she said, looking at the top of the stairs, and she left.
* After breakfast on Sunday, Alec joined the four Gryffindor friends and asked to talk with Kate. They left the Great Hall together and went to an empty classroom. Kate put a charm on the door to avoid people hearing what they would say and they sat down on tables that were there. - 'I've read your letter, that's fine, you can send it like this.' - 'Are you sure? There's nothing bothering you?' - 'No, I just wondered what the two other letters you mention are, but otherwise –' - 'I can't tell you. That's about things that also shouldn't be known at school, Fred and George don't know about it either. On Saturday early afternoon, I sent my answer to Charlie, but right after, quite a lot happened, and I needed to talk about it with someone, especially as I explained Charlie about the start of this in the letter I just sent. Then on Tuesday, after my extra-lesson with Dumbledore, I needed again to share some things with someone, but as most of what I learned shouldn't be known here… I think Charlie is the safest person to whom I can talk.' - 'I didn't know you felt that way on Friday. You didn't say anything, nor did you show you were disgusted about the way my father treated me – us – or how worried you were for my mother and me. I mean, you looked just normal – not anxious or anything – when you proposed to come and help me packing, but you wrote that you were totally scared he would beat me up, and that maybe you wouldn't be able to help.' - 'I'm just used to hide when I'm scared of something and it might be detrimental. I'm going to tell you something about me, I don't have to ask you not to talk about it, it's protected by a charm, I'm the only one who can tell it to people who don't know yet. Even a legilimens won't be able to see this information in your mind. I'm not who I pretend to be. I'm not Catherine Labelle. Don't worry, Dumbledore knows everything. On Friday, I told you I had a twin sister who died, that's true. But my mother never said that she would have preferred that I die instead of her, simply because she's the one who killed her. Actually both my parents are alive, but now they want to kill me. That's why I don't have news or go back to them and why I have another identity. That's also why I'm not finding excuses for them and why I'm used to hide my feelings, to play a game. Because after they killed my sister, I had to play a role with them, pretending to be okay and making them teach me all they knew. I couldn't let them see I was scared, or doubting,…' - 'It's horrible! I'm sorry.'
- 'Don't be sorry for me. We all have our struggles. And mine made me who I am, that's what made me so determinate. Also, I'm feeling better now that I have Fred and George by my side. It was an instant connexion with them.' - 'Yeah, we all noticed. Thank you for not telling anything to Kyle yesterday.' - 'I promised,' Kate said in a smile. 'You'll tell who you want to tell when you'll be ready for it.' - 'When I'll do, will you be with me again?' - 'Of course, if you want me to be there.' - 'Thank you.' - 'Stop thanking me for being a friend. Seriously.' - 'I don't think I deserve a friend like you.' - 'You deserve to have great friends, because you're a great person. Even if your wicked father made you believe the opposite,' said Katie while giving her friend a hug. 'I still have a lot of work to do for Dumbledore today, I should probably go now. Except if you want to tell me something else.' - 'No, that's all. See you later then.'
Kate hurried to the Common Room. She walked to her friends and sat beside them. - 'What do you think of practising?' she asked them. - 'Practising what?' asked Fred. - 'Disillusionment spell, of course. Or did you give up the idea?' - 'Of course we didn't. You want to do that now?' asked George. - 'Sure!' She stared briefly at Lee, before adding: 'I also have to train, this way I won't be alone. Lee, you can come as well if you promise not to tell anybody, not even outside of school, what I'll be doing.' - 'All right, I swear I won't. Let's go!'
Once in the classroom with Fred, George and Lee, the girl started by conjuring cups that the boys would have to make invisible. Then she explained them how to realise the spell, what the wand move was, the intention that was needed, … And they started working. She locked the door before starting practising her wand-less skills. She conjured objects, moved them around, blasted them, repaired, she tried all what came in her mind and was amazed to see how easy it seemed to be. Shortly before lunch time, they stopped. Fred and George started to have an effect on their cups, they were still visible, but somehow taking partly the colours of what was surrounding them. Lee was not there yet, but Kate knew that the twins, even if they were reluctant to show it to their prof-essors, were really talented. They walked back to the Common Room before going to eat lunch, Kate wanted to pick up the two other letters she wrote, then they happily walked to the Great Hall to eat together. Now that January was over, the boys wanted to exploit the pranks they bought for Christmas. Without surprise, they wanted to use most of them during their Potions classes. They were also keeping some for History of Magic, but mainly to kill time, as Professor Binns was not really paying attention to what was happening in his classroom. At the end of the meal, Kate said she needed to talk to Dumbledore, walked towards the teachers' table and asked the Headmaster if she could talk with him briefly. He followed her on the side.
- 'I wanted to ask you if I could use a school owl to send a letter to Charlie. I needed to talk about what happened on Friday, I asked Alec if it would be okay for him if I tell Charlie, because he's far, he won't tell anyone and I know he would be able to help me deal with the emotional load I have. Alec read the letter last night and told me I can send it. But I guess Muninn just arrived in Romania, and I would like to send it as soon as possible.' - 'Follow me, please.' Dumbledore left the Great Hall, the young witch on his heels. He walked straight to his office, Kate was quite surprised about this. He let her enter and the girl went directly sitting on the chair that was in front of his desk. - 'It's not just about Friday, though,' she said. 'It's also about what happened on Saturday afternoon, and about his uncles, I asked him what he knows about them. I know I can trust him, he's brave, loyal, and he understands what I feel sometimes better than I do. That's why I need to write him.' - 'I understand, Kate. I also believe it is safe to assume that no one will think that someone this far away holds information about what happens at Hogwarts. I thought you could ask Fawkes if he would be willing to bring your letter to Charlie. As you realized on Friday, phoenixes can disappear and reappear somewhere else, no matter how far. This would be much faster than an owl.' - 'How should I ask him? Should I talk with him, or talk in his mind?' - 'You can go in his mind, ask him to bring the letter to Charlie, wait to know if he wants to answer immediately and if yes, to wait for the answer. Go on, try.'
Kate stood up, she walked to the magnificent bird. She put her fist in front of his legs and Fawkes stepped immediately on it. The girl stroke its head as she went back to her seat. They were staring in each other's eyes. After a moment, she took the envelope, gave it to the bird who took it, started flying, turned twice in the office and disappeared in a golden flash. Dumbledore was smiling. - 'It seems like you have a good connexion with magical birds. Did you know that Thunderbirds and Phoenixes are related? I noticed on Friday that Fawkes seems to like you, he greeted you when you entered with the group, you bowed to each others. I wanted to know if he would agree to do something for you. They have quite an independent nature, he wouldn't do that for everyone.' - 'I didn't know. But I never saw a Thunderbird in my life, the only connexion I have with this bird is through my wand and my patronus.' - 'It's a difficult wand to master, and yet it isn't a problem for you. And you share with them a connexion with storms, you seem to love wind and fire, I understand how both of these birds can connect with you. I guess you would be really good at elemental magic. Now if that's all I can do for you, maybe you should go back to your Common Room.' - 'Professor, how is Alec's mother doing? She seemed so scared, I think I'm afraid for her, that she won't find the strength to start her life new again.' - 'She is staying at the Hog's Head, my brother is the owner. Regarding the circumstances, he doesn't want money for her stay for now.' - 'You have a brother?' - 'Yes, and you saw the memory of my sister during your evaluation. I lent Mrs Benson money to buy a new wand, and she's working part time in two different shops. She will probably need some time to get used to this new situation.' - 'Will you stay in touch with her? I have an uneasy feeling about her, like – I don't know, like she needs support. It feels like she doesn't believe she can manage.' - 'Professor Sprout and I will stay in touch with Mrs Benson, don't worry. You're quite right, she feels worthless, thinks she's a failure and can't get any better. We will try to help her regain a feeling of self worth. But that's none of your concern, Kate. You have enough to deal with here. Now go join your friends.' - 'Have a nice afternoon, Professor,' Kate said before leaving.
