AN: This is random… but then again so am I. I know people wondered about Harry not seeing the Threstrals before when he'd 'seen' his parents die… but what about the events from the Chamber of Secrets?
Threstrals and Basilisks
Harry sighed quietly, watching the world fly past through the train window. His hellish fifth year was finally over, and he had talked over the prophecy with Ron and Hermione in confidence before they had left, so that left him with nothing to do.
Turning away, he eyed his friends quietly. Said two conspirators were reading; Hermione, a bit of 'light-reading' she'd never finished during the term, whilst Ron was engrossed in a Chudley Cannons fan magazine, complete with free fan-badge gift (which had several players zooming across it randomly with the different Quidditch balls following them). Luna was also reading, albeit upside down again - she was still trying to pin down the right voice intonations for the 'turn your enemy's ears into kumquats' curse. Neville, however, was the only one not reading, although his occupation was hardly better - he was idly stroking his Mimbulus Mimbletonia with a finger as it crooned back to him. Harry snorted at the sight and turned back to the view.
As he fell into a random thought process about Voldemort and how the world would react to him, he saw a Threstral fly upwards from the rapidly diminishing Forbidden Forest, do a quick loop-the-loop and disappear again. He smiled slightly, but the smile faltered as a sudden thought struck him.
Threstrals can only be seen by those who have seen death firsthand.
However, surely he should have been able to see them in his third and fourth year too? After all, the Basilisk was no more thanks to the sword he'd shoved through its skull, and Riddle in the diary was no small thing either… Harry had utterly forgotten about those facts.
Cedric was human, and had fallen at his feet… but the sentence Hagrid had taught them had never made a distinction between animal and human, and Riddle in the diary had been human too, in a way. And the Basilisk was probably smarter than several Slytherins he'd met - Pansy Parkinson for one!
Harry smirked at the mental image of the Basilisk beating Pansy in a test even though it didn't have hands, but then his mind turned back to that matter of death and Threstrals.
He wondered whether to talk to Hermione about it, but she looked totally engrossed in that book of hers… he sighed, picturing the long ride left ahead of them, most probably in silence… ah well, at least he might have a conclusion by then…
End
AN: Just something I thought up late one night… did anyone else notice that in the book, or is it just me?
Lion Minion: Just you, most likely.
Wulf: Cheers… anyways, review with your thoughts on this if you would be so kind! I would love to hear other peoples insight on this topic!
