Chapter 9-Ava
Ava POV
"Life at the orphanage isn't how I expected it to be. I never really had friends before but at least people talked to me. Now, everyone seems to either avoid me just because I'm new or just outright ignore me. I'll get used to it eventually I guess," Ava thought to herself, twirling a flower she'd picked nearby in her hand as she sat on the swings, thinking over the recent changes her life had gone through. Eventually, her thoughts took their inevitable turn for the worse as they drifted toward the very reason her life had been going through so many changes in the first place, her father's untimely death.
"Once upon a time he wasn't so bad," Ava recalled, remembering the better days of her life, back when she was merely five and her mother had still been alive, before everything had changed for the worse. When her mother had passed away, her father… hadn't taken her death well to say the least. He'd taken to drinking heavily, barely managing to hold onto his job, and he'd gained an awful temper.
"Of course I had to make everything even worse," Ava thought bitterly, remembering the strange accidents that had started happening around her shortly after her mother's death. Objects floating toward her, a few of her toys changing colors, just generally odd things that couldn't be explained.
"Father wasn't happy about it," Ava remembered with a slight shudder, remembering the first time he'd seen the odd events happening around her. It was a few weeks after her mother's death and she'd been playing in the living room with her father nearby when she'd spotted a picture of her mother and father on top of their fireplace. She had a fleeting thought of wanting to see it more closely and the next thing she knew, the photo was floating towards her. Her father had spotted the floating photo and hadn't been pleased. It was the first time he'd ever laid a hand on her, though it wasn't to be the last, not by a long shot.
"I wonder if things would've been different if I didn't have this damn curse," She wondered, recalling with vivid clarity the countless times he'd screamed at her, insisting she was in league with the devil because of the strange powers she possessed. She was drawn back to the world around her once more as, to her surprise, the flower she'd been idly twirling in her hand suddenly changed from a light blue to a vivid red.
"Again!? Why does this keep happening to me? How am I doing this?" Ava thought in frustration, looking at the mysteriously changed flower. Unfortunately she didn't have much time to think before she suddenly heard a voice calling out to her.
"Hey! What was that? How'd you make that flower change colors?" She heard, prompting her to turn her head towards the source of the voice. It was one of the older boys who had been skateboarding nearby, running toward her together with his friend, both looking extremely curious. Looking at the two boys nervously, Ava started dragging her feet, making the swing she was on slow to stop.
"It just happened! I don't know how," She explained hurriedly, doing her best to suppress the growing anxiety she felt as the two boys continued coming closer.
"Oh come on! Flowers don't just change colors on their own! What did you do?" The boy's friend said as the pair drew closer.
"I really don't know! I swear it wasn't on purpose," She told them, a sense of panic slowly filling her as the duo got visibly annoyed by her response.
"Please just leave it at that. Please. I don't know why stuff like this keeps happening near me. It's not my fault, I swear," Ava thought privately.
"You did it once right?! Do it again! Show us!" The original boy yelled, walking closer to Ava until, by the end of his sentence, he was screaming in her face, leaning over her menacingly. Ava scrambled to get off the swing, trying her best to create distance between her and the two boys before she replied.
"I- I don't know how," She answered quietly, tears beginning to appear at the corner of her eyes.
"Why is there always someone who wants to yell at me? Why can't they just leave me alone? I'm not doing these things on purpose," Ava thought to herself.
"Yes, you do! You did it a second ago! Do it again you little freak!" The boy's friend yelled, her response only serving to anger him further.
"I swear I don't know how, I'm sorry. Please just leave me alone," Ava begged, no longer able to hold back her tears as started to cry, backing away in a panic. Neither of the boy's seemed to care though, merely sneering at her words instead.
"Show us your magic trick, then we'll leave you alone!" The first boy yelled, punctuating his sentence with a shove that knocked Ava to the ground.
"Not again! What did I do to deserve this?" Ava thought to herself, curling into a ball out of fear as the boys leaned over her.
"You're not leaving until you show us your trick!" The first boy yelled, drawing back his foot as he prepared to kick her. Seeing this, Ava tensed, bracing herself for the pain that was to follow. However, to Ava's surprise, before the boy's kick could connect, both of the boys floated into the air, rendering her safely out of their reach.
"That's quite enough," A voice called out calmly. Looking around in confusion from her position on the ground, Ava spotted a boy around her age walking toward them, his eyes glaring hatefully at the two boys who had been tormenting her.