The young witch ran to her Common Room and sat with her friends. She told them that Dumbledore let her ask Fawkes to send her letter to Charlie and the bird agreed. She was really happy about it, especially as it was much faster than owls. The girl also told them that she decided to train one to two hours a day for a time, she would go every day after dinner, and they were welcome to join to work on their disillusionment spell or on occlumency. The group spent the first part of the afternoon beside the fireplace, Kate reading for Dumb-ledore, the three boys researching useful ingredients. After a bit more than one hour, though, the boys started to be bored and Fred proposed to try sneaking out of school through one of the secret passageways. Kate wished them to have fun and decided to go practising again. She had doubted on Friday that she could get out unharmed of the situation, she didn't want this to happen again and was decided to work as hard as needed to trust her abilities. Of course she couldn't tell this to the twins, as they shouldn't know what happened that afternoon. This was bothering her, this feeling of doubt, it was so uncomfortable, letting so much place to fear,…
They all left the Common Room, and once outside, Kate went to her classroom. As she was alone, she decided to train offensive spells, she created a decorum with her wand, then started to work wand-lessly. It was a whole new feeling working with bare hands, but somehow also really intuitive. She was getting a result with each try, not as powerful as usual, but it was encouraging. The young witch worked on the disarming spell, the stunning spell, some explosive spells, she levitated objects,… With each try she was a bit better. After some time, she heard someone knocking at the door. It was the twins and Lee, they entered quickly and saw Kate manoeuvring a small tornado in the room. - 'How the hell are you doing this?' asked George. - 'I don't know,' answered the young witch with a smile, her eyes fixed on the swirling winds she created. 'Dumbledore thought I probably have a strong bound with the elements, that would explain the special connexion I have with Thunderbirds and Fawkes, and also my fascination for storms, thunderstorm, snow, fire, … I wanted to see if I can do something with that.' - 'It's safe to say you can,' whispered Lee. - 'We're already back. There was no way to take any secret passage, there was always someone sneaking around – Filch, Snape, McGonagall – and as we don't look really innocent…' said Fred. - 'What do you want to do then?' she asked, letting the tornado disappear. - 'Maybe we should keep working on the disillusionment spell, so we can safely explore the castle,' said Fred.
Kate had put aside the cups on which they were working in the morning, the boys took place and started working again. Fred and George were progressing very fast, it was amusing to see how they were emulating each other, correcting the other's mistake, learning from the other, all that without speaking or barely. Their cups were nearly completely invisible. Lee wasn't progressing that fast, he had to rely on his mind alone to progress. - 'If you keep being that fast, you could be ready in one week,' said Kate happily. - 'Well, I won't,' sighed Lee. - 'We'll use the spell on you when we'll master it,' said Fred. - 'I bet we'll be done in three days,' said George. - 'You can try, but keep in mind that when it's not properly done, people will still see someone walking, and I'd say at least Flitwick, McGonagall and Snape will manage to make you visible again. You should really master this spell before using it for mischief. That's why I say one week.' - 'Point taken. And we have quidditch practice on Tuesday, so one day less training.'
They stopped for dinner and walked to the Great Hall in a very good mood. Kate started to have a better feeling with her wand-less magic, she knew if she kept working like that, she could be soon as effective as with a wand. They sat together, the boys already dreaming of what they would be able to do when they could make themselves invisible. At the end of the meal, Fawkes entered the room and landed right in front of Kate. He was only carrying the leather pouch with which Kate sent potions. She took it carefully, thanked the bird while stroking its head and when the phoenix flew away, she finished eating. - 'You're not checking if there's something inside?' Fred asked. - 'There probably is, but as what I sent with Fawkes was containing matters that should not be known at school, I'll check when I'll be alone, so you don't have to fight the temptation to look over my shoulder,' answered the girl casually. - 'That's thoughtful,' commented George. They left the Great Hall together, but once in the Common Room, Kate went to her dormitory. She really wanted to know what Charlie answered and didn't want to wait to go to bed. She sat on her bed and opened the pouch. There was an envelope lying at the bottom of it. She took it out, put the leather bag aside and opened the letter.
"Hi Kate,
That Friday morning, Kate was late for Herbology. They didn't see the time go during her extra-lesson with Dumbledore. The young witch apologized to Professor Sprout, who knew she was working with the Headmaster before and made no difficulties letting her in. Kate joined her usual group, Alec was not looking great. He was pale, not focused on what was happening and awfully silent. The three other students tried to make him talk, but to no avail. They were all worried. Kyle explained that Alec was mute since he received a letter that morning. He didn't let anyone read it and didn't want to talk about it. Professor Sprout was obviously worried as well, she came twice around asking the young boy if everything was all right, he nodded in agreement each time.
Once the lesson was done, the group left the greenhouses. They were surrounding Alec as they could, Kyle trying to convince himself that his friend would feel better after eating, but Kate was sure that wouldn't help. Before parting ways in the Great Hall, she hugged Alec, then held him shortly by the shoulders, looking at him. He briefly stared back, she saw how distressed he was. But Kyle started pulling him away before she could say something, so the girl went sitting with Fred, George and Lee. The three of them asked immediately why she looked so worried, she shortly ex-plained that Alec wasn't doing great and nobody knew why. She kept an eye on him during the whole lunch, and when she saw Kyle pulling his friend up and leading him away, the young witch stood up and joined them.
- 'What class do you have now?' asked Kate.
- 'Charms, with Slytherin,' answered Kyle.
- 'I'm walking with you there. Alec is in no way ready for a class.'
- 'What do you want to do then?'
- 'I'll have a word with Professor Flitwick before you start. I think he'll see Alec should not be in class right now. I'm free this afternoon, I'll take care of him.'
They walked slowly to the classroom, most students were already there when they arrived. The trio let all the others go in, then Kate called the tiny professor out for a minute. He joined her in the corridor, but his smile disappeared when he saw Alec. - 'Professor, Kyle told me during Herbology that Alec was like this since he received a letter this morning. He didn't say a word since, he's obviously distressed, he doesn't look fit enough to be in class I believe. I'm free this afternoon, I would like to have the chance to try to talk with him in private, and if I can't get a word out of him, I would bring him to Madam Pomfrey. Maybe she'll know how to help him.' - 'I agree with you, he should not be sitting in my class, he looks dreadful. He seems in shock. Try what you can, but if you see no change, I urge you to accompany him to the Hospital Wing.'
- 'Thank you, Professor.'
- 'Good luck, Labelle. Mister Hadleigh, you should come in, now,' said Flitwick, pushing Kyle inside the classroom.
Kate took her friend by the arm and lead him to the classroom where she was always going to practise, knowing that no one would come there. She closed the door once they arrived, locked it and put a spell to make sure no one could hear through it. She then conjured two comfortable armchairs and made Alec sit in one of them. - 'All right, no one can come here and no one can hear what you'll say. You know I won't say anything of what you'd tell me. What was in the letter you received?'
The boy didn't move nor said a word, he was staring at his feet. - 'I guess it's coming from your parents, am I right?' He looked at her, tears in his eyes. - 'What did they say? Don't make me look inside your mind, please. I'm super worried for you. You told me why you stayed here for the holidays, you told me they didn't send you anything, not even a letter for Christmas, I'm sure it's linked. But I can't help if you don't say anything.' The boy started crying, he pulled out the letter from his pocket and gave it to Kate. She looked at him briefly, making sure he wanted her to read, then she opened it.
"Dear Alec,
I'm sorry. Your father said he can put up with a lot of things, but not 'having a faggot as a son', to use his terms. He said when you'll come back, he'll 'beat this crap out of you'. I tried to argue with him, but then he beat me up. Today is the first day I can use my hand properly again, that's why I'm finally writing. I had to sneak out of the house unnoticed to send this letter. I don't want you to come back home, I'm afraid he will kill you. I hope you can find a friend with whom you can stay during the summer holidays, I don't have any family left where you could go, and your father's brother is even worse.
