Okay, so this is my first fanfic, bare with me. The first couple chapters are kind of slow, but that's because they are informational. I promise it'll get better.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter or J.K. Rowling.

A/N Alex is my own made up character. Anything about her and her family is my own doing and is not actually in any of the HP books. But, I'll try to flow with the story line in the books as best I can.

Update: So, it's been a super long time since I've looked at this, and to be honest I forgot I'd written it. But I plan on updating soon. Or trying to. Fingers crossed. With that said I am currently going through and fixing all the mistakes, errors and typos I can find. I apologize for them.

Happy Reading.

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T h e r e w a s a l i g h t tapping on my door. My eyes squinted together tightly, not wanting to open just yet. I knew exactly what time it was and why I had to wake, but I was having such a nice dream that I did not want to end.

I had been back at school. There was some kind of ball or dance type thing going on in the Great Hall and I was on my way to it. By my side, escorting me had been a brown-haired boy. I couldn't see his face, but I just knew he was extremely handsome. He had had his arm through mine, as we headed through the corridor. I was dressed in a brilliant, white, flowing gown. It whipped around my ankles as we glided, as if on air, towards the huge double-doors. That was our passage into the party.

As we strode by, students left and right, from all houses, stared. I could hear them whispering. "How did that happen?" "Who is that?" "Alex?" The shock was clearly written across each of their faces, and I could feel a smirk fighting its way onto my lips. The unknown boy had released my arm, only to wrap it, almost protectively, around my waist to drag me through the doors. We passed students and teachers alike as he led us to the center of the dance floor. I came face-to-face with him, instinctively linking my arms around his neck as he placed his hands gently on my hips. His face was incredibly close to my own, but shadows fell across it, distorting it in the poorly lit room. He leaned forward, as if he was going to kiss me. I was positive he was.

"Alexandrea Renée," My mother's voice came from the other side of my bedroom door.

"I'm awake." It was seven thirty, exactly, and my shift started in an hour. Suppressing a groan, I reluctantly opened my eyes, blinking away sleep and squinting at the pool of light coming through the curtains on my window. I sat up and with a glance, looked over my room to make sure everything was in order. As far as I could tell, nothing had been disturbed. I placed my feet on the cold, hard-wood floor and stood. I stretched and my back gave a satisfying pop.

There wasn't much to my room, just my bed, a dresser, some knick-knacks and pictures, and school stuff. My parents and I lived on the second story of our building with two bedrooms, and one bath. The family business, Steux's Snack Bar, was on the bottom floor. With light steps, I walked to the door, scratching my head as I went. I flicked my eyes at my dresser and the top drawer pulled out. A pair of jeans and a white, button-up blouse that was my work uniform, along with some undergarments, floated through the air, as if pulled by strings, towards me; one of the benefits of my "gift." The actual term is for it Craniomaxism. Or to my fellow peers: "Cranio", "Brainiac", and my favorite, "Freak." Another benefit was I could not be expelled or in the least, arrested, for using (if you want to call it) magic outside of school. It was part of who I was and as explained to me, "a violation of my rights."

The downside was being the outcast. I've learned from experience that people fear the unknown and Craniomaxism is far beyond rare. One, maybe two wizards, besides me, in all of existence have been known to have the gift. There is no reason behind it or cause for it, only theories and guesses, though people are looking into it now. It's just some sort of brain malfunction as far as anyone knew.

I heaved a sigh and opened my door. The clothes floated behind me as I walked towards the bathroom. All that thinking had reminded me of school, which was to start back in a week or so, and all the taunting and harassment that came with it. A certain platinum-haired cretin came to mind and my eyes narrowed, involuntarily, in remembrance of the slimy git. I opened the bathroom door and the clothes found their way to the counter, resting beside the sink. The door shut and locked behind me. I took a look in the mirror above the sink at my reflection. A bright, blue-green eyed girl with short, brown hair stared right back at me. She mimicked my every move, blink for blink. Her hand moved along her olive-toned cheek. She glanced at her hair again and noticed one side was sticking up and lopsided in a disarrayed manner. The girl sighed with me and I turned my back on her, facing the shower instead. The faucets turned and I shed my pajama pants and t-shirt. The middle knob flipped and I stepped in.

I let thoughts of school, work, and that dream run through my head as the warm water woke me up and I bathed. Fifteen or so minutes later and the water turned off and I stepped out into the steam-filled room. A towel found its way to my hands immediately. As I dried myself off and slipped into uniform, I remembered the first time I had found out about my 'power.' I saw myself almost seven years back, at eleven years old. I was sitting alone on a swing on the playground around my old neighborhood. There were kids playing all over, but I, even young, was never a people person. I remembered kicking up little rocks around my feet, and how that chubby, Muggle boy, Michael Reginald and his lot had come over to me calling names and making jokes. Even they knew I was different.