"Is he… is he doing this? Is he like me? Is he doing this with his powers?" Ava wondered to herself, looking at the boy in awe as he came closer.
"What's going on? What's happening?! Let us down you little brat!" The two bullies called out fearfully, struggling helplessly in the air, unable to reach the ground in order to move. The boy simply smiled in response. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly the two boys were lifted even higher into the air before dropping to the ground with a thump that Ava enjoyed more than she cared to admit. The bullies scrambled to their feet, freezing in place as they locked eyes with the mysterious boy.
"Nothing that either of you will remember, now off you go," The boy said cheerfully after staring at the pair for a moment. To Ava's growing confusion, the two obeyed the boy's words, wandering away with blank expressions on their faces. Seeing the two bullies were leaving, Ava took the opportunity to get back to her feet, eyeing the boy in front of her.
"I feel like I know him from somewhere…" Ava thought, trying to recall where she'd seen him before. After a moment though, she realized why he was so familiar, she'd seen him before, at the very orphanage she lived at.
"I know you! You're one of the boys from the orphanage! Thank you for helping me. How did you do that?" She said in realization, unable to hold back the question that had been eating at her ever since she'd seen the two boy's start to fly into the air. The boy eyed her silently for a moment, seeming to consider how to answer.
"I have powers Ava, just like you do," He said after a moment of silence. Ava did her best not to panic at the boy's words, instead narrowing her eyes as she looked at him nervously.
"I-I d-don't know what you're talking about," She replied, hating the way her voice stuttered as she spoke.
"Easy there, I'm not going to hurt you. Like I said I have powers too," He said placatingly, gesturing toward a nearby bench as he spoke. To Ava's surprise, a book levitated off the bench, flying toward them until it reached the boy, who plucked it from the air calmly.
"He really is like me! He has powers too!" Ava thought in surprise as she watched the boy's demonstration. She eyed him cautiously, debating if the demonstration could've been faked somehow.
"This isn't some trick? You're really like me?" She asked after a moment of consideration. He nodded in response.
"I am. We both have the same power Ava," He told her calmly. Ava flinched slightly as the boy mentioned her powers once more.
"Get a grip Ava. He's not going to hurt you for having the same powers he has. Still, if he's like me then maybe there's a chance… maybe I can finally free myself from this curse," She thought to herself.
"How can I get rid of it?" She asked desperately. The boy's eyes went wide for a moment, an expression that looked to be a mixture of pity and confusion appearing on his face as he looked at her in silence for a moment.
"Why do you want to get rid of it so badly Ava? Our power is a gift, It's something to be treasured," He returned softly.
"No, it's not. It's the work of the devil!" She countered desperately, the response deeply ingrained into her from the years her father had spent telling her such. Suddenly, the boy looked entirely different, an angry expression on his face as he spoke.
"Who told you that Ava," He asked seriously, locking eyes with her. Ava flinched at the question, doing her best to suppress the memories it brought up.
"My father," She mumbled in response, looking away.
"It isn't true. Your father lied to you. Probably because he was jealous of you for having such an amazing gift. Our power is called mana, and I promise you, it's perfectly safe," He told her informatively.
"Father always said it was the work of the devil but I know I never made any deal with the devil. And, he used our power to save me, didn't he? It can't be that bad," Ava thought, thinking over the boy's words.
"You promise it's safe?" She asked quietly, eyeing him cautiously. He nodded at her once more in response.
"I swear. Would you like me to teach you how to use it?" He offered, smiling reassuringly as he did so. Slowly, Ava nodded her head, doing her best to return the boy's smile with a small smile of her own.
"Do I want to learn to use my power?" She wondered to herself. She recalled a few minutes prior when the boy in front of her had effortlessly lifted two boys twice his size into the air and sent them packing just as easily. She recalled the ease with which the boy had taken care of the very bullies who she'd been helpless against.
"More than anything," She admitted to herself. She was tired of getting hurt for something she didn't understand, of being punished for something she couldn't control. Mustering her courage Ava gave him her answer.
"Yes please," She replied, unable to hold back yet another smile that crept onto her face as the boy's eyes lit up at her response.
"Excellent. Then I suppose introductions are in order. I already know your name from when Miss Brenda announced it at the orphanage, but in case you didn't know, I'm Harry, Harry Potter," The boy, Harry, told her, extending a hand. Ava quickly shook his hand, offering him a greeting of her own.