I hope you'll find a way, I need to know you're all right. It's really not safe for you to come back.
Take care of you.
I love you.
Mum."
Kate let the letter fall and rushed to her friend who was still crying, hugging him tightly. She only whispered 'I'm so sorry, Alec,' while stroking his hair. After a few long minutes, he started to calm down. The young girl sat down again, keeping her hand on her friend's. - 'Are your parents Muggles?' she asked. - 'Only my father,' he answered in a broken voice. - 'Why does your mother stay with him?' - 'He's dangerous. Whenever she disagrees with him, he's beating her up.'
- 'But if she's a witch, she has a wand, she could defend herself.' - 'She doesn't have one any more. Shortly after I was born, some magical stuff happened. He didn't know she was a witch, but as I couldn't control my magic, unexplainable things happened. So she had to tell him, he was super angry, he broke her wand. She told me that was the first time he beat her up.' - 'That's horrible. Did he already hit you?' - 'Yes,' whispered Alec, looking at his feet. 'Each time something happened that was beyond his understanding.' - 'I'm sorry. I feel bad for both you and your mother. But we need to find a solution for you, you obviously can't go back there.' - 'What solution do I have?' he cried. 'None! You saw how my father reacted, I can't tell this around me. People will hate me.' - 'You saw how I reacted, Alec! Not everyone is like your father. Maybe before trying to talk to friends, you could talk to a professor.' - 'Are you mad? They'll throw me out of here.' - 'I don't think so. Professor Sprout is your Head of House, she's there for you, and she's really nice and friendly, I'm sure she'll be at least supportive if she can't help. And I start to know Professor Dumbledore quite well, I'd say it won't be a reason for him to kick a student out of school. But they are adults, maybe they already faced this kind of situation and they would be able to help you. It's worth a try, and this way you don't have to talk to more friends for now, if you are scared of their possible reaction.' - 'I'm terrified, Kate. I have the feeling I'm stuck, there's no solution. I can't go back or he'll kill me, I have parents, so I can't go to an orphanage, I'll end up living on the street, at least during summer, if they keep me in here when they discover how weird I am.' - 'No, you won't. We'll find a solution. But that's why you should talk to a professor. I'll come with you if you want, so you won't be alone. Sadly I can't tell you to come to my place because I don't have one.' - 'And if they react as badly as my father?' - 'They won't. Trust me! Let's go seeing if Professor Sprout has some time right now. Come on!'
They both stood up, Kate took care of making the armchairs vanish and reopened the door, then they walked down to the Greenhouses. Kate gave Alec back the letter on the way, she was holding his hand, as to make sure he wouldn't turn around and run away. Once outside, Alec stopped, staring at the snow-covered grounds. - 'We can't find a solution by ourselves, we need help. We'll check if she's not busy with a class right now. If she's free, we talk to her.' - 'And if she's not?' - 'We'll ask when she has time to talk with us.' - 'I can't…' - 'Then I'll ask. You have to explain to her, but I can ask her if she has time. I bet she's hoping for you to talk, she saw you weren't doing well this morning.'
The boy nodded, they continued. All Greenhouses were empty of students, so Kate looked for a sign of activity. At the third one, she saw someone moving inside. She knocked at the door, Professor Sprout's voice invited them in. - 'We're sorry to disturb you, Professor, but Alec needs some help with a huge problem.' - 'What is it, boy? You're not doing well since today morning,' said the witch on a friendly tone. Alec tried to say something, but words didn't want to come out of his throat. He looked at Kate in panic, with a sign she made him think of the letter. He pulled it out of his pocket and gave it to his professor. - 'I received this during breakfast,' he whispered.
The round witch read quickly, her mouth opening wider with every word she was reading. - 'Oh dear, I understand why you're feeling so bad. We need to find a solution for you. Let's go to Professor Dumbledore, we'll need his authority to act. Can I keep the letter to show him?' Alec nodded, Sprout pushed them out of the greenhouse, which she closed behind them, and they walked together to Dumbledore's office. Kate knew the way perfectly now. She was holding Alec's hand again, trying to give him some confidence. - 'I'm really sorry you have to go through that, boy. This shouldn't be a big deal, in our world it's well accepted, but these Muggles,… Calling his son with such a horrible word… And your poor mother… We're there now.'
The head of Hufflepuff gave the password, the door opened, she asked the children to step in and followed them as the stairs started to go upwards. Kate smiled seeing that three chairs were waiting in front of Dumbledore's desk. The Phoenix flapped his wings as they walked pass him, Kate looked at him and bowed her head slightly to greet him. The bird reciprocated the move. - 'What is it, Pomona?' - 'This boy received this letter today,' she said, handing it over to the Headmaster. 'I was wondering why he was looking so bad this morning, I was worried, but he didn't say anything. I believe it's Miss Labelle who managed to make him talk about the problem and she brought him to me. Read, we ought to help him.'
Dumbledore opened the letter and read it, his traits hardened as he was reading. - 'Indeed, we ought to help. Alec, do you still have belongings at your parents?' The boy nodded. 'Well, then we should go picking them up. Kate, where is your backpack?' - 'On my bed, Professor. Should I go –' - 'That won't be necessary,' he said, flicking his wand, the backpack appearing on his desk. 'Where do your parents live?' he asked, looking at the young boy. - 'Fearn Hill, on Rhynie Road, a bit outside of the village, a small shack in the woods.' - 'Let's go then.' - 'Wait, Professor, isn't it a Muggle area?' - 'Indeed, it is.' - 'Then maybe we should avoid going there with our robes and hats.' - 'Well thought,' he said, removing his hat and blue robes, letting him in an odd combination of clothes. - 'Put your robes in my backpack, Alec.' - 'But we have to put all my belongings in there. It's not that big.' - 'There's an extension charm on it, don't worry, there's plenty of space inside. I guess that's why Professor Dumbledore wanted to have it.'
The old man winked at Kate, who was now wearing quite normal school clothes, just as Alec was. Professor Sprout was wearing dark brown trousers and a maroon jumper. The dirt spots were not so easy to see on this colour. - 'Hold on to my arm you all,' said Dumbledore. They did as they were told, then he called Fawkes, who flew straight to him, and at the moment the Headmaster grabbed Fawkes's leg, a golden flash appeared, Kate closed her eyes, and when she reopened them, they were in a forest. - 'This was the fastest way to arrive,' smiled Dumbledore. 'We will use a more traditional way to go back to school. Let's go.'
He took the lead, Alec seemed hesitant, Kate linked his arm, Professor Sprout was bringing up the rear. After a few minutes, they could see an old shack, not in very good shape. The Head-master walked straight to the door and knocked. After a moment, a frail woman opened the door. A part of her face was swollen, her left eye was black, she was obviously in pain. Kate held Alec's arm stronger. - 'Mrs Benson? We received notice that your son is no longer welcome nor safe at your house, we are here to gather his belongings and keep him safe.' The unswollen part of her face gave a hint of a smile when a loud voice thundered behind her. - 'What the hell is this about? Who's there?'
A tall fat man arrived behind the woman. He was, of course, not as tall as Hagrid, but something like six feet seven tall, rather tall for a normal human. He had a mean expression on his face. He looked at the people in front of the door, a bit surprised, then saw Alec among them. - 'What's that faggot doing here? I said he shouldn't come here any more!' he shouted. - 'That's the reason why we're here. We want to gather your son's belongings and we will make sure that he's safe and doesn't have to come here again. Can we come in?' asked Dumbledore. - 'I have no son!' he shouted. 'But I want to get rid of this boy and his crap.' Professor Sprout was right behind the children, her hands on their shoulders, as if she was trying to protect them. A bad snare appeared on the man's face. - 'He can come in, but no wands inside, I don't want any magic shit happening. She'll go with him,' he said, pointing at his wife. 'You stay outside of my house,' he added, looking at the professors. - 'Maybe I can go with him, that would be faster to pack his stuff if we are two,' Kate said quickly, looking at the man.
