DISCLAIMER
I do not own Harry Potter ... but if I did Scorpius and Albus would be endgame in Cursed Child
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"Tell it again, from the start. Every. Single. Detail", Riley insisted as a group of four Hufflepuffs sat in the corner of their common room.
Friday had been the day of their Astronomy and Herbology classes in the morning, with the evening off for exhausted first years.
Nothing of importance happened, which Bel appreciated considering the chaos that she had experienced so far.
The only thing of note was that she absolutely loved both Astronomy and Herbology. She had always been intrigued by the stars, and as a Hufflepuff who loves nature she was always destined to be a fan of Herbology.
But it was during this evening off that Bel had been bombarded by her friends with questions about what happened with the troll the night before.
"I've told you this story more times than is necessary. You surely know it by heart now, Ry", Bel complained to her enthusiastic friend.
"I just need to hear one more time how you took down a fully grown troll and saved the arses of three Gryffindors", Riley pushed back.
"That last part I also would like to hear again. How did they seem? Annoyed that they weren't the ones to have done it? Angry that we got five house points and they didn't?" Tia chimed in as she lay on her front, her legs lifted up behind her as she rested on her elbows.
"I've told you already, Tia. Harry and Ron both helped me take down the troll, we were all awarded five house points and no, they didn't seem annoyed in the slightest. Just relieved that we didn't get smashed to a pulp by a mountain troll", Bel said which earned small giggles from Ollie and Riley and an eye roll from Tia.
"Did I hear you say the word troll? A-ha. Telling that same story again are you, May?" Cedric Diggory exclaimed as he entered the common room, walking up to Bel and ruffling her hair.
Over the past week, Bel had formed a very older-brother, younger-sister bond with the third year Hufflepuff.
She found he took it upon himself to watch over her, even though she didn't ask him to.
He even started calling her May once she had learnt others called him Ced.
The first syllables of each of their names.
"Only because I was coerced into it by this lot, Ced", Bel said as she swatted Cedric's hand away from her hair.
The group of her three Hufflepuff friends sent Cedric mischievous grins.
"Well, you're about to be saved by the bell. Can't be late for your next lesson with Dumbledore, can you?" Cedric said as he walked through the common room and disappeared towards the dormitories.
"He's right", Bel said as she stood up from the small chair she was occupying.
"I hope it's good news!" Ollie called out from behind her.
"What? Oh, right. Yes. Me too", Bel replied as she hurried out of the common room.
She had briefly forgotten the lies she had told.
The reasons being because she was rarely dishonest.
And she hated lying to people who were her friends in particular.
But they wouldn't be her friends if they discovered the truth.
All Bel had to do was focus on these lessons with Dumbledore, get her wand under control as fast as possible, and then she could tell her friends when everything was all brushed over.
Hopefully that would be soon.
But as Bel was to discover, soon was extremely hopeful, and very much out of her reach.
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"As promised, we will pick up right where we left off", Dumbledore said as he sat in his large desk chair, Bel once again taking her seat opposite him.
"I will admit to rearranging the plan I had after receiving word of your show with the troll last night. I want to start with you telling me exactly how that came to be", the old wizard asked.
"Well, the troll was holding Harry in its hand. He was yelling at Ron, Hermione and I to do something. Before I could think, I was holding out my wand, and so was Ron. He told me that he was going to take the bat and that I had to take the troll. At first, I thought he was joking, that was until the bat was floating in the air and Ron was yelling at me to be quick.
"I was desperate ... so I turned to my wand. It told me ... it told me that we could kill it. The troll, I mean. But I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to kill it. And so I told it that. But it kept pushing. I remember feeling backed into a corner. And it was ... tempting almost. It did cross my mind that I could do it. That I needed to do it. That I had no choice. And the wand knew that.
"But then I remember having an idea. One that wouldn't require me at all. Ron could have taken out the troll with the bat. But I couldn't get the words out, of course. This voice that it speaks to me with stopped me. It told me a spell. Hermione called it a petrifying spell. That's when I cast it and the troll fell to the ground. And ... that's it. That's the whole story", Bel explained.
It was odd for her to admit that she felt tempted to give into the wand's offer.
But she knew that it was what it wanted her to do.
Even in life and death situations, she needed to remember that there was still morality in the world.
That death wasn't a fitting punishment.
That the right punishment will come to those that deserve it.
And even if it be death, it will not be from her hand.
"Well, that's very interesting. I must thank you on behalf of the school, of course, for your actions. Taking on a troll is no easy task. But your story contains one detail that will guide us through these lessons", Dumbledore explained.
"What detail?"
"You see, Bel. The wand doesn't listen to you. It does in a certain sense, as you are its owner. But your wand wants to reverse the natural way of things. It wants to be the master. It wants to be in control. But it needs you to do that. It cannot function on its own. And due to its loyalty, not only are you stuck with it ... but it is stuck with you.
