Dragon Tamer // Charlie Weasley

Chapter 4

Alex sat alone in the kitchen. He was very grumpy after not having gotten a good nights sleep so the others were avoiding him. He was used to being alone (apart from Sammie) so he didn't mind. He bit into his pumpkin pie absent mindedly and sighed in content, the taste reminding him of his Hogwarts days, riding on the Hogwarts express with his friends. One particular memory stirred inside of him, one that he had tried very hard to squash, to never think of.  He squeezed his eyes tight shut and let the memory overwhelm him. 

***

At Hogwarts he had always been a loner, he and Sammie were shunned to the side of the social groups due to their 'obsession' with magical creatures. Even though their parents were practically famous, nobody paid attention to them. At least not until he came along. The tall handsome student in the year above them. Muscular, tall, sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.  He had been popular but quiet. His name was Carl, and he introduced Sammie and Alex to some of his friends who seemed nice and accepting enough. Alex and had become very close with Carl, sharing information that he had never told anyone but Samantha. They became close, as close as brothers. Sammie always joked that they were closer than brothers, that Carl was going to marry Alex and they would adopt baby Nifflers together once they graduated.

One day, Alex realised something. He could read minds. Sammie, Alex, Carl and some of their new friends were sitting under a willow tree, discussing random topics and laughing together, Alex locked eyes with Carl. It was as if something clicked within him. He could hear thoughts. 

For weeks he experimented with his newfound ability, only telling Sammie, his most trusted friend. He would have particular fun testing it on teachers. In class, he could zone out, before being called upon and knowing the answer without having to have listened to their entire lecture, he would simply look into the teacher's eyes and hear their thoughts. 

Eventually, it became too much. It got to the point that he didn't have to lock eyes he would just hear thoughts randomly. Alex couldn't figure out how to tune his ability, so there would be periods of time where he would simply sit on the floor and curl up into a ball, trying to escape from the noises that were filtering into his overcrowded head. The only one who knew what he was going through was Sammie, she would sit with Alex for hours, often skipping classes just to comfort him. Carl spent hours trying to convince Alex to tell him why this was happening, but Alex refused, he didn't want to burden anyone else, he knew that Carlce enough to want to he, and if he knew, he wouldn't leave Alex's side.

Finally, Alex decided that the best thing to do was to go to Dumbledore, hopefully, he would have some advice and know how to hone the skill. So, one afternoon, after finishing all his classes, he trudged up to the stone Gargoyle that was the entrance to the Headmaster's office. 

"I need to see Dumbledore"  Alex whispered at the gargoyle, unsure whether he was doing the right thing. Nothing happened. "Please?!"  he whispered, more urgently this time. Nothing happened. 

"I'm a legilamens and need to learn to control my power!" Alex whisper-shouted, willing to try anything at this point. He was about to turn and walk away when suddenly, the stone statue jumped to the side, revealing a staircase, Alex stepped onto the top step and the staircase began to rotate, propelling itself upwards as it went. 

He reached the top and was about to knock when he heard Dumbledore call for him to come in. He entered the office and was met with the sight of the old headmaster sitting behind a large desk, countless trinkets and photographs surrounding him, his half-moon spectacles sitting upon his crooked nose, his large, flowing, silvery beard neatly pointing to the ground, barely a curl out of place. He laced his long fingers and looked at Alex expectantly.