He nodded, she gave her wand to her Headmaster, Alec did the same, and they entered the house together. Mister Benson slammed the door behind them, shouting at his wife to hurry with the children. She had difficulties to climb the stairs, so he threw a log of wood at her because she was too slow. Once they arrived in the room, Kate took off her backpack, gave it to Alec and they started packing his belongings inside. - 'Why aren't you done already?' screamed the father from downstairs after a few minutes. - 'Hurry, please, he'll come. You have to hurry,' moaned Alec's mother who was shaking in a corner of the room.
Kate heard that the man started to climb the stairs, she softly closed the door, there was no key, but a key hole. She put her hand in front of it, focused a second, and a little click was heard. The door was locked. - 'That's a few seconds won,' she whispered. 'What do you still need, Alec?' He showed his clothes and his few books. The man was now at the door, trying to open it. - 'Why is it closed? I removed the key years ago! Get out of there or I'll break the door!' The children threw the clothes in the backpack as fast as they could. The man started to hit the door with his shoulder. Kate pulled the woman away, as she had approached the door and was standing right in front of it. When he managed to break it down, he stared at the three of them, look-ing angry and madly happy at the same time. The children stepped back further in the room as the man came in.
- 'Please, don't hurt him, don't hurt them, they're just children,' begged the mother, he threw her aside, she fell with a scream of pain. Alec stepped in front of Kate. - 'You have a problem with me, not with her, let her go,' he whispered. - 'Don't touch him,' said Kate in a roar of fury, as the man already held his fist high. The father didn't listen, he hit his son in the face, Alec fell on the ground. That was too much for Kate, with a move of her hand, she sent the man flying through the room, turning on himself. He landed in the opposite wall. The young witch wanted to take care of her friend, but his father, angrier than ever, stood up again and rushed towards the children. - 'STUPEFY!' shouted Kate, extending her hand toward him, the man was thrown back and fell lying on the ground, unconscious.
The girl helped Alec to stand up, his lip was bleeding, she rubbed her hands together and healed him. She then asked him to pack his books and she walked to his mother. She took care of the woman's face and asked where else she was hurt. The woman showed her hip, Kate shortly checked with her hands. - 'It seems only displaced, not broken,' she muttered. Then she focused a bit harder, sending all her energy in her hands while picturing a fully functioning hip. A small 'clock' was heard coming from the joint, then she helped the woman to get back on her feet. - 'How is it now?' she asked. - 'Much better, thank you so much,' said the woman, making a few steps in the room. - 'You shouldn't stay here, it's dangerous for you too,' Kate said. - 'I have nowhere to go, my wand is broken for years now, I don't have any money. I don't see how I could get out of here. I know he's dangerous, but if I try to leave he'll kill me.'
Both professors arrived in the room. - 'We heard screams and loud noises, we thought we should check if you are doing okay,' said Dumbledore. 'You look much better,' he added, looking at Alec's mother. - 'He broke the door that I locked to give us some time, he threw her aside and punched Alec in the face. I had to do something.' - 'What's that?' asked Professor Sprout, showing at the mark in the wall where Mister Benson landed the first time. - 'It's after he punched Alec. I was really angry, I blasted him away. When he tried to attack again, I stupefied him.' - 'Are you hurt, Alec?' asked Sprout. - 'Kate took care of me, I'm all right now.' - 'Are you done packing?' casually asked Dumbledore. The children nodded.
- 'All right, then maybe we should leave. Mrs Benson, do you want to leave with us?' - 'I can't. He'll find me back and kill me. I don't even have a wand to defend myself, I don't have money, I have no family. How could I?.' - 'These are only organisational problems that can be solve. And there are many magical places that no Muggle can find. Think of Diagon Alley for example. Hogsmeade, Hogwarts, … I believe it would be important for your son to know that you are safe.' The woman nodded and left the room. She came back a few minutes later with a suitcase. Dumbledore smiled. He gave the children their wands, sent everybody outside except for Kate. - 'We're going to give them a bit more safety. We will remove from the house all signs of a wife or a child, then we will wake him up and change his memory. He will forget he has seen wizards and that he had a family,' he explained.
They went in every room, first upstairs, then downstairs to remove all traces of the man's family. Then they brought him downstairs and installed him on an armchair. - 'Rennervate!' said Dumbledore. The man woke up, still in a state of anger, he was about to stand up when Kate conjured ropes to bind him to his seat. - 'Thank you, Kate,' smiled the Headmaster. 'Obliviate!' He said, looking at the man. They used this moment Mr Benson was confused, as his memory was trying to adapt, to remove his bounds and leave the house. - 'Pomona, will you take Mrs Benson with you, I'll take Kate and Alec, we meet at Hogsmeade Station!'
The Head of Hufflepuff agreed, asking the other woman to take her arm while the children grasped Dumbledore's. Kate already travelled that way, she knew how uncomfortable it was, but this was a first time for Alec. They arrived soon after in Hogsmeade, Alec seemed ready to vomit. That made Kate smile. After the two witches arrived, Dumbledore shortly gave instructions. - 'You don't have to worry for this man to find you again, I modified his memory, he forgot every-thing about a wife and a child. Pomona, would you accompany Kate and Alec back to school. You can wait with them in my office, I'm coming. I will organise a place to sleep for Mrs Benson.' Alec's mother came to Kate, she took her hands, she was still shaking. - 'Thank you! Thank you for protecting my son, for being there for him. You saved him. I don't know how I can thank you enough for this.' - 'It's what friends are for, don't you think?' asked the young witch. It was quite uncomfortable. - 'I don't know, maybe. I wish I could be as strong as you are.' - 'You can work on that. And if you want to thank me, try to find the strength to be the mother you'd like to be.'
She nodded as Professor Sprout started to lead the children towards Hogwarts. - 'Goodbye Alec,' said his mother as they started walking away. Her voice was shaking, the boy didn't answer. - 'Are you mad at her?' asked Kate softly. - 'Yeah, a bit. I mean, she always was terrified of him, she let him break her down, she never tried to defend herself. Even now, she didn't want to leave.' - 'She was feeling stuck, just like you earlier today, you had the feeling there was no solution. The main difference is that she had no one to help her.' - 'You're twelve, and you weren't scared. You managed to get rid of him without a wand.' - 'It's safe to say that your friend is way above the average level of a twelve years old, Alec,' said Professor Sprout. 'Or even above the level of many adult wizards or witches.' - 'I learned recently that really few people in Europe can do wand-less magic. It's easier when you are under heavy emotions, even if less controllable. I was so angry and scared for you, I had to do something. But that's easier with a wand, really, and more precise as well. And don't forget I'm in the House where the brave at heart lies,' Kate said with a wink. - 'Maybe. But she's my mother, she should have tried to protect me, no?' - 'She did today. She was not much of an obstacle, but she's terrified by your father, so it probably was all she could do. I'm sure if she had to face a Boggart now, she'll see him. Some people can fight their fears, some are paralysed. And she was alone, without friends or family, it's difficult to find strength in these conditions.' - 'Why do you keep finding excuses for her? You're not so kind with your own mother.' - 'True, but I guess my mother telling me that she wished I would have died instead of my sister didn't help having a healthy bound. She clearly didn't like me.' - 'You had a sister?' - 'Oh right, you don't know that. I avoid talking about it usually. I had a twin sister, she died when we were nine. That's maybe why I get along so well with Fred and George. Don't talk about it at school, please.' - 'I won't. But same for you, don't tell anything.'
- 'I promise, you'll tell the people you trust when you'll be ready, no one will learn what happened from me.'
