4 Natural Born Talent II
~~~(POV: Albus Wolfric Dumbledore)~~~
~~~(Location: St. Mary's Orphanage)~~~
~~~(Date: December 17th, 1985)~~~
~~~(Time: 9:30 AM)~~~
The orphanage should be just ahead. The Ministry has already covered up the incident as if nothing happened. This part of Britain is not a place an orphanage should be.
The Ministry did some digging for me, and they couldn't come up with anything about Alexander.
Once I'm standing in front of the orphanage, I can see many little kids running around through the door.
"Do you need help with anything?"
One of the sisters walks up to my side and places her hand on my shoulder, gaining my interest.
I give a small smile.
"I'm here to speak to an Alexander Aevum."
The sister smiles, and I read her thoughts as she does. This isn't an uncommon occurrence. The sister guides me to one of the back rooms away from all the other kids, and she opens the door for me.
I look inside and see a little kid. He turns his head toward me. I try to read his thoughts, but his mental defenses are incredible. All I can read are surface thoughts.
He has to be naturally talented in Occlumency. He turns back to his book, and the sister sighs.
"He doesn't like to talk. He's a quiet, well-mannered child. He worries many of us. He doesn't like socializing with others."
That sounds familiar to another boy from many years ago.
The sister leaves due to a ruckus from the front room. I decide to enter the room, and I sit on one of the free chairs in the room. I try and read his mind, and with some effort, I get past his defenses.
All his thoughts are organized perfectly and focused beyond someone his age. He's uninterested in why I'm here, which is very strange.
"Hello."
I try to start a conversation with him, but he doesn't acknowledge me.
He's so deeply immersed in learning that he tunes out the rest of the world. I pull out my wand and flick the book closed. His head darts at me with his full attention.
"It's nice to meet you, Alexander. My name is Albus. I'm here to ask you some questions."
He turns in his chair to face me and waits for me to continue.
"There was an incident yesterday. Quite an unusual one."
His thoughts go to the memories of him making the assaulter's head explode.
"You meant to do that, didn't you? You made his head explode."
He looks at me in genuine confusion. His thoughts tell me he's wondering how I know that.
~~~(POV: Alexander Aevum)~~~
~~~(Location: St. Mary's Orphanage)~~~
~~~(Date: December 17th, 1985)~~~
~~~(Time: 9:38 AM)~~~
This man, Albus. He knows things he shouldn't know about me. He looks to be expecting an answer.
"Yeah, I did."
Albus's head tilts to the left just a little. He looks at my collection of books and smiles to himself.
"There are many things a person can do with magic, Alexander."
Magic... That explains what I did to the man...
"You're a smart one, Alexander. I want to ask if you've ever hurt anyone else?"
The other times begin playing in my head, and now I have an explanation for why I am the way I am.
"You have a habit of killing the things that try to hurt you in brutal ways."
He has access to all of my thoughts and memories. How do I stop him...
"Turn your eyes away from mine, and I won't be able to read your thoughts."
I immediately try and turn my eyes from his.
He stays silent and waits for me to talk.
"What are you?"
Any explanation will do. Any at all.
"I'm a wizard. I'm the Headmaster of a school that teaches people gifted with magic. You also have magic. It's why you can do the things you do."
What he says... The things I've seen him do and the things I've done...
I keep my eyes away from him, hoping he can't read my thoughts, but he likely still can.
~~~(POV: Alexander Aevum)~~~
~~~(Location: St. Mary's Orphanage)~~~
~~~(Date: December 17th, 1985)~~~
~~~(Time: 11:40 AM)~~~
It's true.
I stand up and turn my back to him. I dig through many of my books.
"Where did you get that marking on your neck?"
I turn and look at Albus. I've had this marking ever since I was born. Sister Beth says it's a tattoo.
"I've had it since the day I was born. Beth said it's a tattoo my parents gave me before dropping me off here." I watch as he lightly fiddles with his wand.
He explained the basics of the wizarding society to me. That's his wand.
He looks down at it for a split second and puts it away. I don't know what he's thinking, and now that I learned the truth today. I want to learn all I can.
"Do you think there is any way I can start learning now?"
He lifts his head and raises his eyebrows.
He stands up and looks at his pocket watch.
"I can get you some books you'd want before going to Hogwarts. We'll need to head to Diagon Alley; I'll show you a piece of the world hidden from muggles."
For the first time in many years, I smile.