"I'm Ava, Ava Kane, It's nice to meet you," She said shyly.
"It's good to meet you Ava. Now then, let's get started, shall we?" Harry said cheerfully, turning around and beginning to walk away. Ava stood, frozen in surprise for a few moments before Harry seemed to notice she wasn't following after him.
"Well? Are you coming?" He called over his shoulder, halting his steps. Ava ran to catch up, following after him as he began walking once more.
"Where are we going?" She asked curiously once she caught up to him.
"To somewhere you can learn to use our power," He answered simply, continuing to walk.
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"Why do we need to go here to practice using our power?" She asked in confusion, looking around the wooded clearing Harry had led her to. While it was certainly a nice enough bit of nature, she couldn't see anything particularly special about it.
"To this clearing specifically? We don't necessarily. I simply use this clearing because it's fairly secluded thanks to the trees and it's a wide open area. We just needed somewhere safe from prying eyes," Harry told her informatively. Ava nodded in understanding, accepting his reasoning.
"Now then, before anything else, I need a promise from you. Our power, which I've taken to calling mana, is a rather special thing Ava. It took me years to get to where I am now, but I can do things with it that most people would outright claim is impossible, and I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished with it so far. If you listen to what I teach you and practice hard, I can promise you that you won't ever be defenseless again. But, I want you to promise me that you'll never tell anyone else about our power. I'm sure you've learned this by now but people don't react well to things they don't understand and it could put both of us in danger if they ever found out we were different. Unless I say otherwise, you can't let anyone find out we're different from regular people," Harry said seriously, locking eyes with her as he spoke.
"He's not wrong. The bullies from the playground today, my father. Everyone who's ever found out I was different just hurt me," Ava thought to herself, understanding exactly what Harry meant. Meeting his gaze, Ava nodded her head.
"I promise. Unless you say otherwise I'll never let anyone else find out that we're different," She replied. Harry smiled at her in response.
"Good. The first step to using our power is learning to feel it inside yourself. Do you know what meditation is?" He asked her quietly. Feeling slightly embarrassed at her lack of knowledge, Ava shook her head in response.
"That's alright. I don't mind explaining it," Harry reassured her.
"Meditation is a way for people to focus internally, or to focus your mind on something specific. It's used as a way to think deeply on things, try to calm your mind, that kind of thing. In our case it's useful, because by clearing our mind of all the distractions that we can, we can sense our power, which I call mana, and from there we can use it," He explained as Ava listened intently.
"How do I meditate?" She asked him curiously, seeing where he was going.
"Sit in a way you find comfortable, close your eyes, and try to clear your mind, think of absolutely nothing. It took me almost a month, but that's how I learned to feel my mana," He told her, sinking to the ground and sitting across from her.
"A month!? How often was he practicing?" Ava thought in shock, after hearing just how long it had taken Harry just to learn to feel his mana. Still, it wasn't like she had any alternatives.
"What will you be doing while I meditate?" She asked curiously.
"Even as experienced as I am, I have things I need to work on. I'm currently in the process of reorganizing my mind. It's something I'll teach you eventually, though this comes first. I'll continue organizing my mind while you practice," He told her. She nodded, turning her focus to the task he'd given her. Doing as he instructed, she followed his lead, sitting cross-legged on the ground and closing her eyes as she began to focus on sensing her mana.
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"That's enough for today. You did well staying focused for so long, I know it can be tedious to meditate for as long as you did today," Harry's voice cut through the peaceful silence of the clearing, prompting Ava to open her eyes.
"How long did I spend meditating?" She asked, looking around in surprise as she realized the sun had moved much farther than she'd been expecting. Harry smiled slightly in response.
"About two hours, it was a good attempt for your first time. It's around the same amount of time I spent doing it each night until I mastered it," Harry informed her.
"It didn't feel like I spent nearly that much time meditating," Ava responded in confusion. Harry let out a slight laugh at her words.
"That means you were doing it right, don't worry," He told her. She smiled at the praise.
"I hope so. I did my best," She said shyly. Harry rose to his feet, offering her a hand which she took from her position still on the ground. With strength she hadn't expected from his slim build, he helped pull her to her feet.