They kept quiet while crossing the school, Professor Sprout made them enter the Head-master's office again. She made them sit down, then she stood beside the desk, staring at them. - 'Listen, Alec… We solved a part of your problem already. But there's something I would like to address with you. I know what this word, 'faggot', means for Muggles. I have to tell you some-thing. It's okay if you like boys. Like it's all right when a girl prefers girls, or if someone likes both. There are also people who don't have this kind of feelings at all, and that's also perfectly okay. For whatever crazy reason, Muggles have troubles with that, but in our world, it's fine. It's not shameful to love, Alec, remember that. Of course, not everybody will love in the same way, and sometimes feelings will not be reciprocated, but it doesn't make them less valid. And all that can change with the time. Some people will have periods of their life when they prefer girls and other periods when they prefer guys,… There are plenty of possibilities. All what matters is to respect the others and their preferences.' - 'Professor Sprout is perfectly right!' said Dumbledore's voice from behind them.
Both students were surprised, they didn't hear him arrive in the room. - 'Do you know anyone who… doesn't love in the usual way?' Alec asked. - 'Well, I already fell in love with both women and men,' Professor Sprout said. 'Not that my private life should be known by our students, but you might understand now that I have quite a good understanding about these matters.' - 'Back in the time when I had love interest, I preferred men. Now I prefer a quiet night with a good book beside the fire. Our preferences might change with time, but it doesn't matter. Love is the strongest power in this world.' - 'Thank you,' whispered Alec. - 'As Pomona told you, this should stay between us, students don't need to know about the private life of their Professors. We hope you can respect that.' Both children nodded. 'For the rest, your mother is for now staying at the Hog's Head Inn, I will go with her tomorrow trying to find her a workplace in Hogsmeade. Ideally, she will have a place to live for next summer, but if she doesn't manage, I will personally write to one of your friend's family to ask them to take care of you over the holidays, explaining that, because of some difficulties in your family, you can't go back home this time. No one will have to know what happened as long as you are not ready to talk about it. But we will not let you sleep on the streets.' - 'Thank you very much, Sir,' said Alec, visibly moved. - 'Well, you still have a bit of time before dinner, you should enjoy some fresh air, I think,' said Dumbledore, showing the door.
Alec, Kate and Professor Sprout started walking away, but before leaving, Kate turned back. She ran to her Headmaster. - 'You apparated in your office,' she whispered, 'although there's supposedly security to avoid app-arition in Hogwarts. How did you do that?' - 'I'm the Headmaster, I can do what I want,' he winked. 'Maybe I will tell you another time, that might be useful some day.' Kate left and hurried to join Alec and Professor Sprout. - 'We should go to Alec's dormitory so we can empty your backpack from his belongings,' the Herbology Professor proposed.
The students agreed and followed her through the castle once again. She opened the Common Room door, it was the first time Kate was going inside. The room was round and cosy, with a low ceiling, tables and doors made of honey coloured wood, the whole room being in yellow and black colours. Many plants and flowers were decorating the room, and the windows were at the level of the Hogwarts ground, giving a view on the snowy park. Even though the windows were really low, the room seemed bathed in sunshine. But that's all what Kate had time to notice, as they directly continued to the dormitory. When Alec opened his trunk, he realised he would not have nearly enough space to store all his belongings. Kate proposed to put an extension charm on his trunk. Professor Sprout was hesitant for a moment, then agreed. The young girl gave her backpack to Alec, telling him to take out his belongings while she started working on the spell. But as she was preparing to work, she saw the boy half inside her backpack, trying to reach his stuff. Kate laughed and extracted him out of it.
- 'I'll show you a neat trick,' she said. She took her wand, waved it above the backpack and said 'Accio Alec's books.' A pile of books jumped out of the rucksack. 'You think you'll get it? Accio is the summoning charm, you just need to specify what you want to summon. If you just ask for clothes, you'll get mine as well as yours. Maybe you can try.' Professor Sprout was smiling at these friends, she helped Alec managing the spell as Kate was putting the extendable charm on his trunk. They were done nearly at the same time.
- 'We'll let you organise everything now, Alec. I will bring Kate outside, to avoid any questions.' - 'Thank you, Kate, for everything,' said Alec, hugging the girl. 'I'm happy to have you as a friend.' - 'You're welcome, I'm happy we're friends. You're great,' she said before following the Herbology professor out of the dormitory.
As they exited the Hufflepuff Common Room, Kyle arrived, still worried. He asked the young witch how his friend was doing, she said better, telling he was in his dormitory. The boy rushed inside. Professor Sprout asked Kate to follow her for a last word. Once she was sure to be unheard, the Head of Hufflepuff started talking. - 'All right, Kate, I wanted to thank you for making Alec talk to us. I don't think he would have managed without you. Thank you for your help this afternoon, and for being such a good friend. You seem extremely loyal, you could have done great in my House as well. But I can't deny the courage you displayed this afternoon, going wand-less with your friend in front of danger, you're fitting in Gryffindor very well. Anyway, I wanted to award you a hundred points, for all of this.' - 'Thank you, Professor, but that's not necessary. I did it for my friend. He needed help, I tried to be there as much as he needed.' - 'I insist. Such a behaviour should be encouraged and rewarded. I wonder what happened during the Holidays, you had troubles together before, and now you seem so close,…' - 'I made him talk to me. On the twenty-fifth, in the evening, after he left the Great Hall, I followed him. I started to understand a bit why he was angry at me all the time, as I was really close to the truth, he told me everything, that he thinks he prefers boys and it was the reason why he was not going back home, and he made me promise not to tell anyone. That brought us closer. When Kyle told me he was mute and livid after receiving a letter this morning, I thought that was probably linked. After dinner, I talked to Professor Flitwick so Alec didn't have to go to Charms, and well, the rest, you know more or less.' - 'You are a good person, Kate. Really. And so talented. I still can't believe how you neutralised his father without having your wand. I mean, already your healing skills were impressive, but this,…' - 'Professor Dumbledore asked that this ability stays secret. I would be grateful if you don't talk about it.' - 'Of course, my dear. Now dinner time is about to start, maybe you should join your friends.'
Kate nodded, she walked away slowly while focusing on Alec to tell him to not talk about her wand-less magic, she forgot to tell him before. He said there was no risk he would say some-thing as he didn't want to talk about what happened to anyone. Kate thanked him, then ran to the Great Hall to join her friends. When they asked her what she had done in the afternoon, all she could say was that she took care of Alec, who seemed to feel much better now. It was somehow frustrating to not be allowed to tell what happened that afternoon, but she had to respect her friend's wish, even though she felt the need to talk about the feelings she experienced during the afternoon.
As the group was about to leave the Great Hall, Alec arrived running and asked to talk to Kate briefly. The young witch agreed and told the others she would join them soon after. The two of them left the castle. It was already dark and pretty cold, what was perfect to be sure they would meet no one. - 'Kate, I wanted to thank you again. I don't have the feeling I did it properly. I'm glad you made me talk to Professor Sprout. I was so scared of the reaction they could have. I grew up in a Muggle environment, and you saw my father, I'm not used to kindness or acceptance. I don't think I would have dared telling anyone else, so really, thank you.' - 'Thank you for stepping forward to prevent your father to hit me. It was really brave.' - 'It was useless. With one hit I was on the ground, you neutralised him.' - 'You didn't know I can do magic without a wand. No one should know actually. Dumbledore wants it to stay secret. Anyway, you did what you could to protect me. I appreciate.' - 'It will stay secret, don't worry. I don't know what I would have done without you.' - 'And I'm glad you don't have to find out. You know, if there's anything you need to talk about, you can come to me, right?' - 'Yeah, I think I know that now. I'm lucky to have you as a friend. I'm lucky you ran after me at Christmas and put me in front of facts, so I had to talk. And lucky that you were so awesome and understanding.' - 'I just wanted to understand why you were so lunatic with me. Now I get it. It's good that you trusted me enough to talk. I don't really get why it should be a big deal. And you heard what Sprout and Dumbledore said earlier, right?' - 'Yes, but you saw my father… I might need a while to fully understand that it's not the same here.' - 'That's okay, you have time. But there is something I wanted to ask you. When I sat with my friends for dinner, I was feeling like I need to talk about what happened this afternoon to someone who wasn't there. As you don't want anyone to know here at school, I was wondering if it would be all right if I was writing to Charlie about what happened. Of course, if you agree, I won't tell him what you think of him, and I'll let you read the letter before I send it, so if there's something bothe-ring you in it, you can tell me and I'd change it, or burn it if you prefer I don't send it. But I need to get this experience out to someone else. Tell about my emotions, all what I was feeling, and it's better to someone who wasn't there as they won't have their own emotional load about it. Charlie is really kind and empathetic, he helped me out with quite bad emotions I was carrying, and as he's far away, I thought he could be a possibility.' - 'Are you sure he won't talk about it to his brothers? And you'll really let me read the letter before you send it?' - 'Yeah, I'm sure, and of course. It's also about you, I don't want to say anything that could hurt you.'
