Chapter Fourteen: Sight
Disclaiming...
Okay, now she really will see again this time! I promise! Enjoy and please review!
I opened my eyes slowly and groggily. It felt as though I had just slept another couple months away as I had when I had been petrified. In fact, I half expected to see Harry, Ron and Hermione waiting for me to get up. For a second I thought I did see Harry.
"Harry?" I asked out loud before I could stop myself. James really did look just like Harry. Or vice versa.
"Who's Harry?" James asked, nearly laughing.
"That was one funky dream," I lied quickly. I sat up and looked around. The room I was in was exactly what I thought it would be. Plain and boring, oh well can't have everything.
I looked over Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey; both looked relatively the same as I remembered them.
Next my eyes trailed to who I could only assume was Healer Lasik, since he had a green scrub on. He supported a very bushy gray mustache and thick glasses.
From there I saw Mr. Potter. He had the trademark jet-black hair, though his wasn't horribly messy. He was fair skinned with chocolate eyes, and he stood at about six foot one. Beside him stood a slightly teary-eyed Mrs. Potter. She had strait brown hair that went to her shoulders and hazel eyes. Her skin was fair as well, though she was a few inches shorter than Mr. Potter was.
Lastly I looked at the boy sitting next to my bed—well kneeling next to my bed. He had floppy dark hair, though not as dark as James'. He was darker than the Potters were as well. I couldn't tell how tall he was, but he was definitely the right build for a Quidditch player. He had blue-gray eyes. I could tell Sirius was staring at me just intently as I was staring at him.
"Your eyes are different," he said after a while.
"Are they?"
"Yeah, don't you ever look in a mirror?"
"Maybe I will now,"
He smiled a big crooked grin that suggested he was used to getting into trouble.
I continued looking around using my newfound eyesight when a sob broke the silence. Everyone looked over to see that Mrs. Potter was now completely emotional.
"I'm sorry," she muttered, furiously wiping at her eyes. "You gave us quiet a scare, Keena,"
"Why? What happened?" Mrs. Potter's face was red around her eyes now.
"You relapsed, and fell into another petrified state," Healer Lasik said, standing with his hands behind his back, looking proud that he knew what had happened.
"Another?" James said. Uh oh…
"Yes, we had to act quickly or the entire time continuum would--"
"That's enough," Dumbledore cut in.
I looked between James and Sirius. Both were staring at Lasik with identical looks of disbelief on their faces. I quickly found a piece of bed sheet to play with. This might take awhile…
"Keena, what was he talking about?" Sirius asked. I hadn't thought I'd ever wish to be blind again, but the look of hurt I was getting was enough. I tore my eyes away to look at where I was playing with the sheet.
"Ms. McIntosh," Dumbledore said. I looked up, and instantly regretted it. His twinkling blue eyes were telling me to spill my guts out.
I sighed.
"I'm not from around here," I said quietly.
"Where are you from?"
"America," I said in my false accent.
"But your accent--?"
"Is, like the rest of me basically, magically modified," no one said anything so I continued. "My hair isn't black, or this short, my skin is slightly lighter than this and my eyes are brown,"
"What's your name?" Sirius asked, still kneeling at my bedside.
"Actually I'd prefer it if that piece of information be kept off limits," said Dumbledore. "The only person here who knows Keena's name is Keena,"
"Where are your parents?" Sirius asked.
"America,"
"Why aren't you with them?" James asked. I hesitated.
"They don't know I exist," Well that's true at least…
"What about the whole time thing?"
"Let's leave that out too," Dumbledore said, throwing a look at Lasik.
"One more thing," James said. "Who is Harry?"
Your son, but I can't tell you whom you marry or that you die, that Sirius is sentenced to life in Azkaban, or that I'm from the future…
"An old friend," I settled on. It sounded better in my head than when I said it.
"Why didn't you tell us? You could've told me or my parents or Sirius or anybody!" James exclaimed, growing more frantic with each name.
"James, we knew," said Mr. Potter gently.
"Guys," I said. "Listen, I won't say I wanted to tell you, because honestly, I didn't think you'd treat me the same. I know things that a lot of people don't, and I plan on keeping it that way. I just want you to trust me when I say that I didn't want any of this to get out the way it did,"
"Really?"
"First, why would I do it at a hospital? I hate them. Second, I was going to tell you guys after I got my sight back anyway,"
They smiled when I mentioned the word 'hospital' because they knew that I avoided Pomfrey like the plague.
"Is that alright?"
"That depends on one thing," Sirius said.
"What?"
"Is she allowed to ride on a broom?"
Everything turned out okay after that. Dumbledore told James and Sirius not to talk about what we had discussed to anyone, including Remus and Peter. The fact that I was from the future remained untouched and unknown to my friends. I still had a lot of secrets and I wasn't willing to risk letting anything out.
