Ms. Marisa was Roy’s favorite nanny. She only took care of him during the summer as during the rest of the year, she was away at her school, studying magic.
Roy, being only 9, was already a big fan of magic, and even though he was not allowed a wand of his own, he always used his father’s old wand whenever Ms. Marisa was around.
The only reason why Roy never gave Ms. Marisa a hard time was not because she fed him candy or let him zoom around on his broom inside the house, it was because she loved teaching him magic.
Everything Ms. Marisa learned in school, she would teach him, and today, as Roy pointed his father’s old wand at his pet rabbit, a silver like string came floating out from its head.
“Did it work?” Roy asked as he watched his rabbit hop back to the water bowl and drank from it, which it had already done 30 seconds ago.
“Try it again,” Ms. Marissa said.
“Obliviate!” Roy said, as he gave his wand a slight twist at the rabbit. Once again, the poor rabbit drank from its bowl of water, completely oblivious to the fact that it had already done so early.
“Ob-“
“Wait! We don’t want your rabbit to get all bloated with water!” Ms. Marisa pulled the wand from Roy just in time.
“But, it didnt work!” Roy knew full well that it did. He just wanted to do the spell again.
“It did. And I’m going to teach you another, don’t you wanna learn another?” Ms. Marisa asked, seeing his frown.
A smile immediately crossed his face as he nodded his head vigorously.
“Well, this is a simple summoning spell. All you have to do is concentrate on something, for example that book on the table, and say accio book.” With a small tilt of the wand, the book came flying towards Ms. Marisa, and Roy couldn’t help but gasps in excitement.
“My turn, my turn!” Roy grabbed for his wand and tried. He tried and tried till he had managed to get the book to hover a few centimeters above the table.
“Clever boy!” Ms. Marisa patted him on the back.
Just when Roy was about to attempt at making the book go higher, a crashing sound, which came from downstairs, made both their heads turn to his bedroom door.
“Is your parents home? I don’t remember hearing the fireplace pop,” Ms. Marisa asked, in a tone unlike her usual.
Roy shrugged. He had not heard the fireplace pop either, and it was strange, because his parents always used the floo network from work to home.
“I’m going down to check.”
“No! Don’t leave me! What if it’s a bad wizard?!”
Ms. Marisa, who apparently did not hear him, exited his room and shut the door behind her.
Roy hurried to the door and pressed his right ear against it, trying to hear what was going on, but he heard nothing. Curious, he sneaked out of his room and tip toed down the staircase. It was then that he heard a loud crash followed by a thud that shook the ground beneath him.
“Ms. Marisa?!” Roy shouted.
“It’s o.k Roy. I knocked him out,” Ms. Marisa said proudly, under her shaking voice, as she came out from the kitchen.
“What happened? What did you do?” Roy quickly asked as he peeked into the kitchen doorway, spotting a huge man, sprawled unconscious on the ground.
“I knocked him out with some of your mother’s pots and pans.” Ms. Marisa laughed nervously at the thought.
“With accio spell?” Roy asked keenly.
“Yes. Now go be a dear and flame for the ministry.” Ms. Marisa pointed at the fireplace.
“Wait, what did that man want?”
“He wanted… erm.” Ms. Marisa paused and hesitated before she continued, “You.”
“Why?”
“Wanted gold from your parents Roy. Now you better flame for the ministry while I watch him.”
Roy nodded and headed to the fireplace. He threw some purple powder into the flames and as it turned yellow, Roy peered over and shouted, “Someone tried to kidnap me! You have to come now!”
A female face appeared in the flames and replied, “We’re right on our way Master Lockhart.”
Just then, a crazy idea flashed across his not so innocent mind. Roy reached for the wand he had tucked into his shirt earlier and pointed it at Ms. Marisa.
“What are you doing?” Ms. Marisa asked as she narrowed her eyes at him.
“I’m sorry Ms. Marisa, but I have to do this,” Roy said, as he contemplated his plan.
“Do what?” Ms. Marisa chuckled, thinking Roy was just being playful.
“You’ll help everybody love me more,” Roy tried to explain.
“What are you talking about?” The expression on Ms. Marisa’s face had not change as she shook her head and laughed.
“Obliviate!” Roy shouted, and to his surprise, a silver string slowly floated out of her head. He expected the spell not to work, but it did.
As he happily watched a blank expression wipe across Ms. Marisa’s face, Roy cooked up a whole new story in which everyone, to his deepest satisfaction, believed to be the truth.
Roy was lonely and he wanted people to like him, to love him and to know him. His parents didnt have time for him and now that he was about to make the headlines as a hero who saved his nanny from an intruder, his parents would have to give him all their attention.
Roy was the hero boy, the boy whom every child wanted to be friends with and the boy whom every parent would want as a child. He was going to have it all.
True enough, he made the headlines on the Daily Prophet the next day, “Gilderoy Lockhart, the Hero Boy.” All that at what cost? A nanny who started loving him even more.
Jeyna Grace 