"And there is another thing that it craves above all else. Power. The ability to be used in the way it was intended to be. To be used for dark magic to cast dark spells and charms. But it is even more desperate to be used at all. If you are to take that away from it, then it has no choice but to bend to your will. This is what we will be focusing on during our lessons."
"I don't quite understand, sir", Bel admitted.
"Picture this. You have been travelling for days in heated weather without a drop of water. Someone approaches you with but a single glass, however, informs you that about another day's journey from there is a waterfall. Do you take the water, or do you carry on?"
"I would take the water."
"Exactly. In a matter of speaking, that is what your wand did last night. You see, whilst there may have been a possibility for it to have controlled you, your morals made it a lengthened journey. And when you had the idea to turn to Mr Weasley instead, you gave it a third option. That there would be no water at all. That it would remain thirsty. And so, it settled for the glass. It gave you the spell you wanted just so it could be used. It compromised with you. And that is its weakness. It's desire to be used surpasses all else.
"So, if I help to train you to be a strong witch who can fend for herself without the use of her wand. It will have no choice but to listen to you. You will have the upper hand. There will be no threat or temptation. It will desire to be used and will thus go along with what you ask of it, to stop you from ignoring it completely.
"But there will still be the issue of temptation. Wandless magic is no easy task. Experienced wizards struggle with it to this day. We do not teach it here at Hogwarts to our students, for it is too unpredictable. Not to mention that you may find yourself in situations where you must use your wand. It is in those situations where the battle is yours, Bel. Where you need to stay strong and remember what is right."
"So, in these lessons, you will be teaching me wandless magic?" Bel asked.
"Yes. To the most advanced level I know. In doing so, it will keep the evil power of that wand at bay. I also have a few other plans up my sleeve. But that will come later. For now, we will begin learning wandless magic", Dumbledore explained.
"But, sir, if not even older students here can learn it ... how on earth do you expect me to as a first year?" Bel asked.
"That is another thing I have already pointed out to you, little one. You already know the basics. I would even go so far as to say more than the basics. You already can perform spells without the use of your wand. Hence, your 'accidents'. You are more than capable."
Bel took in a deep breath and nodded.
Dumbledore has a certain nature about him.
One that she trusts.
Besides, what choice did she have?
He was the only one who knew the truth.
And the only one who could help her.
"These lessons are going to be difficult. Exhausting, even. You will be pushing yourself far beyond your skill set. But the power does reside within you. I will try my best to make sure it doesn't drain you too much. But I haven't taught in a while, you must make sure to let me know when you are struggling. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
Dumbledore stood up from his desk and slowly sauntered around to the front.
A he leaned back onto the desk, he glanced down at the little girl in front of him.
"It is one of my deepest sorrows that you have been placed in this position, Bel Whitlock. You came to this world from one where you were not treated with the kindness and respect you deserve. For all of your morality, you have been dealt a very poor hand in life.
"There is so much more to come. So much more I wish to tell you. But the truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."
Bel felt her eyes slowly move away from Dumbledores as she once again processed his words.
In this world, she would need to deal with her life one step at a time.
She would need to keep on top of everything, or else she could risk harming someone.
All mysteries outside of these lessons can be dealt with on her own, or even with her friends.
What she needed from Dumbledore was his help to keep her wand in check.
That was the highest priority.
And so all mysterious notes, monsters in the bathrooms, and three-headed dogs in dungeons would have to wait.
"Now. I think we should finally get started. Don't you?" Dumbledore said as he pushed himself away from the table and walked towards the centre of the office.
With a wave of his hand, he cleared all of the furniture and other inanimate objects to the sides, creating a large open space.
"That was awesome! Can you teach me to do that?" Bel asked in awe as she jumped up from her chair and walked into the centre of the room.
"All in good time. Today we will be starting with something that will be a little easier for you to manage. I believe Professor Flitwick has been teaching you the levitating spell in Charms? A very useful one at that. One that you will be able to do without your wand. Speaking of, you can put it to the side. You won't be needing it, naturally", Dumbledore said.
Bel slowly reached into her robe pocket, but the second her skin made contact with the wand, the voice spoke to her.
You're making a huge mistake. He is not to be trusted.
I am loyal to you. I demand respect in return.
Bel quickly released her hand off the wand at the cold and angry tone the voice had used.
Instead, she decided to remove her Hufflepuff robe entirely and laid it down on the chair she had been sitting on.
"It's not very happy with me", Bel muttered as she turned back towards the old wizard.
"I would assume as much. Your wand isn't going to be a fan of you trying to silence it. You must understand that it is its nature, just as refusing its temptations is yours. It doesn't know better. Neither one of you will budge. And you cannot be the one to bend first. As the owner, you have the upper hand. Knowing its weakness gives you another advantage. In time, it will also learn yours. But we will cross that bridge when we get to it."
Her weakness.