We arrived at Potter Mansion after James and Sirius had assured Pomfrey and Lasik I'd stay on the ground. The house was huge. It was built from red bricks and had three floors visible from the front steps. The house itself was surrounded by a large field that was a perfect green, and farther out were the woods that went on for miles.
Inside was the entrance hall was carpeted white and it led to the kitchen on one end and the living room on the other. Strait ahead was the first staircase that was also carpeted white with chestnut rails. The walls surrounding us were a brilliant shade of scarlet with a white ceiling and a golden chandelier laden with glowing candles overhead.
"Let's go to the kitchen!" James said and he grabbed my arm and the three of us sped into a very clean room.
The tiles on the floor were patterned white with blue in the shape of small diamonds. The walls were pale blue and the island was granite. All the cupboards matched the walls. The kitchen was huge. Next to me stood a chestnut table with matching chairs, all of intricate design. On my other side was the fireplace. It was tall enough for someone about five foot one to get through without bumping their head, and wide enough for several children to sit in. A small pot of floo powder sat on the mantelpiece which was filled with pictures of James from when he was younger. There were also shots of James and an unfamiliar girl getting ready to go onto platform 9 and ¾.
"Who is that?" I asked pointing at the girl.
"That?" Sirius laughed.
"Oh boy," James said and the two of them walked me over to a mirror that hung in the hallway and my jaw dropped.
"That's me?" I asked, reaching up and touching the mirror to make sure it wasn't a trick. I looked closely and tilted my head, earning loud laughter from the boys.
After I was done poking the image in the mirror, we went into the dining room that was used for occasions such as Christmas dinner. Once more the room was remarkably Gryffindor-like. The tablecloth was scarlet silk with gold candles floating in the middle of the table. The two chairs at the heads of the table were high-backed with comfortable looking cushioning. The table was large enough to seat about ten people. On the wall was a large glass cabinet with dozens of glass ornaments, which were slowly rotating in their places.
From there we ran back through the entrance hall and into the living room. The room was painted a light tan and the carpet was soft and fluffy. The two couches were wide enough to seat at least three people each and were patterned with leaves. They were facing another fireplace. This one was also large, though it wasn't as wide as the one in the kitchen. On the mantelpiece sat a few, up to date pictures of James and I and Sirius as well. There were also two elderly couples, each pair in their own frame, who were waving energetically. Above these pictures was a painting of a mountainous landscape. On closer inspection, I could see Hogwarts in the distance of the painting. On either side of the painting were two floating candles, scarlet in color.
"Want to go and see your room?" James asked a wide grin still present on his face.
"Okay," I replied, unable to come up with anything else. What if they want to ask me more questions…?
We ran up the stairs and down a scarlet hall, before coming to a halt at my room.
Inside the walls were red halfway up, with an inch thick line of gold separating the red from the white. The bed looked as if it belonged in an expensive hotel, with curtains hanging around it. A large dresser sat at the far corner of the room with a mirror that nearly touched the ceiling. On the walls were pictures of my friends and me.
Friends. How can I call them that…? Maybe I should tell them my whole story…
"Hey guys?"
"Yeah?" Sirius replied, plopping down on my bed.
"Do you want to know a little more about me?"
"Has our friendship been an act?"
"No,"
"Then I think we're fine," Sirius said.
"Can you promise me something though?"
"Whatever it is, I'm sure we can," James said, sitting on the bed next to Sirius.
"Don't tell Peter,"
"Or Remus?"
"Well, I might tell him, but not Peter,"
"Why not?"
"Because I don't trust him," They looked at me with confusion evident in their eyes.
"Why?"
"Think about it, I don't think you guys trust him either,"
"Of course we do!" James said defensively.
"Did you guys ever leave me with him?"
"No, but--"
"If you really trusted him you would've. I'm glad you didn't, though,"
"Keena, this is ridiculous,"
"Maybe, but what has he ever done to earn your trust? If I remember correctly, he sold us out that time we turned Snape pink. And the time we turned Malfoy's hair blue. Oh and what about--"
"Okay, so he's not good at keeping secrets," Sirius said shaking his head. "But I'm sure things'll be different this year,"
I sighed. "Okay, well still don't tell him. You said it yourself; he's not good at keeping secrets,"
"You have our word," James said, raising one hand and placing the other over his heart.
"I'm serious James,"
"No, I'm Sirius,"
"That joke is so old," I laughed.
"And yet you never get tired of it,"
That's it for this chapter! I know some of it was a bit…I'll let you figure out what it was, cuz I don't really know…Oh well! The next one will be better! Please REVIEW! Thanx!
:-D