Family Affair

Chapter 8 The Dream and the Seeing

Taiko slept and as she often did, she dreamed.

When Taiko was under stress, like during a test, and for the few months after her previous transfer, she would have dreams of what was going on elsewhere in the world. Aunt Hikaru, a certified but retired Healer, had told her that it could happen in response to jet-lag, or to stress, or under other conditions, it could happen to a seer. Taiko had made her first prophecy when she was at the tender age of two.

Taiko was falling, falling through a gray nothingness. She could not see, but she could hear. There was somebody talking to her. "Come on Padfoot! This way to the gate! Hurry up!"

"I can't bloody see Jamie! Slow down!" Taiko replied in a baritone male voice.

"You can't see because you're not accustomed to the mist yet! And if you could, then you'd be trapped, we have to hurry!" She was being tugged by her right hand, that much was clear. The voice seemed to echo, kind of like one of the ghosts of Salem Academy's Fort drawn through a tube.

"Come on Prongs! Don't... don't drag me like this!" Taiko panted.

"I said hurry it up. What do you want me to do, transform and carry you on my back? You wouldn't be able to ride me! I'm a shade... DUH!"

"Why can't I stay here in peace anyway." Taiko demanded. They had slowed a bit, as though this "Prongs" was looking for something along the way.

"Because my son needs your help! Lord Voldemort is planning something HUGE and he and his twin sister are the only ones who can stop it!"

"Alright alright! I'm going! Jeesh, the things I do for your son!" Taiko rolled her eyes. "How far are we from it."

"You're standing right in front of it." Icy hands on Taiko's shoulders pointed Taiko in the direction.

"You did get Lord Enma's permission didn't you?"

"Yeah, he said that there was no room for you yet, and you were innocent 16 years ago, so back you go!" This was said rather cheerfully.

"Oh great, somehow I get the feeling that there's a string attached." Taiko said mournfully.

"And you'd be right." Prongs said smugly. "So through the veil you... GO!" Taiko was shoved through the veil, kicked squarely in the butt by a seemingly nonexistent boot.

Padfoot landed on his face and didn't hear anything more.

Taiko bolted square upright in bed, startling her owl and phoenix from where they had curled up on her bed. She realized that she was covered in sweat. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

Both animals, who were used to their Mistress' seeings by now, shook their heads.

"I wonder who this Prongs was anyway." Taiko took her wand from her bedside. "Accio! Accio! Accio!" Taiko summoned her dream journal, eagle feather, voice sensitive quill and bottle of dragon's blood resin ink from her desk. Steadying the book across her lap, Taiko dictated her dream to her quill. The clock radio said 4:30 a.m.

It went off at five. Taiko looked up from her journal. She had finished the dictation and quickly got up, stretched, and dressed. Turning off the radio, Taiko got up and went upstairs to the kitchen. Her phoenix and owl followed her. Checking to make sure that the ingredients were all there, Taiko set about making codfish balls, a New England favorite.

Smelling the codfish, Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, ambled into the kitchen. He looked up at her with two, enormous amber eyes. "You'll get some when they're finished." Taiko told him. Crookshanks gave her a disgusted look and left, probably to find some mice.

Mrs. Weasley came down first. "Oh Taiko! You didn't need to cook breakfast!"

"That's alright Mrs. Weasley, I was in the mood for codfish balls." Taiko shrugged and dropped the first one in the frying pan.

Harry came up with a yawn. "Hey have any of you seen my invisibility cloak? I had it last night and now its gone."

"I found this outside of Draco's room." Hermione said pointedly, holding it up. "Honestly, you should take better care of your things. Remember what happened LAST time you left this out?"

Guiltily, Harry gulped.

Draco yawned, stretching a bit as he came upstairs. It looked as though he had just come out of the shower. "Hermione give it a rest." He yawned. "Honestly, if there's one thing I hate, it's a girl who's such a nosey know-it-all busy-body."

"It kind of makes me wonder what Harry's cloak was doing outside of YOUR room?" Hermione asked, more insistantly.

