In a small village called Godric's Hollow, in a small cottage in the village, there lived a family. The Potters were your average family, consisting of, of course, a mother and a father, and two sons. The only thing that was not average about the family was the fact that they were a family of wizards.
The Potter brothers were closer than most siblings. They were close in age, only two years apart. They did practically everything together, and they considered each other to be their best friend. Their parents adored their relationship, knowing that siblings aren't always as close as their boys were. They certainly were blessed with their sons getting along so well. The brothers were so different in how they acted, however. James was mischievous, arrogant at times, and boastful. Edmund, however, while he was mischievous at times like his brother, was more humble. He never bragged about being rich to his playmates, unlike his brother, who bragged about it every chance he got. He didn't like people feeling inferior to him. Edmund was the only person who could get James to stop when he took the bragging too far.
Edmund Potter realized that he was different from the other children his age from early on. He knew it wasn't due to his looks. He looked somewhat like his younger brother, James, with the infamous Potter jet black hair that appeared to stand up in every unique way. His eyes were hazel like his brother's, though, at first glance, they appear to be more green than brown. In fact, the only time specs of brown are seen in Edmund's eyes was when the sunlight hit his eyes in just the right way.
It wasn't because he was a wizard, either. There were some children in his village that were magical like he was. Not all of them were, but there were some.
That wasn't what set him apart from the others. What set him apart was something Euphemia and Fleamont Potter never dreamed of occurring in their family. Having a child was a blessing in itself, but Euphemia and Fleamont Potter never anticipated having a child as gifted as Edmund.
~.~
Edmund Potter lay in his bed, with his arms behind his head. He stares up at the ceiling with little interest, staring at the stars on his ceiling as he tried to recall all of the constellations. His father had bewitched the ceiling to look like the night sky, much like the ceiling in the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or so his parents have told him. He's too young to attend Hogwarts yet, being only eight, but he enjoyed listening to his parents tell tales of their time at Hogwarts. Edmund was excited for when his time to attend the school came. He just had to wait a few more years.
Other than the ceiling, his room looked like your average young boy's room. The walls have been painted red, Edmund's favorite color, and there were various posters of Quidditch players and a Gryffindor banner hanging on the back of the door. He knew he had yet to be sorted as a Gryffindor, but he had a strong feeling he would follow in his father's footsteps. Call it intuition.
Edmund gasps suddenly in surprise, his body going rigid as an abnormal thought fills his mind.
"James Potter, you get back here this instant!" Edmund hears his mother shout in anger. He hears his brother laughing, and he sees his brother running out of the house. James climbs up a tree, nestling into one of the branches. A broad grin stretched out on James' face, and he was obviously pleased about something, but what?
Edmund received his answer when he saw his mother, Euphemia Potter, make her way outside. Her normally brown hair has been dyed a vibrant green, and she was clearly less than pleased about it. James, without a doubt, had tampered with their mother's shampoo.
"I like the color green on you, Mummy," James bats his eyelashes at her. "It brings out the color of your eyes."
"James Fleamont Potter, if you don't come down from that tree this instant-" Euphemia starts sternly, looking up at her youngest. She doesn't get a chance to finish her threat, however, as James loses his grip on the tree, and before Euphemia can react, he falls from the tree, a definite crack heard as he landed on the ground.
"Oww…"
Edmund sits up straight as he gasps in surprise, sweat pouring from his body.Edmund didn't know what had just happened. What was that? He thinks to himself. Edmund knew that it hadn't happened yet, as he would remember something like that happening, but he didn't have a plausible explanation to why or how he would see something happen that hasn't come to be yet. Edmund was confused. He contemplated whether he should go to go to his father, who, Edmund knew, was down in his laboratory, experimenting with his potions. Before he can even think to head down to the laboratory, however, he hears his mother shouting in anger, making him freeze.
"James Potter, you get back here this instant!"
Just like the vision.Edmund thought as he makes his way to the hallway. He stumbles backward as James runs by him, heading outside. James laughs as he ignores their mother, climbing up the tree before Edmund can stop him. Edmund follows after his brother, trying to reason with him.
"Jamie, be careful…" Edmund looks up in the tree, concern laced in his voice. He didn't want his brother to hurt himself, but so far, the events were unfolding precisely as the vision said they would. James smiles broadly at his brother, climbing up the tree further. Their mother comes out of the house with her vibrant green hair, and Edmund looks up at his brother as to say "Really"? James grins mischievously at his brother, before looking over at their mother.
"I like the color green on you, Mummy, it brings out the color of your eyes," Jame bats his eyelashes, and Edmund fought the urge to facepalm at his brother's claim, and he glances over at his mother to see her sigh in exasperation, shaking her head at her youngest. James was notorious for playing pranks on the family, even at such a young age. Edmund didn't know how he pulled some of them off, such as switching out their mother's shampoo, for example. There was also a time when James had managed to tamper with their father's Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. Their father had walked around the house with rainbow-colored hair for days without noticing. Their mother had thrown fits of giggles every time their father walked into the room, causing their father to shoot her a very confused look each time. He wasn't mad when he finally discovered the reason behind it. On the contrary, he was quite amused and impressed. He even took to asking James how he did it. James, of course, simply grinned mischievously, but never let him in on the secret.