"Did you use mana to make yourself stronger?" Ava asked curiously, glancing over him once more. He smiled but shook his head in response
"Mana can do many things, and there may be a way to make myself stronger using mana, but if there is I haven't found it. I actually made it seem like I'm stronger than I am through the use of telekinesis, otherwise known as moving things using mana. While just making it look like I was pulling you through strength alone, I used telekinesis on you at the same time. It's a trick I'll teach you once you learn to sense your mana," He informed her.
"Since you've already meditated for a bit today, let's move on to the next thing to do today. When you were at the playground, you changed the colors of the flower you were holding. It's a use of mana I hadn't actually discovered yet, so I'm going to experiment a bit. I'll do my best to explain anything mana related I'm doing, it'll help you with understanding your power, even if you can't use it yet. As I'm explaining, if you don't understand something, feel free to ask questions, I promise to do my best to answer them," He told her.
"Got it," Ava replied, eyes shining at the thought of getting to watch him use mana, especially with him encouraging her to ask questions. To her delight, what followed was an hour of him calmly explaining various little tricks of his method of using mana while he experimented. By the time the sun was setting and the two were heading back to the orphanage, Ava felt confident she had made the right choice in deciding to learn from him.
"One day, I'll be able to control this power, no, this mana, that I have inside me, and no one will be able to hurt me ever again " She thought with determination.
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Life suddenly changed for Ava with the introduction of Harry to her life. Whereas previously, she'd felt isolated and alone, an outcast of sorts, due to her status as the new child both at the orphanage and at school, things had changed for the better. Where before she would eat alone at school, now she had Harry to sit with during lunch, even if they were unfortunately in separate classes for the rest of the school hours, someone who she could talk to and learn from. And he knew so much more than she expected. She'd known he was knowledgeable about mana, but he seemed to know everything she could think to ask him. He helped her with homework, answered questions about books and seemed to know everything about the various people around York. Outside of school, life at the orphanage had also gotten distinctly better with Harry's involvement. Instead of lying around the orphanage or being forced to head to a playground nearby to avoid the constant questions and pestering of the children asking her why she'd ended up at the orphanage, a topic she'd very much rather avoid, Harry was constantly with her, either taking her to the clearing for more mana practice. One day though, instead of heading to the clearing on the edge of town, Harry led her somewhere else.
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"Isn't the door outside that way? Where are we going?" Ava asked in confusion as Harry led her through the orphanage, into a large hallway that ended in a polished oak door with a large lock on it. Harry merely hummed slightly in response.
"You told me you like books," He said cryptically in response. Ava nodded slowly in response, only growing more confused at his reply.
"Then you'll love this," He told her as they reached the door. Ava watched as Harry narrowed his eyes momentarily, the lock coming open with a click a few seconds later, prompting Harry to smile slightly as Ava's eyes widened in surprise.
"I used to use a bobby pin to get in here, but nowadays I just use mana to pick the lock," He informed her, pushing open the door as he spoke. The door swung open to reveal what appeared to be a small classroom, complete with rows of small desks, a blackboard and even a teacher's desk at the front of the room. The part of the room that drew Ava's attention though, was the shelves of books that made up an entire wall of the room.
"It's practically a library," Ava breathed, running toward the shelves crammed full of books along the wall.
"I found this room for the first time when I was six and I managed to pick the lock after I convinced an older boy at school to teach me how. I've read all the books in here but I thought you might appreciate something else to do in your free time," Harry explained. Ava smiled at him in response.
"Thank you," She said sincerely, eyes shining as she stared at all the potential books she could read.
"You're welcome. I know it's frustrating that the orphanage won't let the kids have library cards. They're worried about the fines if a book is destroyed but it's still frustrating. No reason it should stop you from being able to read whenever you want though. I also use this room to practice using mana when I can't use the stream.," He explained.
"Having a place to practice that's not outdoors but is still private is pretty useful, especially on days where it's cold or rainy," Ava realized, thinking over his words.
"Feel free to pick out a book, I'm going to practice changing objects using mana a bit more. I managed the basics already but I feel like there's more to this than just changing the color of things. Ava nodded in response, lost in thought as she scanned over the shelves absentmindedly.
"Thank you, for everything," Ava thought privately, not quite able to voice the thought aloud.
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To Ava's dismay, even after spending an entire month meditating at the stream for a couple of hours each day, she didn't succeed at sensing her mana. She started sacrificing some of her sleep just to stay up at night, meditating whenever she could. Despite her best efforts, she still couldn't sense anything like what Harry described. By the time another two weeks had passed, she was beginning to grow worried she wouldn't ever succeed.
