Gilda Greenstone

"Honey, what's wrong with Gilda?"

Dorian Greenstone looked across the room at their daughter. The three year old was sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace staring into the flames. He watched her for a short while and realized she wasn't blinking at all, and her eyes didn't seem to be moving either.

"I'll take care of it, sweetheart. You finish supper." Having decided to investigate, he stood from his work desk and moved towards his brunette child. He knelt beside her, scanning the flames to see if he could tell what held her interest so firmly. Not seeing anything obvious he reached out to touch her shoulder.

"Gilda? What are you doing, sweetie?" he asked. Just as his hand touched her bare neck she turned to him with a frown on her face.

"Nana says bye-bye." A tear slid down her cheek and she flew into her daddy's arms.

He sat there rocking his littlest one, cooing meaningless sounds into her ear while it took him ten minutes for him to quiet her sobbing, and then another five for him to realize she had fallen asleep. During the fifteen minutes that took, he tried to puzzle together what had happened.

Both of Gilda's grandmothers were still living as of this very afternoon. He had spoken to his mother-in-law in Diagon Alley outside of Gringotts Bank. She had not seemed to be sick or out of sorts in any way; in fact, she mentioned her upcoming visit to Selia's house in France the following month. His wife Rumer was so envious of her mother being able to go abroad at will that she ignored the comment and tried to change the subject.

His own mother was at Hogsmeade this week. His oldest son was having a Hogsmeade Weekend from Hogwarts and she wanted to surprise him with his birthday present while he was away from school. Dorian just hoped that Gregorian would be pleased with the set of advanced charm making texts that she was giving him. It was so hard to tell from his letters what subjects the 14 year old really understood, and which he struggled to get through.

Both ladies in question were too young to be subject to sudden illnesses due to old age. Why, Marionette Swallowtail was only 73, and could look forward to at least another 80 years of good health ahead of her. And his own mother? Spry and agile as any witch of only 90 years would be, thank you very much!

That left either accidents or... Best not think about that just yet.

He stood up carefully, cradling Gilda in his arms so as not to disturb her, and moved slowly into the kitchen. Sliding a chair away from the table with one foot he positioned it near the door so he wouldn't get in Rumer's way.

"Honey, which grandma does Gilda call Nana?" he murmured quietly.

Distracted, his wife responded, "Your mother, dear. Bothers her to no end, too. She thinks she's much too young to have seven grandchildren already. You'd think they were all from just one of her children, instead of being shared around the way they are. She calls my mother 'Gamma' at the moment. Why do you ask?" She finished stirring the stew and turned to Dorian.

Seeing Gilda cried out in his arms she exclaimed, "Oh no! Not again, please?" She rushed over and tried to lift their daughter from his arms.

"I'm afraid so. Another trance, and as I disturbed her she said 'Nana says bye-bye'." He paused while he arranged his bundle in her arms. "I'll need to floo the school and let Gregorian know what to expect. Definitely not what he wanted for his 15th birthday."

Walking slowly into the living room Dorian reflected on his family.

Raising Gilda had not been an easy task. Gregorian had been easy. A sweet lovable boy with a desire to please and a level of compassion that would turn the entire muggle world into wizards to save them the heartache of being muggle. With Gregorian they just had to watch for every stray injured animal he tried to smuggle into his bedroom.

Their second son, Donovan, was also easy compared to Gilda. A typical boy, if there really was such a thing. He managed to injure himself every three weeks it seemed, all in an attempt to prove he was as good as his older brother. Forget the fact that they were seven years apart, that didn't matter to Donovan. Anything that Gregorian did, he could do too.

But Gilda? From her 2nd birthday on it was one oddity after another. Laying perfectly still staring at the candles was only the start. The crying fits when she saw things no one else did. Talking in almost complete sentences, instead of the one-word exclamations that youngsters started with. And the topic of her sentences. She gave litanies of planned cheating from customers while holding the shopping bag her mother had just arrived home with. Rants of sexual interest when one of Gregorian's friends left his coat where she could lay her hands on it. Why, if Rumer had wanted the latest gossip about the neighbours, all she really needed to do was go borrow diced mushrooms from the family she was interested in, and then let Gilda hold the canister! Not that Dorian's wife actually did that... that he knew of at least.