I have always been good at keeping my temper under pressure and situations like these, which turned out to be a positive thing because I experienced them on a day-to-day basis almost, now. I ignored the boys, keeping my head down and not responding to them. Michael had grown tired of that fast, and had decided to become physical. He pushed me of the swing, onto the ground. I still managed to keep collected and tried to stand back up to leave, but he would have none of that. He pushed me back down onto the ground and this time his friends joined in poking jokes, pulling my hair, and stupid, juvenile stuff like that to provoke me. I tried to tell them to stop, they were really hurting me, but none of them listened. They just kept going at it. I finally could not stand it anymore and broke into tears. That only gave them a laugh, but it made them pause long enough for me to take off running. Everyone had watched them, as they were watching me run away, but I didn't care. I ran all the way home and locked myself away in my old room. Mum and Dad of course had no earthly idea what had happened and they were scared to death. They tried for hours to get me to open up but I kept crying, refusing to come out.

That night, after my parents had given up and gone to bed, I had snuck out of my room and had gotten scissors from the kitchen. I remembered holding them under my shirt as I crept back into my room, locking the door behind me. I walked over and stood in front of the mirror on my wall, and all I could think was I wanted to change, so no one could make fun of me. Before I knew it, all my soft brown locks were piled at my feet and I was left with small tuffs of fuzz here and there. Regret swept over me like an ocean and my eyes filled with tears again. I could only stand there, staring at my tear-streaked face with puffy red eyes, and I wanted my hair back.

I could picture it clearly in my mind and I closed my eyes hoping I was dreaming and I'd wake up soon. I thought I was imagining it at first, the tingling sensation. But when I opened my eyes, my hair was growing from my scalp. It scared the hell out of me, in all honesty, and if I could have screamed, I probably would have but I was in such a daze I couldn't even breathe. I watched as it slinked passed my ears and stopped right above my shoulders. That night, even though I was terrified of it, I couldn't help but wonder why it had happened. My first guess was that maybe my wish had been granted, so I tried to wish for something else. Nothing happened. I was curious and young, and to me, the thought that my hair could grow back in a matter of moments to the length of what took months to get to, was a door, and I was so full of questions and needing answers that I was more than willing to open.

It took several failed thoughts for the idea that just maybe I had done it myself to sneak into my head. I had pictured my hair in my mind after it had been cut off, and I had focused so hard on it, it had made me dizzy. It was my last resort, so I tried it. I stood in front of the mirror thinking of nothing but a long nose in the middle of my face and trying to imagine the tingling feeling where my nose should be. It worked and I gasped loudly as my nose shot out about five inches. I quickly pictured it back to normal and it receded back toward my face until it was original sized again.

Having succeeded, I couldn't help wondering what else, if anything else, I could do. My eyes roamed my room and fell on a hair brush beside my bed. Ideas flooded my head. I focused on the brush, trying to picture it purple instead of blue. At first, nothing happened, so I tried to focus harder. It was as if tiny hands were extending out of my head and toward the brush, and the plastic handle slowly started changing colors. The shock and thrill of it working a third time broke my focus and it stopped working, leaving the brush two-toned. When I regained focus, it started transforming again, I didn't react. I was so tired afterwards; I barely made it to my bed before passing out. The next morning, I received my first letter from Hogwarts.

I immediately understood how I could be able to do those things and figured it must be normal. I spent time practicing and spreading my range as to what I could as I waited for the first day of school. I played with it, making things change and transform into something new, even changing how I looked. I made things disappear and could move objects from any distance I tried. I even found out I could 'read' minds when I answered a question my mom hadn't asked. Anything I wanted, I could do.

A smiled played on the corner of my lips as I buttoned up my white blouse. It quickly left when I thought back to my first year at Hogwarts. I quickly learned then that Craniomaxism was not something every witch and wizard could do. In fact, I was the only one. The day I turned a quill into a dove with no wand, lesson, or spell in Transfigurations was only the beginning of my problems. The students freaked out right away, saying something about some person whose name no one could say and "dark magic". Professor McGonagall sent me straight to Headmaster Dumbledore's office. He then explained to me everything he knew, even though it was very limited, about my gift.

