The Adventure of a Riddle

15- Another Orphan to Befriend

"Really? I-is he like you too?"

Aurora planted her white shoes on the ground firmly, stopping the gradual momentum she'd created on the blasphemous swing. Carefully, she replied, "What do you mean 'like me?'"

The muggle boy fiddled with one of the many holes on his blue jeans and replied, "Got powers. I didn't believe my eyes that there was someone out there like me." Before Aurora could process that statement, Frankie took a string from his jeans into his shaky hand. He closed his hand into a fist around the loose string and then only a moment later, he opened it once more and the string was tied into a perfectly knotted bow.

Aurora blinked rapidly. What the hell? "You go to Hogwarts?" She asked in disbelief.

"Hogwarts?" He snorted, "what is that?"

"Are you turning eleven this year?" She inquired.

Frankie raised his eyebrows, still not making eye contact with with her and instead choosing to look at the point just beyond her wild hair, "No. I turn thirteen next May. May seventeenth."

"And you say you live in Wool's Orphanage? And you've never received an owl containing a letter?" She asked as the puzzle slowly started to put itself together in her addled mind.

Bewildered by her odd questions, his eyes were wide as he questioningly responded, "Yes, that is correct?"

"Oh, this is all Dumbledore's doing. I just know it." She abruptly stood up and grabbed onto Frankie wrist, trying to walk and talk at the same time. Aurora pretended that she didn't notice him flinch when they came into contact.

Dragging him to a nearby tree, she plopped down at the foot of it and after a few moments deliberation with Francis, he joined her in the green grass.

Aurora looked deep into his honeyed eyes and slowly told him, "You're a wizard, that's why you can do things that no other children can. You were supposed to get a letter on you eleventh birthday, telling you of a magical school called Hogwarts, but my guess is that Dumbledore was too wary of you to send it out, like the old bat he is."

Frankie looked both shocked and in disbelief as he replied, "I can't t-tell if you're lying to me or not. So you're a wizard too?"

She laughed merrily and rested her head on the tree behind her. "Actually, female magical people are more commonly referred to as witches. But by all means, the feminist side to me sort of liked being called a wizard instead."

The boy blushed once more. "Witch. So this is all real? You aren't pulling my leg?"

She chuckled and grabbed a dandelion two feet away from her. She closed her eyes and softly blew onto it. The result of that action caused millions of tiny fluffy particles to surround them like a pillow of clouds. Frankie looked around amazedly and even reached out to grab one with wide eyes. He then sneezed, causing Aurora to giggle for the first time all summer.

And that is how she spent the rest of her day. Answering wizarding questions to the eager orphan boy with allergies.

***

Rory was in very high spirits for the first time in ages as she walked into the front door of her new home. For the first time in weeks, she wasn't thinking of Tom Riddle or the monster he became. Instead, her thoughts only pertained to the socially awkward boy who she'd finally gotten to speak in a tone that wasn't a whisper. He had asked her a ton of questions; all of them relating to Wizards and what they were like. She had even promised to meet up with him again the next day.

She had just made a sandwich in the kitchen, starving after spending all day outside in the blistering heat. Snape still wasn't back yet, and so she made her way up to her room hoping to read. Skipping every couple of steps up the narrow stairs, she entered her empty room. Except it wasn't empty, for sitting on the end of her small bed was the prefect she'd spent all day trying not to think of.