It was actually a relief to have the Healer tell them that Gilda was a natural seer. Her talent had shown itself earlier than normal, but that just means she'll be a powerful witch if she survives growing up.

That was what worried Dorian the most. Growing up with a talent that was active whenever IT wanted to activate, Gilda was going to be under intense scrutiny by the Ministry of Magic, especially the Improper Use of Magic Office. Maybe he ought to apply for an exemption for her? No, as powerful and accurate as her talent was at only 3 years of age, they'd just 'take her under their protection'. Or 'raise her with the best instructors in the world'. No matter how they phrased it, they would take their darling daughter away and the family would never see her again, at least as family. And that was if they weren't just obliviated into forgetting they had a daughter to start with.

The best plan that Rumer and he had come up with was to start training her as soon as she could talk in sentences that were her own. After all, if she can talk clearly for herself then she can understand the things she will be taught. And starting early like that would mean she would be as moral as any child at that age - obeying her parents because they said to, until she understood the reasonings and behaved properly on her own. Time will tell if they made the right choice.

Three Years Later

"Mom! She's doing it again!"

Rumer Greenstone just shook her head and continued packing Donovan's trunk. "What are the professors going to do with you, Dear? You need to use proper sentences that explain exactly what the situation is when you're asking for help."

"Sorry mom. Gilda's trying to grab my wand so she can see what house I'm going to be sorted into. I want it to be a surprise!" Her blond son's more temperate explanation devolved into a whine. "Make her stop. Please!"

"Donovan, relax. Whether you are surprised now or surprised in front of the whole school doesn't matter. The point is you will be surprised one way or the other. And besides, you know your sister's not always accurate when she tells us what is going to happen. Just look at your Grandma Greenstone. Your father and I were convinced that she was going to die when Gilda told us she was saying 'bye-bye'. Turned out she was unexpectedly invited to go with Grandma Swallowtail on her trip to France. We had Gregorian breaking down in tears in the headmaster's office before we found out the truth. Now finish packing, and make sure you have everything. You don't want to open a package from me at the breakfast table with everything you forget, do you? Especially your underwear?"

Donovan's eyes grew wide and he rushed to his trunks to make sure everything he'd need were in there. His mother giggled lightly, and then grabbed up Gilda as she was trying to sneak up behind her brother. "And you little girl, stop picking on your brother. He told you he wants to be surprised by the Sorting Hat's choice in front of everybody, including his big brother."

"But momma! I'm not trying to see what house he's gonna be in," the little one said, "I just wanna be sure the train gets him there safe."

"That's very sweet of you Gildy, but since you never told him that I can't be sure you really meant that was what you started out wanting. Making up an excuse that sounds good when you are caught is as bad as being outright mean. Do you understand me, little missy?"

"Yes momma. I'll be good." Gilda threw in a little pout to try to get momma to lighten up a little bit. Sometimes it did, but not this time.

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. If I find out you tried to grab his wand again before the train leaves the station you'll have a very sore butt all the way home." Rumer was very adamant that her kids get along for the next few hours until they'd be separated for months.

The trip to the train station was thankfully uneventful. Donovan made it onto the train without the histrionics that Gregorian had gone through in his first year. He even went so far as to allow Gilda a hug goodbye as long as she didn't say if she saw which house he was going to be in. Gregorian showed up about then with his friends that he'd been staying with for the summer. After the usual polite (for him!) greetings he helped his little brother onto the train, telling him he had to find someplace to sit where he could make friends with the other first-years. And that was that for another year.

Walking back to the floo portal at the Leaky Cauldron, Rumer had an idea. A practical way to start demonstrating to Gilda why her brothers hated her using her gift on them. After the short walk followed by the floo trip she had almost figured it out completely. Now she just had to tell Dorian and make sure she was thinking clearly on the whole matter.

Two days later it was settled. Dorian and Rumer had decided to follow her plan to 'educate' their daughter on what it is like to not be a seer.