It was very rare, powerful, and I must never abuse it. I had to be careful with it because overuse and strain would do real physical harm to me and could even be deadly. As he explained it, it was both an amazing gift and a terrible curse. It caused harm to the brain and body, though he never went into detail. He did explain however, exactly how it would kill me if I did over-do it. The pressure and strain on my mind and body would literally cause either my brain or heart to explode, whichever went first. Even with my little experience, I knew it was an extremely tiring thing and took a lot out of you. I didn't doubt the consequences, so I spent the next six years building it up. I could do anything from moving a pencil across my desk to stopping any spell thrown at me with the flick of my wrist. The only thing I could not do was bring someone back from the dead. And I had tried. As with everything else with Craniomaxism, no one knew why you couldn't; it just wasn't possible. Professor Dumbledore then sent me back to class once I had all the information, and warnings, I needed.

I looked in the mirror at the girl again. I hadn't a clue what to do with my hair, so in a blink, it was dry and hanging straight, stopping just short of my shoulders. I decided I was decent enough and left the bathroom leaving everything to straighten itself back up. My thoughts ran back to that day again while I walked down the stairs. The first day I had learned what I was, and the same day I met that filthy, blond git, Draco Malfoy. He'd been in McGonagall's class and of course, by now everyone knew what had happened.

I saw myself entering the Great Hall at lunchtime right after Dumbledore had dismissed me. He was sitting with that tall bloke Goyle, and the chubby, ugly one Crabbe, over at the Slytherin's table. I'd remembered them from the sorting the previous night. I was headed towards the Gryffindor table, with my head down. I knew everyone was talking about me, I could hear it in some of the thoughts I picked up along the way. The next thing I knew, Malfoy had stood up and shouted, "Look! It's the Mudblood Circus' own Mind Freak!" The Slytherin table exploded into laughter. The other tables didn't join in, but they sure did talk and rumors flew like crazy.

There were a few about how I was working for the Dark Lord, I had a dark curse, etcetera. Soon enough my "condition" was addressed, which only made the taunting and jokes worse. Thus, I became the outcast. An outcast of the outcast, actually, because the regular outcast were freaked out by me. I'd hoped with time, they'd get used to my power and that Draco would grow up, but to this day, close to seven years later, I have no such luck. Even the Professors were still scared.

The only one who wasn't afraid was Dumbledore, who was now in an eternal slumber.

The pain of last year's loss washed over me like a wave as I reached the bottom landing. The door to the kitchen opened and I walked through it, holding back tears. Mrs. Anne Steux was leaned over a plate eating a piece of buttered toast. Her long, bright blonde hair was pinned up in a loose bun atop her head and she wore the same uniform i did.

"Breakfast?" Mum asked, raising her eyebrows at me. I shook my head, having lost my appetite. She shrugged. "Your letter arrived not ten minutes ago." She couldn't hide her smile. "I'm so proud of you!" I was confuse for a moment as she dusted the breadcrumbs off her fingers and handed me my letter. I tried to pick up her thoughts but she had a million things going at once and it was impossible.

There wasn't one letter, but two this year. The first one was my school supplies list and congratulations on making it to my seventh year. The second was the kicker. I looked at it and almost dropped it when I read 'Head Girl' written across it. I could have died. What about that Granger girl? She'd definitely worked harder than I did. Why give it to me? These questions and hundreds more ran through my head as I stared at the word. Mum was smiling though and I figured I'd let her go ahead and be happy. She grinned, placing her plate in the sink about to wash it, but I reached out with those tiny, mental hands and it began washing itself.

"You know I don't like you doing it around the house," she pursed her lips disapprovingly. "It'll spoil you. Your father and I get along just fine without any magic, you can too." In her mind the only way to be grateful from something was to do without it, if only for a little while. I could see her thinking exactly that as we stood there. Her intentions were true so I could only smile at her. She was so proud that I was 'special'; I wanted to give her a reason to be.

"I agree, but I just thought I'd help out." She knew I meant I agreed with her theory and smiled back at me.

"I know dear," she put her arm around my shoulder. "I want you to cover today. Dad and I are going to go get all your school stuff while we run errands for the shop." I nodded and she continued, "I bet you'll see some friends today, now that letters are out. No doubt they'll be out."

I almost corrected her that I had no friends, but I caught myself. She was right, of course. Loads of students loved stopping by for ice creams or floats on Diagon Alley. Normally, I would go shopping myself or hide away, but I would have no such luck today.

"After you father finishes opening, we'll leave. Won't stay out too long, times like these, but we won't be back for quite a bit." She kissed my head. I nodded again and the plate clanked loudly as it stored itself with the others. Mum gave me another look and I grinned at her. She swatted me jokingly and I laughed. She just shook her head as I took my apron off the rack and tired it around my waist.