- 'You can write, I'll read it and then we see if it's okay to send it. I understand what you mean with wanting to talk about what happened to someone who wasn't there, I still don't know how to deal with that myself.' - 'As long as you're not ready to talk, maybe you can try writing a diary. I know Charlie helped me with some of the heaviest feelings I was experiencing, I trust him fully.' - 'Nice. Do you want to make snow sculptures again tomorrow? As long as there's snow. Who knows how long it will last.' - 'After lunch maybe? I still have homework to do. If you bring Kyle and I bring Fred, George and Lee, we can make a huge snowball battle!' - 'Sounds nice. Let's go back inside now, I'm getting cold.' They walked back inside, talked a bit longer in the Entrance Hall, then hugged each other before going to their respective Common Room.
- 'What did Alec want?' Fred asked when Kate joined them. - 'He just wanted to thank me for taking care of him this afternoon. He proposed to enjoy time outside tomorrow afternoon, would you like joining for a snowball battle? He'll try to bring Kyle along, we could make three against three, first year against second year.' - 'Sounds like fun, I'm in,' said George.
- 'Me too,' said Lee. - 'Me too,' said Fred. 'I'd like to go back to the forest, any ideas how?' - 'Disillusionment spell!' Kate said. - 'What do you mean?' asked Lee. - 'The spell I used to make us all leave the secret passage unseen when we went to Hogsmeade.'
- 'Where could we learn about that?' Fred asked. - 'I can teach you. You'll first practice on objects, then on each other, then on yourself. Depending how fast you are, it can take anything from a few weeks to a few months,' she said with a grin. - 'Can't you just use it on us again?' George asked. 'You did it on Charlie in December so he wouldn't be caught by Filch.' - 'I could. But I also would like you to know exactly what you're looking for, have a list, and go only once back there, so you don't enter in the Centaurs' territory too often. Learning the charm would give you time to be prepared. And I used this charm on Charlie to avoid him being caught by my fault. The only reason he was out of bed was because he was scared for me.' - 'Why do you always have good reasons to make us work?' laughed Fred. - 'I'm the brain,' she winked.
Kate talked with her friends until half past ten, then went to bed. She wanted to write a letter to Charlie, so she prepared herself to sleep, closed the curtains around her bed, took some parchment, ink and a feather, made some light and started writing. Katie arrived soon after in the dormitory and asked Kate if everything was all right. - 'Yeah, don't worry, I just wanted to write to Charlie.' - 'Why don't you do that in the Common Room?' - 'Because I need to talk about things that no one at school should know, so I prefer writing away from Fred and George, to be sure they aren't tempted to read over my shoulder.' - 'Oh, all right. Have a good night then.'
- 'You too Katie.'
* After the events of the previous day and a morning spent doing her homework, Kate was really happy at the idea of an afternoon of fun in the snow. After lunch, the four Gryffindor met Kyle and Alec in the Entrance Hall when Katie, Angelina and Alicia walked by.
- 'What are you doing?' wondered Katie. - 'We're going to have a snowball battle, as long as there's snow,' answered Lee. - 'That sounds cool, can we join?' Alicia asked. - 'Sure, if you want to,' said Fred.
The nine students went to the practice fields and enjoyed a few hours playing in the snow together. Snowball battle, snow sculptures, sliding down the grounds, … the young students had fun the whole afternoon, until the day went dark. All cheeks were red, laughter was permanently heard, it was a great time for all of them. As they started to make their way back to the castle, Kate held Alec a bit aside, gave him the letter, told him to read it when he'd be alone and tell her the next day what he thought of it. The boy agreed, hid the letter in an inside pocket and linked Kate's arm to finish the way to the school. In the Entrance Hall, Kyle took Kate apart.
- 'What happened with Alec yesterday?' he asked - 'What did he tell you?' - 'Nothing, he said he doesn't want to talk about it.' - 'I fear you'll have to wait, I promised I won't say anything. It's his decision if he wants to talk about what happened or not.' - 'But you know, right?' - 'Sure, that's why he's doing better. Listen, we got to know each other better during the Christmas holidays, we created a closer bound. There are some things he's not ready to share yet, you'll have to respect that.' - 'Is that bad?' - 'I guess most of us have gone through difficult experiences, some harder than others, and we're not ready to share all that with everyone.' - 'Can't you just give me a tip, a hint?' - 'Show him that he can trust you, be a good friend, don't press him with questions when he says he doesn't want to talk, and when he'll be ready, he'll tell you. I have to go, Fred and George are waiting for me,' she said, looking at the top of the stairs, and she left.
* After breakfast on Sunday, Alec joined the four Gryffindor friends and asked to talk with Kate. They left the Great Hall together and went to an empty classroom. Kate put a charm on the door to avoid people hearing what they would say and they sat down on tables that were there. - 'I've read your letter, that's fine, you can send it like this.' - 'Are you sure? There's nothing bothering you?' - 'No, I just wondered what the two other letters you mention are, but otherwise –' - 'I can't tell you. That's about things that also shouldn't be known at school, Fred and George don't know about it either. On Saturday early afternoon, I sent my answer to Charlie, but right after, quite a lot happened, and I needed to talk about it with someone, especially as I explained Charlie about the start of this in the letter I just sent. Then on Tuesday, after my extra-lesson with Dumbledore, I needed again to share some things with someone, but as most of what I learned shouldn't be known here… I think Charlie is the safest person to whom I can talk.' - 'I didn't know you felt that way on Friday. You didn't say anything, nor did you show you were disgusted about the way my father treated me – us – or how worried you were for my mother and me. I mean, you looked just normal – not anxious or anything – when you proposed to come and help me packing, but you wrote that you were totally scared he would beat me up, and that maybe you wouldn't be able to help.' - 'I'm just used to hide when I'm scared of something and it might be detrimental. I'm going to tell you something about me, I don't have to ask you not to talk about it, it's protected by a charm, I'm the only one who can tell it to people who don't know yet. Even a legilimens won't be able to see this information in your mind. I'm not who I pretend to be. I'm not Catherine Labelle. Don't worry, Dumbledore knows everything. On Friday, I told you I had a twin sister who died, that's true. But my mother never said that she would have preferred that I die instead of her, simply because she's the one who killed her. Actually both my parents are alive, but now they want to kill me. That's why I don't have news or go back to them and why I have another identity. That's also why I'm not finding excuses for them and why I'm used to hide my feelings, to play a game. Because after they killed my sister, I had to play a role with them, pretending to be okay and making them teach me all they knew. I couldn't let them see I was scared, or doubting,…' - 'It's horrible! I'm sorry.'