It began innocently enough. Gilda was simply invited on a walk through the woods.

They left the house through the back door, crossed the ample lawn, and stepped out the gate. While they were still on their own grounds, the land was less cultivated out here, and the wildlife had timidly investigated the yards while keeping an eye out for whoever or whatever controlled this area. During this part of the walk they saw several small creatures, including rabbits, one small fox, several birds, and a stray canine of some sort was observed prowling a nearby gully.

After this ten-minute walk they found themselves at the edge of a wooded area. Finding a path after a moment's search, they proceeded into the shade of the trees. Gilda was spooked by the oppressive silence and started to ask her momma where they were going, only to be shushed. The walk through the woods was longer than the one across the yards, and again they startled a few creatures. This time they noticed a bowtruckle near his tree, a deer with two fawns bounding away from them, a small swarm of flying insects that the young brunette couldn't identify, and may have disturbed a nest of fairies, but they flew away so fast she couldn't be sure they weren't doxies.

Following her mother's hand signals, they quietly approached the small creek that ran near the middle of the woods. Here they saw a small herd of deer with a large stag guarding them, all drinking from the creek. The deer took off suddenly when a splash was made in the water. Gilda's head snapped to where the sound was made, but didn't see any sign of what had made the noise.

As they shadows became lighter and they reached the other side of the wood Gilda saw a wooden sign that had been erected along the path. Putting her meagre reading skills to work, she read the sign out loud.

"H-h... hog... warts... HOGWARTS! It says Hogwarts mommy!" she exclaimed.

"Really dear? Well we aren't allowed at Hogwarts while school is in session. Let's go home before we get into trouble." With that Rumer Greenstone took her daughter into her arms and apparated back to their house. They had been gone for a bit over an hour according to the clock in the front hall, and yet the trip back had taken no time at all.

"Mommy? I wanted to see the deer again!" whined the young brunette.

"Oh? But apparating is so much faster, sweetheart. Just picture the end of the trip and it's all over with. Isn't that so much better than walking through all that grass and dirt, and getting all hot in the sun and chilly in the woods?" Rumer hoped that the comparison would be made before she had to do it herself, but her daughter was quite used to seeing the ends without any notion of what led up to them.

"No mommy. I couldn't see the deer and the fairies beforehand. I want to see the fairies!" Her whine was reaching screeching ranges.

"And Donovan wanted to let the Sorting Hat surprise him with what house he would be in. And Jennifer Parvati wanted to be surprised with her birthday party. Some things are too important to take the fastest and easiest way to find out. Do you understand, dear?"

"Uh huh," she said, even though it was clear she was only saying it so mom would think she did. "Can we go for a walk again now, mommy?"

"Not today, I have to get supper ready for tonight. Why don't you go play in your room for a while?" A tapping at the window let her know the post was in. "One moment Gilda, why don't you get the mail for me, please? Make sure you bring an owl treat out for it."

A few moments later the little one was running back in. "A letter from Hogwarts! Donovan wrote us a letter already!"

"That's nice dear," Rumer said, taking the unopened envelope from her daughter. "What did he say?"

"I don't know. He had someone else put it in the envelope. The boy was confused about what was going on. I don't think Donovan told him about me," was the pouting reply.

"And why would your brother have someone else mail his letter for him? Can you tell me that?"

Gilda scrunched up her face. "Because he wanted to surprise me? That's it isn't it, mommy. He wanted me to take a walk and see what he wanted to say instead of just reading the envelope and seeing everything at once!"

"Very good. Now let's sit down on the couch and you can read the words while I hold the letter. That way you can enjoy it just like he wanted you too." The pair moved to the living room.

Later that evening, Dorian asked Gilda if she wanted to play a game of gobstones with him. Since this was one of her favourite games, she immediately yelled her agreement and ran to get the board.

Dorian set up the board for a game of Jackstones, and then asked his daughter to hand him the stones.

"Who do you think will win, sweetheart?" he asked innocently.

"You will daddy. By three points," she replied, distracted by the thought of playing with Daddy.