There was certainly never a dull moment in the Potter household, especially with James around.
"James Fleamont Potter, if you don't come down from that tree this instant-" Euphemia starts, but just like in Edmund's vision, she doesn't get a chance to finish her threat as James loses his grip on the tree before either of them can react. James falls out it with a definite crack as he hits the ground.
"Oww…"
Edmund makes his way over to his brother's side in an instant, taking his brother's arm gently in his hand to examine it. "Jamie!"
"I'm okay," James starts but winces as Edmund grabs his arm.
"Mum, it's broken," Edmund calls over to their mother, who sighs. She makes her way over to her youngest, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Children". Euphemia pulls out her wand, healing James' broken arm in an instant.
"There, how does that feel?" Euphemia asks.
"Loads better! Thanks, Mummy!" James moves to hug her, but she stops him by putting her hand out in front of her, her palm facing James.
"You're still in trouble, young man," Euphemia points to her hair with her other hand.
"Who, me?" James points to himself, giving their mother an innocent smile. Euphemia wordlessly points in the direction of the house, and James grimaces at his brother before complying.
~.~
"What's going on?" Fleamont Potter asks as he walks into the living room. Euphemia gives him a look, and it was clear Fleamont was trying to bite back his laughter. "Sweetheart, did you know your hair is green?"
"No, I hadn't known that," Euphemia answers dryly, and she looks over at James pointedly. James shoots a grin at his brother, who rolls his eyes at James.
"Oh, come off it, Darling, James is only trying to have a laugh," Fleamont says, ruffling James' hair. James laughs as Euphemia sighs.
"I guess you're right. I'll admit, I do like the color green," Euphemia says, glancing at her reflection in the mirror above their fireplace.
"See, Mummy, I told you," James grins wickedly at their mother.
Edmund shakes his head at his brother, an exasperated grin on his face. It was moments like these that made Edmund see the special treatment James got from their parents at times, simply because he was the baby of the family. If it were Edmund pulling something like this off, he would've been punished for sure. Not simply receiving the promise of one, then later not receiving it after all. Edmund didn't mind, though. He knew it was no fault of James' or his parents. It was just one of the benefits of being the youngest in the family.
~.~
"Pst… Jamie… Jamie…" Edmund gently shook his brother awake, and after shaking him for a while, James startles awake. Like Edmund's room, James' walls were red, with the trims of the walls painted gold. The rooms were nearly identical as they shared a lot of the same interests, with the exception of the bewitched ceiling. Instead of the night sky, James' ceiling was bewitched so that a Golden Snitch was zooming around on the ceiling, with a clear blue sky as the background.
"Wha… Eddie, what's wrong?" James asks groggily, rubbing his eyes. Edmund smiles at the nickname. James was the only one permitted to call him Eddie, and James made it a point that everyone knew it, too. James automatically corrected those that dared to call his brother Eddie, even taking to yelling at them for doing so. The children and adults in their town learned quickly that they shouldn't use the nickname to address Edmund unless they wanted to face the wrath of Edmund's brother. James knew that Edmund could tolerate people calling him Ed, but the nickname Eddie just annoyed him, unless your name was James Potter.
"I need to talk to you."
James instantly sits up straight, scooting over in his bed so his brother can join him. "Alright, so talk."
"Earlier, I knew that was going to happen," Edmund admits.
"What, my falling out the tree and breaking my arm?"
Edmund nods. "Well, yes, and your prank."
"But I didn't even tell you about the prank," James frowns.
Edmund flails his arms. "Exactly! So how did I know about the prank, and you running up a tree to escape Mum?"
"Curious," James tilts his head to the side. "Did you tell Mum and Dad about it?"
"Do you think I should?"
"Well, they'd know what's going on," James shrugs. James suddenly gasps and grabs a hold of Edmund's shoulders. "Eddie, what if you're psychic?"
Edmund blinks. "You mean a seer?"
"Yeah that! That'd be so cool, Eddie! My brother, a Seer!" James exclaims.
Edmund smiles. "That would be pretty cool."
"I think that's what it is. You had your first prem... Perm… premo...prem…" James struggles with saying the word.
"Premonition?" Edmund suggests patiently, and James nods quickly.
"Right… that…"
"A Seer. Think of how proud Mum and Dad will be once I tell them," Edmund grins broadly. With that, Edmund leaves James' room, going back into his own.
He pondered how he felt about being a Seer as he climbed into his bed. The more he thought about it, the more he came to understand that there were definitely ups and downs with the ability. He knew that it could be a blessing, and it could also be a curse. Even at such a young age, he understood that seeing in the future wasn't always a good thing, as James had seen it as. Edmund wasn't sure how he felt about being a Seer as of yet. It was, after all, his first vision.
His first vision had been one about James being hurt. Edmund definitely hadn't liked that. He was fiercely protective of his younger brother. Even the kids around the village knew better by now not to do anything to hurt James. Some of the kids learned the hard way that Edmund Potter was not the person to anger. He could think of a thousand ways to make someone wish they had never messed with the younger Potter, and none of them involved the use of magic.
It was then that he made a vow to himself. To use his newly discovered ability to make sure that his brother never gets hurt again.
