Unconditionally |1| Sirius black

9

"Yes sir." Arabella replied, not knowing what else to say.

A few moments passed before the portrait Dumbledore was talking to earlier swung open. A women with short hair and perfect grey curls walked through the portrait hole and towards the two.

"Ms. Potter, I would like you to meet Queenie Goldstein." Dumbledore said introducing the two women.

"Hello." Arabella said awkwardly not quite understand what was going on.

"Hello Arabella." She said sweetly. I know you can hear me. I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you control your telepathy.

"You're going to help me?" Arabella asked tilting her head. "How?"

"Well, sweetie I am what people in this world call a Legilimens. Meaning I can also hear others thoughts, however you are clearly very special. You can do more than just read thoughts, from what I have hear you should be able to manipulate peoples thoughts, mentally talk to people, and so much more! it's truly remarkable." She said with an excited giggle. How is she so peppy right now I'm terrified.

"Oh honey, it's ok to be scared!" She said kindly. "Don't you worry though! I'm going to help you through this and you'll have it all under control in the next week!"

"Ok, Ms. Goldstein, Ms. Potter, if you will follow me I have a perfect place for you both." Dumbledore said leading the two out of his office.

✺✺✺

Dumbledore had brought the two women to the room of requirement, which was a sight to behold. Mirrors surrounded the walls and a fire sat and the other end of the room keeping it a warm temperature. Arabella had never seen anything like it in her whole time at Hogwarts. Dumbledore took his leave after letting the two in the room, and Queenie began to speak.

"Alright honey let's start simple." Queenie said sitting down on the floor. "Your abilities are much more complex than mine and any one else known to our world. This means, I suppose, that it may be a little harder for you to control you power. We both know there is more than just telepathy in your path. I will help you as best I can to find you a way to control it when we discover exactly what else you can do, but for now let's focus on telepathy. This will probably be the easiest thing for you to control. It's really not difficult." She said standing up.

"Why can't I hear your thoughts?" Arabella asked as she noticed the silence.

"I have been trained to block out others from my head, much like professor Dumbledore." She informed the young girl. "Though, I suspect you'll be able to break through those barriers any day now..."

"Are you going to train me like that?"

"There is no need. I noticed the second I walked into Dumbledores office that I couldn't find my way into your head, no matter how hard I focused. So I supposed that means your new abilities protect your mind unless you allow someone in." She said with a kind smile. "Now, I'm going to allow you to read my thoughts and I want you to try and block me out." She said.

"How?"

"Focus on something. Anything. Keep your mind busy and keep it away from my thoughts." She said.

"Ok." Arabella replied hesitantly as she tried thinking of something to keep her mind busy.

Block me out. You can do it. Find something and focus on it instead of me.

Arabella looked around the room for something to focus on, her eyes landed on the fire in the corner of the room.

Fire. The dancing fire. The fire was beautiful. The way it flowed naturally and the color that eliminated from it filled her mind

Silence.

"How do I do that when I'm in the hallways going to class? Or when I'm in a conversation with someone?" Arabella asked concerned for big situations like dinners or classes.

"Then you focus on the conversation. You focus on the words being said. When in the halls do something like counting your steps or focus on the path ahead of you." She said. "With time, though, you won't need to focus so much. Your mind will adjust, not fully, but enough that you can relax... it'll feel normal."

For now, Queenie helped Arabella control it. She taught her how to stop listening to people's thoughts and how to get into someone's head. Queenie closed off her mind and taught Arabella how to get inside. The elder woman taught her how to break through the barriers people had built up. Like she had said earlier, she could easily break through the barrier Queenie had built up in her mind.

The two walked out of the room a requirement moments before all classes let out. As the classes dismissed and student began to fill the halls, panic flooded through Arabella. Too many people were around her, and she could hear everything they were thinking.

"Find something to focus on. Count your steps. Focus on the path." Queenie whispered to her quickly as she noticed the girl struggling beside her.

Left right left right left right. Arabella counted to herself as she walked through the crowded halls, her head held low and they focused on her shoes and steps. Before she knew it, they had reached the portrait to the Gryffindor common room.

"Alright hun, I'll see you on Friday! Make sure you owl me if anything happens!" She said giving the teen a quick hug before disappearing down the corridor.

"Where have you been?!"