The flow of people in and out of the shop was steady and I did pretty well managing things on my own. Although, that didn't last very long…

It was a little passed two o'clock and things were dying down a bit, so I went into the kitchen to get a bite to eat. The kitchen door swung silently shut behind me, but at the same time the front door of the shop opened and the small bell on it dinged. I hear lots of talk and laughed. Great, a group. I stifled a moan and turned to walk back out. I stopped short when an all too familiar voice called out.

"Look at this place! Blaise, I thought you said people wanted to come here?" the voice sneered in only a way the person who'd said it could manage. My heart stopped mid-beat. Malfoy. I cracked the door just enough to see even though I knew more than well who it was. Sure enough, there he stood, about six foot, platinum blonde hair, black slacks and a white shirt. He, Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and a girl I recognized as Pansy Parkinson were seating themselves at a table in the corner. There were only two other customers in the shop, both were staring at the group.

The Pansy girl was thinking about the name of the restaurant and if it had anything to do with me. Maybe she was as dense as I thought. She sat beside Malfoy and leaned extremely close to him, which only screamed 'desperate' to me. I had to bite back the bile that rose in my throat. "Where is the service?" she asked and I figured that was my cue to move.

I, very, very reluctantly left the shelter of the kitchen and walked over to their table, trying my best to keep my head down. They paid no attention to me when I walked up, so I cleared my throat, "What can I get you?" They never looked up while they ordered. That was good news for me because that meant they wouldn't notice who I was. At least right now, anyway.

Malfoy ordered for them, telling me to make it quick, the less time they spent here the better. It was definitely rude, but I could not agree with him more. The sooner they left, the better off I would be. I headed back into the kitchen and started their smoothies. I wanted them gone, so I did double-time with my mind. I even use it to help me carry the tray so I didn't risk spilling it and having to make them again. They were talking when I came back, though I honestly couldn't care less about what it was. Anything they found interesting had to be cruel or stupid or both in some fashion. They stopped immediately when I got to the table. I placed a smoothie on the table and all five heads snapped up at me simultaneously.

A sneer so wide I could have sworn it would cut his face in half, appeared on Malfoy's face a moment later when it dawned on him who I was. All I could think was oh, God. He didn't say anything at first, but took a sip of his smoothie. Then he pretended to choke and sputtered a look of disgust on his face. "Gross!" he practically yelled. "You're trying to pass this off as edible?" he handed it back to me and then smirked again. Here it comes, I thought. "Well, well. Look who it is." The others all looked at me and I could see the realization click on all of their faces. They grin at each other.

I stopped serving them, knowing they'd only complain, and placed them back on the tray. "If you want me to make them again, I will," I said quietly, turning away from the table.

"No wonder it didn't taste right," Draco continued and I grabbed the tray, about to walk off. "The Mudblood freak touched it." The table snickered.

I stopped. "Excuse me?" I swung back around to face him, fuming.

"I would have thought you'd be in the circus with mummy and daddy, Alex. Who let you out?" He smirked, looking at everyone and chuckling at his joke. I was so pissed I couldn't think straight. Not in my own home, not my parents.

The memory of little Michael Reginald popped into my head. My hands started shaking and I turned away from the awful git before I really lost it, fiercely focusing on how much he wasn't worth it. I grabbed the tray and held my breath. But he decided to keep running his arrogant mouth. "- won't do anything. Stupid, filthy Mudbloods."

I couldn't take it anymore. I was about to loose all my patience. "You know what Malfoy? You are an idiotic, egotistical prick and you can leave. Now." I turned around to face him.

"How dare you insult me!" He jumped out of his seat, raising his wand to my face. My eyes narrowed and his wand flew from his hand. His eyes opened wide in shock, but he regained composure for his buddies.

"You insult me, and my family, in my own house. Leave. Now." I growled.

"And what if I don't? What will you do, Steux?" he sneered my name, completely bluffing for the lot. He sat back into his chair looking relaxed. I could see in his mind that he was going on the whim that I had never once fought him back, in going on seven years, so why would I start now.

I lost it. The chairs flew away from the table, sending all of them crashing to the floor. Before he knew what hit him, I took the smoothies and dumped them at once all onto his head, tinting his hair a bright pink as it slid down his face and onto his clothes. All of them looked at me with fear in their eyes. "I said get out. Before I make you." It was almost a whisper, but they heard me loud and clear. They stumbled and tripped over each other, trying to make it to the door, and what do you know, the lead coward was the first out of it, yelling something about how his father was going to own this shop.

Over my dead body

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So that was chapter one. I think it turned out nicely. Chapter two should be on the way. Hope you guys enjoyed it! If you find any errors or typos, please PM me and I'll fix it. If you have any ideas/suggestions please, feel free to let me know.

Reviews are appreciated.