Close on Omniscience ** Chapter 4
Sara smiled to herself as she entered her sixth-year Ravenclaw dormitory. It had been a great day, but she didn't know why. She threw her book bag down on her bed and did a bit of stretching. She unloaded a nightgown out of her one bureau drawer. It was a relief for it to get one article of clothing out for it, so many items had been stuffed in it.
She changed quickly and brushed her teeth. Sara hopped into the pretty blue spread quilt on her bed, shuffling to get under it. At her private nightstand, she pulled out a glass paperweight. She did not own a crystal orb, but Sara was flexible when it came to scrying. She pretended to look busy with it while three other girls were laughing, coming in through the door. They regarded her with a decided superiority.
"Oh look, Seeing Sara," one of them remarked. It was a girl called Beryl who had spoken, and in Sara's opinion, she was in no position to be making fun of names. She concentrated harder into the paperweight. Beryl was quite large, and the foot condition of gout was the famous link to her family.
They all tossed a couple of coins at her. She counted them all up: three Sickles. She nodded for them to come over to her bed, where they all sat without any unease, waiting for a response.
This had been her routine since first year. It had been very clear to the old Divination teacher she was gifted in her area of subject matter, even though Sara didn't even take the class. The instructor had given her a free tutoring lesson in Seeing, but Sara mostly had taught herself.
The girls in her dorm had made fun of her from the day she had stepped into the dormitory. She was a half-blood, and though the Ravenclaws took pride in their intelligence, they turned a blind eye where Muggle-borns were concerned. And they were even more hostile to half-bloods. Her father had belonged one of the prominent families called Cairns. He had been the only descendant to escape Slytherin and had taken up residence in Gryffindor. The Cairns had been, of course, disappointed. By graduation at the end of seventh year, he had ran off to elope with a Muggle and had not been heard of or seen again, until little Sara Cairns had found her way under the Sorting Hat. She had watched the odd moment of about three hundred eyebrows raised in interest. Yes, yes, look at her black hair, people whispered. She's one of them. I saw her mother before they disappeared; she had the same nose. Etc., etc., etc.
She had found a way to discourage the teasing.
"You laugh now," First-year Sara said, hugging her pillow, fighting back tears, speaking to Brigetta, one of the girls. Brigetta was forcefully pretty, with tons of make-up and tissues stuffed in her bra, and starved herself constantly to be thin. She was the unspoken leader of the three girls. "Tomorrow you'll burn yourself in Potions on the burner. I know - the welt is going to cover your knuckle and drape across the back of your hand." Brigetta had laughed, calling her a fool. But the next day, she came back to the dorm from the hospital wing with a bandage on her hand, glaring at Sara, but leaving her alone.
If Brigetta had left her alone, maybe some "foreshadowing" for Beryl, and the other girl, a forgetful, clumsy one called Lotus. It had worked. They had left her alone when she had told them of their future accidents, right after they had occurred. But it didn't last for long. They began to beg her for readings, and teased her worse than ever if she refused.
So she had worked out a system: she charged a Sickle for a daily reading and a galleon for an in-depth long-range reading. They all had come from rich families, except for Lotus, who worked during the summer to afford readings during the year. Missing mistakes and trouble was a number one priority for them.
Nearly every evening they paid for a session of the next day's troubles. Of course, one does not have accidents every day, so Sara had to make some things up-like "avoid this place" or "don't eat that". But she was able to forecast all of their mishaps and they followed her instructions to the letter. She had made so much money during the year, she reopened the Cairns vault at Gringotts, being the last known living descendant. There were many piles of Galleons and Sickles and Knuts, plus many foreign wizards' coins from her ancestor's travels all over the world. She had wanted to open a shop of some kind, but she wasn't sure what.
She had lived with her grandmother (on her Muggle mother's side) in Fairgold for as long as she could remember. She had no idea where her parents were, if they were dead or alive. Her grandmother refused to tell her. Her grandmother was her sole source of joy and true instruction. Her grandmother had written a handbook just for her about "life's little lessons". She took it with her every year to Hogwarts just to keep her sane.
"Lotus," Sara began. "Tomorrow, in Care of Magical Creatures, do not approach the Fwooper. It will not like you. Brigetta, volunteer for broom maintenance after Quidditch practice." Brigetta was a Beater on the Ravenclaw team.
"Beryl, that boy you fancy," Sara murmured mysteriously. I see he is quite handsome. Tall, blond, green-eyed, Hufflepuff. If you want to see him tomorrow, make sure you miss lunch to find him in the library. If you want to catch his interest, pretend to be fascinated with dragons." She bowed her head slightly to show she was finished.
"Blond? Hufflepuff?" Brigetta cried out in horror. It was well known she loved drama. "It can't be Simon, can it? Beryl, he's MY crush! How could you?" The girls started a fierce, catty argument, drawing attention away from Sara. She had anticipated the fight, leaving her alone, but it would be awhile before a prefect came up to shush them. There was no doubt in her mind that they would be carrying on until then.
She turned over and drew the blue curtains that surrounded the edge of the bed, bidding the girls good night. She blew out the candle, and still heard their agitated voices echoing through the stone room.