"I wanted to talk to him alone." Harry said stubbornly. "Is that a crime?"

"You had a half an hour to talk to him alone." Hermione pointed out.

Harry ignored her.

"Fine, be that way! You know Harry, I thought you could trust us, whatever's going on." Hermione said angrily.

"This is way WAY different Hermione." Harry told her with a sigh.

"HOW is it different."

They did not notice until Taiko stiffened in her chair.

"HE HAS RETURNED." Taiko's voice changed.

"Huh?" Every head swung around.

"THE GUARDIAN OF THE BOY WHO LIVED HAS RETURNED. HE HAS BEEN SENT HOME BY THE LORD OF THE DEAD TO CONTINUE GUARDING HIM. HE BEARS THE MARK OF ONE WHO HAS CHEATED DEATH. THE...GUARDIAN...HAS... RETURNED..." With that Taiko collapsed.

Hermione and Mrs. Weasley caught her between them.

"What the Hell was that about?" Ron demanded. "Something about you?" He asked Harry.

"Obviously, since there's only one boy who lived." Draco drawled, but the look of nervousness on his face told Hermione that he was just as nervous.

"Huh?" Taiko sat up and blinked. "What happened? Why am I lying on the floor?"

Everyone facefaulted.

"YOU MEAN YOU DON'T BLOODY REMEMBER??" Ron demanded.

"Um... well I remember blacking out, if that's what you mean." Taiko said, with round, innocent eyes. "But I don't remember anything else."

Another facefault.

Harry took a deep breath, and explained. Taiko's eyes turned round. "You mean I had another seeing?"

"Another?" Ron demanded, his voice broke into a squeak. (A/N: awwwww! He so cute!)

"Umm... yeah, my Aunt Ginger said that I had one at age 2 and another on my eighth birthday." Taiko explained.

"That makes three..." Ron's eyes seemed to be bugging out of his head.

"That's more than Professor Trelawney." Harry gawked. "And it doesn't even predict anybody's death."

"Oh yes!" Hermione said sarcastically. "We're all so shocked."

Draco was about to come back with a witty retort when four school barn owls and a great horned owl they couldn't identify came sailing in the kitchen window. The great horned owl landed in front of Ginny, presenting her with an envelope sealed in blue bearing the screaming eagle of Salem Coed Academy.

"oooh!" Ginny squealed, ripping it open like it was a long awaited Christmas Gift. "I got a letter from the school!" She opened it, revealing a list of books, uniform and equipment, most of which she had already.

Taiko opened her's. In it was a complete book list and. "OH NO! Professor Barona put me in Divination! I wanted Runes, but she makes me take it because I'm a seer!"

Harry chuckled. "And Professor Trelawny isn't very good. Oh I really wish Professor Dumbledore had kept Firenze around!" He added with a sigh.

"Oh, but I DO have care of Magical Creatures!" Taiko squeeled. "I'm really good with animals."

Ama-sama, from the top of the refrigerator, warbled happily. Draco whirled around, but the phoenix simply fanned its wings, folded them to its back, and started preening.

"I didn't know you had a phoenix!" Ginny squeeled. "Oh! He's so cute!"

"SHE." Taiko corrected irritably.

Mrs. Weasley kept some food hot for Mr. Weasley, who had been called away early for some reason. Taiko was just about to start on some pancakes and bacon when she heard the sound of gravel grinding under wheels.

"Ahh he's home!" Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully.

Mr. Weasley came in, looking rather frazzled. Fred and George came in behind him.

"Oh how are you dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Mr. Weasley looked as if he had seen a ghost. Numbly he sat down in the chair that Harry pulled out for him. "I don't know how they did it." He shook his head. "I can't stay long Molly. Fudge wants me to take Harry to meet him at Saint Mungo's."

"What happened?" Taiko asked, eyes widening.

"They found Sirius Black at the foot of the archway in the Department of Mysteries..."

Every head in the kitchen turned to Taiko.

"What?" Taiko demanded.