"Was Harry wrong? Do I not have the same power that he does? Are we different? I feel like I'm letting him down and he's been so nice to me," Ava thought to herself with a frown as the pair walked back toward the clearing in order for Ava to practice meditation once more. Harry, who was walking beside her, quickly noticed her frown.
"What's bothering you Ava? I can tell something's been eating at you the past few days," Harry asked her quietly, looking at her in concern.
"I'm worried I might not have mana," She blurted out, unable to hold back the tears that followed her words. Suddenly it felt to Ava as if a dam had burst, all her insecurities and worries that had been building up ever since she'd failed to sense her mana after a month had passed came pouring out. She began to cry openly, tears trailing down her cheeks, until, out of the blue, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, pulling her into a hug.
"Easy there Ava, it's alright. There's no need to cry," Harry murmured as he hugged her, only letting go when Ava's sobs began to trickle off. Not quite able to bring herself to meet his gaze, she focused her eyes on the ground.
"Look at me Ava," Harry instructed quietly, noticing her avoiding eye contact. Reluctantly, she looked up at him, mere inches away from her as he stared into her eyes with an intensity she had rarely seen from him.
"Do you trust me?" He asked her calmly. Ava nodded her head frantically in response.
"Of course I do! You've taught me things you keep secret from everyone and you saved me from those bullies. You help me with my homework, you sit with me at lunch, you even showed me that room at the orphanage-" She told him emphatically.
"Then trust me when I say you have mana. I can feel it. I don't mind you taking a while to sense it. You'll get there eventually," He said simply. Ava nodded in response, taking a deep breath to help herself calm down.
"You're right. I won't give up, let's get going, the clearing is still a few minutes away," She replied as she began walking.
"I won't disappoint you. Not after the kindness you've shown me," Ava thought to herself determinedly.
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It was only a few days later, as Ava meditated once more, that she finally felt something. It was a subtle feeling, but compared to the distinct lack of anything that she'd been feeling when she meditated before, it stood out to her. Focusing on the feeling, she suddenly felt it. A feeling of something coursing through her body, a network of small channels that seemed almost like veins, all around her body that all held small amounts of what she recognized to be mana.
"I need to stay calm. I'm doing it. I can feel my mana. Harry said the next step is to try to get a good feeling for it, lets focus on memorizing the feeling," Ava thought to herself, carefully gauging exactly how the mana felt to her. It wasn't to last though, as the more she focused on the feeling of her mana, the more excited by her success she became until she was no longer able to maintain the focus necessary to meditate, prompting her to open her eyes excitedly.
"I did it! I sensed my mana!" Ava declared excitedly, smiling widely at the pleased expression that appeared on Harry's face across from her in response to her words as he opened his eyes.
"I told you that you'd get there. Good job on sensing your mana," Harry told her with a smile of his own as he spoke.
"I did it! I didn't let you down," Ava thought happily, eyes shining as she looked towards him. Her elation was quickly brought under control by his next words though.
"Now then, the next step is the same thing with a bit more added on, I want you to meditate again, and this time try to draw your mana out once you sense it and use it to lift this stone. I've spoken about it to you before but be careful when you guide the mana to leave your body, the mana in the air makes it more difficult to control," Harry instructed, gesturing to a small rock resting on the ground between them. Ava looked at the rock for a moment before closing her eyes and falling into meditation once again, more determined than ever. She refused to disappoint the boy who'd become her only friend in the world, no matter what she had to do.
AN: What did you guys think of this chapter? It's a day late, but given that it's a pretty damn long chapter, I hope that makes up for it. Obviously it's from a different POV but I thought it was a good way to properly introduce Ava as a character as well as show her motivations, thoughts ect. I know I backtracked a bit into chapter 8 when starting her POV but when I wrote the chapter starting from Ava following Harry to the clearing, it didn't have the same feeling as getting to watch from her perspective as Harry came to help her. If you guys disliked it or feel I could've handled some aspect of it better, be sure to let me know so I can improve any other different POV chapters in the future. Next chapter it's back to Harry's POV for what should be the last chapter before they receive their Hogwarts letters, so pretty exciting stuff! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and if you're feeling particularly generous, leave a review telling me your thoughts. Have a good day!
PS: I started a discord server for people to discuss my works and ask me questions. If you're interested the invite code is: discord . gg / 9Hw2T8PTKj