Sara smiled to herself as she entered her sixth-year Ravenclaw dormitory. It had been a great day, but she didn't know why. She threw her book bag down on her bed and did a bit of stretching. She unloaded a nightgown out of her one bureau drawer. It was a relief for it to get one article of clothing out for it, so many items had been stuffed in it.
She changed quickly and brushed her teeth. Sara hopped into the pretty blue spread quilt on her bed, shuffling to get under it. At her private nightstand, she pulled out a glass paperweight. She did not own a crystal orb, but Sara was flexible when it came to scrying. She pretended to look busy with it while three other girls were laughing, coming in through the door. They regarded her with a decided superiority.
"Oh look, Seeing Sara," one of them remarked. It was a girl called Beryl who had spoken, and in Sara's opinion, she was in no position to be making fun of names. She concentrated harder into the paperweight. Beryl was quite large, and the foot condition of gout was the famous link to her family.
They all tossed a couple of coins at her. She counted them all up: three Sickles. She nodded for them to come over to her bed, where they all sat without any unease, waiting for a response.
This had been her routine since first year. It had been very clear to the old Divination teacher she was gifted in her area of subject matter, even though Sara didn't even take the class. The instructor had given her a free tutoring lesson in Seeing, but Sara mostly had taught herself.
The girls in her dorm had made fun of her from the day she had stepped into the dormitory. She was a half-blood, and though the Ravenclaws took pride in their intelligence, they turned a blind eye where Muggle-borns were concerned. And they were even more hostile to half-bloods. Her father had belonged one of the prominent families called Cairns. He had been the only descendant to escape Slytherin and had taken up residence in Gryffindor. The Cairns had been, of course, disappointed. By graduation at the end of seventh year, he had ran off to elope with a Muggle and had not been heard of or seen again, until little Sara Cairns had found her way under the Sorting Hat. She had watched the odd moment of about three hundred eyebrows raised in interest. Yes, yes, look at her black hair, people whispered. She's one of them. I saw her mother before they disappeared; she had the same nose. Etc., etc., etc.
She had found a way to discourage the teasing.
"You laugh now," First-year Sara said, hugging her pillow, fighting back tears, speaking to Brigetta, one of the girls. Brigetta was forcefully pretty, with tons of make-up and tissues stuffed in her bra, and starved herself constantly to be thin. She was the unspoken leader of the three girls. "Tomorrow you'll burn yourself in Potions on the burner. I know - the welt is going to cover your knuckle and drape across the back of your hand." Brigetta had laughed, calling her a fool. But the next day, she came back to the dorm from the hospital wing with a bandage on her hand, glaring at Sara, but leaving her alone.
If Brigetta had left her alone, maybe some "foreshadowing" for Beryl, and the other girl, a forgetful, clumsy one called Lotus. It had worked. They had left her alone when she had told them of their future accidents, right after they had occurred. But it didn't last for long. They began to beg her for readings, and teased her worse than ever if she refused.
So she had worked out a system: she charged a Sickle for a daily reading and a galleon for an in-depth long-range reading. They all had come from rich families, except for Lotus, who worked during the summer to afford readings during the year. Missing mistakes and trouble was a number one priority for them.
Nearly every evening they paid for a session of the next day's troubles. Of course, one does not have accidents every day, so Sara had to make some things up-like "avoid this place" or "don't eat that". But she was able to forecast all of their mishaps and they followed her instructions to the letter. She had made so much money during the year, she reopened the Cairns vault at Gringotts, being the last known living descendant. There were many piles of Galleons and Sickles and Knuts, plus many foreign wizards' coins from her ancestor's travels all over the world. She had wanted to open a shop of some kind, but she wasn't sure what.
She had lived with her grandmother (on her Muggle mother's side) in Fairgold for as long as she could remember. She had no idea where her parents were, if they were dead or alive. Her grandmother refused to tell her. Her grandmother was her sole source of joy and true instruction. Her grandmother had written a handbook just for her about "life's little lessons". She took it with her every year to Hogwarts just to keep her sane.
"Lotus," Sara began. "Tomorrow, in Care of Magical Creatures, do not approach the Fwooper. It will not like you. Brigetta, volunteer for broom maintenance after Quidditch practice." Brigetta was a Beater on the Ravenclaw team.
"Beryl, that boy you fancy," Sara murmured mysteriously. I see he is quite handsome. Tall, blond, green-eyed, Hufflepuff. If you want to see him tomorrow, make sure you miss lunch to find him in the library. If you want to catch his interest, pretend to be fascinated with dragons." She bowed her head slightly to show she was finished.
"Blond? Hufflepuff?" Brigetta cried out in horror. It was well known she loved drama. "It can't be Simon, can it? Beryl, he's MY crush! How could you?" The girls started a fierce, catty argument, drawing attention away from Sara. She had anticipated the fight, leaving her alone, but it would be awhile before a prefect came up to shush them. There was no doubt in her mind that they would be carrying on until then.
She turned over and drew the blue curtains that surrounded the edge of the bed, bidding the girls good night. She blew out the candle, and still heard their agitated voices echoing through the stone room.