Dorian sat up straight. "Well, since we already know who'll win, there's no point in playing. I'm going to go read the paper." He stood up and made to leave the room.

"DADDY!"

"Yes sweetheart?" was his quiet reply.

"I'm sorry, daddy," she said in a subdued voice. "I wasn't thinking when I answered you. If we take away a stone from each of us that'll change the game so I won't know who will win. Can we still play?"

"Of course dear. I love playing with you." He reached out and offered her a hug.

"No daddy, if I hug you now I'll see the game again. I'll hug you later," she said with determination in her voice.

Dorian and Rumer smiled at each other across the room.

Five Years Later

"Hurry up Gilda; we're going to be late for the train!"

Donovan Greenstone shook his head. For someone who always knew what was going to happen, his sister sure couldn't keep track of her own stuff. "Here, let me double-check that you have everything. You don't want to open a package from mom at breakfast with the stuff you forgot to grab, especially your underwear!"

Gilda's eyes went wide. "I'll check my clothes, you check my school supplies!" She was mortified at the thought of her 16-year-old brother going through her undies!

With a small grin Donovan opened the trunk with her school supplies and slipped in a small package. Checking over the rest of the items in the trunk he pulled out her copies of The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) and Magical Drafts and Potions and replaced it with his own well-footnoted copies. He then made sure everything was packed tightly so nothing shifted while the trunk was being hoisted about. By the time he had finished, Gilda had added two more sets of underclothing and a second set of dress robes, 'just in case'.

Making their way down to the front door they were surprised to see their dad standing in the front hallway. Dorian had told the family that he had to go out for the morning, and would meet them at the train station.

Giving each of them a hug, he ushered them out the door. There, on the front lawn, was a strange boxy-looking carriage. Looking closer, the siblings realized that it was regular horse-drawn carriage disguised with a glamour to look like a muggle automobile.

"I thought we'd take the slower trip to the station," their dad said, earning him a rib-breaking hug from Gilda and a more restrained one from Donovan. "I take it you approve?" he added with a smile.

"It's awesome Daddy!" Gilda hurried to the carriage and climbed in.

"Aren't you forgetting something, sis? Like your trunks?" Donovan smirked.

Sheepishly she climbed back out of the carriage and started loading her trunks, while her brother loaded his own. Finally they were on their way towards downtown London, with the hired chauffeur taking the 'scenic route' on Dorian's instructions. Gilda could not be pried away from the windows with any threats of reward or punishment.

When they arrived at the station, Rumer gave them the same goodbyes she had every year. Donovan helped his sister onto the train, warning her that she had to sit with the other first-years so she had a chance to make friends before she got to Hogwarts. A short time later the whistle blew and the train started off.

'Well that's that for another year,' thought Rumer.

Department of Mysteries Notes on Gilda Greenstone

The DoM agent in charge of investigating this file had the following comments.

Contrary to public belief, not all departments of the Ministry of Magic are as power hungry as the Greenstones think. If Miss Greenstone's abilities had become known as early as the family had discovered them, she would have been left with her family and a live-in nanny provided to help guide her development. As it stands, the Greenstones did an excellent job directing their daughter in both the use of and non-use of her talents.

With this in mind, if there had been any sign of Gilda's talents being corrupted or warped, the greenstones original fears of being obliviated would have occurred. Their shielding of their daughter from the world at large would have aided this as fewer people knew of her existence, increasing the likelihood that obliviation would have been successful.

Recommendations for the future: I recommend maintaining surveillance on Gilda Greenstone, with monthly progress reports being required from our agents inside of Hogwarts. It is not uncommon for seers to become oracles as they develop, and if this is indicated as happening with Miss Greenstone, homeschooling should be made mandatory for her. Also, have our agents encourage 'accidental' meetings between Miss Greenstone and the current Divinations instructor at the school. Having someone else with the gift nearby should encourage the development of her talents.

Upon successfully passing her NEWTs either at Hogwarts or through private study she should be evaluated to become an Unspeakable.

Unspeakable Thomas

Department of Mysteries