All things Charlie Bone

Calling all Charlie Bone fans……

Is this something you’d be interested in?

I’m relatively new to the fandom as although I read these books many years ago I’m now rereading them and from what I can tell the fandom is… kinda small. And I thought it would be great to get to know each other better and have a more focused space for content creating, sharing ideas etc.

I’m also looking for a couple of people to help me admin so if that interests you then message me!

Out of all the students he’d had during his years at Bloor’s, Gabriel Silk was the only one who still came for lessons from him—and liked coming. It was a surprise, for most other students hadn’t been able to handle his constant silence. 

Gabriel could, and did. He was perfectly content to sit and play without expecting any sort of feedback from his teacher. He didn’t even mind the bats that lived in the tower (though most other children did), or the drafts that blew through the room if he forgot to close the window (which was often). The piano-playing boy seemed to accept his strangeness and not shy away from it, which was very comforting in its own way.

He wished he could remember more about the boy. It had been hard enough remembering his name; anything else was beyond him. He did know that the boy was endowed, and friends with… Charlie, wasn’t it? Yes, that was right.

He enjoyed the lessons as much as the piano boy did, though one could never tell by looking at him. Most of the time they sat in companionable silence. Other times, the boy talked to him. He would tell him of things that happened to him during the weekend, or incidences where he used his endowment. The piano teacher never responded out loud, but he showed that he liked the boy’s chatter by listening to him.

One day, the piano boy missed a class. To his surprise he felt a pang of disappointment. He hadn’t realised how much he’d begun to cherish those lessons with him. He felt worry, too. Because after all the piano boy seemed to love his music lessons and it wasn’t like him to miss one.  

A day later Gabriel was back, though looking rather pale.

‘Sorry I missed a lesson,’ he said. ‘My hand got stuck in the Dark Lady’s glove.’

He spoke as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world. The piano teacher didn’t comment on that. As usual the boy took his place on the piano stool and went through his scales and launched into a Mozart composition. He played well. The teacher didn’t speak, but his student could see the approval in his eyes.

Later that day, he met with the other teachers in the music department. He knew some of the teachers by name—it was hard not to, after living in the Academy for eight years. Some were relatively new teachers who he couldn’t remember very well, but others (such as Dr Saltweather) had been there almost as long as him. And then there was Miss Chrystal, who taught strings. She had only been teaching at the Academy for a few years at most, but for some reason she felt familiar to him. Once he had asked her if they’d met before, but she had just looked at him strangely and shaken her head. Despite this he could never shake the feeling that they had known each other once, a long time ago.

Most of the teachers were disturbed by him; Mr Paltry considered him a nuisance. Then there was Dr Saltweather. Like Gabriel, Dr Saltweather did not pay attention to his strangeness. As long as he was doing his job well, the older teacher did not care what he was like. Sometimes he would even talk to him, see how he was doing. Most of the time he couldn’t answer him back, but he appreciated the effort.

That day, they did not get much done. The younger teachers talked amongst themselves; Mr Paltry smoked on his windpipe. The only people who were actively participating in the meeting were Dr Saltweather himself and Miss Chrystal. Miss Chrystal wanted to set up an exhibition for her strings students, to showcase their talent and give them more experience. Dr Saltweather seemed amenable to it.

At the end of the meeting, Dr Saltweather drew him aside. ‘How was Gabriel today, during his lesson with you?’

Frowning, the piano teacher responded, ‘Fine.’

‘He fell prey to Mrs Bloor’s glove the other night. He seems all right now but I wasn’t sure if he could play today.’

Calling all Charlie Bone fans……

Is this something you’d be interested in?

I’m relatively new to the fandom as although I read these books many years ago I’m now rereading them and from what I can tell the fandom is… kinda small. And I thought it would be great to get to know each other better and have a more focused space for content creating, sharing ideas etc.

I’m also looking for a couple of people to help me admin so if that interests you then message me!