- 'Don't be sorry for me. We all have our struggles. And mine made me who I am, that's what made me so determinate. Also, I'm feeling better now that I have Fred and George by my side. It was an instant connexion with them.' - 'Yeah, we all noticed. Thank you for not telling anything to Kyle yesterday.' - 'I promised,' Kate said in a smile. 'You'll tell who you want to tell when you'll be ready for it.' - 'When I'll do, will you be with me again?' - 'Of course, if you want me to be there.' - 'Thank you.' - 'Stop thanking me for being a friend. Seriously.' - 'I don't think I deserve a friend like you.' - 'You deserve to have great friends, because you're a great person. Even if your wicked father made you believe the opposite,' said Katie while giving her friend a hug. 'I still have a lot of work to do for Dumbledore today, I should probably go now. Except if you want to tell me something else.' - 'No, that's all. See you later then.'
Kate hurried to the Common Room. She walked to her friends and sat beside them. - 'What do you think of practising?' she asked them. - 'Practising what?' asked Fred. - 'Disillusionment spell, of course. Or did you give up the idea?' - 'Of course we didn't. You want to do that now?' asked George. - 'Sure!' She stared briefly at Lee, before adding: 'I also have to train, this way I won't be alone. Lee, you can come as well if you promise not to tell anybody, not even outside of school, what I'll be doing.' - 'All right, I swear I won't. Let's go!'
Once in the classroom with Fred, George and Lee, the girl started by conjuring cups that the boys would have to make invisible. Then she explained them how to realise the spell, what the wand move was, the intention that was needed, … And they started working. She locked the door before starting practising her wand-less skills. She conjured objects, moved them around, blasted them, repaired, she tried all what came in her mind and was amazed to see how easy it seemed to be. Shortly before lunch time, they stopped. Fred and George started to have an effect on their cups, they were still visible, but somehow taking partly the colours of what was surrounding them. Lee was not there yet, but Kate knew that the twins, even if they were reluctant to show it to their prof-essors, were really talented. They walked back to the Common Room before going to eat lunch, Kate wanted to pick up the two other letters she wrote, then they happily walked to the Great Hall to eat together. Now that January was over, the boys wanted to exploit the pranks they bought for Christmas. Without surprise, they wanted to use most of them during their Potions classes. They were also keeping some for History of Magic, but mainly to kill time, as Professor Binns was not really paying attention to what was happening in his classroom. At the end of the meal, Kate said she needed to talk to Dumbledore, walked towards the teachers' table and asked the Headmaster if she could talk with him briefly. He followed her on the side.
- 'I wanted to ask you if I could use a school owl to send a letter to Charlie. I needed to talk about what happened on Friday, I asked Alec if it would be okay for him if I tell Charlie, because he's far, he won't tell anyone and I know he would be able to help me deal with the emotional load I have. Alec read the letter last night and told me I can send it. But I guess Muninn just arrived in Romania, and I would like to send it as soon as possible.' - 'Follow me, please.' Dumbledore left the Great Hall, the young witch on his heels. He walked straight to his office, Kate was quite surprised about this. He let her enter and the girl went directly sitting on the chair that was in front of his desk. - 'It's not just about Friday, though,' she said. 'It's also about what happened on Saturday afternoon, and about his uncles, I asked him what he knows about them. I know I can trust him, he's brave, loyal, and he understands what I feel sometimes better than I do. That's why I need to write him.' - 'I understand, Kate. I also believe it is safe to assume that no one will think that someone this far away holds information about what happens at Hogwarts. I thought you could ask Fawkes if he would be willing to bring your letter to Charlie. As you realized on Friday, phoenixes can disappear and reappear somewhere else, no matter how far. This would be much faster than an owl.' - 'How should I ask him? Should I talk with him, or talk in his mind?' - 'You can go in his mind, ask him to bring the letter to Charlie, wait to know if he wants to answer immediately and if yes, to wait for the answer. Go on, try.'
Kate stood up, she walked to the magnificent bird. She put her fist in front of his legs and Fawkes stepped immediately on it. The girl stroke its head as she went back to her seat. They were staring in each other's eyes. After a moment, she took the envelope, gave it to the bird who took it, started flying, turned twice in the office and disappeared in a golden flash. Dumbledore was smiling. - 'It seems like you have a good connexion with magical birds. Did you know that Thunderbirds and Phoenixes are related? I noticed on Friday that Fawkes seems to like you, he greeted you when you entered with the group, you bowed to each others. I wanted to know if he would agree to do something for you. They have quite an independent nature, he wouldn't do that for everyone.' - 'I didn't know. But I never saw a Thunderbird in my life, the only connexion I have with this bird is through my wand and my patronus.' - 'It's a difficult wand to master, and yet it isn't a problem for you. And you share with them a connexion with storms, you seem to love wind and fire, I understand how both of these birds can connect with you. I guess you would be really good at elemental magic. Now if that's all I can do for you, maybe you should go back to your Common Room.' - 'Professor, how is Alec's mother doing? She seemed so scared, I think I'm afraid for her, that she won't find the strength to start her life new again.' - 'She is staying at the Hog's Head, my brother is the owner. Regarding the circumstances, he doesn't want money for her stay for now.' - 'You have a brother?' - 'Yes, and you saw the memory of my sister during your evaluation. I lent Mrs Benson money to buy a new wand, and she's working part time in two different shops. She will probably need some time to get used to this new situation.' - 'Will you stay in touch with her? I have an uneasy feeling about her, like – I don't know, like she needs support. It feels like she doesn't believe she can manage.' - 'Professor Sprout and I will stay in touch with Mrs Benson, don't worry. You're quite right, she feels worthless, thinks she's a failure and can't get any better. We will try to help her regain a feeling of self worth. But that's none of your concern, Kate. You have enough to deal with here. Now go join your friends.' - 'Have a nice afternoon, Professor,' Kate said before leaving.
The young witch ran to her Common Room and sat with her friends. She told them that Dumbledore let her ask Fawkes to send her letter to Charlie and the bird agreed. She was really happy about it, especially as it was much faster than owls. The girl also told them that she decided to train one to two hours a day for a time, she would go every day after dinner, and they were welcome to join to work on their disillusionment spell or on occlumency. The group spent the first part of the afternoon beside the fireplace, Kate reading for Dumb-ledore, the three boys researching useful ingredients. After a bit more than one hour, though, the boys started to be bored and Fred proposed to try sneaking out of school through one of the secret passageways. Kate wished them to have fun and decided to go practising again. She had doubted on Friday that she could get out unharmed of the situation, she didn't want this to happen again and was decided to work as hard as needed to trust her abilities. Of course she couldn't tell this to the twins, as they shouldn't know what happened that afternoon. This was bothering her, this feeling of doubt, it was so uncomfortable, letting so much place to fear,…
They all left the Common Room, and once outside, Kate went to her classroom. As she was alone, she decided to train offensive spells, she created a decorum with her wand, then started to work wand-lessly. It was a whole new feeling working with bare hands, but somehow also really intuitive. She was getting a result with each try, not as powerful as usual, but it was encouraging. The young witch worked on the disarming spell, the stunning spell, some explosive spells, she levitated objects,… With each try she was a bit better. After some time, she heard someone knocking at the door. It was the twins and Lee, they entered quickly and saw Kate manoeuvring a small tornado in the room. - 'How the hell are you doing this?' asked George. - 'I don't know,' answered the young witch with a smile, her eyes fixed on the swirling winds she created. 'Dumbledore thought I probably have a strong bound with the elements, that would explain the special connexion I have with Thunderbirds and Fawkes, and also my fascination for storms, thunderstorm, snow, fire, … I wanted to see if I can do something with that.' - 'It's safe to say you can,' whispered Lee. - 'We're already back. There was no way to take any secret passage, there was always someone sneaking around – Filch, Snape, McGonagall – and as we don't look really innocent…' said Fred. - 'What do you want to do then?' she asked, letting the tornado disappear. - 'Maybe we should keep working on the disillusionment spell, so we can safely explore the castle,' said Fred.
