What You Don't Remember

“You cannot be serious, Dumbledore.” the man said frustrated, “Bringing that girl here? We’ve all have heard the stories about her. She’s a danger to herself and everyone around her!”

I shrank back in my chair at the harsh tone of the man’s voice as it crept through the door. He basically spat out the word dangerous making it sound even worse than it was. I had known that the news of my arrival might spark a few questions but I hadn’t accounted for burning hatred that was pouring from this man. I just assumed that everyone was going to be as nice as Albus had been to me. How father had been to me, I reminded myself. If it hadn’t been for my new adopted father, I would have still been on the streets, alone and confused. I had never experienced love until I met the old gentle man who showed me nothing but kindness. He spent two summer months with me back in America before he asked me if it was okay if he adopted me and brought me home to his school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry here in Britain and said I could even attend school. Of course I told him it was more than okay.

The school, which was a castle to my surprise, was still out for summer break for another month, luckily for me. It would take me a while to get use to such a big place and Albus had told me that if I wanted to be in 7th year and with my age group that I would need some private tutoring. I was nervous when he said that because I knew near to zip about regular magic. He reassured me though that it would be easy for me to catch up with my…gifts. That’s what he called it. A gift. Nobody else had called it a gift. No, people usually were like the man in my new father’s office. Albus had told me to wait in his sitting area while he told my new tutor his duties in the office. He said that my new tutor was more than qualified in all the subjects to catch me up plus he was able to be trusted with a secret, which made him the only professor at the school that Dumbledore trusted to tutor me. It seemed like my new tutor was protesting, though.

“Severus, I told you the girl is not dangerous. She’s simply misunderstood. Something that I thought you would understand.” I heard Albus say evenly.

“No school will take this girl for a reason. You know the rumors, Albus.” the other man implied.

Great. The rumors were going to be brought up. Rumors that had led me to the streets at the age of 5 and made me hide from everyone. The rumors that caused headmasters of magical schools from all over America ignore me. I knew all of them, of course. That I killed my parents at the age of three, or that I could only perform dark magic were the two most popular ones. People eventually sought me out to see if I lived up to all that was said. Some even tried to kill me before asking. Nobody until Albus had showed me kindness and I didn’t want to do anything to affect his love and trust for me which included him not hearing some of the nastiest rumors. The man who was going to be my tutor was slowly becoming my least favorite person.

“Which rumor are you referring to?” Albus asked simply but I heard the dangerous tone behind the question and hoped that the man did as well.

“The one where people tend to die around her.” The man told Albus without hesitation.

Well, at least my would-be new tutor was fearless. Ever since I met Albus, people treated him carefully like they were scared of the man. I couldn’t see why. He was the kindest man I had ever known.

“Ah,” My new father’s chuckle filled the room, “That one does seem to follow her but I assure you that it is just a rumor.”

“How can you know for sure, Albus? How can you place your trust in someone you barely know?” The man asked harshly.

“You seem to forget that I placed my trust in you when many others have advised me otherwise.” Albus told him quietly so quietly that I had to strain to keep eavesdropping.

This comment seemed to silence the man. I wonder what Albus meant when he said that other people didn’t trust the man. Did he do something that made him untrustworthy to others?

“Severus, don’t look like that. Once you see her you’ll understand that she couldn’t possibly hurt anyone. When I met her two months ago I had every intention to strip her of her powers but from the first time I saw her I knew that she was nothing but good.”

I could practically hear the smile in my father’s voice as he said this making me smile sadly as well. He was so kind to me for no apparent reason. I loved him even though I hadn’t known him very long. He was my everything already. I raised the back of my hand and brushed away the tears that had swelled. He has saved me in so many ways and I felt like I owned him a great debt.

“Looks can be deceiving.” The man named Severus said quietly.

“Which is why I spent all those weeks with the girl. What I learned was that she was as good and pure in the inside as out. I found a girl who was nothing but pleasant and by far the most brilliant witch of her age. People tend to shun what they don’t know. She hasn’t had family since she was three but has wandered around the muggle world alone and afraid and yet she’s turned out wonderful against all odds. As for her magic, yes it is untrained but not dangerous. It’s rare for a witch or wizard to be able to do so much without a wand but she somehow can do great things without one. Yet, I know that she would never abuse that power.” Albus said with an amused tone.

This was so true. I would never hurt anyone on purpose and even living on the streets I tried not to misuse my powers. Everyone assumed that I would just because I was different. Just because I could do what a normal wizard did with a wand with my hand. It wasn’t that big of a deal. I could wave my hand, others could wave a wand, while some could do nothing. It was just what life dealt us. However, Albus had said that I would need to keep this ability to myself for now. He said people were uneasy with the unknown so the first thing we did when we arrived in London was go to a wand shop called Ollivander’s and bought me a wand. Unnecessary but useful, since he wanted me to learn to use one which is why I needed a tutor in the first place. Of course, I could just pretend to wave the wand for most things but most spells required speaking, something that I had never had to do with my hand.

“But that doesn’t mean you have to bring her here, Albus. Let alone adopt her.” Severus argued making me stick my tongue out at him even though he couldn’t see me from behind the door.

“Just meet her and decide for yourself.” Albus told him quietly.

I strained to hear what the man would tell Albus but he must have answered quietly since there was no answer to much of my disappointment.

“Thank you, Severus. Ally will you please come in here?”

I sighed as I stood up from my chair and shakily straightened the dress I was wearing with my hands. It was nonsense of me to be scared to meet this man. Surely Albus wouldn’t bring someone dangerous to meet me let alone tutor me privately. I gave a sigh determined that I wasn’t going to show this stranger fear before pushing open the door to the office.

The scene in the office wasn’t the one I had pictured in my head. I had pictured an equally as old man as Albus as the mysterious man. Instead I walked in on Albus sitting at his desk and a man who seemed to be in his late twenties or early thirties sitting in front of Albus much like a student. The man had turned half-way around when I entered from behind him and I took this time to study him. If there was a total opposite to how I was dressed this man was it. He was wearing a black shirt with a bit of white showing up at top, black pants, and a black robe compared to my all white outfit. I instantly felt uneasy as I looked at him. It wasn’t that he was unpleasant looking, in fact he was rather handsome in the unusual sense but that went almost unnoticed compared to the dark cold gaze that sent an involuntary chill up my spine.

“Ally, I would like to introduce you to Professor Snape, our potions master.” Albus smiled and waved me over to stand by him.

I plastered on a smile and walked over to Dumbledore’s chair not looking at the man but focused on Dumbledore, who put a hand on my shoulder as if he knew I needed the comfort. Reluctantly I shifted my gaze to the man sitting in front of Albus and me.

“It’s nice to meet you, Professor.” I smiled and held out my hand.

Instead of shaking my hand, Professor Snape stared at me with what I could only assume was pure disgust. I jerked my hand back as if it had got burn from his gaze and touched my left cheek to make sure nothing was on it. His black eyes glared into me, trapping me, making me feel like I was suffocating. Weirdly I felt as I couldn’t get enough of his gaze and fell deeper and deeper into his never ending eyes. Why wasn’t Dumbledore stopping this man? Couldn’t he tell I wasn’t able to breath?

“I’ll do it.”

At first I didn’t know who had spoken those words. Surely, I didn’t do it. I had been near paralyzed by Professor Snape’s gaze. My mind seemed to catch up just as I saw the tail ends of a black robe disappear out the door.

“Looks like you have a tutor, Ally.” Dumbledore patted my shoulder.

“Yeah… seems I do.” I said quietly wishing that I was still trapped in the mysterious man’s gaze.