Disparity - The Story of Albus Dumbledore

1. They Would Drown Them

The quaint village of Mould-On-The-Wold was experiencing an uncommon phenomenon in the form of a sun-drenched English Summer. Villagers basked in the glow of the sun while birds tweeted merrily and water from the nearby creek glistened. Six-year-old Ariana giggled as she swayed side-to-side with the nearby blades of grass. Like every young Witch and Wizard, she did not know how to control her magic, but she was entertained when her magic made the grass dance. Her smile widened as flowers suddenly blossomed and the hedge closest to her erupted into an assortment of colours and aromas. The water bowl, that was kept outside on hotter days for the stray cat that often visited, hovered slightly. Its size compared to that of a very large dog bowl because, although her mother had a soft spot for cats, she did not like to traverse through the overgrown jungle their garden had become anymore than she had to.

"How are you doing that?" A boy, a few years older than that of Ariana, asked wondrously. He was crouched down and sharing a hole in the hedge to Ariana's left with two others when his beady eyes landed on the small girl. Suddenly, the flowers withered, and the grass stood motionless.

Ariana shrugged, "I don't know" She looked around and became quite disappointed with how mundane the garden now was. It was ordinary and Arian hated the ordinary.

"Change it back!" The boy shouted, making Ariana jump a little. Before he could demand more, he was pushed back by his friend, who struggled to crouch and look through the hole as he was rather tall.

"I want to see!" Argued the smaller of the three who was at the back. After a small struggle, the beady-eyed boy huffed and ripped the hole so that he, and his friends, could stumble through. Ariana stood up, moved backwards, and eyed them suspiciously. The smaller of the three whined as he fret over the small scratches now covering his arms.

"My mum is going to kill me" He complained but the other two rolled their eyes and chose to ignore him.

"Go on then" The taller friend prompted, crossing his arms.

Ariana apprehensively shook her head, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers"

The boys erupted into laughter, the smaller one only slightly delayed as he was distracted trying to amend his slightly disheveled appearance. Ariana's eyes felt hot as she started to get upset. Who were these people? And why were they laughing at her?

"Don't talk to us then. Show us" The first boy demanded, waving his hand to let Arian know she could begin to use her magic. She wished it were that simple. She longed for the days where she could have her own wand and perform magic as swiftly and as beautifully as her parents. She was overjoyed at the happy faces of her family when she inadvertently caused an object to float or flowers to bloom. One day she would be able to control her magic and make her family smile all day long.

"I can't" Ariana whined, struggling to see why they could not understand. Everyone knew you could control your magic better when you were older so why were these boys bothering her? Her father would read The Tales of Beedle The Bard and would often tell her that, one day, her and her brothers would perform magic like in those tales. For now, she would wait.

The first boy, the ringleader, suddenly bent down to Ariana and started violently shaking her shoulders, "Do it!"

Ariana erupted into tears, "Leave me alone!" She sobbed.

"Ssh! Her family's right there!" The smaller one warned, quieting his voice as he did so. He pointed to the small cottage on the other side of the garden they had snuck into. Luckily for the boys, they were shielded by overgrown bushes and hedges so, if they remained quiet enough, they would not be seen.

"Mu-" Ariana began to call out before the first boy clasped his hand over her mouth. He pushed Ariana backwards and sat on her chest. She began throwing her legs in the air, moving frantically, but to no avail.