✔️ 𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 → 𝑐.𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑦

11 | R E G R E T

   "YOU DID WHAT?" Tonks' eyes widened and her hair turned white. "Say, have you lost your mind, Charles?"

   "Oh c'mon, don't be dramatic", Charlie chuckled. "She's fascinating, I've never met anyone who can handle dragons like her. The Ironbelly is following her like a puppy!"

   "Nevertheless, she's dangerous, Charlie", Tonks replied, shaking her head, "and a dangerous woman befriending with dangerous creatures is the most frightening thing I heard in a while. What if she chooses You-Know-Who? He already has an army of giants and Dementors, he doesn't need dragons!"

   "She won't choose him", Charlie simply replied, shrugging his friend's fears off.

   Ana had been staying with him for about three weeks now and she seemed to really enjoy to work with the dragons.

   "So she chose our side?", Tonks asked, tearing Charlie out of his thoughts.

   "She still doesn't want to choose a side." Tonks cocked an eyebrow at Charlie's reply, so he added, "It will take some time, I'm still trying to gain her trust. Ana isn't bad. She just had been treated terribly her whole life. I need to be careful, I don't want to scare her -"

    "Oh my goodness, Charlie! She isn't one of your beasts! This isn't a dragon to be tamed, she is a murderer, she's dangerous, and she won't bat an eye to kill you in your sleep, if she finds out you're trying to manipulate her!"

   "I'm not manipulating her", Charlie snorted, "and thank you, I am well aware of what she is." He got up, patting Tonks' shoulder. "I got this. She will fight for us, you'll see."

 •✧• 

   Ana liked this place. She actually liked it a lot, and as returning to her lonesome home in the forest was no longer an option, she was perfectly fine with staying here.

   Charlie left her alone most of the time, busy working, but Ana couldn't but secretly following him and watch him do his job.

   Charlie Weasley was far different from every human being Ana had ever met before, but still she tried to figure out why. It wasn't just the fact, that he didn't seemed to be scared of her at all. No, Charlie was extraordinary in many ways. The way he treated the dragons clearly differed him from his co-workers. Charlie never showed a sign of aggression, he never used violence against these majestic creatures. His calmness was contagious, and Ana more and more often found herself deeply comfortable around the handsome dragon tamer, even though every time she caught herself getting too easy around him, there still was a voice screaming in the back of her conscience, reminding her to not let down her guard, and that Charlie Weasley, just like every other human, had to be feared.

   If she thought long enough about it, Albus Dumbledore had been much like Charlie, when Ana had just met the old wizard for the first time. A soft and calm person, easy to open up to, easy to trust. But oh, where had it lead her to? She wouldn't make the same mistake twice. And as much as she wanted to trust Charlie Weasley, as louder the warning voice in her head started yelling at her. Because in the end, they'd all just wanted her best ...

   "This isn't normal, Ana! You shall not use it, it's the forces of the devil himself!"

   Her parents had wanted the best for her, and that was where it all started. Her mother and father forcing her to be normal. And she'd been nothing but a scared little girl. So scared ...

   "Ana, if people will find out about it, they will haunt you! They won't stop until they find you. They will kill you."

   And as she grew older, she wished they did.

   "Don't be scared, Ana. We take care of you. We won't let them get you. Just don't use it."

   It took little Ana a while to manage to suppress her magic, and as she learned to do so, she felt something inside her growing, swelling like a balloon, and soon it was too big, way too big. It pressed against her lungs, against her heart, and breathing became incredibly difficult, like there was no room left to fill with air. Breathing in, she felt the oxygen entering her throat, but it didn't seem to reach her chest. Her heart had lost its normal rythmn, it was a hammering against her chest the whole time, like there wasn't enough room inside her left, like it wanted to crash her ribs and escape.

   It was inevitable. Now she knew it was. The magic had turned against her. It had turned her. This one day she had felt like there was something inside of her bursting, and suddenly her body was gone. All that's left was a mass of black particles, like fog, but thicker, unable to be caught.

   And before she knew, her parents were dead. Their eyes torn wide open, staring at the ceiling, their skin pale, greyish, and their veins painted on their body's like lightning, in dark black lines all over their limbs ...

   "Ana!"

   A hand grabbed her shoulder, and Ana's eyes flung open. Her body was covered in sweat, her chest heaving up and down like she'd just run five miles in high speed, and looking down upon her was a frackled face framed with wild flaming red curls. She felt a jolt going through her body, and Charlie's hand flinched away from her like he'd been hit by an electric shock.

   "Are you okay?", Charlie asked in a sleepy voice, his fingers running through his messy hair. "You screamed ..."

   "Just a nightmare", she whispered, sitting up on the bed. "Just a nightmare ..."

   But the faces of her parents were still burnt on her retina, and Ana felt something, she hadn't felt for a long time.

   Regret.

 •✧•