Taming The Darkness
Beginnings
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Our story begins in Cornwall, England, in the small, quaint town of Hayle, near the southern coast. It’s mostly known for its ‘three miles of golden sand’ and bird-watching. But the true story is not the town itself, but in a small playground near the center of town. A small girl was the only occupant of the playground, as the heat of the summer had driven most of the children her age to swimming pools or the sea itself. She had taken to the swings and was now lazily twirling in slow circles. She was about ten years old with red hair that fell just past her shoulders and had freckles dotting her face lightly.
She was a rather odd child, though you wouldn’t have guessed from her outward appearance. Strange things always seemed to happen when she was around. Things of the other children that were mean to her would vanish; she’d fallen out of windows before and would just bounce off the ground and be upright, completely unharmed. But one of the most bizarre things that she could do was she could change her appearance at will. She had discovered this when she had been wondering what she would look like with blue hair. She sat and dreamed about having short, wavy blue hair. She went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror as she washed her hands to discover that her hair was just as she had imagined it; though she had a hard time explaining it to the orphanage headmistress. Over the years, she practiced in secret, changing her hair and facial coloring, appearance, and her eye shapes, and color. She practiced mostly at night in her bedroom and giggled herself into fits when she started doing animal impressions.
Her name was Scarlett. Scarlett Victoria Riddle. And she was an orphan. Her mother had died a few months after giving birth to her, and she knew nothing of her father, or if either side had any family left alive. She didn’t even know her parents names. She’d spent the last ten years of her life in the same orphanage. She watched as children came and went, being adopted and dropped off, though it had never been her. She’d always dreamed of one day a couple choosing her and taking her to a new place that she could call home. She’d been dreaming that since she was four.
The years passed by and here she sits, at the age of ten, still in same place with no family. She harbored some resentment towards her parents for not leaving her any hope of finding her true family, but she knew there wasn’t anything she could do about it now. As her mother left behind no note to the orphanage headmistress about any remaining family, Scarlett assumed she was and would be alone in the world. She sighed and leaned her head against the metal chain links and looked at the ground. The wind began to pick up as clouds covered the sun. A roll of thunder sounded in the distance. She didn’t look up till a few dark spots appeared on the dirt around her feet.
She sat there and watched the clouds roll across the sky as the raindrops became thicker and heavier. Soon every spot on the ground was wet. She jumped up from her seat and walked slowly back to the orphanage, which was across the street. Once back inside, she went to her room, avoiding everyone in the building. It was a small room with a twin sized bed, a small desk and chair, and a wardrobe. She had a window that took up most of her back wall, which had a good seven inches where she could sit. It was the only real attribute to the room, but she liked it. She grabbed her blanket, climbed up onto her desk and jumped onto the ledge. She settled in and wrapped the blanket around her body. She rather liked watching the rain fall. It was a comforting sight. It made her remember that she wasn’t the only one alone in the world.
She lost herself in the steady downfall and didn’t notice the figure walking up the road towards the orphanage. For soon her life would be turned upside down.
She leaned her head against the window and looked back at the playground to find a puddle had formed under the swing she had been on. She watched as the water splashed back and forth as new water fell into it. She began to fall from reality into fantasy. Spinning a world that would be a place where she was accepted.
A place she could call home.
A soft knock on the door drew her attention away from the window. The door opened and the headmistress stuck her head in and smiled softly, “Scarlett, there’s a visitor here to see you.”
Taken by surprise, she sat up a little straighter and the blanket fell into her lap. The door opened a little further and an elderly man stepped into the room. He was wearing a nice black pinstripe suit and carried a coat over one arm. He had long silver hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and his beard was just as long. He kindly bowed to the headmistress as she shut the door behind herself.
She continued to stare down at the odd man. She had never had a visitor before. She didn’t know how to properly say hello. The man started forward, “My name is Professor Albus Dumbledore.”
“Scarlett Riddle,” she replied and stuck her hand out to shank his. Her blanket dropped to the floor and the man stooped to retrieve it.
He handed it back to her, and she replied, “Thanks. You can sit on the bed if you’d like. Though, mind you, it’s kind of hard.” He sat in the middle and laid his coat beside him. She jumped down and sat in the desk chair and looked the man over. “You said you’re a professor. Where do you teach?”
“I teach at a school called Hogwarts. It’s a special school.”
She shook her head, “Never heard of it. What do you want with me? I never get any visitors.”
Dumbledore clasped his hands together and looked at her saying, “What if I told you, you were different from everyone else? What if I told you there is a place you can fit in? Would you believe me?”
She looked at him with wide eyes. That sounded wonderful to her. But such a place couldn’t exist, could it? She bit down on her lip and looked at him, “It sounds good but I’m not special. I’m just a nobody.”
He smiled and replied, “Why would you call yourself a nobody?”
She shrugged, “Because I’m not important or special. I’ve been living in orphanage for my whole life. I have no family and not a single friend. I’m just a nobody.”
Dumbledore gave her a sad smile, “Have you ever done anything extraordinary or something you couldn’t explain? What if I told you that you have special abilities? That there is a whole world that you could be a part of; a world of magic. And that you, Scarlett, are a witch. Would you believe me?”
She looked at him in utter shock. This man must have lost his marbles! A world of magic? And the idea of her as a witch? That was impossible! Her expression turned skeptical. “Is there any way you can prove it?”
In a blink of an eye the wardrobe was in flames, causing her to jump in fright and wonder. A strange look overtook his face; like a feeling of déjà vu. “You’re telling the truth.” He nodded.
“Hogwarts is a school for magic. We can teach you how to use and control magic. It would be home for you,” he added looking deep into her eyes. She quickly looked down and fiddled with her blanket. Only a few things didn’t seem right.
“Sir, I haven’t got any money. I couldn’t get school supplies or even get to school.” Dumbledore smiled and reached into his pocket and pulled out a fat bag that jingled. He handed it to her and she opened it and observed the strange coins inside. “There is fund at Hogwarts that allows us to help people that are like you, without money or a family. If you would like either I or another one of my colleagues could take you shopping for your school supplies.” She looked up from a small bronze coin and saw he was waiting intently for her response.
“Umm….yeah. That would be nice.”
Dumbledore smiled and nodded, extracting a thick envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. It was made of parchment and had a red wax seal of a letter H and four animals surrounding it. On the front read in emerald green ink:
Ms. Scarlett Riddle
76 Marshall Drive
Room with the window
Hayle, Cornwall
She turned it back over and opened it to reveal two sheaf’s of parchment inside. The first saying she’d been accepted into Hogwarts and that school started on September first. The second paper had a list of things including what clothes she needed, a set of books, and other things including a wand, a cauldron, brass scales, a telescope and glass or crystal phials. It also said she could have a cat, toad, owl, or rat as a pet and that first year students like her couldn’t have broomsticks.
Trying to comprehend it all at once, she shook her head and looked at Dumbledore. “Where can we get all of this? Is there such a place?” The elderly man smiled again and replied, “There is a place. If you’d like I can take you there or have one of my staff take you there.” She nodded.
“Okay when do we start?”
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I'd really love reviews. To know if you guys are liking it so far. =)
Chapter 3 is done. I'm waiting on my lovely beta Kate to have time through all her school work and busy life. I'm working on chapter 4 right now. So hopefully I'll have chapter 3 up in a few days. =)