✔️ 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 → 𝑐.𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

09 | R E M E D Y

   "WHAT THE — EZRA! Go away, srtupid beast!"

   Ezra had curled up in a ball on Charlie's chest, Ana's words caused the Kneazle to hiss at her. The red gliming light on Ana's hands flickered, and the shock this caused, had it to die instantly.

   "What the hell is going on with me?", she whispered to herself, lifting her hands in front of her face. She examined them with her lips parted, her eyebrows raised, and a feeling she hadn't felt for an extraordinary long time threatened to overwhelm her.

   "You're awake."

   Ana flinched, her heart skipped a beat, just to start drumming rapidly against the bones of her ribcage. Her eyes shot at Charlie, but the rest of her body seemed to be frozen.

   "How are you feeling?", Charlie Weasley asked, his voice raspy, deep and sleepy. She watched him sit up. "I'm still not sure what hit you, but it knocked you out for almost three days."

   "Th—three days?", she stammered, and next she did, was quickly shaking her head. Since when did Ana Voinescu stammer? "What am I doing here?"

   "Isn't it obvious?"

   "Would I ask, if it was?"

   Charlie looked at her out of tired eyes. "I took you here. You weren't safe in this forest no more."

   "I'm perfectly capable to protect myself, Charlie Weasley! You had no right to kidnap me."

   "Kidnap you?", he laughed. "Ana, they knocked you out, and probably right in this moment they are looking for you. They now know they can attack you."

   "That won't happen again —"

   "And what if it will?"

   "What do you care?", Ana hissed, her eyes glowing red. "You should have never come to my forest! You aren't supposed to care about me! Nobody does! And what on earth is this noises?" The growling that awoke her before, now again was thundering through the night.

   "Dragons." He said it, as if it was the most natural thing in this world, and Ana's heart jumped in excitement. The deep growl wasn't that far away, and slowly it dawned on her.

   "You took me to your home?", she asked, and watched him nod.

   "Well, people don't usually get close to this area.  Not even a Death Eater would be stupid enough to put up a fight with a dragon." There was a smirk on his face, as he added, "Even though they were stupid enough to put up a fight with you."

   Ana's eyes flickered towards the window, a reddish light was enlightening the black sky outside and her mind drifted back to her final year in Durmstrang, where she'd first come across those fascinating creatures. Back then, she felt a hope grow inside her for the first time in years. Not only hope, but a dream. She'd watched that men, those dragon tamers, in awe, exactly knowing where she wanted to be in her life.

   But that was another life; one that was betraying her with thoughts of better days that never came.

   Ana had done well during her years at Durmstrang. There were no sudden outbursts of her powers any longer. Nevertheless, people feared her. So Ana Voinescu had loads of time to train herself, to gain powers the wizarding world has never seen before. And after seven years of intense practice, Ana was about to start the life she'd dreamt of.

   Unfortunately, Dumbledore had different plans —

   A second glowing light outside the window had Ana return to reality. She could feel Charlie watching her, while she herself was staring out of the window without even blinking.

   "Now that you're awake", said Charlie, "I don't think that after three days of sleep you'll feel tired anywhere soon. So what if I show you around?"

   "Won't your little friends here lose their minds if the evil witch is walking next to you?", Ana scoffed, as her eyes returned to his face, and to her surprise, he still smiled.

   "There's not that much a dragon tamer fears, Ana", he chuckled. "We're living here with one of the so called most dangerous species wandering this planet. Fear, my lady, would kill us."

   Ana had a closer look at his face; he now was looking determined. His face was marked by scars and scratches, but that didn't make his smile any less fascinating.

   "They would fear me", she whispered. "They will fear me! They have every reason to. I'm not a dragon, Charlie. I'm far much worse. I kill on purpose."

   His smile didn't even flicker, as he said, "And yet I'm still alive and whole."

   Ana blinked at him. "Why can't you see the monster in me?", she asked in a quiet voice. "You should run and hide, you should be aware that standing here with me is the closest to death you will ever be, Charlie Weasley."

   "There aren't such things as monsters", Charlie said, waving it off.

   "You're naive", she said. "Monsters exist. I met them and they made me one."

   The man fell silent, his eyes piercing into hers, and seconds passed, feeling like hours, before he said, "Come, let me show you something."

   Ana hadn't even time to complain. His hand reached out for hers, and firm fingers enclosed her small ones. His touch was electric, sending a shiver down her spine, but not granting her time to wonder about that utterly new sensation. Still in her night gown, he pulled her with her, dragged her out of his apartment and into the night. The roaring turned louder the second the door fell shut behind Ana's back, and excitement took over her, excitement for seeing the life she could have lived if only she wasn't what she was.

   If she wasn't a monster.

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