Kate had put aside the cups on which they were working in the morning, the boys took place and started working again. Fred and George were progressing very fast, it was amusing to see how they were emulating each other, correcting the other's mistake, learning from the other, all that without speaking or barely. Their cups were nearly completely invisible. Lee wasn't progressing that fast, he had to rely on his mind alone to progress. - 'If you keep being that fast, you could be ready in one week,' said Kate happily. - 'Well, I won't,' sighed Lee. - 'We'll use the spell on you when we'll master it,' said Fred. - 'I bet we'll be done in three days,' said George. - 'You can try, but keep in mind that when it's not properly done, people will still see someone walking, and I'd say at least Flitwick, McGonagall and Snape will manage to make you visible again. You should really master this spell before using it for mischief. That's why I say one week.' - 'Point taken. And we have quidditch practice on Tuesday, so one day less training.'
They stopped for dinner and walked to the Great Hall in a very good mood. Kate started to have a better feeling with her wand-less magic, she knew if she kept working like that, she could be soon as effective as with a wand. They sat together, the boys already dreaming of what they would be able to do when they could make themselves invisible. At the end of the meal, Fawkes entered the room and landed right in front of Kate. He was only carrying the leather pouch with which Kate sent potions. She took it carefully, thanked the bird while stroking its head and when the phoenix flew away, she finished eating. - 'You're not checking if there's something inside?' Fred asked. - 'There probably is, but as what I sent with Fawkes was containing matters that should not be known at school, I'll check when I'll be alone, so you don't have to fight the temptation to look over my shoulder,' answered the girl casually. - 'That's thoughtful,' commented George. They left the Great Hall together, but once in the Common Room, Kate went to her dormitory. She really wanted to know what Charlie answered and didn't want to wait to go to bed. She sat on her bed and opened the pouch. There was an envelope lying at the bottom of it. She took it out, put the leather bag aside and opened the letter.
"Hi Kate,
I'm all right, thank you. I see Dumbledore lent you Fawkes to send this letter. That was a lot to read. First, thank you for the supplies. Muninn arrived two days ago, I tried the balm immediately on my hand, it works wonders. One of my boss asked me where I got all these potions, I said a friend was making them for me. He then asked if my friend wouldn't like to work here, he was shocked when I answered that you were only twelve. He said when you'll be done at school, there would be work for you here if you want to.
Anyway, let's dive into all what you wrote me. I can see how upsetting it was for you that Snape looked into my brothers' minds. I don't think you have to worry a lot about that, though, but asking them to learn occlumency is probably the best idea you could have had. From what you told me, I believe he's also in an uncomfortable place, having to keep his role as a terrible professor while working together with you, unknown from all except Dumbledore. I bet it's not easy for him to find the right balance there. Maybe you can differentiate between the teacher and the person with whom you work, but I guess it's not that simple for him, after years of keeping his persona as a horrible Potions Master. If he's suddenly friendlier with you, that might put him at risk in the future, but logically working together will probably make you have a closer relationship. And I think you're right, he recognise himself in you, or rather he sees you as a better version of himself, and that's maybe why he's overacting on the protective side.
I don't know anything more than my brothers about our uncles, I have nearly no memories with them. I know they were in the Order, or as I thought back then 'in whatever strange organisation thingy', I had no clue what it was. Now I think I want to join when the Order will be reactivated. I want to fight with you against this evil. Will you tell me when the time will be there?
And now the biggest matter, I have the feeling it really troubled you. It's normal that you were shocked by the letter Alec received, from what you're telling me, it was deeply shocking. It's good that Alec trusted you, he couldn't have found a better person to help him. It's odd to read you doubted you could act, because I wouldn't doubt you ever. You're so young and you can do so much already, I believe you can do anything. But maybe it's because you just started practising wand-less magic? It wasn't even a week since you learned it's something special, I guess you had barely time to train it, and you were suddenly in a situation where potentially the life of your friend was at risk. It's a lot of pressure for anyone, already with a wand in the hand. So relying on an ability you barely trained, I can see how you were terrified. Yet you went there, you knew you had to try, you were very brave doing so, not knowing what the outcome would be. No matter what, you knew you were the one who could help your friend and his mother.
Now that you're back at school, you can only be there for Alec when he'll need a friend, for good times or for support, his mother will have to find her own way. It's not in your power to help her. I hear you're scared for her, but there's nothing you can do. But here's something about what you can maybe think: could it be that you're so worried because you fear one day, you could be in the same place she's in? With someone abusing you, no friends around for support (I mean, I'm already far away, Fred and George will be done at school before you), maybe that's what's scaring you? But you're not her. She probably wasn't sorted in Gryffindor, she probably wasn't a very brave person standing for herself from the beginning. You're the strongest and bravest person I know, I see no way you could let yourself be stuck in such a situation. And be sure that if you ever were in need, you'd be welcome here, or with Fred and George, I think I can safely assume that they would agree with that. We will not let you in a situation where you're unhappy or in danger. We care for you and love you too much for that.
You did all you can to help Alec and his mother get out of the grasp of this abusive man, now this matter isn't in your hands any more, you'll have to let it go. And hope she'll find her strength. She's an adult, she has to care for herself, but I guess Dumbledore won't let her completely alone at first.
I think you acted perfectly, by being there for your friend, encouraging him to find help, accompanying him where you could feel danger, you were from the beginning perfect. And it's nice that you thought of asking him if it would be okay to write me about it, really thoughtful.
I can understand that you worry about what will happen if Alec's mother doesn't get back on her feet, what would he do then? But there's nothing you can actually do about it. So I fear you'll have to try to let it go for now, even if it's difficult.
There's not much more I can tell you.
I just wanted to ask you, as you sent a lot of potions, if it would be OK for you if I share them with my colleagues when needed. I feel a bit bad for having a whole pharmacy and they should avoid going to the healer when they have minor injuries.
Anyway, feel free to write any time you need. I'm happy to have news from you, and I see you're pretty busy by yourself.
Take care of you.
With love
Charlie. PS: I don't know what to say about the way you reacted after I left Hogwarts during the holidays. On one side, it feels horrible to know you did that, because I have, I believe, a good idea of how you were feeling to do that. On another hand, it's already one month ago, everything turned out fine, you're not permanently injured or anything. Anyway… I just realised that you gave me the pendant so I can have something from you at all time, but I didn't give you anything… So I joined a picture of me. It's not the same, but at least it's something."Kate checked the envelope: there was a picture of Charlie with a baby dragon in his arms. He looked super happy. It was the first picture of the magical world she ever had, it was highly amusing to see him move, try to keep the dragon in his arms, it was trying to escape. All she had until then were the pictures that were taken at the muggle schools where she went as a child. The young witch held the picture against her heart and focused as hard as she could on Charlie. She kept asking if he could hear her. After a moment, she heard him saying yes.
"Of course you can share the potions I sent you, just make sure you have enough and tell me when you need new ones. Maybe when it's getting too much I'll ask if you can help with paying the ingredients, but otherwise, I have time and I enjoy brewing potions. Thank you for your answer, I'll write to you soon again. I don't think Dumbledore will let me use Fawkes each time, I guess he felt I needed to talk about this fast. Thank you for the photograph. Take care of you." "It's good to hear you. Take care of you too." Kate packed the letter safely to make sure it couldn't be found and went back to the Common Room with the picture. Obviously she was looking happier than before, as the twins immediately said that she received good news. Her smile broadened and she showed them the picture of their brother with the baby dragon. - 'That's awesome, he looks so happy,' Fred noticed. - 'You'll have to show that to mum, I bet she'll be happy to see him. I'm not sure he sent her one,' commented George. - 'I will, if I see her.' - 'Of course you will see mum,' said Fred, 'when you're home with us.' - 'She still didn't say it's okay, though,' muttered Kate. - 'Don't worry, she will. We still have a few months before summer, there's no hurry,' George said. - 'What kind of dragon is it?' asked Lee. - 'From what he wrote in his previous letter, I would assume it's a Swedish Short-Snout.' They talked about dragons and other beasts the whole evening.