Bel wondered what that could possibly be.
And what her wand would do with it.
"So ... today you're going to attempt to levitate objects without the use of your wand. I must say that transfiguration and charms are a tad more complex to achieve without a wand. Do not be swayed if your first try goes slightly wrong. That is what practice is for.
"I want you to focus on one of the objects in this room. It will do you a favour to choose something lighter on your first time. Then I want you to channel your power. Focus it. It is harnessed through emotion, as you already know. Your 'accidents' occurred when you were angered. To begin, I want you to recite the spell. Non-verbal magic is attainable. But it makes this already difficult process even more complex. So ... without further ado, give it your best shot", Dumbledore explained as he paced around Bel in a circle from where she was standing dead in the centre of his office.
Bel scanned around the room and landed on a quill sat on Dumbledore's desk.
It was the lightest thing she could see.
And so, Bel raised up her right hand, pointing at the quill.
She closed her eyes and focused on the image of the quill rising up into the air, just as the feather had done in her charms class.
"Wingardium Leviosa", Bel whispered under her breath.
Her eyes opened to see that the quill hadn't budged.
"Focus. Power thrives off emotion", Dumbledore said, correcting her mistake, from the side of the room where he was watching her closely.
Bel once again closed her eyes and put aside the image of the floating quill.
Instead she thought of Draco Malfoys smug face.
It had infuriated her enough in class to set the feather on fire.
However, she had been holding her wand then.
"Wingardium Leviosa", she said again.
Eyes opened.
Nothing.
Bel took in a deep breath and pulled an annoyed expression.
How could she perform spells so easily when it didn't suit her but when it mattered, she was incapable?
Once again, she closed her eyes.
More anger.
Surprisingly, the taunts of Draco Malfoy weren't enough.
Instead, Bel focused on the words Ron had said about Hermione.
She focused on how it had reduced her friend to tears.
She focused on how angry it made her to see someone she cared for put in a position she knew all too well.
She focused on her anger surrounding every single time she had felt that way herself.
"Freak!"
"Weirdo!"
"You're crazy!"
"You don't belong here!"
You don't belong anywhere.
Bel heard the voices and the taunts of the children from the orphanage.
She listened to their words as they stung her heart the same way as they did when they were first spoken.
It made her even more angry that it got to her.
And that resulted in her not just being angry but being infuriated.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Bel said in a louder frequency.
Eyes opened.
What Bel saw made her eyes widen and her mouth fall open.
Every single object around her was floating up in mid-air.
Bel spun around on her heels; her head tilted upwards to look at all the different objects she had made levitate.
Finally, her eyes landed on Dumbledore who was smiling at her with ... pride?
"Very impressive. I see this is going to move a lot faster than I initially anticipated. Now, can you get them down? Please try not to break anything. Some of these things are ancient artefacts so replacing them would be a bit of a hassle", Dumbledore said with a wink.
Bel smiled and raised both of her hands up into the air.
She closed her eyes and instead of focusing on her anger, she focused on her joy.
Joy that this was working.
Joy that she finally was on her way to moving past this problem.
Joy that Hermione was happy once more.
Joy that she was no longer at those orphanages.
Joy that instead of being taunted constantly, she had friends who made her happy.
Her hands slowly lowered, and she opened her eyes to the sound of all the objects carefully being placed back down on the ground.
One thing she immediately noticed as she did so, was a new feeling of exhaustion.
As if the energy had been pulled out of her.
She hadn't experienced it with her wand.
"Very good, little one. I'm sure Professor Flitwick would be most proud. As am I."
"Thank you, sir", Bel said with a small smile as she recovered her energy.
"I am curious. What have your friends got to say about all of this?" Dumbledore asked.
"I haven't told them yet, sir", Bel admitted.
"Why ever not?"
"I ... don't want them to be afraid of me."
Bels' voice had changed suddenly into one filled with sorrow.
It was true.
People at the orphanage were afraid of her.
That was why they punished her.
That was why they treated her as they did.
She had finally found friends in this place.
And amongst all of the chaos, she needed them as an escape from it all.
It would break her to lose them.
"I see. It is important, however, that you do not take this all on alone. I cannot be there for you all the time. This battle, as I have made clear, will not be easy. And whilst you may not be able to understand right now how your friends could help you, I promise you that they can. And I also am certain that they will", Dumbledore said in the same soft tone that he used around the girl.
All Bel did was nod to show that she heard what he had said.
Whether she understood or not was another story.
Because she couldn't see how her friends could help her.
This was a battle she needed to face alone.
It was her against her wand.
However, she would eventually discover just how important her friends would be.
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I don't hate this chapter as much but it is a filler for the story.
I wanted to show y'all what the lessons with Dumbledore would look like so you'd have some understanding of what Bel is up to in that time.
Peak her being a powerful baddie AH I love her
Also her and Cedric's bond is one of my favs ... I'm not ready for GOF